Television and market research data collection system and method

• US 4,546,382 A
• Filed: 12/08/1983
• Issued: 10/08/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Arbitron Inc. (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: CTBA Associates Co.
• Inventors: McKenna, William J., Nickerson, Rand B., Stryzak, Bohdan, Walker, Harold R., Welsh, Russell J., Cullity, Joseph A., Silvers, Kenneth W.
• Primary Examiner(s): George, Keith E.
• Application Number:
  US06/559,459
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• Field of Search: 179/2 AS, 179/2 AM, 179/2 CA, 358/84, 358/86, 455/2, 235/383
• US Class Current: 725/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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 60/40 for identifying broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/43 for identifying broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/94 Telephonic networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/84
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/002 with telemetering systems telemetering in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/085 using a television receiver, e.g. viewdata system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/17381 the upstream transmission being initiated by the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/1739 the upstream communication being transmitted via a separate link, e.g. telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/902 Auto-switch for an incoming voice data, or fax telephone call, e.g. comp/fax/tel
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/91 Bar code or optical character reader with telephone

Abstract

A data gathering system includes a plurality of remote units which are controlled from a central location. Each of the remote units is attached to a television receiver which is generally but not necessarily attached to a cable system. Each of the remote units functions to determine which of several TV modes is in use as well as to store TV channel selector data and data from an optical input device. All this data is stored for later transmission by each of the remote units to a central data collecting point. A video message for a TV viewer, such as a survey, may be transmitted from the central location and stored at the remote units, for later display on the TV receiver associated with the remote units. Substitution of alternate programming information may also be achieved by the central control point on selected of the remote units.

Claims

1. In a system for collecting data with respect to cooperating television viewers or panelists, including a central location and a plurality of remote units at a plurality of panelist locations, a remote unit for connection to a television broadcast receiver comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast signal;

a viewer control means including

a channel selector coupled to said means for receiving a television broadcast signal;

a data collection unit for coupling said receiving means to the television broadcast receiver, said data collection unit including a microprocessor and memory means for storing programming information for said microprocessor and for storing data;

said viewer control means being monitored by said microprocessor which stores data representing the state of said viewer control means in said memory means;

an optical reader associated with said data collection unit and for use by a panelist to scan data, said data being stored in said memory means under control of said microprocessor;

means for coupling said data collection unit to the switched telephone network; and

means for periodically establishing telephone communication between said data collection unit and the central location, whereby data stored in said memory means is transferred under control of said microprocessor to the central location.

2. A remote unit in accordance with claim 1 wherein said receiving means for receiving a television broadcast signal comprises a cable converter for connection to a cable system.

3. A remote unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein said optical reader is a bar code reader.

4. A remote unit in accordance with claim 3 wherein said bar code reader is adapted to read universal product codes, for storing in said memory data as to product purchases by a panelist.

5. A remote unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein said viewer control means includes a plurality of mode select switches for selecting one of a plurality of modes for use of the television receiver, and wherein said microprocessor is responsive to selection of a particular mode to tune the cable converter to an appropriate channel for the selected mode and to store in memory an indication of the mode selection.

6. A remote unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein said data collection unit is responsive under control of said microprocessor to enter a channel lock condition upon selection of a first predetermined channel by said channel selector, whereby the cable converter under microprocessor control stays tuned to whatever channel is currently selected despite further changes in said channel selector, and wherein selection of a second predetermined channel by said channel selector exits the channel lock condition, the events of entering and exiting the channel lock condition being stored in said memory as events, and any channel numbers selected while in the channel lock condition also being stored in said memory as events.

7. A remote unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein said data collection unit includes a receive only interface for receiving channel substitution data via a communication channel over a cable system, wherein each respective remote unit has identification data stored in said memory and wherein each respective remote unit is responsive to the presence of its identification data in the channel substitution data under control of said microprocessor to store same in said memory, and wherein said microprocessor controls the cable converter to effect channel substitution at selected predetermined times in accordance with the stored channel substitution data.

8. A remote unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein said memory is adapted to receive from the central location during telephone communications therewith and to store data in the form of alphanumeric characters, and wherein said data collection unit includes means under control of said microprocessor for generating on the television receiver a display of the data in the form of alphanumeric characters.

9. A remote unit in accordance with claim 8 wherein said viewer control means includes a means for inputting to said data collection unit responses of a panelist to said display of alphanumeric characters, which responses are stored in said memory means.

10. A remote unit in accordance with claim 8 wherein said data collection unit includes a mode selector for selecting a television receiver display function wherein said alphanumeric data is displayed on the television receiver, and wherein said microprocessor is responsive to selection of the display function to tune the cable converter to an appropriate channel for the display function and to generate a display on the television receiver in accordance with the alphanumeric data stored in said memory.

11. A remote unit in accordance with claim 10 wherein upon selection of the display function said data collection unit is responsive under control of said microprocessor to enter a channel lock condition whereby the cable converter under microprocessor control stays tuned to the appropriate channel for the display function despite further changes in said channel selector by a panelist, and wherein selections of channel numbers by a panelist in response to the display are stored in said memory means as an indication of panelist response to said alphanumeric data.

12. A remote unit in accordance with claim 11 wherein said alphanumeric data comprises market research survey data.

13. A remote unit in accordance with claim 12 wherein said data collection unit includes a visible indicator under control of said microprocessor for providing a visible indication of the presence in said memory of market research survey data to alert a panelist to the presence of same.

14. A remote unit in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means for coupling said data collection unit to the switched telephone network comprises a modem and a telephone block interface.

15. A remote unit in accordance with claim 14 wherein said telephone block interface includes means for intercepting all incoming telephone calls under control of said microprocessor during a predetermined time window, and for otherwise not affecting incoming telephone calls outside of said time window.

16. A remote unit in accordance with claim 15 wherein said telephone block interface is enabled during said time window to prevent ringing of a panelist'"'"'s telephone receivers by an incoming call, to interrogate under microprocessor control an incoming telephone call to determine if it is from the central location, and to respond to the central location if it is and to disconnect the incoming call if it is not from the central location.

17. A remote unit in accordance with claim 16 wherein telephone calls received during said time window which are not from the central location and which are thus disconnected, under microprocessor control inhibit said time window for a predetermined time to allow incoming calls to reach a panelist'"'"'s telephone receiver.

18. A remote unit in accordance with claim 17 wherein said remote unit comprises a plurality of data collection units, each respectively associated with a plurality of television receivers at a panelist location, and wherein each of said data collection units is coupled to a telephone system at the panelist location, whereby communication between the plurality of data collection units is via telephone wiring at the panelist location.

19. A system for collecting data with respect to cooperating television viewers or panelists comprising a central computer facility and a plurality of remote units at a respective plurality of panelist locations, each of said remote units including:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast signal;

a viewer control means including at least a channel selector coupled to said means for receiving a television broadcast signal;

a data collection unit for coupling said receiving means to a television broadcast receiver, said data collection unit including a microprocessor and memory means for storing programming information for said microprocessor and for storing data;

said viewer control means being monitored by said microprocessor which stores data in said memory means representing changes in said viewer control means;

an optical reader associated with said data collection unit and for use by a panelist to scan data, said data being stored in said memory means under control of said microprocessor;

means for coupling said data collection unit to the switched telephone network; and

means for periodically establishing telephone communication between each of the respective data collection units and said central computer facility, whereby data stored in said memory means is transferred under control of said microprocessor to said central computer facility.

20. A system in accordance with claim 19 wherein said receiving means for receiving a television broadcast signal comprises a cable converter for connection to a cable system and said optical reader comprises a bar code reader.

21. A system in accordance with claim 20 wherein each of said data collection units includes a receive only interface for reviewing channel substitution via a communication channel over a cable system, wherein each respective remote unit has identification data stored in said memory and wherein each respective remote unit is responsive to the presence of its identification data in the channel substitution data under control of said microprocessor to store same in said memory, and wherein said microprocessor controls the cable converter to effect channel substitution at selected predetermined times in accordance with the stored channel substitution data.

22. A system in accordance with claim 21 wherein said memory of each of said data collection units is adapted to receive from the central location during telephone communications therewith and to store data in the form of alphanumeric characters, and wherein each of said data collection units includes means under control of said microprocessor for generating on the receptive associated television receiver a display of the data in the form of alphanumeric characters.

23. A system in accordance with claim 22 wherein said viewer control means of each of said data collection units includes a means for inputting to said data collection unit responses of a panelist to said display of alphanumeric characters, which responses are stored in said memory means.

24. A method of collecting data from a plurality of cooperating panelists at a plurality of remote locations comprising the steps of:

providing at each remote location receiving means for receiving a television broadcasting signal for use with an associated television broadcast receiver;

providing at each remote location a viewer control means coupled to the receiving means including at least a channel selector;

providing at each remote location an optical reader for use by a panelist to scan data;

monitoring the viewer control means and storing data indicative of changes therein; and

periodically establishing telephone communications between a central location and each of the remote locations for transferring stored data with respect to the viewer control means and data optically scanned by a panelist to the central location.

25. A method in accordance with claim 24 including the step of storing data optically scanned in by a panelist with the optical reader.

26. A method in accordance with claim 25 wherein the optical reader which is provided is a bar code reader for scanning products purchased by a panelist.

27. A method in accordance with claim 24 including the step of transmitting to each remote location during telephone communication with the central location market survey information and storing the information at the remote location and providing means under control of a panelist for calling up an displaying the information;

and providing means for panelists input of responses to the information; and

storing the panelist responses to the information for communication to the central location.