Patents by Inventor Donald R. Woodward, Jr.

Donald R. Woodward, Jr. 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).

  • Methods and apparatus for sending content between client devices
    Patent number: 9113191
    Abstract: Sending content between client devices connected to a computer network is described. According to one described aspect, a server maintains a database correlating unique identifiers for client devices to their network address information. A first client device may query the server for network address information of a second client device by sending the unique identifier to the server. The server returns the network address of the second client device, which is used to send a message directly from the first client device to the second client device, indicating the availability of content. Also, the message is preferably formatted such that it automatically populates a content guide of the second client device, with an entry used to initiate a transmission of the content from the first client device to the second client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald R. Woodward, Jr., Alain Regnier
  • Methods and Apparatus for Sending Content between Client Devices
    Publication number: 20120275766
    Abstract: Sending content between client devices connected to a computer network is described. According to one described aspect, a server maintains a database correlating unique identifiers for client devices to their network address information. A first client device may query the server for network address information of a second client device by sending the unique identifier to the server. The server returns the network address of the second client device, which is used to send a message directly from the first client device to the second client device, indicating the availability of content. Also, the message is preferably formatted such that it automatically populates a content guide of the second client device, with an entry used to initiate a transmission of the content from the first client device to the second client device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: THE DIRECTV GROUP, INC.
    Inventors: Donald R. Woodward, JR., Alain Regnier
  • Methods and apparatus for sending content between client devices
    Patent number: 8214422
    Abstract: Sending content between client devices connected to a computer network is described. According to one described aspect, a server maintains a database correlating unique identifiers for client devices to their network address information. A first client device may query the server for network address information of a second client device by sending the unique identifier to the server. The server returns the network address of the second client device, which is used to send a message directly from the first client device to the second client device, indicating the availability of content. Also, the message is preferably formatted such that it automatically populates a content guide of the second client device, with an entry used to initiate a transmission of the content from the first client device to the second client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: The DirecTV Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald R. Woodward, Jr., Alain Regnier