Method of and apparatus for scramble-encoded transmission and decoded reception for over the air and cable subscription television and the like

Claim 3

A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which said aural signal encoding comprises shifting the aural signal information from its normal band to a superaudible subcarrier.

Claim 4

A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which the further step is performed of transmitting Other aural information in the said normal aural signal band.

Claim 5

A method as claimed in claim 3 and in which said transmitting of other aural information comprises, simultaneously with said television signal transmission, transmitting aural barker information, and receiving the same even in the absence of reception of said television signals.

Claim 6

A method as claimed in claim 3 and in which said adjusting is effected at a rate of substantially 10 Hz.

Claim 7

A method as claimed in claim 3 and in which said modulating is effected upon the said vertical synchronizing signals.

Claim 8

A method as claimed in claim 6 and in which said modulating is also effected simultaneously upon the said horizontal synchronizing signals.

Claim 9

A method as claimed in claim 6 and in which each of said pluralities of normal-level and attenuated and depressed-level synchronizing signals contain substantially equal numbers of said signals.

Claim 10

A method as claimed in claim 8 and in which each of said pluralities contains three successive synchronizing signals.

Claim 11

A method as claimed in claim 3 and in which said modulating is effected upon the said horizontal synchronizing signals.

Claim 12

A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which each of said pluralities of normal-level and attenuated and depressed-level synchronizing signals contain equal numbers of such signals.

Claim 13

A method as claimed in claim 11 and in which said number of such signals is substantially three.

Claim 14

A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which said subcarrier is adjusted to a value substantially twice the frequency of the said horizontal synchronizing signals.

Claim 15

A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which said transmitting and receiving steps include simultaneously transmitting and receiving billing signals representative of the identification and duration of the transmitted scrambled and encoded programs, and the further step is performed of recording the time of the receiving decoding to enable such billing in accordance with the receiver usage.

Claim 16

A method as claimed in claim 14 and in which, during said transmitting, the billing signals will be sent in ascending coded order for successive programs transmitted during the month.

Claim 17

A method as claimed in claim 15 and in which said coded order includes digits representing date and the assigned number of the transmitted program.

Claim 18

A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which said transmitting and receiving is effected over at least one of over-the-air and cable paths.

Claim 19

A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which, prior to such scrambling and encoding, the television signals are produced by receiving and processing television signals received from another transmission.

Claim 22

A method as claimed in claim 19 and in which said aural signal encoding comprises shifting the aural signal information from its normal band to a superaudible subcarrier.

Claim 23

A method as claimed in claim 20 and in which the further step is performed of simultaneously transmitting other aural information such as an aural barker and the like in the said normal aural signal band.

Claim 24

A method as claimed in claim 19 and in which said adjusting is effected at a rate of substantially 10 Hz.

Claim 25

A method as claimed in claim 19 and in which said modulating is effected upon the said vertical synchronizing signals.

Claim 26

A method as claimed in claim 23 and in which each of said pluralities of normal-level and attenuated and depressed-level synchronizing signals contain substantially equal numbers of said signals.

Claim 27

A method as claimed in claim 24 and in which said number of such signals is substantially three.

Claim 28

A method as claimed in claim 20 and in which said subcarrier is adjusted to a value substantially twice the frequency of said horizontal synchronizing signals.

Claim 29

A method as claimed in claim 19 and in which said transmitting step includes simultaneously transmitting billing signals representative of the identification and duration of the transmitted scrambled and encoded programs.

Claim 32

A method as claimed in claim 28 and in which said aural signal encoding comprises shifting the aural signal information from its normal band to a superaudible subcarrier, and further aural information such as an aural barker and the like is transmitted simultaneously in said normal band; said method including the further steps of receiving said barker and the like even in the absence of said decoding, and decoding said aural signal information from said subcarrier audibly to reproduce the television signal aural signal information simultaneously with said reverse attenuating and amplifying of the modulated synchronizing signals during the picture restoration.

Claim 33

A method as claimed in claim 28 and in which billing signals representative of the identification and duration of transmitted scrambled and encoded programs are simultaneously transmitted; said method including the further steps of receiving said billing signals simultaneously with said decoding; and recording the time of the decoding to enable such billing in accordance with the receiver usage.

Claim 34

Scrambled and encoded television signal apparatus having, in combination, means for producing television signals comprising horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals for developing a raster, video picture signal information for display upon the raster, and accompanying aural signal information; synchronizing signal modulating means operative for at least one of said synchronizing signals and comprising voltage-controlled attenuator means for repetitively attenuating and depressing to blanking level a plurality of successive of Such synchronizing signals, following a plurality of normal-level successive synchronizing signals, but without affecting and altering the video picture signal information, said modulating means being adjusted to set the rate of such repetitive modulation to a value that produces psychological discomfort to a viewer of the resulting shifting television picture on a normal receiver; encoding means for rendering said aural signal information unintelligible at a normal receiver; means for transmitting the thusly picture-scrambled and aural-encoded television signals; means for receiving the same; decoding means for recovering said aural signal information; and means comprising a further voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means operated reversely to the first-named attenuator means to restore the depressed-level synchronizing signals to normal level and thus stop the repetitive television picture shifting, and without change in picture reception quality over that obtained in unscrambled transmission and reception.

Claim 35

Scrambled and encoded television signal apparatus having, in combination, means for producing television signals comprising horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals for developing a raster, video picture signal information for display upon the raster, and accompanying aural signal information; synchronizing signal modulating means operative for at least one of said synchronizing signals and comprising voltage-controlled attenuator means for repetitively attenuating and depressing to blanking level a plurality of successive of Such synchronizing signals, following a plurality of normal-level successive synchronizing signals, but without affecting and altering the video picture signal information, said modulating means being adjusted to set the rate of such repetitive modulation to a value that produces psychological discomfort to a viewer of the resulting shifting television picture on a normal receiver; encoding means for rendering said aural signal information unintelligible at a normal receiver; means for transmitting the thusly picture-scrambled and aural-encoded television signals; means for receiving the same; decoding means for recovering said aural signal information; and means comprising a further voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means operated reversely to the first-named attenuator means to restore the depressed-level synchronizing signals to normal level and thus stop the repetitive television picture shifting, and without change in picture reception quality over that obtained in unscrambled transmission and reception.

Claim 36

Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 and in which said aural signal information encoding means comprises baseband multiplexer means for shifting said aural signal information from its normal band to a superaudible subcarrier; and said decoding means comprises fm aural receiver and baseband demultiplexer means for recovering the aural signal information during the television picture restoration.

Claim 37

Apparatus as claimed in claim 32 and in which the baseband multiplexer means comprises suppressed carrier modulator means for producing said subcarrier at a frequency substantially two times that of the horizontal synchronizing signal frequency.

Claim 38

Apparatus as claimed in claim 32 and in which means is provided for transmitting simultaneously with said subcarrier, further aural signals, such as a barker channel and the like, in said normal band.

Claim 39

Apparatus as claimed in claim 34 and in which composite aural baseband signal combining means is provided producing a composite baseband comprising said subcarrier modulated by said aural signal information of the television signals and said barker channel.

Claim 40

Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 and in which pilot-tone producing means is provided for producing a frequency corresponding substantially to the horizontal synchronizing signal frequency and connected with said baseband signal combining means.

Claim 41

Apparatus as claimed in claim 35 and in which means is further provided for producing video decoding and billing and verification code tones and applying the same to said baseband signal combining means.

Claim 42

Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 and in which said one of said synchronizing signals is the vertical synchronizing signals.

Claim 43

Apparatus as claimed in claim 38 and in which each of said pluralities of normal-level and blankinglevel signals is substantially equal in number of such signals.

Claim 44

Apparatus as claimed in claim 39 and in which said number is substantially three.

Claim 45

Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 and in which said repetitive modulation rate is substantially 10 Hz.

Claim 46

Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 and in which said modulating voltage-controlled attenuator means comprises radio-frequency attenuating means connected with sync processing picture encoder means and radio-frequency video signal information supplying means.

Claim 47

Apparatus as claimed in claim 31 and in which said further voltage-controlled attenuator means comprises radio-frequency attenuating and amplifying means connected with sync processing picture decoding means and radio-frequency video signal information receiving means.

Claim 48

Apparatus as claimed in claim 32 and in which said further attenuator means is connected along two paths; one to said aural receiver, and the other through sound trap means to radio-frequency adder means for connection to normal television receiver means.

Claim 49

Apparatus as claimed in claim 44 and in which said baseband demultiplexer means connects alternately and Selectively for decoder aural signal information and barker channel and the like, with local aural carrier generator means, the last-named means in turn being connected with said adder means.

Claim 50

Apparatus as claimed in claim 44 and in which billing tone decoding and recording means is provided connected to said baseband demultiplexing means and to selective decode switching means.

Claim 51

Scrambled and encoded television signal decoding and unscrambling apparatus for use with television signals that contain horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals for developing a raster, video picture signal information for display upon the raster, and accompanying aural signal information, and in which the scrambling and encoding comprises a modulation of at least one of the horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals to produce repetitively a plurality of normal-level successive such synchronizing signals followed by a plurality of such synchronizing signals attenuated and thus depressed to substantially blanking level, but without affecting and altering the video signal information, with the rate of such repetitive modulation adjusted to a value that produces psychological discomfort to a viewer of the resulting shifting television picture on a normal receiver, and an encoded aural signal; the said apparatus having, in combination, means for receiving the scrambled and encoded television signals; decoding means for recovering said aural signal information; and means comprising voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means operating reversely to said depressed level modulation to restore the depressed-level synchronizing signals to normal level and thus stop the repetitive television picture shifting, and without change in picture reception quality over that obtained in unscrambled transmission and reception.

Claim 52

Scrambled and encoded television signal decoding and unscrambling apparatus for use with television signals that contain horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals for developing a raster, video picture signal information for display upon the raster, and accompanying aural signal information, and in which the scrambling and encoding comprises a modulation of at least one of the horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals to produce repetitively a plurality of normal-level successive such synchronizing signals followed by a plurality of such synchronizing signals attenuated and thus depressed to substantially blanking level, but without affecting and altering the video signal information, with the rate of such repetitive modulation adjusted to a value that produces psychological discomfort to a viewer of the resulting shifting television picture on a normal receiver, and an encoded aural signal; the said apparatus having, in combination, means for receiving the scrambled and encoded television signals; decoding means for recovering said aural signal information; and means comprising voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means operating reversely to said depressed level modulation to restore the depressed-level synchronizing signals to normal level and thus stop the repetitive television picture shifting, and without change in picture reception quality over that obtained in unscrambled transmission and reception.

Claim 53

Apparatus as claimed in claim 47 and in which said encoded aural signal information comprises shifting said aural signal information from its normal band to a super-audible subcarrier, and said apparatus further contains in its said decoding means, fm aural receiver and baseband demultiplexer means for recovering the aural signal information during the television picture restoration.

Claim 54

Apparatus as claimed in claim 47 and in which there is transmitted simultaneously with said television signals further aural signals, such as a barker channel and the like, in said normal band; and said apparatus further comprises means for receiving and indicating said further aural signals irrespective of decoding of the television signals.

Claim 55

Apparatus as claimed in claim 47 and in which said voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means comprises radio-frequency attenuating and amplifying means connected with sync processing picture decoding means and radio-frequency video signal information receiving means.

Claim 56

Apparatus as claimed in claim 48 and in which said voltage-controlled attenuator and amplifying means is connected along two paths; one to said aural receiver, and the other through sound trap means to radio-frequency adder means for connection to normal television receiver means.

Claim 57

Apparatus as claimed in claim 51 and in which said baseband demultiplexer means connects alternatively and selectively for decoded aural signal information and barker channel and the like, with local aural carrier generator means, the last-named means in turn being connected with said adder means.

Claim 58

Apparatus as claimed in claim 51 and in which billing tone decoding and recording means is provided connected to said baseband demultiplexing means and to selective decode switching means.