Interactive television receiver unit browser that waits to send requests
US6330719A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 11, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/329
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In interactive television, a broadcaster may broadcast triggers to a great many receiver units prompting the receiver units to attempt to send requests to a single destination on the Internet at roughly the same time. Such a large number of simultaneous requests can give rise to throughput problems and server overload. A receiver unit in accordance with the invention, rather than immediately attempting to send a request, waits a period of time (for example, a random period) before sending the request so as not to overload the server. In one embodiment, a trigger is received on an interactive television receiver unit prompting the viewer to select an icon. If the viewer selects the icon, then a browser in the receiver unit retrieves a web page on the Internet identified by a URL in the trigger. The web page includes an indication of a destination, scheduling information, and a form area. The viewer enters user information in association with the form area. The browser captures that user information, incorporates it into a request, and then stores the request in a queue along with the scheduling information. The browser periodically checks the scheduling information in the queue and …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.