METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A USER'S PC THROUGH A BROADCAST COMMUNICATION TO ARCHIVE INFORMATION IN THE USER'S PC

• US 20070124417A1
• Filed: 06/27/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: LV Partners LP (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Mathews, David, Philyaw, Jeffry
• Granted Patent: US 7,398,548 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/301 Name conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• 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: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• 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 21/4117 : for generating hard copies of the content, e.g. printer, electronic paper interfaces to printers G06F3/12; printing data G06K15/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 : embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42676 : for modulating an analogue carrier signal to encode digital information or demodulating it to decode digital information, e.g. ADSL or cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 : Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 : Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 : for the sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/081 : the additional information signals being transmitted by means of a subcarrier

Abstract

A method for allowing a consumer to access an advertiser'"'"'s location over a global communication network. A normal broadcast program is broadcast to a class of consumers having a unique signal embedded therein, which unique signal embedded therein is associated with a particular advertiser and a predetermined location on the network. Additionally, the unique signal has encoded therein a unique code that correlates with the location of this predetermined location on the network. When the unique signal is received at a consumer'"'"'s location, the unique signal is decoded to extract therefrom the unique code. In response to this decoding, routing information to the predetermined location on the network from a consumer'"'"'s computer on the network at the consumer'"'"'s location is determined. This determined routing information is then archived in the consumer'"'"'s computer.

Claims

1. A method for allowing a consumer to access an advertiser'"'"'s location over a global communication network from a consumer'"'"'s computer disposed at a consumer'"'"'s location on the network, comprising the steps of:

defining an archive location proximate the consumer'"'"'s computer;

broadcasting to a class of consumers a broadcast communication having a unique signal embedded therein, which unique signal embedded therein contains no routing information and is associated with a particular advertiser and a predetermined and associated advertiser location on the network and wherein the unique signal has encoded therein a unique code that correlates with the location of this predetermined advertiser location on the network;

receiving the broadcast communication at a consumer'"'"'s location;

extracting the unique signal from the received broadcast communication;

in response to the step of decoding, automatically accessing a relational database having stored therein an associative data set for a plurality of unique codes and associated predetermined advertiser location and the associated routing information therefore, which relational database is operable to determine the routing information to the predetermined advertiser location on the network from a consumer'"'"'s computer on the network at the consumer'"'"'s location that is associated with the received unique code; and

archiving proximate the consumer'"'"'s computer at the archive location the determined routing information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically accessing in response to the step of decoding comprises:

accessing an intermediate location on the network with the consumer'"'"'s computer, the intermediate location having a local database associated therewith, which local database has the associative data set contained therein for the plurality of unique codes and associated predetermined advertiser locations and the associated routing information therefor;

forwarding information representative of the unique code to the intermediate location over the network connection;

comparing the received information representative of the unique code with the plurality of unique codes in the database; and

if there is match, forwarding the associated routing information back to the consumer'"'"'s computer to be archived.

3. The method of claim 1, and further comprising a step of providing a unique user ID at the consumer'"'"'s location associated with the consumer'"'"'s computer and forwarding information representative of the unique user ID to an intermediate location after access thereof and in conjunction with forwarding of the unique code thereto, wherein a local database at the intermediate location has stored therein as the associative data set an associative database between a plurality of user IDs and associated predefined user profile information for each of the user IDs stored therein and;

if there is a match between the received user IDs and the stored user IDs, forwarding the associated user profile information back to the consumer'"'"'s computer for archiving therein in association with the archived routing information;

wherein the consumer can, at a later time, access the archived information to both access the predetermined location on the network associated with the routing information and also forward the user ID and user profile information thereto.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein additional information is stored in conjunction with each of the unique codes and the associated routing information which additional information represents information that is to be forwarded to the predetermined location upon access thereof and wherein this additional information is forwarded back to the consumer'"'"'s computer for correlation with the associated routing information.

5. A method for allowing a consumer to access an advertiser'"'"'s location over a global communication network from a consumer'"'"'s computer disposed at a consumer'"'"'s location on the network, comprising the steps of:

defining an archive location proximate the consumer'"'"'s computer;

receiving at a consumer'"'"'s location a broadcast communication that was communicated to a plurality of consumers, the broadcast communication having unique information embedded therein, which unique information embedded therein contains no routing information and is associated with a particular advertiser and a predetermined and associated advertiser location on the network, and wherein the unique information correlates with the location of this predetermined advertiser location on the network;

extracting the unique information from the received broadcast communication;

in response to the step of decoding, automatically accessing a relational database having stored therein an associative data set for a plurality of unique codes representative of the unique information and associated predetermined advertiser location and the associated routing information therefor and determining the routing information to the predetermined advertiser location on the network from a consumer'"'"'s computer on the network at the consumer'"'"'s location that is associated with the received unique information; and

archiving proximate the consumer'"'"'s computer at the archive location the determined routing information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of automatically accessing in response to the step of decoding comprises:

accessing an intermediate location on the network with the consumer'"'"'s computer, the intermediate location having a local database associated therewith, which local database has the associative data set contained therein for the plurality of unique codes and associated predetermined advertiser locations and the associated routing information therefor;

forwarding the information representative of the received unique information to the intermediate location over the network connection;

comparing the received information representative of the received unique information with the plurality of unique codes in the database; and

if there is match, forwarding the associated routing information back to the consumer'"'"'s computer to be archived.

7. The method of claim 5, and further comprising a step of providing a unique user ID at the consumer'"'"'s location associated with the consumer'"'"'s computer and forwarding the unique user ID to an intermediate location after access thereof and in conjunction with forwarding of the information representative of the received unique information thereto, wherein a local database at the intermediate location has stored therein as the associative data set an associative database between a plurality of user IDs and associated predefined user profile information for each of the user IDs stored therein and;

if there is a match between the received user IDs and the stored user IDs, forwarding the associated user profile information back to the consumer'"'"'s computer for archiving therein in association with the archived routing information;

wherein the consumer can, at a later time, access the archived information to both access the predetermined location on the network associated with the routing information and also forward the user ID and user profile information thereto.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein additional information is stored in conjunction with each of the unique codes and the associated routing information, which additional information represents information that is to be forwarded to the predetermined location upon access thereof and wherein this additional information is forwarded back to the consumer'"'"'s computer for correlation with the associated routing information.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the broadcast communication is a video/audio broadcast program.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the unique code comprises an audio tone.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the consumer'"'"'s computer has associated therewith a communications program that is operable to communicate with the advertiser'"'"'s location, and further comprising the step of launching the communications program in response to extraction of the unique information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the unique information has a unique format and further comprising the step of detecting the presence of the unique information in the broadcast communication prior to the step of extracting.