Patents by Inventor Ethan K. Merrill

Ethan K. Merrill 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: 9606814
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-usable medium are disclosed for providing navigation assistance within a user interface. A request for look-ahead navigation assistance is received and the user's current location within the application is determined. Application state data associated with the user's current location within the application is processed to generate possible destination locations within the application. The resulting possible location destinations within the application are then contextually displayed to the user within a user interface as graphical elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ethan K. Merrill, Valerie M. Bennett
  • Patent number: 9317302
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to content layout in a pervasive device display and provide a method, system and computer program product for the dynamic selection of a content layout for content in a pervasive device display. In one embodiment of the invention, a dynamic content layout method for pervasive devices can include obtaining display characteristics for a host pervasive device, locating a layout mode corresponding to the obtained display characteristics, and arranging panels of a graphical user interface for an application in the host pervasive device according to the located layout mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Christian L. Hunt, Charles Le Vay, Ethan K. Merrill, Jake Palmer
  • Patent number: 8943423
    Abstract: Systems and methods for user interface (UI) flagging. The methods involve setting a first visual indicator on or adjacent to a first UI element of a UI when code that generates the first UI element has been added to an application or modified so as to change at least one functional characteristic of the first UI element. The methods also involve setting a second visual indicator on a first UI object of the application when code that generates the first UI object has been modified so as to remove a second UI element therefrom. The visual indicators are set by adding UI flagging code to the code that generates the first UI element and/or first UI object. Also, third visual indicators can be set on or adjacent to second UI objects that have “trails” to the first UI element and/or the first UI object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ethan K. Merrill, Valerie M. Bennett
  • Publication number: 20130173662
    Abstract: A search tool determines a plurality of sub-queries from a query submitted to the search tool. For each of the plurality of sub-queries, the search tool determines dependencies among the plurality of sub-queries using dependency information. The dependency information indicates dependencies among the plurality of sub-queries based on structure of a plurality of data sources and/or structures of a plurality of data views provided by the search tool. Placeholders for expected results of at least a subset of the plurality of sub-queries that are dependent sub-queries are created. The placeholders are registered with a distribution service using the placeholder identifiers. For each of the subset of the plurality of sub-queries, a modified sub-query that indicates the identifier for the placeholder that corresponds to the sub-query is generated. The modified sub-queries are submitted to the plurality of data sources in accordance with the dependencies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2012
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Todd E. Kaplinger, Ethan K. Merrill, Barton C. Vashaw
  • Publication number: 20110161887
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-usable medium are disclosed for providing navigation assistance within a user interface. A request for look-ahead navigation assistance is received and the user's current location within the application is determined. Application state data associated with the user's current location within the application is processed to generate possible destination locations within the application. The resulting possible location destinations within the application are then contextually displayed to the user within a user interface as graphical elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Publication date: June 30, 2011
    Inventors: Ethan K. Merrill, Valerie M. Bennett
  • Publication number: 20110010644
    Abstract: Systems and methods for user interface (UI) flagging. The methods involve setting a first visual indicator on or adjacent to a first UI element of a UI when code that generates the first UI element has been added to an application or modified so as to change at least one functional characteristic of the first UI element. The methods also involve setting a second visual indicator on a first UI object of the application when code that generates the first UI object has been modified so as to remove a second UI element therefrom. The visual indicators are set by adding UI flagging code to the code that generates the first UI element and/or first UI object. Also, third visual indicators can be set on or adjacent to second UI objects that have “trails” to the first UI element and/or the first UI object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2009
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ethan K. Merrill, Valerie M. Bennett