Patents by Inventor Nicholas Richards

Nicholas Richards 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).

  • Publication number: 20220121332
    Abstract: Systems and methods for presenting content that depicts one or more stories are provided. Content that depicts one or more stories is received from a first client device. The content that depicts the one or more stories is grouped into an edition being used to represent the one or more stories. A discovery page that enables selection of the edition is generated. Presentation of the discovery page is caused on a second client device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2022
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Nicholas James Bell, Andrew Cooper, Chamal Samaranayake, William Wu
  • Publication number: 20220121325
    Abstract: An approach is provided that differentiates displayed windows from one another by applying visual effects to the borders of the displayed windows. The approach retrieving user-defined visual effects with each of the user-defined visual effects corresponding to a different application. Windows are on the display screen, with each of the windows corresponding to one of the applications. The displayed windows are differentiated from each other by applying the user-defined visual effects to a border of each of the windows.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2020
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Roberts, Alfredo Zugasti, Fred F. Holt, JR., Robert J. Kapinos, Stephen Paul Floyd
  • Publication number: 20220060848
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for receiving, at a first computing device, a request from a user to activate a new media collection, sending, by the first computing device, the request to a server computer for activation of the new media collection, receiving, by the first computing device, confirmation that the new media collection was activated, receiving, at the first computing device, a plurality of content messages associated with the new media collection, receiving, at the first computing device, from the user, a selection of the plurality of content messages to be included in the new media collection, sending, to the server computer, an indication of the selection of the content messages to be included in the new media collection, wherein the server computer causes the selection of content messages to be included in the new media collection and displayed in response to a request from at least a second computing device to view the new media collection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2021
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Sheldon Chang, Maria Pavlovskaia, Amer Shahnawaz, Jianchao Yang
  • Patent number: 11258749
    Abstract: A messaging server system receives a message creation input from a first client device that is associated with a first user registered with the messaging server system. The messaging server system determines, based on an entity graph representing connections between a plurality of users registered with the messaging server system, that the first user is within a threshold degree of connection with a second that initiated a group story in relation to a specified event. The messaging server system determines, based on location data received from the first client device, that the first client device was located within a geo-fence surrounding a geographic location of the specified event during a predetermined event window, the geo-fence and event window having been designated by the second user, and causes the first client device to present a user interface element, that enables the first user to submit content to the group story.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Jacob Andreou, Evan Spiegel
  • Patent number: 11249617
    Abstract: Systems and methods for presenting content that depicts one or more stories are provided. Content that depicts one or more stories is received from a first client device. The content that depicts the one or more stories is grouped into an edition being used to represent the one or more stories. A discovery page that enables selection of the edition is generated. Presentation of the discovery page is caused on a second client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Nicholas James Bell, Andrew Cooper, Chamal Samaranayake, William Wu
  • Publication number: 20220038416
    Abstract: Methods, devices, systems, and computer readable media with instructions for group text communications between multiple devices, along with communication of associated data and automatic deletion of communications, are described. One embodiment involves generating a first ephemeral group chat, receiving a first ephemeral chat message, associated with one or more deletion triggers, and transmitting the first ephemeral message and receiving, from at least the second client device, chat monitoring information comprising first deletion trigger information. In various embodiments, coordinated presentation and deletion of ephemeral chat messages are managed in a variety of ways.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2021
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Jonathan Dale Brody, Chamal Samaranayake, William Wu
  • Patent number: 11216869
    Abstract: A system and method for a media filter publication application are described. The media filter publication application receives a content item and a selected geolocation, generates a media filter based on the content item and the selected geolocation, and supplies the media filter to a client device located at the selected geolocation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Sheldon Chang, Timothy Michael Sehn, William Wu
  • Patent number: 11197123
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for receiving, at a first computing device, a user-provided request to activate a new media collection, sending, by the first computing device, the request to a server computer to activate the new media collection, receiving, by the first computing device, confirmation that the new media collection was activated, receiving, at the first computing device, a plurality of content messages associated with the new media collection, receiving, at the first computing device, a user-provided selection of the plurality of content messages for inclusion in the new media collection, sending, to the server computer, an indication of the selection of the content messages for inclusion in the new media collection, wherein the server computer causes the selection of content messages to be included in the new media collection and displayed responsive to a request from at least a second computing device to view the new media collection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Sheldon Chang, Maria Pavlovskaia, Amer Shahnawaz, Jianchao Yang
  • Publication number: 20210340437
    Abstract: A plastic scintillator includes a polymer matrix, an aliphatic additive present in the polymer matrix in an effective amount to impart fog resistance to the plastic scintillator, and at least one fluorescent dye in the polymer matrix, the dye being effective to provide scintillation upon exposure to radiation. The effective amount of the aliphatic additive is in a range of greater than 0 weight percent up to 5 weight percent relative to the total weight of the plastic scintillator. Moreover, the aliphatic additive has a structure comprising up to 300 repeat units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Publication date: November 4, 2021
    Applicants: Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, Ludlum Measurements, Inc., National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Neil Mabe, M Leslie Carman, Stephen Anthony Payne, Natalia P. Zaitseva, Charles R. Hurlbut, Terence C. O'Brien, Kyle Ray Shipp, Nicholas Richard Myllenbeck
  • Publication number: 20210339060
    Abstract: Provided is an electrically active breathing mask. The mask contains conductive layers separated by insulating layers, the conductive layers being alternatingly positively or negatively charged. Air passing through one insulating layer is directed across the surface of a next charged layer, before flowing through a next insulating layer, and so on. Particles including virus in water vapor or sputum are evaporated as they contact alternately charged layers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Publication date: November 4, 2021
    Inventors: Kahrl Retti, Nicholas Richard Retti
  • Patent number: 11146206
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for a solar power generator as it relates to a portable and expandable solar power generator that can form a micro-grid power system comprising any elements described, either individually or in combination with any other elements, in any order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: GRIDKICKER LLC
    Inventors: Kahrl Retti, Nicholas Richard Retti
  • Patent number: 11127177
    Abstract: Systems and methods for facilitating product design by an electronic device are described. According to certain aspects, an electronic device may display one or more designable canvases of a user interface for editing the visual design of a product. The electronic device may display an extended workspace canvas adjacent to and at least partially surrounding the one or more designable canvases. The extended workspace canvas may be configured to display a plurality of design elements that can be reached directly from the one or more designable canvases for use. Each of the design elements may be configured to be selectively positioned within the one or more designable canvases. The electronic device may, in response to a surface change selection of the one or more designable canvases, maintain the displaying of the extended workspace canvas while the one or more designable canvases are in a transitioning state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: CIMPRESS SCHWEIZ GMBH
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Swider, Edward James Hammond, Christina Kayastha, Donald J. Naylor, Christopher Wai-Lung Kwan, Brian Robert Chitester
  • Patent number: 11119628
    Abstract: Systems, devices, media, and methods are presented for dynamic presentation and management of messages within a graphical user interface by presenting content icons, monitoring consumption status of the presented content represented by the content icons, transferring a content item from a first set of content to a second set of content, and causing presentation of the content item as part of the second set of content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Newar Choukeir
  • Publication number: 20210266277
    Abstract: Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure improve the functionality of electronic messaging and imaging software and systems by generating and displaying media overlays with avatars of different users. For example, media overlays can be generated by the system and displayed in conjunction with media content (e.g., images and/or video) generated by an image-capturing device (e.g., a digital camera).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Dorian Franklin Baldwin, Jacob Edward Blackstock, David James Kennedy, Shahan Panth, Timothy Jordan Garcia
  • Patent number: 11088987
    Abstract: Methods, devices, systems, and computer readable media with instructions for group text communications between multiple devices, along with communication of associated data and automatic deletion of communications, are described. One embodiment involves generating a first ephemeral group chat, receiving a first ephemeral chat message, associated with one or more deletion triggers, and transmitting the first ephemeral message; and receiving, from at least the second client device, chat monitoring information comprising first deletion trigger information. In various embodiments, coordinated presentation and deletion of ephemeral chat messages are managed in a variety of ways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Jonathan Brody, Chamal Samaranayake, William Wu
  • Publication number: 20210194716
    Abstract: Methods, devices and computer program products are provided that, under control of one or more processors configured with executable instructions, receive a user-generated device agnostic instruction (DAI) at a local electronic device having digital personal assistant (DPA) functionality; determine whether the local electronic device is in an operational state that supports implementation of the DAI; based on the determining, transmit the DAI to one or more remote electronic devices having DPA functionality; and implement the DAI at each of the one or more remote electronic devices that is in an operational state that supports implementation of the DIA.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Nathan J. Peterson, Nicholas Richard Roberts, Brian Jules Jaeger, Joshua N. Novak
  • Publication number: 20210191966
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for receiving, at a server computer, a plurality of content messages from a plurality of content sources, each content message comprising media content and associated with a predetermined media collection, for each of the plurality of content messages received, analyzing each of the plurality of content messages to determine a quality score for each of the plurality of content messages, and storing each of the plurality of content messages in a database along with the quality score for each of the plurality of content messages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Sheldon Chang, Maria Pavlovskaia, Amer Shahnawaz, Jianchao Yang
  • Patent number: 11023514
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for receiving, at a server computer, a plurality of content messages from a plurality of content sources, each content message comprising media content and associated with a predetermined media collection, for each of the plurality of content messages received, analyzing each of the plurality of content messages to determine a quality score for each of the plurality of content messages, and storing each of the plurality of content messages in a database along with the quality score for each of the plurality of content messages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Sheldon Chang, Maria Pavlovskaia, Amer Shahnawaz, Jianchao Yang
  • Patent number: 11012398
    Abstract: A server maintains a gallery of ephemeral messages. Each ephemeral message is posted to the gallery by a user for viewing by recipients via recipient devices. In response to a gallery view request from any of the recipient devices, the ephemeral messages in the gallery are displayed on the requesting device in automated sequence, each message being displayed for a respective display duration before display of the next message in the gallery. A user interface via which the gallery is viewable includes indicia with respect to the number of screenshots taken with respect to messages in the gallery during online viewing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Snap Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Allen, Donald Giovannini, Chiayi Lin, Robert Cornelius Murphy, Evan Spiegel
  • Publication number: 20210112777
    Abstract: The invention is a plush and fabric animal shaped toy with sections of rope that extend out from the body of the toy and are connected via surgical tubing inside the plush toy that pull apart two layers of hook and loop material causing a ripping sound similar to that of Velcro®. When the rope is released the hook and loop halves are reconnected and ready for the animal to pull again. The plush animal has embroidered face detail and squeakers and cellophane material located in the head or limbs of the toy adding additional noises to emit from the toy when a pet is playing with it.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Inventors: Nicholas Richard Watts, Elizabeth Bentz, Danielle Salyer