The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 19, 1989
Filed:
Feb. 18, 1988
Billy L Williams, Jr, Sea Bright, NJ (US);
McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A broadcast data distribution system collects, edits, verifies, formats and distributes real-time (dynamic) and non-real-time (static) data. A central database is maintained and updated continuously. Data in the central database is continuously broadcast to an unlimited number of subscribers, each having receiving apparatus and a local database. In normal data traffic situations, real-time data messages are broadcast as they are received. In heavier data volume situations, newly received data messages are compared with last-known values for the particular data record being updated. If the change is determined to be significant, the update message is broadcast; otherwise, it is not. In extremely heavy data traffic volume situations, real-time data messages are not broadcast. The invention ensures that the subscribers' local databases are current, even when real-time data messages are not being generated, or are only being generated for data records whose values have changed significantly. Static (non-real-time) data messages are interleaved with real-time data messages to provide subscribers with a variety of different types of information. Subscriber access to broadcast data messages may be controlled by broadcast entitlement messages or message headers which enable or disable a particular subscriber's receiving apparatus. Once messages are properly received, the subscriber's local database is updated with the data contained in those broadcast messages.