Patents by Inventor Danny Jean Minnick

Danny Jean Minnick 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).

  • Publication number: 20130247115
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a selection of a television program to record may be received by a television receiver. The television program may be broadcast on a first television channel and as part of a first transponder stream. A plurality of television channels that are transmitted as part of the first transponder stream may be determined. A user interface may be presented that permits a user to select from the plurality of television channels transmitted on the first transponder stream. A selection of a second television channel from the plurality of television channels may be received. In response to the selection of the first television program to record and the selection of the second television channel from the plurality of television channels, record the first television channel and the second television channel via a single tuner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Danny Jean Minnick
  • Publication number: 20130243397
    Abstract: A first user interface may be presented comprising a single selection option that enables recording of multiple television channels. A first user input, in response to the first user interface may be received enabling the option for recording of the multiple television channels. Data indicating a time period during which a television channel of the multiple television channels is to be recorded may be received from a television service provider. A record timer for the television channel of the multiple television channels may be set based on the user input enabling recording of multiple television channels and the data indicating the time period. The television channel of the multiple television channels may be recorded based on the record timer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Danny Jean Minnick, Germar Schaefer
  • Patent number: 8457478
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for improved digital recording and presentation of broadcast information is disclosed. Received broadcast data, which may include video, audio, private, or other data, relating to one or more particular content programs, is presented from an input section to a buffer and recorded directly onto a storage device without any intelligent parsing, such as indexing, and without any manipulation by intermediate hardware or software functions. Upon normal presentation, statistics may be generated to determine the ideal number of frames to skip, the number of bytes to seek, and the size of data files to read from the storage device during time-shifted presentation. Algorithms and processes are provided to dynamically optimize time-shifted presentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Danny Jean Minnick, Michael Cavanaugh, Mark Templeman, John D. Hamrick, Jr., Jay P. Carlson, Yunfeng Yang, Manuel Novoa, III, Rui Ding, Seth Byerley
  • Patent number: 8087057
    Abstract: A television converter device is provided which includes a channel selector and an Internet Protocol (IP) interface. The channel selector is configured to receive multiple channels of television programming from at least one of a satellite, cable, and over-the-air broadcasting source, select one of the channels from the multiple channels, and deliver the selected channel to at least one television (TV). The IP interface is configured to receive television programming over an IP connection, and to deliver the television programming received over the IP connection to the at least one TV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventor: Danny Jean Minnick
  • Patent number: 8041332
    Abstract: A method is presented for providing information associated with a geographical area to users of broadcast communication receivers. The information, as well as an indication of the geographical area associated with the information, are transmitted to, and received by, each of the broadcast communication receivers. In each of the receivers, the indication of the geographical area is compared with a geographic code associated with, and stored within, the receiver. Each of the receivers also relays the information to the user of the receiver if the geographic code indicates that the receiver is located within the geographical area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: David A. Kummer, Danny Jean Minnick
  • Publication number: 20100199303
    Abstract: A method is presented for providing information associated with a geographical area to users of broadcast communication receivers. The information, as well as an indication of the geographical area associated with the information, are transmitted to, and received by, each of the broadcast communication receivers. In each of the receivers, the indication of the geographical area is compared with a geographic code associated with, and stored within, the receiver. Each of the receivers also relays the information to the user of the receiver if the geographic code indicates that the receiver is located within the geographical area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: David A. Kummer, Danny Jean Minnick
  • Publication number: 20100194984
    Abstract: A method is presented for providing information associated with a geographical area to users of broadcast communication receivers. The information, as well as an indication of the geographical area associated with the information, are transmitted to, and received by, each of the broadcast communication receivers. In each of the receivers, the indication of the geographical area is compared with a geographic code associated with, and stored within, the receiver. Each of the receivers transfers the information in a video format to the user of the receiver if the geographic code indicates that the receiver is located within the geographical area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: David A. Kummer, Danny Jean Minnick
  • Patent number: 7734246
    Abstract: A method is presented for providing information associated with a geographical area to users of broadcast communication receivers. The information, as well as an indication of the geographical area associated with the information, are transmitted to, and received by, each of the broadcast communication receivers. In each of the receivers, the indication of the geographical area is compared with a geographic code associated with, and stored within, the receiver. Each of the receivers also relays the information to the user of the receiver if the geographic code indicates that the receiver is located within the geographical area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: David A. Kummer, Danny Jean Minnick
  • Publication number: 20100115550
    Abstract: A method of facilitating navigation of a graphical user interface is presented. In the method, an image associated with the graphical user interface is generated for presentation to a user. The image includes a plurality of image elements, wherein the image elements collectively occupy less than the entirety of the image. An input indicating a location not coinciding with at least one of the image elements is received. One of the image elements is selected based upon the proximity of the location with the one of the image elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2009
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Danny Jean Minnick, Michael T. Steinert
  • Publication number: 20080242328
    Abstract: A method is presented for providing information associated with a geographical area to users of broadcast communication receivers. The information, as well as an indication of the geographical area associated with the information, are transmitted to, and received by, each of the broadcast communication receivers. In each of the receivers, the indication of the geographical area is compared with a geographic code associated with, and stored within, the receiver. Each of the receivers also relays the information to the user of the receiver if the geographic code indicates that the receiver is located within the geographical area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Applicant: EchoStar Satellite LLC
    Inventors: David A. Kummer, Danny Jean Minnick
  • Publication number: 20080216138
    Abstract: A television converter device is provided which includes a channel selector and an Internet Protocol (IP) interface. The channel selector is configured to receive multiple channels of television programming from at least one of a satellite, cable, and over-the-air broadcasting source, select one of the channels from the multiple channels, and deliver the selected channel to at least one television (TV). The IP interface is configured to receive television programming over an IP connection, and to deliver the television programming received over the IP connection to the at least one TV.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2007
    Publication date: September 4, 2008
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Danny Jean Minnick