Providing multiple levels of interactive television service using triggers and trigger filters
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interactive television system includes “connected” receiver units capable of establishing bi-directional connections to remote information stores, such as Web servers, and “disconnected” receiver units unequipped to make such connections. The system supports the use of broadcast triggers that include connectivity values indicating whether an information resource identified by a trigger refers to “connected content” or “disconnected content.” The term “connected content” refers to information resources that require bi-directional connections to remote information stores; the term “disconnected content” refers to information resources, such as a locally stored program guide, that do not require such bi-directional connections. Disconnected receiver units identify and reject connected-content triggers by examining connectivity values broadcast as part of triggers. Thus, content providers can broadcast connected-content triggers to connected and disconnected receiver units without interrupting disconnected receiver units with links to inaccessible content. Furthermore, the ability to distinguish between connected and disconnected content allows vendors who sell or lease receiver units to offer a lower level of service to those customers who do not wish to pay for the ability to access connected content.
124 Citations
43 Claims
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1-22. -22. (Canceled).
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23. A partially-connected receiver unit comprising:
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configuration data stored in a local memory, including connectivity information;
means for receiving and identifying connected-content triggers;
means for selectively ignoring the connected-content triggers during a prescribed period of time and for selectively executing the connected-content triggers at a time other than the prescribed period of time. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 40)
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- 33. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, further comprising means for receiving and executing one or more disconnected-content triggers.
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33-1. A method for executing triggers from a partially-connected receiver, comprising:
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receiving one or more connected-content triggers and one or more disconnected-content triggers;
selectively ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers during a prescribed period of time;
selectively executing the connected-content triggers only at a time after the prescribed period of time; and
executing the one or more disconnected-content triggers at any time, including during the prescribed period of time.
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34-2. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein executing the one or more connected-content triggers includes establishing and maintaining a bi-directional connection to a remote information store to access content identified by the one or more connected-content triggers.
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35-3. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein connectivity information stored by the partially-connected receiver defines the prescribed period of time.
Specification