Providing multiple levels of interactive television service using triggers and trigger filters

• US 20040261130A1
• Filed: 07/16/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Blackketter, Dean J., Zigmond, Daniel J., Leak, Bruce A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,568,214 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/136
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An interactive television system includes “connected” receiver units capable of establishing bi-directional connections to remote information stores, such as Web servers, and “disconnected” receiver units unequipped to make such connections. The system supports the use of broadcast triggers that include connectivity values indicating whether an information resource identified by a trigger refers to “connected content” or “disconnected content.” The term “connected content” refers to information resources that require bi-directional connections to remote information stores; the term “disconnected content” refers to information resources, such as a locally stored program guide, that do not require such bi-directional connections. Disconnected receiver units identify and reject connected-content triggers by examining connectivity values broadcast as part of triggers. Thus, content providers can broadcast connected-content triggers to connected and disconnected receiver units without interrupting disconnected receiver units with links to inaccessible content. Furthermore, the ability to distinguish between connected and disconnected content allows vendors who sell or lease receiver units to offer a lower level of service to those customers who do not wish to pay for the ability to access connected content.

Claims

1-22. -22. (Canceled).

23. A partially-connected receiver unit comprising:

configuration data stored in a local memory, including connectivity information;

means for receiving and identifying connected-content triggers;

means for selectively ignoring the connected-content triggers during a prescribed period of time and for selectively executing the connected-content triggers at a time other than the prescribed period of time.

24. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein executing the connected-content triggers includes establishing and maintaining a bi-directional connection to a remote information store to access content identified by the connected-content triggers.

25. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein the connectivity information defines the prescribed period of time.

26. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein ignoring the connected-content triggers includes storing at least a portion of a connected-content trigger that includes a link to connected content that can be accessed by accessing a remote information store.

27. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 26, wherein a viewer can execute the link at any time, including the prescribed period of time.

28. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein selectively ignoring a connected-content trigger comprises preventing a display of information associated with the trigger during the prescribed period of time.

29. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein means for receiving and identifying connected-content triggers includes means for identifying a connectivity value of one or more triggers.

30. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 29, wherein the means for selectively ignoring the connected-content triggers includes determining that the connectivity value of the one or more triggers is set to a value of later.

31. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 29, wherein the prescribed period of time is for at least a day.

32. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein means for receiving and identifying connected-content triggers includes means for identifying one or more triggers that can only be executed at a time other than the prescribed period of time.

40. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, wherein means for receiving and identifying connected-content triggers includes means for identifying one or more triggers that can only be executed at a time other than the prescribed period of time.

33. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 23, further comprising means for receiving and executing one or more disconnected-content triggers.

34. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 33, wherein executing disconnected-content triggers includes accessing content associated with the disconnected-content trigger without having to establish and maintain a bi-directional connection to a remote information store.

35. A partially-connected receiver unit as recited in claim 33, wherein at least one disconnected-content trigger is executed during the prescribed period of time.

36. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers includes storing at least a portion of a connected-content trigger that includes a link to connected content that can be accessed by accessing a remote information store at a later time.

37. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein selectively ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers comprises preventing a display of information associated with the one or more connected-content triggers during the prescribed period of time, and wherein executing the one or more disconnected-content triggers includes displaying information associated with the one or more disconnected-content triggers.

38. A method as recited in claim 33, further including:

upon receiving the one or more connected-content triggers and the one or more disconnected-content triggers, identifying a connectivity value of one or more triggers.

39. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein upon identifying a connectivity value of a particular trigger is set to a value of later, the method further includes determining that the particular trigger can be executed only at a time other than the prescribed period of time.

41. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for implementing the method recited in claim 33.

42. A computer program product as recited in claim 41, wherein ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers includes storing at least a portion of a connected-content trigger that includes a link to connected content that can be accessed by accessing a remote information store at a later time.

43. A computer program product as recited in claim 41, wherein selectively ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers comprises preventing a display of information associated with the one or more connected-content triggers during the prescribed period of time, and wherein executing the one or more disconnected-content triggers includes displaying information associated with the one or more disconnected-content triggers.

33-1. A method for executing triggers from a partially-connected receiver, comprising:

receiving one or more connected-content triggers and one or more disconnected-content triggers;

selectively ignoring the one or more connected-content triggers during a prescribed period of time;

selectively executing the connected-content triggers only at a time after the prescribed period of time; and

executing the one or more disconnected-content triggers at any time, including during the prescribed period of time.

34-2. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein executing the one or more connected-content triggers includes establishing and maintaining a bi-directional connection to a remote information store to access content identified by the one or more connected-content triggers.

35-3. A method as recited in claim 33, wherein connectivity information stored by the partially-connected receiver defines the prescribed period of time.