Patents by Inventor Erick Tseng

Erick Tseng 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: 9992290
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing geolocation data indicating a first geolocation of a mobile computing device of a user of a social-networking system. The social-networking system including a graph that includes a number of nodes and edges connecting the nodes. A first node in the graph corresponds to the user. The method also includes identifying one or more second nodes in the graph connected to the first node. Each of the second nodes being associated with a second geolocation. Each of the second nodes being connected to the first node within a pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation with at least one edge corresponding to the activity socially relevant to the user. Each edge in the graph represents a single degree of separation within the graph. The identifying being based on a determination that the second geolocation is within a pre-determined threshold distance of the first geolocation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, Matthew Cahill, Neel Ishwar Murarka, Charles Jolley
  • Patent number: 9992534
    Abstract: In particular embodiments, one or more computer systems of a social-networking system provide social content for display in a mobile application running on a mobile device of a user of the social-networking system. The mobile application is configured to display the social content and an interface for selecting media content to view on a display device. The social content is from a social graph of the social-networking system. The social graph includes nodes and edges connecting the nodes. The nodes include user nodes that are each associated with a particular user of the social-networking system. The one or more computer systems of the social-networking system receive an indication from the mobile application that an option to view particular media content has been selected and provide one or more instructions to display the selected particular media content on the display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Colin Cameron Brennan Campbell, David Harry Garcia, Mark Heynen, Michael John McKenzie Toksvig, Erick Tseng, Yoon Kean Wong
  • Patent number: 9986281
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes providing a plurality of thumbnails for display on a display device, receiving an indication that a user selected a particular thumbnail, and providing one or more instructions to change from media content that the user is currently watching to media content associated with the particular thumbnail. Each of the plurality of thumbnails includes a visual indication representing media content previously viewed by the user. The plurality of thumbnails are operable to change from media content that the user is currently watching to media content corresponding to the particular thumbnail selected by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, Colin Cameron Campbell, Gregory John Moeck
  • Publication number: 20180146055
    Abstract: The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system is regulated based on the communication mode of the mobile device. A communication for transmission between the mobile device and the social networking system is detected. A communication switch setting, such as a switch position, is determined for the mobile device. A communication mode for the mobile device is determined based on the communication switch setting. For example, if the switch is in a first position, the mobile device is determined to be in a social mode. Likewise, if the switch is in a second position, the mobile device is determined to be a manual mode. If the mobile device is in the social mode, the communication is automatically transmitted. If the mobile device is in the manual mode, the communication is transmitted only in response to authorization from the user of the mobile device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2018
    Publication date: May 24, 2018
    Inventors: Mary Graham, Erick Tseng, Chamath M. Palihapitiya
  • Patent number: 9978022
    Abstract: A social networking system provides relevant third-party content objects to users by matching user location, interests, and other social information with the content, location, and timing associated with the content objects. Content objects are provided based on relevance scores specific to a user. Relevance scores may be calculated based on the user's previous interactions with content object notifications, or based on interests that are common between the user and his or her connections in the social network. Context search is also provided for a user, wherein a list of search of results is ranked according to the relevance score of content object associated with the search results. Notifications may also be priced and distributed to users based on their relevance. In this way, the system can provide notifications that are relevant to user's interests and current circumstances, increasing the likelihood that they will find content objects of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, David Braginsky
  • Patent number: 9977774
    Abstract: A set of customized dictionaries may be constructed for a particular user, each of the customized dictionaries including a different blending of one or more frequently used words collected from texts submitted by one or more users. A copy of the customized dictionaries may be sent to each of a plurality of electronic devices associated with the particular user to be stored on the electronic device and to aid the particular user in inputting text to the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, Shaheen Ashok Gandhi, Adam D. I. Kramer, Luke St. Clair
  • Patent number: 9959321
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a search request is received from a first user, the request including the first user's location. A set of search results and their corresponding geographic locations are determined in response to the search request. For each search result, a weighted rating value is determined based on user ratings provided by one or more second users, an affiliation coefficient between the first user and each second user providing a user rating, and a proximity coefficient based on the distance between the first user's location and the geographic location of the search result. The search results are ranked by their respective weighted rating values and sent to the first user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9959359
    Abstract: In one embodiment, one or more computing systems may implement a social networking environment and may be operable to access, in a social graph associated with one or more computing systems of a social network environment, a user node representing a particular user, the user node connected to a plurality of attribute nodes. The social graph may comprise a plurality of object nodes in the social graph, each object node being connected to a plurality of attribute nodes. The systems may be further operable to calculate a match coefficient between the user node and an individual object node. The calculation may include operations to, for each attribute node in a set of all attribute nodes connected to both the user node and the object node, calculate a first coefficient between the user node and the attribute node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9953089
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving free-form text from users of an online social network, wherein the free-form text of each input corresponds to an object associated with the online social network; determining a plurality of affinity declarations from the free-form text that are associated with the object; determining, for each affinity declaration, an affinity coefficient between a respective user and the object; and upon determining that the affinity coefficient for a threshold number of users exceeds a threshold value, creating a page associated with the object for display on the online social network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9934284
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a search query for content items of the online social network, identifying content items of the online social network that match the search query, and sending, in response to the search query, search results corresponding to the identified content items, where each search result is presented with one or more call-to-action elements applicable to the content item, and where the call-to-action elements are presented in ranked order based on a suitability of the call-to-action element to the content item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Dudley Johnson, Ryan Patterson, Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9936243
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a social graph of a social-networking system, and determining, from the social graph, that a user “likes” a first page associated with a particular version of a media content. The social graph includes a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes. The nodes include user nodes that are each associated with a particular user of the social-networking system. The method further includes determining that one or more other versions of the media content exist, determining that a main page is associated with the particular version and the one or more other versions of the media content, and aggregating the user's “like” of the first page to the main page. Each of the one or more other versions of the media content has one or more associated pages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Publication number: 20180091469
    Abstract: In particular embodiments, a computing device receives from each of one or more contact-information sources a set of contact information associated with a user of a social-networking system. The set of contact information includes one or more instances of contact information in one or more categories of contact information. The computing device automatically selects, in each of the categories of contact information, one of the instances of contact information from the sets of contact information as a default for the category of contact information for a second user of the social-networking system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Publication number: 20180083911
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes determining available shows from one or more content sources, providing at least a portion of the available shows for display in a programming guide on a display device of a user, receiving a selection by the user of a particular entry in the programming guide, determining a plurality of modules for the particular show, and providing a show page that includes the determined modules for display on the display device in response to the selection by the user. The entries of the programming guide are each associated with one of the available shows. At least one of the determined modules includes social content from a social graph of the social-networking system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9917909
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to look up a contact's communication channel information in the user's address book. The social networking system provides to the user the contact's communication channels in an ordered sequence based on the user's social graph and communication information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9912987
    Abstract: In particular embodiments, one or more computer systems of a social-networking system determine information associated with a product displayed on a display device and access a database of known products. The one or more computer systems of the social-networking system determine, by comparing the database of known products with the determined information associated with the product, an identity of the product displayed on the display device. The one or more computer systems of the social-networking system provide one or more instructions to display media content related to the identified product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory Joseph Badros, David Harry Garcia, Mark Heynen, Brian Krausz, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Michael John McKenzie Toksvig, Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9912772
    Abstract: The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system is regulated based on the communication mode of the mobile device. A communication for transmission between the mobile device and the social networking system is detected. A communication switch setting, such as a switch position, is determined for the mobile device. A communication mode for the mobile device is determined based on the communication switch setting. For example, if the switch is in a first position, the mobile device is determined to be in a social mode. Likewise, if the switch is in a second position, the mobile device is determined to be a manual mode. If the mobile device is in the social mode, the communication is automatically transmitted. If the mobile device is in the manual mode, the communication is transmitted only in response to authorization from the user of the mobile device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Mary Graham, Erick Tseng, Chamath M. Palihapitiya
  • Publication number: 20180048756
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a social networking system automatically establish a connection to a target user by selecting an avatar representing the target user, and establishing a connection by a communication channel based on current context and one or more rules configured by the target user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9886567
    Abstract: In one embodiment, receiving a first action from a user of a computing device, wherein the first action causes the computing device to power up while a screen of the computing device is locked; obtaining a plurality of dynamic information items relevant to the user of the computing device; and displaying at least one of the plurality of dynamic information items on the locked screen of the computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, Matthew Cahill
  • Patent number: 9871907
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a social networking system automatically establish a connection to a target user by selecting an avatar representing the target user, and establishing a connection by a communication channel based on current context and one or more rules configured by the target user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Publication number: 20180012038
    Abstract: In particular embodiments, a computing device may receive authentication information provided by a temporary user and retrieve personal information associated with the temporary user from a server using the authentication information. The device may present a personalized user interface on a screen of the computing device for the temporary user, the personalized user interface being generated based on the personal information. The device may detect a terminating event that indicates access to the computing device by the temporary user is to be disabled. The terminating event may be detected by determining that a biometric information associated with the temporary user is undetectable, or determining that the computing device is put down. In response to the detected terminating event, information associated with the temporary user may be removed from the computing device, and the computing device may be reverted to a default state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2017
    Publication date: January 11, 2018
    Inventors: Matthew Nicholas Papakipos, Cory Rudolph Ondrejka, Erick Tseng