Patent · US Expired

Method for expanding interactive CATV displayable choices for a given channel capacity

US4573072A · kind A · utility

550Cited by
4References
31Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMar 21, 1984
Grant dateFeb 25, 1986
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 21, 2004

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N7/002
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention relates to an interactive communication system, such as an interactive cable television system (10), for providing an interactive information output over a common output channel from a plurality of remotely transmitted different information inputs (22, 24, 26, 28, 30) and, more particularly, relates to a method for expanding the interactive displayable choices for a given channel capacity whereby multiple users of a one-way television signal distribution network (60) may obtain an individualized program information content for a television programming sequence, with the quantity of available interactively selectable program information contents for the television programming sequence being greater than the quantity of available channels (300, 302, 304, 306) of contemporaneous message transmission. The improved method of the present invention comprises the step of transmitting a plurality of different spatially adjacent multichannel television message stacks (308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 322, 324) over a plurality of contemporaneous channels (300, 302, 304, 306) with each of the adjacent multichannel stacks comprising a simultaneously transmitted pluralit…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.