Method and apparatus for automatically identifying a program including a sound signal

• US 5,787,334 A
• Filed: 09/27/1996
• Issued: 07/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Ceridian Corporation
• Inventors: Fardeau, Michel, Briend, Michel, Galant, Serge, Tommasi, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, Christopher C.
• Application Number:
  US08/721,705
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2, 455/4.1, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 455/100, 455/68, 455/103, 348/2, 348/1, 348/907, 348/4, 348/5, 348/6, 348/7, 348/12, 348/13, 348/14, 348/15, 348/16, 348/17, 348/18
• US Class Current: 725/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/31 using in-band signals, e.g. subsonic or cue signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/372 Programme
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/375 Commercial
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/40 for identifying broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/43 for identifying broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/44 for identifying broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying 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

Abstract

A method and apparatus for automatically identifying a program broadcast by a radio station or by a television channel, or recorded on a medium, by adding an inaudible encoded message to the sound signal of the program, the message identifying the broadcasting channel or station, the program, and/or the exact date. In one embodiment the sound signal is transmitted via an analog-to-digital converter to a data processor enabling frequency components to be split up, enabling the energy in some of the frequency components to be altered in a predetermined manner to form an encoded identification message, and with the output from the data processor being connected via a digital-to-analog converter to an audio output for broadcasting or recording the sound signal. In another embodiment, an analog bandpass filter is employed to separate a band of frequencies from the sound signal so that energy in the separated band may be thus altered to encode the sound signal. The invention is particularly applicable to measuring the audiences of programs that are broadcast by radio or television, or that are recorded.

Claims

1. A personal monitoring device for use in collecting information concerning audio signals available to a person, the audio signals including an identification code, comprising:

an acoustic transducer having an output at which it provides a non-acoustic signal in response to audio signals;

a detection circuit coupled with the output of the acoustic transducer to receive the non-acoustic signal and operative to detect an identification code therein, the detection circuit having an output at which it provides a code detection signal representing the detected identification code;

a carry detection transducer having an output at which it provides a carry detection signal indicating that the personal monitoring device is being carried by a person; and

a memory device coupled with the detection circuit and the carry detection transducer to store data representing the code detection signal and data representing the carry detection signal.

2. The personal monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the carry detection transducer comprises a motion detector.

3. The personal monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the carry detection transducer comprises a temperature detector.

4. The personal monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the detection circuit comprises a digital processor.

5. The personal monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the detection circuit comprises an analog processor.

6. A personal monitoring device for use in collecting information concerning audio signals available to a person, the audio signals including an identification code, comprising:

transducer means for producing a non-acoustic signal in response to audio signals;

code detection means for detecting an identification code in the non-acoustic signal to provide a code detection signal representing the identification code;

carry detection means for producing a carry detection signal indicating that the personal monitoring device is being carried by a person; and

memory means for storing data representing the code detection signal and data representing the carry detection signal.

7. A method of collecting information concerning audio signals available to a person, the audio signals including an identification code, comprising:

providing a portable monitoring device including an acoustic transducer and an identification code detector;

detecting identification codes in audio signals received by the acoustic transducer using the identification code detector;

detecting signals indicating that the portable monitoring device is being carried by a person; and

storing information representing the detected identification codes and the signals indicating that the portable monitoring device is being carried by a person.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of detecting signals indicating that the portable monitoring device is being carried by a person comprises detecting motion.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of detecting signals indicating that the portable monitoring device is being carried by a person comprises detecting temperature.