Cable television system with remote interactive processor

• US 6,034,678 A
• Filed: 12/09/1997
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ActiveVideo Networks, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ICTV, Inc.
• Inventors: Soske, Joshua W., Hoarty, W. L.
• Primary Examiner(s): FLYNN, NATHAN J
• Application Number:
  US08/987,399
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 348/7, 348/12, 348/13, 348/10, 345/327, 345/328, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 715/721
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/48 using compressed domain processing techniques other than decoding, e.g. modification of transform coefficients, variable length coding [VLC] data or run-length data motion estimation in a transform domain H04N19/547; processing of decoded motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/90 using coding techniques not provided for in groups H04N19/10-H04N19/85, e.g. fractals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• 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 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17345 Control of the passage of the selected programme

Abstract

An interactive television information system coupled to a cable television system having a headend for supplying information services and an information service distribution network for delivering information services to subscriber televisions. Each subscriber television is associated with a home interface controller. The home interface controllers receive the television information signals and include a data transceiver for data communications. A subscriber selection device associated with a home interface controller permits subscriber interaction through the data transceiver with an assigned interactive controller from a plurality of interactive controllers. The assigned interactive controller is in communication with the information sources and in television communication with its assigned home interface controller. Selection of an information source nay be made through channel selection of an apparent channel from any of a first group of apparent channels and a second group of apparent channels. Different information services on different apparent channels from the first group of apparent channels are provided to a given home interface controller via the same television information signal as the subscriber changes channel selection from one of the apparent channels in the first group of apparent channels to another apparent channel in the first group of apparent channels. To receive apparent channels from the second group of apparent channels, a home interface controller simply selects the television information signal at its input corresponding to the selected channel.

Claims

1. A method for interactive delivery of information services to subscriber televisions over a cable distribution network comprising the steps of:

receiving at a node over a data communication link a request for an interactive session from a home interface controller associated with a subscriber television;

assigning one of a plurality of television information signals carried by the cable distribution network to the requesting home interface controller to satisfy the request;

informing the requesting home interface controller of the assigned television information signal over the data communication link;

receiving at the node over the data communication link a request for an information service from the home interface controller associated with the subscriber television; and

putting the information service on the assigned television information signal.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of assigning one of a plurality of multimedia processing means to control the step of putting and to communicate with the requesting home interface controller.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the television information signals has a different carrier frequency and further comprising the step of tuning to the carrier frequency of the assigned television information signal at the requesting home interface controller.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the television information signals has a different time slice and further comprising the step of selecting the time slice of the assigned television information signal at the requesting home interface controller.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of obtaining the information service from a regional processing center.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

tuning to the carrier frequency of the assigned television information signal at the requesting home interface controller.

6. A method for interactive delivery of information services to subscriber televisions over a cable distribution network having a headend coupled to a plurality of nodes wherein each node is connected to a group of the subscriber televisions through a trunk, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving at a node over a data communication link a request for an information service from a home interface controller associated with a subscriber television;

requesting the information service from the headend;

assigning at the headend a television information signal on a carrier frequency carried by the cable distribution network to satisfy the request of the home interface controller, wherein the headend may reuse carrier frequencies for requests from different nodes;

putting the information service on the assigned television information signal; and

informing the requesting home interface controller of the assigned television information signal over the data communication link.