PORTABLE MULTI-PURPOSE AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS, APPARATUS AND METHODS

• US 20170208352A1
• Filed: 03/31/2017
• Published: 07/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Nelson, Dan, Wright, David Howell, Vilches, Glen
• Granted Patent: US 10,085,052 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• 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 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

An example portable device disclosed herein includes means for halting execution of media metering software in response to determining the portable device is being used for a native purpose, the media metering software having been downloaded to the portable device. The example portable device also includes means, responsive to determining that the portable device is not being used for a native purpose, for executing the media metering software to monitor a media signal output by a media presentation device. The example portable device further includes means for determining whether an amount of available power is sufficient to continue execution of the media metering software, and means, responsive to determining that the amount of available power is insufficient, for causing execution of the media metering software to sleep for a first interval of time.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

means for halting execution of media metering software in response to determining that the portable device is being used for a native purpose, the media metering software having been downloaded to the portable device;

means, responsive to determining that the portable device is not being used for a native purpose, for executing the media metering software to monitor a media signal output by a media presentation device separate from the portable device;

means for determining whether an amount of power available for powering the device is sufficient to continue execution of the media metering software; and

means, responsive to determining that the amount of power available for powering the device is not sufficient to continue execution of the media metering software, for causing execution of the media metering software to sleep for a first interval of time.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the means for executing the media metering software include:

means for activating a high gain mode of a microphone of the portable device; and

means for processing an output of the microphone to monitor the media signal.

3. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the media signal includes an audio signal, and the means for executing the media metering software include means for causing the portable device to monitor the audio signal by at least one of detecting an audio code included in the audio signal or determining an audio signature from the audio signal.

4. The portable device of claim 1, further including means for downloading the media metering software to the portable device by at least one of:

(1) establishing a wireless connection between the portable device and a server that is to provide the media metering software to the portable device, (2) establishing an Internet connection between the portable device and the server, or (3) establishing a connection between the portable device and the server that conforms to an extensible data transport protocol.

5. The portable device of claim 4, wherein the means for downloading the media metering software to the portable device include means for at least one of pushing or pulling the media metering software to the portable device.

6. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the portable device includes at least one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant or a pager.

7. An apparatus comprising:

means for collecting demographic data of a user, including a phone number for a mobile device, via a website associated with an information gathering entity, the demographic data collected via the website from a personal computer, separate from the mobile device, used to access the website;

means for sending a message to the mobile device, the sent message, when responded to, resulting in downloading of a metering software module to the mobile device;

means for receiving, from the mobile device and at a system associated with the information gathering entity, information indicative of events associated with use of the mobile device; and

means for associating the received information with the demographic data.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the means for receiving the information indicative of events associated with the use of the mobile device operate dependent upon a predetermined criteria being met, the predetermined criteria including at least one of:

a lapsing of a period of time;

a filling of a data buffer;

a wireless network connection between the mobile device and the system being available;

or

a docked network connection between the mobile device and the system being available.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further including means for gaining permission from the user of the mobile device to download the metering software module to the mobile device.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the events associated with the use of the mobile device correspond to viewing events associated with television programming monitored using the metering software module.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the television programming is received by the mobile device.

12. An apparatus comprising:

means for collecting demographic data, including a phone number for a mobile device, via a website associated with an information gathering entity, the demographic data collected via the website from a personal computer, separate from the mobile device, used to access the website;

means for sending a message to the mobile device addressed to a user, the message, when responded to, causing a downloading of a metering software module to the mobile device, the metering software module to acquire and store events the mobile device is engaged in performing; and

means for receiving data from the mobile device at a server associated with the information gathering entity.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further including means for receiving collected events associated with use of the mobile device.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for receiving the collected events associated with the use of the mobile device operate dependent upon a predetermined criterion being met.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further including means for gaining permission from the user of the mobile device to download the metering software module to the mobile device.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the events correspond to viewing events associated with television programming monitored using the metering software module.