MXPA00002807A - Television interactive access system using urls - Google Patents

Abstract

A television distribution network (12) for enabling a user to download Internet web pages related to the currently viewed television broadcast via channel hyperlinking. User sends channel hyperlink requests through upstream channel (22) to network headend (14) by actuating web button on remote controller (23). The headend is interfaced to Internet Service Provider or ISP (30) for downloading related web pages. The headend uses ID tag with channel and time of request information to identify the location of the information to be downloaded to the user. Preferably, the information is pre-cached from the ISP to a headend cache (31) in advance of the broadcast to facilitate quicker downloading of the information to the user.

Description

INTERACTIVE SYSTEM OF TELEVISION ACCESS USING UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCALIZER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to an access system and method for providing interactive access to a source of information, such as the Internet, through a network distribution system, such as a transmission or television distribution system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing a receiver connected to a network distribution system with information from the Internet or another source of information that is related to the programming content of a television transmission. , radio or other means that is being received at that moment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As you know, "Internet" is a network of global interconnection of computers that allows users to access a huge volume of information on virtually any subject that can be imagined. However, access to information usually requires the use of a personal computer and related hardware and software. Television is another means of communication that has continued to grow over the years with the arrival of satellite and cable based distribution systems that provide subscribers with more than a hundred or more channels. These two means of communication have not been combined with each other, and there is a need for a system that combines the two media in a simple and convenient way for the user to provide viewers with access to information from the Internet or other source of information. .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention satisfies the aforementioned need by providing a system and method for accessing information related to the content of the transmission or television program from a source of information, such as the Internet, through a network distribution system, such as a transmission or television distribution system. Conventional television distribution systems, for example, include a television distribution network that is interfaced via communication links (e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless satellite and radio links, etc., or combinations thereof) to a plurality of viewers. In most cases, each television is connected to an overlay or terminal converter box that is interfaced between a communication link and the television to receive and decode television signals from the distribution network. Television distribution systems of this type usually do not provide or provide very limited means for a user to communicate through the distribution network with the television content provider. The distribution system employed in the preferred embodiment of the present invention differs from previous television distribution systems through the provision of a plurality of ascending communication channels arranged between the users and the distribution network that allows users to communicate. with it in real time. In addition, the television distribution network is interfaced to an information source, such as the Internet, through an inbound end server and a router, so that each user can access the information by sending access commands and requests for information through the communication channel ascending to the endpoint server. The incoming end server retrieves the requested information and transfers it through one of a plurality of descending television signal channels to the requesting user. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system is specifically employed to link the content of broadcast programming in real time with abundant related information using a technique known as channel hyperlink. In a specific application concerning transmission and cable television, the channel hyperlink provides the link of a specific frequency or television channel to the content of a World Wide Web (WWW) site with the purpose of offering additional information to the viewer about the content of the programming that it sees. at that moment. As an example, if a user is currently viewing an ad for a particular product, you can only press a button on the television's remote control, and in seconds, receive additional information about the specific product from a network site. Internet. To carry out the preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or more input end databases are interfaced to the inbound end server which contains Internet-based information related to the programs and advertisements that are being transmitted through the television distribution network. More particularly, for each program or ad that is associated with an Internet location, a database contains the address information of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for an Internet location that is related to said programs or advertisements. . Preferably, the HTML network (Hypertext Markup Language) site data for the specified Internet locations are also previously stored in a cache that is interfaced to the incoming end server to substantially reduce the access time to it. . To facilitate this caching of the network site from the Internet, the incoming end server is interfaced to an Internet service provider (ISP), and transfers the data from the network site from the ISP to the cache before the transmission of the programming that is hyperlinked to the data of the network site. When a user of the system wishes to have access to Internet information related to a program or advertisement that he is currently watching, the user presses a channel hyperlink button on the TV's remote control; it instructs an application program in the overlay converter box of the user to send the request to the inbound end server through one of the upstream channels together with an identification number of the user overlay converter box. , as well as the information that identifies the channel that the user is watching. Upon receipt of the request, the incoming end server determines the exact time of the request from a system clock, and by using the identification number and channel information, accesses the endpoint data bases for locate the URL address to obtain the desired Internet information. Then, this information passes to one among a plurality of Internet searching applications with an instruction to transfer the Internet information related to the overlay converter box of the user in accordance with the ID number of the converter. Almost always, Internet information is found in HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) data, which is accessed dynamically from the ISP with an Internet browser in a traditional way, or which has been stored in the cache in the entry end server based on the previous or predicted use. To determine which network pages should be associated with each program or advertisement, each transmission source inserts an identification number or identifier into the transmission signal approximately once every second that identifies the program or announcement content, as well as the control of time and duration related to said content. The entry end database is continuously updated with the identifying ID information during the transmission. As already explained above, the entry end database also contains URL data that is related to the content of the specific program or advertisement that is included in the information identifying the transmission content. This is provided as an entry to the entry end database, and is updated as necessary through Internet transfers separately or through other means of hard copy storage or transmission (eg, magnetic tape). In addition, the input end database contains channel maps that relate the specific converter channels to a programming source. In this way, when a user of the system operates the channel hyperlink button, the inbound end server determines the time of activation of the button from a system clock, and equals the converter ID number and channel information with the Related Internet information coming from the cache or ISP, using the channel map and the identified content information, as well as the URL data.. Preferably, a data collection center is also provided to receive diverse transmission, transfer or hard copy information. For example, this center can receive satellite transmissions from various transmission sources (for example, cable television networks, such as ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, CNN, ESPN, etc.), and determines the information Identified of the required content. This center also receives the transferred and / or hard copy URL data that will be associated with the transmission schedule and the content of the advertisement. This information can be assembled into a master database, the important portions of which are then sent to the inbound end servers providing the interactive information source in accordance with the present invention. This database information is populated by the inbound end servers with other database information related to applicable channel maps, channel information, and time control to interactively associate specific programming or ad content. that are being watched at that time on television with related Internet information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention for linking users of a television distribution system to Internet-based information that is related to the content of a given program; Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a network input end employed in the system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a circuit of the overlaying converter box used in the system of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a diagram of a descending packet transmitted in one of the downstream channels of the system; Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams of payloads that can be sent in the down pack illustrated in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a diagram of an ascending packet transmitted in one of the upstream channels of the system; and Figures 7A-7F are diagrams of payloads that can be sent in the ascending packet illustrated in Figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY With reference to Figure 1, an information communication system 10 is illustrated to realize the hyperlink concept of channels. the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof. The system 10 includes a television distribution system 12 for distributing television programming and others to a plurality of users of the system. As is usual, the distribution system 12 includes a network input end 14 for supplying the programming through a distribution network 16. The distribution network 16 distributes the television programming through a plurality of links of transmission 18 to a corresponding plurality of user terminals or overlay converter boxes 20. Each transmission link 18 preferably includes a plurality of down channels 21, and at least one uplink channel 22. As is also usual, each converter box Overlapped positioning 20 allows a user to select via a remote control device 23, for example, one of the downstream channels 21 for viewing on television 24. Preferably, the remote control device 23 includes a computer-style keyboard that communicates with the overlay converter box 20 by a conventional infrared wireless link. In addition, a mouse type input device (not shown) can be used in conjunction with the keyboard 23, as is already common. Alternatively, the remote control device 23 also includes a conventional television remote control. Each communication link 18 preferably includes a coaxial cable, however it will be understood that other types of links may be employed, for example, such as wireless and fiber optic links. The distribution network 16 supplies the video programming information for each plurality of downstream channels 21 to each overlay converter box 20 using a conventional digital or analog communication scheme. However, in contrast to conventional television distribution systems, the communication links 18 are preferably operated in a two-way manner, wherein at least one of the upstream channels 22 is provided for each overlay converter box 20 for allow it to send information requests to the end of network input 14 in real time. This allows a user to request access to Internet-based or other information related to the programming that is currently being viewed by operating a channel 25 hyperlink button on the keyboard 23. The network input end 14 receives programming in video that will be distributed to the user from a satellite 26 as is normal. However, in contrast to conventional television distribution systems, the input end 14 can also access information from one or more input end databases 28 (hereinafter referred to as a hyperlink database). , and this information can be used to select the Internet information or other information that can be transferred to the overlay converter boxes 20 for viewing on the user's TVs 24. The information stored in the hyperlink database 28 is information reference that is related in some way to the programs, and announcements that are being transmitted through the distribution network 16 to the users. For example, preferably reference information includes source, content, time control and duration information regarding each program or advertisement. In addition, a key piece of information will almost always be a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that is used to refer to more detailed information related to the content of the programs and the advertisements that are being broadcast. The information related to the programming content may be in any suitable form, such as text and photographs or related graphics (e.g., Internet network pages, video in motion, audio, etc.). Although the information related to the content can come from any source, it is preferable that at least part of the information is obtained from the Internet. Preferably, this is carried out by interfacing the inbound end 14 to a conventional Internet Service Provider (ISP) 30. Although the inbound end 14 can access the information directly from the ISP 30 in real time, it is preferable that the entry end 14 access the information from the ISP 30 before any request for information is received from the users, and cache or store the information in a cache 31 connected in the interface between the IPS 30 and the entry end 14, so that access can be achieved quickly and transferred to a user in response to a request for information. To facilitate the channel hyperlink that a user makes from a video or advertisement program with Internet-based information or other related information, some means must be provided to identify, at the end of the network entry 14, the identity of the program that it is being viewed at the moment when the user initiated the hyperlink request. This is carried out by inserting an identification number or identifier in all transmission programming sources on a regular basis., hereinafter referred to as ID identifier, in the transmitted television signal approximately once every second. The ID identifier identifies the programming content, and may also identify the company or organization that created the program or advertisement, as well as unique demographic or geographic information that identifies known geographic and demographic categories within a country or market. As will be explained in more detail, the entry end 14 employs the ID identifier to perform a thorough search of the hyperlink databases 28 to find the reference information (eg, URL) that is necessary to access the information. related to the content from the ISP 30 and / or the cache 31. Preferably a data collection center 34 is provided which receives, monitors and collects transmission programming via the satellite 26 from a plurality of uplink centers in network of transmission and cable television 38 (only one illustrated in Figure 1), each of which is operated by a corresponding transmission or cable television network. The purpose of the uplink center 38 is not only to transmit video programming via satellite 26, but also to insert the ID identifiers into the video programming. In the case of analog television signals, this can be done by inserting the ID identifier into the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the signal or by inserting the identifier into the live audio or video stream. For digital communication, such as for example the one based on the MPEG II format, for example, the ID identifier data can be inserted periodically (for example, approximately once per second) into a data stream associated with the stream of video and audio data in particular. Each uplink facility 38 preferably also communicates with an uplink center database 40 that stores information relating to the content of the schedule or announcement, such as URL or other information based on the network that will be associated with the content. of the schedule or announcement. The URL data in each database of the uplink center 40 is communicated via the Internet to a master database 42 which is interfaced to the data collection center 34. The master database 42 contains the URL and others. reference data for all channel hyperlinks for the various national transmission and cable TV networks. Then, this information is retransmitted, once more preferably via the Internet, to each end of network entry 14, where the URL data is stored in one or more hyperlink databases 28. In addition, it should be noted that many of the URL data stored in the hyperlink database 28 will be the same as the corresponding data stored in the master database 42, there will be some differences in cases where the URLs or other network data will be associated with an ID identifier, as provided by the programming source, which will be unique to a geographical or demographic location or market. For example, an ID identifier for an advertised product may be linked to information relating to a supplier of the product in a first market area, and information relating to a second supplier in a second market area. The data collection center 34 thus manages the transmission of the URL data from the master database 42 to the hyperlink database 28 in accordance with any geographic or demographic identifier that may be present in each ID identifier. It is also likely that the entry end database 28 contains only the information in the ID identifiers for programming and advertisements that may appear in the transmission channels received through the entry end., while the master database 42 will contain said information. The collection center 34 also combines all the ID identifiers that are present in all television signals that are received from the satellite 26, and retransmits the IDs as a combined data stream to a second satellite 43. The second satellite 43 transmits this combined data stream of ID identifiers to each cable input end 14. Although of course the ID identifiers are present in the video signals that are being received by the cable input end 14 from the first satellite 26, the separate transmission of the ID identifiers eliminates the need for the input end 14 to detect and remove the ID identifiers from the incoming video signals. As an alternative, however, it will of course be understood that the entry end 14 can detect and eliminate the ID identifiers themselves. The hyperlink database 28 also preferably receives hyperlink data from the URL from a source of local video content or database 44, which for example supplies the information for local affiliates in the national network, community access, local schools and channels sponsored by the cable operator. A local ad insertion source 46 is also provided to provide local ad ID identifiers to each hyperlink database 28. The local ad insertion team reports to the hyperlink database 28 in real time of any identifier. ID when you are going to insert advertisements in the transmission. Figure 2 illustrates the details of the input end 14 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention which operates by supplying channel hyperlinks and other Internet information to each user through the insertion of the information in the television signals. descending The input end core 14 is an input end server 50 which manages the channel hyperlink information access from the ISP 30, the hyperlink database 28 and the local database 44, the storage of information from hyperlink of previously stored channels in the cache 31, and receipt of the identifier information ID of the program content from an ID receiver circuit 52. The input end server 50 includes a processor 54 to perform these operations. Processor 54 sends Internet training requests, and receives requested information from and to ISP 30 by various conventional communication elements, including a cache machine 55, an interface 56, a router 58 and a channel / unit service unit Data Service (CSU / DSU) 60. The cache machine 55 manages the pre-caching of hyperlink data from the HTML network location of the ISP 30, as well as storing this data in the cache 31. If necessary , a conventional graphics processor 62 may also be provided to convert the graphics portion of the HTML data received from the ISP 30 into a graphics format that is compatible with the user's television 24. Requests for channel hyperlink information are received from a user via a fixed overhead communication controller 70. These requests are passed to a session manager 72 who can control multiple sessions from a plurality of overlay converter boxes 20, and maintains a relationship between the received request and the converter box 20 that made the request. More particularly, each channel hyperlink information request received by the communication controller 70 includes an identification number or code that identifies the overlay matching converter box 20 that sends the request. Session manager 72 tracks this information and matches the requested Internet information with the correct overwriting converter box 20 that sent the request. After a request is received from one of the overlay converter boxes 20, the session manager 72 passes the request to the processor 54, and connects the user to one of a plurality of active search engines (search engines) 74. By providing a plurality of search engines 74 that are actively running, but no user is using at that time, a user can connect to the hyperlink information of channels without the delays that are normally related when opening a searching application. Session manager 72 monitors the number of available active search engines 74 when users are connected to channel hyperlink information through search engines 74, and decreases the number of available active search engines. Once this number reaches a predetermined minimum, for example 3, the session manager 72 causes a predetermined number, for example 5, of the search engines 74 to be reactivated to ensure that an active search engine is always available when a user requests access to channel hyperlink information. It should be understood that although the use of multiple active searchers is preferred in the above manner, it is not necessary to employ this feature to carry out the present invention, and searchers 74 may be opened in a conventional manner "as necessary", if desired . The searching application 74 has access to the channel hyperlink information from the cache 31 or the ISP 30. The searching application 74 constructs the accessed information (e.g., web page) into a bitmap that is preferably compressed to reduce the transmission time between the input end 14 and the overlaying positioning converter box 20. The compressed bitmap is then passed by the searching application 74 to a terminal visual display manager 76. Preferably the terminal visual display manager 76 is designed to reduce to the maximum the actual amount of information that must be transmitted to the overlay converter box 20. This is done by transmitting to the overlay converter box 20 only the information necessary to renew the portions of a display screen that they will be changed. The overlay positioning communication controller 70 transmits the display information from the display manager 76 to a data modulator 80. In a preferred embodiment, the modulator 80 comprises a VBI data inserter. As the name implies, a VBI data inserter inserts the channel hyperlink related data in the vertical blanking interval of the video program that is currently being transmitted on one of the downstream channels 21, where the data will be transmitted. hyperlink. It should be noted that a plurality of data modulators 80 are provided, one for each of the available downstream channels 21. As an alternative, this information together with the appropriate identifiers is included as part of an elementary digital data stream. Each downlink channel 21 also includes an RF modulator 82 to modulate each television signal at the appropriate channel frequency. An RF 84 combiner is provided to receive the outputs from RF modulators 82 and combine them to form a single signal. This signal is then introduced to a diplex filter 86, and finally to the distribution network 16. The purpose of the diplex filter 86 is to separate the uplink hyperlink information requests that are received from the users through the transmission link. 18 from the descending television signals. These ascending requests are introduced from the diplex filter 86 to a plurality of RF demulators 87, one for each ascending channel 22, and then to an ascending data receiver 88 which passes the requests to the communication controller 70 to effect processing by the server input end 50. A network input end controller 89 includes equipment for receiving television transmissions from the second satellite 36 and for distributing the transmissions on the respective downstream channels 21. Preferably, a noise detector 90 is also provided in the communication controller 70 to detect the noise level in each riser 22. If the detected noise level is very high in one of the riser channels 22, the communication controller 70 may reassigning each overlay converter box 20 with another of the uplink channels 22. Alternatively, the communication controller 70 can direct the overlay converter boxes 20 affected to smit at a higher level if necessary. Preferably, the noise detector 90 comprises a software that determines the noise levels while preserving the statistics corresponding to the number of altered data packets received in each ascending channel 22. With reference to FIG. 3, the circuitry contained in FIG. overlapped converter box 20. In the preferred embodiment, the downlink television signals that are received from the distribution network 16 are input to a downstream data extor 92 via an RF tuner 94. In the mode in which the data modulator 80 includes a VBI inserter, the extor 92 comprises a VBI extor. As is now common, the user controls the RF tuner 94 to select and demodulate one of the downstream channels 21. In addition, an overlay or terminating processor 96 is provided to also control the RF tuner 94 to select, in response to the information received. from the communication controller 70, the downstream channel 21 in which the requested hyperlink information will be received. The extor 92 removes the channel hyperlink information that was inserted from the blank intervals of the video signal, and passes it to the terminal processor 96. Preferably, the processor 96 also includes the software to perform the function of. decoding and decompression of video deployment data. As an alternative, the superposed positioning converter box 20 may include a decoding and / or decompression module 98 interposed between the extor 92 and the processor 96 to carry out this function. The terminal processor 96 is connected in interface to a memory bank or module 100 that facilitates the various processing functions performed by the processor 96, including the production of the video display information from the exted information, and the display of the same on the television display 24. The terminal processor 96 also receives the channel hyperlink commands from a user by the keypad 23. The remote control 23 preferably includes an IR smitter 102 that communicates with a IR receiver 104 contained within the overlaying positioning converter box 20. Of course, it will be understood that any other type of input means, such as a keyboard connected with cables or a mouse, for example, could be used to input the hyperlink of channels. The receiver 104 passes the channel hyperlink request to the terminal processor 96 which identifies the channel to which the RF tuner 94 is tuned. This information, together with the identification number of the overlay matching converter box is then passed through an upstream smitter. 106 through the smission link 18 to the input end 14 for processing. It should be understood that although one embodiment of the invention is specifically designed to be used with analog video signals into which the channel hyperlink information is inserted in the vertical blanking intervals of the analog video signals, the information could also be insert in the horizontal suppression intervals and / or audio and video streams, if desired. Such alternative variations would be useful, for example, to increase the speed of smission of the channel hyperlink information. further, it would only be a matter of implementing the present invention using, for example, a fully digital format, such as MPEG II. In said variation, the modulator 90 and the data extractor 92 would be placed by means of an inserter and extractor of corresponding digital data that are compatible with the selected digital format. The transmission of ascending and descending data between the overlay converter box 20 and the communication controller 70 of the input end server 50 will be described below with reference in Figures 4-7. Preferably, each ascending channel 22 of the television distribution network 12 is multiplexed into a plurality of ascending slots. Where the temporal length T of each slot is equal to the temporal length T of a single photograph field in the video downstream signals, where each photo field includes a photograph interval and a vertical blanking interval. In the transmission convention of E.U.A., T equals 1 / 60th of a second. Also, pairs are preferably formed between a plurality of ascending channels 22 and each descending channel 21. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, pairs are formed between each downlink channel and up to four uplink channels. Also preferably, each overlying converter box 20 in the system 10 is assigned to at least one of the upward slots at any time. Preferably, now with respect to Figure 4, each data transmission descending from the communication controller 70 of the input end server 50 is in the form of at least one downstream pack 110. As illustrated, the downstream packet 110 includes a four byte cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value in the rest of the downlink pack 110, where the CRC value is used to detect any data corruption in the 110 packet. The use of CRC values is well known, and Therefore, there is no need to describe it in detail. The downlink pack 110 also includes four SND bytes (SND A - SND D), where each SND byte corresponds to an upstream channel associated with the downstream channel in which the downlink packet 110 is being sent. Each SND byte contains a session ID of a sender (i.e., a converter box) 20) which is allowed to transmit ascending data in the next ascending slot of the corresponding ascending channel. For example, if the SND B byte has a value of "1", then the overlay converter box 20 assigned to the session ID "1" may transmit in the next up slot in the upstream channel corresponding to "B". Preferably, if a particular SND byte has a value of 0, any overlay converter box 20 is allowed to transmit in the next corresponding up slot, for example, to request a new session. Each downlink pack 110 also has four acknowledgment bytes (ACK A-ACK D), where each ACK byte corresponds to an upstream channel associated with the downlink channel in which the downlink pack 110 is being sent. As is to be understood, each ACK byte is sends in response to the successful reception of ascending data in a respective ascending channel in the previous ascending slot. Preferably, each ACK byte includes the session ID of the transmission overlay matching box 20 and a revision bit indicating whether the serial number of the rising packet being recognized is an even or non-numbered number. With respect now to Figure 5A, the downlink packet 110 also has a serial number of a two-byte packet, followed by a payload of descending multi-byte data 112. The downlink data payload 112 includes a load session ID. one-byte useful to identify the session ID of the superimposed placement converter box 20 intended to receive the payload, a two-byte length indicator, and the content of the data being sent in the packet. As is to be understood, although overlay converter boxes 20 in the downlink channel will receive all downlink packets 110, a particular overlay converter box 20 will ignore the content of the data being sent in pack 110 unless the load data utility 112 has a payload session ID corresponding to the session ID of the overlay placement converter box 20. Preferably, a downlink packet 110 periodically has a preparatory payload 114 instead of a data payload 112, as shown in Figure 5B. As illustrated, the preparatory payload 114 includes four channel bytes, each channel byte identifying one of the four upstream channels 22 and related to one of the downstream channels 21 in which the downlink packet 110 is transmitted. Consequently, if an overlay converter box 20 wants to transmit a channel hyperlink request, the overlay converter box 20 must wait in the downlink channel for a preparatory operation packet 114 and upon receiving said preparatory operation packet it can determine which ascending channels are associated with the descending channel. The overlay positioning converter box 20 can then send a hyperlink request in one of the associated upstream channels 22. If the hyperlink requests were made recently and were triggered by the communication controller 70, the preparatory payload 114 can also be Include several hyperlink request acknowledgments (ACK). In particular, the preparatory payload 114 includes a one-byte indicator of the ACK number, followed by each ACK. Each ACK includes a "converter ID" corresponding to a unique terminal ID number related to a requesting overlay converter box., a one-byte session ID that identifies the requesting overlay converter box 20 during the channel hyperlink session, a two-byte downlink channel indicator indicating the downlink channel 21 that the requesting overlay converter box 20 must tune, and a one-byte ascending channel indicator indicating the ascending channel 22 in which the overlaying positioning converter box 20 must be transmitting. Now with respect to figure 6, the ascending data from the overlaying converter box 20 are sent in the form of an upward packet 116. As illustrated, each uplink packet 116 includes a CRC value of four bytes, since with each down packet 110, a one-byte identifier having the session ID assigned to the overlay positioning converter box 20 and a revision bit indicating whether the uplink packet 110 has an even packet number or non, a one-byte data length indicator indicating the length of a multi-byte upward payload in packet 116, and the payload. As illustrated in Figure 7A, the payload has a structure 118 that includes a two-byte length indicator and the content of the payload. Figures 7B-7F are examples of the content of the various ascending payloads. As illustrated in FIG. 7B, a channel hyperlink request 120 from an overlay converter box 20 includes a one-byte flag which means that the uplink packet 116 is a hyperlink request 120, a two-byte flag that identifies the TV channel that the overlay converter box 20 is currently tuning in, and a four byte indicator that identifies the unique box ID of the overlay placement converter box 20. Upon receiving the channel hyperlink request 20, the entry end server 14 determines the time of the request from a clock in the system in real time. The inbound end server 14 then uses the time and the TV channel number to access the hyperlink database 28 to locate the appropriate URL. As illustrated in FIG. 7C, an ascending acknowledgment payload 122 includes a one-byte flag which means that the ascending packet 116 is an ascending acknowledgment 122, a two-byte serial number of descending packet 110 being recognized, and a one-byte recognition (ACK) indicator. At the time, an expected descending data packet 110 is not received, or if not, it is received with an error or alternation. Thus, and as illustrated in FIG. 7B, and an ascending packet 116 may have an uplink forwarding request payload 124 which includes a one-byte flag which means that the uplink packet 116 is a forwarding request 124 and a two-byte serial number of the descending packet 110 to be forwarded.

. If the data that is being sent upwardly by the overlay converter box 20 is the pressing of a computer-style keyboard key or the like, then the uplink packet 116 has a payload of up key 126, as illustrated in FIG. 7E, which includes a one-byte flag which means that the uplink packet 116 is a keypress payload 126, and a two-byte keypress code. As it should be understood, if the key press comes from a keypad, the key press code includes information about whether a CTRL / ALT / SHIFT key is being pressed at the moment a key is pressed. If a user uses a mouse or a device similar to a mouse as an input device, the movements of the mouse enter the overlay converter box 20 and system 10 as commands. Accordingly, an upward packet 116 may have information on the movement of the upward mouse 128, as illustrated in Figure 7F. The mouse movement information 128 includes a one-byte indicator which means that the uplink packet 116 is a mouse movement payload 128, a one-byte mouse click code, a two-byte mouse X-coordinate, and a two-byte mouse Y coordinate. As it should be understood, the one-byte mouse click code includes information on whether a SHIFT / CTRL / ALT key is being pressed, as well as information on the left, middle and right mouse button. As one skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the particular structures of the descending and ascending packages 110, 116 can be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, if only three upstream channels are assigned to a downstream channel, only three SND bytes and three ACK bytes are needed in downlink pack 110 (Figure 4). Similarly, the fields in the packets 110, 116 can be added, deleted or changed depending on the structure or size. As it should be understood, given the structure of a typical television distribution network, noise in upstream channels is problematic. As a result, it is known that upstream channels can have error rates of up to 1: 100000 to 1: 100. Accordingly, it is preferable that the ascending data packets 116 be kept relatively short to lessen the likelihood that any packet will be disturbed by the noise. However, it should be noted that such brief ascending packets 116 are not prohibitive, since most of the ascending commands are relatively short: a mouse movement, a key press, etc. With the system 10 as described above, an overlay converter box 20 generates a channel hyperlink request in the following manner. First, the overlay matching converter box 20 is tuned to one of the downstream channels 21 in which the downlink packets 110 are being transmitted, and listens to a preparatory operation packet 114 to determine which uplink channels 22 are associated with the downlink channel 21. One of the random ascending channels 22 is selected, and a hyperlink request 120 is sent in an ascending slot that has not previously been assigned by a respective SND byte. If a hyperlink request acknowledgment (ACK) is subsequently received within a predetermined number of periods T (corresponding to the length of a photograph field and to the length of an ascending slot), the hyperlink request has been received successfully. Otherwise, it may be attempted with other random ascending and descending channels 21 and 22. In the unlikely event that two overlay converter boxes 20 send a hyperlink request in the same ascending slot, the communication controller 70 will receive stacked data. and none of the overlay converter boxes 20 will receive an ACK. Preferably, each overlay converter box 20 then waits for a random amount of time and attempts a second hyperlink request. The procedure is repeated until both hyperlink requests are handled by the communication controller 70. Once the hyperlink session request is recognized, the overlay converter box 20 waits for a downlink packet 110 that has been directed to the box overlay converter 20 in response to the request. Preferably, each received descending packet 110 is checked to determine if the serial number of the packet is correct. If the serial number of the packet is incorrect, a forwarded request 124 is sent with the serial number of the packet of the last packet that was received successfully. Preferably, the incoming end server 50 interprets a forwarded request 124 as a request to forward the packet 110 having the serial number forwarded and each packet 110 sent later. If a forwarded request 124 is sent multiple times without result, or if a downward packet 110 has not been received in the overlay converter box 20 in a predetermined period, the overlay converter box 20 may attempt a reconnection. Preferably, in an attempt to reconnect, the overlay converter box 20 makes a hyperlink session request 120 in another of the upstream channels 22, and the communication controller 70 responds in another of the downlink channels 21. As explained before, each descending package 110 and each rising packet 116 is quickly recognized by the packet receiver, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 7C. As is to be understood, said fast ACKs are necessary to control the noise problem and to provide real-time access to the ISP 30. Preferably, a packet sender waits up to two ascending slots or photo fields to receive an ACK from a receiver of packages. If an ACK is not currently received in the overlay converter box 20, the overlay converter box 20 preferably resends the uplink packet 116 for which recognition is sought. If the overlay converter box 20 is forced to forward data a predetermined number of times, preferably an attempt is made to reconnect to other downstream and upstream channels 21 and 22. In the operation of the channel hyperlink system 10, each input end 14 preferably pre-caches from the ISP 30, the HTML data belonging to the channel hyperlinks associated with the incoming programming prior to the transmissions, and stores this information in the cache 31. When the programs are received video of the satellite 26 and the ID data stream ID is received from the second satellite 43, the input end 14 collects the hyperlink IDs a. from the data stream, whereby hardware costs are reduced at the input end 14. At any given time, the input end 14 can therefore identify the program content of any channel. The entry end 14, upon receiving the URL data from the master database 42, can also retrieve the network information located at the URL address from the ISP 30. As explained above, although it is preferable that this procedure be carried out before a video transmission to facilitate the faster processing of hyperlink requests, this procedure can also be carried out in real time if necessary. If a user who is watching a program or announcement on channel A, for example, wishes to obtain additional information related to the advertised product or the television program, the user presses the channel hyperlink button 25 on the keyboard 23 to initiate the request. The terminal processor 96 in the overlay converter box 20 receives the request and passes it along with the identification information of the converter box and the channel to the input end 14 for processing. When the input end 14 receives the hyperlink information requests from the user's channels, the communication controller 70 sends the channel ID information to the terminal processor 96 which identifies the downlink channel 21 into which the hyperlink information will be transmitted. of channels requested. In response, the terminal processor 96 instructs the RF 94 tuner to switch to the designated channel. The session manager 72 then connects the user to one of the available active search engines 74 and the input end processor 54 uses the channel and request time information to perform a search operation in the hyperlink database 28. In this example, the processor 54 accesses the HTML data from the cache 31 corresponding to the URL information identified by the hyperlink ID for the channel A at the exact time the hyperlink request was made. The HTML data is then transferred by the browser 74 to the user in the selected downstream channel to display them on his television 24. If the plural active search engines and the pre-caching features of the invention are employed, the entire procedure from the activation of the hyperlink button 25 until the display of the information transferred on the user's television 24 should only take a few seconds due to the fact that the user quickly connects to an active searching application, and the Internet-based hyperlink information that is transferred has already been stored in the cache 31. Once the user finishes searching for the information transferred, he activates the hyperlink button 25 on the keypad 23 to close the network page, or if you are using a mouse-type input device, point and press on a back or exit button on the TV's display screen. In response, the session manager 72 closes the searching application 74 which has been delegated to the user and the terminal processor 96 changes the tuner 94 back to the previously selected channel so that the user can continue to watch the video transmission. In summary, the present invention provides a user-friendly and convenient means by which you can quickly access Internet-based information or other information that is related to the programming content of a television broadcast you are viewing on that moment, and you can see the information on your television without the need for a costly computer system or the skills necessary to operate such a system. It is to be understood that although the preferred embodiment of the present invention is specifically designed to access the programming content related to Internet-based information in a cable or television distribution system, the inventive channel hyperlink concept contemplated in FIG. preferred mode could be applied to any type of communication medium in which one or more transmission signals containing information are transmitted and received by one or more users, and users can initiate hyperlink requests to have access to other information that is related to the information contained in the transmission signals. For example, the concept of hyperlink could also be applied to radio transmissions in which a user, using a personal computer or similar, could make a hyperlink with Internet-based information or other information to a radio transmission that is receiving at that moment. Similarly, the hyperlink concept could be applied to locator signal distribution systems, where upon receiving the predetermined locator signal, a user could hyperlink to a source of information containing relevant information that the signal transmitter of the locator wants to receive to have access. In view of the foregoing, it will therefore be understood that the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims is not limited to the preferred embodiment, and that various previous variations and modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (50)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS 1. - A system to provide access to a source of information that includes: a) a source of information; b) a plurality of terminals, each terminal including: 1) a receiver for receiving information from said information source and a transmission signal from a transmission signal source; and 2) a transmitter to transmit a request for information that will be received from said source of information; and c) a network for receiving information from said information source and said transmission signal from a transmission signal source, and distributing the information and the transmission signal to the plurality of terminals mentioned, said network includes: 1) a receiver for receive requests for information from the terminals; and 2) means for accessing information in the information source that relates to the informative content of the transmission signal, and in response to a request for information received from the first of the terminals during the reception of the transmission signal by the first terminal, transmitting said information related to the first terminal.
2. 2. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the information source comprises a cache connected in interface to said network.
3. 3. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the source of information comprises the Internet, and said network also includes means to access information from the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
4. 4. The system according to claim 3, further characterized in that said network includes means for accessing information from the Internet through said ISP that is related to the informative content of a transmission signal that will be transmitted to the terminals through the network, and to store the information in a cache connected in interface to the network for future access in response to requests for information received from the terminals during transmission of the transmission signal.
5. 5. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the transmission signal includes an identifier that is periodically transmitted with the transmission signal, said identifier is used by the network to identify, in response to a request for information received , information in said source of information that relates to the informative content of a transmission signal that is received through one of the mentioned terminals when the terminal generates a request for information.
6. 6. The system according to claim 5, further characterized in that each terminal includes a terminal processor to generate a request for information, and to transmit the request to the network with additional information that identifies a receiver channel to which the receiver is tuned. terminal receiver at the time of the request, wherein the network uses the channel information, the identifier and the time control information that identifies the time at which the request was generated, to determine the content of the signal information of transmission received through the terminal at the moment in which the request for information is generated through it.
7. 7. The system according to claim 6, further characterized in that it includes a database connected in interface to the network to store reference information that corresponds to the identifier that identifies the location of the information source of the information related to the content informative of the transmission signal.
8. 8. The system according to claim 7, further characterized in that it includes a master database for receiving and storing reference information for a plurality of transmission signals that identifies the location in said source of information related to the informative content of each transmission signal, and means for transmitting information in the master database to the network database.
9. 9. The system according to claim 8, further characterized in that the reference information in the master database includes Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet locations that contain information that is related to the informational content of each signal. of transmission.
10. 10. The system according to claim 9, further characterized in that the information source includes a cache connected in the network interface to store HTML data to access information from the Internet at locations specified by the URLs.
11. 11. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the source of information comprises the Internet, and said network includes a searching application for use by one of the terminals requesting information to access and search information from the Internet to through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
12. 12. The system according to claim 11, further characterized in that the network includes a plurality of search engines and means to maintain several search engines in an active state before receiving a request for information from one of the terminals mentioned, so that one of the active search engines can be used immediately through one of the terminals to access information from the Internet through said ISP.
13. 13. The system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the transmission signal comprises a television transmission signal and said information source contains information related to the content of the programming of the television transmission signal. 14. - The system according to claim 13, further characterized in that the plurality of terminals of the network is in a television distribution system. 15. The system according to claim 14, further characterized in that the television distribution system is a cable television distribution system. 16. A system for providing Internet access through a television distribution network that includes: a) a source of information based on the Internet; b) a plurality of terminals, each terminal interfaced to a television signal receiving device and which includes: 1) a multiple channel receiver for receiving Internet-based information from the information source and a plurality of transmission signals from television in a corresponding plurality of channels; and 2) a transmitter to transmit a request for Internet-based information that will be received from the information source; and c) a network for receiving Internet-based information from the information source and transmission signals from at least one television transmission signal source, and for distributing Internet-based information from the information source and transmission signals of the television. television from the source of the signal in a plurality of channels to said plurality of terminals, said network includes: 1) a receiver to receive requests for Internet-based information from the terminals; and 2) means for accessing Internet-based information in the source of information that relates to the informational content of the television broadcast signals and in response to a request for information received from a first terminal during the reception of one of the television transmission signals by the first terminal, and for transmitting to said first terminal so that the television signal receiving device receives the Internet-based information that is related to the informative content of one of the transmission signals of television and the time the request was made through the first terminal. 17. The system according to claim 16, further characterized in that the network includes means to access information from the Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP). 18. The system according to claim 17, further characterized in that the network includes means for accessing information from the Internet through said ISP that is related to the informative content of a plurality of television transmission signals that are It will transmit to the terminals through the network, and to store the information in a cache connected in the network interface for future access in response to requests for information received from the terminals during the transmission of television transmission signals. 19. The system according to claim 16, further characterized in that each of the television transmission signals includes a detector that is periodically transmitted with each television transmission signal, said detector is used by the network to identify , in response to a request for information received, information based on the Internet that is related to the informative content of one of the television transmission signals received by one of the terminals when said terminal generates a request for information. 20. The system according to claim 19, further characterized in that each terminal includes a terminal processor for generating a request for information, and for transmitting the request to said network with additional information identifying a receiving channel to which the receiver is tuned. terminal receiver at the time of the request, wherein the network uses the channel information, the identifier and the time control information that identifies the time at which the request was generated, to determine the informative content of the television transmission signal received by the terminal at the time when the request for information was generated by it. 21. The system according to claim 20, further characterized in that it includes a database connected in interface to the network to store reference information corresponding to the identifier that identifies the location in the information source of the information related to the informative content of the television transmission signal. 22. The system according to claim 21, further characterized in that it includes a master database for receiving and storing reference information for a plurality of television transmission signals that identifies the location in the source of information related to the informative content of each television transmission signal, and means for transmitting information in said master database to the network database. 23. The system according to claim 22, further characterized in that the reference information in the master database includes Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet locations that contain information that relates to the informational content of each signal. of television transmission. 24. The system according to claim 23, further characterized in that a cache is interfaced to the network to store HTML data to access information from the Internet at locations specified by the URLs. 25. The system according to claim 16, further characterized in that each of the terminals includes means for a user to enter a request for information based on the Internet that is related to the informative content of a television transmission that the user is watching at that moment in the television signal receiving device. 26.- The system according to claim 25, further characterized in that the means for a user to enter a request include a button on a remote control device. 27. The system according to claim 16, further characterized in that the means in said network for transmitting the information based on the Internet include a data modulator for inserting the information in a television transmission signal that is being transmitted by said network in one of the receiver channels in said first terminal. 28. The system according to claim 27, further characterized in that the data modulator comprises a vertical suppression interval inserter for inserting the information in vertical suppression intervals of the television transmission signal. 29. A method for accessing information related to the content of the transmission signal from an information source, said method comprises the steps of: a) providing a terminal, said terminal includes a receiver to receive a transmission signal and a transmitter to send a request for information; b) providing a transmission signal distribution network for receiving a transmission signal from a signal source and for sending said transmission signal to the terminal receiver; c) providing a source of information connected in interface to the network, said source of information contains information related to the informative content of said transmission signal; d) transmitting the transmission signal from the network to the terminal receiver; e) generating a request in the terminal to obtain information related to the informative content of the transmission signal during the reception thereof, and send the request to said network; f) in response to the reception of the request of said terminal, the network: 1) identifies information in the source of information that is related to the informative content of the transmission signal; 2) has access to information related to the content; and 3) transmit the information related to the content to the terminal. 30. The method according to claim 29, further characterized in that the passage of the network to access the information comprises access to said information from the Internet through an Internet service provider. The method according to claim 30, further characterized in that said step of the network for accessing the information further comprises: a) before transmitting said transmission signal to the terminal receiver, having access to information from the Internet through of an Internet Service Provider that is related to the informational content of the transmission signal; b) store the related information in a cache connected to the network interface and; c) have access to the related information from the cache when that request for information is received. 32.- The method according to claim 29, further characterized in that the passage of said network to identify the information in the source of information that is related to the informative content of the transmission signal also comprises: a) determining from an identifier transmitted periodically with the transmission signal by the signal source, as well as information identifying the time at which the request was made, the identity of the informative content of the transmission signal; and b) equalizing the identifier with the reference information that identifies the location of the information related to the content in the information source, said reference information that is stored in a network database to which said network has access. The method according to claim 32, further characterized in that the step of said terminal to send the request also includes the sending of information identifying a channel to which the terminal receiver is tuned, said network uses the information of the channel with the identifier and the time of the information requested to determine the informative content of the transmission signal that the terminal is receiving at the time the request is generated. 34. The system according to claim 32, further characterized in that it comprises the steps of generating a master database of reference information for a plurality of transmission signals that identifies the location in said source of information information related to the informative content of the transmission signal, and transmit information in the master database to the network database. The method according to claim 34, further characterized in that said reference information in the master database includes Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet locations that contain information that relates to the informational content of each transmission signal. 36. The method according to claim 35, further characterized in that the passage of the network to access information related to the content comprises access to HTML data from the Internet at locations specified by the URLs. 37.- A method for accessing information related to the content of the television transmission signal from the Internet, said method comprises the steps of: a) providing a plurality of terminals, each terminal that is interfaced to a television transmission signal receiving device, and which includes a multi-channel receiver for receiving a transmission signal and a transmitter to send a request for information based on the Internet that is related to the informative content of a television transmission signal that is received at that moment; b) providing a television transmission signal distribution network for receiving a plurality of television transmission signals from at least one signal source and transmitting said television transmission signals to the terminal receivers; c) provide a source of information connected in connection to said network, the source of information that contains Internet-based information related to the informative content of television transmission signals; d) transmit television transmission signals from the network to the terminal receivers; e) generating at least one first request in a first of the terminals to obtain information related to the informative content of one of the television transmission signals during reception by means of the first terminal, and sending said request to said network; f) in response to the receipt of the request from the first terminal, said network: 1) identifies information based on the Internet in said source of information that is related to the informative content of the television transmission signal; 2) has access to information related to the content; and 3) transmit the information related to the content to the first terminal. 38.- The method according to claim 37, further characterized in that said step of the network to access information comprises access to said information from the Internet through an Internet Service Provider. 39.- The method according to claim 38, further characterized in that the passage of the network to access the information further comprises: a) before transmitting the television transmission signals to the terminal receivers, access to information from Internet through an Internet Service Provider that is related to the informative content of television broadcast signals; b) store the related information in a cache connected to the network interface; and c) have access to the related information from said cache when the request for information is received. The method according to claim 37, further characterized in that the passage of the network to identify information in said source of information that is related to the informative content of the television transmission signal also comprises: a) determining from a identifier transmitted periodically with said television transmission signal by means of the signal source, and information identifying the moment in which the request is made, the identity of the informative content of said television transmission signal; and b) equalizing the identifier with reference information that identifies the location of the information related to the content in said source of information, the reference information is stored in a network database to which said network has access. 41.- The method according to claim 40, further characterized in that the step of said terminal to send the request also includes the sending of information identifying a channel to which the terminal receiver is tuned, said network uses the channel information with the identifier and the moment of the information requested to determine the informative content of the television transmission signal that is being received by the terminal at the time the request is generated. 42. The system according to claim 40, further characterized in that it comprises the steps of generating a master database of reference information for a plurality of television transmission signals that identifies the location in said source of information based information on the Internet related to the informative content of each television transmission signal, and transmitting the information in said master database to the network database. 43. - The method according to claim 42, further characterized in that the reference information in the master database includes Uniform Resource Locators (URL) for locations of Internet that contain information that is related to the informative content of each television transmission signal. 44. The method according to claim 43, further characterized in that said step of the network to access the information related to the content also comprises access to HTML data from the Internet at locations specified by the URLs. The method according to claim 37, further characterized in that the passage of said network to transmit the information related to the content to the first terminal also comprises the connection of said first terminal to a searching application on the Internet located in said network. , and the transfer of said information related to the content to the first terminal. 46. The method according to claim 45, further characterized in that the step of connecting the first terminal to a searching application on the Internet further comprises connecting said first terminal to one of a plurality of searching applications in Internet active in said network. 47. The method according to claim 37, further characterized in that the step of generating a request comprises that a user enters a request in said first terminal to obtain information based on the Internet that is related to the informative content of a transmission of television that the user is currently watching on the television signal receiving device. 48. The method according to claim 47, further characterized in that the user enters the request by pressing a button on a remote control device. 49.- The method, according to claim 37, further characterized in that said step of transmitting the Internet-based information to the first terminal comprises the insertion of said information in a television transmission signal that is being transmitted by said network in one of the receiving channels in said first terminal. 50.- The method according to claim 49, further characterized in that the information is inserted in the vertical suppression intervals of said television transmission signal.