System and method for merging interactive television data with closed caption data

• US 20020129381A1
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MK Systems USA Inc. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson Television Incorporated (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Davis, David, Smith, Drake, Barone, Samuel T. Jr., Stone, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,607,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/137
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26233 involving content or additional data duration or size, e.g. length of a movie, size of an executable file
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0885 for the transmission of subtitles

Abstract

A method and apparatus for delivering interactive television (ITV) data by using the same TV scan line that also carries closed caption data. The ITV data is inserted into the scan line with CC data by detecting a gap associated with a first CC data unit. If the gap is large enough to contain all of the group of ITV data units then electronically insert the entire group of ITV data units into the gap. If the gap is not large enough to contain the entire group of ITV data units, insert a subset of the entire group of the ITV data units into the gap and continue to the gaps associated with successive CC data units, inserting subsets of the ITV data into subsequent gaps until the entire ITV message has been inserted into the gaps between CC data units.

Claims

1. An interactive television system comprising:

a first input for receiving a first data stream;

a second input for receiving a second data stream, the first data stream having a higher priority than the second data stream; and

a processing unit coupled to the first input and the second input, characterized in that the processing unit creates a gap in the first data stream for inserting at least a portion of data carried by the second data stream, the gap being selected in a location in the first data stream so as to allow the data carried by the second stream to be displayed as close to a desired time as possible without disrupting display of data carried by the first data stream.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data carried by the first data stream is closed caption data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data carried by the second data stream is interactive television data including interactive content.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the portion of data carried by the second data stream includes a reveal command.

5. An interactive television system comprising:

a first input for receiving a first data stream having a plurality of first data units;

a second input for receiving a second data stream having a plurality of second data units; and

a processing unit coupled to the first input and the second input, the processing unit including logic for;

creating a gap between two first data units in the first data stream;

inserting a first portion of the plurality of second data units into the created gap;

detecting another gap in the first data stream; and

electronically inserting a second portion of the plurality of second data units into the detected gap.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of first data units are closed caption data units.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of second data units are interactive television data units including interactive content.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the created and detected gaps are time slots in a television signal containing no data units.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the created gap is as closed to a desired reveal time as possible.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the first portion of the plurality of second data units includes a reveal command.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the two first data units are payload data.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of first data units are closed caption data units.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of second data units are interactive television data units including interactive content.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the portion of the plurality of second data units includes a reveal command.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the portion of the plurality of first data units includes payload data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of first data units are closed caption data units.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of second data units are interactive television data units including interactive content.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the created and detected gaps are time slots in the television signal containing no data units.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the created gap is as close to a desired reveal time as possible.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the first portion of the plurality of second data units includes a reveal command.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the two first data units are payload data.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of first data units are closed caption data units.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of second data units are interactive television data units including interactive content.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the portion of the plurality of second data units includes a reveal command.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the portion of the plurality of first data units includes payload data.

12. An interactive television system including:

a first input for receiving a first data stream having a plurality of first data units;

a second input for receiving a second data stream having a plurality of second data units; and

a processing unit coupled to the first input and the second input, the processing unit including logic for;

identifying time slots of a television signal assigned to the plurality of first data units in the first data stream;

reassigning a portion of the plurality of first data units assigned to particular time slots to earlier time slots; and

assigning at least a portion of the plurality of second data units in the second data stream to the particular time slots.

17. In an interactive television system, a method for merging a first data stream having a plurality of first data units with a second data stream having a plurality of second data units for transmitting in a television signal, the first data stream having a higher priority than the second data stream, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a gap between two first data units in the first data stream;

inserting a first portion of the plurality of second data units into the created gap;

detecting another gap in the first data stream; and

electronically inserting a second portion of the plurality of second data units into the detected gap.

24. In an interactive television system, a method for merging a first data stream having a plurality of first data units with a second data stream having a plurality of second data units for transmitting in a television signal, the first data stream having a higher priority than the second data stream, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying time slots of the television signal assigned to the first data units in the first data stream;

reassigning a portion of the first data units assigned to particular time slots to earlier time slots; and

assigning at least a portion of the plurality of second data units in the second data stream to the particular time slots.