Television graphical user interface that combines electronic program guide with graphical channel changer

• US 6,191,781 B1
• Filed: 09/30/1996
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Deacon, Michael, Chaney, Jack, Blonstein, Steve, Nasledov, Dimitry
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sajous, Wesner
• Application Number:
  US08/720,500
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 348/569, 348/563, 348/564, 348/589, 348/570, 348/906, 348/6, 348/7, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 348/553, 455/5.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.1, 455/4.2, 345/327, 345/342
• US Class Current: 725/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A graphical user interface (GUI) for a TV receiver combines a graphical channel changer with an electronic program guide to enable a user to quickly and seamlessly go from a TV channel selection mode to a TV program selection mode. The graphical channel changer includes a vertical bar composed of channel boxes that contain number and logos of available TV channels. The user may tune the TV system to any one of the TV channels by directing a remote pointing device at the channel box that represents that TV channel. When the user switches to the program selection mode, the GUI transfers to the electronic program guide for displaying vertical program bars arranged in alignment with the channel boxes to show information on TV programs for the TV channels represented by the corresponding channel boxes. Thus, the arrangement of the electronic program guide enables the user to review TV programming information, and then, to select a TV channel that carries a desired TV program by directing the remote pointing device at the channel box for the selected TV channel.

Claims

1. A television (TV) system comprising:

a CPU, and

a TV monitor controlled by said CPU for displaying in a first mode, a graphical channel changer having graphical options for enabling a user to select a TV channel by directing a remote pointing device at said graphical options, and providing a facilitated transition for displaying in a second mode, an electronic TV program guide including said graphical options;

said electronic TV program guide contains a schedule of TV programs for TV channels defined by said graphical options;

said electronic TV program guide is aligned with said graphical channel changer; and

said graphical channel changer is instantaneously and directly transformed into said electronic TV program guide.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical channel changer comprises a guide graphical option for providing transition into said electronic TV program guide.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user directs the remote pointing device at said guide graphical option to transform said graphical channel changer into said electronic TV program guide.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said remote pointing device comprises a guide button for transforming said graphical channel changer into said electronic TV program guide.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical channel changer comprises a graphical channel bar containing graphical channel objects for defining various TV channels.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said electronic TV program guide is displayed by said TV monitor simultaneously with said graphical channel bar when said graphical channel changer is being transformed into said electronic program guide.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said electronic TV program guide comprises graphical program bars containing information on TV programs carried by various TV channels that can be selected in the graphical channel changer mode.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a graphical program bar that contains TV program information for a TV channel is aligned with a graphical channel object that defines the TV channel and can function in the selection of the TV channel.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein said graphical channel objects contain logos of the TV channels and can function in the selection of the TV channel.

10. The system of claim 5, the graphical channel changer further comprising a radio-frequency tuner for tuning the TV system to frequency of a selected TV channel.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said CPU issues a tune command to tune said radio-frequency tuner to said selected TV channel when the user directs the remote pointing device at a selected graphical channel object defining said selected TV channel.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical options of said graphical channel changer enable a user to control said TV monitor to display the TV channel selected by the user.

12. In a television system having a graphical channel selector displayed on a TV monitor for enabling a user to select a TV channel among a plurality of TV channels, and a graphical program guide displayed on the TV monitor for showing a schedule of TV programs, a method of transition from said graphical channel selector to said graphical program guide comprising the steps of:

displaying said graphical channel selector containing graphical channel objects for defining a group of TV channels to enable the user to tune the television system to a selected TV channel by directing a pointing device to a graphical channel object for the selected TV channel, and

drawing program information bars containing TV program information for said group of TV channels, each program information bar containing TV program information for a TV channel being simultaneously displayed and aligned with the graphical channel object defining this TV channel, allowing the selection of a specific TV channel through the selection of said graphical channel object.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

checking position of a cursor on said TV monitor, and

if the cursor is in a predetermined position, automatically changing color of a graphical object displayed in said predetermined position.

14. A graphical user interface displayed on a screen of a monitor, comprising:

a channel selector having channel objects for defining TV channels, and enabling a user to switch a TV receiver to a selected TV channel by directing a pointing device at a channel object defining said selected channel, and

a TV program guide containing program objects for showing TV program information for the TV channels in a TV program selection mode, each program object for a TV channel being simultaneously displayed on the screen and aligned with the channel object for this TV channel.

15. The graphical user interface of claim 14, wherein said channel selector is represented by a vertical bar composed of channel boxes that represent said channel objects.

16. The graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein said program objects are represented by horizontal program bars aligned with the channel boxes for corresponding TV channels and allow tuning to said TV channels thereby.

17. The graphical user interface of claim 16, further comprising a horizontal time bar for indicating time intervals for the TV program information contained in the program objects that may be selected through the use of the graphical channel changer.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 14, wherein said channel selector operates for switching the TV receiver to the selected channel in response to said pointing device.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 14, wherein said interface operates in two modes including:

a first mode wherein the interface includes a display of the channel selector and wherein the display includes a plurality of channel objects for selection by the user to switch the TV receiver, and

a second mode wherein the display further includes a picture of the TV program guide for the plurality of channel objects being displayed in the channel selector.