US6983478B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and system for tracking network use
Assignee: Alphonso Inc
•
Filing: 2000-02-01
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Granted: 2006-01-03
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Expires: 2020-02-01
Abstract
Abstract An interactive media delivery system enables interactive media programming to a multimedia device and also tracks a subscriber's use of the multimedia device. For example, the device tracks events, such as a change in programming, a change in channel selection, and/or the subscriber's interaction with a particular interactive services application. Each event may be stored as an event record in a database, and one or more of the event records may be merged with content data to form event timelines of programming or other activity to the multimedia device over a selected time period. Further, timelines may be analyzed to generate ratings and other information about programming and may also be correlated with demographics data for marketing analysis.
Inventors
- 👤 Edward Rowland Grauch
- 👤 John Christopher Batten
- 👤 Fred Thomas Danner, III
- 👤 Scott R. Swix
- 👤 John R. Stefanik
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 19:38
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/43; H04N21/442; H04N21/44213; H04N21/44222; H04N21/44204; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/0241; G06Q30/0251; G06Q30/0257; G06Q30/0258; G06Q30/0264; G06Q30/0269; G06Q30/0273; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/38; H04H60/00; H04H60/29; H04H60/31; H04H60/61; H04H60/64; H04H60/66; H04N21/20; H04N21/25; H04N21/258; H04N21/25866; H04N21/25883; H04N21/25891; H04N21/45; H04N21/466; H04N21/4667; H04N21/60; H04N21/63; H04N21/647; H04N21/64723; H04N21/65; H04N21/658; H04N21/6582; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
110 words
A system for collecting and processing information about subscribers' selection and use of programming distributed over a media delivery network, the system comprising: a) merge processor coupled via means for communication to b) a plurality of set top boxes, each comprising a processor for (1) collecting a plurality of event records that describe selected commands from a subscriber to a particular set top box and (2) transmitting event records to the merge processor; c) wherein the merge processor forms an event timeline describing a subscriber's selection of distributed programming for a discrete time period by merging the event records with programming data describing programming available via the media delivery system.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
110 words
A system for collecting and processing information about subscribers' selection and use of programming distributed over a media delivery network, the system comprising: a) merge processor coupled via means for communication to b) a plurality of set top boxes, each comprising a processor for (1) collecting a plurality of event records that describe selected commands from a subscriber to a particular set top box and (2) transmitting event records to the merge processor; c) wherein the merge processor forms an event timeline describing a subscriber's selection of distributed programming for a discrete time period by merging the event records with programming data describing programming available via the media delivery system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein the programming data comprises data collected from at least two sources selected from the group consisting of: a broadcasting schedule source, a national advertising schedule source, a local advertising schedule source and an interactive application use schedule source.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein each set top box further comprises a plurality of applications capable of being invoked by a subscriber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
A system according to claim 3 wherein each event record comprises: (1) an application identifier corresponding to the application associated with the recorded event; (2) an event identification code; and (3) a time stamp associated with the initiation of the event.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
A system according to claim 4 wherein each application creates an event upon detection of selected commands from the subscriber.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
A system according to claim 1 further comprising a buffer for storing the event records before transmission.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein the merge processor forms an event timeline for each of the plurality of set top boxes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
A system according to claim 7 further comprising an analysis engine for correlating the event timelines with demographics information describing the subscribers.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for journaling information about subscriber use of a media delivery network for delivering programming and a merge processor for analyzing the resulting journaled information, the method comprising the steps of: a) collecting information about a plurality of subscribers' use of a media delivery network, the collecting step comprising: i) identifying commands of interest from each subscriber; ii) forming event records that record at least the commands of interest and a time associated with the command; b) transmitting event records to the merge processor; c) merging the event records with data describing the programming delivered over the media network in order to form event timelines of which describes the programming selected by a particular subscriber over a discrete time period.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
121 words
A method for journaling information about subscriber use of a media delivery network for delivering programming and a merge processor for analyzing the resulting journaled information, the method comprising the steps of: a) collecting information about a plurality of subscribers' use of a media delivery network, the collecting step comprising: i) identifying commands of interest from each subscriber; ii) forming event records that record at least the commands of interest and a time associated with the command; b) transmitting event records to the merge processor; c) merging the event records with data describing the programming delivered over the media network in order to form event timelines of which describes the programming selected by a particular subscriber over a discrete time period.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the identifying step comprises the step of correlating each command of interest with a global table comprising identification codes.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method according to claim 9 further comprising the step of filtering the event timelines in order to classify subscribers' viewing patterns into at least two categories.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 11 wherein the first category comprises programming watched by a subscriber for greater than a selected threshold percent of the total program length.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
112 words
A system for determining the viewing habits of subscribers to a media delivery network for delivering programming, the system comprising: a) a collector for collecting event records describing subscribers' selection and use of programming; b) means, coupled to the collector, for communicating event records to c) a merge processor for processing the event records to form a selected subscriber an event timeline describing the programming delivered to a selected subscriber over a particular time period via the media delivery network; d) means for storing demographics information about selected groups of subscribers; and e) wherein the merge processor forms a plurality of event timelines and correlates the demographics information with the event timelines.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
112 words
A system for determining the viewing habits of subscribers to a media delivery network for delivering programming, the system comprising: a) a collector for collecting event records describing subscribers' selection and use of programming; b) means, coupled to the collector, for communicating event records to c) a merge processor for processing the event records to form a selected subscriber an event timeline describing the programming delivered to a selected subscriber over a particular time period via the media delivery network; d) means for storing demographics information about selected groups of subscribers; and e) wherein the merge processor forms a plurality of event timelines and correlates the demographics information with the event timelines.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
A system according to claim 13 in which the merge processor applies filtering criteria to the event records to determine the programming watched by a subscriber for greater than a selected percent of the programming.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
A system according to claim 14 in which the collector is deployed upon a set top box that is associated with a display device for displaying delivered programming.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
78 words
A system according to claim 15 in which the subscriber controls the set top box via a remote device in order to invoke and run a variety of applications and the collector forms event records by: a) identifying a code that corresponds to a command of interest entered by a selected subscriber; and b) storing in a buffer, associated with the collector, an event record comprising (1) the code corresponding to the command; and (2) a time stamp.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-01-02 | 2009-07-04 | 2010-01-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-01-02 | 2013-07-04 | 2014-01-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-01-02 | 2017-07-04 | 2018-01-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |