Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer data routing – Least weight routing
Reexamination Certificate
1996-02-20
2002-05-21
Courtenay, III, St. John (Department: 2151)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer data routing
Least weight routing
C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06393496
ABSTRACT:
AUTHORIZATION PURSUANT TO 37 CFR 1.71 (D)(E)
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document, including appendices, contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to networked client/server and multimedia systems, and particularly to a standardized interface for high level software which is independent of the operating system and network.
2. Background Art
Interactive television systems are being developed and tested by various telephone and cable companies. These systems will allow users to interact with large computer systems operated by the telephone and cable companies via their television sets. The potential for interactive television is great. Users of the systems will be able to access movies on demand, pay bills, bank, shop, place orders, make reservations, participate in interactive games and forums, access informational data bases and perform numerous other functions in addition to accessing the traditional television stations.
The interactive systems are designed to allow for two-way digital communication between the providing company, also known as the contact provider, and the user. In the systems under development by the telephone companies, the communication will be accomplished over existing telephone lines. However, as mentioned, the communication will be digital, not analog, which will allow for much higher data transfer rates which are required, for example, to access a movie. The use of the telephone lines for two-way multi-media interaction has been called video dial tone. In the case of the systems being developed by the cable companies, the existing cable line will be used. As with the telephone systems, the communication will be two-way and will be digital. Appropriately, the cable based interactive television systems have been referred to as digital two-way cable. In both the telephone and cable systems, the communication can be a combination of digital and analog signals.
The goal of the systems is to provide a user friendly interface at the user end. The systems require that the user have a computer/decoder similar to the need for having a cable decoder in traditional cable systems. These computer/decoders for the interactive television systems have become known as set top boxes referring to the fact that these boxes will be set on top of the television set, or at least in close proximity. Each set top box will include a remote control which will provide for the user interface and interaction between the user and the interactive television system. Other input devices can also be used to customize the manner in which selections are made. Thus, the user will access the services of interactive television, make decisions, enter choices, play games and the like using the remote control and other input devices.
For example, a user may decide that she wishes to watch a movie. Using the remote control, the user will select the movie category from an option menu. The user then makes appropriate selections from the menu driven choices, using the remote control, until she has selected the particular movie she wishes to watch. At this point the interactive television system accesses the information for this movie and prepares to begin downloading it, segment by segment, to the set top box. At the user end, the remote control now functions similarly to a remote control for a VCR. Thus the user can play, pause, rewind and fast forward. The set top box controls the two-way communication. It sends the commands from the user to the interactive television system as well as accepts the digitized movie information, encoded in MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) or MPEG 2 format, for example, and converts it into a format acceptable to the television such as NTSC, PAL, HDTV or SECAM.
In the case of users placing orders, and for illustrative purposes, the specific example of a user placing a food order, the user might select, utilizing the remote control, the restaurant selection from an options menu. In well developed systems, the user could then select the listing of restaurants by some sort of preference. For example, the user may select by type of cuisine, by restaurants offering carry-out or delivery, in order of proximity to the user, alphabetically within a certain radius of the user, and so on. If the user selects pizza restaurants offering delivery, the appropriate list will be displayed for the user. The user then selects the particular restaurant, type of pizza, payment method, preference for delivery time, maximum wait time and any other relevant information for which the system prompts. The system will then automatically place the order with the pizza restaurant.
The basic components of the interactive television system include the television, the set top box, the network and the servers. As described above, the set top box is connected to the television and the network and decodes the information received from the network as well as sending information to the network. Numerous servers are also connected to the network. These servers are accessed by the set top box in order to accomplish the interactive services discussed above. For example, the set top box may access one particular server via the network if the user desires to watch a movie and may access another server if the user wishes to place a dinner order.
The set top box is a digital computer device on which application programs are run. As a digital computer device, the set top box includes an operating system such as Microware System Corporation's OS-9, OS-9000 or DAVID Operating System which is essentially an operating system based either on OS-9 or OS-9000 with additional system modules necessary in an interactive television environment. Additionally, numerous other operating systems exist. Each operating system may operate under a unique protocol which is to say that each operating system may have its own unique set of system calls. Likewise, each network and each server may have its own protocol.
The interactive television system is a networked multimedia system, specifically, and a networked client/server, generally. The television is the client and accesses the servers via the network. Many other communication environments utilize the networked client/server arrangement. In many of these environments the client is an intelligent communication device which is capable of running application or high-level software.
In typical client/server systems and as with personal computers, the application program must be written dependent upon the particular operating system. Additionally, the application program must be written dependent upon the particular network and server. Therefore, application software developers must create different versions of their software for each combination of operating system, network and server. Because of the great number of operating system, network and server permutations, the application software developers are highly burdened as they seek to provide software for each possible system combination. As a practical matter, many platform combinations will be left without a compatible application program. This problem is not limited to the interactive television environment but also exists any virtually any networked, client/server environment.
Thus, generally, there is a need for an application interface in an intelligent communication device which allows for application software developers to develop application programs in a manner independent of the operating system and of the network and, specifically, a need for an application interface for use in an interactive television environment.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to networked client/server and multimedia systems, and particularly to a standardized i
Miller Eric B.
Schwaderer Curtis A.
Thompson Brent A.
Courtenay III St. John
Davis Brown Law Firm
Herink Kent A.
Rosenberg Daniel A.
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