Patents by Inventor Douglas L. Ahrens

Douglas L. Ahrens 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).

  • On-demand content control based on parental control setting
    Patent number: 8832725
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a request receiver, a content selector, and a transmission initiator. The request receiver receives a request from a remote player for a transmission of on-demand content. The request includes a rating control setting. The rating control setting indicates an allowable rating for the on-demand content. The content selector identifies a content file relating to the on-demand content with a rating matching the rating control setting. The content selector also selects, based on the rating control setting, the identified content file for the transmission to the remote player. The transmission initiator initiates the transmission of the selected content file to the remote player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Douglas L. Ahrens
  • Micro-Filtering of Streaming Entertainment Content Based on Parental Control Setting
    Publication number: 20120159530
    Abstract: Enhanced parent control may be provided. In various embodiments, a consumer device may receive a plurality of elementary streams. The consumer device may comprise a decoder capable of extracting and decoding content advisory information directly from the elementary streams. The decoded content advisory information may be compared to user-determined parental control settings. The plurality of elementary streams may then be filtered individually such that a portion less than the entirety of a program contained in the elementary streams is not presented or replaced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2010
    Publication date: June 21, 2012
    Applicant: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Douglas L. Ahrens, Peter Chave, Jatin Desai
  • ON-DEMAND CONTENT CONTROL BASED ON PARENTAL CONTROL SETTING
    Publication number: 20100050216
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a request receiver, a content selector, and a transmission initiator. The request receiver receives a request from a remote player for a transmission of on-demand content. The request includes a rating control setting. The rating control setting indicates an allowable rating for the on-demand content. The content selector identifies a content file relating to the on-demand content with a rating matching the rating control setting. The content selector also selects, based on the rating control setting, the identified content file for the transmission to the remote player. The transmission initiator initiates the transmission of the selected content file to the remote player.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2008
    Publication date: February 25, 2010
    Applicant: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Douglas L. Ahrens