Patents by Inventor Robert Scott TARTZ

Robert Scott TARTZ 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: 10459561
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure are related to a method for determining a touch pressure level on a touchscreen, comprising: detecting a touch event by the touchscreen; obtaining data relating to features associated with the touch event comprising a capacitance value, a touch area, and/or a touch duration; and determining a touch pressure level based on one or more of the features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Marc Bosch Ruiz, Galit Hofree, Robert Scott Tartz, Robyn Teresa Oliver, Jonathan Karl Kies, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Patent number: 10349212
    Abstract: An electronic device is operated by determining its location on a body of a human or an animal, as an ending point of a path from another electronic device. The path is predetermined by measuring at multiple frequencies, a property indicative of loss of an AC signal that propagates through the body along the path between the pair of electronic devices, to obtain measurements. The multiple measurements are thereafter used to select a particular path through the body, from among a group of paths through the body which are characterized in one or more training phases, e.g. by use of a classifier. After a particular path through the body is identified, based on an ending point of the particular path, an electronic device at that ending point is configured, e.g. by turning on or turning off a specific sensor, or by setting a rate of transmission of data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott Tartz, Jay Steven King, Aniket Arun Vartak, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Patent number: 9946371
    Abstract: Methods, devices, and computer program products for using touch orientation to distinguish between users are disclosed herein. In one aspect, a method of identifying a user of a touch device from a plurality of users of the touch device is described. The method includes receiving touch data from a touch panel of the touch device, the touch data indicating a user's touch on the touch screen. The method further includes determining an orientation of the user's touch based on the received touch data. Finally, the method includes identifying the user of the plurality of users which touched the device, based at least in part on the orientation of the touch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Virginia Walker Keating, Suhail Jalil, Mohamed Imtiaz Ahmed, Robert Scott Tartz
  • Patent number: 9747428
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward providing ongoing authentication using biometric data. Fingerprints and/or other biometric data can be captured during the normal use of an electronic device, such as typing on a keyboard, and compared with associated reference biometrics to provide ongoing authentication to an application while the electronic device is being used. Comparison results may further be combined with additional physiological or behavioral biometrics to determine a level of authentication encompassing multiple biometric inputs and/or types.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott Tartz, Richard Oliver Farley, John Keith Schneider, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Patent number: 9722985
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for authenticating users using the haptic, aural, and/or olfactory association processing channels that are unique to humans are presented. In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes displaying a plurality of images and generating a sensory output, wherein the sensory output includes a tactile sensation that corresponds to one of the plurality of images. The method further includes receiving input corresponding to a selection of an image of the plurality of images and determining whether the selected image matches the one of the plurality of images for which the sensory output corresponds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott Tartz, Shaun William Van Dyken
  • Patent number: 9665198
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for adjusting the manner in which haptic feedback is provided to the user based on physical characteristics of the user. Physical characteristics may include stable physical characteristics that are non-changing with respect to a level of physical activity of the user. Examples of such stable physical characteristics may include age, gender, race, visual impairments and/or other physical characteristics. In some embodiments, the mobile device may adjust the haptic feedback by adjusting the intensity of the haptic feedback, frequency of the haptic feedback, duration for which the haptic feedback is provided to the user and changing a type of haptic feedback provided to the user of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Jonathan Karl Kies, Robert Scott Tartz, Ted Ray Gooding, Jeremiah Bunao Salamante
  • Publication number: 20170086023
    Abstract: An electronic device is operated by determining its location on a body of a human or an animal, as an ending point of a path from another electronic device. The path is predetermined by measuring at multiple frequencies, a property indicative of loss of an AC signal that propagates through the body along the path between the pair of electronic devices, to obtain measurements. The multiple measurements are thereafter used to select a particular path through the body, from among a group of paths through the body which are characterized in one or more training phases, e.g. by use of a classifier. After a particular path through the body is identified, based on an ending point of the particular path, an electronic device at that ending point is configured, e.g. by turning on or turning off a specific sensor, or by setting a rate of transmission of data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2015
    Publication date: March 23, 2017
    Inventors: Robert Scott Tartz, Jay Steven King, Aniket Arun Vartak, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Publication number: 20170010732
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure are related to a method for determining a touch pressure level on a touchscreen, comprising: detecting a touch event by the touchscreen; obtaining data relating to features associated with the touch event comprising a capacitance value, a touch area, and/or a touch duration; and determining a touch pressure level based on one or more of the features.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2015
    Publication date: January 12, 2017
    Inventors: Marc Bosch Ruiz, Galit Hofree, Robert Scott Tartz, Robyn Teresa Oliver, Jonathan Karl Kies, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Patent number: 9507420
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for providing haptic feedback to assist in capturing images are presented. In some embodiments, a method for providing haptic feedback to assist in capturing images includes obtaining, via an image capture device, an ambient light measurement of an environment in which the image capture device is present. The method further includes detecting, via the image capture device, one or more objects within one or more image frames captured by the image capture device. The method also includes changing, via the image capture device, a manner in which haptic feedback is provided to a user of the image capture device, based at least in part on the obtained ambient light measurement and the detected one or more objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott Tartz, Kirk Steven Taylor, Mark Stirling Caskey, Suzana Arellano, Charles Alfred Bergan
  • Patent number: 9400880
    Abstract: A biometric security method and apparatus for a capacitive sensor system is provided herein, where the method may include capturing a set of raw capacitive frames for a body part via the capacitive sensor system, wherein each raw capacitive frame includes a distribution of a plurality of capacitance levels measured from the body part; creating a capacitive profile based on the set of raw capacitive frames; comparing a first value in the capacitive profile to a second value in a biometric template generated from an enrolled body part, wherein the first value and the second value are located at a similar location with respect to the capacitive profile; and, generating an authentication signal based on a difference between the first value and the second value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Ted Ray Gooding, Robert Scott Tartz, Aniket Vartak
  • Publication number: 20160109969
    Abstract: Methods, devices, and computer program products for using touch orientation to distinguish between users are disclosed herein. In one aspect, a method of identifying a user of a touch device from a plurality of users of the touch device is described. The method includes receiving touch data from a touch panel of the touch device, the touch data indicating a user's touch on the touch screen. The method further includes determining an orientation of the user's touch based on the received touch data. Finally, the method includes identifying the user of the plurality of users which touched the device, based at least in part on the orientation of the touch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Inventors: Virginia Walker Keating, Suhail Jalil, Mohamed Imtiaz Ahmed, Robert Scott Tartz
  • Publication number: 20160080552
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and method for automatically configuring a mobile device based on user feature data. A mobile device can detect a change in orientation from a first to a second orientation based on images captured with a touchscreen of the mobile device. The device may then apply a first configuration to the mobile device when the mobile device is in the second orientation. The detection of the second orientation may include capturing a first image and a second image and extracting user feature data from the images. Once a shift in the extracted user feature data above a threshold indicating motion is detected, the first configuration may then be applied to a mobile device. A third image may also be captured, and if a shift back is detected, an initial configuration may be restored.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Publication date: March 17, 2016
    Inventors: Virginia Walker Keating, Robert Scott Tartz
  • Publication number: 20150381614
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for biometric based media data sharing. The method may include initiating, in a first device, biometric data capture of a user based, at least in part, on playback of media data by the first device. The method may also include determining that captured biometric data of the user does not correspond with biometric data associated with an authorized user of the first device. Furthermore, the method may also include in response to a failure to match the captured biometric data by the first device, establishing that the user is an authorized user of a second device based, at least in part, on the captured biometric data. The method may also include sharing the media data with the second device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Publication date: December 31, 2015
    Inventors: Evan Robert Hildreth, Jonathan Karl Kies, Robert Scott Tartz, Joel Simbulan Bernarte, Xin Zhong, Virginia Walker Keating
  • Publication number: 20150363585
    Abstract: A biometric security method and apparatus for a capacitive sensor system is provided herein, where the method may include capturing a set of raw capacitive frames for a body part via the capacitive sensor system, wherein each raw capacitive frame includes a distribution of a plurality of capacitance levels measured from the body part; creating a capacitive profile based on the set of raw capacitive frames; comparing a first value in the capacitive profile to a second value in a biometric template generated from an enrolled body part, wherein the first value and the second value are located at a similar location with respect to the capacitive profile; and, generating an authentication signal based on a difference between the first value and the second value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Inventors: Ted Ray Gooding, Robert Scott Tartz, Aniket Vartak
  • Publication number: 20150334292
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for providing haptic feedback to assist in capturing images are presented. In some embodiments, a method for providing haptic feedback to assist in capturing images includes obtaining, via an image capture device, an ambient light measurement of an environment in which the image capture device is present. The method further includes detecting, via the image capture device, one or more objects within one or more image frames captured by the image capture device. The method also includes changing, via the image capture device, a manner in which haptic feedback is provided to a user of the image capture device, based at least in part on the obtained ambient light measurement and the detected one or more objects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2014
    Publication date: November 19, 2015
    Applicant: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Robert Scott TARTZ, Kirk Steven TAYLOR, Mark Stirling CASKEY, Suzana ARELLANO, Charles Alfred BERGAN
  • Publication number: 20150324049
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for adjusting the manner in which haptic feedback is provided to the user based on physical characteristics of the user. Physical characteristics may include stable physical characteristics that are non-changing with respect to a level of physical activity of the user. Examples of such stable physical characteristics may include age, gender, race, visual impairments and/or other physical characteristics. In some embodiments, the mobile device may adjust the haptic feedback by adjusting the intensity of the haptic feedback, frequency of the haptic feedback, duration for which the haptic feedback is provided to the user and changing a type of haptic feedback provided to the user of the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2014
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Jonathan Karl Kies, Robert Scott Tartz, Ted Ray Gooding, Jeremiah Bunao Salamante
  • Publication number: 20150319153
    Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for authenticating users using the haptic, aural, and/or olfactory association processing channels that are unique to humans are presented. In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes displaying a plurality of images and generating a sensory output, wherein the sensory output includes a tactile sensation that corresponds to one of the plurality of images. The method further includes receiving input corresponding to a selection of an image of the plurality of images and determining whether the selected image matches the one of the plurality of images for which the sensory output corresponds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott TARTZ, Shaun William VAN DYKEN
  • Publication number: 20150213245
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward providing ongoing authentication using biometric data. Fingerprints and/or other biometric data can be captured during the normal use of an electronic device, such as typing on a keyboard, and compared with associated reference biometrics to provide ongoing authentication to an application while the electronic device is being used. Comparison results may further be combined with additional physiological or behavioral biometrics to determine a level of authentication encompassing multiple biometric inputs and/or types.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2014
    Publication date: July 30, 2015
    Applicant: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Scott TARTZ, Richard Oliver FARLEY, John Keith SCHNEIDER, Virginia Walker KEATING