Method and apparatus for adjusting font size in an electronic program guide display

• US 20050193337A1
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Published: 09/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujio Noguchi, Kazuto Mugura
• Original Assignee: Fujio Noguchi, Kazuto Mugura
• Inventors: Mugura, Kazuto, Noguchi, Fujio
• Application Number:
  US11/074,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20050193337A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/269
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits

Abstract

A method and apparatus for adjusting font size in an electronic program guide display are provided. A multiple channel broadcasting system generates an electronic program guide identifying channels and corresponding programs in a broadcasting system. The broadcast system determines a number of characters to be displayed in an area of an electronic program guide. The broadcast system determines a number of display pixels available for display of the characters. The broadcast system adjusts the font size of the characters to display the number of characters within the number of pixels available.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A method comprising:

resizing text describing a program displayed with an electronic program guide (EPG) to fit in a fixed size window on the display; and

displaying the text within the fixed sized window.

25. The method claim 24, wherein the resizing of the text is controlled by an amount of the text.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the resizing of the text is conducted automatically.

27. The method claim 24, wherein the resizing of the text comprises

determining an amount of characters of the text being displayed within the fixed sized window;

determining an amount of display pixels available within the fixed sized window, the display pixels being used to display characters of the text within the fixed sized window of the display; and

adjusting a font size of the characters to be displayed within the fixed sized window of the display based on the determined amount of characters of the text to be displayed within the fixed sized window and the determined amount of display pixels available within the fixed sized window.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein a maximum number of characters to be displayed within the fixed sized window is 256.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein multiple font sizes are available for displaying the characters of the text within the fixed sized window.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the adjusting the font size includes adjusting the font size to a largest font size among a plurality of different font sizes if the determined amount of characters to be displayed is less than a first predetermined number of characters.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the adjusting the font size includes adjusting the font size to a font size that is in between a largest font size and a smallest font size among a plurality of different font sizes if the determined amount of characters to be displayed is more than a first predetermined number of characters and less than a second predetermined number of characters.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the adjusting the font size includes adjusting the font size to a smallest font size among a plurality of different font sizes if the determined amount of characters to be displayed is greater than the second predetermined number of characters.

34. A broadcast system comprising:

a memory to store text describing a program; and

a processor to resize the text to fit in a fixed sized window for display.

35. The broadcast system of claim 34, wherein the processor is adapted to control display of an electronic program guide (EPG) and the program.

36. The broadcast system of claim 34, wherein the processor to resize the text automatically.

37. The broadcast system of claim 34, wherein the processor to resize the text based on an amount of the text.

38. The broadcast system of claim 37, wherein the processor is to determine an amount of characters of the text to be displayed within the fixed sized window, to determine an amount of display pixels available within the fixed sized window, the display pixels being used to display characters within the fixed sized window, and to adjust a font size of the characters to be displayed within the fixed sized window dictated by the determined amount of characters of the text to be displayed within the fixed sized window and the determined amount of display pixels available within the fixed sized window.

39. The broadcast system of claim 38, wherein the processor controls the font size to be optimized for the fixed sized window so that a maximum number of characters are displayed within the fixed sized window using the optimized font size.

40. The broadcast system of claim 39, wherein the processor adjusts the font size to be a largest font size among a plurality of different font sizes if the determined amount of characters to be displayed is less than a first predetermined number of characters.

41. The broadcast system of claim 40, wherein the processor adjusts the font size to be a font size that is in between a largest font size and a smallest font size among the plurality of different font sizes if the determined amount of characters to be displayed is more than the first predetermined number of characters being 180 characters and less than a second predetermined number of characters.

42. A machine-readable medium providing software executed by a processor to cause the processor to perform an operation, comprising:

resizing text describing a program adapted for display for placement within a fixed sized window on a display, the resizing of the text is dictated by the amount of text; and

displaying the text within the fixed sized window along with the program and an electronic program guide.

43. The machine-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the software when executed by the processor further determines a first amount of characters of the text be displayed within the fixed sized window, determines a second amount of display pixels available within the fixed sized window, the display pixels being used to display characters of the text within the fixed sized window of the display, and adjusts a font size of the characters to be displayed within the fixed sized window of the display based on the first determined amount of characters and the second determined amount of display pixels.