Broadcast and reception systems, and receiver/decoder and remote controller therefor

• US 7,386,869 B1
• Filed: 09/21/1999
• Issued: 06/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nagra France SAS (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: Nagra Thomson Licensing SA (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Bastien, Jean-Paul, Declerck, Christophe, Bayassi, Mulham
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B.
• Application Number:
  US09/400,447
• Time in Patent Office: 3,185 Days
• Field of Search: 725 1- 6, 348/734, 235/375, 235/380, 235/381, 235/449, 235/451, 235/492, 235/493
• US Class Current: 725/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/10 Adding special bits or symbols to the coded information, e.g. parity check, casting out 9's or 11's
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/357 Cards having a plurality of specified features
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40975 using encryption therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/007 Transform coding, e.g. discrete cosine transform
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/105 Circuits or methods for updating contents of nonvolatile memory, especially with 'security' features to ensure reliable replacement, i.e. preventing that old data is lost before new data is reliably written
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18526 Arrangements for data linking, networking or transporting, or for controlling an end to end session data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/258 Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data arrangements for services using the result on the distributing side of broadcast systems H04H60/66; profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26606 for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/47805 Electronic banking banking in general G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 : Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 : involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A receiver/decoder for use in a digital satellite radio or television system includes a decoder and means to accommodate a credit or bank card carrying a microprocessor, and means to interact with said microprocessor when the credit or bank card is inserted into an operative position in said receiver/decoder in order to enable data carried by said credit or bank card to be read and data to be input to the microprocessor carried by said credit or bank card. A PIN number may be transmitted to the receiver/decoder in a secure fashion by means of a remote controller, which is also described. Applications of the invention include Pay-Per-View television, teleshopping and telebanking.

Claims

1. A receiver/decoder for use in reception of a television or radio programme or a data file broadcast by a remote centre, the receiver/decoder comprising:

a first means for interacting with a user'"'"'s credit or bank card to read first information carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card;

a second means, separate from said first means, for interacting with a user'"'"'s smartcard to read second information carried by the user'"'"'s smartcard, said second information being modifiable remotely by said remote centre in response to a payment via the user'"'"'s credit or bank card; and

means for transmitting to a remote centre a debit instruction, based on the first information carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card,

wherein said second information includes at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information,

and wherein the receiver/decoder is arranged to send debit instructions to the remote centre and to modify at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information stored in the user'"'"'s smartcard in response to payment by means of the user'"'"'s bank or credit card while both the first means and the second means are simultaneously invoked.

2. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, arranged to interact with the user'"'"'s credit or bank card, wherein the user'"'"'s credit or bank card incorporates a microprocessor.

3. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, arranged to provide said first information to the microprocessor.

4. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, further including means arranged to receive authorization information from a remote centre.

5. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, arranged to control decoding or descrambling of the television or radio programme or the data file in dependence on the authorization information.

6. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, arranged to allow a plurality of products to be purchased for each transaction in which a debit instruction of the debit instructions is sent to the remote centre.

7. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, further including means for processing data representative of the user'"'"'s bank or credit card together with received data representative of an item or service offered, and for transmitting an order request to a remote centre for processing.

8. The receiver/decoder according to claim 7, further including means for inputting a request from a user to purchase the item offered.

9. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, further including means for receiving a Personal Identification Number (PIN).

10. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, wherein the receiver/decoder is in the form of a set-top-box.

11. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, wherein the receiver/decoder is adapted for reception of satellite transmitted programmes or files.

12. The receiver/decoder according to claim 1, further comprising a remote controller for transmitting a user'"'"'s Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the receiver/decoder.

13. The receiver/decoder according to claim 12, wherein the remote controller includes security means for rendering the transmission secure.

14. A receiver/decoder for use in a digital satellite television system comprising:

a first means to accommodate a credit or bank card carrying a microprocessor;

means to interact with said microprocessor when the credit or bank card is inserted into an operative position in said receiver/decoder in order to enable data carried by said credit or bank card to be read and data to be input to the microprocessor carried by said credit or bank card;

a second means separate from said first means to accommodate a smartcard comprising smartcard data, whereby insertion of the smartcard by an end user into the receiver/decoder enables the smartcard to interact with means in said receiver/decoder, wherein a product selected by the end user may be delivered to said receiver/decoder and from there to a television set or personal computer to which the receiver/decoder is adapted to be connected, information stored on the smartcard being modifiable in response to payment via the credit or bank card; and

means for transmitting to a remote centre a debit instruction, based on the data carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card,

wherein said smartcard data includes at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information,

wherein the receiver/decoder is arranged to send the debit instruction to the remote centre and to modify at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information stored in the user'"'"'s smartcard in response to payment by means of the user'"'"'s bank or credit card while both the first means and the second means are simultaneously invoked.

15. A digital satellite radio or television system having a plurality of end user terminations each of which includes a receiver/decoder as claimed in claim 14.

16. A method of providing an order for an item or service comprising:

reading account information from a bank or credit card at a receiver/decoder at which information concerning the item or service is received;

generating an order request containing information identifying the item or service and said account information from the bank or credit card information;

verifying a remote centre; and

following verification, transmitting order information to the remote centre for processing,

wherein the receiver/decoder comprises;

a first means to accommodate the credit or bank card carrying a microprocessor;

means to interact with said microprocessor when the credit or bank card is inserted into an operative position in said receiver/decoder in order to enable data carried by said credit or bank card to be read and data to be input to the microprocessor carried by said credit or bank card;

a second means separate from said first means to accommodate a smartcard comprising smartcard data including at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information;

means for transmitting to a remote centre a debit instruction, based on the data carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card;

means for sending the debit instruction to the remote centre and for modifying at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information stored in the smartcard in response to payment by means of the user'"'"'s bank or credit card while both the first means and the second means are simultaneously invoked,

wherein the verifying comprises;

inputting a random number by a user;

passing the random number to the remote centre;

receiving the random number in an encrypted form from the remote centre; and

decrypting the encrypted random number to verify the remote centre.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising, at the remote centre, processing the order information and determining whether to authorize a transaction on a basis of the bank or credit card information.

18. A remote controller for an item of equipment, comprising:

transmission means for transmitting a user'"'"'s Personal Identification Number (PIN) to said item of equipment; and

encryption means for encrypting the PIN, wherein the encryption means comprises means for combining the PIN with a random number and passing the thus-encrypted PIN to said transmission means for subsequent transmission thereby,

wherein said item of equipment comprises;

a receiver/decoder for use in reception of a television or radio programme or a data file;

first means for interacting with a user'"'"'s credit or bank card to read credit or bank information carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card;

second interacting means, separate from said first interacting means, for interacting with a user'"'"'s smartcard to read information carried by the user'"'"'s smartcard; and

means for transmitting to a remote centre a debit instruction, based on the first information carried by the user'"'"'s credit or bank card,

wherein said second information includes at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information, and

wherein the receiver/decoder is arranged to send debit instructions to the remote centre and to modify at least one of subscription right information and deciphering information stored in the user'"'"'s smartcard in response to payment by means of the user'"'"'s bank or credit card while both the first means and the second means are simultaneously invoked.

19. The remote controller as in claim 18 in which the transmission means comprises means for generating an infra-red beam.

20. The remote controller as claimed in claim 18, further comprising means for enabling the user to input the random number.

21. The remote controller as claimed in claim 18 in which said encryption means comprises means for storing the random number in the controller.

22. The remote controller as claimed in claim 18 in which said encryption means comprises means for generating a number characteristic of the remote controller, for transmission via said transmitting means to the item of equipment.

23. The remote controller as claimed in claim 18 in which said encryption means includes means for generating a number characteristic of the remote controller and means for combining said characteristic number with said random number and said PIN.

24. The remote controller as claimed in claim 18 in which said encryption means comprises means for receiving said random number from said item of equipment and means for combining said random number with the user'"'"'s PIN for transmission via the transmitting means to said item.

25. A combination comprising the remote controller as claimed in claim 18 and said item of equipment, wherein said item of equipment has means for receiving the user'"'"'s PIN.

26. The combination as claimed in claim 25 in which said item of equipment comprises means for generating said random number and means for outputting said random number to a display unit.

27. The combination as claimed in claim 25 in which said item of equipment comprises means for generating said random number and means for transmitting said random number to said remote controller.

28. A digital television system, comprising an item of television equipment, said item having means for receiving the user'"'"'s PIN, and the remote controller as claimed in claim 18.

29. A method of entering the PIN into a television system comprising employing the remote controller as claimed in claim 18 to transmit said PIN to a television.