Scheduler apparatus employing a gopher agent

• US 6,216,264 B1
• Filed: 07/25/1996
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Brown, Megan Louise, Crosby, Sheila Renee, Miller, Robert Howard, Maze, Kenneth Wayne, Morrison, Hugh Boyd, Wehmeyer, Keith Reynolds, Reavis, Jeffrey Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US08/687,285
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 348/563, 348/564, 348/565, 348/569, 348/570, 348/906, 348/10, 348/7, 348/1, 348/734, 358/86, 358/142, 345/327, 725/53, 725/52
• US Class Current: 725/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• 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 21/4823 using a channel name
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.

Claims

1. In a video apparatus in which channel guide information for programs is processed to form a channel guide, a method of searching and displaying one or more programs comprising:

displaying said channel guide in a grid format comprising channel information on one axis and time information on another axis, each grid in said format representing a respective program to be shown on a respective channel and a respective time period as indicated by said respective axes;

entering a search criteria;

performing a search of said channel guide information for a first program that satisfies said entered search criteria;

highlighting said first program in said channel guide having said grid format; and

highlighting, in response to a subsequent user entry, a second program that satisfies said entered search criteria in said channel guide having said grid format, wherein said second program always appears at a position which is one of later in time than the first program, and in a subsequent channel to that of the first program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said entered search criteria may relate to title, star, director, topic, theme, or context of a program.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said method further comprising the step of displaying said user entered search criteria concurrently with said channel guide.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said method further comprising the step of selecting a user instruction for execution after successful completion of said search.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said user instruction is to record said first program.

6. In a video apparatus in which channel guide information for programs is processed to form a channel guide, apparatus comprising:

control means for displaying said channel guide in a grid format comprising channel information on one axis and time information on another axis, each grid in said format representing a respective program to be shown on a respective channel and a respective time period as indicated by said respective axes;

data entry means for entering a search criteria;

said control means, in response to said entered search criteria, performs a search of said channel guide information for a first program that satisfies said entered search criteria;

said control means highlights said first program in said channel guide having said grid format; and

highlights, in response to a subsequent user entry, a second program that satisfies said entered search criteria in said channel guide having said grid format, wherein said second program always appears at a position which is one of later in time than the first program, and in a subsequent channel to that of the first program.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said search criteria may relate to title, star, director, topic, theme, or context of a program.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said user entered search criteria is displayed concurrently with said channel guide.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the second program is latter in time than the first program.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein a user may select a user instruction for execution by said control means after successful completion of said search.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said user instruction is to record said first program.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said user instruction is to notify a user of an availability of said first program.

13. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein, said user-entered criteria is entered by means of a screen displayed keyboard operated by selecting keys of said data entry means.