Advanced set top terminal with electronic mailbox for cable television delivery systems
First Claim
1. A hardware upgrade for enhancing the functionality of a set top terminal in a television program delivery system, each set top terminal adapted to receive electronic mail and having a microprocessor, the hardware upgrade comprising:
- an interface for providing an electrical connection to the set top terminal, whereby digital data, including the electronic mail, is transferred from the set top terminal for processing and the processed electronic mail is passed to the set top terminal for display; and
at least one microprocessor connected to said interface for processing the electronic mail to produce processed electronic mail, the microprocessor of the hardware upgrade capable of communicating with the microprocessor of the set top converter through the interface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A novel advanced set top terminal having electronic mail capable of digital decompression, menu generation, interactivity, and other advanced functional capabilities for use in a television program delivery system (200) is described. The invention relates to methods and apparatus for upgrading existing set top terminals (220) to provide electronic mail capability and advanced functional capabilities. The invention is particularly useful in television program delivery systems (200) providing (i) menu driven program selection through the addition of an upgrade module (300) or menu generation card and (ii) advanced functional capabilities using a set of hardware upgrades (e.g., 130) and/or an expansion card. Specifically, the invention is an upgradeable system that supports electronic mail through the use of internal software, hardware upgrades, an upgrade module and/or expansion cards.
The upgraded hardware generally includes a microprocessor, various input/output ports (e.g., 308), processing circuitry (e.g., 108) and memory (e.g., 116). The invention results in an upgraded set top terminal having electronic mail that supports: menu generation; interactive services; message services; and on-line databases, among other features and capabilities.
182 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A hardware upgrade for enhancing the functionality of a set top terminal in a television program delivery system, each set top terminal adapted to receive electronic mail and having a microprocessor, the hardware upgrade comprising:
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an interface for providing an electrical connection to the set top terminal, whereby digital data, including the electronic mail, is transferred from the set top terminal for processing and the processed electronic mail is passed to the set top terminal for display; and at least one microprocessor connected to said interface for processing the electronic mail to produce processed electronic mail, the microprocessor of the hardware upgrade capable of communicating with the microprocessor of the set top converter through the interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for use with a set top terminal in a television program delivery system, each set top terminal adapted to receive electronic mail and having a microprocessor, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing an electrical connection between the set top terminal and a hardware upgrade, whereby digital data, including the electronic mail, is transferred from the set top terminal for processing; processing the transferred electronic mail by the hardware upgrade to produce processed electronic mail; and communicating between the microprocessor of the set top terminal and a microprocessor of the hardware upgrade. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A hardware upgrade for a set top terminal in a television program delivery system, the hardware upgrade comprising:
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a modem for accessing an online service outside of the television program delivery system and for receiving electronic mail from the online service; a memory for storing (i) programming instructions that enable a subscriber to engage in textual interactivity with processing of the electronic mail, and (ii) a mailbox for the transferred and processed electronic mail; a microprocessor for processing the electronic mail based on the programming instructions and the textural interactivity, the microprocessor of the hardware upgrade capable of communicating with the microprocessor of the set top terminal through an interface; and the interface, for providing an electrical connection between the set top terminal and the hardware upgrade, and for transferring the processed electronic mail from the hardware upgrade to the set top terminal for display.
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Specification