Donald S Snedigar

6934300, Aug 23, 2005

May 4, 2001

09/849198

Stephen Robert Tomassetti - Newbury Park CA, US
Donald C. Snedigar - Irving TX, US
Thomas Gerald Wojciechowski - Chicago IL, US

M&S Systems, L.P. - Dallas TX

H04L012/43

370461, 370449

A method of initializing a multi-zone peer-to-peer entertainment and communications network. During normal network operation, data is streamed from one or more entertainment media source nodes to multiple independent other nodes and, then, passed to connected receivers and/or transceivers. The receivers and transceivers may be located in different zones from each other. The zones may be different rooms in a building or house. The initialization sequence is an autonomous process. During initialization, at least one backplane address is assigned to each network hub port and to each local node. One hub port is designated as backplane master. Upon power-up or a reset, a remote scan is initiated, automatically, from the hub ports to the remote nodes. Any remote node requiring an address responds to the remote scan indicating that one or more addresses are needed. Then, nodes requesting addresses enter a contention arbitration phase to select the next requesting node which is assigned addresses next.

20020188752, Dec 12, 2002

May 4, 2001

09/849693

Stephen Tomassetti - Newbury Park CA, US
Donald Snedigar - Irving TX, US
Thomas Wojciechowski - Chicago IL, US

G06F015/16

709/236000, 709/253000

A control messaging structure for a multi-zone entertainment and communications network and control method therefor. The network is a digital peer-to-peer network distributing data that is being streamed from multiple independent entertainment and communications media sources to multiple independent receivers and/or transceivers. The receivers and transceivers may be located in different zones from each other. The zones may be individual rooms of a building or house. The control messaging structure is a peer-to-peer communication protocol structure. Feature cards or remote devices are connected to peer nodes, which are controlled by control data passed between the nodes on the network over a control bus using the control messaging structure. Likewise, information is shared over the control bus between devices connected to network nodes using the control messaging structure of the present invention.

20020188762, Dec 12, 2002

May 4, 2001

09/849698

Stephen Tomassetti - Newbury Park CA, US
Donald Snedigar - Irving TX, US
Thomas Wojciechowski - Chicago IL, US

G06F015/16

709/251000, 709/201000

A data structure for a multi-zone peer-to-peer entertainment and communications network. The network serially distributes data that is being streamed from multiple entertainment media sources simultaneously to multiple independent receivers and/or transceivers. The receivers and transceivers may be located in different zones. The zones may be different rooms of a building or house. Each data packet to each node is structured according to the data structure of the present invention. So, each packet includes a preamble that provides a precisely timed synchronization symbol. The preamble synchronizes the remote nodes to a hub and synchronizes each remote node's internal processes. A control bus status bit follows the preamble and indicates hub control bus status. Each packet includes a hub control field and a control data field carry control information. Audio data fields included in each packet carry audio data for an intercom channel and one or more stereo audio channels.

20030023741, Jan 30, 2003

May 4, 2001

09/849694

Stephen Tomassetti - Newbury Park CA, US
Donald Snedigar - Irving TX, US
Thomas Wojciechowski - Chicago IL, US
Bradford Farris - Chicago IL, US

G06F015/173

709/231000, 709/246000

A peer-to-peer network of devices connected together with data being streamed over a digital network. Network devices include one or more data communication units that are locatable in two or more zones. Data communication units may be room stations and door stations connected to hub modules at an entertainment hub and local units connected to the entertainment hub. The entertainment hub may be connected to the Internet, either directly or, indirectly through one of the connected data communications units. Room stations include a sending unit, a receiving unit and an intercom unit (provide intercom, paging and station monitoring) and are located in different zones, each controlling local reception of data from the data stream and each may place data into the data stream. Room stations operate independently of each other such that a person at a first room station may select to receive audio data from another unit while a second person at a second room station is receiving data from yet another unit, each individually setting sound volume and tone controls independent of the other. Audio sources may include a radio tuner, a compact disc player, a mini-disc player, a microphone, a cassette player and a compressed audio data source and, any unit may select audio data from any audio source independent of other units. Room stations may include an interactive display and keypad with commonly used commands in a command menu. A time display may be included and stations may be time programmable. Some units may selectively disable issuance of commands from other network devices.