WO1997011561A1

WO1997011561A1 - Method for interconnection of tv and information service through telecommunications network

Info

Publication number: WO1997011561A1
Application number: PCT/CA1996/000613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Graham C. Bradley; Odell L. Simmie; James Anglehart
Original assignee: Sasktel
Priority date: 1995-09-20
Filing date: 1996-09-16
Publication date: 1997-03-27
Also published as: AU6920896A; GB2309853A; GB9709504D0; GB2309853B; CA2202290A1

Abstract

A system is provided which allows a television viewer to be quickly and easily connected to an information service while watching a program. The information service is either an advertiser of other form of information service being related to the program being viewed. The information used to connect the viewer over a telecommunications medium can come from different sources and does not interfere with regular video program viewing. The information service may be for product information or retail sales. A fee or commission for providing the automatic connection between the television viewer and the information service is collected. Control over the automatic connection between viewers and information services is exercised for the purposes of collecting fees or commissions. The telecommunications connection to the information service can be by regular audio telephone communication or by data communication to a digital data server, or a mixture of both.

Description

METHOD FOR INTERCONNECTION OF TV AND INFORMATION SERVICE THROUGH TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for quickly connecting a television viewer with an information provider providing information related to a television program being viewed.

Background of the Invention

Systems have been developed to use television communication as an efficient way to guide viewers to a point where they are ready to establish new communication as a result of the information they have seen on the television. For example, a television program or commercial advertisement displays a telephone number during the program and the number can be called for further information. This has been common practice for decades and works well, provided that the television viewer mentally notes or writes down the telephone number and is able to go to a telephone to dial the number and receive the further information or make the necessary inquiry.

In U.S. Patent 5,262,860 (Fitzpatrick et al), a computer is used to analyze a broadcast television video signal to recognize and decode text or numeric data contained within the video frames and establish telephone communication (modem communication) based on a captured telephone number. In U.S. Patent 4,071,697 (Bushnell et al), an interactive home shopping system is disclosed in which blocks of digital information are encoded in the RF signal. This digital information describes the character set so that when it is decoded, text may be recovered. Each block of digital information has a unique address. The blocks of digital information relate to specific products and the signal broadcast on a television channel is not a video program that can be watched for entertainment or educational purposes. U.S. Patent 4,456,925 (Skerlos et al) describes a television system having an integrated telephone with automatic dialing and a memory bank of telephone numbers.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system which allows a television viewer to be quickly and easily connected to an information service while watching a program. The information used to connect the viewer over telecommunication lines can come from different sources and does not interfere with regular video program viewing. The information service may be for product information or for retail sales. According to another object of the invention, there is provided a means to recover a fee or commission for providing the improved service of an easy and rapid connection to the recipient of the telecommunications call, namely the advertiser. The telecommunications connection to the information service can be by regular audio telephone communication or by data communication to a digital data server, or a mixture of both.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, telecommunication addresses are obtained from a broadcast and checked in a database of "valid" numbers before connecting the viewer to the address. Preferably, the addresses are encoded in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the broadcast, and the addresses are toll free telephone numbers. However, the addresses may be data network addresses, or "serial numbers" of actual addresses which are converted into actual addresses using information from the database. For example, each broadcaster could insert into the VBI an advertiser' s code with each advertisement, and the actual address for the advertiser identified by the broadcaster's code will be obtained. Of course, each advertiser may have a different code with each broadcaster. The identity of the broadcaster can be broadcast with the program (e.g. in the VBI) or, in the case of CATV on a data channel, and the database can contain the actual addresses for each broadcaster (station) and each advertisement code. The database may be maintained by the provider of the customer premises equipment (CPE) or a third party.

This first aspect allows the CPE provider (normally the cable company who has invested in providing the CPEs at a base cost or free) to control which advertisers may enjoy the benefits of a quick connection to prospective customers through the CPE. The advertisers may pay to the CPE provider a flat fee or a per use fee for the service. In this way, deadbeat advertisers would lose the advantage of having customers who can ask for further information (by telephone or data communication) simply by pressing a single button. The database may be a single remote database consulted by the CPE by telephone or CATV connection, or it may be stored in memory in the CPE and updated by broadcast or data upload from a dial up server.

Alternatively, the CPE may be integrated in the television apparatus, and the database may be located at a telephone number, telecommunications address (e.g. over cable network) or on a data channel to be programmed into the TV. For the purposes of collecting service fees by the manufacturer or provider of the TV apparatus, the integrated CPE may transmit an identification unique to the provider or manufacturer for recordal at the database.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the viewer is connected to the advertiser or information service by telephone without the need of any CPE. The telephone switch is programmed to accept a prefix service code followed by the channel number being viewed. The switch records the time of the request and determines which broadcaster (channel) the viewer was watching. In some areas this is known directly from the channel number entered at the telephone, however, some switches serve areas in which two or more cable broadcasters operate with different channel numbers for the same broadcaster. It may also be necessary to check in a database whether the viewer is a cable subscriber at all. With the broadcaster identified and the time of request known, the advertiser's telephone number is obtained from a database which contains accurate information about the advertisements contained in a broadcast and the telephone numbers of those advertisers who wish to receive calls for further information. The telephone switch may connect the caller directly or prompt him or her for a confirmation. According to this second aspect, it would suffice for the broadcast to state "call for more information", and any viewer will be connected by dialing, e.g. "*8814", in the case of a program on channel 14 and a service access code of "*88".

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the recipient of the call, e.g. the automatic call distribution (ACD) system of the response center, is provided with equipment to record the CPE provider's identity in association with the call for the purposes of attributing a fee or commission to an account of the CPE provider in exchange for having facilitated the quick connection to the recipient as a result of providing the CPE. The identity of the CPE can be easily transmitted in the case of data communication, but in the case of a voice ACD system, special hardware may be required to register by DTMF or modem communication the identity of the CPE provider prior to handling the call. The CPE may place regular voice communication between the viewer and the recipient on hold until the recipient system responds by modem or DTMF to acknowledge receipt of the identity. The CPE may also play a repeated recording stating the identity of the CPE provider and requesting that the recipient acknowledge the origin of the call by responding with a given DTMF key response. In this way, calls received from CPEs of a given CPE provider may be accepted or refused by the recipient, the understanding being that, if accepted, a record will be kept for the purposes of payment of fees, either on a per call basis or on a sales commission basis. An audit by the CPE provider can be carried out by ordering specific merchandise at specific times and checking the recipients records for the specific call or sale. Preferably, the communication of the CPE provider's identity includes an identification of the product selected and the program viewed when selection is made in order that the recipient can better handle the call efficiently and better judge the value of the advertising which resulted in the viewer responding. According to a fourth aspect, a video symbol cue is provided upon complete successful receipt of an address or serial number from the VBI.

As can be appreciated, the invention provides a method for controlling an automatic connection between a television viewer watching a transmitted video program and an information service via a telecommunications network. The method comprises the steps of: providing customer premises equipment (CPE); receiving at the CPE a viewer response signal requesting further information related to a program being viewed; determining an identity of an information service; determining whether the information service is accepting to pay a fee for an automatic connection between the viewer and the information service; establishing, in response to the response signal, a telecommunications connection between the viewer and the information service only if the information service is accepting to pay.

The customer premises equipment (CPE) preferably comprises a set top unit, however, it may also comprise a telephone or electronic hardware incorporated in a television set. The viewer response signal received at the CPE is preferably a signal corresponding to an inquire button provided on a remote control unit associated with the set top CPE. Alternatively, the viewer response signal could be a telephone dial code or a sequence of keys pressed on the remote control unit. The step of determining the identity of an information services preferably comprises obtaining the telecommunications address of the information service, such as obtaining a toll free telephone number. Such a telephone number may come from the vertical blanking interval (VBI) encoded with the program or it may come from a data channel transmitted simultaneously with the program broadcast. Obtaining the telecommunications address may alternatively involve a database look-up in which the look¬ up is accomplished using a channel number or broadcaster identification and a source of information about an information service associated with a portion of the program at the time the viewer response signal is received. The telecommunications connection between the viewer and the information service may be voice communication (e.g. by telephone), or it may be data communication involving, for example, the display of graphical information on a television set with selections and entries by the viewer being relayed to the information service for processing and providing further information, or it can be a mixture of both, for example, telecommunications in which an automated graphical display system allows a user to define certain options and obtain certain basic information before requesting connection to a human operator for voice communication. The invention also provides a method of receiving automatically connected telecommunication from a viewer of a video program, comprising the steps of: a) providing an information service telecommunication handling center connected to a telecommunications network at a telecommunications address for the purposes of providing further information about a content of the video program; b) transmitting the video program; c) receiving over the network a signal requesting a confirmation response for acceptance of automatic connection to the viewer; and d) providing the confirmation response to receive the automatically connected telecommunication from the viewer.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be better understood by way of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a secure system for interconnection of a television viewer and an information service through the telephone network in which the broadcast program is received by a cable tv signal;

Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system similar to that of Figure 1 in which the television program is broadcast by satellite or land broadcast towers; Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram of the method according to the preferred embodiment; and

Figure 4 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a further method according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 1, a television receiver 14 receives a cable tv signal 12 and provides an output to a television 18. A control unit 10 receives remote control signals from a hand held remote control unit 34 for providing control commands to the receiver 14 and a communications control unit 24. According to the invention, the control unit 10, communications control unit 24, VBI decoder 16, tv receiver 14 and audio video encoder 25 form customer premises equipment (CPE) 8 which preferably are a set top signal housing unit connected to an external telephone 38 and integrated microphone 39 and connected to a public switched telephone network 20 (PSTN) through an interface 40.

According to the invention, further information relating to the subject matter of the program being viewed is available from an information service via a telecommunications network. The information service 28 may comprise human operators or a computerized information service system, or both, and may be accessed through telephone network 21 or data network 23. In the preferred embodiment, the program being viewed is encoded with telephone number data in its vertical blanking interval (VBI). The VBI decoder 216 decodes data contained in the VBI and stores it in a memory.

When an inquire button 36 is pressed, a viewer response signal is generated and received by control unit 10. The control unit 10 signals the communications control unit 24 that a request for further information has been made. If a telephone number has been received from the VBI for the program being viewed, a telephone call is placed by the control unit 24 through its interface 40 and network 20 to a service gateway 22. The gateway 22 checks in a database 26 whether the number found in the VBI by decoder 16 is a valid telephone number of an information service which is accepting to pay a fee for automatic connection to the viewer if handled by the CPE 8. If the telephone number is a valid telephone number of an information service willing to pay a fee for the connection, the gateway 22 may connect the call through network 21 to the information service 28 in the case of a voice call, or in the case of a data call, it may be handled through network 23. In the case of a control unit 24 not able to handle modem communication, the query of database 26 may be carried out simply by communicating the telephone number request by a sequence of tones, i.e. by DTMF communication. It can be appreciated that the gateway 22 and database 26 may be integrated in a telephone switch, in which case network 20 and 21 may be the same. When the telecommunications connection is established, it is possible that control unit 24 allow the conversation to continue by providing audio or video superposed over the program being viewed on television 18 by means of encoder 25. Alternatively, the viewer may be prompted to pick up telephone 38. When the information service 28 is a text or graphics information server, the images to be displayed may be mixed with or may replace the image being viewed on tv 18 by first encoding the data using encoder 25 and then mixing or cutting the video image in receiver 14. The feedback path of user selections using remote control 34 is received at control unit 10 and passed on to communications control 24 for return through network 20 to the information service 28. In the configuration illustrated in Figure 2, the customer premises equipment 14 receives the video programming signal from satellite 42 or a land tower 48. Satellite 42 is fed its signal from land base broadcasting equipment 41 and in either case, VBI encoders 46 are provided for inserting into the program signal telephone number data regarding the telephone number of the information service to be connected to automatically when watching a given portion of the video program. In Figure 2, the information service 28 is illustrated being broken down into three possible forms, namely as an IVR/ADSI server, voice response system and data server 28a, b and c respectively.

With reference to Figure 3, the basic method of the invention will be described. A program is provided for viewing by a television viewer who, in response to the program, decides to generate a response signal for requesting information relating to the program being viewed. The response signal is received at customer premises equipment. The identity of the information service is then determined and if the information service identified is recognized as being an information service willing to pay a fee for automatic connection between the viewer and the information service, then a telecommunications connection between the viewer and the information service is provided. In the case that it is determined that the information service is not willing to pay a fee for automatic connection between the viewer and the information service, then the connection is denied. The underlying principle of the present invention is that the improved automatic connection between the viewer and the information service is the result of providing special equipment and services. In return for these services and provision of equipment, the party responsible for automatic connection between the viewer and the information service should be compensated when appropriate. The invention therefore provides a control whether or not an information service may benefit from automatic connection to the viewer.

According to another aspect of the invention, and as illustrated in Figure 4, the invention provides a method of receiving automatically connected telecommunication from a viewer of a video program comprising providing the video program broadcast. A confirmation response signal for confirming acceptance of automatic connection to a viewer is generated by customer premises equipment and received at an information service telecommunication handling center. When the handling center confirms acceptance, the automatically connected telecommunication from the viewer is provided and communication with the viewer is enabled.

In the case that the information service consists only of human operators, the CPE may provide the viewer with voice communication from the information service, while the voice path from the viewer to the information service is blocked and in its place a recorded announcement is played requesting that a predetermined DTMF confirmation signal be generated in order for automatic connection to be accepted. The recorded announcement may provide the information service with an identity of the CPE provider in order that - li¬

the information service may keep track of the number of calls received from given particular providers of CPE for the purposes of accounting a per call or commission fee to be paid to the provider of the CPE. Alternatively, when connection to the information service is carried out with the help of a service gateway 22 including a database 26, the number of calls handled or accepted may be recorded in the database 26 for accounting purposes, in which case, the information service may simply receive a bill for the calls handled by the CPE. As can be appreciated, in the foregoing, reference to CPE is not limited to the actual equipment found on the customer's property, but rather, it includes the specific computer and telecommunications equipment involved in handling in response to the viewer's request the automatic connection between the viewer and the information service.

As can be appreciated, the CPE can be integrated in a television set. Fees collected through the use of the automatic connection service could be used to offset the cost of purchasing such a television set.

While in the preferred embodiment, the advertiser's telephone number or telecommunications address identifier number is received from the VBI using the VBI decoder 16, it is of course possible to obtain the telecommunications address from a data channel or a database by providing information which is able to identify the broadcaster, e.g. the channel number of the broadcaster. If such a telecommunications address look-up is not able to be carried out within a few seconds, the time of the receipt of the viewer response signal may be recorded and used in a look-up to find the appropriate telecommunications address. According to this aspect of the invention, the CPE 8 may comprise the viewers telephone with the switch to which the telephone is connected being programmed to carry out the database look-up in response to dialing a code, e.g. "*8814", in the case of a program on channel 14 and a service access code of "*88". This form of the invention may be carried out without providing any additional hardware to a home, while permitting the switch to connect the viewer directly to the appropriate telephone number after carrying out the look-up. The switch could be programmed to play an announcement regarding the information service to confirm with the viewer that he or she will be connected with the correct information service. The viewer could also be provided with the option after hearing the announcement regarding the information service to back up to the information service last featured on the program being viewed. A further announcement regarding the identity of the program being viewed and the broadcaster could also optionally be included, provided that the total time involved for an automatic connection does not wear on the patience of the viewer.

An advantage of the preferred embodiment in which telecommunications address information is included in the VBI is that a viewer recording of a broadcast program using a VCR 15 as illustrated in Figure 2 will still permit the CPE 8 to respond to the viewer's request for automatic connection to the information service, even if the source of the program is VCR 15 and not satellite 42 or land station 48.

In the case that the CPE 8 is incorporated into a television set, a VCR or other consumer purchased item, the information sent from the CPE 8 to the database 26 may comprise an identity of the manufacture of the CPE in order to be able to account for the proportion of total fees collected to be distributed to the various CPE providers or manufacturers. In the case that the service gateway 22 and database 26 do not directly control connection to the information service, it may be appropriate to restrict access to the database information to only certain brands or providers of CPE 8. One method of restriction, is to encrypt the telecommunications address while providing the decryption key only to authorized CPE. Similarly, where the broadcaster is free to provide the telecommunications address either in the VBI or directly in database 26, encryption may be used to restrict use of such telecommunication addresses to certain CPEs 8.

While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiment thereof, such description is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an automatic connection between a television viewer watching a transmitted video program and an information service via a telecommunications network, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing customer premises equipment (CPE); b) receiving at said CPE a viewer response signal requesting further information related to a program being viewed; c) determining an identity of an information service; d) determining whether said information service is accepting to pay a fee for an automatic connection between said viewer and said information service; e) establishing, in response to said response signal, a telecommunications connection between said viewer and said information service only if said information service is accepting to pay.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (c) comprises obtaining a telecommunications address from a vertical blanking interval (VBI) of said program, said CPE comprising VBI decoder means and a memory for storing a telephone number obtained from the VBI.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising superposing a symbol on said program indicating that a telecommunications address number has been received from the VBI and can be automatically connected to.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said symbol is displayed in response to a prompt included in the VBI after said address is received and stored in memory.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said CPE is integrated in a television set.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (c) comprises obtaining a telecommunications address from a data channel using a tuner and data transmission decoder provided in said CPE.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising superposing a symbol on said program indicating that a telecommunications address is available from said data channel and can be automatically connected to.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said symbol is displayed in response to a prompt included in a vertical blanking interval of said program.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (c) comprises establishing a telecommunications connection with a programming database, relaying a broadcast station identity corresponding to a broadcast channel on which said program is being viewed to said database, and determining at said database said identity of said information service based on said channel number and a time of receipt of said request.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said CPE comprises a channel selector.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said identifier is a channel number, said CPE comprises a telephone, and said viewer response signal is dialed.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein an abbreviated telephone number is dialed to reach said database, said channel number being dialed following said telephone number.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said step (e) comprises directly connecting said telephone to a number of said information service.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said step (e) comprises playing an announcement on said telephone and awaiting a confirmation response before connecting said telephone to a number of said information service.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said announcement comprises further information about a product or service described in said program.

16. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said identifier is a station identification number obtained from a VBI of said program.

17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises checking at a remote database whether a telecommunications address identifying an information service is listed as accepting to pay.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said database records each request for verification of a telecommunication address for the purposes of accounting fees each information service is to pay for automatic connection.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein said remote database handles checking for a plurality of CPE providers, said step (d) further comprising identifying a provider of the CPE.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said database records each request for verification of a telecommunication address for the purposes of accounting fees each information service is to pay to each CPE provider for automatic connection.

21. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (d) comprises proceeding to establish said connection of said step (e) and signaling to said information service identified in step (c) a request for acceptance of automatically connected telecommunication with said viewer.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said signaling is carried out by data modem communication.

23. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said connection is for voice communication, and said signaling is carried out by playing an announcement and awaiting a response from said information service, a voice path from said viewer to said information service being impaired until said response from said information service confirms acceptance to pay a fee.

24. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein said signaling includes identifying a provider of said CPE.

25. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein said signaling includes identifying a provider of said CPE.

26. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said steps (c) and (d) comprise obtaining an encrypted telecommunications address, said determination of whether said information service is accepting being based on whether said encrypted address yields a credible address after decryption using a predetermined decrypting scheme.

27. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (c) comprises obtaining an information service identification number, and said step (d) comprises obtaining from a remote database a telecommunications address corresponding to said identification number.

28. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising superposing a symbol on said program indicating that automatic connection to said information service is available.

29. A method of receiving automatically connected telecommunication from a viewer of a video program, comprising the steps of: a) providing an information service telecommunication handling center connected to a telecommunications network at a telecommunications address for the purposes of providing further information about a content of said video program; b) transmitting said video program; c) receiving over said network a signal requesting a confirmation response for acceptance of automatic connection to said viewer; and d) providing said confirmation response to receive said automatically connected telecommunication from said viewer.

30. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein said telecommunication is for voice, and said signal comprises an announcement, a voice path from said viewer to said information service being impaired until said response from said information service is received.

31. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein said signal includes an identification of a provider of customer premises equipment.

32. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein said signal includes an identification of a provider of customer premises equipment.

33. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein said telecommunication is voice, and said confirmation response comprises a DTMF signal.

34. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunications address is a telephone number of said information service.