BROADCAST RESPONSE SYSTEM

• US 20070155311A1
• Filed: 11/21/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: StratosAudio, Inc.
• Original Assignee: StratosAudio, Inc.
• Inventors: Smyth, Thomas, Thomas, Barry, Christensen, Kelly
• Granted Patent: US 8,467,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.60
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/34 using an out-of-band subcarrier signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/13 radio data system/radio broadcast data system [RDS/RBDS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/30 characterised by the use of a return channel, e.g. for collecting users' opinions, for returning broadcast space/time information or for requesting data
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/37 via a different channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/61 Arrangements for services using the result of monitoring, identification or recognition covered by groups H04H60/29-H04H60/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/63 for services of sales data processing systems or methods specially adapted for electronic commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 : Network streaming of media packets
• 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: 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 21/26258 : for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/274 : Storing end-user multimedia data in response to end-user request , e.g. network recorder
• 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 21/472 : End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 : for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 : comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A broadcast response system provides, e.g., a radio broadcast listener with the ability to obtain media content such as music or speech while listening to the radio. The user can respond to items in the radio broadcast such as advertisements, fund raising drives, or interactive listener polls during the broadcast. Data such as song title and artist, author or publisher and the IP address for the location where the digital version of the content is stored, can be transmitted using, e.g., the RBDS/RDS data stream. A reference number representing song title and artist, author or publisher and the IP address for the location where the digital version of the content is stored can also be employed for ease of implementation. This reference number can reside in a lookup table to be accessed by broadcast response server.

Claims

1. A system that responds to a data packet broadcast in a first signal stream with corresponding media content broadcast in a second signal stream, comprising:

a broadcast receiver circuit that detects the broadcast signal and extracts the data packet from the first signal stream, at least a portion of the data packet configured to uniquely identify the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream;

memory that stores information derived from the data packet, including the data that uniquely identifies the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream, wherein the memory is capable of storing a plurality of entries;

a user output that presents information derived from at least one data packet;

a user input control that allows a user to select at least one entry from the user output and respond to the media content broadcast in the second signal stream;

an output device that communicates the user response to a response authentication system, the communication comprising information corresponding to at least an identification of the user and the data that uniquely identifies the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the identification of the user comprises information related to a wireless telephone account, allowing purchases to be made through the wireless telephone account.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second signal stream comprises an audio signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the second signal stream comprises a video signal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first signal stream is multiplexed with the second signal stream.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first signal stream is received over a subcarrier channel.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first signal stream is discrete from the second signal stream.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the data packet identifies available actions.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the extraction of the data packet complies with an Open Data Application.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the output device communicates the user response using a text message over a wireless network.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication to the response authentication system is associated with commerce.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication to the response authentication system is associated with activity other than commerce.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an input that receives a communication from the response authentication system.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the communication from the response authentication system uses a different device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the different device was pre-selected by the user.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication to the response authentication system further includes the selection of the different device.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the output device further comprises an interface to store data on a removable media.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the output device further comprises an interface to transmit data wirelessly.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the output device further comprises an interface to transmit data over a short-length communications cable.

20. A method of providing a response to a data packet broadcast in a first signal stream that corresponds to media content broadcast in a second signal stream, comprising the steps of:

extracting a data packet from the first signal stream, at least a portion of the data packet configured to uniquely identify the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream;

storing information derived from the data packet in memory, including storing at least the data that uniquely identifies the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream;

presenting information derived from at least one data packet to a user;

receiving a user input control that selects at least one entry from the presented information;

communicating the user response to a response authentication system, the communication comprising information corresponding to an identification of the user and the data that uniquely identifies the specific broadcast of the media content in the second signal stream.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the user response is tracked through data mining.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein an audio signal is generated from the second signal stream.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein a video signal is generated from the second signal stream.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the memory used to store the data packets is capable of storing a plurality of entries.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the first signal stream is multiplexed with the second signal stream.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the first signal stream is received over a subcarrier channel.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the first signal stream is discrete from the second signal stream.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the extracting step identifies available actions.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein the extraction of the data packet complies with an Open Data Application.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein the communicating step further comprises transmitting data using text messaging over a wireless network.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein the communicating step is associated with commerce.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein the communicating step is associated with activity other than commerce.

33. The method of claim 20 further comprising, receiving a response back from the response authentication system to the user.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the response from the response authentication system uses a different device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the different device was pre-selected by the user.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the response packet includes the selection of the different device.

37. The method of claim 20, wherein communicating the response packet comprises storing data on a removable media.

38. The method of claim 20, wherein communicating the response packet comprises transmitting data wirelessly.

39. The method of claim 20, wherein communicating the response packet comprises transmitting data over a short-length communications cable.