1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcasting method and system, and more particularly, to an interactive broadcasting method for a broadcasting system and a related service providing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) are well-known audio broadcasting techniques. Both techniques transmit information in the form of electromagnetic waves. In AM, the signal or carrier is modulated in amplitude to be transmitted, while in FM, information is encoded by varying the frequency of radio waves. Traditionally, contents of the audio broadcasting are transmitted in analog form via AM and FM. In recent years, as digital audio broadcasting (DAB) technology advances, the contents of the audio broadcasting may also be transmitted in digital form, which allows the broadcasting station to include digital data or information in the transmitted signals. The radio data system (RDS) also provides a protocol for embedding small amount of digital information in conventional FM broadcasts. Both the DAB and RDS techniques allow the information other than the broadcast program content to be transmitted to the audience.
Common audio broadcasting systems are unidirectional systems, wherein the broadcasting station sends voices or sounds to the broadcast receiver through one-way transmission. In the advanced systems such as the DAB and RDS, since the carried information or data is also transmitted in a unidirectional channel, the audience may not return any feedback in response to the received information, which limits the facility of the audio broadcasting systems. For example, if an audience hears an interesting song on a broadcast program and wants to keep a record of the title or lyrics of the song or even purchase the song, the audience may need to remember parts of lyrics or melody and surf the Internet to find other information of this song. However, people always listen to the audio broadcast program during driving; hence the audience may not be able to access the Internet immediately. After a while, the audience may forget the lyrics or melody she/he has heard. Sometimes, the host of the program may introduce a free gift, and the audience should access the website of the broadcasting station or make a phone call to the broadcasting station to ask for the free gift. It is inconvenient and time consuming for the audience, especially when she/he is driving a car. Thus, there is a need for improvement over the prior art.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an interactive broadcasting method for a broadcasting system and a related service providing system, which are capable of providing services for a user of the broadcasting system and allowing the user to request and receive services introduced in a broadcast program via a simple operation.
The present invention discloses an interactive broadcasting method for a broadcasting system. The interactive broadcasting method comprises emitting, by a broadcasting station of the broadcasting system, radio signals carrying a broadcast program via an air interface; receiving, by a broadcast service receiving module, the broadcast program via the air interface and a command for triggering a service introduced in the broadcast program; sending, by the broadcast service receiving module, a request related to the service to a service management device via a network-based interface; providing, by the service management device, the service for the broadcast service receiving module according to the received request via the network-based interface.
The present invention further discloses a service providing system. The service providing system comprises a broadcasting system, a service management device and a broadcast service receiving module. The broadcasting system comprises a broadcasting station, is utilized for emitting radio signals carrying a broadcast program via an air interface. The service management device, communicating with the broadcasting system, is utilized for managing services. The broadcast service receiving module comprises a broadcast receiver, for receiving the broadcast program via the air interface; a user interface, for receiving a command for triggering a service introduced in the broadcast program; a request sending module, for sending a request related to the service to the service management device via the network-based interface; and a user service terminal, for receiving the service provided by the service management device according to the request via the network-based interface.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
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In an embodiment, a service identifier (ID) corresponding to the service is included in the broadcast program; hence, the service management device 120 may generate the service ID and transmit the service ID to the broadcasting system 110. The service ID is a unique text, code or signal pattern utilized for specifying the service, wherein the service content or details of the service may not be included in the service ID.
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Step 300: Start.
Step 302: The broadcasting station 112 emits radio signals carrying a broadcast program via the air interface I1.
Step 304: The broadcast service receiving module 130 receives the broadcast program via the air interface I1 and a command for triggering a service introduced in the broadcast program.
Step 306: The broadcast service receiving module 130 sends a request related to the service to the service management device 120 via the network-based interface 12.
Step 308: The service management device 120 provides the service for the broadcast service receiving module 130 according to the received request via the network-based interface 12.
Step 310: End.
According to the interactive broadcasting process 30, the service may be provided for the user 150 of the broadcasting system 110 via the service management device 120 and the broadcast service receiving module 130. In Step 302, the broadcasting station 112 of the broadcasting system 110 delivers the broadcast program and emits the radio signals carrying the broadcast program to the broadcast receiver 132 via the air interface I1. The radio signals may be transmitted by using any audio broadcasting technologies such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM) and digital audio broadcasting (DAB). In a traditional broadcasting system such as the AM and FM, only analog audio signals are transmitted. In an advanced broadcasting system such as the DAB and FM implemented with the radio data system (RDS), data other than audio signals may also be included in radio signals to be transmitted. As a result, the service ID may be carried with the radio signals related to the broadcast program when the broadcasting system 110 is an advanced broadcasting system. Please note that, according to the DAB or RDS technology, the channel may only transmit small amount of data with the audio signals; hence the service ID without detailed content of the service is preferable to be transmitted in the advanced broadcasting system.
If a service is introduced in the broadcast program, a service ID corresponding to the service may be included in the broadcast program. More specifically, a service ID may be corresponding to a section of the broadcast program or the entire broadcast program, which may correspond to any time period specified by the provider of the broadcast program. Please refer to
In Step 304, the broadcast service receiving module 130 receives the broadcast program via the air interface I1 and a command for triggering a service introduced in the broadcast program. When listening to the broadcast program, the user 150 may give a command to the broadcast service receiving module 130 for triggering a service introduced in the broadcast program if the user 150 is interested in the service, e.g. the download service for a song, the complimentary ticket service for a baseball game, etc. In an embodiment, the user interface 134 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 may include a widget utilized for triggering the service, and the command for triggering the service may be completed by a simple operation on the widget (e.g. a one-click operation). As mentioned above, people usually listen to the broadcast program when driving. The user 150 may not be able to perform complicated operations when driving a car, such that it is desirable to use a one-click operation to complete the command for triggering the service in order to achieve the convenience and safety of the driver.
In Step 306, the broadcast service receiving module 130 sends a request related to the service to the service management device 120 via the network-based interface 12. Since the air interface I1 for transmitting radio signals of the broadcast program is always a unidirectional interface, the broadcast service receiving module 130 has to use an interface different from the air interface I1 to send the request related to the service. The network-based interface 12 may be a wired network such as a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN) and/or cable. The network-based interface 12 may also be a wireless network such as a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, Bluetooth system, long-term evolution (LTE) system, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, global system for mobile communications (GSM) and/or general packet radio service (GPRS) system. The network-based interface 12 may also be a combination of different types of networks, which is not limited herein.
In the advanced broadcasting systems, the service ID may be included in the broadcast program to be transmitted, so that the request sending module 136 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 may send the request corresponding to the service ID to the service management device 120, in order to indicate which service the user 150 asks for. For example, if a service ID indicates that the service is a lucky draw and the command for triggering the service is received when the service ID indicating the lucky draw is transmitted, the request sending module 136 may send a request for the lucky draw to the service management device 120, in order to obtain the qualification for the lucky draw.
In the traditional broadcasting systems, however, the service ID is not available to the broadcast service receiving module 130 since data or information other than audio signals cannot be transmitted. In such a condition, the broadcast service receiving module 130 may record a time stamp corresponding to a time when the command for triggering the service is received and record information related to a channel playing the broadcast program and a location of the broadcast service receiving module 130 when the command is received. The broadcast service receiving module 130 may find out a service requested by the user according to the time the user 150 gives the command, the channel the user 150 listens to and the location of the user 150.
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In Step 308, the service management device 120 provides the service for the broadcast service receiving module 130 according to the received request via the network-based interface 12. If the broadcasting system is a traditional broadcasting system such as the AM and traditional FM, the service ID may not be available, such that the service is provided according to the time stamp, the information related to the channel playing the broadcast program and the location of the broadcast service receiving module 130. If the broadcasting system is an advanced broadcasting system such as the DAB and FM implemented with the RDS, the service ID may be available, such that the service is provided according to the service ID received by the broadcast service receiving module 130.
In an embodiment, the service provider may provide more abundant services where a service may include several selecting items for the service content. When the request sending module 136 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 sends the request related to the service, the service providing server 202 of the service management device 120 may send the selecting items to the user service terminal 138 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 via the network-based interface 12 according to the received request. The user interface 134 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 then generates an interface in response to the selecting items, in order to obtain a selection result from the user 150. Finally, the broadcast service receiving module 130 transmits the selection result to the service providing server 202 of the service management device 120, in order to determine the service content.
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In an embodiment, a simpler user interface may be provided for the user 150 who is driving a car and may not perform a complicated operation. For example, the user interface 134 may only include one button for inputting the command. The user 150 may click the button once for purchasing the paperback edition and click the button twice for purchasing the deluxe edition. In another embodiment, the user interface 134 of the broadcast service receiving module 130 may deliver the selecting items by voice, and the user 150 may click the button when hearing the desired selecting item. Furthermore, the broadcast service receiving module 130 may also include a voice recognition module, which allows the user 150 to give the command by speaking. As a result, when a driver hears an interesting service introduced in the broadcast program, she/he may easily make a request for the service via the above operations. These operations for receiving the command from the user 150 may be implemented in any manners, which should not be limited herein.
In an embodiment, the broadcasting station 112 may transmit different service ID for different service content. For example, in the broadcast program where a book is introduced, a service ID ID_P corresponding to the paperback edition and a service ID ID_D corresponding to the deluxe edition are both included in the broadcast program and transmitted to the broadcast receiver 132 of the broadcast service receiving module 130. If the user 150 wants to buy the paperback edition, the request sending module will send the request corresponding to the service ID ID_P to the service management device 120; if the user 150 wants to buy the deluxe edition, the request sending module will send the request corresponding to the service ID ID_D to the service management device 120. In another embodiment, there may be only one service ID for the purchase of the book, and the request sending module 136 may use different messages to be corresponding to different commands received by the user 150.
Please note that, the present invention is capable of providing services to an audience of the broadcasting system and allowing the audience to request and receive services introduced in a broadcast program via a simple operation. Those skilled in the art can make modifications and alternations accordingly. For example, the broadcasting system 110 may be any type of audio broadcasting system delivering broadcast programs to houses, cars, or other places with broadcast receivers. In addition, the service management device 120 shown in
In an embodiment, when the user 150 is listening to the broadcast program via the air interface I1, the network-based interface 12 may be unavailable. Therefore, the request sending module 136 cannot immediately send the request to the service management device 120. In such a condition, when receiving the command for triggering the service from the user 150, the broadcast service receiving module 130 may store the information related to the request related to the service in the storage device 140 until the network-based interface 12 becomes available. The request sending module 136 then sends the request to the service management device 120 after the network-based interface 12 becomes available. For the traditional broadcasting system such as the AM and traditional FM, the information related to the request may include the time when the command for triggering the service is received, information related to the channel playing the broadcast program and the location of the broadcast service receiving module 130. Such information should be able to indicate which service the user 150 asks for. For the advanced broadcasting system such as the DAB and FM implemented with the RDS, the information related to the request may include the service ID indicating which service the user 150 asks for. If there are selecting items for the service content, the selection may be performed when the broadcast program is received, and information related to the request for selected service content is stored in the storage device 140 until network-based interface 12 becomes available. In other embodiments, the selection may also be performed after the network-based interface 12 becomes available.
Please note that the service providing system 10 may be implemented in any types of broadcasting systems, wherein the broadcast service receiving module 130 may be implemented in any types of electronic devices having broadcast receiving functions. Such electronic devices may include, but should not be limited to, a radio, desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, and any broadcast receiver in a house or a vehicle, etc. The broadcast service receiving module 130 may be a plug-on device attached to any of the electronic devices to realize the service providing method in a hardware manner. The broadcast service receiving module 130 may also be a computer-readable medium having a program for instructing a process of any of the electronic devices to perform the interactive broadcasting method, in order to realize the service providing method in a software manner. Such a computer-readable medium may include any type of physical medium such as a magnetic medium, optical medium or semiconductor medium. More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium may include, but should not be limited to, a magnetic tape, a magnetic floppy diskette, a magnetic hard drive, a memory card, a solid-state drive, a USB flash drive, an optical disc, a random access memory (RAM) including a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and a magnetic random access memory (MRAM), a read-only memory (ROM) including a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.
In the prior art, since the broadcast program and carried information are transmitted in a unidirectional channel, the audience may not return any feedback in response to the received information, which limits the facility of the audio broadcasting systems. It is inconvenient and time consuming for the audience to reply such information by making a phone call or accessing the Internet, especially when the audience is driving a car. In comparison, the present invention provides an interactive broadcasting method for a broadcasting system and a related service providing system capable of providing services to an audience of the broadcasting system and allowing the audience to request and receive services introduced in a broadcast program via a simple operation, so that the safety and convenience of the audience can be enhanced even if the audience is driving a car.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/723,763, filed on Nov. 7, 2012 and entitled “Systems and Methods for Prompt Subscription for Linearly Provided Digital Contents”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61723763 | Nov 2012 | US |