Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TELEVISION SIGNAL ACTIVATED INTERACTIVE SMART CARI1 SYSTEM
This application is a divisional of Canadian application serial
number 2,181,705, which is the Canadian National Phase of
International pa;gent-application PCT/US95/00759 filed 19 January
1995 (19.01.1995)
Field of the In~reation
2'he present invention relates to communication
by television transmissions and more particularly
to interactive communication between a television
receiver and a smart card for purposes of delivery
and use of benefit authorization, e.g. discounts on
products to be purchased.
to Background of the Inveation
The present invention provides for
transmission of data information along with any
standard television or computer video signal for
reception by a °'smart card°' held near the
television screen. This °'smart card'° can be
embodied in a credit card, debit, affinity or
identification card. The for the purpose of
recording and storing the data infarmation that can
be presented at a point of purchase location, value
2o redemption site, or benefit redemption venue, where
the cardholder can redeem discounts, values,
offers, or benefits by retrieving the data
information from the smart card for example by a
person and light scan readable display.
Traditionally, discounts and other such
benefits, e.g. free samples and the like, have been
provided or authorized by way of hard copy printing
of coupons in newspapers, mailer brochures and the
like. While such printed authorizations, e.g.
3o coupons have been effective and extensively used,
they have presented certain problems. Printed
coupons require a substantial amount of time to
prepare and deliver to the potential user. For
example, one may need three months or more to print
and deliver such printed coupons. The need for the
promotion may change during that time. The present
invention over comes such problems and permits
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almost instantaneous delivery of the benefit
authorization and a very early use of the benefit
. authorization thereby better meeting the objectives
of the company providing the benefit by data
transmission of the authorization by commercial
television. Such benefit authorization by data
transmission using commercial television has not
been known in the past.
Transmission of data together with television
signals are known, including but not limited to,
for example: Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) data
transmissions - typically Teletext and Closed
captioning; FM broadcast radio subcarrier, and
Cellular telephone-like data transmission systems.
Such prior systems have been complex and not
readily available to most television viewers.
Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) has
traditionally been a favorite place for placing
data signals. Federal regulations allow virtually
any information to be transmitted in VBI. While
VBI may be used in carrying out the present
invention. VBI data is concentrated in a small
area of time within the video signal and is
susceptible to many kinds of over-the-air
transmission impairments. The effect on VBI system
performance is a data rate dependent. Therefore as
more data (higher rate) is squeezed into this small
area the m~.:e likely errors are to occur.
Impairments that destroy VBI, do not affect the
3o data signal of the preferred embodiments of the
present invention.
VBI requires a relatively complex decoder
connected by wire or other means to the receiver of
the television signal. The preferred embodiment of
the present invention relies only on the light
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emanating from the TV set. The preferred
embodiment of the present invention has the
advantage that no wired connection to the video
system is required and the signal survives
transmission impairments.
Closed captioning is an example of a slow data
rate VBI signal. Teletext is a higher data rate
VBI signal. Picture waveform errors caused by
distortions and ghosts result in the data being
to superimposed or added randomly with a delayed copy
of itself, thus complicating clock and data
recovery. This cross contamination is one cause of
inter-symbol interference that can create a
difficulty in detecting the difference between ones
and zeros. The preferred embodiment of the present
invention does not have problems of this nature.
VBI is also easily removed and routinely
replaced along the signal transmission path by
common processing amplifiers. The data signal of
the preferred embodiment of the present invention
is not easily lost, removed or affected because the
signal of the present invention is dispersed in
time with great redundancy.
The preferred embodiment of the present
invention is free of interferences that are common
to VBI systems, such as ghosts, non-linear
distortions, group delay or K factor errors, AM
transmitter errors like differential phase and
gain, inter-modulation products, incidental phase
modulation as well as noise sources such as
ignitions, atmospheric interference, and arcing
motors in home appliances. Since the transmission
of data of the present invention utilizes a low
data rate that is dispersed in time, the effects of
such transmission problems are significantly
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minimized. The redundancy resulting from placing
the same low level signal on virtually all the
active video makes the data very tolerant of
impairments. In fact, the television picture would
have to become un-watchable before the data signal
would be harmed. The signal has been successfully
tested in the laboratory making off-air recordings
on poorly maintained and miss-tracking home video
cassette recorders.
FM Broadcast Radio Subcarrier and Cellular
Telephone Like Data Transmission
Simulcast interactive systems can use
auxiliary FM radio sub-carriers (FM-SCA) or
cellular-phone-like data networks for the broadcast
of the data to the home. Simulcasting requires
close synchronizing to match interactivity with the
program material. FM-SCA data systems suffer from
the FM equivalents of the above errors, ghosts are
called multi-path and fading (signal. loss or
nulls). Non-linear distortion, group delay and
intermodulation are grouped with external
interference or noise as interference. All of
these conditions result in inter-symbol confusion.
One advantage television has is that consumers
understand that they need roof top antennas or
cable TV to receive pictures. So TV roof top
antennas or cable TV connections are the rule in
suburban locations. While oof top FM antennas are
the exception. Hence the odds are that distant TV
signals will be better received than FM radio.
That is one reason why many FM-SCA stations are
needed to provide coverage for each TV station
operating area.
Cellular-phone-like data systems have the
above FM impairments and by their nature require
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that cell density matches user density. Present
phone computer modems fail when used on cellular
systems because the modems were designed for
ordinary telephone line problems. The common
computer modem cannot cope with cellular hand-offs,
multi-path and fading. The present invention
utilizes a signal with the data imbedded in the
video signal; thus video and data signals are
received simultaneously and with equal clarity.
1~ Consumer Recording of Biqnal
Most homes have Video Cassette Recorders and
many people use their VCR's to time shift programs
for their convenience. VBI can be recorded only by
a small number of the most sophisticated Video Tape
Recorders. No consumer VCR's can record simulcast
signals such as FM-SCA subcarrier and Cellular
Telephone like signals. The present invention
works well and can be recorded on even the simplest
of consumer VCRs. Additionally, pre-recorded
2~ commercially available video tapes, video discs, CD
ROM's, and any other media that contain material
such as movies, information videos, software for
home computers that can be shown via any scanned
television like system, can also be encoded with
offers, discounts, and benefits available to
consumers using the present inventian.
A common smart card is characterized as a
card-lik device with a microprocessor and memory.
A typical use could be a debit card with the money
3o value imbedded Within the card system. As
purchases are made, the amount is subtracted from
the total available cash which corresponds with the
amount of funds in an account in a financial
institution. A smart card in the format of a
credit card, allows for the credit limit to
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potentially be included in the data within the card. The
amount is then modified to represent the currently
available credit as the card is used to purchase items.
The card may be periodically updated as funds are paid to
the account. The updating may occur at the bank or at an
automatic teller or other such terminal. In the
interration as a medical information card, a smart card may
accommodate a patient's history encoded within the card
data for subsequent use.
The present invention uses a unique smart card
featuring a smart chip (integrated circuit) that is
imbedded in a credit, debit, affinity or identification
card that captures and stores a televised signal that a
person in turn can interpret. The card with the recorded
signal provides a light-scan readable display allowing for
benefits to be offered to the cardholder.
Summary of the Present Invention
The present invention utilizes in combination, any
scanned television like system (such as a conventional
television transmission path or computer video signal), a
conventional television receiver or computer and monitor, a
"smart card" imbedded with a photoelectric television
signal optical pick-up device, and a human and light scan
readable display at a benefit redemption venue.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a card
for receiving promotion data directly from a display, said
promotion data encoded within a signal presented on said
display, said card comprising: a light sensor disposed on
said card to receive said promotion data from said display;
a central processing unit (CPU) disposed on said card; a
promotion memory disposed on said card and coupled to said
CPU for storing said promotion data, said promotion data
being stored in the form of UPC codes; and a program memory
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disposed on said card and coupled to said CPU, said program
memory programmed to direct said CPU to store said promotion
data in said promotion memory.
The present invention provides a method of sending data
transmission along with a standard television signal in the
form of changing light pulses. This light modulation is
then sensed by a photoelectric pickup device within the
smart card where it is captured and stored. This stored
data can be displayed and read by a terminal at a
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benefit redemption venue, among which can be mass
merchandisers, supermarkets and department stores.
One example of the present inwention~s usage
is in conjunction with television broadcast
advertising for retail point of purchase discounts.
The method includes the step of broadcasting an
advertisement by television. The advertisement
includes an imbedded light signal data code which
contains product discount information.
I0 The advertisement and the authorization data
are simultaneously received by a television set.
The authorization data is sensed and recorded on a
smart card when the card is held with the
photoelectric pick-up device near and facing the
television. Confirmation of good data reception is
delineated to the TV Cardholder via characters
displayed on the TV Card. The smart card can then
be taken to a point of purchase location where it
can be read for the purpose of authorizing the
advertised discount rate in the purchase of the
identified product.
The present invention uses the TV Card to
record sequences of light pulses from the
television set. The recording may be of a form
conforming to a bar code sequence. The sequence of
light pulses originates from the in-home television
receiver. The present TV Card may be adapted to
record a plurality of sE'~~s of product
identificationjdiscount rate data items that are
for use in product purchasing. The method of the
present invention allows for selective processing
of data items recorded within the present TV Card,
for example, the selective editing or erasure of
outdated discounts. The present method may include
the use of a visually observable indicator or icon
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in the televised advertisement providing notice
that the advertisement carries a non visual signal
of product identification, discount rate or other
value. Use of an identification/discount rate
signal in the fona of a bar code may be included.
The method may include an automatic release or
removal of the recorded data after the expiration
of a specific time period, such as a week or a
month. Alternatively, the data received through
the television set may include removal date data
which automatically removes the recorded data on a
specified date. The method of automatically
removing the data may provide that the specific
time period is carried by authorization signal and
imputed into the smart card along with the product
identification/discount rate data.
The present method may include step wherein
the television advertising is recorded on a video
recording for reading by the smart card when the
video is later played on a television set.
The present invention utilizes the TV Card to
record the data transmission. The TV Card may be
of credit card size and has embedded thereon an
integrated circuit chip that is connected to a
photoelectric light detector and further may
include a changeable and addressable LCD or other
type of bar code display. The present TV Card may
have a permanent bar code and magnetic strip that
is keyed to a data base and contains information
3o about the card owner. The present card may further
and simultaneously serve as a credit, debit,
affinity, identification or other appropriate
application.
The present invention requires no new
equipment anywhere in the transmission line.
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Television Network Facilities, Telephone Company
Facilities, Micro-wave Link Systems and Satellite
Transmission / Receive systems required no changes.
Television stations use their current video tape
recorders, production plants and transmitter.
Cable systems require no changes to accommodate the
present invention. Retailers may use their
existing bar code readers. However, the present
invention allows for system enhancement as
hereinafter described, via hardware and software
options.
The information recorded on the present
invention TV Card is erasable at any time. The
present invention allows the advertisers to offer a
plurality of values and make offers for use within
specific and varied time periods.
The television data signal is 'unobtrusive. It
is invisible except for the icon which "announces"
that a value is available to TV Card holders. The
present invention affords a nearly fail safe data
transmission via standard computer and television
transmission methods.
The present TV Card concepts are simple to
understand by all involved groups: Advertisers,
~5 consumers, broadcasters, program originators and
sellers or retailers. The present data signals can
be transmitted from many separate locations. Each
transmitting station can pre-record the ~~;ommercials
from satellite distribution or a network
transmission feed. Because the data signal is
embedded in the program material, the information
is therefore always precisely synchronized and
matched to the video.
The present invention uses a separate
independent data channel for each television signal
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transmitted. When a data signal is encoded within
programs and commercials at the production source,
the data is always present on the correct channel,
at the correct time. This is not the case with
simulcast FM-SCA and cellular telephone-like
systems which must synchronize data for many video
channels with the single data channel. This
requires the data channel to cope with the
different cable channel line-ups, satellite and
broadcast channel positions for each area in each
market. Currently, more than 100 channels are
available in all U.S. markets with many markets
planning 500 to 1,000 different channels.
The present invention provides broadcasters
with a new service to offer that enhances
previously existing advertisements and programming.
This is clearly an added value to the television
broadcast and cable television industries.
Consumers are accustomed to watching
television and also using credit cards while
shopping. The combination of holding the present
TV Card with a photoelectric television signal
optical pick-up device near and facing the
television receiver as a new interactive method of
receiving value that will enhance the viewing,
shopping, and value redemption experience. The
viewer will now realize an added benefit to watch
specific TV Card enhanced programming. The present
invention utilizes a robust data signal in a
standard video transmission system that has been
tested and proven to function on cable television
and broadcast stations using existing equipment.
The present invention allows television
broadcasters, cable television networks,
advertisers and other program producers to improve
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their current services and to achieve and offer near
sources of revenue.
When a television commercial is broadcast with
a visual icon or audio indication that it is a TV
Card encoded spot, the consumer points the card
with its photoelectric television signal optical
pick-up devise near and towards the television
thereby activating the card. The encoded message
is automatically received by the present TV Card
and is stored in its memory. This information can
then be read by any conventional retail check-out
scanner when the consumer purchases an identified
item. The offer or value that was stored in the TV
Card is then credited to the consumer after the TV
Card is read.
The information stored on the permanent bar
code and magnetic strip allows the card to be used
as a conventional credit or debt card and can also
provide demographic, psychographic and other
pertinent measurable information about the
cardholder. The consumer must watch and engage the
TV Card encoded programming to receive the value.
Use of the TV Card offers a new broad form of
television induced measurement. The measurable
purchasing or other pertinent data stored at the
redemption venue or level offers almost instant
information that can be used by broadcast
television networks, cable television networks,
advertisers, manufacturers, sellers and retailers
and other interested parties. The measurable
purchasing data stared at the redemption venue or
level, can be transferred to a central data bank
for compilation, interpretation, and storage.
To make the use of the TV Card easier, it is
desirable to receive data from the light of the
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television receiver at a variety of distances. The
size of the card limits the size of the optical
pick-up device, requiring that the card be held
close to the TV set to receive data. The addition
of methods to extend the pick-up range are
desirable. A card holder which has a recess in
which the card is placed allows several desirable
benef its: a larger battery source for power, roam
for larger light gathering optics, additional large
operational buttons or controls and connection
means to transfer information to and from the card.
An alternative method to ~~eceive data from the
television is to employ a holder at a stationary
position near the TV set. This allows the card's
optics to detect the light while a calculator style
power module supplies power from the building's AC
power line. Alternatively an additional set of-
optics and an optical pick-up device may be built
within the holder to transfer data directly to the
2Q card via connection means. A remote control and
sensor may also be provided for the customer to use
in choosing which offer that they would like to
participate and record within the card. The holder
can also provide space for additional controls
buttons, lights as desired. For example, because
the holder is not limited by size of a battery, a
light may be lighted when a commercial yr program
segment coi_aining TV Card data is present.
A purely mechanical stand or holder may orient
the~TV Card to provide a more efficient view of the
television. The customer may press the "activate"
button and place the TV Card upon the stand; or if
the TV Card was already in the stand, press the
"activate" button. One object of the present
invention is to assure the client that a human is
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watching the programming containing the data. To
accomplish this the card may be designed to require
that the button be pressed to respond to each
offer. Also, to conserve power, it is not
desirable to leave the TV Card's optical pick-up
active for long periods of time. The button to
"activate" amy be required to be pushed and
released for every individual offer, thus
preventing the consumer from mechanically holding
the button down and leaving the room for a series
of advertisements.
A consumer center specifically designed for
the present invention may be provided in retail
establishments to print coupons with high speed and
quality printers. The paper can be closely
controlled to reduce coupon counterfeiting. The
preferred embodiment may be operated completely
without any paper component.
The present invention uses technology that
allows data to be transmitted along with standard
broadcast video. The card uses a simple code
imbedded in the picture that produces a slight,
line-by-line brightness modulation. The result is
a signal invisible to humans, but easily detected
by the TV Card. Each TV Card may have a unique
identity or serial number which identifies
demographics, psychographics and other measurable
information about the card owner. This information
is imbedded in a magnetic strip and a bar code
strip on the back of the card. These strips can
either be scanned, or "swiped" allowing the
consumer to use the card either as a credit, debit,
affinity or identity card. As the card is scanned,
the store computer can process data about the
products purchased and who purchased them. The
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consumer information is accessible whether or not
the consumer uses the card for payment. The stored
product data within the card can be programmed to
self erase in a specific time period or after a
certain number of point of sale scans. The data
integrity is preserved by using the commonly
accepted computer data transmission and encryption
technologies. Parity and Cyclic Redundancy Checks
(CRC) insure that the data is properly received.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present
invention provides for use in conjunction with a
television set and a bar code and/or light scan
reader, a smart card comprising: a card resembling a
credit card, said card including means for reading
and storing signals from said television set; means
for converting said signals into stored data; and
means of converting said stored data into signals
readable by said bar code and/or light scan reader.
IN THE DRAWINGS:
Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the
communication links in the present invention;
Figure 2 is top view of the present TV card
showing the bar code portion and the magnetic stripe
portion;
Figure 3 is an illustration of the TV card of
the present invention showing in broken lines the
various elements of the card;
Figure 4 is an end view of the present TV card;
Figure 5 is a schematic view of the scan
detection circuit of the present TV card;
Figure 6 is a block diagram of the circuit
reading the light from the television set;
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Figure 7 shows a block diagram of the circuit
reading the light from the television set;
Figure 8 illustrates an auxiliary piece of
equipment for handling longer range use of the TV
card; and
Figure 9 shows an alternate long range piece of
equipment for reading the light signals from the
television set.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention relates to a method for
handling the authorisation, delivery and use of
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redemptions, such as discount coupons. Figure 1 in
the drawings illustrates the various elements
involved in the handling of the authorization,
delivery and use of the redemptions. The present
invention includes use of a TV card 1, which is in
the form of a smart card adapted to read and record
signals 2 from a scanned cathode ray tube such as a
television receiver 3. The signal 2 may be
transmitted to the television receivez as part of a
to conventional transmission from a television
station 3. The television signal.2 may include an
encoded signal of pulsing light 4 displayed by the
television receiver 5. The pulsing light 4 is not
apparent to the persons watching the television
receiver; however, the pulsing light 4 is readily
read by the TV card 1. The person using the TV
card 1 preferably holds the TV card 1 up to the
television receiver 3 while the signal 2 is being
displayed. Once the benefit is recorded on the TV
card 1, the person may take the TV card 1 to a
point of purchase store 6 where the card 1 is read
by the bar code reader 7. The method may include
the use of data collection as a station 8 from the
bar code reader 7 to record the use of the
authorization and al:~acate payment to the point of
purchase store for reimbursement and handling of
the benef it .
In t .e present invention the TV Card 10 may
resemble a credit card in size and dimensions. The
TV Card 10 may be somewhat thicker to protect the
Liquid Crystal Display from flexing and to contain
a battery. With reference to Figure 2, the front
surface has an LCD 42 With both alpha-numeric and
bar code display capabilities and several buttons
to control various functions. The side view pin
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points the Lens of the photo pick-up device 70 that
detects light from the TV screen. Though the lens
is drawn as protruding, it also may be flush or
indented as desired. The rear surface contains a
printed or engraved bar code label 200 representing
the individual serial or account number associated
with the present invention TV card.
When the Tv Card is held over or near the
point of sale laser or light scanner, it intercepts
the laser or light beam. The action of scanning
the display may cause the erasure of the specific
item information if it were so programmed. To
accomplish this, the display of the TV Card is
fitted with an optical light collecting,
concentrating mechanism. As shown in Figure 2,
among the methods shown but not limited to are, a
light pipe or lens 40 optically bonded on one side
the LCD 42 and one the other the photo pick-up
device 152, the lens type may be coherent (imaging)
or incoherent (non-imaging). The edge of the LDC
is treated to increase the light transmitted to the
LCD, the methods include all of a flat polished
edge, brewster angle, corner reflectors or skewed
or focusing reflections. The LCD technology allows
many variations of configuration, such as an LCD in
which the LCD material reflects light to produce a
white on black display with a light adsorptive or
defusing back surface. The front surface .s
circularly or otherwise polarizing or dichroic
filter coated to increase the contrast ratio. An
LCD with a polished front surface and retro-
reflective back surface. The retro-reflective rear
surface may consist of corner reflectors, parabolic
pits or beads or prisms. Since the present card is
held by a person during scanning the front surface
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reflection will not usually be directed back
precisely to the source of light (nodal point) and
the photo detector. However, the back surface
light will always be directed precisely back to the
nodal point.
An LCD in which the LCD material absorbs or
defuses light to produce a black on white display,
with a light reflecting or refracting back surface.
The back surface may be a dichroic or other
reflecting means. The front surface, if desired,
may be limited to a dichroic or rough (at optical
wave lengths) defusing or non-reflectinc- glare
reduction means.
Figure 3 illustrates that the light from the
TV screen impinges upon the photo pick-up device 72
and is amplified by amplifier 74. Amplifier 74 may
or may not contain automatic gain control (AGC).
Band-pass filter 76 may consist of filtering means,
such as resistor-capacitor, inductor-capacitor or
ringing tank type frequency separation. The
frequency selected may be used to indicate the
primary cathode ray tube (CRT) or TV scanning
frequencies utilized by the particular video
standard in use (i.e. PAL, NTSC, SECAM, HDTV, VGA,
line or field doubling etc.) The signal of band-
pass filter 76 is amplified by amplifier 78,
envelope detected by envelop detector 80 via
rectifier 82 and capacitc. 84. Comparitor 88 has
its threshold set by potentiometer 86. The signal
is then passed to the micro-processor for further
qualification as to timing and phase criteria.
This signal is utilized to synchronize to the video
timing of the light.
Band-pass filter 90 consists of filtering
mechanism such as resistor-capacitor, inductor-
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capacitor or ringing tank type frequency
separation. The frequency selected is used to
separate the data displayed on CRT. The signal of
band-pass filter 90 .is amplified by amplifier 92,
envelope detected by envelop detector 94 via
rectifier 96 and capacitor 98. Comparitor 102 has
its threshold set by potentiometer 100. That
signal is then passed to the microprocessor for
further qualification as to timing and phase
to criteria. This signal is utilized to detect the
data encoded with-in the video signal light and is
compared to the signal from comparitor 88. In each
case, the comparitors are illustrated by simple
comparitors, in practice they may contain more
complex implementations such as: dual slope,
hysteresis, multiple threshold and/or noise coring
types.
Scan detector circuit 150 of Figure 4 shows
the light from the point of sale scanner impinges
upon the photo pick-up device 152 which is
optically coupled to the LC~ and is amplified by
amplifier 154. Amplifier 154, if desired, may
contain automatic gain control (AGC). Band-pass
filter 156 is complex and consists of filtering
mechanism, such as, resistor-capacitor, inductor-
capacitor or ringing tank type frequency
separation. Band-pass filter 156 also accepts
commands from the microprocessor to react to
ambient lighting and other environmental variables,
among the possible variables are; gain, (linear and
non-linear) band-width and center frequency and
time duration and repetition rates. The signal of
band-pass filter 154 is amplified by amplifier 158,
envelope detected by envelop detector 160 via
rectifier 162 and capacitor 164. Comparitor 168
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has its threshold set by potentiometer 166. The
signal envelope is then passed to the micro-
processor for further qualification as to timing
and phase criteria.
The signal of amplifier 158, is limited by
limiter 170. Competitor 174 has its threshold set
by potentiometer 172. The signal representing bar
code ones and zeros is then passed to the micro-
processor for further qualification as to timing
and phase criteria. This signal is utilized to
detect the data encoded with-in the point of sale
scanning light.
While the competitors are illustrated as
simple competitors, in practice they may contain
more complex implementations such as: dual slope,
hysteresis, multiple threshold and/or noise coring
types.
Figure 5 shows that the present TV Card 10 may
consist of the following described blocks. A card
micro-processor block 20 may be provided
containing, a real time clock 22 to be used as
information for security purposes and as fraud
detection and a security device 24 containing
encryption keys and algorithms. System firmware 26
may be 'contained within programmable read only
memory or mask programmable memory. The firmware
is the operating system which supervises the
system's operation. The input/output p;~ttion 28
provides communications between the microprocessor
and the other parts of the system. Random access
memory 30 is the scratch pad memory for system
operation as well as the system data retention
means. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) 42
displays human readable-characters and machine
readable characters among which are optical
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character recognition (OCR), fonts, and bar codes.
The light pipe 40 serves to conduct external
"scanning light'' to photo pick-up 150. Photo and
scan detector 150 inputs information to the micro-
s processor. The External Input/output (I/O) 300
passes data via input-output portion 28 to the
processor 20. Light and data from the TV screen is
detected by photo and data detector 70 and sent to
the micro-processor.
l0 The card may have a keypad 32 which allows
human interface to the card. Portion 44 is the
battery, which may be optionally charged by circuit
46 which may be powered by some mechanism such as
storage battery ~r AC line power supply.
15 the Ty Card
The TV Card~s physical construction desirably
meets several diverse and opposing requirements.
The card desirably is an thin as possible for
convenience, yet thick enough to protect the LCD
20 and integrated circuit from flexing. The card
should be thin enough to fit into a "swipe type
magnetic card reader" and yet be big enough to
house enough battery power to have a reasonable
life span. To accomplish these goals a non uniform
25 cross section of two or more thicknesses may be
used (Figure 6 - side view). The lower portion of
the card may be as thin as a normal magnetic credit
or identification card, while the portion which
protrudes from the "swipe type magnetic card
30 reader" is thicker to house the battery 44, LCD 42
and IC 10 as well as the largest optics possible.
One of many commercially available Smart Card
type micro-processor chips is a Phillips
Semiconductor model 83C852. It requires only six
35 external connections yet incorporates a full 8051
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type microprocessor, security, memory both read
only (ROM), read, write (RAM) and electrically
erasable programmable (EEPROM) types. The EEPROM
can be written and erases 10,000 times, read and
infinite number of times and retains data for ten
years even without power. The functions
incorporated within the 83C852 are: micro-
processor 20 containing Random access memory 30,
security device 24, programmable memory 26, part of
l0 the input/output 28 and timers which could be
utilized to simulate the real time clock 22. Other
LCD controllers may be integral with the LCD or be
external, Processor such as NEC 7502, 7503, 7530x
and others have built in alpha-numeric LCD display
as stand alone chips such as NEC ?225, ?227 and
7228. These are meant to be merely examples of the
many commercially available LCD drivers.
Dallas Semiconductor, among many others,
illustrates integrated circuits with the following
block diagram functions: DS1202 Real time clock
(22), DS1243 Clock (22) and memory (30), DS5002FP
and DS1220Y Secure and non-volatile memory (30),
DS1203S-B1, DS1282, DS199X, DS2267, DS606xA,
DS6068AK, DS6460, DS9092, DS9093 devices are
identification and communications ICs for near
proximity and contact transmission of data. Any of
these and other methods can be examples of data
transmission and reception between the card and
external devices and accessories. Common Universal
Asynchronous Receiver Transmitters (UARTs) for data
are common in the 8051 micro-processar family.
"Glue logic" to tie all the parts together are
available discreetly or as part of Programmable
Gate Array Logic (PAL or GAL) a few typical
applications are found in the ALTERA Corporation
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Applications Book Pages 103, Custom UARTS, 109
Manchester coders and 116 Basic building Block
design for Microprocessor interfacing LDC Display.
The LCD display can be implemented in a number
of ways which are apparent to those skilled in the
art. LCD°s fall into two broad categories,
graphics displays and formed character displays. A
graphics display is made up of individual dots or
picture elements (pixels) which can be switched on
l0 or off to create human readable pictures or
characters. Formed characters are complete words
or characters that are t~~rned on or off as discrete
units or blocks.
Fully Formed Characters
Many times a display is designed for a
specific purpose. A display for a microwave 'oven
might have words like time and power which appear
as discrete words. As well as an area with two
numerals separated from the next two numerals by a
colon to display time of day and cooking time.
Such a display would not be able to display
pictures or all of the alphabetic characters in a
pleasing, easily readable font.
Graphics Displays
An LCD television display is an example of a
pure graphics display as not only can each pixel be
individually be commanded on and off (black and
white) bu also part way on and off to make a gray
scale. The market place also has seen a number of
scientific pocket calculators with graphics
displays. The calculators can display multiple
lines of numbers and text as well as complex
mathematical symbols and formulas. The results of
the calculations may then be displayed graphically
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as charts or line, bar or curved plots of the
functions.
The card in the present invention can utilize
any of a number of display methods among which
include the following:
1. An all gzaphics display so that
essentially anything from a picture to a character
can be effectively displayed anywhere on the screen
or,
2. A mix certain functions like TV message
received or battery low could be dedicated pre-
formed blocks, or
3. The bar code area could be pre-formed
lines which are turned on and of to make ones and
zeros in the bar code oz,
4. An area of alpha-numeric characters with
multisegments pre-formed and used in combination to
spell words and display numbers. This mix of
functions is preferred to provide the most utility
and ease of use at the lowest cost.
Operation of the Present ~,atrention
During the manufacturing process I/O line 300
(Figure 4) is used to initialize and set up the
processor memory and personalize each card.
Personalization includes serialization and
presetting customer specific data including
Personal Identification Numbers (PIN). Normal
housekeeping chores are accomplished by micro-
processor 20. These include communications with
the various sub-systems 42 and 32, clocking and
time keeping 22, memory storage 30, and data 70 and
scan detection 150.
While the TV Cardholder is watching
television, the TV Card logo or icon is
periodically displayed an the screen indicating
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that card-readable data is available. The consumer
then presses the "TV" activate button 82 on the
keypad 32 and holds the.card, with a photoelectric
television signal optical pickup device imbedded in
it, facing and near the TV screen. Confirmation of
good data reception is delineated to the TV
Cardholder via characters displayed on LCD 42. The
process described above uses photo and data
detector 70 to decode light from the TV screen
l0 containing benefit or value data such as: money,
discounts, value, redemption limits relating to
individual stores or expiration dates, Universal
Product Codes (UPC) and human readable index words.
After capturing benefits or values from the
television broadcast, the card holder may go the
store to take advantage of the benefits or values,
or redeem the card coupons. For example (Figures 6
through 8), the customer may want to purchase
several items at their local supermarket,
department store or music store. By using the
left-right view arrows 32A, the customer selects
one item which is labeled available at the
supermarket, department store or music store.
Next, pressing the select store key 32B~, causes
only those items labeled supermarket, department
store or music store to be displayed. Pressing the
left-right view arrows 32A, now rotates through a
sub-set of the benefits or values available,
simplifying the consumers shopping chore. After
the.times have been selected and brought to the
check-out counter, they are scanned normally by the
point of sale scanner. Near the end of the sale,
the customer presses the scan button on the keypad
82A, and the bar codes are now displayed. As the
card is waved over the scanner each individual bar
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code is read. This procedure is followed for each
benefit or value to be redeemed. After a check to
see that the proper items have been purchased,
credit for the values is given to the customer
automatically via the point of sale terminal.
The system also compensates for problems which
would otherwise annoy the customer. For example,
an advertiser may specify that a given benefit or
value might be used only once or it may have a very
short redemption period. The expiration date might
be as short as a few hours. The customer might be
very upset if upon going to the store they found
that the store scanner would not scan the card
properly or that the item codes were incorrectly
entered into the store computer. The coupon would
be erased a few minutes after the scan is detected,
however, during that time the information would be
displayed in human readable characters. The
present invention will accept manual entry of the
data, serial number and a cede word to correct a
faulty point of purchase scan. The card holder
would be instructed to immediately write down the
data and then have the sales clerk manually enter
the data. If the manual entry fails, the clerk
would be instructed to call a toll free number for
authorization. This procedure is very similar to
the current procedures far credit card
verific cion.
Like credit card verification, special
authorization may be reguired if the amount of the
benefit or value is above a set floor value, the
business doesn't have a scanner (automobile dealers
might not use a scanner for auto sales) or the
scanner is malfunctioning. An alternative might be
to require that a large discount might be charged
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to the account of the smart card. The normal
credit verification could then be used to control
fraudulent use.
In many instances the advertiser does not care
how frequently the benefit or value is redeemed as
long as each time the redeemable product, tied to
the benefit or value, was actually purchased. The
fact that the TV Card's serial number or account
number is tied to each sale, minimizes fraud
because misuse can be traced back to the card.
Alt~rnate Embodiments
Lang Rancre optics altxd Batted Holder
To make the use of the card easier it is
desirable to receive data from the light of the TV
set from the customer's easy chair. The size of
the card limits the size of the optics utilized to
relay the light to the optical pick-up, requiring
that the card be held close to the TV set to
receive data. The addition of methods to extend
the pick-up range are desirable. A holder 500
(Figure 9) which has a recess 504 in which the card
is placed allows several desirable benefits: a
largez battery 508 source for power, room for
larger light gathering optics 506, additional
larger operational buttons or controls to activate
520 and erase 530 message inputs to the TV Card,
connector 502 to transfer information to and from
the card, and an indicator light which is c.aivated
briefly whenever an announcement of programming
containing TV Card data is transmitted.
The ordinary optics can be categorized two
ways; one is a coherent image the other is non-
imaging. The difference can be illustrated as the
difference between clear window glass which
transmits a coherent image and bumpy or frosted
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glass which transmits light and a hazy image. The
lens required in this product is yet a third type.
The optics are required in this product is yet a
third type. The optics are required to transmit a
time multiplexed data signal. The signal from the
TV set has a unique signature. Only the time
domain must be preserved. The fact that an image
is produced or the light is defuse is not important
to the operation of the optical pick-up. This fact
1o is exploited by actually producing a multitude of
images simultaneously on one single optical pick-
up. This allows the detector to effectively look
many different directions at the same time. The
light signature is a code extending along the time
domain. An exactly predictable and detectable
sequence is to be recognized. The speed of light
is utilized to separate the data packets. Because
the data is extremely slow when compared with the
speed of light, data dispersion and any delayed
light caused by reflections or any other natural
causes have a great deal of time to decay and hence
the previous light pulse does not contaminate the
present light pulse.
Near TV Holder and Remote Control
An alternative method to make use and data
pick-up from the TV set is to employ a holder 600
(Figure 10) at a stationary position near the TV
set. This allows the ca~:d's optics to detect the
TV light directly or via a relay lens, while a
3o calculator style power module 608 supplies power
from the house AC power line. Alternatively an
additional optical or magnetic transmission and
reception devices 604 could be built within the
holder to transfer data directly to the card via
604 connector. An IR remote control 610 and IR
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sensor 606 is also provided for the customer to
choose the specific offers that they would like to
record within the card. The holder 600 has a space
for additional controls, buttons, lights as
desired. There is also an indicator light which is
activated briefly whenever an announcement of
programming containing TV Card data is transmitted.
Simple Holder or 8taad
A purely mechanical stand or holder may
position TV Card 300 for a good view of the TV set.
The customer could press the "activate" button 82
on the TV Card 300 and place the card upon the
stand; or if the card was already in the stand,
merely press the "activate" button. One object of
I5 this invention is to assure the advertiser that a
person is watching the programming containing the
TV Card data. Therefore the TV Card is designed so
that he button must be pressed to respond to each
offer. Also, to converse power it is not desirable
to leave the TV watching optical pick-up active for
long periods of time. The button to "activate" is
desirably pushed and released alternately to
operate, thus preventing the continuous activation
of the TV Card.
Active Relay Station At The Television or other
Transmission Receivinct Venues
Patent 4,807,031 teaches the use of an active
relay station at the TV set. The TV light is
picked-up near the TV set and re-transmitted via
light, visible or IR, radio or other means. The
retransmitted light has a higher power level
compared to the TV light. Therefore the data is
more easily received by the TV Card at a greater
distance from the TV set than otherwise possible;
i.e. the TV Card with relatively small optics can
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receive data without added receiving optics at
greater distances and in the presence of
interfering light sources.
An infra-red transmission method may also be
used on Projection televisions, Active Matrix
displays, LCD type TV sets and other low light
level televisions.
The TV Card may be used in a movie theater.
Within the theater would be installed in an infra-
l0 red (IR) diode transmission array. At the
appropriate tine in the program, a digital signal
would be sent that is the equivalent of the scanned
TV data signal. The data would be triggered by the
movie or other programming.
Encodinc
The data, which will be subsequently read from
the changing light impulses on the television
screen, is added to the video signal prior to
transmission in a process called encoding. The
programming material that is to contain the data
intended for the TV Card may be encoded at the
tele-production house and distributed via normal
network, tape or satellite methods. This requires
no new equipment at the broadcast or cable
facility. As demand increases and a station wishes
to encode local news, sports or commercials, an
encoder driven by a common personal computer and
application software would be the only ac~litional
equipment needed.
Card Read-out on Television Screens and Printanc
The TV Card has the approximate dimensions of
a conventional credit card except that it is
somewhat thicker. And as accessory for the TV
Card, a unit in the home could accept the card and
display the contents on the home TV screen. The
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technology is in common use for on screen
programming of VCR's and television sets. An extra
slot to accept the card in a VCR or TV, would
merely substitute the card contents as the on-
screen graphics source instead of the normal menu.
The majority of the necessary circuits such as the
control micro-processor synchronizing and character
generation and video circuits already exist within
VCR and television designs. The processor would
simply read the TV Card's memory to the TV screen
through the VCR's or television's character
generat~~r circuits. Buttons or controls on the
card, VCR, TV or a remote control could be used to
scroll through and even delete unwanted entries.
The TV display functions among which are Phillips
8XC053, 54 and 55 as described in the Computer
Applications Journal October/November 1992 Page 40
"Add text overlay to any video display."
Existing personal computers and printers, in
some situations, could be utilized with the
appropriate hardware and software interfaces to
print coupons or appropriate documents identifying
TV Card benefits and values.
A TV monitor display with touch screen, soft
keys or other controls televises all TV Card
benefits and values, allowing for only the desired
items, shopping list or coupons to be printed. The
customer thus can save paper or print items at
their convenience.
Computer. Game, CD-ROM ~ l~ul~imedia ~)ses
The TV Card System is fully usable for
transferring data via any scanned television like
system. The TV Card can receive data from computer
screens connected to various data base systems.
Software discs, Video Game Cartridges and CD-ROM
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devices can also have their programming encoded to
add benefits via the TV Card.
Pre-Recorded Video Type,, Movie Previews. and
Tra,~ 1 ers
Programming including advertisements have been
added prior to the beginning or after the end of
rental videos and videos for sale. Both the pre
and post programming or advertisement and the movie
itself could be encoded with the intent of
transferring data and benefit and value via the TV
Card.
Entry to specific Pro~r~am Identified yenues or
Eveats
The TV Card may be used in a variety of ways
to provide unique interactive benefits and values.
For example, a TV Card holder may be watching a TV
program in a hotel room or other location and be
alerted to an offer or value for a local tourist
attraction or place of interest. By holding the TV
Card near the television, the TV Card may receive
and store a specific value to be redeemed at that
attraction or place of interest.
The TV Card may also be used as a ticket for
admission to an event. A cardholder could
telephone a ticket service which is broadcasting on
its own TV channel or cable TV channel. While the
TV Card is held near the television, the ticket
service may authorize only that specific single
card for entry to this event. ~ther cards could
also be authorized sequentially.
TV Cardj8caaner l~ctivated BoftWare
Existing point of purchase laser scanner
terminals and appropriate software are capable of
recognizing various forms of universal product
codes (UPC's). The present invention adds an
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application software code to existing UPC tables to
expand the capabilities of the system. The added
software allows for the reading and capture of
specific TV Cardholder account numbers and other
information necessary to provide demographic,
psychographic, and other individual or family data.
The software system can then correlate the items
purchased with the cardholder's identity so that
the exact demographics can be offered.
to Ty cara llctivated Price Look-op code Sottaare
The present invention's TV Card's bar code
display is read by a scanring device, at the point
of purchase or benefit venue redemption location,
that is connected to a retailer's or seller's
computer center. The software has been input with
information regatrding benefit or value on products,
time frames and other pertinent attributes
specifically intended to add televised programming.
The present invention's software stores inputs
generated by and associated with specific TV Card
televised programming.
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