Apparatus, systems, and methods for accessing an interactive program

• US 9,066,047 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Paiz, Casey
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, MUSHFIKH I
• Application Number:
  US11/960,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20090165047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,743 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 61
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

An embodiment of an interactive program and access trigger system receives a signal having a program, an interactive program, and an access trigger therein; presents the program and the access trigger on a presentation device; receives selection of the access trigger; loads the interactive program in response to selection of the access trigger; continues presentation of the program during the loading of the interactive program; and changes from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the interactive program.

Claims

1. A method for accessing interactive programming, comprising:

receiving a signal having a program, an interactive program, and an access trigger therein, said access trigger configured, upon selection, to load the interactive program, and wherein the program is video content;

presenting the program and the access trigger on a presentation device;

loading, in response to selection of the access trigger by a user, the interactive program that was received in the signal having the access trigger;

ending presentation of the access trigger on the presentation device absent a selection of the access trigger by the user during a time period;

generating, in response to ending presentation of the access trigger, an access trigger invitation from the access trigger;

storing the generated access trigger invitation in a memory location; and

if the access trigger is selected;

continuing presentation of the program during the loading of the interactive program;

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the interactive program;

storing the program during presentation of the interactive program; and

presenting the stored program after presentation of the interactive program.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the access trigger during presentation of the program; and

presenting the access trigger on the presentation device concurrently with presentation of the program.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the access trigger invitation on the presentation device in response to a user input;

loading the interactive program in response to receiving selection of the access trigger invitation by the user;

continuing presentation of the program during the loading of the interactive program;

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the interactive program.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the access trigger invitation on the presentation device in response to user input; and

maintaining activation of the access trigger invitation until a current channel is changed to another channel.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the access trigger invitation on the presentation device in response to a user input; and

maintaining activation of the access trigger invitation until an interruption trigger is received.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the access trigger invitation on the presentation device in response to a user input; and

maintaining activation of the access trigger invitation until a second access trigger invitation is received.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the access trigger invitation on the presentation device in response to a user input; and

maintaining activation of the access trigger invitation until the access trigger invitation is selected.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second access trigger corresponding to the interactive program;

generating a second access trigger invitation, the second access trigger invitation corresponding to the second access trigger; and

storing the generated access trigger invitation into a memory.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deleting the first access trigger invitation.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the signal comprises:

receiving a second interactive program and a second access trigger in the signal; and

presenting the program and the second access trigger on the presentation device.

11. The method of claim 10, where in response to selection of the second access trigger, comprising:

loading the second interactive program;

continuing presentation of the program during the loading of the second interactive program; and

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the second interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the second interactive program.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

ending presentation of the second access trigger after a time period;

generating a second access trigger invitation from the second access trigger, the second access trigger invitation corresponding to the second access trigger; and

storing the generated second access trigger invitation into a memory.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

presenting the second access trigger invitation on the presentation device, and in response to receiving selection of the second access trigger invitation;

loading a second interactive program;

continuing presentation of the program during the loading of the second interactive program; and

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the second interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the second interactive program.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to selection of the first access trigger invitation; and

changing from presentation of the program to presentation of the second interactive program in response to selection of the second access trigger invitation.

15. A system which accesses interactive programming, comprising:

a tuner operable to receive a signal having a program, an interactive program, and an access trigger therein, said access trigger configured, upon selection, to load the interactive program, and wherein the program is video content;

a processing unit communicatively coupled to the tuner and operable to process the received program and the access trigger into a signal for presentation of the program and the access trigger on a presentation device;

a memory location operable to store an access trigger invitation;

and

a user interface device communicatively coupled to the processing system and operable to communicate a selection of the access trigger by a user to the processing system, where in response to communicating the selection of the access trigger to the processing system, the processing system loads the interactive program received in the signal having the access trigger, continues presentation of the program during the loading of the interactive program, changes from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the interactive program, stores the program during presentation of the interactive program and presents the stored program after presentation of the interactive program,

wherein the processing unit is configured, absent the selection of the access trigger by a user within a period of time, to end the presentation of the access trigger on the presentation device and to generate the access trigger invitation corresponding to the access trigger, and

wherein the processing unit is further configured to store the access trigger invitation in the memory location.

16. The system of claim 15,

wherein in response to selection of the access trigger invitation, the processing system loads the interactive program, continues presentation of the program during the loading of the interactive program, and changes from presentation of the program to presentation of the interactive program in response to completion of the loading of the interactive program.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the user interface device comprises:

a hand held remote operable to select the access trigger.