Push content filtering for broadcast communication

• US 20040237109A1
• Filed: 06/21/2004
• Published: 11/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ari Aarnio, Jarkko Lempio, Mikko Rautiainen, Timo M. Laitinen, Tomi Heinonen
• Original Assignee: Ari Aarnio, Jarkko Lempio, Mikko Rautiainen, Timo M. Laitinen, Tomi Heinonen
• Inventors: Aarnio, Ari, Lempio, Jarkko, Laitinen, Timo M., Heinonen, Tomi, Rautiainen, Mikko
• Granted Patent: US 7,295,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

The user of a mobile terminal capable of receiving broadcast transmissions, such as Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) transmissions, enters keywords indicative of messages the user wishes to peruse. When the mobile terminal receives a broadcast transmission having a message, keywords associated with the message are compared with the user-entered keywords; if any match, at least a portion of the message is displayed on the mobile terminal. The displayed portion may be a “crawl” which appears at the bottom of the display screen. The user may request to view the remaining portions, if any, of the message, or to download data linked to the message, where the downloaded data may be for viewing or for another purpose.

Claims

1. A method for a user of a mobile terminal to receive information in a broadcast communication from a local information source, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining, on the mobile terminal, filter data indicative of information the mobile terminal user is desirous of viewing;

receiving, by the mobile terminal, the broadcast communication from a broadcast transmitting station, wherein the broadcast communication comprises a message and communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication;

displaying on a display of the mobile terminal at least a portion of the message in the broadcast communication;

performing, by the mobile terminal, a comparison between the communication data and the filter data according to a predetermined criteria; and

providing, by the mobile terminal, a sensible indication to the mobile terminal user if predetermined criteria between the communication data and the filter data are met within the comparison.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast communication comprises a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) transmission.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast transmitting station comprises a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) broadcast transmitting station connected to a DVB Gateway.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal comprises one of a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) receiver, a personal data assistant (PDA), and a portable computer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal comprises a cellular telephone.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the cellular telephone is capable of receiving both broadcast communication and communications from a network of the cellular telephone.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcast communications are broadcast in at least one of a substantially recurring and a substantially repetitive manner.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein broadcast communications containing messages with updated information are broadcast periodically.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the updated information comprises at least one of current stock prices, current game scores, and current news.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the filter data comprises first level user keywords and second level user keywords, wherein said first level user keywords indicate a general area of interest, and said second-level user keywords indicate a specific topic within a general area of interest;

the communication data comprises broadcast keywords; and

the predetermined criteria are deemed met when any user keywords match any broadcast keywords.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the first level user keyword comprises at least one of stock prices, scores of games in a particular sport, and news;

the second level user keyword comprises at least one of a stock price of a particular company or corporation, a score of a particular sports team, and a news item concerning a particular topic.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

when a broadcast keyword matches a first level user keyword, the message in the broadcast communication is displayed.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein:

when a broadcast keyword matches a second level user keyword, the message in the broadcast communication is displayed and emphasized.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein:

messages in broadcast communications whose broadcast keyword matches a first level user keyword are displayed in a banner scrolling across a horizontal portion of the display, or a banner scrolling up or down a vertical portion of the display; and

messages in broadcast communications whose broadcast keyword matches a second level user keyword are displayed in the banner and highlighted.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein:

when a broadcast keyword matches a second level user keyword, the sensible indication is at least one of;

sounding an audible signal;

emphasizing at least a portion of the displayed portion of the message; and

causing the mobile terminal to vibrate.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed portion of the message appears in a banner scrolling across a horizontal portion of the display, or a banner scrolling up or down a vertical portion of the display.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

taking, in response to a predetermined indication from the user, an action regarding or determined by the message.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the predetermined indication comprises pressing a button on the mobile terminal.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile telephone and the action is to dial a telephone number contained in the broadcast communication.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the action comprises retrieving data from a network.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the action of retrieving data comprises the steps of:

using a Uniform Resource Locater (URL) in the broadcast communication to navigate to a location on the network; and

downloading, by user action, the data from the location on the network.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the action of retrieving data comprises the step of:

using a hyperlink in the broadcast communication to automatically download the data from a location on the network.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

entering, by the user, the filter data into the mobile terminal.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of entering the filter data comprises the step of:

downloading the filter data from another device into the mobile terminal.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the filter data comprises keywords, and the method further comprises the step of:

generating additional keywords related to the keywords entered by the user, wherein said generating is performed by a thesaurus and/or dictionary module located in at least one of mobile terminal and a network accessible by the mobile terminal.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined criteria depends upon at least one of:

contents of the broadcast communication, a type of the broadcast communication, and a sender of the broadcast communication.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication comprises the message in the broadcast communication.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication comprises header information in the broadcast communication.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the performed comparison is between at least one field of the header information and the filter data.

31. A mobile terminal of a user comprising:

a processor;

an input device connected to the processor;

a storage device connected to the processor for storing at least filter data indicative of information the mobile terminal user is desirous of viewing;

a broadcast transceiver connected to the processor for receiving a broadcast communication comprising a message and communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication, wherein said broadcast communication is received from a broadcast transmitting station;

a display connected to the processor for displaying at least a portion of the message; and

filter software operative on the processor for;

directing to the display at least a portion of the message;

performing a comparison between the communication data and the filter data stored on the storage device; and

causing an indication sensible by the mobile terminal user if predetermined criteria between the communication data and the filter data are met within the comparison.

32. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the broadcast transceiver comprises a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) transceiver.

33. The mobile terminal of claim 31, further comprising:

a mobile network transceiver connected to the processor for receiving communications from a mobile network of the mobile terminal.

34. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the broadcast transmitting station comprises a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) broadcast transmitting station connected to a DVB Gateway.

35. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the mobile terminal comprises one of a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) receiver, a personal data assistant (PDA), and a portable computer.

36. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the mobile terminal comprises a mobile telephone.

37. The mobile terminal of claim 36, wherein the mobile telephone is capable of receiving both broadcast communication and communications from a network of the mobile telephone.

38. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein broadcast communications are broadcast in at least one of a substantially recurring and a substantially repetitive manner.

39. The mobile terminal of claim 38, wherein broadcast communications containing messages with updated information are broadcast periodically.

40. The mobile terminal of claim 39, wherein the updated information comprises at least one of current stock prices, current game scores, and current news.

41. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein:

the filter data comprises first level user keywords and second level user keywords, wherein said first level user keywords indicate a general area of interest, and said second-level user keywords indicate a specific topic within a general area of interest;

the communication data comprises broadcast keywords; and

the predetermined criteria are deemed met when any user keywords match any broadcast keywords.

42. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the displayed portion of the message appears in a banner scrolling across a horizontal portion of the display, or a banner scrolling up or down a vertical portion of the display.

43. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the filter software is operative for taking, in response to a predetermined indication from the user, an action regarding the message.

44. The mobile terminal of claim 43, wherein the predetermined indication comprises pressing a button on the mobile terminal.

45. The mobile terminal of claim 43, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile telephone and the action is to dial a telephone number contained in the broadcast communication.

46. The mobile terminal of claim 43, wherein the action comprises retrieving data from a network.

47. The mobile terminal of claim 46, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

48. The mobile terminal of claim 46, wherein the action of retrieving data comprises the steps of:

using a Uniform Resource Locater (URL) in the broadcast communication to navigate to a location on the network; and

downloading, by user action, the data from the location on the network.

49. The mobile terminal of claim 46, wherein the action of retrieving data comprises the step of:

using a hyperlink in the broadcast communication to automatically download the data from a location on the network.

50. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the predetermined criteria depends upon at least one of:

contents of the broadcast communication, a type of the broadcast communication, and a sender of the broadcast communication.

51. The mobile terminal of claim 31, wherein the communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication comprises the message in the broadcast communication.

52. A system in a mobile terminal for identifying matches between information a user of the mobile terminal is desirous of viewing and a received broadcast communication comprising a message and communication data indicative of the nature of the broadcast communication, the system comprising:

a processor;

a storage device;

a display; and

at least one of hardware, firmware, and software means operative on the processor for;

maintaining in the storage device a database of keywords identifying the information the mobile terminal user is desirous of viewing;

displaying at least a portion of the message in the broadcast communication;

scanning the communication data in the broadcast communication to find matches between the communication data and the keywords stored in the storage device; and

providing a sensible indication to the mobile terminal user if predetermined criteria between the communication data and the keywords are met.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the broadcast communication comprises a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) communication.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein the mobile terminal comprises one of a Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) receiver, a personal data assistant (PDA), and a portable computer.

55. The system of claim 52, wherein the mobile terminal comprises a cellular telephone which is capable of receiving both broadcast communication and communications from a network of the cellular telephone.

56. The system of claim 52, wherein broadcast communications are broadcast in at least one of a substantially recurring and a substantially repetitive manner.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein:

the filter data comprises first level user keywords and second level user keywords, wherein said first level user keywords indicate a general area of interest, and said second-level user keywords indicate a specific topic within a general area of interest;

the communication data comprises broadcast keywords; and

the predetermined criteria are deemed met when any user keywords match any broadcast keywords.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein the displayed portion of the message appears in a banner scrolling across a horizontal portion of the display, or a banner scrolling up or down a vertical portion of the display.

59. The system of claim 52, wherein the software means is operative for taking, in response to a predetermined indication from the user, an action regarding the message.

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the action comprises retrieving data from a network by one of:

using a Uniform Resource Locater (URL) in the broadcast communication to navigate to a location on the network and downloading, by user action, the data from the location on the network;

or

using a hyperlink in the broadcast communication to automatically download the data from a location on the network.

61. The system of claim 52, wherein the predetermined criteria depends upon at least one of:

contents of the broadcast communication, a type of the broadcast communication, and a sender of the broadcast communication.

62. The system of claim 52, wherein broadcast communication is packet-based, and wherein the at least one of hardware, firmware, and software means comprises:

a pre-process buffer for receiving packets comprising the broadcast communication;

a message queue for receiving the packets from the pre-process buffer, and for reconstructing the broadcast communication once all its packets have been assembled;

an intelligent filter for discarding unwanted broadcast communications in the message queue and for selecting desired broadcast communications in the message queue; and

an archive for storing at least messages from received broadcast communications.