Patents by Inventor William Michael Beals

William Michael Beals 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: 10294600
    Abstract: Discussed herein is a system for detecting an operating condition of a clothes washing machine or a clothes drying machine, which can include a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor, the MEMS sensor being physically attached to the clothes washing or drying machine and a computerized controller, such as a home automation controller, can be in communication with the MEMS sensor. The computerized controller can receive signals from the MEMS sensor that indicate the state of the clothes washing or drying machine. After receiving signals indicating the state of the clothes washing or drying machine, the computerized controller can use the signals to determine the operating condition of the clothes washing or drying machine and send a notification to a user device about the clothes washing or drying machine including the operating condition of the clothes washing or drying machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies International Corporation
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10298991
    Abstract: A method and device for associating a remote with a component. The method and system may include receiving a control command from the remote. Upon receiving the control command, an identification signal may be transmitted to a display. The identification signal may include information for identifying the component. The remote may be associated with the component based on the identification signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: DISH TECHNOLOGIES L.L.C.
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10282569
    Abstract: Various embodiments provide a dual purpose press-bar and heat sink for an integrated circuit card (ICC) reader. The dual purpose press-bar and heat sink provides two functions. First, the dual purpose press-bar and heat sink conducts and dissipates internal heat generated by a high data transfer ICC inserted in to the ICC reader. Second, the dual purpose press-bar and heat sink ensures that contact pads of the high data transfer ICC create reliable electrical connections with ICC contacts of the ICC reader. As such, the dual purpose press-bar and heat sink simultaneously dissipates heat from a high data transfer ICC and ensures that a high data transfer ICC maintains proper electrical connections with ICC contacts of an ICC reader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: Dish Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Jerome A. LaPalme
  • Publication number: 20190122050
    Abstract: Embodiments detailed herein can include performing an initial calibration that maps each optical character of the plurality of optical characters visible in a field-of-view of a digital camera of a wide-area parking space monitoring system with corresponding parking spaces. The digital camera of the system may capture an image facing downward toward the parking spaces. The system may identify one or more optical characters that are visible within the image. The system may determine one or more parking spaces of the plurality of parking spaces that are mapped to the identified one or more optical characters, The system may output an indication of the determined one or more parking spaces that indicates the one or more parking spaces are available.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2017
    Publication date: April 25, 2019
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Karam J. Saab
  • Publication number: 20190044948
    Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a network gateway device (“gateway”) that provides various network management features, including a device zoning feature in which client computing devices (“client devices”) connected to the gateway are assigned to different device zones. The client devices connected to the gateway form a local area network (LAN) of the gateway, and can access an external network, e.g., Internet, using the gateway. Each of the device zones has a specific set of network access privileges. Different device zones can have different network access privileges and can provide device isolation in the LAN at different degrees.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10187402
    Abstract: A request is received to reestablish a connection to an end device in a network. At least one datum is identified indicating an error condition, the at least one datum including one or more of a bit error rate (BER), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value, and a foreign packet. Based on the one or more data values, user input is requested to deny the reestablish connection request. In response to the user input, the end device is prevented from reestablishing a link on the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies International Corporation
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10171870
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for providing hardware based security to software applications in a television receiver. The system can include a television receiver having a trusted hardware environment that includes a security processor and a standard environment that includes an application processor. The security processor can ensure that at least a portion of the software application executed by the application processor is secure. A portion of the software application code can be placed in an interrupt service routine memory space. During execution of the software application, the security processor can security check the portion of the software application in the interrupt service routine memory space, making it trusted code. The security processor can force the application processor to execute the trusted code by triggering an interrupt. Such forced execution can allow the security processor to not only ensure that code is trusted, but that it is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10134304
    Abstract: Various arrangements for avoiding obstacles for a visually-impaired pedestrian are presented. An m by n matrix of distance measurements may be created using a scanning time of flight (ToF) sensor component for various different directions. The m by n matrix of distance measurements and the m by n direction matrix may be analyzed to identify a first obstacle having a vertical height that differs by at least a predefined threshold measurement from a neighboring second region. Based on identifying the first obstacle, an indication of the first obstacle and an indication of the distance to the first obstacle determined using the m by n matrix of distance indications may be output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Jeffrey Lang McSchooler
  • Patent number: 10097873
    Abstract: A method for providing remote access to segments of a transmitted program is presented. The program is recorded, and then stored at a communication server. Information specifying a segment of the stored program is transferred from a communication device to the communication server. Also, a request for access to the specified segment of the stored program is transferred from another communication device to the communication server. In response to the request, the specified segment of the program is transferred from the communication server to the requesting communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: DISH TECHNOLOGIES L.L.C.
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10097903
    Abstract: A media device may be configured for receiving data from one or more satellites. The media device may include one or more processors and one or more storage devices. A first tuner of a media device may tune to a first data stream that came from a first satellite transponder. A second tuner of the media device may tune to a second data stream that came from a second satellite transponder. The first data stream and the second data stream may be derived from source data based at least in part on a data distribution scheme. The data distribution scheme may include distributing at least portions of the source data with the first data stream and the second data stream. The first data stream and/or the second data stream may be processed to store and/or output for presentation content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Publication number: 20180276381
    Abstract: A virus scanning router may manages a local network, including routing network traffic between devices on the network and routing network traffic being sent to and from such devices via an external communication system. The virus scanning router remotely scans for viruses the files stored on one or more such devices on the network. The virus scanning router may be a device trusted by the other devices on local network to facilitate the virus scanning router reading and scanning one or more files stored on such devices for viruses. The virus scanning router also takes corrective actions such as isolating the infected device or isolating an affected network zone to which the remote device belongs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: 10070176
    Abstract: Systems and methods for implementing a Transport I/O system are described. Network encrypted content may be received by a device. The device may provide the network encrypted content to a secure processor, such as, for example, a smart card. The secure processor obtains a network control word that may be used to decrypt the network encrypted content. The secure processor may decrypt the network encrypted content to produce clear content. In embodiments, the secure processor may then use a local control word to generate locally encrypted content specific to the device. The device may then receive the locally encrypted content from the secure processor and proceed to decrypt the locally encrypted content using a shared local encryption key. The Transport I/O system ensures the protection of the network control word by maintaining the network control word on the secure processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: NAGRASTAR, LLC
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Nicolas Fischer, Benjamin Brian Ellis, Gregory Duval
  • Publication number: 20180225483
    Abstract: Various embodiments provide a card reader that provides heat dissipation for high data transfer ICCs. The card reader includes a body having a press bar that physically contacts an upper surface of the ICC when fully inserted into the card reader. The press bar includes an aperture directly overlying and aligned with the card contacts of the card reader and the contact pads of the ICC when fully inserted. The aperture allows any heat generated by the ICC to radiate to a surrounding cooling medium, such as air.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Jerome A. LaPalme
  • Patent number: 10043043
    Abstract: Various embodiments provide a card reader that provides heat dissipation for high data transfer ICCs. The card reader includes a body having a press bar that physically contacts an upper surface of the ICC when fully inserted into the card reader. The press bar includes an aperture directly overlying and aligned with the card contacts of the card reader and the contact pads of the ICC when fully inserted. The aperture allows any heat generated by the ICC to radiate to a surrounding cooling medium, such as air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Jerome A. LaPalme
  • Patent number: 10021450
    Abstract: Various arrangements are presented for reducing channel change times. A first tuner of a television receiver may tune to a decryption key transponder stream. The decryption key transponder stream may include a plurality of decryption keys for a plurality of television channels that are transmitted to the television receiver via a plurality of transponder streams. A second tuner of the television receiver may be tuned to a media transponder stream to receive a television channel. Data obtained from the decryption key transponder stream may be used for decoding the television channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: David Innes, William Michael Beals, David Kummer
  • Publication number: 20180184176
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for hardware enforcement of hardware functionality in a television receiver. An activation message containing an activation code for a specific hardware component within the television receiver can be transmitted from a television service provider system to a television receiver having an associated smart card. The smart card can decrypt the activation message, security check the activation message, confirm the activation message is intended for the television receiver, encrypt the activation message with a local key, and transmit the activation message to a security processor on the television receiver. The security processor can decrypt the activation message, security check the activation message to ensure it is from the smart card and has not been tampered with, and enable the hardware component within the television receiver based on the activation code within the activation message.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, John Hamrick
  • Publication number: 20180184177
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for hardware enforcement of hardware functionality in a client television receiver. An activation message containing an activation code for a specific hardware component within the client television receiver can be transmitted from a television service provider system to a host television receiver having an associated smart card. The smart card can decrypt the activation message, identify the client television receiver as the destination of the activation message, security check the activation message, encrypt the activation message with a local key, and transmit the activation message to a security processor on the client television receiver. The security processor can decrypt the activation message, security check the activation message to ensure it is from the smart card and has not been tampered with, and enable the hardware component within the client television receiver based on the activation code within the activation message.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, John Hamrick
  • Publication number: 20180184159
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for securing transmission of content from a smart card in a host television receiver to a client television receiver. The smart card can receive the encrypted content stream from the television service provider, decrypt the content stream with the global network key, identify the client television receiver as the destination of the content stream, generate a unique key specific to the content stream, encrypt the unique key with a local key known to the client television receiver, encrypt the content stream with the unique key, and transmit the encrypted content stream along with the encrypted unique key to the client television receiver. The client television receiver can then receive the encrypted content stream and the encrypted unique key, decrypt the unique key, decrypt the content stream with the unique key, and transmit the content stream to a display device of the client television receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, John Hamrick
  • Publication number: 20180184158
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods for providing hardware based security to software applications in a television receiver. The system can include a television receiver having a trusted hardware environment that includes a security processor and a standard environment that includes an application processor. The security processor can ensure that at least a portion of the software application executed by the application processor is secure. A portion of the software application code can be placed in an interrupt service routine memory space. During execution of the software application, the security processor can security check the portion of the software application in the interrupt service routine memory space, making it trusted code. The security processor can force the application processor to execute the trusted code by triggering an interrupt. Such forced execution can allow the security processor to not only ensure that code is trusted, but that it is executed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 29, 2016
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventor: William Michael Beals
  • Patent number: D840404
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: NAGRASTAR, LLC
    Inventors: William Michael Beals, Hervé Goupil