FILE HISTORY
`
`US 6,018,768
`
`PATENT:
`
`6,018,768
`
`INVENTORS: Ullman, Craig
`
`Hidary. Jack D.
`
`Spivack. Nova T.
`
`TITLE:
`
`Enhanced video programming system and
`method for incorporating and displaying
`retrieved integrated internet information
`segments
`
`APFL'CAT'ON US1998109945A
`NO.
`
`FILED:
`
`06 JUL 1990
`
`ISSUED:
`
`25 JAN 2000
`
`COMPILED:
`
`12 FEB 2013
`
`NTFX-1DO2 I Page 1 of 323
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`NTFX-1DO2 I' Page 2 of 323
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`6,018,768
`
`ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`INCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING RETRIEVED INTEGRATED INTERNET
`INFORMATION SEGMENTS
`
`TmndenHkmw
`Transaction Description
`Date
`Initial Exam Team nn
`7f10f1998
`IFW Scan 81 PACR Auto Security Review
`1121,11998
`7i2?!1993 Notice Mailed—Application Incomplete—-Filing Date Assigned
`
`9,125,11998 Application Is Now Complete
`9}28{1993 Application Dispatched from DIPE
`l 1l2f1998 Case Dockcted to Examiner in GAU
`1/6{1999 Non-Final Rejection
`1119:1999 Mail Non-Final Rejection
`4/9,! 1 9 99 Terminal Disclaimer Filed
`4l9f1999 Response after Non—Final Action
`Information Disclosure Statement {IDS} Filed
`4/9,! 1 9 99
`
`4r'9f1999 Information Disclosure Statement {IDS} Filed
`4,-‘20f1999 Terminal Disclaimer Approved in TC
`afzozlsss Date Forwarded to Examiner
`4f23f1999 Mail Notice ofAllowance
`4f23}1999 Notice of Allowance Data Verification Completed
`
`}’,-’20f1999
`Issue Fee Payment Verified
`7izoI1999 Workflow — Drawings Finished
`
`Yl20f1999 Workflow — Drawings Matched with File at Contractor
`7720,11999 Workflow — Drawings Received at Contractor
`
`1120,11999 Workflow — Drawings Sent to Contractor
`8/5/1999 Terminal Disclaimer Filed
`8f6f1999 Petition Entered
`8/6{1999 Examiner Interview Summary Record {PTDL - 413)
`SIIDHSSB Mail—Petition Decision - Granted
`8f26{1999 Mail Miscellaneous Communication to Applicant
`SIZEHSSB Miscellaneous Communication to Applicant - No Action Count
`8f26{1999 Terminal Disclaimer Approved in TC
`tiiil'orkflszmi.r — File Sent to Contractor
`9,:‘21f1999
`12,129,:‘1999 Workflow — Complete WF Records for Drawings
`
`
`Issue Notification Mailed
`1113f2000
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`
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`1{‘4}2 000 Application Is Considered ReadyI for Issue
`
`
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`NTFX-1DO2 i' Page 3 of 323
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`1/252'2000 Recordation of Patent Grant Mailed
`File Marked Found
`4/8f2003
`File Marked Lost
`41‘82‘2 003
`10115,:‘2003 Correspondence Add ress Change
`SlzflGDd Correspondence Add ress Change
`5,-‘18f2004 Correspondence Add ress Change
`lilQ/‘ZCICIE Correspondence Add ress Change
`1124,1200? Correspondence Add ress Change
`1I'24f200? Change in Power ofAttorney {May Include Associate POAJ
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`1,125,12008 Change in Power ofAttorney {May Include Associate POA] l}25{2008 Correspondence Add ress Change
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`NTFX-1DO2 I Page 4 of 323
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 5 of 328
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`NTFX-1002 / Page 8 of 328
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`

`United States Patent
`Ullman ct al.
`
`1191
`
`[I I] Patent Number:
`[45] Dale of Patent:
`
`6,018,768
`*Jan. 25, 2000
`
`USOOISDI 3T6SA
`
`[54] ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`[NCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING
`RETRIEVED INTEGRATED INTERNET
`INFORMATION SEGMENTS
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors: Craig Ullmnn. Brooklyn; Jack D.
`Hider}; Nova T. szlvudn. bum of New
`York, all of N.Y.
`
`[1'3] Assignee: ACT“ IIIL, New anlt, NY.
`[' 1 anicc:
`This pulenl is suhied lo a Ierminal dB-
`claimer.
`
`[55]
`
`[21] Appl.No.:09!109,9«15
`[22]
`Filed:
`Juldi, 1998
`Related Us. Application Data
`{63] ConlimntiDn-ln-parl of a
`licntion No. 083515,“; Mar.
`[4. [996. l‘nl. No. S,7'I'&,.IS , which is : mntimnlion—in-pqn
`of Ipplicaliorl No. [353,144. Hal. 3. I995. abandoned.
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`Inl. CI.’
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`[51}
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`LLS. CI.
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`[53] Flnlfl at Seurch
`., 7090217. 218.
`34m. 3. 10. 12,13,
`
`709:-1
`461. 554. 9015-, 4553.1, 5.1. 6.1
`References Cited
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5:109] Pucock (:1 nl.
`.-.
`.
`33992 Gnlumhcck el al.
`Wdfifi
`34mm
`9.0995 :5qu
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`. 3435'?
`“[996 Logslon e a .
`6.0996 Lappinyoneia.
`34mm
`’?.'l996 Majelietul.
`.
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`7.'1996 Harps: at al.
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`[Lisl conlinucd on ncxl page.)
`FOREIGN PMEN'I‘ DOCUMENTS
`151491502
`21199? European Pal. Ofi‘, .
`W0 MEN!
`1"1996 WIPO .
`W0 W13121
`$1996 WIPO .
`W0 9321546
`73199? WIFO .
`
`5,014,I25
`5,140,419
`5,453,794
`5,431,542
`5,526,005
`5,534,913
`S,53’i‘.l4l
`
`I993 hy Whrldync Corn-
`
`DTI IER PUIII .ICA'I‘IONS
`"Web TV (we: Digilal Cublc":Au1lmr-D:Ilu Cripn-s; May 4.
`1998; htlphi'wcb—smr.an’hdtvnuwmfiucIslvm'mligilalcahlc-
`.hlml: pp.
`l-«l.
`"lulcmel TV Mvuniaiug”; Aullim-I'Jalu Cripps; Maly R,
`1998,- hl[p:ffiwh—star.cflmflllllVlwwsfimcmulwadwrlising-
`.hlml; pp. 1—3.
`“Gales, TV, Inleraclivily"; Aulhur-Dulu Crippa; May 5,
`1998; pp. 1-4; I11tp:fMHlar.comfhthvnuwygalcswintcr-
`aclivilymml.
`“ICW” Brochure [:1 rapmtluuud copy provided}; Cltpyn'ghl
`1938 by ICTV; 2? Hugo».
`"'I'V Navigalnr" brochure; cclpyrighl 199? by Nutwnrk
`Computer.
`InL‘J. 6 pages.
`"“hrldgate" brochure; copyrighl
`municatinm: 12 pagrs
`"Microsofl Web TV" bro-chum; cupyriglil 15198 by Wch'W
`Nclwmks, Inns.
`l6 pngca
`Priumry Emmli'uer—Vifl I). W
`Arr-army. 21mm. or I-‘p'rnr—Ihrscy 8t Whilncy I.I_I‘
`[571
`AIIS'I'RAC'I‘
`Asyslem I'or inlcgraling video pmgramming wilh Ihu 0.151
`
`infulrnalion resources ul'
`lhu Inlcmcl. A mmpu
`IIJEISL'tl
`syslcm motives a vnloo pmgram wilh emlmtkled unifcum
`rcsoulcc]ma10r5[URLs).'l‘hc URI». lln: uchcIiw mklrcnsca
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`NTFX-1DO2 I Page 9 of 323
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan. 25, 2000
`
`Sheet 1 of 7
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`6,018,768
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 11 of 328
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`US. Patent
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`Jan. 25,2000
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`Sheet 2 0|"!
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`6,018,768
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 12 of 323
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`US. Patent
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`Jan. 25, 2000
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`Sheet 4 ul’ 7
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`6,018,768
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 14 of 328
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 15 of 328
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`US. Patent
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`Jan. 25, 2000
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`
`_,.
`II
`
`192
`
`133
`
`Fig. 9
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 17 of 323
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`6,018,768
`
`1
`ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`INCORPORATING AND DISPlA‘i'ING
`RE’I‘RIEVED INTEGRATED INTERNET
`INFORMATION SEGMEN'I‘S
`
`2
`appears on a VHS or I'lcts lap-e. CD-IlOM. DVD or other
`medium. or video programming at
`:I video survei-
`(hereinafter "video programming") with the massive
`
`Internet. creating a new and powerful educational and enter-
`
`
`tainment rhodium.
`Il1c system allow ‘ttttstttttcn: to reel.
`'t:
`
`more information ill a more ellicicttt
`ct
`than either
`television or the Internet alone. Consumers not only can .‘ilZI:
`a news report on television. but they can also reutt pertinent
`information about
`the report. as well as explore related
`inIormallt’Jn ahoul
`II1¢ army. The program hummus the
`introduction to a particular subject. rather than lht: ontiru
`subject itself. The act of viewing at program has now hemntu
`a more engaging. enriching experience.
`The system can also create a more intintatu relationship
`between the vietver and the program. The user might be
`solving problems or performing virtual experiments on the
`Internet site that a teacher is :liscuming in an educational
`television program. Similarly. the consumer might hu MPIVA
`ing problems that
`the fictional characters in a
`tclc 'sit-n
`
`program must solve. in both cases, the consumer is it"
`‘IIVI:
`participant in the process. rather than a passive observer.
`Instead of an undirected and unfocused exploration ttl'
`Internet silt-s, by try-Itching specilit: Inlurnet page» to the
`video 'gnal. the system pills the Internet
`in context. The
`television program producers now can (It. do what addi—
`tional information to char their audience.
`I‘l1is matcrtal can
`
`
`now be '
`‘
`in the cnnlcxl of lhc It.
`tiittn program.
`An additional advantage is that consumers don’t have to
`
`search through the literally hundreds til it
`lions ul‘ pages on
`the Internet to Iirtd appropriate material. 'I he material has
`alte ady been filtered by the program producers and delivered
`to the consumer automatically.
`it changes the
`Another advantage of the system is that
`nature of advertising. Since additional
`inl'nrmutinn can In:
`given to consumers automatically. advertising can now lit:
`more substantive. allowing customers to make. more
`informed choices. Now. the act of purchasing il product sun
`on television can be streatnlinetln-the consumer can be
`given the choice of buying the product instantly using the
`two-way capabilities of the system.
`In addition. usas can take advantage til' the new a)!
`
`capab'
`' ies of the Internet to respond to polls. to send e-mait
`or lol
`It to additional sites. For example. a viewer watching
`a
`televtsion news program.
`through the system of tile
`invention. can receive a stream or Welt page.» which provide
`additional, specific information relating to the news
`content—whether background on the Presidential printt rws
`or the latest change in interest rates.
`The video programming and corresponding Internet pages
`can be viewed on personal cotuputcm equipped with a
`Ie]evision card,
`liut
`the open software-based approach
`
`enables anyone with a television
`I and JAVA enables PC
`to experience the system of the invention.
`By marrying the appeal oI video with the Evin-way data
`transfer capabilities ol' the Internet,
`Iltt: system creates a
`powerful new medium: Vidcn producers and Internet site
`creators can enhance their contunt
`to extend their brand
`identity and differentiate their program dilutings In the
`millions of people who are spending more Itrt
`igating
`
`'t than
`through the resources of the World Wide Web
`watching television; advertisers can speak more directly to
`Comumers by directly sending Welt pages to the cotusutncr
`instead of only displaying Web addresses itt their mmmcrv
`ciaIs; and Consumers can gain .‘I new level of interest and
`
`intora
`vity over a video-Intact! medium.
`In addition tr.
`providing significant and immediatu In: nurits Ili broadcasters
`
`This application is a continuation-impart of US. appli-
`cation Ser. No. $615,143. tiled Mar. H. 1996. entitled
`"ENHANCED VIDEO PROGRAMMING SYSTEM AND
`METHOD FOR INCORPORATING AND DISPLAYING
`RETRIEVED INFEGRA'I'ED INTERNET lNFORMAv "
`'I'ION SEGMENT‘S."now US. Pat. No. 5,778,131, which is
`a continuation-impart of U.S. application Ser. No. 084'613.
`141-1. filed Mar. 3. 1996. entitled “INTEGRATED INTER-
`ACTIVE VIDEO AND INTERNET SYSTEM”, now
`abandoned, and is related to US. application Ser. No.
`WGZZAM filed Mar. 25, 1996, now US. Pat. No. 5.774.
`664. which is herein incorporated by reference.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Today. the capabilities of computers to provide massive
`arrtounts of educational and entertainment infon'rtalion has
`exploded with the Internet. The Internet has the power to
`transform society through unprecedented levels of informa—
`liLIll flow between tttetnbers. Otrrctttly,on-littt: systems ofl'cr
`a variety ofdifi‘erent services to users, including news feeds.
`electronic databases {either acarcltable by the user directly
`on the onvline system. or downtoadable to the user’s own
`computer), private message services, electronic newsletters.
`real time games [or play by several users at the same time,
`and job placement services, to name a few. However. today.
`most on-line communications occur merely throuyt text.
`This currently stands in great contrast to the audicMsual
`pitsentation of the alternative electronic medium, television.
`However.
`it
`is expected Ilia! as multi-niedia’s incessant
`growth continues, audior’visual programs will proliferate and
`text will become less and less dominant
`in the art-line
`environment. Even though these programs will be
`introduced.
`the Internet. will remain essentially user
`unfriendly due to its very mansivenens, organization, and
`randomness Simply stated. there is no order or direction in
`the Internet. Specific pieces of information are many times
`hard to IindI and harder yet. is the ability to put that piece of
`information into a meaningtttl context.
`Television. art the other hand, has been criticich [or being
`a passive medium—"chewing gum for the eyes." as Fred
`Allen one: observed. Television has always been something
`you watched. not something you do. Many social critics
`believe that the passivity television depends on has seeped
`into our entire culture. turning a nation of citizens into a
`nation ofvicwers. While interactive television systems have
`increased the level of user interaction. and thus, provided
`greater learning and cnlerlaiJll't'Icnl opportunities, vast infor-
`mation resources such as databases are inaccessible from
`such a medium.
`What is needed is a means to close the gap between video
`programming and the information superhighway of the
`Internet What
`is needed is a wider.
`richer experience
`integrating audiotvt'sual and textual database elements into
`an organized unique lnteractiva. educational, entertainment
`experience. Currently, the Internet is a repository of infor-
`mation on virtually any subject. However. what is needed is
`a mechanism for combining the uservl'ricndly visual expe-
`rience of television with the vast information resources of
`the Internet.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENIION
`The system of the present invention combines broadcast
`television programming andror video programming which
`
`15
`
`12’
`
`25
`
`30
`
`.15
`
`ad
`
`I15
`
`St]
`
`on
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`65
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`
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`NTFX-1002 I Page 18 of 323
`
`

`

`
`
`3
`and advertisers, the system will also present educational
`programmers with a way to more elfeetively use Internet
`resources in the classroom.
`Recently, several media companies have joined to create
`a system for linking the Internet and lelrwisiort on the
`personal computer. called “Intereast.” In this system, content
`will he provided sirhullaneousl}r with the TV video signal.
`This system, however, requires that stripped down Web
`pages he sent in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the
`video signal, using up to three scan lines limiting effective
`bandwidth to approximately 333 kbps. This approach.
`however. requires specialized hardware to both insert the
`“eh pages into the VB] and extract these codes at each PC
`since it lattes up to three scan lines of the VBI. 'I‘hrts. the
`Complexity and cost ofthe PC is increased. Because the Wet:
`pages are transmitted with the video signal, the lntereast
`system is not a Into "two-way" system, but merely a
`one-way “piggyback" system. In addition. the Inlercast is an
`analog video product, and thus. cannot handle digital video
`data.
`The system of the present invention, on the other hand. is
`a much more flexible. but less complex, system. The present
`invention supports either analog or digital television broad-
`casts without broadcasters or end-users having to alter their
`existing systems. thus enabling broadcasters to reach a wide
`audience within a short time.
`In a first embodiment. the actual Mb pages are not liorL'Ed
`into the very limited bandwidth of the vertical blanking
`interval {VBI}. Instead. merely eight fields of line 21 of the
`VB] are used to deliver the relevant Internet Web page
`addresses to the PC. "these addresses are called “unilrin-n
`mum: locators” (URLs). The system then directs Ihe
`particular Web browser to retrieve the identified Web pages
`from the Internet. Upon receipt of the particular Web page
`(5). the system syncs the Web pagcls) to the video signal. and
`at
`the appropriate times, presents the Web pages on one
`portion of the computer screen with the television video
`signal, shown in a window on another portion of the screen.
`and rims, provides the synergisrie Internet and television
`experience. One of the advantages oi the system of the
`present
`invention is that no specialized chip set need be
`produced and implemented into the standard PC. Thus,
`complexity is kept to a mintmum.
`In another prel‘rarred embodiment ofthe present invention.
`the VBI '5 not used to transmit the URLs to the user. In this
`alternative embodiment, member broadcasters enter the
`Internet lhmugh a member account. and will be provided
`with a graphical user intertaoe for pro-scheduling Internet
`atklrcsses. or URLs. [or transmission to users at particular
`times of day. This interface could also be used to transmit
`real time live transmissions of URLs to users at the same
`time as a broadcast. The URLs are stored in a "Link File" for
`lrttcr transmission over the Internet to the user at the broad-
`casters entered time, which corresponds to the broadcast
`lime or an associated program. The timing of U'IlL's could
`be determined in advance or can be sent out
`live. This
`embodiment eliminates the need to place the URLs in the
`V31. and also allows the broadcaster to store more than one
`Linlt File for transmission to users in different time zones,
`for example. Further, more than one broadcaster could
`access the same master schedule it‘desired. and add or delete
`certain URls to personalize the program for their local
`audiences. also. personalization can be taken to the single
`user. or small group 0! users, by having the system send a
`different stream of URLs to each user, depending on a
`unique user profile, for example. ThuS, the personalization
`feature of the present invention allows each user to receive
`
`ID
`
`IS
`
`35
`
`40
`
`.15
`
`$5
`
`6,018,768
`
`4
`irtlcrusts,
`to thei.r
`information uniquely rcluvrtnl
`domrvgraphirs. history. etc. This embodiment makes the
`transmission of URLs to the user even less complex than the
`first embodiment disclosed herein.
`
`1 to provide
`Thus, it is an object of the present
`inver t'
`order and directtorr to the Internet by u ing luluvtsitin signals
`
`to place.urient and control such inl‘or
`on in in meaningful
`context.
`It is an object ol' the present
`invention to create :i more
`intimate relationship between the viewer and the program by
`enriching the learning experience through the. provision at
`more in-dcplh infom‘ralinn.
`DESCRI i‘TlClN GI2 'l‘l-IE DRAW] NUS
`is a diagram of the system design. showingI the
`I
`FIG.
`receipt and decoding of video signals at
`tho sulrncrihur
`location using the method or the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an trllerttnlrvt: system
`embodiment to achieve the integration or the Internet inl'ur-
`mation with the video content by decoding lItl; uniI'orr-n
`resource Iocaturs at a server sire and than transmitting the
`URLs to the subscriber stations via the Internet.
`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram ol the basic software design til
`the present invention.
`FIG.
`II is a diagram showing another prel'crred systcrir
`embodiment to achieve the direct transmission ul' Ulllfitvver
`the lntcmct
`to the user at
`a broadcaster‘s onlurerl
`time
`without encotling the Ultls into tllr: Vlll.
`FIG. 5 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment
`including a digital cable box.
`FIG. 6 is a diagram of another preferred embodiment
`including a digital 'I'.V.
`FIGS. 1" and 8 are a sampledispltr).I pt'nvidcrl to n student
`ola lesion.
`is a diagram of the distributed Com Server
`FIG.
`ll
`embodiment.
`
`PR "EJ’. REI) EM HODIMEN'I‘
`
`The system of the present invention combines. the rich
`visual capabilities 0! video with the vast resources ol' the
`Internet. As shown in FIG. I, a prel'crrotl crirlanrlimcnl (ll the
`invention is rt computer lilihtill system [or receiving it video
`program along with embedded urril'rrrm resource Iocrrlors
`(URLsFWIIiCh direct the user's Computer
`I6 to address.
`locations, or Web sites, on the lrttunet 20 in retriever
`atetl
`Welt pages. These Web pages correspond to the video
`presentation. The partierrlrrr video programming can he
`delivered in analog. digital or digitally commented form-its
`(8.3.. MPEGE] via any Iransmis-zinn means.
`including
`satellite. cable. wire.
`television turntdcrixt or sent via llrt:
`Wbb.
`:t can-
`The video programming is prcl‘errrhtt- crctitcrl rtl
`Irrtlitted location, in, content creation it as shown in FIG. I.
`
`for distribution to subscribers in their lion
`‘. for example.
`Program creation is arxomplishurl according to any mnvcn-
`tionrtl moans known in the art. Alter at Video pmgrnni
`Is
`created. uniform msouror: INalulfi arr: embedded, in one
`preferred embodiment, into the vertical blank interval 01' the
`video programming by the URL encoder ll, shown in FIG.
`1. In this embodiment, the URLs an: encoded nnlo eight
`fields of line 1]. of the URI. Line 21 its the line rismciulrul
`with close captioning. among other things. However. the
`URLs coulrl also be embedded in other lickls til‘ the V131. in
`the horizontal portion of the video. as part ol' the uutllu
`
`NTFX-1002 l Page 19 of 323
`
`

`

`6,018,768
`
`5
`channel. in uny subcarricr to the video, or if digital, in one
`of the data fieldsi
`Although FIG. I shows the video with URLs over the
`same transmission line, lhc URLs can be sent down inde—
`pendently of the video program on a data channel. In this
`embt'xliment. the URLs can be forwarded to the re mote sites
`either prior to initiation or during the program. Preferably.
`the. URLs have associated time stamps which indicate to the
`subscriber stations when. during the video program.
`to
`display the particular Web pages addressed by the URLs.
`Allernativuly. the user can select when to call the particular
`Web pages for display with the video program,
`The particular infmnation in line 2|
`is not part ol‘ the
`visual part of the program. and thus, is not perceptible to the
`human eye, thereby making it ideal to send data information
`to the users While the bandwidth capacity of line 2|
`is
`limited. because the system of the present invention tranc-
`mits only the uniform resourm locators (URLs). and not full
`Web pages.
`there is more than enough capacity.
`Furthermore, no additional hardware is necessary at the PC
`1610 implement the elements of the present invention. lhus.
`the present invention has the additional advantages of being
`very etl'icient and takes advantageofconvcntional hardware.
`Ono: the video program is created, it can be transmitted
`to user sites over any transmission means,
`including
`broadcast, cable, satellite, or lntemet, and may reside on
`video mrversi Furthermore.
`the video program. with or
`without embedded URLs, can be encoded on a VHS or Beta
`tape. DVD or other rnediuuti
`Prctcrahty. each receiver station comprise: any Intel x86
`machine [preferably a 436 processor. pentium prnceeaor,
`etc). an Apple Computer. UNIX or any other type ol’
`standard computer workstation. The local PC 16 is prefer—
`ably connected to either a cable andtor broadcast television
`connection or to a local VCR or other video source. At each
`subscriber site. the local personal computer 16 preferably
`receives the cable transmLK-tion by cable connection on the
`back of the pcnonal computer 16 The videntaudin program
`can then be processed for display on the computer screen
`using any conventional PC and capable ofrlisplaying NT‘SC
`signals on a computer monitor. such as a WinTV card. In
`addition to the cablc connection. however. in the present
`invention there IS also an Internet 20 connection created
`concurrently with the cable connection
`The Internet 2|] connection canbc via high-speed line, RF,
`conventional modem or by way of two-way cable carrying
`the video programming. The local PC 16 has Internet access
`via any of the current ASCII software mechanisms. In a
`preferred embodiman at each subscriber home. an Manci-
`alcd local URL decoder 12 receives the cable video televi-
`sion program. as shown in FIG. 13“»: local URL decoder
`12 extracts the URLs, preferably embedded in the vertical
`blanking interval, with the use of any conventional VBI
`dccudcr device. The URL decoder 12 may be either it
`standalone unit or a card which is implemented into the
`personal computer 16.
`In another preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2. the
`uniform recource theaters (URU) are encoded into the video
`in the same manner asdcscribed above Again. [ht URLs are
`preferably encoded onto eight fields of line 21 of the VBI,
`but may also be sent independently of the video. In this
`embodiment, the URL decoder 24 is located at the server
`site, as opposed to the whscriber location. When tbc decoder
`24 receives the video program signal. it strips out the URL
`codes on line 21 of the VB] and delivers these codes
`independently to an Internet sewer 2K The URLcode isthcn
`
`6
`l’(‘
`subsequently delivered over the Internet 20 til the use:
`16. Simultaneously. the video lea hrtttIUCJlb' nvercuttvuntnmzil
`broadcast or cable transmiKt-itin merit-n 36 In the User’s
`personal computer I6.
`the system. shown itt
`Another preferred embodiment til
`FIG. 4, docs not depend on, III even use, the \"lil
`Itt thit
`preferred embodiment. the system will run an Dttiinc service
`over the Internet 20. This service will In: in the Itlllll of ttll
`Internet Welt site 62 that provides it user-interwar;
`to :t
`
`database 78 and to one or mun: rt
`’IRICIl tlttla \L‘tk’clh 9".
`The service will provide member-accounts to IV Itrrtlttluusb
`Hrs 66 who Sign up to use the system of tln. invention in
`conjunction with th 'irbrottdcasts Each member Itrttiltluinltll‘
`will enter the service til
`their computer 70 through “uh
`browser software 74 using their member account by Unlu’lttg
`various itlcntilicntiott and password information. Once
`within their account,
`the member will be provided with a
`graphical user interface for preacheduling Ullls Inr trans‘
`mission In uwm [IR over a direct Internet connection 94 tli
`particular times of day.
`[be same user
`interface,
`in a
`variation on it. can be used by Itrnatk‘nslcra for live transev
`mission 82 ml URLs to users at the harm: time an .t ltrtratlcahl
`an
`For example, one example rtt’ this interface might be a
`scheduling calendar (daily. weekly. monthly. yearly)
`in
`which the broadcaster 66 may allocate time periods Willtlh
`coincide with their i"fli‘tiCit\lS 86. and during which they
`
`Wt” senrl out URLs to their use
`ltt link to Web pages. l'nt
`each time period (for example. it particular lnntr Limp, [Kt ttti
`during the thy) determiner] by the limatlcantcr to to be a
`broadcast period (it period during which they want
`to
`transmit URLs that correspond to :t televtsiun slimy lining
`broadcast from Ii'wiI'TV hmatlcion l'nuility lltl to the cxiyl”
`nal TV IN til the user 118 at that time). the broadcaster 66
`may then utter a series ral' URL-a into on rum-intuit
`tilt:
`(“Link File"; for truruzmisdun river the Internet 30 at that
`time. ”this Link File ought have 2 user intert'ztec such we n
`spreadsheet.
`table, or list, or
`it could be simply a tub-
`delimlted or paragraph-delimited tutu-tile, A: an example.
`each of the rccnrclx in the Link liilu conmt» iii a data
`structure which cnuld contain tntnrnmtnin such .is'
`((Iintecntlt:>,<Ul{Lb.<lnbel or
`liIIU>t<ill|LliliUI|ill
`int'nrtrtatinn>_<at|rlitionnl inIitrnttttinn>, ,
`,
`t
`'I‘lit: rccunLc
`The above data structure iajux't uni; extintpa;
`in lht.‘ Link We preferably apccdytlte tttnc. ltttcrnct atltlr \n
`(i.e. URL). label (web at. an mandated name), and n