Intelligent electronic appliance system and method

• US 7,813,822 B1
• Filed: 01/29/2005
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hoffberg Family Trust 2, Blanding Hovenweep LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC), STEVEN M. HOFFBERG 2004-1 GRAT
• Original Assignee: STEVEN M. HOFFBERG 2004-1 GRAT
• Inventors: Hoffberg, Steven M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sellers; Daniel R
• Application Number:
  US11/045,689
• Time in Patent Office: 2,082 Days
• Field of Search: 700/94, 381/71.2, 381/71.3, 381/94.1, 381/94.9, 381/73.1
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4318 by altering the content in the rendering process, e.g. blanking, blurring or masking an image region image enhancement or restoration in general G06T5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An intelligent electronic appliance preferably includes a user interface, data input and/or output port, and an intelligent processor. A preferred embodiment comprises a set top box for interacting with broadband media streams, with an adaptive user interface, content-based media processing and/or media metadata processing, and telecommunications integration. An adaptive user interface models the user, by observation, feedback, and/or explicit input, and presents a user interface and/or executes functions based on the user model. A content-based media processing system analyzes media content, for example audio and video, to understand the content, for example to generate content-descriptive metadata. A media metadata processing system operates on locally or remotely generated metadata to process the media in accordance with the metadata, which may be, for example, an electronic program guide, MPEG 7 data, and/or automatically generated format. A set top box preferably includes digital trick play effects, and incorporated digital rights management features.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions adapted to control a programmable processor of an electronic system operating in an environment associated with production of media-independent noise during reproduction of sonic media to perform a method comprising:

analyzing the sonic media to determine acoustic characteristics of the sonic media;

modeling characteristics of media-independent noise;

controlling the electronic system to selectively synchronize portions of the sonic media having characteristics associated with the modeled characteristics of the media-independent noise, with the media-independent noise,

wherein the electronic system comprises an electromechanical data storage system and a fan, each of the fan and electromechanical data storage system generating media-independent noise during operation, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling the electromechanical data storage system and fan to selectively produce respective media-independent noise during periods when the respective media-independent noise is masked by the sonic media, and to selectively avoid producing media-independent noise during periods when the media-independent noise is not masked by the sonic media.

2. The medium according to claim 1, wherein the electronic system produces media-independent noise during operation, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling a timing of the media-independent noise produced during operation to be concurrent with acoustic masking portions of the sonic media.

3. The medium according to claim 1, further comprising modifying the sonic media to compensate for concurrent media-independent noise.

4. The medium according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the media-independent noise is generated by a fan.

5. The medium according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the media-independent noise is generated by an electromechanical actuator.

6. The medium according to claim 1, wherein media-independent noise is generated at least in part by an adjustable speed cooling fan, and wherein said controlling comprises adjusting the speed of the cooling fan based on said analyzing.

7. The medium according to claim 1, wherein the media-independent noise is generated at least in part by an actuator, and wherein said controlling synchronizes operation of the actuator with sounds represented in the sonic media.

8. A method for controlling an electronic system operating in an environment associated with production of media-independent noise during reproduction of sonic media comprising:

analyzing the sonic media to determine acoustic characteristics of the sonic media;

modeling characteristics of media-independent noise;

controlling the electronic system to selectively synchronize portions of the sonic media having characteristics associated with the modeled characteristics of the media-independent noise, with the media-independent noise,

wherein the electronic system comprises an electromechanical data storage system and a fan, each of the fan and electromechanical data storage system generating media-independent noise during operation, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling the electromechanical data storage system and fan to selectively produce respective media-independent noise during periods when the respective media-independent noise is masked by the sonic media, and to selectively avoid producing media-independent noise during periods when the media-independent noise is not masked by the sonic media.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the electronic system produces media-independent noise during operation, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling a timing of the media-independent noise produced during operation to be concurrent with acoustic masking portions of the sonic media.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising modifying the sonic media to compensate for concurrent media-independent noise.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the media-independent noise is generated by a fan.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the media-independent noise is generated by an electromechanical actuator.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the media-independent noise is generated at least in part by an adjustable speed cooling fan, and wherein said controlling comprises adjusting the speed of the cooling fan based on said analyzing.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein the media-independent noise is generated at least in part by an actuator, and wherein said controlling synchronizes operation of the actuator with sounds represented in the sonic media.

15. A method for controlling an electronic media system adapted to reproduce media, in an environment subject to an acoustic emission having an acoustic signature which is not media dependent, comprising:

analyzing the media;

generating an acoustic output signal corresponding to the media; and

controlling the acoustic emission in dependence on the analysis of the media,

wherein the acoustic emission is selectively controlled to be concurrent with portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is media-appropriate, and the acoustic emission is selectively controlled to be attenuated during portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is not media-appropriate, and

wherein the acoustic signature comprises an impulse, and wherein the acoustic emission is controlled to produce impulses coincident with impulses in the media.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the electronic media system comprises an electromechanical data storage system which generates at least a portion of the acoustic emission during operation, and wherein said generating comprises compensating the media for the generated at least a portion of the acoustic emission.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the electronic media system comprises an electromechanical data storage system and a fan, each of the fan and electromechanical data storage system generating media-independent noise during operation, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling the electromechanical data storage system and fan to selectively produce respective media-independent noise during periods when the respective media-independent noise is masked by the sonic media, and to selectively avoid producing media-independent noise during periods when the media-independent noise is not masked by the sonic media.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the acoustic signature is controllable over a range, further comprising controlling the acoustic emission within the range based on the media.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the acoustic signature comprises fan noise.

20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising controlling an amplitude of the acoustic emission.

21. The method according to claim 15, wherein the acoustic emission is generated at least in part by an adjustable speed cooling fan, and wherein said controlling comprises adjusting the speed of the cooling fan based on said analyzing.

22. A method for controlling an electronic media system adapted to reproduce media, in an environment subject to an acoustic emission having an acoustic signature which is not media dependent, comprising:

analyzing the media;

generating an acoustic output signal corresponding to the media; and

controlling the acoustic emission in dependence on the analysis of the media, wherein the acoustic emission is selectively controlled to be concurrent with portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is media-appropriate, and the acoustic emission is selectively controlled to be attenuated during portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is not media-appropriate,

wherein the electronic media system comprises an electromechanical data storage system and a fan, each of the fan and electromechanical data storage system generating an acoustic emission having a respectively different acoustic signature, and wherein said controlling comprises controlling the electromechanical data storage system and fan to selectively produce a respective acoustic emission during periods when masked by the media, and to selectively avoid producing a respective acoustic emission during periods when the media-independent noise is not masked by the media.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the acoustic signature comprises an impulse, and wherein the acoustic emission is controlled to produce impulses coincident with impulses in the media.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions adapted to control an electronic media system adapted to reproduce media, in an environment subject to an acoustic emission having an acoustic signature comprising an impulse which is not media dependent, having a programmable processor, to:

analyze the media;

generate an acoustic output signal corresponding to the media;

selectively control the acoustic emission in dependence on the analysis of the media

to be concurrent with portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is media-appropriate, and

to be attenuated during portions of the media when the acoustic signature of the acoustic emission is not media-appropriate

wherein the programmable processor is programmed to control the acoustic emission to produce impulses coincident with impulses in the media.

25. The medium according to claim 24, wherein the processor is controlled to modify the media to at least partially compensate for temporally overlapping environmental noise.

26. The medium according to claim 24, wherein the acoustic signature comprises fan noise.

27. The medium according to claim 24, wherein the programmable processor is controlled to adjust an amplitude of the acoustic emission.

28. The medium according to claim 27, wherein the acoustic emission comprises an acoustic emission from a hard drive seek.

29. The medium according to claim 24, wherein the programmable processor is controlled to adjust a timing synchronization of the acoustic emission in dependence on the media program.

30. The medium according to claim 24, wherein the programmable processor is controlled to receive an electronic signal representing the acoustic emission.

31. The medium according to claim 30, wherein the electronic signal is derived from a microphone.