Patents by Inventor Sandy Wong
Sandy Wong 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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Publication number: 20140229885Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for performing tasks and related tasks. While a user is performing a task, a group of related tasks is presented. When a new task is selected, a new group of related tasks is provided. This allows a user to perform a series of tasks without having to separately search for each task. As the user moves between tasks, task information items are passed between the tasks so that previously provided information can be preserved.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 21, 2014Publication date: August 14, 2014Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Li Jiang, Sandy Wong, William Ramsey, Peter Bailey, I, Paul Reinholdtsen
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Publication number: 20140181101Abstract: Search results may include both objective results and person results. In one example, a search query is evaluated to determine whether it is the type of query that a user might want to ask to a friend. If the query is of such a type, then the search engine may examine a social graph to determine which friends of the user who entered the query may have information that is relevant to answering the query. If such friends exist, then the friends may be displayed along with objective search results, along with an explanation of each friend's relevance to the query. Clicking on a person in the results may cause a conversation to be initiated with that person, thereby allowing the user who entered the query to ask his or her friend about the subject of the query.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 17, 2013Publication date: June 26, 2014Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Wei Mu, Jun Yin, Rahul Nair, Simon King, Srinivasan Badrinarayanan, Xavier Legros, Michael Ching, Kevin Haas, Shubha Nabar
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Patent number: 8707198Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for performing tasks and related tasks. While a user is performing a task, a group of related tasks is presented. When a new task is selected, a new group of related tasks is provided. This allows a user to perform a series of tasks without having to separately search for each task. As the user moves between tasks, task information items are passed between the tasks so that previously provided information can be preserved.Type: GrantFiled: June 4, 2010Date of Patent: April 22, 2014Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Li Jiang, Sandy Wong, William Ramsey, Peter Bailey, Paul Reinholdtsen
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Publication number: 20130282688Abstract: Computer-storage media, methods, and systems for improving the ability of a user to accomplish a task that is pending during a search session are provided. When a user invokes the pending task, a collection of elements that are associated with the pending task are dynamically organized into a sharable content page that may be shared with a user's contacts via a social network. The user's contacts may comment on or provide feedback related to the pending task. The feedback may be published to the sharable content page and presented to the user on a user interface.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 21, 2013Publication date: October 24, 2013Inventors: SANDY WONG, DERRICK CONNELL, RAVI SOIN, ANDREW SHUMAN, MAREK LATUSKIEWICZ, JUN YIN, KIM VLCEK, YINGHUA YAO
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Patent number: 8538960Abstract: Search results may include both objective results and person results. In one example, a search query is evaluated to determine whether it is the type of query that a user might want to ask to a friend. If the query is of such a type, then the search engine may examine a social graph to determine which friends of the user who entered the query may have information that is relevant to answering the query. If such friends exist, then the friends may be displayed along with objective search results, along with an explanation of each friend's relevance to the query. Clicking on a person in the results may cause a conversation to be initiated with that person, thereby allowing the user who entered the query to ask his or her friend about the subject of the query.Type: GrantFiled: August 5, 2011Date of Patent: September 17, 2013Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Wei Mu, Jun Yin, Rahul Nair, Simon King, Srinivasan Badrinarayanan, Xavier Legros, Michael Ching, Kevin Haas, Shubha Nabar
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Patent number: 8473485Abstract: Computer-storage media, methods, and systems for improving the ability of a user to accomplish a task that is pending during a search session are provided. This pending task can be distilled by identifying a current searching intent associated with a recently submitted query and by determining which candidate tasks are most comparable to the current searching intent of a user. The candidate tasks are mined from a search history of the user by categorizing those navigation events that appear to share a semantically common concept. Upon performing a comparison, the candidate task that captures the user's true current searching intent is designated as the pending task. When a user invokes the pending task, a collection of elements that are associated with the pending task are dynamically organized into a sharable content page, thereby providing a collaborative experience that involves exposing the collection to contacts and accepting feedback therefrom.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2011Date of Patent: June 25, 2013Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Derrick Connell, Ravi Soin, Andrew Shuman, Marek Latuskiewicz, Jun Yin, Kim Vlcek, Yinghua Yao
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Publication number: 20130036114Abstract: Search results may include both objective results and person results. In one example, a search query is evaluated to determine whether it is the type of query that a user might want to ask to a friend. If the query is of such a type, then the search engine may examine a social graph to determine which friends of the user who entered the query may have information that is relevant to answering the query. If such friends exist, then the friends may be displayed along with objective search results, along with an explanation of each friend's relevance to the query. Clicking on a person in the results may cause a conversation to be initiated with that person, thereby allowing the user who entered the query to ask his or her friend about the subject of the query.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2011Publication date: February 7, 2013Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: Sandy Wong, Wei Mu, Jun Yin, Rahul Nair, Simon King, Srinivasan Badrinarayanan, Xavier Legros, Michael Ching, Kevin Haas, Shubha Nabar
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Publication number: 20130024439Abstract: Architecture that interfaces entities such as a search engine with a social network, by enabling both entities to share a common storage. Search behavior is modeled as a search social graph that incorporates both search behavior and user relationships. The data in the graph can be data mined, and related aggregations (stories) can be surfaced to users of the architecture via websites of both entities. To facilitate collaboration, users can further interact on the aggregations by repeating a query, commenting on a query, and/or suggesting links. This interactive feedback activity can also be modeled and recorded into the search social graph, which generates further aggregations. The positive feedback cycle, as part of the architecture, encourages collaboration and interaction on an aggregation.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2011Publication date: January 24, 2013Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: Paul Reinholdtsen, Sandy Wong, Sreeharsha Kamireddy
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Publication number: 20130006952Abstract: Computer-storage media, methods, and systems for improving the ability of a user to accomplish a task that is pending during a search session are provided. This pending task can be distilled by identifying a current searching intent associated with a recently submitted query and by determining which candidate tasks are most comparable to the current searching intent of a user. The candidate tasks are mined from a search history of the user by categorizing those navigation events that appear to share a semantically common concept. Upon performing a comparison, the candidate task that captures the user's true current searching intent is designated as the pending task. When a user invokes the pending task, a collection of elements that are associated with the pending task are dynamically organized into a sharable content page, thereby providing a collaborative experience that involves exposing the collection to contacts and accepting feedback therefrom.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 29, 2011Publication date: January 3, 2013Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: Sandy Wong, Derrick Connell, Ravi Soin, Andrew Shuman, Marek Latuskiewicz, Jun Yin, Kim Vlcek, Yinghua Yao
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Patent number: 8239370Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system, and media for determining search results based on a query. One embodiment of the method includes receiving an initial query, inspecting an initial set of query-related information that is associated with the query, which is the fruit of analyzing aggregated user-interaction data, which includes information related to how users have previously interacted with former search results that were presented in response to the query. This information includes prior metadata associated with the former search results. Embodiments further include presenting an initial set of search results based on the initial set of query-related information, gathering current user-interaction data, and updating the initial set of query-related information based on the current user-interaction data. In this way, an embodiment of the invention helps, among other things, map a semantic meaning of a query to results that bring about a satisfying user experience.Type: GrantFiled: June 27, 2008Date of Patent: August 7, 2012Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Scott Grosenick, George Johnston, Mikhail Mikhailov, Srinivas Bobba, Jigar Mody
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Publication number: 20120158720Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention enhance the search experience of a user by looking at the search history of one or more friends to provide search enhancements to the user. The search enhancements may also be based on information within a user's online social network. Search enhancements based on the user's online social network include identifying people within the user's social network that may have information relevant to a query, posts within the social network that are relevant to the query, and feed items. Examples of search enhancements include an annotation or graphic adjacent to a search result indicating the search result has been visited by one of the user's friends. In another aspect, alternative queries from the friends' search history may be suggested to the user during the search session.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 29, 2012Publication date: June 21, 2012Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: Qing Luan, David S. Korn, Juan Bouvet Mendoza, Kimberly M. Vlcek, Wei Mu, Sandy Wong
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Publication number: 20120130969Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for providing an enhanced search experience to a user by determining a user's presumptive intentions for an ongoing search session. A user's activities during the search session reveal clues to the user's intent for the search session. Embodiments of the present invention assign values to various context characteristics by analyzing the user's activities during a search session. The context characteristics describe different manifestations of user intent revealed by the user's actions. Embodiments of the present invention distribute the context information to applications that consume the context information and provide enhanced search results. This allows multiple context-based applications to have access to context information without accessing signal data or needing to independently process the signal data to determine an intent of the search session.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 18, 2010Publication date: May 24, 2012Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: SANDY WONG, RAVIPAL SINGH SOIN, MAREK FRANCISZEK LATUSKIEWICZ, JUN YIN, DERRICK LESLIE CONNELL, ANDREW WILSON SHUMAN
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Publication number: 20110302521Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for performing tasks and related tasks. While a user is performing a task, a group of related tasks is presented. When a new task is selected, a new group of related tasks is provided. This allows a user to perform a series of tasks without having to separately search for each task. As the user moves between tasks, task information items are passed between the tasks so that previously provided information can be preserved.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 4, 2010Publication date: December 8, 2011Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventors: Li Jiang, Sandy Wong, Bill Ramsey, Peter Bailey, Paul Reinholdtsen
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Patent number: 7962598Abstract: Systems, apparatuses and methods for processing a concurrent IGRS-UPnP architecture for both IGRS and UPnP standards conformance, and to be used for consumer electronics device interoperability.Type: GrantFiled: April 14, 2008Date of Patent: June 14, 2011Assignee: Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company LimitedInventors: Ha Yin Sandy Wong, Chi Kong Patrick Wu
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Patent number: 7672943Abstract: A web crawler system as described herein utilizes a targeted approach to increase the likelihood of downloading web pages of a desired type or category. The system employs a plurality of URL scoring metrics that generate individual scores for outlinked URLs contained in a downloaded web page. For each outlinked URL, the individual scores are combined using an appropriate algorithm or formula to generate an overall score that represents a downloading priority for the outlinked URL. The web crawler application can then download subsequent web pages in an order that is influenced by the downloading priorities.Type: GrantFiled: October 26, 2006Date of Patent: March 2, 2010Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Yet L. Huynh, Ramakrishnan Natarajan, Joon Young Kim, Michael D. Thogersen, Tong Yao
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Publication number: 20100042610Abstract: Ranking of documents by metadata popularity provides relevant search results in response to user search queries received by a search engine. Metadata popularity is determined by comparing metadata from a document with popularity data from one or more sources. In some embodiments, metadata popularity is determined based on a frequency with which extracted metadata appears in query logs. Search results are ordered based on metadata popularity and returned in response to the user search queries.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2008Publication date: February 18, 2010Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Samir Lakhani, Xuemin Liu, Sandy Wong
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Publication number: 20090327267Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system, and media for determining search results based on a query. One embodiment of the method includes receiving an initial query, inspecting an initial set of query-related information that is associated with the query, which is the fruit of analyzing aggregated user-interaction data, which includes information related to how users have previously interacted with former search results that were presented in response to the query. This information includes prior metadata associated with the former search results. Embodiments further include presenting an initial set of search results based on the initial set of query-related information, gathering current user-interaction data, and updating the initial set of query-related information based on the current user-interaction data. In this way, an embodiment of the invention helps, among other things, map a semantic meaning of a query to results that bring about a satisfying user experience.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2008Publication date: December 31, 2009Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Jigar Mody, Srinivas Bobba, Scott Grosenick, George Johnston, Mikhail Mikhailov
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Publication number: 20090259742Abstract: The claimed invention disclosed is used in consumer electronics device interoperability. Systems, apparatuses and methods for processing a concurrent IGRS-UPnP architecture 201 for both IGRS and UPnP standards conformance.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 14, 2008Publication date: October 15, 2009Inventors: Ha Yin Sandy WONG, Chi Kong Patrick WU
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Publication number: 20080104113Abstract: A web crawler system as described herein utilizes a targeted approach to increase the likelihood of downloading web pages of a desired type or category. The system employs a plurality of URL scoring metrics that generate individual scores for outlinked URLs contained in a downloaded web page. For each outlinked URL, the individual scores are combined using an appropriate algorithm or formula to generate an overall score that represents a downloading priority for the outlinked URL. The web crawler application can then download subsequent web pages in an order that is influenced by the downloading priorities.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 26, 2006Publication date: May 1, 2008Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Sandy Wong, Yet L. Huynh, Ramakrishnan Natarajan, Joon Young Kim, Michael D. Thogersen, Tong Yao
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Publication number: 20060252719Abstract: The present invention discloses novel signaling pathways controlling the pathogenesis of the human respiratory bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae. The lipooligosaccharide-phosphorylycholine (LOS-PC) cell surface epitope of H. influenzae enhances pathogenesis but also increases bacterial susceptibility to innate and adaptive immunity and the administration of therapeutic compounds. Modulation of the LOS-PC epitope may be affected by an interaction between environmental conditions (i.e., for example, oxygen tension) and genetic regulation of precursor biosynthetic pathway activity. LOS-PC epitope display increases under microaerobic conditions and decreases under aerobic conditions. This is consisent with a bacteria's propensity to initiate pathogensis under low oxygen conditions. Pathogenesis may be prevented by disrupting the role of the putative H. influenzae homologue of CsrA, that downregulates galU expression. Disrupting CsrA repression of galU expression resulted in increased LOS-PC epitope display.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 6, 2005Publication date: November 9, 2006Inventors: Brian Akerley, Sandy Wong