Program category selection with filtered data and displayed cascaded cards

• US 5,812,124 A
• Filed: 11/10/1997
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Mataga, Peter Andrew, Eick, Stephen Gregory, Walpole, Rebecca Anne
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Application Number:
  US08/967,721
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326-358, 345/123, 348/7-13, 707/3-7, 707/104
• US Class Current: 725/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

An apparatus and method for presenting a viewer with an overall representation of the present number of entertainment programs available for selection given one week of program schedule data for 300 or more channels and one or more filtering criteria to limit the number of items represented in the overall representation. Sequentially applied filters will filter the group of program schedule data items that has at least 100,000 half hour time slots offered by 300 channels each week into a smaller subgroup where individual consideration of each item of the subgroup can be made in a reasonable time. A set top box drives the display of overall representations or results of filtering criteria on a commercial TV set. Once a reasonable sized subgroup is obtained, other displays provide specific information of the program offerings of the subgroup. Selection of the filtering criteria and selection from within a subgroup is interactively made by a viewer through the use of a controller that looks and operates very much like a TV remote control. This makes the interaction familiar, easy and predictable.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving program schedule data for at least 300 individual channels for a time period of at least a week, said program schedule data having at least 3600 individual program titles with each of said individual titles having a respective start and stop time;

storing said program schedule data in local memory for rapid sorting and retrieval in a database format;

displaying a plurality of vertically cascaded cards with each card representing a respective individual title with its particular start time and channel;

filtering the program schedule data in response to interactive user inputs into a subgroup of the program schedule data;

displaying the subgroup of the program schedule data for the user'"'"'s review; and

interactively selecting an individual title from the subgroup of program schedule data for viewing on a TV screen.

2. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving program schedule data for at least 300 individual channels for a time period of at least a week, said program schedule data having at least 3600 individual program titles with each of said individual titles having a respective start and stop time;

storing said program schedule data in local memory for rapid sorting and retrieval in a database format;

displaying a plurality of vertically cascaded cards with each card representing a respective individual title with its particular start time and channel;

filtering the program schedule data in response to interactive user inputs into a subgroup of the program schedule data;

displaying the subgroup of the program schedule data for the user'"'"'s review; and

interactively selecting an individual title from the subgroup of program schedule data for recording by a video recording device.

3. A method for choosing a desired program from a large schedule of programs whose data is stored in a local memory, comprising the steps of:

displaying a vertically cascaded group of cards with each card representing a program of a particular time and channel;

displaying a selection window located around a subgroup of said group of cards;

displaying a two-dimensional grid adjacent to said vertically cascaded group of cards in which said subgroup of the programs represented by said vertically cascaded group of cards are shown in greater detail;

displaying a first active area within said selection window highlighting one of said subgroup of programs;

displaying a second active area within said two-dimensional grid, said second active area being located around and highlighting greater details of the program highlighted in said first active area;

moving said first active area in a vertical direction in response to vertical direction arrows to a viewer'"'"'s input of a remote control; and

selecting a desired program by moving said active area to said desired program and actuating a select button until said set top box makes said selection.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of

after said active area is moved one location outside of said selection window by inputs from said viewer, moving said selection window to a contiguous subgroup to which said active area has moved.