Television system for providing interactive television programs and server system for constructing the television system

• US 5,880,720 A
• Filed: 07/24/1996
• Issued: 03/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwafune, Seiji, Takeda, Masahito, Takada, Toshiyuki, Miura, Isamu
• Primary Examiner(s): FLYNN, NATHAN J
• Application Number:
  US08/686,141
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• Field of Search: 348/1, 348/12, 348/13, 348/7, 348/14, 348/15, 348/16, 348/17, 455/2, 455/5.1, 455/4.2, 455/6.3, 395/200.49
• US Class Current: 725/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A television system in which two-way television sets communicate with a server via a communication network. Each interactive television includes a program control unit for controlling interactive data exchange between a viewer, a response receiving unit for identifying a response from the viewer to the program from input signals to the television, and a communication control unit for controlling communications with other nodes. The server includes a communication control unit for controlling communications with other nodes, a program information DB storing procedures in units of programs, a response processing function for arranging response data in units of programs.

Claims

1. A television system for providing an interactive television program comprising:

a television for receiving a television multiplexed broadcast radio wave including an interactive television program superimposed thereon; and

a server for communicating with the television via a communication network, wherein said television having,

display means for displaying the interactive program superimposed on the television multiplexed broadcast radio wave to a viewer;

interactive program control means for controlling a data exchange between the viewer and the interactive television program and for forming response data containing a response input by the viewer to an item that prompts the viewer to input a response on the interactive programs, and

television communication control means for controlling communication to the server performed via said communication network, the response data being contained in the transmission data transmitted to the server, said server having,

server communication control means for controlling communications to the television performed via the communication network,

procedure managing means for storing a response procedure for totalizing the response data received from said television, the response procedure being prepared for the interactive television program beforehand, and

procedure executing means for taking out the response procedure from said procedure managing means and totalizing the response data.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program control means sets a television program identifier of an interactive television program currently selected in response data containing a response from a viewer transferred from said response receiving means,

said procedure managing means manages a procedure of each interactive television program on the basis of the television program identifier predetermined for each of the interactive television program, and

said procedure executing means takes out a procedure of an interactive television program relating to response data from said procedure managing means by using the television program identifier set in the response data.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said server further comprises:

authentication information managing means for managing authentication informations of users on the basis of user identifiers each of indicating a user of said interactive television set; and

authenticating means for searching the authentication information managed under said authentication information managing means by using the user identifier,

said interactive program control means sets the user identifier indicating the user of said interactive television in response data containing a response from a viewer transferred from said response receiving means,

said procedure managing means manages a procedure including processing using user information, and

said procedure executing means instructs said authenticating means to search user information if the procedure take out from said procedure managing means includes processing using the user information.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein when an interactive television program is selected, said interactive television separates the interactive television program inserted as multiplexed broadcasting into broadcast radio waves from the broadcast radio waves and inputs the interactive television program to said interactive program control means.

6. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a VTR for reproducing a video signal in which an interactive television program for providing additional information of a certain information is inserted into a predetermined region of a video signal indicating contents of the certain information,

wherein when the interactive television program is selected while the video signal supplied from said VTR is being reproduced, said interactive television separates the interactive television program from the video signal and inputs the interactive television program control to said interactive program means.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said server further comprises:

program storage means for storing screen composition data of an interactive television program composed of a plurality of successive images;

program supplying means for sequentially reading out the screen composition data from said program storage means and forming transmission data in accordance with progress of the interactive television program; and

means for transferring the transmission data to said server communication control means by designating an interactive television in which the interactive television program is being executed as a transmission destination, in order to transmit the transmission data to said interactive television, and

said television communication control means inputs data received from said server to said interactive program control means if the received data is the screen composition data.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program control means sets data for requesting interactive communication in a header of transmission data for transmitting the response data, when said interactive program control means is supplied with an interactive television program from said server, and

said server communication control means transfers data from said interactive television to said program supplying means if the data requesting interactive communication is set in the header of the received data.

9. A system according to claim 4, wherein:

said interactive program control means identifies personal identifiers of one or more persons registered for said interactive television and informs said interactive program control means of a personal identifier of a viewer himself or herself who has returned a response,

said interactive program control means uses the personal identifier as the user identifier to be set in the response data,

said authentication information managing means manages authentication information of the viewer based on the personal identifier, and said procedure managing means manages a procedure including processing using the authentication information of the viewer.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein

said authentication information managing means manages passwords of viewers in relation to the personal identifiers, and

said procedure executing means processes, when a procedure includes password check, response data from a viewer as a valid one if a password transmitted from said interactive television by the viewer agrees with a password of the viewer managed by said authentication information managing means.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program means sets a maker identifier indicating a maker of said television in the response data, and

said server further comprises:

classifying means for extracting user identifiers from response data received from said televisions and classifying the user identifiers in accordance with the maker on the basis of the maker identifiers set together with the user identifiers in the response data; and

maker information storage means for storing the user identifiers classified in accordance with the maker.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program control means sets at least one of a type identifier indicating a type of said television and a lot number in the response data,

said classifying means classifies the type identifiers and the lot numbers set in the response data, together with the user identifiers, in accordance with the maker, and

said maker information storage means stores the type identifiers and the lot numbers together with the user identifiers.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program control means gives unique numbers to all choices of questions provided in an interactive television program, in which a plurality of questions each having a plurality of choices are prepared and a viewer picks up one or more choices for each question, and forms response data containing unique numbers corresponding to the choices picked up by the viewer for the question, and

said procedure managing means manages a procedure in which a unique number to be subjected to totalization processing is designated.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the procedure managed by said procedure managing means includes a unique number as an object of totalization and a method of the totalization of the unique number.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said interactive program control means gives unique numbers to all choices of questions provided in an interactive television program, in which a plurality of questions each having a plurality of choices are prepared and a viewer picks up one or more choices for each question, and forms response data containing unique numbers corresponding to the choices picked up by the viewer for the question,

said server is connected, via a communication network, to a broadcasting station for providing the interactive television program in which a plurality of questions are prepared, in order to designate a unique number to be subjected to totalization or a unique number as an object of totalization and a method of the totalization of the unique number, and

said procedure executing means processes the unique number on the basis of the unique number or of the unique number and the method of the totalization of the unique number directly designated by said broadcasting station.

2. A server system for communicating with a television via a communication network and totalizing response data generated by a viewer of said television and other viewers regarding respective interactive television programs broadcast to said television and other televisions by broadcast radio waves, comprising:

communication control means for controlling communications from the television via the network, the response data for a particular one of the respective interactive television programs being contained in transmission data transmitted from the television via the network;

procedure managing means for storing a response procedure for totalizing the response data received from said television regarding the particular one of the respective interactive television programs, the response procedure being prepared for the interactive television program beforehand;

arranging means for arranging the response data received from said television and other television to correspond with the response procedure and response data for the particular one of the respective interactive television programs; and

procedure executing means for taking out the response procedure from said procedure managing means and totalizing the response data associated with the particular one of the respective interactive television programs, wherein

said arranging means arranges the response data in a response data list in which the response data are grouped according to the respective interactive television programs,

said procedure managing means manages respective totalizing procedures employed on different response data entries in the response data list, and

said procedure executing means totalizes response data for the respective interactive television programs in accordance with the respective totalizing procedures obtained from said procedure managing means.

16. A system according to claim 2, wherein

said procedure managing means includes a television program information database for managing a procedure associated with each program on the basis of a television program identifier determined for the television program, and

said procedure executing means reads out a procedure from said television program information database by using the program identifier and processes response data in accordance with the readout procedure.

17. A system according to claim 2, further comprising:

authentication information managing means for managing authentication information of a user on the basis of a user identifier indicating a user of said interactive television; and

authenticating means for retrieving the authentication information managed by said authentication information managing means by using the user identifier, and

said procedure managing means manages a procedure including processing using user information, and

said procedure executing means instructs said authenticating means to extract user information if the procedure read out from said procedure managing means includes processing using the user information.

18. A system according to claim 2, further comprising:

program storage means for storing program composition data of a successive image interactive television program composed of a plurality of successive images;

program supply means for sequentially reading out the program composition data from said program storage means and forming transmission data in accordance with progress of the successive image interactive television program; and

means for transferring the transmission data to said server communication control means by designating an interactive television in which the successive image interactive television program is being executed as a transmission designation, in order to transmit the transmission data to said interactive television.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein

said communication control means transfers, when response data in which data requesting interactive communication is set in a header is received from an interactive television, the response data to said program supplying means, and holds a line currently established with respect to said interactive television, and

said program supplying means transmits program composition information to said interactive television via the line held by said communication control means, and executes a service corresponding to the television program by storing response data transmitted from said interactive television to the program via said line.

20. A system according to claim 17, wherein

said authentication information managing means manages authentication information of a viewer himself or herself on the basis of personal identifiers of one or a plurality of persons previously registered in each interactive television,

said procedure managing means manages a procedure including processing using the authentication information of the viewer, and

said procedure executing means instructs said authenticating means to extract personal information of the viewer if the procedure read out from said procedure managing means includes processing using the personal information of the viewer.

21. A system according to claim 17, wherein

said communication control means receives, from an interactive television, response data in which a maker identifier indicating a maker of said interactive television and the user identifier are set, and

said server further comprises:

classifying means for extracting user identifiers from response data received from said interactive television and classifying the user identifiers in accordance with the maker on the basis of the maker identifiers set together with the user identifiers in the response data; and

maker information storage means for storing the user identifiers classified in accordance with the maker by said classifying means.