Television – Two-way video and voice communication – Operating with other appliance
Reexamination Certificate
1995-12-12
2001-12-11
Mei, Xu (Department: 2644)
Television
Two-way video and voice communication
Operating with other appliance
C348S014030, C725S006000, C379S091010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330021
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive system enabling participation at home, in front of a television receiver, in a television program such as game or a remote purchase or any other application of a transactional nature such as a page of advertising, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Among existing systems available to television viewers, there is the known multipoint system. This system is limited to a pocket calculator type of pack that is specialized in a specified type of transaction which is a game of lots. This pack comprises a keyboard, photoelectric sensors enabling the acquisition of information elements transmitted in binary form by two flashing luminous rectangles that appear on the screen of the television set at certain times and a microcontroller with a memory enabling the recording of the activity of the keyboard and of the luminous information elements acquired by means of the photoelectric sensors. To take part in a multipoint game proposed during a television program, the viewer, using the photoelectric sensors of his pack, must acquire information elements transmitted to the screen by two flashing luminous rectangles to identify the game. Then, as the case may be, he types in a code on the keyboard of his pack, authorizing participation in the game, and then an acquisition code to answer questions asked during the televised game. To find out his winnings in the game, the viewer must return his pack to a distributor or retailer equipped with a specialized processing terminal.
These systems have little interactive quality and have not been very successful commercially.
There is also a system, known from the international patent application WO-A-91/06160 (RHOADES), for the distribution of video games with one or more storage centers and subscribers at a distance connected by telephone and by a system of cable television. Each subscriber has a games console that displays a video image on a standard television receiver and is connected both by telephone to a storage center and by cable to a television program distribution station. The telephone line enables the subscriber to choose his game, the program of which is transmitted to him in encoded form by cable. The games console has means (keyboard and screen) to converse with the storage center by the telephone line and especially to receive an authorization code for the use of a game, means to decode a selected games program that is received by the cable and a non-volatile memory card to memorize a games program.
A games console such as this is not open-ended and is strictly specialized in the choice of a game at a distance according to an unchanging procedure.
There is also a known system of interactive television described in the European patent application EP-A-0 624 040 (AT&T). In this system, a subscriber can choose his program. This interactive television system uses a mode of two-way pack transmission, between an information retrieval center and remote subscribers, on a cable network. The intelligence of the transaction is located at the information retrieval center, and the subscriber has a specialized interface pack specially designed to meet the requirements of the information retrieval center within the framework of a fixed dialog procedure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is aimed at providing a highly user-friendly, low-cost interactive system enabling a television viewer to participate in games, remote purchasing or other activities, that can easily be customized so as to be suited to various forms of transactional applications that are not necessarily planned at the outset.
An object of the invention is an interactive television receiver console comprising a television receiver connected by a televised program reception channel to a televised program distributor implementing transactional applications and an interface pack provided with data transmission means connected to the televised program distributor by a data transmission channel, data reception means connected to the televised program distributor by at least one data reception channel and image overlay means connected to the television receiver and working on the image presented on the screen of this receiver. This console furthermore comprises:
a keyboard enabling action by an operator,
a chip card reader, and
a chip card that gets plugged into the chip card reader and is customized for at least one transactional application whose running it manages.
Through the general-purpose structure of the interface pack and the specialized character of the chip card, this console has a wide range of uses and, at the same time, is suited to a wide range of transactional applications as well as being selective.
Advantageously, the data reception channel is superimposed on the televised program reception channel and accessible from the television receiver. It can be a dual channel with one part superimposed on the televised program reception channel and one part using a telephone channel or a cable channel if the television receiver is connected to a cable network.
The data transmission channel uses a telephone channel or the cable channel if the television receiver is connected to a cable network.
The keyboard may form one unit with the interface pack or it may be separate from it and connected by a wire link or another type of link such as infrared, radio or other links in order to make it easier to handle. Should it be separated from the interface pack, the keyboard may be coupled to the chip card reader which then no longer forms one unit with the interface pack.
The interface pack has its own electrical supply or is powered by the electrical supply of the television receiver.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4102493 (1978-07-01), Morero
patent: 4707592 (1987-11-01), Ware
patent: 4868846 (1989-09-01), Kemppi
patent: 5086457 (1992-02-01), Barraud et al.
patent: 5333181 (1994-07-01), Biggs
patent: 5408513 (1995-04-01), Busch, Jr. et al.
patent: 5461667 (1995-10-01), Remillard
patent: 5504808 (1996-04-01), Hamrick, Jr.
patent: 5515424 (1996-05-01), Kenney
patent: 5550897 (1996-08-01), Seiderman
patent: 5594493 (1997-01-01), Nemirofsky
patent: 5604341 (1997-02-01), Grossi et al.
patent: 0 595 354 A1 (1994-05-01), None
patent: 0 624 040 A2 (1994-11-01), None
patent: WO 91/06160 (1991-05-01), None
Mei Xu
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
SYSECA S.A.
LandOfFree
Interactive television reception console does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Interactive television reception console, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Interactive television reception console will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2573295