Method and apparatus for modulating a video signal with data

• US 7,650,624 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2003
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advocado, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Koplar Interactive Systems International, LLC
• Inventors: Ciardullo, Daniel A., Chupp, Christopher E., Barsoum, Yousri H., Maltagliati, Alan G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dubasky; Gigi L
• Application Number:
  US10/676,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20040117856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,302 Days
• Field of Search: 348/510, 348/547, 348/553, 348/734, 725 21- 23, 725/60, 725/113, 725/133, 725/141, 725/153
• US Class Current: 725/138
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4784 receiving rewards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/08 Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band , e.g. by time division H04N7/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/081 the additional information signals being transmitted by means of a subcarrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for transmitting auxiliary data within a modulated video signal from a broadcast source to a hand-held device with a slot, the system comprising the broadcast source comprises means for transmitting auxiliary data to the slotted hand-held device via the modulated video signal; an interface device electronically coupled to the hand-held device via the slot and comprises a card microcontroller, a receiver electronically coupled to the card microcontroller for receiving the modulated video signal from the broadcast source, and circuitry electronically coupled to the card microcontroller and the receiver for demodulating the modulated video signal and reproducing the auxiliary data, and transferring the auxiliary data to the hand-held device via an interface protocol, and the hand-held device with the slot comprises a microcontroller for processing the signal auxiliary data received via the interface protocol from the interface device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

splitting a first field and a second field of a frame of a video signal into a plurality of segments, a particular segment of the plurality of segments having no overlap with other segments of the plurality of segments and being adjacent to at least one of the plurality of segments; and

modulating at least one first field segment of the plurality of segments of the first field and at least one second field segment of the plurality of segments of the second field with auxiliary data by altering the pixel value of the plurality of pixels of the first field segment and the second field segment,

wherein at least one second corresponding field segment in the second field that corresponds to the first modulated field segment is not modulated, at least one first corresponding field segment in the first field that corresponds to the second modulated field segment is not modulated, and the plurality of pixels in a corresponding field segment of a field of the frame that correspond to the plurality of pixels in a particular modulated field segment of the other field of the frame have a different pixel value based on the modulating of the first field segment and the second field segment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of segments is split into equal sized segments.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixel value is intensity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a particular segment of the plurality of segments of the first field and the second field represents a bit of data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a number of the plurality of segments is four.

6. A method comprising:

optically obtaining a frame of a video signal from a display device on a hand-held electronic device;

seeking and synchronizing to a vertical retrace period of the video signal on the hand-held electronic device; and

determining, on the hand-held electronic device, whether auxiliary data is present in the frame by performing a field comparison on a plurality of segments of a first field and a plurality of corresponding segments of a second field of the frame based on the seeking and synchronizing to the vertical retrace period,

wherein at least one second corresponding field segment in the second field that corresponds to a first modulated field segment is not modulated, at least one first corresponding field segment in the first field that corresponds to a second modulated field segment is not modulated, and a plurality of pixels in a particular corresponding field segment of a particular field of the frame that correspond to the plurality of pixels in a particular modulated field segment of the other field of the frame have a different pixel value.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the field comparison includes:

subtracting intensity of the plurality of corresponding segments of the second field from the plurality of segments of the first field,

subtracting the intensity of the plurality of segments of the first field from the plurality of corresponding segments of the second field, or

combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

decoding a logic one as the auxiliary data when a particular segment of the first field is encoded and a corresponding segment of the second field is not encoded; and

decoding a logic zero as the auxiliary data when the particular segment of the first field is not encoded and the corresponding segment of the second field is encoded.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

decoding a logic one as the auxiliary data when a particular segment of the second field is encoded and a corresponding segment of the first field is not encoded; and

decoding a logic zero as the auxiliary data when the particular segment of the second field is not encoded and the corresponding segment of the first field is encoded.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing a benefit to a user based on the determining of the auxiliary data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the benefit is textual information, a prize, a coupon, a game, a special access privilege, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the seeking and synchronizing to the vertical retrace period of the video signal comprises:

seeking a first display section of a picture presented on a display device is black;

waiting an amount of time for a vertical refresh of the picture to occur on the display device;

determining if a second display section of the picture presented on the display device is black;

seeking beyond the first display section when the picture presented on the display device for the second display section is not black; and

locking on a vertical retrace period when the second display section is black.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

releasing the locking on the vertical retrace period after a few seconds.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein a particular segment of the plurality of segments has no overlap with other segments of the plurality of segments and is adjacent to at least one of the plurality of segments.

15. A method comprising:

seeking a first display section of a picture presented on a display device is black;

waiting an amount of time for a vertical refresh of the picture to occur on the display device;

determining if a second display section of the picture presented on the display device is black;

seeking beyond the first display section when the picture presented on the display device for the second display section is not black;

locking on a vertical retrace period when the second display section is black;

optically obtaining a frame of a video signal from the display device; and

determining whether auxiliary data is present in the frame by performing a field comparison on a plurality of segments of a first field and a plurality of corresponding segments of a second field for the frame based on the locking on the vertical retrace period.