Telecommunications – Receiver or analog modulated signal frequency converter – Signal selection based on frequency
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-09
2001-06-26
Hunter, Daniel (Department: 2749)
Telecommunications
Receiver or analog modulated signal frequency converter
Signal selection based on frequency
C379S031000, C379S201060, C379S093120
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253069
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to information distribution and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for providing desired information to users of telecommunications devices such as cellular telephones.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the wide proliferation of cordless and cellular telephones, it is increasingly common to have a phone in close proximity while listening to the radio in a car or watching television at home. There are currently over 66 million cellular telephone users in the United States, and this number is increasing rapidly. Cell phone users carry these devices wherever they go, particularly since newer services cover much a broader area, including the entire country in a growing number of situations.
It would be advantageous, if not profitable, for advertisers and other information providers to interact with telephone users, particularly if it the interaction results in the sale of products or services in a given area. Ironically, even with the growing number of portable phones, it is difficult for consumers to respond to offers or receive more information from advertisers. One source of the difficulty is the large number of digits that must entered to contact the advertiser and identify the type of information desired.
Radio advertisers, in particular, now reach a greater number of individuals in close proximity to a telephone due to the widespread use of mobile phones. Nevertheless, if the driver or passenger in an automobile must dial a seven-digit number followed by several other pushbutton entries to obtain certain information, many will either forget the number to call or lose interest. Even with automated voice-prompted menu selections, the caller might need to remain on the line longer than they wish to.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,795, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses the derivation of station (S), date (D), time (T) and response (#) data to correlate a user's response to a particular piece of broadcast information (SDT). In each case, however, specified hardware is required for storing SDT# at a receiver site, and for communicating the data via the Internet or a point-of-sale (POS) system to a central location, where it is compared to broadcast station logs to convey an appropriate reply to the user. If an SDT-type protocol could take advantage of existing telecommunications devices, the resulting system might be more easily implemented since even fewer changes would be required to the existing infrastructure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention resides in methods and apparatus for providing a reply to a telephone caller, including inputs from the telephone caller which are in an abbreviated form. According to a method aspect of the invention, a message is received from a telephone caller during a telephone call, and supplemental information is derived which relates to at least one of the telephone caller and the telephone call. Using the message from the caller in combination with the supplemental information, an appropriate reply to the message is identified, which is then provided to the caller. The invention is applicable to various telecommunications infrastructures, including cellular telephony.
In a preferred embodiment, the message is a numerical or alphanumerical code entered by the caller using the telephone. The message may be provided by the caller, for example, in response to a request forming part of a radio or television broadcast. In such a case, the message might relate to channel number or broadcast frequency, with the system storing a channel map to identify the station responsible for the broadcast, if so required. The supplemental information relating to the caller would typically include at least a portion of the telephone number of the caller, or may additionally relate to the date or the time of the telephone call. Depending upon the circumstances, the date/time of the call may form part of the message.
The reply to the caller may occur during the telephone call, wherein the system might place an additional telephone call to identify the appropriate reply. Such a call may be toll-free, in which case the user may be patched-in to receive the information. Alternatively, the reply may be in the form of a subsequent telephone call, a facsimile, or electronic mail later directed to the caller. As one example of many, digital music may be downloaded to a particular e-mail address as a reply to a telephonic request, with royalties or other charges being allocated in accordance with pre-programmed criteria. In the case of an advertisement, the advertiser will additionally pay for the telephone charges, whereas, if the information itself has value, as with a copyrighted song or other information, the caller will typically be billed or debited, as appropriate.
Depending upon the physical implementation, voice recognition apparatus may be used to interpret a message from the caller, and speech synthesis may be used to provide the reply. The invention is not limited to radio/TV broadcasts, in that the user may be responding to an outdoor advertisement such as a billboard. In such an embodiment, a global positioning satellite system is preferably employed to derive the location of the caller to provide an appropriate reply in response to an incoming call. Other aspects of the invention are disclosed, including apparatus to carry out the various methods.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 17023 (1928-07-01), Clement
patent: 3764747 (1973-10-01), Nakajima et al.
patent: 3911446 (1975-10-01), Albertini
patent: 4337463 (1982-06-01), Vangen
patent: 4361851 (1982-11-01), Asip et al.
patent: 4528643 (1985-07-01), Freeny, Jr.
patent: 4592546 (1986-06-01), Fascenda et al.
patent: 4622583 (1986-11-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 4630143 (1986-12-01), Juso et al.
patent: 4695869 (1987-09-01), Weinblatt
patent: 4718106 (1988-01-01), Weinblatt
patent: 4788682 (1988-11-01), Vij et al.
patent: 4847886 (1989-07-01), Chumley
patent: 4864604 (1989-09-01), Aihara
patent: 4870515 (1989-09-01), Stokes
patent: 4887308 (1989-12-01), Dutton
patent: 4920432 (1990-04-01), Eggers et al.
patent: 4943963 (1990-07-01), Waechter et al.
patent: 4953039 (1990-08-01), Ploch
patent: 4956768 (1990-09-01), Sidi et al.
patent: 4977455 (1990-12-01), Young
patent: 4989234 (1991-01-01), Schakowsky et al.
patent: 5013038 (1991-05-01), Luxenberg et al.
patent: 5036500 (1991-07-01), Ganter
patent: 5054360 (1991-10-01), Lisle et al.
patent: 5063610 (1991-11-01), Alwadish
patent: 5073931 (1991-12-01), Audebert et al.
patent: 5081680 (1992-01-01), Bennett
patent: 5083800 (1992-01-01), Lockton
patent: 5119507 (1992-06-01), Mankovitz
patent: 5119711 (1992-06-01), Bell et al.
patent: 5120076 (1992-06-01), Luxenberg et al.
patent: 5132992 (1992-07-01), Yurt et al.
patent: 5136644 (1992-08-01), Audebert et al.
patent: 5155762 (1992-10-01), Croquet et al.
patent: 5162905 (1992-11-01), Itoh et al.
patent: 5185786 (1993-02-01), Zwick
patent: 5189630 (1993-02-01), Barstow et al.
patent: 5191573 (1993-03-01), Hair
patent: 5195134 (1993-03-01), Inoue
patent: 5214792 (1993-05-01), Alwadish
patent: 5216703 (1993-06-01), Roy
patent: 5237157 (1993-08-01), Kaplan
patent: 5262940 (1993-11-01), Sussman
patent: 5262964 (1993-11-01), Bonsall et al.
patent: 5303393 (1994-04-01), Noreen et al.
patent: 5313408 (1994-05-01), Goto
patent: 5355302 (1994-10-01), Martin
patent: 5357505 (1994-10-01), Tsumura et al.
patent: 5418844 (1995-05-01), Morrisey et al.
patent: 5444499 (1995-08-01), Saitoh
patent: 5448625 (1995-09-01), Lederman
patent: 5455823 (1995-10-01), Noreen et al.
patent: 5457739 (1995-10-01), Le Cheviller
patent: 5469431 (1995-11-01), Wendorf et al.
patent: 5539635 (1996-07-01), Larson, Jr.
patent: 5559878 (1996-09-01), Keys et al.
patent: 5570295 (1996-10-01), Isenberg et al.
patent: 5572442 (1996-11-01), Schulhof et al.
patent: 5592511 (1997-01-01), Schoen
patent: 5629867 (1997-05-01), Goldman
patent: 5661787 (1997-08-01), Pocock
patent: 5675734 (1997-10-01), Hair
patent: 5689081 (1997-11-01), Tsurumi
patent: 5689245 (1997-11-01), Noreen e
Gantt Alan T.
Gifford Krass Groh Sprinkle Anderson & Citkowski PC
Hunter Daniel
LandOfFree
Methods and apparatus for providing information in response... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Methods and apparatus for providing information in response..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Methods and apparatus for providing information in response... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2518801