Patents by Inventor Robert Rast

Robert Rast 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: 5982411
    Abstract: A television viewer can easily navigate programs which are grouped according to a common service provider or other grouping criteria by depressing the "channel up" or "channel down" buttons on a hand-held remote control. Programming services which are provided via one or more transmission paths are integrated, thereby allowing a viewer to successively select the grouped channels regardless of the broadcast signal, transmission path, frequency spectrum, transport stream and/or PID in which the channel is carried. Data is provided with broadcast signals to indicate broadcast address information which corresponds to a primary channel and one or more secondary channels of a channel group. A viewer can successively view the channels of the group while bypassing intermediate non-group channels. Grouped channels can thus be designated by a common channel designator such as a channel number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: General Instrument Corporation
    Inventors: Mark K. Eyer, Robert Rast