Systems, methods, and devices for associating a contact identifier with a broadcast source

• US 8,452,228 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Haughay, Allen P. Jr., Perry, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferguson, Keith
• Application Number:
  US12/237,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20100075616A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,707 Days
• Field of Search: 455 301- 306, 455/422.1, 455/403, 455/550.1, 455/426.1, 455/426.2, 455418-420, 455/73, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 725 62- 72
• US Class Current: 455/3.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/27 specially adapted for broadcast systems covered by groups H04H20/53 - H04H20/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/91 Mobile communication networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/94 Telephonic networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/84
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/64 file transfer between terminals download of applications H04M1/72406; transfer of messages, e.g. SMS, e-mail or MMS H04M1/7243
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers

Abstract

A media device including includes a broadcast receiver that receives broadcast media from a plurality of broadcast sources where the broadcast receiver is tunable to a first broadcast source. The media device also includes a data store that stores a list of contact identifiers where each contact identifier is associated with a broadcast source. The media device includes a user interface that: i) provides a prompt to a user to enable the user to initiate contact with the first broadcast source, and ii) receives a user indication to initiate contact with the first broadcast source. The media device further includes a transceiver that initiates the contact with the first broadcast source by sending a communications session request via a communications network to the first broadcast source that includes a contact identifier associated with the first broadcast source.

Claims

1. A media device comprising:

a broadcast receiver for receiving broadcast media and associated broadcast media data from a plurality of broadcast sources, the broadcast receiver being tunable to a first broadcast source,

a data store for storing a list of contact identifiers, each contact identifier being associated with one of the plurality of broadcast sources,

a user interface for;

i) providing a prompt to a user to enable the user to initiate contact with the first broadcast source, and ii) receiving a user indication to initiate contact with the first broadcast source, and

a transceiver for initiating the contact with the first broadcast source by sending a communications session request via a communications network to the first broadcast source including a first contact identifier associated with the first broadcast source, wherein the media device uses at least a portion of the received broadcast media data associated with the received broadcast media from the first broadcast source to retrieve the first contact identifier from a media server.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one contact identifier is provided by the user to the data store via the user interface.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the broadcast media data includes at least one contact identifier.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the at least one contact identifier is provided via the received media data to the data store.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is operable for:

i) sending a query to the media data server via a data network for the first contact identifier associated with the first broadcast source, ii) retrieving the first contact identifier via the data network, and iii) providing the first contact identifier to the data store.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the user interface includes at least one of a display, a keypad, a touch screen, a clickwheel, a touch pad, a speaker, and a microphone.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the first broadcast source includes a radio station.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first contact identifier includes at least one of a telephone number, an IP address, a domain name, and a URL.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the received broadcast media data comprises at least one of an IP address, a domain name, and a URL.

10. A method for initiating contact with a broadcast source from a media device comprising:

receiving broadcast media and associated broadcast media data from a plurality of broadcast sources using a broadcast receiver of the media device, the broadcast receiver being tunable to a first broadcast source,

storing a list of contact identifiers in a data store of the media device, each contact identifier being associated with one of the plurality of broadcast sources,

providing a prompt with the media device to a user to enable the user to initiate contact with the first broadcast source,

receiving a user indication with the media device to initiate contact with the first broadcast source,

using at least a portion of the broadcast media data received from the first broadcast source to retrieve with the media device a first contact identifier from a media server, and

initiating the contact with the first broadcast source by sending a communications session request from the media device to the first broadcast source including the retrieved first contact identifier associated with the first broadcast source.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one contact identifier is provided by the user to the data store via the user interface.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the broadcast media data includes at least one contact identifier.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one contact identifier is provided via the received broadcast media data to the data store.

14. The method of claim 10 comprising:

i) sending a query from the media device to the media data server for the first contact identifier associated with the first broadcast source,

ii) retrieving at the media device the first contact identifier via a data network, and

iii) providing the retrieved first contact identifier to the data store.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein providing a prompt and receiving a user indication are via a user interface of the media device, the user interface including at least one of a display, a keypad, a touch screen, a clickwheel, a touch pad, a speaker, and a microphone.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the first broadcast source includes a radio station.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the first contact identifier includes at least one of a telephone number, an IP address, a domain name, and a URL.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least a portion of broadcast media data comprises at least one of an IP address, a domain name, and a URL.