EP0848553A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Mapping uniform resource locators to broadcast addresses in a television signal
Assignee: Arris Technology Inc
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Filing: 1997-12-03
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-12-03
Abstract
Abstract Web pages and other Internet information resources are retrieved from a one-way broadcast signal such as a broadcast television signal. A user selects from a range of available information, including hypertext markup language (HTML) pages, which is carried in the broadcast stream by invoking a command which is defined according to a uniform resource locator (URL) format. Table mapping data is carried in the broadcast signal and provides a broadcast address corresponding to the URL of the user request signal for use in identifying a location in the broadcast signal from which the desired information can be retrieved. The broadcast address may provide information regarding a frequency, packet identifier, satellite, transponder, cryptographic scheme, modulation scheme, data rate, error correction scheme, page number or other relevant criteria associated with the broadcast signal which must be known to retrieve the requested information. The system has the look and feel of a two-way Internet connection, and is compatible with existing transmission schemes.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Field
- 👤 Mark K. Eyer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 18:01
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/43; H04N21/438; H04N21/4383; H04N7/00; H04N7/14; H04L; H04L65/00; H04L65/60; H04L65/61; H04L65/611; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/235; H04N21/236; H04N21/2362; H04N21/434; H04N21/4345; H04N21/435; H04N21/45; H04N21/462; H04N21/4622; H04N21/47; H04N21/478; H04N21/4782; H04N21/80; H04N21/81; H04N21/812; H04N21/85; H04N21/858; H04N21/8586; H04N7/16; H04N7/162; H04N7/165
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for mapping a command having a
uniform resource locator (URL) syntax to an address
of a broadcast signal, comprising the steps of: receiving a user request signal having an
associated URL command; and determining a broadcast address according to
said URL command; wherein: said broadcast address is indicative of a
location in said broadcast signal from which
information corresponding to said user request
signal can be retrieved.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1, comprising the
further steps of: retrieving said information corresponding to
said user request signal; and processing said information to provide a video
signal suitable for display on a television.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein: said broadcast address is indicative of a
frequency of said broadcast signal.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
33 words
The method of one of claims 1 or 2,
wherein: said broadcast signal comprises a packetized
digital data stream; and said broadcast address is indicative of a
packet identifier of said data stream.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
24 words
The method of one of the preceding claims,
wherein: said information corresponding to said user
request signal is represented by a hypertext markup
language.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
40 words
The method of one of the preceding claims,
wherein: said information corresponding to said user
request signal comprises a plurality of pages which
are represented by a hypertext markup language, said
pages being linked according to at least one
hyperlink.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
30 words
The method of one of the preceding claims,
wherein: said broadcast address is determined according
to said URL command using mapping table data which
is carried in said broadcast signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 7, comprising the
further step of: providing updated mapping table data in said
broadcast signal to account for changes in
information which is available to the user.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
76 words
An apparatus for mapping a command having
a uniform resource locator (URL) syntax to an
address of a broadcast signal, comprising: a user command processor for receiving a user
request signal having an associated URL command; and a table data processor for determining a
broadcast address according to said URL command;
wherein: said broadcast address is indicative of a
location in said broadcast signal from which
information corresponding to said user request
signal can be retrieved.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 9, further
comprising: means for retrieving said information
corresponding to said user request signal; and a processor for processing said information to
provide a video signal suitable for display on a
television.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of one of claims 9 or 10,
wherein: said broadcast address is indicative of a
frequency of said broadcast signal.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of one of claims 9 or 10,
wherein: said broadcast signal comprises a packetized
digital data stream; and said broadcast address is indicative of a
packet identifier of said data stream.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of one of claims 9 to 12,
wherein: said information corresponding to said user
request signal is represented by a hypertext markup
language.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of one of claims 9 to 13,
wherein: said information corresponding to said user
request signal comprises a plurality of pages which
are represented by a hypertext markup language, said
pages being linked according to at least one
hyperlink.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of one of claims 9 to 14,
wherein: said broadcast address is determined according
to said URL command using mapping table data which
is carried in said broadcast signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: updated mapping table data is provided in said
broadcast signal to account for changes in
information which is available to the user.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
107 words
A decoder for processing a broadcast
signal which carries programming service data, data
which is represented by a uniform resource locator
(URL) syntax, and table mapping data, to provide a
signal suitable for display on a television,
comprising: first means for retrieving said programming
service data; second means for retrieving said table mapping
data; third means for retrieving said data which is
represented by a URL syntax according to said table
mapping data and a user request signal; and fourth means responsive to said third means for
processing said data which is represented by a URL
syntax to provide a signal suitable for display on a
television.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
The decoder of claim 17, wherein: said table mapping data indicates a broadcast
address of said broadcast signal from which said
data which is represented by a URL syntax may be
retrieved.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
33 words
The decoder of claim 18, wherein: said broadcast signal comprises a packetized
digital data stream; and said broadcast address is indicative of a
packet identifier of a data packet of said broadcast
signal.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The decoder of one of claims 17 to 19,
wherein: said data which is represented by a URL syntax
comprises hypertext markup language (HTML) data; and said fourth means comprises an HTML processor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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