Abstract:
Internet-based enhanced radio. The radio appliance, through a network interface and Internet service provider, accesses a tuning service built upon a plurality of databases. The tuning service, databases, and related enhanced services provide the listener a variety of services, complimenting AM/FM radio broadcasts and Internet radio media stream broadcasts. The radio appliance user can request additional information concerning advertised products, identify and purchase soundtracks and CDs, purchase advertised products, and respond to market research polling and surveys. The tuning service and related enhanced services can monitor, collect, process, and store user music preferences, polling and survey results, user behavior statistics, and purchase and information requests. Market research and subscriber information is stored, retrieved, and updated in databases accessible to the tuning service.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/180,581, entitled “Internet Radio,” filed on Feb. 4, 2000, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to application Ser. No. ______ entitled “Method for Broadcast Content Exchange” filed on even date herewith; and application Ser. No. ______ entitled “Automatic Play-list Creation” filed on even date herewith. The subject matter of all of these related applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention is related to AM/FM radio, more specifically, to the enhancement of the AM/FM radio listening experience.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Background Art  
           [0005]    Listeners of traditional AM/FM radio broadcasts are often interested in obtaining information regarding what they are listening to, including the song or CD title, artist name, advertisement information, station format and programming schedules. Listeners may be able to periodically obtain this information, but not on a regular or predictable basis. For example, DJ&#39;s often do not mention the artist&#39;s name or CD title for every track played, or the listener may not be able to clearly hear the broadcast of this information. Likewise, station identification or programming schedules may be only periodically broadcast. Additionally, the listener may desire more information about an advertised product or an advertised concert or event.  
           [0006]    Advertisers are also constrained in their ability to gather market information and demographics regarding listener statistics and preferences, and are particularly limited in devising advertisement targeting schemes. At best, the advertiser can direct a specific advertisement to a defined target group, based upon station and advertiser market research. However, people who hear the advertisements are a heterogeneous assembly of listeners with individual tastes and preferences. Similarly, the radio stations design programming formats using the same incomplete and imprecise marketing information available to the advertisers.  
           [0007]    What is needed is a device or method that overcomes the shortfalls of what is currently known in the art.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The invention is a method for providing information to a radio appliance. A radio appliance is similar to a conventional radio, except it can engage in two-way communications. When the radio appliance is playing audio content that is broadcast by a radio station, such as musical works, talk shows, and advertisements, the user can decide to request information about the audio content. The request is received by a software program that has access to a database containing the requested information.  
           [0009]    Therefore, the user can request the name of the artist of the musical work, purchasing information for the CD, or more details about an advertised product. However, before the software program can deliver the information to the listener, it must receive information from the radio appliance indicating the identity of the audio content. Once the identity is known, the software can access the database and deliver the requested information to the radio appliance.  
           [0010]    Another aspect of the invention is the appliance itself, which has a radio and user controls. The radio is conventionally used for receiving and decoding radio waves to play audio programs including various audio content segments broadcast by radio stations. The user controls are used for requesting information about the audio content. Usually, the appliance will also have a communications device that transmits data about the information requested with the user controls.  
           [0011]    Another embodiment of the invention uses the same three components, a radio, user controls and a communications device slightly differently. Specifically the user controls are used to access features such as adjustable volume and radio frequency tuning The communications device then transmits data indicating which features were accessed with the user controls.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the various components of the Internet-based enhanced radio system;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one possible configuration of the radio appliance and tuning service.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 shows several components of the Internet-based enhanced radio system, consisting of the Internet  110 , a tuning service  120 , Internet audio services  130 , a conventional AM/FM radio broadcast station  140 , a radio appliance  150 , a dial-up service  160 , a PC  170 , a plurality of data bases  180  available to the tuning service  120 , and enhanced services  190 .  
         [0015]    The Internet  110  is a broad network of interconnected computers and servers allowing for the transmission and exchange of Internet Protocol (IP) data between users connected to the Internet through a network service provider. Examples of network service providers are the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cable service provider, or a satellite service provider.  
         [0016]    The tuning service  120  is a database server with access to a plurality of databases  180  that contain information relating to content of Internet audio services  130  and broadcast radio stations  140 , and registers information about listeners. Listeners can be identified either through sign-in procedures, or through unique identifiers on the radio appliance  150 . Although the tuning service  120  is shown external to the radio appliance  150 , its location does not affect its functionality.  
         [0017]    The Internet audio service  130  allows users to access media on demand, simulcasts of broadcast radio programs, and unique streaming content through the Internet.  
         [0018]    A broadcast radio station  140  provides conventional radio broadcasting using AM/FM radio waves. The radio station  140  includes a transmission tower  142  and in some cases, a radio station database  144 . The database  144  might contain information such as station location, name, call letters, and broadcast frequency. The database  144  can be provided to the Internet  110  or directly to the tuning service  120  or both.  
         [0019]    The radio appliance  150  preferably receives both conventional radio broadcasts and plays media streams carried over the Internet  110 . The radio appliance  150  can be connected to any number of external networks. For example, the appliance  150  can connect to the tuning service  120  through the Internet  110  (either directly using IP protocol through the PSTN, a cable service, or a satellite service, or indirectly through a PC  170 ), or through a non-IP connection such as a dial-up service  160 .  
         [0020]    It should be noted that although a PC  170  is not needed to use the appliance  150 , the PC  170  can enhance appliance features, allow media files to be uploaded or downloaded from the PC hard disk or other storage device to the appliance  150 , and provide access to a larger display, peripheral devices, Web browsers and other applications, additional software support and additional processing power. The appliance  150  can be portable if a wireless connection is established to the tuning service  120 .  
         [0021]    The tuning service  120  accesses a plurality of databases  180 . The databases  180  might include an Internet audio service database  181 , a radio database  182 , a subscriber database  183 , an advertising database  184 , a sponsor database  185 , a research database  186 , and a song database  187 . The location of the databases  180  and the number of actual databases might vary with different embodiments of the invention. Similarly, the databases could be further divided, or combined in any number of ways. Additionally, while access to the databases is critical, maintenance of the databases can be performed by third parties.  
         [0022]    The Internet audio service database  181  contains information about Internet audio services  130 , such as general station information and media stream characteristics. The station information might include station ID, name, location, status, description and URL address. Media stream characteristics of an Internet audio station might include the number of streams, stream format, bandwidth, reliability, status, and any additional characteristics that listeners might want access to.  
         [0023]    The radio database  182  would include radio broadcast station  140  information, such as station name, location, frequency, power, operational times, and station format, for example.  
         [0024]    The subscriber database  183  contains listener information, such as user name, ID, address, status, billing information, authentication information, software version information and listening preferences. The subscriber database  183  would preferably not be stored locally on the appliance  150  so the listeners could access their accounts whenever they can establish communication with the tuning service  120 . The same station pre-sets, for example, could be accessed from multiple appliances. Additionally, listener&#39;s might want to access their subscriber information from other devices. For example, while listeners wouldn&#39;t be able to use their broadcast radio presets on the PC  170 , they would still be able to access billing information, listening preferences, etc. Additionally, if the PC  170  had the appropriate software for Internet media streams, the listener could use those Internet pre-sets.  
         [0025]    The advertising database  184  could contain advertising media streams and information, including sponsor, description, classification, advertisement usage statistics and interactive advertisement information. The database  184  could also have elements indicating whether an advertisement is active or inactive and rules indicating how the advertisement is matched to the targeted demographic, including the play frequency and the play priority. The interactive advertisement information might include detailed product information, contact information, and facilitate direct product purchasing. For example, the enhanced services  190  could include E-commerce applications to allow listeners to purchase advertised goods or services, either directly, through a business partner, or third party.  
         [0026]    The sponsor database  185  contains advertisement sponsor information, such as sponsor name, ID, status, type, administrative contact, billing contact, billing method, and advertisements available in the advertising database  184 . Depending on the business model, the advertisements stored in the advertising database  184  could append or overlay advertisements over broadcast music, play visual advertisements while playing audio, or play advertisements while the user is changing stations or waiting for a media stream to be buffered.  
         [0027]    Of course, the specific elements stored in the advertising database  184  and the sponsor database  185  would depend on the tuning service&#39;s  120  specific business model. For example, it is possible to only provide interactive advertising information for pre-existing radio station advertisements. In that case, description, classification, advertisement usage statistics and advertising media streams would be unnecessary.  
         [0028]    However, the radio appliance  150  would need to be able to identify when certain advertisements are being played (in order to synchronize the interactive advertising information with the advertisements). Either an additional database  184  element would need to be added that included information about when advertisements would be played, or signals within the broadcast would need to alert the radio appliance  150  that an advertisement was being played, or pattern recognition software could be used in the enhanced services  190 , or time delaying the broadcast to allow for manual recognition, etc.  
         [0029]    The research database  186  contains marketing information gathered by the tuning service  120  on listener preference and demographics. The user might actively express certain interests by filling out surveys, being given the opportunity to vote on songs, or otherwise indicate listening preferences. Additionally, analysis of the listener&#39;s activities can generate data. For example, certain assumptions of a listener&#39;s preferences can be made by looking to the listener&#39;s pre-set stations.  
         [0030]    Also, a detailed profile could be formed by monitoring when the radio appliance  150  was turned on, whether the volume remained constant, when the station has changed, what times the listener used the appliance  150 , length of time a user spends on a visual advertisement, number of advertisements that can be played before a listener changes the station or lowers the volume, which songs or advertisements prompted the user to request more information or make a purchase, and how the listener used any other features of the radio appliance  150 .  
         [0031]    The research data could then be used, either anonymously to refine advertisements and radio programming for specific groups of consumers, or the listener can be identified so that a person&#39;s listening experience can be improved.  
         [0032]    For example, enhanced services  190  operating with information provided by the tuning service  120  and radio appliance  150  can locate broadcast radio stations within a subscriber&#39;s coverage area which the listener might enjoy, generate play lists of songs available to the listener, possibly from the listener&#39;s personal collection, or offer products and services that might be of use to the listener, or which compete with advertised products (once again, according to the business model).  
         [0033]    The radio appliance  150  could facilitate the purchase of many different types of goods and services. If the radio appliance  150  was able to recognize which musical works were being played, it could offer information about the artist, song, title, date of recording, title of the CD, as long as the tuning service  120  had access to the song database  187 . The appliance  150  could then facilitate the purchase of CDs, concert tickets, merchandizing, etc. The recognition of musical works could be done using methods similar to what was described in connection with advertisement recognition (play-lists, identifying signals, pattern recognition software, time-delaying the broadcast, etc).  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 2 shows one possible configuration of the radio appliance  150 . The exchange of information between the radio appliance  150  and the tuning service  120  is enabled and managed by the tuning manager  210  and transaction manager  260  of the radio appliance  150 . The tuning manager  210  is an application that provides a tuning interface to the user. It manages user input  220  and the user display  230  of the radio appliance  150 , retrieves and maintains current tuning information, and launches the player application  240  required to tune a station. The tuning manager can preferably tune both Internet audio services  130  and broadcast radio stations  140 .  
         [0035]    The transaction manager  260  communicates with the tuning service  120  and, in some implementations, directly with the enhanced services  190 . Preferably, the transaction manager  260  uses the IP protocol to communicate, potentially allowing it to communicate with the entire Internet  110 .  
         [0036]    The tuning directory  250  might consist of a hierarchical directory of available stations or a list of preset stations and favorite stations selected by the user. However, in a preferred embodiment of the system, the tuning service  120  would provide the entire directory of available Internet audio services  130 , and the tuning directory would not be present on the device  150 . Of course, the tuning service  120  would then need to be constantly maintained to ensure their directory of Internet audio services  130  remains current. In such a configuration, the device  150  itself could assist in the maintenance of the directory of Internet audio services  130 . When the device  150  is unable to connect (e.g., the domain failed to resolve, the server was busy or returned a time-out error), it could report its failure to the tuning service  120 . The device  150  could also report whenever a successful connection was made so that reliability statistics could be compiled.  
         [0037]    Although the invention has been described in its presently contemplated best mode, it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes of operation and embodiments, all within the ability and skill of those familiar with the art and without the exercise of further inventive activity. Accordingly, that which is intended to be protected by Letters Patents is set forth in the claims and includes all variations and modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.