Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
INTERACTIVE TELEVISION |
| Document Number: |
09306961 |
| Publication Date: |
July 05, 2001 |
| Appl. No: |
09/306961 |
| Application Filed: |
May 07, 1999 |
| Abstract: |
An interactive television system is disclosed for selectively retrieving video images or teletext pages from a remote transmitter (1). User requests are communicated to the transmitter through the telephone network (5). The selected images (e.g. teletext pages) are provided with an image address (a personal teletext page number) and transmitted through a broadcast medium (4). A broadcast receiver (6) captures, stores and displays images having a particular address in a further autonomous manner. In order to prevent co-viewers from tracing the image address and thus watching personal information intended for an individual user on their broadcast receivers (3), the image address is modified whenever a new image is transmitted. Prior to transmitting the image, the address is communicated to the individual user through the telephone network and applied (84,61) to the broadcast receiver. |
| Inventors: |
SANTILLI, DANIELE (EINDHOVEN, NL) |
| Assignees: |
US PHILIPS CORPORATION, CORPORATE PATENT COUNSEL (TARRYTOWN, NY) |
| Claim: |
1. A method of transmitting images from a transmitter to an individual receiver, comprising the steps of: establishing a communication path between said receiver and the transmitter to obtain user selections identifying the images to be transmitted; assigning an image address to the images to be transmitted; and broadcasting each image along with said image address through a broadcast medium; characterized in that the method comprises the step of communicating the assigned image address to the receiver through the communication path prior to broadcasting the respective image. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning different image addresses to successively transmitted images. 3. A method of receiving selected images from a transmitter, comprising the steps of: establishing a communication path with said transmitter to submit user selections identifying the images to be received; and receiving images having respective image addresses through a broadcast medium, and storing and displaying images having a predetermined image address; characterized by receiving the predetermined image address through said communication path, and applying said image address to the broadcast receiver prior to receiving each image. 4. A receiver for receiving selected images from a transmitter, comprising: communication means for establishing a communication path with said transmitter to submit user selections identifying the images to be received; and an arrangement for receiving images having respective image addresses through a broadcast medium, and for storing and displaying images having a predetermined image address; characterized in that the communication means are arranged to receive the predetermined image address through said communication path and apply said image address to the broadcast receiver prior to receiving each image. 5. A receiver as claimed in claim 4, wherein the arrangement for receiving, storing and displaying said images is a broadcast television receiver comprising an input for receiving remote control user commands, and the communication means comprise an output for applying the image address to the broadcast receiver in the form of said remote control user commands. 6. An arrangement for interfacing a broadcast television receiver with a transmitter, comprising: means for establishing a communication path with said transmitter to submit user-selections identifying images to be received by said broadcast television receiver from the transmitter, and to receive image addresses assigned to said images by the transmitter; and means for applying said image addresses to the broadcast receiver prior to receiving each image. 7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein said broadcast television receiver comprises an input for receiving remote control user commands, the arrangement comprising an output for applying the image addresses to the broadcast receiver in the form of said remote control user commands. |
| Current U.S. Class: |
87 |
| Accession Number: |
edspap.20010007150 |
| Database: |
USPTO Patent Applications |
