United States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`
`4,751,578
`
`Reiter et al.
`
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`Jun. 14, 1988
`
`ass/12
`...... ..
`4,233,309 9/1931 Yabe
`1-3:31:22 2:132: M £2511:
`-
`—
`“E
`
`
`
`---- -- 353/23
`4.412.244 I0/1933 Shank)’
`22:51:;
`2té3'§§i *1:::::: ;e.:;:::--
`.'.'.'.'.. 353/as
`4:456:92:
`6/1984 sirerioseiaif
`353/133
`4-,4'i"ir',330 I0/1984 Lindrnan CI 31.
`455/151
`4,495,554
`1/1935 Deiss
`ass/133
`.
`4,496,976
`1/1935 Swanson et iii.
`353/142
`4,547,804 I0/1935 Greenberg ..... ..
`4,566,034
`1/19315 Berger et al.
`....................... 455/151
`Pnmry Emm,m_,,_TOmmy P_ Chin
`- _
`-
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm David P. Gordon
`[571
`ABSTRAC1"
`The electronically controllable system of the invention
`for viewing on a television, updateable television pro-
`1
`1
`I
`c n
`a e
`r m e
`n r
`s
`m
`and is upldateabl: via telephoneyiiriit, ?na;:eticacai§seor
`floppy disks. or television or radio subcarrier, the mi-
`crocontroller including input/output interfaces. a mi-
`croprocessor and a RAM; a mixer for mixing a regu-
`larly received television signal with the signal generated
`-
`.
`-
`-
`by the mtcrocontrollerg an RF converter for receiving
`the radio frequency information from the mixer, mi-
`crocontroller, end television ainterinaeland properly
`converting the information into information which may
`be sent to the television; and a remote control system
`for permitting the viewer to direct the microcontroller
`to perform searches on information contained in the
`RAM so as to provide on the television screen in a
`chosen format, subsets of information desired by the
`viewer. The system preferably also includes a ROM for
`directing the microcontroller to access the infom-iation
`link should the RAM lose infonnation due to power
`.
`‘Nure-
`
`19 Claims. 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`[54]
`
`sysrr-:.M you ELEcr1zoNIc,1u,Lv
`comomtmm
`TELEVISION UPDATEABLE TELEVISION
`PROGRAMMING INFORMATION
`Inventors: Ell Reiter, Dix Hills; Michael H.
`z==-«ins» 1w=w= Fm
`s'"""'°"' L"‘d°"h“m’an °fN'Y'
`[T3] Agsignec; Dgvid P, Gordon, Stamford, Conn,
`
`[75]
`
`[21] A1=pl- N0-: 738.233
`.
`_
`M‘? 23' 1935
`[221 F'1°d'
`[51]
`Int. Cl.‘ ............................................. I-Ill4N 5/2155
` [52] US. CI.
`358/183' 358/22;
`358/142; 358/19445358/903
`[53] Field ofselrch ................... ..35s/1s3,194.1,1s9,
`353/19°» 35» 191-1: 131903: 141- 142: 145- 147»
`223 455/151» 131- 603
`Mm-=== Cm
`U-5' PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3,44o_42']r 4/1959 Kgnjmgr _
`3,493,614
`2/1970 Houghion .
`3.833.751’ 9/ i974 Kirk -
`353/22
`'II{'1}°1’P°
`,
`,
`imura .
`3,996,583 12/1976 Hut! .......................... 340/324 AD
`4.025.555
`5/I9".-"I Kirschner et al.
`_______ 358/903
`4,052,".-'19 10/19'.-'1' Hut:
`_'3m/324 AD
`__________ 353,35
`4_096_524 6,1973 Sm“
`__ 353/15
`4_134,12-;
`I/1979 Campiong
`__ 353/22
`4,139,350 2/1919 Mir,-ic ,,,,, ,,
`340/‘.-'50
`4,161,728 T/l9'I9 Insam
`358/133
`4.203.130
`5/1980 Douniit
`355/'47
`4395-343
`5/1930 33"?" r
`------ 353/22
`43131593
`3/1930 B1“ ---------
`340/695
`:’23l’°31 1°/193° C.‘°.“'th°'
`-"’3"“"'
`*’3’*‘” “"93” °‘°‘°’“
`353x133
`4,249,211
`2/1931 Babe eta].
`...... .. 353/3
`4,251,005 4/1931 Weintraub
`4,264,924 4/1931 Freeman ..
`353/as
`4,270,145
`5/1931 Farina
`353/188
`
`.
`
`
`
`wl
`
`5°
`
`fi'F1N
`
`CH. 2- B2 VHF} UHF
`OR CH. 2 -60 CABLE
`
`
`
`RF SECTION
`RFOUT
`
`SOUND
`
`CONVERTER
`
`FOR ill NGLE5
`
`
`
`VIDEO DATA fl
`FROGRNHI 1NFD
`
`
`
`5‘! STEM
`
`
`
`
`HO V. AC
`powgn
`
`SUPPLY
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`|PR2016-00755
`
`Page 1
`
`
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 14, 1988
`
`Sheet 1 of3
`
`4,751,578
`
`FIG.
`
`I.
`
`SUBCARRIER
`
`
`
`REMOTE
`CONTROL
`
`
`
`
`
`CIEIIZIEI
`
`EJEIEIU
`
`CIEIDEI
`
`CIUUD
`
`TV
`
`‘
`
`(SET TO G1-L3)
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`|PR2016-00755
`
`Page 2
`
`
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 2
`
`

`
`SU
`
`m
`
`.Im._m<oom-N.5momu=._D\u_I>mm.u._._o
`
`P”z_"E
`
`JSommzocommum
`
`
`1..mmEm>zoomozaom
`
`
`anmn._._oz__.mom
`
`m1
`
`3M2mhS
`
`37.5,15J,4
`
`
`
`O.n_Z_zqmoommw3389>
`
`um
`
`muse".
`
`>._nE:m
`
`0<.>O__
`
`04.>ONN
`
`mo
`
`K23um»
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`|PR2016-00755
`
`Page 3
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 3
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 14, 1933
`
`Sheet 3 of3
`
`4,751,578
`
`100
`
`SIGNAL TO
`RF SECTION
`
`CODE
`
`ACTIVATE
`
`
`
`COMPLETE
`DUMP
`
`NO
`
`T
`Sfiafifia
`SUBSET
`ONLY
`
`SEARCH
`
`_E'§_-.3;
`
`CODE
`
`I05
`
`CODE
`
`no
`
`cooe
`
`||5
`
`DATE OR DATES
`REQUESTED
`
`120
`
`PROMPT T0
`MIXER
`
`CODE
`
`OTHER
`
`DE
`
` !
`
`TV
`
`
`
`SU BS ET
`
`TIME FRAME.
`
`(3005
`(New
`
`SCREEN)
`
`coo:
`SCROLL)
`
`was
`
`:7
`0
`
`“EW
`INFORMATION
`NO
`
`
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`|PR2016-00755
`
`Page 4
`
`TOPIC cons
`
`TOPIC cone
`
`I40
`
`B -JINGLE
`
`
`wmoow
`FORMAT
`INFO
`
`
`DUMP
`OVERLAY
`FORMAT
`
`no
`
`To
`
`.55
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 4
`
`

`
`1
`
`4,751,578
`
`SYSTEM FOR ELECIRONICALLY
`CONTROLLABLY VIEWING ON A TELEVISION
`UPDATEABLE ‘TELEVISION PROGR.Al\ll.'MING
`INFORMATION
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`The present invention broadly relates to a system
`which may be attached to, or manufactured within a
`television set which permits the television owner who
`subscribes to a particular information service, upon
`demand, to view on the television screen desired televi-
`sion programming information and subsets thereof.
`More particularly, the present invention permits the
`subscriber to controllably view at his leisure the pro-
`vided updated information such that the information or
`desired subsets thereof may be viewed on the television
`either to the exclusion of the received TV signal, or as
`an overlay to the viewed TV program, or as a window
`on the screen.
`
`Numerous television accessories, special purpose TV
`systems, and methods of transmitting auxiliary informa-
`tion to a TV receiver are known in the art. For example,
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,090 to Pietro Belisomi et al., dis-
`closes a picture display device which uses a ROM to
`keep coded data corresponding to a television picture in
`memory. The coded data is perceived as containing
`advertising or television operating instructions which
`may be viewed upon demand and which may be super-
`imposed upon or viewed as an alternative to the re-
`ceived video signal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,809 to Yabe
`describes transmitting alphanumeric information during
`the blank field intervals of video signals. The added
`information is identified by an identification code and is
`stored in temporary memory means for display on the
`television. The patent further describes an index switch
`which permits the viewer to determine by an overlay on
`the screen, which alphanumeric programs are available.
`The index listing is contained on a RAM which may be
`updated by the blank field interval transmitted data.
`The Insam U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,723 discloses means
`for displaying "Teletext" and/or “Viewdata" informa-
`tion;
`the former being information sent during field
`blanking of video information, and the latter being in-
`formation sent from telephone. The patent describes
`means with a memory unit for storing information to be
`displayed, a display unit for synchronizing and produc-
`ing addresses to memory containing the information to
`be displayed, a decoder unit, a control unit which is
`accessible through remote control, and a microproces-
`sor which is responsive to programmed instruction. The
`Keiser U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,901 suggests the coding of
`the type of television programming which is available.
`The code information would be provided during the
`vertical blanking gap of the video signal and would be
`compared to the code contained in the receiver so that
`a video recorder could be turned on or off depending on
`how the viewer has programmed the same.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,719 to Hutt et al. describes the
`transmission of auxiliary information during the field
`blanking intervals of video signal transmission. On the
`receiving end, a television receiver system has a RAM
`for collecting and storing information, a selector. and a
`reading device. The stored information is fed to a char-
`acter generator repeatedly after the memory is filled.
`The viewer has the choice of viewing the video signal
`or the auxiliary information separately or together on
`the screen. U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,145 to Farina discusses
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`S0
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`the use of an alphanumeric character generating circuit
`with memory and processor for controllably superim-
`posing the time, channel, and other similar information
`on the video screen. The Doumit et al. U.S. Pat. No.
`4,203,130 describes the display of program schedule
`information and other data to cable subscribers. The
`infonnation is mixed into the transmission signal on the
`transmission end and is displayed on the entire televi-
`sion screen.
`
`While all of the above-summarized patents are useful
`in providing additional information to the viewer, none
`of the patents permits the viewer to controllably view at
`his leisure periodically updated information regarding
`television programming and subsets thereof as either an
`overlay or window on the display of the received televi-
`sion signals, or as a full screen display.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a
`system for electronically controllably viewing on a
`television. updateable television programming informa-
`tion and subsets thereof.
`'
`
`It is a further object of the invention to provide a
`system which permits a television viewer to obtain, at
`leisure and upon command, updated television pro-
`gramming information and subsets thereof as an overlay
`or window on the display of other television signals, or
`as a full screen display.
`It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a
`system for electronically controllably viewing on a
`television, updateable television programming informa-
`tion and subsets thereof, and other information and
`subsets thereof,
`the information being provided via
`telephone link downloading, magnetic cards or floppy
`disks, or through the use of television or radio subcarri-
`ers.
`
`In accord with the objects of the invention, the elec-
`tronically controllable system of the invention com-
`prises: an eight bit microcontroller which is partially
`controllable by remote control system and is updateable
`via telephone link, magnetic cards or floppy disks, or
`television or radio subcarrier, the microcontroller in-
`cluding input/output interfaces, a microprocessor and
`an updateable memory; a mixer for mixing a regularly
`received television signal with the signal generated by
`the microcontroller; an RF converter for receiving the
`radio frequency information from the mixer, rnicrocon-
`troller, and television antennae and properly converting
`the information into information which may be sent to
`the television; and a remote control system for permit-
`ting the viewer to direct the microcontroller to perform
`searches on information contained in the updateable
`memory so as to provide on the television screen in a
`chosen format, subsets of information desired by the
`viewer. The system preferably also includes a. ROM for
`directing the microcontroller to access the information
`link should the RAM lose information due to power
`failure.
`
`In operation, one embodiment of the system of the
`invention would perform as follows. At a given time on
`a given date, a subscribers electronically controllable
`system of the invention would dial the telephone num-
`ber of a central computer whose system would be
`hooked up to the system invention. A week's informa-
`tion, including television listings by code such that sub-
`set searches couid be accomplished, would be down-
`loaded from the central computer into the updateable
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`
`|PR2016-00755
` Page 5
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 5
`
`

`
`4,751,573
`
`3
`memory of the microcontroller which would overwrite
`the old information with the new information which
`would be stored therein. Additional information such as
`local railroad schedules, movie theater listings, etc.
`could also be included in the downloaded information.
`When the subscriber wished to watch television, he
`could watch undisturbed, as the RF signal, including
`any signal received via cable, would be plugged into the
`RF section of the invention system which would di-
`rectly output the signal onto the television. When the
`subscriber wished to see program listings, he would use
`a remote control device to access the microcontroller.
`By making commands by code, the viewer could de-
`mand to see a television schedule for certain dates and
`times. By making additional commands,
`the viewer
`could demand to see subsets of information such as the
`movies to be shown during the week or all the sports
`programs available on the Sunday of that week. The
`viewer could command that the information appear as
`an overlay on or as a window in the television picture
`being seen, or as a full screen display. The viewer could
`also command that the information be scrolled. All of
`the viewer's commands would be carried out by the
`microcontroller which would output the desired infor-
`mation to the mixer which in turn would feed the sig-
`nals to the RF section for output to the television.
`A better understanding of the invention, and addi-
`tional advantages and objects of the invention will be-
`come apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference
`to the detailed description and the accompanying draw-
`mgs.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`I.
`
`FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the external connec-
`tions of the system invention which permits the system
`to be updated and accessed;
`FIG. 2 is an electronic block diagram of the system
`invention; and
`FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the inner functionings of
`the microcontroller of the system invention.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`The external connections of the system invention are
`seen in FIG. 1. The system, generally denoted by 10, is
`self-contained in a box 15 which receives television
`signals at input 20 via antenna 22 and/'or cable 24. Box
`15 also has an input port 25 which comprises either
`means for receiving and reading magnetic cards or
`floppy disks or means for receiving a telephone link,
`such as a modem. Antenna 22 also functions as an input
`port for receiving television or radio subcarrier infor-
`mation, although if desired, port 25 can be configured to
`receive such information. Additionally, on the input
`end. box 15 includes receiver 30 for receiving com-
`mands of the viewer either by remote control via re-
`mote control box 32, or by wire connection. The com-
`mands of the viewer direct box 15 to tune the receiver
`to a particular rfchannel coming via antenna 22 or cable
`24 for output, and/or to process information received
`via input port 25 or antenna 22 (subcarrier information}
`for output. Upon receiving information from one or
`more of the three input sources, box 15 outputs informa-
`tion from output port 35 to the television «to. It should
`be appreciated that box 15 can be included within a
`television upon manufacture if desired.
`Turning to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of the preferred
`embodiment of the electronics of the system invention is
`
`4
`seen. Power switch 50 is used for turning the system on
`or off and may be driven by a standard electrical outlet.
`When the system is turned on, power supply 55 is used
`to provide the low voltages necessary to power the
`microcontroller 60. When the system is oil‘, television
`signals received, such as VHF/UHF channels 2—82, or
`cable channels 2-62, are sent directly through RF sec-
`tion 64 to the television 410 for viewing.
`Microcontroller 60 comprises an eight-bit micro-
`processor, input/output interfaces, and an updateable
`memory which is preferably a 32K random access mem-
`ory (RAM). Those skilled in the art will of course ap-
`preciate that each element ofmicrocontroller 60 may be
`separately provided, and that the microprocessor could
`be other than eight-bit, while the updateable memory
`could comprise a RAM, a hard disk, a floppy disk,
`bubble memory, tape, etc. and could be other than 32K
`in dimension. The microcontroller is designed to re-
`ceive instructions from infrared remote control unit 32
`via infrared receiver 30, control unit 32 being controlla-
`ble by the viewer. The system 10 may therefore func-
`tion simply as a remote control device which permits
`the viewer to change channels. In this mode. according
`to the command of control unit 32, the microcontroller
`60 instructs RF section 64 as to which channel is to be
`received from antenna 22 or cable 24 and sent to the
`television 40 for viewing on locally non-used channel 3
`or 4.
`As indicated in FIG. 2, the random access memory or
`updateable memory of microcontroller 60 is subject to
`updating via electronic media. The particular medium
`chosen could be radio or television subcarrier 6".-‘a (via
`antenna 22 and RF section 64 if desired), telephone link
`67!), magnetic cards or floppy disks 67c, or equivalents
`to any or all of the above. Regardless of the method of
`updating the RAM of micro-controller 60, the system 10
`must additionally include suitable hardware and.’or
`software for the updating task, such as a modem if tele-
`phone link 67!: is utilized.
`Using telephone linkage as an example. information
`regarding television scheduling,
`local movie listings,
`railroad schedules,
`local sporting events, theater lis-
`tings, etc., can all be provided on a central computer
`which may have self-dial capabilities. At a given time
`on a given day, the computer can sequentially dial the
`telephone numbers of all subscribers having the system
`invention herein described, or the electronically con-
`trollable system can dial the central computer. When
`contact is made between the central computer and box
`15 via the modem at input port 25, the computer can
`download all of the relevant information into the RAM
`of microcontroller 60,
`thereby providing “updated"
`information by overwriting any information contained
`in the RAM. This information may then be processed
`and accessed in accord with the remote control instruc-
`tions of the television viewer.
`in es-
`In order to receive information, the viewer,
`sence, must direct the microcontroller 60 through a
`series of steps. First, the viewer might access the system
`microcontroller by pressing the # button on his remote
`control box 32. The viewer might then request that the
`information that he is about to demand be output on the
`television screen in a particular format. Thus, different
`codes could be used for output formats such as a win-
`dow or overlay format, or a full screen display. Finally.
`the viewer would then request to see information con-
`tained in the RAM. For example,
`through a set of
`codes, the viewer might direct the microcontroller to
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`4-0
`
`45
`
`50
`
`S5
`
`60
`
`65
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`
`|PR2016-00755
` Page 6
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 6
`
`

`
`4,751,578
`
`5
`output the television programming schedule for the
`week. The microcontroller, as a result of the com-
`mands. would direct RF section 64 to send received
`video signals to mixer TI]. The microcontroller would
`also then access the RAM, and send the information to
`mixer 70 which is then receiving video data from an-
`temia 22 or cable 24 via RF section 64. The mixer 70,
`which is also powered by power supply 55, would take
`the information from microcontroller 60, convert it into
`a format which can be viewed in the same way is the
`video data received via RF section 64, and mix the two
`in accord with the output format directed by the ini-
`crocontroller. The mixed signal would then be sent via
`R.F section 64 to the television 40 for viewing by the
`viewer.
`If the viewer wished to view a subset of the informa-
`tion, e.g., the television program schedule for the day,
`the viewer, through a different set of code signals which
`might include the direct keying of the date on the hand-
`held remote control unit 32, could then direct the mi-
`crocontroller to output only a part of the information
`stored in the microcontroller RAM. Likewise, if the
`viewer wished to see a listing of the sports events being
`shown on television on a particular day, the viewer
`could direct the microcontroller to search through the
`information in the RAM and retrieve only the requested
`information. In order to accomplish such a task, the
`television programming information in the RAM must
`be coded, not only by time of day and date, but by
`subject matter, such as sports, movies, documentaries,
`sit-coins, news, game shows, soap operas, etc. This
`coding is accomplished, as those skilled in the art will
`readily appreciate, prior to the coded information being
`sent to microcontroller 60. If desired, a "scrolling" or
`"next. full screen" feature may be added to facilitate
`easier viewing.
`The invention envisions that additional information
`other than television scheduling information may be
`contained within the RAM of microcontroller 60. Thus,
`for example, local theater and movie theater showings
`and time schedules, as well as community events, rail-
`road time schedules, local sports events, etc. may be
`included and accessed. Likewise, specific critical re-
`views of movies or shows may be included _for reading
`by the viewer. Indeed, if desired, mass media advertis-
`ing could be accomplished according to the invention.
`An advertiser could arrange to have a message included
`in information down-loaded into the RAM of mi-
`crocontroller 60. The message might be accompanied
`by digital sound information which could be converted
`into analog signals in the RF section 64 and which
`would be perceived as electronic music. In this manner,
`a jingle or theme song might accompany the advertising
`message.
`In order to accomplish the quick display of the re-
`quested information, microcontroller 60 must be logi-
`cally arranged. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3,
`in order to
`activate the system of the invention, the proper code
`must be sent at 100 via remote control by the viewer. In
`response to activation, the microcontroller directs RF
`section 64 to send the received video information to
`mixer 70. The microcontroller 60 might also output a
`prompt message to mixer 70, so that the viewer is made
`aware of the status of the system, including, if desired,
`the contents of the RAM. The micro-controller would
`then await further instructions of the viewer.
`The next command of the viewer at 105 might indi-
`cate whether the viewer wished to see all of the infor-
`
`IO
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`S5
`
`65
`
`6
`mation contained in the RAM, eg. a complete dump of
`the RAM, or whether a subset of that information was
`desired. If a complete dump was requested.
`the mi-
`crocontroller would direct the viewer to choose a. for-
`mat of display, as is discussed hereinafter. If a subset
`search is requested, the viewer might be asked whether
`the subset is by subject matter only, or both date and
`subject matter. If the subset search is by both date and
`subject matter, the viewer must key in the date or dates
`requested at 115. At 120, the viewer indicates whether
`the subset of information desired to be seen relates to
`television scheduling or to other scheduling information
`contained in the RAM of microcontroller 60. If televi-
`sion scheduling is desired, the viewer is asked at 125 and
`130 to key in the time frame which is desired, e.g. #6 11,
`which would be 6-11 P.M., and the topic code desired.
`In this manner, the microcontroller would perform the
`function of a microprocessor in performing a search on
`the information contained in the RAM and determining,
`for example, a listing of all the television movies that are
`to start between 6 and 11 PM. on a particular date. Of
`course, if other scheduling is requested, a similar topical
`search can be accomplished’ at 135. If desired, according
`to the topic requested, advertising information may also
`be sent by the microcontrolier to jingle generator 140
`which might generate the jingle signals concurrently
`with the showing of the information, or directly there-
`after.
`After the viewer has directed the microcontroller to
`perform its subset search, the viewer is directed to de-
`termine the format output of the information found.
`Thus, at 145, the viewer is asked whether an entire
`screen format is desired. If not, at 150, the viewer is
`asked whether a window format is desired. If not, the
`viewer is supplied at 155 with a television overlay for-
`mat. In the latter two situations, the viewer may con-
`tinue to view the television program he is currently
`watching.
`When all of the subset criteria have been chosen,
`including dates,
`times,
`topics, fonnats, etc.
`the mi-
`crocontroller performs a search of the infonnation in
`the RAM. The determined information located by the
`microcontroller is then controllably sent to the mixer
`which, in accord with instructions from the microcon-
`troller, properly mixes the requested information with
`the rf video data being received from the antenna or
`cable. In addition, at 160 and 165, the mixer is told by
`the viewer, via instructions of the microcontroller,
`whether to scroll the desired information, or whether
`and when to display new full windows or screens of
`information. After the search has been accomplished
`and displayed,
`the viewer may then choose at 170
`whether to perform an additional search, or whether to
`exit the system.
`Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the con-
`tent and order of the program contained in microcon-
`troller 60 which is shown in flow diagram format by
`FIG. 3 may be changed without deviating from the
`scope of the invention, provided that subset searches
`may be controllably accomplished. Thus, for example,
`if information not relating to television is stored in the
`microcontroller RAM, that information may be broken
`down not only by topic, but by time. Moreover, the
`microcontroller could be arranged such that searches
`could be accomplished in both the television and non-
`television subsets, and that the output could be inte-
`grated such that,
`for example,
`television and local
`movie theater movies could be listed together by time
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`
`|PR2016-00755
` Page 7
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple v. PMC
`IPR2016-00755
`Page 7
`
`

`
`4,75l,5'l8
`
`8
`tions of all the elements could be made to suit vaious
`
`needs. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in
`the art that other changes and modifications may be
`made to the invention as described in the specification
`without departing from the spirit and scope of the in-
`vention as so claimed.
`We claim:
`1. A system for electronically controllably viewing
`updateable infonnation on a television having a screen
`comprising:
`(a) a microcontroller including input/output inter-
`faces, a microprocessor, and an updateable mem-
`ory comprising at least a RAM, said RAM of said
`microcontroller being updateable via an electronic
`medium and storing updated information including
`at least television programming information;
`(b) a mixer for mixing a regularly received television
`signal with the signal generated by the microcon-
`troller in accord with instructions of said mi-
`crocontroller;
`(c) an RF section for receiving instructions from said
`microcontroller and for receiving radio frequency
`information from the mixer and a television station
`and properly converting the information into video
`signals which may be sent to said television for
`viewing; and
`(d) a remote control system, said microcontroller
`being controllable by said remote control system,
`for permitting a viewer of said television to direct
`said microcontroller to perform a search on at least
`said updated television programming information
`contained in said RAM of said microcontroller, a
`subset of at least said updated television program-
`ming information being output to said mixer so as
`to provide on the television screen television pro-
`gramming information desired by the viewer in a
`desired format.
`2. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said electronic medium for updating said RAM com-
`prises telecommunications means including a cen-
`tral station computer and a modem.
`3. A system according to claim 2, further comprising:
`(e) a ROM for communicating with said central sta-
`tion computer after a power outage to said system
`for electronically controllably viewing updateahle
`information.
`4. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said electronic medium for updating said RAM com-
`prises an electromagnetic record.
`5. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said electronic medium for updating said RAM com-
`prises a radio frequency subcarrier.
`6. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said information contained in said updateable mem-
`ory includes further advertising information.
`7. A system according to claim 6, further comprising:
`(e) sound converting means, wherein said updateable
`memory stores digital sound information.
`8. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said desired format of said information desired by said
`viewer is as a window in the picture resulting from
`said regularly received television signal.
`9. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`said desired format of said information desired by said
`viewer is as an overlay on the picture resulting
`from said regularly received television signal.
`10. A system according to claim 1, wherein:
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`
`Apple v. PMC
`|PR2016-00755
`
`
`
` Page 8
`
`7
`for particular days. A plethora of other minor changes
`will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.
`Because the system invention relies on a RAM for the
`storage of information, the system must always be pow-
`ered. If a power outage occurs, the RAM will lose its
`information. To overcome this problem, in one embodi-
`ment of the invention, a ROM is included which is
`programmed to automatically dial a central computer
`and output a particular code upon being initially pow-
`ered. Thus, if the system invention were to lose power
`with the RAM of microcontroller 60 losing informa-
`tion, the ROM would call the central computer which
`would then update the RAM with all of the program-
`ming and scheduling information after receiving the
`code. The ROM could also take the form of a PROM or
`EPROM and be used to pertnit the owner of the televi-
`sion and system invention to control access to the tele-
`vision, or access to particular television channels. In
`order to control access, the RAM could instruct the
`viewer to input a personal code number which would
`be stored in the ROM and which would act as a pass-
`word for all future uses of the system and/'or television.
`Another embodiment of the system invention pro-
`vides for the availability of closed captioning for those
`who have difficulty hearing. As is well known in the
`art, captioning information may be sent via sub-carrier.
`as by during the blanking interval of the video signal of
`the television station. This information may then be sent
`through RF section 64 to mixer 70. The mixer would
`place the captioning in a corner box of the screen for-
`mat, and the so-mixed signal would be sent to the televi-
`sion via the RF section 64.
`There has been described and illustrated herein, sys-
`tems in accordance with the present invention for elec-
`tronically controllably viewing on a television, updates-
`ble programming information. While particular embodi-
`ments of the invention have been described, it is not
`intended that the invention be limited exactly thereto, as
`it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as
`the art will permit. Thus, those skilled in the art will
`recognize that while the invention was described as
`including an infrared remote control system with a
`standard remote control box, other remote control sys-
`tems could be used. Indeed, instead of the standard
`remote control box which typically has numbers and a
`few control symbols, an alphanumeric remote control
`box could be supplied. In this manner, the viewer could
`communicate with the microcontroller in English (or
`other spoken language), rather than by code words
`containing control symbols and numbers. Moreover,
`various prompt messages, including instructions, can be
`included in the ROM or RAM provided for by the
`invention, thereby permitting the system to be “user
`friendly". Likewise, while the invention was described
`mostly with regard to the use of a telephone linkage as
`the electronic updating medium, magnetic cards or
`fl0PP3' disks could be used in lieu thereof by sending
`them via the mails to subscribers, or selling them at
`grocery stores or news shops for insertion into a disk
`drive or port which would be part of the system.
`Additional changes to the system may be made by
`including one or more of the elements in a single piece
`of hardware, or by dividing a single element into many
`individual pieces. Thus, for example,
`the microcon-
`troller, mixer and RF section could be combined into a
`single hardware chip. Conversely, the microcontroller
`could be divided into a microprocessor, a RAM, and
`the various I/0 interfaces. Indeed, various combina-
`
`'
`
`PMC Exhibit 2065
`Apple