The invention relates to interactive television systems capable of two-way communication with networked computer systems operating as information service providers, in particular Internet service providers.
The Internet may be viewed as a large group of networked computer systems, each of which has a distinct alphanumeric address. A user terminal which seeks to receive data from one of the networked computer systems will send a command to the desired Internet address through the network to that system requesting that a particular set of data be sent to the terminal. The user terminals are connected to the network through the established telephone system in the user's community. An Internet address may be limited to the identity of the particular networked computer system, or may include additional information which directs the networked computer system to send a particular set of Internet data. The additional information may include a subdirectory, a file name, or both, which instructs the networked computer system which portion of data is desired by the requesting terminal. The system will thereafter send the requested data through the network to the terminal. Further exchanges of data may or may not take place between the terminal and the networked computer system, depending upon the desires of the terminal user.
The World Wide Web (WWW/Internet) is an Internet network designed for popular use. Apparatus sold under the trademark “WebTV,” provided by Philips-Magnavox and Sony, allow television viewers to access the World Wide Web through their televisions.
It is therefore desirable to enhance television viewing and Internet browsing by providing a more intimate interface between the viewer's television and the Internet access apparatus so that both television viewing and Internet browsing may be performed simultaneously, and preferably interactively such that the Internet data relates to the television program being viewed.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an interactive entertainment network system is provided which includes a number of user interface units in individual homes, each having a tuner, a display device and a modem or other data interface device for communicating with a data service provider. A television signal provider supplies a plurality of television signals to the tuner of each user interface unit, wherein at least one of the television signals has embedded data including a particular data address site. Information representing the particular data address site is displayed simultaneously with the television program on the display device, e.g., either as a graphical icon or text. A data service provider in two-way connection with the modem of each user interface site retrieves and transmits data corresponding to a data address site requested by an individual user interface unit for display on the display device of that user.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a display controller for coupling to a display device and to a data retrieval terminal in two-way communication with a data service provider is provided. The display controller includes a tuner for receiving a television signal containing a television program and at least one embedded data unit including a data address site, means for extracting the at least one embedded data unit from the television signal, a memory for storing the at least one data unit, and a video display generator. The display controller also includes a microcontroller coupled to the tuner and the extracting means and the memory for storing the at least one data unit in the memory, controlling the video display generator to display the data site address on the display device simultaneously with the television program, selectively retrieving the data site address from the memory in response to a user request, controlling the data retrieval terminal to request data corresponding to the user selected data address site from the data service provider, and controlling the video display generator to format and display the requested data received from the data service provider on the display device.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for enhancing viewing of a television program with interactive information retrieval. The method includes the steps of, at a television signal provider, embedding at least one data unit comprising a data site address into a television signal containing a television program. Then, at a user site, receiving the television signal, extracting the data unit from the television signal, displaying information representative of the data address site simultaneously with the television program on a display device, and then storing the data address site in a memory. Once the user selects the information representative of the data address site, a connection is established with a data service provider having access to data corresponding to the selected data address site, the data corresponding to the data address site is requested and transmitted from the data service provider to the user site. The retrieved data is then formatted and displayed on the display device at the user site. Preferably, several data address sites are stored in the memory simultaneously and, at the user's request, displayed in a menu from which the user can select a particular address site.
The attached figures demonstrate alternative embodiments of a system designed in accordance with the present invention in which
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, television programs are linked to data and/or graphics at Internet sites to expand the on screen information available to a television viewer.
With reference to
Internet data, including Internet site addresses, is stored in Internet data memory 36. Internet data memory 36 is connected to a microprocessor 24 that is programmed to control the operation of the described equipment (Internet data memory 36 could be part of the RAM of microprocessor 24). An operating program for microprocessor 24 is stored in a read only memory (ROM) 26. A viewer input device 28, preferably in the form of a remote IR controller, is coupled to microprocessor 24 to provide commands from the viewer. A video processor 30 is coupled to microprocessor 24. When the viewer wishes to see Internet site addresses, microprocessor 24 recalls a portion of the Internet data from memory 36 and couples it to video processor 30, where the Internet site addresses are formatted for display. Preferably, the information stored in video processor 30 is a bit map of what is displayed on the screen of television receiver 20. Video processor 30 is connected to the other input of PIP chip 19. Preferably, viewer input device 28 controls microprocessor 24 by cursor movement on the screen of television receiver 20. To this end, microprocessor 24 and video processor 30 are coupled to a cursor position register 32. (Alternatively, the viewer can select items of information displayed on the screen by keying into viewer input device 28 code numbers assigned to these items.) Microprocessor 24 is also coupled to tuner 11 for channel change, to VCR 17 for play/record selection and start/stop, to switch 18 for selection of one of its inputs, and to PIP chip 19 for selection of the mode of PIP operation.
According to one embodiment, an Internet service provider (ISP) 33 is connected to microprocessor 24 by a transmission link 34 such as a telephone network or a television cable. An interface device such as a telephone or cable modem 38, or digital interface device (not shown) for a fiber optic connection, couples transmission link 34 to microprocessor 24 if necessary. ISP 33 is connected to an Internet backbone in well known fashion to access data at any site on the World Wide Web, or preferably the Internet generally.
To enable a television viewer to access data about a television program that the viewer is watching, Internet data is embedded in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the television signal carrying the program. According to one embodiment, the Internet data includes the names and Internet addresses of a plurality of Internet sites. When the television signal carrying the program being watched is captured by tuner 11, the Internet data embedded in its VBI is stripped out by a VBI decoder 35 coupled to microprocessor 24. Microprocessor 24 then stores the data in Internet data memory 36. The memory addresses of the Internet names are linked to the Internet addresses in memory 36.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the Internet site information is placed in a picture-in-picture (“PIP”) window on the television screen such that the Internet site information may be viewed simultaneously with the television program. Conversely, the television signal may be placed in a PIP window on the television screen as shown in
As shown in
After an Internet site name is selected, the viewer presses INFO button 54 on controller 50. As a result, the Internet site address to which the selected Internet site name is linked is retrieved from memory 36 by microprocessor 24 and sent through the telephone or cable interface to ISP 33. Once the microprocessor 24 has been directed to initiate data acquisition, it will instruct the modem 25 to connect to an Internet service provider (ISP). After establishing a connection to the ISP, the microprocessors 24 initiates a data request from the Internet site address which was received along with the graphical icon transmitted in the data unit. The microprocessor 24 thereafter receives the requested Internet data, and stores it in RAM. The requested Internet data may include graphics, text, or a combination of both. After receiving the Internet data, the microprocessor may or may not terminate the modem connection to the ISP, depending upon the design of the embodiment, or the configuration options set by the viewer. (If desired, this function of microprocessor 24 could be carried out by commercial equipment sold under the trademark “WebTV,” provided by Philips/Magnavox and Sony.)
The information at the addressed Internet site is downloaded from ISP 33 over transmission link 34 to microprocessor 24 and then displayed on the screen simultaneously with the television program to which the information relates, as illustrated in
Only an initial portion of the Internet data is displayed, as the amount of Internet data received will likely exceed the amount conveniently displayable at one time. The viewer may “scroll” through the remainder of the Internet data or “page,” at his or her discretion, in one embodiment by utilizing arrow keys on a remote control. The user interface of the page viewing may be accomplished in a conventional manner, e.g., in the manner of a typical PC-based web browser, or the user interface associated with WebTV, provided by Philips-Magnavox, or Sony.
If desired, the display of
In a typical Internet “web page,” there are “links” to other Internet addresses, which provide alternative or complementary data to that found in the originally displayed web page. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a user may select one of these links with a remote control, utilizing arrow keys 58, and/or on-screen cursor 48. For example, in
In order to accommodate the simultaneous viewing of both the Internet site Internet information and the television signal, particularized display formats may be used. In a further embodiment, the information for the Internet site is formatted to fit around the PIP window in which the television program is displayed, as shown in
When displaying two video signals simultaneously using the PIP format, typically one video signal occupies the majority of the viewing screen, while the second video signal is displayed in or near to one corner of the television screen and typically occupies one quarter of the screen or less. With this type of display format, the second video signal obscures a not insubstantial portion of the first video signal. This can result in an inefficient and undesirable display of information to the viewer when PIP is used in connection with the present invention.
Hence one aspect of the present invention includes a microprocessor adapted to format the HTML file received over the Internet in such a manner as to accommodate the television program signal in one portion of the television screen. In this manner, the television program signal may be viewed simultaneously with the Internet HTML information, without obscuring any of the Internet HTML information by the television program signal. For example, if it is desired to place the television program signal in a PIP window in the top right hand corner of the television screen, the HTML file should be reformatted by the WebTV terminal (or other Internet display device associated with the system) to display information only in the remainder of the screen, such that it will not be obscured by the overlaid television program signal. In this instance, the HTML file would be reformatted into the “L” shaped display 69 of
It should be noted that the user interface of this embodiment is designed so the television remote controller 50 can also be used to navigate the website, in addition to operating the television and guide functions.
According to another embodiment of the invention, shown in
The Internet access terminal 74 includes a microprocessor 78, a Random Access Memory 80 (RAM), a modem 82, a user input device such as a remote control 50 or a keyboard 86, and a video signal generator 88. In typical operation, the microprocessor 78 of the Internet access terminal 74 will receive user input regarding particular data to be received over the Internet; utilizing the modem 82, the microprocessor will receive the desired data (typically a “web page” consisting of formatted text and/or graphic images) and output a video signal suitable for displaying the desired data on the screen of an attached television monitor.
Television 70 has a tuner 89 and RAM 90 coupled to Internet access terminal 74. The Internet access terminal 74 sends a video signal to the television set. The microprocessor 76 is provided with an infrared transmitter 92 to send commands to the Internet access terminal 74. Additionally, keyboard 86 or remote controller 50 is configured to send infrared commands to either the Internet access terminal 74 via IR receiver 101 or to the television 70 via IR receiver 93.
The Internet access terminal 74 is coupled via a standard telephone line to ISP 33, which functions in the displayed embodiment as an ISP. The server is configured to send and receive data over the World Wide Web (WWW/Internet) to and from computer systems networked thereto.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention corresponding to the system shown in
A television signal incorporating the above mentioned data unit is sent by a television station 96, and is carried by a cable provider. In alternative embodiments, the television signal may be sent by conventional broadcast, or by satellite. When the television signal is carried by cable, the user's home is typically equipped with a cable decoder 98, which extracts the tuned video signal, which is the television signal combined with the data unit in the VBI. The cable decoder 98 is capable of being controlled by the microprocessor by infrared transmitter (not shown in the drawings). The video signal is thereafter delivered to a VCR 100, which also is capable of being controlled by the microprocessor by infrared transmitter (not shown in the drawings). Both the video signal and the data in the VBI of the video signal are delivered to the television 70. VBI decoder 72 for separating the data in the VBI from the video signal, and for delivering that data to the microprocessor.
Data units may be transmitted in the VBI of all channels serving a particular broadcast region, or they may be included by program creators (producers, advertisers, etc) in the VBI of the videotape provided to a broadcaster. In this manner, when the program is replayed for broadcast by a broadcaster, the data unit containing the Internet site address and other information is present in the broadcast and may be received by any apparatus viewing the program.
The information at the Internet site corresponding to the transmitted Internet site address is preferably related to the content of the program currently being telecast in the television signal, which contains the data unit transmitted in the VBI. Preferably, a descriptive title for the Internet site address that will enable the viewer to distinguish the Internet site from other Internet sites is also included in the data unit. When the data unit transmitted in the VBI is received at a television receiver with the program, it is stored in a temporary buffer portion 102 of the RAM 90. Preferably, the storage capacity of the temporary buffer is one data unit, so that each new data unit overwrites and replaces the previously received data unit. Alternatively, each successively received data unit is placed on the top of a stack in RAM, so that previously received data units will still be accessible to the microprocessor if desired by the viewer.
The extracted data includes data representative of an onscreen graphical icon and an Internet site address, as referred to above in reference to
The viewer is thereby alerted to the presence of additional information concerning the displayed television program. At the viewer's initiation, the microprocessor may begin the process of acquiring the desired additional information over the Internet. The viewer initiates the process of data acquisition by pressing SELECT button 58 on remote controller 50 (see
The graphical icon 95 is overlaid on the screen as soon as it is received and is thus displayed simultaneously with the program. If the viewer wishes to receive more information about the displayed program, e.g., more details about a commercial, additional details concerning a news story, or statistics about a sporting event, the viewer presses a STORE button 55 on remote controller 50 (see
Alternatively, the viewer may press a button 54 on the remote control, designated by “INFO,” or some other informative designation, to access a menu of options. One option is to store the Internet site address and associated descriptive title. Another option may be to immediately access the Internet and obtain the additional information. Other options consistent with the disclosure of the present invention may be present on the menu presented to the viewer.
According to yet another embodiment corresponding to the system shown in
When the viewer wishes to establish a connection to the Internet site of one of the stored addresses, the viewer presses a MENU button 57 to display the Internet site titles, and optionally the corresponding Internet site addresses, stored in the directory. The viewer selects the desired title with on screen cursor 108 and then presses a SELECT button 58. As a result, the microprocessor transfers the corresponding Internet site address to the Internet access terminal 74, the Internet site is connected to the Internet access terminal 74 and information from the Internet site is displayed on the screen instead of the television program.
In yet another embodiment corresponding to the system shown in
In a further embodiment, rather than receiving the desired additional information over the Internet, a dedicated computer system 128 could be utilized. In a system of this nature, the dedicated system would serve as a clearinghouse or dedicated database for the storage of the related information. When a broadcaster desired to provide additional information, it transfers the additional information and a unique identifying code to the centralized database utilizing conventional techniques. Additionally, the information may be transmitted to the centralized database on a television or cable signal. Finally, the additional information may be supplied to the user in the form of a CD-ROM or other large scale portable memory device. Thereafter, when a user desired additional information, the microprocessor would initiate a connection to the dedicated system to receive and display the additional information in the manner described above. Such a dedicated system could be integrated with the Internet so that some information could be supplied to the user by Internet and some information could be supplied by the dedicated system. The dedicated system could be the user's own personal computer system so that the data site addresses received over the VBI correspond to data previously stored, by one of the above-described methods, in the user's personal computer, e.g., in a CD-ROM or transferred by modem.
In another embodiment of the present invention, Internet data at an Internet site may also be linked to particular television programs to expand the information available to an Internet browser. Specifically, Internet text or graphics at an Internet site is marked with an icon or designated as hypertext to represent that a related television program is scheduled for telecast. If desired, different icons could be used to distinguish between currently telecast programs and programs to be telecast in the future. The icons are linked to data at the Internet site representing channel, day, time, and length (i.e., CDTL) or the related television programs. This aspect of the invention is particularly convenient for a television aficionado who is reading Television Guide-like articles on line to click on hypertext in the article to set up a television program for viewing or recording. If the Internet user wishes to watch or record a television program, the user clicks on the icon with a mouse, e.g., one click to watch and two clicks to record, and the CDTL data is transmitted by the Internet connection to the WebTV terminal at the user's location. The WebTV terminal couples the CDTL data to the microprocessor. If the CDTL data identifies a currently telecast program, the microprocessor operates the television receiver or the VCR, depending upon whether one click or two clicks were entered, and sets the appropriate tuner to the designated channel. If the CDTL data identifies a future program, the microprocessor stores the CDTL data in the recording/play stack for use in recording or play at the designated time.
The embodiment depicted in
The data unit transmitted to a particular user to inform him or her that he has received electronic mail may also include the subject or sender of the mail message. In this manner, the viewer may view the subject or sender of the mail message on the television screen without connecting to an ISP to receive the entire mail message. The viewer may therefore “screen” his or her E-mail, and connect only when the mail message is of interest or importance to him or her. Data units indicating the presence of electronic mail, or other uniquely addressed data units may be transmitted on all channels of a particular broadcast region, or may be provided on a single channel to which the tuner tunes when the television is not in use. When not in use, the microprocessor may therefore monitor the VBI of this single channel and obtain any directly addressed data units. Alternatively, an apparatus may be equipped with two tuners, one of which is constantly tuned to the channel containing the VBI data and one of which is used to tune to television signals for display.
As shown in
Another potential on-screen icon is an icon representative of an Internet website address link 134. As described above in detail, the user may select this icon to obtain an Internet site address for locating and viewing additional information concerning a particular news show, sports event, or advertiser.
A third potential on-screen icon is an icon representative of a VCRPlus+ link 136 which may be provided, for example, in connection with an advertisement for another television program. When a user presses the appropriate keys on his or her remote control, the microprocessor stores the CDTL of that program, which is transmitted in the data unit, and records or displays the program at its time of airing.
A fourth potential on-screen icon is an icon representative of a Buy Link 138 which may be provided to send an order to the provider of goods or services via the incorporated modem 77, or via the WebTV terminal 74. The microprocessor will be guided by the data in the data unit as to the address or other location to send the viewer's order.
As an alternative to the standard set of icons, which represent the type of option available to the user, the data unit may include a particular descriptive icon which will be displayed on the screen. For example, the transmitted icon could consist of a digitized version of a manufacturer's logo.
If the particular embodiment is adapted for displaying standardized icons as set forth in
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor 24 incorporated into the television is equipped with an infrared transmitter suitable for transferring data to a portable device 1.40, as shown in
Once the Internet site address and/or descriptive title have been stored in the portable device, the user may thereafter transfer the stored Internet site address to a personal computer 142 suitable for connection to the Internet. The portable device 140 is therefore equipped with a transmitting apparatus, possibly infrared, radio frequency, or direct wire link for sending the digital data representative of the Internet site address to the personal computer. Once received by the personal computer via an interface 144, the user may connect to the Internet and obtain the additional information over the Internet.
The portable device may take the form of a portable computer, such as a Pilot or Newton, or may take the form of a portable Internet terminal, which itself is operable to connect to the Internet through an ISP, possibly by wireless two-way communications such as a cellular telephone connection. Alternatively, the portable computer could be removed from the system and the microprocessor 24 could be linked in direct communication with the user's personal computer 142, e.g., by IR emission of information and command signals to PC interface 144.
The described embodiments of the invention are only considered to be preferred and illustrative of the inventive concept; the scope of the invention is not to be restricted to such embodiment. Various and numerous other arrangements may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/269,235, filed Mar. 22, 1999, which claims priority of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US97/18664, filed Oct. 16, 1997 which, in turn is based on Provisional U.S. Patent Application Nos. 60/028,138, filed Oct. 16, 1996; 60/032,571, filed Dec. 4, 1996; 60/032,136, filed Dec. 9, 1996; 60/035,236, filed Jan. 1, 1997; 60/035,029, filed Jan. 8, 1997; 60/040,763, filed Mar. 14, 1997, the subject matter of each of these applications is fully incorporated herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60028138 | Oct 1996 | US | |
60032571 | Dec 1996 | US | |
60032136 | Dec 1996 | US | |
60035236 | Jan 1997 | US | |
60035029 | Jan 1997 | US | |
60040763 | Mar 1997 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12820381 | Jun 2010 | US |
Child | 13431325 | US | |
Parent | 12551509 | Aug 2009 | US |
Child | 12820381 | US | |
Parent | 10718187 | Nov 2003 | US |
Child | 12551509 | US | |
Parent | 09269235 | Sep 1999 | US |
Child | 10718187 | US |