Patent · US Expired

Interactive television triggers having connected content/disconnected content attribute

US6668378B2 · kind B2 · utility

93Cited by

10References

27Claims

0Family size

Assignee

WebTV Networks, Inc. · US

Inventors

Bruce A. Leak · Palo Alto, US
Daniel J. Zigmond · Menlo Park, US
Dean J. Blackketter · San Francisco, US

Key dates

Filing date	Jun 30, 1999
Grant date	Dec 23, 2003
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jun 30, 2019

Classification

Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
CPC primaryH04N21/8586
WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Interactive television content can be classified as either disconnected content or as connected content. An interactive television system involves some receivers that cannot establish connections to the Internet and therefore cannot properly process triggers to connected content. The system also involves other receiver units that can establish connections to the Internet and can process triggers to connected content. A trigger in accordance with the invention involves a “connected content/disconnected content” attribute that identifies the trigger as either a trigger to disconnected content or a trigger to connected content. Receiver units that cannot process triggers to connected content can therefore use the attribute to identify triggers to such connected content and can then ignore such triggers, while those receiver units that can process triggers to connect content can use those triggers to make the desired Internet connection.

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