Patent · US Expired

Communications network

US5509073A · kind A · utility

126Cited by
3References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 26, 1993
Grant dateApr 16, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 26, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N21/6334
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A communications network between a central station which broadcasts coded information and at least one receiver suitable for receiving and decoding these broadcasts, in which, in order to control the number of users, permission for users to access the network is determined by a limited number of special receivers respectively assigned to such users and also by the need to authenticate each user before granting access to the program by his receiver. In order to facilitate identification of the user and authentication of his access rights to a particular program, the receiver allows remote authentication, and also local authentication with a memory card in which information related to certain access rights is stored.

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