Patent Abstract:
Selecting a content filler from a plurality of content fillers in a satellite broadcast comprises receiving a content in a first broadcast frequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers in a respective plurality of second broadcast frequency channels, wherein the content includes a gap in content to be filled by one of the plurality of content fillers, the gap in content defined by a start indicator and an end indicator. The receiver transmits the content to a display device. The receiver determines a second broadcast frequency channel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequency channels and responsive to receiving the start indicator, switches to the determined second broadcast frequency channel, transmits the content filler in the determined second broadcast frequency channel to the display device. Responsive to receiving the end indicator, the receiver switches to the first broadcast frequency channel and transmits the content to the display device.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates generally to media and entertainment, and more particularly, to targeted advertising and customized display of advertisements in satellite broadcasting. 
         [0002]    The cost of producing and distributing television program content has traditionally been covered by selling advertising space at designated points in the distributed program. Over the years, advertisers have looked for ways to more closely target their advertising to the viewers anticipated to be watching at the time the advertisements are shown. For example, advertisers might purchase advertising space during a particular program often viewed by large numbers of their target audience, such as snack food advertisements during sporting events. In addition, television advertisers look for alternate ways to advertise beyond the designated advertising points in program content, such as placing products in the actual program content. Today, advertisers are examining new ways of reaching their target audiences as broadcasters attempt to deliver more relevant and interactive advertisements to their subscribers. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and system for selecting a content filler from a plurality of content fillers in a satellite broadcast. The method comprises the receiver receiving a content in a first broadcast frequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers in a respective plurality of second broadcast frequency channels, wherein the content includes a gap in content to be filled by one of the plurality of content fillers, the gap in content defined by a start indicator and an end indicator. The receiver transmits the content to a display device. The receiver determines a second broadcast frequency channel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequency channels and responsive to the receiver receiving the start indicator, the receiver switches to the determined second broadcast frequency channel, transmits the content filler in the determined second broadcast frequency channel to the display device. Responsive to the receiver receiving the end indicator, the receiver switches to the first broadcast frequency channel and transmits the content to the display device. 
         [0004]    In another aspect, the content received, by the receiver, includes the content and a plurality of display fillers in the first broadcast frequency channel, wherein the content and the plurality of display fillers are received concurrently in the first broadcast frequency channel. Based on characteristics of the display device, selecting, by the receiver, a display layout from a plurality of display layouts, wherein the display layout defines a location on the display device&#39;s viewing area to display content and one or more display fillers. Selecting, by the receiver, one or more of the plurality of display fillers and transmitting, by the receiver, the content and the one or more selected display fillers, in the selected display layout, to the display device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings are not to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating one skilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction with the detailed description. In the drawings: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  illustrates a functional block diagram of a satellite broadcast system, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of program content, broadcast concurrently with a plurality of targeted advertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellite receiver&#39;s selector, selecting targeted advertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of program content, customized viewing area advertisements and resulting display, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellite receiver&#39;s selector, selecting templates and customized viewing area advertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  depicts a block diagram of components of the satellite receiver in a satellite broadcast system, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    Satellite broadcast television is one of the largest mediums of advertising. Even with the advent of the Internet and mobile television, satellite broadcast television continues to supply program content to a large viewing audience. With this large audience, advertisers are constantly striving to make their advertisements reach the right audience to maximize their return on investment. Broadcast program content and advertisements may be sent to all satellite receivers in a broadcast area, and all viewers of the same program content may see the same advertisements. The size of the audience for specific television program content, as measured by companies such as Nielsen Media Research, is often used as a metric for television advertisement placement, and consequently, for the rates charged to advertisers to air their advertisements. The size of the audience may vary for each network, program content, and time of day. Currently, program providers may define the number and location of advertising insertion points, or gaps, in a program&#39;s content. Program providers may set indicators in the program content to define the start and end of the gaps in content. 
         [0013]    To further optimize return on investment, advertisers may entreat satellite broadcasters to broadcast a plurality of advertisements, concurrently, each targeted to a different viewing audience demographic. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may enable individual satellite receivers to select, in real-time, content filler, or advertisements, from among the plurality of advertisements concurrently broadcast, to insert into the program content at the defined insertion point. This may allow broadcasters to decide which advertisements to broadcast at any point prior to actual broadcast, and may allow viewers to see advertisements selected, or targeted, for them, which may differ from advertisements seen by other viewing audiences of the same program content. 
         [0014]    Typically targeted advertising matches advertising criteria with audience qualifiers. Audience qualifiers may include, but are not limited to, the demographics and viewing behavior of the audience. The demographic of the audience at any particular satellite receiver may be determined through, but not limited to, publicly available surveys, subscriber information gathered at the time of subscription purchase, purchase transactions made through a broadcast service, and location. Viewing behavior may be determined by, for example, set top boxes with Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communications chips or smart phone based remote control applications. 
         [0015]    Inserting targeted advertisements only at predefined insertion points may not fully address the needs of advertisers, as viewers may utilize advertisement insertion points in the program content to perform other tasks that take them away from television viewing. Displaying advertisements on the television during program content may help ensure advertisements are seen, even when advertisement insertion points are skipped, fast-forwarded through, or walked away from. 
         [0016]    Advertisements that display on the television during program content are becoming more common and are typically displayed as an overlay at the bottom or top of the television screen. These advertisement overlays may block out some of the program content viewing area. Advertisement overlays, displayed much like severe weather warnings, may overlay 5 to 10 percent of the television&#39;s program content viewing area. In the extreme, an advertisement overlay may overlay as much as 25 percent of the program content viewing area. Subtitles, which may be part of the program content, may be completely obscured by the overlays. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may customize the television viewing area to enable the concurrent display of display fillers, or advertisements, and program content without overlaying the program content viewing area with the advertisements. Various embodiments may customize the viewing area based on the television characteristics such as screen dimensions. The viewing area customization may include, but is not limited to, advertisement display locations, advertisement sizes, and number of advertisements that may be displayed concurrently. In certain embodiments, the advertisements displayed concurrently with program content may be targeted advertisements for the viewing audience of the particular satellite receiver. 
         [0017]    Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described in a satellite broadcast system, broadcasting to a television, although those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of the invention may be used to advantage for numerous program content delivery systems with numerous receiving devices where advertising covers the cost of producing program content. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplary satellite broadcast system  199 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Satellite broadcast system  199  includes satellite broadcaster  130 , satellite  135 , satellite receiver  122 , televisions  140 A,  140 B and their set-top boxes  150 A,  150 B, and remote control devices  145 A,  145 B that send signals to their respective televisions  140 A,  140 B and set-top boxes  150 A,  150 B. 
         [0019]    Satellite receiver  122  includes a selector  100 , storage for a receiver profile  120 , and storage for a plurality of templates  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D, all of which may be stored, for example, on a readable storage medium, such as satellite receiver readable storage medium (media)  650  ( FIG. 6 ). 
         [0020]    Satellite broadcaster  130  may collect demographic information for the viewing audience of a satellite receiver  122  in its satellite broadcast system  199 . The demographic information may include publicly available survey information, information gathered with the subscription purchase, and viewing behavior collected through GSM chips in the set-top boxes  150  and remote control  145  applications. The broadcaster  130  may keep demographic information static for the life of a subscription, update demographic information when a subscription is renewed, or update demographic information regularly to reflect changing viewing habits or other demographics collected. The demographics of the viewing audience of satellite receiver  122  may be generalized to reflect all viewing audiences of satellite receiver  122  or may vary to reflect different viewing audiences at different times of the day or different days of the week. For example, a younger audience may be the viewing audience in the early afternoon, as determined by cartoon viewing selections in that time period. 
         [0021]    Satellite broadcaster  130  may include a transmitter or other equipment operable to transmit a plurality of frequency channels having data representing audio content, visual content, display templates  110  or selection signals. The plurality of frequency channels may be received at a satellite  135 , which in turn rebroadcasts the plurality of frequency channels to be received at one or more terrestrial satellite receivers  122 . Satellite broadcaster  130  may establish a plurality of frequency channels that include advertisements. Each frequency channel may target advertisements to a particular viewing audience demographic. Satellite broadcaster  130  may pre-determine the frequency channel to be monitored by selector  100  or may signal selector  100 , through satellite  135 , which frequency channel to monitor when selecting advertisements targeted to display on television  140 A,  140 B during an advertisement insertion point. Selector  100  may receive the signal from satellite broadcaster  130 , with the frequency channel to monitor, when the satellite receiver  122  is first established, during every program content broadcast, or any interval in-between. Selector  100  may store the frequency channel to monitor in the receiver profile  120 . 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of program content  210 , broadcast concurrently with a plurality of targeted advertisements  230 ,  231 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Satellite broadcaster  130  may broadcast multiple frequency channels  220 ,  221 A,  221 B,  221 C concurrently, through satellite  135 , to satellite receiver  122 . Program content segments  210 A,  210 B,  210 C may be broadcast on a program content frequency channel  220 , while targeted advertisements  230 A,  230 B,  230 C,  231 A,  231 B,  231 C may be broadcast on advertisement frequency channels  221 A,  221 B,  221 C, each targeted to a different viewing audience demographic. The program segments  210 A,  210 B,  210 C may be separated by advertisement insertion points  240 A,  240 B, where the program content  210  owner has determined advertisements  230 ,  231  may be inserted. Satellite broadcaster  130  may broadcast a default advertisement in the program content frequency channel  220 , during the advertisement insertion points  240 , in the event that no targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  are available. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellite receiver&#39;s  122  selector  100 , selecting targeted advertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In various embodiments of the disclosure, selector  100  may have previously received a signal from broadcaster  130  with an advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C to monitor for targeted advertisements based on the viewing habits and demographics associated with the viewing audience of the satellite receiver  122 . The signaled advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C may be saved in the receiver profile  120 . Satellite receiver selector  100  may receive a broadcast, at  310 , from broadcaster  130  which includes program content  210  on a program content frequency channel  220  and a plurality of targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  on advertisement frequency channels  221 . During the program content segments,  210 A,  210 B,  210 C, selector  100  may, at  320 , transmit the program content  210  to the televisions  140  connected to the satellite receiver  122  that are tuned in to that program channel. At  325 , selector  100  recognizes whether or not an advertisement insertion point  240 A,  240 B in the program content  210  has been reached. If an advertisement insertion point  240 A,  240 B has not been reached, program content  210  may continue to be sent to the televisions  140 . If an insertion point has been reached, as determined at  325 , selector  100  may determine, at  327 , whether a targeted advertisement frequency channel  221  has been saved in the receiver profile  120 . In various embodiments, if no advertisement frequency channel has been saved in the receiver profile  120 , as determined at  327 , selector  100  may, at  330 , transmit default advertisements to the televisions  140 . In certain embodiments, satellite broadcaster  130  may broadcast default advertisements in the same frequency channel  220  as the program content  210 . In other embodiments, a default targeted advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C may be selected. A default targeted advertising frequency channel  221  may be pre-set in the receiver profile  120  by the broadcaster  130 . 
         [0024]    If an advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C has been saved in the receiver profile  120 , as determined at  327 , selector  100  may switch, at  340 , from the program content frequency channel  220  to the saved advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C and transmit the targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  broadcast in the switched-to advertisement frequency channel  221 A,  221 B,  221 C, to the televisions  140 . In various embodiments, the selected targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  may be shown on all televisions  140  displaying advertisements, regardless of program channel selected on each television  140 A,  140 B. 
         [0025]    At the end of the advertisement insertion point  240 A,  240 B, selector  100  may switch back, at  350 , to the program content frequency channel  220  and continue transmitting program content  210  to the televisions  140 . 
         [0026]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, selector  100  may additionally receive multiple advertisements concurrently with the program content  210  for display on the televisions  140  connected to the satellite receiver  122  and tuned in to that program channel. In various embodiments, receiver profile  120  may include television  140 A,  140 B information, such as the television&#39;s  140 A,  140 B viewing area dimensions. In various embodiments, selector  100  may receive information about televisions  140  from the set-top boxes  150  associated with the televisions  140  and may save the information in the receiver profile  120 . 
         [0027]    The set-top box  150 A,  150 B may be configured for the television  140 A,  140 B manually, such as with a switch, through an application on the remote control  145 A,  145 B, or through direct communication with the television  140 A,  140 B. Selector  100  may transmit program content  210  with concurrent advertisements to television  140 A,  140 B through set-top box  150 A,  150 B. 
         [0028]    In various embodiments, satellite receiver  122  includes a plurality of templates  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D that may define how program content  210  and concurrent advertisements are to be displayed, hereinafter “display layout”, in the television  140 A,  140 B viewing area. In certain embodiments, selector  100  may receive the plurality of templates  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D from satellite broadcaster  130 . In other embodiments, the templates  100  may be predefined in the satellite receiver  122 . The plurality of templates  110  may define the display layouts for a plurality of television viewing area dimensions. The display layout may include the locations in the television  140 A,  140 B viewing area where program content may be displayed, locations where advertisements may be displayed, the size of the advertisements displayed, and the number of concurrent advertisements to be displayed along with the program content  210 . The plurality of templates  110  may remain static for the life of a broadcast subscription, or may be updated when a subscription renews, or may be updated regularly as the satellite broadcaster&#39;s  130  advertising needs change. 
         [0029]    Satellite receiver  122  represents a device, system or environment, and may be a roof-top receiver, a television set-top box, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone or any other electronic device capable of performing the required functionality of embodiments of the disclosure. Satellite receiver  122  may include hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 6 . In other various embodiments of the present disclosure, satellite receiver  122  may represent a cluster of components acting as a single pool of seamless resources. In general, satellite receiver  122  is representative of any device or combination of devices capable of receiving a broadcast signal and executing in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of program content  210 , customized viewing area advertisements  410 A,  410 B,  410 C,  410 D,  410 E, and resulting display, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment, customized viewing area advertisements  410  and program content  210  may be broadcast as a multiplexed signal in the program content frequency channel  220 . A multiplexed signal may subdivide the capacity of the broadcast program content frequency channel  220  allowing for multiple content, such as program content  210 A and a plurality of customized viewing area advertisements  410 . 
         [0031]    Television  140 A illustrates an exemplary display layout in its viewing area. Program content  210 A and concurrent customized viewing area advertisements  410 A,  410 B,  410 C,  410 D,  410 E are displayed. The viewing area of television  140 A is divided into defined areas for the program content  210 A, and the custom viewing area advertisements  410  based on a template  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D that corresponds to the television  140 A viewing area dimensions. The plurality of customized viewing area advertisements  410  may co-exist with program content  210 A in the television  140 A,  140 B viewing area without overlaying any program content  210 A. 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellite receiver&#39;s  122  selector  100 , selecting templates  110  and customized viewing area advertisements  410 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In various embodiments of the disclosure, selector  100  may have previously received a plurality of templates  110  from broadcaster  130  with display layouts for a variety of television  140 A,  140 B viewing area dimensions. The templates  110  may, alternately, have been preset in the satellite receiver  122 . Selector  100  may receive a multiplexed broadcast, at  510 , from broadcaster  130 , which includes concurrently broadcast program content  210  and a plurality of customized viewing area advertisements  410  on a program content frequency channel  220 . 
         [0033]    Selector  100  may de-multiplex, or split, the broadcast to obtain, at  520 , the customized viewing area advertisements  410  to be displayed in the television  140 A,  140 B viewing area along with the program content  210 . Selector  100  may, at  530 , obtain the television  140 A,  140 B viewing area dimensions saved in the receiver profile  120  and, at  540 , obtain the template  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D that corresponds to the obtained television  140 A,  140 B viewing area dimensions. Selector  100  may, at  550 , set the display layout for the program content  210  and customized viewing area advertisements  410  for television  140 A,  140 B based on the obtained template  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D. 
         [0034]    In certain embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements  410  may be prioritized. Templates  110  for small televisions  140  may include fewer locations for customized viewing area advertisements  410  than may be received in the broadcast program frequency channel  220 . Selector  100  may utilize the priority to determine which customized viewing area advertisements  410  to display. Certain embodiments may prioritize customized viewing area advertisements  410  by their broadcast frequency. In other embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements  410  may include broadcast header information that indicates the priority of the customized viewing area advertisement  410 A,  410 B,  410 C,  410 D,  410 E. Selector  100  may, at  560 , transmit the program content  210  and customized viewing area advertisements  410 , laid out for display based on the template  110 A,  110 B,  110 C,  110 D, to television  140 A,  140 B. In various embodiments, customized viewing advertisements  410  may be displayed concurrently with targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  displayed during advertisement insertion points  240  as well as concurrently with program content  210 . 
         [0035]    In certain embodiments all satellite receivers  122  in the satellite broadcast system  199  select the same customized viewing area advertisements  410  broadcast in a program content frequency channel  220 . 
         [0036]    In various other embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements  410  may be targeted to particular viewing audiences. In certain embodiments, satellite broadcaster  130  may signal selector  100  which of the multiplexed signal frequencies or advertisement frequencies  221  to utilize to select targeted customized viewing area advertisements  410 , much like targeted advertisements  230   231  are selected for advertisement insertion points  240 . In other embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements  410  may include broadcast header information that indicates a target demographic group for the customized viewing area advertisement  410 A,  410 B,  410 C,  410 D,  410 E. Selector  100  may utilize the header information to determine if the customized viewing area advertisement  410 A,  410 B,  410 C,  410 D,  410 E is to be selected for display. The frequencies to monitor or target demographic groups to select may be saved in the receiver profile  120 . Again, the values may be pre-determined by the broadcaster  130  or modified with a broadcast signal to the satellite receiver  122 . 
         [0037]    In various embodiments, selector  100  may receive targeted customized viewing area advertisements  410  in advertisement frequency channels  221 . In certain embodiments, selector  100  may switch between the program content frequency channel  220  and the advertisement frequency channels  221  to periodically obtain targeted customized viewing area advertisements  410 . In other embodiments, satellite receiver  122  may have a plurality of selectors  100 , monitoring a plurality of frequency channels  220 ,  221 A,  221 B,  221 C, much like picture-in-picture support. The selectors  100  may set the display layout utilizing the program content  210  from the program content frequency channel  220  and the targeted customized viewing area advertisements  410  or targeted advertisements  230 ,  231  from the advertisement frequency channels  221  for concurrent display on television  140 A,  140 B viewing area. 
         [0038]      FIG. 6  depicts a block diagram of components of a satellite receiver  122  of the satellite broadcast system  199  of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 6  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
         [0039]    Satellite receiver  122  can include one or more tuners  610 , one or more decoders  620 , one or more processors  630 , one or more selectors  100 , and one or more satellite receiver readable storage medium (media)  650 , all interconnected over a communications fabric  626 . Communications fabric  626  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), satellite receiver memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a satellite receiver  122 . Tuners  610  may be operable to receive the broadcast frequency channels  220 ,  221 , templates  110 , and signals for targeted advertisement frequency and priority to monitor. Decoders  620  decode the received broadcast and may be programmed to decrypt or decode the satellite broadcast in accordance with purchases and selections made by a user. 
         [0040]    One or more operating systems  628 , selectors  100 , and receiver profiles  120 , as well as customized viewer templates  110  and receiver profile data received from the decoded satellite broadcast are stored on one or more of the satellite receiver readable storage medium  650  for execution by one or more of the processors  630 . Processors  630  may be operable to run executable code in connection with various functions associated with satellite receiver  122 . In the illustrated embodiment, each of the satellite receiver readable storage medium  650  can be a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, a semiconductor storage device such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or any other satellite receiver readable storage medium that can store a satellite receiver program and digital information. The storage medium  650  may be located within satellite receiver  122  or separately from satellite receiver  122 . 
         [0041]    The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
         [0042]    The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
         [0043]    Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
         [0044]    Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
         [0045]    Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
         [0046]    These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0047]    The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0048]    The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
         [0049]    Although preferred embodiments have been depicted and described in detail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications, additions, substitutions and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and these are, therefore, considered to be within the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7