Patents by Inventor Steven Robert Beckhardt

Steven Robert Beckhardt 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: 8903526
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for audio device playback failure recovery and redistribution. The systems and methods may be configured to cause a plurality of playback devices to render audio content in a synchronized manner, detect a failure of a first playback device of the plurality of playback devices, determine a playback responsibility of the first playback device, and cause an adjustment of the rendering of the audio content by at least a second playback device of the plurality of playback devices. The systems and methods may further be configured to detect an addition of a new playback device to the plurality of playback devices, determine a playback responsibility of the new playback device for rendering the audio content, and cause an adjustment of the rendering of the audio content by at least a one playback device from the plurality of playback devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Robert Beckhardt, Jonathan Paul Lang, Jonathon Reilly
  • Publication number: 20130331970
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for audio device playback failure recovery and redistribution. The systems and methods may be configured to cause a plurality of playback devices to render audio content in a synchronized manner, detect a failure of a first playback device of the plurality of playback devices, determine a playback responsibility of the first playback device, and cause an adjustment of the rendering of the audio content by at least a second playback device of the plurality of playback devices. The systems and methods may further be configured to detect an addition of a new playback device to the plurality of playback devices, determine a playback responsibility of the new playback device for rendering the audio content, and cause an adjustment of the rendering of the audio content by at least a one playback device from the plurality of playback devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Publication date: December 12, 2013
    Applicant: Sonos, Inc
    Inventors: Steven Robert Beckhardt, Jonathan Paul Lang, Jonathon Reilly
  • Patent number: 7082402
    Abstract: A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprises a database associated with one or more server means for storing a profile for each potential invitee of the system. Each invitee profile comprises user profiles that have information regarding available and unavailable times for that user and the electronic mail address for the user and resource profiles having information about the available times for a particular resource such as a room or equipment. A request generator connected over a network to the one or more server generates a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees. The system then provides a busy time determination device that gathers the profiles for the plurality of invitees that were requested by the request generating means and that are available in the databases and determines whether those invitees are available during the time interval requested by the request generating means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas Walter Conmy, Steven Robert Beckhardt, John Banks-Binici, Robert Slapikoff
  • Patent number: 6085166
    Abstract: A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprises a database, associated with one or more server means, for storing a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user. A remote workstation comprises a request generating system that is connected over a network to the server means and that generates a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees. At the server, a busy time determination system gathers the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles and determines whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: International Business Machines
    Inventors: Steven Robert Beckhardt, John Banks-Binici