Apparatus and methods for monitoring television viewers
First Claim
1. Apparatus for monitoring the television viewing acts of an individual comprising:
- means for transmitting a signal from the vicinity of a television into the viewing area of the television;
means for detecting reflections of said signal from the eyes of an individual in the viewing area of the television; and
means for determining whether the reflected signal satisfies predetermined criteria indicating that the individual is viewing the television.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention discloses apparatus and methods for monitoring the television viewing acts of individuals by transmitting a signal toward the individual and detecting the reflection of the signal from the individual'"'"'s eyes to determine the time intervals and total times the individual is viewing the television. This viewing information is then correlated with the program information from the television. The apparatus and method of this invention can be used to identify each individual viewing the television and track and correlate the viewing information for each individual. The signals reflected from each individual'"'"'s eyes can also be used to determine changes in blink rate and/or pupil dilation in order to determine the emotional response of each individual to the program being viewed. This invention also provides a system for monitoring the times at which particular programs are viewed by particular individuals even when the individual records the program on a VCR and views the program at a later time.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. Apparatus for monitoring the television viewing acts of an individual comprising:
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means for transmitting a signal from the vicinity of a television into the viewing area of the television; means for detecting reflections of said signal from the eyes of an individual in the viewing area of the television; and means for determining whether the reflected signal satisfies predetermined criteria indicating that the individual is viewing the television. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for monitoring the television viewing acts of an individual comprising:
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transmitting a signal from the vicinity of a television into the viewing area of the television; detecting reflections of said signal form the eyes of an individual in the viewing area of the television; and determining wwhether the reflected signal indicates that the individual is viewing the television. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Apparatus for monitoring television viewing acts of an individual, wherein the television comprises a television-video recording means combination which comprises:
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a monitor comprising means for collecting and storing data and means for placing a predetermined signal on a video recording when the video recording means is recording a television program; means for detecting whether there is at least one person in the viewing area of the television when the television is operating and for transmitting that data to the monitor; and means for determining whether the program on the television is; (a) from a broadcast channel and for transmitting the channel information to the monitor;
or(b) from the video recording previously recorded by the video recording means and for transmitting to the monitor the information from the predetermined signal placed on the video recording by the monitor when the program was recorded; wherein the means for detecting at least one person in the viewing area comprises means for transmitting a signal from the vicinity of the television into the viewing area of the television, means for detecting reflections of said signal from the eyes of the persons in the viewing area of the television and means for determining whether the - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for monitoring the television viewing acts of an individual using a television-video recording means combination which comprises:
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placing a predetermined signal on a video recording when the video recording means is recording a television program; detecting whether there is at least one person in the viewing area of the television when the television is operating by transmitting a signal from the vicinity of the television into the viewing area, detecting reflections of the signal from the eyes of persons in the viewing area of the television and determining whether the reflected signal satisfies predetermined criteria indicating that each person is viewing the television; and determining whether the program on the television is (a) from a broadcast channel or (b) from the video recording means by detecting the information from the predetermined signal placed on the video recording when the program was recorded. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification