The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 17, 2013
Filed:
Feb. 25, 2009
David A. Lockett, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Kurtis G. Heaton, Pleasanton, CA (US);
David A. Lockett, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Kurtis G. Heaton, Pleasanton, CA (US);
TiVo Inc., Alviso, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus describes a stackable communications system. A system is modularized and stacked in various configurations. The interconnections between the modules may be by close proximity inductively coupled wireless Ethernet connections or a physical connection mechanism. Each module detects the power requirement of modules installed next to it. When a new module is installed, the module below determines the power requirements of the new module and whether adequate power is available. If adequate power is available, the new module is powered. An audio system that comprises an audio server and individual speaker clients may also be connected. Individual speaker clients may be the same physical configuration. When the audio server detects each speaker client, the audio server configures each speaker to a particular purpose. This allows the same type of speakers to be used for different features. Other audio devices may also be connected to the audio server.