Methods and apparatus for displaying textual data embedded in broadcast media signals

• US 20040097246A1
• Filed: 11/15/2002
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Welch, Michael Shannon
• Granted Patent: US 7,340,263 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0885 for the transmission of subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

According to embodiments of the present invention, a broadcast media signal is received at a broadcast media receiver. The broadcast media signal includes textual data. The textual data is extracted and is transmitted over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal.

Claims

1. A method for displaying textual data that is embedded in a broadcast media signal, the method comprising:

receiving a broadcast media signal at a broadcast media receiver, the broadcast media signal including textual data;

extracting the textual data from the broadcast media signal; and

transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast media signal comprises a television signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

the broadcast media signal comprises a video signal, and

the textual data comprises closed captioned textual data that is associated with the video signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast media signal comprises an audio signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the textual data comprises a logical network address.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal comprises transmitting the textual data according to a Bluetooth wireless protocol.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal comprises transmitting the textual data according to a cellular communication protocol.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal comprises transmitting the textual data according to a wireless local area network protocol.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling to a wireless terminal comprises transmitting the textual data according to an infra-red communication protocol.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast media signal includes instructions for formatting a display of the textual data, and further comprising:

extracting the instructions from the broadcast media signal; and

transmitting the instruction over a wireless coupling to the wireless terminal.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

receiving the textual data and the instructions at the wireless terminal;

formatting the textual data using the instructions; and

displaying the formatted textual data on the wireless terminal.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the instructions define the formatting a display of the textual data according to at least one of a hypertext markup language, an extensible markup language, a JAVA language, a BREW language, and a wireless application protocol language.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether the textual data represents at least one of a phone number, a logical network address, a predefined text string, program instructions, and/or software code.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the operation of transmitting the textual data over a wireless coupling is performed responsive to determining that the textual data represents at least one of a phone number, a logical network address, a predefined text string, program instructions, and/or software code.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the textual data, that represents a phone number, at the wireless terminal;

displaying the textual data on the wireless terminal;

sensing a user selection of the displayed textual data; and

dialing from the wireless terminal the phone number that is represented by the selected textual data.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

receiving textual data, that represents a logical network address, at the wireless terminal;

displaying the textual data on the wireless terminal;

sensing a user selection of the displayed textual data; and

initiating a connection from the wireless terminal to a network device having the logical network address that is represented by the selected textual data.

17. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

receiving textual data at the wireless terminal; and

storing the textual data in a phone book in the wireless terminal,

responsive to the determining that the textual data represents a phone number.

18. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the textual data at the wireless terminal; and

storing the textual data in a network address book in the wireless terminal, responsive to the determining that the textual data represents a logical network address.

19. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

receiving textual data at the wireless terminal;

displaying the textual data on the wireless terminal;

sensing a user selection of the displayed textual data;

transmitting a record command from the wireless terminal over the wireless coupling to the broadcast media receiver, responsive to the sensing a user selection; and

recording at least a portion of the broadcast media signal on a nonvolatile media in response to the record command.

20. The method according to claim 13, wherein the broadcast media signal comprises a television signal, and the method further comprises;

displaying a first channel of the television signal on a video display;

receiving the textual data at the wireless terminal;

displaying the textual data on the wireless terminal;

sensing a user selection of the displayed textual data;

transmitting a channel change command from the wireless terminal over the wireless coupling to the broadcast media receiver, responsive to the sensing a user selection; and

displaying a second channel of the television signal on the video display.

21. A broadcast media receiver, comprising:

a receiver circuit that receives a broadcast media signal, the broadcast media signal including textual data;

a text decoder that extracts the textual data from the broadcast media signal; and

a transmitter that transmits the textual data across a wireless coupling.

22. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the receiver circuit receives a television signal in the broadcast media signal.

23. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 22, wherein:

the receiver circuit receives a video signal in the broadcast media signal, and

the text decoder extracts closed captioned textual data that is associated with the video signal.

24. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the receiver circuit receives an audio signal in the broadcast media signal.

25. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the text decoder extracts a logical network address from the broadcast media signal.

26. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the transmitter transmits the textual data according to a Bluetooth wireless protocol.

27. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the transmitter transmits the textual data according to a cellular communication protocol.

28. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein the transmitter transmits the textual data according to a wireless local area network protocol.

29. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, wherein:

the text decoder extracts, from the broadcast media signal, instructions for formatting a display of the textual data; and

the transmitter transmits the instructions with the textual data.

30. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 29, wherein the instructions define the formatting of the textual data according to at least one of a hypertext markup language, an extensible markup language, a JAVA language, a BREW language, and a wireless application protocol language.

31. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21, further comprising a comparator circuit that determines whether the textual data represents at least one of a phone number, a logical network address, a predefined text string, program instructions, and/or software code.

32. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 31, wherein the transmitter transmits the textual data responsive to the comparator circuit determining that the textual data represents at least one of a phone number, a logical network address, and a predefined text string.

33. The broadcast media receiver according to claim 21,

wherein the textual data identifies the content of at least a portion of the broadcast media signal, and the receiver circuit is configured to receive a recording instruction;

and

further comprising a recording circuit that is configured to record at least a portion of the broadcast media signal, that is identified by the transmitted textual data, in response to receiving a recording instruction.