Method and apparatus for communicating product notices through digital broadcasting

• US 20060265236A1
• Filed: 03/07/2006
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Addison Brooke Jones, J'Maev, Jack Ivan, Tzvetelin Petrov Petrov
• Original Assignee: Addison Brooke Jones, J'Maev, Jack Ivan, Tzvetelin Petrov Petrov
• Inventors: Petrov, Tzvetelin Petrov, J'maev, Jack Ivan, Jones, Addison Brooke
• Application Number:
  US11/371,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265236A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/303
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/014 Providing recall services for goods or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/33 by plural channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and several embodiments for issuing and receiving a product notice message by incorporating a product notice message into at least one of a control data stream and a program data stream carried in digital broadcast data stream. This is accomplished by combining at least one of a control data stream and a program data stream into a time-multiplexed data stream, splintering the multiplexed data stream into a plurality of sub-streams, generating a corresponding plurality of modulated carriers according to each of the sub-streams, combining the plurality of modulated carriers into a composite radio frequency signal and then radiating the composite radio frequency signal. In order to receive the signal, the composite radio frequency signal that includes a plurality of modulated carriers is received and each carrier therein is demodulated into a plurality of corresponding data sub-stream. These are then combined into a time-multiplexed, multi-channel data stream. A channel is these selected from at least one of the control channel and the program channel which are typically included in the time-multiplexed, multi-channel data stream. A product notice is extracted from the selected channel and presented to a user.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. A method for receiving a product recall notice comprising:

receiving in a product a composite radio frequency signal that includes a plurality of modulated carriers;

demodulating each carrier into a plurality of corresponding data sub-stream;

combining the plurality of data sub-streams into a time-multiplexed, multi-channel data stream;

selecting a channel, including at least one of a control channel and a program channel, from the time-multiplexed, multi-channel data stream;

extracting a product recall notice from the selected channel wherein said product recall notice includes a notice identifier that corresponds to a description of the recall stored in a memory that is not included in the product; and

presenting the product notice to a user.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein extracting a product notice comprises:

recognizing a product recall notice message;

extracting a product identifier from the product recall notice message; and

extracting a product recall notice when the product identifier is within a range of a group of product identifiers.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein extracting a product notice comprises:

recognizing a product recall notice message;

extracting a product identifier from the product recall notice message; and

extracting a product recall notice when the product identifier is found in a recognized identifier list.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein extracting a product notice comprises:

recognizing a product recall notice message;

extracting a receiver identifier from the product recall notice message; and

extracting a product recall notice when the receiver identifier is substantially equivalent to a pre-established value.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein demodulating each carrier comprises demodulating a plurality of orthogonally, frequency-division multiplexed carriers into a plurality of corresponding data sub-streams.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein demodulating each carrier comprises demodulating a carrier by detecting a change in at least one of phase, frequency and amplitude.

12. The method of claim 6 further comprising recording a reception date for a presented product recall notice.

13. The method of claim 6 further comprising recording a user acknowledgement date for a presented product recall notice.

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

22. A product notice receiver comprising:

multi-carrier demodulator capable of generating a time-multiplexed data stream;

channel selector capable of selecting a channel from a received time-multiplexed data stream;

message framer capable of capturing a product recall notice message from the selected channel; and

presentation device capable of making a captured product notice message available to user.

23. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the multi-carrier demodulator comprises:

plurality of demodulators each capable of generating a data substream; and

multiplexer capable of generating a time-multiplexed data stream according to a plurality of data substream generated by the plurality of demodulators

24. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the multi-carrier demodulator comprises

analog-to-digital converter capable of converting a radio signal into a digital sample stream;

data stream output interface;

processor capable of executing an instruction sequence;

memory capable of storing an instruction sequence;

one or more instruction sequences stored in the memory including;

analog receiver module that, when executed by the processor, minimally causes the processor to receive digital sample stream from the analog-to-digital converter;

demodulation module that, when executed by the processor, minimally causes the processor to generate a time multiplexed data stream according to the digital sample stream received from the analog-to-digital converter and further capable of directing the time-multiplexed data stream to the datastream output interface.

25. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the multi-carrier demodulator comprises an orthogonal-frequency-division multiplexed signal demodulator.

26. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the multi-carrier demodulator comprises a demodulator capable of detecting at least one of a phase variation, a frequency variation and an amplitude variation is a modulated carrier.

27. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the message framer includes:

local product identifier register capable of storing a single product identifier;

comparator capable of generating a capture signal when a received product notice message includes a product identifier that is substantially equivalent to a value stored in the local product identifier register.

28. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the message framer includes:

local product identifier register capable of storing a range of product identifiers;

comparator capable of generating a capture signal when a received product notice message includes a product identifier that is a value with the range of values stored in the local product identifier register.

29. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the message framer includes:

local product identifier register capable of storing a set of product identifiers;

comparator capable of generating a capture signal when a received product notice message includes a product identifier that is substantially equivalent to one of one or more value stored in the local product identifier register.

30. The product notice receiver of claim 22 wherein the message framer includes:

local receiver identifier register capable of storing a one or more receiver identifiers;

comparator capable of generating a capture signal when a received product notice message includes a receiver identifier that is substantially equivalent to one of one or more values stored in the local receiver identifier register.

31. The product notice receiver of claim 22 further comprising a substantially permanent memory capable of storing a date upon which a product recall notice message is received.

32. The product notice receiver of claim 22 further comprising a substantially permanent memory capable of storing a date upon which a product recall notice message is presented to a user.