Patents Assigned to Cox communications, INC
  • Patent number: 10205983
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to configuration of content and consumption thereof content in a networked environment. In certain aspects, the consumed content can be coordinated or otherwise synchronized between disparate consumption devices, which may be served content via different content platforms. In another aspect, the consumed content can be customized for a specific device and/or an end-user thereof. In yet another aspect, recommendations for content and/or products associated with at least a portion of the content can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Nadine Finnerty, Keith Alan Rothschild, Roy Edmond Pereira, Roy Roger Toney, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10187667
    Abstract: Methods and systems provide for simultaneously optimizing transport bandwidth and client device performance. The methods and systems may mitigate the bandwidth issue by including the content for those services which can be selected by the user. For example, in one embodiment, the method and system may only include audio content associated with the video content for each of the plurality of thumbnails of the mosaic that are available for the user to select. In one embodiment, the user is able to select the service or content via a single command. When the set-top box switches to any of those services, the method and system is updated with a set of next available services that can be switched to by the client, thereby minimizing bandwidth while gaining the potential benefit of set-top based audio switching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Robert Lee Ames, Ronald Larry Hardzog, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10182251
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to configuration of content and consumption thereof content in a networked environment. In certain aspects, the consumed content can be coordinated or otherwise synchronized between disparate consumption devices, which may be served content via different content platforms. In another aspect, the consumed content can be customized for a specific device and/or an end-user thereof. In yet another aspect, recommendations for content and/or products associated with at least a portion of the content can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Nadine Finnerty, Keith Alan Rothschild, Roy Edmond Pereira, Roy Roger Toney, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10168676
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to intelligent automation control of an environment based at least on intelligence associated with behavior of an operator and/or equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Dipan Patel, Nadine Finnerty, Edgar V. Shrum, Jr., Andrew Goldberg, Haynes Taylor
  • Publication number: 20180351977
    Abstract: Example embodiments of the systems and methods of malicious domain identification disclosed herein considers a first group of users. The first group of users has traffic including some traffic with malicious domains. A second group of users is then selected with traffic that is known to be uninfected, and the common domains are determined. The second group of users, who are known to be uninfected users, are accessing some of the same domains as the first group, among others, but are not accessing the malicious domains. Traffic from the second group of users will have the same commonalities between each other as the malicious domain does with the second group. The common domains between the first and second groups are determined and eliminated. When the common domains are removed from the traffic of the first group of users, malicious domain list remains.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2017
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Applicant: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventor: Matthew Edwin Carothers
  • Patent number: 10142668
    Abstract: A system and method for pairing a wireless set-top box with a wired set-top box is provided. The system and method provide a user with the ability to move the wireless set-top box to different locations, within the same authorized subscriber's household or use location, while allowing the service provider to monitor and prohibit unauthorized use of the wireless set-top box from outside of the authorized subscriber's household or use location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Yousef Wasef Nijim, James Alan Strothmann, Jay Paul Langa
  • Patent number: 10134057
    Abstract: Transmitting entertainment information for presentation to a user and receiving, on behalf of the user, user response information responsive to the entertainment information is disclosed. The entertainment information may include a set of questions such as trivia-related questions or polling questions. The user response information may indicate a set of corresponding responses provided by the user in response to the set of questions. The entertainment information may be identified based on available historical preference data associated with the user, demographic data associated with the user or may be randomly selected to gauge user interest. User psychographic data associated with the user may be generated based at least in part on the user response information. At least one offering for targeting to the user such as a product or service offering or a targeted advertisement may be identified based on the user psychographic data and may be transmitted for presentation to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Louise Mary Wasilewski
  • Patent number: 10135901
    Abstract: Content information networks may be provided that may each include a plurality of content consumption devices. One or more of the content consumption devices within a content information network may be capable of serving as a content consumption hub device that coordinates the receipt and dissemination of content consumption event information pertaining to content consumption events from and to various content consumption devices within the content information network. The content consumption hub device may further communicate, to various content consumption devices within its network, content-related information relating to content consumed on content consumption devices within its network and/or devices outside of its network. The content consumption hub device may be configured to receive content-related information from one or more content information hubs. The content consumption hub device may also receive content consumption event information from a content consumption platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Slavisha Karach, Muhammad Asif Raza, Daniel J. Geist, Donald Carl Bleyl
  • Patent number: 10135887
    Abstract: Synchronized multi-media annotations for shared video content is provided. According to embodiments, viewers of video content may be enabled to create multimedia annotations such as simple text comments, short videos, audio snippets, links to websites or other online content, etc., and associate the annotations with certain points or sections in the source video. When a user “shares” these annotations with a community of friends, the friends can then watch the source video and simultaneously view and/or listen to the comments their friend(s) have made. Friends may respond back with their own annotations, and again share those out to the group of friends. Later, users who have previously left comments may be able to go back and see other users' comments/annotations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC
    Inventors: Patrick J. Esser, Douglas David Gravino
  • Patent number: 10135902
    Abstract: Content information networks may be provided that may each include a plurality of content consumption devices. One or more of the content consumption devices within a content information network may be capable of serving as a content consumption hub device that coordinates the receipt and dissemination of content consumption event information pertaining to content consumption events from and to various content consumption devices within the content information network. The content consumption hub device may further communicate, to various content consumption devices within its network, content-related information relating to content consumed on content consumption devices within its network and/or devices outside of its network. The content consumption hub device may be configured to receive content-related information from one or more content information hubs. The content consumption hub device may also receive content consumption event information from a content consumption platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Alan Rothschild, Slavisha Karach, Muhammad Asif Raza
  • Patent number: 10136188
    Abstract: Data associated with content available for immediate viewing is aggregated into a program guide. A plurality of content sources for content available for immediate viewing is mined to obtain data associated with the content available for immediate viewing from the plurality of content sources. The mined data is processed to create a program guide identifying the content available for immediate viewing. The program guide displaying the identified content available for immediate viewing is presented to a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC
    Inventors: Yousef Wasef Nijim, Jay Paul Langa, Anant Pralhad Patil
  • Patent number: 10121180
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to curation of cloud services that can be included a cloud solution tailored to an organization or an environment thereof. In one aspect, the cloud services can include software applications, professional services, managed network services, and/or infrastructure services. In one aspect, curation of a cloud service can be based on fitness of the cloud service for the organization or the environment thereof. In another aspect, the curation of certain cloud services can be refined based on feedback associated with such services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communication, Inc.
    Inventors: Dipan Patel, Lisa Maree Woods, Jeffrey W. Thorburn
  • Patent number: 10123087
    Abstract: A channel block switching system enables a viewer to browse linear channels by switching through blocks of channels as a group instead of switching one channel at a time. Each channel block is displayed as an arrangement of channel windows. Each channel window displays the linear video content of one of the channels in the channel block allowing the viewer to select a channel to watch based on the linear visual content rather than from a static image or a description of the content. The channel block switching system enables display of the channel block using the lowest available resolution. The channel block switching system allows the viewer to listen to the audio content of any channel in the channel block being displayed with the audio for the remaining channels being muted and, optionally, displaying closed captioning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventor: Ray Killick
  • Patent number: 10104443
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing estimates of duration of media content requested by a user are disclosed. The estimates of the duration may be updated as advertisements are identified and/or updated for insertion in media content signals to be provided to a client device of the user. The advertisements may be targeted to the user from an inventory of available advertisements based on a variety of factors. While a session is active to provide the client device with the user requested media content new duration estimates corresponding to updates to advertisements targeted for delivery to the user may be provided to the client device via messages and/or metadata. In some cases, this information may be provided by messages sent responsive to a trick play request form the client device. In other cases, an asynchronous message carrying updated duration information may be sent to the client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray Killick, Luke Allen Warren
  • Patent number: 10104438
    Abstract: Automatic population of a programming guide mosaic screen is provided. Attributes relating to a user or group of users may be collected and utilized to identify one or more recommended content items relevant to the user. A visual display of the recommended content may comprise a combination of content currently airing on a channel selected by the user as a favorite channel, content rated highly by the user and/or by other users, content matching a commonly watched genre by the user, content associated with keyword searches, etc. Factors utilized to determine the type of content to automatically include in the programming guide mosaic screen may be dynamically updated according to changes in video viewing activity, received feedback, content purchases, or changes made to the user's preference data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC
    Inventors: Catherine Elizabeth Thompson, John Kelly King, Katy Kozee, Anant Patil
  • Patent number: 10097907
    Abstract: Example embodiments of a time division duplex (TDD) Wavelength Division Multiplex Passive Optical Network (WDM PON) architecture using passive optical splitters are disclosed herein. The disclosed TDD WDM PON includes fixed wavelength optical transmitters in an Optical Line Termination system with tunable receiver colorless Optical Network Units (ONUs) that reuse the downstream CW light to carry upstream data. The same wavelength may be used for downstream and upstream transmissions on a single fiber in the ODN. In this architecture, the number of ONUs may be greater than the number of transmitters at the OLT, allowing for a highly scalable system with capacity for growth. An example embodiment of the disclosed system uses Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) or WDM filters at the OLT and a passive optical splitter in the field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Yuxin Dai
  • Patent number: 10096053
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to generation of cloud solutions tailored to an organization or an environment thereof. In one aspect, the cloud solution bundles a group of cloud services that can include software applications, professional services, managed network services, and/or infrastructure services. The cloud services that can form a cloud solution can be selected in response to a query associated with an organization or an environment thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Cox Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Dipan Patel, Lisa Maree Woods, Jeffrey W. Thorburn
  • Patent number: 10091544
    Abstract: Video content is received and processed to produce the plurality of video frames for displaying the video content on a video rendering device. A video image is embedding into one of a plurality of video frames. Each of the plurality of video frames are analyzed to detect the embedded video image. Upon detecting the embedding video image, an action associated with the embedded video image is triggered. A viewer indication of interest is received in response to the triggering the action associated with the embedded video image. A response to the receipt of the viewer indication of interest is implemented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventor: Michael Lee Poffenberger
  • Patent number: 10057636
    Abstract: Automatically performing an action within a video service based on an identified relationship between a content object and a video content item is provided. A content object is an electronic communication associated with a subscriber and comprises text or an image or a link to text or an image related to the video content item. A content identifier engine receives the object and parses the object against a data system storing information related to video content items. When a video content item matching or related to the object is identified, the object manager searches on demand content items and a video programming lineup available to the subscriber for the identified video content item. The video service provider performs or allocates resources to perform one or more automatic actions related to the video content item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Yousef Wasef Nijim, James Alan Strothmann, Jay Paul Langa, Eric S. Roberts
  • Patent number: 10045091
    Abstract: Selectable content is provided within a video stream. Additional content such as advertisements or other information that may be of interest to a user is provided in an interactive fashion providing a richer and deeper viewing experience and giving more control to the user during video viewing. Prescreening of the video content may be done and tags may be inserted in the video stream in association with additional content that may be provided for tagged objects in the video stream. An indication may be provided to the user indicating the availability of additional interactive content in a variety of ways. Upon user request, the content associated with the tags may be presented to the user. The additional content may be provided to the user in a hybrid fashion which involves rendering the video content and additional interactive content simultaneously or by enabling full screen browsing experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: COX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Yousef Wasef Nijim, Jay Paul Langa, James Alan Strothmann