(12) United States Patent
`Lee et al.
`
`111111
`
`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US006728531Bl
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`REMOTELY CONFIGURING A WIRELESS
`COMMUNICATION DEVICE
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Jeffrey S. Lee, Phoenix, AZ (US);
`Parvathy Bhaskaran, Mesa, AZ (US);
`Scott Geranen, Phoenix, AZ (US);
`William S. Hede, Lake in the Hills, IL
`(US); David T. Knappenberger,
`Tempe, AZ (US); Merlin Smith,
`Chandler, AZ (US); Brian S. Gratch,
`Evanston, IL (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 417 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/665,726
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Sep. 20, 2000
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/155,500, filed on Sep. 22,
`1999.
`Int. Cl? ................................................. H04M 3/00
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl. ................. 455/419; 455/414.1; 455/414.3;
`455/414.4
`(58) Field of Search ................................. 455/418, 419,
`455/420, 151.1, 160.1, 161.1, 161.2, 161.3,
`179.1, 185.1, 186.1, 3.04, 3.05, 3.06, 414.1,
`414.2, 414.3; 379/101.01; 709/217, 228,
`229; 725/86
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,393,713 A * 2/1995 Schwob ................... 455/158.5
`5,572,442 A * 11/1996 Schulhof et a!. ............ 709/219
`5,664,948 A
`9/1997 Dimitriadis et a!.
`5,710,884 A
`1/1998 Dedrick
`5,732,338 A * 3/1998 Schwob ................... 455/158.5
`5,752,186 A
`5/1998 Malackowski et a!.
`
`5,819,160 A
`5,819,166 A
`5,855,008 A
`5,898,910 A *
`5,983,094 A
`6,014,569 A *
`6,018,522 A *
`6,023,241 A
`6,026,375 A
`6,088,730 A *
`6,236,832 B1 *
`6,282,412 B1 *
`6,314,094 B1 *
`6,381,314 B1 *
`6,552,651 B2 *
`6,600,918 B1 *
`6,628,928 B1 *
`6,647,260 B2 *
`
`* 10/1998
`* 10/1998
`12/1998
`4/1999
`11/1999
`1!2000
`1!2000
`2/2000
`2/2000
`7/2000
`5/2001
`8/2001
`11/2001
`4/2002
`4/2003
`7/2003
`9/2003
`11/2003
`
`Foladare et a!. .............. 455!45
`Kimura et a!. ........... 455/186.1
`Goldhaber et a!.
`Miyake et a!. ........... 455/186.1
`Altschul et a!.
`Bottum
`...................... 455/466
`Schultz . ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 725/86
`Clapper
`Hallet a!.
`Kato eta!. .................. 709/227
`Ito ............................ 455/3.06
`Lyons
`..................... 455/186.1
`Boys .......................... 370/352
`Walinski .. ... ... ... .. ... 379/101.01
`Ide ............................ 340/7.55
`Youngs eta!. ........... 455/414.3
`Crosby et a!.
`................ 455!77
`Dusse eta!. ................ 455/419
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`10/1998
`
`wo
`WO 98/47295 A1
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner-Charles Appiah
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Thomas V. Miller; Brian M.
`Mancini
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`An internet radio for portable applications and uses such as
`in an automobile enables remotely configuring a wireless
`communication device comprising the steps of remotely
`configuring a format for providing content on said wireless
`communication device for a first user; remotely configuring
`a second format for providing content on said wireless
`communication device for a second user; receiving configu(cid:173)
`ration data representing said format for said first user and
`said format for said second user from a remote network; and
`providing selected content from content downloaded from
`said network. Customized information is also communicated
`to the radio such as stock quotes, travel information,
`advertising, and e-mail. Onboard global positioning allows
`for channel updating by location, traffic information, geo(cid:173)
`graphic advertising and available similar content.
`
`13 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 1
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`Sheet 1 of 5
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`42
`
`GSP SATELLITES
`
`AM/FM AND TV
`AUDIO BROADCASTS
`
`DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTS
`(RDS/RBDS, BAND III,
`L -BAND, S-BAND, ETC.)
`
`20
`
`SOFTWARE PROGRAMMABLE
`MULTIBAND RECEIVER
`
`CPU
`MEMORY
`OS,
`APPS,
`STORAGE
`
`110 REMOTELY PROGRAMMABLE
`MULTIMEDIA/NAVIGATION DEVICE 72
`50
`
`GATEWAY
`COMMUNICATION UNIT
`
`80
`
`CELLULAR
`AMPS, COMA,
`iDEN,
`GSM, TDMA
`
`SATELLITE
`L -BAND, S-BAND
`
`FM
`SUBCARRIER
`
`INTERNET GATEWAY
`USER AND BROADCAST
`DATA AND SERVICES
`
`60
`
`70
`
`40
`
`WIDE BAND
`
`NARROWBAND 1-4------'
`REMOTE PROGRAMMING DEVICES
`COMPUTERS, PDAs, TELEPHONES, ETC.
`
`FIG. 1
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`Sheet 2 of 5
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`f20
`
`152
`
`90
`
`CD PLAYER
`
`152
`
`159
`
`MICROPHONE
`
`100
`
`PROGRAMMABLE
`MULTI-BAND
`RECEIVER
`
`GPS
`RECEIVER
`
`IrDA
`RECEIVER
`
`GATEWAY
`RECEIVER
`
`130
`
`162a
`162
`CHANNEL ~ I · UP
`SELECTOR
`/'.
`
`162b
`
`DOWN
`
`IrDA /
`
`RAOK FWDq9<:?9~rJ70
`' ~166
`-RO_W_O_F_ .......
`
`c::=:J
`
`166
`
`PRESET BUTTONS
`
`FIG.2
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`Sheet 3 of 5
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`~ ~ 18Ck
`~~~ ----------t180b
`~ATELLITE
`
`FM
`SUBCARRIER
`
`L-BAND,
`S-BAND, OTHER
`
`YiEE~~ --~I(_
`/ '
`~
`
`30
`
`INTERNET GATEWAY
`
`182
`
`AMPS, CDMA,
`iDEN, GSM,
`TDMA, OTHER
`
`IP
`
`~~~r=
`~
`~~94
`
`CUSTOMER
`ADAPTIVE PROFILER
`
`CUSTOMER
`DATABASES
`
`BROADCASTER
`DATABASE
`
`ADVERTISER
`DATABASES
`
`202
`
`REAL TIME
`DATA CACHE
`
`STREAMING
`DATA
`
`PERSONAL NAVIGATION
`INFORMATION SERVICES
`SERVICES
`
`192
`
`FIREWALL
`
`INTERNET WEB SERVERS(cid:173)
`NEWS, STOCKS, WEATHER,
`EMAIL, ETC.
`
`FIG. 3
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`Sheet 4 of 5
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`300
`
`318
`
`SERIAL 1
`
`SERIAL 0
`
`322
`
`STEREO AF IN
`
`308
`
`306
`
`SVDC
`12V
`
`(PCM-5862E)
`
`I/0 CABLE HAMESS
`330
`
`304 R/L AF OUT
`
`STEREO
`AF AMP
`
`348
`
`MONO AF IN
`
`310
`
`~(
`MIC
`
`308
`
`100 BASE-T Enet
`
`IrDA
`
`PARALLEL PORT
`
`KEYBOARD
`
`MOUSE
`
`FLOPPY DISK
`
`USB
`
`346
`
`STEREO AF IN
`
`FIG. 4
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 27, 2004
`
`Sheet 5 of 5
`
`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`AUDIO CHANNELS
`
`DATA/INFORMATION CHANNELS
`
`PRESET SELECTIONS
`
`IBJ MUSIC
`IBJ ROCK
`IBl WINS
`IBl WNEW
`IBJ KSLX
`IBJ KOLD
`IBl KROK
`
`IBl JAZZ
`IBl KSAN
`IBl WORL
`1BJ WIND
`IBl KJAZ
`
`1BJ COUNTRY
`1BJ KNTR
`IBl WKRP
`IBl KNIX
`IBl CAMEL
`IBl KOOL 95
`
`1B1 CLASSICAL
`1BJ KLAS
`
`IBl TALK
`181 NEWS
`[E) WABC
`[8] CNN
`[8] KNOW
`181 KFYI
`[8] CNET
`IBl SPORTS
`[8] ESPN
`IBl NFL TODAY
`1BJ KTAR
`[8] POLITICAL
`[8] KRAP
`
`[8] TV
`IBl ABC
`IBl CBS
`1BJ CNN
`[E) NBC
`IBl FOX
`IBl ESPN
`IBl MTV
`IBJ VH1
`
`PRESET#1-
`( .... ROCK
`PRESET#2-
`( .... JAZZ
`PRESET#3-
`( .... NEWS
`PRESET#4-
`(TV
`PRESET#5-
`(DIRECTORY
`PRESET#6-
`( .... HELP
`
`404
`
`DOWNLOAD CONFIGURATION
`TO RADIO
`iRADIO BOOKMARK
`MY
`COLLECTION.
`
`IBJ DIRECTORY
`[8] PERSONAL
`IBl BOSS
`IBl MOM
`[8] DOCTOR
`1B1 FOOD
`[8] McD's
`[8] T AGO BELL
`IBl PIZZA HUT
`IBl !HOP
`IBl FUEL
`[8] SHELL
`[8] MOBIL
`IBl EXXON
`[8] HELP
`IBl BMW
`[8] MOTOROLA
`IBJ AAA
`
`406
`
`IBl RECORDED
`IBl CD
`IBl MP3
`IBl HIT ME. ..
`1BJ THAT DON'T ...
`
`IBl INFORMATION
`IBl STOCKS-400
`[8] WEATHER-442
`IBl PHOENIX
`IBl CHICAGO
`IBl HONOLULU
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 6
`
`

`

`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`1
`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`REMOTELY CONFIGURING A WIRELESS
`COMMUNICATION DEVICE
`
`This application claims benefit of PROVISIONAL 5
`APPLICATION Ser. No. 60/155,500 filed Sep. 22, 1999.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`25
`
`2
`Electronic Industries Alliance. Worse yet, a February 1999
`report by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Associa(cid:173)
`tion shows that of this small number of RDS broadcasters in
`the United States, only 41% broadcast their format.
`Therefore, RDS broadcasts do not now solve the problem for
`the vast majority of listeners.
`The 4,784 AM stations licensed by the FCC as of May
`1999 do not have an equivalent sub-carrier available to them
`as do FM stations to send out data about their programming.
`10 Although an international consortium of 40 broadcasters and
`electronic manufacturers known as Digital Radio Mondiale
`(DRM) have proposed a digital AM broadcast system that
`would allow a DRM radio to tune to stations by their format,
`the standards for such a system have not yet been estab-
`15 lished.
`Compounding the problem, new multimedia devices with
`wireless Internet and satellite connectivity are expected to
`appear in vehicles in the very near future. These multimedia
`devices will be able to receive existing analog AM, FM and
`20 TV audio broadcasts as well as receive and record thousands
`of new digital audio broadcasts. A wireless Internet receiver
`can receive thousands of digital broadcasts from the Internet
`from cellular (AMPS, GMS, etc.), paging, FM sub-carrier,
`satellite and other frequencies. As of June 1999, BRS Media
`consultant's report shows 2,415 Internet audio broadcasts
`from worldwide AM/FM radio stations that simulcast their
`live audio broadcasts onto the Internet, up from 1,252 the
`previous year. Similar future Internet audio broadcast
`growth is expected. In addition, satellite broadcasters such
`as CD Radio, XM Radio and WorldSpace are expected to
`transmit to vehicles at least 100 new digital audio stations
`apiece over satellite S-band and L-band frequencies within
`the next few years. These stations can be received over broad
`geographic areas.
`The vast amount of broadcast content soon to be available
`easily overloads existing simple vehicle radio control
`designs. Another shortcoming of today's vehicles is that
`presets for existing AM/FM radio stations are only good for
`40 one geographic location. When traveling long distances
`outside an area where radio station formats are known by the
`listener, the most desirable radio stations from the old area
`that are stored in the radio's preset button memory no longer
`work. The listener must manually tune the radio to each
`45 available station in the new area and listen to each station to
`determine if it has a desired format. If the traveler is used to
`hearing a syndicated program that is broadcast over many
`radio stations throughout a country, then he may not know
`what station in the new area carries the syndicated program
`or what time the broadcast appears in the new area. Several
`prior attempts have unsuccessfully overcome these two
`related problems. They fall into two categories.
`One is the RDS broadcast system mentioned above,
`which broadcasts information about station formats. RDS
`also provides an alternative frequency list of stations playing
`a specific program with the same PI (program identification)
`code; this allows many RDS based radios to automatically
`switch to a new station playing the same program if the
`current station falls out of transmission range. However, as
`was mentioned above, this solution suffers in that few FM
`stations in the U.S. broadcast program information via RDS,
`and RDS does not cover AM radio stations.
`The second type of solution implemented by automotive
`radio manufacturers such as Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony and
`65 others consists of an internal database of national radio
`station information contained in non-volatile memory inside
`a radio receiver. In some cases, this database is updateable
`
`30
`
`35
`
`Entertainment systems commonly found in today' s
`vehicles usually consist of a radio, CD/DVD player, cassette
`player and optionally a GPS based navigation device. The
`following problems are common to all such existing vehicu-
`lar entertainment system: Inadequate control interface for
`selecting from large numbers of broadcasts, lack of person(cid:173)
`alized broadcasts, no feature expansion, inadequate storage
`capabilities, no integration with portable data devices,
`inability to manage broadcast advertisements, and outdated
`navigation entry. Following is a description of each of these
`sets of problems.
`Radios in vehicles have historically received only ampli(cid:173)
`tude modulation (AM) band and frequency modulation (FM)
`band terrestrial radio broadcasts. AM and FM radio stations
`have a transmission range limited to a relatively small
`geographic area by government regulations. Because the
`number of broadcasts that can be received in most geo(cid:173)
`graphic areas has been relatively small, selecting a broadcast
`to hear in a vehicle has traditionally required no more than
`four types of simple receiver controls: (1) an AM/FM band
`selector, (2) a tuning control to allow the listener to manually
`scan all possible broadcast frequencies within a band, (3) a
`scan control that finds and plays a few seconds of each
`station that has sufficient signal strength to be clearly heard,
`and ( 4) a small number of preset push buttons that can each
`be programmed by the listener to tune to one radio station of
`a set band and frequency.
`The small and inflexible number of radio controls creates
`the following two related problems: First, no method exists
`to select all existing AM/FM radio stations by station format
`or to select by format from thousands of forthcoming digital
`audio broadcasts. Radio stations broadcast a set format of
`programming (country music, news, rock music, talk, etc.).
`Many large metropolitan areas have up to 100 combined AM
`and FM stations of as many as 20+ different possible formats
`whose signals can be clearly received throughout most of the
`metropolitan area with as many more fringe stations that can
`be received in parts of the area. A listener must now know
`the band and frequency of a radio station having a desired
`format he enjoys. Unfortunately, in a large metropolitan
`area, there may be more stations of a desired format or 50
`formats than can be selected with an existing radio's few
`simple preset buttons.
`Several proposals have unsuccessfully tried to correct this
`problem by enhancing broadcast systems. Some FM stations
`do broadcast format information along with other digital 55
`data about the station's programming using a method known
`as Radio Broadcast Data System (REDS), also known as
`RDS, involving the use of FM sub-carriers. The Program
`Type Category (PTY) feature of an RDS radio allows
`searching for radio stations by their format. There are now 60
`approximately 13 manufacturers of REDS car receivers.
`With an REDS car radio, a user could tune to FM stations
`by their format.
`However, RBDS/RDS has not been well received in the
`United States. Since the introduction of RDS in 1995 there
`were only 706 RDS broadcasters versus approximately
`7,700 total FM radio stations as of a July 1998 report by the
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 7
`
`

`

`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`3
`by manual or automatic means. These radios require the
`listener to indicate each new location. Once that is done,
`frequencies of radio stations from the database that are in the
`new area and match the listener's desired formats are played
`in sequence or are loaded into the preset memory selections
`of the radio.
`However, this solution has not been optimal as automatic
`updates to the internal database that account for changes in
`station formats or new stations are not readily available in all
`markets throughout a country. Therefore, the database is
`likely to become unreliable and so not useful. Further, such
`databases do not include programming information for sta(cid:173)
`tions so they do not help find a station in a new area that runs
`the same syndicated programming found in the old, familiar
`broadcast area.
`When driving, it would also be advantageous to receive
`information of personal interest when desired during a trip
`rather than having to wait for a scheduled broadcast of that
`information. RDS broadcasts, in addition to providing pro(cid:173)
`gramming specific information as mentioned above, are also 20
`capable of constantly transmitting travel specific informa(cid:173)
`tion such as localized traffic conditions or weather reports.
`However, as described above, RDS broadcasts are not in
`wide use in the United States and other areas, and so not
`even travel specific information is widely available through 25
`RDS.
`Also, drivers may want more than just travel related
`personalized information when they travel. For example,
`they may want to hear news alerts about subjects that interest
`them, stock price alerts for securities in their portfolio,
`location based alerts such as reminders to do things when on
`a certain route, etc. While some of this desired information
`may be eventually broadcast by a radio station, it may be
`broadcast only after the listener has left the vehicle. It would
`be best to use travel time to hear what is desired.
`Some personalized broadcast information is available
`today for the mobile and stationary listener. Such data
`broadcasts are usually done through FM sub-carriers.
`Examples of such FM sub-carrier based services are finan- 40
`cial and traffic information from companies such as Data
`Broadcasting and Cue. Unfortunately, each FM sub-carrier
`broadcast usually requires a dedicated receiver for that
`particular broadcast.
`As new personalized digital information services are
`offered, a receiver should ideally be able to play any new
`service without requiring the user to purchase a new
`receiver. Further, such services should be easy to add and
`operate and require little effort to procure. Almost no auto(cid:173)
`motive entertainment devices today would meet this need. 50
`To solve this problem, a receiver should ideally be micro(cid:173)
`computer controlled and so able to run computer applica(cid:173)
`tions downloaded into the memory of the device. A newly
`downloaded and installed application could provide any
`desired new feature or service. Such programs should be as 55
`simple to select, install and run as changing channels on an
`existing radio.
`Vehicular entertainment devices that are computer con(cid:173)
`trolled and so can be programmed to offer new services by
`simply installing a new application into the computer have
`been recently introduced by Microsoft and Clarion under the
`name "AutoPC." While these devices can be programmed to
`offer new services, new applications are not immediately
`available to a motorist. The user must first purchase the
`program on a CD disc and then install it in their AutoPC
`through a CD-ROM player, just as they would install a new
`program on their home computer. The disadvantage of using
`
`4
`this method of updating programs on a computer controlled
`multimedia receiver is that when you most may want to use
`a new service, it may not be available.
`A number of new digital compressed audio formats have
`5 developed in the past few years for music play back, most
`notably the MP3 format. They have the advantage of requir(cid:173)
`ing less than one tenth the space of conventional recordings
`while retaining good audio fidelity. While some MP3 players
`are in use in vehicles, these players often require the user to
`10 move a hard drive back and forth from the vehicle to a
`computer to transfer files to the drive. Such movement can
`subject the drive to damage.
`Although entertainment systems in vehicles have com(cid:173)
`monly included a cassette or CD-ROM player to play back
`15 stored entertainment or information from cassette tape or
`CD-ROM audio disc, such devices have not commonly
`allowed recording of the radio in the vehicle at preset times
`for later play back. If a listener wants to hear one or more
`syndicated radio programs when driving, but those programs
`already aired at an earlier time, the listener misses the
`broadcasts.
`While several attempts have been made to solve this
`problem by recording directly from the vehicle's radio, they
`do not allow recording of more than one broadcast at a time.
`Further, such devices are limited to recording only those
`syndicated radio programs broadcast by radio stations in the
`listener's area.
`When audio information is broadcast that the listener
`would like to remember or reference later, there is no current
`method to conveniently record that data outside of writing a
`note or recording a verbal note with a memo device. This
`may not be possible given the traffic situation at the moment.
`For example, upon hearing a new song the driver may want
`to record the name of the song, the artist and the CD's name,
`but can't do so because both hands are needed for steering.
`While some methods have become available for use in
`limited capture of Internet URL addresses over television
`broadcasts, currently no systems meet this need for imme(cid:173)
`diate data snapshots of radio broadcasts in vehicles.
`However, only a small number of radio stations now offer
`play lists and other related information about their program(cid:173)
`ming on their web sites so that the information a listener may
`want to reference may not even exist on the station's web
`45 site. Another disadvantage of current radio station web sites
`is that the user must not only remember which station played
`the broadcast of interest, but also when and what the nature
`of the message was.
`A great deal of personal information that may be useful
`when driving is increasingly stored and spread across mul(cid:173)
`tiple mobile computing or communication devices such as
`notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and
`cellular phones. These typically contain phone numbers,
`addresses, to-do lists and other information that could be of
`use in a vehicle. However, it can be inconvenient to stop the
`vehicle to get a device to retrieve information when needed
`or dangerous to use the device when in motion. Limited
`access to personal computing devices in a vehicle is now
`only offered by the Microsoft/ClarionAutoPC. However, the
`60 Auto PC does not now permit further actions to occur on the
`data by its applications.
`Two further problems exist with broadcast advertisements
`heard in a vehicle: First, there is an inability to immediately
`act upon the advertisement. When a radio advertisement
`65 runs that a listener in a vehicle wishes to immediately act
`upon, there is often no way to quickly purchased the
`advertised goods. If the advertisement contains a phone
`
`30
`
`35
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 8
`
`

`

`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`10
`
`5
`number that the driver can easily remember and if he has a
`free hand to dial, he may be able to use a cellular phone and
`quickly act upon the ad. If not, the desire and opportunity
`may be lost. A proposed solution for use with digital audio
`satellite broadcasts potentially solves this problem but has
`not yet been implemented.
`Second, no method to tailor advertisements to listener
`interests exists. Currently, no method exists to tailor adver(cid:173)
`tisements to a single listener's interests for real-time audio
`broadcasts since radio advertising is designed to reach a
`mass audience. However, future digital audio broadcasts are
`expected that can be transmitted to individual receivers
`rather than broadcast widely. Such broadcasts may be of
`existing radio syndicated programs or new material. On
`demand personalized digital broadcasts are planned by such
`companies as Command Audio and Information Highway
`Media Corporation.
`Most navigation systems in vehicles use a GPS receiver
`and a CD-ROM disc based map to show travel along
`highways. One problem with CD based navigation maps is
`that they require constant updating to avoid becoming
`outdated as they cannot show recent construction or changes
`in highways. Server based navigation avoids the problems of
`outdated CD maps as the information distributed from a
`server is constantly updated. Several server based navigation 25
`devices are known. However, even server based navigation
`systems suffer from difficulties in inputting destination
`addresses. Having to enter an exact street address or cross
`streets can sometimes take lots of time when driving and can
`involve input inaccuracies.
`
`30
`
`6
`tions. The two types of channels preferably available are
`audio broadcasts (e.g., AM, FM, TV, digital, Internet audio
`broadcasts and recorded material) and personal information
`services (e.g., navigation, email, traffic alerts, etc.). Chan-
`5 nels are organized in a hierarchy 158 so any one can be
`easily selected on screen (see FIG. 2). Audio broadcast
`channels 42 are organized by the format of the broadcast
`(i.e., country, rock, talk, etc.) and not by the band or
`frequency of the station. The listener configures the organi-
`zation of the channels through a remote device 40 via the
`Internet gateway network 30.
`The Internet gateway network 30 is designed to transmit
`and receive critical information to and from a multimedia
`device 20 in the vehicle 184 (FIG. 3). Information trans(cid:173)
`mitted preferably includes broadcaster identification that
`15 allows the multimedia device 20 to tune to stations by their
`formats, direct Internet access for streaming audio broad(cid:173)
`casts and other Internet content, broadcast advertising data(cid:173)
`base lookup for direct response to advertisements heard in a
`vehicle, navigation services, delayed digital personalized
`20 broadcasts, personal information event notices, and appli(cid:173)
`cation downloads to create new personal information chan(cid:173)
`nels.
`Remote programmable devices 40, such as a computer
`connected to the Internet 60, are used to download infor(cid:173)
`mation from the Internet gateway network 30 to the multi(cid:173)
`media device 20 in the vehicle 184. From a remote device
`40, a user can customize the way audio broadcasts and
`personal information service channels are organized in the
`vehicle's multimedia device 20, can request new personal
`information services be downloaded from the Internet gate(cid:173)
`way 30 to the multimedia device 20, and can retrieve
`information from the gateway 30 that he has stored there
`from the vehicle 184; The user can also access his custom
`profile and billing information records.
`FIG. 1 shows many possible wireless communication
`methods between the vehicle device and the gateway. As
`those skilled in the art will appreciate, the methods illus(cid:173)
`trated in FIG. 1 are meant to be representative and do not
`40 reflect all possible wireless communication methods that
`may be employed.
`It is thus an object of the invention to allow any AM, FM,
`TV audio, or digital audio broadcast or any Internet audio
`broadcast to be easily selected by format (i.e., country,
`45 classical, news, rock, talk, etc.) in a vehicle. The user will
`not need to know the band or frequency of any station to
`select a broadcast as all types of broadcasts are simply
`ordered by format. The multimedia device 20 will make the
`appropriate band and frequency selection when a listener
`50 selects a station hierarchically organized under a format
`category.
`It is also an object of the invention to automatically tune
`to comparable station formats when a vehicle travels out of
`an area where the existing stations are known to the listener.
`It is a further object of the invention that, when a vehicle
`travels out of an area such that a currently broadcast program
`fades out, to automatically tune to another station or
`recorded broadcast playing the same program or at least the
`same program type.
`It is yet a further object of the invention to remotely
`configure the multimedia device 20 using an Internet gate(cid:173)
`way network 30 database to download information about all
`the audio formats and audio broadcasters (e.g., AM/FM!fV/
`DAB/Internet) possible in a geographic area. The user will
`65 choose to show on the radio only those formats and stations
`he/she desires, blocking out from view all unwanted formats
`and stations.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system overview.
`FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a vehicle multimedia 35
`receiver.
`FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of an internet gateway
`network.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one presently preferred
`hardware platform.
`FIG. 5 illustrates sample Web configuration elements.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF
`THE INVENTION
`
`Referring to the drawings, where like elements receive
`like reference numerals throughout, the invention generally
`is a computer controlled multimedia entertainment and
`information system 10. The invention offers information
`enriched audio broadcasts, personalized information
`services, integrated access to personal and recorded data,
`enhanced navigation services and other software expandable
`services in a vehicle through the use of a wireless Internet
`connection to an enabling Internet gateway network. As 55
`shown in FIG. 1, the invention consists of (1) a remotely
`programmable, microcomputer controlled multimedia
`device 20 in a vehicle with a wireless IP address for Internet
`access, (2) an Internet gateway network 30 that provides
`programming, information and Internet access to the mul- 60
`timedia device 20, and (3) one or more remote programming
`devices 40.
`The multimedia device 20 includes a computer 50 that
`preferably runs an operating system and series of applica(cid:173)
`tions that control the operation of the device 20. A user
`operates an application by tuning to a "channel" in keeping
`with the known radio paradigm and its user friendly opera-
`
`Samsung Ex. 1010 p. 9
`
`

`

`US 6,728,531 Bl
`
`20
`
`7
`It is yet a further object of the invention to add new
`personal information services (e.g., email, stock quotes,
`interactive audio games, etc.) to the multimedia device 20
`from a wireless Internet connection 60 by downloading
`applications. Such services are called personal information
`or data channels in keeping with radio nomenclature as their
`applications can be used by simply selecting them as you
`would an audio channel in the main menu or with a preset
`button.
`It is still another object of the invention to remotely
`configure the system 10 using an Internet gateway network
`30 database to present all the personal information services
`available to the user (i.e., navigation, email, stock quotes,
`etc.). The user may select only those services he/she desires
`to use in the vehicle 184.
`It is still another object of the invention to allow event
`driven personal information services to verbalize time spe(cid:173)
`cific (e.g., your stock hits new high) or location specific
`(e.g., traffic incident warning) information using speech
`synthesis.
`It is still another object of the invention to allow recorded
`compressed audio files and other large data files to be
`downloaded into the multimedia device 20 from a high
`speed local area 70 wireless receiver 72. Such downloads
`may occur at the listener's home or business, or at desig- 25
`nated resale locations for such types of data (e.g., record
`stores, gas stations, etc.).
`It is still another object of the invention to allow previ(cid:173)
`ously recorded audio broadcasts (usually talk or news ori-
`ented programming) to be played back at desired times by
`recording such broadcasts at a network location and then
`transmitting these files over a wireless Internet cellular
`connection 80 at off peak hours to the vehicle 184. Since talk
`broadcasts result in small compressed files, they can be
`easily dribbled over a relatively slow speed wide band
`connection without long delays.
`It is still another object of the invention to save enhanced
`information about selected broadcasts with the press of a
`button. The information is wirelessly transmitted to a server
`on the Internet gateway network 30 that can be later
`retrieved from the user's home or office computer with an
`Internet connection and web browser.
`It is still another object of the invention to allow the
`selection of live and recorded audio material by format in a 45
`vehicle as well as select information services (i.e., phone
`book, navigation, etc.) by using a combination of a hierar(cid:173)
`chical menu along with presets that chose a broadcast station
`or run a selected service application. Selection can be done
`by pressing directional and preset buttons or by using voice 50
`navigation.
`It is another object of the invention to present a unique
`configuration of the system 10 for any number of users so
`that each user will see only their preferred radio stations and
`information services when they select their profile at the
`multimedia device 20.
`It is another object of the invention to allow accommo(cid:173)
`dated devices such as notebook computers, PDAs and cel(cid:173)
`lular phones to wirelessly download personal information
`(i.e., phone numbers, addresses, to-do lists, etc.) into the
`multimedia device 20.
`It is yet another object of the invention to allow phone
`numbers and addresses downloaded from accommodated
`devices to be used for navigation and for direct calling.
`It is yet another object of the invention to allow purchases 65
`to be mad