Patents by Inventor Brian M. McSweeney

Brian M. McSweeney 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).

  • Automatic channel selection and control
    Patent number: 9386338
    Abstract: A selection of a television program through a set-top box (STB) may be detected, and a counter value associated with the program may be incremented after the STB presents the program for a certain amount of time. The incremented counter value may be evaluated to determine whether the incremented counter value satisfies a threshold. When the incremented counter value satisfies the threshold, another broadcast associated with the program, such as another episode in a related series, may be identified. The identified broadcast is presented on a particular channel at a particular time, and the STB may automatically tune to the particular channel at the particular time to cause the STB to provide the broadcast without receiving an input from the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
    Inventors: Brian M. McSweeney, Edward M. Eggerl
  • AUTOMATIC CHANNEL SELECTION AND CONTROL
    Publication number: 20160037204
    Abstract: A selection of a television program through a set-top box (STB) may be detected, and a counter value associated with the program may be incremented after the STB presents the program for a certain amount of time. The incremented counter value may be evaluated to determine whether the incremented counter value satisfies a threshold. When the incremented counter value satisfies the threshold, another broadcast associated with the program, such as another episode in a related series, may be identified. The identified broadcast is presented on a particular channel at a particular time, and the STB may automatically tune to the particular channel at the particular time to cause the STB to provide the broadcast without receiving an input from the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Inventors: Brian M. McSweeney, Edward M. Eggerl