US6256071B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Methods and apparatus for recording video files and for generating a table listing the recorded files and links to additional information
Assignee: Hitachi America Ltd
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Filing: 1998-12-11
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Granted: 2001-07-03
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Expires: 2018-12-11
Abstract
Abstract A receiver arranged to receive and store broadcast data transported by elementary stream of a multiplexed and modulated digital television signal in a rewritable memory during a low power consumption mode for later recall by a user of the receiver. For recall, the receiver is fully energized, and the receiver is further arranged to transfer the broadcast data stored in the rewritable memory to a receiver storage device for further processing of the data under control of the user.
Inventors
- 👤 Kazushige Hiroi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 18:16
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/43; H04N21/433; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/235; H04N21/41; H04N21/426; H04N21/4331; H04N21/435; H04N21/47; H04N21/80; H04N21/81; H04N21/8166; H04N21/8173; H04N21/85; H04N21/858; H04N21/8586; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; H04N7/17318
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
275 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital signal, the signal including video data and at least one elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, a payload, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing the broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and (v) a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (d) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (f), (e) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, and (f) storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
275 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital signal, the signal including video data and at least one elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, a payload, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing the broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and (v) a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (d) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (f), (e) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, and (f) storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
192 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the receiver further includes: a central processing unit; a storage device coupled to the central processing unit; and a video circuit responsive to the central processing unit and coupled to the display device, the method further including the steps of (g) energizing the display device, the central processing unit, the storage device, and the video circuit, (h) transferring contents of the rewritable memory to the storage device, (i) accessing the table from the storage device under control of the user at the time of later recall, (j) displaying contents of the table on the display device upon processing of the table by the central processing unit and the video circuit, (k) selecting a table entry in the displayed table corresponding to broadcast data now of interest to the user, (l) if the entry corresponds to the location of the broadcast data, extracting the location from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit, and (m) if the entry corresponds to a filename, extracting the payload corresponding to the filename from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
350 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed digital television signal, the signal including video data and at least one broadcast data elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, an associated payload, the header including a field that conveys an interest category assigned to the broadcast data, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and (v) a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the demultiplexer, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) receiving from the user at least one interest category of interest to the user, and storing the at least one category in the data processor, (d) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (e) if the interest category of the broadcast data matches with the at least one interest category stored in the data processor for the user, proceeding to step (f); otherwise, bypassing the broadcast data, (f) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (h), (g) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, and (h) storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
350 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed digital television signal, the signal including video data and at least one broadcast data elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, an associated payload, the header including a field that conveys an interest category assigned to the broadcast data, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and (v) a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the demultiplexer, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) receiving from the user at least one interest category of interest to the user, and storing the at least one category in the data processor, (d) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (e) if the interest category of the broadcast data matches with the at least one interest category stored in the data processor for the user, proceeding to step (f); otherwise, bypassing the broadcast data, (f) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (h), (g) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, and (h) storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
196 words
The method as recited in claim 3 wherein the receiver further includes: a central processing unit; a storage device coupled to the central processing unit; and a video circuit responsive to the central processing unit and coupled to the display device, the method further including the steps of (i) energizing the display device, the central processing unit, the storage device, and the video circuit, (j) transferring contents of the rewritable memory to the storage device under control of the user, (k) accessing the table from the storage device under control of the user at the time of later recall, (l) displaying contents of the table on the display device upon processing of the table by the central processing unit and the video circuit, (m) selecting a table entry in the displayed table corresponding to broadcast data of interest to the user, (n) if the entry corresponds to the location of the broadcast data, extracting the location from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit, and (o) if the entry corresponds to a filename, extracting the payload corresponding to the filename from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
369 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital television signal, the signal including a series of elementary streams conveying the broadcast data as well as video data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, an associated payload, the header including a section that conveys an interest category assigned to the broadcast data, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and v a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of: (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the demultiplexer, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) receiving from the user at least one interest category of interest to the user, and storing the at least one category in the data processor, (d) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (e) it the interest category of the broadcast data matches with the at least one interest category stored in the data processor for the user, proceeding to step (f); otherwise, bypassing the broadcast data, (f) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (h), (g) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, (h) storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall by the user, and (i) returning to step (d) to process the next incoming one of the broadcast data elementary streams.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
369 words
A method for receiving, in a receiver, broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital television signal, the signal including a series of elementary streams conveying the broadcast data as well as video data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, an associated payload, the header including a section that conveys an interest category assigned to the broadcast data, the receiver including: (i) a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver; (ii) a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data; (iii) a data processor responsive to control signals from the user for processing broadcast data; (iv) a rewritable memory coupled to the data processor; and v a display device for displaying the video data as well as displayable data corresponding to the broadcast data, the method comprising the steps of: (a) applying power to the tuner, the demodulator, the demultiplexer, the data processor, and the rewritable memory independent of the on-off state of the display device, (b) generating and storing a table in the rewritable memory to be filled in by the data processor, (c) receiving from the user at least one interest category of interest to the user, and storing the at least one category in the data processor, (d) processing in the data processor the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, (e) it the interest category of the broadcast data matches with the at least one interest category stored in the data processor for the user, proceeding to step (f); otherwise, bypassing the broadcast data, (f) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored, storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, and proceeding to step (h), (g) if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored, storing the location in the rewritable memory, (h) storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall by the user, and (i) returning to step (d) to process the next incoming one of the broadcast data elementary streams.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
197 words
The method as recited in claim 5 wherein the receiver further includes: a central processing unit; a storage device coupled to the central processing unit; and a video circuit responsive to the central processing unit and coupled to the display device, the method further including the steps of (j) energizing the display device, the central processing unit, the storage device, and the video circuit, (k) transferring contents of the rewritable memory to the storage device under control of the user, (l) accessing the table from the storage device under control of the user at the time of later recall, (m) displaying contents of the table on the display device upon processing of the table by the central processing unit and the video circuit, (n) selecting a table entry in the displayed table corresponding to broadcast data now of interest to the user, (o) if the entry corresponds to the location of the broadcast data, extracting the location from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit, and (p) if the entry corresponds to a filename, extracting the payload corresponding to the filename from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as recited in claim 6 wherein, if the payload corresponds to an executable program, the step of further processing by the central processing unit includes the step of executing the executable program.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
289 words
A receiver for receiving broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital television signal, the signal including video data and at least one elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, a payload, the receiver including a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver, a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data, a data processor, responsive to input from the user, for processing the broadcast data, a rewritable memory, coupled to the data processor, for storing the broadcast data, and a display device, responsive to the data processor, for displaying, when energized, the video data as well as displayable data representative of the header and payload of the broadcast data, the tuner, the demodulator, the data processor, and the rewritable memory being continuously on independent of the on-off state of the display device, the rewritable memory including a table for storing the broadcast data, the data processor including a header processor for processing the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, a field processor to determine if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored and means for storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, the field processor also being used to determine if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored and means for storing the location only in the rewritable memory, and a storage processor for storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
289 words
A receiver for receiving broadcast data propagated by a multiplexed and modulated digital television signal, the signal including video data and at least one elementary stream conveying the broadcast data, the broadcast data including a header and, if necessary, a payload, the receiver including a tuner for tuning to the signal under control of a user of the receiver, a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, for demodulating the signal to generate a transport stream conveying the broadcast data, a data processor, responsive to input from the user, for processing the broadcast data, a rewritable memory, coupled to the data processor, for storing the broadcast data, and a display device, responsive to the data processor, for displaying, when energized, the video data as well as displayable data representative of the header and payload of the broadcast data, the tuner, the demodulator, the data processor, and the rewritable memory being continuously on independent of the on-off state of the display device, the rewritable memory including a table for storing the broadcast data, the data processor including a header processor for processing the header to obtain field information conveyed by the header, a field processor to determine if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a filename to be stored and means for storing the filename and the payload of the broadcast data corresponding to the filename in the rewritable memory, the field processor also being used to determine if the field information indicates that the broadcast data contains a location to be stored and means for storing the location only in the rewritable memory, and a storage processor for storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
54 words
The receiver as recited in claim 8 wherein the header includes a category field, the data processor stores a set of categories of interest to the user, and the data processor includes a category processor for bypassing the broadcast data whenever the category field does not match a category from the set of categories.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
The receiver as recited in claim 8 wherein the rewritable memory is a flash memory.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
240 words
The receiver as recited in claim 10 further comprising central processing unit coupled to the data processor, a storage device coupled to the central processing unit, and a video circuit responsive to the central processing unit and coupled to the display device, the central processing unit, the storage device, and the video circuit being energized concurrently with the display device, the data processor further including a transfer processor for transferring contents of the rewritable memory to the storage device under control of the user, the central processing unit including an access processor for accessing the table from the storage device under control of the user at the time of later recall, a display processor for displaying contents of the table on the display device upon processing of the table by the central processing unit and the video circuit, a selector processor, under control of the user, for selecting a table entry in the displayed table corresponding to broadcast data now of interest to the user, a table processor to determine if the table entry corresponds to the location of the broadcast data and, if so, to extract the location from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit, and the table processor also used to determine if the table entry corresponds to a filename and, if so, to extract the payload corresponding to the filename from the storage device for further processing by the central processing unit.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user includes: storing date and time information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user further includes: storing category and description information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user further includes: storing description information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 14 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user further includes: storing date and time information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall includes: storing category and description information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall includes: storing date information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 17 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information in the table for later recall further includes: storing description information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall includes: storing date and time information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein said step of storing at least some of the field information as an entry in the table for later recall by the user includes: storing description information obtained from said field information in said table entry.
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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) | 2004-07-02 | 2005-01-01 | 2005-07-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-01-01 | 2009-07-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-07-02 | 2013-01-01 | 2013-07-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |