Patents by Inventor Robert Duffield

Robert Duffield 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: 20130257732
    Abstract: An adaptive virtual keyboard is provided. In one implementation, a system senses fingertip contact on a sensing surface and generates a virtual keyboard on the sensing surface where a user's hand or hands are placed. The system automatically adjusts placement of the right and left hand parts of the virtual keyboard on the sensing surface in real time to follow drift of the user's hands out of expected ranges, and can distort the geometry of the virtual keyboard to accommodate characteristics of the user's fingertip typing style. The virtual keyboard is composed of approximately 6-20 touch zones, each touch zone representing one or multiple characters or functions. A disambiguator interprets the sequence of touch zones contacted by the user into intended words, symbols, and control characters. The system can optionally display an image of the dynamically adapting virtual keyboard, for visual targeting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Inventor: ROBERT DUFFIELD
  • Patent number: 4193520
    Abstract: My invention discloses a novel device for adding liquid soap to shower water. Liquid soap is drawn through a tube member by harnessing the negative pressure in a sleeve member, situated within a water source leading to a shower nozzel, relative to the atmosphere. Means for controlling the volume of soap flowing through a tube member adjusts the amount of soap going through the shower head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1977
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1980
    Inventor: Robert Duffield
  • Patent number: 4122684
    Abstract: Condensing of low boiling material from a gas by contact with heat exchange surface cooled with a boiling intermediate refrigerant which is itself condensed by boiling cryogenic fluid passing from a source to a sink of cryogenic fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1976
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1978
    Assignee: BP Chemicals Limited
    Inventors: Michael J. Clarkson, Robert Duffield