Apparatus and method for downloading and storing data from a digital receiver

Abstract

A portable data storage device receives data from a digital broadcast signal receiver that is adapted to separate the data from a digital broadcast signal. The portable data storage device includes a first transceiver that communicates with a second transceiver associated with the digital broadcast signal receiver and further includes a memory for storing the received data. A processor disposed within the portable data storage device controls the storage of the data and further causes a data request signal to be generated and transmitted to the digital broadcast signal receiver. A controller disposed within the digital broadcast signal receiver responds to the data request signal by causing the data separated from the digital broadcast signal to be transmitted via the second transceiver to the portable data storage device. The portable data storage device further includes a data communication port for transferring the data to a personal computer.

1. A data retrieval system for retrieving data from an ATSC compliant digital broadcast signal, wherein the digital broadcast signal includes at least one television programming packet and at least one data packet that contains the data, the system comprising:
 a digital receiver adapted to receive the digital broadcast signal and adapted to separate the data from the digital broadcast signal;    a personal digital assistant in communication with the digital receiver, wherein the personal digital assistant includes a device receiver to receive the data from the digital receiver, wherein the personal digital assistant include a memory to store the data, and wherein the personal digital assistant includes a data port to download the data to a computer.    
     
     
       2. The data retrieval system of  claim 1  wherein the digital receiver comprises:
 a tuner that is adapted to tune to the digital broadcast signal;  
 a demodulator coupled to the tuner and adapted to demodulate the digital broadcast signal;  
 a controller arranged to acquire the data; and  
 a transceiver coupled to the controller, wherein the controller causes the data to be supplied to the transceiver for transmission to the personal digital assistant.  
 
     
     
       3. The data retrieval system of  claim 2  wherein the transceiver comprises a first transceiver, wherein the device receiver comprises a second transceiver, and further wherein the personal digital assistant comprises:
 a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor causes the data received by the second transceiver to be stored in the memory, wherein the processor is adapted to generate a data request signal for transmission by the second transceiver to the first transceiver, and wherein the data request signal includes a request for the data; and  
 an input device coupled to the processor that accepts input by a user, wherein the input causes the processor to generate the data request signal.  
 
     
     
       4. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the first transceiver receives the data request signal from the second transceiver and transfers the data request signal to the controller and further wherein the controller responds to the data request signal by causing the data to be transmitted to the personal digital assistant. 
     
     
       5. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the personal digital assistant further comprises a sound generating circuit coupled to the processor and further wherein the processor causes the sound generating circuit to generate a tone that signals when the data has been stored. 
     
     
       6. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the data port comprises a serial data port and further wherein the data is transferred via a data transmission cable to a serial data port associated with the computer. 
     
     
       7. The data retrieval system of  claim 4  wherein the data request signal generated by the processor identifies a selected portion of the data and further wherein the controller responds to the data request signal by causing the selected portion of the data to be transmitted by the first transceiver to the personal digital assistant. 
     
     
       8. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the first and second transceivers are infra-red signal transceivers. 
     
     
       9. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the first and second transceivers are radio frequency signal transceivers. 
     
     
       10. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the first transceiver comprises a first serial data port, wherein the second transceiver comprises a second serial data port, and wherein the first and second serial data ports are connected by a data transmission cable. 
     
     
       11. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the data comprises internet data. 
     
     
       12. The data retrieval system of  claim 11  wherein the internet data includes website URL data. 
     
     
       13. The data retrieval system of  claim 12  wherein the internet data further includes information that identifies the website URL data as having been retrieved from the digital broadcast signal. 
     
     
       14. The data retrieval system of  claim 3  wherein the digital receiver further comprises a digital television, and further wherein the television programming packet transmitted with the data packet is related to the data contained in the data packet. 
     
     
       15. The data retrieval system of  claim 14  wherein the television programming packet comprises a television commercial for advertising a product and wherein the data comprises information related to the product. 
     
     
       16. The data retrieval system of  claim 15  wherein the information related to the product comprises a URL for locating a website, and wherein the website includes further information related to the product. 
     
     
       17. The data retrieval system of  claim 16  wherein the further information related to the product comprises a list of retailers that sell the product. 
     
     
       18. The data retrieval system of  claim 16  wherein the further information related to the product comprises pricing information for the product. 
     
     
       19. The data retrieval system of  claim 16  wherein the further information related to the product comprises a coupon for the product. 
     
     
       20. The data retrieval system of  claim 15  wherein the data further comprises coupon data for the product. 
     
     
       21. The data retrieval system of  claim 20  wherein the computer is adapted to store the coupon data on a smart card. 
     
     
       22. The data retrieval system of  claim 1  wherein the personal digital assistant further comprises a display. 
     
     
       23. The data retrieval system of  claim 1  wherein the personal digital assistant is further adapted to receive and process telephone signals. 
     
     
       24. A personal digital assistant comprising:
 an input device providing an interface with a digital receiver and an output device providing an interface with a computer;    a memory; and    a controller, wherein the controller is arranged to read data at the input device, wherein the data at the input device is acquired from a digital receiver that receives the data in a digital broadcast signal, and further wherein the controller is arranged to cause the data to be stored in the memory and to cause the data to be transferred from the memory to the output device.    
     
     
       25. The personal digital assistant of  claim 24  wherein the input and output devices are transceivers. 
     
     
       26. The personal digital assistant of  claim 24  wherein the input and output devices are data ports. 
     
     
       27. The personal digital assistant of  claim 24  wherein one of the input and output devices is a transceiver and the other of the input and output devices is a data port. 
     
     
       28. The personal digital assistant of  claim 24  wherein the digital receiver comprises a digital television. 
     
     
       29. The personal digital assistant of  claim 24  wherein the output device is adapted to transfer the data to a personal computer. 
     
     
       30. A method implemented by a personal digital assistant of retrieving data transmitted in a digital broadcast signal comprising the following steps:
 a) acquiring at the personal digital assistant the data from a digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal;    b) storing the data in a memory of the personal digital assistant; and    c) transferring the data from the memory of the personal digital assistant to a computer that is separate from the digital receiver and that is separate from the personal digital assistant.    
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of acquiring the data from a digital receiver comprises the step of acquiring data from a digital television. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of acquiring the data from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal comprises the step of receiving the data at an input device from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal; and wherein the step of transferring the data from the memory to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver comprises the steps of a) transferring the data from the memory to an output device, and b) transferring the data from the output device to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver; and further wherein the input and the output devices are transceivers. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of acquiring the data from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal comprises the step of receiving the data at an input device from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal, and wherein the step of transferring the data from the memory to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver comprises the steps of a) transferring the data from the memory to an output device, and b) transferring the data from the output device to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver and further wherein the input and the output devices are data ports. 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of acquiring the data from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal comprises the step of receiving the data at an input device from the digital receiver that receives the digital broadcast signal; and wherein the step of transferring the data from the memory to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver comprises the steps of a) transferring the data from the memory to an output device, and b) transferring the data from the output device to the computer that is separate from the digital receiver; and further wherein one of the input and output devices is a transceiver and the other of the input and output devices is a data port. 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 30  wherein the step of acquiring the data from the digital receiver comprises the steps of a) transmitting a data request signal to the digital receiver; b) causing the digital receiver to transmit the data to the memory in response to the data request signal; and c) receiving the data transmitted by the data receiver. 
     
     
       36. A data retrieval method comprising:
   retrieving a plurality of data sets related to a broadcast program from a digital receiver;        storing the retrieved data sets in a memory;        generating list information of the stored data sets; and,        transferring the list information to an external device such that the external device is able to launch a data guide program that causes the transferred list information to be displayed.     
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 36 , wherein the broadcast program is a television commercial. 
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 36 , wherein the plurality of data sets related to the broadcast program include internet data. 
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 38 , wherein the internet data includes at least one URL. 
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 36 , wherein the plurality of data sets related to the broadcast program include coupon data required to generate at least one coupon. 
     
     
       41. The method of  claim 36 , further comprising transferring at least one of the stored data sets to the external device. 
     
     
       42. A data retrieval method comprising:
   retrieving internet data related to a broadcast program from a digital receiver;        storing the retrieved internet data in a memory; and,        transferring the stored data to an external device such that the external device is able to access a website address identified by the transferred internet data.     
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the internet data include website URL data. 
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 43 , wherein the internet data further include information that identifies the website URL data as having been retrieved from the digital broadcast signal. 
     
     
       45. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the broadcast program is a television commercial for advertising a product. 
     
     
       46. The method of  claim 45 , further comprising retrieving information identifying a list of retailers related to the product. 
     
     
       47. The method of  claim 45 , further comprising retrieving price information related to the product. 
     
     
       48. A data retrieval method comprising:
   retrieving coupon data related to a broadcast program from a digital receiver;        storing the retrieved coupon data in a memory; and,        transferring the stored coupon data to an external device such that the external device is able to generate a coupon from the coupon data.     
     
     
       49. The method of  claim 48 , wherein the generated coupon is a printed coupon. 
     
     
       50. The method of  claim 48 , wherein the generated coupon is an electronic coupon. 
     
     
       51. The method of  claim 48 , wherein the broadcast program is a television commercial for advertising a product related to the generated coupon. 
     
     
       52. A data retrieval method comprising:
   retrieving coupon data related to a broadcast program from a digital receiver, wherein the coupon data is retrieved by a first device external to the digital receiver;        storing the retrieved coupon data in a memory of the first device; and,        transferring the stored coupon data from the first device to a second device such that the second device is able to generate a coupon from the coupon data, wherein the second device is external to the first device and to the digital receiver.