US5638113A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Transaction based interactive television system
Assignee: OpenTV Inc
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Filing: 1995-06-07
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Granted: 1997-06-10
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Expires: 2015-06-07
Abstract
Abstract An interactive television system where interactive information is inserted in the vertical blanking interval of a standard television signal or some other appropriate medium. The signal is received and decoded by a settop device which sends the decoder signal, via an infrared signal, to a handheld device. The system includes an interactive program authoring system, and programmer tables in the memory of the handheld device which store data for the various interactive events. This system allows a viewer to enter and exit events at any time without having to wait for information to be downloaded and without losing scores. Furthermore, this system allows many interactive programs to run concurrently over extended periods of time while maintaining cumulative scores in the handheld for each interactive program or series of programs.
Inventors
- 👤 John P. Lappington
- 👤 Susan K. Marshall
- 👤 Wayne Y. Yamamoto
- 👤 Cameron A. Wilson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 20:28
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/41; H04N21/4104; H04N21/4126; H04N21/41265; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; A63F13/12; A; A63; A63F; A63F13/00; A63F13/30; A63F13/33; A63F13/338; G; G09; G09B; G09B7/00; G09B7/02; G09B7/06; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/28; H04H20/30; H04H20/31; H04H20/38; H04H60/00; H04H60/02; H04H60/07; H04H60/76; H04H60/78; H04H60/80; H04H60/81; H04H60/93; H04H60/94; H04N21/235; H04N21/43; H04N21/435; H04N21/436; H04N21/4363; H04N21/43637; H04N21/47; H04N21/472; H04N21/4722; H04N21/475; H04N21/4758; H04N21/80; H04N21/81; H04N21/812; H04N21/85; H04N21/854; H04N21/8545; H04N7/00; H04N7/08; H04N7/087; H04N7/088; H04N7/0882; H04N7/0888; H04N7/14; H04N7/141; H04N7/16; H04N7/162; H04N7/163; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; A63F2300/00; A63F2300/40; A63F2300/401; A63F2300/403; A63F2300/409; A63F2300/50; A63F2300/53; A63F2300/532; H04H20/53; H04H20/61; H04H60/27
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein each programmer table includes a unique identification number, a game score register, and a cumulative score register.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein each programmer table includes a unique identification number, a game score register, and a cumulative score register.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
80 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein the plurality of programmer tables includes an event specific programmer table, a secured programmer table which is designated as non-updatable and an unsecured programmer table which is designated as updatable.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
80 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein the plurality of programmer tables includes an event specific programmer table, a secured programmer table which is designated as non-updatable and an unsecured programmer table which is designated as updatable.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein said receiver receives infrared data and translates the infrared data to a format acceptable to the processor.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; wherein said receiver receives infrared data and translates the infrared data to a format acceptable to the processor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
100 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; and an insertion system for inserting interactive data on to an existing television signal; wherein the insertion system comprises: a vbi card, for inserting data on the vertical blanking interval of the existing television signal; a controller for directing the vbi card; and an interface between the controller and the vbi card.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
100 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; and an insertion system for inserting interactive data on to an existing television signal; wherein the insertion system comprises: a vbi card, for inserting data on the vertical blanking interval of the existing television signal; a controller for directing the vbi card; and an interface between the controller and the vbi card.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
103 words
An interactive presentation system comprising: means for receiving at a remote location, interactive data in association with a presentation of an event, the interactive data including commands and event specific data; storage means, having a plurality of programmer tables, for storing data, the plurality of programmer tables including a secured programmer table which is designated as non-updatable, an unsecured programmer table which is designated as updatable and an event programmer table; means, responsive to the commands and the storage means, for presenting a viewer with a transaction; and means for updating the storage means based on the commands and the event specific data.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
103 words
An interactive presentation system comprising: means for receiving at a remote location, interactive data in association with a presentation of an event, the interactive data including commands and event specific data; storage means, having a plurality of programmer tables, for storing data, the plurality of programmer tables including a secured programmer table which is designated as non-updatable, an unsecured programmer table which is designated as updatable and an event programmer table; means, responsive to the commands and the storage means, for presenting a viewer with a transaction; and means for updating the storage means based on the commands and the event specific data.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
A system according to claim 5, wherein each programmer table has a unique identification number that can be assigned to an entity so that only interactive data designated by the entity can be used to update the programmer table.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system according to claim 5, wherein each programmer table includes a plurality of registers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
A system according to claim 5, further including a first processor and a second processor, the second processor being a secured processor for handling transactions which do not update programmer tables designated as non-updatable.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
103 words
An interactive presentation system comprising: a receiver for receiving at a remote location interactive data in association with a presentation of an event, the interactive data including commands and event specific data; a processor in communication with the receiver, so that the commands direct the microprocessor to present a viewer with an interactive program, the interactive program using the event specific data; a memory element, in communication with the microprocessor, the memory element including a plurality of programmer tables, each programmer table having a unique identification number; a keypad, in communication with the microprocessor so that information may be input by a viewer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
103 words
An interactive presentation system comprising: a receiver for receiving at a remote location interactive data in association with a presentation of an event, the interactive data including commands and event specific data; a processor in communication with the receiver, so that the commands direct the microprocessor to present a viewer with an interactive program, the interactive program using the event specific data; a memory element, in communication with the microprocessor, the memory element including a plurality of programmer tables, each programmer table having a unique identification number; a keypad, in communication with the microprocessor so that information may be input by a viewer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
10 words
A system according to claim 9, further including a display.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
A system according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of programmer tables includes a secured programmer table which is designated as non-updatable, an unsecured programmer table which is designated as updatable and an event programmer table.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
35 words
A system according to claim 9, wherein each programmer table identification number can be assigned to an entity so that only interactive data designated by the entity can be used to update the programmer table.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; further including a secured processor for handling transactions which do not update programer tables designated as non-up datable.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
67 words
An interactive television system, comprising: a receiver for receiving interactive data; a processor, in communication with the receiver, for processing the interactive data and presenting transactions based on the interactive data; and memory, in communication with the processor, for storing data, the memory including a plurality of programmer tables; further including a secured processor for handling transactions which do not update programer tables designated as non-up datable.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5057915A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-06-09 | 2000-12-09 | 2001-06-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-06-09 | 2004-12-09 | 2005-06-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-06-09 | 2008-12-09 | 2009-06-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |