Response capacity management in interactive broadcast systems by periodic reconfiguration of response priorities

• US 6,067,107 A
• Filed: 04/30/1998
• Issued: 05/23/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: Wink Communications Incorporated (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Travaille, Timothy V., Brubeck, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US09/070,757
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 348/1, 348/7, 348/13, 348/12, 348/10, 395/200.49, 455/2, 455/3.1, 711/151, 711/158, 345/327, 345/328
• US Class Current: 725/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/41 for identifying broadcast space, i.e. broadcast channels, broadcast stations or broadcast areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/64 for providing detail information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A system and method allow for the periodic re-configuring of broadcast receivers to control their storage of responses to interactive applications during a polling period. A broadcast server maintains a database of interactive applications each preferably associated with a program that will be broadcast. When the program is broadcast, an interactive application is inserted into the broadcast feed and delivered to a broadcast receiver such as a television set-top box. The broadcast receiver includes a processor, memory, and other hardware necessary to execute the interactive application. When executed, the interactive application generates a response which is transmitted to a local data center at, for example, the cable head-end. Generated responses have specific types. To manage the number and capacity of the system to receive responses, priority values are assigned to responses of different types. The priority values are based on the value of the responses to the provider of the interactive application, and established with respect to total response capacity, and an estimated response volume during a polling period. These priority values are assigned or updated preferably once each polling period, and transmitted to and stored in the broadcast receivers. Each broadcast receiver uses the priority value assignments to determine if it will execute and store responses for a currently received interactive application, or reserve memory capacity for higher priority responses.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising:

receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response;

determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response;

determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and

responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically receiving from a remote source at least one response priority, each response priority defining a priority value for a type of response data, and storing the response priorities in a local memory of the broadcast receiver; and

wherein determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver further comprises;

determining from the response priorities the priority value for the response type of the received interactive application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the period for receiving is a polling period for the broadcast receiver to be polled to obtain stored responses.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically receiving from a remote source a sampling rate for a specified type of response; and

wherein determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver further comprises;

determining from the sampling rate whether there is sufficient memory to store responses of the specified type.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of response is selected from a group consisting of:

a registration response;

a purchase response;

a request response;

a vote response; and

a usage response.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a registration response includes information for identifying the viewer, product or service being registered.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a purchase response includes data identifying a product or service being purchased, purchaser identifying data, and payment information.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein a request response includes data identifying a product or service about which information is desired, and data for identifying the viewer to allow the information to be provided to the viewer.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein a vote response comprises a viewer response to a participatory interactive application.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein a usage response includes information about a viewer'"'"'s use of at least one of the broadcast receiver or other devices coupled to the broadcast receiver.

12. A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising:

estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type;

determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type;

determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type;

establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value;

establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value;

establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and

transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein all steps are repeated in each of a plurality of different polling periods.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein each interactive application is associated with a broadcast program broadcast on a selected channel during a selected time period, and wherein estimating the number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises:

for each time period during the polling period and for each channel on which programs are broadcast during the polling period, estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on the channel during the time period.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the polling period includes a number of time periods and the broadcast receivers receive responses from interactive applications, each interactive application associated with a program broadcast on a channel during at least one time period.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein estimating a number of responses further comprises:

for each time period and for each interactive application that might be executed during the time period, estimating a number of responses generated by the interactive application during the time period.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the estimated number of responses is a function of a number of broadcast receivers that may be communicated with, a program share for the program on the channel during the time period, an application share for the interactive application, a required sample rate for the interactive application, and an estimated response rate for the interactive application.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the estimated number of responses is determined according to the following equation:

##EQU3## where E_total is the number of responses generated during the entire polling period;

periods is the number of time periods in the polling period;

channels is a number of channels; and

E_t,ch is an expected number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel ch during a given time period t.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein estimating the total number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises:

for each of a plurality of interactive applications that may be executed during the polling period, estimating a number of responses to the interactive applications.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel during a specific time period further comprises:

determining the total number of broadcast receivers that can be communicated with;

determining the program share for each program in the time period;

determining the application share for the interactive application;

estimating the response rate for the interactive application;

determining the required sample rate for the interactive application; and

multiplying the preceding five factors together.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during an entire polling period further comprises:

totaling the estimated number of responses for all channels during all time slots during the polling period.

23. The method of claim 12, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during the entire polling period further comprises increasing the estimate by a buffer amount so as to ensure that the actual number of responses is less than a maximum number of responses that may be received.

24. A broadcast receiver for preferentially storing response data, comprising:

a processor that executes an interactive application configured to receive a user input response of a predetermined type;

a memory coupled to the processor, and for storing;

an interactive application; and

a response generated by the interactive application being executed by the processor; and

a response manager executed by the processor and responsive to the broadcast receiver receiving an interactive application, determining whether there is sufficient available memory available to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response for the received interactive application, and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the processor to receive a response.

25. A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium for configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the computer program product controlling a processor coupled to the medium to perform the operations of:

estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type;

determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type;

determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type;

establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value;

establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value;

establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and

transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the computer program product causes the processor to repeat all the operations in each of a plurality of different polling periods.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.

28. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein each interactive application is associated with a broadcast program broadcast on a selected channel during a selected time period, and wherein estimating the number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises:

for each time period during the polling period and for each channel on which programs are broadcast during the polling period, estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on the channel during the time period.

29. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the polling period includes a number of time periods and the broadcast receivers receive responses from interactive applications, each interactive application associated with a program broadcast on a channel during at least one time period.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein estimating a number of responses further comprises:

for each time period and for each interactive application that might be executed during the time period, estimating a number of responses generated by the interactive application during the time period.

31. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the estimated number of responses is a function of:

a number of broadcast receivers that may be communicated with;

a program share for the program on the channel during the time period;

an application share for the interactive application;

a required sample rate for the interactive application; and

an estimated response rate for the interactive application.

32. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the estimated number of responses is determined according to the following equation:

##EQU4## where E_total is the number of responses generated during the entire polling period;

periods is the number of time periods in the polling period;

channels is a number of channels; and

E_t,ch is an expected number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel ch during a given time period t.

33. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein estimating the total number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises:

for each of a plurality of interactive applications that may be executed during the polling period, estimating a number of responses to the interactive applications.

34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel during a specific time period further comprises:

determining the total number of broadcast receivers that can be communicated with;

determining the program share for each program in the time period;

determining the application share for the interactive application;

estimating the response rate for the interactive application;

determining the required sample rate for the interactive application; and

multiplying the preceding five factors together.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during an entire polling period further comprises:

totaling the estimated number of responses for all channels during all time slots during the polling period.

36. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during the entire polling period further comprises:

increasing the estimate by a buffer amount so as to ensure that the actual number of responses is less than a maximum number of responses that may be received.

37. A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising:

estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type;

determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type;

determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type;

establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first sampling rate;

establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second sampling rate, wherein the first sampling rate is equal to or higher than each second sampling rate; and

transmitting the sampling rates for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein all steps are repeated in each of a plurality of different polling periods.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the sampling rate of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.

40. A broadcast receiving system configured to preferentially store various types of data, the system comprising:

a receiving means for receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response;

a first determining means coupled to the receiving means for determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response;

a second determining means coupled to the first determining means for determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value equal to or higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and

an executing means coupled to the receiving means to receive the interactive application, and coupled to the second determining means for executing the interactive application in response to the second determining means determining that there is sufficient memory, and for receiving a response and storing the response in the memory.

41. A system for preferentially storing various types of data in a plurality of broadcast receivers, the system comprising:

an estimating means for estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type;

a first determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type;

a second determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type;

a first establishing means coupled to the first determining means for establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value;

a second establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is higher than any second response priority value;

a third establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and

a transmitting means coupled to the first and second establishing means for transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.

42. A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising:

receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response;

determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response;

responsive to the response priority value being a highest priority;

permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory; and

responsive to the response priority value being less than the highest priority;

determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and

responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.