CATV transmission center apparatus, subscriber terminal device, CATV distribution system, and method of distributing program

• US 6,198,478 B1
• Filed: 04/15/1998
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tamura, Hiroo, Masuda, Shigefumi, Ota, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, KIEU OANH T
• Application Number:
  US09/061,002
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• Field of Search: 348/12, 348/7, 348/3, 348/1, 348/2, 455/3.1, 455/5.1, 455/4.2, 709/217, 709/218, 345/327
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25435 involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17345 Control of the passage of the selected programme

Abstract

A CATV transmission center apparatus, a subscriber terminal device, a CATV distribution system, and a method of distributing a program, will solve the problems of the need to change transmission facilities for handling more channels, the costly CATV infrastructure per program, the expensive subscriber terminal devices, and the tedious and time-consuming process of selecting desired programs. When there is a request to view a program which is not being distributed from the subscriber terminal device to the CATV transmission center apparatus, an empty channel is searched for. If an empty channel is found, the requested program is distributed via the empty channel. All subscriber terminal devices are notified that the program which has started to be distributed is being distributed. The CATV transmission center apparatus distributes only those programs which are actually viewed by subscribers.

Claims

1. A CATV transmission center apparatus for transmitting programs via a CATV transmission path which is capable of bidirectional signal transmission, comprising:

searching means for searching for an empty channel when there is a request to view a program which is not being distributed, from a subscriber terminal device;

first distributing means for distributing a program, which is requested from said subscriber terminal device, via an empty channel if such an empty channel is found by said searching means;

notifying means for notifying all subscriber terminal devices that the program which has started to be distributed by said first distributing means is being distributed;

percentage detecting means for detecting percentages of subscribers who are viewing programs;

lowest-percentage program distributing means for distributing, in a channel by way of a digital signal, a program with a lowest percentage detected by said percentage detecting means, and reducing the amount of data of the program, if no empty channel is found by said searching means; and

second distributing means for distributing the program requested from said subscriber terminal device via a channel which is made empty by the program distributed by way of the digital signal by said lowest-percentage program distributing means.

2. A CATV transmission center apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

high-percentage program distributing means for distributing, in advance, a program which is highly likely for subscribers to view.

4. A CATV transmission center apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

charging means for setting up lower charges for programs with higher percentages and higher charges for programs with lower percentages, based on the percentages detected by said percentage detecting means.

3. A CATV transmission center apparatus comprising;

searching means for searching for an empty channel when there is a request to view a program which is not being distributed, from a subscriber terminal device;

first distributing means for distributing a program, which is requested from said subscriber terminal device, via an empty channel if such an empty channel is found by said searching means;

percentage detecting means for detecting percentages of subscribers who are viewing programs;

lowest-percentage program distributing means for distributing, in a channel by way of a digital signal, a program with a lowest percentage detected by said percentage detecting means, and reducing the amount of data of the program, if no empty channel is found by said searching means;

second distributing means for distributing the program requested from said subscriber terminal device via a channel which is made empty by the program distributed by way of the digital signal by said lowest-percentage program distributing means;

notifying means for notifying all subscriber terminal devices that the program which has started to be distributed by said first distributing means is being distributed;

inspecting means for inspecting whether there is another subscriber who is viewing the program when a notification of an interruption of the viewing of the program is received from the subscriber terminal device; and

distribution stopping means for stopping distributing the program and making empty the channel which has distributed the program if said inspecting means has confirmed that there is no other subscriber who is viewing the program.

5. A CATV distribution system for distributing a program from a CATV transmission center apparatus to a subscriber terminal device via a CATV transmission path which is capable of bidirectional signal transmission, comprising:

transmitting means, disposed in the subscriber terminal device, for transmitting a request to view a program which is not being distributed or a notification of an interruption of the viewing of a program which has been viewed, to the CATV transmission center apparatus;

searching means, disposed in the CATV transmission center apparatus, for searching for an empty channel when there is a request to view a program which is not being distributed, from said transmitting means;

first distributing means, disposed in the CATV transmission center apparatus, for distributing a program, which is requested from said subscriber terminal device, via an empty channel if such an empty channel is found by said searching means;

notifying means, disposed in the CATV transmission center apparatus, for notifying all subscriber terminal devices that the program which has started to be distributed by said distributing means is being distributed;

percentage detecting means for detecting percentages of subscribers who are viewing programs;

lowest-percentage program distributing means for distributing, in a channel by way of a digital signal, a program with a lowest percentage detected by said percentage detecting means, and reducing the amount of data of the program, if no empty channel is found by said searching means;

second distributing means for distributing the program requested from said subscriber terminal device via a channel which is made empty by the program distributed by way of the digital signal by said lowest percentage program distributing means;

inspecting means, disposed in the CATV transmission center apparatus, for inspecting whether there is another subscriber who is viewing the program when a notification of an interruption of the viewing of the program is received from said transmitting means; and

distribution stopping means, disposed in the CATV transmission center apparatus, for stopping distributing the program and making empty the channel which has distributed the program if said inspecting means has confirmed that there is no other subscriber who is viewing the program.

6. A method of distributing a program in a CATV transmission center apparatus for transmitting programs to a subscriber terminal device via a CATV transmission path which is capable of bidirectional signal transmission, comprising the steps of:

searching for an empty channel when there is a request to view a program which is not being distributed, from the subscriber terminal device;

distributing a program, which is requested from said subscriber terminal device, via an empty channel if such an empty channel is found;

notifying all subscriber terminal devices that the program which has started to be distributed is being distributed;

detecting percentages of subscribers who are viewing programs;

re-distributing a program with a lowest percentage detected by the detecting step, in a channel by way of a digital signal, and reducing the amount of data of the program, if no empty channel is found by the searching step;

distributing the program requested from said subscriber terminal device via a channel which is made empty by the program distributed by way of the digital signal by the re-distributing step;

inspecting whether there is another subscribed who is viewing the program when a notification of an interruption of the viewing of the program is received from the subscriber terminal device; and

stopping distributing the program and making empty the channel which has distributed the program if it has been confirmed that there is no other subscriber who is viewing the program.