Software downloading using a television broadcast channel

• US 7,996,552 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2009
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: RPX-LV Acquisition LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Inventors: Philyaw, Jeffry Jovan, Mathews, David Kent
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair; Douglas B
• Application Number:
  US12/485,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 784 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 717/172, 725/97, 725/121
• 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 information, comprising the steps of:

receiving information at a receiver of a user from a distribution system having one or more communication channels for sending the information;

wherein select ones of the one or more communication channels are designated for the transmission of one or more discrete information data streams;

wherein the one or more discrete information data streams are received over the select ones of the one or more communication channels, each of the one or more discrete information data streams having a unique ID associated therewith, which unique ID for each of the one or more discrete information data streams is unique to a user;

the user associated 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 information data streams;

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

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

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

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

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication channel comprises a broadcast channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique ID is associated with the one or more discrete information data streams by an associated vendor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more discrete information data streams comprises a discrete software data stream.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving includes receiving broadcasts of the one or more discrete information data streams repetitively during a specific period of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving includes receiving broadcasts of the one or more discrete information data streams once during a specific time period.

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

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more discrete information 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.

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

11. A system for distributing information, comprising:

a distribution system having one or more communication channels for sending information to a receiver of a user;

one or more discrete information data streams designated for transmission on select ones of said one or more communication channels, each of the one or more discrete information data streams having a unique ID associated therewith, 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 information data streams and, after downloading thereof, for storing said downloaded one or more discrete information 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 information data streams are transmitted over said select ones of said one or more communication channels, each of said one or more discrete information data streams having associated therewith the associated one of said unique IDs; and

wherein select ones of said one or more discrete information data streams are downloaded via said receiver to said monitoring interface for filtering the select ones of the one or more of the discrete software data streams according to said respective unique IDs.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said unique ID for each of the one or more discrete information data streams downloaded is deleted from the user storage device after downloading thereof.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication channel comprises a broadcast channel.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the unique ID is associated with the one or more discrete information data streams by an associated vendor.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the one or more discrete information data streams comprises a discrete software data stream.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein said one or more discrete information data streams are sent repetitively during a specific period of time.

17. The system of claim 11, where said one or more discrete information data streams are sent once during a specific time period.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein an accounting device logs said unique IDs of said one or more discrete information data streams which were downloaded, and transmits said unique IDs to a provider of said one or more discrete information data streams using said accounting device.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein said one or more discrete information data streams comprise software applications which are broadcast on a first communication channel, and one or more software updates which are broadcast on a second communication channel.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein said select ones of said one or more discrete information data streams are downloaded directly to a user computer over a communication link existing between said receiver and said user computer.