Navigation Method and System to Provide a Navigation Interface

• US 20100162319A1
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chow, Lee M., Sofos, James T., Piepenbrink, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,196,174 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration

Abstract

A set-top box device includes a processor and memory accessible to the processor. The memory includes instructions executable by the processor to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) at a television coupled to the set-top box device. The GUI includes a bread crumb trail having a selectable category. The memory also includes instructions executable by the processor to receive a signal from a remote control device associated with the set-top box device, the television, or a combination thereof, the signal indicating a selection of the selectable category of the bread crumb trail. Further, the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to cause the GUI to display, in response to the signal, a menu including the selectable category and a peer category related to the selectable category. The menu automatically becomes navigable via directional keys at the remote control device when the menu is displayed.

Claims

1. A set-top box device, comprising:

a processor and memory accessible to the processor, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to;

provide a graphical user interface (GUI) at a television coupled to the set-top box device, wherein the GUI includes a bread crumb trail having a selectable category;

receive a signal from a remote control device associated with the set-top box device, the television, or a combination thereof, the signal indicating a selection of the selectable category of the bread crumb trail; and

cause the GUI to display, in response to the signal, a menu including the selectable category and a peer category related to the selectable category of the bread crumb trail, wherein the menu automatically becomes navigable via directional keys at the remote control device when the menu is displayed.

2. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the directional keys comprise arrow keys, channel keys, volume keys, page keys, or any combination thereof.

3. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the signal received from the remote control indicates a selection of a confirmation key or a menu key at the remote control device while a selector is associated with the selectable category in the bread crumb trail.

4. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to:

causing the GUI to provide a selector in association with a category in the bread crumb trail;

receive another signal from the remote control device indicating a selection of a directional key at the remote control device; and

causing the GUI to visually move the selector to a next category or a previous category in the bread crumb trail in response to the other signal.

5. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the menu comprises a dial menu.

6. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the bread crumb trail is displayed via a menu.

7. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the bread crumb trail is displayed linearly via a hierarchy of character strings.

8. The set-top box device of claim 1, wherein the selectable category is automatically associated with a selector element in the menu and wherein the selector element is movable via the directional keys at the remote control device.

9. A navigation method, comprising:

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) at a television coupled to a set-top box device, wherein the GUI includes a bread crumb trail having a selectable category;

receiving a signal at the set-top box device from a remote control device associated with the set-top box device, the television, or a combination thereof, the signal indicating a selection of the selectable category; and

causing the GUI to display, in response to the signal, a menu including the selectable category and a peer category related to the selectable category, wherein the menu automatically becomes navigable via directional keys at the remote control device when the menu is displayed.

10. The navigation method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a second signal at the set-top box device from the remote control device, the second signal indicating a selection of the peer category.

11. The navigation method of claim 10, further comprising, in response to the selection of the peer category from the menu, changing the bread crumb trail displayed via the GUI to include the selected peer category and to not include any subcategory of the selectable category.

12. The navigation method of claim 10, further comprising displaying a menu including a subcategory related to the peer category in response to the second signal.

13. The navigation method of claim 10, further comprising displaying content related to the selected peer category via the GUI in response to the second signal, wherein the peer category has no related subcategories.

14. The navigation method of claim 13, further comprising retrieving the content from memory at the set-top box device.

15. The navigation method of claim 14, wherein the content comprises video game content, video game session content, electronic program guide information, content related to a purchasable product, content related to purchasable video content, content related to purchasable audio content, or any combination thereof.

16. A computer-readable medium including processor-readable instructions that are executable by a processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) at a television coupled to a set-top box device, wherein the GUI includes a bread crumb trail having a selectable category related to data stored at an address in a memory at the set-top box device;

receiving a signal at the set-top box device from a remote control device associated with the set-top box device, the television, or a combination thereof, the signal indicating a selection of the selectable category; and

causing the GUI to display, in response to the signal, a menu including the selectable category and a peer category related to the selectable category, wherein the menu automatically becomes navigable via directional keys at the remote control device when the menu is displayed and wherein the peer category is related to other data stored at an address in a memory at the set-top box device.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the selectable category and the peer category are related to set-top box device settings, television settings, digital video recorder settings, or a combination thereof.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the selectable category and the peer category are related to recorded video content, recorded audio content, electronic program guide information, or a combination thereof.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the selectable category and the peer category are related to video game content, video game session content, or a combination thereof.

20. A computer-readable medium including processor-readable instructions that are executable by a processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a request at a set-top box device to interact with an electronic storefront application;

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) related to the electronic storefront at a television coupled to a set-top box device, wherein the GUI includes a bread crumb trail having a selectable category related to items purchasable via the electronic storefront;

receiving a signal at the set-top box device from a remote control device associated with the set-top box device, the television, or a combination thereof, the signal indicating a selection of the selectable category; and

causing the GUI to display, in response to the signal, a menu including the selectable category and a peer category related to the selectable category, wherein the menu automatically becomes navigable via directional keys at the remote control device when the menu is displayed and wherein the peer category is related to other items purchasable via the electronic storefront.