Patents by Inventor Shumeet Baluja

Shumeet Baluja 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).

  • Mapping keywords to geographic features
    Patent number: 8484198
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for mapping keywords to geographic features. One example method includes identifying location keywords for each of a multitude of granular locations, determining a feature size for grouping granular locations over an area of interest, determining geo data for one or more features, locating all granular locations which are associated with a given feature using the geo data and forming a set of granular locations per feature, aggregating the location keywords for each granular location in a set forming a keyword mapping for the given feature, receiving an indication of a geographic location that is proximate to a user or is of interest to the user, determining a geographic feature associated with the geographic location, and targeting content for delivery to the user based at least in part on the keyword mapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
  • ENHANCED DOCUMENT BROWSING WITH AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED LINKS TO RELEVANT INFORMATION
    Publication number: 20130173576
    Abstract: Additional documents are automatically located that are relevant to an original document, such as a document being read by a user, and also potentially relevant to personal information of the user. The additional documents may be located based on descriptive information that includes personal information of the user and content information of the document being read. The additional documents, or links to the additional documents, may be incorporated into the document being read. In some implementations, the additional documents may be presented in-line with the document being read, such as through an in-link link or text snippet. The user can thus be efficiently presented with additional information that is relevant to the original document being read.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2013
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet BALUJA, Vibhu MITTAL, Mehran SAHAMI
  • Optimizing placement and delivery of advertisements
    Patent number: 8478644
    Abstract: The efficient allocation of advertisements, also known as creatives, on one or more web sites is provided for while ensuring that guarantees to advertisers are honored. In one embodiment, a linear program solver allocates creatives to advertising slots according to an optimizing function designed to maximize revenue for the site. The linear program solver takes as input a set of creatives, creative performance data, constraints, and slot identifiers. The output of the linear program solver is an optimized schedule not violative of any of the input constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Shumeet Baluja
  • Social and interactive applications for mass media
    Patent number: 8479225
    Abstract: Systems, methods, apparatuses, user interfaces and computer program products provide social and interactive applications for mass media based on real-time ambient-audio and/or video identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Michele Covell, Shumeet Baluja, Michael Fink
  • Inferring user interests
    Patent number: 8473500
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes determining, for a portion of users of a social network, label values each comprising an inferred interest level of a user in a subject indicated by a label, associating a first user with one or more second users based on one or more relationships specified by the first user, and outputting a first label value for the first user based on one or more second label values of the one or more second users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Yushi Jing, Dandapani Sivakumar, Jay Yagnik
  • Automatic language model update
    Patent number: 8447600
    Abstract: A method for generating a speech recognition model includes accessing a baseline speech recognition model, obtaining information related to recent language usage from search queries, and modifying the speech recognition model to revise probabilities of a portion of a sound occurrence based on the information. The portion of a sound may include a word. Also, a method for generating a speech recognition model, includes receiving at a search engine from a remote device an audio recording and a transcript that substantially represents at least a portion of the audio recording, synchronizing the transcript with the audio recording, extracting one or more letters from the transcript and extracting the associated pronunciation of the one or more letters from the audio recording, and generating a dictionary entry in a pronunciation dictionary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Michael H. Cohen, Shumeet Baluja, Pedro J. Moreno
  • Generation of min-hash signatures
    Patent number: 8447032
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method is disclosed for generating a signature representing an input bit vector. A signature generator generates a primary min-hash value based on a primary permutation from a sequence of permutation blocks. If the primary min-hash value is lower than a threshold value, a secondary min-hash value is generated based on a secondary permutation from the same permutation block. The signature generator then determines one or more signature values based on the primary min-hash value, the secondary min-hash value or both. The one or more signature values are stored as elements of the signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Michele Covell, Sergey Ioffe, Shumeet Baluja
  • Determining popularity ratings using social and interactive applications for mass media
    Patent number: 8442125
    Abstract: Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products provide social and interactive applications for mass media based on real time ambient-audio and/or video identification. In some implementations, a method includes: receiving descriptors identifying ambient audio associated with a media broadcast; comparing the descriptors to one or more reference descriptors; and determining a rating for the media broadcast based at least in part on the results of the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Michele Covell, Shumeet Baluja, Michael Fink
  • Using saved search results for quality feedback
    Patent number: 8423541
    Abstract: A system receives a search query from a user and searches a corpus of documents using the received search query to determine a set of search results. The system provides the set of search results to the user and receives a request from the user to save one or more selected search results of the set of search results. The system saves the selected one or more results in a database in response to the request and uses the saved one or more results as indicators of search result quality for subsequent related searches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Michael Frumkin
  • Automatic language model update
    Patent number: 8423359
    Abstract: A method for generating a speech recognition model includes accessing a baseline speech recognition model, obtaining information related to recent language usage from search queries, and modifying the speech recognition model to revise probabilities of a portion of a sound occurrence based on the information. The portion of a sound may include a word. Also, a method for generating a speech recognition model, includes receiving at a search engine from a remote device an audio recording and a transcript that substantially represents at least a portion of the audio recording, synchronizing the transcript with the audio recording, extracting one or more letters from the transcript and extracting the associated pronunciation of the one or more letters from the audio recording, and generating a dictionary entry in a pronunciation dictionary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Michael H. Cohen, Shumeet Baluja, Pedro J. Moreno
  • Audio identification using wavelet-based signatures
    Patent number: 8411977
    Abstract: A method is described that includes producing an audio spectrogram from a target sample, generating a number of fingerprints based on the audio spectrogram, comparing the series of fingerprints to samples in a data repository using wavelet coefficients, and identifying the target sample based on the matches found in the data repository.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Michele Covell
  • Optimizing placement and delivery of advertisements
    Patent number: 8407091
    Abstract: The efficient allocation of advertisements, also known as creatives, on one or more web sites is provided for while ensuring that guarantees to advertisers are honored. In one embodiment, a linear program solver allocates creatives to advertising slots according to an optimizing function designed to maximize revenue for the site. The linear program solver takes as input a set of creatives, creative performance data, constraints, and slot identifiers. The output of the linear program solver is an optimized schedule not violative of any of the input constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Shumeet Baluja
  • Nonstandard text entry
    Patent number: 8392453
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method of providing text entry assistance data comprises receiving at a computer information indicative of predictive textual outcomes, generating dictionary data from the received information; and providing the dictionary data to a text entry device remote from the computer. The received information may relate to search requests made by a plurality of remote searchers, and the received information may be indicative of search term popularity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Shumeet Baluja
  • Method and system for testing an entity
    Patent number: 8393002
    Abstract: A system and method is provided wherein, in one aspect, a number of different elements are presented to a user. The user is instructed to pick the elements that are the most related to one another. If the user selects the two most related elements, the user is presented with access to additional information, such as a screen for creating an email account. The system and method are intended to allow access to information by humans, but not remote computers emulating a human.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Maryam Kamvar, Shumeet Baluja
  • Enhanced document browsing with automatically generated links to relevant information
    Patent number: 8386914
    Abstract: Additional documents are automatically located that are relevant to an original document, such as a document being read by a user, and also potentially relevant to personal information of the user. The additional documents may be located based on descriptive information that includes personal information of the user and content information of the document being read. The additional documents, or links to the additional documents, may be incorporated into the document being read. In some implementations, the additional documents may be presented in-line with the document being read, such as through an in-link link or text snippet. The user can thus be efficiently presented with additional information that is relevant to the original document being read.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Vibhu Mittal, Mehran Sahami
  • Flexible communication systems and methods
    Patent number: 8379828
    Abstract: A method of initiating a telecommunication session for a communication device include submitting to one or more telecommunication carriers a proposal for a telecommunication session, receiving from at least one of the one or more of telecommunication carriers a bid to carry the telecommunications session, and automatically selecting one of the telecommunications carriers from the carriers submitting a bid, and initiating the telecommunication session through the selected telecommunication carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Michael Chu, Mayumi Matsuno
  • Book content item search
    Patent number: 8375036
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products are provided for ranking distinct book content items based on implicit links to other distinct book content items. The implicit links are defined based on the identification of matching features in the distinct book content items. In some implementations, the matching features are uncommon phrases in textual content of the distinct book content items. Edges representing implicit links are generated between distinct nodes representing distinct book content items in a weighted graph. Search results for distinct book content items can be ordered based on the edges connected to the distinct nodes in the weighted graph that represent the distinct book content items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Yushi Jing
  • Association of terms with images using image similarity
    Patent number: 8356035
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for associating terms with images. A plurality of images is received. One or more of the received images are associated with one or more terms. Degrees of similarity between a plurality of pairs of images in the plurality of images is determined. A respective weight with respect to a first image of the plurality of images is assign to one or more of the terms based at least on the degrees of similarity. One or more of the terms are selected based on the respective weights of the terms with respect to the first image, and the selected terms are associated with the respective image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Yushi Jing
  • Automatic Language Model Update
    Publication number: 20130006640
    Abstract: A method for generating a speech recognition model includes accessing a baseline speech recognition model, obtaining information related to recent language usage from search queries, and modifying the speech recognition model to revise probabilities of a portion of a sound occurrence based on the information. The portion of a sound may include a word. Also, a method for generating a speech recognition model, includes receiving at a search engine from a remote device an audio recording and a transcript that substantially represents at least a portion of the audio recording, synchronizing the transcript with the audio recording, extracting one or more letters from the transcript and extracting the associated pronunciation of the one or more letters from the audio recording, and generating a dictionary entry in a pronunciation dictionary.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: Michael H. Cohen, Shumeet Baluja, Pedro J. Moreno
  • Facilitating bidding on images
    Patent number: 8346604
    Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating bidding on images. The techniques may include receiving bids includes presenting a first image and a bid associated with the first image. The first image is similar to a second image for which a bid is to be submitted for presenting sponsored content based on the second image. A bid is received for presenting a sponsored-content item based on the second image. The received bid is stored in association with second image and a sponsored-content item based to be presented based on the bid and the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Yushi Jing, Shumeet Baluja