System and method for interacting with an internet site

• US 10,038,939 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2014
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Foote, Evan Michael, Davey, Martin Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Weber, Joy M
• Application Number:
  US14/227,013
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: 715719
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for enabling a user to interact with a social networking structure for an internet website on a video device connected to a network enabled host device is provided. The present disclosure provides for accessing an internet site in response to a user input, the user input initiated while outputting a program to a display, retrieving content from the internet site based on at least one characteristic associated with the program, and outputting the retrieved content in an overlay or user interface on the display simultaneous with the program. The user interface provides the ability to access multiple profiles for determining whose content or message to display, and also includes a rotating carousel message display system, with a current message surrounded above and below by a previous message and a next message in the display queue in a different size or font.

Claims

1. A method for displaying messages from an internet site, comprising:

determining by a processor an identity to follow in a network service on the internet based on at least one characteristic of a content associated with a video program, the identity to follow having an account with the network service, the account associated with at least one of an actor, an athlete, a celebrity, or a company;

accessing by the processor the network service in response to a user input received via a user interface, the user input initiated while outputting via a display interface the video program for display on a display device;

following by the processor the identity to follow;

retrieving by the processor on a periodic basis, a message posted to the network service by the identity to follow; and

outputting by the controller via the display interface the retrieved message, at least one previously retrieved message and at least one next message arranged in a vertical column in a first carousel arrangement in an overlay for display simultaneous with the video program;

wherein the retrieved message is displayed in a first size and the previously retrieved message and the next message are displayed in a size different than the first size, and wherein outputting by the controller further comprises including the identity to follow in the overlay in a second carousel arrangement displayed in the overlay with the first carousel arrangement and separate from the first carousel arrangement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes a link to a web site.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes a link to a uniform resource locator (URL).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message includes a link to an identity associated with at least one second account on the network service.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising scrolling of the retrieved message, the at least one previously retrieved message and the at least one next message in the first carousel arrangement in response to a second user input.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity to follow is displayed as a first element, the identity to follow being displayed with at least one previous identity to follow and at least one next identity to follow each displayed as an element different than the first element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the identity to follow, the at least one previous identity to follow, and the at least one next identity to follow are arranged in a horizontal row.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising scrolling of the identity to follow, the at least one previous identity to follow and the at least one next identity to follow in the second carousel arrangement in response to a second user input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining further comprises determining the identity to follow from keywords supplied as data along with the video program.

10. A system for displaying content from an internet site, comprising:

an input signal receiver that includes access to a network service on the internet in response to a user input, the user input initiated while outputting a video program for display on a display device;

a controller, coupled to the input signal receiver, the controller determining an identity to follow on the network service on the internet site based on at least one characteristic of the content associated with a video program, the identity to follow having an account with the network service, the account associated with at least one of an actor, an athlete, a celebrity, or a company, the controller further following the identity and retrieving, on a periodic basis, a message posted to the network service by the identity to follow; and

a display interface, coupled to the controller, the display interface outputting the retrieved message, at least one previously retrieved message and at least one next message arranged in a vertical column in a first carousel arrangement in an overlay output to the display device for display simultaneous with the video program;

wherein the retrieved message is displayed in a first size and the previously retrieved message and the next message are displayed in a size different than the first size, and wherein the overlay output by the display interface includes the identity to follow in a second carousel arrangement displayed with the first carousel arrangement and separate from the first carousel arrangement.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a user interface, coupled to the controller, the user interface allowing scrolling of the retrieved message, the at least one previously retrieved message and at least one next message in the first carousel arrangement in response to a second user input.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the identity to follow is displayed as a first element, the identity to follow being surrounded on each side by at least one previous identity to follow and at least one next identity to follow each displayed as an element different than the first element.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the identity to follow, the at least one previous identity to follow and the at least one next identity follow are arranged in a horizontal row.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a user interface, coupled to the controller, the user interface allowing scrolling of the identity to follow, the at least one previous identity to follow and the at least one next identity to follow in the second carousel arrangement in response to a second user input.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller further determines the identity to follow using keywords supplied as data along with the video program.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the message includes a link to a web site.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the message includes a link to a uniform resource locator (URL).

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the message includes a link to an identity associated with at least one second account on the network service.