`
`Date ofDeposit September22, 1999
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`PROVISIONAL APPLICATION COVER SHEET
`This is a request for filing a PROVISIONAL APPLICATION under 37 CFR 1.53 c .
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`Number
`9921-27
`Residence Ci And Either State Or Forei Coun
`Phoenix, AZ
`Mesa, AZ
`Tempe, AZ
`Phoenix, AZ
`Phoenix, AZ
`Phoenix, AZ
`Gilbert, AZ
`Lake in the Hills, IL
`Tempe, AZ
`Chandler, AZ
`Phoenix, AZ
`Peoria, AZ
`Park Ridge, IL
`FlagstaffHill, Australia
`
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`CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS
`Jonathan E. Retsky
`BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE
`P. O. Box 10395
`Chicago
`
`
`
`
`
`ENCLOSED APPLICATION PARTS (check all that apply)
` Specification
`Number of Pages
`31
`[:I Small Entity Statement
`
`
`Drawin
`Number of Sheets
`5
`C] Other seci
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`METHOD OF PAY1\/IENT (check one)
`E A check or money order is enclosed to cover the Provisional filing fees.
`PROVISIONAL
`[:1 The Commissioner is hereby authorized to charge filing fees and credit
`FILING FEE
`Deposit Account Number 23-1925
`AMOUNT(S)
`The invention was made by an agency of the United States Government or under a contract with an Agency of the United States
`Government.
`
`
`
`$150.00
`
`CI No.
`l:| Yes, the name of the U. S. government agency and the Government contract number are:
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`SIGNATURE:
`
`Date:
`
`TYPED OR PRINTED NAME:
`
`Jo
`
`. Rets
`
`Registration No.
`
`September 22,
`1999
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`34,415
`(if appropriate)
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`El
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`Additional inventors are being named on separately numbered sheets attached hereto.
`
`PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FILING ONLY
`Burden Hour Statement This form is estimated to take 2 hours to complete Time will vary depending upon the needs ofthe individual case Any comments on the amount oftime you are
`required to complete this form should be sent to the Office ofAssistance Quality and Enliancement Division, Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231, and to the Oflice of
`Information and Regulatory Affairs, Otfice ofManagement and Budget (Project 0651-0037), Washington, DC 20503 DO NOT SEND FEES OR COMPLETED FORMS TO THIS ADDRESS
`SEND TO Assistant Comrmssioner for Patents, Washington, DC 20231
`
`rev. Nov 98
`Documenfz
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 1
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`
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 1
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`
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`"Express Mail" mailing label number EL42475339l 6US
`
`Date of Deposit. September 22, 1999
`
`Our Case No. 9921/27
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`APPLICATION FOR UNITED STATES LETTERS PATENT
`
`INVENTORS:
`
`Jeffrey S. Lee
`Parvathy Bhaskaran
`Richard L. Blanco
`
`Mark Clayton
`Mathew Cucuzella
`Scott Geranen
`
`Steven S. Gubka
`
`William S. Hede
`
`David T. Knappenberger
`Merlin Smith
`
`Bernhard P. Weisshaar
`
`Kenneth E. Wharton
`Axel Fuchs
`
`Scott Wallace
`
`TITLE:
`
`REMOTELY CONFIGURABLE
`
`MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT
`
`AND INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR
`VEHICLES
`
`ATTORNEY:
`
`JONATHAN E. RETSKY
`
`BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE
`P.O. BOX 10395
`
`CHICAGO, ILLH\IOIS 60610
`(312) 321-4200
`
`
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 2
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 2
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`
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`REMOTELY CONFIGURABLE MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT AND
`INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Entertainment systems commonly found in today’s vehicles usually consist of a
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`radio, CD/DVD player, cassette player and optionally a GPS based navigation device.
`
`The following problems are common to all such existing vehicular entertainment
`
`systems: Inadequate control interface for selecting from large numbers of broadcasts,
`
`lack of personalized 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 amplitude modulation (AM)
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`band and frequency modulation (FM) band terrestrial radio broadcasts. AM and FM
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`radio stations have a transmission range limited to a relatively small geographic area by
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`government regulations. Because the number of broadcasts that can be received in most
`
`geographic areas has been relatively small, selecting a broadcast to hear in a vehicle has
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`traditionally required no more than four types of simple receiver controls: (1) an AM/FM
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`band selector, (2) a tuning control to allow the listener to manually scan all possible
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`broadcast frequencies within a band, (3) a scan control that finds and plays a few seconds
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`of each station that has sufficient signal strength to be clearly heard, and (4) a small
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`number of preset push buttons that can each be programmed by the listener to tune to one
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`radio station of a set band and frequency.
`
`The small and inflexible number of radio controls creates the following two
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`related problems: First, no method exists to select all existing AM/FM radio stations by
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`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,
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`rock music, talk, etc.). Many large metropolitan areas have up to 100 combined AM and
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`FM stations of as many as 20+ different possible formats whose signals can be clearly
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`received throughout most of the metropolitan area with as many more fringe stations that
`_ 1 _
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`10
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`15
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`20
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`25
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 3
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 3
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`
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`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. Because most listeners prefer certain
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`formats over other formats, it would instead be ideal to be able to tune to only stations of
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`the preferred formats rather than have to tune through all types of broadcasts.
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`5
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`Unfortunately, in a large metropolitan area, there may be more stations of a desired
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`format or formats than can be selected with an existing radio’s few simple preset buttons.
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`Several proposals have unsuccessfully tried to correct this problem by enhancing
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`broadcast systems. Some FM stations do broadcast fonnat information along with other
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`digital data about the station’s programming using a method known as Radio Broadcast
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`
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`10
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`Data System (RBDS), also known as RDS, involving the use of FM sub-carriers. The
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`Program Type Category (PTY) feature of an RDS radio allows searching for radio
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`stations by their format. There are now approximately 13 manufacturers of RBDS car
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`receivers. With an RBDS car radio, a user could tune to FM stations by their format.
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`However, RBDS/RDS has not been well received in the United States. Since the
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`15
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`introduction of RDS in 1995 there were only 706 RDS broadcasters versus approximately
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`7,700 total FM radio stations as of a July 1998 report by the Electronic Industries
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`Alliance. Worse yet, a February 1999 report by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers
`
`Association shows that of this small number of RDS broadcasters in the United States,
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`only 41% broadcast their format. Therefore, RDS broadcasts do not now solve the
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`20
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`problem for the vast majority of listeners.
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`The 4,784 AM stations licensed by the FCC as of May 1999 do not have an
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`equivalent sub-carrier available to them as do FM stations to send out data about their
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`programming. Although an international consortium of 40 broadcasters and electronic
`
`manufacturers known as Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) have proposed a digital AM
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`25
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`broadcast system that would allow a DRM radio to tune to stations by their format, the
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`standards for such a system have not yet been established.
`
`Compounding the problem, new multimedia devices with wireless Internet and
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`satellite connectivity are expected to appear in vehicles in the very near future. These
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`multimedia devices will be able to receive existing analog AM, FM and TV audio
`_ 2 _
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 4
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 4
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`
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`broadcasts as well as receive and record thousands of new digital audio broadcasts. A
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`wireless Internet receiver can receive thousands of digital broadcasts from the Internet
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`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
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`5
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`from worldwide AM/FM radio stations that simulcast their live audio broadcasts onto the
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`Internet, up from 1,252 the previous year. Similar future Internet audio broadcast growth
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`is expected. In addition, satellite broadcasters such as CD Radio, XM Radio and
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`WorldSpace are expected to transmit to vehicles at least 100 new digital audio stations
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`apiece over satellite S—band and L-band frequencies within the next few years. These
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`10
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`stations can be received over broad geographic areas.
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`
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`The vast amount of broadcast content soon to be available easily overloads
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`existing simple vehicle radio control designs. A new method of organizing, presenting
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`and selecting audio broadcasts is required. An ideal solution would allow users to
`
`organize all broadcasts, no matter how they are transmitted, into the few program formats
`
`they prefer and then to easily navigate among these format categories to hear the
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`broadcasts they desire. The listener would be freed from having to remember the band or
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`frequency of any broadcaster in order to enjoy their favorite broadcast formats.
`
`Another shortcoming of today’s vehicles is that presets for existing AM/FM radio
`
`stations are only good for one geographic location. When traveling long distances
`
`outside an area where radio station formats are known by the listener, the most desirable
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`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 available station in the
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`new area and listen to each station to detennine if it has a desired format. If the traveler
`
`is used to hearing a syndicated program that is broadcast over many radio stations
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`25
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`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.
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 5
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 5
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`
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`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 Pl (program identification) code; this allows many RDS
`
`based radios to automatically switch to a new station playing the same program if the
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`5
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`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
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`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 others consists of an internal database of national radio
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`10
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`station information contained in non-volatile memory inside a radio receiver. In some
`
`
`
`cases, this database is updateable 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
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`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 stations 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. An ideal solution
`
`would permit a traveler to see all available broadcasts in a new area organized by format
`
`as well as being able to easily tune to a broadcast source that plays a particular program
`
`of interest to the listener.
`
`When driving, it would also be advantageous to receive information of personal
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`25
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`interest when desired during a trip rather than having to wait for a scheduled broadcast of
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`that information. RDS broadcasts, in addition to providing programming specific
`
`information as mentioned above, are also capable of constantly transmitting travel
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`specific information such as localized traffic conditions or weather reports. However, as
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`-4-
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 6
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 6
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`
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`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 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
`
`5
`
`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
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`desired.
`
`10
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`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 financial 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. Ideally, a
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`driver should be able to listen to any number of personalized broadcasts when he wants to
`
`receive them in his vehicle using only one receiver. No such system exists currently,
`
`however.
`
`As new personalized digital infonnation services are offered, a receiver should
`
`ideally be able to play any new service without requiring the user to purchase a new
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`receiver. Further, such services should be easy to add and operate and require little effort
`
`to procure. Almost no automotive entertainment devices today would meet this need. To
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`solve this problem, a receiver should ideally be microcomputer controlled and so able to
`
`run computer applications downloaded into the memory of the device. A newly
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`downloaded and installed application could provide any desired new feature or service.
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`25
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`Such programs should be as simple to select, install and run as changing channels on an
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`existing radio.
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`Vehicular entertainment devices that are computer controlled and so can be
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`programmed to offer new services by simply installing a new application into the
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`computer have been recently introduced by Microsoft and Clarion under the name
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`_ 5 _
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 7
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 7
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`
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`“AutoPC.” While these devices can be programmed to offer new services, new
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`applications are not immediately available to a motorist. The user must first purchase the
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`program on a CD disc and then install it in their AutoPC through a CD—ROM player, just
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`as they would install a new program on their home computer. The disadvantage of using
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`5
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`this method of updating programs on a computer controlled multimedia receiver is that
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`when you most may want to use a new service, it may not be available. Ideally, the user
`
`should be able to wirelessly download a new application when in the vehicle so he can
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`immediately use that new service.
`
`For example, if a new application/service is available that will identify long tenn
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`10
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`parking lots with vacancies within a crowded downtown area where you are late for an
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`
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`urgent appointment, it would be ideal to wirelessly download the new parking service
`
`program while you are driving to the appointment and then use the new service by simply
`
`pressing a preset button to find the nearest parking garage with a vacancy. Current
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`entertainment systems lack three important storage features that inhibit this ability.
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`A number of new digital compressed audio fonnats have developed in the past
`
`few years for music play back, most notably the MP3 format. They have the advantage
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`of requiring less than one tenth the space of conventional recordings while retaining good
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`audio fidelity. While some MP3 players are in use in vehicles, these players often require
`
`the user to 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. Because these
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`compressed files most often reside on an existing computer system outside of the vehicle,
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`an ideal solution would instead transfer compressed audio files to a multimedia device in
`
`the vehicle from a host computer through a high speed wireless connection.
`
`Although entertainment systems in vehicles have commonly included a cassette or
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`25
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`CD—ROM player to play back stored entertainment or infonnation from cassette tape or
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`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
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`syndicated radio programs when driving, but those programs already aired at an earlier
`
`time, the listener misses the broadcasts.
`
`_ 6 _
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 8
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 8
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`
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`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. An ideal solution would allow
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`any desired radio program, no matter when and where it was broadcast, to be recorded
`
`and then wirelessly transmitted to the vehicle to be stored and then replayed on demand
`
`at the desired time in the vehicle. Such transfers could conveniently be done at off-peak
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`Internet hours.
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`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
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`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. Ideally, there should be a method
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`where information about the contents of an audio broadcast can be stored for later use by
`
`the simple press of a button immediately upon hearing a broadcast.
`
`While some methods have become available for use in limited capture of Internet
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`URL addresses over television broadcasts, currently no systems meet this need for
`
`immediate 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
`
`programming on their web sites so that the information a listener may want to reference
`
`may not even exist on the station’s web site. Another disadvantage of current radio
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`station web sites is that the user must not only remember which station played the
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`10
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`
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`broadcast of interest, but also when and what the nature of the message was.
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`25
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`A great deal of personal information that may be useful when driving is
`
`increasingly stored and spread across multiple mobile computing or communication
`
`devices such as notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAS) and cellular
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`phones. These typically contain phone numbers, addresses, to-do lists and other
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`information that could be of use in a vehicle. However, it can be inconvenient to stop the
`_ 7 _
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 9
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 9
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`
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`Vehicle to get a device to retrieve information when needed or dangerous to use the
`
`device when in motion. It would be ideal if personal information in mobile devices could
`
`be transferred to one integrated location for convenient use while in the vehicle. Once in
`
`a central location it would be ideal to display desired information and then simply press a
`
`button to act upon it. Examples of one touch actions could be calling a phone number,
`
`transferring an address to a navigation program to plot a route, listening to email that has
`
`just arrived via wireless delivery, etc. Limited access to personal computing devices in a
`
`Vehicle is now only offered by the Microsoft/Clarion AutoPC. However, the AutoPC
`
`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 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 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. Ideally, a listener should be able to respond to an advertisement
`
`with a simple voice command or press of a button to purchase information, music, event
`
`tickets, etc. 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 advertisements to a single listener’s interests for real—time
`
`audio broadcasts since radio advertising is designed to reach a mass audience. However,
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`future digital audio broadcasts are expected that can be transmitted to individual receivers
`
`l0
`
`
`
`rather than broadcast widely. Such broadcasts may be of existing radio syndicated
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`25
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`programs or new material. On demand personalized digital broadcasts are planned by
`
`such companies as Command Audio and Infonnation Highway Media Corporation.
`
`On demand digital broadcasts may allow for either paid programming that is
`
`without advertising or free but commercial supported broadcasts. Since on demand
`
`digital broadcasts are sent to individual subscribers, for digital broadcasts that are
`
`_ 3 _
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 10
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 10
`
`
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`supported by commercial advertising it would be ideal for the advertiser and the listener
`
`if the advertisements heard were targeted to the individual listener’s specific interests.
`
`Such a system would send advertisements to the listener that match his current interest
`
`profile. No such system is known.
`
`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.
`
`10
`
`Several server based navigation 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. An ideal method to enter an address into a navigation
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`system would be to retrieve an address from a PDA or other personal information
`
`management device and automatically have it entered into the navigation system.
`
`If the destination address is not known when in the vehicle planning a route, but
`
`the name or phone number associated with the address is known, it would be ideal if the
`
`address associated with the known information could be wirelessly retrieved from a
`
`remote, reverse lookup database. A further improvement would then automatically enter
`
`the retrieved address into the navigation system. Also, location based information is
`
`often given in an audio broadcast while driving in a car. For example, business addresses
`
`are often part of an advertisement. It would be convenient to have such locations
`
`automatically entered as destinations if desired so that a route could be plotted to the
`
`advertised location. None of these methods are known.
`
`25
`
`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 receiver.
`
`FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of an intemet gateway network.
`
`-9-
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 11
`
`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 11
`
`
`
`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,
`
`10
`
`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
`
`15
`
`20
`
`shown in Figure 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 multimedia 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 applications 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 operations. 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.).
`
`Channels are organized in a hierarchy 158 so any one can be easily selected on screen
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`(see FIG. 2). Audio broadcast channels 42 are organized by the format of the broadcast
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`(i.e., country, rock, talk, etc.) and not by the band or frequency of the station. The
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`25
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`listener configures the organization of the channels through a remote device 40 via the
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`Internet gateway network 30.
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`The Internet gateway network 30 is designed to transmit and receive critical
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`infonnation to and from a multimedia device 20 in the vehicle 184 (FIG. 3). Information
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`-10-
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 12
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 12
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`transmitted preferably includes broadcaster identification that allows the multimedia
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`device 20 to tune to stations by their formats, direct Internet access for streaming audio
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`broadcasts and other Internet content, broadcast advertising database lookup for direct
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`response to advertisements heard in a vehicle, navigation services, delayed digital
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`personalized broadcasts, personal information event notices, and application downloads
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`to create new personal information channels.
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`Remote programmable devices 40, such as a computer connected to the
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`Internet 60, are used to download information from the Internet gateway network 30 to
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`the multimedia device 20 in the vehicle 184. From a remote device 40, a user can
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`10
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`customize the way audio broadcasts and personal information service channels are
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`
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`organized in the vehicle’s multimedia device 20, can request new personal information
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`services be downloaded from the Internet gateway 30 to the multimedia device 20, and
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`can retrieve information from the gateway 30 that he has stored there from the vehicle
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`184. The user can also access his custom profile and billing information records.
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`Figure 1 shows many possible wireless communication methods between the
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`vehicle device and the gateway. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the methods
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`illustrated in FIG. 1 are meant to be representative and do not reflect all possible wireless
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`communication methods that may be employed.
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`It is thus an object of the invention to allow any AM, FM, TV audio, or digital
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`audio broadcast or any Internet audio broadcast to be easily selected by format (i.e.,
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`country, classical, news, rock, talk, etc.) in a vehicle. The user will not need to know the
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`band or frequency of any station to select a broadcast as all types of broadcasts are simply
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`ordered by format. The multimedia device 20 will make the appropriate band and
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`frequency selection when a listener selects a station hierarchically organized under a
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`25
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`format category.
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`It is also an object of the invention to automatically tune to comparable station
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`formats when a vehicle travels out of an area where the existing stations are known to the
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`listener.
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 13
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 13
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`
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`It is a further object of the invention that, when a vehicle travels out of an area
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`such that a currently broadcast program fades out, to automatically tune to another station
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`or recorded broadcast playing the same program or at least the same program type.
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`It is yet a further object of the invention to remotely configure the multimedia
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`device 20 using an Internet gateway network 30 database to download information about
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`all the audio formats and audio broadcasters (e.g., AM/FM/TV/DAB/Internet) possible in
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`a geographic area. The user will choose to show on the radio only those formats and
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`stations he/she desires, blocking out from View all unwanted formats and stations.
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`It is yet a further object of the invention to add new personal information services
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`10
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`(e.g., email, stock quotes, interactive audio games, etc.) to the multimedia device 20 from
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`
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`a wireless Internet connection 60 by downloading applications. Such services are called
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`personal information or data channels in keeping with radio nomenclature as their
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`applications can be used by simply selecting them as you would an audio channel in the
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`main menu or with a preset button.
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`It is still another object of the invention to remotely configure the system 10 using
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`an Internet gateway network 30 database to present all the personal information services
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`available to the user (i.e., navigation, email, stock quotes, etc.). The user may select only
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`those services he/she desires to use in the vehicle 184.
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`It is still another object of the invention to allow event driven personal
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`information services to verbalize time specific (e.g., your stock hits new high) or location
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`specific (e.g., traffic incident warning) information using speech synthesis.
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`It is still another object of the invention to allow recorded compressed audio files
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`and other large data files to be downloaded into the multimedia device 20 from a high
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`speed local area 70 wireless receiver 72. Such downloads may occur at the listener’s
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`25
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`home or business, or at designated resale locations for such types of data (e.g., record
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`stores, gas stations, etc.).
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`It is still another object of the invention to allow previously recorded audio
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`broadcasts (usually talk or news oriented programming) to be played back at desired
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`times by recording such broadcasts at a network location and then transmitting these files
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`_ 12 _
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 14
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`Samsung Ex. 1011 p. 14
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`over a wireless Internet cellular connection 80 at off peak hours to the vehicle 184. Since
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`talk broadcasts result in small compressed files, they can be easily dribbled over a
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`relatively slow speed wide band connection without long delays.
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`It is still another object of the invention to save enhanced information about
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`selected broadcasts with the press of a button. The information is wirelessly transmitted
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`to a server on the Internet gateway network 30 that can be later retrieved from the user’s
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`home or office computer with an Internet connection and web browser.
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`It is still another obj ect of the invention to allow the selection of live and recorded
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`audio material by format in a vehicle as well as select information services (i.e., phone
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`10
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`book, navigation, etc.) by using a combination of a hierarchical menu along with presets
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`that chose a br