US7197472B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Market data acquisition system
Assignee: Apple Inc
•
Filing: 2002-09-12
•
Granted: 2007-03-27
•
Expires: 2022-09-12
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for using inverse mathematical principles in the analysis of compatible datasets so that correlations and trends within and between said datasets can be uncovered. The present invention is tailored to the analysis of datasets that are extremely large; result from passive, privacy-secure, or anonymous, data collection; and are relatively unbiased. Correlations and trends uncovered by such analysis can be further examined by data mining and prediction portions of the present invention, which uncover and make use of interrelated rules that determine data structures. An embodiment directed toward analysis of television viewership and marketing data that does this while still respecting privacy concerns is disclosed.
Inventors
- 👤 G. Colby Conkwright
- 👤 Michael J. Vinson
- 👤 Frank S. Foster, IV
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 06:45
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/0201; G06Q30/0204; G06Q30/0205; G06Q30/0241; G06Q30/0242; G06Q30/0251; G06Q30/0254; G06Q30/0255; G06Q30/0269; G06Q30/0273; G06Q30/0277; G06Q40/00; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
126 words
A system that retrieves and processes set-top box data, comprising: a content attribute database; a demographic information database; and a set-top box data center that retrieves set-top event data from a plurality of set-top boxes, retrieves content attributes from the content attribute database, correlates the retrieved set-top box event data with the retrieved content attributes to generate viewed content attribute data that indicates which of the retrieved content attributes were experienced through the plurality of set-top boxes, wherein the viewed content attribute data does not contain individual-specific demographic information, retrieves demographic information from the demographic information database, correlates the retrieved demographic information with the viewed content attribute data to generate demographic-specific viewed content attribute data, and outputs the demographic-specific viewed content attribute data to a user.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
126 words
A system that retrieves and processes set-top box data, comprising: a content attribute database; a demographic information database; and a set-top box data center that retrieves set-top event data from a plurality of set-top boxes, retrieves content attributes from the content attribute database, correlates the retrieved set-top box event data with the retrieved content attributes to generate viewed content attribute data that indicates which of the retrieved content attributes were experienced through the plurality of set-top boxes, wherein the viewed content attribute data does not contain individual-specific demographic information, retrieves demographic information from the demographic information database, correlates the retrieved demographic information with the viewed content attribute data to generate demographic-specific viewed content attribute data, and outputs the demographic-specific viewed content attribute data to a user.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the set-top box events are at least one of set-top box state changes, channel changes, volume changes, the use of a special programming feature, muting of particular content, the use of interactive content guides, and Internet web site usage.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the set-top box data center outputs the demographic-specific viewed content attribute data upon receiving a request from the user.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein demographic information is at least one of age, race, gender, income, education level, marital status, number of dependents, climate, weather, type of geographic environment, geography, population density, and traffic density.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein individual-specific demographic information is at least one of name, size of family, name of business, type of business and specific address.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the content attributes are embedded in the set-top box data.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein the embedded content attributes relate to attributes that are in one of currently transmitted content, previously presented content, and future content.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
109 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the content attributes are at least one of time-of-day at which content was available, geographic regions to which the content was made available, actors/models associated with the content, types of characters portrayed by the actors/models, content authors, content producers, content directors, content genres, content subjects, content settings, content background music tones, content background music tempo, content visual effect speed, content colors, content pixel change ratio, content brightness, content scents, content tastes, content plot themes, content plot styles, a time-based order in which the content attributes appear within the content, and a position-based order in which the content attributes appear within the content.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the set-top box data center comprises one or more computer application devices, the computer application devices each comprising at least one processor and at least one memory.
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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) | 2010-03-26 | 2010-09-25 | 2011-03-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2014-03-26 | 2014-09-25 | 2015-03-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2018-03-26 | 2018-09-25 | 2019-03-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |