Remote control system for television audience data gathering

• US 5,497,185 A
• Filed: 08/17/1994
• Issued: 03/05/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Le Groupe Videotron Limitee
• Original Assignee: Le Groupe Videotron Limitee
• Inventors: Brassard, Jean-Paul, Milot, Maurice, Garneau, Pierre, Dufresne, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H.
• Application Number:
  US08/291,888
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2, 455/92, 455/352, 455/353, 348/1, 348/2, 348/5, 348/734, 359/145, 359/146
• US Class Current: 725/11
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A method and apparatus of collecting data from a television audience comprising storing in a first memory demographic descriptions of expected viewers of a television receiver, receiving signals from a viewer control operated by a viewer, displaying one or more indicia on a television screen for viewing by the viewer, designated by the character of the signals received from the control, in confirmation of the particular signal received from the control, and storing a signal in a second memory for later access corresponding to at least one form of the designated signal character, which is related to the designation of at least one selected expected viewer as an active viewer. The television viewer may use his remote control at any time, when the flashing prompt is flashing, or when it is not flashing, to change channels. There is no channel lock nor is there an annoying on-screen prompt enquiring as to the identity of persons in the viewing audience.

Claims

1. A remote control system for at least selecting television channels comprised of a controller having a plurality of numeric keys and more than one accept key, means for generating remote control signals corresponding to the depression of a numeric and an accept key;

means removed from the remote control for receiving the remote control signals, and creating various commands relating the selected numeric keys which commands are different depending on the subsequent selection of a particular different accept key, one of said commands being a channel change command, and another of said commands being to cause display of viewer identification data on a television screen.

2. A remote control system for at least selecting television channels comprised of a controller having a plurality of numeric keys and more than one accept key, means for generating remote control signals corresponding to the depression of a numeric and an accept key;

means removed from the remote control for receiving the remote control signals, and creating various commands relating to selected numeric keys which commands are different depending on the subsequent selection of a particular different accept key, one of said commands being a channel change command, and another of said commands being to remove selected demographic data from a preselected list of said demographic data.

3. A remote control system for at least selecting television channels comprised of a controller having a plurality of numeric keys and more than one accept key, means for generating remote control signals corresponding to the depression of a numeric and an accept key;

means removed from the remote control for receiving the remote control signals, and creating various commands relating to selected numeric keys which commands are different depending on the subsequent selection of a particular different accept key, one of said commands being a channel change command, and another of said commands being to add demographic data from a demographic option list for identifying and adding a visitor to a potential viewer list for later selection and display.