Abstract:
A system provides context-dependent advice and training in an audio or video form to a corresponding consumer-electronic device. Preferably, the device receives the advice and training from a server on the Internet. When the device is not in contact with the Internet, the advice and training are provided from local memory, either within the target device or within a local area network that is in contact with the consumer device. In this context, the advice and training will generally provide information related to connecting to the Internet. To facilitate ease of operation, the advice and training is provided in audio and/or video form, depending upon the rendering capabilities of consumer device, and depending upon the context and/or content of the advice and training information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to the field of consumer electronics, and in particular to a consumer appliance that automatically provides instructions on the use of the appliance, and/or advice on the features and benefits of the appliance, in an audio and/or video format, based on information received from the Internet.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    Consumer appliances, such as stereo systems, televisions, home entertainment systems, recording devices, and the like are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Such devices, for example, include multiple input and output ports for transmitting or receiving content material to and from each of a variety of other devices, and may also include one or more input/output ports that provide connectivity to home networks.  
           [0005]    Learning to operate most high-end electronic devices to their greatest potential is often a daunting task. At times, also, learning to operate even simple devices to a mediocre level of performance can be daunting, as well, depending upon the technical expertise of the user, and/or depending upon the quality of the user&#39;s manual and other documentation provided with the device. Some devices include a ‘help’ system that can be used to learn how to use the device, or to perform diagnostics, but the help system often becomes yet-another feature of the device that the user fails to learn to use.  
           [0006]    To assist the users of their products, some vendors offer comprehensive on-line tutorials, hypertext-based user manuals, training videos, and other applications that facilitate learning about each product&#39;s features and functions. Typically, however, the user must use a computer terminal, or a set-top box, to access this training material. Unless the consumer device and the computer or set-top box are collocated, this process typically requires the user to learn about the device at one locale, and then apply the learning to the device at another locale. Also, operating the computer to obtain the instruction while simultaneously operating the device to apply the learning introduces a discontinuity in learning that substantially reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning process.  
           [0007]    To complicate the matter further, many consumer electronic devices are configured to be upgradeable, often by merely downloading a new version of software. In addition to not fully appreciating the features and benefits of the device when it was first received, many users are unaware of subsequent features and benefits, or of possible fixes to problems that they have experienced in the past.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is an object of this invention to ease the task of learning to operate a consumer-electronic device. It is a further object of this invention to provide advice regarding features and benefits available for the electronic device. It is a further object of this invention to provide an efficient and effective method of integrating the learning experience into the operation of the device. It is a further object of this invention to facilitate and encourage the upgrading of the electronic device. It is a further object of this invention to provide a relatively low cost method and system for achieving the above objects.  
           [0009]    These objects and others are achieved by a system that provides context-dependent advice and training in an audio or video form to the corresponding consumer-electronic device. Preferably, the device receives the advice and training from a server on the Internet. When the device is not in contact with the Internet, the advice and training are provided from local memory, either within the target device or within a local area network that is in contact with the consumer device. In this context, the advice and training will generally provide information related to connecting to the Internet. To facilitate ease of operation, the advice and training is provided in audio and/or video form, depending upon the rendering capabilities of consumer device, and depending upon the context and/or content of the advice and training information. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The invention is explained in further detail, and by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of an audio/video guidance system in accordance with this invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram for invoking the audio/video guidance system of this invention.  
     
    
       [0013]    Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate similar or corresponding features or functions.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 illustrates an example block diagram of an audio/video guidance system  100  in accordance with this invention. The system  100  includes a consumer device  110  that is configured to connect to a local network  120 , such as a local area network (LAN) or home automation network, and, from the local network  120  to the Internet  150 . Optionally, the consumer device  110  may be configured to connect directly to the Internet  150 , using, for example, a broadband connection, such as a cable modem, or dialup connection. The consumer device  110  may be, for example, an Internet-enabled audio system that is configured to receive online music and other entertainment material from the Internet. The Streamium MC-i200 product from Philips Electronics, for example, is a full-functioned AM/FM stereo system with CD player and MP3 recorder and player, that is also designed to connect to a home network via an Ethernet gateway router. When connected to the home network, the MC-i200 is able to receive MP3-encoded entertainment material from a Personal Computer (PC) or a file server, and, if the network provides Internet access, is able to receive entertainment material from online music services, such as Internet Radio sites, from online music collections, from online vendors, and so on.  
         [0015]    The guidance information includes instructions for installing, operating, or maintaining the consumer device  110 , and may include detailed instructions for each feature and function of the device  110 , or may only include instructions for some of the more complicated or unusual features and functions. Additionally, the guidance information may include ancillary information, such as a description of the benefits that particular features provide, how best to combine features, and so on. In like manner, when the device  110  is connected to the Internet  150 , the ancillary information may include advertisements for future features or functions, or notifications of corrections of faults in existing features or functions, that are available by upgrading the product. When online upgrades are provided, the guidance information will include instructions and advice regarding the any upgraded features, functions, or corrections.  
         [0016]    In a preferred embodiment, the guidance information is distributed among storage elements  115 ,  130 ,  165 , at the device  110 , the local network  120 , and the Internet  150 , respectively, to provide economic efficiency. If detailed information is provided, for example, supplying the information from a manufacturer&#39;s Internet server  160  will generally be more efficient than incorporating the detailed information into each and every device  110  that the manufacturer produces, particularly with regard to requirements for memory to contain this information. On the other hand, guidance regarding how to connect to a local network would be incorporated into the storage  115  of each device  110 , because it would be ineffective to require that the device be connected to the local network  120  or to the Internet  150  to receive this guidance from the storage elements  130 ,  165 . If the local network  120  reliably provides access to the Internet  150 , the need for storage  130  on the local network  120  is minimized, and may be eliminated.  
         [0017]    In accordance with this invention, the guidance information is provided as audio and/or video information, depending upon the particular device  110 , and the particular guidance information. For example, if the device  110  is an audio system, without a display device, the guidance information will be audio suggestions or comments. If the device  110  includes a display device, the guidance information may include instruction videos, schematic diagrams, suggested layouts, and so on. If the guidance information relates to how to display images on the display device, it will preferably be a vocal description of the process.  
         [0018]    Also in accordance with this invention, the presentation of the guidance information is context sensitive. A controller  113  in the consumer device  110  is configured to effect the rendering of select guidance information based on a current state  111  of the consumer device  110 . The state  111  of the device  110  is controlled and/or determined by the actions of a user at a user interface  112 , by actions of the controller  113 , and so on. The state of an audio system may correspond, for example to: power-on, connected-to-local-network, no-input-selected, surround-sound-selected, bass-enhanced, and so on. In this state, there is no need to guide the user for connecting to the local network, because the state of the device indicates that the device is already connected to the local network. In like manner, there is no need to guide the user on selecting specific tracks on a CD, because a CD has not been selected as the input to the device. It may, on the other hand, be wise to provide guidance on how to select a particular device or component for providing input to the device.  
         [0019]    In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the controller  113  detects when the device is in a state that the device has not previously entered, and determines whether a guidance message is available for this state. The controller  1   13  is configured to initiate a search for the message at the “highest” level of the information hierarchy, and proceed downward. In the example of FIG. 1, the controller  113  will first attempt to find the message at the storage  165  of the Internet Server  160 , via the access device  114 . If unsuccessful, the controller  113  will next attempt to find the message at the local storage  130 . If also unsuccessful, the controller  113  will next attempt to find the message within its local memory  115 . In this manner, messages that are updated at the Internet server  160  can effectively replace the messages that were installed in the device  110  when it was manufactured.  
         [0020]    If a guidance message is available, the controller  113  provides the message to the rendering component  116 , but preferably only if the message has not previously been rendered, or if the user explicitly requests guidance. During the search and rendering process, if the device undergoes a change of state, the process is terminated, and the next state is evaluated. That is, for example, if a first state is entered for a brief period of time, and then exited for a second state, the need to present guidance related to the first state passes, and the controller  113  determines whether there is an as-yet-unrendered message available for this second state.  
         [0021]    The controller  113  may also be configured to pause some minimal amount of time before rendering guidance information, to allow a user to transit to a new state. That is, in this embodiment, only if the user pauses at a particular state for more than the minimal amount of time will the message corresponding to the state be rendered.  
         [0022]    By providing the guidance only when a user pauses at a state, and only if the same guidance has not been given in the past, the user is not inundated with messages that might cause the user to disable this feature. Not illustrated, the controller  113  provides the user the option of disabling the above described automated guidance. The controller  113  also provides the option of resetting all messages to ‘unrendered’, so that a user may reinitiate the learning process, or so that a new user may be provided with the guidance information. If the device  110  includes an option for user identification, the controller  113  is configured to maintain independent user options, including independent lists of which messages have been rendered for each user. The controller  113  also allows the user to receive guidance information on-demand, typically by entering a particular state and pressing a ‘help button’ or performing some other defined operation corresponding to a help request. In like manner, if the user upgrades the device, via, for example, a download from the Internet  150 , the controller  113  is preferably configured to selectively reset or initialize messages related to the functions that are affected by the upgrade to ‘unrendered’, so that the user is provided the opportunity to receive any guidance information related to the upgraded functions or features.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram for invoking the audio/video guidance system of this invention. At  210 , a change of state is detected. This change may be caused by a user action, by the expiration of a countdown process, by termination of an action by a component associated with the consumer device, and so on. As is common in the art, certain changes of state, or certain classes of changes of state, may be defined as “don&#39;t-care” changes with regard to the guidance system.  
         [0024]    Upon detection of a recognized change of state, the system determines whether a message for the newly-entered state exists, at  220 . As noted above, preferably this determination is made in a “top-down” fashion, to allow upper-levels of the information hierarchy to substitute messages for information sources that are lower in the hierarchy. If there is no message available for guidance at this state, the system loops back to  210 , to await the next recognized change of state.  
         [0025]    At  230 , the message corresponding to the state is accessed, and, at  240 , the system determines whether this message has previously been rendered, and if it has been previously rendered, the system loops back to  210 . A number of techniques, common in the art, may be applied to keep track of which messages have been rendered. In a straightforward embodiment, each state has an associated ‘rendered’ flag that is set when the message is first rendered. However, the use of a single flag does not facilitate the rendering of updated messages if the former message was rendered. In a more extensive tracking system, each state may have a date-time stamp associated with the last time that a message was rendered. If the date-time of the accessed message is more recent than the last rendering date-time, then this accessed message is determined to be unrendered.  
         [0026]    If, at  240 , the message is determined to be unrendered, the system renders the message via the consumer device, at  250 . Preferably, this rendering is preceded by a notification signal, to catch the user&#39;s attention, and succeeded by a message-termination signal. Typically, different notification signals are provided for different events. For example, a “warning” message may have a different notification signal than an “encouragement” message. As noted above, the message rendering may be delayed, to assure that the user is purposely pausing at this state. Different delay times may be imposed, depending upon the type of message. If, for example, the system determines that a warning should be issued, because the user is about to initiate a destructive task, there may be no delay imposed. If, on the other hand, the message is merely general information regarding options that could be taken from a particular state, a much longer interrupt period is provided.  
         [0027]    At  260 , after rendering the message corresponding to the current state, the state is marked as having had a message rendered, using a flag, a date-time stamp, or other technique that is provided to minimize the rendering of redundant messages. Thereafter, the system loops back to  210 , to await the next recognized change of state.  
         [0028]    The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within the spirit and scope of the following claims.