Method and apparatus for displaying personal schedules on a television

• US 20080022312A1
• Filed: 07/19/2006
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Benco, David S., Sheen, Baoling S., Voight, Kenneth J., True, Sandra L., Overend, Kevin J.
• Application Number:
  US11/489,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20080022312A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4113 PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A method of displaying a user'"'"'s personal schedule on a television set is provided. The method comprises receiving the user'"'"'s personal schedule via a scheduling program residing on a personal computer, wherein the personal computer is networked with the television set; determining whether a scheduled event for the user is coming up; retrieving the scheduled event information and sending it over to the television set via a network interface between the computer and the television set; and displaying the scheduled event information on the television set without interrupting the current television program.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a user'"'"'s personal schedule on a television set comprising:

receiving the user'"'"'s personal schedule and storing the user'"'"'s personal schedule in a contact database residing on a personal computer, wherein the personal computer is networked with one or more television sets;

determining whether a scheduled event for the user is coming up;

retrieving information concerning the scheduled event from the contact database; and

transferring the scheduled event information to at least one of the television sets in a given data format via a network interface between the personal computer and the one or more television sets.

2. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising displaying the scheduled event information on one or more television sets without interrupting a current television program being shown on the one or more television sets.

3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s personal schedule is also stored in a handheld device that is periodically synchronized with the personal computer.

4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein the handheld device comprises a Palm device, a Pocket PC or BlackBerry device.

5. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the given data format comprises XML, HTML or Java.

6. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising displaying the user'"'"'s personal schedule for the day when a designated television set is first turned on.

7. An apparatus for displaying a user'"'"'s personal schedule on a television set comprising:

receiving means for receiving the user'"'"'s personal schedule and storing the user'"'"'s personal schedule in a contact database residing on a personal computer, wherein the personal computer is networked with one or more television sets;

determining means for determining whether a scheduled event for the user is coming up;

retrieving means for retrieving information concerning the scheduled event from the contact database; and

transferring means for transferring the scheduled event information to at least one of the television sets in a given data format via a network interface between the personal computer and the one or more television sets.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, further comprising displaying means for displaying the scheduled event information on the television set without interrupting the current television program.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein the user'"'"'s personal schedule is also stored in a handheld device that is periodically synchronized with the personal computer.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein the handheld device comprises a Palm device, a Pocket PC or BlackBerry device.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10, wherein the given data format comprises XML, HTML or Java.

12. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system having an operating system, the article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied thereon for causing a user'"'"'s personal schedule to be displayed on a television set, the computer readable program code means comprising:

computer readable program code means embodied in said computer usable medium for causing the computer system to receive the user'"'"'s personal schedule;

computer readable program code means embodied in said computer usable medium for causing the computer system to store the user'"'"'s personal schedule in a contact database;

computer readable program code means embodied in said computer usable medium for causing the computer system to determine whether a scheduled event for the user is coming up;

computer readable program code means embodied in said computer usable medium for causing the computer system to retrieve information concerning the scheduled event from the contact database; and

computer readable program code means embodied in said computer usable medium for causing the computer system to transfer the scheduled event information to at least one of the television sets in a given data format via a network interface between the personal computer and the one or more television sets.