Electronic television program guide schedule system and method

• US 6,373,528 B1
• Filed: 09/10/1999
• Issued: 04/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TV Guide Incorporated (Adeia Inc.), United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.), TCI-TVGOS INC
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Backer, George, Spell, Dave, Rogers, Rosetta, Bennington, Gerard E., Davis, Bruce, Cooper, Bill, Green, Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US09/393,955
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.550, 348/569, 348/570, 348/564, 348/906, 348/12, 348/7, 725/39, 725/40, 725/44, 725/61, 725/38
• US Class Current: 348/569
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• 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 21/43 Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• 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 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/4786 : e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• 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 21/4828 : for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 : Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• 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 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transmit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and television program schedule information. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and program schedule information from the memory and displays a portion of the program schedule information in overlaying relationship with a television program appearing on a television channel in at least one mode of operation of the television programming guide. The data processor controls the video display generator with video control commands, issued in response to the user control commands, to display program schedule information for any chosen one of the plurality of television programs in overlaying relationship with at least one television program then appearing on any chosen one of the plurality of channels on the television receiver.

Claims

1. An electronic program schedule system for providing a user with an opportunity to view multiple air times for a program, comprising:

means for providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

means for receiving the program schedule information with an electronic program schedule system;

means for providing the user with an opportunity to select the at least one program; and

means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times of the selected at least one program with the electronic program schedule system.

2. The system defined in claim 1 wherein:

the means for providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program comprises means for providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program; and

the means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times with the electronic program schedule system comprises means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the at least one pay-per-view program with the electronic program schedule system.

3. An electronic program schedule system for providing a user with an opportunity to select a particular air time of a program to perform a function associated with the program, comprising:

a video display generator;

a remote controller;

a microcontroller programmed to (1) direct the video display generator to simultaneously display multiple air times for a program, (2) provide the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the program with the remote controller, and (3) perform the function associated with the selected at least one of the multiple air times.

4. The system defined in claim 3 wherein:

the program is a pay-per-view program; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to order the pay-per-view program.

5. An electronic program schedule system for providing a user with an opportunity to view multiple air times for a program, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

a video display generator;

a remote controller;

a microcontroller programmed to (1) provide the user with an opportunity to select the at least one program with the remote controller, and (2) to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the plurality of air times of the selected at least one program.

6. The system defined in claim 5 wherein:

the program schedule information includes a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program; and

the microcontroller is programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the plurality of air times for the at least one pay-per-view program.

7. A method for use in an electronic program schedule system comprising:

receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one program; and

simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one program.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein:

receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program comprises receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program;

providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one program comprises providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one pay-per-view program; and

simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one program comprises simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one pay-per-view program.

9. An electronic program schedule system comprising:

means for receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

means for providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one program; and

means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one program.

10. The system defined in claim 9 wherein:

the means for receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program comprises means for receiving program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program;

the means for providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one program comprises means for providing a user with an opportunity to select the at least one pay-per-view program; and

the means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one program comprises means for simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one pay-per-view program.

11. An electronic program schedule system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

a remote controller;

a video display generator; and

a microcontroller programmed to (1) provide a user with an opportunity to select the at least one program with the remote controller, and (2) direct the video display generator to simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the selected at least one program.

12. The system defined in claim 11 wherein:

the program schedule information includes a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program; and

the microcontroller is programmed to (1) provide a user with an opportunity to select the at least one pay-per-view program, and (2) direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the plurality of air times for the selected at least one pay-per-view program.

13. A method for providing a user with an opportunity to select a particular air time of a program to perform a function associated with the program, comprising:

providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneously view multiple air times for a program;

providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the program; and

performing the function associated with the selected at least one of the multiple air times.

14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein:

providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneously view multiple air times for a program comprises providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneously view multiple air times for a pay-per-view program;

providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for program comprises providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the pay-per-view program; and

performing the function associated with the selected at least one of the multiple air times comprises ordering the pay-per-view program.

15. A method for providing a user with an opportunity to view multiple air times for a program, comprising:

providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program;

receiving the program schedule information with an electronic program schedule system;

providing the user with an opportunity to select the at least one program; and

simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times of the selected at least one program with the electronic program schedule system.

16. The method defined in claim 15 wherein:

providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one program comprises providing program schedule information including a plurality of air times for at least one pay-per-view program; and

simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times with the electronic program schedule system comprises simultaneously displaying the plurality of air times for the at least one pay-per-view program with the electronic program schedule system.

17. An electronic program schedule system for providing a user with an opportunity to select a particular air time of a program to perform a function associated with the program, comprising:

means for providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneouly view multiple air times for a program;

means for providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the program; and

means for performing the function associated with the selected at least one of the multiple air times.

18. The system defined in claim 17 wherein:

the means for providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneously view multiple air times for a program comprises means for providing the user with an opportunity to simultaneously view multiple air times for a pay-per-view program;

the means for providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the program comprises means for providing the user with an opportunity to select at least one of the multiple air times for the pay-per-view program; and

the means for performing the function associated with the selected at least one of the multiple air times comprises means for ordering the pay-per-view program.