TELEVISION CHAT SYSTEM

• US 20110047487A1
• Filed: 09/13/2010
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: McKissick, Pamela L., DeWeese, Toby, Ellis, Michael D., Thomas, William L.
• Application Number:
  US12/880,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20110047487A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/758
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 : for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 : Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A television chat system is provided that allows television viewers to engage in real-time communications in chat groups with other television viewers while watching television. Users of the television chat system may engage in real-time communications with other users who are currently watching the same television program or channel.

The system allows real-time communications in a chat group to be transmitted between users at user television equipment devices via a television distribution facility. The television chat system of the present invention permits users to join chat groups related to television programs, channels, or categories of programs that the user may be interested in. Real-time communications may be textual messages, audio communications, or video communications.

The television chat system may also allow users to send chat requests to ask other users to enter a chat group. The system also permits users to establish chat groups that television viewers are permitted to join. The television chat system may be based on an interactive television program guide or set-top box application implemented on a set-top box.

Claims

1. A chat system wherein a user at a user television equipment that is connected to a television distribution facility by a communications path may communicate with other users in chat groups, the chat system comprising:

a storage device that maintains chat information data comprising a listing of currently available chat groups;

user television equipment that is operative to receive a first user selection of a particular television program, receive the listing from the storage device encoded digitally in band with the television program signal on a digital channel corresponding to the selected television program over the communications path, store the listing, determine whether there is at least one chat group from the listing that is available for the selected television program, provide the user with an opportunity to join the at least one chat group in response to determining that the chat group from the listing is available for the selected television program, receive a second user selection to join the chat group, and send and receive real-time communications for the chat group over the communications path; and

chat equipment in communication with, or located at, the television distribution facility that is operative to distribute the real-time communications for the chat group.

2. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the selected television program is a current television program being displayed on the user television equipment.

3. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the user television equipment is further operative to provide the user with an opportunity to send a chat request to the other users at other user television equipment to ask the other users whether they wish to join the chat group.

4. The chat system defined in claim 3 wherein the user television equipment is further operative to provide the user with an opportunity to send the chat request only to the other users who are currently watching the selected television program.

5. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the user television equipment is further operative to provide the user with an opportunity to block or to only allow a chat request asking whether the user wishes to join the chat group from at least one of the other users.

6. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein an interactive television program guide that allows the user to participate in the chat group with the other users is at least partly implemented on the user television equipment.

7. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the chat equipment comprises a chat server that is operative to handle real-time textual communications.

8. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the chat equipment is further operative to support real time audio communications or real-time video communications.

9. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the user television equipment is further operative to provide the user with an opportunity to record a chat session.

10. The chat system defined in claim 1 wherein the user television equipment is further operative to provide the user with an opportunity to set a chat reminder.

11. A method for providing chat groups in a chat system in which a user at a user television equipment may communicate with other users in the chat groups, the user television equipment being connected to a television distribution facility by a communications path, comprising:

receiving a first user selection of a particular television program;

receiving chat information data comprising a listing of a plurality of currently available chat groups related to television programming from a storage device and encoded digitally in band with the television program signal on a digital channel corresponding to the selected television program over the communications path;

storing the listing;

determining whether there is at least one chat group from the listing that is available for the selected television program;

providing the user with an opportunity to join the at least one chat group in response to determining that the chat group from the listing is available for the selected television program;

receiving a second user selection to join the chat group; and

sending and receiving real-time communications for the chat group to chat equipment in communication with, or located at, the television distribution facility over the communications path.

12. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the selected television program is a current television program being displayed on the user television equipment.

13. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising providing the user with an opportunity to send a chat request to the other users at other user television equipment to ask the other users whether they wish to join the chat group.

14. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising providing the user with an opportunity to send the chat request only to the other users who are currently watching the selected television program.

15. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising providing the user with an opportunity to block or to only allow a chat request asking whether the user wishes to join the chat group from at least one of the other users.

16. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising partly implementing an interactive television program guide on the user television equipment that allows the user to participate in the chat group with the other users.

17. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the sending and receiving further comprises sending and receiving the real-time communications for the chat group to a chat server at the chat equipment that is operative to handle real-time textual communications.

18. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the sending and receiving further comprises sending and receiving the real-time communications for the chat group to the chat equipment that is operative to support real-time audio communications or real-time video communications.

19. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising providing the user with an opportunity to record a chat session.

20. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising providing the user with an opportunity to set a chat reminder.