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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. In a switched public network telephone system having at least one
central office switch, a plurality of subscriber loops, and a plurality of
telephones, each of said subscriber loops operatively coupling an
associated one of said telephones to said central office switch, said
central office switch connecting one of said telephones identified by a
calling number to another of said telephones identified by said calling
number originating a telephone call to said telephone identified by said
called number, an apparatus for of scheduled television program events
provided by a supplier of such events having premises remote from said
apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
means for detecting selected called numbers electrically coupled through
any of said subscriber loops, each of said selected called numbers
identifying one of said television program events;
means for identifying the calling number of the telephone coupled to each
one of said subscriber loops from which one of said selected called
numbers was detected;
means for coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop
identified by each said calling number in response to said detecting means
detecting one of said selected called numbers;
means for developing a digital word representing each said detected called
number and each said calling number originating each said detected called
number; and
means for transmitting a said digital word to said supplier's premises,
said digital word representing the called number detected by said
detecting means and the calling number identified by said identifying
means said transmitting means transmitting said digital word to said
supplier subsequent to said coupling means coupling said confirmation
message to said subscriber loop.
2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:
a central processor coupled to said transmitting means;
means for transmitting digital data representing each said digital word
developed by said developing means to said central processor;
means coupled to said central processor for storing said digital data said
transmitting means transmitting said stored digital data to said
supplier's premises at regular intervals.
3. In a switched public network telephone system having at least one
central office switch, a plurality of subscriber loops, and a plurality of
telephones, each of said subscriber loops operatively coupling an
associated one of said telephones to said central office switch, said
central office switch connecting one of said telephones identified by a
calling number to another of said telephones identified by a called number
in response to said telephone identified by said calling number
originating a telephone call to said telephone identified by said called
number, a method for subscriber selection of a specific one of a plurality
of scheduled television program events provided by a supplier of such
events comprising the steps of:
detecting a telephone call to one of a plurality of predetermined called
numbers electrically coupled through any of said subscriber loops, each of
said predetermined called numbers identifying one of said television
program events;
identifying the calling number of the said telephone which originated said
detected telephone call;
coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop identified by
said calling number in response to detecting one of said predetermined
called numbers;
developing a digital word representing said detected called number and the
said identified calling number originating said telephone call to said
detected called number; and
transmitting said digital word to said supplier subsequent to coupling said
confirmation message to the said subscriber loop identified by said
calling number, said transmission originating at a location remote from
said supplier's premises.
4. In a switched public network telephone system having a plurality of
central office switches, a plurality of subscriber loops associated with
each of said central office switches, and a plurality of telephones, each
of said subscriber loops operatively coupling an associated one of said
telephones to one of said central office switches, said central office
switches connecting one of said telephones identified by a calling number
to another of said telephones identified by said calling number in
response to said telephone identified by said calling number originating a
telephone call to said telephone identified by said called number, an
apparatus for subscriber selection of a specific one of a plurality of
scheduled television program events provided by a supplier of such events,
said apparatus being remotely located with respect to said supplier's
premises, said apparatus comprising:
means for detecting at each of said central office switches selected called
numbers electrically coupled through any of said subscriber loops coupled
thereto, each of said selected called numbers identifying one of said
television program events;
means for identifying the calling number of the telephone coupled to each
one of said subscriber loops from which one of said selected called
numbers was detected;
means for coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop
identified by each said calling number in response to said detecting means
detecting one of said selected called numbers;
means for developing a digital word representing each said detected called
member and each said calling number originating each said called number;
and
means for transmitting a said digital word to said supplier said digital
word representing the called number detected by said detecting means and
the calling number identified by said identifying means, said transmitting
means transmitting said digital word to said supplier subsequent to said
coupling means coupling said confirmation message to said subscriber loop.
5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 further comprising means for
storing each said digital word developed by said developing means, said
transmitting means further comprising means for transmitting said stored
digital words to said supplier at regular intervals.
6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said transmitting means
includes a dedicated data link between said transmitting means and said
supplier.
7. In a switched public network telephone system having at least one
central office switch, and a plurality of telephones, each of said
telephones being identified by a telephone number, said telephone system
including means for operatively coupling a calling telephone to an
answering telephone in response to the telephone number identifying said
answering telephone being communicated to a central office switch by said
calling telephone or an apparatus connected thereto, an apparatus for
subscriber selection of one of a plurality of services or products offered
by one or mote vendors of said services or products, said apparatus being
remotely located with respect to each said vendor's premises, said
apparatus comprising:
means for detecting each said selected telephone number communicated by a
calling telephone to a central office switch, each said selected telephone
number identifying a predetermined vendor and a specified product or
service offered by said vendor, said detecting means including signal
generating means for generating a signal indicating the selected telephone
number so detected;
means for identifying the telephone number identifying the calling
telephone which communicated a said selected telephone number;
means for coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop
identified by each said calling number in response to said detecting means
detecting one of said selected called numbers;
means for developing a digital word representing each said telephone number
detected by said detecting means and each said telephone number identified
by said identifying means, said developing means being responsive to said
signal generating means and said identifying means; and
means for transmitting said digital word to the vendor specified by a said
detected telephone number, said digital word representing the called
number detected by said detecting means and the calling number identified
by said identifying means, said transmitting means transmitting said
digital word to said vendor subsequent to said coupling means coupling
said confirmation message to said subscriber loop.
8. In a switched public network telephone system having a plurality of
central offices, each said central office including a central office
switch serving a plurality of telephones, each of said telephones being
identified by a telephone number, said telephone system including means
for operatively coupling a calling telephone to an answering telephone in
response to the telephone number identifying said answering telephone
being communicated to a central office switch by said calling telephone or
an apparatus connected thereto, an apparatus for subscriber selection of
one of a plurality of services or products offered by one or more vendors
of said services or products, said apparatus being remotely located with
respect to each said vendor's premises, said apparatus comprising:
means for coupling said apparatus to at least two of said central offices;
means for detecting each said selected telephone number communicated by a
calling telephone to a central office switch, each said selected telephone
number identifying a predetermined vendor and a specified product or
service offered by said vendor, said detecting means including signal
generating means for generating a signal indicating the selected telephone
number so detected;
means for identifying the telephone number identifying the calling
telephone which communicated a said selected telephone number;
means for coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop
identified by each said calling number in response to said detecting means
detecting one of said selected called numbers;
means for developing a digital word representing each said telephone number
detected by said detecting means and each said telephone number identified
by said identifying means, said developing means being responsive to said
signal generating means and said identifying means; and
means for transmitting said digital word to the vendor specified by a said
detected telephone number, said digital word representing the called
number detected by said detecting means and the calling number identified
by said identifying means, said transmitting means transmitting said
digital word to said vendor subsequent to said coupling means coupling
said confirmation message to said subscriber loop.
9. In a switched public network telephone system having a plurality of
central offices, each said central office including a central office
switch serving a plurality of telephones, each of said telephones being
identified by a telephone number, said telephone system including means
for operatively coupling a calling telephone to an answering telephone in
response to the telephone number identifying said answering telephone
being communicated to a central office switch by said calling telephone or
an apparatus connected thereto, an apparatus for subscriber selection of
one of a plurality of services or products offered by one or more vendors
of said services or products, said apparatus being remotely located with
respect to each said vendors premises, said apparatus comprising order
accepting means for accepting an order from a said subscriber for one of
said plurality of services or products, and order forwarding means for
forwarding said accepted order to the one of said vendors providing the
ordered service or product, said order accepting means comprising:
means for coupling said apparatus to at least two of said central offices;
means for detecting each said selected telephone number communicated by a
calling telephone to a central office switch, each said selected telephone
number identifying a predetermined vendor and a specified product or
service offered by said vendor, said detecting means including signal
indicating the selected telephone number so detected; and
means for identifying the telephone number identifying the calling
telephone which communicated a said selected telephone number, said order
being accepted when said generating means identifies said calling
telephone number, and wherein said order forwarding means comprises:
means for coupling a confirmation message to the said subscriber loop
identified by each said calling number in response to said order accepting
means accepting said order,
means for developing a digital word representing each said telephone number
detected by said detecting means and each said telephone number identified
by said identifying means, said developing means being responsive to said
order accepting means accepting said order; and
means for transmitting said digital word to the vendor specified by a said
detected telephone number, said digital word representing the called
number by said detecting means and the calling number identified by said
identifying means, said transmitting means transmitting said digital word
to said vendor subsequent to said order accepting means accepting said
order. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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The present invention relates generally to television viewing and more
particularly to novel apparatus and techniques for enabling a viewer to
conveniently select a particular one of scheduled programming events and
to be billed only for such events as may from time to time be selected.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cable television (CATV) programming has become widely available to the
public on a subscription basis. Usually, the subscriber has several levels
of service available, with the cost of the subscription dependent upon the
options available with each level of service. For example, the basic
subscription service usually includes local VHF and UHF programming, which
is normally also broadcast for antenna reception throughout the
subscription area, and remote VHF and UHF programming from nearby cities,
which would not be generally receivable with a local reception antenna at
the subscriber premises.
Additional CATV services above the basic service, for example, include
movie channels which release the latest movies, and sports channels which
make available sporting events normally blacked out from commercial
television. However, a subscriber may not customarily obtain a
subscription to one or more of these optional services without also
obtaining a subscription to the basic service.
The basic subscription service charges are computed from the cost to
rebroadcast the local and remote programming and a rental fee for CATV
company equipment located at the subscriber premises. Such equipment may
include decoders or descramblers for example. The subscription service
charges to the optional CATV services includes the right to receive all
scheduled programming events provided by the optional service. The
subscription charge is based upon the cost to the CATV company to make the
service available and the royalties payable to the copyright owners of the
programmed events. However, many potential subscribers do not desire to
view all scheduled events but merely from time to time desire to view only
a selected event, such as a recently released movie or the re-release of
an old movie classic. For these viewers the subscription charges of the
optional service may be too large to justify the purchase of the
subscription for a limited use.
In order to expand the market base of CATV subscribers, there have been
several attempts to develop systems wherein a viewer may preselect and
only receive an individual programming event. With this type of system the
subscriber would not be forced to subscribe to a basic service which he
may not desire should normal antenna reception provide adequate service,
or be forced to pay the subscription charge for the entire optional
service, i.e., paying royalties on all events which the potential
subscriber does not wish to view. A CATV system in which the subscriber
would only have to pay rental fees for the lease of CATV company equipment
and service charges for the events viewed has the potential of expanding
the subscriber base of CATV companies.
Two different types of systems have heretofore been developed wherein the
subscriber may selectively view a scheduled programming event. In the
first group of these systems, the subscriber accesses the CATV computer
over phone lines and selects an event from a menu by entering the
appropriate data from the telephone key-pad. The menu may either be a
recorded voice prompt transmitted through the telephone or a video prompt
simultaneously displayed on the subscribers television set. For example,
see U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,522 for "Selective Viewing" and U.S. Pat. No.
4,008,369 for a "Telephone Interface Subscription Cable Television
System." The second group of systems utilizes an interrogation of a
subscriber terminal at the subscriber premises. The subscriber terminal
stores information concerning those programs which the subscriber has
viewed. The CATV computer interrogates the subscriber terminal over phone
lines to retrieve the stored data for billing purposes. For example, see
U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,782 and "Pay TV: A Pay per Minute System Prototype",
Television: Journal of the Royal Television Society, March 1984, pp.
79-83.
In the above cited '522 patent, there is provided a printed menu of
available selectable programs, each designated by a number. The menu is
stored in the computer located at the CATV company and broadcast over a
menu channel. A viewer at the subscriber premises selects a program by
first dialing the CATV station telephone number. The telephone system then
connects the viewer's telephone to the CATV computer. The CATV computer
responds by transmitting to the viewer an audible tone to signal the
viewer to dial the number corresponding to the desired program on the
menu. The CATV computer stores the information on the program source
location, the status of the selected program source, and the available
channels and the schedules for each.
The significant disadvantage and limitation of the system described in the
'522 patent is that the CATV Company would require additional information
on how to bill the subscriber. Such billing information may only be
obtained by additional equipment that would have to be located at the
subscriber premises or by requiring the subscriber to input an account
number along with the men selection. Such billing information equipment
requires additional technical complexity not described in the '522 patent.
Accordingly, the '522 patent is described as being most useful for
providing video-tex information for the advertisement of products and
services. However, where copyrighted material is required, such system
does not allow for convenient means for billing the subscriber for service
charges.
The above cited '369 patent describes a PABX telephone interface cable
television system especially useful in hotels and motels for distributing
free and premium program channels via a coaxial cable television signal
distribution network to one or more subscriber terminals and associated
television sets. Again, the subscriber dials a predetermined access number
so that the subscriber can be connected with a control and monitoring
station. After a telephone connection is made, the program requests must
be subsequently entered through the telephone key-pad. The control and
monitoring station includes means for sending output signals to a paper
tape printer to provide a record of the channel use activity of each
subscriber terminal in the system. Hence, no automatic billing is
contemplated in this system, but must be subsequently added to the bill
for hotel services.
The above mentioned publication discloses one such automatic billing system
wherein a CATV company provided recording device makes a record of the
subscriber's usage of the CATV programming events. The recording device,
located at the subscriber premises, is periodically interrogated by the
CATV company over telephone lines to obtain subscriber usage information
necessary to generate a bill to the subscriber. A significant disadvantage
and limitation of using a recording device at the subscriber premises is
the possibility that the subscriber ma tamper with or bypass the recording
device, ultimately resulting in a loss of revenues to the CATV company.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome one or
more of the disadvantages describe hereinabove.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cable
television system wherein the subscriber may select only those events
which may from time to time be desired.
A principle object of the present invention is to provide a cable
television system wherein the subscriber is billed only for those events
which are selected.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cable television
system which eliminates the need for the subscriber to enter program
selection or account number information through the telephone interface.
Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the use of a
recording device located at the subscriber premises to record subscriber
usage of the cable television system.
According to the present invention, a pay-per-view CATV system is
interfaced with the switched public network telephone system. A
conventional switched public network telephone system has at least one
central office switch and a plurality of subscriber loops operatively
coupled to the central office switch. Each subscriber loop extends to a
subscriber location and is terminated by at least one telephone identified
by an originating telephone number. The subscriber selects a specific one
of the scheduled television programming events by selecting a telephone
number which uniquely identifies the selected event. To select an event,
the subscriber dials the telephone number for the selected event. This
call is handled by the central office switch in a conventional manner. The
called and originating numbers are identified, digitized and combined to
form a digital word. The digital word is then transmitted to the CATV
supplier. From the digital word, the CATV supplier can identify the
subscriber and the subscriber selected event so that the subscriber
receives the selected event and a bill for viewing such event.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following specification when read in conjunction with
the drawings, and from the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pay-per-view CATV system constructed
according to the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence of steps according to the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a CATV pay-per-view system
constructed according to the principles of the present invention. The
pay-per-view system of the present invention employs a service node 11
designed for interaction between the established switched public telephone
network which includes a plurality of central offices 10, and the cable
company system 30.
To avoid confusing the principles of the present invention, only two
central offices 10 are illustrated in FIG. 1. Each central office 10
includes a central office switch 12. A plurality of telephones 14 are each
operatively coupled to its respective central office switch 12 over an
associated one of a plurality of subscriber loops 16. Each of the
subscriber loops 16 is an ordinary twisted pair which extends from the
central office switch 12 located in the respective central office 10 to
the telephone 14 which is located at the subscriber premises. The routing
of calls between telephones 14 served by a single central office 10 or
between telephones 14 served by separate central offices 10 is well known
and need not be described herein. For example, it is to be understood that
trunk lines (not shown) connect the central offices 10 to each other
within a telephone system.
According to the present invention, the service node 11 includes a modular
switch 18 operatively connected to a plurality of the central offices 10.
More specifically, the modular switch 18 is coupled to each central office
switch 12 over a standard one-way outgoing trunk 20. For example, trunk 20
may be a traffic service position system (TSPS) trunk which normally
connects a central office switch 12 to an operator's console. However,
other standard trunk types may be used in the present invention, as long
as such trunks have the capability of having called and calling directory
numbers sent over them as hereinbelow described.
The modular switch 18 performs telephonic switching and signaling functions
under the control of the communications controller 22 described
hereinbelow, which is also part of the service node 11. The modular switch
18 provides trunk termination for each of the outgoing trunks 20 connected
thereto and trunk supervision sensing from the originating central office
10 to the communications controller 22. Such trunk supervision sensing
includes on-hook and off-hook sensing. The modular switch 18 also provides
trunk supervision signaling toward the originating central office 10 both
in response to commands from the communications controller 22 and
automatically, according to established conventions. One type which may be
employed in the present invention as the modular switch 18 is the MSP
model modular switching peripheral commercially available from Redcom
Laboratories.
The communications controller 22 provides for overall system control. It
acts as the controller of the modular switch 18 and oversees the
processing of incoming calls arriving on the trunks 20. The communications
controller 22 assigns a unique state variable to each of the outgoing
trunks 20 terminated by the modular switch 18 under its control. The
communication controller 22 steps the state of each trunk 20 through
discrete states as events occur during the call handling process. The
state of the trunk state variable is stepped through a closed cycle (idle
to idle) once for each incoming call process. A second function of the
communications controller is to serve as the originator of messages,
containing the digital words described hereinabove, which are sent to the
cable vendor premises, as described hereinbelow. In this respect, the
communications controller implements one or more layers of a data
communications protocol. This protocol is chosen to ensure the error free
transportation of these messages.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communications
controller 22 is a super-microcomputer running suitable applications
specific programs. An example of one such super-microcomputer is the
Tricept model microcomputer commercially available from Morrow Designs,
Inc.
As mentioned hereinabove, the pay-per-view system of the present invention
shares each central office switch 12 with normal message traffic. The
central office 10 will process calls made under this invention no
differently than it processes any other message traffic. A cyclic call
handling process is performed by shared equipment within each central
office 10, such equipment operating without modification. The phases
within the central office 12 cyclic call handling process include call
origination, dialed directory number collection, translation, idle trunk
search, trunk seizure, digit outpulsing, audio path completion, talk and
call termination. In summary, the central office switch 12 does not treat
calls made under the present invention any differently than other message
traffic. Following a call setup phase, the central office switch 12
creates a voice grade path through itself, which connects the caller to
the outgoing trunk 20. The call to the pay-per-view telephone number is
processed similar to a toll message call usually handled by a conventional
Class 4 switch.
Each central office switch 12 includes a plurality of multifrequency (MF)
outpulsers, generally indicated at 24. In conventional message traffic,
the MF outpulser sends digits and simple process state information to a
destination central office 10 over the interoffice connection trunks (not
shown). These MF outpulsers 24 are used for the pay-per-view system of the
present invention in a manner similar to that used for other interoffice
calls. A central office (CO) switch controller 26 located in each central
office 10 selects an idle MF outpulser from the pool of MF outpulsers 24
when one is needed. The CO switch controller 26 controls the establishment
of an audio path from the selected MF outpulser to the outgoing trunk 20.
At the beginning of the call set up phase, the CO switch controller 26
detects when one of the telephones 14 goes "off-hook" by conventionally
sensing a DC current in the associated subscriber loop 16. The called
number is collected from the subscriber loop 16 by the CO switch
controller 26 as it is dialed. If the collected called number is one
assigned to a cable vendor programming event, the central office switch
controller 26 will, as a result of the execution of a conventional
data-base look up function, identify an outgoing trunk 20 connecting the
central office switch 12 to the modular switch 18, as the destination of
such a call. Under the control of the CO switch controller 26, a
conventional automatic number identification (ANI) unit 28 conventionally
identifies the calling or originating number. After the CO switch
controller 26 determines that the destination of a given call is an
outgoing trunk 20, and after the calling number has been determined, the
CO switch controller 26 will select an idle MF outpulser 24, seize the
outgoing trunk, create a voice path through the CO switch 12 connecting
the selected MF outpulser 24 to the outgoing trunk, and send the called
and calling numbers to the selected MF outpulser. The selected MF
outpulser then outpulses the called and calling numbers as multifrequency
(MF) tones. The MF tones are sent to the modular switch 18 over the
outgoing trunk 20 of the same central office 10 in which the MF outpulser
resides.
Associated with each modular switch 18 is a multifrequency receiver pool
28, for receiving the MF tones generated by the multifrequency outpulsers
and transmitted over the outgoing trunks 20. Each MF receiver pool 28
includes a plurality of MF decoders which share the use of a single board
computer (SBC) 40. The term MF decoder is used to refer to the device
which converts MF tones into digital form. The MF receiver pool 28
connects to the modular switch 18 and converts MF tones arriving over one
of the trunks 20 from an originating central office 10 into a digital
form. More particularly, the modular switch 18 connects to each MF
receiver pool 28 via a standard phone line or twisted pair. An audio path
is created through the modular switch connecting the incoming trunk to a
unique MF receiver. The SBC 40 scans the digital output of several of the
MF decoders looking for digits, and collects contiguous digits to form a
character string or digital word containing a called or calling number.
The SBC 40 sends this string, together with its own identity, to the
communications controller 22. In a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, each MF decoder may be a Model No. M-985 decoder commercially
available from Teltone in conjunction with a single board computer
commercially available from Micromint Company, to construct each MF
receiver pool 28. Alternatively, the MF receiver pool can be integrated
into the modular switch without altering the system's function.
Connected to the communications controller 22 is the cable vendor equipment
including cable company system computer 30 and fall-back modem selector
32. The lines connecting the service node communications controller 22 to
the fall-back modem selector 32 are leased lines and will always be
active. The data link between the service node and CATV vendor equipment
connects on the service node at communications controller 22. The line is
asynchronous and uses conventional format and protocol. Of course, modems
are provided at each end of the leased lines 34 for providing data
communications. The service node modem will be operated in its originating
mode and cable company equipment will respond in answer mode. These modes
are maintained for as long as normal operation progresses.
Also associated with the modular switch 18 is an audio response unit pool
36 (ARUP) controlled by the SBC 40 through an input/output channel 38 of
the SBC 40 in order to provide confirmation messages to the-filling party.
Each ARUP 36 contains several audio response units (ARU). Each ARU has a
message loaded by placing an ordinary phone call to the number assigned to
a standard phone line (not shown) connected to the ARU, keying in a
password and following a product-specific update procedure. In a preferred
embodiment of the present invention, each ARU is a digital announcer
commercially available from Cook Electric.
With further reference to FIG. 2, there is shown a flow diagram of the
operation of the pay-per-view system of the present invention. As
described above, when the subscriber takes his telephone 14 off hook, a DC
current is developed in the associated subscriber loop 16. The central
office switch 12 detects this DC current and returns a dial tone over the
subscriber loop 16 to the subscriber telephone 14. When the subscriber
hears the dial tone the subscriber dials the telephone number associated
with the event the subscriber wishes. The central office switch detects
the special services number and routes the call to the service node.
Furthermore, as described hereinabove, the called and calling numbers are
transmitted to the service node which then provides ring back tone to the
caller. The audio response unit pool through the modular switch 18 will
return an audio message to the subscriber through the established voice
path described above. When the subscriber hears the confirmatory message,
the subscriber simply returns his telephone 14 to on hook. The central
office switch 12 detects the telephone 14 going on hook and terminates the
call.
As this call is terminated, the communication controller 22, storing the
called and calling numbers, will initiate a link to the CATV cable company
as hereinabove described. An inquiry is first transmitted to the cable
company equipment and if operating, and acknowledgment is received. Upon
receipt of the acknowledgment, the communications controller 22 will
download the called and calling number digitals words which it has stored
for receipt by the cable company. At the end of this transmission, the
cable company will send an acknowledgment back to the communications
controller 22 thereby terminating that connection.
There has been described above novel apparatus and techniques for a
pay-per-view system wherein a subscriber may preselect a specific one of a
plurality of television programming events and be billed only for that
event. However, modifications, variations and other uses of the present
invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from
the inventive concepts herein. For example, the techniques of the present
invention may be expanded to other special services such as the current
976 service. Accordingly, the present invention is to be limited solely by
the scope of the following claims.
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