Software downloading using a television broadcast channel

• US 7,370,114 B1
• Filed: 10/13/1999
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jack A. Turpin, RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: LV Partners LP (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Philyaw, Jeffry Jovan, Mathews, David Kent
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blair, Douglas B
• Application Number:
  US09/417,863
• Time in Patent Office: 3,128 Days
• Field of Search: 709/221, 709/220, 709/231, 725/152, 725/140, 725/132, 725/50, 725/97, 725/121, 717/172
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A software distribution architecture having a television broadcast system as its infrastructure. Software from a software repository (1600) is mixed into a television broadcast system and transmitted into one or more selected channels at prescribed dates and times. An at-home subscriber, capable of receiving with a receiver (1608) the one or more select channels, switches to the one or more channels carrying the software distribution with a channel selector (1611). The subscriber, having programmed a controller (1616) with a programmer (1620) for the date, time, software ID, and channel of the software broadcast, then downloads the software package to a storage device (1622) for ultimate transfer to a PC (1624). A validation and accounting system (1628) then records the software download transaction and transmits this information over a PSTN (1632) to a provider accounting system (1630) such that the subscriber is billed for the software package which was downloaded.

Claims

1. A method for distributing software, comprising the steps of:

providing a television broadcast distribution system having one or more broadcast channels for broadcasting analog and digital television information to a receiver of a user;

designating select ones of the one or more broadcast channels for the transmission of one or more discrete software data streams;

transmitting the one or more discrete software data streams over the select ones of the one or more broadcast channels at a scheduled time, each of the one or more discrete software data streams having a unique ID associated therewith, which unique ID for each of the one or more discrete software streams is associated therewith by an associated software vendor and each of the unique IDs is unique to a user;

the user associating with a monitoring interface of the user that is connected to the receiver, the unique ID associated with that user and a desired one of the one or more discrete software streams;

selecting, in the monitoring interface associated with the user, selected ones of the one or more discrete software data streams according to the respective unique IDs for download via the receiver;

downloading the selected one or more discrete software data streams to a user storage device during the scheduled time for use by the user, the user storage device connected to the receiver through said monitoring interface; and

deleting the unique ID from the monitoring interface for each of the one or more discrete software data streams downloaded after downloading thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the television broadcast distribution system is a cable television broadcast system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising an error checking step during the step of downloading such that the one or more software data streams which are downloaded are checked for errors during the download process.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the receiver automatically re-selects for download, and downloads, the one or more software data streams which fail the step of error checking.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of broadcasting broadcasts the one or more software data streams repetitively during a specific period of time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of broadcasting broadcasts the one or more software data streams once during a specific time period.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of accounting which logs the unique IDs of the one or more software data streams which were downloaded with an accounting device, and transmits the unique IDs to a provider of the one or more software data streams using the accounting device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the accounting device interfaces to a public-switched telephone network, and transmits the unique IDs over the public-switched telephone network to the provider of the one or more software data streams.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the accounting device interfaces to a packet-switched global communication network, and transmits the unique IDs over the global communication network to the provider of the one or more software data streams.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting further comprises the step of programming the receiver with time, channel, and the unique ID information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more software data streams comprise software applications which are broadcast on a first channel, and one or more software updates which are broadcast on a second channel.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of downloading downloads the selects ones of the one or more software data streams directly to a user computer over a communication link existing between the receiver and the user computer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the communication link is a universal serial bus.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the communication link is a high-performance serial bus.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the television broadcast distribution system is a digital television broadcast system.

16. A system for distributing software, comprising:

a television broadcast distribution system having one or more broadcast channels for broadcasting analog and digital television information to a receiver of a user;

one or more discrete software data streams designated for transmission on select ones of said one or more broadcast channels, each of the one or more discrete data streams having a unique ID associated therewith, which unique ID for each of the one or more discrete software streams is associated therewith by an associated software vendor and each of the unique IDs is unique to a user; and

a user storage device associated with the user and connected to said receiver through a monitoring interface and said user storage device operable to store both one or more of the unique IDs associated with the user prior to downloading of the one or more discrete software data streams and, after downloading thereof, for storing said downloaded one or more discrete software data streams—

wherein each of said unique IDs stored in said user interface is stored there by the user;

wherein said one or more discrete software data streams are transmitted over said select ones of said one or more broadcast channels at a scheduled time, each of said one or more discrete software data streams having associated therewith the associated one of said unique IDs; and

wherein said select ones of said one or more discrete software data streams are downloaded via said receiver to said monitoring interface for filtering said discrete software data streams according to said respective unique IDs, and wherein said unique ID for each of the one or more discrete software data streams downloaded deleted from the user storage device after downloading thereof.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said television broadcast distribution system is a cable television broadcast system.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said select ones of said one or more software data streams are checked for errors when being downloaded.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said receiver automatically re-selects for download, and downloads, said one or more software data streams which fail the error checking process.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein said one or more software data streams are broadcast repetitively during a specific period of time.

21. The system of claim 16, where said one or more software data streams are broadcast once during a specific time period.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein an accounting device logs said unique IDs of said one or more software data streams which were downloaded, and transmits said unique IDs to a provider of said one or more software data streams using said accounting device.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said accounting device interfaces to a public-switched telephone network, and transmits said unique IDs over said public-switched telephone network to said provider of said one or more software data streams.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said accounting device interfaces to a packet-switched global communication network, and transmits said unique IDs over said global communication network to said provider of said one or more software data streams.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein said receiver is programmed by inputting parameters which comprise time, channel, and said unique ID information.

26. The system of claim 16, wherein said one or more software data streams comprise software applications which are broadcast on a first channel, and one or more software updates which are broadcast on a second channel.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein said select ones of said one or more software data streams are downloaded directly to a user computer over a communication link existing between said receiver and said user computer.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said communication link is a universal serial bus.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein said communication link is a high-performance serial bus.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein said television broadcast distribution system is a digital television broadcast system.