Patents by Inventor Kenneth Alan Milnes

Kenneth Alan Milnes 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).

  • Television system with downloadable features
    Patent number: 8793738
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing downloadable features, and more particularly to providing these features to identified receiving locations (50) in a television system (10). Features may be desired by the manufacturer for correcting software defects, updating software, or meeting compatibility requirements. Features may also be ordered by consumers who respond to solicitation advertisements (130) for those features. The data related to the features is compiled and sent from a main location (20) to multiple receiving locations (46, 48 and 50). The data is then stored in a memory (58) in the identified receiving locations (50), and software is used to install or operate the stored feature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Starsight Telecast Incorporated
    Inventors: Brian Lee Klosterman, Kenneth Alan Milnes
  • Television system with downloadable features
    Publication number: 20030167473
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing downloadable features, and more particularly to providing these features to identified receiving locations (50) in a television system (10). Features may be desired by the manufacturer for correcting software defects, updating software, or meeting compatibility requirements. Features may also be ordered by consumers who respond to solicitation advertisements (130) for those features. The data related to the features is compiled and sent from a main location (20) to multiple receiving locations (46, 48 and 50). The data is then stored in a memory (58) in the identified receiving locations (50), and software is used to install or operate the stored feature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 2, 2003
    Publication date: September 4, 2003
    Applicant: StarSight Telecast Incorporated
    Inventors: Brian Lee Klosterman, Kenneth Alan Milnes
  • Automatic time set in a television system
    Patent number: 5812205
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically setting the time in a peripheral device (170) in a television system (10). In the preferred embodiment, a datastream (300) with packets of data (310-313) is broadcast to the peripheral device (170). A time value (400) within the received datastream (300) is used to set the time within the peripheral device (170). The data within the received datastream (300) also contains a cyclic redundancy check (410) which is used to determine when an error is present in the received data packet (310). The time is set in the peripheral device (170) only when the cyclic redundancy check has found no errors in the data packet (310). When needed, additional values within the received packet (310) can later be used to correct the time which has been set in the peripheral device (170).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Starsight Telecast Incorporated
    Inventors: Kenneth Alan Milnes, Jeffrey J. Kochy, Constantine Sokolik, Henry Perkins, III