Recommender system using "fuzzy-now" for real-time events

• US 20020108113A1
• Filed: 12/06/2000
• Published: 08/08/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sisvel S.p.A. (Fineur International S.A.)
• Original Assignee: Philips Electronics North America Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Trovato, Karen I., Kurapati, Kaushal, Schaffer, J. David
• Granted Patent: US 7,017,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• 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 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Real-time events are electronically recommended using a fuzzy-now function of time. Real-time experiencing apparatus can be automatically tuned to a particular real-time event using a surf ring related to recommendations or automatically without a user request.

Recommendations can be presented on a remote control device.

Claims

1. Apparatus for selecting real-time events for presentation to a user, the apparatus comprising

at least one user interface mechanism adapted to interact with the user;

and

a processing device adapted to perform the following operations;

choosing at least one real-time event based upon at least one criterion, the criterion being modified in a time-varying fashion that takes into account a fuzzy-now; and

presenting the at least one real-time event to the user at the user interface mechanism.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a determination of the criterion includes multiplying a recommendation by a fuzzy-now weighting function.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the recommendation is a function of a user profile.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the recommendation is a function of a user-selected category.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the fuzzy-now weighting function is a function of the current time and at least two of:

start time of the show, end time of the show, and duration of the show.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the criterion is a function of

a minimum recommendation value for a show,

a maximum recommendation value of the show,

a current time,

a start time of the show, and

an end time of the show or a duration of the show.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a remote and the processing device is internal to the remote.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real-time event comprises broadcast or transmitted content.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real-time event is located at an assembly location external to a present locus of user activity.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein presenting occurs via a surf ring in which only recommended real-time events are assigned to the surf ring.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein presenting occurs via a graphical user interface including an EPG.

13. The remote control device of claim 12 wherein the information is a recommendation of content to be experienced by the user.

14. The remote control device of claim 13, wherein the content is a television show and the consumer electronics device is a television.

15. The remote control device of claim 13, wherein the content is a real-time Internet event and the consumer electronics device is an Internet browsing device.

16. The remote control device of claim 12, wherein the information comprises an electronic program guide.

17. The remote control device of claim 13, wherein the information comprises a list of recommendations of content to be experienced.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein

the apparatus is a TV;

the communication facility comprises at least one of an antenna or a cable connection; and

the user interface mechanism comprises a television screen.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user input is a channel up button actuation, but the automatic tuning does not go to the next channel up in sequence from a current channel.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user input is a channel down button actuation, but the automatic tuning does not go to the next channel down in sequence from a current channel.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user input is a power on actuation and the automatic tuning does goes neither to a last channel previously viewed nor to a default channel.

12. A remote control device for use with a consumer electronics device, comprising

a display adapted to provide user interface elements to the user;

a communication outlet adapted to communicate with the consumer electronics device; and

a processor adapted to

determine information regarding data content available to be experienced using the consumer electronics device; and

cause the display to communicate the information to the user.

18. A-content experiencing apparatus comprising:

at least one user interface mechanism adapted to perform the following operations;

provide the content to the user; and

receive input from the user;

a communication facility adapted to receive the content from an external provider;

a tuning facility for selecting the content to be received via the communication facility; and

a processor adapted to perform the following operations

calculating at least one recommended piece of content from amongst a plurality of available pieces of content; and

in response to a user input that does not contain either a specific tuning specification or a request for recommendation, automatically tuning the tuning facility to receive the recommended piece of content.