PROGRAM GUIDE APPLICATION INTERFACE SYSTEM

• US 20110099573A1
• Filed: 12/30/2010
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UV Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael D., Knee, Robert A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,205,995 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4508 Management of client data or end-user data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7755 the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A program guide system is provided that supports a program guide application and multiple non-guide applications. The program guide system has a program guide application interface that allows the non-guide applications to use both device resources and program guide resources. The application interface maintains a list of registered applications and directs control requests from various applications to the current primary application. The application interface also has a user interface input director that directs keystrokes and other user input commands to the appropriate application. If a keystroke for the program guide application is detected while a non-guide application is running, the program guide application is invoked.

Claims

1-42. -42. (canceled)

43. A method for resolving conflicts between requesting applications implemented on user television equipment, the method comprising:

receiving, with a control request processor, a plurality of requests to access a resource of the user television equipment from a plurality of requesting applications;

identifying, with the control request processor, a conflict between the plurality of requests to access the resource of the user television equipment; and

coordinating the plurality of requests, with the control request processor, to resolve the conflict.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the resource is one of a device resource and a program guide resource.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein identifying the conflict comprises determining that the plurality of requesting applications request access to the resource at substantially the same time.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises:

choosing one of the plurality of requests based on a comparison of the plurality of requesting applications, wherein the chosen request corresponds to a requesting application of a favored type; and

providing the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises:

choosing one of the plurality of requests based on the relative importance of each of the plurality of requests; and

providing the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

48. The method of claim 43, wherein each of the plurality of requests is assigned a weight by its corresponding requesting application, and wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises:

comparing the weights assigned to each of the plurality of requests;

choosing one of the plurality of requests based on the comparison; and

providing the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

49. The method of claim 43 further comprising:

receiving, with the control request processor, a list of resource requirements for each of the plurality of requesting applications;

wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises;

choosing one of the plurality of requests based on the lists of resource requirements; and

providing the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

50. The method of claim 43, wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises:

determining that the resource can be shared by the plurality of requesting applications; and

providing each of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

51. The method of claim 43, wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises:

determining that the resource cannot be shared by the plurality of requesting applications; and

providing one of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

52. The method of claim 43, wherein coordinating the plurality of requests comprises determining that the resource can be shared only through the control request processor, the method further comprising:

providing each of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment through the control request processor.

53. A system for resolving conflicts between requesting applications implemented on user television equipment, the system comprising:

a control request processor configured to;

receive a plurality of requests to access a resource of the user television equipment from a plurality of requesting applications;

identify a conflict between the plurality of requests to access the resource of the user television equipment; and

coordinate the plurality of requests to resolve the conflict.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the resource is one of a device resource and a program guide resource.

55. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to identify the conflict by determining that the plurality of requesting applications request access to the resource at substantially the same time.

56. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

choose one of the plurality of requests based on a comparison of the plurality of requesting applications, wherein the chosen request corresponds to a requesting application of a favored type; and

provide the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

57. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

choose one of the plurality of requests based on the relative importance of each of the plurality of requests; and

provide the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

58. The system of claim 53, wherein each of the plurality of requests is assigned a weight by its corresponding requesting application, and wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

compare the weights assigned to each of the plurality of requests;

choose one of the plurality of requests based on the comparison; and

provide the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

59. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

receive a list of resource requirements for each of the plurality of requesting applications;

choose one of the plurality of requests based on the lists of resource requirements; and

provide the requesting application corresponding to the chosen request with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

60. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

determine that the resource can be shared by the plurality of requesting applications; and

provide each of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

61. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

determine that the resource cannot be shared by the plurality of requesting applications; and

provide one of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment.

62. The system of claim 53, wherein the control request processor is further configured to:

determine that the resource can be shared only through the control request processor; and

provide each of the plurality of requesting applications with access to the resource of the user television equipment, wherein communication with the resource is directed through the control request processor.