Interactive Television Framework Utilizing Program-Synchronous Triggers and Standard Messaging and Presence-Detection Protocols

• US 20110161394A1
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Coincident TV Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Coincident TV Incorporated
• Inventors: Ryan, Michael, Gilles, John, Crawford, Douglas H., Chidel, Philip, Petrarca, Julie
• Granted Patent: US 8,775,501 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/1739 the upstream communication being transmitted via a separate link, e.g. telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A system for enabling nodes of a client-server network to interact with broadcast program content, the system includes a server node that can detect the presence on the network of one or more client nodes; a trigger extractor that can extract program-synchronous triggers from within the content of a broadcast program; and an application manager that, in response to extraction of a program-synchronous trigger from a broadcast program, can facilitate interactive communication, relating to the broadcast program content, between the server node and one or more client nodes whose presence on the network has been detected.

Claims

1. A system for enabling nodes of a client-server network to interact with broadcast program content, the system comprising:

(a) a server node that can detect the presence on the network of one or more client nodes;

(b) a trigger extractor that can extract program-synchronous triggers from within the content of a broadcast program; and

(c) an application manager that, in response to extraction of a program-synchronous trigger from a broadcast program, can facilitate interactive communication, relating to the broadcast program content, between the server node and one or more client nodes whose presence on the network has been detected.