Patents by Inventor Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith 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: 20210373711
    Abstract: Touch sensor panels (or touch screens) can improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using touch electrode patterns for differential drive and/or differential sense techniques. In some examples, a touch sensor panel can include a two-dimensional array of touch nodes formed from a plurality of touch electrodes. Each column (or row) of touch nodes can be driven with a plurality of drive signals. For example, a first column (or row) of touch nodes can be driven by a first drive signal applied to one or more first touch nodes in the first column (or row) and a second drive signal applied to a one or more second touch nodes of the first column (or row). In some examples, the first drive signal and the second drive signal can be complimentary drive signals. In some examples, each row (or column) of touch electrodes can be sensed by differential sense circuitry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2021
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: John Stephen SMITH, Amit NAYYAR, Joseph Kurth REYNOLDS, Sagar Rajiv VAZE, Marduke YOUSEFPOR
  • Publication number: 20210369042
    Abstract: The present application discloses a multi-media interactive story-telling system that provides natural conversational interactions between a human user and a contributor who appears in multi-media recordings. The multi-media interactive story-telling system includes an intake device for recording interview sessions in which a contributor tells a life story about her life experience. The contributor may rely on a script when creating the life story. The multi-media interactive story-telling system further comprises storage devices for storing the recorded interview sessions and processors for organizing the recorded interview sessions. The multi-media interactive story-telling system further comprises an interactive device for retrieving and playing a recorded interview session in response to a query from a user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Applicant: Story File LLC
    Inventors: Samuel Gustman, Stephen Smith, Heather Maio-Smith, Julia Campbell, Andrew Jones
  • Publication number: 20210374837
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for generating a digital menu for an establishment. In accordance with some embodiments, a system for generating a digital menu for an establishment is configured to: retrieve menu data from a point of sale (PoS) system at the establishment; retrieve supplemental information for the retrieved menu data; generate the digital menu based on the retrieved menu data and the supplemental information; and transmit the digital menu to an electronic device for display to a user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2021
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: Hani Jabbour, Elias Hage, Ahmed Hammad, Ryan Stephen Smith, Farshad Muhammad
  • Patent number: 11163727
    Abstract: A system, a method, and a computer program product for performing deduplication of data using a scalable deduplication grid are disclosed. A listing of a plurality of zone stamps is generated, where each zone stamp represents a zone in the plurality of zones in a data stream. The listing contains a logical arrangement of the plurality of zone stamps obtained from each storage location and being accessible by a plurality of servers. A first zone stamp in the listing is compared to a second zone stamp in the listing. The first and second zones are delta-compressed based on a determination that the first zone stamp is substantially similar to the second zone stamp. A server is selected to perform the comparison and delta-compression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Exagrid Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas G. Hansen, Daniel P. Martinelli, Lucas H. Makosky, Mark B. Hecker, Stephen A. Smith, Adrian T. VanderSpek, David G. Therrien
  • Patent number: 11153676
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are electronic devices having a deformable surfaces through which a user can provide inputs to the device by applying a force such as a pinch or a squeeze. A particular embodiment is an earpiece with the deformable surface part of an elongate section extending from an earbud. The deformable surface includes an incompressible hyperelastic material and a pressure sensor. The pressure sensor includes a pressure sensing element and a void defined between the pressure sensing element and the incompressible hyperelastic material. An applied force is transferred by the incompressible hyperelastic material to compress the void and change an internal pressure thereof. The changed pressure is detected by the pressure sensor, and can result in changed operation of the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: John Stephen Smith, Storrs T. Hoen
  • Publication number: 20210303152
    Abstract: In some examples, an input device includes a non-linear component, such as a diode. In response to a drive signal, such as a sinusoidal wave, the non-linear passive input device can produce a non-linear output that includes frequency content at the second and other higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency of the drive signal, for example. In some examples, drive electrodes can be driven with a drive signal having one of two fundamental frequencies such that the frequency of the drive signals are applied in an alternating pattern. The electronic device can sense the signal of the stylus to determine the coarse location of the stylus along the sense electrodes and, based on the frequency content of the received signal, a fine location along the axis of the drive electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Inventors: Srinath HOSUR, Aryan HAZEGHI, John Stephen SMITH
  • Publication number: 20210294430
    Abstract: An input device includes a keycap, a first electrode disposed to move in response to movement of the keycap, a planar array of electrodes extending at least partially under the keycap, and a sensor. The planar array of electrodes includes a second electrode, a third electrode, and a fourth electrode extending between the second electrode and the third electrode. The sensor is coupled to at least one of the second electrode or the third electrode and configured to generate a signal indicative of a change in capacitive coupling between the second electrode and the third electrode. The change in the capacitive coupling may result from movement of the first electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Publication date: September 23, 2021
    Inventors: John Stephen Smith, David S. Graff, Nicolas M. Golzio, Shahrzad Pouryayevali, Wayne C. Westerman, Christophe Blondin
  • Patent number: 11107465
    Abstract: The present application discloses a multi-media interactive story-telling system that provides natural conversational interactions between a human user and a contributor who appears in multi-media recordings. The multi-media interactive story-telling system includes an intake device for recording interview sessions in which a contributor tells a life story about her life experience. The contributor may rely on a script when creating the life story. The multi-media interactive story-telling system further comprises storage devices for storing the recorded interview sessions and processors for organizing the recorded interview sessions. The multi-media interactive story-telling system further comprises an interactive device for retrieving and playing a recorded interview session in response to a query from a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: StoryFile, LLC
    Inventors: Samuel Gustman, Stephen Smith, Heather Maio-Smith, Julia Campbell, Andrew Jones
  • Patent number: 11093151
    Abstract: A method, a system and a computer program product for performing deduplicating data. A data stream having a plurality of data zones is received. One or more data storage locations in a plurality of data storage locations for deduplicating one or more zones in the plurality of zones is identified. Each data storage location stores its respective deduplicated data zones. A data storage location for deduplicating a first data zone is selected. The first data zone is deduplicated using the selected data storage location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Exagrid Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Adrian T. Vanderspek, Luis Arruda, Peter Watkins, Raz Zieber, Stephen A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20210240377
    Abstract: A method, a system and a computer program product for performing deduplicating data. A data stream having a plurality of data zones is received. One or more data storage locations in a plurality of data storage locations for deduplicating one or more zones in the plurality of zones is identified. Each data storage location stores its respective deduplicated data zones. A data storage location for deduplicating a first data zone is selected. The first data zone is deduplicated using the selected data storage location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Adrian T. VanderSpek, Luis Arruda, Peter Watkins, Raz Zieber, Stephen A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20210224379
    Abstract: A method, a system, and a computer program product for protection and recovery of backup storage systems from ransomware attacks. A request to modify data stored in a storage system is received. The storage system includes at least one component configured to store the deduplicated data. An acknowledgement of the received request is generated. The acknowledgement indicates that the data stored in the at least one component and identified in the received request was modified. Modification of the data stored in the at least one component and identified in the received request for a predetermined period of time is prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Publication date: July 22, 2021
    Inventors: Alex Pientka, Michael Carleton, Adrian T. VanderSpek, Stephen Smith, Luke Makosky, Peter Watkins, Nathaniel W. Turner, Sandra C. Scott, Yee-ching Chao, Thomas J. Gillispie, William Andrews, David G. Therrien, Jamey C. Poirier, Mark B. Hecker, Andrew H. French
  • Publication number: 20210219005
    Abstract: A playout system for providing playout of fragmented video content is provided. The system includes a non-transitory data store and a processor. The processor is configured to playout content for video origination using a fragmented format. The processor can receive a playlist and generate a plurality of video fragments from source content. A transcoder can process video fragments based on one or more program scheduling requirements from the playlist to generate new video fragments. A manifest is updated to reference the new video fragments. The process can output a video stream based on the new video fragments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Inventors: Stephen Smith, Yuval Fisher, Brick Eksten, Steven Reynolds
  • Publication number: 20210173821
    Abstract: A method, a system, and a computer program product for performing accelerated and memory efficient similarity matching. A data stream having a plurality of data zones is received. Each zone includes a zone identifier. A plurality of hashing values for each zone are generated. Each hashing value is generated based on a portion of a zone. A storage structure having a plurality of storage containers is generated. Each storage container stores one or more hashing values associated with each respective storage container and a plurality of zone identifiers referencing the associated hashing values. At least one storage container includes a listing of zone identifiers stored in each storage container. Using the storage structure, the received data stream is deduplicated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Inventors: Adrian T. VanderSpek, Luis Arruda, Jamey C. Poirier, Stephen A. Smith, Raz Zieber, Peter Watkins
  • Publication number: 20210163112
    Abstract: A propulsion system for a boat comprises a plurality of aerofoils connected to a main mast. At least one of the aerofoils is a displaceable aerofoil adapted to be displaced along the main mast between an open position and a closed position. When the displaceable aerofoil is in its open position the aerofoils together form a sail of open sail area. When the displaceable aerofoil is in its closed position at least some of the aerofoils overlap to form a sail of closed sail area, the closed sail area being less than the open sail area. The propulsion system can include a displacement mechanism to displace the displaceable aerofoil between its open and closed positions; at least one of the aerofoils having a solar panel thereon; and/or a stub mast extending along and free to rotate about a stub axis and; connected to the main mast by a stub pivot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventor: Darrell Stephen Smith
  • Patent number: 11023434
    Abstract: Examples of a no rollback threshold for an audit trail are disclosed. In one example implementation according to aspects of the present disclosure, a method may include processing, by a computing system, a database transaction, and determining, by the computing system, whether a transaction span of the transaction exceeds a no rollback threshold for an audit trail. The method may include, in response to determining that the transaction span exceeds the no rollback threshold, converting, by the computing system, the transaction into a no rollback transaction. Additionally, the method may include, in response to determining that the transaction span exceeds the no rollback threshold, abandoning, by the computing system, the transaction if an error is encountered during the processing the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
    Inventors: Sean L. Broeder, Gary Stephen Smith, Shang-Sheng Tung, John Stewart de Roo
  • Publication number: 20210160589
    Abstract: A system for producing fragmented video content is provided. The system includes a processing device, a non-transitory data store, and a memory storage device having at least a Manifest Processing Service (MPS) unit stored therein. The MPS unit is configured to generate at least one master manifest and store the master manifest in the non-transitory data store, the master manifest comprising a timing reference for a video fragment of the fragmented video content, wherein the timing reference indicates a temporal boundary of processing for the video fragment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Brick Eksten, Stephen Smith, Yuval Fisher, Steven Reynolds
  • Patent number: 10999611
    Abstract: A playout system for providing playout of fragmented video content is provided. The system includes a non-transitory data store and a processor. The processor is configured to playout content for video origination using a fragmented format. The processor can receive a playlist and generate a plurality of video fragments from source content. A transcoder can process video fragments based on one or more program scheduling requirements from the playlist to generate new video fragments. A manifest is updated to reference the new video fragments. The process can output a video stream based on the new video fragments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS CORP.
    Inventors: Stephen Smith, Yuval Fisher, Brick Eksten, Steven Reynolds
  • Patent number: 10948331
    Abstract: A capacitive sensing system may include a fluid cup configured to receive a fluid, and processing circuitry and a capacitive sensor coupled to one another, the capacitive sensor is a distance separated from and in parallel with a top surface of the fluid in the fluid cup, the distance the capacitive sensor is separated from the top surface of the fluid being variable with a fill level of the fluid in the fluid cup. The capacitive sensor and the fluid in the fluid cup may form elements of a capacitor with a capacitance that is a function of at least the distance the capacitive sensor is separated from the top surface of the fluid. The processing circuitry may be configured to measure a change in signal corresponding to a change in capacitance of the capacitor and determine the fill level based on a magnitude of the change in signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
    Inventors: George Marshall Horne, Thomas Josefsson, Stephen Smith, Paul Stoufer, Vasantha Chitta
  • Patent number: 10938252
    Abstract: A wireless power transmitting device transmits wireless power signals to a wireless power receiving device. To detect foreign objects, the wireless power transmitting device has an array of temperature sensors. The array of temperature sensors may include temperature sensor components such as temperature sensitive thin-film resistors or other temperature sensitive components. A temperature sensor may have thin-film resistors formed on opposing sides of a substrate. The thin-film resistors may be formed from meandered metal traces to reduce eddy current formation during operation of the wireless power transmitting device. Signal paths coupling control circuitry on the wireless power transmitting device to the array of temperature sensors may be configured to extend along columns of the temperature sensors without running along each row of the temperature sensors, thereby reducing eddy currents from loops of signal routing lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: J. Stephen Smith, Siddharth Seth, Douglas J. Adams, Michael A. Cretella
  • Patent number: D936161
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Inventor: Stephen Smith