Patents by Inventor Christopher Heatherly
Christopher Heatherly has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 10380826Abstract: There is provided a system comprising a touch screen display, a non-transitory memory storing a user interface, one or more software applications, and a game application, and a hardware processor executing the game application to launch a game for playing by the user using the touch screen display, receive a game play input from the user, while playing the game using the touch screen display, unlock a locked game element of a plurality of locked game elements of the game, in response to the game play input by the user, and add one of a plurality of user interface elements corresponding to the unlocked game element for display by the user interface, in response to the unlocking, wherein each of the plurality of locked game elements corresponds to one of the plurality of user interface elements, and wherein the user interface is used by the one or more software applications.Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 2016Date of Patent: August 13, 2019Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: Joseph Cho, Christopher Heatherly, Matthew Danner, Patrick Sager, Alif Khalfan, Bojan Jovanovic
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Publication number: 20180114398Abstract: There is provided a system comprising a touch screen display, a non-transitory memory storing a user interface, one or more software applications, and a game application, and a hardware processor executing the game application to launch a game for playing by the user using the touch screen display, receive a game play input from the user, while playing the game using the touch screen display, unlock a locked game element of a plurality of locked game elements of the game, in response to the game play input by the user, and add one of a plurality of user interface elements corresponding to the unlocked game element for display by the user interface, in response to the unlocking, wherein each of the plurality of locked game elements corresponds to one of the plurality of user interface elements, and wherein the user interface is used by the one or more software applications.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 21, 2016Publication date: April 26, 2018Inventors: Joseph Cho, Christopher Heatherly, Matthew Danner, Patrick Sager, Alif Khalfan, Bojan Jovanovic
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Patent number: 9766773Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products to provide responses to emergent group activities in an interactive environment, by monitoring actions of one or more avatars in the interactive environment, the one or more avatars being controlled by a respective user, detecting a first action matching a first action property in a first group activity template for a first group activity, of a plurality of group activity templates, determining that the first group activity is occurring in the interactive environment, and issuing to one or more components of the interactive environment, an indication to perform a respective predefined operation.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2013Date of Patent: September 19, 2017Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: John Crocker, Christopher Heatherly, Steve Makofsky
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Patent number: 9724611Abstract: There is provided a method of synchronizing a portable device with an online user account.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2008Date of Patent: August 8, 2017Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventor: Christopher Heatherly
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Patent number: 9202201Abstract: There is provided a method and system for an approval based economy. The method comprises, receiving input corresponding to media content associated with a user, determining a number of approval units corresponding to the input, retrieving a user account associated with the user, and saving the approval units in the user account. The user account may include past approval units and an approval total. The approval total may account for the approval units and the past approval units, the approval units and the past approval units of active users and available media content only, or a maximum lifetime total of active users and available media content only. The approval based economy may provide new media content to users based on their respective approval total in their user account.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2012Date of Patent: December 1, 2015Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: Marc Silbey, John Crocker, Michael Vanloon, Lane Merrifield, Paul Cutsinger, Christopher Heatherly
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Patent number: 8998671Abstract: Systems and associated methods for providing a play device capable of capturing an image stream through a camera module and process the images through computer vision software. Embodiments provide interactive toys that recognize a set of pre-programmed images and provide responses to images presented by a user. For example, embodiments provide for a toy that requests a certain image and provides a response based upon whether the user presents the correct image.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2010Date of Patent: April 7, 2015Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Kenlip Ong, Scott Traylor, Christine Donadio, Liane Czirjak, Leah Osterman, Jordan Bach
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Publication number: 20150040036Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products to provide responses to emergent group activities in an interactive environment, by monitoring actions of one or more avatars in the interactive environment, the one or more avatars being controlled by a respective user, detecting a first action matching a first action property in a first group activity template for a first group activity, of a plurality of group activity templates, determining that the first group activity is occurring in the interactive environment, and issuing to one or more components of the interactive environment, an indication to perform a respective predefined operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 31, 2013Publication date: February 5, 2015Applicant: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.Inventors: John Crocker, Christopher Heatherly, Steve Makosky
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Publication number: 20140089405Abstract: There is provided a method and system for an approval based economy. The method comprises, receiving input corresponding to media content associated with a user, determining a number of approval units corresponding to the input, retrieving a user account associated with the user, and saving the approval units in the user account. The user account may include past approval units and an approval total. The approval total may account for the approval units and the past approval units, the approval units and the past approval units of active users and available media content only, or a maximum lifetime total of active users and available media content only. The approval based economy may provide new media content to users based on their respective approval total in their user account.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2012Publication date: March 27, 2014Inventors: Marc Silbey, John Crocker, Michael Vanloon, Lane Merrifield, Paul Cutsinger, Christopher Heatherly
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Publication number: 20120083182Abstract: Systems and associated methods for providing a play device capable of capturing an image stream through a camera module and process the images through computer vision software. Embodiments provide interactive toys that recognize a set of pre-programmed images and provide responses to images presented by a user. For example, embodiments provide for a toy that requests a certain image and provides a response based upon whether the user presents the correct image.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2010Publication date: April 5, 2012Applicant: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Kenlip Ong, Scott Traylor, Christine Donadio, Liane Czirjak, Leah Osterman, Jordan Bach
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Patent number: 7929028Abstract: There is provided a method for use by a content capturing device for facilitating creation of content. According to one embodiment, the method includes receiving a content project file in a receiver of the content capturing device. The method further includes providing instructions to the user via a user interface for creating one or more portions of the content. In one embodiment, the instructions can be included in the content project file. The content can be, for example, a video or a collection of one or more digital still images. The method further includes capturing the one or more portions of the content using a video module and automatically editing the one or more portions of the content to generate the content.Type: GrantFiled: June 28, 2007Date of Patent: April 19, 2011Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Sunny Holmes, Randal Ouye
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Publication number: 20090292640Abstract: There is provided a method of synchronizing a portable device with an online user account.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 21, 2008Publication date: November 26, 2009Applicant: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.Inventor: Christopher Heatherly
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Publication number: 20090003794Abstract: There is provided a method for use by a content capturing device for facilitating creation of content. According to one embodiment, the method includes receiving a content project file in a receiver of the content capturing device. The method further includes providing instructions to the user via a user interface for creating one or more portions of the content. In one embodiment, the instructions can be included in the content project file. The content can be, for example, a video or a collection of one or more digital still images. The method further includes capturing the one or more portions of the content using a video module and automatically editing the one or more portions of the content to generate the content.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 28, 2007Publication date: January 1, 2009Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Sunny Holmes, Randal Ouye