Patents by Inventor Jeffrey R. Stafford

Jeffrey R. Stafford 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: 12059624
    Abstract: A method for gaming. The method includes assigning a default game play profile to a user, wherein the default game play profile includes a default game play style that simulates human game play, and wherein the default game play profile is configured to control game play for the user based on the default game play style. The method includes monitoring a plurality of game plays of the user playing a plurality of gaming applications. The method includes generating a user game play profile of the user by adjusting the default game play style based on the plurality of game plays, wherein the user game play profile incudes a user game play style customized to the user. The method includes controlling an instance of a first gaming application based on the user game play style of the user game play profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Osman, Jeffrey R. Stafford, Javier F. Rico
  • Patent number: 12053699
    Abstract: By using the user head and/or eye tracking capabilities of an extended reality (XR) system, a region of gaze (ROG) of the user towards the virtual screen can be determined and signaled to non-XR games and applications running on the host system connected to the XR system. The existing non-XR games/applications can be patched, upgraded, or remastered to support the application of the ROG and ROG based enhancements of the visuals and user interfaces, using the provided by the system software on the host system that is rendering the game for the XR system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Patrick Connor, Andrew Young
  • Patent number: 11996066
    Abstract: Alpha values from an image frame buffer are used to control one or more of a transparent display and an occlusion screen adjacent to the transparent display to render images with coloring perceptible to a person viewing the transparent display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Yutaka Yokokawa, Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Publication number: 20240077737
    Abstract: AR glasses are provided with left and right temples extending well behind the ears of the wearer to establish a center of gravity of the glasses that is approximately vertically above the front portion of the ears of the wearer. Rear segments the temples may be detachably engaged with the temples and may hold one or more electrical components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2022
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Inventors: Naoki Ogishita, Jeffrey R. Stafford, Koichi Obana
  • Patent number: 11906749
    Abstract: AR glasses are provided with left and right temples extending well behind the ears of the wearer to establish a center of gravity of the glasses that is approximately vertically above the front portion of the ears of the wearer. Rear segments the temples may be detachably engaged with the temples and may hold one or more electrical components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC
    Inventors: Naoki Ogishita, Jeffrey R. Stafford, Koichi Obana
  • Publication number: 20230338841
    Abstract: By using the user head and/or eye tracking capabilities of an extended reality (XR) system, a region of gaze (ROG) of the user towards the virtual screen can be determined and signaled to non-XR games and applications running on the host system connected to the XR system. The existing non-XR games/applications can be patched, upgraded, or remastered to support the application of the ROG and ROG based enhancements of the visuals and user interfaces, using the provided by the system software on the host system that is rendering the game for the XR system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Patrick Connor, Andrew Young
  • Patent number: 11729369
    Abstract: Stereoscopic viewing systems may be adjusted for a user's inter-pupillary distance (IPD). An inter-pupillary distance (IPD) value is determined from a signal from a position sensitive device coupled to two moveable sighting fixtures mounted to a head mounted display (HMD) having two fixed optics configured for a specific inter-pupillary distance. The position sensitive device is configured to produce a signal that corresponds to a distance between the two sighting fixtures. The images are warped with a processor to optimize display of the images with the two fixed optics for the determined IPD value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Publication number: 20230221582
    Abstract: A sunglasses-style head worn display includes a curved waveguide with double reflective coatings/films and containing an array of light wavelength converting phosphor pinhole-size discs covered with pinhole-sized micro lenses, presenting a wide FOV virtual image for AR/VR.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2022
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Patent number: 11695488
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 television protocol to deliver volumetric information for presentation on various displays using ATSC over-the-air communications channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Todd Tokubo
  • Patent number: 11675311
    Abstract: A volume holographic film (such as a photopolymer) that is pre-recorded with patterns subsequently is used to encode LED or low-power laser light reflections from an eye into a binary pattern that can be read at very high speeds by a relatively simple complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor that may be similar to a high framerate, low resolution mouse sensor. The low-resolution mono images from the film are translated into eye poses using, for instance, a look up table that correlates binary patterns to X, Y positions or using a pre-trained convolutional neural network to robustly interpret many variations of the binary patterns for conversion to X, Y positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Patent number: 11635802
    Abstract: To facilitate control of an AR HMD, a camera unit in a camera sensor system generates RGB/IR images and the system also extrapolates images for times in the future based on light intensity change signals from an event detection sensor (EDS) for HMD pose tracking, hand tracking, and eye tracking. The times in the future are provided by an HMD application which defines the future times, and the RGB/IR images and extrapolated images are sent back to the application. In this way, the camera sensor system enables improved performance tracking (equivalent to using very high-speed camera) at lower bandwidth and power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Xiaoyong Ye, Yutaka Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20230034304
    Abstract: Techniques are described for using the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 television protocol to deliver volumetric information for presentation on various displays using ATSC over-the-air communications channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2021
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Todd Tokubo
  • Patent number: 11509884
    Abstract: A stereoscopic VR HMD has left and right display portions in which one of the display portions is arranged with a transformation to improve the perceived virtual image resolution and therefore the perceived virtual image quality. The transformation can include offsetting sub-pixels of one of the display portions in the horizontal and if desired vertical dimensions relative to the other display portion. By applying very small (sub-millimeter) offsets along with appropriately adjusted image data, two slightly different virtual images form a stereoscopic image with a perceived increased of resolution in the binocular overlap zone established by the display portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Publication number: 20220362675
    Abstract: A method for gaming. The method includes assigning a default game play profile to a user, wherein the default game play profile includes a default game play style that simulates human game play, and wherein the default game play profile is configured to control game play for the user based on the default game play style. The method includes monitoring a plurality of game plays of the user playing a plurality of gaming applications. The method includes generating a user game play profile of the user by adjusting the default game play style based on the plurality of game plays, wherein the user game play profile incudes a user game play style customized to the user. The method includes controlling an instance of a first gaming application based on the user game play style of the user game play profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Steven Osman, Jeffrey R. Stafford, Javier F. Rico
  • Patent number: 11383167
    Abstract: A method for gaming. The method includes assigning a default game play profile to a user, wherein the default game play profile includes a default game play style that simulates human game play, and wherein the default game play profile is configured to control game play for the user based on the default game play style. The method includes monitoring a plurality of game plays of the user playing a plurality of gaming applications. The method includes generating a user game play profile of the user by adjusting the default game play style based on the plurality of game plays, wherein the user game play profile incudes a user game play style customized to the user. The method includes controlling an instance of a first gaming application based on the user game play style of the user game play profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Osman, Jeffrey R. Stafford, Javier F. Rico
  • Patent number: 11373342
    Abstract: To improve the social interaction and interaction with external objects for a user wearing an AR head-mounted display (HMD), cameras on the HMD detect that other users (“social targets”) are looking at and/or speaking to the user. The region around the social target in the AR user's view is determined and in response an optical occlusion system in the HMD is changed to allow more outside light to reveal the HMD user's eyes to the other users, The HMD optionally decreases the brightness of the virtual images presented in the HMD to allow the HMD user to improve his real world social and scene interaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Stafford, Yutaka Yokokawa
  • Patent number: 11301047
    Abstract: A computer game can be viewed on a TV through an augmented reality (AR) head-mounted display (HMD). The wearer can make a gesture such as a first to cause the HMD to present 2D rectangles and 3D objects representing locations in the room that the game can be “presented” in. The wearer may then open his hand and “cast” toward one of the room locations, and the game is transferred to the HMD for presentation in the associated rectangle (in 2D) or 3D object (in 3D).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Publication number: 20220086422
    Abstract: A stereoscopic VR HMD has left and right display portions in which one of the display portions is arranged with a transformation to improve the perceived virtual image resolution and therefore the perceived virtual image quality. The transformation can include offsetting sub-pixels of one of the display portions in the horizontal and if desired vertical dimensions relative to the other display portion. By applying very small (sub-millimeter) offsets along with appropriately adjusted image data, two slightly different virtual images form a stereoscopic image with a perceived increased of resolution in the binocular overlap zone established by the display portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Patent number: 11241614
    Abstract: To derive three dimensional (3D) position and orientation of a 3-axis (or more) magnetometer/accelerometer device (such as may be implemented in VR or AR headset or computer game controller) without line of sight constraints, a spinning magnetic field is used to discriminate and remove the external (Earth's) magnetic field from the spinning magnetic field. This reduces the problem to finding the distance to the source of the magnetic field using a calibration table (or formula), finding two angles describing the deviation of the magnetic sensor from the axis of rotation of the spinning magnetic field and the phase around this axis, and from these values deriving the orientation of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Sergey Bashkirov, Takeo Matsukawa, Jeffrey R. Stafford
  • Publication number: 20210409674
    Abstract: Stereoscopic viewing systems may be adjusted for a user's inter-pupillary distance (IPD). An inter-pupillary distance (IPD) value is determined from a signal from a position sensitive device coupled to two moveable sighting fixtures mounted to a head mounted display (HMD) having two fixed optics configured for a specific inter-pupillary distance. The position sensitive device is configured to produce a signal that corresponds to a distance between the two sighting fixtures. The images are warped with a processor to optimize display of the images with the two fixed optics for the determined IPD value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventor: Jeffrey R. Stafford