Smart channel-surfer system
First Claim
1. A method for operating a device selected from the group consisting of a television set, a radio, and an internet computer, said device having associated therewith a signal-responsive tuner for selecting a signal to be received and a detector for detecting the signal being received and producing a current signal representative of said signal reception, said method comprising receiving said current signal in a data processing device, storing, in a computer memory device associated with the data processing device, historical signal data adequate to determine a most received signal for said device, determining, in the data processing device, said most received signal, and signaling the tuner to access said most received signal based on said determination.
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Abstract
The invention provides means and method for monitoring a viewer'"'"'s television use and ranking the channels in order of preference, and then initiating a channel surfing sequence by channel based on order of preference. An apparatus according to the invention comprises a television set, a tuner, a remote control, a receiver for the remote control signals, a computer memory, a microprocessor, a timer and computer instructions. The television set is capable for accessing and displaying a plurality of television channels, one at a time. The tuner is associated with for selecting a channel to be viewed. The microprocessor is associated with the tuner for signaling the tuner to select the desired channel. The receiver is for receiving command signals from the remote control and relaying the command signals to the microprocessor. The computer memory is associated with the microprocessor for storing a historical channel data database adequate to rank the plurality of channels in order of most watched to least watched. The timer signals the microprocessor to update the database with current channel information. The computer instructions are operatively associated with the microprocessor to enable the sequential display of at least a subset of the plurality of channels, one at a time, in descending order, from most watched channel to least watched channel, or in ascending order, from least watched to most watched channel, responsive to command signals from the television remote control.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for operating a device selected from the group consisting of a television set, a radio, and an internet computer, said device having associated therewith a signal-responsive tuner for selecting a signal to be received and a detector for detecting the signal being received and producing a current signal representative of said signal reception, said method comprising
receiving said current signal in a data processing device, storing, in a computer memory device associated with the data processing device, historical signal data adequate to determine a most received signal for said device, determining, in the data processing device, said most received signal, and signaling the tuner to access said most received signal based on said determination.
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9. A method for operating a television set capable of accessing and displaying a plurality of television channels, one at a time, said television set having associated therewith a signal-responsive tuner for selecting a channel to be viewed and a detector for detecting the channel being viewed and producing a current channel signal representative of such channel, said method comprising
receiving said current channel signal in a data processing device, storing, in a computer memory device associated with the data processing device, channel data adequate to represent at least a subset of said plurality of television channels based on time spent viewing the channels, said subset comprising the television channels which are most viewed, providing the data processing device with machine readable instructions to enable the sequential display of said at least a subset of said plurality of channels, one at a time, in an ascending or descending priority sequence, based on time spent viewing the channels, and providing a command signal to the data processing device to execute the machine readable instructions and display a next channel of the at least a subset of the plurality of channels in the priority sequence.
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19. Apparatus comprising
a television set capable of accessing and displaying a plurality of television channels, one at a time, a signal responsive tuner associated with the television set for selecting a channel to be viewed, a microprocessor associated with the tuner for signaling the tuner to select a desired channel to be viewed, a television remote control, a receiver for receiving command signals from the remote control and relaying the command signals to the microprocessor, a computer memory associated with the microprocessor for storing a historical channel data database adequate to rank the plurality of channels in order of most watched to least watched, a timer to signal the microprocessor to update the database with current channel information, and computer instructions operatively associated with the microprocessor to enable the sequential display of at least a subset of said plurality of channels, one at a time, in descending order, from most watched channel to least watched channel, or in ascending order, from least watched to most watched channel responsive to command signals from the television remote control.
Specification