Television schedule system with access control
First Claim
1. A method of exercising access control over television programs comprising the steps of:
- entering a criterion for blocking the television programs from being viewed;
displaying a plurality of television program listings in a guide format on a screen;
selecting one of the displayed listings for viewing or recording;
prompting a viewer to enter a password if the selected program meets the blocking criterion;
unblocking the selected program that meets the blocking criterion so it can be viewed or recorded if the viewer enters the password responsive to the prompt;
re-blocking the selected program if a different program is tuned to; and
restoring the blocking criterion after the program is over or the program is no longer tuned to.
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Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A television schedule system with a user interface which allows a user to control access to television programs by time, rating, content, and/or channel. Criteria for blocking television programs from being viewed are entered by a user with a password. A television program listing is selected for viewing or recording from an on-screen program guide. A viewer is prompted on the screen to enter a password if the selected program meets the blocking criterion, If a viewer enters the appropriate password, the selected program that meets the blocking criterion is unblocked. The blocking criterion is restored after the program is over or the program is no longer tuned to. Furthermore, the user may set a limit on pay-per-view (PPV) spending to limit the purchase of PPV programs.
414 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of exercising access control over television programs comprising the steps of:
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entering a criterion for blocking the television programs from being viewed; displaying a plurality of television program listings in a guide format on a screen; selecting one of the displayed listings for viewing or recording; prompting a viewer to enter a password if the selected program meets the blocking criterion; unblocking the selected program that meets the blocking criterion so it can be viewed or recorded if the viewer enters the password responsive to the prompt; re-blocking the selected program if a different program is tuned to; and restoring the blocking criterion after the program is over or the program is no longer tuned to. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for exercising access control over a television program comprising:
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a display screen, means for entering a criterion for blocking television programs from being viewed; means for displaying a plurality of television program listings in a guide format on the screen; means for selecting one of the displayed listings for viewing or recording; means for prompting a viewer on the screen to enter the password if the selected program meets the blocking criterion; means for unblocking the selected program that meets the blocking criterion so it can be viewed or recorded if the viewer enters the password responsive to the prompt; means for re-blocking the selected program if a different program is tuned to; and means for restoring the blocking after the program is over or the program is no longer tuned to. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification