Remote control for wireless control of system including home gateway and headend, either or both of which have digital video recording functionality

• US 8,151,306 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2001
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Terayon Communications Systems Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rakib, Selim Shlomo
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): ANDRAMUNO, FRANKLIN S
• Application Number:
  US09/898,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20020031120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,927 Days
• Field of Search: 725/71, 725/43
• US Class Current: 725/71
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19658 Telephone systems used to communicate with a camera, e.g. PSTN, GSM, POTS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6424 Access arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/169 Special adaptations of TCP, UDP or IP for interworking of IP based networks with other networks protocols for interworking, protocol conversion H04L69/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 : PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 : User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 : Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4381 : Recovering the multiplex stream from a specific network, e.g. recovering MPEG packets from ATM cells transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 : OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 : Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 : e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 : IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7605 : on discs or drums H04N5/781, H04N5/805, H04N5/83, H04N5/85 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction

Abstract

A system for wireless remote control of a gateway and ordering or invocation of services provided by a headend. The remote control includes a video display and user input device or keyboard and can decompress and display compressed streaming video in some embodiments. Some species of the remote control can act as web browsers, appliance control, TIVO function control, an IP telephony telephone, a cellular telephone and/or an MP3 player. In some embodiments, the gateway and/or headend can implement TIVO-like functions under control from a wireless remote of custom design or implemented on a Personal Digital Assistant.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more transmission mediums for carrying at least upstream and downstream digital data traffic;

a headend circuit coupled to all said transmission mediums and containing or coupled to one or more server computers and/or other circuits to provide at least digital data services to a plurality of customers;

one or more local area networks and/or dedicated LAN segments or data paths at each customer premises;

one or more peripheral devices at each customer premises coupled to said one or more local area networks and/or dedicated LAN segments or dedicated data paths, said one or more peripheral devices including a non-television component;

a plurality of gateway means at customer premises locations and coupled to all said transmission mediums and coupled to said one or more local area networks, for receiving, demodulating and detecting digital data transmitted to one or more of said peripherals from said headend circuit and to packetize and route said data to the appropriate peripheral device via said one or more local area networks or one or more ports directly connected by dedicated lines or LAN segments to one or more peripherals, and for managing traffic and bandwidth and rate shaping if necessary to match the data rate of data to be transmitted over a data path to the available bandwidth on that data path; and

a remote control means at one or more customer premises and, at each premises, coupled by wireless digital data communication circuitry to said gateway or to said gateway through a peripheral device, for issuing commands to said headend circuit through said gateway and one or more transmission mediums to provide data to said one or more peripherals through said one or more transmission mediums and said gateway.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wireless digital data communication circuitry is a digital data transceiver and wherein said remote control means includes a display and audio data playing circuitry and further includes means for decompressing compressed video and/or audio data received by said transceiver and displaying the decompressed video image data and for playing decompressed audio data, and further comprising means for receiving and displaying internet protocol packet data defining web pages, graphics, e-mail and other data that is received from the internet.

3. A system comprising:

a satellite dish for receiving downstream digital video data traffic at each customer premises location;

a conventional telephone line at each customer premises location and routed to a central office headend, for carrying low speed internet protocol digital data traffic both upstream and downstream;

a digital video headend circuit coupled to one or more video and/or other servers to transmit digital video and other data implementing one or more services to one or more satellites for retransmission to the satellite dishes at each customer premises location;

a central office headend server coupled to each of said telephone lines for implementing the bidirectional transmission of internet protocol data packets to and from said customer premises and servers on the internet;

one or more local area networks at each customer premises;

one or more peripheral devices including at least one non-television component at each customer premises coupled to said one or more local area networks;

a plurality of gateways, at least one at each customer premises locations, each gateway coupled to a satellite dish and to a conventional telephone line and coupled to said one or more local area networks and functioning to extract digital video and other data transmitted to one or more of said peripherals from said digital video headend and/or said central office headend server and to route said data to the appropriate peripheral device via said one or more local area networks; and

a remote control means at each customer premises coupled by wireless digital data communication circuitry to said gateway or to said gateway through a peripheral device, for issuing commands to said digital video headend circuit and to said central office headend server through said gateway and one or more conventional telephone lines to provide data to said one or more peripherals through said satellite dish and/or a conventional telephone line and said gateway and local area network.

4. A system comprising:

a satellite dish for receiving downstream digital video data traffic at each customer premises location;

a cable television hybrid fiber coaxial cable network (hereafter HFC network) for carrying analog television broadcast signals and high speed internet protocol digital data traffic both upstream and downstream;

a digital video headend circuit coupled to one or more video and/or other servers to transmit digital video and other data implementing one or more services to one or more satellites for retransmission to the satellite dishes at each customer premises location;

a cable television headend circuit coupled to each of servers for implementing the bidirectional transmission of data packets to and from said customer premises and servers on the internet and for implementing bidirectional transmission of data packets from said servers to said customer premises implementing other services;

one or more local area networks at each customer premises;

one or more peripheral devices including at least one non-television component at each customer premises coupled to said one or more local area networks;

a plurality of gateways, at least one at each customer premises locations, each gateway coupled to a satellite dish and having a cable modem included therein to couple said gateway to said HFC network and coupled to said one or more local area networks and functioning to extract digital video and other data transmitted to one or more of said peripherals from said digital video headend circuit and/or said cable television headend circuit and to route said data in the appropriate format to the appropriate peripheral device via said one or more local area networks; and

a remote control means at each customer premises coupled by wireless digital data communication circuitry to said gateway or to said gateway through a peripheral device, for issuing commands to said cable television headend circuit through said gateway and said HFC network to provide data to said one or more peripherals through said HFC network and said gateway and local area network.

5. The system of FIG. 4 wherein said gateway has a conventional modem therein which interfaces said gateway to said digital video headend circuit through said remote control means and a telephone line circuit of the public service telephone network for purposes of ordering pay-per-view events for viewing on one or more of said peripherals.

6. A system comprising:

a plurality of satellite dishes for receiving downstream digital video data traffic, each satellite dish at a customer premises;

a digital video headend circuit coupled to one or more video servers for transmitting digital video broadcast data to said plurality of satellite dishes via an uplink, a satellite and a downlink;

a plurality of conventional telephone lines, each routed to a customer premises and each for carrying low speed internet protocol digital data traffic both upstream and downstream;

a plurality of gateway means, each at a customer premises and coupled to at least one of said telephone lines and at least one of said satellite dishes;

a central office server coupled to the internet and to said conventional telephone lines to provide bidirectional internet protocol data transfers between each said gateway and servers on the internet via a conventional telephone line;

one or more conventional analog televisions at each customer premises coupled to said gateway via audio and video lines;

one or more non-television components at each customer premises coupled to said gateway by way of a local area network;

a remote control at each customer premises, and coupled by wireless digital data communication circuitry to said gateway or to said gateway through a peripheral device, for at least sending data and commands to said central office internet server through said gateway and a conventional telephone line to cause bidirectional data transfers between said gateway and said internet server;

each said gateway means for receiving compressed digital video broadcast data and for wireless receiving commands from said remote control, and for coordinating use of said remote control and said conventional analog television like a computer keyboard and display, respectively, for sending and receiving internet protocol data over a conventional telephone line so as to enable use of said television and remote control and gateway like a personal computer to display web pages and/or e-mail, and for routing said compressed digital video data to a hard disk for recording or to a decompression and conversion circuit for processing for display on said television(s) or both.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said remote control includes a display and a transceiver to receive compressed digital video broadcast data and decompression and conversion circuitry to buffer frames of said data and decompress said compressed digital video data and convert it to YUV or other format uncompressed video data that can be displayed on said display.