System for updating a content bearing medium
View Patent ↗The invention is directed to content bearing mediums having a capacity to receive additional content and systems and methods for updating and presenting content recorded on a content bearing medium, e.g., video cassette tape, CD or DVD, digital memory, game cartridges. In one aspect of the invention, a content bearing medium is provided. The content bearing medium has a content bearing signal stored thereon and a communication circuit. The communication circuit is adapted to exchange wireless signals with a remote programming device and to store an additional content bearing signal in a memory based upon the signals exchanged. The communication circuit is further adapted to transmit the additional content signals upon request by a player of the content bearing medium so that the player can receive the additional content signals and present an output that is based, at least in part, upon the stored signals.
1. A content bearing medium comprising:
a medium having a first type of content bearing signal stored thereon that can be used by a player to generate a human perceptible output; and
a communication circuit adapted to exchange wireless signals with a remote programming device and to store an additional content bearing signal of the first type in a memory of the communication circuit based upon the signals exchanged;
said communication circuit further being adapted to transmit the additional content signal upon request by the player so that the player can receive the additional content signal from the communication circuit and can generate additional human perceptible output based, at least in part, upon the additional content signal by using the additional signal in the same way that the player uses the content bearing signal to generate the first output.
2. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit comprises a radio frequency circuit.
3. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit is adapted to convert the additional content signals into an optical signal that is readable by an optical reading circuit of a player of the content bearing medium.
4. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit comprises a circuit for converting the additional content signals into an electro-magnetic signal that is readable by an electromagnetic signal reading circuit of a player of the content bearing medium.
5. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the memory is of a rewriteable type and wherein said communication circuit is adapted to write an additional content signal in the memory in place or in addition to previously stored additional content signal in the memory in response to signals from the remote programming device.
6. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the additional content signals provide information that can be used to supplement the content recorded in the storage medium.
7. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the content signals recorded on the content bearing medium has at least updatable portion and wherein the additional content signals contain update information.
8. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the content signals recorded on the content bearing medium are adapted to provide predetermined applications for the additional content signal.
9. The content bearing medium of claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit is adapted to extract power for operation from wireless signals received from the player.
10. A player for presenting a human perceptible output, the player comprising:
a first content signal reading circuit to read the content bearing signals of the first type from a content bearing medium;
an additional content reading circuit adapted to read a signal received from a wireless communication circuit associated with the medium, said wireless communication circuit having a memory with an additional content signal of the first type stored therein and incorporating the additional content signal in the signal that is received by the additional content reading circuit; and
a content processing system adapted to generate a human perceptible output signal based at least in part upon the additional content signal using a process that the player is also adapted to use to generate a human perceptible output signal based upon the content bearing signals recorded on the content bearing medium.
11. The player of claim 10 , wherein the additional content signal provides information that is used by the content processing system to supplement the content on the content bearing medium.
12. The player of claim 10 , wherein the content signals recorded on the content bearing medium contain updateable information, wherein the additional content signals contain update information and wherein the content processing system is adapted to present the content recorded on the content bearing medium in a manner that is updated in accordance with the update information.
13. The player of claim 10 , wherein the additional content signals provide information from which a player of the content bearing medium can determine a remote location from which to obtain additional content and the player is adapted to read the additional content signals and to obtain further additional content from the remote location.
14. The player of claim 10 , wherein the content signals recorded on the content bearing medium are adapted to provide predetermined applications for the content in the additional content signal, and
wherein the content processing system is adapted to present the content recorded on the content bearing medium so that the additional content signal is applied for the predetermined applications contained in the content signals recorded on the content bearing medium.
15. A system for updating information on a content bearing medium comprising:
a content bearing medium having content signals stored thereon;
a radio frequency communication circuit attached to the content bearing medium, said radio frequency communication circuit having a memory;
a radio frequency transceiver for generating a radio frequency signal from a remote location to the radio frequency communication circuit, said generated radio frequency signal being adapted with an additional content signal, said radio frequency circuit being adapted so that the radio frequency communication circuit stores the additional content signal in the memory;
a display unit for presenting an amount of an output on a display based upon the stored content signals of the first form; and
an information retrieving device attached to the display unit obtaining the stored additional content signals from the memory and providing the additional content signals to the display unit in the first form so that the display unit can present more output using both the content signals on the medium and the additional content signals stored in the memory than is possible using the content signals stored on the medium alone;
wherein the radio frequency transceiver queries the radio frequency communication circuit to determine information from which it can be determined whether the memory contains desired additional content and wherein the radio frequency transceiver transmits updated additional content when the memory does not already contain the desired additional content.