公开(公告)号：US6049539A

公开(公告)日：2000-04-11

申请号：US931971

申请日：1997-09-15

申请人： Jae Hea Edward Lee ,  Harold E. Herzig ,  Bruce D. Bauman ,  Richard L. Booth ,  Joseph E. Augenbraun

发明人： Jae Hea Edward Lee ,  Harold E. Herzig ,  Bruce D. Bauman ,  Richard L. Booth ,  Joseph E. Augenbraun

IPC分类号： H04H20/76 ,  H04N7/16 ,  H04N7/173 ,  H04N21/462 ,  H04N21/4782 ,  H04L12/56

CPC分类号： H04N21/4622 ,  H04N21/4782 ,  H04N7/165 ,  H04N7/17318

摘要： An access system and method provides interactive access to an information source, such as the Internet, through a networked distribution system, such as a television distribution system. Each user in the television distribution system can access the Internet through an associated terminal by sending commands through an upstream channel to a headend server which is interfaced between a television network headend and an Internet Service Provider(ISP). The headend server manages all Internet information requests from the terminals by forwarding the requests to the ISP and receiving the requested information therefrom. An Internet Protocol (IP) address is assigned only to the headend server which keeps track of the terminals requesting information by means of terminal identification numbers or codes associated with each request. The headend server also maintains a plurality of Internet browser applications active at all times to insure that a terminal requesting Internet access can be immediately interfaced to the ISP through one of the active browser applications. Each of the downstream television signals includes a vertical synchronization signal that is preferably employed to generate a framing signal for synchronizing upstream transmission of the data packets comprising the information requests from the terminals.

摘要翻译： 访问系统和方法通过诸如电视分发系统的联网分配系统提供对信息源（例如因特网）的交互式访问。 电视分配系统中的每个用户可以通过相关联的终端通过上行信道发送命令到接入在电视网络前端和因特网服务提供商（ISP）之间的头端服务器来接入互联网。 头端服务器通过将请求转发到ISP并从其接收所请求的信息来管理来自终端的所有互联网信息请求。 互联网协议（IP）地址仅分配给前端服务器，前端服务器通过与每个请求相关联的终端标识号码或代码跟踪终端请求信息。 前端服务器还保持多个互联网浏览器应用程序始终处于活动状态，以确保可以通过主动浏览器应用程序之一立即将请求Internet访问的终端连接到ISP。 每个下游电视信号包括垂直同步信号，其优选地用于产生用于同步包括来自终端的信息请求的数据分组的上行传输的成帧信号。