KR20220074948A - Local, isolated, and hybrid implementations of connected radios - Google Patents

Abstract

The radio receiver includes a radio frequency (RF) receiver circuit for receiving a radio broadcast signal, an Internet network interface, a display, memory, processing circuitry, and a client application including instructions for execution by the processing circuitry. The client application determines geographic location information of the radio receiver; determine radio stations available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information; select metadata associated with a radio broadcast available to the radio receiver from the metadata stored in the memory; and present information included in the selected metadata using the display according to the received radio broadcast signal.

Description

Local, isolated, and hybrid implementations of connected radios

The techniques described in this patent document relate to systems and methods for providing supplemental data (eg, metadata) associated with over-the-air radio broadcast signals.

Over-the-air radio broadcast signals are used to convey various programming content (eg, audio, etc.) to a radio receiver system. Such over-the-air radio broadcast signals may include conventional AM (amplitude modulation) and FM (frequency modulation) analog broadcast signals, digital radio broadcast signals, hybrid signals including both analog broadcast signals and digital broadcast signals, or other broadcast signals. have. Service data including multimedia programming may be included with the radio broadcast. Broadcasting of service data may be contracted by the company to include multimedia content associated with the main or main radio program content.

Another approach for providing service data is to combine over-the-air (OTA) broadcast radio information with Internet Protocol (IP) delivered content to provide an improved user experience. An example of this type of radio service is the ^{DTS® Connected} Radio ^™ service, which combines over-the-air analog/digital AM/FM radio with IP delivery content. Combined OTA and IP radio services receive radio broadcast audio and then pair with IP-delivered content (such as artist information and song titles, logos, slogans, over-the-air program information, and station contact information obtained directly from radio stations) and the vehicle's displayed on the radio receiver. The car's radio receiver integrates data from Internet services with broadcast audio to create a rich media experience. However, there may be instances where access to the Internet is not available for the vehicle.

This summary is provided to introduce in a simplified form a carefully selected concept that is further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In general, when access to the Internet is not available to a radio receiver for a full connected radio service, embodiments of a local, isolated or hybrid implementation of a connected radio provide geographic location information determined by the receiver. is used to determine the radio stations available to the radio receiver. Instead of a radio receiver receiving metadata about a broadcast through an Internet connection, the radio receiver analyzes and selects metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver to provide a tuned radio broadcast. The metadata is associated with a radio broadcast that has been determined to be usable by a radio receiver. Although the experience is less featureful than that provided by a persistently connected radio service, the connected radio experience can still be provided to the user.

It should be noted that alternative embodiments are possible, and that the steps and elements discussed herein may be changed, added, or removed, depending on the particular embodiment. These alternative embodiments include alternative steps and alternative elements that may be used, and structural changes that may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In drawings that are not necessarily drawn to scale, like reference numbers may refer to like components in different drawings. Similar numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings generally illustrate various embodiments discussed herein, by way of example and not limitation.
1 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of operating a radio receiver to receive over-the-air radio broadcasts and Internet Protocol delivered content;
2 is a block diagram of a portion of an example of a radio receiver;
3 is a block diagram of a portion of another example of a radio receiver or head unit.

In the following description of an embodiment of a metadata distribution system, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. These figures illustrate, by way of illustration, specific examples of how embodiments of a metadata distribution system may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Over-the-air radio broadcast signals are commonly used to convey various programming content (eg, audio, etc.) to a radio receiver system. Main program service (MPS) data and supplemental program service (SPS) data may be provided to the radio broadcast receiver system. Metadata associated with programming content may be delivered in MPS data or SPS data through an over-the-air radio broadcast signal. The metadata may be included in a subcarrier of the main radio signal. In IBOC radio, a radio broadcast can be a hybrid radio signal that can include streamed analog broadcasts and digital audio broadcasts. The subcarrier of the main channel broadcast may include, for example, digital information such as text or numeric information, and metadata may be included in the digital information of the subcarrier. Accordingly, hybrid over-the-air radio broadcasts may include analog audio broadcasts, digital audio broadcasts, and other textual and numeric digital information such as metadata streamed along with over-the-air broadcasts, for example. The programming content is a DAB standard, a digital radio mondiale (DRM) standard, a radio data system (RDS) protocol, a radio broadcast data system (RBDS) protocol, or high definition (high definition). definition; HD) may be broadcast according to the IBOC radio protocol.

Metadata may include both “static” metadata and “dynamic” metadata. Static metadata changes infrequently or does not change. Static metadata includes the radio station's call sign, name, logo (eg, higher or lower logo resolution), slogan, station format, station genre, language, webpage uniform resource locator (URL). ), URLs for social media (eg, Facebook, Twitter), phone numbers, short message service (SMS) numbers, SMS short codes, program identification (PI) codes, country, or other information.

Dynamic metadata changes relatively frequently. Dynamic metadata may include song names, artist names, album names, album images, artist images (eg, related to the content currently playing in the broadcast), advertisements, enhanced advertisements (eg titles, taglines, images, phone numbers, SMS number, URL, search term), program schedule (image, time zone, title, artist name, DJ name, phone number, URL), over-the-air program information, broadcasting station contact information, service following data, or other information You may. When the radio receiver system is receiving an over-the-air radio broadcast signal from a particular radio station, the receiver system may receive both static metadata and dynamic metadata.

As previously described herein, combining OTA radio broadcasts with Internet Protocol (IP) delivered content is another approach for providing service data to radio receivers. Combining over-the-air analog/digital AM/FM radio with IP delivery content provides an enhanced user experience. The combined OTA-IP radio service receives dynamic metadata directly from the local radio broadcaster, then is retrieved by the radio receiver via IP, paired with the broadcast content and displayed in the vehicle.

The car's radio receiver integrates data from Internet services with broadcast audio to create a rich media experience. A preferred implementation of the combined OTA-IP radio service is one that provides full features over an active Internet connection along with data based on the current geographic location of the radio receiver. A client application program or "client" running on an Internet-connected radio receiver transmits location information (eg, GPS coordinates) to an Internet service via an Internet connection, which service consists of AM, FM, HD radio and DAB radio broadcasts. Mathematical and geospatial functions may be performed on large data sets to determine metadata (eg, dynamic metadata) available to radio receivers tuned to radio broadcasts. Based on the location information from the radio receiver, the Internet service returns metadata related to available radio broadcasts to the radio receiver. Data sets of radio broadcasts show that broadcasters change their radio transmitters, type of radio transmission, put new radio stations on the air, take other radio stations off the air, and brand existing radio stations. It changes frequently as it changes. The data set used by the combined OTA-IP radio service can be continuously updated with current data so that the radio receiver can access up-to-date information and up-to-date metadata.

However, there may be situations in which access to the Internet is not available to the in-vehicle radio receiver or the client of the radio receiver cannot transmit its location to the Internet service. For this situation, it may be desirable to implement an isolated OTA-IP radio service, a local OTA-IP radio service, or a hybrid of an isolated OTA-IP radio service and a local OTA-IP radio service at the radio receiver. This version of the combined OTA-IP radio service provides a subset of the services available from the full feature implementation of the combined OTA-IP radio service. These versions may be substandard compared to the full implementation, but provide combined OTA-IP radio services within the scope of the available functions or regulatory constraints imposed on the radio receiver.

1 is a flowchart of a method of operating a radio receiver to receive OTA radio broadcast and IP delivered content. Method 100 may be performed by a client executed by processing circuitry of a radio receiver. The client of the radio receiver may perform this method if an internet connection is not available to the radio receiver or if the radio receiver is unable to transmit location information (eg, due to regulatory constraints or user options). The radio receiver includes a memory for storing metadata for radio broadcasting. Metadata may include both static metadata and dynamic metadata, but metadata may be a subset of what may be provided by an Internet service.

At 105 , geographic location information of the radio receiver is determined. For example, the radio receiver may include a GPS receiver and the geographic location information may include GPS coordinates. At 110 , the radio receiver (instead of the Internet service) uses the location information to determine radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver and stored metadata associated with the radio broadcast. In certain embodiments, radio broadcasts and selected metadata may be associated with all radio broadcasts available in the country in which the radio receiver is located, or in a specific, smaller region of the world in which the radio receiver is located. In a variant, the radio broadcast and selected metadata may be associated with radio broadcasts available for the continent in which the radio receiver is located, or may be associated with radio broadcasts available worldwide.

At 115 , the client selects metadata according to one or both of location information and tuning of the radio receiver to select metadata from metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver. This is effectively the same Internet service provided by the full feature Internet connected version, but this service is implemented locally at the radio receiver without the need for an active Internet connection. At 120, the information contained in the selected metadata is displayed to the user according to the tuning of the radio receiver.

2 is a block diagram of portions of an example of a radio receiver that receives OTA radio broadcast and IP delivered content; In certain variations, the radio receiver is a DTS Connected Radio receiver. The radio receiver 200 may be a radio receiver of a vehicle. The radio receiver 200 includes a wireless Internet network interface 240 for receiving metadata through wireless IP and other components for receiving an over-the-air radio broadcast signal. Internet network interface 240 and receiver controller 230 may be collectively referred to as a wireless Internet protocol hardware communication module of a radio receiver.

The radio receiver 200 includes a radio frequency (RF) receiver circuit that includes a tuner 256 having an input 252 connected to an antenna 254 . Antenna 254 , tuner 256 , and baseband processor 251 may be collectively referred to as an over-the-air radio broadcast hardware communication module of a radio receiver. The RF circuitry is configured to receive an audio broadcast signal comprising a digital audio file.

Within the baseband processor 251, the intermediate frequency signal 257 from the tuner 256 is converted to an analog-to-digital converter and digital Down converter 258 is provided. Signal samples are complex in that each sample contains a "real" component and an "imaginary" component. Analog demodulator 262 demodulates the analog modulated portion of the baseband signal to generate an analog audio signal on line 264 . The digitally modulated portion of the sampled baseband signal is an isolation filter 266 having a passband frequency response comprising a collective set of subcarriers f ₁ -f _n present in the received OFDM signal. filtered by A first adjacent canceller (FAC) 268 suppresses the effect of a first adjacent interferer. Complex signal 269 is routed to an input of acquisition module 270, which acquires module 270 receives OFDM symbol timing offset/error and carrier frequency offset/error from the received OFDM symbol as shown in received complex signal 269 . Acquire or recover errors. Acquisition module 270 generates state and control information, as well as a symbol timing offset Δt and a carrier frequency offset Δf. This signal is then demodulated (block 272) to demodulate the digitally modulated portion of the baseband signal. The digital signal is deinterleaved by a de-interleaver 274 and decoded by a Viterbi decoder 276 . A service demultiplexer 278 separates the main and supplemental program signals from the data signals. The supplemental program signal may include a digital audio file received in the IBOC DAB radio broadcast signal.

Audio processor 280 processes the received signal to generate an audio signal on line 282 and MPSD/SPSD 281 . In an embodiment, the analog and main digital audio signals are mixed as shown at block 284 , or a supplemental program signal is passed through to produce the audio output on line 286 . Data processor 288 processes the received data signal and generates data output signals on lines 290 , 292 and 294 . Data lines 290, 292 and 294 may be multiplexed together onto an appropriate bus such as I ² c, SPI, UART or USB. The data signal may include, for example, data representing metadata to be rendered at a radio receiver.

The wireless Internet network interface may be managed by the receiver controller 230 . As illustrated in FIG. 2 , internet network interface 240 and receiver controller 230 are operatively coupled over line 242 , and data transmitted between internet network interface 240 and receiver controller 230 . is transmitted over this line 242 . Selector 220 may be connected to receiver controller 230 via line 236 for selecting particular data to be received from Internet network interface 240 . The data may include metadata (eg, text, images, video, etc.) and may be rendered substantially concurrent with rendering of primary or auxiliary programming content received over the air in an IBOC DAB radio signal.

The receiver controller 230 receives and processes the data signal. Receiver controller 230 may include a microcontroller operatively coupled to user interface 232 and memory 234 . The microcontroller may be an 8-bit RISC microprocessor, an advanced RISC machine 32-bit microprocessor, or any other suitable microprocessor or microcontroller. Additionally, some or all of the functionality of receiver controller 230 may be performed in a baseband processor (eg, audio processor 280 and/or data processor 288 ). User interface 232 may include, for example, an input/output (I/O) processor that controls a display, which may be any suitable visual display, such as an LCD display or an LED display. In certain embodiments, user interface 232 may also control user input components via a touchscreen display. In certain embodiments, user interface 232 may also control user input from a keyboard, dial, knob, or other suitable input. Memory 234 may include any suitable data storage medium, such as, for example, RAM, flash ROM (eg, SD memory card), and/or a hard disk drive. The radio receiver 200 may also include a GPS receiver 296 for receiving GPS coordinates.

The processing circuitry of the receiver controller 230 is configured to execute instructions included in the client 246 installed in the radio receiver. The client 246 determines the geographic location of the radio receiver, for example, by using the GPS receiver 296 . Using the geographic location, the client 246 determines which radio stations are available to the radio receiver. Client 246 may perform the same mathematical and spatial functions on local data sets that Internet services perform on the entire data set. For example, client 246 may perform an R-tree calculation or similar calculation on a local data set to determine radio broadcasts available to a radio receiver.

The client selects metadata from a data set stored in memory associated with a radio broadcast available to a radio receiver for presentation to a user using display 244 . The metadata may be selected from static metadata stored in memory. Image assets (eg, radio station logos) may be stored in memory and the client selects image assets to display according to available radio stations and tuning of the radio receiver.

As described above, the services implemented locally by the client 246 are substantially the same Internet services provided by the fully featured Internet-connected version, but operate on a smaller local data set stored in the memory 234 . The data set may be a baseline dataset delivered together with the radio service, and updates to the local data set may be performed periodically. In some embodiments, the client is configured to detect when access to the Internet network is available. The Internet network connection may be a home Internet network, an Internet network link provided by the user's smartphone, or a network accessible from a car service center. Client 246 initiates downloading of the updated metadata via the Internet network interface and stores the downloaded metadata in memory in response to detecting that access to the Internet network is available.

In a particular embodiment, the client initiates the download and storage of metadata over the Internet network interface in response to a prompt received at the radio receiver. In certain embodiments, the radio receiver includes a port (eg, a universal serial bus (USB) port, or other communication port) and the metadata is to be downloaded to memory 234 via the port when the vehicle is being serviced. can For this type of embodiment, the Internet network interface 240 may be a wired interface.

The client may send a query to the metadata service application via the internet interface in response to detecting that internet access is available. If the recipient is constrained from transmitting location information, the geographic location information may be excluded from the query. The local data set may be downloaded to the radio receiver according to an identifier or subscription identifier provided by the client to determine which data set to download to the radio receiver.

A radio receiver may receive dynamic metadata in response to queries that do not include location information and uses identifiers in the local data set for geographic locations. The identifier uniquely identifies every radio broadcast so that geographic location information can be inferred from the identifier. The radio receiver may present information contained in the received dynamic metadata and metadata from metadata stored locally in a memory of the radio receiver according to a received radio broadcast or tuning of the radio receiver. In addition to dynamic metadata, other content such as, for example, other static metadata and services may also be received in response to a query. This hybrid capability allows IP services to be matched with metadata in local data sets to approximate full feature functionality without requiring the radio receiver to transmit geolocation information.

In some embodiments, the reference data set is updated with new data in response to the client sending a request to the metadata service application when Internet access is detected. Only new information is transmitted to make the transmission bandwidth efficient. In an illustrative example, which is intended to be non-limiting, the request for update includes a timestamp (eg, 2018-11-01T13:35.30.813131+00:00) to identify the requested metadata and exclude geolocation information. may include The metadata service application will pass the data set containing only the necessary data additions and deletions after that timestamp and the receiver memory will have the current data. Image assets can be updated simultaneously. In some embodiments, the client 246 flags or otherwise identifies and provides to the user one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata is stored in the memory without update. Excludes expired metadata from metadata selected for

3 is a block diagram of a portion of another example of a radio receiver or head unit 300 . The head unit 300 includes a radio tuner circuit 356 for receiving a radio broadcast signal 304 , a display 344 and a memory. The memory may include any suitable data storage medium for storage of logos and other image data 334 and for storage of a radio broadcast database 335 that may store metadata for radio broadcasts. The head unit 300 also includes a wireless Internet network interface 340 for communication with the server 306 . Wireless Internet network interface 340 may communicate information using one or both of a WiFi network and a cellular phone network.

The server 306 includes an application program interface (API), and the head unit 300 includes an API client 346 that includes a data update service. The API client 346 may be executed by the processing circuitry of the head unit 300 . The processing circuitry may also perform a GPS lookup service 396 to determine geographic location information.

The API client 346 may control the operation of the radio receiver according to the method of FIG. 1 . The API client 346 may receive data of a specified type for a radio broadcast depending on the mode in which the wireless Internet interface 340 is operating. For example, the head unit 300 may periodically receive updates to the radio broadcast database using the detected WiFi network when the interface is in offline mode and does not communicate using the cellular network. The radio broadcast database 335 is updated with data received using the data update service of the API. This data may include metadata for a radio broadcast that can be displayed when the head unit is tuned to the broadcast even if the metadata is not received live during the broadcast.

In another example, the head unit 300 may perform or service live data queries when the interface is operating in a hybrid mode in which data may be received using one or both of a WiFi network or a cellular network. The live data may be used to display metadata associated with a live radio broadcast. In another example, the head unit 300 may receive logo data when the interface is operating in an offline mode or a hybrid mode.

API client 346 may perform a broadcast query using the GPS lookup service to determine available broadcasts. Metadata for broadcasting may be retrieved from the memory without the head unit 300 needing to transmit location information (eg, GPS information) to obtain the metadata. The metadata retrieval service is implemented locally in the head unit 300 without the need for an active connection to the cellular network of the Internet.

The described systems, devices and methods allow the radio receiver to emulate an internet-connected radio experience for a user even if the in-vehicle radio receiver does not have internet access or is barred from transmitting its location to internet services.

Alternative Embodiments and Exemplary Operating Environments

Example 1 includes a client application comprising radio frequency (RF) receiver circuitry configured to receive a radio broadcast signal, an Internet network interface, a display, memory, processing circuitry, and instructions for execution by the processing circuitry; It includes the subject matter (eg, a radio receiver). The client application determines geographic location information of the radio receiver; determine radio stations available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information; select metadata associated with a radio broadcast available to the radio receiver from the metadata stored in the memory; and present information included in the selected metadata using the display according to the received radio broadcast signal.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 is responsive to detecting when access to the internet network is available, initiating downloading of metadata via the internet network interface, and detecting that access to the internet network is available. and optionally a client application configured to store the downloaded metadata in memory.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 optionally, in response to a prompt received at the radio receiver, a client application configured to begin downloading metadata over the internet network interface and storing the downloaded metadata in a memory. include

In Example 4, the subject matter of one or both of Examples 2 or 3 provides a client application configured to initiate sending a query to a metadata service application via an internet interface in response to detecting that internet access is available. optionally including, the query requests metadata to be downloaded to the radio receiver and excludes geolocation information for the radio receiver.

In Example 5, in response to detecting that access to an Internet network is available, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 2-4, for updating metadata according to the determined geographic location information optionally comprising a client application configured to send a request to the metadata service application via the Internet interface, the request including a timestamp to identify the requested metadata and excluding geolocation information.

In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-5 or any combination of examples optionally includes a client application configured to perform an R-tree calculation to determine a radio broadcast available to a radio receiver.

In Example 7, the subject matter of one of Examples 1-6, or any combination of these examples, selectively selects a client application configured to select metadata from static metadata stored in a memory associated with a radio broadcast available to a radio receiver. include

In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-7 or any combination thereof flags one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata is stored in the memory and expires optionally comprising a client application configured to exclude the selected metadata from the selected metadata.

Example 9 includes, when performed by processing circuitry of a radio receiver, the processing circuitry comprising: determining geographic location information of the radio receiver; determining radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information; selecting metadata from metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver, the metadata associated with a radio broadcast available to the radio receiver; and presenting information included in selected metadata using a display in accordance with tuning of the radio receiver to cause instructions to be performed. (or may optionally be combined in one or any combination of Examples 1-8 to cover such claimed subject matter).

In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9 includes: causing processing circuitry to: detect when Internet access is available; and downloading metadata via an internet network interface of the radio receiver for storage in a memory of the radio receiver in response to detecting that internet access is available. media is optionally included.

In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 further comprises: causing the processing circuitry to: receive, at the receiver, a prompt to download metadata via an internet network interface of the radio receiver; and a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause operations to be performed, including downloading metadata via an Internet network interface for storage in memory in response to the prompt.

In Example 12, the subject matter of one or both of Examples 10 and 11 may further include causing the processing circuitry to: in response to detecting that Internet access is available, to transmit a query for updating the metadata according to the geographic location information. optionally comprising a computer readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause performing the operations comprising the operations, wherein the query includes a timestamp to identify metadata for the update and excludes location information of the radio receiver.

In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 10-12 or any combination of these examples further comprises: causing the processing circuitry to: in response to detecting that Internet access is available, store in the receiver's memory: and optionally a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for performing operations including downloading static metadata via a network interface.

In Example 14, the subject matter of any one or any combination of Examples 9-13, or any combination of these examples, further includes causing the processing circuitry to perform calculations on a data set local to a radio receiver to determine an available radio broadcast. It optionally includes a computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for performing operations including:

In Example 15, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 9-14 or any combination thereof causes the processing circuitry to cause the one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory to expire after a specified time after the metadata is stored in the memory. action to display; and a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions to perform operations including excluding metadata marked as expired from selected metadata.

Example 16 includes determining geographic location information of a radio receiver; determining radio stations available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information; sending a query to the metadata service application using the internet network interface of the radio receiver, wherein the query requests dynamic metadata for download to the radio receiver based on an identifier contained in data stored in the memory, and Excluding geographic location information -; selecting metadata from metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver, the metadata associated with the determined radio broadcast available to the radio receiver; subject matter (e.g., a method of controlling operation of a radio broadcast receiver) comprising presenting, using a display, information contained in the selected metadata and received dynamic metadata in a memory according to tuning of the radio receiver. or optionally combined with one or any combination of Examples 1-15.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 includes: detecting when access to an Internet network is available for a radio receiver; sending a query to the metadata service application in response to detecting that access is available; and storing the downloaded dynamic metadata in memory.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 optionally includes performing, by the radio receiver, a calculation on a data set local to the radio receiver to determine available radio broadcasts.

In Example 19, the subject matter of one or both of Examples 17 and 18 may further include: marking one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata was stored in the memory; and optionally excluding metadata marked as expired from the selected metadata.

In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 17-19, or any combination thereof, requests an update of the metadata according to the determined geographic location information in response to detecting that access to the Internet network is available. optionally sending a query to

These non-limiting examples may be combined in any permutation or combination. Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent from this document. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain operations, events, or functions of any of the methods and algorithms described herein may be performed in a different order and may be added, merged, or omitted entirely (as a result , not all described actions or events are required for the implementation of the methods and algorithms). Further, in certain embodiments, an action or event may be performed concurrently, rather than sequentially, for example, via multi-threaded processing, interrupt handling, or multiple processors or processor cores or on other parallel architectures. Also, different tasks or processes may be performed by different machines and computing systems that may function together.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, methods, and algorithm processes and sequences described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and process operations have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. The described functionality may be implemented in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of this document.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein include, for example, general-purpose processors, processing devices, computing devices having one or more processing devices, digital signal processors (DSPs), etc. , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or function described herein. may be implemented or performed by a machine such as any combination thereof designed to perform A general purpose processor and processing device may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be a controller, microcontroller, or state machine, a combination thereof, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, or any other of such configurations.

Embodiments of in-vehicle live guide generation systems and methods described herein operate within various types of general-purpose or special-purpose computing system environments or configurations. In general, a computing environment is a computer system based on one or more microprocessors, a mainframe computer, a digital signal processor, a portable computing device, a personal organizer, a device controller, a computational engine in an appliance, to name a few. engine), mobile phones, desktop computers, mobile computers, tablet computers, smart phones, and any type of computer system including but not limited to appliances having an embedded computer.

Such computing devices include personal computers, server computers, handheld computing devices, laptops or mobile computers, for example, communication devices such as mobile telephones and PDAs, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer It can typically be found in devices with at least some minimal computing power, including, but not limited to, electronics, network PCs, mini computers, mainframe computers, audio or video media players, and the like. In some embodiments, the computing device will include one or more processors. Each processor may be a specialized microprocessor, such as, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a very long instruction word (VLIW), or other microcontroller, or may be a specialized microprocessor of a multi-core CPU. It may be a conventional central processing unit (CPU) having one or more processing cores, including a graphics processing unit (GPU) based core.

A process action or operation of a method, process, or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in any combination of both. . A software module may be included in a computer-readable medium that can be accessed by a computing device. Computer-readable media includes both volatile and nonvolatile media that are removable, non-removable, or any combination thereof. Computer-readable media are used to store information, such as computer-readable or computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media.

Computer storage media include, for example, Blu-ray disc (BD), digital versatile disc (DVD), compact disc (CD), floppy disk, tape drive, hard drive, an optical drive, solid state memory device, RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, flash memory or other memory technology, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage device, or to store the desired information includes, but is not limited to, a computer or machine readable medium or storage device, such as any other device that may be used for and accessed by one or more computing devices.

A software module may include RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium known in the art. , media, or physical computer storage. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be molded integrally to the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may exist in the user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may exist as separate components in the user terminal.

The phrase "non-transitory" as used in this document means "lasting or long-lived." The phrase "non-transitory computer-readable medium" includes any and all computer-readable media except for transitory propagated signals. This includes, by way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media such as register memory, processor cache, and random-access memory (RAM).

The phrase “audio signal” is a signal representing a physical sound.

For example, preservation of information, such as computer-readable or computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, and the like, can be achieved using a variety of communication media, such as one or more modulated data signals, electromagnetic waves (eg, carrier waves), or other It may also be accomplished by encoding a transmission mechanism or communication protocol, and includes any wired or wireless information transfer mechanism. Generally, these communication media refer to a signal that has set or changed one or more of its characteristics in such a way that it encodes information or instructions in the signal. For example, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection carrying one or more modulated data signals, and acoustic for transmitting, receiving, or both one or more modulated data signals or electromagnetic waves; includes wireless media such as radio frequency (RF), infrared, laser, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of communication media.

Furthermore, one or any combination of software, programs, computer program products embodying some or all of the various embodiments of the in-vehicle live guide generation systems and methods described herein, or any combination thereof, , in the form of computer-executable instructions or other data structures, may be stored, received, transmitted, or read from a computer or machine-readable medium or any desired combination of storage devices and communication media.

Embodiments of in-vehicle live guide generation systems and methods described herein may be further described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computing device. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Embodiments described herein may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by one or more remote processing devices, or within a cloud of one or more devices that are connected through one or more communication networks. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local computer storage media and remote computer storage media including media storage devices. Still further, the instructions described above may be implemented in part or in whole as hardware logic circuitry, which may or may not include a processor.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, or understood otherwise within the context in which it is used, "can," "might," "may," among others, may)", "for example, and the like," conditional language as used herein means that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and/or states, while other embodiments do not. Thus, such conditional language is intended to convey that features, elements, and/or states are in some way required for one or more embodiments, or whether these features, elements, and/or states are included. It is not generally intended to imply that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for determining, with or without author input or prompting, whether it should be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used in an inclusive manner in an expandable form, and include additional elements, features, acts, operations, and etc. Also, the term "or" is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense), and consequently, when used to access a list of elements, for example, the term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

While the foregoing detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out novel features that apply to various embodiments, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the illustrated device or algorithm may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It will be understood that this can be done. As will be appreciated, certain embodiments of the invention described herein may be used or practiced separately from others, and therefore, within forms that do not provide all of the features and advantages described herein. can be materialized.

Claims (20)

In a radio receiver (radio receiver),
a radio frequency (RF) receiver circuit configured to receive a radio broadcast signal;
Internet network interface;
display;
Memory;
processing circuit; and
A client application comprising instructions for execution by the processing circuitry.
Including, the client application,
determine geographic location information of the radio receiver;
determine radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information;
selecting metadata associated with the radio broadcast available to the radio receiver from metadata stored in the memory;
to present information included in the selected metadata using the display according to the received radio broadcast signal;
A radio receiver comprising: According to claim 1, wherein the client application,
detect when access to the Internet network is available;
start downloading metadata through the Internet network interface;
store downloaded metadata in the memory in response to detecting that access to the Internet network is available;
A radio receiver comprising: 3. The method of claim 2,
wherein the client application is configured to start downloading metadata via the Internet network interface and storing the downloaded metadata in the memory in response to a prompt received at the radio receiver. . 3. The method of claim 2,
the client application is configured to, in response to detecting that the internet access is available, start sending a query to a metadata service application via the internet interface, the query being meta data to download to the radio receiver. requesting data and excluding the geolocation information for the radio receiver. 3. The method of claim 2,
the client application is configured to, in response to detecting that access to an internet network is available, send a request to a metadata service application via the internet interface for updating metadata according to the determined geographic location information; and the request includes a timestamp to identify the requested metadata and excludes the geographic location information. According to claim 1,
and the client application is configured to perform calculations on a data set local to the radio receiver to determine the radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver. According to claim 1,
and the client application is configured to select the metadata associated with the radio broadcast available to the radio receiver from static metadata stored in the memory. According to claim 1,
The client application flags one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata is stored in the memory and excludes the expired metadata from the selected metadata. and a radio receiver configured to do so. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when performed by processing circuitry of a radio receiver, cause the processing circuitry to perform acts, the operations comprising:
determining geographic location information of the radio receiver;
determining radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information;
selecting metadata associated with the radio broadcast usable in the radio receiver from metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver; and
Presenting information included in the selected metadata according to tuning of the radio receiver using a display
A computer-readable storage medium comprising a. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry comprises:
detecting when Internet access is available; and
downloading metadata via an internet network interface of the radio receiver for storage in the memory of the radio receiver in response to detecting that internet access is available
A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for performing operations comprising: 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry comprises:
receiving, at the receiver, a prompt to download the metadata through an Internet network interface of the radio receiver; and
downloading the metadata over the Internet network interface for storage in the memory in response to the prompt.
A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for performing operations comprising: 11. The method of claim 10,
instructions to cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising: in response to detecting that the Internet access is available, sending a query for an update of metadata according to the geographic location information; includes a timestamp for identifying metadata for the update and excludes location information of the radio receiver. 11. The method of claim 10,
cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising downloading static metadata via the Internet network interface of the radio receiver for storage in a memory of the receiver in response to detecting that the Internet access is available. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions to: 10. The method of claim 9,
and instructions for causing the processing circuit to perform operations including performing a calculation on a data set local to the radio receiver to determine the available radio broadcast. 10. The method of claim 9,
causing the processing circuitry to mark one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata was stored in the memory; and excluding metadata marked as expired from the selected metadata. A method of operating a radio broadcast receiver, comprising:
determining geographic location information of the radio receiver;
determining radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver using the geographic location information;
sending a query to a metadata service application using the Internet network interface of the radio receiver, the query requesting dynamic metadata for downloading to the radio receiver based on an identifier contained in the data stored in memory; exclude the geographic location information for the radio receiver;
selecting metadata associated with the determined radio broadcast available to the radio receiver from metadata stored in a memory of the radio receiver;
presenting, using a display, the received dynamic metadata in a memory and information contained in the selected metadata according to tuning of the radio receiver;
A method of operating a radio broadcast receiver comprising: 17. The method of claim 16,
detecting when access to an Internet network is available for the radio receiver;
sending the query to the metadata service application in response to detecting that the access is available; and
storing the downloaded dynamic metadata in the memory;
A method of operating a radio broadcast receiver comprising: 18. The method of claim 17,
wherein determining the radio broadcasts available to the radio receiver comprises performing, by the radio receiver, calculations on a data set local to the radio receiver to determine available radio broadcasts. How to operate a broadcast receiver. 18. The method of claim 17,
marking one or more portions of the metadata stored in the memory as expired after a specified time after the metadata was stored in the memory; and
excluding metadata marked as expired from the selected metadata;
A method of operating a radio broadcast receiver comprising: 18. The method of claim 17,
Sending the query includes sending a query requesting update of metadata according to the determined geographic location information in response to detecting that access to the Internet network is available, wherein the query includes: and including a timestamp for identifying the requested metadata and excluding the geographic location information.

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