Audience rating survey apparatus and audience rating survey system using the same

• US 10,448,097 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TNMS Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: TNMS Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Min, Gyung Sook
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepard, Justin E
• Application Number:
  US15/224,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20170332138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25 Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/251 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies details of learning user preferences for the retrieval of video data in a video database G06F16/739; computer systems using learning methods G06N3/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/258 Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data arrangements for services using the result on the distributing side of broadcast systems H04H60/66; profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP

Abstract

A display device for audience rating survey is provided. The display device for audience rating survey includes: a power supply unit configured to be synchronized with a power supply unit of a surveying target equipment; a receiving unit configured to receive a signal for a viewing entity; a light emitting unit comprising a plurality of light emitting elements configured to emit light according to the signal received; a storage unit configured to match the signal received and each of the plurality of light emitting elements and store the matched result; a control unit configured to allow a matched light emitting element to emit light according to the received signal; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit information for the light emitting element, which is emitting the light, to an external device.

Claims

1. A display device for an audience rating survey system, the display device comprising:

a power supply unit connected to a surveyed broadcast device so as to receive power only when the surveyed broadcast device is ON state;

a receiving unit configured to receive a respective identification signal from each of a plurality of different viewing entities;

a light emitting unit comprising a plurality of light emitting elements, each of the light emitting elements emitting light in response to the receiving unit receiving one of the identification signals assigned to one of the viewing entities;

a storage unit that stores viewing data, for each of the different viewing entities, indicative of when the light emitting element associated with the respective viewing entity is emitting light;

a control unit that generates the viewing data and stores the viewing data in the storage unit; and

a transmitting unit that transmits the viewing data to an external device.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the power supply unit becomes ON state if the surveyed broadcast device becomes ON state, and becomes OFF state if the surveyed broadcast device becomes OFF state.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the viewing data to the external device in response to the receiving unit receiving a signal from the external device.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein the viewing data is wirelessly transmitted by the transmitting unit to the external device.

5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the viewing data is transmitted by the transmitting unit to the external device via a Bluetooth protocol.

6. An audience rating survey system comprising:

a display device for an audience rating survey system, the display device being ON state when a surveyed broadcast device is ON state and OFF state when the surveyed broadcast device is OFF state, the display device comprising a plurality of light emitting elements, each of the light emitting elements emitting light in response to the display device receiving an identification signal from a corresponding viewing entity of a plurality of different viewing entities;

an audience rating survey apparatus that receives viewing data from the display device, generates viewed channel data for the surveyed broadcast device, and transmits the viewing data Preand the viewed channel data to an audience rating survey server that combines the viewing data and the viewed channel data with corresponding data from a plurality of other audience rating survey apparatus to generate audience ratings; and

the audience rating survey server.

7. The audience rating survey system of claim 6, wherein the audience rating survey apparatus generates the viewed channel data based on voice data output from the surveyed broadcast device.

8. The audience rating survey system of claim 6, wherein the audience rating survey apparatus generates the viewed channel data by collecting data indicative of viewed channels of the surveyed broad device and comprising broadcast data transmitted to the surveyed broadcast device.

9. An audience rating survey system, comprising:

an audience rating survey apparatus for providing viewing data and viewed channel data to an audience rating survey server, the audience rating survey apparatus comprising;

a receiving unit that receives the viewing data indicative of viewing of a surveyed broadcast device by at least one viewing entity;

a channel data collecting unit that collects data indicative of viewed channels of the surveyed broadcast device and used to generate the viewed channel data for the surveyed broadcast device;

a storage unit in which the viewing data and the viewed channel data is stored;

a transmitting unit that transmits the viewing data and the viewed channel data over the internet to the audience rating survey server that combines the viewing data and the viewed channel data with corresponding data from a plurality of other audience rating survey apparatus to generate audience ratings; and

a control unit operatively coupled with the receiving unit, the channel data collecting unit, the storage unit, and the transmitting unit; and

a display device that transmits the viewing data to the audience rating survey apparatus, the display device being ON state when the surveyed broadcast device is ON state and OFF state when the surveyed broadcast device is OFF state, and the control unit detects ON state of the surveyed broadcast device by receiving a response to the request from the display device, the display device comprising;

a display device receiving unit configured to receive a respective identification signal from each of a plurality of different viewing entities;

a light emitting unit comprising a plurality of light emitting elements, each of the light emitting elements emitting light in response to the receiving unit receiving one of the identification signals assigned to one of the viewing entities;

a display device storage unit that stores viewing data, for each of the different viewing entities, indicative of when the light emitting element associated with the respective viewing entity is emitting light;

a display device control unit that generates the viewing data and stores the viewing data in the storage unit; and

a display device transmitting unit that transmits the viewing data to the audience rating survey apparatus.

10. An audience rating survey system, comprising:

an audience rating survey apparatus for providing viewing data and viewed channel data to an audience rating survey server, the audience rating survey apparatus comprising;

a receiving unit that receives the viewing data indicative of viewing of a surveyed broadcast device by at least one viewing entity;

a channel data collecting unit that collects data indicative of viewed channels of the surveyed broadcast device and used to generate the viewed channel data for the surveyed broadcast device;

a storage unit in which the viewing data and the viewed channel data is stored;

a transmitting unit that transmits the viewing data and the viewed channel data over the internet to the audience rating survey server that combines the viewing data and the viewed channel data with corresponding data from a plurality of other audience rating survey apparatus to generate audience ratings; and

a control unit operatively coupled with the receiving unit, the channel data collecting unit, the storage unit, and the transmitting unit; and

a display device comprising;

a display device receiving unit configured to receive a respective identification signal from each of a plurality of different viewing entities;

a light emitting unit comprising a plurality of light emitting elements, each of the light emitting elements emitting light in response to the receiving unit receiving one of the identification signals assigned to one of the viewing entities;

a display device storage unit that stores viewing data, for each of the different viewing entities, indicative of when the light emitting element associated with the respective viewing entity is emitting light;

a display device control unit that generates the viewing data and stores the viewing data in the storage unit; and

a display device transmitting unit that transmits the viewing data to the audience rating survey apparatus.