Method and device for monitoring and analyzing signals
First Claim
1. An electronic system for monitoring and analyzing at least one signal, comprising:
- a first input that receives at least one reference signal to be monitored;
a first processor that creates an abstract of each reference signal input to said first processor through said first input;
a second input that receives at least one query signal to be analyzed;
a second processor that creates an abstract of each query signal;
a reference database that stores abstracts of each at least one reference signal;
a comparing device that compares an abstract of said at least one query signal to the abstracts stored in the reference database to determine if the abstract of said at least one query signal matches any of the stored abstracts; and
a device that permits submission of reference signal abstracts to the reference database.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for monitoring and analyzing at least one signal are disclosed. An abstract of at least one reference signal is generated and stored in a reference database. An abstract of a query signal to be analyzed is then generated so that the abstract of the query signal can be compared to the abstracts stored in the reference database for a match. The method and system may optionally be used to record information about the query signals, the number of matches recorded, and other useful information about the query signals. Moreover, the method by which abstracts are generated can be programmable based upon selectable criteria. The system can also be programmed with error control software so as to avoid the re-occurrence of a query signal that matches more than one signal stored in the reference database.
223 Citations
61 Claims
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1. An electronic system for monitoring and analyzing at least one signal, comprising:
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a first input that receives at least one reference signal to be monitored;
a first processor that creates an abstract of each reference signal input to said first processor through said first input;
a second input that receives at least one query signal to be analyzed;
a second processor that creates an abstract of each query signal;
a reference database that stores abstracts of each at least one reference signal;
a comparing device that compares an abstract of said at least one query signal to the abstracts stored in the reference database to determine if the abstract of said at least one query signal matches any of the stored abstracts; and
a device that permits submission of reference signal abstracts to the reference database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 49)
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13. A electronic system for monitoring and analyzing a plurality of signals, comprising:
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a first input for receiving a plurality of reference signals to be monitored;
a first processor for creating a plurality of abstracts corresponding to the plurality of reference signals;
a reference database for storing the reference signal abstracts;
a second input for receiving a query signal to be analyzed;
a second processor for creating an abstract of the query signal;
a comparing device that compares the query signal abstract to the reference signal abstracts and determines if the query signal abstract matches at least one of the reference signal abstracts; and
a means for linking the query signal abstract to the reference signal corresponding to the matching reference signal abstract. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 40, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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32. A method for monitoring a signal, comprising:
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receiving a reference signal to be monitored;
creating an abstract corresponding to the reference signal;
linking the abstract to at least one signal to be referenced; and
embedding the abstract in the at least one signal to be referenced. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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41. A method for controlling the distribution of digital signals, comprising:
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creating an abstract for a first digital signal, the first digital signal having an unknown distribution status;
comparing the first digital signal abstract to at least one database of digital signal abstracts, each abstract in the at least one database corresponding to a digital signal having a known distribution status; and
determining the distribution status for the first digital signal based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50)
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58. A system for searching for and distributing electronic data, compromising:
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a first input that receives a query abstract of a signal to locate;
a database containing a plurality of signal abstracts, the plurality of signal abstracts each having a corresponding signal;
a comparing device that compares the query abstract to the plurality of abstracts stored in the reference database to identify a matching signal abstract; and
a device for retrieving the signal corresponding to the matching signal abstract; and
a device for conducting a transaction, the transaction selected from the group consisting of a download and a subscription. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61)
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Specification