Scheduler apparatus employing a gopher agent for use in a television receiver

• US 20020023082A1
• Filed: 01/18/2001
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Morrison, Hugh Boyd, Brown, Megan Louise, Wehmeyer, Keith Reynolds, Crosby, Sheila Renee, Miller, Robert Howard, Maze, Kenneth Wayne, Reavis, Jeffrey Philip
• Granted Patent: US 6,983,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4823 using a channel name
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.

Claims

1. In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide list, apparatus comprising:

memory means for storing data representing said channel guide list and for storing user-entered data;

data entry means for entering said user-entered data;

control means for performing a search of said channel guide listing for a match to specific user-entered information;

on-screen display means for displaying text or graphics under control of said control means; and

means for selecting a television program for viewing;

upon successful conclusion of said search, said control means schedules a selection of said television program, or controls said on-screen display means to notify said user of an availability of said television program.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, when television program-descriptive text accompanies said channel guide list, said control means performs a search of said television program-descriptive text for a particular text string which may relate to title, star, director, or context of said television program.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein, in response to user-entered data said control means controls said on-screen display means to display a list of user-entered search criteria, and user-entered instructions for execution after successful completion of each search.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein, said on-screen user-entered instructions for execution after successful completion of each search include instructions to record said television program and instructions to notify the user of an availability of said television program.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, said control means notifies said user of said availability of said television program by modifying a portion of channel guide display relating to said program.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a remote control unit wherein, said user-entered data is entered by means of a screen displayed keyboard operated by selecting keys of said keyboard via cursor commands transmitted by said remote control unit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, said user-entered search criteria form logically-ORed search terms.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, said user-entered search criteria form logically-ANDed search terms.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein, said user-entered search criteria form logical compund statements employing loic operators, such as AND, OR, NOT, or XOR to logically-connect search terms.

10. In a system in which at least program title information for television programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted to form a channel guide list, apparatus comprising:

memory means for storing data representing said channel guide list and for storing user-entered data;

data entry means for entering said user-entered data;

control means for performing a search of said channel guide listing for a match to specific user-entered information;

on-screen display means for displaying text under control of said control means; and

upon successful conclusion of said search, said control means controls said on-screen display means to notify said user of an availability of said television program.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein, when television program-descriptive text accompanies said channel guide list, including the further step of:

performing a search of said television program-descriptive text for a particular text string which may relate to title, star, director, or context of said television program.

11. In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide list, a television program searching method, comprising the steps of:

storing in a memory means data representing said channel guide list and storing user-entered data;

entering said user-entered data via a data entry means;

performing a search of said channel guide listing for a match to specific user-entered information; and

upon successful conclusion of said search, scheduling a selection of said television program, or notifying said user of an availability of said television program.