Personal broadcast server system for providing a customized broadcast

• US 7,840,691 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2000
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dedicated Licensing LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Zamora Radio LLC
• Inventors: De Bonet, Jeremy S., Viola, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Todd; Gregory G
• Application Number:
  US09/656,765
• Time in Patent Office: 3,729 Days
• Field of Search: 209/231, 209/217, 209/203, 209/220
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/635 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/637 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialization, adaptation or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1854 with non-centralised forwarding system, e.g. chaincast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM] H04L51/04; selective video distribution H04N21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 21/2668 : Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 : Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 : involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A personal broadcast server system provides a customized broadcast to one or more users over a transmission media. A data storage device stores a plurality of broadcast elements. A data management system stores a user profile and a user state for each of the one or more users and also stores information associated with each of the plurality of broadcast elements. A broadcast element selector, having at least one broadcast element selector functions, selects broadcast elements from the data storage device based on information contained in the data management system. A broadcast server receives the selected broadcast elements from the data storage device and provides the selected broadcast elements to a user over the transmission media. The personal broadcast server system may provide streaming audio, streaming video, or other forms of broadcast signals.

Claims

1. A method of operating a server to provide a customized broadcast comprising:

maintaining a user profile including information relating to a preference of a user associated with the user profile;

maintaining a user listening history comprising a list identifying at least a portion of a plurality of broadcast elements previously transmitted to a user device and a time at which each broadcast element of the at least a portion of the plurality of broadcast elements was previously played by the user device;

without selection from the user device, automatically selecting a plurality of broadcast elements comprising a song broadcast element and an advertising broadcast element based on the user profile and the user listening history; and

transmitting the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device;

wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a personalized broadcast element that includes a reference to a name of the user associated with the user device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a weather broadcast element.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying the information in the user profile based on the plurality of broadcast elements that are selected automatically.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

without selection from the user device, automatically selecting an alert broadcast element selected from a group consisting of a weather alert broadcast element, a traffic alert broadcast element, and a stock price alert broadcast element based on the user profile;

halting transmission of one of the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device prior to completion of the transmission of the one of the plurality of broadcast elements; and

transmitting the alert broadcast element to the user device while the transmission of the one of the plurality of broadcast elements is halted.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the user profile includes information indicating a preference of a frequency of selection and transmission of a plurality of types of broadcast elements.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the plurality of types of broadcast elements comprise at least two types of broadcast elements selected from a group consisting of:

songs, introductions, news, traffic, weather, sports scores and game reports, stock prices and news, jingles and station identification, advertisements, school closings, reminders, instructions, time, date, talk/morning show, and serialized radio programs.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising iteratively repeating without selection from the user device, automatically selecting and transmitting the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of broadcast elements are sequentially transmitted to the user device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically selecting the plurality of broadcast elements further comprises selecting a disc jockey introduction broadcast element, and mixing the disc jockey introduction broadcast element with the song broadcast element such that the song broadcast element includes the disc jockey introduction broadcast element.

10. A server for providing a customized broadcast comprising:

a network interface for communicating with a network; and

a processor adapted to;

maintain a user profile including information relating to a preference of a user associated with the user profile;

maintain a user listening history comprising a list identifying at least a portion of a plurality of broadcast elements previously transmitted to a user device and a time at

which each broadcast element of the at least a portion of the plurality of broadcast elements was previously played by the user device;

without selection from the user device, automatically select a plurality of broadcast elements comprising a song broadcast element and an advertising broadcast element based on the user profile and the user listening history; and

transmit the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device;

wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a personalized broadcast element that includes a reference to a name of the user associated with the user device.

11. The server of claim 10 wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a weather broadcast element.

12. The server of claim 10 wherein the processor is further adapted to:

without selection from the user device automatically select an alert broadcast element selected from a group consisting of a weather alert broadcast element, a traffic alert broadcast element, and a stock price alert broadcast element based on the user profile;

halt transmission of one of the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device prior to completion of the transmission of the one of the plurality of broadcast elements; and

transmit the alert broadcast element to the user device while the transmission of the one of the plurality of broadcast elements is halted.

13. The server of claim 10 wherein the user profile includes information indicating a preference of a frequency of selection and transmission of a plurality of types of broadcast elements.

14. The server of claim 13 wherein the plurality of types of broadcast elements comprise at least two types of broadcast elements selected from a group consisting of:

songs, introductions, news, traffic, weather, sports scores and game reports, stock prices and news, jingles and station identification, advertisements, school closings, reminders, instructions, time, date, talk/morning show, and serialized radio programs.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with software for instructing a processor to:

maintain a user profile including information relating to a preference of a user associated with the user profile;

maintain a user listening history comprising a list identifying at least a portion of a plurality of broadcast elements previously transmitted to a user device and a time at which each broadcast element of the at least a portion of the plurality of broadcast elements was previously played by the user device;

without selection from the user device, automatically select a plurality of broadcast elements comprising a song broadcast element and an advertising broadcast element based on the user profile and the user listening history; and

transmit the plurality of broadcast elements to the user device;

wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a personalized broadcast element that includes a reference to a name of the user associated with the user device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the plurality of broadcast elements further comprise a weather broadcast element.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the software further instructs the processor to modify the information in the user profile based on the plurality of broadcast elements that are selected automatically.