Apparatus for and method of controlling display of electronic program guide

• US 6,005,601 A
• Filed: 02/06/1997
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kohno, Tetsuya, Yuzawa, Keiji, Terasawa, Hideo, Morimiya, Yuji, Akaike, Kazuhiro, Kishitaka, Yuriko, Ohkura, Yukiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIEP, NHON THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/796,679
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 348/7, 348/12, 348/13, 348/96, 348/906, 380/49
• US Class Current: 725/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

Program information can be obtained quickly and accurately. An area X1 on which date and day are displayed is disposed at the left end of a screen and an area X2 in which time is displayed is disposed adjacent to the area X1 in the right-hand side. An area Y in which title of program, etc., are displayed is disposed adjacent to the area X2 in the right-hand side. An area Z in which genre is displayed is disposed adjacent to the area Y in the right-hand side. Information displayed on the respective areas are sequentially arranged in the longitudinal direction. A user can select information of a desired program by moving cursors 100X1, 100X2, 100Y, 100Z of the respective areas.

Claims

1. An electronic program guide display control apparatus for controlling a manner in which an electronic program guide for selecting a program out of a plurality of programs is displayed on a display apparatus, comprising:

data displaying means for displaying a broadcast data of each of said plurality of programs in a first area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in the longitudinal direction;

title display means for displaying a title of each of said plurality of programs on a second area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in the longitudinal direction, said title display means being independently positionable relative to said data displaying means;

first designating means for designating a predetermined one of said displayed broadcast data displayed in said first area;

first changing means for changing display of said second area to include at least one title of a program in accordance with said designated broadcast data;

second designating means for designating a predetermined one of said displayed titles displayed in said second area; and

second changing means for changing display of said first area to include at least one broadcast data of a program in accordance with said designated displayed title.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said title display means displays titles of said plurality of programs in the longitudinal direction in the sequential order of channel number.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said data display means displays for each of said plurality of programs, a date and a time of said broadcast data on independent areas.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said data displaying means displays a broadcast date of said broadcast data of each of said plurality of programs that has already passed in a different display fashion.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said designating means further includes inhibiting means for inhibiting a broadcast date of said broadcast data of each of said plurality of programs that has already passed from being designated.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said title display means includes a starting time and a finishing time corresponding to each of said plurality of programs.

7. The electronic program guide display control apparatus according to claim 1, in which said title display means includes a channel number and a station logo corresponding to each of said selected programs.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising genre display means for displaying a genre of each of said plurality of programs on a third area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of said display apparatus in the longitudinal direction.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, in which said changing means changes display on said second area to include at least one title of a program of a designated genre when a predetermined one genre of said genres on said third area is designated.

10. The electronic program guide display control apparatus according to claim 8, in which said genre includes a movie genre, a sport genre, a news genre, a drama genre, a music genre, a children genre, a preference genre, a present-channel genre and/or a book-mark genre.

11. An electronic program guide display control method for controlling a manner in which an electronic program guide for selecting a program out of a plurality of programs is displayed on a display apparatus, comprising the steps of:

displaying a broadcast data of each of said plurality of programs in a first area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in a longitudinal direction;

displaying a title of each of said plurality of programs on a second area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in a longitudinal direction, said second area being independently positionable relative to said displayed broadcast data;

displaying a genre of each of said plurality of programs in a third area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in a longitudinal direction, said third area being independently positionable relative to said first area and said second area;

designating one of said displayed genres on said third area; and

changing display of said second area to include at least one title of a program corresponding to said designated genre.

12. An electronic program guide display control method for controlling a manner in which an electronic program guide for selecting a program out of a plurality of programs is displayed on a display apparatus, comprising the steps of:

displaying a broadcast data of each of said plurality of programs in a first area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in the longitudinal direction;

displaying a title of each of said plurality of programs on a second area of a plurality of areas which result from dividing a display area of each of said plurality of programs on said display apparatus in the longitudinal direction, said second area being independently positionable relative to said displayed broadcast data;

designating a predetermined one of said displayed broadcast data displayed in said first area;

changing display of said second area to include at least one title of a program in accordance with said designated broadcast data;

designating a predetermined one of said at least one displayed titles displayed in said second area; and

changing the display of said first area to include at least one broadcast data of a program in accordance with said designated displayed title.

13. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

selecting a program corresponding to one of said titles displayed on said second area;

displaying a picture corresponding to said selected program on a screen when said program is being broadcasted at an associated broadcast date; and

displaying a program information corresponding to said selected program on said screen when said program in not being broadcasted.

14. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 13, wherein said program information includes broadcast date and contents information corresponding to said selected program.

15. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 13, wherein when said selected program is not being broadcasted, command icons are displayed on said screen.

16. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 12, wherein a broadcast date of each of said plurality of programs that has already passed is inhibited from being designated.

17. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 15, wherein said command icons include a return icon, a bookmark icon, a timer icon and a purchase icon.

18. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 12, wherein the title of each of said plurality of programs are displayed in a longitudinal direction in a sequential order of a channel number.

19. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 12, wherein a date and a time of said broadcast data are displayed on independent areas.

20. The electronic program guide display control method according to claim 12, wherein a broadcast date of each of said plurality of programs that has already passed is displayed in a different display fashion.