CA1330368C - Apparatus and method for monitoring television viewers - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention discloses apparatus and methods for monitoring the television viewing acts of individuals by detecting energy from the eyes of the viewer , including body heat radiation from the eyes, the reflection of light or the reflection from the eyes of a specifically transmitted signal to determine the time intervals and total time the individual is viewing the television. The light reflections can be from ambient light , the light emitted by the television screen or specific transmitted light signals . This viewing information is then correlated by the monitor with the program information from the television .
The apparatus and method of this invention can be used to identify each individual viewing the television and track and correlate the viewing information for each individual. The signals reflected from each individual's eyes can also be used to determine changes in blink rate and/or pupil dilation in order to determine the emotional response of each individual to the program being viewed. This invention also provides a system for monitoring the times at which particular programs are viewed by particular individuals even when the individual records the program on a VCR and views the program at a later time.

Description

~ ~3~Q3~

This invention is in the field o~ monitoring talevision viewers.

The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for monitoring the viewers of a television. This invention in particular relates to a method and apparatus for accurately monitoring the actual viewing habits and àctivities of individuals viewing television programs without requiring any action on the part of the viewer.
Information about the viewing habits and activities of household members is very important to television networks and cable television companies. By determining the viewing time of various televised programs by individuals in selected households, the networks can determine the popularity of their shows. Such information is used by the networks to establish ratings for various programs or shows and to -~
determine the advertising rates charged to sponsors who wish ~ ~;
to air their televised commercials during those programs.
Viewing information is also used by the advertising sponsors to determine the extent to which their commercials are being viewed by the television audience.

Several devices and systems have been described in the prior art for obtaining the desired information. Percy et al. in U.S. 4,646,145 describe a keyboard system for the television viewer to indicate not only ~

~ ~ ;

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- ~ 3~368 that the viewer i~ watching a program, but also to lnalcate thelr preference~, r~actiQn~ and ratings o~
the particular pro~ram b~ing watch~d. ~ha ~is-advantage o~ this syRtem 1~ that it xe~uire~ dl~e~t ~lewèr partlclpatlo~ to record thæ neces~ary informa~ion ~nd data through ~hs vi~wer'~ k~yboard.

other sy6tems have ~tempted to reduce th~
require~ parti~ipation ~y th~ televi~ion vi~wer whil~
1~ ~till being able to identlfy eaah i~dividual vi~wer o~
t~e talevision program and re~ording thB tim~ whiah eaah viewer watahe~ the prog~am ln que~tion. F~r example, Luri~, U.S. 4,626,~04, H~ r, U.~. 4,~52,915 ~ :
an~ welnblatt, U.S. 4,6~5,879, each dl~lose By~m~
involving h~adphones or a monitoring unit worn on ~
head o~ the indlvi~ual wat~hlng the televi6ion program.
Thes~ system~ also ~u$~er ~rom the di~aflvant~g~ that i~
the lnalvldual ~ails or ~orge~a to wear th~ heaaphone or monltorlng uni~, ~hen the ~e~i~ed ~fo~mat~on ls not ~ ~-ava~la~l~. 50m~ of t~sse unit~ att~mpted to makQ it ~ ~-e6sential for ths ln~ivldual to ~e the headphone unlt, ~or sxample, by requl~ng tha headphonR ~nit to b~ in u~e on the indl~idual before ~he audio por~l~n o~ ~he ~elevi~ion pro~ram i~ available to the ~ndlviAual.
The~ ~yBtems ha~e the dl~advantage of ~ing :~
und~irable ~or the individual to use, Binc~ it ig not alway~ praatlaal, ~om~ortable or pleasant to watch televi~ion program~ while woaring headphon~s or monitoring units o~ one's ~ead. ~le~e ~y~tem~ ~an also ~lve erroneou~ ln~ormatlon i~ the hea~et i~ not oriented properly or is improp~rly worn ~y th~
individual, thu~ indi~at~ng that the i~div~dual i8 .~
viewing the televislon when he or ~he aatually 1~ not ~ ::
or lndi~a~cing ~hey are n~ vlewing when ~hey a~tually are viewing the televi~ion. :~

1~3~368 Another system has been proposed which would obtain the desired information through a passive system i.e., without any participation on the part of the television viewer. For example, Kiewit et al., U.S. 4,644,509, disclose an ultrasonic detection system for determining the number of people present in the area from which a television can be -viewed. This system suffers from the disadvantage that it merely detects the presence of persons in the designated monitored area while the television is receiving a certain program; it does not indicate whether the persons present are actually watching the program. This system contains a desired feature that the system is passive with respect to ~
the television viewer, i.e., there is no action required on ~`
the part of the viewer to activate the information collection system; however, this system collects incomplete and inadequate information and data regarding the actual viewing of the television programs.

It is apparent from the above that there exists a need for a television viewer monitoring device and system which is passive with respect to the television viewer and which ~
collects and provides the desired accurate and detailed ;
information regarding the television viewing activities of the individuals being monitored.
The present invention provides a novel apparatus, method and system for monitoring the television viewing activities of individuals. This invention also provides such apparatus, methods and systems which provide accurate and reliable 3 ~ 8 information and data regardi~g the actual television viewing activities of an individual and which do not depend on any separate action or effort on behalf of the viewer for the completeness and accuracy of the information collected.
Further, this invention provides a system which will provide accurate and reliable information regarding the ~;
viewing of television programs through "time shift", i.e., by ~ ;
recording television programs on a video cassette recorder ;~
(VCR) and viewing the program at a later time.

In one aspect this invention comprises apparatus for monitoring the television viewing act of individuals comprising:
(a) means for detecting energy emissions of a predetermined nature from the eyes of an individual in the viewing area of said television; and (b) means for determining whether said detected energy emissions, compared to predetermined criteria, indicate that the individual is viewing the television.
' :' ' In another aspect, this invention comprises apparatus for monitoring the television viewing acts of individuals comprising~
(a) means for transmitting a signal from the vicinity of a television;
(b) means for detecting reflections of a predetermined nature of said signals from the eyes of an individual in the viewing area of said television; and 1 3303~8 (c) mean~ for dekerm~r~ing WhBther ~hs re~leated :
~$gnal, co~pared to pred~ermin~d ~ri~eria, in~ica~e~
that th~ individual i8 vi~wing th~ t~levision.

~hl~ inYention furthe~ compris~ a m~thod ~or monitoring the televi~ion v~zwing acts of an individual compriBlng ~
detect~ng energy emi~ed from the eye~ of ~n ;-individual in the viewing area of the te~evl~iotl, ~nd determlning wheth~r ~aid de~ected ~n~rqy lndicate that the individual is vi~win~ the ~elevi~ion.

In another a~pect, the abov~ ~ethod o~ thl~
invention compriC~s tran~itting a ~ignal from the vicinity o~ the televi~lon an~ detect~ng the re~lectlons of the tran~mittad ~i~nal.

Xn another a~pect, thi~ ln~en~ion ~ompri~e~
apparatug ior mGnitoring televi~ion vi~3wing ac~ o~ an individual, wh~r~in the tqlevi~ion compri~e-4 a telev1slon-VCR combina~ion, whi~h comprl~ea~ ~
a monitor ~mprl~ln~ me~n~ for ~oll~o~lng ~nd .:
~torlng ~ata and mean~ ~or plaaln~ ~ predetermltle~
sign~l on a vldeotape when the V~R i~ rea~rdl~ a ~ -telQVi3iOll pro~ram on the videotap~;
means for detacting wheth~r th~re i~ at lea~t one person in ~he vlewlng area o~ the televi~i~n when the tQlevision i operatin~ and ~or transm~t~in~ that data to the monl~ors and :~
mean~ ~or d~t~rmining whether the pro~ram on the tel~vlsic~n i~; s (a) from a broad~as~ chann~l and ~or ~r~n~mit~
ing ~he ahannQl in~ormat~on ~o the ~nonitor;
c~r ~3~3~8 (b) ~rom tha vide~tape pre~iou~ly reoord~d ~y the VCR and ~or tran~mittln~ to the monitor :~.
the inPormatlon from the pre~etermined ~l~nal pla~e~ ~n the videotape ~y the ~- :
monltor when ~he p~ogram wa8 record~d.
., ~ ..
In another a~pect, this inv~ntion providQ~ a metho~ ~or monl~orl~ ~h~ te~viaion viQwin~ acts o~ an individual us~ng a t~lev~sion-V~R comblnatlon whiah lo ~ompri6e~:
placin~ a pred~tQrmined sl~nal on a vl~eotape when tha VC~ i~ recordlnq a televi~io~ pro~ram on the ~rldeot:npe; ~ - ~
detecting wh~thar ther~ i8 at le~t one per~on ~ -in the viewing area o~ the televiBion when the :
t~levision is operatingt and ~etermlning whe~her the program on the televi~on i~ ~a) ~rom a broadca~t chann~l or ~b] ~rom ::
the VCR by dQ~ectlng the lnPormation ~rom th~ prede~er~
mlned ~lgnal pla~ed ~n the ~ideotape when the program .
wa~ rQcordQd by thQ VCR.
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In the above a3pacts o~ the invQntlon the mean~
for ~eteating whether a per~on 1~ ln the ~l~winq ~rea prQfsrably compri~ the abov~ re~erred to means Pox ~:
deteoting energy emi~slon~ ~rom the ~ye~ o~ th~ :
individual in ord~r to furthar d~termine whether the : :
indlv~dual p~eæent in the viewing ar~a i5 actually ViQwin~ the tQlevi~ion. ~ :
3 o Numerou~ ad~antages ~f ~he abov~ app~r~tu~, :
methods and æy~ems are explained h~rQln ~nd oth~
ad~anta~es will beoome appar~t to those ~kil~ed in th~
art from ~he following de~rlp~ion of ~he embo~im~nt~

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~ ' 1 3303~g of the invention 2S summarized herein and as defined by the claims appended hereto.

FIG. 1 is a general diagram of an embodiment of the present invention showing a monitor device for detecting energy emissions from the eyes of a viewer, which monitor may also comprise means for transmitting a signal which is reflected from the eyes of a television viewer and detected by the receiver in the device monitoring the television viewer.
, . :
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a monitor device shown in FIG. 1.
., FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the aspect of this invention adapted for monitoring the viewing of broadcast programs recorded on a VCR.

FIG. 1 shows the basic components of one aspect of the 20 present invention, which comprises a monitor unit 10, according to the present invention, in combination with television 12. Monitor unit 10 is connected to television 12 by cable ~eans 14, which provides channel information from the tuner of television 12 to the monitor 10. In addition, 25 monitor 10 is connected to television 12 by cable means 16, which provides control means to activate monitor 10 when tha television 12 is turned on.

Monitor 10 contains receiving and detection means which 30 is capable of detecting reflections 11 from X ,,.

~ 3 ~
the eyes of viewRr 20, which reflec~ion~ may be any detec:table enerS~y ~orm, ~ncluding in~ra red or o~h~r radiatlon from the body heat of the eye~; o~ the vlewer, re~leoted am`olen~ ht 17 or reflec:tion~3 o~ the ligh~
19 emitted by the televl~orl scresn it~elf or may ~e a speclflc:ally ~ran~lnit~Rd ~ignal l~. The 61gna tran~mit~ed and re le~tad may ~e li~ht, ul~rasoni c~
sc~und, mlcrowave or other de6ir~d ~ignal whioh oan ~e rarlected from a t~ewer~ yes. In th~; oontext, ~he lo signal tran3mitted into ~he ~iewing area can in~luda ~he llght or othar enerSIy emitted b~ th~ t6~1evis~on ~cr~en ltself. Al~o, t~ transmitted ~::lgnal c:an 3~e ~rom the monltor or televis~on, a~ lllu~;tra~3d in Fig. - ~:
1, c~r can be ~ran~mit~d rrOm other location~, ~o lon~
a6 it is capabl~ of being reflected from the viewer'~
~yes while ln the Viewing ar~A o~ the televis$on.
Thu~;, the means ~or receivin~ and/c~ detec~ing rs~lection3 of ~ignal~ from thQ viewer~ eye~; wlll b3 the mean~ which it3 adapted for ~eta~tion o~ tha ~e~:ired light or ~ignal in the ~yfitem de~ign~ for a particular monitoring appliaatlon.

In the example embodlment o~ the pre~en~ ~
inventlon illu~rat~d in ~igure 1, monl~or 10 aontain~
~ran~mitting ~e~h~ capable o~ t~an~mittin~ ~ s~gnal, ~uch a~ an ~n~r~red ~ign~l 18, whiah i~ adapt~ ~P be reflected by tbe ~yes o~ viewer 20, wheraby th~
re~lected 3ignal 11 i~ re~ei~ed in a reoeiv~r means ln monitox 10. Monitor lo i~ oapable o~ ~aanninq and transmitting a ~lgnal and ~eceivin~ a ~ignal from th~
viewln~ ~rea o~ the televis~on, defined ~ b~in~
be~ween lines 22 and ~4, ~onltor m~an~ lo al~o in¢ludes power mean~ 26 ~r an in~ependent powe~ ~upply to monitor 1~ and communiaa~ion l~ne ~8, whi~h can conneoted to a phone lln~ to ena~le monitor lQ to _ g _ Li i'; I I I i C i I I ~' i 1:; i ~;
- ~3~Q368 co~munlca~e wlth a csntr~l computer for relayin~
in~ormation ~ssembled ~y mQni~or 10 either at the time o~ viewing or a~ later time.

FIG. 2 1~ a ~oh~matic d~agram of mo~ltor 10, which lllu6trats~ that ~onltor 10 aomprl~es a computer/controller 30 for oo~trolling the other components in monit~r 10. ~he computer~aon~oller can be c~nneoted to the televi~ion by me~n~ 35 ~or ~n 1~ on/off signAl to activate monltor 10 wh~n the tele vi~ion i8 ~u~ned on. Transmi~er 32 tran~mi~ a ~lgnal toward the viewers o~ the televl~ion, which ~ a ~i~nal that i8 adapted to ~e reflacted ~rom the eye~ of ~he viewe~ in the viewin~ area o~ the teleYi~lon, ~eceiver 34 ls adapted ~o receiYe and de~ect the ~ignal~ 11 reflected from the ViaWQr~ eye~ a~d in combinat~on with deter~ining maan~ 36, di~criminates an~ fllter~ the re~eiv~d re~l~c ion~ to determlne w~ich refleo~ionfi are from ths vi~wer~' eye~ ~nd which ~e~lec~ions are Srom other o~ ts. The ~i~nal~
determined to be refleotlons from th~ eyes of tha viewers who are watahing the ~elevl610n are tran~mitted to memory mean~ 38, wher~ the in~ormatlon i8 stor~d, along wlth the in~ormation ~rom the televi~ion ohannel ~eleo~or ~a mean~ 37 r~gardin~ the pr~gram whi~h 13 being wato~ed.

Memo~y means 38 and c~mputer~controll~r mean~ 30 communioa~e ~o ~ompil~ the desire~ informati~n 1~ tA~
pr~determined form. The ~omputer and memory m~an~
prefera~ly alQo contain clock ~ean~ whereby vl~wer ln~ormatlon reaelved and proce~ed throu~h re~eiver 34, determinin~ mean~ 36 and ~he t~levi~ion ~hannel ~eleator in~ormation from mean~ 37 can all b~

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r :133~368 correlated wlth a cloak ~-ime re~erence in memory 38 ~or futu~e retrieval and u~e.

computer maan~ 30 ~n ~e ~onneated t~o a central eomputer 29 vla phone lin~ 3~ and ~an contain the appropriate modem ~nd mean~ whereby a ~i~nal throu~h the phone line 39 from a central aomputer ~9 or home of f iae ~an a¢tivat~ the ~omputer and r~trieve the inrormation stored i.n ~he memory 3~ upon demand ~r~m the central computer Wi~h~Ut interf~rin~ with the operation of the monitor 10.

C~mputsr~controlle~ meanB 30 ~an also be conne~ted to other component~ for appropria~e co~trol and/or intera~tion, ~u~h a~ ~o ~etermlning mean~ 36 by means 33 and to reaeiver mean~ 34 (~y mean not shown).
In ~ddition, eaoh conne~ion mean~ cAn be two-way wh~n de~ired ~or con~rol and/or in~o~mation, ~i~nal, d~ta or ~en~ng maan~ tran~m~ssion between the computerJcontroller mean~ 30 ~nd ~h~ othe~ component6 in the sy3tem.

As will be appare~t to one ~killed in the ar~
the lig~ ~ensor and de~eatlo~ means ln the monitor ~an ~5 be adapted to either de~e~t refle~ti~nR from th~ :
vl~wer~ eye~ o~ oxistin~ am~ient light in the vie~ing ~Q~I re~l~cition~ ~rom t~e viaw~rs ~ye~ of tha li~h~
amitted from t~ ~el~vision ~areen ~r re~l~ation~ o~
~pe~i~ic li~t or other ~i~nal transmit~qd ~ro~ a tran~mit~er a~oela~ed with the m~nitor. In ~oma ` `
in~anoes it will b~ pre~erred to raly on re~lection~
of amblent light or re~lections of the television ecreen ll~ht to de~ec~ and determine whethe~ ~he vi~war i~ actually viewlnq th~ ~levi~lon. In oth~r ln~tana~
it wil~ ~e pr~erred ~o provide a ~pec~io trAn~mit~ed ;~

3 ~ 8 ~ynal for re~leatlon ~rom th~3 ~iewere eye~ for detection an~ de~ermination whether thR viewer 1 watchlng the telev~ion.

The varlou~ and numarous advantage~ o~ ~h~
pre~ent invention will be apparent from the operation o~ the inv~ntion as lllu~trat~d by the exemplary ~mbodiments in FIGS, 1 and 2. One o~ the primary advantage~ i~ that th~ sy~tem 1~ pas~ive wi~ re~pe~
to tha televi~ion vlewe~. That i~, th~ televi~ion vieWer only needs to turn on the t~l~vision ~et ill order to activate the mon~toring sy~tem o~ th~ pre3ent invention. The t~l~vision viewer does no~ need ~o punch k~yboards, wear headse~, keep log~ or enqage in any act~vlty other th~n turning on thR tele~l~i~n 3~t and watching the program~ in the no~mal and conventlonal mann~r. The moni~orlng system o~ thi~
i~vention provi~e~ far ~ore r~liable in~orm~t~on than previou6 6ystRms b~au~e of the ab~enc2 oP any r~qui~e-ment of acti~ity, speqial e~uipme~t u~e or ~ecord :-keeplng on the par~ o~ the telev~lon vi~wer~

Ano~her a~van~a~e of the pre~en~ lnvention i4 that the in~ormation provl~ed by the apparatu~ ~nd metho~ o~ ~he pre~ent invention i~ ao~urat~, meaning-~ul, detalled, dlverse and aompl~t~ pecially when ao~pared ~o ln~ormatlon p~ dad by prior ~y~tem~. ~h~
~ran~mit~er and re~elver of ~h~ monitor o~ the pre~nt inventlon may be op~r~ted ~ontlnuou~ly to con~an~ly moni~or ~he per~ons wa~ohln~ ~h~ program whiah ha~ been selectQd by ~he chann~l selector on the televiæ~on as~.
By aontlnuou~ly mon~oring the ~iawing area, ~he monitor of t~e pre~en~ lnv~ntion can determine t~
number o~ per~on~ ac~ually wat~h~ng the program ~t ~ny given tlm~. In a~ition, ~he monitor, in aomblnatlon w~th ~lock means, can pr ~isely de~ermine how mu~h t~m~
and at what in~e~val~ ea h per~on 1~ actually looking at the telev~sion set. In ~hi re~ard, predetermlned ~tand~rds can be applied ~or particular program~ to dete~mlne how ~uoh ~iewing time and at what ~nterval ~ a p~rson i~ lvoly viewing ~ ~levi3ion program or is engaged in ~ome other ~ativity wi~hout actually wa~hing ~he program. ~y recording the ~iewing ~ime and intervals of viewing, th~ monitor ~ ~h~ pre~en~
inventlon aan de~ermine ~he level o~ in~r~st ~n the pro~ram and/or wha~ portlon of the progr~m w~ actually vlewed by a partiaular ~lew~r.

Another advantage o ~he monitor v~ the pre~ent invention is that ~he reoeiv~r can be designQd ~o in~e~pret slgnals which are re~leated ~rom the retina, iri~ and/or ~he cornea of the viewer'~ ~yes or any aombination t~ereof and the xefle~ted signal ~nalyzQd to dete~mine ~he ~nique ohar~c~r~etio~ o~ t~
refleo~ed ~ignal ~rom ea~h in~ividual to thereby "f~n~erprint~' eaoh individual~ Th~ true whether the re~elver i~ de~Lgned to d~tect rQ~lec~ed ~3nblellt light, re~lected li~ht emitted by the t~le~ ion ~rQ~n or a r~fleoted ~ignal whic~ psci~iaally transmitte~
f~r re~le~tion and dete¢tion 3~y the receiv~r. ~hs receiver de~ermining mean~ ~nd m~mory in aombinatinn with the aomputer ~an con~inually txack e~ch indivi~ual to determlne tha vl~wing acti~iti~ cP ~a~h : ~:
individual. ~n a pre~erred embod~m~n~, it may ~e dQ~lra~le tha~ each individual in the hoU~ehold be `~
"~ingerprinted" ~nd iden~i~ied ~o~ ~he m~nit~r'~ memo~y when the moni~or i8 inatalled in ~he hou~e}lold~ ~u~h identity can ~ e~tabli~hed by havlng e~h individual ~
in ~urn, monitored ~y the monitor ~ kh~ invention ~or ~5 an inltial period o$ time t~ ~tab~i~h the uniqu~

- 1 ~3~3~

oharacterl~tic~ of ~h~ r*fle~ d ~lgnal~ from that ind~vidual'~ eye~, including ~ye coordinate~, i.a., the di~tanoe between the eye~, and other characteri~ti~.
Then th~ individ~l can bs idenki~i~d by dig~ l or ~syboard inpUt in~o the co~put~r and/~r memory, whi#h l~en~ification can inoluda inform~tion d~ired by ~h~
organizat~on c~ndu~ting the mar~eting in~orma~lon ~u~vey; for ~xample, the viewer~ may b~ ldenti~ied by number or name and/or can ~e l~en~lfie~ by age, ~x, lo househol~ ~tat.u~, educatlon~l levell eta, ~ n addition to the above advantage~, add~t~onal Advant~ges aan b~ realized by ~pe~ o in~ormatlon monit~ri~g~ For example, by preci~ alo~k ~lm~
corr~latlon, the mon~tor device o~ invention can determine whioh per~on. and how many per~on~ view a commeroial or Any partlcul~r s~gment of a broadaast on ~y particular channel. In thi~ way, broadcast ne~works or cabl~ ne~work~ a~n mon~tor an~ determine the vlewership o~ t~eir program~, aommex~ials, speaial announcement~, news progr~m~, ~r any o~her ~pe~i1~
sQgment o~ their broadca~ ~o~ which it i~ important to ~now the degxee and levsl Rt whish the viewer~ :
actu~lly view that part o~ th~ broadaa~ programming.
~5 ~ n addl~lon, ~he monitor of ~ present invention, by moni~orlng ~he actual eye po~itions ~nd eye charaateri~a~ o~ ~ach indi~ldual viewer can al~o determine additional informa~iol w~ioh ~ay b~ o~
intRrest ~o th~ broadca3t aompanie~ or ad~erti~er~.
For example, chan~es in bllnk rate o~ eaoh individ~lal ~n be moni~oxea, al~ng with t~e cha"~e~ in pupil di~ation, which can be u~e~ a biot~edba~ varia~les to :~
indicate t~e vlawer's degree o~ ~nte~st in and 3~3S8 emotional re~pon~e to a par~icular ~egment of the broAdca~t progr~mmin~

Ann~er ad~ntage which i apparent from he pr~sent ln~en~lon i~ that with the ba~ic har~war~
aomponent~ in place in the devica for recei~ng refleoted light from the vi~w~r~ eye~, or ~or transmittlng the appropriate ~lqnal, recei~i~g ~h~
refleoted ~ignals and ~Ganning ~h~ viewln~ area, tha device can incorpor~te comput~r and me~ory hardware o~
appropriate ~lze to ~nable in tallation o~ ~f~w~e to control and provi~e any degree o~ aophi~tication of and detail of the mon~toring de~ire~. In this way, th~
device can ~e oon~roll~d so that it ~unction~ to reaord and discriminate among any or all of th~ data which can be aolle~ted ~y ~h~ dev~aa of the pre~ent ~nvention as outlined abova. ~hrou~h th~ :
comput~r/controller, th~ memory ~nd mod~m co~bln~tion in the devicR of the preseht invention, ~he accumu-lated information and data can then be acce~ed l~medlat~ly by a phone line by a central o~ or oompu~er or can ~e ac~umulated over a peri~d o~ ti~ne and ~cce~ed pe~l~dically by ~he o~ntral o~ioe or computer.
~5 Slnce the monl~or devia~ of ~he present lnven~lon re9uires no unu~ual action on the part o~ th~
~lewer, ~uch as re~oxd keepin~ or wearing a hea~oet, i~
i~ ~elieved tha~ the action~ of the ~lewer will b~
re~lectQd a~ ~orR natu~al, and the data w~ll be ~re :~
rella~le than when the vlew~rs are ~eguired to actively keep lo~, wear equipmen~ or ~yp~ Xeybo~d rQ~pon8e6 in order to a~¢umula~e th~ ~e~lred data.

i ~ r ~~ 133(~36~3 I~ w~ll b2 re~o~nized that thr~ugh th~
t~chnology of high ~p~ed ~aann~ng, multiple ~ignal tran6mitters and reoeivex~ and mult~plextn~ o~ ~gn~
the moni~or of ~he pre~ent invention can ~ de~i~ned and programmed ~o continually ~can the entire televi3ion viewin~ area ~or any numbex o~ individual~.

It wlll ~a rRcognized by ~ho~a ~kill~d in the art that ~he teohnology ~or detectlng eye movement, eye po~it1on and dete~tion o~ ~ye con~ition~ such a~
blinking And pupil dilati~n i8 kn~wn in ar~ unrelate~ .
to television vlewer monitor~n~. ~or example, ~ee U.S~
3 / 507 ~ ~8 to ~lolmes; U S . 3 ~ 712 ~ 71~ to cornBw~et et a1.; U.S. ~986~030 to Tel~sGher; u.~, 4,034,401 to Mann; U.s. 4,075,657 ~o ~lnblatt et al.: U.SJ
4,146,311 t~ M~rr; and U.~. 4,582,~03 and 4,~23,230 ~o welnblatt.

In the present lnven~lon signal~ w~lah can b~
used ~or ~eflections ~rom the eye lnclud~ ambient light, light emit~ed ~rom the t~levi~lon ~creen or transmlt~ed 6i~nals -~uch a~ l~yht, pre~erably not in thQ ~ibl~ ran~e ~uah ~ in~rared; low power VV or IR
laser~ whiah do no~ 8tr~ S or da~ge the Qy microwaves, ~iuoh a~ u~ed Por motion ~ietector~; ~oun~
~uoh a~i ul~ra~onic~ or aom~in~tlon~ thereof~ Ambient llghti, light eml~ted ~y ~he ti~leviEiion ~ar~n and ~ .
~ipecifla~lly ~ran~m~tted~ ht and las~r ni~nal~
generally be pre~erred becau~e tbie~ can ops~te th~ou~h ey~gla~ises and give ~he d~sir~d reflqoted signal~i for detection. ~ho ~ nal or Rl~n~li usQd ~n be adapt~d ~or refle~lon ~rom th~ r~tina, ~ri~, or corn~a o~ the eye or any aomblnation thereof in ~rder ~o pr~ide ~he desired refl~t~d Bignal~ f~r ' L' I I ; ~ L. I ~' ~

-- ~33~3S8 determining eye po~ition, ~ k~, pupil dllation, an~
th~ like.

The slgn~l~ re~lected ~rom ea~h ~i~w~r'0 eye~
can be analyz~d to d~te~mine the ali~nment o~ the ~yes and compare t~a~ information with pr~determin~d standa~ds indi~atin~ whe~h~r the vle~r i~ ~atu~lly vlewing ~h~ tele~i~ion or looXing a~ o~her objec~.
The rerlected ~gnal~ ~an al~o ~ mea~ured to ~eterm~ ne and reaor~ ~he loca~ion ~ ~h~ viewer at variou6 tlm~
in ~he vlewinq ar~a, whi~h may in ~urn b~ u~ed in part to de~ermlne or veri~y the data indi~ating condition~
mo6~ con~istent with a~tual ~ieWing o~ the ~el~vi~ion.
In addl~lon, the refle~ed ~i~nal~ aa~ b~ used to measur~ and reoord th~ ~oordinates o~ the ~ieWer~ ~-eye~, which can aid in lndivi~ual iden~lty o~ sa~h ~iewer and/or the head positlon o~ ~ach ~iewer which ~ ;
may also b~ used ~o d~termlne or v~rify data indiaatiny condltion~ consi tan~ wi~h a~tually viewing the televi~ion.

ln another a~p~t, thlB inv~ntion aompr~
appar~tus, meth~ds and ~y~tem~ for monitoring ~he a~ual vlewlng o~ b~oa~a~t and ~ble tele~l~ion ~ ~
pr~ramming, ~hen vlewed by lndivldual~ through "ti~e ~ :
shift" xe~ording on video x~orders, ~uah a~ vldeo cas~ette rea~rder~ ~VCR I 3) It h~s b~come a ~ommon praotice, du~ to work #~hadules and soclal ~¢hedule~, to program ~im~r~ on ~CRI~ to re~ord pro~ram~ when tho viewer i~ no~ available, and then th~ viewex wa~ch~s `~
the recorded program at ~he viewer'~ conv~nienc~. Thl~
I~ime ~h$~t~ tel~vision vlew~n~ i6 0~ aOn~ld~rAble ln~er~ o the p~ogramm~r~ o~ broadca~t and cab~
teleYi~ion network~. In parti~ular, the programmer~ .
and ~h~ir adve~tisi~g ~pon~or~ are particularly - ~7 - :

~33~3~8 interest~d in the deqree t~ which the t~leYi~ion viewer~ u~ t~m~ s~i~t VCR vi~wing to skip o~er or ~t ~orwar~ through a~mmercial me~a~

~he ~evlc.~ o~ the pr~sen~ lnvention provi~
mean~ for moni~orlng the televi~ion v~ewe~ ~v~n on ~CR
time ~hi~t program viewing ~nd ob~ainln~ and a~embling inrorma~ion regardin~ ~he vieWing habit~ v~ time ~hlf~
viewers. ~n t~is a~peat, the inven~on prov~des ~
devic~ adap~ed for b~lng pla~ed in ~ombination with the televi~ion and a VCR as ~own in FI~. 3. In FIG. 3, monitor device 40, which has ~h~ 3ame interconneat means with the televl~ion 42 a~ ~hown in ~IGS. 1 and 2, n~mely, a power inpu~ mean~ 44, mean~ 4~ ~rom th~
kelevi~lon ~o the monltor to ind~cate when th~
television i~ on and to ao~ivat3 the monitor, and mæan~
48, whereby the ~ignal ifi transmitted from ~he televls~on tuner to the monitor to indic~te which channel ~he tele~i~ion i~ tuned to w~en the t~lc~ision ::
20 i3 ln ope~ati~n. In addition to ~onitor 40, it can also include communication maans 4g, such a~ a ~d~m and phone lino to the ~entral offi~e or c~n~ral ~omput~r 29, by whi~h ~he informakion and data .
aaaumula~ed in and ~tor6d in ~he monltor 40 ~an bs ret~iev~d upon demand from ~ho central o~ic~ or oentral ~omputQr 29.

Monitor mean~ 40 al~o oont~ins an appropriate ' :
mean~, ~uoh a~ ~he mean~ dcscribad abovs~ for d~tectin~
re~laa~ion~ or energy ~1 eman~lng from ~he ey~s o~ ~he viewer 2~ or mean~ ~or trah~mittin~ ~ 6i~nal 18 and raaelving ~he ~lgnal 11 re~lea~ed ~rom ~he e~ of ~h~ l:
vi~wsr ~or determ~nlng the presen~e o~ a vi2wer ~n th~
tele~i6ion vi~wing ar~a w~en ~h~ t~levi~lon and t~e ~DsociatRd monitor is in opera~ion. As illu~trated in LIL:~ I I I ii= i I I ~' I ~ii ~

-- ~ 33~3~8 Figure 3 th~ monitor can be de~igned to contain receiving and det~ction means ~or detection of r~lected am~ient light or reflec~d light ~rom the television 3creen or ~or ~eteotin~ a ~peci~ically tran~mit~ed sig~al or light tran~mi~ted by ~he monitor or a dQvice a~ociated w~h a moni~or. It ~hould be notad that in thi~ regard, the m~an~ for d~teating and d~termlning the presenoe og telev~ n viewer~ can be conven~ional mean~, ~ut i~ 18 preferred that ~he above ::
me~ns Sor reflecting ~ignale ~rom the ~ye~ o~ the viewers ~e u~ed ~or the most ac~urate and meaningful ~ -information.
:
FIG. 3 al~o ~hows the oonven~ional arrangemen~
o~ the antenna or cable means S0 conn~cted t~ V~R 52, ~ :
whl~h in turn iæ oonnecte~ by means S4 ~o ~elevi~lon 42, The monltox device of ~he pr~ent inventi~n also include& mean-~ 56 ~or transmi~tlng a ~ign~l into the VCR to be reeorded on ~he v~daotape recording of a program which is recorded from the antenna or cable input 50. ~hi~ predetermined ~ignal from mon~tor 40 lto VCR 52 vla mean~ 5~ i~ a ~ignell whic:h does no~
interfere with the audio or vi~ual portion of ~e r~corded p~o~ram, but is de~ able ~y the moni~or when the r~corded program i~ play~d ~or vi~win~ on ~V.
Thi~ predQtermined ~ignal from monltor 40 whl~h ha~
bee~ recorded on the videotape when the pro~ram i~ ¦~
recorded i~ doteated by moni~or 40 by msa~ S8, which allow~ the video 3ignal ~m ~CR 52 ~elng tran~mltted to televl~lon 42 by means 54 to be monito~e~ by monitor 40 by mean~ o~ lnpu~ 50 ~rom mean~ 58.

A~ ~an b~ soen, lf ~h~ predeterminad slgn~
tran~mltted by monitor 40 via ~ign~l mean~ 56 into V¢R
52 i~ ~imul~aneou~ly deteated ~rom mean~ 54 via mean~
- lg -- ,, ~3303~
58, ~he monitor can ea~ily determinQ t~at th2 program belng recelvad by ~he tel~vi~ion i~ ~ot ~rom a previou~ly recorded progr~m, and ln ~his mod~ the moni~or 40 will reoor~ the vlewing a~tiv$ti~s wi~h r~spect ~o th~ broad~a~t pro~rammlng ~eing wa~oh~d by the viewer, whi~h i8 deteotad through me~n~ ~8 ~rom the televislon to monitor 40. If the VC~ ~ on when the televislon iB on, in ~o~t case~ th~ channel reaelved ~rom mean3 50 ~rom the an~en~a or Pabls i8 ~onver~ed to a ~tandard channel and tran~mi~ted ~o televi~ion 42 on mean~ 54 on this stan~ard ch~nn~l. In thi~ ~ase, monitor 40 will need an additional lnput mean~ ¢o ~rom the VCR to the ~onitor to inform ~he monito~ wi~h re~pe~t to whe~her ~he VCR is o~ or o~ ~nd with ~5 respect to which inovming channel ~rom the antsnna or cable 50 is ac~ually being tr~nsmit~ed to the televi~
ion through means S4 and ~eing ~iewad by the ~iewer.

When a recorded program 16 being played on the VCR fo~ view~ng on the televl~on, the ~ignal fro~ ~h~
re~orded tape i~ transmlt~ed by mean3 54 to television 42. ~n this ~ase, input means 58 ~etween the V~
outpu~ and t~e monltor 40 will be detect~d by m~ni~or 40 a~ a prede~ermlned signal $rom a px3viously record~d program. The predetermined 3i~nal ~an be a periodic si~nal o~ t~m~ ~a~e and ~hann~l ~or ~he program whlch was prevlously recorded on khe VCR, In addltlon, the predetermined sign~1 ~an lnolud~ a timing mean~
determlne th~ prRcise se~m~nts ~nd por~ion~ ~f t~a prexecorded pro~ram whioh are ~ein~ vle~ed when ~h~
program 18 playe~ back on the V~R. In thl~ mode of opera~io~, the monltor 40 wlll then reaord the pre~naa o~ viewere ln ~he ~el~ ion viewlng are~, along w~4 the pxogram lnforma~ion for ~he preY1ou~ly re~orded 3~ pro~ram and will r~aord an~ analyze th~ aa~u~l viewing - ~0 -~:

:

11 ~3~8 of ~he previ~u~ly re~orde~ pr~gram when it iG play~d ba~k. By having the prede~ermined ~l~nal recorde~ on the vi~otape aon~aining ~he re~orded pro~ram, th~
mon~ tor can al~o determine, from the timing ~aan~
contalned in the pr~determin~d ~ignal r~corded on th~
tape, th~ ~xtent to whl~h the vlewer ~kip~ over or ~ast ~Qrward~ through portion of th~ program, pe~ial announcement~, comm~rcial m~ageB or other parts o the program whic~ the programm~r~ or ~ponsor~ wan~ to determine whe~her the vlawer~ actually watahed. ~he monitor means 40 in thi~ oper~tion mode ~an also re~ord th~ appropriate data to in~ioate the degree of tim~
shift, l.e., the ~mount o~ ~ime ~atween recordlng the live p~ogr~m on th~ V~R an~ th~ time at whioh th~
~elevision viewer~ actually watah tha r~orded program. In addltion, ~h~ monltor mean~ 40 aan ~l~o :~
determine ~rom previously recorded data i~ the recor;led ~:;
program i~ ~atched more than on~e, and lf the preferred view~r mon~tor~ng ~evice desoribed above with r~pe~t to transmi~ting and recel~lng sign~l~ r~fl~otad from the eye~ of ~h~ vlewere, the monitor de~ 0 aan ~l~o determine wha~her the seaond and ~u~s~quent ~iewing of the r~orded program i~ by the ~ame or di~ferent viewers.
:.
As ~xplained abov~ with re~eo~ to th~ o~her A~pects 0~ ~hi~ invention, t~i~ a~pect o~ ~he invention :
involvln~ th~ ~elevi~ion-~CR co~bination bein~
~onitore~ ~y ~he monitoring devlce o~ ~his in~ention, the hardware oan be de~lgned and in~talled so th~ ths ~ystem can be ~ntrolle~ and driven by the ~o~tware tn3talleq in the hardware~ The ~o~tw~re can then provide rOr any degrRe o~ ~uphi~tioation o~ dat~ an~
lnforma~ion de~irQd and in any dRtail whioh is de~ed.

~33~
It ~ l be appre¢ l a~ed by t~o~;e ~killed in t:hR
art ~hat ~he p~an~ invention oan 1: a am~di~d in vther speciflo ~orm~ wlthout dsp~rting ~ro~ thQ 8pi~t; or essential c:har~terl~tics her~of. Th~ pre~e~tly di~cl06Rd e~odim~nt; are therefore s:on~d~r~d in all respE~c~s to be illu~t:rative ~J~d not re~trictive. ~he s~ope o~ the present lnven~on i~ ~ndicated by the appended claim~ rather ~han the ~or~agoiny desaription o~ em~odiment~, and all ohange~ th~ come wtthin the meaning and range of equivalent3~ thereof are in~cnd~d to b~ embra~ed wlthin ~he ~oopQ of the pre~en'& ``
~nvent~ on. For ex~mpls, ~c~m~ a~peot~ o~ thl~
in~Jention are def ined in ~erm~ o~ "videot~p~", "VCP~"
and/or "vid~ao reac~rding mean~. " It is ~o be ol~arly unde~l3tood th~t in the descriptlorl of thi~ invention and in th~ ~ppended olaim~ ch t~rm~ ~;hall inolud~ e-~uivalent mean~; thereo~, includin~ any reoording me~ns ~hat i8 optical, magnetic, thermal, ~tc~., or tl~t i~ on aa~et~e tape, reel-to-reel t~pe, hard di~ loppy ai~k, digital memory, e~c., ~o long a~ ~he pr~de~r-lnined 6ign~1 from the monitor c:an t:~e recordo~ along with ~he vi~eo program ~nd u~d a~ desor~bed her~

i"~'' :~

- 22 - -~:;

Claims (18)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:-

1. Apparatus for monitoring television viewing acts of an individual, wherein the television comprises a television-video recording means combination which comprises:
a monitor comprising means for collecting and storing data and means for placing a predetermined signal on a video recording when the video recording means is recording a television program;
means for detecting whether there is at least one person in the viewing area of the television when the television is operating and for transmitting that data to the monitor; and means for determining whether the program on the television is:
(a) from a broadcast channel and for transmitting the channel information to the monitor; or (b) from the video recording previously recorded by the video recording means and for transmitting to the monitor the information from the predetermined signal placed on the video recording by the monitor when the program was recorded.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the detection means comprises means for determining the number of persons in the viewing area.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the means for detecting at least one person in the viewing area comprises means for detecting reflections from or energy radiating from the eyes of a person in the viewing area of the television, and means for determining whether the detected reflections or radiations satisfy predetermined criteria indicating that person is viewing the television.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 further comprising means for transmitting a signal into the viewing area of the television and the means for detecting includes means for detecting reflections of said transmitted signal.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 3 further comprising means for recording the time intervals or total times the individual is viewing the television.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 5 further comprising means for recording the identity of the television channel or television program and for correlating the intervals or total times the television is viewed by the individual with the program or parts thereof viewed by the individual.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6 further comprising means for detecting reflections of the signals from the eyes of a plurality of individuals in the viewing area of the television and means for determining whether each individual is viewing the television.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 6 further comprising means for communicating with remote central office computer for transmitting the recorded information to the remote computer wherein the communication means is capable of activation upon demand by the central office computer.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 6 further comprising means for detecting changes in the eyes blink rates or changes in pupil dilation of each individual and determining according to predetermined criteria the emotional responses thereby indicated for each individual resulting from viewing the particular program.

10. A method for monitoring the television viewing acts of an individual using a television-video recording means combination which comprises:
placing a predetermined signal on a video recording when the video recording means is recording a television program;
detecting whether there is at least one person in the viewing area of the television when the television is operating; and determining whether the program on the television is (a) from a broadcast channel or (b) from the video recording means by detecting the information from the predetermined signal placed on the video recording when the program was recorded.

11. A method according to Claim 10 comprising detecting the number of persons in the viewing area.

12. A method according to Claim 10 wherein the persons in the viewing area are detected by detecting reflections from or energy radiating from the eyes of a person in the viewing area of the television, and determining whether the detected reflections or radiations satisfy predetermined criteria indicating that person is viewing the television.

13. A method according to claim 12 which further comprises transmitting a signal into the viewing area and detecting reflections of the transmitted signal.

14. A method according to Claim 12 comprising recording the time intervals and total times that the individual is viewing the television.

15. A method according to Claim 14 comprising recording the identity of the channel or program and correlating the time intervals and total times with the programs or parts thereof viewed by the individual. 25

16. A method according to Claim 15 comprising carrying out said recording and correlating activities for a plurality of individuals.

17. A method according to Claim 15 comprising transmitting the recorded and correlated information to a central computer.

18. A method according to Claim 15 comprising detecting the change in eye blink rate or changes in pupil dilation and determining therefrom the changes in emotional response of the individual resulting from the program being viewed by the individual.