Broadcast system with associated data capabilities

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BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to broadcasting systems, and specifically to a system for transmitting data associated with audio or video program material to provide a listener or viewer with useful information regarding the program material.

Many radio broadcast systems are known to exist in which digital data are transmitted along with audio program material. For example, the United States Radio Broadcast Data System ("RBDS") Standard, published by the National Radio Systems Committee and sponsored by the Electronics Industry Association and the National Association of Broadcasters, describes a system for broadcasting a variety of program-related information on a subcarrier of a standard FM broadcast channel. The RBDS standard teaches a system for transmitting station identification and location information, as well as time, traffic and miscellaneous other information.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,610 to Alwadish discloses a system in which advertising text, song titles, or other program-related data may be transmitted along with audio program material and stored, displayed, or printed by a listener using appropriate receiving apparatus. The Alwadish system is understood to require data corresponding to program material to be stored along with the program material source itself (i.e., on compact disc or digital audio tape). Thus, the Alwadish system relies on customized audio program source hardware and software.

In another field of art, several systems have been taught for automatically monitoring received broadcast signals in order to log the program content of such broadcasts. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,450,531 and 4,843,562 to Kenyon et al. teach schemes for automatically recognizing received program material as one of a number of "reference" library programs.

Notably absent from the known prior art, however, is a system for broadcasting program material and associated data that does not rely on customized program source material and related apparatus in which the program and the data are linked at the program source level. It would be desirable to have a system in which conventional program sources (e.g., conventional phonograph records, tape cartridges, or compact discs) could be played using conventional program source apparatus (e.g., conventional turntables, tape cartridge players and compact disc players), yet still provide the advantages of transmitting data pertaining to the program material.

It would also be desirable to have systems and methods for applying such broadcast data to diverse uses, and to provide such systems and methods with improvements that provide additional features and benefits.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a broadcast transmission system includes conventional program sources, a device for detecting which of several program sources is selected, a device for recognizing program material by comparing the program material with a database of known program material, and a device for applying to a transmitter a data stream corresponding to the recognized program material for transmission along with the program material.

Also in accordance with the present invention, a receiver includes a demodulator for detecting the program material and data stream, and a user interface device for providing the user with a menu of data options, the options depending on information in the data stream.

Further in accordance with the present invention, the data stream is broadcast earlier in time than the corresponding program material is broadcast in order that when the corresponding program material is first broadcast, data related to that program material are already available at the receiver.

Still further in accordance with the present invention, a receiver module includes a display connector adapted for coupling with a plurality of display devices of various configurations.

In another aspect of the invention, a receiver includes an LCD display panel in which is integrated a solar panel layer.

The features and advantages described in the specification are not all-inclusive, and particularly, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to the claims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a transmission system for program material and associated data, in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 1a is a block diagram detailing a data stream generator as illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a receiving system for program material and associated data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a user interface display panel showing information about a musical composition, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a user interface display panel showing information about a composer, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating receiver operation, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates memory addresses for data storage and retrieval, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates the components of a data packet, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates receiver screen menu hierarchy, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates screen menu flow for the programmer terminal illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for a receiver that operates in various modes to selectively receive, process and reproduce portions of transmitted program material and data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a receiver that includes a game-playing mode processing transmitted game-playing data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a receiver that generates signals to control connected devices based on transmitted data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a receiver that produces a scannable bar code based on transmitted data.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a receiver that includes multiple tuner subsystems for selectively receiving more than one channel of program material and transmitted data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a system including a receiver and a connected computer system controlled responsive to transmitted data, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a receiver connected to a point of sale terminal using a data link, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a receiver module and four different liquid crystal displays connectable to the receiver module, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows a receiver having a solar panel integrated with a liquid crystal display, in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The figures depict a preferred embodiment of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a transmission system 100 in accordance with the present invention. The operation of the transmission system 100 is illustrated by discussion of the component parts illustrated in FIG. 1. Conventional audio sources such as microphone 102, compact disc player 103, and tape cartridge player 104 provide program source audio to mixing board 101. Mixing board 101 and audio sources 102-104 may be conventional units, such as those already present in a typical radio broadcast station. Audio output is fed from mixing board 101 to transmitter 110 in the conventional manner over an audio bus 113 for transmission from antenna 11. Transmitter 110 may be any conventional radio broadcasting transmitter with main channel and subcarrier channel input capabilities, such as that typically installed in modern FM broadcasting stations. Additional conventional audio compression, limiting, or other processing circuitry (not shown) may be installed at mixing board 101, transmitter 110, or in between, but is not pertinent for purposes herein.

The audio output of mixing board 101 is also applied to a program material recognizer 106 via audio bus 113. The purpose of the program material recognizer 106 is to compare the program material coming from mixing board 101 with a database of known program material 107. If a match is detected, program material recognizer 106 sends pertinent program data, for instance the title of the program material, the composer, and the performer, to data stream generator 105. Any suitable program recognizing system can be used to implement program material recognizer 106 and database of known program material 107, for instance the system taught by Kenyon et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,562 for received broadcast audio signals. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,562 are incorporated herein by reference. Those skilled in the art may readily apply such known systems for recognizing audio programs to implement the program material recognizer 106 and database of known program material 107 of FIG. 1.

The output data provided by program material recognizer 106 are converted by data stream generator 105 into a form that may be directly applied to a conventional subcarrier channel input of transmitter 110. The manner of making this conversion will depend on the particular program material recognizer 106 employed and the desired data format for transmission, and may readily be accomplished by one skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment, data stream generator 105 is configured to conform to the large transmission capacity multiplex data broadcast system protocol promulgated by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) known as L-MSK. This protocol permits data transmission speeds of up to 32 kbits per second.

Mixing board 101 also provides a signal, either through an existing facility on mixing board 101 or through a simple modification, representative of which program source (i.e., microphone 102, compact disc player 103 or tape cartridge player 104) is currently selected by mixing board 101. Program source detector 108 converts this signal to a form usable by data stream generator 105. While the particular implementation of program source detector 108 may vary with the type of mixing board 101, those skilled in the art will readily be able to implement program source detector 108 for operation with any particular mixing board 101.

Data stream generator 105 generates different data streams depending on the program source detected by program source detector 108. For example, if program source detector 108 indicates that compact disc player 103 or tape cartridge player 104 is selected by mixing board 101, then data stream generator 105 applies to transmitter 110 the information generated by program material recognizer 106. However, if program source detector 108 indicates that microphone 102 is selected, then data stream generator 105 may generate data identifying the announcer's name, or the fact that news or traffic information is being broadcast, as appropriate for the use to which microphone 102 is put. If microphone 102 is put to multiple uses, then a general message such as the station's call sign or a random advertisement may be generated by data stream generator 105. Thus, in operation, data stream generator 105 provides a stream of data to transmitter 110 indicating, for example, details about a musical composition played on compact disc player 103, then advertiser information corresponding to a commercial played on tape cartridge machine 104, then an appropriate message corresponding to the selection of microphone 102 such as "Traffic Alert".

In one embodiment of the present invention, database of known program material 107 contains both the data needed by program material recognizer 106 to recognize a particular program, and also the data associated with that program to be sent to transmitter 110 via data stream generator 105. The data associated with the program material can be entered, as known with regard to conventional recognition systems, by manual key entry from programmer terminal 112 or by some other common data entry method. Programmer terminal 112 may be a dedicated computer terminal or may be a personal computer connected to data stream generator 105 via a conventional local area network. Database 107 may be provided by a third party, for instance in the form of computer tapes or disks containing both the data needed for recognition and the data desired for transmission. In such an embodiment, other data associated with program material, such as data associated with commercial announcement program material, may be separately entered into database 107 using conventional data entry techniques. Furthermore, data to be transmitted when program source detector 108 indicates selection of microphone 102 may be stored either as part of database 107 or in a separate database (not shown). Those skilled in the art will recognize that any such choice that provides associated data for transmission may be used in accordance with the present invention.

As is evident from FIG. 1, none of the existing components of a conventional broadcast station, with the possible exception of the mixing board 101 as discussed above, needs to be replaced or altered to implement transmission system 100. An upgrade from a conventional transmission system to the transmission system 100 of FIG. 1 requires only the connection of the program source detector 108 to the mixing board 101, tap-off of the audio program material feed between mixing board 101 and transmitter 110 to program material recognizer 106, and connection from data stream generator 105 to a subcarrier channel input of transmitter 110.

Referring now to FIG. 1a, there is shown a detailed functional block diagram of data stream generator 105. The major components of data stream generator 105 include a data input processor 153, database manager 155, system controller 157, output spooler 154, and NHK encoder 152. Data input processor 153 receives program source data from program source detector 108 via a serial RS-232 data link 151, and receives program recognition data from program material recognizer 106, also via a serial RS-232 data link 151. Data input processor 153 uses this input data to determine which data from a screen storage database 156 should be accessed, using database manager 155, and sent to output spooler 154. For example, if data input processor 153 receives data indicating that a compact disc player is active and that the program material being broadcast is a musical selection known as "Concertino for Piano and Chamber Ensemble", it will cause a database entry corresponding to data particular to that selection to be extracted from screen storage database 156 and applied, through database manager 155, to output spooler 154. The database entry would include all of the data required for display of information of data associated with the musical selection on a receiver, as described below in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4.

A system controller 157 is coupled to database manager 155 and output spooler 154 for two discrete purposes. First, system controller 157 provides timing and control signals to regulate the movement of data from database manager 155 to output spooler 154. Second, system controller 157 provides, through a connection with a programmer terminal 112, a means by which data may be inserted into screen storage database 156, through database manager 155. For instance, radio station personnel may key in data to be associated with any particular entry of screen storage database, to permit such information to be transmitted over the system when the associated program material selection is played. As a specific example, if there is to be a public performance of "Concertino for Piano & Chamber Ensemble" at a local symphony hall, that fact may be entered into screen storage database 156 so that whenever this musical selection is played, this information will be transmitted for display on the user's receiver. Further discussion regarding data entry is provided below in connection with FIG. 9.

Output spooler 154 is a buffer that stores data to be transmitted and sends such data, via RS-232 serial data link 151, to an NHK data encoder to permit transmission of the data using transmitter 110. NHK data encoder transforms the data from output spooler 154 into a data stream meeting the specifications of the NHK high capacity multiplex data broadcast protocol L-MSK described above. One example of a commercially-available device operating in accordance with this protocol is the model 4001A FM Multiplex Signal Transmitter for Mobile Receivers available from Eiden Company Limited, Tokyo, Japan.

In the preferred embodiment, components 152-457 are implemented by using a programmed general purpose computer. Those skilled in the art may easily implement the functions of these components in such a manner.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a receiving system 200 in accordance with the present invention. The operation of the receiving system 200 is illustrated by discussion of the component parts illustrated in FIG. 2. A signal transmitted by transmission system 100 of FIG. 1 is received by antenna 211 and demodulated into audio and data components in a conventional manner by demodulator 201. Demodulator 201 is of conventional design for detecting and demodulating audio and data signals transmitted over a main broadcast channel and a subcarrier of that channel, respectively. Audio program information from demodulator 201 is applied to conventional program material reproduction circuitry 202. Data associated with the program material (corresponding to that generated by data stream generator 105 of FIG. 1 ) are error corrected in a conventional manner by error correction circuitry 203, transferred to microprocessor 204, and then are stored in data memory 205, using any of the conventional techniques and devices well known to those skilled in the art.

A user interface apparatus 206 allows a user of receiving system 205 to selectively access data stored in 203. User interface apparatus 206 is implemented using a conventional microprocessor-based design well known to those skilled in the art of user interface design and implementation. User interface apparatus 206 provides both display capabilities for the transmitted data and user input capabilities to permit user selection of portions of the transmitted data.

A conventional data card recorder 207, such as that used to record information on magnetic library cards or the like, is connected to data memory 205 through microprocessor 204. The purpose of data card recorder 207 is to allow the user of receiving apparatus 200 to store selected data on portable magnetic cards. For instance, data associated with a promotion by an advertiser may be used as "electronic coupons" to allow listeners who record such data to receive a discount on merchandise. The coupon data could include standardized identifying data for a product, such as the "SKU" code for a product. A corresponding magnetic card reader of conventional design (not shown) would be used at the store where the coupon is to be redeemed.

Receiving system 200 may readily be implemented by augmenting a conventional broadcast receiver capable of providing the functions of demodulator 201, program material reproduction circuitry 202, and antenna 211, with the digital data functions corresponding to error correction circuitry 203, microprocessor 204, data memory 205, user interface apparatus 206, and, if desired, data card recorder 207. Alternatively, the functions of elements 203-207 may be implemented by a general purpose digital computer, such as a conventional personal computer, notebook computer, or home entertainment computer, and antenna demodulator 201, program material reproduction circuitry 202, and antenna 211 may be implemented by an attached device or an add-in circuit card. In such a case, the general purpose digital computer may even be employed to provide the audio/video program material output of the main programming channel, as would conventionally be provided by program material reproduction circuitry 202. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize additional possible implementations in accordance with the present invention.

In some applications, it may be important for significant amounts of data corresponding to the broadcast audio material to be available as soon as the audio material is transmitted. Depending on the particular implementation of transmission system 100, complete data corresponding to a particular item of audio program material may not be available at receiver 200 until several seconds after the commencement of that item of program material. While this may be acceptable in some situations, e.g., where the item of program material is a symphonic piece of a significant duration, in other instances the time delay may not be desirable. To ameliorate any problems that may be caused by this data lag, a conventional audio delay device is included in the path of the audio program material so that the broadcast of the audio material is delayed by a predetermined duration comparable to the time desired for data to be accumulated at receiver 200. In one such implementation, a time delay device is integrated into transmitter 100 so that the audio applied to program material recognizer 106 is not delayed, while the audio that is broadcast by transmitter 110 is delayed.

In an alternate embodiment in which the program material to be transmitted is known in advance, such as where a computerized "playlist," identifying each item of program material and the time that it is to be broadcast, is available to data stream generator 105, data corresponding to that program material may be scheduled to be broadcast before the actual audio program material, thus providing the same effect as discussed above without the need for any audio delay device.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a display panel 300 of user interface apparatus 206. Display panel 300 includes four menu button areas 301-304 and a larger information window 305. In the preferred embodiment, display panel 300 is of conventional liquid crystal design, with conventional touch-screen technology being used to implement switches over the menu button areas 301-304. Alternatively, physically separate switches could be used in locations adjacent to menu button areas 301-304, but one advantage of using touch-screen technology is that button areas can dynamically change in size, location and number under software control. The information window 305 of FIG. 3 indicates composer, title, and performer data stored in memory 205, corresponding to program material contemporaneously being received by receiving system 200. Menu button area 301 provides the user the option of requesting another screen with further information about this composer; menu button area 302 provides the user with the option of requesting orchestra information; menu button area 303 provides the user with the option of requesting another screen with information on the running time of the current selection; and menu button area 304 provides the user with the option of requesting ordering information for this recording. It should be recognized that the information presented in information window 305 and menu button areas 301-304 can be of virtually infinite variety and is not limited to the type of information or layout shown in FIG. 3.

In an alternate embodiment some top-level menu choices may be stored in permanent memory (not shown) of user interface apparatus 206, but in general all of the information displayed on display panel 300, as well as the number, style, and labeling of the button ar