Television receiver

• US 6,230,323 B1
• Filed: 09/22/1999
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hama, Yoshinori, Wakamatsu, Takashige, Nonomura, Takaya, Wakisaka, Masako, Awano, Kiyoshi, Shiono, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu, Ngol
• Application Number:
  US09/381,297
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 345/327, 345/977, 345/973, 345/974, 345/347, 345/348, 348/906, 348/554, 348/555, 348/569, 348/570, 348/731-734, 455/3.2, 725/47, 725/43, 725/39
• US Class Current: 725/47
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/973 Scroll tool, e.g. window scroll bar
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/974 Slider control as on-screen object in operator interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/977 Dynamic icon, e.g. animated or live action

Abstract

The present invention relates to a television receiver capable of receiving at least digital satellite broadcasting such as CS broadcasting. The television receiver according to the present invention comprises first means for displaying a plurality of program guides in a matrix shape on a display device utilizing one of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis as a channel number axis and utilizing the other axis as a time axis, and second means for displaying air times for the program guides displayed on the display device in the shape of a bar graph that is long along the time axis.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising display means for displaying a plurality of program guides in a matrix shape on a display device utilizing one of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis as a channel number axis and utilizing the other axis as a time axis, and setting means for causing a user to set an air time range in which the program guides are to be displayed on the display device,

the setting means comprising means for displaying air times corresponding to hours which can be taken along the time axis in an analog manner on the display device, means for causing the user to change the air times displayed in an analog manner on the display device, and means for causing the user to set the air times displayed in an analog manner on the display device as the air time range in which the program guides are to be displayed.

2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the display means comprises means for displaying a part of a program guide list in a predetermined range as the program guides on the display device, and means for scrolling the program guides along the channel number axis and along the time axis in the program guide list in the predetermined range on the basis of a given input signal.

3. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the air time range set by the setting means comprises a clock image representing the start time of the air time range and an image for representing the air time range in relation to the clock image.

4. The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the air time range set by the setting means comprises a clock image representing the start time of the air time range and an image for representing the air time range in relation to the clock image.

5. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the air time range set by the setting means comprises a time series image representing the air times in the shape of a bar graph and an index image representing an arbitrary part of the air time range on the time series image.

6. The television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the air time range set by the setting means comprises a time series image representing the air times in the shape of a bar graph and an index image representing an arbitrary part of the air time range on the time series image.