Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RADIO RECEIVER FOR INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION USING SUBCARRIER
John O. Ryan
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a radio broadcasting system for transmission of
alphanumeric information to a specially adapted receiver.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Numerous systems transmit information of FM radio subcarriers. See for
instance, U.S. Patent 5,152,011 issued to Schwob, September 29, 1992. Also
known is a single sideband communication system with FM data capability for
transmission of analog voice signals. See U.S. Patent 4,852,086 issued to
Eastmond
et al., July 20, 1989.
Also known is FM radio sideband broadcasting to specially adapted computers
for transmission for instance of news and financial information. Commercially
available
products available from Mainstream, Telemet, and DeskTop Data broadcast data
over
FM radio sidebands for receipt by personal computers equipped with special FM
radio
receivers and software. Typically information is transmitted in digital form,
received,
and stored in the computer memory for access by the computer user using menu
driven software. The data is displayed on the computer screen in conventional
alphanumeric form. One product in this category is News Edge, a news service
available from DeskTop Data, Inc. of Waltham, Massachusetts which delivers a
number
of news and financial information services to a user via FM radio sideband.
Software
provided with the product scans incoming information and when the incoming
information meets parameters set by the
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user, the information is saved to disk and/or displayed on the computer
screen.
These systems have the disadvantage of requiring a personal computer as a
platform, and providing information only on a computer screen. The usual
computer
skills are needed in order to operate such systems, which tend to be quite
expensive.
The Examiner of the International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) cited
D 1 (French Patent No. 2 651 352) as containing the most relevant art. The
invention of
D 1 relates to reception, by a car radio, of a standard defined digital
infornlation signal
combined on a subcarrier with a conventional radio transmission signal. The
novelty of
the Dl invention is the method of separation and display of the digital
information from
the audio program signal.
The intended application of the invention of D 1 is restricted to the
reception and
presentation of automobile guidance transmissions and as the Examiner of the
International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) states, does not require
memory for
long term storage. In fact a memory system would be disadvantageous in such an
application as D 1 describes as only the current information is of any value.
The
Applicant respectfully submits that the addition of memory would provide an
enhanced
service such as the one claimed in the present invention.
Claim one is restricted to extraction of information on a subcan-ier. This is
not the
case with the present invention. The information in the invention is
restricted to
receiving data for a specific application and in a specific format that
necessitates the use
of the two shift registers alternatively loaded b~portions of the synchronous
data stream.
Additionally the Examiner of the International Preliminary Examination Report
(IPER) stated that it would be obvious to combine the features of D 1 with
database of D2
(EP 0 373 386).
i
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The Applicant used US Patents 5,23,700 ('700) and
5,08h,510 ('510) which were listed in the family of 0 373
386 l:or review of D2.
The '700 covers the management of information
related specifically to the operation of the automobile.
The primary display is a display screen presented with
computer generated characters derived from such
information received in ASCII for that my be stored in a
memory and converted to synthesized speech. These and
all other signals are related only to operation of the
automobile and not to a news and information for the
drivers (and passengers) entertainment.
As the patent covers many operating features,
exclusive of entertainment, a memory system is required
and partitioned into a multitude of segments, each
segment treated in an entirely different manner (column
9, l~:ne 8) . The reference relies on the handset of as
portable telephone as a means of inputting instructions
to the system. '
US patent '510 is similar to '700, but deals more
with the human interface. The interface consists of a
voice' transmitter (38) and a voice receiver (37) (Figure
7 and Claim 1, line 59), a keypad (34) (Figure7) and a
visual display (Figure9) as a. means of communication.
The ''510 reference does not address and' other form of
interface. For the most part, '510 describes an '
operation of data generated from the unit or other places
in tYie automobile .
The receiver of,the present invention, unlike-the
cited references does not require a dedicated receiver as
shown on page 2, line 21 and is not restricted to radio
broadcast bands.
Additionally, the invention is not restricted to a
s a :h .synthesizer. Any digitized form of data may be
used from which an analog audio signal can be reproduces.
Theses may be digitized audio source signals, compressed
digitized audio signal s, digitized voice coder signals
and sapeech synthesized signals.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
~~ system for receiving information via radio
sidebands (subcarriers) includes an FM subcarrier tuner
which extracts encrypted data from a radio transmission.
Conditional access circuitry decrypts the data v~hich is
stored in a random access memory. A user interface
(eithe:r a simple manual or voice control) driving a
hierarchy of menus allows a user to access the
information by indicating his selections from the menus;
the system then extracts the information from the
database in decrypted text form. A speech synthesizer
converts the text information to an audio signal for
provie;ion to the user via a loud speaker or earphones.
This system may be standalone or a part of an
existing radio receiver, sharing components of the radio
receiver. One embodiment of the user control is a four
way sv~ritch (the positions corresponding for instance to
the cursor control keys on a computer) for selection from
and scanning through the menus. Typically the system
includes approximately four megabits of memory,
sufficient to store information for 10 hours of audio.
The information is for example news, sports, weather,
cultural information, advertisements, or commercial
listings. The information is transmitted in digital form
as (encrypted) ASCII text which is readily stored and
voice synthesized.
~C~ther features are user control over the speed at
which the synthesized speech is output, and a channel
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skipping tuner for finding the particular FM radio station subcarrier on which
the service
is provided. An optional printer produces hard copy output, and the speech
synthesizer
may, under either automatic or user control, produce different types of
voices. Also, the
user has the opportunity to preselect database items, thereby to construct a
personal
profile so as to extract particular information without having to scan through
all the
menus.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
receiver
system for receiving news, sports, weather, cultural information or commercial
data, the
data being transmitted in digital form, comprising: a radio tuner for
demodulating data
from a radio signal; a memory for storing the demodulated data in a database;
a user
interface for providing a set of hierarchical menus describing the database,
and for
accepting selections from the set of menus; a controller for selecting data
from the
database in response to the accepted selections and outputting the selected
data in a
digital form; and a converter for converting the selected data from digital
form to an
analog audio signal representing spoken words.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method for transmitting digital data via a radio signal to a receiver,
comprising:
broadcasting the radio signal; demodulating the digital data from the radio
signal;
determining if the data is encrypted and if encrypted, decrypting the digital
data; storing
the demodulated data in a memory as a database; generating a set of menus
describing the
database; selecting items of the digital data from the set of menus; selecting
from the
memory portions of the stored data in response to the selected items, the
portions being in
digital form; and converting the provided portions from the digital form to an
analog
audio signal representing spoken words.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Figure 1 shows a device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
Conventional FM radio antenna 10 (as used for instance in automobile or
portable radios)
provides a received radio signal to FM subcarrier tuner 12 of the type well
known in the
art for extracting an FM subcarrier signal. As is well known, these subcarrier
signals are
typically transmissions of digitized data on subcarriers leased from
commercial FM radio
stations. FM subcarrier tuner 12 provides on line 14 the extracted data (which
typically is
encrypted) to conditional access circuitry 16.
Conditional access circuitry 16 ensures that the data is decrypted only if the
proper key or command has been provided, as described below. Conditional
access
circuitry 16 decrypts the received data (as authorized by microcontroller 20
over
lines 22) and in one embodiment provides plain ASCII text (or other
alphanumeric text)
on line 26 for storage to conventional integrated circuit random access memory
(RAM)
28. In one embodiment RAM 28 includes approximately 4 megabits of storage
capacity.
This information is accessed under control of microcontroller (microprocessor)
20 via
control signals at
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lines 24, to determine which particular items of data stored in RAM 28 are to
be
provided via output line 32 to speech synthesizer 30.
In other embodiments, the received data is stored as encrypted data or in
another convenient form and converted to a form usable by the speech
synthesizer
prior to being converted to speech. In this case, each data item would be
"tagged"
with an unencrypted designation to allow retrieval of the stored encrypted
data from
the database.
Speech synthesizer 30 is of the type commercially available for example from
Berkeley Speech Technologies, Berkeley, California. This system converts ASCII
text
into understandable and well modulated audio analog signals. The audio analog
signals
are provided on line 34 to a conventional audio amplifier 36 and hence to a
loud
speaker or earphones 38 to be listened to by the user.
User interface 40 inputs commands on line 42 to microcontroller 20 to
determine which items of data from random access memory 28 are to be listened
to.
The transmitted information is categorized, stored, and accessed in a
conventional hierarchial database in RAM 28 under control of microcontroller
20.
In one embodiment user interface 40 is a voice activated command system.
For instance the device is turned on and initialized by the user's spoken "ON"
command. It then responds by vocally announcing via loud speaker 38 the major
database categories available e.g. "NEWS", "SPORTS", "ENTERTAINMENT", etc.
When the desired category has been announced the user responds by saying
"YES".
The device then announces again the sub-categories of the selected major
category,
and the user again selects the desired sub-category with a spoken "YES" until
the
specific item need is accessed. For example, the category and sub-category
path to
the latest news regarding the General Motors Corporation might be "NEWS ...
BUSINESS .. NATIONAL .. AUTOMOTIVE .. GM." The path
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to a review of the recent movie Aladdin might be "ENTERTAINMENT .. HOLLYWOOD
.. MOVIE REVIEWS .. ALADDIN." Typically items will be reached after four or
five
"YES" responses from the user. In one embodiment three additional spoken
commands by the user such as "BACK" "STOP" and "GO" are sufficient to provide
the
user effective and rapid control of the system.
In other embodiment a switch assembly having for instance four positions (up,
down, left, right) corresponding to the familiar cursor control on a computer,
with each
position indicating one of four commands, is provided for user manual
operation. This
switch may be adapted to attach to the steering wheel of an automobile, for
use by
the driver. The control is linked to the rest of the device by wire, infrared,
or
ultrasonically, as is a conventional television remote control.
Another version uses a one-position control switch. The user briefly depresses
the switch to select the category or item as announced or to scan through the
menus.
Briefly depressing the switch while an actual data item is being read executes
"stop."
Depressing it again then executes "go." Holding the switch down for a second
or two
executes "back" at any time, to return to a predetermined point in the
database.
The FM subcarrier tuner 12, microcontroller 20, conditional access circuitry
16
and random access memory 28 typically remain powered at all times (by battery
power
if necessary) to receive a continuous update of the broadcast database, and
thereby
to store current news in RAM 28.
In one version the device of Figure 1 is a portable unit (similar to a
portable
radio) and includes the user voice or manual interface. In another embodiment
the
device of Figure 1 is build into a conventional portable
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radio or automobile radio, sharing where possible common components.
In one embodiment user interface 40 has a speed control to determine the
output speed of speech synthesizer 30. Speech synthesizer 30 may receive
information on line 32 faster than normal speaking speed. It is well known
that people
can understand speech at faster than normal speech rates. Thus the user by
pushing
a button on the receiver unit or providing the proper verbal command increases
the
speech speed, so as to obtain information faster, analogous to skimming
printed
material.
In the embodiment using a voice activated user interface 40, the number of
commands provided is limited (for instance to 5 to 10) and hence a relatively
simple
commercially available voice input recognition circuit is sufficient.
In another embodiment, the user interface for an automobile-based system is
associated with a heads-up display, expected to be available in various
automobiles in
the near future. This provides visual display of the database menu items
analogous
to a computer screen, to allow faster access to the database menus.
Advantageously, by transmitting and storing the data in text or alphanumeric
form (even though encrypted), the required bandwidth of the transmission
channel is
vastly reduced, as are the memory requirements, thereby substantially reducing
the
component cost. A typical transmission speed is one kilobaud, as is now used
in FM
subcarrier transmission of financial and news information. This is sufficient
to
download in approximately one hour the needed four megabits of data to random
access memory 28.
In use, after purchase of the unit the user programs it to the frequencies of
the
local stations providing the transmissions. There may be multiple such
stations in one
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area, due to the limited transmission distance of FM radio. A channel skipping
feature
(as is now available commercially in various radios) in one embodiment
included in
microcontroller 20 seeks out stations having a particular signature or
frequency, to
maintain reception even when moving from the transmission area of one station
carrying the service to the transmission area of a second station carrying the
service.
It would take less than a minute for the system to scan the entire FM band
looking for
the signature transmission.
The data encryption/access is accomplished in several ways. In one
embodiment a simple addressed on/off command is transmitted (without data
encryption) to disable individual units belonging to people who have not paid
the
required monthly subscription fee to receive the service.
In a more sophisticated encryption system where it is believed there is a
problem of manufacture and sale of unauthorized units, then proper data
encryption
is used, requiring receipt of a key and decryption of the data with decryption
circuitry.
Hence unauthorized units without such dedicated decryption circuitry would not
be
operative at all.
In one embodiment of an encryption system, (analogous to pay-per-view cable
TV encryption), decryption keys are delivered by radio transmission. Each
individual
receiver unit has a unique "hidden" key of for instance 40 to 50 binary digits
in read
only memory. Each unit also has a "public" nonhidden serial number. All
transmitted
data is conventionally encrypted using a master key which is changed
periodically,
both to force users to pay for the service and to enhance security. Each
receiver unit
must receive a master key to decrypt the data transmission.
The master key is transmitted to each unit as follows:
Periodically, the transmission of the data is interrupted to transmit key
information. The key
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information is a series of packets, one packet for each individual receiver
unit, with
each packet including (1 ) an address field which is the public serial number
of a
particular unit; followed by (2) a second field which is the current master
key
encrypted with the unique "hidden key" of the unit having that particular
serial
number.
The receivers look for these packets (which are denoted by a particular
signature or occur at particular times to avoid confusion with the data). When
a
particular unit receives the packet including its own address (public serial
number), it
stores and decrypts the subsequent encrypted master key field, thereby
obtaining the
master key, in order to decrypt subsequent encrypted data.
In a second encryption system embodiment, a uniquely encrypted master key
for each individual receiver is physically delivered to each user periodically
(such as
once a month). The key could be entered into each unit by a keypad, or the key
could
be embodied in an electronically readable card or device inserted into a
suitable port
in the receiver.
In another embodiment, speech synthesizer 30 is controlled to provide a
variety
of particular voices. These voices are selected by the user, i.e. to be
male/female or
other voices, or the system is programmed via microcontroller 20 to select
different
voices for different types of or categories of information.
The device of Figure 1 as incorporated in a conventional radio uses antenna 10
of the radio. The FM subcarrier tuner 12 is in addition to the conventional
radio tuner
or could be part of the radio tuner. The other blocks of Figure 1 (with the
exception
of amplifier 36 and loud speaker 38) are unique to this system and are added
components to a conventional radio.
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The above description is illustrative and not limiting; further modifications
will
be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
