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: 9196067
    Abstract: A projection, image, and depth capture system projects content into a scene and captures images of the scene as the user interacts with the content. The system uses depth analysis to determine location and distance of available surfaces in the scene onto which the content can be projected. Due to the complexity of this analysis and the inherent imperfections of the electronic and optical components, depth analysis possesses inherent noise that may adversely affect the accuracy of the projected image onto the surface. The system is configured with noise compensation technology that averages depth information over multiple image frames captured from the scene. The averaged information leads to a more consistent measurement of the distance to the surface, which in turn allows for more accurate focus of the projected content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ian W. Freed, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9191742
    Abstract: Techniques for enhancing audio at a network-accessible computing platform and then providing the enhanced audio to a client device. By enhancing the audio remotely at the computing platform rather than locally at the client device, the client device need not include the infrastructure (e.g., hardware and software) required to perform these audio enhancements. Therefore, the client device may be manufactured at a lesser expense as compared to devices that perform the enhancements themselves. Instead, the client devices described herein simply receive the pre-enhanced audio and directly output this audio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9169627
    Abstract: A toilet lever system includes a body for extending through a toilet wall, a stem extending through the body for movement relative to the body, a decorative flange covering the stem and removeably attaching to the body, and a handle attaching to the stem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Liberty Hardware Mfg. Corp.
    Inventors: James Leroy Daniels, William Spencer
  • Publication number: 20150261310
    Abstract: A one-dimensional input system is provided. The input system comprises a plurality of characters arranged on a single dimension. User input along the dimension is continuously disambiguated. The characters may be arranged based on factors including motor efficiency, optimization of disambiguation and learnability. A touchscreen interface of the one-dimensional input system is provided. A gesture-based interface of the one-dimensional input system is also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2013
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Inventors: William Spencer Walmsley, William Xavier Snelgrove, Khai Nhut Truong, Severin Ovila Ambroise Smith
  • Patent number: 9137511
    Abstract: Devices and techniques are described for generating three-dimensional (3D) models of objects. Depth data acquired from a depth camera system is used with data about surface normals to generate a 3D model of the object. The depth camera system may use cameras or projectors with different baseline distances to generate depth data. The use of different baseline distances may improve accuracy of the depth data. The data about surface normals may be calculated from images acquired when the object is illuminated from different angles. By using the depth data and relative depth changes from the surface normal data, high resolution spatial data may be generated at high frame rates. Data from multiple baseline distances may also be combined to improve performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: Louis L. LeGrand, III, Christopher Coley, William Spencer Worley, III, Edward Dietz Crump
  • Patent number: 9134593
    Abstract: A display system having a modulated light source is configured to include one or more non-visible wavelengths as part of the display sequence. In one implementation a color wheel, configured to modulate the wavelengths emitted by a projector, includes an infrared (IR) segment, allowing for projection of an IR image. The wavelength modulated non-visible light may be spatially modulated to generate a structured light pattern, for signaling, to synchronization with other devices, and so forth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, William Thomas Weatherford, Christopher Coley, Edward Dietz Crump
  • Patent number: 9111522
    Abstract: The implementations described include an audio canceling device that receives and audio signal from within an environment, identifies desired and undesired audio from the received audio signal and generates an attenuation-signal for use in canceling out or reducing the volume of the undesired audio at a canceling location. In addition, the audio canceling device, may determine a time delay before the attenuation-signal should be transmitted from an output based on a distance between the undesired audio source location and the canceling location and a distance between the output and the canceling location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 9111326
    Abstract: An augmented reality system is configured to identify and track user gestures, sounds, and interaction with physical objects to designate active zones. These active zones may be allocated additional processing and functional resources. Gestures may include particular hand or body motions, orientation of a user's head, and so forth. Sounds may include clapping, clicks, whistles, taps, footfalls, humming, singing, speech, and so forth. Active areas as well as inactive areas of lesser or no interest may be designated as well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, William Thomas Weatherford, Christopher Coley, Edward Dietz Crump, Jonathan Betts-LaCroix
  • Patent number: 9063996
    Abstract: A method, system, and program product are provided for minimizing replication when a new server is replicated with. A replication application for a client computer having a replica of a database thereon is executed by a processor in a computer to receive for a replication service comprising a plurality of servers containing replicas of the database, an indication of each healthy server in the replication service and a determined period of time within which replication is assured to have been completed for each healthy server. The replication application updates a replication history after successful completion of each replication by adding an entry comprising an identification for the server replicated with and a timestamp for the time of replication and by adding an entry for each other healthy server in the replication service containing an identification for the respective server and an imputed timestamp adjusted for the determined period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Russell Holden, William A. Spencer
  • Publication number: 20150165922
    Abstract: This disclosure describes an automated mobile vehicle configured to autonomously provide coverage for inoperable infrastructure components at various locations. For example, a plurality of automated mobile vehicles may be deployed to provide emergency lighting, a wireless network, audio, video, etc., at an event area. The event area may be indoors and/or outdoors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2014
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Eric Mathew Clayton
  • Patent number: 9052226
    Abstract: An autonomous sump (ASP) system is designed to remove water from a sump using a source of power other than commercial electrical power or battery power. The ASP system can be a stand-alone unit or, alternatively, can be used along with a preexisting sump pump system. In some embodiments, the ASP system can provide an alert to a building owner of the ASP system failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Inventors: David Leonard Irwin, IV, Fitz-William Byrd Taylor, III, William Spencer Irwin
  • Patent number: 9007473
    Abstract: An architecture has one or more systems for generating augmented reality environments configured to access cloud services over a network. A user is authenticated within the environments, and once authenticated is permitted to interact with the cloud services using the augmented reality environments as well as client resources provided within the environments. The client resources may include devices or things that are primary intended for use within the environments, and devices or things that are not typically associated with augmented reality environments. The architecture enables the client resources to function as thin client interfaces to the cloud services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, William Thomas Weatherford, Christopher Coley, Edward Dietz Crump
  • Patent number: 8970693
    Abstract: Structured light patterns are projected onto an object and images of the structured light interacting with the surface of the object are acquired, as well as grayscale information. Edges within the structured light patterns are detected and depth sample points on the edges are used to determine distance to those sample points. The grayscale information is used to construct surface normals. From these normals relative surface contours such as curves or slopes may be determined. A model of a surface of the object is generated using the distances and the contours.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: Samuel Henry Chang, Christopher Coley, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 8953889
    Abstract: An augmented reality environment allows interaction between virtual and real objects and enhances an unstructured real-world environment. An object datastore comprising attributes of an object within the environment may be built and/or maintained from sources including manufacturers, retailers, shippers, and users. This object datastore may be local, cloud based, or a combination thereof. Applications may interrogate the object datastore to provide user functionality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: William Spencer Worley, III, Edward Dietz Crump
  • Publication number: 20150014505
    Abstract: A hardware assembly is provided with a base for mounting to a support surface, the base having a longitudinal axis. A receiving member extends outwardly from the base along the longitudinal axis, the receiving member having an aperture. A hardware component is mounted to the receiving member in a plane that includes the longitudinal axis. According to at least one embodiment, an accessory may be removably received within the receiving member aperture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: LIBERTY HARDWARE MFG.CORP.
    Inventors: Neil Edwards, Helli McDaniel, Laura Hawkins, Geraint Krumpe, William Spencer
  • Patent number: 8905551
    Abstract: An augmented reality system may generate an augmented reality environment by projecting images onto various surfaces within a scene. A projection accessory display device (PADD) provides known characteristics for projection, and may be configured to simplify generation and maintenance of the projected image upon the PADD. The PADD may also provide one or more input devices which accept input from a user within the augmented reality environment. The PADD may comprise non-electronic passive components, electronic active components, or a combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 8858062
    Abstract: An apparatus for distributing a slurry can include a trough configured to be removably attached to a discharge chute of a ready-mix truck and receive a slurry discharged therefrom where the trough has a front including a flange configured to extend under the discharge chute. The apparatus can include an enclosed basin connected to a lower end of the trough proximate to a midpoint of the enclosed basin and an aperture defined within the enclosed basin and configured to enable the slurry to flow from the trough into the enclosed basin. The enclosed basin can include at least one covered access port where the at least one covered access port is configured to be opened and configured to be closed. The apparatus can include a plurality of drainage nozzles disposed along a bottom of the enclosed basin and configured to distribute the slurry to a plurality of locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Brigham Young University
    Inventors: William Spencer Guthrie, John M. Coyle, David Odell Anderson, Charles Hope
  • Patent number: 8845107
    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: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Coley, Jonathan Betts-LaCroix, William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 8845110
    Abstract: An augmented reality system may generate an augmented reality environment by projecting images onto various surfaces within a scene. A projection accessory display device (PADD) provides known characteristics for projection, and may be configured to simplify generation and maintenance of the projected image upon the PADD. The PADD may also provide one or more input devices which accept input from a user within the augmented reality environment. The PADD may comprise non-electronic passive components, electronic active components, or a combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventor: William Spencer Worley, III
  • Patent number: 8840250
    Abstract: An augmented reality environment allows interaction between virtual and real objects. Various surfaces within the environment such as walls, tables, countertop, chairs, floor, ceiling, and so forth may be used as projection surfaces. Qualified projection surfaces are determined, and an initial projection surface is selected for use from these. This selection may take into account user preferences, user orientation, types of image to be projected, and so forth. Other qualified projection surfaces may have visual indicators projected thereon, indicating relative suitability for use as a projection surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Rawles LLC
    Inventors: Ning Yao, William Spencer Worley, III, Edward Dietz Crump