Patents by Inventor William Beals

William Beals 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: 10062417
    Abstract: Systems and methods for selectively recording and bookmarking a portion of broadcast media content include receiving a video stream containing the broadcast media content, determining a video segment of the video stream to be output to a display device, and performing OCR on characters present within the video segment. The systems and methods may further include detecting a trigger event in the OCR of the video segment and creating a digital bookmark corresponding to the detected trigger event. The systems and methods may include generating a recording of a portion of the broadcast media content, whereby the recording begins prior to the trigger event and concludes after the trigger event, and storing the digital bookmark associated with the generated recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Beals, Steven Michael Casagrande
  • Publication number: 20170148490
    Abstract: Systems and methods for selectively recording and bookmarking a portion of broadcast media content include receiving a video stream containing the broadcast media content, determining a video segment of the video stream to be output to a display device, and performing OCR on characters present within the video segment. The systems and methods may further include detecting a trigger event in the OCR of the video segment and creating a digital bookmark corresponding to the detected trigger event. The systems and methods may include generating a recording of a portion of the broadcast media content, whereby the recording begins prior to the trigger event and concludes after the trigger event, and storing the digital bookmark associated with the generated recording.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Inventors: William Beals, Steven Michael Casagrande
  • Patent number: 9536569
    Abstract: Systems and methods for selectively recording and bookmarking a portion of broadcast media content include receiving a video stream containing the broadcast media content, determining a video segment of the video stream to be output to a display device, and performing OCR on characters present within the video segment. The systems and methods may further include detecting a trigger event in the OCR of the video segment and creating a digital bookmark corresponding to the detected trigger event. The systems and methods may include generating a recording of a portion of the broadcast media content, whereby the recording begins prior to the trigger event and concludes after the trigger event, and storing the digital bookmark associated with the generated recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: William Beals, Steven Michael Casagrande
  • Publication number: 20160203843
    Abstract: Systems and methods for selectively recording and bookmarking a portion of broadcast media content include receiving a video stream containing the broadcast media content, determining a video segment of the video stream to be output to a display device, and performing OCR on characters present within the video segment. The systems and methods may further include detecting a trigger event in the OCR of the video segment and creating a digital bookmark corresponding to the detected trigger event. The systems and methods may include generating a recording of a portion of the broadcast media content, whereby the recording begins prior to the trigger event and concludes after the trigger event, and storing the digital bookmark associated with the generated recording.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Publication date: July 14, 2016
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: WILLIAM BEALS, STEVEN MICHAEL CASAGRANDE
  • Patent number: 9088763
    Abstract: A method for recording multiple pieces of content with a single tuner. A content delivery network can include multiple channels organized into bands with several channels per band. These bands can be transmitted on an up-link such as to a satellite. The bands can be relayed to receivers at the end user locations. The end user receivers can tune to one, two, or some other fraction of the total number of transmitted bands. When a user selects a program to view and/or record, a tuner of the receiver tunes to the band that includes the channel that includes the program. The method prompts the user regarding the other channels that form the set of channels on that band, and solicits input for recording one or more concurrent programs of the band, which can all be recorded on the single receiving tuner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: ECHOSTAR TECHNOLOGIES L.L.C.
    Inventors: Henry Gregg Martch, William Beals, Dave Kummer, Mark Jackson, Dan Minnick
  • Publication number: 20150163545
    Abstract: A video services receiver and related operating methods are disclosed here. In accordance with one disclosed methodology, the video services receiver receives a segment of video content, and processes a plurality of contiguous sub-segments of the segment of video content to generate a corresponding plurality of characterizing signatures. Each of the characterizing signatures identifies a respective one of the contiguous sub-segments. The video services receiver compares the characterizing signatures to video content signatures maintained in a database. When the results of the comparing satisfy predetermined matching criteria, the video services receiver initiates an operation that influences presentation attributes of the segment of video content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Publication date: June 11, 2015
    Inventors: James Freed, William Beals, Jason Fruh, David Crandall
  • Patent number: 8867571
    Abstract: The various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus, systems and methods which facilitate the transmission of data between a client device and a remote device over a wireless telephone network. More particularly, data from a client device is modulated into an audio signal and transmitted to a wireless telephone. The wireless telephone receives the audio signal and places a phone call to a remote device over a wireless telephone network. During the phone call, the wireless telephone transmits the audio signal across a voice channel of the wireless telephone network to the remote device. The remote device receives and decodes the audio signal to extract the transmitted data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Gopi K. Manne, William Beals
  • Publication number: 20130055305
    Abstract: A method for recording multiple pieces of content with a single tuner. A content delivery network can include multiple channels organized into bands with several channels per band. These bands can be transmitted on an up-link such as to a satellite. The bands can be relayed to receivers at the end user locations. The end user receivers can tune to one, two, or some other fraction of the total number of transmitted bands. When a user selects a program to view and/or record, a tuner of the receiver tunes to the band that includes the channel that includes the program. The method prompts the user regarding the other channels that form the set of channels on that band, and solicits input for recording one or more concurrent programs of the band, which can all be recorded on the single receiving tuner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: February 28, 2013
    Applicant: Echostar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Henry Gregg Martch, William Beals, Dave Kummer, Mark Jackson, Dan Minnick
  • Patent number: 8340656
    Abstract: Various embodiments facilitate data communication between a client device and a remote device over a voice channel of a telephone system. In one embodiment, the data communication over the voice channel is synchronized to align with voice frames utilized by the telephone system to transmit communicated data between the devices. In some embodiments, the synchronization is performed by determining an offset between a received synchronization audio signal and the voice frames used by the telephone system to process the synchronization audio signal, such as based on an amount of energy present in the received synchronization audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Gopi Manne, William Beals
  • Publication number: 20110081900
    Abstract: Various embodiments facilitate data communication between a client device and a remote device over a voice channel of a telephone system. In one embodiment, the data communication over the voice channel is synchronized to align with voice frames utilized by the telephone system to transmit communicated data between the devices. In some embodiments, the synchronization is performed by determining an offset between a received synchronization audio signal and the voice frames used by the telephone system to process the synchronization audio signal, such as based on an amount of energy present in the received synchronization audio signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2009
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Gopi Manne, William Beals
  • Publication number: 20090249407
    Abstract: The various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus, systems and methods which facilitate the transmission of data between a client device and a remote device over a wireless telephone network. More particularly, data from a client device is modulated into an audio signal and transmitted to a wireless telephone. The wireless telephone receives the audio signal and places a phone call to a remote device over a wireless telephone network. During the phone call, the wireless telephone transmits the audio signal across a voice channel of the wireless telephone network to the remote device. The remote device receives and decodes the audio signal to extract the transmitted data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2008
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Gopi K. Manne, William Beals