Method and system enabling Web content searching from a remote set-top control interface or device

• US 20060136383A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Golla, Prasad
• Application Number:
  US11/017,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20060136383A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for conducting a data search operation for content stored at nodes on a network includes a menu interface for enabling an interaction sequence of content category selection and definition-narrowing of those categories selected, a server application for interpreting the interaction sequence and for formulating a search query based on the interpretation, and a session application for submitting the query to a third party node, and for receiving and filtering results returned, the results forwarded to the menu interface for subsequent display and interaction. The network may combine wireless and land-based telephone, Internet, cable and satellite television.

Claims

1. A system for conducting a data search operation for content stored at nodes on a network, comprising:

a menu interface for enabling an interaction sequence of content category selection and definition-narrowing of those categories selected;

a server application for interpreting the interaction sequence and for formulating a search query based on the interpretation; and

a session application for submitting the query to a third party node, and for receiving and filtering results returned, the results forwarded to the menu interface for subsequent display and interaction.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the content searched includes video, audio, or image content.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the terminal is a cable television or a set-top box, the menu controlled via a remote control device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the third party node is a link server hosted by a network data search engine and service provider.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the third party node is a content server hosted by a content service provider.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the provider information regarding service integration is provided with returned results.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the results are universal resource locators invoke able to stream or download content.

7. A method for searching a network for content including steps for:

(a) in an interactive content menu accessible from a terminal, selecting a content category categories offered;

(b) repeating content category selection one or more times from subsequent content menu screens resulting from previous selections;

(d) formulating a search query based on data describing the content selection sequence;

(e) submitting the search query to one or more search engines;

(f) receiving results from the one or more search engines;

(g) optimizing the received results against a set of rules; and

(h) forwarding the optimized results to the television terminal for display and further interaction in a subsequent menu screen.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (a), selection is performed using scroll and enter indicia of a remote control device.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (b), each subsequent category more narrowly defines content selected.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (d), the query is formed according to rules associated with third party criteria for query execution in a search engine.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (f), the one or more search engines return results in the form of hyperlinks.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (f), at least one of the search engines is local to the terminal and searches local stores for selected content.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (g), optimizing includes completing the URL path to the content rendering the URL invoke able to initiate content streaming or download and display.

14. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (g), optimizing includes filtering results to eliminate duplicate hyperlinks.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein in step (h), the results include additional information about service subscription to the provider of the content.

17. A filtering application for optimizing universal resource locators returned from a search engine comprising:

a first portion for eliminating duplicate universal resource locators that point to a same content resource;

a second portion for eliminating universal resource locators that are not relevant to a certain degree to search subject matter; and

a third portion for appending network path information to the universal resource locators to enable invocation of the links for initiating streaming of or download and display of the associated content.

18. The filtering application of claim 17 used in a proxy content search operation initiated from a cable or satellite television terminal using a remote control device.

19. The filtering application of claim 18 wherein the portion of the network path appended to a universal resource locator is derived manually by viewing source code data associated with the information page containing the final path to the stored content.

20. The filtering application of claim 18 wherein the final path information is appended by automated process based on knowledge of the store location of the content.