Patent · US Expired

Countdown system for conditional access module

US5590202A · kind A · utility

88Cited by
9References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 18, 1995
Grant dateDec 31, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 18, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N21/658
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A digital conditional access module for a subscriber terminal comprises a decryption device including at least one PID register and an associated countdown register. The decryption device is enabled for decrypting received product packets having a PID matching a PID stored in the PID register so long as the associated countdown register is characterized by a non-zero value. Decryption of a product packet results in the countdown register being decremented by a selected factor, the countdown register being prevented from assuming a zero value by setting its contents to a selected value in response to a received conditional access packet containing a PID matching the PID stored in the PID register. The selected value to which the countdown register is set may also be contained within the received conditional access packet.

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