Intelligent electronic program guide
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A television system comprising:
- a television network; and
transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, at least one of said multiplicity of subscriber units including;
a receiving unit for receiving said program schedule information from said television network;
a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer;
an intelligent agent for customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide comprising customized program schedule information; and
display apparatus for displaying the program guide.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A subscriber unit for use in a television system including a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the subscriber unit including a receiving unit for receiving the program schedule information from said television network, an icon-based guide generator for producing a program guide including an icon-based hierarchical program guide including the program schedule information, and display apparatus for displaying the program guide, the icon-based hierarchical program guide including a plurality of hierarchically-arranged screens each including at least one icon. Related apparatus and methods are also disclosed.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A television system comprising:
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a television network; and
transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, at least one of said multiplicity of subscriber units including;
a receiving unit for receiving said program schedule information from said television network;
a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer;
an intelligent agent for customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide comprising customized program schedule information; and
display apparatus for displaying the program guide. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 53, 54, 55)
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2. A subscriber unit for use in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the subscriber unit comprising:
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a receiving unit for receiving said program schedule information;
a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer;
an intelligent agent for customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide comprising customized program schedule information; and
display apparatus for displaying the program guide.
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3. A television system comprising:
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a television network; and
transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, the transmitting apparatus comprising a headend, the headend including;
a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units; and
an intelligent agent for customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce customized program schedule information, wherein said transmitting apparatus is operative to transmit the customized program schedule information to said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units, and at least one of said multiplicity of subscriber units includes;
a receiving unit for receiving said customized program schedule information from said television network; and
display apparatus for displaying a program guide comprising the customized program schedule information.
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4. A headend for use in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting customized program schedule information to at least one subscriber unit, the headend comprising:
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a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with said at least one subscriber unit; and
an intelligent agent for customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce customized program schedule information.
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37. A television system comprising:
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a television network; and
transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, each subscriber unit including;
a receiving unit for receiving said program schedule information from said television network;
an icon-based guide generator for producing a program guide comprising an icon-based hierarchical program guide comprising said program schedule information; and
display apparatus for displaying said program guide.
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38. A subscriber unit for use in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the subscriber unit comprising:
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a receiving unit for receiving said program schedule information from said television network;
an icon-based guide generator for producing a program guide comprising an icon-based hierarchical program guide comprising said program schedule information; and
display apparatus for displaying said program guide.
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39. A method for providing a program guide in a television system, the method comprising:
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providing a television network; and
transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, each subscriber unit performing the following steps;
receiving said program schedule information from said television network;
storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer;
employing an intelligent agent to customize said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide comprising customized program schedule information; and
displaying the program guide.
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40. A method for providing a program guide in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the method comprising:
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receiving said program schedule information;
storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer;
employing an intelligent agent to customize said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide comprising customized program schedule information; and
displaying the program guide.
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41. A method for providing a program guide in a television system, the method comprising:
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providing a television network; and
transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, wherein the step of transmitting comprises;
storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units;
employing an intelligent agent to customize said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce customized program schedule information;
transmitting the customized program schedule information to said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units;
receiving, at said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units, said customized program schedule information from said television network; and
displaying a program guide comprising the customized program schedule information.
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42. A method for providing a program guide in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting customized program schedule information, the method comprising:
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storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units; and
customizing said program schedule information based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile, to produce customized program schedule information.
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43. A method for providing a program guide in a television system, the method comprising:
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providing a television network; and
transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, each subscriber unit performing the following steps;
receiving said program schedule information;
producing a program guide comprising an icon-based hierarchical program guide comprising said program schedule information; and
displaying said program guide.
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44. A method for providing a program guide in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the method comprising:
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receiving said program schedule information;
producing a program guide comprising an icon-based hierarchical program guide comprising said program schedule information; and
displaying said program guide.
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45. A headend for use in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting customized program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, the transmitting apparatus comprising the headend, the headend comprising:
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a profile creation unit for creating at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units, based on viewer information associated with said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units; and
a transmission unit for transmitting said at least one viewer preference profile to said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units.
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46. A method for providing a program guide in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting customized program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, the method comprising:
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creating at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units, based on viewer information associated with said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units; and
transmitting said at least one viewer preference profile to said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units.
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47. A method for providing a viewer preference profile in a television system comprising a plurality of subscriber units, the method comprising:
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recording, at a first subscriber unit, a viewer preference profile on a removable medium;
loading, at a second subscriber unit, said viewer preference profile from said recording medium; and
customizing a program guide, at said second subscriber unit, based, at least in part, on said viewer preference profile.
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48. A method for providing audience information to a viewer of a television system, the method comprising:
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collecting viewing data from a multiplicity of viewers of a television system;
computing audience information from the collected viewing data; and
transmitting the computed audience information to a viewer of the television system. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. A method for providing a program guide in a television system comprising a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, the method comprising:
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creating at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer associated with one of said multiplicity of subscriber units, based on viewer information associated with said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units;
creating a customized program guide based, at least in part, on said at least one viewer preference profile; and
transmitting said customized program guide to said one of said multiplicity of subscriber units. - View Dependent Claims (52)
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Specification