Interesting Patents
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants hundreds of new patents every week, showcasing the most exciting developments in technology and innovation.
In this article, we highlight several interesting US patents recently issued by the USPTO.
Looking for more information on patents? Visit our Patents Page here. We also recommend that you check out our Intellectual Property Resources page for guides, videos, and insight on patents and inventorship. We also provide Tips on Choosing a Patent Lawyer.
US PAT. NO. D948,379
INVENTION OVERVIEW:
Filed January 22, 2020
This would appear to be the design patent for the Ferrari 2020 F8 Tributo, a mid-engine V8 released in May of 2020.
PATENT CLAIM:
The ornamental design for an automobile, as shown and described.
INVENTION OVERVIEW:
Facebook has been granted a patent for a virtual reality workspace. The system can display the virtual reality workspace on real-world surfaces or arguments reality displays to provide the user with their workspace. The virtual reality workspace may enable greater collaboration between users, including auto-population of both users and content items in an organized artificial reality working environment.
PATENT ABSTRACT:
”
Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to creating and administering artificial reality collaborative working environments and providing interaction modes for them. An XR work system can provide and control such artificial reality collaborative working environments to enable, for example, A) links between real-world surfaces and XR surfaces; B) links between multiple real-world areas to XR areas with dedicated functionality; C) maintaining access, while inside the artificial reality working environment, to real-world work tools such as the user’s computer screen and keyboard; D) various hand and controller modes for different interaction and collaboration modalities; E) use-based, multi-desk collaborative room configurations; and F) context-based auto population of users and content items into the artificial reality working environment.”
PATENT BACKGROUND:
“As the global marketplace increases, and challenges such as distributed teams and health concerns requiring social distancing become more prevalent, remote working and collaboration is becoming ever more common. Remote working typically involves an assortment of technologies such as remote access to shared documents, various texts-based communication services (e.g., email, instant message, text message, etc.), telephone communication, and video calling. Such remote working provides a number of benefits, such as reduced travel times, increased health and safety, and greater flexibility. However, remote workers face a number of challenges not experienced by their in-office counterparts. For example, video calls remain a pale imitation of face-to-face interactions. Understanding body language and context can be difficult with only a two-dimensional (“2D”) representation of a sender. In addition, the limitation of video calling on a flat panel display introduces an intrusive layer of technology that can distract from communication and diminishes the perception of in-person communication. Remote workers often complain of missing out on the “watercooler” conversations, and often feel forgotten by their coworkers. Further, collaboration between teams in remote locations using traditional voice or 2D communication channels have been less effective than in-person experiences, e.g., with documents and whiteboard spaces that various participants can view and work on simultaneously.
Artificial reality, extended reality, or extra reality (collectively “XR”) is a form of reality that has been adjusted in some manner before presentation to a user, which may include, e.g., virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), hybrid reality, or some combination and/or derivatives thereof. Various XR environments exist, allowing representations of users to move about and speak with one another. However, such XR environments hove not effectively been created to facilitate collaboration and do not integrate into workflows for remote workers.”
US PAT. NO. 11,298,620
INVENTION OVERVIEW:
This patent focuses on a head-to-head game between users, where the game system determines a user score based on their performance in the game. When users compete against each other, the system determines an adjustment to each user’s score based on the game’s result.
PATENT ABSTRACT:
A game system includes: a versus game processing section configured to perform a versus game process against another player; an index data storage section configured to store index data that varies in accordance with a win/loss result in a versus game; an index update section configured to update the index data on the basis of a win/loss result of a player; a first parameter change section configured to change a first parameter associated with a first object included in a predetermined development target, when the index data has satisfied a predetermined condition; and a presentation section configured to present an image of the first object in which the changed parameter is reflected, to the player.
PATENT BACKGROUND:
Hitherto, a game system is known which more appropriately matches players who have play skills close to each other, against each other (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-144367). In such a game system, a value representing a player’s play skill that is strength of play is used as an ability rating. Players having ability rating values close to each other are selected and determined as players who perform match-up play against each other.
In the above game system, the rates are merely used for opponent selection.
Therefore, it is an object of the exemplary embodiments to provide an unprecedented new game system that uses rates as described above.
