Cordless phone back link for interactive television system
First Claim
1. A method for receiving and responding to advertisement on a television screen comprising the steps of:
- receiving data regarding an advertising segment in a television signal;
displaying the received advertising segment on the television screen;
responding to the displayed advertising segment to generate a responding data;
combining the responding data with a user identification information;
transmitting the combined data; and
receiving a confirmation message responsive to the transmitted data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for communicating information from a television viewer to a central site includes a remote control unit for sending command signals from the viewer to a television or video cassette recorder (VCR) Circuitry integral with the television or VCR accepts the command signals from the remote control unit and interprets the signals to form a viewer command, such as a purchase command, to be communicated to the central site. The circuitry automatically sends dual-tone multifrequency (DTMF) tone signals representing the command over a radio frequency (RF) link to a cordless telephone base unit, which is connected to the central site by a public switched telephone network. The cordless telephone base unit initiates a telephone call to the central site and communicates the DTMF tone signals received from the DTMF circuitry in the television or VCR to the central site. The television or VCR receives a television signal and extracts information related to a product or pay-per-view (PPV) event being advertised on a television program from the vertical blanking interval of the television signal. This information includes the telephone number of the central site used for making the telephone connection as well as identification information for the product or PPV event to be purchased.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for receiving and responding to advertisement on a television screen comprising the steps of:
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receiving data regarding an advertising segment in a television signal;
displaying the received advertising segment on the television screen;
responding to the displayed advertising segment to generate a responding data;
combining the responding data with a user identification information;
transmitting the combined data; and
receiving a confirmation message responsive to the transmitted data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for receiving and responding to advertisement on a television screen comprising the steps of:
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means for receiving data regarding an advertising segment in a television signal;
a display processor for displaying the received advertising segment on the television screen;
means for responding to the displayed advertising segment to generate a responding data;
means for combining the responding data with a user identification information;
means for transmitting the combined data; and
means for receiving a confirmation message responsive to the transmitted data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification