Method and apparatus for providing customized information

• US 10,462,507 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2017
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Panje, Krishna Prasad
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kurien, Christen A
• Application Number:
  US15/804,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20180063565A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• 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 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/654 Transmission by server directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Abstract

A method for providing customized information to a plurality of portable communication devices. A customer premises equipment (CPE) synchronizes with at least one of the plurality of portable communication devices. The CPE extracts descriptive data of media content stored in the at least one portable communication device. The CPE searches for a descriptive data of content available at the CPE based on the descriptive data extracted from the at least one portable communication device. The CPE determines that the extracted descriptive data matches the descriptive data of content available at the CPE. The CPE makes the content available to the at least one portable communication device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing, by a customer device, items of media content broadcast to the customer device across multiple television channels;

extracting, by the customer device, words from a first item of media content stored in a portable communication device;

searching, by the customer device, the items of media content stored in the customer device based on the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device;

determining, by the customer device and based on the searching, that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match words extracted from a second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device, where the second item of media content is different from the first item of media content; and

triggering, by the customer device, the second item of media content stored in the customer device to be provided to the portable communication device in response to the determination that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match the words extracted from the second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device,

wherein the first item of media content is not from a television channel and the second item of media content is from a television channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing an indication of the extracted words in a folder specific to the portable communication device based on an identifier of the portable communication device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising tuning, by the customer device, to available broadcast channels to determine words that describe content that is currently being broadcast to the customer device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein triggering the second item of media content to be provided comprises:

sending an indication of the second item of media content to the portable communication device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein sending an indication comprises:

sending a Short Message Service (SMS) containing a content description of the second item of media content to the portable communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a free tuner in a plurality of tuners on the customer device; and

tuning the free tuner to broadcast channels to determine terms that describe content that is currently being broadcast to the customer device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer device is located in a customer'"'"'s premises.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein searching comprises searching local storage of the customer device for words that describe the media content stored in the customer device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing content across a plurality of mobile devices that are coupled to the customer device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein extracting, by the customer device, words from a first item of media content stored in a portable communication device comprises:

extracting a title of the first item of the media content.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein extracting, by the customer device, words from a first item of media content stored in a portable communication device comprises:

obtaining, from the portable communication device and by the customer device, an identifier of the portable communication device; and

in response to obtaining, from the portable communication device and by the customer device, the identifier of the portable communication device, searching, by the customer device, for words that were previously stored on the customer device with an indication of the identifier of the portable communication device and that describe items of media content on the portable communication device at the time the words were stored on the customer device.

10. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

storing, by a customer device, items of media content broadcast to the customer device across multiple television channels;

extracting, by the customer device, words from a first item of media content stored in a portable communication device;

searching, by the customer device, the items of media content stored in the customer device based on the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device;

determining, by the customer device and based on the searching, that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match words extracted from a second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device, where the second item of media content is different from the first item of media content; and

triggering, by the customer device, the second item of media content stored in the customer device to be provided to the portable communication device in response to the determination that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match the words extracted from the second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device,

wherein the first item of media content is not from a television channel and the second item of media content is from a television channel.

11. The system of claim 10, the operations further comprising storing an indication of the extracted words in a folder specific to the portable communication device based on an identifier of the portable communication device.

12. The system of claim 10, the operations further comprising tuning, by the customer device, to available broadcast channels to determine words that describe content that is currently being broadcast to the customer device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein triggering the second item of media content to be provided comprises:

sending an indication of the second item of media content to the portable communication device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein sending an indication comprises:

sending a Short Message Service (SMS) containing a content description of the second item of media content to the portable communication device.

15. The system of claim 10, the operations further comprising:

determining a free tuner in a plurality of tuners on the customer device; and

tuning the free tuner to broadcast channels to determine terms that describe content that is currently being broadcast to the customer device.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the customer device is located in a customer'"'"'s premises.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

storing, by a customer device, items of media content broadcast to the customer device across multiple television channels;

extracting, by the customer device, words from a first item of media content stored in a portable communication device;

searching, by the customer device, the items of media content stored in the customer device based on the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device;

determining, by the customer device and based on the searching, that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match words extracted from a second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device, where the second item of media content is different from the first item of media content; and

triggering, by the customer device, the second item of media content stored in the customer device to be provided to the portable communication device in response to the determination that the words extracted from the first item of media content stored in the portable communication device match the words extracted from the second item of media content in the items of media content broadcast to the customer device and stored in the customer device,

wherein the first item of media content is not from a television channel and the second item of media content is from a television channel.