JPH09307871A - Device and method to couple transfer of data through high band width and low band width route - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide flexible connection of 2-way low frequency band width channels and connection of simplex high frequency band width channels in data communication utilizing a cable TV. SOLUTION: At first wrapper program of a PC 74 of the user is connected to a slave process 803N being one of director demons of a service provider through a TCP socket through a low band width channel using a telephone line to receive the service by an http task process 605. When the user clicks a button 725 fir high speed connection request on a menu in the case of down- loading an image with a large capacity, a lapper sends a link selection message to the director slave. When the director slave receives permission of revision and revises entry of a routing table, data of a succeeding http task process are sent to the PC74N through a high frequency band route. In the case of returning the connection to a low speed connection, a similar request is made. In place of the routing table, two ports for high and low frequency bands for the TCP may be prepared.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the use of high bandwidth channels available on existing cable televisions utilized by personal computer users. The invention relates more particularly to the control of the devices and methods disclosed in the parent application of the device.

[0002]

[Reference to Related Applications] This application is related to US Patent Application No. 08/2.
No. 21336 "Reception of high speed downstream data on cable television system by customer premises equipment and transmission of low speed upstream signal on independent channel" and "User's television connected to cable television system" US patent application Ser.
US patent application Ser. No. 08/2, associated with US Pat.
It is a continuation of 21348 "Devices and Methods for Integrating Downstream Data Transfers over Cable Television Channels with Upstream Data Carried on Other Media." All three related patent applications are dated March 3, 1994.
Filed on the 1st.

This application contains all the detailed description and drawings of its parent application. The new description begins in the section entitled "Using Bidirectional Low Speed Communication Channels" and the new diagram begins in FIG.

[0004]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Parental application apparatus and methods provide low bandwidth for communicating communications carried over high bandwidth downlink cable television channels with users over other media, such as the public switched telephone network. Provides an intelligent split channel bridging unit that integrates and controls bidirectional information.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of the present patent application is to
By providing a system for controlling the use of bidirectional low bandwidth channels and unidirectional high bandwidth channels,
To further improve the utility of the parent application device and method.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to a parent that allows the supply of information from a source to a user to be switched between a bidirectional low bandwidth channel and a unidirectional high bandwidth channel. Achieved by the system included in the device of the application. In one embodiment, the switching is responsive to input from a user of the premises equipment, and in another embodiment responsive to input from a source.

The system maintains a bi-directional low bandwidth channel and switches to a high bandwidth channel in response to a command by a director included in control processor 48 and a user of personal computer 74 to select a low bandwidth channel. And a wrapper included in personal computer 74 that responds to the selection by sending a channel change message to the director via the low bandwidth channel so that the high bandwidth channel can be selected. In another aspect of the invention, the director is available through the low bandwidth channel even when the high bandwidth channel is used and the wrapper provides a GUI to make the selection. The presence of the director and the choice of bandwidth by the user make the process very flexible.

[0008]

1 shows a communication network according to the invention in which a plurality of extended service providers (ESPs) 10A-10N are connected to a telecommunication network 14 by means of corresponding high-speed communication channels 12. Channel 1
2 includes T1, T3, SMDS, SONET, ATM channels. The telecommunication network 14 includes a normal high speed digital communication network capable of handling packet communication.
The high-speed communication channel 16 includes the extended service providers 10A to 10N supported by the communication network 14 and the split channel bridging unit (SCB).
U) provides communication between 18 In the illustrated example, the extended service provider aggregates multiple database information providers into a group so that a user can access any database in the group through a channel connected to a gateway. It may also include an independent database provider or gateway service provider.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a user or subscriber utilizes a customer premises equipment 20 to request a request for information from a service provider to which the user subscribes via a communication channel 22 to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
24 to a split channel bridging unit 18 via a corresponding communication channel 26.
Requests are made through the split channel signaling unit
The request is sent to the corresponding extended service provider to which the request was directed.

The signal from the user to the ESP and SCBU is called an upward signal. User from ESP or SCB
The signal from U to the user, as well as the signal passing through the PSTN, is also called a down signal. Downward traffic is
It is expected to include slow authentication, login information that requires a point-to-point connection on the PSTN.

In response to the information service request, the information service provider sends a plurality of information packets destined for the requested user to the communication channel 12, the telecommunication network 14, and the split channel bridging unit 18. Transfer through 16. The split channel bridging unit receives the digital information contained in the packet and transfers it over the communication channel 28 to the cable television distribution head ends 30A to 30N utilized by the corresponding subscriber. , Convert to a wideband signal on a high frequency carrier. Other sources and cables
The television program is provided to the cable distribution head end by the cable source 32 on the communication channel 34. The head end unit multiplexes the received signals into a cable television bandwidth signal containing 6 megahertz channels, which signal is then associated with each head end distributor by the corresponding cable television system. Broadcast to subscribers of cable television. Therefore, many users have access to one 6 MHz channel.

The customer premises equipment 20 is an ordinary TV
Receive a multiplexed cable television signal on cable 36. The customer premises equipment splits the cable television signal and sends a portion of it to the set top box 62 so that the subscriber is connected to the set top box 62 using the set top box 62. You can select the appropriate channel to watch television 66. The home controller 70, which receives the other part of the split signal, demodulates the high frequency channel carrying the information generated by the extended service and transmits the data destined for a particular user to the user's personal computer 74. This completes the loop in which information is provided to the user in response to the transmitted information request. Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the user is provided with a relatively slow data channel that carries the request to the extended service provider, while the cable television distribution system available to the corresponding user allows comparison from the service provider. Are supplied with extremely high speed channels.

The split channel bridging unit 18 is provided in the telecommunication network 1 through the high speed channel 16.
4 to communicate with, for example, Digital Link C
A channel service unit 38 manufactured by corporation is used. The high speed communication channel 40 includes a channel service unit, for example, a Cisco Cor.
connection to the router 42 manufactured by Poration. The router sends the information packet transmitted by the extended service provider to one of the modulators 46A-46N via the corresponding communication channel 44A-44N. Which modulator a packet of information is transmitted to depends on which cable television head end unit the subscriber to whom the packet of information is destined for. Thus, the router separates the packets for distribution to modulators based on a particular group of users utilizing the cable television headend. Control processor 48 is preferably connected by a two-way communication network 50, such as an ETHERNET ^™ network, which utilizes a router 52 and a hub 52 connected to a plurality of modems 54A-54N. Processor 48 is a split channel
Each user (subscriber) who uses the bridging unit
It includes a database containing records relating to the information required by the router 42 to ensure that the router can send the data to the appropriate destination cable television headend unit. Modems 54A to 54N
Includes a dial-call modem capable of duplexing at speeds of 30 kilobits per second or less over the public telephone network. These modems provide a connection for a dialing link established by the user, which is initiated at the beginning of the communication session to make the request of the service provider.
During the communication session, each modem has a customer premises equipment 20
And a duplex communication link between the extended service providers 10A-10N. The modem converts the incoming analog signal into a digital format carried by the ETHERNET network 50. The control processor 48 manages the communications on the ETHERNET network 50 and controls the transmission of data received by the modem to the router 42, which routes the signal to the channel.
It is incorporated into a packet transmitted by the service unit 38 to the destination extended service provider. Control channel 56 couples control processor 48 to routers, modulators 46A-46N. Therefore, the control processor 4
8 are provided with communication links carrying control information and signals to these devices, status information received.
This allows the control processor to initialize routers and modulators, update configuration and routing tables, monitor status, and collect measurement information.

The customer premises equipment 20 comprises a cable television distribution head end unit 30N,
Ordinary cable that carries the high frequency modulation channel that is transmitted
Use the cable 36 of the TV. This cable 36
Is a high frequency signal splitter 5 that splits a portion of the signal into a cable 60 connected to a set top box 62.
It ends at 8. The set top box provides normal cable television demodulation functionality under the control of the user, carried by cable 60, and then cable 64.
To provide a single television channel for transmission to television 66. The high frequency signal splitter 58 also provides a received signal on a communication channel 68 to the home controller 70. Home controller 70 demodulates the high frequency channel through which information is transmitted from the extended service provider. The home controller further includes a packet controller that converts packets destined for a particular customer premises facility, or a particular user, into a communication channel 72 connected to the user's personal computer 74.
Provides bridging / routing functions. This allows the personal computer to be
Receive information destined for the user transmitted on the system so that the information is transmitted from the extended service provider to the end user at a much faster rate compared to the rate of information transmitted by the modem 76 from the user. To do. As used herein, "modem" means a bidirectional interface between a computer and a communication channel. It utilizes analog or digital signals, depending on the communication channel. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the user's modem can be physically integrated into the home controller. Personal computer 74 provides control information and commands to home controller 70 over communication link 80. This command
High frequency channel demodulated by controller, home controller 70 and personal computer 7
4. Determine the communication parameters that affect the data transmission between the four.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of control processor 48 which includes a portion of split channel bridging unit 18 shown in FIG. The control processor includes a read only memory (ROM) 92, a random access memory (RAM) 94, a non-volatile storage 96 consisting of a database, a conventional keyboard 98 and a microprocessor 90 supported by a monitor 100. RS-2
A 32 I / O interface 102 is connected to the microprocessor 90 to control the microprocessor and control channel 5.
6 to provide communication. An ETHERNET input / output interface 104 is connected to the microprocessor and provides communication between the microprocessor and the ETHERNET channel 50.

The RS-232 link 56 provides the basic initialization interface to the router and is also used to initialize the modulator and collect periodic status information from the modulator. ETHERNET link 50 provides a higher bandwidth interface between the processor and the router. This interface is used to update the router's routing table, get status information, and collect measurements. Also, ETHE
The RNET interface is also used to carry the user's messages to the processor during session start (login) and session end (logoff). The database 96 contains system configuration data, equipment information, network addresses, session records, subscriber information, ESP information, authentication keys, routing information. Router 42 from processor 48 to ETHERNE
Get its routing table through the T interface. It is the processor's responsibility to download the routing table to the router and maintain it through periodic audits. Router 42 has its own local database used solely by the router during power up. This local database is audited by the processor to maintain data integrity and consistency throughout the system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the home controller 70 shown in FIG. The cable 68 connected to the cable demodulator 110 carries all channels symbolized by the cable television distribution head end 30N. The cable demodulator is adjustable and carries the information generated by the service provider. The purpose of the demodulator is to demodulate the information carried by the high frequency signal and
The digital format intended for the receiver 112. The packet receiver 112 receives packets of information transmitted from the extended service provider and monitors packets destined for a particular customer premises facility (user) utilizing the home controller. home·
Packets destined for a user utilizing the controller are directed by the packet receiver 112 to the ETHERNET transceiver 114 which provides communication input / output functionality with the personal computer 74 on the communication channel 72. The packet receiver does not transmit packets not addressed to the user to the ETHERNET transceiver 114. Such packets are discarded because they are not addressed to a particular user. The information is preferably kept highly secret using encryption / decryption algorithms. The control channel 80 from the personal computer 74 is connected to a communication controller, which provides a communication interface between the command signals transmitted by the personal computer and the signals needed to control the timing of the cable demodulator 110. Supply. Utilizing an adjustable cable demodulator allows the use of one or more transmission channels of a cable television system carrying information from a service provider. For example,
Multiple users using a single cable television system can request the same bandwidth beyond one channel, and subscribers can assign different communication channels, ie different carrier frequencies, to each group. The information is transmitted to each group by the service provider. The communication controller includes a conventional memory and a microprocessor backed by a communication input / output interface for receiving communication from the RS-232 port connected to the personal computer 74, and control signals that determine the high frequency channel to be demodulated. Adjustable cable demodulator 110 to enable
Provide the appropriate signals required by. These requirements are determined based on the particular cable demodulator utilized and consist of a digital address corresponding to a particular carrier frequency or, for example, an analog provided by the communication controller using a digital to analog converter. Requires voltage or signal.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of customer premises equipment 120 which provides enhanced capabilities to provide visual alerts displayed on a user's television. Home controller 122 receives a cable television signal transmitted over cable 36. Home controller 22
Provides an output signal through a cable 124 connected to a set top box 126, as described in more detail below. The home controller 122 sends the signal on the cable 124 to the set top box 126.
Has the ability to add additional information to the broadcast television cable channel before sending to. TVs that users need
The channel separates the selected channel and the cable 1
Set transmitted to the user's television 130 through 28
Selected by top box. The set top box 126 is connected to a control channel 132 which is used to transmit signals from the set top box 126 to the home controller 122 that identifies the channels tuned to provide the information.

The home controller 122 is an ETHE
Data communication channel 13 including RNET communication protocol
4 connects to a personal computer 138. Home controller 122 demodulates the data channel containing the information destined for the user and transmits whatever information is destined for the particular user to personal computer 138 over channel 134. Personal computer 13
8 further includes a home controller 12 by a control channel 136 which supplies information to the home controller identifying which channel the cable demodulator is tuned to.
2 is connected. Modem 140 is connected to personal computer 138 by communication channel 142 and by telephone line 22 to the public telephone network. The modem is
It provides a relatively slow data communication channel established through PSTN between extended service providers and users. This allows the user to transmit the request to the service provider. Also, the service provider is the modem 1
Communication between the public telephone network and the user's personal computer 138 can be initiated by initiating a call that is automatically answered by 40. This capability is described below with respect to providing visual alerts to the user that are displayed on the user's television set.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a described embodiment of home controller 122 referenced in FIG. The channel received on the cable 36 from the cable distribution head end 30N transmits a set of signals to the cable demodulator 15
4 is divided by an internal high frequency splitter 150 which transmits through a cable 152. The cable demodulator demodulates the high frequency symbolized signal contained in the channel in which the demodulator is tuned. The cable demodulator packetizes the demodulated signal in digital format over the channel 158.
It is transmitted to the receiver 156. Packet receiver 156
Identifies packets destined for a particular user (customer premises equipment) and sends that information over ETHER through channel 162.
It is transmitted to the NET transceiver 160. Packets not addressed to a particular user are discarded, ie ETHERNET
Not transmitted to transceiver. ETHERNET transceiver 160 provides a communication link for channel 134 and personal computer 138. Therefore, the data received from the cable distribution head end 30N is
Personal through cable TV network
It can be received by the computer 74. RS-23
A control channel 136, such as 2, provides communication between the personal computer 138 and the communication controller 164 of the home controller 122. In addition, the communication controller is connected to the cable demodulator 154 and modulator 168 by a control channel 166. Cable demodulator 154 and modulator 168 are preferably tunable, each tuning being controlled by communication controller 164 on control channel 166.
Is controlled in response to signals transmitted through. Communication controller 164 may also include a microprocessor associated with memory and input / output communication interface peripherals. The communication controller receives information on channel 132 that identifies which set top box 126 the channel is tuned to. Communication controller 16
4 receives commands over channel 136 to control cable demodulator 154 and modulator 168, including the channels tuned to each. The use of this feature is illustrated below by way of example. Modulator 168 is connected to ETHERNET transceiver 160 by channel 170,
Personal computer 13 through channel 134
The information transmitted from 8 forming the visual message displayed on the user's television is received. Modulator 168
Includes a high frequency modulator that encodes digital information received over channel 170 to encode the same information into a suitable television transmission signal suitable for transmission to the user's television 130. The output of the modulator 168 is the cable 1
The output of modulator 168 is carried by 72 to a summing or combining unit 174 which combines by channel 36 with another combination of split signals representing the signal at the cable distribution head end. These combined signals are transmitted by cable 124 to set top box 126.

<Operation Example 1> An example of the operation can be best understood by referring to FIG. Assume that a user associated with customer premises equipment 20 wants to obtain travel information, including high definition images of expected destinations, and securities information for a particular stock from extended service provider 10A. User is a personal computer 7
The control modem 76 of No. 4 makes a call through the public telephone network 24. The user calls the default number (or trunk group) given to the modems 54A-54N of the split channel bridging unit 18. After the two-way communication link between customer premises equipment 20 and split channel bridging unit 18 has been established, the user identifies a code that identifies extended service provider 10A as the source from which information is sought. To transmit. The control processor 48 receives the request and sends the request for service to the extended service provider 10.
Package it in a packet destined for A and forward this packet to router 42, which sends the packet by channel service unit 38 and communication network 14 to extended service provider 10A. Upon receiving the request for service, the service provider 10A sends the user a packet to one of the modems 54A-54N with which the user has established a communication link under the control of the telecommunications network 14, channel unit 38, and control processor 48. By transmitting the packet through the sending router 42
Request to supply D code. This data is communicated via modem and public telephone network 24 to modem 76, which conveys the information to personal computer 74, which in turn displays the inquiry information on the personal computer's monitor. Users and extended services
Additional communication between providers 10A flows in the same way as the communication path is validated and established so that the user can query for the substantive information to be searched. The transmission of such information constitutes a reliable, relatively slow, low bandwidth requirement suitable for modem-to-modem links over the PSTN.

Suppose a user sends a specific request for information about the price and volume movements of a stock during the last week. This request is transmitted over the public switched telephone network 24 and is sent to the extended service provider 10A through the router 42 in the manner previously described. In this example, the extended service provider answers the request by transmitting a reply packet of information containing the requested information along with packet header information that describes the total amount of information transmitted in response to the request for this signal. . In this illustrated example,
The amount of data is relatively low, for example 1-5 kilobytes. This packet is received by the router 42. The router transmits the packet header to at least the control processor 48, where it transmits information to the user's customer premises equipment 20 via a modem link over the public telephone network 24 or wider than carried by cable 36. It is decided whether to go through a cable / TV / distribution system that uses bandwidth. In the described embodiment, it is determined that a relatively small amount of data is most effectively processed by sending it over a modem and PSTN network to save bandwidth. The control processor 48 then processes the specific information relating to the stock request,
The data is transferred to the PST by one of the modems 54A to 54N.
It is transmitted to the user equipment 20 through the N link.

The user now requests the second piece of information about the trip and considers it as a destination for his vacation. 5
It requires the transmission of high-definition image information that represents the equipment provided by two different hotels. The request is transmitted by the PSTN network and reaches the service provider 10A. The service provider analyzes the request and combines the requested information to identify the total amount of information to be transmitted to the user for this request, along with the information contained in the header, including at least a portion of all the requested information. 1
Transmit the packet. This packet is directed to router 42 and then to control processor 48, which demodulates the entire amount of information transmitted. For high definition images, a significant amount of data is transmitted, for example 1 megabyte or more. In terms of the substantial amount of data to be transmitted, the control processor checks its database to see if bandwidth capacity is available for the image information transmitted by the cable distribution head end 30N and cable 36. To decide. Upon determining that sufficient bandwidth is available for this request, the control processor transmits command information to router 42,
This packet is sent to the router via the cable 44N and the modulator 46N together with an additional packet containing the relevant information.
, And the modulator modulates the data into the high frequency channel of cable 28N which is routed to cable distribution head end equipment 30N. This information is then combined with other radio frequency channels and transmitted via cable 36 to the customer premises equipment 20 of the user. It should be noted that this system is intended for cable television networks used in broadcast mode and where all subscribers utilizing a common cable distribution headend facility receive the same information. The information remains private because it is addressed to a particular user's address. Other users' packet receivers do not process the information and therefore do not access it. The high definition image information is then transmitted via splitter 58 to home controller 70, which demodulates the data carried on the high frequency channel to determine whether the packet is intended for the associated user. Sending the digitally formatted information to the packet receiver. Upon determining that there is an address match, the packet receiver transmits the information via the ETHERNET link 72 to the personal computer 74, which receives the information and the personal computer 74
Use the monitor associated with to provide the user with a suitable display. In the same manner, multiple packets containing the requested image information will reach the user associated with the customer premises equipment 20 via this same path, providing more limited bandwidth and thus the same amount of information. It meets the user's requirements more quickly than using a public switched telephone network, which requires a longer time to transmit.

In the above example, the control processor 48 allows the modulators 46A-46N to provide valid routing and control of the information sent from the extended service provider to the user via the cable television network.
Includes each high frequency data channel bandwidth capacity associated with It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the information required by each service provider to determine whether to use the PSTN data path or the cable television channel is produced by each service provider. Another such system is that each service provider has modulators 46A ...
Each high speed RF channel available through 46N requires its availability to be constantly updated.
Alternatively, the ESP may be provided with a single threshold of the amount of data to be transmitted, which is used to decide whether to use the PSTN or the CATV network to send the data channel. When it is decided to transfer a significant amount of data to a given user, the service provider initiates a request for bandwidth allocation for the cable television system, which request is made by the router 42 to the control processor 48. Transmitted and the control processor allocates a particular bandwidth for a given period of time to accommodate the data transmitted from the service provider to the user. This type of system requires cooperative interaction between the extended service provider and the split channel bridging unit to allocate bandwidth and provide efficient data transmission over the appropriate cable television network. And Another such system is
It has the drawback of requiring the transmission of additional overhead and packets to provide the negotiation for bandwidth allocation between the split channel bridging unit 18 and each extended service provider. Utilizing the split channel bridging unit 18 to control the use of cable television channels allows the entire system, including all service providers, to be managed in a controlled manner, and excess data bandwidth Has the advantage of minimizing the potential for substantial overload conditions that are simultaneously requested by multiple service providers.

In the example in which the decision as to when to use the high frequency network of the television is made by the split channel bridging unit 18, multiple users, each using the same cable distribution head end 30N, may have various services. -It is possible to request a considerable amount of data from providers 10A-10N. Under these conditions, control processor 48 arbitrates the request,
To avoid bandwidth overflow conditions, it provides control instructions and gating information that sets the amount of data transmitted to the user on the high frequency cable television network by any given service provider. Such decisions are made on a priority basis, depending on the nature of the information and the class of service agreed by the user, or handled by the available bandwidth allocated.

The following example of system adaptability illustrates a corresponding set of high frequencies of 6 MHz since modulator set 46N consists of multiple modulators each associated with a given high frequency channel of the cable system. A data channel is available to the cable distribution head end 30N for retransmission on the cable 30 to the user. This allows the user to receive high speed signals on a cable television network via a selectable number of high frequency channels. Under these conditions, the control processor 48 is additionally responsible for providing command instructions to the router 42 to identify the high frequency channel in which the data for a particular user is encoded. In addition, the processor 48 includes a modem link and a public telephone network 24.
The control information is transmitted to the customer premises equipment 20 by means of the command channel 80 to the personal computer 74.
Is used to send control information to the home controller 70 and cause the tuned high frequency demodulator to demodulate the corresponding high frequency channel through which the data is sent to the user.
This home by personal computer 74
The command signal from the control processor 48 sent to the controller 70 allows the customer premises equipment to be tuned for information.
In order to provide the appropriate time to receive the information, it must be started and completed prior to data transmission on the high speed cable television channel.

A system in which multiple high frequency channels are available to each user adds applicability, increases the overall bandwidth of data transmission, and maximizes the amount of data that can be simultaneously transmitted to the user through the cable television system. To This may add control responsibility for the control processor 48 to maintain an accurate database and to identify bandwidth allocations for data transmission to specific users over each high frequency television channel available at the same time. ,
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Systems that utilize one high frequency channel on a cable television network for transmitting data to a user have a high frequency demodulator fixedly tuned to one available television high frequency channel where data is always received. Thus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that control line 80 is not required.

<Display of warning signal on TV> FIGS. 4 and 5
Shows another embodiment in accordance with the invention with respect to subscriber customer premises equipment. According to the capabilities supported by this embodiment, a signal is provided on the user's television set 130 to attract the user's attention when the user does not respond to messages sent to the user's personal computer.
Can be displayed on. The user can request that one of the extended service providers provide a monitoring service to alert the user when predefined conditions exist. For example, a user may be alerted when a particular stock reaches a certain default price. According to this service, the extension service provider monitors the stock price of the stock in question, and when the stock price reaches the target price, the extension service provider tries to inform the subscriber who requested this monitor service of this fact. To do.

In the example described, the extended service provider initiates communication with the user's customer premises equipment 20 by sending a start communication packet containing the user's telephone number to the control processor 48 by the router 42. In response to receiving the communication request, the control processor 48 causes the modem 5
4A to 54N is activated, and the modem is the public telephone network 24.
To initiate a call to modem 140 through. Modem 14
Assuming 0 is set to auto answer, the modem answers the call and alerts the personal computer 138 that there is a call and that a communication link must be established. Assuming that the personal computer is powered on and running a communications program, an attempt to provide an alert signal to the user will see the alert on the computer monitor screen when the user is in front of the computer. If not, it will fail. The absence of the user is apparent from the fact that there is no reaction from the user to the attention signal via the modem 140. Preferably, the attention signal requires a user to respond with an answer indicating that the message has been received and is transmitted with particular information that warns that the particular user was responding to the attention message. Contains a request to retransmit the code.

In this example, assume that the user is absent from the personal computer and does not send the appropriate reaction message. According to one embodiment of the present invention, control processor 48 monitors for a predetermined period of time whether the user responds to a particular attention message. If the user does not respond within a predetermined time period, the control processor 48 initiates an inquiry request sent over the public switched telephone network to the user's personal computer, and the set top box 126.
Requires confirmation of the high frequency channel to which it is tuned. The personal computer is connected to the set top box 126 via the communication controller 164 and the channel 132.
Initiate a command request on the incoming channel 136.
The set top box responds to the request by transmitting an acknowledgment of the channel to which the set top box is tuned, and the cable television high frequency channel is displayed on the user's television 130. This information is sent to controller 122, which sends the information to channel 1
36 to the personal computer 138. This information is then returned to the control processor 48 by the modem 140. The control processor, upon receiving the information on the viewed channel, generates a command signal to be sent by the PSTN and modem 140 to the personal computer 138, causing the computer to send a command signal to the communication controller 164 via channel 136. By the controller channel 16
Starting the command sequence at 6, the modulator 168 is tuned to the cable television high frequency channel the user sees. In addition, the control processor 48 sends an alert message to the personal computer 138 over the public telephone network, which personal computer 138 uses the channel 134.
Through the ETHERNET transceiver 160 and the home controller 122.
The ETHERNET transceiver transmits information to channel 17
0 to the modulator 168, and the combiner
A high frequency signal is transmitted to network 174 to combine the attention message with the input high frequency signal from splitter 150 so that the combined signal is carried by cable 124 to set top box 128. The box transforms the corresponding high frequency channel into the channel transmitted to the television 130 by channel 128. Thus, a message or other person watching television 130 may display a message, eg, in the bottom third of the television screen, indicating that the alert message is waiting to be transmitted to the designated user. See. Thus, the user, or perhaps a member of the user's family, sees the message displayed on the television set 130 and alerts the user to contact the extended service provider for substantive information about the attention message. The message has a serial number and can be accessed directly by the user through a specific message from the service provider.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications utilizing this alternative alarm mechanism are available depending on the system design. For example, when the user's telephone line 22 is busy with a call, the control processor 48 may periodically retry to initiate communication with the modem 140 at predetermined time intervals. In addition, the home controller 122 can be designed to control the channel selected by the set top box 126,
Using this capability, the set top box may periodically send another alert message carried by the modulator 168 over the alternate high frequency channel for a predetermined period, such as 5 seconds every 1 or 2 minutes. Try to switch to the channel. This provides an alternative mechanism for providing alert messages to the user by causing the set top box to periodically switch to an alternate radio frequency channel that carries the alert message. This control
A personal computer 138 based on internal programming responsive to signals received by the modem 140 from the control processor 48 to initiate a cycle.
Can be started directly, or can be exclusively controlled by the control processor, which at predetermined time intervals simply sends repetitive commands from the personal computer to the home controller 122. In addition, modulator 168 may be directly connected to television 130 and fixedly tuned in parallel to the output of set top box 126 and to the output channel used for the set top box.

If the user is not in front of customer premises equipment when such a visually displayed alarm appears on television 130, and another member of the family is watching the program and does not want the alarm to continue to be displayed, Override controls that turn off the display of alert messages are preferably incorporated into the set top box 126. The user's personal computer can be programmed to save an alert message when the set top box indicates that the television is not turned on. The computer displays the alert message on the first used television or computer.

Use of Bidirectional Low Bandwidth Communication Channel An important feature of the system shown in FIG.
Providing a bi-directional low bandwidth communication channel between the customer premises equipment 20 and the split channel bridging unit 18, as well as to extended service providers. The user of the customer premises equipment 20 not only manages the supply of information via the high bandwidth channel provided by the service provider 10 to the customer premises equipment 20 by the cable distribution system 30, but also provides such information to the service provider 10. From a low bandwidth communication channel.

One area in which this feature of the system of FIG. 1 is useful is in locating and downloading large files. The location of these files is typically searched for a relatively small amount of information about customer premises equipment 20 and services.
A low bandwidth communication channel can be used for the search because it includes the search transmitted between providers 10. Once the file is found, the user wants it to be transmitted to the customer premises equipment 20 as soon as possible, so at this point the system of FIG. Can be used.

The following portion of this patent application shows that the software system running on the control processor 48 and personal computer 74 of the system of FIG. 1 provides low and high bandwidth between customer premises equipment 20 and service provider 10. How to cooperate in controlling the use of the customer premises equipment 20 and how the user of the customer premises equipment 20 communicates with the extended service provider 10 so that their interactions best fit the extended service provider 10. It will be described in detail how to enable switching between the low bandwidth communication channel and the high bandwidth communication channel. The following section further describes a number of ways in which a software system controlling the use of channels may be distributed through components of System 1 and other versions of System 1 and billing techniques that allow for the use of two channels. To do.

Overview of Channel Control System: FIG. 6 In the preferred embodiment, the system for switching between low bandwidth and high bandwidth communication channels is a control processor 48 of split channel bridging unit 18. include. FIG. 6 shows system 601. The system 601 is realized by a program executed by the microprocessor 90. The program code for the program and the data used by the program are stored in memories 93, 94 and database 96. In the preferred embodiment, the control processor 90 is a Sun Mi.
crosystems, Inc. Made by U
It is a work station operating under the control of a typical multi-process operating system represented by the UNIX operating system (UNIX is a registered trademark of X Open foundation).

In FIG. 6, the boxes indicate the components of the system 600, the dashed arrows indicate the control inputs, the single solid arrows indicate the low bandwidth communication channels, and the double solid arrows indicate the high bandwidth. Indicates a communication channel. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 1, the control processor 48 uses the Ethernet 50 as shown in FIG.
Connected with other parts of the system. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, Ethernet 50 is the path for both high and low bandwidth communication channels. The Ethernet 50 provides input to the low bandwidth channels from the modem 54 and output from these channels to the modem 54, from the router 42 to the high bandwidth channel, and from there to the router 42.
Is connected to a hub 52 which also supplies the output to.

Beginning with the director 601, the director 601 can run from the customer premises equipment 20 to the public telephone network 24.
Messages received via (arrows 611, 617)
In addition, other components establish a bidirectional low bandwidth (low speed) channel (611) and a unidirectional high bandwidth (high speed) channel (613) between one of the customer premises equipment 20 and one of the extended service providers 10. React by controlling so. Control is indicated by arrows 603, 607.

The source access portion 605 is the component that actually establishes the channel to the extended service provider 10. In the preferred embodiment, the channel is a high bandwidth channel between the service provider and the split channel bridging unit 18. Routing portion 609 controls the routing of data between expansion server 10 and customer premises equipment 20 by hub 52 and router 42. How the routing portion 609 routes is determined by the director 601. The default routing is via a bi-directional low bandwidth channel. That is, in the preferred embodiment, data transmission between the extended service provider 10 and the customer premises equipment 20 includes elements 12, 14, 16, 38, 42 of FIG.
Via 52, 54, 26, 24, 22. However, director 601 may cause routing portion 609 to establish a unidirectional high bandwidth channel. In this case the data transmission is 12, 14, 16, 38, 40, 42, 4
4, 46, 28, 30, 36.

User Control of Low and High Bandwidth Channels: FIG. 7 In the preferred embodiment, director 601 is responsive to messages received from customer premises equipment 20 over the low bandwidth channels (611, 617). , Determines which channel will be used for data transmission between the customer premises equipment 20 and the service provider 10. The message is produced by the personal computer 74, which operates under the control of the wrapper program. FIG. 7 shows a personal computer 74,
Details of a graphical user interface generated by a personal computer to allow a user of customer premises equipment 20 to select low and high bandwidth channels are shown.

The personal computer 701 includes a processor 703, a memory 705, and a disk storage.
It has the usual components such as system 709, display 715, and input devices such as a mouse or keyboard 713. The processor 703 corresponds to 78, 7 of FIG.
Bidirectional low bandwidth channel via 6 and 72,7
It is connected to the high bandwidth channel via 0, 68, 58 so that data can be received via the high bandwidth channel and data can be sent and received via the low bandwidth channel.
Finally, the connection 80 allows the control of the home controller 70 by the processor 703.

Disk storage system 709
Contains data and programs including the wrapper program 707 and the PC user interface program for the service provider 10. When a program is being executed by processor 703, part of it is currently being executed and the data needed for that part is in memory 70.
5 Otherwise, the program and persistent data are stored on disk storage system 709. In the preferred embodiment, the persistent data is
Contains information stored in the frame file (FF) 711 of system 709 and used for display on the screen of display 715.

System 600 and wrapper program 70
The operation of the system of FIG. 1 under the control of 7 is outlined below. A user who wants to use the service provider 10 calls a wrapper program 707, which establishes a low bandwidth channel between the personal computer 74 and the control processor 48, and is now able to send and receive messages to and from the director 601. I can. During execution of the wrapper 707, in response to the user's selection of the service provider, the wrapper 707 establishes a connection to the director 601 via the low bandwidth channel and identifies the service provider 10. After that, the director 601
Source access 605 provides access to service provider 10 over a high bandwidth channel, and routing 609 uses a bidirectional low bandwidth channel between service provider 10 and personal computer 74 to service personal computer 74 and service. -Communication is performed between the providers 10. When the channel is established, the service provider PC software 708 starts executing and the service provider PC software 7
08 communicates with the service provider 10 via the low bandwidth channel established by the wrapper 707 and the director 601. In some embodiments, service provider PC software 708 is downloaded to PC 74 after the low bandwidth channel has been established. As described in detail below, either low or high bandwidth channels are used for download.

At this point, the display 715 displays the one shown in FIG. 2 on the display 715
There are two main windows. A service that displays information from the service (information stored locally in memory 705 or received from service provider 10).
A window 717 and a wrapper control window 719. Wrapper control window 7 which is important for the present explanation
A part 19 is a window 721 indicating which service is currently controlled by the window 717, a low button 723, and a high button 725. As their names indicate, these buttons determine which channel is used to send information from the service provider 10 to the personal computer 74. The low button 723 is the default. In this configuration,
A bidirectional low bandwidth channel is used for data transmission in both directions between personal computer 74 and service provider 10. When the user "pushes" the high button 725 using the input device 713, the configuration switches and both high and low bandwidth channels are available, the high bandwidth channel from the service provider 10 to the personal computer. Used for data transmission to 74. To return to using only the low bandwidth channel for data transmission from the service provider 10 to the personal computer 74, the user presses the low button 72.
"Press" 3

Of course, when the user presses the high button 725 or the low button 723 using the input device 713, what actually happens is the window generated by the wrapper program 707 that causes the display 715 to display that the button has been pressed.・ Receiving input from the system. The wrapper program 707 then responds to the input by sending a message to the director 601 via the low bandwidth channel indicating that the user has selected either low or high bandwidth. The director 601 then responds to the message by having the routing portion 609 send the output from the service provider 10 as desired by the user.

In other embodiments, the channel selection message may come from the service provider 10 as well as from the user. One example where the service provider supplies the message is when the service provider needs to download the service PC software 708. In this case, service provider 10 sends a message causing director 601 to select the high bandwidth channel during the download and then revert to the low bandwidth channel for service interaction. Another example where the channel selection comes from the service provider 10 is as follows. When a user requests a file,
The service provider 10 can decide whether to use the high bandwidth channel or the low bandwidth channel according to the size of the file.

<Details of Utilization of System 600: FIGS. 8 to 18> This section describes the details of utilization of the system 600. In the figures in this section, the circles indicate UNIX operating
Shows the processes supplied by the system. The dotted line is 1
Second, if one process is connected to another
Process is a child of the first process. Wide arrows indicate high bandwidth channels, narrow arrows indicate low bandwidth channels, and single-line arrows indicate the flow of information through the channels. The figure shows the following steps in an example of a routing session.・ Telephone line idle ・ Telephone line connection ・ Wrapper 707 connected to director 601 ・ Director slave is created ・ Communication via low bandwidth channel ・ User requests high bandwidth communication ・ Director 601 sends high bandwidth to router 609 Ask for permission for wide bandwidth communication • Granted • Add high bandwidth route to routing table • High bandwidth accept message • Communicate over high bandwidth channel Figure 8 shows a telephone line 22 from customer premises equipment 20 idle , Shows an initial state where the PC 74 is connected to the high bandwidth channel 817 but is not receiving data from it. As shown in FIG. 8, the director 601 and the source access 605 are realized by using a set of UNIX processes. Source access 807 processes 805 and 80
7 (a to n) is Hyper Text Transfer
Implements a World Wide Web server using the protocol (http). http daemon (http
d) In response to an input http request, the process 807 that produces a task performs a service for handling the request. In FIG. 8, all the task processes 807 are
Currently used by other PC users. Routing 60
9 routing table 809 directs communication between the service provider, the system 600, and the PC.
The routing table 809 identifies the network or host in part 811 and the gateway in part 813 and thereby directs communications to and from the host or network. Routing table 60
There are always two channels in 9. One is a gateway 1, which communicates between PCs, directors and service providers using low bandwidth channels. Another one
One is the gateway 3, a cable bandwidth manager 81 that manages the bandwidth available in the cable system.
5 and other components of routing 609 for high bandwidth control communication. High bandwidth control communications are communicated via high bandwidth channel 819.

FIG. 9 shows the state of the system 600 after the user of the PC 74 has started the wrapper program 707. When the wrapper 707 is invoked, the wrapper window 719 appears on the display 715 of the PC 74 and the TCP / IP software of the PC 74 that is pre-loaded with the service provider's 10 telephone number uses a low bandwidth channel to the routing 609. The routing 609 sends the channel through the gateway 1.
The low bandwidth channel appears in the figure as a narrow double-headed arrow 901 between the PC 74 and the system 600. The wide unidirectional arrow 817 indicates the cable TV system and P
It should be noted that it means a downward connection between C74. This connection is always physically present, but data is sent from the service provider 10 to this particular PC 74.
Has not yet been used as a high bandwidth channel for carrying data, so that routing table 809 does not have this high bandwidth channel entry. Cable TV connections are split by many users,
Carry data destined for this PC 74 only when C's high bandwidth channel is established and service provider 10 sends data to this PC.

FIG. 10 shows that the wrapper program 707 then initiates a TCP socket connection 1001 to the director 601. The director 601 directs data from the service provider 10 to either the low bandwidth path or the high bandwidth path to the PC. In this architecture, the orientation is specific PC (as shown in the figure below).
Is done by adding or deleting a high bandwidth host specific route to the routing table 809. The default gateway from routing 609 is always low bandwidth. When an entry is added to the routing table 809, it overrides the low bandwidth default.

In FIG. 11, when a TCP connection request is input from the PC, the director daemon process 801 always pays attention to the low bandwidth channel of the gateway 1.
However, since it forks the director slave process 803 (N) for this PC, the PC is now PC7.
4 (N). Trumpet 707 and Director 601
All message communication between will now involve a director slave process 803 (N). When the TCP socket connection is completely established, the wrapper 707 of the PC 74 (N)
Sends the IP address of the PC and the ID of the PC user to the director 601 via a "connect" message (not shown).

At this point, in FIG. 12, the user has clicked on the button 721 for the service provider in the wrapper window 719 and the wrapper 707 indicates the service.
Call provider 10 via the low bandwidth channel of gateway 1. Service provider graphical
User interface is service window 717
Appears in The user can now use the service provider 10 via a low bandwidth channel. Which channel is currently used is displayed in the wrapper window 719 by highlighting button 723 or 725. Here, button 723 is highlighted to indicate that the low bandwidth channel is being used. Interaction with the service provider is the service window 71
Done at 7. The wrapper window 719 remains on the screen only to provide the means to request high speed transport.

The interaction between the user and the service provider of window 717 is service provider software 708 (in this case, PC Mosaic).
Results from the request. These requests are received by the http daemon process 805, which forks the http task process 807 (c) to service the request. Data from the task process 807 is returned to the PC 74 (n) via the route indicated by the routing table 809, in this case the default low bandwidth route for gateway 1.

In FIG. 13, the user prepares to download a large image by clicking button 725. As a result, the wrapper 707 becomes "high_
send "request_request" message 1301 to the director slave process 803 (N) via the low bandwidth channel 901. Even if the user clicks on the button 725, the wrapper 707 will display as shown in the figure below.
Button 725 is not highlighted until positive approval from director slave process 803 (N) is obtained.

FIG. 14 shows "high_speed_re".
A "quest" message 1301 is received to indicate what happens to the system 600. The director-slave process 803 (N) includes the user's ID and the PC74 (N) IP address previously sent in the connect message. The director 601 receives and receives them as parameters.
To the CBM portion 815 of the routing 609, which in turn sends the message 1401 to the cable
Ask one user of the channel if bandwidth is available.

FIG. 15 shows how a high bandwidth channel is assigned to PC74 (N). CBM81
5 uses a bandwidth algorithm to determine which channel
PC (74) determines whether it should be assigned to
Send a command to router 42 so that (N) is tuned to that channel (not shown). When the PC 74 (N) is successfully assigned the channel, a message 1501
Returns from CBM 815 and successfully returns the get_cable primitive.

After successfully returning from the get_cable primitive function, the director slave process 803 (N) uses the high bandwidth route (using the IP address received in the connect message) in FIG. For the purpose of routing with the host specific entry 1601 for PC74 (N).
The table 809 is updated.

In FIG. 17, once the routing table 8
When 09 is updated, directors, slaves,
Process 803 (N) is a "high speed ac"
The "cept" message 1701 is sent back to the PC 74 (N), and the wrapper 707 emphasizes the high speed button 725 instead of the low speed button 723.

At this point, as shown in FIG. 18, the PC 7
The communication from the execution of the 4 (N) service provider program 708 to the service provider 10 continues normally, but the data from the http task process 807 (d) performing the task is routing table 80.
9 entry 1601 back to PC 74 (N) via the high bandwidth route.

Alternative Embodiment of System 600 In one alternative embodiment, there is no routing table 809. Instead, the director slave process 803
(N) has two TCP / IP sockets or ports to the PC 74 (N). One of the sockets is for the low bandwidth channel and the other is for the high bandwidth channel. The director slave process 803 (N) takes the place of the PC 74 (N) when interacting with the software of the service provider 10. Specific PC7
All data from the 4 (x) service provider is the director / slave process 803 of the PC.
Pass through (x). Then director / slave 803
(X) is a PC74 (x) through a low bandwidth socket if the communication requires a low bandwidth, or a PC74 (x) through a high bandwidth socket if the communication requires special bandwidth.
Send data to (x). The advantage of this method is that it uses industry standard TCP / IP protocol combinations and does not require modification of the service provider 10 software. In addition, Director / Slave 803 (x)
Does not need access to the routing table 809.
There are no location restrictions. Routing table 80
Since 9 remains valid, no host specific entry is required. Slow network to PC only
There is only one entry for access and one for high speed network access. In addition, PC
All the data returned to 74 passes through the director / slave process 803.
The process 803 can change the speed by changing the socket through which the data passes during the task. The main drawbacks are advantages and disadvantages. Ie service
All communication between the provider and the PC must go through the director slave process 803.

Since system 600 is implemented in software, its components are implemented in any processor of system 1. Possible locations in addition to the control processor 48 include a processor used by the service provider 10 to provide the service, and an adjunct processor for high bandwidth communication with the processor used by the service provider 10. In the first case, the director 601, the routing 609, and the source access 605 are all realized by the processor belonging to the service provider 10. In the second case, director 6
01 and routing 609 are in the attached processor,
Service access 605 is service provider 10
In the processor. When adjunct processors are used, one adjunct processor can control multiple split channel bridging units 18.

If the service provider 10 wants to switch software to coordinate low and high bandwidth channel messages from the PC 74, the director 601 will simply
It is integrated into the process 807 that performs the tasks for 0.
For example, each process 807 that performs this task has low and high bandwidth sockets that connect the process to the PC 74. Such integration of director 601 is accomplished by library routines.

A particularly advantageous distribution of the components is:
The connection between the service provider 10 and the PC 74 and between the service provider 10 and the CATV system is provided by the telecommunications provider that maintains the high speed telecommunications network and the public telephone network. The high speed telecommunications network is used for connection between the telecommunications provider, the service provider 10 and the CATV system, and the public telephone network is used for communication between the PC 74 and the telecommunications provider. In this system,
Source access portion 605 is service provider 1
It runs in a processor belonging to 0 and is completely serviceable.
It is under the control of the provider 10. Director part 601
And the routing portion 609 operates within a processor belonging to a telecommunications provider.

<Details of Implementation of Wrapper 707> Wrapper 70
7 is to provide the user of PC 74 with the ability from service provider 10 to select either high or low bandwidth for the downward transmission of data.
This is because the user changes the channel and the director 601
And buttons 723, 725 for establishing a user session with which the processor's director slave process 803 controls the downward channel.

The wrapper provides the following functions. Establishes a TCP connection to the Director 601 for use as a signaling channel. Generate an instance of the director slave process 803 to perform downward link control. Establishes a logical session with slave process 803. -Provides a graphical user interface to allow the PC user to manually select a fast or slow link. Providing convenience to assist users in accessing the service provider 10 by launching browsers, providing access to directory services, and other network tools.

When the wrapper 707 starts its operation, it initializes itself and then sends a TC to the director daemon 801.
Attempt to establish a P connection. The daemon 801 notes connection attempts on well known ports. Once connected, the director daemon 801 will
Produce process 803 (m) and execute wrapper 707 m
Handles all subsequent transactions by. The wrapper 707 starts the connection with the connection request message. The relevant director slave 803 (m) responds with a connection confirmation message. When the connection confirmation message is received by the wrapper 707, the session is established. The wrapper 707 then displays the graphical interface 719 on the screen of the user's PC. The director slave process 803 waits for a message from the wrapper 707. The session always begins with a downward link set that uses slow mode. After starting the session and displaying the graphical interface 719, the wrapper 707 waits for input from the user of the PC 74. When the user decides to switch to the high speed link, he clicks on the button 725. Fast button 72
Each time the 5 or slow button 723 is actuated, the wrapper sends a link select message through a signal connection to the director slave 703 (n). When the director / slave 703 (n) receives the link selection message, it requests permission to change. If granted permission, the director slave adds or removes entries from the routing table 809 and makes changes. The director slave 703 (n) then returns a success message to the wrapper 707. Upon receiving the confirmation of the link change, the wrapper 707 receives the corresponding link selection button 723 or 7
Highlight 25 to give the user visual feedback that the link selection process was successful.

A summary of the messages between wrapper 707 and director 601 is shown below. The request is a wrapper 707
The answer comes from the director 601. CONNECT: Used to establish a session with the director. (: message connect: use_id <max 21
char string>: ip_address <char string>) ・ RESPONSE :(: message connect_accept: user_
id <max 21 char string>) (: message connect_refect: user_id <max21 char string
>: reason <u_int>)-HEARTBEAT: maintain session connection.
(: message heartbeat: user_id <max 21 char string>) ・ HIGH SPEED: Switch to high speed link. (:
message high_speed: user_id <max 21 char string>: ser
vice_class <charstring>) ・ RESPONSE :(: message high_speed_accept: us
er_id <max 21 char string>) (: message high_speed_reject: user_id <max 21 char st
ring>: reason <u int>)-LOW SPEED: Switches to a low speed link. (: me
ssage low_speed: user_id <max 21 char string>) ・ RESPONSE :(: message low_speed_accept: use
r_id <max 21 char string>)-QUERY: Judge which speed is currently set. (: message query: user_id <max 21 char st
ring>) ・ RESPONSE :(: message query_response: speed
_setting <high_speed or low_speed>)-DISCONNECT: Terminates the session with the director. (: message disconnect: user_id <max 21 char
string>)-RESPONSE: For some message. (:
message bad_user_id: user_id <max 21 char string>)

The wrapper 707 periodically sends a HEARTBEAT message to the director slave process 803 for the duration of the session. Director slave
Process 803 expects to receive HEARTBEAT messages periodically. If no HEARTBEAT message is received within the given time limit, the director slave process 803 determines that the client or signaling link has gone down and terminates the session.

When the user finishes using the network service and activates the end button 727 of the wrapper window 719, a DISCONNECT message is sent to the director slave process 803. When the director slave process 803 receives the message, it closes the connection to the wrapper 707 and terminates immediately. The director slave process 803 uses DIS
Until the CONNECT message is received or the HEARTBEAT message cannot be received within the predetermined time limit, the wrapper 707 services the request.

The wrapper GUI is implemented using a number of combinations of graphical objects called pages. The static appearance of the running wrapper is composed by two of these pages. In its initial state, the service page, one window occupies the entire display 715. On the left side of the screen is the wrapper window 719 and on the right side of the screen is the frame. The service window 717 is located in this frame.

<Dynamic GUI Reconfiguration> The wrapper 707:
Microsoft Visual Basic GUI development system ("Microsoft" and "Visual Basic" are Microsofts
(which is a trademark of t Corporation). The wrapper 707 then creates a GUI by interpreting these text files. Therefore, GUI graphical features are not incorporated into the code for wrapper 707. Since the graphical features are contained in a text file, the service provider 10 downloads the GUI text file to the wrapper 707 and causes the wrapper to combine itself as required by the service provider. Can be done. The technique described below can be used in conjunction with some other tool, where the screen is created by interpreting a text file.

Instead of the built-in graphical functions, the preferred embodiment of wrapper 707 has a set of built-in functions and scripting language. Scripting languages are used to provide dynamically created graphical features. Each graphical feature has an associated script file. The script file contains a list of commands that are interpreted when the graphical feature is accessed. For example, the script file associated with a button specifies the visual consequences of pressing the button. When the button is pressed, the script file is interpreted.

To create the graphical user interface for the wrapper 707, the author creates the graphical layout using Visual Basic in the usual way, but not the code. When the author is happy with the graphical layout, the format is saved as a text file. The script file is specified in the tag for each graphical feature of the page. Since the wrapper 707 is implemented in this way, many of its functions can be identified and modified without code changes or recompilation of the wrapper 707.

The wrapper 707 maintains the orientation and placement of its constituent windows through floating window implementation and message-based positioning. The wrapper uses Microsoft Windows message primitives to size and position the browser application in a frame above the background as a feature of the full screen application GUI.

The service window 717 is displayed at T whenever there is activity outside the service window 717.
Maintained at the top position by sending an OPMOST message. These movements occur when accessing the adjacent wrapper window 719 and clicking a button, image, or other control function. Window 719
When you click on, Windows will
Make the object the active window. Also,
Windows makes the active window the top window, which in this case is a wrapper window 707 that hides the service window 717. By sending a TOPMOST message in response to the click, service window 717 is re-launched and automatically becomes the top window. The user acknowledges this as a very quick refresh of the browser window. In a similar fashion, the control panel
Retained at the top of the background window by receiving a TOPMOST message in response to a click outside the area.

In the remote control configuration, the wrapper is at the top position as a floating window through implementation. This is a basic feature of objects that affects the entire workspace.

<Other advantages of the wrapper 707 and the system 600> The wrapper 707 and the director of the PC74 (N)
Since there is always a bi-directional low bandwidth channel between slaves 803 (N), even though the user is receiving high bandwidth channel via information from one service provider 10, director slave 803 ( N) can not be instructed to connect with another service provider 10. The director / slave 803 (N)
It is possible to return low bandwidth channel information from other service providers 10 or obtain other high bandwidth channels. In such a case, the wrapper 707 will of course set up two service windows 717.

Another advantage of combining the wrapper 707 with the system 600 is that it provides very flexible billing. The processor on which the director 601 operates typically has a large amount of storage, which is a billing database (eg database 9 of FIG. 5).
Can be used for 6). First, the user has direct control over which channel is being used and thus easily accepts the differential tariff. Second, since the director slave process 803 (N) switches between the low bandwidth and high bandwidth channels in response to the PC74 (N) user's request, the director slave process 803 (N) can be easily , Database 9 for information required for discriminatory fees
Can be recorded in 6.

What kind of billing will be made in a particular case is, of course, determined by the market forces acting on the side providing the service and low and high bandwidth access and the user side of the service. There are the following possibilities. 1. Flat monthly fee for unlimited use of low and high bandwidth connections. For homeworkers and telecommuting users. 2. Monthly flat rate for low bandwidth connections and pay-as-you-go rates for high bandwidth connections. 3. Separate monthly flat rates for low and high bandwidth connections. For example, add low bandwidth access for textual services such as e-mail, and optional high bandwidth services for graphical high density services. 4. Pay as you go for both low and high bandwidth services. 5. Low bandwidth regular billing and transaction based billing for high bandwidth downloads. For example,
$ 5 for downloading the new lift package. 6. Charged as in (1) to (5), but "800"
A service-like content / service provider is billed. For example, AT & T charges the service provider 10 and the service provider 10 charges the end user.

Use of the System of FIG. 1 in Telecommuting One area of application of the system of FIG. 1 having the channel bandwidth selection mechanism of system 600 is telecommuting. Lack of bandwidth is one of the biggest problems in telecommuting. Information workers typically spend much more time reviewing information than they typically create new information. In the office, the information the worker needs is available through a high bandwidth channel such as a LAN, and the time to download the information to the worker's workstation is not a problem. However, information workers must use the low bandwidth channel provided by a modem connected to a telephone line when performing telecommuting. The small bandwidth of this channel makes it virtually impossible for a telecommuter to work with documents stored as video or very large text files. However, many of these information workers have cable television and have input high bandwidth channels. With the system of Figure 1,
You can use your cable TV as a high bandwidth channel for downloading information to your telecommuter,
Combined with the channel bandwidth selection mechanism of system 600, downloads can be made via either low bandwidth or high bandwidth channels depending on the situation.

Modern office computing systems are client-server systems in which clients and servers are connected by a network. Servers contain objects and typically run on top of these objects for clients processing on PCs or other computer systems connected to the network. For example, a file server contains data files and manipulates these files in response to client requests. A schedule server maintains the office schedule and performs schedule operations upon client request. Of course, the server may be a client. For example, the schedule server may store the schedule information in a file and become a client of the file server.

When the system of FIG. 1 is used for telecommuting, the service provider 10 is a client of the office computing system of the office that the user of the personal computer 74 telecommutes. What appears in the service window 717 of such a system is when the user of the personal computer 74 uses his PC for work.
Exactly what the user of the personal computer 74 would see. Client service provider 1
0 can access the server of the office in exactly the same way that the user would when he was in the office, and can supply the telecommuter with the necessary information. Of course, if the system of FIG. 1 is implemented using system 600, either the client or the user can choose the most advantageous bandwidth for the download.

CONCLUSION The above detailed description shows that the system of FIG. 1 of the parent patent application can use either the high bandwidth channel or the low bandwidth channel to output information from the service provider. It was shown how this can be improved by adding a channel switching device. In one embodiment of the present invention, the channel switching equipment is controlled by the recipient of the information, in another embodiment by the information source.

In another embodiment, different channel transports are also used. For example, in a system that allows two-way communication over cable television networks, both low and high bandwidth channels are
It may use coaxial or fiber optic cables that are used as transports in the system.

The detailed description describes a number of different embodiments of the channel switching device, and it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that other variations are possible. At the same time, the wrapper programs disclosed herein may be implemented in many different ways and have many different graphical user interfaces. Finally, the technique used to set up the channel and the protocol used to communicate through it also depend on the system in which the invention is implemented.

In all cases above, the above detailed description is considered to be descriptive and non-limiting in all respects,
The scope of the invention claimed herein is determined solely from the appended claims, which are to be construed with the maximum breadth permitted by patent law.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a control processor referred to in FIG.

3 is a block diagram of a home controller referenced in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of customer premises equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the home controller referred to in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control architecture used in control processor 48.

FIG. 7 is an architectural diagram for a graphical user interface used in personal computer 74.

FIG. 8 is a first detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 9 is a second detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 10 is a third detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 11 is a fourth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 12 is a fifth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 13 is a sixth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 14 is a seventh detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 15 is an eighth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 16 is a ninth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 17 is a tenth detailed view of the control architecture.

FIG. 18 is an eleventh detailed view of the control architecture. The reference numbers first appearing in FIGS. 6-18 consist of two parts. The two numbers on the right side refer to the reference numbers in the figure and the remaining numbers refer to the figure. Therefore, reference numeral 601
Represents the items that first appear in FIG.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location H04M 11/08 H04L 13/00 307B (72) Inventor Eric El. Edberg United States 60563 Ellinoise, Neperville, Bainbridge 1212 (72) Inventor Venkata Charapasi Majeti United States 60565 Ellinoise, Neperville, Salisbury Drive 2298 (72) Inventor John Leonard Shepherd United States 60504 Ellinoise, Aurora, Middlebury Drive 1317

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An interactive device for providing remote access to data to a user via a low bandwidth network, a high bandwidth network, and both a low bandwidth network and a high bandwidth network. A data source for remote data that is accessible, a user access means for receiving remote data, and a connection means for connecting the user access means to a data source, the user access means A high bandwidth connection means for connecting a user access means via a low bandwidth network, and a connection means including a low bandwidth connection means for connecting a user access means via a low bandwidth network; Connected to the access means, the low bandwidth connection means provides low bandwidth access to the user access means and sources. Responsive to the first access command by bidirectional connection via the wideband network, and responsive to the second access command by unidirectional connection between the user access means and the source by the high bandwidth connection means by the high bandwidth connection means. A device that is connected to the connection means for performing the connection control means. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the user access means is the source of the first and second access commands. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the connection control means is additionally connected to the data source, and the data source is at least the source of the second access command. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the user access means further comprises user input means, the user access means responsive to the user input means to provide the first and second access commands. 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the user access means is connected to the connection control means while the user access means is connected to the source via the high bandwidth network. 6. A low bandwidth network, comprising user input means and display means, wherein the computer system is both a source and a sink, and the computer system is simply a sink, the remote data being a high bandwidth network or a low bandwidth network. A user interface used in a computer system connected to a high-bandwidth network that supplies commands to a means for connecting to the network, the computer transferring data from a data source, a high-bandwidth network, a low-bandwidth network. A user including a display on the display means indicating through which of the bandwidth networks it is receiving and a means for supplying a switch command to the means for connection in response to a user input means indicating a bandwidth switch. interface. 7. A low bandwidth channel from a destination of information to an information source and a high bandwidth channel in the opposite direction, the low bandwidth channel is used for control information, and the high bandwidth channel is used for control information. Is an improved information access system used for output information that is output from an information source to a destination of information in response to a bidirectional low bandwidth channel and a low bandwidth channel. Means for responding to a bandwidth selection message received to select either a high bandwidth channel or a low bandwidth channel for transferring output information from the source to the destination according to the message.