Subscriber identification based on electronic program guide data
First Claim
1. In a telecommunications environment comprising a residential unit for providing a subscriber the ability to select and interact with content, the residential unit including at least a storage medium and a processor, a computer implemented method of associating a subscriber interacting with a device with particular characteristics, the method comprising utilizing the processor to:
- monitor subscriber interactions with a device;
process at least a portion of the subscriber interactions to generate a session profile, wherein the session profile is generated without knowledge of the identity of the subscriber and identifies subscriber traits including non-subscriber interaction traits;
compare at least a portion of the session profile with at least a portion of subscriber profiles stored in the storage medium, the subscriber profiles being a compilation of session profiles generated over multiple interaction sessions that have been grouped together based on similarities; and
associate, based on similarities between the subscriber profile and the session profile, the subscriber with particular characteristics identified in one of the subscriber profiles.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A subscriber identification system is presented in which EPG related data including scrolling rates, paging rates, information screen viewing times, and manner and frequency of EPG activation are used to identify a subscriber from a group of subscribers. In one instance, the subscriber viewing data is recorded and a signal processing algorithm, such as a Fourier transform, is used to produce a processed version of the EPG related data. The processed version of the EPG related data can be correlated with stored common identifiers of subscriber profiles to determine which subscriber from the group is presently viewing the programming. A neural network or fuzzy logic can be used as the mechanism for identifying the subscriber from clusters of information, which are associated with individual subscribers.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. In a telecommunications environment comprising a residential unit for providing a subscriber the ability to select and interact with content, the residential unit including at least a storage medium and a processor, a computer implemented method of associating a subscriber interacting with a device with particular characteristics, the method comprising utilizing the processor to:
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monitor subscriber interactions with a device;
process at least a portion of the subscriber interactions to generate a session profile, wherein the session profile is generated without knowledge of the identity of the subscriber and identifies subscriber traits including non-subscriber interaction traits;
compare at least a portion of the session profile with at least a portion of subscriber profiles stored in the storage medium, the subscriber profiles being a compilation of session profiles generated over multiple interaction sessions that have been grouped together based on similarities; and
associate, based on similarities between the subscriber profile and the session profile, the subscriber with particular characteristics identified in one of the subscriber profiles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for associating a subscriber interacting with a device with particular characteristics, the system comprising:
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a device;
a storage medium; and
a processor for;
monitoring subscriber interactivity with the device;
processing at least a portion of the subscriber interactivity to generate a session profile, wherein the session profile is generated with no knowledge of the identity of the subscriber and identifies subscriber traits including non-subscriber interactivity traits;
comparing at least a portion of the session profile with at least a portion of subscriber profiles, the subscriber profiles being a compilation of session profiles generated over multiple interaction sessions that have been grouped together based on similarities; and
associating, based on similarities between the subscriber profile and the session profile, the subscriber with particular characteristics identified in one of the subscriber profiles. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for associating a subscriber interacting with a device with particular characteristics, said computer program comprising:
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a source code segment for monitoring subscriber interactivity;
a source code segment for processing at least a portion of the subscriber interactivity to generate a session profile, wherein the session profile is generated with no knowledge of the identity of the subscriber and identifies subscriber traits and at least some of the subscriber traits are non-subscriber interactivity traits;
a source code segment for comparing at least a portion of the session profile with at least a portion of subscriber profiles, the subscriber profiles being a compilation of session profiles generated over multiple interaction sessions that have been grouped together based on similarities; and
a source code segment for associating, responsive to said source code segment for comparing, the subscriber with particular characteristics identified in one of the subscriber profiles. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. In a television network environment consisting of a display device, a storage medium, and a processor, a computer implemented method for associating a subscriber with particular characteristics, the method comprising:
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monitoring subscriber television viewing interactions;
utilizing the processor to process at least a portion of the subscriber television viewing interactions to generate a session profile, wherein the session profile identifies non-television viewing interaction characteristics;
comparing at least a portion of the session profile with at least a portion of subscriber profiles stored in the storage medium, the subscriber profiles being a compilation of session profiles generated over multiple television viewing sessions that have been grouped together based on similarities; and
associating, based on similarities between the subscriber profile and the session profile, the subscriber with particular characteristics identified in one of the subscriber profiles, wherein the identity of the subscriber need not be known in order to associate particular characteristics with the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification