U.S. patents available from 1976 to present.
U.S. patent applications available from 2005 to present.

Icon_funbox Bizarre Patents

Patent No. 5265827

Paddle Wheel Plane

An aircraft having vertical takeoff and landing capability provided with at least first and second laterally extending paddle wheels rotatable on a central axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft fuselage and between its nose and tail.

Newsletter  PatentStorm News

Make the Most of Our Site

See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.

Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.

Registered users: Manage your profile.

 

Assignee: General Instrument Corporation


Location: Horsham, PA
No. of patents: 653

1                      
NumberTitleIssue Date
8185049Multi-mode device registration
A device configured to communicate with a second device may register a second device using one of multiple registration modes including a domain-registration mode, a device-registration mode, and a no-registration mode. The domain-registration mode allows the second...
05/22/2012
8179883Apparatus, method and system for managing session encapsulation information within an internet protocol content bypass architecture
An apparatus, method and system for delivering Internet Protocol (IP) content within a system that includes a bypass architecture, using a Session Encapsulation Information Database (SEIDB). Within an existing PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) framework used as a contro...
05/15/2012
8176534Method and apparatus for provisioning a device to access digital rights management (DRM) services in a universal plug and play (UPnP) network
A method and apparatus are provided for enabling a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) device to be automatically provisioned to access services without the need for manual interaction. In accordance with the invention, when a UPnP device needs to be provisioned, it auto...
05/08/2012
8175154Method for restructuring a group of pictures to provide for random access into the group of pictures
The present invention is a system and method for restructuring a group of pictures in such a manner as to provide for random access into the group of pictures without substantially degrading the quality of service for the video content. When encoding a current pictu...
05/08/2012
8174337Radio frequency switch for use in satellite receivers
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a radio frequency switch, for example for use in a satellite receiver. The switch includes a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, where output ports independently select signal paths from any of the...
05/08/2012
8171527Method and apparatus for securing unlock password generation and distribution
A process may be utilized for securing unlock password generation and distribution. A first set of exclusive responsibilities, assigned to a trusted authority, includes random generation and encryption of an unlock password to compose a randomly generated encrypted ...
05/01/2012
8166499Method, apparatus and set-top device for transmitting content to a receiver
A method for transmitting content (12) via a digital video interface (15) using a high-bandwidth digital content protection system (50). The content (12) has a first format in a first state, a second format in a second state, and vertical...
04/24/2012
8166292Configurable encryption/decryption for multiple services support
A system to transmit a set of programs from a transmitter to a receiver is used to accommodate different levels of security used for each program. When a high level of security is necessary for transmitting or receiving a program the transmitter and/or receiver is o...
04/24/2012
8165209Method and apparatus for providing a fast motion estimation process
A process performs a search on a base reference frame in a video signal to determine a first motion vector for each of the possible partitions of a current macroblock. The first motion vector for a partition provides the most optimal match for the partition in the b...
04/24/2012
8160161Method and apparatus for performing motion compensated temporal filtering in video encoding
A method (50) and apparatus (40) for reducing noise in a video signal calculates (53) a discrimination value of a filter based on a magnitude difference between a current frame and a prior frame of a sequence of frames and modifies (54) t...
04/17/2012
8159962Method and apparatus for optimizing home network interface selection in home networking applications
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for optimizing home networking interface selection in home networking applications. One embodiment of a method for selecting, at a set top box in a network, an active home networking interface fro...
04/17/2012
8156560Method and apparatus for providing a border guard between security domains
The present invention discloses an apparatus and method for defining and enforcing rules of transition between two security domains, e.g., a transport domain and a persistent security domain. In turn, a border guard, e.g., a security device, is provided between thes...
04/10/2012
8155524Method and apparatus for transmitting multiple channels in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical communication system with reduced raman crosstalk and nonlinear distortions
An improved method and apparatus is provided for transmitting a WDM optical signal. The method begins by modulating optical channels that are each located at a different wavelength from one another with (1) a respective one of a plurality of information-bearing elec...
04/10/2012
8154656Capture buffer control methodology for caption carriage switch
A system, method, and computer readable medium for avoiding underflow of a caption buffer in a digital video encoding device. The method receives a sequence of digital video frames, and captions that correspond to the digital video frames in the sequence. The method...
04/10/2012
8141123Method and apparatus for recording and rendering programs that cross SDV force tune boundaries
A method is provided for recording a switched digital video (SDV) program received over a content delivery system. The method includes receiving a single program digital transport stream on a first SDV channel. The single program digital transport stream includes at...
03/20/2012
8140702System and method of maximizing utility in media delivery network
A method is provided for maximizing utility of a media delivery network having a media source, a first media adaptor, a second media adaptor and a media renderer. The media source can provide data in a first format and a second format. The first media adaptor can re...
03/20/2012
8140439Method and apparatus for enabling digital rights management in file transfers
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for enabling digital rights management in file transfers. One embodiment of a method for transferring digital content from a first user to a second user, includes transferring ownership of an inst...
03/20/2012
8139957High sensitivity optical receiver employing a high gain amplifier and an equalizing circuit
An optical receiver includes a light receiving element for converting an optical signal to an electrical signal having a first bandwidth and an amplifier for amplifying the electrical signal. The amplifier has a first gain response that yields a second bandwidth tha...
03/20/2012
8139720Method and apparatus for providing a soft clock re-sync for subscriber line interface cards
A first clock signal is generated by a first circuit and a second clock signal is generated by an auxiliary clock circuit. A switch controls whether the first clock signal or the second clock signal is provided to a subscriber line integrated circuit (SLIC). The SLI...
03/20/2012
8116738Method and system for managing information within a network
A method and system for managing information using a gateway (130) is disclosed. The network includes a gateway (130) and at least one wireless device (110, 115). The method includes (304) downloading information from a predefined source ...
02/14/2012
8116360Method and apparatus for preventing loss of service from hardware failure in a network
A spare receiver in a CMTS is used to prevent loss of service to subscribers during a failure of a receiver. The beginning of a mass modem de-registration event is detected by the operator or automatically by the CMTS. Upon detection of the beginning of the mass mod...
02/14/2012
8112781Content delivery system having an edge resource manager performing bandwidth reclamation
A method is provided for reclaiming bandwidth from an edge device. The method includes communicating a bandwidth query message to at least one session manager. The bandwidth query message specifies an amount of bandwidth that needs to be reclaimed from a single one ...
02/07/2012
8106837Equipment housing with integral antenna
A device comprises a housing and antenna elements. The housing has an outer surface portion and a plurality of projection portions. The projection portions dissipate heat and are disposed to extend to a first height from the outer surface portion. The antenna elemen...
01/31/2012
8077850Customizing called number identification
Described herein are systems and methods that enable users to configure, customize, or personalize names for called number identification information. Accordingly, when such information is displayed for an incoming phone call, a user is able to quickly determine whi...
12/13/2011
8073243Replacing image information in a captured image
Described herein are systems and methods for expanding upon the single-distance-based background denotation to seamlessly replace unwanted image information in a captured image derived from an imaging application so as to account for a selected object's spatial orie...
12/06/2011
8068610Method and system for providing security within multiple set-top boxes assigned for a single customer
Two or more set-top boxes are installed in a household. A communications link, preferably a physical link, is provided between or among the set-top boxes. One of the boxes is designated as a “master” box while the other box or boxes are “slaves.” The slave b...
11/29/2011
8068175Method for detecting interlaced material and field order
Field order in a sequence of video frames is determined based on magnitude or relative motion of a motion vector between a bottom field of a current frame and a top field of a next frame, and magnitude or relative motion of a motion vector between a top field of the...
11/29/2011
8050324Method and apparatus for selecting a reference frame for motion estimation in video encoding
Method and apparatus for selecting a reference frame for motion estimation in a video encoder is described. In one example, motion estimation is performed on a current macroblock in a current frame with respect to a reference frame to obtain a motion vector, a sum o...
11/01/2011
8046015Adaptive tuning to improve demodulator performance
A receiver is tuned to a transmission frequency of a data signal after the receiver has already locked onto a frequency carrying the data signal. A frequency offset between a locked frequency of a tuner on the receiver and the actual transmission frequency is determ...
10/25/2011
8045688Method and system for presenting customized caller options via a communication device
A method and a system for presenting customized caller options via a communication device (104) are disclosed. The method includes receiving (404) an incoming call from a calling party at the second communication device. The method further includes com...
10/25/2011
8044989Mute function for video applications
A mute function is provided that allows a user to mute a video application without alerting other participants to the muting. A user participating in the video application selects the mute function, which causes the user's video device to present a virtual image of ...
10/25/2011
8037541System, device and method for interoperability between different digital rights management systems
A system, device and method for allowing protected content to be transferred to end user communication devices that support different digital rights management (DRM) formats or schemes than the DRM format of the content provider. The method includes providing a Limi...
10/11/2011
8032917Method and system for directing the download of software and firmware objects over a network such as a cable television system
A Download Control Message instructs a set-top terminal in a cable television system to located and immediately begin downloading a code or other data object available over the cable system. The Download Control Message specifies, for example, the size, name, versio...
10/04/2011
8018872Method and apparatus for mitigating layer-2 looping in home networking applications
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for mitigating layer-2 loops in home networking applications. One embodiment of a method for mitigating layer-2 loops in a network includes detecting a loop between a first terminal in the network...
09/13/2011
8010985Method and system for resource management in a video on-demand server
An on-demand server configured to dynamically control and optimize memory utilization while minimizing access to disk storage by monitoring content addressable memory (CAM) usage so as to remove the content from resident CAM memory and page the same adaptively and t...
08/30/2011
8006101Radio transceiver or other encryption device having secure tamper-detection module
An encryption device includes a system processor having a first key for encrypting information. The system processor periodically generates random data strings that are also encrypted using the first key. The encryption device also includes a first output for commun...
08/23/2011
7991813Methods and systems for efficient filtering of digital signals
A method in a signal processor for filtering samples in a digital signal is provided. An approximate filtered sample is generated as a function of four samples of the digital signal. A correction is generated as a function of the four samples, and a filtered sample ...
08/02/2011
7987504System and method for routing signals intended for one device through another device connected to a shared access network
A system (100) and method (200) for delivering conditional access information to a conditional access controlled device (120) incompatible with the conditional access transmission protocol. The conditional access information is delivered through...
07/26/2011
7974404Parallel split powering
A system for providing power to a network interface device (NID) includes a primary power supply device (PPSD), a battery backup device (BBD), and an electrical bus connecting the PPSD, the BBD, and the NID in parallel. The PPSD is operable to power the NID. The BBD...
07/05/2011
7973721Mechanically integrated cable mesh antenna system
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a mechanically integrated cable mesh antenna system. One embodiment of a wireless access device for a network includes a housing having at least one rib, beam forming electronics supported by the housing, and at least o...
07/05/2011
1                      
 
Sign InRegister
Username  
Password   
forgot password?