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).

  • Patent number: 10380826
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Cho, Christopher Heatherly, Matthew Danner, Patrick Sager, Alif Khalfan, Bojan Jovanovic
  • Publication number: 20180114398
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Publication date: April 26, 2018
    Inventors: Joseph Cho, Christopher Heatherly, Matthew Danner, Patrick Sager, Alif Khalfan, Bojan Jovanovic
  • Patent number: 9766773
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: John Crocker, Christopher Heatherly, Steve Makofsky
  • Patent number: 9724611
    Abstract: There is provided a method of synchronizing a portable device with an online user account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Heatherly
  • Patent number: 9202201
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Marc Silbey, John Crocker, Michael Vanloon, Lane Merrifield, Paul Cutsinger, Christopher Heatherly
  • Patent number: 8998671
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Kenlip Ong, Scott Traylor, Christine Donadio, Liane Czirjak, Leah Osterman, Jordan Bach
  • Publication number: 20150040036
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2013
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Applicant: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventors: John Crocker, Christopher Heatherly, Steve Makosky
  • Publication number: 20140089405
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Inventors: Marc Silbey, John Crocker, Michael Vanloon, Lane Merrifield, Paul Cutsinger, Christopher Heatherly
  • Publication number: 20120083182
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2010
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Applicant: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Kenlip Ong, Scott Traylor, Christine Donadio, Liane Czirjak, Leah Osterman, Jordan Bach
  • Patent number: 7929028
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Sunny Holmes, Randal Ouye
  • Publication number: 20090292640
    Abstract: There is provided a method of synchronizing a portable device with an online user account.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2008
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Applicant: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
    Inventor: Christopher Heatherly
  • Publication number: 20090003794
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Inventors: Christopher Heatherly, Sunny Holmes, Randal Ouye