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Description  |
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TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the field of telephone communications and speech
synthesis used for interactive broadcast or cable radio or television
communications and in particular consumer interaction with radio or
television program material.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND ART
Interactive electronic marketing systems in prior art have focused and been
designed for use by television viewers and broadcast radio listeners
viewing a display screen or at least without exploiting speech synthesis
techniques. See Gomersall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,108; Wiedemer, U.S. Pat.
No. 4,907,273; Von Kohorn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,592; Bushnell, U.S. Pat.
No. 4,071,697; Morales-Garza, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,267; Morales-Garza, et
al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,906 and 4,755,871; Broughton, U.S. Pat. No.
4,807,031; Russell, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,322; Wheeless, U.S. Pat. No.
5,023,934; Matthews, U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,601; Mankovitz, U.S. Pat. No.
5,134,719; Grosjean, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,612; Alwadish, U.S. Pat.
No. 5,063,610.
Bushnell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,697 uses a speech synthesizer in an
interactive video/telephone transmission system in a very limited manner,
related solely to confirming purchases. Coats, U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,800
discloses another speech synthesis technique used in interactive
communications.
One problem with prior art electronic interactive marketing systems is that
they rely on visual means and do not extensively use speech synthesizer
voice delivery (as the instant invention does), thereby requiring
extensive viewing to interact. By extensively using speech synthesis
capabilities the instant invention provides for the first time practical
and convenient means for consumers to interact without substantial visual
display with program material heard or viewed via respective broadcast or
cable radio or television tuner means. Further, consumers may be connected
to a processing computer by wireless communications means, especially
those driving automobiles listening to the car radio, to safely interact
with program material in a wide variety of ways and in a multi-tiered
interactive manner. Moreover, by extensively using said speech synthesis
capabilities this invention frees television viewers and radio listeners
at fixed locations from having to extensively view a display screen. In
this invention the apparatus user need only glance at a display (LED or
LCD) to see whether a telephone response option is available to be made.
The instant invention, in one embodiment disclosed herein, effectively
encourages said apparatus user to respond to interact with program
material through speech synthesizer voice delivered messages, information
or prompts. No prior art accomplishes this. Morales-Garza, U.S. Pat. No.
5,101,267 and Morales-Garza, et al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,906 and
4,755,871, while providing means for a pushbutton affirmative response to
surveys conducted or questions asked over the television broadcast media,
has no provision to encourage responses and actually improve response
rates through speech synthesizer voice delivered prompts.
Likewise, Alwadish, U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,610, while providing broadcast
radio listeners means to request coupons at the push of a button, has no
provision to improve response rates and the number of listeners requesting
coupons through speech synthesizer voice delivered prompts such as "press
button for ›product! coupons". The instant invention further improves
response rates by prompting during order entry or information request
specification (see described below) when an unavailable specification is
entered.
The instant invention enables merchants marketing a product or service over
broadcast or cable radio or television to use a speech synthesizer to
voice deliver (via stored or transmitted map information and locator data
generated by the receiving apparatus) to consumers, particularly those
driving automobiles, directions to a store selling said marketed product
or service. Gomersall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,108 in view of Wiedemer, U.S.
Pat. No. 4,907,273 discloses an interactive marketing system using a
locator code for visual not voice delivery of location information,
thereby lacking provision for mobile, i.e. car, broadcast radio listeners
to benefit from such locator functionality.
Further, this invention enables consumers to text scroll subject category
listings of a plurality of products, services or program elements and
activate autodial of telephone numbers a pre-programmed voice message
announcing in predetermined manner the product/service or program element
scroll mode. Hashimoto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,771 and Toru Baji, et al, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,029,014 both provide program listings that are visually
displayed without voice delivery as in the instant invention.
In addition, said prior art does not provide a means for pre-selecting
interactive applications when a program listing of interest is scrolled.
The instant invention, however, provides the capability of pre-selecting
ordering and information specifications concerning program listings of
interest when said listings are scrolled.
The instant invention's pre-selecting functionality thereby enables
consumers who will not be listening to or watching a respective broadcast
or cable radio or television tuner when a particular program element of
interest is scheduled to air or be transmitted to still be able to
interact, e.g. order or inquire about a product or service marketed in
such program element. In addition, this program listing functionality is
intended to simply inform consumers of the station or facility and time
scheduled for airing or transmission of a program element so that such
consumers can then tune in that station or facility at the scheduled time
to interact as disclosed herein.
For all electronic orders and voice contact communications and electronic
information request communications disclosed herein a data receive-tuner
(radio or television) is interfaced to a telephone communications device.
This invention provides at least one consumer or respondent with the
built-in authentication and security system already used by such
communications device, thereby eliminating the need for said data
receive-tuner to have a separate authentication and security system. The
existing authentication, security or encryption system used by a broadcast
cable radio or television system interfaced to such data-receive tuner may
alternatively be used to authenticate apparatus users.
Further, the instant invention uses the same speech synthesizer-based
system used for interactive electronic marketing to provide an emergency
alert system (EAS) message warning system. This EAS message warning system
is designed in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's EAS
rules and regulations articulated in 47 CFR Part 11. The instant invention
entails a two-step warning system: the first step is designed to visually
alert at least one consumer that data representative of an EAS message has
been received and is being stored in the data-receive tuner, which visual
alert is activated by predetermined data received by said data-receive
tuner; the second step is audibly reproducing said stored data
representative of said EAS message, which audible reproduction is
activated by said responding as disclosed herein.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
A design object of the instant invention is to use the same speech
synthesizer-based technology for both interactive and EAS communications.
Related objects of the instant invention are to 1) visually alert at least
one consumer that an EAS message has been received and is being stored by
a data-receive tuner and, upon consumer activation audibly reproduce said
message and 2) provide source data addressing and receiver location
sensing means so that only data-receive tuners in geographic areas
affected by the emergency event referenced in an EAS message store said
EAS message.
Another object of the present invention is to deploy speech synthesis to
provide a means of improving the rate of consumer response to a given
interactive program element. A related object of the present invention is
to encode data codes controlling speech synthesizer voice delivery in such
a way that said voice delivery is coordinated at predetermined appropriate
sounding times either immediately before, during or immediately after the
broadcast or transmission of said program element.
Another object of the present invention is to provide consumers with means
for electronically purchasing, ordering or requesting information
concerning one or a plurality of products, services or program elements. A
further related object of the instant invention is to provide a practical,
convenient and safe means for broadcast radio listeners who are driving
automobiles or otherwise engaged in some mobile activity to conveniently,
practically and safely interact with broadcast program audio.
Yet a further object of the instant invention is to provide an unique
program listing functionality that displays a plurality of products,
services or program elements by one or a plurality of respective
pre-assigned subject categories as text to be scrolled wherein upon
selecting a subject category listing user activates telephone autodial
concerning at least one listed product, service or program element. A
related object of the present invention is to enable consumers to
pre-select listed program elements--before scheduled airing or
transmission--as well as optionally respective ordering and information
specifications as said listings are scrolled or, alternatively, to tune in
a specified station or facility at a specified time to interact with a
listed program element as said program element is airing or transmitted.
Another object of the instant invention is to integrate a data-receive
tuner (radio or television) with a telephone communications device to
enhance the value of such telephone communications device. A related
object is to use the authentication and security system of said telephone
communications device, or the security or encryption system used in a
respective broadcastor cable radio or television system interfaced to said
data-receive tuner, for authentication and user security with respect to
the electronic ordering, information request and voice contact response
options disclosed herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above-referenced and other objects, advantages and novel features of
the present invention are apparent from the following detailed description
of the preferred and other embodiments of the present invention
illustrated in the accompanying drawing. While said drawing is specific to
broadcast radio data transmission means it is understood that the
principles underlying said drawing and the principles disclosed herein
apply equally to broadcast or cable radio or television data transmission
means.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the entire response system in
accordance with the principles of the present invention, from data
production to response processing;
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the items and order of data sent in one
embodiment disclosed herein in the system of FIG. 1 by an attributed
broadcast radio station to a receiving apparatus, the Receiver Data
Processing Unit ("RDPU") of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the items and order of data sent in one
embodiment in the system of FIG. 1 through an unattributed broadcast radio
station to the RDPU of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the items and order of data sent in one
embodiment from the RDPU of FIG. 1 to the computer 32 of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS
I. System Overview
Several methods and an apparatus for interactive or emergency alert
broadcast or cable radio or television are disclosed herein. Said methods
entail encoding via data encoding device 4/5 for transmission via
predetermined broadcast or cable radio or television data transmission
means at least one source data set of predetermined format including one
or plurality of portions each with a pre-assigned purpose wherein said at
least one source data set includes a telephone number and a response mode
coda 39/44 identifying one or plurality of predetermined response modes
such as responses or response options available to be made, in one
preferred embodiment with respect to one or plurality of broadcast or
cable radio or television program elements such as musical recordings,
videos, songs, shows or other program material intended to entertain, live
or recorded speech intended to inform or short announcements or commercial
advertisements, political advertising, public service announcements,
emergency test or alert (emergency alert system or EAS) messages or other
messages ("program elements") or one or plurality of respective products
or services associated with or marketed in said one or plurality of
program elements. Further, said at least one source data set may include
data representative of a message, prompt or information to be voice
delivered.
i. SOURCE DATA TRANSMISSION MEANS
Broadcast or cable radio or television station or facility transmits said
at least one source data set via said predetermined broadcast or cable
radio or television data transmission means at respective one or plurality
of predetermined times to respective broadcast or cable radio or
television tuner 13. Said predetermined broadcast or cable radio or
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