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

• US 9,781,751 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2014
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Haughay, Jr., Allen P., Perry, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Choudhury, Faisal
• Application Number:
  US14/461,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20150071214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 370329
• 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 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 data store, wherein the data store comprises a contact identifier associated with a broadcasting source;

a transceiver configured to;

receive, from the data store, the contact identifier associated with the broadcasting source;

transmit a communications session request via a communications network, the communications session request including the contact identifier associated with the broadcasting source to establish a communications session connection with the broadcasting source, wherein the communications session connection is established with a broadcasting receiver after the communications session request is transmitted by the transceiver;

the broadcasting receiver configured to receive media from the broadcasting source, in response to establishing the communications session connection with the broadcasting source.

2. The media device of claim 1, wherein the communications network includes at least one of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a wireless data network, a data network, or the Internet.

3. The media device of claim 2, wherein the communications session connection includes one of a circuit-switched or a packet-switched network.

4. The media device of claim 1, wherein the contact identifier comprises at least one of an IP address, a domain name, or a URL.

5. The media device of claim 1, wherein the broadcasting receiver is further configured to receive media data from the broadcasting source, in response to the transceiver requesting media from the broadcasting source, after the communications session has been established.

6. The media device of claim 5, wherein the media data comprises at least one of Radio Broadcast Data System (RDBS) data, Radio Data System (RDS) data, data associated with the broadcasting source of a media item including a station call sign or music category, or data associated with a media item including any of:

a genre of the media item, an image associated with the media item, or an artist name associated with the media item.

7. The media device of claim 1, wherein the broadcasting source comprises at least one of an internet radio broadcasting source, a music downloading service, a television station, a satellite source, or a web server.

8. The media device of claim 1, wherein the media device comprises at least one of:

a remote controller, a portable communication device, an entertainment system, a remote ordering interface, an audio tour player, or a stereo system.

9. The media device of claim 1, wherein the transceiver retrieves the contact identifier for the broadcasting source from the data store of the device in response to a user input.

10. The media device of claim 9, wherein the user input comprises pressing a preset key on the media device, and the transceiver is further configured to retrieve a media identifier associated with the preset key in response to the user input, the media identifier transmitted by the transceiver to the broadcast source after the communications session is established.

11. The media device of claim 1, wherein the communications session request is transmitted continuously until the communications session is established.

12. A machine-implemented practiced on a media device comprising a transceiver and a broadcasting receiver, the method comprising:

receiving from a data store, by the media device, a contact identifier associated with a broadcasting source;

transmitting, by the transceiver, a communications session request via a communications network, the communications session request including the contact identifier associated with the broadcasting source to establish a communications session connection with the broadcasting source, wherein the communications session connection is established with the broadcasting receiver after the communications session request is transmitted by the transceiver;

receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, media from the broadcasting source, in response to establishing the communications session connection with the broadcasting source.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the communications network includes at least one of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a wireless data network, a data network, or the Internet.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the media device comprises the data store.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the contact identifier comprises at least one of an IP address, a domain name, or a URL.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, media data from the broadcasting source, in response to the transceiver requesting media from the broadcasting source, after the communications session has been established.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the media data comprises at least one of Radio Broadcast Data System (RDBS) data, Radio Data System (RDS) data, data associated with a broadcasting source of a media item including a station call sign or music category, or data associated with a media item including any of:

a genre of the media item, an image associated with the media item, or an artist name associated with the media item.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the broadcasting source comprises at least one of an internet radio broadcasting source, a music downloading service, a television station, a satellite source, or a web server.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the media device comprises at least one of:

a remote controller, a portable communication device, an entertainment system, a remote ordering interface, an audio tour player, or a stereo system.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium programmed with executable instructions that, when executed by a media device, perform a method comprising:

receiving from a data store, by the media device, a contact identifier associated with a broadcasting source, wherein the media device comprises a transceiver and a broadcasting receiver;

transmitting, by the transceiver, a communications session request via a communications network, the communications session request including the contact identifier associated with the broadcasting source to establish a communications session connection with the broadcasting source, wherein the communications session connection is established with the broadcasting receiver after the communications session request is transmitted by the transceiver;

receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, media from the broadcasting source, in response to establishing the communications session connection with the broadcasting source.

21. The medium of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, media from the broadcasting source in response to the transceiver requesting media from the broadcasting source, after the communications session has been established.

22. The medium of claim 20, wherein the contact identifier comprises at least one of an IP address, a domain name, or a URL.

23. The medium of claim 20, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the broadcasting receiver, media data from the broadcasting source, and the media data comprises at least one of Radio Broadcast Data System (RDBS) data, Radio Data System (RDS) data, data associated with the broadcasting source of a media item including a station call sign or music category, or data associated with a media item including any of;

a genre of the media item, an image associated with the media item, or an artist name associated with the media item.

24. The medium of claim 20, wherein the broadcasting source comprises at least one of an internet radio broadcasting source, a music downloading service, a television station, a satellite source, or a web server.

25. The medium of claim 20, wherein the media device comprises at least one of:

a remote controller, a portable communication device, an entertainment system, a remote ordering interface, an audio tour player, or stereo system.