Bidirectional transmission/reception system and method and transmission apparatus

• US 6,678,890 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2000
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Cai, Kaili
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ma, Johnny
• Application Number:
  US09/520,485
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 725/131, 725/24, 725/14, 725/23, 725/22, 463/40
• US Class Current: 725/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A system and a method for bidirectional transmission/reception in which the information aired in e.g., television broadcast can be received with a high probability to permit a sponsor to readily comprehend the state of reception. A collective information generating system 5 includes temporary reply recovery device 13₁, . . . , 13_m for recovering the response data sent from the transmission/reception device 2 over a transmitting network 6, a quiz response recovery unit 14 and a CPU 15 having the information generating function of generating the lottery result information based on the response data recovered by the quiz response recovery unit 14. The lottery result information generated by the collective information generating system 5 is multiplexed by the multiplexing broadcast encoder 11 and transmitted to the transmission/reception unit 2 by a broadcast transmission device 12.

Claims

1. A bidirectional transmission/reception system comprising:

a transmission device having multiplexing means for multiplexing the response request information requesting the response from a subscriber who has received the broadcast signals on broadcast signals;

a reception device having receiving means for receiving the broadcast signals transmitted from said transmission device and transmission means for outputting the broadcast signals transmitted by said transmitting device and transmitting means for outputting the broadcast signals received by this reception means and the response request information to audio/video outputting means and for transmitting over a transmitting network response data inputted by the audience responsive to the response request information outputted to the audio/video outputting means; and

a collective information generating device having response data recovery means for recovering the response data transmitted by said transmitting network and information generating means for generating the collective information based on the response data recovered by said response data recovery means;

said transmission device multiplexing said collective information downstream of said response request information of said broadcast signals by said multiplexing means;

wherein;

said broadcast signals include the program information and the commercial advertisements;

said response request information being a query information made up of queries relevant to the commercial advertisement information;

said information generating means extracts a pre-set number of the response data from plural response data recovered by said response data recovery means to generate a lottery result information as said collective information based on the extracted response data and on the previously acquired subscriber information for the subscribers.

2. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said multiplexing means multiplexes said query information in association with the commercial advertisement information.

3. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said response data recovery means recovers only the response data inputted by the subscriber within a pre-set time responsive to the response request information.

4. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said response data recovery means is of a hierarchical structure having a plurality of response data recovery units adapted for recording the response data transmitted by said transmission network.

5. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said transmission device multiplexes the collective information on the broadcast signals by said multiplexing means to transmit the broadcast signals multiplexed with the collective information by said transmission means.

6. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said collective information generating device includes recording means for holding the response data recovered by said reply data recovery means.

7. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 6 wherein

said collective information generating device generates the subscriber information based on the recovery data recorded on said recording means.

8. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said reception device includes inputting means for inputting the response data by remote control operation.

9. The bidirectional transmission/reception system according to claim 1 wherein

said transmission network is a pre-existing communication network for data transmission/reception.

10. A bidirectional transmission/reception method comprising:

a transmission step of multiplexing the response request information requesting the response from a subscriber who has received the broadcast signals on broadcast signals for transmitting the broadcast signals having the response request information multiplexed thereon;

a reception and transmission step for receiving the transmitted broadcast signals, outputting the transmitted broadcast signals and the response request information to audio/video outputting means and for transmitting over a transmitting network response data inputted by the audience responsive to the response request information outputted to the audio/video outputting means; and

a collective information generating step for recovering the response data transmitted by said transmitting network and for generating the collective information based on the recovered response data;

said transmission step multiplexing said collective information downstream of said response request information of said broadcast signals;

wherein;

said broadcast signals include the program information and the commercial advertisements;

said response request information being a query information made up of queries relevant to the commercial advertisement information;

said information generating step extracts a pre-set number of the response data from plural response data recovered by said response data recovery means to generate a lottery result information as said collective information based on the extracted response data and on the previously acquired subscriber information for the subscribers.

11. The bidirectional transmission/reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said transmission step multiplexes said query information in association with the commercial advertisement information.

12. The bidirectional transmission/reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said collective information generating step recovers only the response data inputted by the subscriber within a pre-set time in association with the response request information.

13. The bidirectional transmission/reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said transmission step transmits the broadcast signals having the multiplexed collective information within a pre-set time.

14. The bidirectional transmission/reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said collective information generating step multiplexes said collective information within a pre-set time on said broadcast signals.

15. The bidirectional transmission/reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said collective information generating step generates the subscriber information for the subscribers based on the recovered response data.

16. The bidirectional transmission reception method according to claim 10 wherein

said transmission network is the pre-existing transmission/reception communication network.

17. A transmission apparatus comprising:

multiplexing means for multiplexing the response request information requesting a response from a subscriber who has received broadcast signals on said broadcast signals;

transmission means for transmitting the broadcast signals multiplexed with the response request information;

response data recovery means for recovering response data of the subscriber transmitted over said transmission network, said response data being generated in association with the response supply information in said broadcast signals outputted to said audio/visual outputting means on reception of the broadcast signals transmitted by said transmission means; and

information generating means for generating the collective information based on the response data recovered by said response data recovery means;

said multiplexing means multiplexing said collective information downstream of the response request information of said broadcast signals;

wherein;

said broadcast signals include the program information and the commercial advertisements;

said response request information being a query information made up of queries relevant to the commercial advertisement information;

said information generating means extracts a pre-set number of the response data from plural response data recovered by said response data recovery means to generate a lottery result information as said collective information based on the extracted response data and on the previously acquired subscriber information for the subscribers.

18. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 wherein

said multiplexing means multiplexes said query information in association with the commercial advertisement information.

19. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 wherein

said response data recovery means recovers only the response data inputted by the subscriber within a pre-set time responsive to the response request information.

20. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 wherein

said response data recovery means is of a hierarchical structure having a plurality of response data recovery units adapted for recording the response data transmitted by said transmission network.

21. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 wherein

said transmission device multiplexes the collective information on the broadcast signals by said multiplexing means to transmit the broadcast signals multiplexed with the collective information by said transmission means.

22. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 further comprising:

recording means for holding the response data recovered by said reply data recovery means.

23. The transmission apparatus according to claim 22 wherein

said information generating device generates the subscriber information based on the recovery data recorded on said recording means.

24. The transmission apparatus according to claim 17 wherein

said transmission network is a pre-existing data transmitting/receiving communication network.