Subscriber Identification System

• US 20100293165A1
• Filed: 07/26/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E., Inc.
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles, Sylla, M. Lamine
• Application Number:
  US12/843,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20100293165A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4662 characterized by learning algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4666 using neural networks, e.g. processing the feedback provided by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A subscriber identification system 100 is presented in which subscriber selection data 250 including channel changes 134, volume changes 132, and time-of-day viewing information is used to identify a subscriber (user) 130 from a group of subscribers. In one instance, the subscriber selection data 250 is recorded and a signal processing algorithm such as a Fourier transform is used to produce a processed version of the subscriber selection data. The processed version of the subscriber selection data can be correlated with stored common identifiers of subscriber profiles to determine which subscriber 130 from the group is presently viewing the programming. A neural network or fuzzy logic can be used as the mechanism for identifying the subscriber 130 from clusters of information which are associated with individual subscribers.

Claims

1. ) A method of identifying a first subscriber from a plurality of subscribers associated with subscriber equipment, the method comprising:

monitoring a plurality of first viewing sessions of the plurality of subscribers, each of the first viewing sessions comprising a plurality of first interactions with the subscriber equipment;

grouping the first viewing sessions into one or more subscriber profiles associated with one or more of the subscribers, wherein viewing sessions with common session characteristics are grouped together and wherein one of the subscriber profiles corresponds to the first subscriber;

monitoring a second viewing session, the second viewing session comprising a plurality of second interactions with the subscriber equipment; and

determining that the second viewing session matches the subscriber profile of the first subscriber based on a comparison between the plurality of second interactions and the common session characteristics of the subscriber profile of the first subscriber.

2. ) The method of claim 1, wherein the subscribers are not known to the subscriber equipment prior to the monitoring the first viewing sessions.

3. ) The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second interactions comprise channel change activities and volume control signal activities.

4. ) The method of claim 3, wherein the first interactions are processed to obtain a signature for each of the first and second subscriber profiles, each signature representative of the interaction between the subscriber and the subscriber equipment.

5. ) The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second subscriber profiles include probabilistic or deterministic measurements of the subscriber'"'"'s characteristics.

6. ) The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring the first viewing sessions further comprises generating a session data vector.

7. ) The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring the first viewing sessions further comprises determining a time associated with each of the plurality of first viewing sessions.

8. ) A method of identifying a first subscriber from a plurality of subscribers associated with subscriber equipment, the method comprising:

monitoring a plurality of first viewing sessions of the plurality of subscribers, each of the first viewing sessions comprising a plurality of first interactions with the subscriber equipment;

processing the first interactions to obtain signatures for each of the first viewing sessions;

grouping the first viewing sessions having matching signatures, wherein each group of first viewing sessions corresponds to one of the subscribers;

monitoring a second viewing session, the second viewing session comprising a plurality of second interactions with the subscriber equipment; and

identifying the second viewing session as that of the first subscriber based on comparing the second interactions with the signatures.

9. ) The method of claim 8, wherein the signatures are based at least in part on information about channel changes and volume control signal activities.

10. ) The method of claim 8, wherein the grouping the first viewing sessions further comprises correlating the corresponding signatures.

11. ) The method of claim 8, wherein each of the first viewing sessions further comprises one or more probabilistic values representing program characteristics.

12. ) The method of claim 11, wherein subscriber profiles for the grouped first viewing sessions are generated based at least in part on the one or more probabilistic values representing program characteristics within the grouped first viewing sessions being averaged across the group.

13. ) The method of claim 11, wherein each of the first viewing sessions further comprises one or more probabilistic values representing program demographic data.

14. ) The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of subscribers are not known to the subscriber equipment prior to the monitoring the plurality of first viewing sessions.

15. ) A system for identifying a first subscriber from a plurality of subscribers associated with subscriber equipment, the method comprising:

a monitoring module configured for;

monitoring a plurality of first viewing sessions of the plurality of subscribers, each of the first viewing sessions comprising a plurality of first interactions with the subscriber equipment; and

monitoring a second viewing session, the second viewing session comprising a plurality of second interactions with the subscriber equipment;

a processor configured for;

processing the first interactions to obtain signatures for each of the first viewing sessions;

grouping the first viewing sessions having matching signatures, wherein each group of first viewing sessions corresponds to one of the subscribers; and

identifying the second viewing session as that of the first subscriber based on comparing the second interactions with the signatures.

16. ) The system of claim 15, wherein the grouping the first viewing sessions further comprises correlating the corresponding signatures.

17. ) The system of claim 15, wherein each of the first viewing sessions further comprises one or more probabilistic values representing program characteristics.

18. ) The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured for generating subscriber profiles for the grouped first viewing sessions based at least in part on averaging the one or more probabilistic values representing program characteristics within the grouped first viewing sessions.

19. ) The system of claim 17, wherein each of the first viewing sessions further comprises one or more probabilistic values representing program demographic data.

20. ) The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of subscribers are not known to the system prior to the monitoring the plurality of first viewing sessions.