Computer controlled video interactive learning system

• US 5,576,844 A
• Filed: 09/06/1994
• Issued: 11/19/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unilearn Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Unilearn Incorporated
• Inventors: Howard, James E., Anderson, Ronald K., McKaig, Ray S., Hack, Bruine R., Peers, John, Crock, Michael K., Benson, Duane F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai Q.
• Application Number:
  US08/300,990
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 358/341, 358/335, 358/343, 358/311, 360/13, 360/14.1, 360/14.2, 360/14.3, 360/19.1, 348/552
• US Class Current: 386/278
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/028 with computer assistance
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals

Abstract

A computer controlled video interactive courseware system is designed for the generation, viewing, and duplication of interactive instructional video tapes. An interactive instructional videotape contains video segments located on the stereo-video portion of a tape containing live-motion video images for the presentation of a lesson. Portions of the stereo-video portion of the tape contains video signals that contain digitally encoded information which is retrieved by the computer during playback of the tape. The digital information extracted from the videotape contains computer instructions to provide interactivity with students. Interactivity could include a presentation of questions to the student and based on the student'"'"'s response to the question presenting selected video segments from the video tape. Preferably, the video cassette recorder is S-VHS which provides for increased bandwidth and uses a higher quality tape medium than standard VHS tape medium.

Claims

1. A system for the creation of an interactive video courseware tape comprising:

(a) a system bus electrically connecting a mother board, interface board, video capture board, audio control board, audio board and video control board together;

(b) said mother board including a microprocessor with associated random access memory for executing editing software;

(c) said editing software including a port structure and a host/VCB interface for communications to and from the video control board;

(d) said interface board electrically connected with a disk drive for the transmission of and receipt of information;

(e) said video capture board capable of receiving digital data from said system bus and displaying said digital data as an image on a computer screen;

(f) said video capture board also capable of receiving video signals and displaying said video signals on said computer screen as an image;

(g) said video control board including a serial interface and a video interface for sending and receiving signals from a video cassette recorder control board, said video control board further comprising;

(i) a host interface connected to said system bus;

(ii) a microprocessor, random access memory and read only memory to process commands;

(iii) an error correction chip with an associated tri-state buffer which under control of the microprocessor that can add additional error correction bytes to digital data;

(iv) a digital video generator/recover circuit to encode digital data into a binary video signal by gating the digital data controlled by a timing control circuit;

(v) a video mux operatively connected with said generator/recover circuit to selectively gate said binary video signal with video control signals to create a complete video signal;

(vi) said complete video signal transmitted on said video interface;

(h) said audio control board serially connected to said video control board through a video controller interface, and said audio control board operating in two modes, namely;

(i) a first mode that is a pass-through mode where digital signals from said video control board are recorder board for recording on said tape'"'"'s linear audio track;

(ii) a second mode that generates command codes to control a video cassette recorder connected to said audio control board'"'"'s serial port;

(i) said video cassette recorder control board connected to said video control board and said audio control board to pass commands to said video cassette recorders and read and write video signals from said video cassette recorders, and further comprising;

(i) a relay for selecting the linear audio track;

(ii) damping circuits in the outputs of the video cassette recorder board selected for the source video cassette recorder;

(iii) a microprocessor.