Patents by Inventor James O. Robarts
James O. Robarts 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).
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Patent number: 7046263Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is modeled with multiple state attributes. In some situations, the providing includes receiving from first and second sources indications of an ability to supply values for, respectively, an indicated one of the state attributes and another of the state attributes. In such situations, the providing also includes, in response to receiving a request from a first client for a value of the indicated one attribute, determining that the first source is available to supply the value, obtaining the value from the first source, and supplying a value obtained from the first source to the first client.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2000Date of Patent: May 16, 2006Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Joshua M. Freedman, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Patent number: 6968333Abstract: A user search request is received and context information for the user is identified. The user search request and the context information are then combined to generate search criteria corresponding to the user search request, providing for information solicitation based on a computer user's context.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2001Date of Patent: November 22, 2005Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, James O. Robarts, Dan Newell
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Patent number: 6920616Abstract: A facility for exchanging context attributes is described. A characterization module receives an invocation request to provide an attribute value that was generated by a requesting attribute consumer. The received invocation request identifies the attribute whose value is to be provided. In response to receiving the invocation request, the characterization module provides a value for the identified attribute to the requesting attribute consumer.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2000Date of Patent: July 19, 2005Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Steven J. Fluegel, Joshua M. Freedman, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Patent number: 6842877Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for using a combination of explicit and implicit user context modeling techniques to identify and provide appropriate computer actions based on a current context, and to continuously improve the providing of such computer actions. The appropriate computer actions include presentation of appropriate content and functionality. Feedback paths can be used to assist automated machine learning in detecting patterns and generating inferred rules, and improvements from the generated rules can be implemented with or without direct user control. The techniques can be used to enhance software and device functionality, including self-customizing of a model of the user's current context or situation, customizing received themes, predicting appropriate content for presentation or retrieval, self-customizing of software user interfaces, simplifying repetitive tasks or situations, and mentoring of the user to promote desired change.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2001Date of Patent: January 11, 2005Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: James O. Robarts, Eric L. Matteson
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Patent number: 6812937Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is modeled with multiple state attributes. In some situations, the providing of information includes receiving from first and second sources indications of ability to supply values for, respectively, an indicated one of the state attributes and another of the state attributes. In such situations, after receiving an indication of the indicated attribute from a first client, the providing of information further includes determining that the first source is available to supply a value for the indicated attribute, obtaining from the first source an indication of the value and information describing the indicated value, determining based at least in part on the descriptive information whether the indicated value is appropriate to be supplied to the client, and supplying the indicated value to the client when it is determined that the indicated value is appropriate.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2000Date of Patent: November 2, 2004Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts, Ken Swapp
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Patent number: 6801223Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is represented with multiple attributes. In some situations, the providing includes a first computer receiving indications of multiple characterization modules, each characterization module executing on a computer to model an aspect of a current state related to that computer; receiving an indication of one of the multiple attributes of the represented current state; determining multiple of the characterization modules whose modeled aspects are related to the indicated one attribute; and gathering information about the modeled aspects related to the indicated one attribute from the determined characterization modules so that a value for the indicated one attribute can be generated based on the gathered information.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2000Date of Patent: October 5, 2004Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts, Joshua M. Freedman
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Patent number: 6791580Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is modeled with multiple state attributes. In some situations, the providing includes receiving from a module a request related to the modeling of the current state with the multiple state attributes. In such situations, the providing further includes, without further intervention related to the request by the module, determining that the request cannot currently be satisfied, and indicating to the module that the request cannot currently be satisfied, monitoring at later times after the indicating to determine whether the request can be satisfied, and indicating to the module that the request can be satisfied if it is determined at one of the later times that the request can currently be satisfied.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2000Date of Patent: September 14, 2004Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Joshua M. Freedman, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Publication number: 20040139465Abstract: An interactive entertainment system has a program provider which distributes video content programs to multiple subscribers over a distribution network. Each subscriber has a user interface unit which receives the digital video program and converts it for display on a television, monitor, or other display unit. The user interface unit has a processor and memory. An electronic programming guide (EPG) resides in the memory and is executable on the processor to organize programming information that is descriptive of the programs supplied over the interactive entertainment system. The EPG supports a user interface (UI) which visually correlates programs titles to scheduled viewing times. A hyperlink browser also resides in memory and is executable on the processor. One or more hyperlinks, which reference target resources containing interactive content related to the video programs, are integrated as part of the EPG UI.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 15, 2003Publication date: July 15, 2004Inventors: Joseph H. Matthews, Frank Lawler, James O. Robarts, David S. Byrne
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Patent number: 6747675Abstract: Techniques are described providing mediated information about a current state that is modeled with multiple state attributes. In some situations, the providing includes receiving from a first source an indication of a first value for an indicated one of the state attributes of the modeled current state, receiving from a second source an indication of a second value for the indicated state attribute, and, after an indication from a client for a value for the indicated state attribute, sending to the client a mediated value for the indicated state attribute that is produced by mediating between available values for the indicated state attribute including at least the first and second values.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2000Date of Patent: June 8, 2004Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts, Joshua M. Freedman, Johnson Apacible
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Publication number: 20040002843Abstract: Methods and systems for interacting with simulated phenomena are provided. Example embodiments provide a Simulated Phenomena Interaction System “SPIS,” which enables a user to incorporate simulated phenomena into the user's real world environment by interacting with the simulated phenomena. In one embodiment, the SPIS comprises a mobile environment (e.g., a mobile device) and a simulation engine. The mobile environment may be configured as a thin client that remotely communicates with the simulation engine, or it may be configured as a fat client that incorporates one or more of the components of the simulation engine into the mobile device. These components cooperate to define the characteristics and behavior of the simulated phenomena and interact with users via mobile devices. The characteristics and behavior of the simulated phenomena are based in part upon values sensed from the real world, thus achieving a more integrated correspondence between the real world and the simulated world.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 13, 2003Publication date: January 1, 2004Applicant: Consolidated Global Fun Unlimited, LLCInventors: James O. Robarts, Cesar A. Alvarez
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Patent number: 6631523Abstract: An interactive entertainment system has a program provider which distributes video content programs to multiple subscribers over a distribution network. Each subscriber has a user interface unit which receives the digital video program and converts it for display on a television, monitor, or other display unit. The user interface unit has a processor and memory. An electronic programming guide (EPG) resides in the memory and is executable on the processor to organize programming information that is descriptive of the programs supplied over the interactive entertainment system. The EPG supports a user interface (UI) which visually correlates programs titles to scheduled viewing times. A hyperlink browser also resides in memory and is executable on the processor. One or more hyperlinks, which reference target resources containing interactive content related to the video programs, are integrated as part of the EPG UI.Type: GrantFiled: November 2, 1998Date of Patent: October 7, 2003Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Joseph H. Matthews, III, Frank Lawler, James O. Robarts, David S. Byrne
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Publication number: 20030154476Abstract: A system for computer-based storing of information about a current state so that later recall of the information can augment human memories In particular, when information about a current event of interest is to be stored, a variety of current state information of different types (e.g., video, audio, and textual information) about the environment and about a user can be acquired via sensors and other input devices. The variety of state information can then be associated together as a group and stored for later retrieval. Other information can also be associated with the group, such as one or more recall tags that facilitate later retrieval of the group, or one or more annotations to provide contextual information when the other state information is later retrieved and presented to the user. When information about a past event is to be recalled, one or more identifying recall tags can be received that are used to identify one or more state information groups that match the identifying tags.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 21, 2003Publication date: August 14, 2003Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Patent number: 6549915Abstract: A system for computer-based storing of information about a current state so that later recall of the information can augment human memories. In particular, when information about a current event of interest is to be stored, a variety of current state information of different types (e.g., video, audio, and textual information) about the environment and about a user can be acquired via sensors and other input devices. The variety of state information can then be associated together as a group and stored for later retrieval. Other information can also be associated with the group, such as one or more recall tags that facilitate later retrieval of the group, or one or more annotations to provide contextual information when the other state information is later retrieved and presented to the user. When information about a past event is to be recalled, one or more identifying recall tags can be received that are used to identify one or more state information groups that match the identifying tags.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2001Date of Patent: April 15, 2003Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, III, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Publication number: 20030046401Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium are described for dynamically determining an appropriate user interface (“UI”) to be provided to a user. In some situations, the determining is to dynamically modify a UI being provided to a user of a wearable computing device so that the current UI is appropriate for a current context of the user. In order to dynamically determine an appropriate UI, various types of UI needs may be characterized (e.g., based on a current user's situation, a current task being performed, current I/O devices that are available, etc.) in order to determine characteristics of a UI that is currently optimal or appropriate, various existing UI designs or templates may be characterized in order to identify situations for which they are optimal or appropriate, and one of the existing UIs that is most appropriate may then be selected based on the current UI needs.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 16, 2001Publication date: March 6, 2003Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, James O. Robarts, Lisa L. Davis
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Patent number: 6513046Abstract: A system for computer-based storing of information about a current state so that later recall of the information can augment human memories. In particular, when information about a current event of interest is to be stored, a variety of current state information of different types (e.g., video, audio, and textual information) about the environment and about a user can be acquired via sensors and other input devices. The variety of state information can then be associated together as a group and stored for later retrieval. Other information can also be associated with the group, such as one or more recall tags that facilitate later retrieval of the group, or one or more annotations to provide contextual information when the other state information is later retrieved and presented to the user. When information about a past event is to be recalled, one or more identifying recall tags can be received that are used to identify one or more state information groups that match the identifying tags.Type: GrantFiled: December 15, 1999Date of Patent: January 28, 2003Assignee: Tangis CorporationInventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, III, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Publication number: 20020099817Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is represented with multiple attributes. In some situations, the providing includes a first computer receiving indications of multiple characterization modules, each characterization module executing on a computer to model an aspect of a current state related to that computer; receiving an indication of one of the multiple attributes of the represented current state; determining multiple of the characterization modules whose modeled aspects are related to the indicated one attribute; and gathering information about the modeled aspects related to the indicated one attribute from the determined characterization modules so that a value for the indicated one attribute can be generated based on the gathered information.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2001Publication date: July 25, 2002Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts, Joshua M. Freedman
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Publication number: 20020087525Abstract: A user search request is received and context information for the user is identified. The user search request and the context information are then combined to generate search criteria corresponding to the user search request, providing for information solicitation based on a computer user's context.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 2, 2001Publication date: July 4, 2002Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, James O. Robarts, Dan Newell
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Publication number: 20020083158Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is represented with multiple attributes. In some situations, the providing includes a first computer receiving indications of multiple characterization modules, each characterization module executing on a computer to model an aspect of a current state related to that computer; receiving an indication of one of the multiple attributes of the represented current state; determining multiple of the characterization modules whose modeled aspects are related to the indicated one attribute; and gathering information about the modeled aspects related to the indicated one attribute from the determined characterization modules so that a value for the indicated one attribute can be generated based on the gathered information.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2001Publication date: June 27, 2002Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts, Joshua M. Freedman
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Publication number: 20020080156Abstract: Techniques are described for providing information about a current state that is modeled with multiple state attributes. In some situations, the providing includes receiving from a module a request related to the modeling of the current state with the multiple state attributes. In such situations, the providing further includes, without further intervention related to the request by the module, determining that the request cannot currently be satisfied, and indicating to the module that the request cannot currently be satisfied, monitoring at later times after the indicating to determine whether the request can be satisfied, and indicating to the module that the request can be satisfied if it is determined at one of the later times that the request can currently be satisfied.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 11, 2001Publication date: June 27, 2002Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott, Joshua M. Freedman, Dan Newell, James O. Robarts
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Publication number: 20020083025Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for using a combination of explicit and implicit user context modeling techniques to identify and provide appropriate computer actions based on a current context, and to continuously improve the providing of such computer actions. The appropriate computer actions include presentation of appropriate content and functionality. Feedback paths can be used to assist automated machine learning in detecting patterns and generating inferred rules, and improvements from the generated rules can be implemented with or without direct user control. The techniques can be used to enhance software and device functionality, including self-customizing of a model of the user's current context or situation, customizing received themes, predicting appropriate content for presentation or retrieval, self-customizing of software user interfaces, simplifying repetitive tasks or situations, and mentoring of the user to promote desired change.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 2, 2001Publication date: June 27, 2002Inventors: James O. Robarts, Eric L. Matteson