EP0687083A1 - Means and method for determining the use made of broadcast programmes - Google Patents

Abstract

The output of a radio or TV transmitter (9) is received by a unit (1) that determines when the programmes are being actively received. The unit can be worn by an individual who is being used as a test individual. The unit has a facility to compare the general input with a signal receiver by a microphone (7) that detects the acoustic output of a receiver (2). An output (3b) transmits data to a personal computer (3) and this logs the effectiveness of the transmissions in terms of being listened to. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for detecting the use of radio programs, with devices for receiving acoustic signals and outputting a reference signal corresponding to the acoustic signal; Devices for demodulating program signals offered for use and outputting a useful signal; and means for comparing the reference signal supplied by the microphone devices with the useful signal supplied by the demodulation devices and outputting a respective comparison result.

The present invention further relates to a method for detecting the use of radio programs offered, comprising the steps of: receiving acoustic signals and outputting a reference signal corresponding to the acoustic signal; Demodulating program signals offered for use and outputting a useful signal; Comparing the reference signal with the useful signal supplied by the demodulation devices and outputting a respective comparison result.

Such a device and such a method are known from DE 26 08 508.

It is of great interest to obtain demoscopic information about the extent to which people make use of the various programs offered by the various broadcasters. In the following, broadcasting refers to the transmission of radio and television programs for distribution Suitable transmission media of all kinds, for example via terrestrial antenna, via satellite or via cable. This information is of great importance, for example, when it comes to assessing how many people can be reached with commercials, how well a program "arrives" with certain target groups, or what program usage behavior certain target groups show. Various ways of obtaining such information have previously been proposed. It is known from DE 33 42 949, for the purpose of demoscopic television viewer research, to install an additional device on the television set of a number of test persons, which detects which television channel the television set is tuned to in which time periods. For this purpose, the tuning voltage of the television tuner is measured and the set program is deduced.

From DE 26 08 508 a device for acquiring and outputting information about the television turn-on behavior of television subscribers is known, which, like the device described above, is installed as an additional device on the television. In order to determine the identity of the received program, the additional device has a station detection part, with a microphone with an amplifier, a tuning unit, which is connected on the input side to the antenna, and a comparison device, which outputs the output signal of the amplifier with a sound signal supplied by the tuning unit compares stations received via the antenna.

An important aspect when recording the program usage behavior of test persons is the question of whether the test person actually perceives the set program. If a test person switches on the receiving device, but then leaves the room in which the device is located, for example, this state is incorrectly registered by the known detection devices as program use, which leads to a falsification of the detection result. If, on the other hand, the test person uses a radio that is not compatible with a Equipped detection device, such actual program uses can not be detected with the known devices.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to improve the device and the method of the type mentioned at the outset for detecting the use of offered radio programs in such a way that the actual usage behavior of test persons selected for demoscopic purposes can be recorded largely unadulterated.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this object is achieved in that an antenna connected to the demodulator devices is provided for receiving the program signals and the device is designed to be portable on the body of a person.

In order to enable program offers distributed over cables to be included in the detection, according to a further aspect of the invention, a sensor connected to demodulator devices is provided for receiving a local program signal, which is emitted by a stationary transmitter device which broadcast program signals via antenna or cable receives and converts it into the local program signal, the detection device being designed to be portable on the body of a person.

According to this aspect, a stationary device is connected to the cable in order to convert a program signal received via cable into a signal and to transmit it in such a way that it is local, for example in the home of a test person, by the mobile detection device to be worn on the body of the test person can be received and processed. For this purpose, the mobile detection device has, in addition or as an alternative to the antenna, a sensor suitable for receiving this local program signal.

This arrangement of stationary device and mobile detection part can also be suitable for including terrestrial (programs broadcast via antenna) in the detection, the direct reception of which is locally difficult due to poor reception conditions and which requires a more complex antenna than is provided in the mobile detection part. In this case, the stationary device is additionally or alternatively connected to a suitable antenna for connection to the cable.

In order to detect the program usage behavior of a test person, the detection device can be designed in such a way that the demodulation devices include tuning devices in order to periodically tune programs whose usage is to be recorded and to supply a corresponding sequence of useful signals to the comparison devices in accordance with the voting sequence. Each program is demodulated by the demodulation devices for as long as is necessary to carry out a comparison with the signal received acoustically before jumping to the next program. In order to increase the detection efficiency, the process of tuning can be interrupted if a positive comparison result has been obtained. If the following cycle is started with the program that last gave a positive comparison result, the required comparison processes can be further reduced. In this way, if the device is switched to an energy-saving mode (stand-by) in periods between the acquisition cycles, the energy requirement of the device can be reduced.

In particular if a large number of programs are to be tuned, an acceleration of the tuning process can be achieved by previewing several tuning devices working in parallel in the stationary device and / or in the mobile detection device. The multiple tuning devices can preferably be tuned to the program signals in parallel at the same time are different, but carry essentially the same useful signal.

It is then advantageous to provide a selection device which examines the program signals tuned by the tuning devices working in parallel with essentially identical useful signals on alternative frequencies for their respective reception quality or reception signal strength, selects the strongest program signal and feeds it to the demodulation devices.

The assignment of the program signals, which carry the same useful signal and are to be tuned in parallel by the tuning devices, can be stored in an assignment table in a memory or this assignment, if required by the broadcasters, can be taken from additional information carried by the program signals. For example, the RDS signal provides information about the alternative program signal frequencies on which a useful signal is broadcast.

If the mobile detection device is used together with a stationary device which sends a local program signal to the mobile detection device, the demodulation devices can include the local program signals received via the sensor devices in the query sequence of the program signals.

In a manner corresponding to the mobile device, the stationary device can include tuning devices and demodulation devices, which cyclically tune the program offers received via cable or stationary antenna and the respective, demodulated useful signals or characteristics of the useful signals relevant for the comparison together with program identification information by means of the local program signal to the transmit mobile device. The mobile detection device and the stationary device can be designed as identical devices that can be configured depending on the type of use (mobile / stationary).

The detection device according to the invention can have a memory in which the results of the detection process are stored. It is advantageous to store program identification information, for example a transmitter identifier and / or program content identifier decoded by means of a decoder which can be provided in the detection device, together with respective comparison results and time information in the memory. The station identifier, program content identifier, station information, etc. can be found, for example, in the RDS signal.

For a further increase in the reliability of the detection result, it is particularly advantageous to make the mobile detection device portable on the skin of the test person and to equip it with a skin temperature, optical or electrical sensor which indicates whether the test person also detects the detection device during the period when a program is being used actually carries. Alternatively or additionally, the device can be equipped with an acceleration sensor for this purpose. The information received from the sensor or sensors can also be stored in the memory and, together with the relevant time information, provide information about the extent to which the detection results apply and / or whether the test person has actually worn the detection device over the intended period of time.

In order to make the wearing of the detection device appear attractive to the test person, the mobile detection device can include further functions useful for the test person, for example, in the form of a wristwatch, to display the time of day in connection with the skin temperature, optical or electrical sensor display physiological data of the test person, such as heartbeat, skin circulation, temperature, etc., be designed as a piece of jewelry, and / or count steps using the acceleration sensor.

The means for receiving acoustic signals may include an amplifier having an amplification characteristic modeled on the human ear.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the object of the invention is achieved by a method of the type mentioned at the beginning with the steps as characterized in claim 12.

According to the invention, the comparison of the first signal with the useful signal is carried out in the frequency domain. Because both signals are transformed into the frequency range and phase information is ignored in the comparison, influences of transit time differences, which result between the signal received acoustically by the mobile detection part and the useful signal, on the comparison result can be eliminated.

Advantageous refinements of the comparison method in the frequency domain result from the subclaims.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of the type mentioned at the outset is proposed, which has the steps characterized in claim 21. This method uses a cross correlation between the acoustically received reference signal and the useful signal to determine whether these signals are to be regarded as the same. The cross-correlation relationship between the compared signals in the frequency domain is formed in order to reduce the computational effort required. Then this can be examined for a maximum in the time domain or in the frequency domain. If it has a sufficiently large maximum, the compared signals are considered the same.

This method is advantageous in that, on the one hand, it is insensitive to differences in transit time between the signals to be compared, because these only influence the position of the maximum of the cross-correlation functions on the time axis, and, on the other hand, to background noise, which is recorded acoustically via the microphone, with the useful signal are not correlated.

Fig. 1

ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 2

ein Blockschaltbild der Erfassungsvorrichtung gemäß dem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel;

Fig. 3

ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 4

ein Ausführungsbeispiel eines mittels eines lokalen Programmsignals übertragenen Nutzsignals;

Fig. 5

ein Blockschaltbild eines Ausführungsbeispiels oder einer stationären Wandlereinrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 6

ein Blockschaltbild der Erfassungsvorrichtung gemäß dem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 7

ein Blockschaltbild der Erfassungsvorrichtung gemäß einem dritten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 8

ein Blockschaltbild der Erfassungsvorrichtung gemäß einem vierten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;

Fig. 9

ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel einer Erfassungsstrategie gemäß der Erfindung;

Fig. 10

ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel einer Erfassungsstrategie gemäß der Erfindung;

Fig. 11

ein Ausführungsbeispiel einer Speicherroutine; und

Fig. 12

ein Ausführungsbeispiel einer Membership Funktion.

In the following, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show:

Fig. 1

a first embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2

a block diagram of the detection device according to the first embodiment;

Fig. 3

a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4

an embodiment of a useful signal transmitted by means of a local program signal;

Fig. 5

a block diagram of an embodiment or a stationary converter device according to the present invention;

Fig. 6

a block diagram of the detection device according to the second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7

a block diagram of the detection device according to a third embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8

a block diagram of the detection device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9

a first embodiment of a detection strategy according to the invention;

Fig. 10

a second embodiment of a detection strategy according to the invention;

Fig. 11

an embodiment of a memory routine; and

Fig. 12

an embodiment of a membership function.

Figure 1 shows schematically a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, 1 denotes a device for detecting the use of radio programs, 2 a conventional radio receiver, 3 an evaluation device, 3a a first interface which is part of the evaluation device, 3b a second interface which is part of the detection device, 5 denotes an antenna device, which is part of the device for detecting the use of radio programs, 6 denotes the antenna of the radio receiver. 7 denotes a microphone, which is part of the detection device, and 8 denotes a loudspeaker device, which is part of the radio receiver 2. Finally, 9 designates a radio transmitter, which broadcasts radio program signals in the form of terrestrially freely propagating high-frequency signals which carry a modulated useful signal. Here and below, the term "broadcasting" denotes both radio and television.

The radio program signal emitted by the radio transmitter 9 is received by the antenna 6 19 of the radio receiver 2 in a known manner, demodulated and in this way a sound signal is emitted via the loudspeaker device 8. This acoustic signal is perceived by the radio subscriber. At the same time, this acoustic signal is picked up by the microphone 7 of the detection device 1, which the Broadcasters can wear on his body. Independent of the radio receiver used by the test person, independent receiving devices in the detection device receive program signals offered for use via the antenna 5 of the detection device. If the detection device is designed to be wearable on the wrist, the antenna 5 can be accommodated in the bracelet. The detection device compares the program content, ie the useful signal modulated onto the received program signal with the acoustic signal received via the microphone 7. Because the test person carries the detection device with him, the acoustic signal picked up by the microphone 7 corresponds to the acoustic signal perceived by the test person. By comparing the useful signal with a reference signal, which is carried out by comparison devices in the detection device 1, which is derived from the acoustic signal in the detection device received via the microphone 7, the detection device according to the invention is able to determine whether the test person does this from the detection device received program, ie perceives the content of the useful signal.

A storage device provided in the detection device of this exemplary embodiment can store, for example, the time at which the test person received a certain program. In addition, the detection device is able to receive and demodulate a plurality of different program signals by means of a tuning device and to compare the useful signals obtained with the reference signal received via the acoustic path. In addition to the time information, program identification information is also stored in the memory device, so that this information shows when the test person used which program. Depending on requirements, this program identification information can include one or more of the following information: broadcaster (for example Bavarian broadcasting), program name (for example BR3), carrier frequency of the program signal, program content identifiers (for example text contribution, music, news, etc.) as far as content identifiers are offered by the broadcasting station.

For evaluation, the stored data are transferred from the memory of the detection device 1 to an evaluation device 3 via the interface 3b, which is preferably an infrared interface for reasons of miniaturization. A personal computer (PC), for example, can serve as the evaluation device. The data obtained in this way regarding the program use of the respective test person can then be sent to a demoscopic evaluation.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the functional groups of the detection device 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment. The broadcast program signal received via the antenna 5 of the detection device 1 is fed to a demodulator 12, which is used for the recovery of the useful signal modulated onto the program signal. This useful signal is bandpass filtered at the output of demodulator 12. Spectral components of the useful signal filtered out in this way, for example in the range from 300 Hz to 3 kHz, are then converted by means of a first analog / digital converter 15 into a sequence of digital samples. By means of a decoder 11, identification information is also extracted from the program signal, which identifies the received program, the reception frequency, program contents, etc. If the received program includes an RDS signal, the decoder 11 decodes this signal and outputs the identification information contained therein. If the received program signal does not include such an information service, the decoder 11 gives the reception frequency as identification information, i.e. the carrier frequency of the program signal.

The microphone 7 of the detection device 1 converts the received sound into an electrical signal, which is amplified by a microphone amplifier 13. The microphone amplifier 13 has an automatic gain control function which the Replicates sensitivity characteristics of the human ear. The output signal of the amplifier 13 is bandpass filtered in the same way as the useful signal obtained from the demodulator 12 and the reference signal thus obtained is converted in a second analog / digital converter 14 into a sequence of digital samples. The output signals of the first and second analog / digital converter, as well as the program identifier decoded by the decoder 11, are fed to a digital signal processing device 16. This signal processing device 16 comprises a digital signal processor device 16a, a memory device 16b which includes RAM areas, ROM areas and non-volatile memories, a clock function 16c and a control device 16d which controls the entire sequence of the functions of the detection device 1. The functional units in the signal processing device 16 can be designed as separate circuits or as a programmed circuit unit.

The digital signal processor 16a detects characteristic structures in the digitized reference signal and in the digitized useful signal, compares these structures and, depending on the result of this comparison, determines whether the useful signal and the reference signal are to be regarded as matching. If positive, this comparison result is stored in the memory 1b together with the current time supplied by the clock function 16c and the identification information supplied by the decoder 11. In this exemplary embodiment, temporal sections of the reference signal and the useful signal are used for the comparison, which have a duration in the range from 20 ms to 1 s, preferably approximately 100 ms. The controller 16b controls the demodulator 12 by means of a tuning signal in order to cause the demodulator 12 to receive and demodulate a specific program signal from a plurality of offered, receivable program signals by means of tuning devices contained in the demodulator 12. The controller 16d ensures that the offered program signals are demodulated and in a certain order are compared, and respective comparison results including the program identification information are stored in the memory 16b.

The processing device 16 receives, via the interface 3b, configuration data which are stored in the memory 16b and indicate which of the offered program signals are to be included by the control in the detection of the test person's program usage behavior. The acquisition results are also read out from the memory 16b via the interface 3b.

The detection device 1 is supplied with electrical energy by a current source 17.

The detection device according to the invention is accommodated as a miniaturized circuit in a housing which is suitable for being worn on the body of the test person. According to a preferred embodiment, the detection device 1 is accommodated as an integrated circuit in the housing of a wristwatch.

It is particularly advantageous to provide a sensor 18 which detects whether the detection device is actually being worn. For this purpose, a temperature sensor is provided in this exemplary embodiment. This detects the temperature of the rear cover of the housing and sends a signal to the processing device 16 which, depending on whether the detected temperature is above or below a temperature threshold, for example approximately 27 ° C., indicates whether the detection device is worn by the test person or was filed. When storing the comparison result in the memory 16b, the processing device 16 takes into account whether the sensor signal from the sensor 18 indicates that the test person is wearing the detection device 1. If this is not the case, the comparison result will not be registered or marked as unreliable.

According to this exemplary embodiment, the time provided by the clock function 16c is visibly displayed on the top of the housing by means of a suitable display device, for example a liquid crystal display, so that the detection device 1 fulfills the function of a wristwatch useful for the test person, which makes the test person willing to participate increases detection and thus increases detection reliability.

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this exemplary embodiment, elements which correspond to elements of the first exemplary embodiment have the same reference symbols and are not described again. In order to enable program signals (hereinafter referred to as bound program signals) which are not propagated in the form of free terrestrial high-frequency signals to be included in the detection of the program usage behavior, a stationary converter device 4 is provided according to this exemplary embodiment, which has bound program signals, for example via cables or optical fibers, receives them at an input, processes them and sends out a local program signal. This spreads spatially restricted where the test person usually consumes programs that are received in a way that is bound to transmission media. In order to receive such programs, a conventional radio receiver 2 has, for example, in addition to or as an alternative to the connection to the antenna 6, an input 6a for cable program signals.

The detection device 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment has a sensor device 42 which serves to receive the local program signal. Unlike radio program signals, such as those emitted by a radio transmitter 9, the spread of the local program signal is limited to a smaller spatial area, for example the test person's apartment.

The local program signal, which is emitted by the stationary converter device by means of a suitable transmitter device 41, can be an infrared signal, an ultrasound signal or a freely propagating high-frequency signal. This signal carries one or more useful signals in accordance with programs that are offered for use via the propagation medium, for example cables. The local program signal is received by the detection device 1 by means of the sensor 42 and fed to the modulator devices, which demodulate the local program signal and recover the useful signal. This useful signal is then compared with a reference signal obtained acoustically via the microphone 7 of the detection device 1. As in the first exemplary embodiment, the comparison results and further information such as the time and program identifier are stored.

The useful signal transmitted from the stationary converter device to the mobile detection device 1 by means of the local program signal is composed of a main signal which is generated from the demodulated bound program signal and an identification signal which identifies the main signal with the program signal just received via cable. The main signal can be the analog demodulated program signal, a digital demodulated program signal or an analog or digital signal that only bears characteristics of the demodulated program signal, which, as described below, are suitable as a basis for the comparison between the useful and reference signals.

The local program signal received by the sensor 42 in the detection device 1 is demodulated in order to recover the main signal and identification signal. The identification signal is separated from the main signal in order to be stored in the detection device 1 together with the result of the comparison of the main signal and the reference signal.

According to this exemplary embodiment, the main signal is obtained in the stationary converter device by demodulating the bound program signal and bandpass-filtering the signal thus obtained, with limit frequencies corresponding to the spectral range used for the comparison in the mobile detection device, for example 300 Hz to 3 kHz. The bandpass-filtered signal is then converted into a digital signal.

The identification signal can be, for example, the RDS signal (radio data system) or a digital data signal obtained therefrom, or the digitally coded carrier frequency of the program signal currently received by cable from the stationary converter device.

As shown in FIG. 4, in accordance with this exemplary embodiment, the identification signal I and then the main signal H for each currently received bound program signal a, b, c, d are successively modulated onto a local carrier. Each program signal included in the acquisition receives a cyclically recurring time slot in a predetermined time relationship with the other time slots occupied by other program signals. The main signal contains real-time digital data in each time slot corresponding to an uninterrupted period of the useful signal (for example 100 ms), which is dimensioned according to how much time is required to carry out a comparison of the useful signal and the reference signal. The local carrier thus modulated gives the local program signal.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a stationary converter device according to the present invention. This converter device comprises a demodulator 46, which has a cable input and a cable output for a radio device to be connected to it. Demodulator 46 generates from a received one in the manner described above bound program signal by means of an analog / digital converter 48 the main signal.

The stationary converter device further comprises an encoder / decoder 47 for generating the identification signal. The main and identification signals are combined by a modulator 45 in the manner described above to form a useful signal and are modulated onto a local carrier so as to form the local program signal. In this exemplary embodiment, the local carrier is a sequence of infrared light pulses with a frequency in accordance with the bit rate to be transmitted, data and synchronization signals being transmitted by varying the pulse width.

A control device 48 controls the operating sequence of the stationary converter device. Before the start of the acquisition period, it receives configuration data via a configuration interface 4a, which determine which program signals or frequencies are to be included in the acquisition, and stores them. According to this data, it controls the sequence and the time sequence in which the demodulator is to demodulate the relevant program signals and the corresponding main signals or the encoder / decoder is to generate the assigned identification signals.

FIG. 6 shows a detection device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the invention, which is provided for detecting the use of bound program signals by means of the stationary converter device described above. As far as the assemblies for receiving and processing the acoustic signal are concerned, the detection device according to the second embodiment corresponds to the first embodiment, as has been described with reference to FIG. 2.

Instead of the devices for receiving a radio program (antenna 5, demodulator 11, decoder 12), the detection device comprises after the second Embodiment a sensor 42 for receiving the infrared signal sent by the stationary converter device and a demodulator 43, which recovers the useful signal from the received infrared signal. A decoder 44 separates the useful signal into the main and identification signals. Since these signals are already in digitized form, this exemplary embodiment does not require an analog / digital converter in the branch which receives and processes the program signal, but only the A / D converter 14 in the signal path of the microphone signal.

FIG. 7 shows a detection device according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. This detection device is designed to include both program signals that are freely spreading and bound program signals in the detection of usage behavior. For this purpose, it comprises devices for receiving a radio program signal as in the first embodiment and also a sensor 42, demodulator 43 and decoder 44, which perform the functions of the corresponding elements in the second embodiment. In addition, this exemplary embodiment comprises a first double changeover switch SW1, which is switched by the control device in such a way that the program signals received by means of the antenna 5 and by means of the sensor 42 are subjected to the comparison with the reference signal in a sequence predetermined by the control device. Otherwise, the function of the control device 16d and the other elements of the signal processing device 16 corresponds to the first exemplary embodiment.

Figure 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the detection device according to the present invention. This embodiment includes all elements of the third embodiment. It advantageously takes advantage of the fact that the elements of the stationary converter device and the detection device largely correspond to one another in terms of their structure.

In addition to the third exemplary embodiment, the detection device of the fourth exemplary embodiment comprises a cable input connection 5a, a modulator 45 and an infrared transmitter 41. The modulator is connected to the signal processing device 16 via a changeover switch SW3. A switch SW2 enables the input of the demodulator 12 to be switched either to a connection for a cable 5a or to the antenna 5 in the device 1. The switches SW1 and SW3 are controlled by the signal processing device 16.

The signal processing device 16 can be configured via the configuration interface 3b such that the device of the fourth exemplary embodiment is operated either as a detection device according to the first to third exemplary embodiments or as a stationary transmitter device. FIG. 8 shows the position of the changeover switches SW1 to SW3 in the event that the device 1 is configured as a stationary converter device.

The stationary transducer device is advantageously designed to be inserted into a holder which, via contacts, for example contact pins, with mating contacts, preferably contact surfaces in the surface, preferably in the rear of the device, provides the device with a power supply and enables the connection of a broadband cable. For this purpose, the holder has a power supply unit and the necessary plugs or sockets, for example 75 ohms coaxial, as well as adaptation devices which enable the signal received via cable to be introduced into the device 1 via the contacts and counter-contacts.

The transmission device 41 for transmitting the local program signal is preferably arranged on the front of the device 1 embedded in the surface. The bracket can be designed so that when a device equipped with a clock display on the front 1 in this is used, bracket and device 1 result in a shelf clock designed as a decorative element. This increases the willingness of the test person to tolerate the installation of such a stationary converter device. Because the display device and transmitter device 41 are arranged on the front, the test person himself ensures the orientation of the stationary converter device in such a way that the local program signal is radiated into the room.

This configuration of the stationary converter device as a control clock is not limited to the case in which the converter device is formed from a holder and a configurable device 1 according to the fourth exemplary embodiment. Rather, this configuration can also advantageously be used for the stationary converter device that was described in connection with FIG. 5.

In a modification of the third or fourth exemplary embodiment, a comparison of a reference signal obtained via microphone 7 with a useful signal, which is obtained by demodulating the bound program signal, is already carried out in the stationary converter device and only the result of the comparison to the stationary converter device mobile detection device carried by the test person. In this case, the local program signal, which carries the result, is broadcast locally by the stationary converter device as far as the sound signal, which is broadcast by the radio, which the test person uses to use bound program signals. Accordingly, the mobile detection device also registers the use of a bound program signal in this exemplary embodiment only if the test person actually perceives the sound signal of the corresponding program. If the test person is outside the area within which the sound signal can be perceived, the mobile receives Detection device does not record the local program signal emitted by the stationary converter device and thus does not register the use of the relevant program signal.

This modification of the preceding exemplary embodiments is advantageous in that lower requirements can be placed on the data transmission capacity of the local program signal to the mobile detection device, since only the result of the comparison made in the stationary converter device has to be transmitted to the mobile detection device. This advantage is, however, paid for with a somewhat poorer detection reliability, since the comparison is no longer carried out on the basis of the sound signal at the location of the test person, but only the result is registered at the location of the test person.

Instead of or in addition to the transmission of the result of the comparison to the mobile detection device carried by the test person, the local program signal can carry a useful signal which corresponds to the program which was recognized in the stationary converter device as being in agreement with the reference signal. The useful signal transmitted with the local program signal is then compared again at the location of the test person in the detection device carried by the test person with a reference signal which is obtained by means of the microphone of the detection device. The result of the comparison carried out by the detection device is then stored. This embodiment can be obtained by appropriately configuring the device described with reference to FIG.

This modification is advantageous in that lower demands can be made of the data transmission capacity of the local program signal to the mobile detection device, since only a useful signal corresponding to only one program has to be transmitted to the mobile detection device. In addition, another comparison takes place at the Test person in the detection device carried by this, so that a reliable detection result can be obtained.

An exemplary embodiment of a detection strategy controlled by the control device 16d in a detection device according to the invention is described below with reference to FIG. 9.

In order to record the usage behavior of the test person, the program signals to be included in the recording are examined for use by the test person at regular intervals (hereinafter referred to as the cycle), which are selected according to the desired temporal resolution of the detection result. For this purpose, the mobile detection device and, if appropriate, the stationary transducer device, relating to one or more of the parameters frequency range within which free or bound program signals are to be included in the detection, are started before the use is detected; Minimum reception field strengths to which the demodulator 12 for the free program signal or the demodulator 43 for the bound program signal should respond; Lists of the program signals to be included in the acquisition with the associated frequency; Acquisition period from activation; Cycle; configured. The detection cycle can be selected depending on the time of day, for example a larger cycle at bedtime, and / or depending on whether the test person actually wears the detection device if a sensor 18 is provided in this regard.

In the flowchart in FIG. 9, n denotes a free program signal which is to be examined for current use by the test person. In order to save energy for the operation of the detection device, the control device 16d switches the assemblies of the detection device into a state of reduced activity between two detection cycles, for example by reducing the system control clock.

In order to miniaturize the detection device that is designed to be portable on the body of a test person, it is particularly advantageous if it has a low energy requirement over the desired detection period of, for example, one to several weeks, within which the test person is to carry the detection device with him. The size of the power source required for the energy supply is measured on the energy requirement of the mobile detection device, which represents a limiting factor in the miniaturization.

During an acquisition cycle, the acquisition strategy is therefore designed in such a way that as few of the program signals included in the acquisition have to be examined for use as possible. This is achieved in that if the use of a program signal has been detected in one detection cycle, the next detection cycle begins with the program signal previously detected as used. Alternatively or additionally, the number of comparisons is reduced by detecting at the beginning of each acquisition cycle whether there is a signal from the microphone 7. If this is not the case, there is silence in the surroundings of the test person, and there is no need for further usage in this cycle.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the control device jumps from S2 via S10 to S8 in this case and waits there in the energy-saving mode until the start of the next cycle. If the total acquisition time has not yet elapsed (S9), the next cycle starts again with S2. If the microphone detects a signal above a predetermined threshold (S2), the associated program frequency is determined (S3) according to the index n, the demodulator 11 is tuned to this frequency (S4), and then the comparison of the reference signal with the useful signal obtained from the demodulator is carried out (S6). If there is a match, one or more of the parameters time, program identifier, Content identifier, date, validity stored in the non-volatile memory 16b of the detection device.

If there is no match, it is checked in S11 whether all program signals involved in the detection or their frequencies have been detected in this cycle. If so, the system waits for the start of the next cycle in energy-saving mode and the program index n is reinitialized. If no, the next program signal is indicated in S13 and then waited in S8.

If, in a detection cycle after m (number of program signals involved in the detection) iterations of the loops S2-S6, S11, S13, it was found that none of the program signals involved in the detection is used, in S12 the program index n becomes new for the next detection cycle initialized. A reinitialization at the end of an acquisition cycle does not take place if the use of a program signal has been determined in it. The next acquisition cycle then begins with the program signal previously determined to be used, so that if the test person continues to use a program signal after the first acquisition, only a single comparison is required and the acquisition device then immediately returns to the energy-saving waiting state (S8).

In S10 it is avoided that short breaks in the program recorded as used lead to a re-initialization of the program index. The program index n is reinitialized only if, for example, no microphone signal has been detected over three acquisition cycles.

After the acquisition period has elapsed, the mobile acquisition device deactivates itself (S9). The stored detection data is retained in the non-volatile memory 16b.

FIG. 10 shows a second exemplary embodiment of the acquisition strategy according to the present invention. In order to further reduce the number of comparisons carried out by the detection device 1, use is advantageously made, alternatively or in addition to the measures described in the previous exemplary embodiment, that people show preferences when using radio programs, i.e. use a particular radio program more often than others. For this purpose, according to the second exemplary embodiment, a table is provided in the memory 16b of the control device 16d, which contains an assignment of each of the m program signals involved in the detection to priorities P = 1 ... m. This table specifies the assigned program signal n (P) for each priority P. According to this embodiment, a detection cycle with the highest priority program signal, i.e. P = 1, started when a microphone signal is present and it was previously determined that none of the program signals involved in the acquisition was used. The content of table n (P) is updated every time a new use of a program signal is determined, according to the frequency of the total use of the respective program signals recorded so far. Before the start of the acquisition period, it is only necessary to ensure that any program signal n is assigned to each priority value P by configuring the table. At the end of the acquisition period, the table contains a "hit list" of the program signals involved in the acquisition, arranged according to the test subject's preferences. In addition to its usefulness for saving comparison processes, such a list is also of great demoscopic interest.

According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 10, each acquisition cycle begins with step S21, in which it is checked whether a microphone signal is present. This step corresponds to step S2 of the previous exemplary embodiment. If so, the assigned program signal n is read from the table in S22 in accordance with the current priority P and the demodulator 12 to the corresponding frequency in S23 set. The reference signal is compared with the useful signal in S24. This step corresponds to step S5 of the previous exemplary embodiment. If a match is found in S25, a hit flag is set to "yes" in S26. The hit marker is used to indicate in the following cycle whether a match was found in its previous cycle. S26 is followed by step S27 of storing the positive comparison result, which is described in more detail below. This is followed by steps S28 and S29, which correspond to steps S8 and S9 of the previous exemplary embodiment.

If it is determined in S25 that there is no correspondence between the useful signal and the reference signal, it is checked in S32 whether use of one of the program signals involved in the detection has been determined in the previous cycle. If this is the case, the test person has changed the program or switched it off. Therefore, hits are set to "no" in S36 and P is set to 1 in S37 in order to search for a used program signal starting with the highest priority program (loops S33, S38, S21 to S25, S32) until it is determined in S33 that all program signals involved in the acquisition have been examined, or a match has been found in S25. In the former case, P is set to 1 for the next cycle (S34) to start it with the highest priority program. In the latter case, hit is set to "yes" (S26). In both cases, a storage routine is then carried out (S35 or S27) and the system then waits for the next cycle in energy-saving mode in S28.

If a match between the useful signal and the reference signal has been found in S25 and then waited in S28, then the next comparison cycle begins with the program signal last determined to be used, if not a predetermined number of acquisition cycles (e.g. 3) in the meantime due to the lack of a microphone signal from S21 to S28 abbreviated to S30 were. For example, if three consecutive cycles pass through S30, P is set to 1 to start the next detection process for which a microphone signal is again present with the highest priority program signal and hits are set to "no" (S31).

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary embodiment of the memory routine which is carried out in steps S27 and S35. In order to save storage space in the signal processing device 16, according to this exemplary embodiment, the recorded usage data are only stored in the event of a positive comparison result, and only if there has been a change from one recording cycle to the next. To do this, this routine uses the current hit marker and the state of the hit marker at the end of the previous cycle. Depending on the states of "hits" and "hits in the previous cycle", this routine performs the following actions: Table 1 Hits Yes No Yes No Hits in the previous cycle Yes Yes No No action same program as before: no action otherwise S47, S45 S43 S46, S45 no action

In S43 the switch-off time of the program signal previously recorded as used is stored. In S45, the priority table is updated after the number of times the respective programs have been switched on in the previous acquisition period and then P is updated so that it points to the same program signal index as before the update of the priority table. S45 is always active when a program or Switching to another program, ie a new use of a program signal, is detected. Upon this detection, the program signals are sorted into the priority table according to their respective current usage frequencies. If there is a change of location for the program signal currently detected as being used in the priority table, P is accordingly also updated in accordance with the change of location in S45, so that the updated P in the updated table points to the program signal to which P before it was updated in the table showed before updating.

In S46, data relating to a program signal newly detected as being used, such as program identifier, content identifier, etc., as described above, and the switch-on time are stored. In addition to the data as stored in S46, the switch-off time of the abandoned program is also stored in S47 upon detection of a program change.

Only the case was described above that only free program signals are included in the detection via the antenna 5 of the detection device 1. Alternatively, if a stationary converter device is provided, the program signals included in the detection can be a local program signal from the stationary converter device corresponding to a bound program signal.

If, as a further alternative, both bound and free program signals are to be included in the detection, the detection device 1 reads for each n from a table stored in it whether n denotes a local or a free program signal and accordingly does this to the signal processing devices 16a corresponding useful signal received by the demodulator 11 for the free program signal or the useful signal received by the demodulator 43 for the local program signal.

If the local program signal transmits useful signals in accordance with the respective bound program signals in time slots, as described above, the local detection device can calculate in advance from the predetermined temporal relationship between the transmissions of the individual useful signals when the useful signal is transmitted in accordance with the bound program signal indicated by n. Accordingly, it is sufficient for the mobile detection device to receive the local program signal until an identification data block of the useful signal has informed the control device 16d which useful signal is to be transmitted next. On the basis of this information, the control device can then calculate the time of occurrence of the useful signal indicated by n and switch to an energy-saving mode until it occurs.

Exemplary embodiments of the comparison process of the reference signal with the useful signal as described by the signal processor device 16a in the signal processing device 16 are described below.

The tunable decoder 12 dwells on program signals from a predetermined reception strength with a predetermined dwell time. The dwell time can be specified on the production side or by configuration. The comparison between the reference signal and the useful signal takes place during this time. The dwell time on each program signal is dimensioned such that maximum time differences between the reference signal and the useful signal and the time required for the comparison are taken into account. The actual comparison takes place using a method that delivers a result that is independent of runtime differences.

According to a first exemplary embodiment of a comparison method according to the invention, the comparison of the reference signal and the useful signal is carried out in the frequency domain. The digitized signals are used for this purpose in the Signal processing device 16 is transformed into the frequency range by means of a discrete Fourier transformation.

Depending on the location of the test person wearing the detection device 1, there may be variable time differences in the range between 0 and 30 ms. These transit time differences result from the sound propagation speed over a distance between 0 and 10 meters.

Using an FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation), the two real signals, namely the reference signal and the useful signal, can be transformed simultaneously. However, other transformation methods and algorithms can also be used. Due to the maximum transit time difference of approximately 30 ms between the two signals, the sampling time for a comparison process should be approximately 90 ms. If the two signals are sampled with a sampling period of 100 µs, a sampling duration of around 100 ms results with 1024 sampling points.

Ist der erhaltene Gesamtfehler F kleiner als k x Mittelwert des Betragsspektrums des Referenzsignals, so wird ein positives Vergleichsergebnis ausgegeben, welches eine Übereinstimmung zwischen Referenzsignal und Nutzsignal anzeigt.In order to rule out the influence of transit time differences on the comparison of the two signals, the amounts of the received frequency spectra of the reference signal and the useful signal are compared with one another in this exemplary embodiment. In a first step, both magnitude spectra are first normalized, for example to the same mean. In the following, R _i and N _i denote the i-th components of the magnitude spectrum of the reference signal and the useful signal, respectively. In a subsequent step, an overall error F is calculated for each component i in accordance with the following regulation:

If the total error F obtained is less than kx mean value of the magnitude spectrum of the reference signal, then a positive Output comparison result, which indicates a match between the reference signal and the useful signal.

According to a second exemplary embodiment of a comparison method according to the present invention, striking spectral components R _i or N _i in the magnitude spectrum of the reference signal or the useful signal are determined, for example the 10 largest and 10 smallest magnitude components. Then the i-th components of the magnitude spectrum of N _i or R _{i are} compared with the corresponding striking amounts. As of a predetermined number x of matches, the two magnitude spectra are considered identical and a positive comparison result is output. Agreement here means that the amount of the difference between R _i and N _{i is} smaller than a further predetermined value.

According to a third exemplary embodiment of a comparison method according to the invention, the magnitude spectra R and N are compared by means of fuzzy logic. The following steps are carried out:

Step 1

T_i Teilübereinstimmung; kann die Werte WAHR oder FALSCH einnehmen
Wenn die Differenz von | R_i - N_i | klein ist, so ist die Teilübereinstimmung T_i WAHR.Comparison of the individual amounts $$\begin{array}{c}\begin{array}{c}{\text{IF | R}}_{\text{i}}{\text{- N}}_{\text{i}}\text{| = SMALL}\\ {\text{THEN T}}_{\text{i}}\text{= TRUE}\end{array}\end{array}$$

T _i partial match; can take the values TRUE or FALSE
If the difference of | R _i - N _i | is small, the partial match T _{i is} TRUE.

The "Membership Function" from KLEIN corresponds, for example, to a Gaussian function.

Since in this exemplary embodiment the number of partial amounts is fixed at 512 according to 1024 sampling points in the time domain the number of non-matches is also fixed. According to a modification of this exemplary embodiment, instead of this rough subdivision, an examination can also be extended to an average MEDIUM match. Defuzzification is not carried out in this exemplary embodiment. The correspondence between the reference signal and the useful signal is determined according to the rule
IF number of partial matches = LARGE
THEN overall match = TRUE
certainly.

The membership function for LARGE can look as shown in Fig. 12.

step 2

KN:

KLEIN NEGATIV

KP:

KLEIN POSITIV

RA:

Richtungsänderung

Wenn die Differenz zwischen R_i+1 - R_i gleich KLEIN NEGATIV ist und die Differenz von N_i+1-N_i ebenso KLEIN NEGATIV ist, oder wenn die Differenz zwischen R_i-1 - R_i gleich KLEIN POSITIV ist und die Differenz von N_i+1 - N_i ebenso KLEIN POSITIV ist, so ist die Richtungsänderung von _i nach _i+1 in beiden Betragsspektren gleich und somit wahr.Comparison of whether positive or negative changes (direction) from R _i to R _{i + 1 can} also be found in N (f). $$\begin{array}{c}\begin{array}{c}{\text{IF (R}}_{\text{i + 1}}{\text{- R}}_{\text{i}}{\text{) = KN AND (N}}_{\text{i + 1}}{\text{- N}}_{\text{i}}\text{) = CN}\\ {\text{OR (R}}_{\text{i + 1}}{\text{- R}}_{\text{i}}{\text{) = KP AND (N}}_{\text{i + 1}}{\text{- N}}_{\text{i}}\text{) = KP}\\ {\text{THEN RA}}_{\text{i, i + 1}}\text{TRUE}\end{array}\end{array}$$

KN:

SMALL NEGATIVE

KP:

SMALL POSITIVE

RA:

Change of direction

If the difference between R _{i + 1} - R _i is SMALL NEGATIVE and the difference of N _{i + 1} -N _{i is} also SMALL NEGATIVE, or if the difference between R _i-1 - R _i is SMALL POSITIVE and the difference from N _{i + 1} - N _{i is} also SMALL POSITIVE, the change of direction from _i to _{i + 1 is the} same in both magnitude spectra and thus true.

step 3

As a result of step 1 and step 2, a vector of 512 boolean values is obtained. In this third step, it is now preferably examined whether there are mismatches or unequal changes in direction as a "burst". Burst denotes a cluster of mismatches in a section of the frequency spectrum. In the simplest case, "Burst" takes on the two boolean values TRUE or FALSE. "Burst" is TRUE if more than x (e.g. 30) successive values of the two magnitude spectra do not match, or if they have unequal changes in direction. Several "Membership Functions" (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH) can be defined for "Burst" in order to refine the classification and to increase the reliability of the comparison result.

Step 4

The following rule can now be drawn up for the evaluation:
IF number of partial matches = LARGE
AND number of same direction changes = LARGE
AND burst = FALSE
OR number of partial matches = medium
AND number of same direction changes = means
AND burst = TRUE
OR ....... (further, finer divisions)
THEN overall match = TRUE
Membership functions of the SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE type could also be introduced for the degree of overall agreement, in order to check the credibility of the statement in a later evaluation. Again, it is not de-fuzzified, but the so-called alpha value is used.

• 1. Nutzsignal und Referenzsignal empfangen
• 2. Erfassung von 1024 Abtastwerten jeweils für Referenz- und Nutzsignal.
• 3. Transformation der Abtastwerte nach R(f) bzw. N(f).
• 4. Bildung der Mittelwerte | R(f)| und | N(f)|
  
  ggf. Division durch 512.
  • 4.1 Wenn der Mittelwert des Betragsspektrums des Nutzsignals außerhalb eines vorgegebenen Bereiches, zu Punkt 2 springen.
  • 4.2 Nach x (z.B. 3) ungültigen Abfragen entsprechend Punkt 4.1 Verstärkungsfaktor des Nutzsignals entsprechend verändern und zu Punkt 2 springen.
  • 4.3 Nach y (z.B. 3) ungültigen Versuchen entsprechend Punkt 4.2 zu Punkt 1 springen.
• 5. Vergleich der einzelnen Betragsanteile der normierten Betragsspektren | R'(f)| und | N'(f)|.
  • 5.1 Aufruf der Knowledge-Base entsprechend Schritt 1.
  • 5.2 Aufruf der Knowledge-Base entsprechend Schritt 2.
  • 5.3 Als Ergebnis der Punkte 5.1 und 5.2 erhält man zwei Vektoren mit jeweils 512 boolschen Werten. Diese Vektoren sind nun jeder für sich auf sogenannte "Bursts" zu untersuchen.
  • 5.4 Aufruf der Knowledge-Base entsprechend Schritt 4.

Wenn Übereinstimung = WAHR, springe zu Punkt 6
Sonst Übereinstimmung = FALSCH, springe zu Punkt 1.This results in the following sequence of steps to achieve the comparison result:

• 1. Receive useful signal and reference signal
• 2. Acquisition of 1024 samples for reference and useful signal.
• 3. Transformation of the samples according to R (f) or N (f).
• 4. Forming the mean values R (f) | and | N (f) |
  
  if necessary division by 512.
  • 4.1 If the mean of the magnitude spectrum of the useful signal is outside a specified range, jump to point 2.
  • 4.2 After x (e.g. 3) invalid queries according to point 4.1 change the gain factor of the useful signal accordingly and jump to point 2.
  • 4.3 After y (e.g. 3) invalid attempts jump to point 1 according to point 4.2.
• 5. Comparison of the individual amounts of the standardized amount spectra | R '(f) | and | N '(f) |.
  • 5.1 Call up the knowledge base according to step 1 .
  • 5.2 Call up the knowledge base according to step 2 .
  • 5.3 The result of points 5.1 and 5.2 is two vectors with 512 boolean values each. These vectors are now to be examined individually for so-called "bursts".
  • 5.4 Call up the knowledge base according to step 4 .

If match = TRUE, skip to step 6
Otherwise match = FALSE, jump to point 1.

6. Output a comparison result

According to a modification of this exemplary embodiment, the amplification factor of the microphone amplifier 13 can also be changed analogously to steps 4.1 to 4.3 until the mean value of the magnitude spectrum of the reference signal lies within a predetermined range.

The implementation of such a standardization is not limited to the last described exemplary embodiment, but can be used in all exemplary embodiments of a comparison method.

A further exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention for detecting a match between the reference signal and the useful signal, which is carried out in the time domain, is described below. In a first step, the difference signal and the useful signal are normalized, for example with regard to their mean value. For the actual comparison, the digitized useful signal is used as a reference signal. The digitized reference signal is then compared sample by sample with the useful signal, and the error is summed up, for example, per 8 samples to form an overall error.

This process is repeated several times in order to eliminate any runtime difference between the two signals. Before each comparison, the sequence of the samples must be shifted by one sampling period T in relation to the sequence of the samples of the useful signal. With a maximum runtime difference of 30 ms, there are up to 300 comparisons. In order to reduce the high number of comparisons, according to this exemplary embodiment, a parallelized circuit structure (hardware) is preferably used in order to carry out eight comparisons in parallel, for example. As an alternative or in addition to this measure you can by Averaging of, for example, three successive values, the number of comparisons can be further reduced.

From the comparisons carried out, the comparison which results in the smallest comparison error is used to evaluate the agreement. If this smallest comparison error is below a predetermined threshold, a match between the reference signal and the useful signal is output.

• 1. Nutzsignal und Referenzsignal empfangen.
• 2. Erfassung von 1024 Abtastwerten jeweils für Referenzsignal und Nutzsignal
• 3. Bildung der Mittelwerte von Referenzsignal und Nutzsignal
  • 3.1 Wenn der Mittelwert des Nutzsignals außerhalb eines vorgegebenen Bereiches ist, springe zu Punkt 2.
  • 3.2 Wenn x (z.B. 3) ungültige Abfragen entsprechend Punkt 3.1, Verstärkungsfaktor des Nutzsignals entsprechend ändern und zu Punkt 2 springen.
  • 3.3 nach y (z.B. 3) ungültigen Versuchen entsprechend Punkt 3.2 zu Punkt 1 springen.
• 4. Vergleich der normierten Signale Abtastwert für Abtastwert
  • 4.1 Bei angenommenen 1024 Werten sind nur die ersten 724 Werte für die Bildung von Vergleichsfehler V1 untereinander zu vergleichen.
  • 4.2 Verschiebe Sequenz der Abtastwerte des Referenzsignals um ΔT nach links, vergleiche wieder die ersten 724 Werte und bilde Vergleichsfehler V2.
  • 4.3 Wiederhole 4.2 so lange, bis vorgegebene Laufzeitdifferenz (hier 30 ms) gleich Null ist.
  • 4.4 Suche kleinsten Vergleichsfehler Vx.
  • 4.5 Wenn Vx ≦ Schwelle für Übereinstimmung, dann
    Übereinstimmung = WAHR
    Sonst Übereinstimmung = FALSCH.

Accordingly, the following procedure follows:

• 1. Receive useful signal and reference signal.
• 2. Acquisition of 1024 samples for reference signal and useful signal
• 3. Formation of the mean values of the reference signal and the useful signal
  • 3.1 If the mean value of the useful signal is outside a specified range, jump to point 2.
  • 3.2 If x (eg 3) invalid queries according to point 3.1, change the gain factor of the useful signal accordingly and jump to point 2.
  • 3.3 Jump to point 1 after y (e.g. 3) invalid attempts according to point 3.2.
• 4. Comparison of the standardized signals sample by sample
  • 4.1 If 1024 values are assumed, only the first 724 values for the formation of comparison error V1 are to be compared with one another.
  • 4.2 Shift sequence of the sample values of the reference signal to the left by ΔT, compare again the first 724 values and form comparison error V2.
  • 4.3 Repeat 4.2 until the specified transit time difference (here 30 ms) is zero.
  • 4.4 Find the smallest comparison error Vx.
  • 4.5 If Vx ≦ match threshold, then
    Match = TRUE
    Otherwise agreement = FALSE.

Claims (27)

Device for detecting the use of radio programs, with - Microphone means (7, 13) for receiving acoustic signals and outputting a reference signal corresponding to the acoustic signal; - Means (12, 43) for demodulating program signals and outputting a useful signal; - Devices (16a) for comparing the reference signal supplied by the microphone devices (7, 13) with the useful signal supplied by the demodulation devices (12) and outputting a respective comparison result; characterized in that - An antenna (5) connected to the demodulation devices (12) is provided for receiving the program signals offered for use; and - The detection device (1) is designed to be portable on the body of a person. Device according to the preamble of claim 1,
characterized by - A sensor (42) connected to the demodulation devices (43) for receiving a local program signal which is emitted by a stationary converter device (4) which is transmitted via Antenna or cable receives broadcast program signals and converts them into the local program signal, - The detection device (1) is designed to be portable on the body of a person. Device according to claim 2,
characterized in that
the local program signal carries a useful signal including program identification information. Device according to claim 2 or 3,
characterized in that - The local program signal is an infrared signal, a radio frequency signal or an ultrasound signal. Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized by that - The demodulation devices (12, 43) include tuning devices and are designed to sequentially demodulate different program signals. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5,
characterized by - Decoder devices (13, 44) for decoding program and / or station identification signals contained in the program signals. Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized by - Storage devices (16b) for storing the comparison results for the respective useful signals compared with the reference signal. Device according to claim 7,
characterized in that - The storage devices (16b) are designed to store information relating to time intervals in which the comparison result output is positive and / or station identifiers in this regard. Device according to claim 7 or 8,
characterized in that
the memory devices (16b) comprise non-volatile memories. Device according to one of claims 7 to 9,
characterized in that
the comparison devices (16a) include: - Means (14, 15) for converting the useful signal and the reference signal into digital signals; and - Digital signal processing devices (16a) which can receive the digital signals and process them to produce the comparison result. Apparatus according to claim 10,
characterized by - Microprocessor means (16d) for controlling the detection process. Device according to claim 11,
characterized by - An interface device (3b) for configuring the device and / or for reading out the memory content. Procedure for recording the use of radio programs with the steps: Receiving acoustic signals and outputting a reference signal corresponding to the acoustic signal; - Demodulation of program signals offered for use and output of a useful signal; Comparing the reference signal with the useful signal supplied by the demodulation devices and outputting a respective comparison result; characterized by the steps - Sampling and converting the first signal or the useful signal into a first or second digital signal; Transforming the first and second digital signals into the frequency domain and forming a first and second digital frequency spectrum, respectively; - Forming the amounts of the first and second frequency spectrum; and - Compare the amount of the first frequency spectrum with the amount of the second frequency spectrum. A method according to claim 13,
characterized by Forming the sum of difference amounts or squares of differences between corresponding frequency components; and - Output a positive comparison result if the sum is less than a threshold. The method of claim 13 or 14,
characterized in that - The threshold value is a function of the mean values of the amounts of the first and / or second frequency spectrum. A method according to claim 13,
characterized by the steps - Detecting the position of at least one local minimum and / or maximum in the first and / or in the second frequency spectrum; Comparing the positions of the extremes detected in the magnitude spectrum of the useful signal with the positions of the extremes detected in the magnitude spectrum of the first signal; and - Output of a positive comparison result if a predetermined number of positions less than or equal to the number of positions detected essentially match. A method according to claim 16,
characterized in that - The positions of a predetermined number of largest local maxima of the magnitude spectrum of the useful signal and the magnitude spectrum of the first signal are compared. A method according to claim 13,
characterized by the steps: - Detecting the positions of a number of local extremes in the first or in the second magnitude spectrum; - Comparing the amount of the first or second amount spectrum, the amount of the second or first amount spectrum at the detected position; and Outputting a positive comparison result if the amounts of the first and second amount spectrum correspond to one another in a predetermined proportion of the number of extreme positions. A method according to claim 13,
characterized by the steps Forming difference amounts between spectral component amounts of the same frequency of the first and second digital signals; Determining a number of difference amounts which are small according to a first fuzzy membership function; and Output a positive comparison result if the number of small difference amounts is large according to a second fuzzy membership function. Method according to claim 19,
characterized by Determining a number of successive difference amounts which are not small according to the first fuzzy membership function; and - Output of the positive comparison result if this number is not large according to a third fuzzy membership function. A method according to claim 19 or 20,
characterized by Detecting first differences between adjacent spectral components of the first digital signal and determining second differences between adjacent spectral components of the second digital signal; Detecting a number of spectral components for which the first and second differences are the same according to a fourth fuzzy membership function; and Outputting the positive comparison result if the number of spectral components for which the first and second differences are small is large according to a fifth fuzzy membership function. 22. The method of claim 21,
characterized by Detecting a number of successive spectral components for which the first and second differences according to the fourth fuzzy membership function are not the same; and Output of the positive comparison result if this number is not large according to a sixth fuzzy membership function. Method according to the preamble of claim 13,
characterized by the steps: - Sampling and converting the first signal or the useful signal into a first or second digital signal; Transforming the first and second digital signals into the frequency domain and forming a first and second digital frequency spectrum, respectively; Multiplying the first signal spectrum by the complex conjugated second frequency spectrum or by the second frequency spectrum to obtain a third spectrum; - Transforming the third spectrum back into the time domain in order to obtain a third signal; - detecting the maximum value of the third signal; and - Output of a positive comparison result if the detected maximum value exceeds a threshold value. The method of claim 23
characterized in that - The threshold value is determined depending on the amplitudes of the reference signal and / or of the useful signal. Method for operating a device according to one of claims 1 to 12, comprising the steps: - In a detection cycle (S3-S8, S11-S13) detect (S6) whether a program signal is used; - Saving (S7) a detected program signal usage; - waiting (S8) until the next acquisition cycle in a state of reduced energy consumption; - In the event that the use of a program signal has been detected in a detection cycle, the following detection cycle begins with the program signal previously detected as used. Method according to claim 25,
characterized by the steps: - At the beginning of a detection cycle, detecting (S2) whether a reference signal with a level above a predetermined threshold is present; and - If the level of the reference signal is below the predetermined threshold, end the detection cycle and wait in the state of reduced energy consumption until the next detection cycle (S9). Method according to claim 25 or 26,
characterized by the steps: - detecting the frequency of use (S45) for each program signal included in the usage detection; and - If no use of a program signal has been detected in the previous detection cycle (S21, S33), the following detection cycle begins with the program signal (S30, S34), which so far has had the greatest usability.

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