Method and apparatus for selectively blocking audio and video signals

• US 5,828,402 A
• Filed: 12/05/1996
• Issued: 10/27/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canadian V-Chip Design Inc.
• Inventors: Collings, Timothy David
• Primary Examiner(s): Buczinski, Stephen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/761,091
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: 380/20, 348/5.5, 348/460, 348/906
• US Class Current: 725/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Claims