Apparatus for receiving a broadcast and method for alerting a user of the broadcast

• US 20060172698A1
• Filed: 01/31/2006
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jung, Su Won
• Application Number:
  US11/342,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20060172698A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals

Abstract

An apparatus and method for receiving a broadcast and alerting a user of the broadcast, are discussed. According to an embodiment, the method includes determining if periodic information indicating that a program is periodically broadcast exists in a received broadcast signal; registering the program with program viewing information if the determining step determines that the periodic information on the program exists in the broadcast signal; and alerting a user of a broadcasting time of the program prior to the broadcasting time of the program based on the program viewing information.

Claims

1. A method for alerting a user of a broadcast, the method comprising:

determining if periodic information indicating that a program is periodically broadcast exists in a received broadcast signal;

registering the program with program viewing information if the determining step determines that the periodic information on the program exists in the broadcast signal; and

alerting a user of a broadcasting time of the program prior to the broadcasting time of the program based on the program viewing information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the periodic information is located in a system information (SI) data field of the broadcast signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the SI data field is a user private descriptor field associated with SI data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the program viewing information includes at least one of the following:

a name of the program,

a broadcasting time of the program,

a broadcasting channel containing the program, or

a next broadcasting time of the program.

5. A method for alerting a user of a broadcast, the method comprising:

determining if periodic information indicating that a program is periodically broadcast exists in a received broadcast signal and if a program is played for at least a specified amount of time;

registering the program with program viewing information, if the determining step determines that the program is a periodically broadcast program and is played for at least the specified amount of time; and

alerting a user of the program before the program begins based on the program viewing information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the periodic information is located in a system information (SI) data field of the broadcast signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the SI data field is a user private descriptor field associated with SI data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the periodic information on each of programs is expressed as a flag byte in the user private descriptor field.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the alerting step is performed by generating a visual alerting signal and/or an audio alerting signal.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

registering the program with program searching information if the determining step determines that the program is not a periodically broadcast program and is played for at least the specified amount of time.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining if there is a change in the periodic information regarding the program registered with the program searching information; and

registering the program registered with the program searching information, in the program viewing information, if the change in the periodic information indicates that the program is now a periodically broadcast program.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the program viewing information is stored in the format of a list according to a name of the program.

13. A method for alerting a user of a broadcast program, the method comprising:

determining if a program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast, using a broadcast signal;

determining if the program is a program viewed by a user for at least a certain duration of time; and

selectively alerting a user about an upcoming broadcast time of the program based on results of the determining steps.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the selectively alerting step alerts the user about the upcoming broadcast time of the program, if the determining steps determine that the program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast and that the program is viewed by the user for at least the certain duration of time.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining if the program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast includes examining SI (system information) data contained in the broadcast signal.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

storing information about the program as part of program searching information, if the determining steps determine that the program is not scheduled to be periodically broadcast and that the program is viewed by the user for at least the certain duration of time.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the information about the program stored in the program searching information is stored as program viewing information and the program viewing information is used in the selectively alerting step to alert the user, if a periodicity status of the program changes.

18. A broadcast receiving apparatus comprising:

a system information (SI) decoder to parse received SI data;

a storing unit to store information on a program as program viewing information if periodic information indicating whether the program is periodically broadcast is included in the information parsed by the SI decoder;

a controlling unit to examine the program viewing information and to generate a control signal pertaining to an upcoming broadcasting time of the program based on the program viewing information; and

an alerting unit to alert the upcoming broadcasting time of the program based on the control signal received from the controlling unit.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the storing unit stores the information on the program as program searching information if the program received by the broadcast receiving apparatus is displayed for at least a specified amount of time.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the controlling unit outputs the control signal to alert the upcoming broadcasting time of the program, if the SI decoder parses the periodic information on the program associated with the program searching information from the received SI data.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the SI decoder parses the periodic information from a user private descriptor field of the SI data.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the alerting unit is a displaying unit displaying a video signal to a screen and/or a speaker outputting an audio signal.

23. An apparatus for alerting a user of a broadcast, the apparatus comprising:

a controller to determine if periodic information indicating that a program is periodically broadcast exists in a received broadcast signal, and to register the program with program viewing information if it is determined that the periodic information on the program exists in the broadcast signal; and

an alerting unit to alert a user of a broadcasting time of the program prior to the broadcasting time of the program based on the program viewing information.

24. An apparatus for alerting a user of a broadcast, the apparatus comprising:

a controller to determine if periodic information indicating that a program is periodically broadcast exists in a received broadcast signal and if a program is played for at least a specified amount of time, and to register the program with program viewing information if it is determined that the program is a periodically broadcast program and is played for at least the specified amount of time; and

an alerting unit to alert a user of the program before the program begins based on the program viewing information.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the controller registers the program with program searching information if it is determined that the program is not a periodically broadcast program and is played for at least the specified amount of time.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the controller determines if there is a change in the periodic information regarding the program registered with the program searching information, and registers the program registered with the program searching information, in the program viewing information, if the change in the periodic information indicates that the program is now a periodically broadcast program.

27. An apparatus for alerting a user of a broadcast program, the apparatus comprising:

a controller to determine, using a broadcast signal, if a program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast, and to determine if the program is a program viewed by a user for at least a certain duration of time; and

an alerting unit to selectively alert a user about an upcoming broadcast time of the program, based on results of the determining by the controller.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the alerting unit alerts the user about the upcoming broadcast time of the program, if the controller determines that the program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast and that the program is viewed by the user for at least the certain duration of time.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the controller determines if the program is scheduled to be periodically broadcast, by examining SI (system information) data contained in the broadcast signal.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

a storage unit to store information about the program as part of program searching information, if the controller determines that the program is not scheduled to be periodically broadcast and that the program is viewed by the user for at least the certain duration of time.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the controller stores the information about the program stored in the program searching information as program viewing information and uses the program viewing information to alert the user, if a periodicity status of the program changes.