Appeal No. 1998-0460 Page 2
Application No. 08/480,765
BACKGROUND
Subscription television systems permit subscribers to
receive broadcasts of television programs. A subscriber
terminal, commonly called a set-top box, is integral to the
systems. A subscription television system may include several
hundred thousand terminals.
Each terminal is controlled by an internal, programmable
microcontroller. A control program for the microcontroller is
stored in a memory inside the terminal. Heretofore, the
control program could be changed only by physically replacing
the memory. Because such replacement required a technician to
visit each subscriber, however, the arrangement was expensive
and inconvenient.
The invention at issue in this appeal reprograms a
terminal from a remote location. More specifically, a head
end sends to the terminal a command specifying a channel over
which a control program is to be downloaded, the number of
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