Program information display control apparatus and method, remote control device, program, and storage medium

• US 20040148629A1
• Filed: 12/09/2003
• Published: 07/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shibamiya, Yoshikazu, Fukuda, Tetsu, Matsumoto, Yuichi, Mori, Shigeki, Kutsuna, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,620,969 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/53
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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 21/42204 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 21/42209 for displaying non-command information, e.g. electronic program guide [EPG], e-mail, messages or a second television channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42216 for quick navigation, e.g. through an EPG
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

This invention provides a program information display control apparatus and method, a remote control device, a program, and a storage medium, which can simultaneously display the contents and detailed information of specific programs that follow predetermined rules such as a time band, genre, and the like. To this end, detailed program information associated with each of programs to be displayed on an EPG is acquired from an antenna (1101) and tuner (1102). The acquired program information is stored in a memory (1150) via a decoder (1103). A viewer designates programs, details of which are to be displayed, using a remote controller (12), and the memory (1150) is searched for detailed program information of a plurality of designated programs. An image controller (1121) simultaneously displays a plurality of pieces of program information associated with these designated programs at their display positions on the EPG displayed on a display unit (1122).

Claims

1. A program information display control apparatus for controlling display means that displays an electronic program guide, comprising:

information acquisition means for acquiring program information associated with each of programs to be displayed on the electronic program guide;

display control means for controlling the display means to display the acquired program information; and

search means for searching for a program according to a predetermined condition,

wherein said display control means has a first mode for displaying the program information associated with the program in the form of the electronic program guide, and a second mode for displaying the program information associated with the program found by said search means by increasing a program information volume to be larger than a program information volume displayed in the first mode.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display control means displays the program information at a program information display position of the found program on the electronic program guide in the second mode.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when said search means finds a plurality of programs, said display control means simultaneously displays a plurality of pieces of program information associated with the plurality of found programs.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

designation means for designating program information of each program displayed on the electronic program guide; and

designation control means for allowing to designate program information of each program in the first mode, and allowing to designate only program information of the found program in the second mode.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program information is program information of a program which is broadcasted via a wireless or wired communication.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display control means displays the program information of the found program within a display range based on channel information and time band information of the electronic program guide, which is displayed by the display means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program found by said search means is a program, text information of which is not displayed in the first mode.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition includes at least one of a brief program, a broadcast duration of which is within 5 minutes, a program of a designated genre, a program which is to be broadcasted in a designated time band, and a program which includes a keyword in program information thereof.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display control means displays program information to be increased in the second mode as a popup at a corresponding position on the electronic program guide in the first mode.

10. A remote control device for remote-controlling a display apparatus which displays an electronic program guide, comprising:

first designation means for designating to simultaneously display detailed program information of a plurality of programs, which meet a predetermined condition, of programs included in the electronic program guide displayed on the display apparatus.

11. The device according to claim 10, further comprising:

second designation means for designating the predetermined condition, and

wherein said first designation means simultaneously displays detailed program information of a program which matches the predetermined condition designated by said second designation means.

12. A program information display control method for controlling display means that displays an electronic program guide, comprising:

an information acquisition step of acquiring program information associated with each of programs to be displayed on the electronic program guide;

a display control step of controlling the display means to display the acquired program information; and

a search step of searching for a program according to a predetermined condition,

wherein the display control step has a first mode for displaying the program information associated with the program in the form of the electronic program guide, and a second mode for displaying the program information associated with the program found by said search means by increasing a program information volume to be larger than a program information volume displayed in the first mode.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the display control step includes a step of displaying the program information at a program information display position of the found program on the electronic program guide in the second mode.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the display control step includes a step of simultaneously displaying, when a plurality of programs are found in the search step, a plurality of pieces of program information associated with the plurality of found programs.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

a designation step of designating program information of each program displayed on the electronic program guide; and

a designation control step of allowing to designate program information of each program in the first mode, and allowing to designate only program information of the found program in the second mode.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the program information is program information of a program which is broadcasted via a wireless or wired communication.

17. A computer readable storage medium that records a program for making a computer execute the processing steps of a program information display control method of claim 12.

18. A computer execute the processing steps of a program information display control method of claim 12.