Programming interface for configuring a television settop terminal

• US 20060064583A1
• Filed: 08/29/2005
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Birnbaum, Jack M., Miller, Kenneth P., Allinson, Stephen, Sordo, Chris Del
• Granted Patent: US 7,690,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/164
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0822 using key encryption key
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34

Abstract

A software interface (26) is provided to enable television settop middleware (14) and operating system (OS) software (16) to control and interact with core settop system software (20) in a subscriber television terminal to facilitate the provision of desirable digital television services, including authentication and authorization.

Claims

1. An interface to core system software in a user terminal, comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer program code; and

means for executing said computer program code to provide at least one application program interface (API) to enable middleware that mediates between an application program and the core system software to access a function of the terminal, wherein said function of the terminal comprises at least one of;

providing a Cable Modem'"'"'s public key to a DOCSIS Driver;

performing decryption operations on an encrypted Authorization Key provided by a DOCSIS Driver;

generating a Key Encryption Key (KEK) based on a decrypted Authorization Key;

generating an upstream hashed-based message authentication code (HMAC) Key;

authenticating a Key Request message, and return an upstream hashed-based message authentication code (HMAC) keyed message digest to a DOCSIS Driver;

generating a downstream hashed-based message authentication code (HMAC) Key;

validating a downstream hashed-based message authentication code (HMAC) using a downstream HMAC key; and

decrypting an encrypted Traffic Encryption Key (TEK) using a Key Encryption Key (KEK), and returning the TEK to a DOCSIS Driver.