Program category selection with filtered data and displayed cascaded cards

• US 5,912,664 A
• Filed: 11/10/1997
• Issued: 06/15/1999
• 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: Walpole, Rebecca Anne, Mataga, Peter Andrew, Eick, Stephen Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Application Number:
  US08/967,626
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326-358, 345/123, 348/7-13, 707/3-7, 707/104, 707/968
• US Class Current: 715/810
• 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. Apparatus for selecting an item from a group thereof in a system having display means and interactive movable pointing means for specifying a location in the display means and making a selection at a specified location, the apparatus comprising:

filtration means including subgroup specifiers in the display means and responsive to selection of a subgroup specifier by the pointing means for filtering the group to produce the subgroup specified by the selected subgroup specifier;

means for displaying representations of group items belonging to at least a portion of the subgroup in the display means;

group item selection means for selecting a group item by selecting the representation thereof in the display in response to the pointing means;

means for displaying a reduced representation of the entire subgroup and an indication in the reduced representation of the portion of the group being presently displayed by the display means;

wherein said reduced representation is a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional representation, the third dimension being location within a logical stack of items having at least one common property; and

wherein each item of a logical stack have viewing timeslot as one common property.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein said interactive movable pointing means includes a remote control having:

a first pair of buttons to control changes in location in the display in a first direction;

a second pair of buttons to control changes in location in the display in a second direction; and

a third pair of buttons to control changes in location within the logical stack.

3. Apparatus for selecting an item from a group thereof in a system having display means and interactive movable pointing means for specifying a location in the display means and making a selection at a specified location, the apparatus comprising:

filtration means including subgroup specifiers in the display means and responsive to selection of a subgroup specifier by the pointing means for filtering the group to produce the subgroup specified by the selected subgroup specifier;

means for displaying representations of group items belonging to the subgroup in the display means;

group item selection means for selecting a group item by selecting the representation thereof in the display in response to the pointing means; and

means for displaying a reduced representation of the entire subgroup and an indication in the reduced representation of the portion of the group being presently displayed by the display means;

said reduced representation displaying means displaying a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional representation, a third dimension being represented as a logical stack of items having at least one common property and;

said interactive movable pointing means includes a remote control having;

a first pair of buttons to control changes in location in the display in a first direction; and

a second pair of buttons to control changes in location in the display in a second direction; and

a third pair of buttons to control changes in location within the logical stack.