Method and apparatus for broadcasting live events to another location and producing a computer simulation of the events at that location

Claim 1

A method for generating computer simulation information about a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events, and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein said symbol represents information to be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; creating transmission data from the generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; and broadcasting said transmission data.

Claim 2

A method for generating computer simulation information about a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events, and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein said symbol represents information to be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; creating transmission data from the generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; and broadcasting said transmission data.

Claim 6

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol selected from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; creating transmission data from said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.

Claim 7

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol selected from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; creating transmission data from said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.

Claim 12

A method for broadcasting information about a plurality of live events, each composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, wherein a set of rules governs the plurality of live events so that a status change in one event that results from the occurrence of a sub-event in said one event is determined by the set of rules comprising the steps of: creating a database file corresponding to each of said plurality of events; generating, for each of said plurality of events, a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events of said event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein said symbol may be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; updating each database file that corresponds to one of said plurality of events using a sequence of symbolic descriptions associated with the event that corresponds to that database file; creating transmission data from information stored in an updated database file; and broadcasting said transmission data.

Claim 13

A method for broadcasting information about a plurality of live events, each composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, wherein a set of rules governs the plurality of live events so that a status change in one event that results from the occurrence of a sub-event in said one event is determined by the set of rules comprising the steps of: creating a database file corresponding to each of said plurality of events; generating, for each of said plurality of events, a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events of said event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein said symbol may be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; updating each database file that corresponds to one of said plurality of events using a sequence of symbolic descriptions associated with the event that corresponds to that database file; creating transmission data from information stored in an updated database file; and broadcasting said transmission data.

Claim 18

A system for simulating a live event, composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, at a computer of a viewer at a location distinct from the location of the event, comprising: an observer computer generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions from a set of symbols useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein, each description is a representation of one of the sub-events said representation being useful in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; a centralized database receiving and storing information corresponding to said sequence of symbolic descriptions in a file corresponding to the event; and a viewer computer, receiving data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions, and including an event simulator, said event simulator producing a simulation of a portion of said event using said data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions.

Claim 19

A system for simulating a live event, composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, at a computer of a viewer at a location distinct from the location of the event, comprising: an observer computer generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions from a set of symbols useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein, each description is a representation of one of the sub-events said representation being useful in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; a centralized database receiving and storing information corresponding to said sequence of symbolic descriptions in a file corresponding to the event; and a viewer computer, receiving data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions, and including an event simulator, said event simulator producing a simulation of a portion of said event using said data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions.

Claim 20

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.

Claim 21

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.

Claim 26

A method for communicating information about a plurality of live events, each composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, wherein a set of rules governs the plurality of live events so that a status change in one event that results from the occurrence of a sub-event in said one event is determined by the set of rules comprising the steps of: creating a database file corresponding to each of said plurality of events; generating, for each of said plurality of events, a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events of said event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, wherein said symbol may be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; updating each database file that corresponds to one of said plurality of events using a sequence of symbolic descriptions associated with the event that corresponds to that database file; receiving, from a requester, a request for transmission of information about an event associated with one of said database files; creating transmission data from information stored in an updated database file associated with the event indicated in the received request; and sending said transmission data to the requester.

Claim 27

A method for communicating information about a plurality of live events, each composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, wherein a set of rules governs the plurality of live events so that a status change in one event that results from the occurrence of a sub-event in said one event is determined by the set of rules comprising the steps of: creating a database file corresponding to each of said plurality of events; generating, for each of said plurality of events, a sequence of symbolic descriptions, each description being a representation of one of the discrete sub-events of said event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, wherein said symbol may be used in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; updating each database file that corresponds to one of said plurality of events using a sequence of symbolic descriptions associated with the event that corresponds to that database file; receiving, from a requester, a request for transmission of information about an event associated with one of said database files; creating transmission data from information stored in an updated database file associated with the event indicated in the received request; and sending said transmission data to the requester.

Claim 30

A system for simulating a live event, composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, at a computer of a viewer at a location distinct from the location of the event, comprising: an observer computer generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions from a set of symbols useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein, each description is a representation of one of the sub-events said representation being useful in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; a centralized database receiving and storing information corresponding to said sequence of symbolic descriptions in a file corresponding to the event; and a viewer computer, generating a request for information about an event and receiving data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions in response to said request, and including an event simulator, said event simulator producing a simulation of said event using said data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions.

Claim 31

A system for simulating a live event, composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events wherein a set of rules governs the event so that a status change resulting from the occurrence of a sub-event is determined by the set of rules, at a computer of a viewer at a location distinct from the location of the event, comprising: an observer computer generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions from a set of symbols useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill and wherein, each description is a representation of one of the sub-events said representation being useful in a computer simulation to effect a change in an indicated status of an event in connection with a computer simulation program that operates in accordance with the set of rules governing the event; a centralized database receiving and storing information corresponding to said sequence of symbolic descriptions in a file corresponding to the event; and a viewer computer, generating a request for information about an event and receiving data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions in response to said request, and including an event simulator, said event simulator producing a simulation of said event using said data representative of said sequence of symbolic descriptions.

Claim 32

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol selected from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; creating transmission data from said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating, after a conclusion of the live event, a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using stored received transmission data.

Claim 33

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol selected from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; creating transmission data from said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating, after a conclusion of the live event, a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using stored received transmission data.

Claim 37

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating, after a conclusion of the live event, a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using stored received transmission data.

Claim 38

A method for simulating a live event that is composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events at a viewer computer at a location different from the location of the live event, with the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines the consequences of actions that define the sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the live event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating, after a conclusion of the live event, a computer simulation of a portion of the live event at the viewer computer using stored received transmission data.

Claim 42

A method for simulating, at a viewer computer, activity from a live event, the event being composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines consequences of actions that define sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.

Claim 43

A method for simulating, at a viewer computer, activity from a live event, the event being composed of a sequence of discrete sub-events, the event being governed by a set of rules that predetermines consequences of actions that define sub-events, comprising the steps of: generating a sequence of symbolic descriptions wherein each symbolic description is a representation of a discrete sub-event of the event and includes at least one symbol from a set of symbols, said set of symbols being useful in a computer simulation, wherein each symbol is representative of an action involving physical exertion and skill, and wherein an indicated status of the event may be affected by an action described by the symbol; creating a database file corresponding to the event; updating said database file using said generated sequence of symbolic descriptions; receiving a request for a transmission of information about an event; creating transmission data from information stored in a database file associated with said event indicated in said request; broadcasting said transmission data; receiving the broadcasted transmission data at the viewer computer; storing the received transmission data; and generating a computer simulation of a portion of the event at the viewer computer using said received transmission data.