CN1054484C - Apparatus and method for identifying broadcast programs and accessing information about them - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for providing auxiliary information to a broadcast television program allows a user to operate a key button to instantly mark the broadcast television program. According to the operation of the key button, the identification of the station transmitting the program and the date and time of the program broadcast are stored in the memory. The identification is then sent to a center, in which the broadcasting schedule of the broadcast television program and other auxiliary information that each broadcaster is willing to provide are stored. From the program identification, such information can be retrieved and transmitted to the user. The identification information from the user is stored by the center for compiling audience-monitoring statistical data for use in obtaining the listening rate.

Description

Apparatus and method for identifying broadcast programs and accessing information about them

The present invention relates to broadcast television media including radio and television, and print media (magazines, newspapers, etc.), and in particular to identifying selections made from such media in order to access auxiliary information about those selections.

For a long time, various media have had the following problems:

(A) A radio broadcast listener may hear a song of interest and decide to buy a cassette of it, but not know its title or who wrote the song, composed it, and performed it. The radio announcer often does not explain the song title, lyricist, composer and singer and other information of the song, or even if this information is broadcast, but that is before playing the song, and the audience can only wait until they hear the song again. It is only possible to know when the song is playing. They will want to restate the title of the song and the lyricist, composer, and singer after the song. When broadcasting and hearing these messages or songs, it may be inconvenient to memorize them at that time (such as the listener is driving a car, or the listener does not have paper and pen for writing at hand).

This problem is especially true for commercials, where the listener must remember normally difficult-to-remember content, such as phone numbers and addresses for ordering the advertised product. If the listener cannot recall these items of information, the commercial is much less effective.

Similarly, a TV viewer may search various channels to start watching a program that is already on the air. The viewer wants to wait a few minutes for the next program content after that, because he wants to see the program in its entirety, or to watch something else. Accordingly, the viewer must physically read the current and subsequent television listings until the next broadcast is found. This is time consuming, and after a few months, viewers will forget the title of the show.

Despite the long-standing inconvenience of many listeners to the above problems, no satisfactory solution has been found so far.

(B) For commercials, another channel is needed to provide additional information. For example, an advertiser may only be able to afford half a minute of prime-time advertising. If another channel with less cost is available to provide additional information to the audience (such as quotations, business hours, product details, etc.), the advertiser can be more flexible in commercial advertising, such as dedicating the entire half minute to the channel that will attract the audience. On the introduction of the product performance of the company, or only a few days of commercials, let the audience access other information from another channel that costs less.

For newspaper and magazine advertisements with limited timeliness, this same additional channel is required. For example, properties generally listed in the real estate section of a Sunday (Sunday) newspaper are only available to people reading that day's newspaper. If there is a second channel of information available, then even if the ad is cancelled, the information about the property will still be useful to the reader. Despite the economic benefits indicated above, a satisfactory, less expensive alternative communication channel has not yet been obtained. Prior art systems in this regard all require the station to broadcast this information with an auxiliary signal while broadcasting the main program, and the listener must be equipped with a special decoder circuit to recover this information.

For example, when the RDS (Radio Data System) in Europe transmits the program identification in the SCA (Supplementary Services) frequency band, it requires the listener to have a special receiver to decode and display the identification.

It has also been proposed to transmit the identification of the television program during the VBI (Vertical Bursting Interval) time of the television signal. However, this method also requires a dedicated decoder.

Patent Application No. 07/806,152, filed December 11, 1991, describes the IPLUS system (herein incorporated by reference). Ancillary information relating to a broadcast television program or printed material is retrieved using a code called an IPLUS number which is sent or printed with the program or printed material. This code number is used by a video recorder or audio recorder to subsequently record a television or radio program containing auxiliary information. However, the IPLUS system cannot retrieve information for the next day, and it requires a television and VCR for retrieval.

(C) Commercial charges for television programs are dependent on expected television audience ratings for the number of television programs scheduled. Such expectations are usually determined by estimates of the ratings of previously transmitted programs. For example, for a once-a-week television series, estimates of audience ratings for the next episode are based on estimated ratings for previously aired programs. In addition, advertising charges can be adjusted based on "after the fact" estimates of market sales following the TV commercial.

Current systems for estimating market sales involve survey validation such as Nielsen ratings. It selects some users to record their viewing habits to obtain previous market data. For example, a selected user can record in a diary or diary when the TV is turned on and off, which channels are selected, and how many viewers are in the room. Such data can be collected by providing the user with an electronic device with buttons that indicate the television is on, off, and the channel being watched. Other systems connect the data collection device directly to the television, which monitors power on and off, and the channel and time of viewing. The system is connected to a dedicated telephone line. When instructions are received, the devices transfer their stored content to the central computer for analysis via telephone lines. Each of these systems requires a selection of individual users who represent a sufficient sample of the general television viewer and requires a realistic set-up of the monitoring equipment. These systems are imprecise due to small sample sizes, errors in recorded diaries, or manipulation by the audience.

Despite its importance to advertisers and the media, a method for capturing such data has yet to be found.

The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for editing auxiliary information of broadcast programs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of providing auxiliary information to a user.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for editing program auxiliary information, the program is being played on a broadcast receiver with a console tuner,

The equipment includes:

means (603) for controlling the station set by the tuner;

A clock (602) for indicating the current date and current time;

A manual input device (609) for issuing storage instructions;

memory (607);

When a storage command is issued, the device responds to the control device, clock, and manual input device to store the data representing the station, current date and current time determined by the tuner into the memory;

a central memory (703, 704, 705) remote from the receiver, where the auxiliary information exists, and

Means for mapping (701) representative data to a central storage for a specific item of auxiliary information about each program represented by the representative data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for providing auxiliary information about a broadcast program to a user includes the steps of:

Play the program on the broadcast receiver (603, 601) according to the broadcast program list;

mapping the data representing the station, date and time of each program of the schedule into stored information about each program in a memory located remotely from the receiver (703, 706, 707);

Store in the receiver, representative data of the specific program selected by the user from the programs being played by the receiver (607);

Shipping the stored representative data to a central location (709);

Updating the auxiliary information in the center (701) corresponding to the representative data; and

The updated assistance information is shipped to the user (708, 710, 712).

According to the following detailed description of some preferred embodiments, combined with the following drawings, the above features of the present invention can be better understood.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a tape recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal circuit of the tape recorder shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3a-3c are flow charts showing the procedures executed by the CPU unit of FIG. 2 when the key buttons on the cassette player 100 shown in FIG. 1 are operated.

4a-4d illustrate various menus displayed on the radio cassette player of FIG. 1 during setup.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the procedure executed when the program information retrieval system transmits information to the user.

Fig. 6 shows another circuit block diagram for identifying broadcast programs according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an automatic information mechanism (AIM) capable of retrieving information in broadcast programs.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of the internal constituent circuits of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 .

Figure 1 shows a portable radio cassette player unit 100 embodying the present invention. The cassette player unit 100 includes a conventional radio and a tape recorder. The radio has a tuner that receives broadcast signals from various radio stations, including amplitude modulation (AM) stations and frequency modulation (FM) stations. According to optional, can add TV sound receiving circuit in the FM tuner, make radio and recorder unit 100 can receive the sound signal that TV (TV) station comes. The following "radio station" can also be called "channel".

As with many radio cassette players today, the radio cassette unit 100 has a clock giving the date, hours, minutes and seconds. The station preset keys allow the user to selectively store certain stations into a memory so that simply touching the station/publication preset key 102 will cause the radio 100 unit to tune to any of the preset stations.

The cassette player unit 100 has circuitry to generate dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals so that it can send messages over telephone lines. Socket 103 is provided to accept a telephone plug.

As will be described with reference to FIG. 2, it is provided with a RAM (Random Access Memory) to store a plurality of telephone numbers, each number corresponding to each preset station.

Display 101 is preferably a low power consumption device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). It is usually used to display the frequency and/or time of the tuned station.

The cassette player unit 100 also has a conventional tape recorder PLAYER. Like many standard tape recorders, it has a set of buttons, including EJECT (eject) 104, STOP (stop) 105, FF (fast forward) 106, REW (rewind) 107, PLAY (playback) 108 and REC (recording) 109 and other keys. And like many conventional radio cassette players, radio cassette player unit 100 also has a radio-recorder (RADIO-TAPE) key 110, and it allows the user to select radio or tape recorder; There is also a VOL (volume) button 111, for the user to adjust the volume output size.

The cassette player unit 100 has a set of telephone keys 88-1 through 88-12, similar to a conventional telephone which presents a set of 12 button keypads. In particular, the telephone keys 88-1 to 88-12 are number keys "1" to "0", asterisk key "*" and pound key "#", respectively. The English letters are assigned to the telephone keys "2" to "9" like a common telephone. For example, the letters ABC are assigned to the telephone key "2". However, unlike a usual telephone keypad, the letters Q and Z are assigned to the telephone keys "1" and "0", respectively.

The input of English letters is input by double key operation as well known to those skilled in the art. Each letter is represented by two numbers. For example, the phone key "2" corresponds to the letters ABC. However, pressing the key "2" once does not uniquely select one of these three letters. Press key "1" again after pressing key "2", then input the first letter or namely "A". Similarly, if "B" is to be selected for input, the user first presses the key "2", and then presses the key "2" to select the second letter "B". The input method of other letters can be deduced by analogy.

Alternatively, a standard array keyboard such as that found on typewriters or computers may be used.

There is also a set of cursor keys 90 for the user to move the cursor on the display 101 . The cursor keys 90 include a left arrow key to move the cursor to the left, an up arrow key to move the cursor up, a down arrow key to move the cursor down, and a right arrow key to move the cursor to the right arrow keys.

Except above-mentioned key button, radio and radio unit 100 also has a group of key button, comprises BROADCAST INFO (broadcast information) key 112, DIAL (dial) key 114, REVIEW (review) key 113, CANCEL (cancel) key 119, HANG UP ( On-hook) key 118, PRINT INFO (printing information) key 115, SELECT (select) key 116 and SETUP (setting) key 117. The functions of these keys will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of Figs. 3a-3.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the internal configuration of the tape recorder unit 100. As shown in FIG. The operation of the tape recorder unit 100 is controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 . The CPU 201 can be any one of many popular microprocessors on the market, such as the 8080 microprocessor manufactured by Intel Corporation, or a customized standard chip. It is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 in which operating software for running the CPU 201 is stored.

The CPU 201 is connected to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203 . RAM203 is used to store station presets and program identification. It is also used to provide intermediate result storage for the CPU 201 while performing other functions, such as when running the display 101 . Since the radio recorder unit 100 is portable, at least a part of the RAM 203 should be configured with a non-volatile memory, such as a kind of EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), or a volatile memory with a backup power supply. persistent memory to allow reusable data to be stored.

The CPU 201 is also connected to a display control circuit 204 for controlling the display 101 and a clock control circuit 206 for controlling a clock. The digital tuner of the tape recorder unit 100 is controlled by the CPU 201 via the digital tuner circuit 207 , and the tape recorder of the tape recorder unit 100 is controlled by the CPU 201 via the tape recorder control circuit 210 . The design of these circuits is well known to those skilled in the art, so a detailed description thereof is not required.

The CPU 201 can also be connected to a radio frequency section and audio amplifier 211 so that a headset can be connected.

The cassette player unit 100 has a microphone which is controlled by the CPU 201 through a conventional microphone interface circuit 205 . CPU201 has the control of telephone set and acoustic coupler 208 through circuit 208 again, and the control of DTMF generator decoder through DTMF circuit 209. Circuitry 208 may be connected directly to telephone jack 103, or optionally to an acoustic coupler located on the rear panel of radio cassette unit 100. These components are used to interface with a remote Program Information Retrieval System (PIRS) and to receive auxiliary information in broadcast programs from the PIRS. Both circuits 208 and 209 may be of any design available in the art. Although all three components are shown in FIG. 2, not all of them need be used.

CPU201 controls and receives many enhanced function keys shown in Fig. 1, especially BROADCAST INFO key 112, DIAL key 114, REVIEW key 113, CANCEL key 119, HANGUP key 118, PRINT INFO key 115, SE-LECT key 116 and SETUP key 117.

In addition to its conventional radio and recorder PLAYER functions, the radio cassette player unit 100 can also provide instant identification and recording of broadcast programs of interest to the user. These functions will now be described with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 3a-3b.

When powered on, preferably by a battery (not shown), the radio cassette unit 100 can operate as a standard radio or as a standard tape recorder, depending on the position of the RA-DIO-TAPE key 110. On the display 101, the logo and timing clock of the tuned station can be displayed.

When any enhanced function key is pressed, the CPU 201 is interrupted to execute a corresponding interrupt subroutine.

When the SETUP key 117 is pressed, step 401 is executed, and a SETUP menu similar to that shown in FIG. 4 a is displayed on the display 101 . This SETUP menu allows the user to choose: (1) by selecting "BROADCAST STATIONS (broadcasting station)", the preset key 102 is optionally set to the desired station; (2) by selecting " PUBLICATIONS (publication)" Select to set the preset key to the desired publication; (3) Optionally set the user ID by selecting "USERID (user ID)"; (4) Optionally set the clock by selecting "CLOCK (clock)" 206. Using the cursor keys 90 to move the cursor to the desired option and then pressing the SELECT key 116, the user can select any of these options. When pressing the SELECT key 116, note the position of the cursor (step 422), use this position to set a pointer to point to a position in the RAM 203 (step 423). In the SE-TOP operation, the pointer command points to a program in the memory to be executed by the CPU 201 to set the tape recorder unit 100.

If the user selects "BROADCAST STATIONS" as an option, then enter step 402, and display a menu similar to that shown in Figure 4b. Under this menu, the user can use the cursor key 90 to select any number corresponding to the preset key 102 as an input, and then the user can press the SELECT key 116 . In step 403, the user can tune the corresponding preset key 102 to a selected station by entering the station name and frequency of the station.

In step 403, the user may also enter a telephone number which may be used to retrieve information from a Program Information Retrieval System (PIRS) in which broadcast television listings from the station are stored. It is conceivable that the telephone number will be provided by a radio station or a television station through a publication in a newspaper (eg TV/radio section) or a TV program guide or the like. This phone number can be the number of the station itself which has its own PIRS, or it can be the phone number of a central location which maintains program listings and information for several different stations broadcast television programs in the PIRS.

The station name, frequency and telephone number entered by the user at step 403 are all stored in the non-volatile memory portion of RAM 203 .

The user can set another preset key 102 or perform an EXIT (exit) option, which causes the CPU 201 to display the SETUP menu of FIG. 4a again.

If the user selects the "PUBLICATIONS" option, then enter step 404, a category is displayed for the menu shown in Figure 4c. Under this menu, the user can set any preset key 102 (steps 404 and 405) in a similar manner in steps 402 and 403; frequency. There, the entry is the name of the publication and the corresponding telephone number for the PIRS aspect of the publication. Similar to the case described in the above paragraph, the data input by the user is also stored in the RAM 203 .

If the user selects "USER ID" as an option, then enter step 406, showing a menu similar to that shown in Figure 4d. Under this menu, the user can arbitrarily input his or her name, address and telephone number using the letter selection method of the telephone key 88. The input data is stored in RAM203.

If the user selects "CLOCK" as an option, steps 408 and 409 are executed, and CPU 201 requires the user to input a clock time. Since the setting of this clock is similar to the operation in many existing TV and VCR remote controls, these elements need to be described in detail.

When the user completes the setting operation, he can select "EXIT" option from the SETUP menu in Fig. 4a to terminate the setting. The display shows the radio frequency and clock time again.

The user tunes the radio station unit 100 to any radio station with headphones, and listens to its broadcast. When the user is interested in a program (comprising music, live broadcast, commentary, commercial advertisement etc.) that this station sends, then can press BROADCAST INFO key 112. Thus, go to step 411 . In step 411, the CPU 201 stores the ID of the station into the non-volatile memory part of the RAM 203, and stores the clock time when the BROADASTINFO key 112 is pressed.

The station can be identified by its broadcast frequency or station name (for example, 105.1MHz is used to detect the station name KKGO). It is more convenient to use the station name, because it is easier for the audience to memorize the station name than the frequency.

From the identifiers stored in RAM 203, the user can retrieve auxiliary information for an identified program. This is accomplished by connecting the radio unit 100 to a telephone using a modular connector or an acoustic coupler. After the tape recorder unit 100 is connected, the user can press the REVIEW key 113 .

After pressing the REVIEW key 113, the program identification previously stored in the RAM 203 is retrieved (step 414) and displayed on the display 101 (step 415). There are several formats for displaying this information. For example, stored logos may be displayed along with logos programmed by the station. The advantage of this format is that the user can now re-listen to an identified station's program before dialing the corresponding telephone number. Another format is to organize the identifiers by date. This format helps the user more easily find a particular program that was previously recorded.

When the previously identified programs are displayed, the user can use the cursor keys 90 to select a specific program or specific station that the user is interested in from the obtained auxiliary information. After selecting the program or station, the user can press the DIAL key 114 to retrieve the corresponding phone number (step 416) and dial out the phone number (step 417). After the call is connected, CPU 203 retrieves the station identification from RAM 203 and activates DIMF generator and decoder circuit 209 . Then, the DTMF tones are generated to send the program identification to the PIRS at the station or central site (step 418). After sending the program identification, CPU201 waits for PIRS to return information (step 419).

In step 418, the user identification previously entered under the USERID option is optionally sent to PIRS. As previously stated, the user identification can be a name, address and phone number, or it can simply be a number, such as the user's social security number. Sending out the user identification has the advantage that it allows PIRS to send bulk text messages to the user by post or direct telephone conversation.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operational steps of PIRS when a request is received.

Upon receiving a request (step 501), PIRS uses the station ID from the program identification to find the station's data (step 503). However, if PIRS is an internal system of the station, step 503 may not be required.

In step 504, the clock time from the program identification is decoded to search for the program being identified. When an identified program is found, PIRS retrieves auxiliary information for it (step 505).

It is beneficial for PIRS to make a record of the request. Thereafter, this record can be used to provide statistical data to determine the popularity of the program, to provide the station or other audience-monitoring type data (step 506).

The PIRS sends auxiliary information to the user, first by sending a DTMF tone to the tape recorder unit 100 (step 507). The DTMF generator and decoder circuit 209 receives the DTMF tones, which then interrupt the CPU 201. After the CPU 201 is interrupted by the circuit 209, the tape recorder is started by controlling the circuit 210. After the tape recorder is activated, a signal is sent to the PIRS to trigger it to transmit auxiliary information (step 508). As the tape recorder unit 100 receives auxiliary information from the PIRS, it records them on tape.

If the auxiliary information is related to a group of music, it will include the selection (album), musician and title, and a short (for example, 10 seconds) sound of the group of music, so that the user can associate the tune with the title stand up. This concept is disclosed in US Patent 5,119,507. If the auxiliary information relates to an advertisement, a portion of the advertisement may be repeated along with the auxiliary information to associate the product or business with the additional information.

After completing this transmission, the PIRS generates a DTMF tone to the tape recorder unit 100 to stop the tape recorder and end the connected call (step 509). A signal may also be generated on the tape recorder unit 100 to report to the user that the job is complete and that auxiliary information is available.

Referring back to the flow chart of Figures 3a-3b, if the user decides to cancel this operation at any point during the retrieval of auxiliary information, he can press the HANG UP key 118, and the telephone connection is disconnected (step 421).

The user may selectively erase a previously stored program ID from RAM 203 when the program ID is displayed as a result of the REVIEW key 113 actuation. Its way is to use cursor key 90 at first to select this program identification that the user wishes to eliminate. Once the program logo is selected, the CANCEL key 119 can be pressed, and the data corresponding to the selected program logo will be erased from the RAM 203 (step 420).

When the transfer is complete, the user can either hear the information directly from the tape recorder, or rely on the CPU 201 to interpret the tape stored signal to produce text data which can then be displayed on the display 101.

Although the above has been described with reference to the identification of a broadcast program, the present invention is not so limited. As noted above, during setup of the tape recorder unit 100, the user can also program the preset keys 102 to store the titles of various publications (such as Los Angles Times, Newsweek, Barrons, etc.), along with storing the titles of each publication. corresponding phone number. When reading one of its articles, the user can press the corresponding preset key 102 . When the user counts an article or advertisement of interest, he can press the PRINTINFO key 115 to store the name of the publication into RAM 203 (step 424). Then, CPU 201 urges the user to give a code number, such as an IPLUS number (step 435), which can be found in published articles or advertisements. The user enters the IPLUS number through the telephone key 88, which is then stored into RAM 203 (step 426).

To retrieve information on tagged articles or advertisements, the user connects the tape recorder unit 100 to a telephone. As described above, the REVIEW key 113 can be pressed to display the logo, and then the DIAL key 114 can be pressed to connect the radio unit 100 to the PIRS. The information is then retrieved through the connected phone, as previously described.

In the embodiment described above, the identification of a broadcast program is recorded as a number so that it can be sent via DTMF tones. However, if the ticker unit 100 has a modem, more detailed program identification can be entered. , and sent to a PIRS, and the PIRS can send a text message to the tape recorder unit 100. Also, if the tape recorder unit 100 has a modem, the transmitted information does not need to be stored on a magnetic tape, but is directly stored in the RAM 203 and can then be displayed on the display 101.

As an option, as shown in FIG. 1, the radio cassette unit 100 may be provided with keys of the type commonly found in calculators. The CPU 201 can then be installed so as to be able to perform calculations, so that the tape recorder 100 can be used as a calculator.

In fact, the user does not need to listen to the sound of the radio-recorder unit 100, and can listen to the sound of the radio-recorder unit 100 by setting the radio-recorder unit 100 to the same station tuned by any radio or television (including car radio). Then, if there is a program of interest, the BROADCAST INFO key 112 can be pressed to identify the program.

Preferably, clock 206 is set to correspond to local time. If a local station broadcasts audible DTMF tones on time several times a day, the user uses the microphone of the tape recorder to receive and measure the audible tones, so that the clock is on time, and can rely on the internal radio circuit of the tape recorder unit 100 itself Or another radio circuit to synchronize the radio unit 100 in time.

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. The receiver 600 in this embodiment is a variant of an ordinary radio or television set. The receiver 600 includes a radio circuit 601, a digital tuner 603 and a tuner control circuit 604, which are found in a standard radio or television. Receiver 600 may have a clock 602, as in many conventional devices. If a clock is not present in the device, one can easily install it. Preferably, the clock 602 can also count and indicate the date in addition to specifying hours, minutes and seconds.

Receiver 600 has a circuit 606 connected to digital tuner 604 and clock 602 in accordance with the present invention. The circuit 606 has a means 608 which is, for example, a socket for receiving a non-volatile memory 607 such as an EEPROM, or a magnetic stripe writer for receiving a magnetic card equipped with a magnetic stripe.

When the "BROADCAST INFO" key 609 is pressed, the circuit 606 is activated. After starting, the circuit 606 stores an identifier of the tuned station (for example, the frequency of the station from the digital tuner 604) in the memory 607, together with the time indicated by the clock 602 when the key 609 is pressed.

Since the memory 607 can be a separate component (ie it is in a different receiver), it is necessary to have a memory management layout so that the circuit 606 knows where to write new data each time next. One method of this type of memory management layout is to maintain a pointer in memory 607 . The pointer is held at a predetermined location, for example the first address. This pointer indicates the location of the memory to input the next data. When the memory 607 is inserted into the socket 608, the pointer is read by the circuit 606.

When the user listens to an interesting program, he can press the BROADCAST key 609, which causes the station ID and clock time to be stored in the memory 607. It is also possible to preset a user ID in the receiver 600 for the purpose mentioned above, and then it will also be stored at this time.

The user can remove the memory 607 from the socket 608, insert it into a retrieval device (hereinafter referred to as an automatic information mechanism AIM), and retrieve the information of the broadcast program.

It is contemplated for this embodiment that there are many such AIMs installed in different locations, such as in phonograph stores and other retail establishments.

Within the AIM, time and station information for broadcast programs is retrieved from memory 607 . Based on this identification, output such as the title of a song (and/or other information, such as the artist) will be printed out. With the help of this information, the user can, for example, either buy a record of the song or another recording of the singer.

Figure 7 shows a circuit block diagram of AIM700. The AIM 700 is controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701 . The work of AIM700 is realized by executing the operating software stored in ROM (read only memory) 702) of CPU701. There is also a clock 713 and some storage components (such as audio tape drive 703, hard disk 704 and semiconductor random access memory RAM 705, etc.) in order to store the broadcast and TV program schedules of AM stations, FM stations and TV stations in AIM700. Various means are provided in the AIM 700 to periodically update the program schedule and auxiliary information stored in the tape drive 703, hard disk 704 or RAM 705. The update device may be a floppy disk drive 706 and/or a modem 707 connected to a telephone line which in turn is connected to an information provider.

Display 708, printer 710 and headphones 712 are all connected to audio circuitry 711 to facilitate communication with the user.

The CPU 701 is connected to a socket 709 where the memory 607 from the user can be inserted.

In operation, the user may plug memory 607 into receptacle 709 of AIM 700 based on programs of interest recorded in memory 607 as described above. The program ID (channel, date and time) in the memory 607 is read out by the CPU, and the ID is used to search its own memory 703, 704 or 705 for information associated with the identified program. The information may include, for example, the title of the song, the composer or singer, and the price of an album or album of the song. The information may also be the program itself, or a program associated with the identified program.

This information can be stored in an AIM800 in different formats. For example, if the information to be provided was to identify an album of a song, the information could simply be a standard UCC product identification barcode number, which most phonogram stores already use to monitor their Product list. This UCC number can be combined as part of the information stored in each AIM, in the form of a program schedule for a radio station for a specific day combined as follows:

Operating frequency (eg 98.7MHz)

date (eg 11/9/1991)

Start time (eg 13:01:03)

End time (eg 13:05:06) UCC number/Track

Start time (eg 13:05:06)

End time (eg 13:08:18) UCC number/trace

Start time (eg 13:08:18)

End time (e.g. 13:08:48) radio live commentary

To further illustrate the operation of the AIM700, assume that on November 9, 1991, at 1:50 pm, the user was listening to a 99.9 MHz FM broadcast. At this time, he heard an interesting song played by the station and pressed the "BROADCAST" key. Then, the frequency of the radio station (ie FM 99.9 MHz) will be stored in the non-volatile memory 607 together with the time when the user presses the key. When this non-volatile memory 607 is later inserted into an AIM 700 (such as it is in a phonogram store), the channel, date and time data ("CDT") is used by the AIM 700 to find the song's UCC number and track.

From the UCC number and track number, the user can retrieve other auxiliary information about the song, including store inventory and album prices.

The retrieved information may be displayed on a display, printed on a printer, and/or transmitted from tape drive 703 via headset 712 to the user.

If there is no information in an AIM associated with the identified program (e.g. the AIM belongs to a studio store and an identified program is for auto sales), an error message is displayed or printed and the The user takes this memory to the appropriate AIM for retrieval.

After retrieving the information, the AIM will give the user an option to erase the corresponding identification from the memory 607 .

Although the invention has been described above with reference to a radio, its application is not so limited. For example, instead of identifying broadcast programs, an apparatus embodying the invention could also be used to identify television programs. Also, another embodiment can be made that allows the user to retrieve the program itself or an associated program. For example, the user may want to listen to the identified program (such as a comedy or a commentary) again. In this case, the CPU 701 can use the program ID to retrieve a copy of the program and play it back on the audio circuit 711 so that the user can hear it through headphones 712 . Additionally, the user may want to watch TV again. In that case, CPU 701 can use the program identification to retrieve a copy of the program and play it back on display 708. Another important feature of the AIM 700 is that it can store the retrieved information from the user's RAM chip memory 607 and feed the information back to the information provider. This feedback gives valuable listener ratings data on the popularity of individual radio stations, music selections, advertising content, etc. This user information may be stored on the hard disk 704 and periodically fed back to the information provider via the floppy disk drive 706 on the phone line/modem 707 side.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 8 . The advantage of unit 800 in the figure is that it can be used in conjunction with all existing receivers without any modification. FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of the internal structure of the unit 800 .

Referring to both Figures 8 and 9, unit 800 includes a battery powered pocket digital clock 802 with a liquid crystal display 801. The clock 802 is equipped with time and date adjustment buttons, which can measure the date and the time in minutes, and also can include seconds. It is also equipped with a set of station preset keys 804, which allow the user to use the two buttons of station (STA-TION) and adjustment (SET) to make the unit 809 adjust to some desired radio frequency.

There is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in the unit 800 to control the work of the unit, and a RAM 805 such as a random access memory, and the RAM 805 is used to store the program identification.

Unit 800 need not have a radio circuit. When it's working, it just stores the station frequency and clock time.

Also can add such configuration, promptly allow the user to utilize user identification (USER ID) and station preset (STATION PRESET) key to input its identification, for example be a social secret number of him.

Unit 800 also includes a plug connector 807 as previously described for the AIM interface. In operation, the user either uses the preset keys or manually tunes the unit 800 to the station being listened to. When the user listens to a program of interest and wishes to obtain information about the program, he can press the INFO key 810 . This action causes the clock time and station identification to be stored in RAM805. This information can then be used to retrieve information from an AIM, as described above.

When unit 800 is connected to an AIM, it may also have a clock readout circuit 713. In this way, the clock 802 can be time calibrated by the AIM. Additionally, a microphone 808 may be mounted on unit 800, whereby clock 802 may be set to time via audio time-setting tones sent by an external broadcast station.

As in the case above, unit 800 may also be equipped with means for storing identifications of various publications and means for storing IPLUS codes for retrieving information associated with published articles and advertisements.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that additions, modifications or adaptations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention in implementation; such scope is defined in the following claims.

Claims (14)

1. A device for editing program auxiliary information, the program is being played on a broadcast receiver with a console tuner, The device is characterized by including: means (603) for controlling the station set by the tuner; A clock (602) for indicating the current date and current time; Manual input device (609) for issuing storage instructions; memory (607); When a storage instruction is issued, respond to the control device, clock, and manual input device, and store the data representing the station, current date and current time determined by the tuner into the memory device (606); a central memory (703, 704, 705) remote from the receiver, where the auxiliary information exists, and Means for mapping (701) representative data to a central storage for a specific item of auxiliary information about each program represented by the representative data. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the broadcast receiver is a television receiver. 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiver is a radio. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the broadcast receiver is a video cassette recorder. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control means comprises: A station selection signal source arranged away from the receiver, a station selection signal detector arranged at the receiver, and a clock, an input device, a memory, and a storage device arranged at the signal source. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for forwarding to the receiver a particular item of auxiliary information corresponding to the stored representative data. 7. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the memory is removable from the remainder of the device for transport to a central place for downloading representative data. 8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory has a telephone compatible interface for downloading representative data. 9. A method for providing users with auxiliary information about broadcast programs, comprising the steps of: Play the program on the broadcast receiver (603, 601) according to the broadcast program list; mapping the data representing the station, date and time of each program of the schedule into auxiliary information about each program in a memory located remotely from the receiver (703, 706, 707); storing at the receiver representative data of a particular program selected by the user from among the programs being played by the receiver (607); Shipping the stored representative data to a central location (709); Updating the auxiliary information in the center (701) corresponding to the representative data; and The updated assistance information is shipped to the user (708, 710, 712). 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of delivering is to electronically deliver the updated auxiliary information, the method further comprising the step of regenerating the updated auxiliary information at the user. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of delivering is delivering the updated auxiliary information in printed form. 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of delivering includes establishing a telephone connection between the receiver and the central location and transmitting representative data and updated auxiliary information over the telephone connection. 13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the auxiliary information representing the data and updates is transmitted via a modem protocol. 14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of storing stores the representative data in a non-volatile memory, and the step of transporting the representative data includes physically transporting the memory to a central location.

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