WO2005008356A2

WO2005008356A2 - Survey and entertainment exhibition module

Info

Publication number: WO2005008356A2
Application number: PCT/BR2004/000126
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antonio Paulo Pessoa Faria
Original assignee: Antonio Paulo Pessoa Faria
Priority date: 2003-07-22
Filing date: 2004-07-21
Publication date: 2005-01-27
Also published as: BR0304903A; WO2005008356A3

Abstract

This invention makes entertainment programs available for each television spectator profile, which, when exhibited, are mixed with commercial spaces that are personalized according to the consumption profile of the television spectator. This is done following a commercial strategy defined by the Center over the Internet. A logic lock that does not allow erasure protects these commercials. The leisure provided is determined by a survey of preferences and tastes carried out by the Survey and entertainment Exhibition Module for the television spectator. The invention consists of a microcontroller (1) that controls: an Audio and Video Processor (2), an Intranet and Internet Digital Communicator (4), and a Digital Storage Device. It recognizes the television spectator’s profile through a Flash memory (Smart Card) (9). It also controls a Personal Recognition Device (10) that manages the identification of the Smart Card (9). In addition, it has a specific Physical Presence Sensor (11) and a Personal Survey Device (12) that processes voice or analog commands. The Microcontroller also coordinates the Sub-echoes (7), which permit the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module to provide the abovementioned services to all household members simultaneously. This Microcontroller also controls a TV signal Capturing System and an Energy Source (14) with a no-break device.

Description

DESCRIPTION SURVEY AND ENTERTAINMENT EXHIBITION MODULE The invention described herein is a digital device that contains other diverse digital and electronic devices within it, some from the public domain, others with reserve of title in legal effect or reserve of title requested, and others of our own invention; however, the grouping and internal sum total of these digital and electronic devices in the function that is proposed by the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module constitutes an innovative device that has ample commercial applications. At present, televised entertainment, such as public or private television sen/ices, provides its leisure time products through the distribution of programs and commercial space that is formatted in sequential hours. Televisions in use today receive these programs and commercial space through signals captured by antenna, produced by a television station, or through video feed by cable provided by a cable company. The programs provided come with the commercial space, which is mixed by the TV station at the time of the generation of the image so that the commercials meet a standard profile of a whole region. Commercials, customized to the individual preferences or tastes of individual television spectators, are not currently possible. Furthermore, the television spectators' domestic televisions do not serve simultaneously as a resource for surveys that can reveal individual preferences of each television spectator in a feedback process. With innovation as its objective, the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module equipment introduces a new form of relationship with the television spectator, thereby changing the commercial structures that support the television industry. Through the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module, the television spectator is monitored to determine his or her entertainment preferences. Because of the operational functions of the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module, the obligatory sequential schedules of programming and commercials cease to exist. Schedules can be received through a digital subscriber line (DSL), fiber optics, or broadband Internet. The program selections and commercial spaces received by the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module are adjusted to each individual television spectator's profile that is being monitored by the invention. The commercial spaces are inserted into the entertainment program on location, i.e. wherever the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module equipment is located; therefore, this equipment, being connected to the television or monitor, receives the programs and commercial spaces from a broadcasting station via the Internet, stores them for future exhibition, and, when solicited, inserts the commercials into the entertainment program for exhibition. The equipment does not permit the copying of the entertainment program to external media. The invention described herein is a device dedicated to the customization of individual, domestic entertainment, which accumulates the function of the Personal Preferences Survey Module in the area of entertainment and the television spectators' consumption profiles. It is composed of the following electronic and digital elements: a Digital Microcontroller, Video and Audio Processors, Intranet and Internet Communication Processors, a Hard Disk for storage, a Personal Recognition Device, a Personal Survey Device, a TV signal capturing system, and an "intelligent" energy source with a no-break device. All these electronic and digital elements, starting with the Digital Microcontroller, perform the following routines: video and audio processing, internal network control, external DSL modem control, TV signal reception control, vocal command interface, interactive processing with database collection and transmission, and data storage on a hard disk, Flash memory, or on any other type of memory that might substitute Flash memory. It is possible to find similar devices in other equipment since the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module contains diverse electronic and digital components that are not new. It could even be compared to PI0001718-3 with a deposit date of 26 April 2000; however, what makes this invention truly new is that its components, collectively, produce an even more highly customized service than that proposed by PI0001718-3; the product it provides is more complete, more powerful, and more distinct. After all, the Personal Service Module, which PI0001718-3 makes claim to is merely a telecontrolled recorder, which is limited to the broadcasting stations' exhibition schedule, and which is limited to turning on at a give time to record an entertainment program that is adjusted to the preferences and tastes profile of the television spectator. This profile was static since its interactivity was analog. In addition, when simultaneous transmissions occurred, it would lose alternatives that were being made available and that could meet the needs of the television spectator. This older equipment was limited in its recording capabilities. It recorded in analog not digital, which made it very slow, thereby increasing the time and dedication of resources necessary to accomplish the recording task. Furthermore, depending on the number of people in a single environment, it was limited to this single location, and only one individual at a time could watch his or her entertainment program at the expense of the others. Its philosophy of operation did not alter the structure of entertainment transmission, and the device did not interact commercially with the television spectator. The older equipment did not improve reception of the signal produced, and, consequently, did not improve the video signal in the exhibition of the program on the television, nor did it substitute the television with a simple video monitor. The Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module is a new idea because of the differences described above. It interacts commercially with the television spectator, it alters the commercial structure and transmission technique of entertainment programs, and it creates unique possibilities in the transmission of commercial spaces. Its program capturing capabilities are digital, which, in addition to its excellent audio and video quality, permits high velocity signal capture. Also, it is not limited to the slow, chronological entertainment program scheduling. Its transmission channel is broadband Internet. Therefore, it can store a much higher number of alternatives of entertainment programs and commercial spaces without any harm to what was previously available. The interactivity of the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module with all television spectators is enormous. In addition to the commercial aspects, when active, it monitors physical and vocal reactions and can, therefore, be more accurate in relation to the individual psychological profile. This permits a more exact profile of the interests and preferences of the television spectators. The Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module also has a unique characteristic, i.e. when the television spectator being monitored by the equipment leaves the environment, the entertainment program or commercial space is paused. When the television spectator returns, the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module continues to exhibit from the point where it was interrupted, or it can return to a previous point to allow for a sense of continuity in the perception of the message. Within this characteristic of the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module, the entertainment program can be advanced by vocal command; however, this feature is disabled when commercial spaces are being exhibited. Through an intranet and the use of small analog substations, the television spectator is not limited to only one location within his or her home. The location of exhibition can be any other room in which there is a small substation of the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module. This small substation is referred to as a Sub-echo. If there are several people in the home, all of them can watch different entertainment programs with different commercial spaces for each of their profiles. They can interact simultaneously, even in the Entertainment Soliciting Module. Another unique characteristic is that the Personal Identification Device permits a visitor to insert his or her own smart card into the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module equipment or in any Sub-echo of the home in which he or she is visiting. The visitor will then receive all that he or she would receive as if they were in their own home. Basically, the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module invention allows a television spectator to have his or her own personalized and unique television channel, which can be carried in the pocket to any location he or she desires. The Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Modul® can be better understood through Figure 1, where its operational schematic is presented: The Digital Microcontroller (1), through internal protocols and specific and dedicated software, controls all of the operational routines required by the new commercial and technical relationship with the television spectator described above. The Video and Audio Processor (2) allows the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module to be connected to any monitor or television (3), for video exhibition. The Intranet and Internet Communications Processor (4) permits the high-speed reception of packets of the entertainment programs (5) and also of the commercial space packets(6). This processor also permits the retransmission to the internal, household substations Sub-echo (7) on an intranet. It also allows the identification of diverse commands and television spectators that simultaneously access the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module and the Sub-echoes (7) in the various locations in the home. The Storage Device allows the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module to store the entertainment program packets and the commercial space packets when it receives them on a Hard Disk

(8) for future exhibition. Through comparison protocols, it can store data in its Flash Memory (9), which makes recognizing a specific television spectator possible. The Personal Recognition Device (10) uses Smart Card logic (Flash Memory) (9) to format the profile of each television spectator under its supervision and to activate the Survey Module when it is inserted for exhibition. In addition, there is a Physical Presence Sensor (11) for the television spectator. The function of the Physical Presence Sensor (11) is to stop the exhibition of any video in the absence of the television spectator. When the television spectator returns, the Physical Presence Sensor (11) will begin to exhibit the entertainment program or commercial space from where it was stopped. The Personal Survey Device (12) is a logic processor, which, through an interface controlled by the voice of each television spectator, or by remote control (for those who are vocally impaired) permits interaction at command and survey levels between the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module and the television spectator. The TV Signal Capturing System (13) permits the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module to retransmit or to store any television channel at the television spectator's command. All voice or analog command functions are enabled. Finally, the invention is equipped with an Energy Source (14) with a no-break device that fulfills the role of an energy backup system so as to never permit the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module to go offline or not to operate due to lack of power. This description also details additional devices that are objects of our invention in its form and application. These additional devices are: the Personal Recognition Device (10) that has a Physical Presence Sensor (11), which is widely used throughout the asset security industry. It uses: infrared, ultrasound, radio wave locator or similar technologies, in addition to skin contact, retina scanning, or any other similar means that might be developed in the future. The role that the Personal Recognition Device (10) plays in the invention is essential. Our intention is to utilize it as a "per capita" audience indicator. In other words, it electronically and digitally monitors the presence of the television spectator, who is the owner of the Smart Card (9), and indicates that an exhibition was started. This device produces evidence that the television spectator viewed a specific entertainment program and/or commercial spaces from beginning to end. This is because if the television spectator leaves the room during exhibition, this monitoring device will send a signal to the Digital Microcontroller (1) to pause the exhibition. The Digital Microcontroller will then process the pause command and put the system in "standby" mode until the television spectator returns. One of the properties of this task is to select a point from which to restart exhibition just a few seconds before the point from which it was paused. In the case of commercial spaces, the re-entry point is at the beginning of the commercial space. Another innovative characteristic of this device is that it permits the television spectator to take his or her Smart Card, which contains the card owner's personal profile, to any other location that has a Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module. By inserting the Smart Card in the different Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module, the television spectator can redirect and receive all his or her programming that was stored on the television spectator's home device. The Personal Survey Device (12) is another novelty that we introduce into the equipment. Although voice and analog commands are not new, some alterations have been introduced to this device. When the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module asks any survey questions, the questions have been previously formulated for that specific situation; however, when the television spectator responds, whether it be vocal or analog, the complete content of the response is transmitted to the Television Spectator Service Center, via Internet. If the response is not standard, it is analyzed by the Television Spectator Service Center, and a corresponding response can be generated to send back to the television spectator. Furthermore, throughout the exhibition, any vocal declaration that is associated with the exhibition is selected to be transmitted also. This association is made through the conjugation of key words pronounced by the television spectator, which indicate that the respective comment was in reference to the exhibition. It is important to note that this function is disabled if no Smart Card (9) is inserted in this device thereby guaranteeing household privacy. The Flash Memory Data Storage Device, or the Smart Card (9), is another novelty. It is not a novelty because it stores data and personal profiles on a magnetic card or on a card that has a chip but because it uses it as a way to customize entertainment and commercial space content based on the preferences of individual television spectators. This also allows the television spectator to carry his or her own Personalized TV in his pocket. It also guarantees that the television spectator's household privacy will be monitored only when the Smart Card is inserted into the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module. The Sub-echo (7), in the form of a remote terminal, has an Audio and Video outlet, a Physical Presence Sensor, a Vocal or Analog Interactivity outlet, an Intranet Communication Processor, a physical Flash Memory for receiving entertainment packets already containing commercial spaces, and a slot for inserting the Smart Card (9). All this permits simultaneous exhibitions of different entertainment programs for each individual in the household. This solution of a remote terminal is not new, but because it permits simultaneous access to the central Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module for exhibitions as well as for depuration of the proposed functions, it creates a novelty. Finally, the last novelty is the use of a Digital Microcontroller (1) dedicated to creating all these tasks through the use of the set of the processors and devices. The Microcontroller, after receiving the entertainment programs without cuts, prepares the entertainment program for exhibition according to the profile of each television spectator; however, the Microcontroller also receives packets of commercial spaces specifically aimed at the television spectator. Its function is to mix the commercial breaks with the entertainment program during exhibition. This mixing occurs at the location of the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module thereby meeting commercial strategy demands. There is no novelty in mixing commercial spaces within an exhibition of an entertainment program; however, mixing the commercial spaces at the location where the television spectator is, with commercial spaces that fit his or her individualized profile, and at the time the television spectator is viewing the program program represents something new.

Claims

CLAIM 1) The "Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module" consists of a set of electronic, digital, and software components: One Digital Microcontroller (1) through internal, dedicated protocols, controls all routine functions; in addition, it controls: • A Video and Audio Processor (2) that permits this invention to be connected to any television or monitor (3), for viewing videos. • An Intranet and Internet Processor (4) that permits the receiving of entertainment program packets and commercial space packets via Internet at high speed; it permits communication with the substations Sub-echo (7) in an intranet; it also permits the identification in these terminals of the diverse commands and television spectators that simultaneously access them; • It also controls the Hard Drive (8), which permits the invention to store the programs and commercials received until the time they are exhibited; • It controls the Personal Recognition Device (10) which uses smart card type logic (Flash Memory) (9) to identify the profile of each television spectator and activates the research module when it is inserted for exhibition. • It controls a Physical Presence Sensor (11) synchronized on the television spectator - its function being to pause the exhibition of any video when the television spectator is absent from the viewing area and to continue the exhibition when the television spectator returns. • It controls the Personal Survey Device (12), which, through a logical processor and a voice or remote control activated interface, permits interaction between the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module and the television spectator. • It controls the TV signal Capturing System (13) thereby permitting the invention, through commands of the television spectator, to retransmit or store any television channels, much like a simple recording device operates. • Finally, it controls the Energy Source (14) with a no-break, which guarantees the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module will never be off line or be unable to operate due to a lack of energy. This set of devices, functioning as a unit, represents a new device that performs auxiliary functions that are specific to the television industry. Its "unique operability" provides a commercial advantage to the televised media and paid commercials industries. Therefore, I claim a patent of invention for this equipment. 2) The Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module is characterized by a Personal Recognition Device (10), which is connected to the Physical Presence Sensor (11), and has a Flash Memory recognition interface configured in the Smart Card (9). These electronic, digital, and software elements, provide unique operational capacities for the completely personalized television sector. This constitutes an important element of the patent of the invention. 3) The "Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module" is characterized by a Personal Survey Device (12), which provides the monitoring and storing of the individual preferences and tastes of each television spectator supervised by the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module thereby forming a complete psychological profile of the television spectator from which better service can be offered. This produces a totally revolutionary product for the televised media and paid commercial industries. This constitutes an important element of the patent of the invention. 4) The "Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module" is characterized by a mechanism that contains an embedded microchip, i.e. a "Smart Card," (9) that stores data. With personalized TV, the ability to carry a magnetic card or "Smart Card" that contains the preferences and consumption profiles of each television spectator constitutes a valid claim since this provides a tremendous commercial advantage in joining two key sectors: televised media and paid commercials. The data contained within the Smart Card provide a unique operational password for dedicated hardware such as the Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Model. 5) The "Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Module" characterized by a "Sub-echo" (7) in the form of a remote terminal represents another claim, in that it provides an audio and video outlet, a sensor to detect the physical presence of the television spectator, an outlet module for vocal or analog interactivity, an intranet communications processor, a physical Flash memory to receive entertainment packets intermixed with commercial space, and an entrance slot for the Smart Card (9). The Sub-echo (7), therefore, constitutes an important element in the patent of the invention. 6) The "Survey and Entertainment Exhibition Model" characterized by the use of a Digital Microcontroller (1) inserts and mixes commercial space into the entertainment program at the solicited time and location in an intelligent, dedicated, and personalized way that meets the televised media and paid commercial sectors' strategies. This provides a great commercial advantage to the televised media and paid commercials sectors. This claim refers to this operational set of components, i.e. the Digital Microcontroller (1) providing the function described herein above.