Patents by Inventor Dale A. Sather

Dale A. Sather 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: 9672022
    Abstract: An application on a device includes multiple experience modules that each implement a set of features when the application is running on the device. Each of the multiple experience modules includes a first component that includes code specific to a particular type of the device, and a second component that includes code that is common across multiple types of devices. Update packages changing individual ones of the multiple experience modules can be received from a deployment service and installed on the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher A. Evans, Scott Jensen, Advay V. Mengle, Jeffrey T. Pearce, John Elsbree, Louis M. Kahn, Chad C. Neff, Nermin Osmanovic, Nosherwan Minwalla, Rajadurai Isaac Rajakumar, Dale A. Sather, Manuel A. Schröder, Ovidiu G. Temereanca
  • Publication number: 20160249090
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an enhanced user media viewing experience in a shared viewing environment. A content sharing system is provided in which one digital video recording device controls the presentation of the same video content and optionally the acquiring of that video content on disparately located digital video recording devices. Various communications devices (e.g., VOIP devices, web cameras, instant messaging, etc.) are used to facilitate interactions between viewers at the disparately located locations. User-generated commentary, whether live via the communication devices or pre-recorded, is presented while a viewer is viewing a particular piece of video content and can be synchronized to be presented at a particular time in the video.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Inventors: Curtis G. Wong, Dale A. Sather, Kenneth Reneris, Thaddeus C. Pritchett, Talal A. Batrouny
  • Patent number: 8522299
    Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages media content. The disclosed system includes a component that synchronizes with a multimedia player that is in communication with the component. The component upon synchronization automatically determines an amount of storage space available on the handheld device and based at least in part on this available space, the component substitutes a first media presentation persisted on the storage space with a second media presentation retrieved from a media storage farm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Curtis G. Wong, Dale A. Sather, Kenneth Reneris, Thaddeus C. Pritchett, Behrooz Chitsaz, Talal Ali Batrouny
  • Patent number: 8151280
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for configuring and managing network devices. The arrival (and departure) of devices on a network can be detected by a monitor. Upon detection, network devices can be simply and dynamically configured with little or no end-user intervention, for instance by automatically loading device drivers and allocating resources for the devices. Furthermore, network devices can be associated with other network devices such as a personal computer to facilitate seamless integration of network devices with a computer operating system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Dale A. Sather, Guillaume Simonnet, John M. Gehlsen, Kosar A. Jaff, Ralph A. Lipe, Roland J. Ayala, Shannon J. Chan, Thomas Kuehnel
  • Patent number: 8117329
    Abstract: Frame-based streaming data flows through a graph of multiple interconnected processing modules. The modules have a set of performance parameters whose values specify the sensitivity of each module to the selection of certain resources of a system. A user specifies overall goals for an actual graph for processing a given type of data for a particular purpose. A flow manager constructs the graph as a sequence of module interconnections required for processing the data, in response to the parameter values of the individual modules in the graph in view of the goals for the overall graph as a whole, and divides it into pipes each having one or more modules and each assigned to a memory manager for handling data frames in the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Rafael S. Lisitsa, George H. J. Shaw, Dale A. Sather, Bryan A. Woodruff
  • Publication number: 20110321028
    Abstract: An application on a device includes multiple experience modules that each implement a set of features when the application is running on the device. Each of the multiple experience modules includes a first component that includes code specific to a particular type of the device, and a second component that includes code that is common across multiple types of devices. Update packages changing individual ones of the multiple experience modules can be received from a deployment service and installed on the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Christopher A. Evans, Scott Jensen, Advay V. Mengle, Jeffrey T. Pearce, John Elsbree, Louis M. Kahn, Chad C. Neff, Nermin Osmanovic, Nosherwan Minwalla, Rajadurai Isaac Rajakumar, Dale A. Sather, Manuel A. Schröder, Ovidiu G. Temereanca
  • Publication number: 20110289517
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for configuring and managing network devices. The arrival (and departure) of devices on a network can be detected by a monitor. Upon detection, network devices can be simply and dynamically configured with little or no end-user intervention, for instance by automatically loading device drivers and allocating resources for the devices. Furthermore, network devices can be associated with other network devices such as a personal computer to facilitate seamless integration of network devices with a computer operating system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2011
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Dale A. Sather, Guillaume Simonnet, John M. Gehlsen, Kosar A. Jaff, Ralph A. Lipe, Roland J. Ayala, Shannon J. Chan, Thomas Kuehnel
  • Publication number: 20110264773
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for configuring and managing network devices. The arrival (and departure) of devices on a network can be detected by a monitor. Upon detection, network devices can be simply and dynamically configured with little or no end-user intervention, for instance by automatically loading device drivers and allocating resources for the devices. Furthermore, network devices can be associated with other network devices such as a personal computer to facilitate seamless integration of network devices with a computer operating system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Publication date: October 27, 2011
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Dale A. Sather, Guillaume Simonnet, John M. Gehlsen, Kosar A. Jaff, Ralph A. Lipe, Roland J. Ayala, Shannon J. Chan, Thomas Kuehnel
  • Patent number: 7941516
    Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages storage media associated with a plurality of disparate devices. The disclosed system can include a network of disparate devices wherein each device in the network can be associated with storage media. Additionally, the disclosed system can also include a component that identifies each device in the network, associates a likelihood that the device will periodically leave or rejoin the network, and utilizes the associated likelihood to construct a logical redundant pile of inexpensive disks comprising the storage media associated with the disparate devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Curtis G. Wong, Dale A. Sather, Kenneth Reneris, Thaddeus C. Pritchett, Talal Ali Batrouny
  • Patent number: 7933408
    Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that asynchronously disseminates multimedia content to disparate clients. The disclosed system can include a component that receives multimedia content supplied by a multimedia publisher, encrypts or applies a time sensitive lock to the received multimedia content, disseminates the encrypted or locked multimedia content to the disparate clients, and a time subsequent, generates and distributes to the disparate clients a counterpart to the time sensitive lock necessary to unlock and play the disseminated and encrypted or locked multimedia content on the clients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Curtis G. Wong, Dale A. Sather, Kenneth Reneris, Thaddeus C. Pritchett, Talal Ali Batrouny
  • Patent number: 7925773
    Abstract: Systems and methods for storing streaming data are provided. A system is disclosed that includes a computer program which, when executed on a computing device, is configured to store a data stream in memory of the computing device in a virtual file format. The virtual file format may include a timeline of events. The events in the timeline may include a plurality of spanning events. Each spanning event may contain respective state information representing a state of the data stream across an interval in the timeline, and may be linked to at least one other spanning event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Dale Sather, Ken Reneris, Matthijs Gates
  • Patent number: 7869440
    Abstract: Streaming data is processed through one or more pipes of connected modules including mixers and/or splitters. The data is carried in composite physically allocated frames having virtual subframes associated with different ones of the splitters, mixers, and other transform modules. Nesting trees and pipe control tables represent the structure of the pipes. A frame allocator is assigned to a particular module in a pipe. Rather than issuing a control transaction to all modules when any one of them completes an operation upon its source data, a control manager requests a module to begin its operation only when all of its input subframes have become available. Frame control tables record when any module has completed an operation, and a pipe control table lists which modules provide data to which other modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Rafael S. Lisitsa, George H. J. Shaw, Dale A. Sather, Bryan A. Woodruff
  • Patent number: 7783686
    Abstract: An application program interface to manage media files may be described. An apparatus may comprise a media processing sub-system having a processor and a memory. The memory may store an application program interface software library having multiple software objects. The processor may execute the software objects in response to application program interface commands in order to manage a virtual file comprising a hierarchy of name-value pairs used to store media content from multiple media streams. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Matthijs A. Gates, Kenneth Reneris, Dale Sather
  • Patent number: 7735145
    Abstract: A timed erasure mechanism can be used with portable computer-readable media to ensure automatic erasure of secure information, minimizing the security risks in using such media to store and transport passwords, codes, keys and similar private setup information. The portable computer-readable media can comprise volatile memory and a timed erasure mechanism in the form of a power supply and discharging circuitry that discharges the power supply after a predetermined amount of time. Alternatively, the portable computer-readable media can comprise nonvolatile memory and a timed erasure mechanism in the form of a digital time and erasure algorithms that are initiated after a predetermined amount of time. Furthermore, such portable computer-readable media can comprise a container that bears unique physical properties that can alert users to the volatile nature of the media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas W. Kuehnel, Shannon J. Chan, Dale A. Sather, Guillaume Simonnet
  • Patent number: 7735096
    Abstract: Media processing methods, systems and application program interfaces (APIs) in which a destination component, also referred to as a destination, provides an application with a simple and unified way of rendering, archiving, broadcasting (or other types of media output processing) media from an origin to a target of choice, without requiring the application to have intimate knowledge about underlying components, their connectivity and management. For example, applications can use a destination to help manage the rendering or archiving (or other processing) of the particular media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Rebecca C. Weiss, Dale A. Sather, Mei L. Wilson, Kirt A. Debique, Alexandre V. Grigorovitch, Robin C. B. Speed, Adil Sherwani
  • Patent number: 7707267
    Abstract: Presented is a system and method for determining a user's intent. Specifically, constituents and a topology are derived from the user's expression of intent, which can be stated broadly or stated in specific detail. The intent is expressed verbally, written, or in an XML format. The constituents and topology are resolved into a configuration based upon contexts. The contexts, which include a resource context, a user context, and an application context, includes information about the user's preferences, location, restrictions, device and network availability, and content availability. The configuration is then implemented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Rafael S. Lisitsa, Dale A. Sather, Costin Hagiu
  • Patent number: 7673088
    Abstract: The subject disclosure pertains to a multi-tasking interference system. A gatekeeper receives primary and secondary inputs, and a quantifier ascertains attention values associated with primary inputs and interruption values associated with secondary inputs. Attention values are ascertained based on attributes associated with primary inputs such as type or genre of media presentation, temporal location within media presentation, or a likelihood of impending commercials. Based on a comparison between attention values and interruption values the gatekeeper determines whether, when, and how to interrupt the primary input with the secondary input and accordingly thereafter interrupts the primary input with the secondary input based on the foregoing assessment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Eric J. Horvitz, Curtis G. Wong, Dale A. Sather, Kenneth Reneris, Thaddeus C. Pritchett, Talal A. Batrouny
  • Patent number: 7653916
    Abstract: An input including information specifying criteria for selecting computer resources is processed to produce an output comprising one or more function instances associated with computer resources satisfying the criteria. Included in each of the one or more function instances are metadata and information that specifies a mechanism for accessing a computer resource associated with the function instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas K. Brubacher, Dale A. Sather, Ralph Allen Lipe, Roland J. Ayala
  • Patent number: 7613767
    Abstract: A distributed media session is described, which when executed, resolves a distributed topology from a request to stream data from a source device to a client device over a network. The distributed topology references a plurality of software components that, when executed, fulfill the request. At least one of the plurality of software components is executable on each of the source device and the client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Kirt A. Debique, Thomas A. Thornton, Troy D. Batterberry, Nadim Y. Abdo, Alexandre V. Grigorovitch, Dale A. Sather, Roland Y. Ayala, Eduardo P. Oliveira
  • Patent number: 7603387
    Abstract: Techniques to manage media files may be described. An apparatus may comprise a media processing sub-system having a processor, a memory, and a communications interface. The memory may store a media file manager for execution by the processor. The communications interface may receive multiple media streams of media information. The media file manager may store the multiple media streams in a single file using a hierarchy of name-value pairs. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Matthijs A. Gates, Kenneth Reneris, Dale Sather