Digital parental controls interface

• US 10,231,019 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Black wave Adventures, LLC
• Original Assignee: Black wave Adventures, LLC
• Inventors: Cobb, Daniel B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Ngoc K
• Application Number:
  US14/384,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: 345660, 705 1461, 705 2614, 725 13, 725134, 725 25, 725 28, 725 47, 725 58, 725 85, 725 9
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children

Abstract

A digital parental controls system and interface that limits media content from being viewed by using a rated numerical value system. Users will be able to block specific offensive content such as nudity without blocking specific content such as violence. This media system will simultaneously work with movies, music and video games.

Claims

1. A digital parental controls system comprising:

a computer;

a program; and

a user interface device for filtering media content,

wherein the program when executed by the computer;

perform a search, based on a user login to a first screen, to determine whether a user is a parent or guardian user or a child user;

if the search indicates that the user is the parent or guardian user, displays a second screen including, in a first area of a first column, a plurality of sliding bars to set respective levels of user-defined content filters relative to a maturity scale for each of a plurality of categories for a first media content type and, in a second area of a second column, a blocking tab and a skip tab for a second media content type, wherein the user-defined content filters define a respective content level for each of the plurality of categories, and at least one of the blocking tab is operative to block streaming content, and the skip tab is operative to skip content parts including at least one of sex, vulgarity, and violence;

if the search indicates that the user is the child user, displays a third screen that prevents the user from modifying the respective levels of the user-defined content filters,

receives pre-existing ratings information and user inputs by the user interface device regarding the respective levels of the user-defined content filters, and

automatically builds a dynamic library of content ratings using pre-existing ratings information and the user inputs from the user interface device.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a media manager module that builds the dynamic library by pulling the pre-existing ratings information from a plurality of sources and propagating fields with user inputs from the user interface device;

wherein the system combines multiple ratings sources into a ratings list and thereafter updates the ratings list;

wherein the system is configured to apply ratings only to individual content portions from the multiple ratings sources, segment the individual content portions from the multiple ratings sources, and block only the individual content portions from the multiple ratings sources; and

wherein the individual content portions are defined as offensive by the user inputs in the fields with user inputs of the user interface device.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a parental controls user interface module.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a filtering module.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rating system module.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a content extraction module to replace offensive content with transition content.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a server in communication with the computer.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first media content type of the first area is from a first source and the second media content type of the second area is from a second source that includes internet streaming content;

and

wherein the system simultaneously filters content from at least three sources according to the user inputs in the fields of the user interface device.

9. A system for computer based digital parental controls, the system comprising:

a user interface device for filtering media content that provides parental controls using

a ranking system that ranks items into degrees of severity; and

a media filtering system that,

performs a search, based on a user login to a first screen, to determine whether a user is a parent or guardian user or a child user,

if the search indicates that the user is the parent or guardian user, displays a second screen including, in a first area, a plurality of sliding bars to set respective user-defined content filters relative to a maturity scale for each of a plurality of categories for a first media content type and, in a second area, at least one of a blocking tab and a skip tab for a second media content type, and

if the search indicates that the user is the child user, displays a third screen that prevents the user from modifying respective levels of the user-defined content filters,

wherein the user-defined content filters define the respective content levels for the plurality of categories.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a server.

11. The system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising

a media extraction system that operates to extract out essential content from a medium, and placing it in an ideal display on the user interface device.

12. A system for filtering media content comprising:

a server that hosts a parental controls software program; and

a user interface device for filtering media content that

performs a search, based on a user login to a first screen, to determine whether a user is a parent or a guardian user or a child user,

if the search indicates that the user is a parent or guardian user, provides a second screen that permits selection of desired content by displaying in a first area a plurality of sliding bars to set respective user-defined content filters relative to a maturity scale for each of a plurality of categories and in a second area at least one of a blocking tab and a skip tab, and

if the search indicates that the user is the child user, provides a third screen that prevents the user from modifying respective levels of the user-defined content filters,

wherein the user-defined content filters define the respective content levels for the plurality of categories.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising an extraction feature to remove undesired content.

14. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising an extraction feature to replace undesired content, then displaying desired content to an output device.

15. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a library of content ratings, the library is dynamic.

16. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a master database of media content.

17. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the system is used with one of a movie, a DVD, or the internet.

18. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the user interface device is operable to show sample content that is available to be viewed by a consumer.

19. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a feature that crawls the internet and captures data relating to ratings of content including movie content.

20. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a capture feature of capturing content from a source, selecting desired content using the user-defined content filter, and then present desired content without caching the desired content.

21. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plurality of categories of the user interface device include each of sex, language, violence, drugs, and nudity,

wherein the blocking tab is configured to block streaming internet content, and

wherein the skip tab is configured to skip content parts including at least one of sex, vulgarity, and violence.

22. A method of a user interface device for controlling media content, the method comprising:

filtering media content in communication with a server having media content, the user interface device providing content control with the following operations;

determining, based on a user login to a first screen, whether a user is a parent or guardian user or a child user;

if the user is the parent or guardian user, displaying a second screen including, in a first area, a plurality of content filter selectors relative to a maturity scale associated with a plurality of content categories and, in a second area, a filtering tab associated with the plurality of content filter selectors, wherein the displaying is in response to a search to determine if the user is the parent or guardian user or the child user,

if the user is the child user, displaying a third screen that prevents the user from modifying the plurality of content filter selectors,

receiving at least two selections from at least one of the first and second areas, and

providing media content while at least one of skipping and blocking portions of the media content in response to the at least two selections.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the plurality of categories include each of sex, language, violence, drugs, and nudity.