Patents by Inventor William Spencer

William Spencer 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: 9996972
    Abstract: An augmented reality environment allows interaction between virtual and real objects. By monitoring user actions with the augmented reality environment various functions are provided to users. Users may buy or sell items with a gesture, check inventory of objects in the augmented reality environment, view advertisements, and so forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Edward Dietz Crump, Colter E. Cederlof, Christopher Coley, Robert A. Yuan
  • Patent number: 9968078
    Abstract: Described is an apparatus and system for detecting fishing related events and providing notifications to a fisher regarding those events. When a fishing related event, such as a fish on line event occurs, it results in a fishing rod flexing or moving in particular directions. The described implementations include sensors located on or in the fishing rod that provide position data that is utilized to monitor a movement of the fishing rod and determine a type of fishing related event that has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9921641
    Abstract: An augmented reality environment allows interaction between virtual and real objects. By monitoring user actions with the augmented reality environment various functions are provided to users. Users may buy or sell items with a gesture, check inventory of objects in the augmented reality environment, view advertisements, and so forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Christopher Coley, Robert A. Yuan, Edward Dietz Crump, Colter E. Cederlof
  • Patent number: 9916830
    Abstract: Techniques for altering audio being output by a voice-controlled device, or another device, to enable more accurate automatic speech recognition (ASR) by the voice-controlled device. For instance, a voice-controlled device may output audio within an environment using a speaker of the device. While outputting the audio, a microphone of the device may capture sound within the environment and may generate an audio signal based on the captured sound. The device may then analyze the audio signal to identify speech of a user within the signal, with the speech indicating that the user is going to provide a subsequent command to the device. Thereafter, the device may alter the output of the audio (e.g., attenuate the audio, pause the audio, switch from stereo to mono, etc.) to facilitate speech recognition of the user's subsequent command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory Michael Hart, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Publication number: 20180064322
    Abstract: An illumination system for a surgical device is provided. The illumination system includes a tubular body made of a light permeable material and having at least one lumen extending between a distal end and a proximal end. The illumination system further includes a light source. At least one light diffusing optical fiber is disposed in the at least one lumen, the at least one light diffusing optical fiber having a core, primary cladding, and a plurality of nano-sized structures, the optical fiber further including an outer surface, and an end optically coupled to the light source. The fiber is configured to scatter guided light via the nano-sized structures away from the core and through the outer surface, to form a light-source fiber portion having a length that emits substantially uniform radiation over its length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Inventors: William Spencer Klubben, III, Horst Schreiber
  • Publication number: 20180067095
    Abstract: In one general aspect, a computer-readable storage medium can be configured to store instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform a process. The instructions comprising instructions to trigger flow of an alternating current having a waveform defining a range of frequencies from a waveform generator to a reinforcing bar embedded within concrete via a probe coupled to a surface of the concrete, and receive an indicator of a time-resolved current magnitude of the alternating current through a portion of the concrete associated with the surface of the concrete.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Inventors: Paul David Bartholomew, William Spencer Guthrie, Brian Anthony Mazzeo
  • Publication number: 20170347393
    Abstract: An automated mobile vehicle configured to autonomously provide coverage for inoperable infrastructure components at various locations. In accordance with disclosed implementations, a plurality of automated mobile vehicles are deployed to provide emergency lighting, a wireless network, audio, video, etc., at an indoor and/or outdoor event area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Eric Mathew Clayton
  • Patent number: 9816978
    Abstract: In one general aspect, a system can include a probe configured to be coupled to a concrete surface of a portion of concrete. The system can include a waveform generator configured to trigger flow of a current to the portion of concrete via the probe and configured to reference a potential of a reinforcing bar embedded within the concrete. The system can also include a current detector configured to detect a magnitude of the current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Brigham Young University
    Inventors: Paul David Bartholomew, William Spencer Guthrie, Brian Anthony Mazzeo
  • Publication number: 20170315712
    Abstract: Techniques are described for feature switching in a multi-tenant cloud service. In one implementation, a computer program product comprises a computer-readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith. The program code is executable by a computing device to provide a user interface to modify feature controls of a multi-tenant cloud service, identify a set of users whose support changes according to the feature controls, and adjust the feature controls based on the identified set of users.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: John D. Curtis, Terry J. Linsey, Shi M. Qu, Meredith I. Roman, Meghan E. Russ, Azadeh Salehi, William A. Spencer, Ya N. Zhang
  • Publication number: 20170311806
    Abstract: A beam-shaping optical system includes a sheath defining a central cavity having an inner wall, an optical fiber positioned within the cavity and engaged with the inner wall of the sheath, and a beam-shaping insert positioned within the sheath and engaged with the inner wall of the sheath. The beam-shaping insert includes a beam-shaping element with a reflective element aligned with an optical axis of the optical fiber. The optical fiber is configured to emit an electromagnetic beam toward the beam-shaping element and the beam-shaping element is configured to reflect the electromagnetic beam externally to the beam-shaping insert.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: Lovell Elgin Comstock, II, William Spencer Klubben, III, Daniel Max Staloff
  • Patent number: 9773028
    Abstract: Systems and methods for defining attributes for one or more entries in a computer implemented directory structure. The method comprises grouping a set of non-schema attributes associated with a directory entry into a multivalue schema attribute, wherein the multivalue attribute comprises values associated with each of the corresponding non-schema attributes grouped into the multivalue attribute; encoding at least one of the non-schema attributes into a string having one or more parts; and performing computing operations on the non-schema attributes in the directory entries based on content of the encoded strings defined in the multivalue attribute in which the respective non-schema attributes are grouped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ken K. Lin, William A. Spencer
  • Patent number: 9766057
    Abstract: Objects and their placement within a particular scene may be characterized using structured light with no or minimal manual intervention or calibration to the scene. The structured light pattern may be rendered with visible light, yet imperceptible to users, by generating a set of opposing excursions in one or more image properties for durations which are shorter than the integration time of the human eye. A set of assumptions and ongoing testing of those assumptions against physical objects identified within the environment allows characterization of the scene and the objects therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Coley, Jonathan Betts-LaCroix, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9762862
    Abstract: A device includes a projection and camera system to create an augmented reality environment in which images are projected onto a scene and user movement within the scene is captured. The projection and camera system have a camera to image scattered light from the environment and determine depth of objects in the environment. The system also has a projector to project the images onto the scene. The projection images and captured environment images share a common optical path through the same lens. The system includes an image noise cancelation system to cancel, remove, or otherwise reduce unwanted image noise caused by internal reflection of the projection images from the environment images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Christopher D. Coley, Eric G. Marason, William Thomas Weatherford
  • Publication number: 20170216621
    Abstract: A therapeutic illumination assembly includes a catheter and a point source treatment fiber. The catheter comprises a catheter wall encircling a luminal fluid pathway. The point source treatment fiber is positioned within the luminal fluid pathway of the catheter. Further, the point source treatment fiber comprises a plurality of light emitting point sources intermittently positioned along a treatment length of the point source treatment fiber such that the plurality of light emitting point sources irradiate the catheter when the plurality of light emitting point sources emit light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Michael Lucien Genier, William Spencer Klubben, III
  • Patent number: 9721386
    Abstract: Augmented reality environments allow users in their physical environment to interact with virtual objects and information. Augmented reality applications are developed and configured to utilize local as well as cloud resources. Application management allows control over distribution of applications to select groups or all users. An application programming interface allows simplified control and distribution of tasks between local and cloud resources during development and post-development operation. This integration between local and cloud resources along with the control afforded by application management allows rapid development, testing, deployment, and updating of augmented reality applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Jonathan Betts-LaCroix, Edward Dietz Crump
  • Patent number: 9723656
    Abstract: An automated mobile vehicle configured to autonomously provide coverage for inoperable infrastructure components at various locations. In accordance with disclosed embodiments, a plurality of automated mobile vehicles are deployed to provide emergency lighting, a wireless network, audio, video, etc., at an indoor and/or outdoor event area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Eric Mathew Clayton
  • Patent number: 9640179
    Abstract: Techniques for tailoring beamforming techniques to environments such that processing resources may be devoted to a portion of an audio signal corresponding to a lobe of a beampattern that is most likely to contain user speech. The techniques take into account both acoustic characteristics of an environment and heuristics regarding lobes that have previously been found to include user speech.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory Michael Hart, Kavitha Velusamy, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9607315
    Abstract: Techniques for enabling an augmented reality system to complement operation of existing output devices in an environment are described herein. An augmented reality system may include one or more augmented reality functional nodes (ARFNs) that are configured to project content onto different non-powered and/or powered display mediums. The ARFN may identify existing output devices, as well as any content that these content output devices currently output. The ARFN may then either take over the display of the content when appropriate, or may project related content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Publication number: 20160353725
    Abstract: Described is an apparatus and system for detecting fishing related events and providing notifications to a fisher regarding those events. When a fishing related event, such as a fish on line event occurs, it results in a fishing rod flexing or moving in particular directions. The described implementations include sensors located on or in the fishing rod that provide position data that is utilized to monitor a movement of the fishing rod and determine a type of fishing related event that has occurred.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Publication number: 20160355304
    Abstract: A dosing device for dispensing liquid from a container (1) in which flow through flow openings (23) to an outlet tube (44) is blocked after controlled delay by an obturator (3) moveable within a control chamber (2) mounted in a container neck (101) behind the outlet tube (44). Movement of the obturator (3) is governed by restricted flow through control openings (28) at the rear of the control chamber. Restoration of the obturator to the back of the control chamber facilitates repeated dosing. An elastomeric element (6) of resiliently deformable material promotes a seal to achieve a cleanly defined dose. In one proposal the elastomeric element coats the surface of the obturator and/or the outlet tube (64) to cut off the flow. Another proposal provides a one-way elastomeric valve element (63) for blocking the flow openings to enable rapid recovery after a dosing operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2016
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Inventors: Brian Robert Law, Jeffrey William Spencer, David John Pritchett