Patents by Inventor Nicholas A. Nicas

Nicholas A. Nicas 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).

  • Patent number: 9534776
    Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and products passively generate electrical energy from waste heat. Electronic components in cabinets generate waste heat that is used to illuminate an interior of a cabinet. A thermovoltaic semiconductor detects a temperature differential between a pair of terminals installed in the cabinet. The thermovoltaic semiconductor generates a low voltage output in response to the temperature differential. A power supply receives the low voltage output and produces a higher voltage for low-wattage light sources installed in the cabinet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
    Inventors: David Irvin, Todd Andrew Fryer, Nicholas A. Nicas
  • Publication number: 20150267912
    Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and products passively generate electrical energy from waste heat. Electronic components in cabinets generate waste heat that is used to illuminate an interior of a cabinet. A thermovoltaic semiconductor detects a temperature differential between a pair of terminals installed in the cabinet. The thermovoltaic semiconductor generates a low voltage output in response to the temperature differential. A power supply receives the low voltage output and produces a higher voltage for low-wattage light sources installed in the cabinet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Publication date: September 24, 2015
    Applicant: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: David Irvin, Todd Andrew Fryer, Nicholas A. Nicas
  • Patent number: 9076893
    Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and products passively generate electrical energy from waste heat. Electronic components in cabinets generate waste heat that is used to illuminate an interior of a cabinet. A thermovoltaic semiconductor detects a temperature differential between a pair of terminals installed in the cabinet. The thermovoltaic semiconductor generates a low voltage output in response to the temperature differential. A power supply receives the low voltage output and produces a higher voltage for low-wattage light sources installed in the cabinet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
    Inventors: David Irvin, Todd Andrew Fryer, Nicholas A. Nicas
  • Patent number: 8108901
    Abstract: A system and method for managing access to high definition (HD) content includes a master customer premises equipment (CPE) device enabled for prioritizing conflicting requests for HD content based on predefined priority settings associated with a plurality of client CPE devices. Access to HD content by the client CPE devices may be associated with a token and conflicting requests may be resolved in favor of the client CPE device that holds the token. Disclosed systems permit administrators to control the use of limited resources within a location by limiting access to the limited resources by secondary users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. Nicas, Douglas R. Medina, Brian Wilson
  • Publication number: 20100058400
    Abstract: A system and method for managing access to high definition (HD) content includes a master customer premises equipment (CPE) device enabled for prioritizing conflicting requests for HD content based on predefined priority settings associated with a plurality of client CPE devices. Access to HD content by the client CPE devices may be associated with a token and conflicting requests may be resolved in favor of the client CPE device that holds the token. Disclosed systems permit administrators to control the use of limited resources within a location by limiting access to the limited resources by secondary users.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Applicant: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. Nicas, Douglas R. Medina, Brian Wilson
  • Publication number: 20090187950
    Abstract: An audible menu system associated with distribution of television content over a service provider network is disclosed. The menu system includes a speech synthesizer and screen reader. Electronic programming guide (EPG) elements are read by a screen reader and provided to a speech synthesizer for presenting audible representations of EPG elements to a user. The user may provide inputs to a remote control device to navigate an EPG that may also be presented through a graphical user interface. As a user navigates a cursor over selectable EPG elements, disclosed embodiments provide audible outputs that correspond to the selectable EPG elements. In some embodiments, users may provide customized audio inputs that are played as audio outputs during future menu navigation sessions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2008
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Applicant: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
    Inventors: Nicholas A. Nicas, Christopher R. Heck, James Huffman