Patent US3401319A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3899633A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Subscription television system
Assignee: Columbia Pictures Industries Inc
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Filing: 1972-05-12
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Granted: 1975-08-12
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Expires: 1992-05-12
Abstract
Abstract A subscription television system, in which secure television signals modulated on carriers not directly receivable by a standard television set are impressed upon a master cable system extending to subscriber stations having converter means to receive selected secure channels. Each subscriber station possesses means to selectively enable or disable reception of any or all of the secure signals in response to a command from a central station remote from the subscriber stations. Selective addressing of individual subscriber stations is achieved by actuating the desired subscriber stations by means of a coded sequence of tone signals of discrete frequencies. Each subscriber station is provided with frequency logic gating, the gating for each subscriber station being responsive only to a unique coded sequence of tones to enable the receipt of a command from the central station. The same frequency coded tones which are used to address the subscriber station are also used to command which of the secure channels are to be enabled. This function is performed by varying the duration and time pattern of the coded tones within the original coded sequence which is used to address the subscriber station. The mode of enablement can, among other possibilities, be the generation at the subscriber station of a noise signal, which noise signal is selectively applied to the secured channel signals whenever the subscriber station is set to receive a secure channel whose reception has not been enabled.
Inventors
- 👤 Keith S Sorenson
- 👤 David E Lewis
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 06:27
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04K; H04K3/00; H04K3/80; H04K3/82; H04K3/825; H04K3/40; H04K3/42; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/166; H04N7/173; H04N7/17345; H04N7/17363; H04K2203/00; H04K2203/10; H04K2203/14
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
385 words
In a controlled transmission system including a central sending station for sending information on at least two secure channels, a plurality of receiving stations, a transmission path coupling the central sending station with said plurality of receiving stations and wherein receivers at said stations are not capable of directly receiving the secure channels sent, each of said receivers having associated therewith a tuner converter coupled to the central sending station for converting the secured channels sent to a channel receivable by the receiver each tuner converter including a turret tuner switch having a set of contacts to select one or the other of the secured channels for conversion, means for selectively disabling and enabling each of said receivers to receive one or the other of said secure channel signals comprising: a. means associated with the central sending station for sending in addition to the secure channel signals coded address signals and command signals; b. means at each receiving station for decoding address And command signals, each decoding means being responsive to a different address code from said central sending station and responsive to at least two separate command signal codes from said sending station; c. means at said receiving station for providing an interfering signal to said tuner converter; d. first storage means adapted to be set in response to the reception and decoding of a coded signal addressed to its receiving station and a first command signal; e. second storage means adapted to be set in response to the reception and decoding of a coded signal addressed to its receiving station and a second command signal; f. an additional set of contacts in said turret tuner having a wiper ganged to the tuner, said wiper coupled to a deactuating input of said interferring means, the additional contact corresponding to the one secured channel being coupled to the output of said first storage means and the additional contact corresponding to said other secured channel being coupled to the output of said second storage means whereby if one of said secured channels is selected that channel can be received only if an appropriate code address and command signal has been received by the receiver causing the associated storage means to be set to disable the interferring means in that receiver when tuned to that secured channel.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
385 words
In a controlled transmission system including a central sending station for sending information on at least two secure channels, a plurality of receiving stations, a transmission path coupling the central sending station with said plurality of receiving stations and wherein receivers at said stations are not capable of directly receiving the secure channels sent, each of said receivers having associated therewith a tuner converter coupled to the central sending station for converting the secured channels sent to a channel receivable by the receiver each tuner converter including a turret tuner switch having a set of contacts to select one or the other of the secured channels for conversion, means for selectively disabling and enabling each of said receivers to receive one or the other of said secure channel signals comprising: a. means associated with the central sending station for sending in addition to the secure channel signals coded address signals and command signals; b. means at each receiving station for decoding address And command signals, each decoding means being responsive to a different address code from said central sending station and responsive to at least two separate command signal codes from said sending station; c. means at said receiving station for providing an interfering signal to said tuner converter; d. first storage means adapted to be set in response to the reception and decoding of a coded signal addressed to its receiving station and a first command signal; e. second storage means adapted to be set in response to the reception and decoding of a coded signal addressed to its receiving station and a second command signal; f. an additional set of contacts in said turret tuner having a wiper ganged to the tuner, said wiper coupled to a deactuating input of said interferring means, the additional contact corresponding to the one secured channel being coupled to the output of said first storage means and the additional contact corresponding to said other secured channel being coupled to the output of said second storage means whereby if one of said secured channels is selected that channel can be received only if an appropriate code address and command signal has been received by the receiver causing the associated storage means to be set to disable the interferring means in that receiver when tuned to that secured channel.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
85 words
A control transmission system according to claim 1 wherein said receiver is a television receiver and wherein said central station additionally sends information comprising a standard broadcast channel and further including in said tuner converter, means for selecting between said standard broadcast channel and said secure channels and further means associated therewith for coupling the input from said central station directly to said receiver when said standard broadcast channel is selected and to said tuner converter when said one of said secure channels is selected.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 2, in which said transmission path comprises a conductive circuit extending, at least in part, between said sending station and said receiving station.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 3, in which said conductive circuit comprises a cable adapted to transmit signals at least in the range of frequencies corresponding to those of television signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 3, in which said conductive circuit comprises a master antenna system having a master antenna and means for connecting the master antenna to at least one receiving station.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
A control transmission system in accordance with claim 1 in which the code signals include a predetermined pattern of a plurality of different predetermined frequency pulses and in which said decoding means respond to each of the frequencies of the different frequency pulses.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
97 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 1 in which the predetermined coded address signal includes a plurality of pulses each having a different discrete frequency, the pulses being transmitted by the central sending station in an overlapping time sequence and in a predetermined order and in which the decoding means comprises, a. means for separating pulses of different discrete frequencies; and b. means connected to the pulse separating means for providing an output whenever all of the pulses of the predetermined coded address signal are separated by the pulse separating means in said predetermined order.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 1 in which said means for interfering with the enabling means to prevent reception of the secure channel by the receiver comprises means for producing a signal which can interfere with the receiver receiving the predetermined secure channel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
53 words
A controlled transmission system in accordance with claim 8 in which the means for producing a signal for interfering with the receiver comprises an oscillator generating a sIgnal related to the characteristic of the predetermined secure channel signal in order to interfere with the receiving of the secure channel signal by the receiver.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The improvement in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising means for recording information relating to the transmission of a code to any given receiving station.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-08-11 | 1979-02-10 | 1979-08-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-08-11 | 1983-02-10 | 1983-08-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-08-11 | 1987-02-10 | 1987-08-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |