Time To Look DIRECTLY At The Patents
Greetings,
Since I think we can all agree on one thing - the patents are the primary value of this company, I think instead of mindless BULL/BEAR drivel about what you hope the patents are worth, lets just look at each patent, and each claim of each patent and debate the value of each claim.
I think we are overall a pretty smart group of people - even rocketman. I also think that everything we need to determine the value of the patents is within our internet grasp - so lets do this project together. Maybe we can all make some money on our findings.
Here is the first patent, abstract and claim 1. lets discuss the abstract and claim one completely then move on to claim 2 etc... and finally on to the next patent.
4734764 : Cable television system selectively distributing
pre-recorded video and audio messages
Pocock; Terrence H., Mount Brydges, Canada
Coumans; Peter J. M., London, Canada
McNorgan; Richard M., London, Canada
Hart; George M., London, Canada
ABSTRACT: A method of, and a system for, selectively delivering still television video with accompanying audio to home subscribers over a cable television system for advertising, promotional or educational purposes. A maximum number of home subscribers can interactively request presentations of their own choosing to be displayed on their home television sets. Only one standard television channel is required for transmission of still video with accompanying audio to serve 300 concurrent users. No equipment is required in the subscriber's home. The video is presented as still frames from one of a number of videodisc players, transmitted over one television channel during the appropriate time interval of 1/30th (or 1/25th) of a second. Such video frames, which may also contain overlaid graphics information, are uniquely addressed to a remote storage device. Unused bandwidth is used for the transmission of up to 300 discrete audio messages. The remote storage device identifies the appropriate video still frame, stores it, combines it with the corresponding audio message and conveys both to the home subscribers' television on a pre-selected channel. By uniquely addressing video frames to the remote storage device, either 30 (or 25) different video frames per second can be conveyed on one television channel to 30 (or 25) different remote storage devices for retransmission to home subscribers. Thus, if a home subscriber sees a given still video frame for 10 seconds, his remote storage device need not be updated for those 10 seconds, enabling the system to transmit 300 (10 secondsx30/second) different video frames to 300 other remote storage devices, thereby serving 300 concurrent users.
51 CLAIMS
We claim:
1. In a cable antenna television system that includes:
(A) a cable hub for receiving, generating and amplifying a plurality of television signals that are broadcast over predetermined frequency channels;
(B) a trunk cable with one end connected to the cable hub to receive and transmit said signals to;
(C) a plurality of nodes along said cable, each node adapted to convey said signals to;
(D) a bridger amplifier connected to the trunk cable at each node and adapted to amplify and to transmit said signals onto;
(E) a distribution cable for transmitting said amplified signals through;
(F) a tap to a drop cable to a subscriber's home that is adapted for connection to a subscriber's television receiver; an improved system selectively delivering pre-recorded video frames and audio messages, wherein a video frame consists of at least one video field being a first plurality of scan lines representing a video blanking interval, and a second plurality of scan lines repesenting a video picture data;
(G) a central control unit (CCU), located at the cable hub, comprising;
(1) a central processing unit for co-ordination of all CCU functions;
(2) a plurality of telephone management units (TMU) that receive telephoned requests from the subscribers and relay those requests to the central processing unit;
(3) means for generating master synchronization pulses;
(4) a pluarlity of video presentation units each of which includes;
(i) a controller for coordinating the activities the presentation unit, including prioritizing and scheduling the transmission of video frames and accompanying audio messages;
(ii) a video disc player synchronized to the synchronization pulses (3), that stores discrete video frames according to a standard television format, with accompanying audio frames;
(iii) a plurality of audio frame stores adapted to selectively receive the audio frames associated with a particular video frame from a video player
(ii) and to convert those audio frames into a modulated analogue signal;
(iv) means for tuning and transmitting the analogue audio signal onto the trunk cable on a discrete radio frequency, on command;
(v) a graphics decoder to receive from the central processing unit graphics information associated with a particular video frame and to generate in graphic form such information;
(vi) a video combiner to receive the video frame from the video player and overlay the graphics information from the graphics decoder onto the video frame;
(vii) means to insert an encoded address of a node frame store for a designated subscriber onto the vertical blanking interval of the video frame;
(viii) means for conveying the encoded video frame to;
(5) a multiplexing switch, responsive to commands from each conroller in each presentation unit, that receives a video frame from a selected presentation unit and transmits that video frame down the trunk cable; the switch including a scheduler that, in communication with the controller, prioritizes and schedules the transmission of the video frames, then informs the controller that a specified video frame has been transmitted onto the trunk cable so that the can command the specified audio frame store to commence transmitting the accompanying audio messages down the trunk cable;
(H) a node frame store, located at a node, to receive video frames and accompanying audio messages from the trunk cable and to transmit both onto the distribution cable; the node frame store including
(1) a television tuner to pass a predetermined channel that is carrying the video frames on the trunk cable;
(2) a channel blocker in parallel with the television tuner to block the channel carrying the video frames on the trunk cable, while allowing other channel frequencies on the trunk to pass onto the distribution cable;
(3) a node frame store module comprising;
(i) a radio receiver connected to the trunk cable, and tuned to a specific radio frequency assigned to that node frame store module;
(ii) a video frame storage means connected to the tuner (1) adapted for the storage and transmission of a video frame;
(iii) a node frame store processing unit that examines each video frame passed by the tuner and identifies those video frames that are addressed to that particular node frame store, and upon such identification, the video frame storage means is activated to store that video frame;
(iv) means to modulate both the video frame from the video frame store and the audio messages from the radio receiver onto the same television channel that was used to transmit the video frames to the node frame store, and to transmit both onto the distribution cable, along with the channels passed by the channel blocker.
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