US7587602B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Methods and devices responsive to ambient audio
Assignee: Digimarc Corp
•
Filing: 2006-01-11
•
Granted: 2009-09-08
•
Expires: 2026-01-11
Abstract
Abstract A portable device uses a microphone to listen to ambient audio, derives data from captured audio signals, and uses the derived data to request delivery of the audio or related information to the user's home or other location. The device is desirably pocket-sized, or suitable for carrying on a key-ring. The device may also detect a watermark signal that is present in the user's environment (e.g., played through a public address speaker system) to aid the user in recalling the context from which the audio was requested.
Inventors
- 👤 Geoffrey B. Rhoads
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 14:59
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42D; B42D25/00; B42D25/20; B42D25/29; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/40; G06F16/60; G06F16/63; G06F16/632; G06F16/634; G06F16/68; G06F16/683; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/06009; G06K19/06037; G06K19/06046; G06K19/08; G06K19/10; G06K19/14; G06K7/00; G06K7/10; G06K7/14; G06K7/1404; G06K7/1408; G06K7/1417; G06K7/1439; G06K7/1447; G06Q; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/30; G06Q20/34; G06Q20/341; G06Q20/38; G06Q20/40; G06Q20/401; G06Q20/4014; G06Q20/40145; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06T; G06T1/00; G06T1/0021; G07; G07D; G07D7/00; G07D7/003; G07D7/0034; G07D7/004; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/16; G07F17/26; G07F7/00; G07F7/08; G07F7/086; G07F7/10; G07F7/1008; G10; G10L; G10L15/00; G10L15/26; G11; G11B; G11B20/00; G11B20/00086; G11B20/00137; G11B20/00144; G11B20/00188; G11B20/00195; G11B20/00884; G11B20/00891; H; H04; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/28; H04H20/30; H04H20/31; H04H20/86; H04H20/93; H04H60/00; H04H60/61; H04H60/63; H04H60/68; H04H60/73; H04H60/74; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/00002; H04N1/00005; H04N1/00026; H04N1/00037; H04N1/00071; H04N1/00074; H04N1/00079; H04N1/00962; H04N1/00973; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32144; H04N1/32149; H04N1/32154; H04N1/3216; H04N1/32203; H04N1/32219; H04N1/32229; H04N1/32261; H04N1/32288; H04N1/32304; H04N1/32352; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/238; H04N21/2389; H04N21/23892; H04N21/40; H04N21/41; H04N21/422; H04N21/42203; H04N21/43; H04N21/439; H04N21/4394; H04N21/47; H04N21/472; H04N21/47202; H04N21/4722; H04N21/80; H04N21/81; H04N21/8106; H04N21/8113; H04N21/83; H04N21/835; H04N21/8358; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; H04N7/17318; B29; B29C; B29C45/00; B29C45/14; B29C45/1418; G06K2019/06215; G06K2019/06253; G11B20/00007; H04H20/65; H04H20/76; H04H20/84; H04H2201/00; H04H2201/50; H04N1/32106; H04N1/32122; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3204; H04N2201/3205; H04N2201/3207; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3226; H04N2201/3233; H04N2201/3239; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/327; H04N2201/3271; H04N2201/3274; H04N2201/328
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A device comprising a housing sized for carrying in a user's pocket and including: a transducer to receive ambient audio and to output electrical signals corresponding thereto; a watermark detector system coupled to the transducer and adapted to produce payload information by extracting a digital watermark embedded in the electrical signals corresponding to the ambient audio; a memory storing first identification information; and an interface that receives at least some of both the decoded payload information and the first identification information for transmission from said device; wherein the watermark detector system is adapted to decode watermarks encoded by plural different techniques.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
101 words
A device comprising a housing sized for carrying in a user's pocket and including: a transducer to receive ambient audio and to output electrical signals corresponding thereto; a watermark detector system coupled to the transducer and adapted to produce payload information by extracting a digital watermark embedded in the electrical signals corresponding to the ambient audio; a memory storing first identification information; and an interface that receives at least some of both the decoded payload information and the first identification information for transmission from said device; wherein the watermark detector system is adapted to decode watermarks encoded by plural different techniques.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The device of claim 1 wherein the watermark detector is adapted to decode watermarks having plural different payload formats.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The device of claim 1 wherein the watermark detector is adapted to cyclically apply different watermark decoding techniques, and check for valid output data.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The device of claim 1 wherein the watermark detector system provides data from two different decoded payloads to the interface, for transmission from the device.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
94 words
A device comprising a housing sized for carrying in a user's pocket and including: a transducer to receive ambient audio and to output electrical signals corresponding thereto; a processor coupled to the transducer and adapted to transform the electrical signals corresponding to the ambient audio, to produce transformed data based thereon; a memory storing first identification information; and an interface that receives at least some of both the transformed data and the first identification information for transmission to a remote station; wherein the first identification information comprises information identifying a model of the device.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
94 words
A device comprising a housing sized for carrying in a user's pocket and including: a transducer to receive ambient audio and to output electrical signals corresponding thereto; a processor coupled to the transducer and adapted to transform the electrical signals corresponding to the ambient audio, to produce transformed data based thereon; a memory storing first identification information; and an interface that receives at least some of both the transformed data and the first identification information for transmission to a remote station; wherein the first identification information comprises information identifying a model of the device.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
The device of claim 5 further comprising a graphical user interface displayed on a screen, the graphical user interface including a control by which a user can signal interest in the ambient audio.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The device of claim 5 further comprising a gesture interface by which a user can signal interest in the ambient audio.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The device of claim 5 including a data store that stores information about audio previously encountered by the user, and a user interface operable by the user to scroll back through the stored information and make a selection therefrom.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
13 words
The device of claim 5 wherein the processor comprises a digital watermark decoder.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
141 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer, together with information relating to a location at which the ambient audio was received; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
141 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer, together with information relating to a location at which the ambient audio was received; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 10 that additionally includes, at the processor, deriving said data from the digital form, and transmitting the data to the device.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the deriving comprises applying a digital watermark decoding procedure to the digital form.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
137 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer, together with context information including information identifying a further device; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
137 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer, together with context information including information identifying a further device; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the transmitted context information includes information identifying a further device proximate to the user device.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 13 that additionally includes, at the processor, deriving said data from the digital form, and transmitting the data to the device.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the deriving comprises applying a digital watermark decoding procedure to the digital form.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
156 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information; wherein the device includes a data store in which information relating to previously encountered audio is stored, and the method includes scrolling back and selecting from said stored information.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
156 words
A method employing a device sized for carrying in a user's pocket, the method comprising the acts: through a user interface of the device, receiving a user input signaling interest in ambient audio; capturing the ambient audio with a microphone; converting the captured ambient audio into digital form; providing the digital form of the ambient audio to a processor; receiving data corresponding to the ambient audio back from the processor; recalling first identification information from a memory, the first identification information comprising information identifying a model of the device; transmitting both the received data and the recalled first identification information to a remote computer; receiving information relating to the ambient audio in response; and controlling an operational aspect of the device in accordance with the received information; wherein the device includes a data store in which information relating to previously encountered audio is stored, and the method includes scrolling back and selecting from said stored information.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 17 that additionally includes, at the processor, deriving said data from the digital form, and transmitting the data to the device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the deriving comprises applying a digital watermark decoding procedure to the digital form.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3950782A
Cited
US4241415A
Cited
US5905248A
Cited
US5119507A
Cited
US5574962A
Cited
US5598557A
Cited
US5249166A
Cited
US5740244A
Cited
US5754981A
Cited
US5444779A
Cited
US5841978A
Cited
US5862260A
Cited
US20060109984A1
Cited
US7437430B2
Cited
US5473631A
Cited
US5790172A
Cited
US5782692A
Cited
US5640193A
Cited
US5869819A
Cited
US6560349B1
Cited
US6278781B1
Cited
US6064737A
Cited
US5848413A
Cited
US5801702A
Cited
US5774452A
Cited
US6005501A
Cited
US5870552A
Cited
US5613004A
Cited
US6199048B1
Cited
US5978773A
Cited
US5781914A
Cited
US6147940A
Cited
US7333957B2
Cited
US6542927B2
Cited
US20030167173A1
Cited
US7461136B2
Cited
US20030174861A1
Cited
US6505160B1
Cited
US7171018B2
Cited
US6286036B1
Cited
US7349552B2
Cited
US20080139182A1
Cited
US6249588B1
Cited
US5765152A
Cited
US6282362B1
Cited
US5822432A
Cited
US5938727A
Cited
US5761606A
Cited
US20040128514A1
Cited
US7505605B2
Cited
US20070189533A1
Cited
US20050058319A1
Cited
WO1997043736A1
Cited
US5903892A
Cited
US5918223A
Cited
US6240185B1
Cited
US6931451B1
Cited
US20040205055A1
Cited
US6014569A
Cited
US6125172A
Cited
US5923327A
Cited
US6122526A
Cited
US5963957A
Cited
US20080134255A1
Cited
US20050043018A1
Cited
US7251475B2
Cited
US6640306B1
Cited
US6185318B1
Cited
US5988897A
Cited
US6516356B1
Cited
US6076734A
Cited
US6081830A
Cited
US20050065780A1
Cited
US6493457B1
Cited
US6151624A
Cited
US6141753A
Cited
US6222807B1
Cited
US6121530A
Cited
US6389055B1
Cited
US6243480B1
Cited
US7084903B2
Cited
US20030011684A1
Cited
US6169541B1
Cited
US5969283A
Cited
US6573883B1
Cited
US6345256B1
Cited
US6389538B1
Cited
US6338094B1
Cited
US20050229107A1
Cited
US6526449B1
Cited
US6098106A
Cited
US20020033844A1
Cited
US20010016836A1
Cited
WO2000036605A1
Cited
US6304523B1
Cited
US20010011233A1
Cited
US6674993B1
Cited
US6510234B1
Cited
US20050192933A1
Cited
US7302574B2
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2012-09-07 | 2013-03-09 | 2013-09-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2016-09-07 | 2017-03-09 | 2017-09-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2020-09-07 | 2021-03-09 | 2021-09-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |