Communication system for spectators answers

The present invention relates to bidirectional communications for viewing viewers' views between various viewer response units, such as television receivers, and more particularly, to a communication system allowing transmission of queries and reception of responses from individual response stations via satellite transmissions for processing at remote central processing locations.

Among the known opinion, voting and bidirectional communication systems is the system of U.S. Patent 4,591,906 to Fernando Morales-Uarza et al., Issued May 27, 1986, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in order to simplify the scope of the present application, of the invention and to better explain the nature and scope of the invention. This system allows the transmission of a single frequency pulse response from viewers' response television receivers to the central processing station, for example at the location of a television broadcast study. Certain response time slots identify the response units and compensate for the propagation time of the radio signals over the transmission path.

Also known are various local remote control units of the TV functions of wireless infrared / IB / systems. One of these systems is the subject of a dependent application SN, 07 / 368,951 of 13 June 1989 by Fernando Morales and others Wireless remote control of a cursor superimposed on a television image ', which allows formulation of the television viewer's responses by the local remote control unit.

- 3 control at the receiving station by moving the cursor to a specific menu position displayed on the TV screen for voting, ordering, and the like, which is automatically divided into the central analysis station. The local TV set with the remote control unit also provides the cursor control for selecting a menu, for example, to select and tune the TV set automatically to a TV channel available at that location. The unpretentious pistol-shaped control unit with single-finger cursor position and trigger selection allows easy and unpretentious answering.

A viewer response processing system at the central station is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,755,871 to Fernend Morales Garar et al., Jul. 5, 1988. This allows cheap time slots in the responder to be synchronized by timing synchronization with television program signals containing a viewer question.

However, these known systems have not been able to process responses from a large territorial area, such as nationally from all fifty US states or internationally in major sovereign countries or between sovereign countries to instantly analyze viewer responses in large territorial areas.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a wireless transmission system for detecting, processing, analyzing and identifying viewer responses, capable of retransmitting the verified viewer responses to the information, either

- 4 together with the broadcast TV program or independently in the viewer inquiry mode, instant and online.

It is a particular object of the present invention to use narrowband radio transmission capable of identifying corresponding stations in larger territorial areas than is possible under the aforementioned patent 4,591,906, for example for nationwide or international surveys by currently transmitted results suitably analyzed and verified.

Another particular object of the present invention is the use in the

Satellite acquisition of a wireless system for real-time viewing of viewers' views over long distances, where certain television sets or similar response units can be identified, verified and analyzed to process the responses of viewers interviewed in real time.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, drawings, and subject matter of the invention.

The present invention allows wireless transmission of instantaneous viewer response signals over long distances via a satellite station.

Local areas, such as cities, covered by wireless TV stations or separate cable TV systems, seem to have a substation for identifying viewers' opinions and responses and for locating and processing local information as well as for transmissions to other local areas or the central processing center, Can set repeaters to analyze viewers in the local area on the next, 'λ? · * ··'

5 each to communicate with a series of pulse response units according to US 4,591,906. Queries and responses are transmitted, processed and validated in local areas such as the location of the television broadcast site with the possibility of locating and identifying each of the viewer response units. The responding stations then communicate via satellite communication channels with the central data center, which receives local signals to summarize them, for example, in the resulting nationwide response. The data center may also process questions directed to the repeater stations for locating views at individual times of time to identify individual response stations, which are typically television sets. Further validation, formatting, forwarding and storage of responses, and real-time feedback of response data to interviewed viewers takes place at the data center, typically a national or international processing station. The local answering stations operate in the location of the removal unit compatible with the cable systems, video recording systems and radio television signals of the local transmitters. These response units are preferably controlled by wireless remote control units using an infrared transmission link. Frequency synthesis devices at the locations of the responding units reduce the cost of responding units while at the same time accurately controlling timing of identification slots and system synchronization. The system shall take into account the radio wave propagation time in order to obtain an accurate identification of the individual response units of the synchronous time slot.

In the same way, a satellite station can communicate with scattered or lumped individual television sets and a remote data processing center.

Questions and answers in local data processors will be digitized for synchronous and satellite transmission. They are transmitted through a narrowband radio transmission channel at a single frequency. Real-time signals are included in the system together with queries to identify real-time responses to verify responses that may include erroneous responses from video recording devices or retransmitted signals at the location of the responding unit.

This system can typically be • used for national or international audience surveys, weather surveys, price or market surveys and other financial processing? data or for teaching purposes such as grading tests on a network of faculties or other schools, as well as for billing and billing purposes when receiving special programs. It is unique in that data from a number of local areas is collected through satellite transmission channels to create a large query area suitable for real-time opinion surveys of national or international viewers, allowing instant results to be transmitted to the viewers surveyed.

Other aspects of the present invention include inserting questions into a television image in the form of a menu so that the remote control unit can position the cursor of the selected choice

- 7 without interruption of uro operator program very easily and accurately and without critical states. The pistol infrared transmitter control unit with a finger-actuated trigger and trigger used for this purpose is also incorporated into the local television station equipment as a simplified control unit for additional benefits. For example, it is possible to select program channels for the available channels according to the pictorial characters in the menu without scanning or switching channels, in a language-free form or an overview of the channel numbers of the local stations. The same system can be used, for example, for ordering at local stores or restaurants.

Similar figures are used in all figures to make it easier to compare corresponding figures and system elements.

The figures show:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a satellite broadcast system for poll viewers according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a group diagram of a data processing center according to the invention for sending queries to viewers and receiving their responses from a variety of local systems such as viewers of city television stations to generate, for example, national viewer response data.

Figure y is a group diagram of a local area repeater station apparatus of the present invention to handle queries and responses from local viewers.

Figures 4 and 5 are group diagrams of embodiments of the response units of the present invention, typically television receivers, around the headquarters of a local broadcast television station provided with a viewer response processing device.

Figure 6 is an overall solution in the form of a group diagram of a television control system.

In the picture ? are group diagrams of some frequency conversion elements in a viewer response unit according to the present invention.

Figure 8 is a flow chart explaining how the repeater station apparatus of the present invention operates.

Figure 9 is a circuit diagram of a receiving station processor circuitry for automatic channel selection using a remote cursor location control unit.

Figure 10 is a group diagram of a receiving station control system for viewer responses with channel selection from the menu on the screen using a remote cursor control unit.

Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of a large-area satellite viewer response collection system. The satellite station 1 receives and repeats or retransmits data in both directions between the viewer response data center 2 and the local repeater stations 3 by normal non-broadcast channel connections using directional antennas IA, 2F and JA. Data Center 2 is not. limited to one location and may, for example, be a national or international viewpoint center for viewers communicating with the repeating stations 3 nro for viewpoints, in local areas;

9 located typically within the cells of the array within the designated area covered by the data center 2.

Viewer opinion and answer questions are centrally transmitted and received at the data center 2 for validation, processing, formatting, storage and, if necessary, re-broadcast in real time to the viewer interviewed. Thus, the questions are transmitted from the data center 2 to the local repeater stations by the second directional antenna 2F to the satellite directional antenna 1A and then to the local station directional antenna 9A. Advantageously, these questions form part of the television image, but may also be a stand-alone viewer feedback system separate from the television program.

The local repeater stations, for example at one location, then locally process the questions and answers on a single band narrowband channel, such as 218 MHz, in the form of short pulses located at time intervals explicitly identifying the individual response stations 4, which are processed at the local audience level for billing, identification, and verification purposes. In this way, viewer responses return in real time via satellite station 1 to the central data center. 2 after processing and verification at both local repeaters 9 and data center 2, where viewer responses can be analyzed and formatted for the entire system. Directional parabolic antennas 2? and 9A at certain locations provide a system in which widely distributed local viewer response stations and local repeater stations can be coordinated and processed from a single central data center and control station.

In the data center 2, as not shown in Figure 2, the query, which may be associated with a television image on the television screen 2A, converts the 2H operator or the corresponding automatic device into a synchronously timed digital signal adapted for processing in a viewer response system, as in U.S. Patent 4,591,906. In the semiautomatic system indicated, the operator, for example, programs the digital query data via PC 2C, which is transmitted via a 2D modem, transmitter 2E, and directional antenna 2F via transmission link via satellite station 1 and thereby to all response units which are directional antenna ? And connected to satellite station 1, which thus communicates with the series^:Response Stations 3. Response Units answer a question using a specific time interval for each of them, similar to the system described in US Patent 4,591,906.

Similarly, the responses verified at the local repeater stations are received from the satellite transmission link by the receiver 2G for processing by the modem 211 and the formatting computer 21 and, for example, printing by the printer 21. The responses may also be incorporated into the outgoing television signal to allow viewing by the viewer in real time as indicated by the 2K connection.

A typical local repeater station transmission apparatus is shown in Figure 5. The interrogation signals received from the satellite by the antenna 3A are processed by the receiver 3B, the modem 30, the computer

- 11 22 and a local radio transmitter 33 operating at a frequency of 218 MHz for transmission by the 3P antenna. In this transmit mode, the transmit / receive switch 33 is set to transmit position A. Receive position B 'of this switch 30 allows reception of responses by the receiver 3H for PC verification 31, modem 3 «1 and transmitter 3K, which communicates via satellite connection . The aggregate or overall response of the viewer can be derived, for example, by the computer 31 and verified. A discriminatory device on a satellite may distinguish between transmissions from different repeater stations to avoid interference or to allow, for example, simultaneous transmission on separate frequency bands. Preferably, narrowband pulse signals of the type described above can be used at all local repeater stations communicating in the same narrow frequency band via a satellite station. In this regard, all local repeater stations can be identified and controlled by Czech intervals during transmission to the central data center in the manner described in US Pat. No. 4,591,1906. In particular, compensation of signal propagation time prevents errors and substantially increases the number of individual stations that can be served by one system; this number literally reaches, for example, millions of participants.

A simplified transponder is shown in Figure 4, wherein the remote control unit 4D operating synchronously with the television can generate responses via the transponder 4B, preferably according to the aforementioned compound application, to send from the transponder to the local repeater station. on a 218 MHz frequency irapulse channel using a transmitting antenna 4A.

In the transponder unit of Figure 5, the transponder 5.3 may operate independently of the television program signal format and may delay its own television channel, for example, using a channel 4 frequency which can be mixed with other channels by a conventional channel combiner to obtain a suitable channel. display on the TV screen 5F. Thus, the system is compatible to control cable converters, local radio signals received by the 5C antenna, and a 5D video recording device, all of which can normally operate on channel 3.

The responses are preferably generated by an infrared remote control unit 52 that controls the response device 53 for generating response pulses for transmission by the antenna 5A on the 218 MHz pulse channel. to the local repeater station.

Note the menu format on the screen of the TV 5F and the cursor marked X, which can be placed by the remote control unit 53 at a suitable answer for viewer response. The present invention is thus characterized by remote viewer response units by cursor control, which supports a large number of viewers without the discomfort of turning away from the image. As can be seen from Figure 6, the remote control unit 53 preferably has the shape of a gun that can be aimed at a television receiver unit - infrared receiver 5HH near the screen - to set the cursor to select in the menu using the controller and select with the trigger button.

- 13 'ϊίϊ'

The preferred configuration of a viewer response system for local TV subscriber bugs is not indicated in Figure 6. The antenna 5A receives information from the local repeater or satellite station and selects the receiver 5BB to process the incoming signals for use by the microprocessor 5BC. which stores the signals in its memory. When the data includes dot8z in real time, the microprocessor 5BC is programmed to read the infrared receiver 5BH output and pass it through the pulse transmitter 5B? and a 5BA switch signals to the repeater to process viewer response to the central data center.

For information regarding the list of television stations sent to the receiver & gt; 3B or received from the infrared receiver 5BB and stored in the memory of the microprocessor 5BC, the text generator 5BD and the modulator 535? channel 4 provides the viewer with appropriate information and. sets up a device for receiving corresponding viewer responses from the microprocessor-controlled remote control unit 53C. The remote control unit also serves, via the 5BQ infrared transmitter, to switch channels in the television and control the video recording equipment and all other local devices at the local subscriber station controlled by the infrared signals.

Note, for example, the menu displayed on the screen of a 5F television representing the nine channels offered by their features rather than arbitrarily assigned channel numbers, which may vary from place to place and to which

- 14 refer to channel lists outside the television set. In this embodiment of the invention, the cursor control equipment allows channel selection in the same way as for answering queries displayed in the form of a menu on a television picture. This automatically switches to the channel selected by the cursor position when the remote control unit is pressed when the cursor position is selected in the menu.

At turn 7, details of the pulse transmitter 5B are shown? and receivers 5BB for both gain control for different received signal intensities and for synchronizing pulse time intervals by synthesizing the received sigral as a reference frequency, similar to that shown in U.S. Patent 4,755,871. As can be seen from the waveforms of Figure 8, a high frequency signal 8A coming from the local repeat station is processed by the first filter 7A. to remove interference signals. The first amplifier 7B using the automatic gain control circuit generates a standard level signal for the first mixer 70. Using the second filter 73 and the automatic detector 73, an output signal 8B is generated for the microprocessor 5BC.

The amplitude detector 73 also generates signals for automatic gain control and automatic frequency control for fine tuning the first voltage-controlled oscillator 73 and for controlling the gain of the first amplifier 73 and the third amplifier 7P. The locally controlled or synthesized frequency from the oscillator 73 is again mixed by the second amplifier 7H with the incoming signal 8A and amplified by the second amplifier 7G for processing in the first counter 7J '• / ZiFVT'^J> '' ά »'/; p

- 15 for counting the number of oscillations. This first counter 7J and such second counter 7K are reset each time the output signal 83 returns to zero.

The other 7K counter counts oscillations? from the second voltage-controlled oscillator 7K as input to the microprocessor controller 7L, which, via a digital analog converter 7M, controls the transmission frequency of the second voltage-controlled oscillator 711 by comparing the status of the two counters. Only when both of these conditions are the same, the micro programmer 7L can send a high frequency pulse 8C using switch 70 and a power amplifier JT, filtered by a slipband filter 7Q. Thus, the output pulse to the local repetition station is carefully controlled in both frequency and amplitude.

Preferably, the incoming satellite signal 8A comprises a coded real-time clock signal inputted by the data center counter querying to verify the real-time conditions by comparing the time in the query and the response in the microprocessor time portion 5BC in the response unit or computer 31 of the local repeater.

The flowchart in Figure 9 shows in more detail the interacting features of the present invention, available through the use of the cursor control technique, the features unique in this channel selection viewer response system of the invention, whether in a wireless non-broadcast network as indicated or in the corresponding cable network. The removal unit block 27 is a more detailed illustration of the transponder of Figure 6 in relation to a radio transmission viewer response system.

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16 here according to said patent 4,591,906.

The pulse transmitter 30 transmits the output signals to the x-center viewer response analysis center, indicating the identification number, from the memory 31 and the menu option made by the infrared detector 32 from the remote control unit which controls the cursor position as described previously. The timing data is synchronously related to the TV horizontal and vertical sync signals from the sync separator circuit 3.4 by appropriately programming the microprocessor 35 with the incoming program signals on line 33, pa tuned to the local station by the channel selection circuit 37 at the output of the data detector 36. .

Microprocessor by counting synchronization and clock pulses. in the display field, for example, also by the timing circuit 32, timed the display cursor, which is simply inserted into the processed image on the television via the high-frequency attenuator 40 to create an instant contrast at the cursor position relative to the video image to make the cursor position visible to image format. The channel selection equipment of Figure 6 is achieved by using a microprocessor 35 in combination with a channel switching circuit 41 of the prior art after decoding and converting the pixel code to a wired or wireless network channel number.

The present invention thus provided a method of selecting a channel to which a television set in a local station of the viewer response network is tuned (to a program channel) by creating an image menu. In * - '7c^r‘_ss in

- 17 on the TV screen with non-numeric video symbols indicating each of a number of selectable channels (see Figure 6), and setting the cursor on the screen to one of the menu options and identifying the channel selection by the remote control handset to automatically tune to the selected channel . Both viewer response and channel selection are made by setting the cursor position in the menu on the TV screen to one of the displayed options.

The interoperability of the network system with the local television station system is shown in the group diagram of Figure 10, where the program channels are controlled by a network program channel source 45 such as a cable or wireless subscriber system, satellite source or equivalent broadcast network with multiple stations at a particular location. The viewer response processing apparatus 46, either connected to the network system or independent, is coupled to the channel source of the first connection 47 for timing and synchronization of the viewer response signals and to the source of the response signals via the second connection 48 for voice and channel tuning signals. Orders according to the menu requiring the approval of the order by the participant, derived from the cursor-menu selection process of the present invention. Various data processing functions are available so that channel tuning habits, direct response to queries, and the like can be analyzed and reported, and subscriptions or purchases can be billed and so on. Other equipment, if not partially related to intermediate stations, may be part of the subscriber's local television system

- 18 including cable converter 4.9 »if it is necessary to convert the indicated number of channels to the frequency of the television, for example channel 3, selected by the 55-channel switch,

The US standard television channel changer 50 tunes to channels 2 to 12 and can be set to channel 3 or 4 to control the programs available on the channel switch 55 using the handheld remote control unit 56 for purposes of the present invention. in a manner well known in cable subscriber systems and the like, as indicated by dashed infrared 57. The button set 58 can thus be used normally to control channel selection by numbering the channel selection channel available on the network to add channel selection equipment by combining the menu and cursor of the present invention. The remote control unit 56 can also control peripheral units, such as a video recording device, by a button seat 55, in a conventional known manner.

However, according to the present invention, the remote control unit 56 is provided with a device for creating and adjusting the cursor on the screen 11 of the television and for selecting or voting in the menu by positioning the cursor. Advantageously, the control device has the shape of a control well known in the television games for creating and moving the cursor, and selecting actions in the game such as shooting down the missile when it is aimed at the cursor position in the preferred pistol-shaped embodiment of Figure 6. It is provided with a voting switch 60, as well as an analog control element 61 of the X direction and an analog control element 62 of the Y direction, which controls the control. &gt; 7 · ά

19 to allow the cursor to move on the screen 11 of the television. This device is conventionally controlled by such means as the horizontal sync pulse counter 62, reset after each field by the vertical sync pulse of the television 10, which responds to the setting of the analog control element 62 for the Y direction to set the number for timing the vertical cursor position. Similarly, the clock pulse train from oscillator 66 produces, along with the horizontal pulse counter 67, zero horizontal sync pulses, the timing of the horizontal position of the cursor in the television picture, on the screen 11. Thus, the output pulse for timing According to the present invention, this pulse simply attenuates the signals forming the image on the TV screen II. to see the cursor (see Figure 9). Therefore, an attenuator 70, a high-frequency video, is inserted into the signal output 68 of the receiver 10.

Still according to the present invention, the remote control 56 can initiate the channel selection mode according to the function menu described in Figure 6, expressed here by the channel selection block 75. This block processes voting on wire 77 when the cursor timing at output 68 is known, providing with the appropriate code conversion the selected channel for the channel switch 55 directly of choice, without having to set the 50-channel changer or 2θ button set. channel is performed on the basis of the menu on the screen 11 without knowledge or necessity

- 20. Detect channel code numbers in the subscriber network system. Thus, the first product circuit 83 in the presence of the selection and coordinate code of the cursor position at the second output. 79 will decode the local channel menu in the identification circuit 80 to control the channel switch 52. The summing circuit 78 allows channel selection by either remote control unit j&gt; 6 in the usual manner according to the channel numbering of the third output 81 or by using the menu according to the invention. The menu with the offered channels (figure 6) may appear on the screen 11 with a delay after switching on the device.

Furthermore, the cursor position control device according to the present invention allows viewers' answers to multiple-choice question responses in the form of program materials displayed on the screen 11 as explained in Figure 5. For this purpose, the second block 90 converts the selection on the cursor position timing wire 77 at the second output 79 to viewer response signals on the second link 48 via the second product circuit 91 and the response timing and transmission system 92, preferably the system of the aforementioned No. 4,591,906 for wireless transmission to station 46 for viewer response. within range of TV signals. However, in the case of cell wired or wireless subscriber cable systems and their equivalents, other systems for transmitting viewer responses to processing centers are also known.

It is therefore clear that the present invention brings progress in the field and provides a simple communication system for audience responses that can work in real time in a national or international community.