Provision of digital data via multiple broadcasts

• US 20020154623A1
• Filed: 04/20/2001
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Newport Television LLC
• Original Assignee: Clear Channel Wireless, Inc. (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hundemer, Hank
• Granted Patent: US 6,987,734 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/42 Arrangements for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/72 of terrestrial networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/74 of satellite networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• 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 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts

Abstract

Internet access is provided through bandwidth available in broadcasted digital television signals, such as the digital television signals produced by terrestrial broadcast towers. Bandwidth is dynamically allocated or provisioned among clients, and is managed in part by the clients, thus providing dynamic, distributed management of spectrum allocation. Automatic provisioning may be applied among different terrestrial transmission towers, or different satellites, among transponders or channels on a given tower, or a given satellite, or among other forms of multiple broadcast origination points. The provisioning dynamically and automatically equalizes load among those multiple broadcast points. Principles of the present invention may also be applied to automatic provisioning of digital content among non-television broadcast sources, such as cellular telephone towers having available bandwidth, analog or digital radio broadcasts having available bandwidth, or satellite broadcast facilities, and/or dedicated broadcast towers or satellites operating in an allocated spectrum and limited to broadcasting requested digital content. In a satellite embodiment, provisioning may occur among multiple satellites as well as between transponders or time- or frequency-multiplexed channels provided by a single satellite.

Claims

1. A method for providing Internet access to a client computer system, comprising:

providing a digital broadcast transmission system for wireless delivery of digital content to said client computer system, said digital broadcast transmission system including at least first and second broadcast origination points,

providing a host computer system connected to said digital broadcast transmission system,

establishing a connection between said host computer system and said client computer system,

delivering a request for content from said client computer system to said host computer system,

obtaining delivery of requested content via the public Internet to said host computer system,

transferring said requested content to a selected one of said first and second broadcast origination points, and

receiving said requested content at said client computer system from said first or second broadcast origination points,

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising including in a digital broadcast transmission from said first and second broadcast origination points, a beacon signal identifying characteristics of said digital broadcast origination points.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said digital broadcast origination points broadcast digital television signals.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said digital television signals are in compliance with an Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) format.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said requested content is inserted in place of null packets in said ATSC formatted digital television signal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said host computer system comprises a server and a router in communication with said client and/or said server.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said connection between said host computer system and said client computer system is an IP virtual private networking connection between said server and said client computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said first broadcast origination point comprises a terrestrial digital television transmission station.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said second broadcast origination point comprises a terrestrial digital television transmission station.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said host computer system is connected to said first broadcast origination point via a wireless microwave transmission link.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said host computer system is connected to said first broadcast origination point via a wired transmission link.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said first broadcast origination point comprises a digital broadcast satellite transponder.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising including in said digital television signals from said terrestrial digital television broadcast system, a beacon signal identifying characteristics of said digital television signals.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said digital television signals are in compliance with an Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) format.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said requested content is inserted in place of null packets in said ATSC formatted digital television signal.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein said host computer system comprises a server and a router controlled by said server.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said connection between said host computer system and said client computer system is an IP virtual private networking connection between said server and said client computer system.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein said host computer system is connected to said first broadcast origination point via a wireless microwave transmission link.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein said host computer system is connected to said first broadcast origination point via a wired transmission link.

13. A method for providing Internet access to a client computer system, comprising:

providing a terrestrial digital television broadcast system for wireless delivery of digital television signals to said client computer system,

providing a host computer system connected to said terrestrial digital television broadcast transmission system,

establishing a connection between said host computer system and said client computer system,

delivering a request for content from said client computer system to said host computer system,

obtaining delivery of requested content via the public Internet to said host computer system,

transferring said requested content to said terrestrial digital television broadcast system,

receiving said requested content at said client computer system from said digital television signals from said terrestrial digital television broadcast system.