Secure cable television access system with tiering control
First Claim
1. Program access tiering control method in a time-addressable access control system for cable TV subscribers, wherein program signals are transmitted via cable to local tapoff interconnections with subscribers'"'"' television receivers together with a series of clocking pulses corresponding to sequential arrangement of subscribers, the clocking pulses being accompanied by program access-enabling pulses for program-requesting subscribers, wherein sets of programs are arranged in different levels or tiers, such as according to different levels of subscriber charges, the tiering control method being characterized by including within the transmission to any given subscriber a plurality of clocking pulses time-addressed for such subscriber and corresponding to a plurality of program tiers, and including for any requesting subscriber enabling command pulses for each of the respective tiers so requested, thereby enabling the subscriber to select for reception a program from any such tier so requested and enabled.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A poach-resistant system enabling cable television subscribers to receive upon request certain programs otherwise unavailable (i.e., "secure") while precluding such reception by non-requesting subscribers as well as non-subscribers. Before transmission of such a secure program the roster of subscribers is scanned at a central control station having complied subscribers'"'"' requests for that program, and a resulting string of pulses corresponding in sequence to the respective subscribers is punctuated with program command pulses timed to designate those subscribers who have requested the program. Transmission of the resultant program command signal string over the cable to junctions with leads to the respective subscribers'"'"' television sets results in unblocking of such junction for each of the requesting subscribers only. Allocation of plural clocking pulses to each subscriber enables program availability to be tiered as desired. Appropriate circuitry in the junction of each subscriber'"'"'s lead with the transmitting cable retains control there so that unauthorized program signals never enter a subscriber'"'"'s premises, where security could be defeated.
45 Citations
16 Claims
- 1. Program access tiering control method in a time-addressable access control system for cable TV subscribers, wherein program signals are transmitted via cable to local tapoff interconnections with subscribers'"'"' television receivers together with a series of clocking pulses corresponding to sequential arrangement of subscribers, the clocking pulses being accompanied by program access-enabling pulses for program-requesting subscribers, wherein sets of programs are arranged in different levels or tiers, such as according to different levels of subscriber charges, the tiering control method being characterized by including within the transmission to any given subscriber a plurality of clocking pulses time-addressed for such subscriber and corresponding to a plurality of program tiers, and including for any requesting subscriber enabling command pulses for each of the respective tiers so requested, thereby enabling the subscriber to select for reception a program from any such tier so requested and enabled.
- 7. Program access tiering control in a time-addressable access control system for cable TV, wherein at the head or transmitting end a serially ordered roster of all subscribers is maintained and a roster of program-requesting subscribers is compiled for a plurality of limited-access programs to be transmitted simultaneously by cable to all the subscribers'"'"' respective tapoff interconnections with the cable, and wherein the program signals are accompanied by successive clocking pulses identifiable with the respective subscribers, being characterized in that a plurality of such clocking pulses--for each subscriber--are identified also with respective tiers of such limited-access programs, at least one program per tier, and including means for transmitting, along with the clocking pulses for the respective program-requesting subscribers, enabling pulses whose reception at their interconnections with the cable is effective to gate one or more requested tiers of programs identified therewith from the interconnections to the TV receivers of requesting subscribers.
- 10. Program access tiering control means in a time-addressable access control system for cable TV subscribers, wherein sets of programs transmitted via the cable to tapoff interconnections with the respective subscribers occupy various levels or tiers, such as according to different levels of subscriber charges, the program tiering control means comprising, at a tapoff for any given subscriber, means for receiving a series of clocking pulses transmitted to all subscribers, including means for identifying therein a plurality of clocking pulses time-addressed for such subscriber and corresponding to a plurality of program tiers, and including control means for identifying, when present for a given requesting subscriber in such plurality of identified pulses, access command pulses for any of the respective tiers so requested, and also means responsive to such access command pulses for gating to the subscriber'"'"'s TV receiver the programs of any such requested tier, thereby enabling the subscriber to select a program in any such tier.
Specification