Interactive information delivery system

• US 6,005,561 A
• Filed: 12/14/1994
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Patent Purchase Manager LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The 3DO Company
• Inventors: Hawkins, William, Duvall, William, Perkins, Roderick
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John W.
• Application Number:
  US08/355,755
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 348/6, 348/7, 348/8, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 348/906, 455/4.1, 455/4.2, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 395/200.09, 395/155-161, 395/200.47, 395/200.48, 395/200.49
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23617 by inserting additional data into a data carousel, e.g. inserting software modules into a DVB carousel arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4349 by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem

Abstract

An information delivery system including a head end broadcasting a data stream of media objects, the head end being coupled to a broadcast television interface and at least one information service provider and including an encoder for encoding information in the media object is disclosed. The system may deliver and implement a programming guide delineating programming information available on the information delivery system in one or more media objects in the data stream in an encoded fashion by the encoder. A user terminal is coupled to the head-end and receives the media objects. The user terminal has an output and includes a decoder for the media objects. Also provided in one aspect is a user interface, at least partially stored in the user-terminal, which selects a user-defined subset of media objects for provision to the output of the user terminal. Further, an information navigation system for an information delivery system is provided. The navigation system functions with the electronic program guide and includes a user interface having a plurality of icon representations of various functions of the system, and including a broadcast television interface. The navigation system also includes a smart service navigator which interacts with the user interface and the electronic program guide to provide an output to the user.

Claims

1. An information delivery system for delivery of audio, video, and user data through a communication medium from a head end to a user end, the user end including a display device, the communication medium having a plurality of transmission channels, said channels carrying a variety of broadcast programming information on ones of said plurality of transmission channels, comprising:

a server node having means for broadcasting a data stream on a subset of said transmission channels, the data stream comprising a plurality of compressed data objects, each data object comprising at least one media object, each media object comprising a still image, a motion video image, an audio clip, or text in encoded form, the data objects further including broadcast programming content information and instruction code, directing the placement of the data and media objects on the display device to provide a broadcast programming information program guide, the data stream being substantially repeated at regular intervals in multiplexed fashion over the communication medium;

a client node coupled to the display device, the client node having means for receiving the data stream, for decompressing at least selected portions of the stream, and for producing a user-detectable output on the display device in response to the data stream.

2. The information delivery system of claim 1 wherein the system includes backchannel communication, and the client node communicates with the server node via the backchannel communication to process information requests from a viewer.

3. The information delivery system of claim 1 wherein the means for broadcasting includes means for broadcasting a plurality of data steams in a multiplexed fashion;

and the means for receiving including means for producing a user-detectable output in a user-selectable subset of the plurality of data streams.

4. The information delivery system of claim 1 further including a user interface, a portion of the user interface being resident in the client node and a portion of the user interface being provided in at least one of the data objects.

5. The information delivery system as defined in claim 1 wherein the data stream is transmitted via the level two transport layer of the MPEG 2 transport standard.

6. The information delivery system as defined in claim 1 wherein a portion of the user interface is resident in the client note.

7. An information delivery system for use with a communication medium having a plurality of transmission channels, said channels carrying a variety of broadcast programming content on ones of said plurality of transmission channels from a head end to a user end, the user end including at least one display device, comprising:

a server node having means for broadcasting a plurality of data streams on a subset of said transmission channels in multiplexed fashion over the communication medium, each data stream being comprised of a plurality of compressed data and media objects in encoded form, each media object comprising a still image, a motion video image, an audio clip, or text in encoded form, the data objects including broadcast programming content information and instruction code directing the placement of the media objects on the display device to generate a user interface, including said content information, at least a majority of data stream being repeated at regular intervals, the data stream being formatted so that each object has a maximum latency;

at least one distribution node; and

a plurality of client nodes coupled to the transmission channels at the user end each having means for receiving the data streams, for decompressing the streams, and for producing a user-detectable output in response to each data stream in a user-selectable subset of the plurality of data streams on at least one display device, and means for maintaining said user interface for said maximum latency.

8. The information delivery system of claim 7 wherein the data stream further includes boot instructions to the client node.

9. The information delivery system of claim 7 wherein said user interface comprises a program guide containing information on programming and services available on the information delivery system.

10. The information delivery system of claim 9 wherein the broadcast programming content information is updated prior to broadcast in the data stream.

11. The information delivery system as defined in claim 7 further including back communication between the user interface and the server node.

12. The information delivery system is defined in claim 7 wherein a portion of the user interface is resident in each said client node.

13. An information distribution system coupled to a transmission medium having a plurality of transmission channels, the transmission system carrying broadcast programming from a variety of broadcast sources to a user end, the user end including a display device, comprising:

a head end server broadcasting at least one compressed data stream on at least one of said transmission channels, the data stream including a plurality of media objects comprising a still image, a motion video image, an audio clip, text in encoded form or broadcast programming content information, and programming code directing the placement of the media object on the display device to generate a program guide, wherein the data stream is substantially repeated at regular intervals; and

an end user terminal coupled to the head end server via said transmission medium and including means for receiving the data stream, means for displaying the objects on the display device, means for decompressing the data stream, and selectively interacting with the data stream to remove media objects and to display the media objects to the user display in response to user input.

14. The information delivery system of claim 13 wherein the data stream is broadcast via the level 2 transport layer of the MPEG-2 transport standard.

15. The information delivery system of claim 13 wherein the head end broadcasts a plurality of data streams, each data stream including a plurality of media objects and comprising a digital time multiplexed signal.

16. The information distribution system of claim 13 wherein the distribution system further includes:

at least one repeater node coupled between the head end and the end user terminal;

a client interface unit including

means for decoding the data stream, and for producing a user detectible output in response to a user request to output a specific media object by decoding a subset of each of the data streams.

17. An information delivery system coupled to a transmission medium having a plurality of transmission channels, the transmission system carrying broadcast programming content from at least a broadcast television interface and at least one information service provider to a user end, the user end including a display device, including:

a head end broadcasting a data stream of compressed media objects comprising a still image, a motion video image, an audio clip, or text in encoded form, and programming code directing the placement of the media object on the display device, [in encoded form,] on at least one of said transmission channels, the head end including an encoding means for encoding information in the media objects into an encoded form;

wherein

the data stream further includes a programming guide built from said media objects and containing programming information of content of the broadcast programming or the information service provider; and

the user terminal is coupled to the head-end and receiving the media objects, the user terminal having an output and including decompression means and decoding means for decoding information in the media objects; and

a user interface, at least partially stored in the user-terminal, the user interface including means for selecting a user-defined subset of media objects for provision to the output of the user terminal.

18. An information navigation system for an information delivery system, the information delivery system including a head end and a user end coupled by a transmission medium having a plurality of channels, the head end including a source of audio/visual programming transmitted on a first subset of said plurality of channels, comprising:

an electronic program guide, the electronic program guide comprising a content listing of the audio/visual programming available on the information delivery system;

a user interface, at least partially provided in the user end; and

a service navigator, the user interface interacting with the service navigator and the electronic program guide,

wherein the electronic program guide and user interface are transmitted to the user end in a data stream on a second subset of said plurality of channels, the data stream being comprised of a substantially repeating compressed stream of data objects including said content listing, motion video, audio, text and programming code directing the assembly of the user interface, and is responsive to user input.

19. An information delivery system for use with a communications network including a plurality of channels which provide broadcast program information, comprising:

a server providing a data stream comprising a plurality of compressed data objects, each data object comprising at least a plurality of media objects, each media object comprising a still image, a motion video image, an audio clip, or text in compressed form, and including at least one data object comprising programming content information, the data stream being repeated at regular intervals in multiplexed fashion over the communications network;

a user terminal and display device, coupled to the server via the communications network;

a programming guide containing information on services available on the information delivery system, the programming guide being built from said data objects provided in the data stream;

a user interface, at least a portion of which is provided in and built by the user terminal from the data objects in the data stream;

a service navigation system, interacting with the user interface and the programming guide, to record user preferences; and

an interactive mechanism coupled to the user terminal for accessing, the programming guide, and user interface.

20. The user interface of claim 19 further including a broadcast television interface.

21. The user interface of claim 19 wherein the service navigation system further includes a user customizable selection guide which records user selections over a period of time and displays the selections when prompted by the user.

22. The user interface of claim 19 wherein the media objects are provided to the interface to change interactive components on the interface.