×

Dedicated channel interactive cable television system

  • US 4,264,924 A
  • Filed: 08/13/1979
  • Issued: 04/28/1981
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1978
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. An interactive cable television system comprisinga plurality of subscriber television reception systems, each of said subscriber television reception systems comprising a multichannel television receiver, each of said multichannel television receivers having a plurality of different television reception channels, each of said television reception channels having a different associated communication frequency;

  • a cable television subscriber distribution network operatively connected to said plurality of subscriber television recepction systems; and

    a cable television programming transmission means operatively connected to said subscriber distribution network for providing transmitted television programming thereto, said subscriber distribution networks providing said transmitted television programming to said plurality of subscriber television reception systems, said cable television programming transmission means comprising means for substantially simultaneously providing a multi-information television program communication signal along with at least one different regular television program information signal as said transmitted television programming to said subscriber distribution network;

    said multi-information television program communication signal comprising a plurality of multi-information packets, each multi-information packet comprising a plurality of simultaneously provided different program information message signals related in real time and content to each other, each of said related different program information message signals in said multi-information packet being at a different associated communication frequency different from each other, and different from said one regular television programming signal associated frequency, each of said related different program information message signal associated frequencies corresponding to a different television reception channel frequency and being directly receivable on the corresponding television reception channels;

    said one different regular television program information signal having an associated communication frequency corresponding to a different television reception channel frequency than said multi-information packet program information message signals and being directly selectably receivable on the corresponding television reception channel;

    each of said multichannel television receivers being capable of independently selectably receiving information on any one of said plurality of different television reception channels dependent on the television reception channel selected;

    each of said multichannel television receivers comprising a multichannel selection means for selecting the television reception channel associated frequency to be received, each of said television reception channels having a designated channel position indicator in said multichannel/selection means;

    at least one of said multi-information packets further comprising video information displayable on said multichannel television receiver corresponding to informational labels to be dynamically assigned to said designated channel position indicators for a particular multi-information packet, said television displayable informational labels being dynamically variable dependent on the content of said multi-information packet, whereby flexible multi-information television programming may be simultaneously provided along with regular television programming.

View all claims
  • 8 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×