Patent US6067107A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6067107A
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Response capacity management in interactive broadcast systems by periodic reconfiguration of response priorities
Assignee: OpenTV Inc
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Filing: 1998-04-30
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Granted: 2000-05-23
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Expires: 2018-04-30
Abstract
Abstract A system and method allow for the periodic re-configuring of broadcast receivers to control their storage of responses to interactive applications during a polling period. A broadcast server maintains a database of interactive applications each preferably associated with a program that will be broadcast. When the program is broadcast, an interactive application is inserted into the broadcast feed and delivered to a broadcast receiver such as a television set-top box. The broadcast receiver includes a processor, memory, and other hardware necessary to execute the interactive application. When executed, the interactive application generates a response which is transmitted to a local data center at, for example, the cable head-end. Generated responses have specific types. To manage the number and capacity of the system to receive responses, priority values are assigned to responses of different types. The priority values are based on the value of the responses to the provider of the interactive application, and established with respect to total response capacity, and an estimated response volume during a polling period. These priority values are assigned or updated preferably once each polling period, and transmitted to and stored in the broadcast receivers. Each broadcast receiver uses the priority value assignments to determine if it will execute and store responses for a currently received interactive application, or reserve memory capacity for higher priority responses.
Inventors
- 👤 Timothy V. Travaille
- 👤 David W. Brubeck
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:14
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/38; H04H60/00; H04H60/35; H04H60/38; H04H60/41; H04H60/61; H04H60/64; H04H60/66; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/235; H04N21/40; H04N21/43; H04N21/435; H04N21/60; H04N21/65; H04N21/654; H04N21/6543; H04N21/80; H04N21/85; H04N21/854; H04N21/8543; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/162; H04N7/163; H04N7/165
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 50
Claim 1
Independent Claim
117 words
A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
117 words
A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising: periodically receiving from a remote source at least one response priority, each response priority defining a priority value for a type of response data, and storing the response priorities in a local memory of the broadcast receiver; and wherein determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver further comprises: determining from the response priorities the priority value for the response type of the received interactive application.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 2, wherein the period for receiving is a polling period for the broadcast receiver to be polled to obtain stored responses.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising: periodically receiving from a remote source a sampling rate for a specified type of response; and wherein determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver further comprises: determining from the sampling rate whether there is sufficient memory to store responses of the specified type.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined type of response is selected from a group consisting of: a registration response; a purchase response; a request response; a vote response; and a usage response.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 6, wherein a registration response includes information for identifying the viewer, product or service being registered.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 6, wherein a purchase response includes data identifying a product or service being purchased, purchaser identifying data, and payment information.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 6, wherein a request response includes data identifying a product or service about which information is desired, and data for identifying the viewer to allow the information to be provided to the viewer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 6, wherein a vote response comprises a viewer response to a participatory interactive application.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 6, wherein a usage response includes information about a viewer's use of at least one of the broadcast receiver or other devices coupled to the broadcast receiver.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
161 words
A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value; establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
161 words
A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value; establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 12, wherein all steps are repeated in each of a plurality of different polling periods.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method of claim 12, wherein each interactive application is associated with a broadcast program broadcast on a selected channel during a selected time period, and wherein estimating the number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises: for each time period during the polling period and for each channel on which programs are broadcast during the polling period, estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on the channel during the time period.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 12 wherein the polling period includes a number of time periods and the broadcast receivers receive responses from interactive applications, each interactive application associated with a program broadcast on a channel during at least one time period.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 16 wherein estimating a number of responses further comprises: for each time period and for each interactive application that might be executed during the time period, estimating a number of responses generated by the interactive application during the time period.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the estimated number of responses is a function of a number of broadcast receivers that may be communicated with, a program share for the program on the channel during the time period, an application share for the interactive application, a required sample rate for the interactive application, and an estimated response rate for the interactive application.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
76 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the estimated number of responses is determined according to the following equation: ##EQU3## where E total is the number of responses generated during the entire polling period; periods is the number of time periods in the polling period; channels is a number of channels; and E t ,ch is an expected number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel ch during a given time period t.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 12, wherein estimating the total number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises: for each of a plurality of interactive applications that may be executed during the polling period, estimating a number of responses to the interactive applications.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
82 words
The method of claim 20, wherein estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel during a specific time period further comprises: determining the total number of broadcast receivers that can be communicated with; determining the program share for each program in the time period; determining the application share for the interactive application; estimating the response rate for the interactive application; determining the required sample rate for the interactive application; and multiplying the preceding five factors together.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 21, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during an entire polling period further comprises: totaling the estimated number of responses for all channels during all time slots during the polling period.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 12, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during the entire polling period further comprises increasing the estimate by a buffer amount so as to ensure that the actual number of responses is less than a maximum number of responses that may be received.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
138 words
A broadcast receiver for preferentially storing response data, comprising: a processor that executes an interactive application configured to receive a user input response of a predetermined type; a memory coupled to the processor, and for storing: an interactive application; and a response generated by the interactive application being executed by the processor; and a response manager executed by the processor and responsive to the broadcast receiver receiving an interactive application, determining whether there is sufficient available memory available to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response for the received interactive application, and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the processor to receive a response.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
138 words
A broadcast receiver for preferentially storing response data, comprising: a processor that executes an interactive application configured to receive a user input response of a predetermined type; a memory coupled to the processor, and for storing: an interactive application; and a response generated by the interactive application being executed by the processor; and a response manager executed by the processor and responsive to the broadcast receiver receiving an interactive application, determining whether there is sufficient available memory available to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response for the received interactive application, and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the processor to receive a response.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
182 words
A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium for configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the computer program product controlling a processor coupled to the medium to perform the operations of: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value; establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
182 words
A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium for configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the computer program product controlling a processor coupled to the medium to perform the operations of: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is equal to or higher than any second response priority value; establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
29 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the computer program product causes the processor to repeat all the operations in each of a plurality of different polling periods.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
41 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the priority value of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
82 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein each interactive application is associated with a broadcast program broadcast on a selected channel during a selected time period, and wherein estimating the number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises: for each time period during the polling period and for each channel on which programs are broadcast during the polling period, estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on the channel during the time period.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
43 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the polling period includes a number of time periods and the broadcast receivers receive responses from interactive applications, each interactive application associated with a program broadcast on a channel during at least one time period.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
46 words
The computer program product of claim 29, wherein estimating a number of responses further comprises: for each time period and for each interactive application that might be executed during the time period, estimating a number of responses generated by the interactive application during the time period.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
64 words
The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the estimated number of responses is a function of: a number of broadcast receivers that may be communicated with; a program share for the program on the channel during the time period; an application share for the interactive application; a required sample rate for the interactive application; and an estimated response rate for the interactive application.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
78 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the estimated number of responses is determined according to the following equation: ##EQU4## where E total is the number of responses generated during the entire polling period; periods is the number of time periods in the polling period; channels is a number of channels; and E t ,ch is an expected number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel ch during a given time period t.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
49 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein estimating the total number of responses to be collected during a selected polling period further comprises: for each of a plurality of interactive applications that may be executed during the polling period, estimating a number of responses to the interactive applications.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
84 words
The computer program product of claim 33, wherein estimating a number of responses generated by an interactive application on a specific channel during a specific time period further comprises: determining the total number of broadcast receivers that can be communicated with; determining the program share for each program in the time period; determining the application share for the interactive application; estimating the response rate for the interactive application; determining the required sample rate for the interactive application; and multiplying the preceding five factors together.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
39 words
The computer program product of claim 34, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during an entire polling period further comprises: totaling the estimated number of responses for all channels during all time slots during the polling period.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
51 words
The computer program product of claim 25, wherein estimating the total number of responses generated during the entire polling period further comprises: increasing the estimate by a buffer amount so as to ensure that the actual number of responses is less than a maximum number of responses that may be received.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first sampling rate; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second sampling rate, wherein the first sampling rate is equal to or higher than each second sampling rate; and transmitting the sampling rates for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of configuring a plurality of broadcast receivers to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality of broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first sampling rate; establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second sampling rate, wherein the first sampling rate is equal to or higher than each second sampling rate; and transmitting the sampling rates for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 37, wherein all steps are repeated in each of a plurality of different polling periods.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 37, wherein the sampling rate of each response type is a function of an economic value of the response type to a provider of an interactive application configured to receive a response of that type.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
163 words
A broadcast receiving system configured to preferentially store various types of data, the system comprising: a receiving means for receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; a first determining means coupled to the receiving means for determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; a second determining means coupled to the first determining means for determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value equal to or higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and an executing means coupled to the receiving means to receive the interactive application, and coupled to the second determining means for executing the interactive application in response to the second determining means determining that there is sufficient memory, and for receiving a response and storing the response in the memory.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
163 words
A broadcast receiving system configured to preferentially store various types of data, the system comprising: a receiving means for receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; a first determining means coupled to the receiving means for determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; a second determining means coupled to the first determining means for determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value equal to or higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and an executing means coupled to the receiving means to receive the interactive application, and coupled to the second determining means for executing the interactive application in response to the second determining means determining that there is sufficient memory, and for receiving a response and storing the response in the memory.
Claim 47
Independent Claim
225 words
A system for preferentially storing various types of data in a plurality of broadcast receivers, the system comprising: an estimating means for estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; a first determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; a second determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; a first establishing means coupled to the first determining means for establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; a second establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is higher than any second response priority value; a third establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and a transmitting means coupled to the first and second establishing means for transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
225 words
A system for preferentially storing various types of data in a plurality of broadcast receivers, the system comprising: an estimating means for estimating a number of responses to be collected from the plurality broadcast receivers during a selected polling period, wherein each response has a response type; a first determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a first proportion of the estimated number of responses that must be collected according to their response type; a second determining means coupled to the estimating means for determining a second proportion of the estimated number of responses that may be sampled according to their response type; a first establishing means coupled to the first determining means for establishing for each response type in the first proportion a first response priority value; a second establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing for each response type in the second proportion a second response priority value, wherein any first response priority value is higher than any second response priority value; a third establishing means coupled to the second determining means for establishing at least one sampling rate for response types included in the second proportion of responses; and a transmitting means coupled to the first and second establishing means for transmitting the response priority values for the response types to the broadcast receivers for storage therein.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
163 words
A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; responsive to the response priority value being a highest priority: permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory; and responsive to the response priority value being less than the highest priority: determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
163 words
A computer-implemented method of configuring a broadcast receiver to preferentially store various types of data, the method comprising: receiving an interactive application configured to receive a predetermined type of response; determining a response priority value for the predetermined type of response; responsive to the response priority value being a highest priority: permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory; and responsive to the response priority value being less than the highest priority: determining whether there is sufficient available memory capacity in the broadcast receiver to receive a response to the received interactive application and at least one response having a response type with a priority value higher than the response priority value of the predetermined type of response; and responsive to there being sufficient memory, permitting the interactive application to be executed by the broadcast receiver to receive a response, and storing any received response in the memory.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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