US 6970834 B2
A computer jukebox capable of receiving and storing advertisement data representing a plurality of advertisement from a remote central management system by way of a transmission link between the computer jukebox and the central management system, comprising a communication interface, a programmable computer memory and a processor. The computer jukebox downloads advertisement data. The communication interface receives advertisement data from the remote central management system by way of the transmission link. The advertisement data represents an identity of each of the plurality of advertisements, and data representing times for each of the advertisements to be run. The programmable computer memory stores the advertisement data. The processor runs the plurality of advertisements according to the advertisement data.
1. A computer jukebox receiving and storing digital advertisement data representing a plurality of advertisements from a remote source, data representing the identity of each of said advertisements, and data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run, comprising:
a display associated with said jukebox, said display allowing a user to retrieve and play a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs stored in said jukebox;
a communication interface receiving said advertisement data from the remote source, said data including (i) the identity of each of said advertisements, (ii) when and the number of times each of said advertisements to be run, said computer jukebox downloading said advertisement data from a transmission link that allows bi-directional communication between a remote central management system and said communication interface of said computer jukebox;
a programmable computer memory storing said digital advertisement data; and
a processor displaying one of said plurality of advertisements on said display when said jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from said plurality of songs stored in said jukebox, wherein said processor is responsive to said data representing when and the number of times each of said advertisements is to be run.
2. The computer jukebox of
3. A computer jukebox network comprising:
song data representing a plurality of songs;
advertisement data representing at least one advertisement;
a central management system including a host computer and a programmable memory storing said song data representing the plurality of songs, said programmable memory also storing said advertisement data representing the at least one advertisement;
a computer jukebox remotely located from said central management system, said computer jukebox including a processor and a data storage unit, said data storage unit having a song storage location storing song data and an advertisement storage location receiving advertisement data, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement represented by said advertisement data downloaded from said central management system when said computer jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs within said song data stored in said song storage location; and
a transmission link allowing bi-directional communication between said central management system and said computer jukebox, said computer jukebox downloading said song data from said central management system by way of said transmission link and storing said song data in said song storage location of said data storage unit, said computer jukebox downloading said advertisement data from said central management system by way of said transmission link and storing said advertisement data in said advertisement storage location of said data storage unit.
4. The computer jukebox network of
5. The computer jukebox network of
6. The computer jukebox network of
7. The computer jukebox network of
8. The computer jukebox network of
9. The computer jukebox network of
10. A computer jukebox receiving and storing advertisement data representing at least one advertisement from a remote central management system by way of a transmission link between, the computer jukebox and the central management system, said computer jukebox comprising:
a communication interface receiving said advertisement data from the remote central management system by way of the transmission link;
a programmable memory storing said advertisement data; and
a processor running said at least one advertisement according to said advertisement data, wherein said advertisement data includes an identity of at least one advertisement, and wherein said advertisement data includes at least one time for said at least one advertisement to be run by said computer jukebox, wherein said processor runs said at least one advertisement according to said advertisement data when said jukebox is not generating a signal representing a song selected from a plurality of songs stored in said jukebox.
11. The computer jukebox of
12. The computer jukebox of
13. The computer jukebox of
14. The computer jukebox of
15. The computer jukebox of
16. The computer jukebox of
17. The computer jukebox of
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/309,400, filed May 11, 1999, now abandoned which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/975,612, filed Nov. 21, 1997 now U.S. Pat No. 5,930,765, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/638,022, filed Apr. 25, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,398, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/584,253, filed Jan. 11, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,889, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/268,782, filed Jun. 30, 1994, now abandoned, which is a divisional of Ser. No. 07/846,707, filed Mar. 6, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,302, which is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 07/538,981, filed Jun. 15, 1990, now abandoned.
The present invention relates generally to a jukebox system, and more particularly to such a system including one or more computer jukeboxes that can be managed from a remote location.
Heretofore, an assortment of musical recordings found in a jukebox consists of a plurality of records, each record containing a specific recording. Traditionally, these records are grooved phonograph records. After a patron makes a selection, the selected phonograph record is mechanically removed from a storage rack within the jukebox, and the phonograph record is placed upon rotating platform. A stylus which is connected to a speaker system is then placed upon the rotating phonograph record, resulting in the phonograph record being played by the jukebox. For each selection, a separate phonograph record must be removed from the storage rack in order to be played by the jukebox.
Conventional jukeboxes have also implemented compact disks as means for creating an assortment of musical songs. Compact disks provide the improved sound quality made possible by digital recordings. The same technique, however, is used to play compact disks. A separate compact disk corresponding to each selection must be removed from a storage rack in order for the jukebox to play the selection. Updating conventional jukeboxes is a costly and time consuming task. Routemen must periodically travel to each jukebox location and replace the existing recordings of each jukebox with up-to-date records. The existing recordings are no longer used by the jukebox once removed, thus making the conventional method wasteful.
Routemen must also travel to each jukebox location to keep a tally of the number of times each musical recording is selected in order to determine royalty fees. It is known to provide a jukebox with a counter that keeps track of the number of times each musical recording is selected, but routemen must still travel to each jukebox location to obtain this information. Such a process requires an excessive number of people to visit each jukebox location periodically and visually read the information off the counter within each jukebox. Since the number of jukeboxes in operation is quite large, the employment of routemen to obtain such data involves a considerable expense. Furthermore, the ever changing nature of the recording industry requires that such data be gathered frequently in order to keep abreast of a continually changing market.
Conventional jukeboxes display a selection menu allowing a patron to select a particular recording that he or she may want to hear. When that song is being played, a video accompanying the song is typically displayed on the screen. However, when the jukebox is not being used either the selection menu is still continually displayed or the screen is blank.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for managing a plurality of computer jukeboxes which is capable of eliminating the necessity for routemen to change records in the jukeboxes. The computer jukeboxes store recordings in memory, thus enabling routemen to simply load new recordings into the memory of each computer jukebox.
Another object of the present invention is to eliminate a necessity for routemen by enabling new recordings and selection menus to be downloaded to each computer jukebox via a transmission link. In that regard, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which eliminates the material waste usually associated with updating jukeboxes. Instead of throwing away old recordings and replacing them with new ones, as is the conventional procedure, the present invention eliminates this waste by enabling new recordings to simply be downloaded into the memory of each computer jukebox. The old recordings are simply erased, if necessary.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus which is capable of remotely obtaining jukebox usage data, thus eliminating a necessity for routemen to do this task. The present invention utilizes a computer jukebox, which as part of its software programming, stores the number of times each musical recording is played and the number of credits that have been awarded. This data is uploaded to a central control device via a transmission link.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus utilizing modern computer technology to digitally store and play musical records. The jukebox of the present invention is basically a computer having a sophisticated audio production capability, the computer storing digitized song data in a computer memory. Because conventional jukeboxes maintain compact discs or records in the jukebox, theft of the compact disc/records has been a problem, this problem being eliminated by the present invention's utilization of a computer memory to store the digitized song data.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus capable of being used with the remote management of jukeboxes via public telephone lines without interfering with an establishments' use of their own phone lines.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for downloading and storing advertisements to a computer jukebox, and then running the advertisements on a screen associated with the computer jukebox at specified times. Additionally, the jukebox may also be associated with an electronic game so that advertisements not be run on a screen of the electronic game when the game is not being played.
It is a related object of the present invention to track the number of times a particular advertisement is actually run so that the advertiser can be appropriately billed. This information is uploaded to the central control device via the transmission link.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
In accordance with the, present invention as shown in
Each jukebox 13 is basically a computer having sophisticated audio production capability wherein each computer jukebox 13 is programmed to play songs that have been digitally compressed and stored in a large-volume data storage unit 93. The storage unit 93 may be an optical memory or any other available large volume nonvolatile computer memory that provides both read and write access.
The central management system 11 communicates with each computer jukebox 13 via a transmission link 15. The central management system 11 and each jukebox 13 use respective modems 17 and 19 to maintain serial communication on the transmission link 15. The transmission link 15 may be a cable system such as public or private telephone lines or the like. However, the modems 17 and 19 may be replaced with RF (radio frequency) transceivers and associated antennas. In the latter instance the transmission link 15 is an RF link.
Additionally, in another embodiment, an audio codec may be included as part of the central management system 11. The audio codec receives analog audio input, converts it into digital bytes, and then compresses these bytes via known audio compression methods for economic transmission, such as by the commercially available “MUSICAM.RTM.” algorithm. The compressed digital audio can than be transmitted to the jukebox 13 by the transmission link 15 which, in addition to the above described system such as telephone lines, cable, RF links or modems, can include transmission via a sub carrier to utilize certain FM channels. In this embodiment, the audio information is transmitted in packets of a predetermined length. Each packet is organized such that a header is transmitted first. The header is followed by the compressed audio data and then by a trailer containing an error detection method to ensure that the audio was transferred properly.
In another embodiment, the central management system 11 transmits the compressed audio data via satellite or cellular telephone systems. In either of these cases, the transmission link 15 is a satellite uplink or a cellular uplink. In yet another embodiment, the audio information may be stored on a portable infra red device, and the information may be transmitted from the device via infra red rays to the computer jukebox 13. As discussed in more detail below, the central management system 11 can transmit other information, specifically video and graphic information via the transmission link 15 to the computer jukebox 13.
Specifically, the central management system 11 includes a host computer 21 which maintains a master library 23 of songs and associated graphics which are stored in a compressed digital form in a bulk storage unit 25. The bulk storage unit 25 is capable of storing vast amounts of digital data, and may take the form of a read-write optical storage device. The host computer 21 indexes the master library 23 by using a master catalog 27 which is also maintained in the bulk storage unit 25.
The master catalog 27 stores a song record 29, as illustrated in
The host computer 21 at a block 73 prompts the user to load a picture, such as an album cover, into the graphics scanner 53. At a block 75, the host computer 21 identifies further available storage space in the bulk storage unit 25 and places the beginning address thereof into the graphics address field 41. Once a picture is loaded, the host computer 21 at block 77, using the bus 50, provides a read enable signal to the scanner 53 which responds via bus 50 by digitizing the picture and transferring the digitized output to the host computer 21. At a block 79, using the bus 54, the host computer 21 forwards the digitized data of the picture to the compression circuit 52, receives compressed digitized data from the compression circuit 52, and writes the compressed digitized data into the bulk storage unit 25. At a block 81, upon reaching the end of the digitized output, i.e., the end of the picture, the host computer 21 places the byte length of the digitized output into the graphics size field 43. Finally, at a block 83, the host computer 21 sets the play count field 45 to zero (0). This flow-chart is repeated as necessary until all of the new songs are added to the master library 27. It is noted that the operator can also delete, modify or replace any specific song record 29 found in the master catalog 27 and master library 23.
The jukebox 13 also includes a processing circuit 121 which contains a microprocessor 121A, read only memory (ROM) 121B and random access memory (RAM) 121C. As in conventional computer systems, the microprocessor 121A operates in accordance with the software program contained in the ROM 121B and utilizes the RAM 121C for scratch-pad memory. The processing circuit 121 may also contain a decompression circuit (not shown) or may perform decompression using a software algorithm stored in the ROM 121B depending on the type of data compression scheme used by the central management system 11. In either case, decompression is necessary to decompress the compressed data received from the central control system 11 so that the song can be played and associated graphics image displayed.
The processing circuit 121 controls the operation and flow of data into and out of the jukebox 13 through the modem 19 via a bus 124. Using the bus 124, the processing circuit 121 also controls a visual display 125, one or more selection keys 123 and a coin/bill detector 126 to provide the user with an interactive interface to the jukebox 13. The keys 123 provide signals representing user inputs such as displayed song selection. The display 125 displays alpha numeric information as well as pictorial graphics to interface with the user. The coin/bill detector 126 is responsive to one or more coins or bills input by a customer to determine whether the proper amount of money has been input and to provide money detect signals coupled to the processing circuit. The processing circuit 121 further controls, via the bus 124, an audio reproduction circuit 127 coupled to a speaker system 129 along a bus 131 to provide an audio output to the user.
Immediately thereafter, at a block 103, the management system 11 requests that the jukebox data be sent including a copy of the catalog 95. At a corresponding block 141, the jukebox 13 responds by sending the copy of the catalog file as well as other jukebox data including total money intake over a period of time. The data sent from the jukebox to the management station may also include customer requests for new songs, a customer utilizing the display and keyboard of the jukebox 13 to enter song request data as discussed below. Thereafter, at a block 105, by examining each play count field 45 in the copy of the catalog 95 received, the management system 11 determines the royalty amount due per song and whether to replace or update specific song entries stored in the jukebox 13. The management system 11 also determines the total money intake from the play count information and compares this value to the total money intake value received from the jukebox to provide a check. At an inquiry block 107, if no replacements are necessary, the management system 11 branches to a block 109 to terminate communication with the jukebox 13. If, however, replacements are necessary, the management system 11 branches to download the changes. Particularly, at a block 111, the management system 11 downloads to the jukebox 13 the song records 29 of both the song to be replaced and the replacement song. In a corresponding block 143, the jukebox 13 replaces the song record 29 in the catalog 95.
Thereafter, the jukebox 13 identifies available storage space in the storage unit 93 based on the song size field 39 of the new song, and writes the beginning address thereof into the song address field 37 in a corresponding block 145. Afterwards, at a block 113, the central management system 11 downloads the compressed digital data of the song to the jukebox 13. Afterwards, at a block 113 the central management system 11 downloads the compressed digital data of the song to the jukebox 13. At a corresponding block 147, the jukebox 13 receives and writes the data into the song library 91. Next, at a corresponding block 149, the jukebox 13 identifies available storage space in the storage unit 93 based on the graphics size field 43, and writes the beginning address thereof into the graphics address field 41 of the new song. Thereafter, at a block 115, the management system 11 downloads the compressed digitized data of the picture to the jukebox 13. The jukebox, at a corresponding block 151, receives and writes the data into the song library 91. Finally, the block 107 is again encountered. If further replacements need to be made, the blocks 111, 113 and 115 are repeated until complete. At a corresponding block 153, the jukebox similarly repeats the corresponding blocks 143 through 151 until no further replacements need to be made. A further block placed immediately above the block 107 may also be used, wherein the central management system 11 sends a delete, modify, add or replace command to the jukebox 13 before downloading into the song library 93. In this way, the management system 11 receives additional flexibility in updating the jukebox 13. It is noted that the jukebox 13 can also initiate communications with the management system 11 at predetermined times or if the jukebox determines that an event has occurred that the management system 11 should be aware of.
At a block 163, the processing circuit 121 responds to a signal indicating user interest from the selection keys 123 by providing on the display 125 those music categories, i.e., country, rock, jazz, etc., found in the catalog 95. At a block 165, the circuit 121 responds to a signal indicating a category selection from the keys 123 by providing on the display 125 an index of available songs, arranged alphabetically either by artist or title, which can be scrolled and selected using the keys 123. Upon selection of a specific song, the circuit 121 encounters an inquiry block 167. If at the block 167 the circuit 121 determines from the signal received from the money detector 125 that a sufficient amount of money has not been deposited, a branch to a block 169 occurs. At the block 169, using the display 125, the circuit 121 prompts the user to deposit money into the coin/bill detector 126, then branches back to the block 161. However, if sufficient moneys have been deposited, the circuit 121 branches to a block 171 wherein the circuit 121 updates the play count field of the selected song's record in the catalog file 95 and money intake data stored in the memory. The circuit also places the song record 29 corresponding to the selected song into a queue of song records to be played. After the selection is queued, the circuit 121 encounters an inquiry block 153. If the total number of selections purchased have been selected, the circuit 121 branches back to the block 161. Otherwise, if further purchased selections are forthcoming, the circuit 121 branches back to the block 163., In this manner, all of the selections are made and placed in the queue. Upon completion of playing a queued-up, selected song, the circuit 121 removes the corresponding song record 29 from the queue, selects the next song record in the queue, begins to play that next song, and executes the block 161. It is noted that the song queue can be displayed on the display 125 in order to show customers what songs have already been selected prior to making their selection.
More specifically, referring back to
While the present invention is being described and illustrated in accordance with the preferred embodiment enabling new recordings and computer usage data to be transferred via the transmission line 15, the monitoring and updating may also be directly transferred. In this latter embodiment, routemen physically visit the location of each computer jukebox 13. During these visits, the routemen carry a portable management system 181 which has only a subset of potential replacement songs stored in a subset library and associated catalog (not shown) on a portable bulk storage unit 183. The subset library is loaded by the portable management system 181 onto the portable bulk storage unit 183 either directly from the bulk storage unit 25 or indirectly as is initially done by the central management system 11 (described above). In all other ways, the portable management system 181 operates the same as the central management system 11, collecting the catalog 95 of each jukebox 13 and updating or replacing as necessary. To accomplish this, the portable management system 181 communicates at a very high rate of speed with the jukebox 13 via a parallel communication link 185 and a direct memory access (DMA) link 187.
Additionally, the routemen may simply exchange the “old” storage unit 93 with a pre-loaded storage unit (not shown). The central management system 11 may later read the “old” storage unit 93 to gather the information from the catalog 95. Such an embodiment still enjoys the other advantages made possible by the computer jukeboxes 13 described herein.
Additionally, the visual display 125 can be directed to display various advertisements. The advertisements are downloaded from the central management system 11 to selected computer jukeboxes 13 via the transmission link 15. Also downloaded with the advertisements is digital data representing the identity of each advertisement, the number of times, and when each of the advertisements is to be run. The advertisement data is stored at a separate location on the storage unit 93 so that they can be easily located and tracked.
The advertisements like the audio data are preferably sent to the computer jukebox 13 in compressed form, using a known compression scheme. The compressed data is preferably sent in packets that contain a header. The header contains information about the advertisement including how many times a day the advertisement should be run and at what times. The advertisements can then be displayed at the predetermined times on the visual display 125.
In the preferred embodiment, if a conflict arises between a song being played and the time for an advertisement to be played, the conflict is resolved as follows. If the song contains audio only and no associated graphics being shown on the visual display 125, then the advertisement, if it is video only, will be played simultaneously. If the advertisement contains video data and audio data, the advertisement will be run at the next available time slot or be shipped altogether. As each jukebox 13 tracks when an advertisement starts and when it stops, if a particular advertisement is never run, then the central management system will receive such information and the advertiser will be billed accordingly.
The advertisements are also stored in the storage unit 93. Because there is bilateral communication between the central management system 11 and the computer jukeboxes 13, the central management system 11 can track the number of times each advertisement is actually run for billing and royalty purposes by having this information uploaded from the computer jukebox 13 to the central management system 11. The transmission link 15 that's used to download or transmit these advertisements can be any of the means disclosed above, including, modems 17, 19, a cable system, a RF link, a satellite link, a cellular telephone link, or a portable handheld device.
The downloading and storing of advertisements is completed by the same apparatus and method as described above in connection with
In yet another embodiment, the computer jukebox 13 is associated with an electronic game, such as an electronic dart game. In the embodiment, the advertisements are also played on the visual display 125 associated with the electronic game when the game is not being played.
Additionally, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described hereinabove are merely illustrative and that other modifications and adaptations may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.