Patents by Inventor Donald L. Kaufman

Donald L. Kaufman 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: 10445744
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit one or more electronic contact requests to a contact service in communication with a contact distribution system in order to obtain more information. The contact distribution system determines accurate, real-time availability of service agents and enables communications between the customer and an agent to be established in accordance with user contact information provided by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremy A. Dashe, Jon R. Jay, Donald L. Kaufman, Yung-Chun Lin, Joseph D. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 10110744
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit an electronic contact requests to an agent continuity service in communication with one or more service agents in order to obtain more information. The agent continuity service may determine whether the user has communicated with an agent previously and, if so, provide the user with the option to communicate with the agent again, should the user desire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 10083478
    Abstract: One or more images of items for an order being processed at processing station of an order fulfillment center may be captured and associated with the order. Alternatively, a short video clip may be captured of the order being packaged. An electronic notification that the order has been processed may be sent to a customer associated with the order. The electronic notification may include a reference to one or more of the captured images or video clips. The customer may use a reference included in the notification to view the captured images. The customer may view captured images to verify that the order has been correctly processed. The captured images may include images of the items being packaged for shipment and may show the shipping address on the package allowing the customer to verify that indeed it is his package in the images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan J. Shakes, Francois M. Rouaix, Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 9804774
    Abstract: Techniques for managing screen input information associated with configurable gestures may be provided. For example, configuration information associated with a performable gesture and an operation may be received from an application. An association between the gesture, the operation and the application may be stored such that the operation is performed when the gesture is detected as having been performed. The operation may be global or application-specific. In some embodiments, a user is able to update a particular association. For example, the user may update a gesture associated with an operation, or the user may update an operation associated with a particular gesture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald L. Kaufman, Rexford Jay Tibbens, James Arthur Wilson, Pirasenna Thiyagarajan
  • Patent number: 9626712
    Abstract: One or more images of items for an order being processed at processing station of an order fulfillment center may be captured and associated with the order. Alternatively, a short video clip may be captured of the order being packaged. An electronic notification that the order has been processed may be sent to a customer associated with the order. The electronic notification may include a reference to one or more of the captured images or video clips. The customer may use a reference included in the notification to view the captured images. The customer may view captured images to verify that the order has been correctly processed. The captured images may include images of the items being packaged for shipment and may show the shipping address on the package allowing the customer to verify that indeed it is his package in the images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan J. Shakes, Francois M. Rouaix, Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 9524485
    Abstract: Pattern information may be associated with an item in an inventory to facilitate identification of the item from among other items in the inventory. The pattern information may represent a feature extrinsic to the physical appearance of the item and may be assigned to the item deterministically, randomly, or pseudo-randomly. An indicator of the pattern information, such as a tag or sticker, may be applied to the item or to its packaging to provide a visual aid to distinguish the item from other items in the same inventory or the item may be enclosed in additional packaging comprising an indicator of the assigned pattern information. Pattern information assigned to the item may comprise a single color, shape, pattern, or other attribute and may include other secondary pattern information. Different amounts of pattern information may be associated with different items or with the same item when co-located with other different items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan J. Shakes, Donald L. Kaufman, Eric Young, Nicholas M. Hanssens, Jennifer L. Cooper, Adam R. Baker
  • Patent number: 9384270
    Abstract: This disclosure describes a system for associating user accounts with source identifiers included in communication requests received from users of those user accounts and using that information to later identify potential user accounts. For example, when a user contacts a support network, such as a call center, the source identifier (e.g., telephone number) may be identified. Once the user initiating the communication request is verified and the corresponding user account identified, the source identifier may be associated with the identified user account. By establishing and storing a relationship between the source identifier and the verified user account, if the user later again initiates a communication request that includes the same source identifier, that user's user account may be quickly identified to the agent, thereby simplifying verification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jon Russell Jay, Donald L Kaufman, Joseph Daniel Sullivan, Brock Aaron Judkins
  • Publication number: 20160105563
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit an electronic contact requests to an agent continuity service in communication with one or more service agents in order to obtain more information. The agent continuity service may determine whether the user has communicated with an agent previously and, if so, provide the user with the option to communicate with the agent again, should the user desire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Publication date: April 14, 2016
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 9219818
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit an electronic contact requests to an agent continuity service in communication with one or more service agents in order to obtain more information. The agent continuity service may determine whether the user has communicated with an agent previously and, if so, provide the user with the option to communicate with the agent again, should the user desire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Publication number: 20150324806
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit one or more electronic contact requests to a contact service in communication with a contact distribution system in order to obtain more information. The contact distribution system determines accurate, real-time availability of service agents and enables communications between the customer and an agent to be established in accordance with user contact information provided by the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2015
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Jeremy A. Dashe, Jon R. Jay, Donald L. Kaufman, Yung-Chun Lin, Joseph D. Sullivan
  • Publication number: 20150221021
    Abstract: One or more images of items for an order being processed at processing station of an order fulfillment center may be captured and associated with the order. Alternatively, a short video clip may be captured of the order being packaged. An electronic notification that the order has been processed may be sent to a customer associated with the order. The electronic notification may include a reference to one or more of the captured images or video clips. The customer may use a reference included in the notification to view the captured images. The customer may view captured images to verify that the order has been correctly processed. The captured images may include images of the items being packaged for shipment and may show the shipping address on the package allowing the customer to verify that indeed it is his package in the images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Applicant: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: JONATHAN J. SHAKES, FRANCOIS M. ROUAIX, DONALD L. KAUFMAN
  • Patent number: 9088649
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit one or more electronic contact requests to a contact service in communication with a contact distribution system in order to obtain more information. The contact distribution system determines accurate, real-time availability of service agents and enables communications between the customer and an agent to be established in accordance with user contact information provided by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremy A. Dashe, Jon R. Jay, Donald L. Kaufman, Yung-Chun Lin, Joseph D. Sullivan
  • Publication number: 20150195407
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit an electronic contact requests to an agent continuity service in communication with one or more service agents in order to obtain more information. The agent continuity service may determine whether the user has communicated with an agent previously and, if so, provide the user with the option to communicate with the agent again, should the user desire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 9063576
    Abstract: Techniques for managing screen input information associated with configurable gestures may be provided. For example, configuration information associated with a performable gesture may be received. In some examples, the configuration information may be received by an operating system service of a device. Additionally, in some examples, information associated with input detected by the device may be received by the operating system service. Further, in some examples, an operation of the device may be performed when the information associated with the input identifies performance of the performable gesture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald L. Kaufman, Rexford Jay Tibbens, James Arthur Wilson, Pirasenna Thiyagarajan
  • Publication number: 20150172466
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest provided by a network-based service for which additional information is desired. Customer service agents (CSAs) of the network-based service may be contacted by the user to respond to queries. To assess the quality of a contact, a contact review service may record the contact between the CSA and the user and edit the contact to reduce its length for ease of review. The edited contact may be submitted to one or more reviewers to obtain reviews characterizing the contact quality. Reviewers may include CSAs not participating in the contact or other human reviewers. The reviewers may return their reviews to the contact review service, which generates a composite review from the returned reviews. The composite review may be employed for CSA evaluation and/or training purposes, amongst others.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2015
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 9009256
    Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for a content handler that automatically detects actionable user generated content. The content handler retrieves a text block from a network site and processes the text block for generating a score, wherein the score is a value between a predefined range of values. The content handler may also determine that a content of the text block expresses an actionable user concern when the score exceeds a threshold value, wherein the actionable user concern is capable of being addressed by a customer service agent. Moreover, the content handler may store, in a memory accessible to a representation of the text block in a queue when the text block has the content that expresses the actionable user concern and grant access to the queue for generating a message for a user associated with the text block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason E. DeMorrow, Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 8983055
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest provided by a network-based service for which additional information is desired. Customer service agents (CSAs) of the network-based service may be contacted by the user to respond to queries. To assess the quality of a contact, a contact review service may record the contact between the CSA and the user and edit the contact to reduce its length for ease of review. The edited contact may be submitted to one or more reviewers to obtain reviews characterizing the contact quality. Reviewers may include CSAs not participating in the contact or other human reviewers. The reviewers may return their reviews to the contact review service, which generates a composite review from the returned reviews. The composite review may be employed for CSA evaluation and/or training purposes, amongst others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 8958542
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit an electronic contact requests to an agent continuity service in communication with one or more service agents in order to obtain more information. The agent continuity service may determine whether the user has communicated with an agent previously and, if so, provide the user with the option to communicate with the agent again, should the user desire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald L. Kaufman
  • Patent number: 8879717
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit one or more electronic contact requests to a contact service in communication with a contact distribution system in order to obtain more information. The contact distribution system determines accurate, real-time availability of service agents and enables communications between the customer and an agent to be established in accordance with user contact information provided by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jon R. Jay, Jeremy A. Dashe, Brock A. Judkins, Donald L. Kaufman, Yung-Chun Lin, Raymond P. Sharpe, Jr., Joseph D. Sullivan, Thomas J. Weiland, Tauseef Kidwai
  • Patent number: 8824661
    Abstract: A user of a personal computing device may identify an item of interest displayed in a user interface provided by a network-based service and would like to obtain more information. The user may submit one or more electronic contact requests to a contact service in communication with a contact distribution system in order to obtain more information. The contact distribution system determines accurate, real-time availability of service agents and enables communications between the customer and an agent to be established in accordance with user contact information provided by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jon R. Jay, Jeremy A. Dashe, Brock A. Judkins, Donald L. Kaufman, Yung-Chun Lin, Raymond P. Sharpe, Jr., Joseph D. Sullivan, Thomas J. Weiland, Tauseef Kidwai