Patents by Inventor Thomas Edward Birmingham

Thomas Edward Birmingham 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: 6456892
    Abstract: A method and system for providing a user interface for a networked target device within a home audio/visual network. The DDI allows any DDI target to describe its physical appearance including controls and displays, etc., to a DDI controller. The controller can be a remote physical device or can be a software program resident on the same or separate device as the target. The controller interfaces with the target to obtain the DDI data and generates a user interface for the target including: 1) interactive controls; and 2) user display information pertinent to the target. The DDI allows the controller to trigger actions on the target as if a user had physically manipulated the controls of the target. The controller and the target are connected to the same communication network. A particular embodiment operates within the HAVi architecture. The controller communicates with the user by using the input and output devices of (typically) the device upon which the controller is executing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignees: Sony Electronics, Inc., Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Alexander Dara-Abrams, Harold Aaron Ludtke, Thomas Edward Birmingham, Neil David Matthews, Yoshifumi Yanagawa, Wim Bronnenberg