摘要:
An interactive television information system coupled to a cable television system having a headend for supplying information services and an information service distribution network for delivering information services to subscriber televisions. Each subscriber television is associated with a home interface controller. The home interface controllers receive the television information signals and include a data transceiver for data communications. A subscriber selection device associated with a home interface controller permits subscriber interaction through the data transceiver with an assigned interactive controller from a plurality of interactive controllers. The assigned interactive controller is in communication with the information sources and in television communication with its assigned home interface controller. Selection of an information source nay be made through channel selection of an apparent channel from any of a first group of apparent channels and a second group of apparent channels. Different information services on different apparent channels from the first group of apparent channels are provided to a given home interface controller via the same television information signal as the subscriber changes channel selection from one of the apparent channels in the first group of apparent channels to another apparent channel in the first group of apparent channels. To receive apparent channels from the second group of apparent channels, a home interface controller simply selects the television information signal at its input corresponding to the selected channel.
摘要:
An interactive multimedia system with distributed processing and storage of video picture information and associated data and sound in nodes disposed throughout a cable television distribution system. The nodes are coupled to the feeder cable of the cable distribution system. Each node in the system receives a substantially identical copy of the interactive video picture information and related data from a regional processing center. The users at home televisions associated with a particular node interact directly with the video picture information in that node, rather than with the information stored in the regional processing center or some other remote location, which enables the system to quickly display photographic quality images and complex graphics, as well as sound, at the users' televisions in response to commands received by the users. The nodes can also be used for decompressing compressed television programming and distributing the decompressed programming to home televisions connected to the system.
摘要:
A heliostat optimized to be positioned near a skylight or other aperture is disclosed. The heliostat comprises a plurality of reflective elements arranged in a substantially planar array, each element being mounted so as to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis of rotation. A first motor rotates the array about an axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of the array; and a second motor rotates the reflective elements about their respective axes of rotation. A processor provides control signals to operate the first motor as required to orient the array such that the respective axes of rotation of the reflective elements are substantially perpendicular to an azimuth to the sun and to operate the second motor as required to rotate the reflective elements about their respective axes of rotation to position the reflective element to reflect the sun's light to a target area.
摘要:
A social messaging hub provides communication services for a data enabled device having Internet network access capabilities. The social messaging hub communicates with the data enabled device over the Internet or cellular data networks, and interfaces with a message infrastructure including mobile carriers, message aggregators, message exchanges and various specialized social messaging services to enable bi-directional messaging communication. The user is given a registered phone number and unique IP addressable identification which serve as a source and destination identifier of the associated data enabled device. Messages may originate in or be delivered to other users' mobile telephones or in similarly equipped and provisioned IP data enabled devices. An application operating on the IP enabled device determines in conjunction with the social messaging hub a mode of transmission as a function of parameters including device location and destination of a message.
摘要:
A heliostat optimized to be positioned near a skylight or other aperture is disclosed. The heliostat comprises a plurality of reflective elements arranged in a substantially planar array, each element being mounted so as to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis of rotation. A first motor rotates the array about an axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of the array; and a second motor rotates the reflective elements about their respective axes of rotation. A processor provides control signals to operate the first motor as required to orient the array such that the respective axes of rotation of the reflective elements are substantially perpendicular to an azimuth to the sun and to operate the second motor as required to rotate the reflective elements about their respective axes of rotation to position the reflective element to reflect the sun's light to a target area.
摘要:
A cable system in which a plurality of non-interactive channels occupy a first group of carrier frequencies and a plurality of pseudo-channels, each assigned to an information service from a plurality of information services, are carried by a second group of carrier frequencies. A tuner is controlled by a processor in response to a channel selector. If the selected channel number represents a non-interactive channel the tuner is set to that channel. If the selected channel number is a pseudo-channel representing an interactive service, the tuner is set to an assigned carrier frequency in the second group of carrier frequencies. The assigned carrier frequency is provided from a cable control mode to a data receiver at the subscriber's television interface controller. Channels are selected from a single numerical sequence of channel numbers.
摘要:
An interactive videotex system with distributed processing and storage of video picture information in nodes disposed throughout a cable television distribution system. The nodes are coupled to the feeder cable of the cable distribution system. Each node in the system receives a substantially identical copy of the interactive video picture information and related data from a regional processing center. The users at home televisions associated with a particular node interact directly with the video picture information in that node, rather than with the information stored in the regional processing center or some other remote location, which enables the system to quickly display photographic quality images and complex graphics, as well as sound, at the user's televisions in response to commands received by the users.
摘要:
In an interactive cable system having at least one processor at a headend in communication with subscribers through an information service distribution network, a frame grabber is provided for grabbing a frame of video and storing the frame in a storage medium. A video frame may be requested from the storage medium in response to control data received from a subscriber selection device, wherein a processor retrieves the video frame from the storage medium, transforms the frame into a television information signal and sends the frame to the subscriber's home interface controller for display on the subscriber's television.
摘要:
An interactive home information system having a node in television communication and data communication with a group of home interface controllers. At each home interface controller, there is a signal input for receiving television signals from the node over a cable television distribution network and a data transceiver for conducting data communications with the node. The node determines whether a home interface controller is requesting interactive service. For each interface controller requesting interactive service, the node assigns a television information signal to the requesting home interface controller. Thus, signal assignment is accomplished on a demand basis for those interface controllers determined to be placed in an interactive mode. Signal assignment may involve selection of a given carrier frequency. Alternatively, signal assignment may involve selection of a time slice.
摘要:
An interactive multimedia system with distributed processing and storage of video picture information and associated data and sound in nodes disposed throughout a cable television distribution system. The nodes are coupled to the feeder cable of the cable distribution system. Each node in the system receives a substantially identical copy of the interactive video picture information and related data from a regional processing center. The nodes can receive the Video picture information through the cable television distribution system or externally of the cable system. The users at home televisions associated with a particular node interact directly with the video picture information in that node, rather than with the information stored in the regional processing center or some other remote location, which enables the system to quickly display photographic quality images and complex graphics, as well as sound, at the users' televisions in response to commands received by the users. The nodes can also be used for decompressing compressed television programming and distributing the decompressed programming to home televisions connected to the system.