Selection of radio station based on preferred program content
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a radio receiver having an input for receiving radio station identities for specifying radio stations for reception and an output indicating a presently received signal strength;
a memory having stored therein a plurality of radio station identities organized according to program content specifiers, said memory having stored therein a plurality of geographic location coordinates and frequencies associated with said plurality of radio station identities; and
a controller coupled to said receiver and said memory and operable to recall one of said plurality of radio station identities referenced to same program content specifier as a presently specified radio station when the presently received signal strength meets a threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for selecting radio stations for reception based on a preferred program content. A list of radio station identifiers is stored in a memory and organized according to program content specifiers. When a presently received signal fades, the memory is searched for an alternate radio station with similar program content. If none is available, a prioritized list of alternative program content preferences is accessed and used to index other preferred radio stations for searching. In one embodiment, radio station geographic location information is stored in the memory, and the searching operation considers both program content preference and geographic proximity. The memory can be manually programmed, pre-programmed, updated by subscription, or programmed over-the-air by radio transmission. In one embodiment, a global positioning system receiver is employed to provide instantaneous radio location information.
43 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a radio receiver having an input for receiving radio station identities for specifying radio stations for reception and an output indicating a presently received signal strength; a memory having stored therein a plurality of radio station identities organized according to program content specifiers, said memory having stored therein a plurality of geographic location coordinates and frequencies associated with said plurality of radio station identities; and a controller coupled to said receiver and said memory and operable to recall one of said plurality of radio station identities referenced to same program content specifier as a presently specified radio station when the presently received signal strength meets a threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of selecting radio stations in a radio receiver having a memory with a plurality of radio station identities organized according to program content specifiers stored therein, said memory having stored therein a plurality of geographic location coordinates and frequencies associated with the plurality of radio station identities, and further comprising the step of scanning the plurality of radio station identities in the memory, ordered according to the program content specifiers and the location coordinates, and said method comprising the steps of:
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monitoring the signal strength of a present radio station signal; determining that the signal strength has met a threshold; selecting a radio station identity from the memory that has the same program content specifier as said present radio station; and tuning the radio receiver according to said selected radio station identity. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus comprising:
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a radio receiver having an input for receiving radio station identities for specifying radio stations for reception and an output indicating a presently received signal strength; a memory having stored therein a plurality of radio station identities organized according to program content specifiers, said plurality of radio station identities and said program content specifiers being programmed into said memory through a subscription service, said memory having stored a plurality of geographic location coordinates and frequencies associated with said plurality of radio station identities; and a controller coupled to said receiver and said memory and operable to recall one of said plurality of radio station identities referenced to the same program content specifier as a presently specified radio station when the presently received signal strength meets a threshold.
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25. A method of selecting radio stations in a radio receiver having a memory with a plurality of radio station identities organized according to program content specifiers stored therein said memory having stored a plurality of geographic location coordinates and frequencies associated with said plurality of radio station identities, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of station identities and program content specifiers to the memory via a subscription service; monitoring a signal strength of a present radio station signal; determining that the signal strength has met a threshold; upon determining that the signal strength of the present radio station signal has met a threshold,selecting a radio station identity from the memory that has the same program content specifier as said present radio station; and tuning the radio receiver according to said selected radio station identity.
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Specification