Systems and methods for providing flexible provisioning architectures for a host in a cable system

• US 7,757,261 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2003
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MK Systems USA Inc. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: N2 Broadband, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Addington, Timothy, Lehrman, Ira
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHNURR, JOHN R
• Application Number:
  US10/712,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20040261114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,435 Days
• Field of Search: 725/91, 725/93, 725/114, 725/116, 725/117, 725/119, 725/120, 725/138, 725/144, 725/146, 709/221, 709/222
• US Class Current: 725/114
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5051 Service on demand, e.g. definition and deployment of services in real time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• 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

Flexible systems and methods are disclosed that may be used for provisioning, configuring, and controlling a host embodied in a cable set top box or other digital device attached to a digital communication network, such as cable distribution network. An enhanced services system maintains various host files for various types of hosts that a cable subscriber may purchase and connect to the cable network. The Enhanced Services Server interacts with the host using the host files. The host files may be downloaded from the host manufacturer into a database that distributes the modules as required to the various enhanced services systems. The host may be purchased by the cable subscriber and provisioning may be initiated by the retailer at the time of purchase using a provisioning network interacting with the appropriate cable system serving the subscriber. This abstract is not intended to limit or construe the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A system for provisioning a cable television service comprising:

an Internet Service Provisioning Gateway (ISPG) operatively connected to a communications network, capable of hosting a web site accessed by a user at a computer connected to the communications network wherein the ISPG is configured to provide cable television service options to the computer and receiving a first provisioning message comprising service related input data entered by the user comprising a user identifier and a host identifier, the ISPG capable of generating a second provisioning message including the service related input data, the user identifier, and the host identifier; and

an enhanced services system (ESS) operatively connected to the ISPG receiving said second provisioning message, said ESS configured to use said host identifier to ascertain a host file associated with a host type, said host type determined in part by said host identifier, the host file used to identify one of a plurality of a host protocol files used for generating a message for provisioning a host identified by said host identifier wherein said message is transmitted to said host and wherein the second provisioning message further includes a host manufacturer identifier and a host model identifier.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the second provisioning message further includes a conditional access module identifier.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the host file contains a configuration message associated with the host type, the configuration message further associated with a service identified by the service related input data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the ESS is capable of generating a legacy based command to a cable headend.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the legacy based command initializes a host.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the ESS is capable of generating a third provisioning message that is received by a host on a cable network.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the ISPG is operatively connected to a location serviceability database.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the location serviceability database receives location data associated with the user and selects at least one cable system provider based on the location data.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the ISPG is capable of selecting one of a plurality of ESSs operatively connected to the ISPG, the selection determined in part on data received from the computer.