Patents by Inventor Don Hoffman

Don Hoffman 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: 11362975
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for visibility filtering. One of the methods includes receiving a request for particular data on a social messaging platform; passing the request to one or more services, wherein each service is configured to call to data sources or to additional services to collect the particular data according to a request path defined for a type of request; performing visibility filtering at each service upon obtaining responses to calls made by that service, wherein performing visibility filtering at a service comprises calling a local visibility library that evaluates one or more rules with respect to the obtained response data, and wherein the results of the visibility filtering are passed upstream along the request path until a last service obtains all filtered response data; and assembling a final response to the request based on the filtered response data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Twitter, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Bilotti, Bonnie Eisenman, Pulkit Gupta, Don Hoffman, Shannon McCoy, Nick Morgan, Aziz Michael Batihk, Michael Cvet
  • Patent number: 10887262
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for visibility filtering. One of the methods includes receiving a request for particular data on a social messaging platform; passing the request to one or more services, wherein each service is configured to call to data sources or to additional services to collect the particular data according to a request path defined for a type of request; performing visibility filtering at each service upon obtaining responses to calls made by that service, wherein performing visibility filtering at a service comprises calling a local visibility library that evaluates one or more rules with respect to the obtained response data, and wherein the results of the visibility filtering are passed upstream along the request path until a last service obtains all filtered response data; and assembling a final response to the request based on the filtered response data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Twitter, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Bilotti, Bonnie Eisenman, Pulkit Gupta, Don Hoffman, Shannon McCoy, Nick Morgan, Aziz Michael Batihk, Michael Cvet
  • Patent number: 8793313
    Abstract: Systems and methods for distributing peer-to-peer communications are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include masking identification of two or more client nodes on a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network by directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more client nodes through a proxy node, the proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more client nodes, the disinterested client node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Red 5 Studios, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Kern, Sean Culhane, Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20140025987
    Abstract: Systems and methods for distributing peer-to-peer communications are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include masking identification of two or more client nodes on a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network by directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more client nodes through a proxy node, the proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more client nodes, the disinterested client node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Inventors: Mark Kern, Sean Culhane, Don Hoffman
  • Patent number: 8572180
    Abstract: Systems and methods for distributing peer-to-peer communications are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include masking identification of two or more client nodes on a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network by directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more client nodes through a proxy node, the proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more client nodes, the disinterested client node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Red 5 Studios, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Kern, Sean Culhane, Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20130067088
    Abstract: Systems and methods for distributing peer-to-peer communications are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include masking identification of two or more client nodes on a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network by directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more client nodes through a proxy node, the proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more client nodes, the disinterested client node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Mark Kern, Sean Culhane, Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20130067091
    Abstract: Systems and methods for distributing peer-to-peer communications are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include masking identification of two or more client nodes on a communications channel of a peer-to-peer communications network by directing peer-to-peer communications of the two or more client nodes through a proxy node, the proxy node including a disinterested client node relative to the two or more client nodes, the disinterested client node providing network resources to the peer-to-peer communications network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2012
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventors: Mark Kern, Sean Culhane, Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20060125848
    Abstract: A preferred method includes the step of receiving multiple digital video data streams. Preferably, a first of the multiple digital video data streams contains processed pixel data corresponding to at least a portion of the image to be rendered, and a second of the multiple digital video data streams contains processed pixel data corresponding to at least a portion of the image to be rendered as well as information, such as a chroma-key value, associated with at least some of the processed pixel data. The embodiment also preferably includes the step of combining the multiple digital video data streams into the composite digital video data stream by referencing the chroma-key values. Devices also are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2006
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Byron Alcorn, Joseph Gee, Kevin Lefebvre, Don Hoffman
  • Patent number: 6940814
    Abstract: A multi-layer network element for forwarding received packets from an input port to one or more output ports with quality of service. When output queues exceed or meet a threshold value below the queue's capacity packets are randomly discarded. When the queue becomes full, the network element determines which flow caused the queue to overflow. The priority of that flow is lowered. In a multicast packet, the packet may have different priorities at each output port. Scheduling of multiple output queues at each output port uses a weight round robin approach that allocates a weight portion of packets to transmit at each time interval. A packet is not interrupted during its transmission, even if the weight portion is met during a packet's transmission. The excess number of bytes transmited as a result of not interrupting the packet are accounted for in the next round.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventor: Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20050184995
    Abstract: A graphical display system utilizes a plurality of display devices and a plurality of graphical acceleration units for rendering graphical data to the display devices. More specifically, each of the plurality of graphical acceleration units respectively interfaces a portion of graphical data defining an image to one of the display devices. Each of the display devices displays a portion of the image based on the graphical data rendered to it. To make the system more efficient and/or to improve image quality, at least one of the graphical acceleration units includes a plurality of graphical pipelines for rendering the graphical data to be displayed by the display device that is interfaced with the one graphical acceleration unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2005
    Publication date: August 25, 2005
    Inventors: Kevin Lefebvre, Don Hoffman, Jeffrey Walls, Joseph Gee
  • Patent number: 6901618
    Abstract: A low-profile mattress comprises an inner spring core having a plurality of spring coils and having an upper and lower surface. The mattress further includes a padding layer disposed on the upper surface and a quilting layer disposed over the padding layer and having an exterior layer of a liquid resistant material, wherein the innerspring core padding layer and quilting layer are dimensionally adapted to be less than eight inches in height.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: Dreamwell Ltd.
    Inventors: Timothy Oakhill, Richard F. Gladney, Don Hoffman
  • Publication number: 20050024366
    Abstract: A hybrid method or apparatus for processing OpenGL display list commands. A deamon intercepts display list commands issued by a client to an OpenGL stack. Responsive to a newList [list commands] endList sequence: the daemon stores a representation of a first subset of the list commands; and creates, in the stack, a display list corresponding to a second subset of the list commands. Responsive to a callList command: the daemon issues to the stack at least one immediate mode command corresponding to the first subset of the list commands and at least one callList command invoking the display list corresponding to the second subset of the list commands. The daemon may also store a representation of an expression or function. Responsive to the callList command, the daemon may evaluate the expression or function and conditionally change the step of invoking the display list based on the outcome.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2003
    Publication date: February 3, 2005
    Inventors: Kevin Lefebvre, Don Hoffman, Michael Hamilton
  • Publication number: 20040010854
    Abstract: A low-profile mattress comprises an inner spring core having a plurality of spring coils and having an upper and lower surface. The mattress further includes a padding layer disposed on the upper surface and a quilting layer disposed over the padding layer and having an exterior layer of a liquid resistant material, wherein the innerspring core padding layer and quilting layer are dimensionally adapted to be less than eight inches in height.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2003
    Publication date: January 22, 2004
    Applicant: Dreamwell, Ltd.
    Inventors: Timothy Oakhill, Richard F. Gladney, Don Hoffman
  • Patent number: 6094435
    Abstract: A multi-layer network element for forwarding received packets from an input port to one or more output ports with quality of service. When output queues exceed or meet a threshold value below the queue's capacity packets are ramdomly discarded. When the queue becomes full, the network element determines which flow caused the queue to overflow. The priority of that flow is lowered. In a multicast packet, the packet may have different priorities at each output port. Scheduling of multiple output queues at each output port uses a weight round robin approach that allocates a weight portion of packets to transmit at each time interval. A packet is not interrupted during its transmission, even if the weight portion is met during a packet's transmission. The excess number of bytes transmited as a result of not interrupting the packet are accounted for in the next round.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Don Hoffman, Shree Murthy, Asad Khamisy