Method and apparatus for providing favorite station and programming information in a multiple station broadcast system

• US 6,426,779 B1
• Filed: 01/04/1995
• Issued: 07/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Noguchi, Fujio, Blaszkowski, Setsuko Watanabe, Kotabe, Noriko, Kajiwara, Tadashi, Akaike, Kazuhiko, Otani, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US08/369,676
• Time in Patent Office: 2,764 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.544, H04/N.5445, H04/N.550, 348/6, 348/12, 348/13, 348/7, 348/569, 348/552, 348/570, 348/731, 348/734, 348/906, 455/185.1, 455/186.1, 455/168, 725/39, 725/38, 725/52, 725/40
• US Class Current: 348/569
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0016 Indicating arrangements digital indication of tuning in general H03J1/048
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0025 in a remote control unit remote control tuning in general H03J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 9/06 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• 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 21/426 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 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport 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 21/47 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• 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 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• 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 7/17363 : at or near the user terminal

Abstract

An innovative but easy line guide is provided to provide the user of a multiple channel television broadcast system a wealth of programming information in a simple format that is easy to understand. The guide enables the user to easily select a particular program to watch. In e particular, the system provides an innovative mechanism to enable the user to scan program information of channels that the user has designated as his favorite channels. A button is provided that is designated as “favorite”. When the user is in a broadcast guide and selects the button, the system responds by displaying program information regarding the favorite stations at the top of the guide. Thus, the user sees at the top of the list the current programming with respect to his favorite stations, followed by program information for the remaining stations.

Claims

1. In a multiple channel broadcasting system in which programs are broadcasted for display on a screen, a method for generating an on-screen favorite station guide for a user to select favorite channels to view, comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one channel as the user'"'"'s favorite channel;

tuning to a first channel to provide a broadcast of a first program on the screen;

generating a favorite station guide, said favorite station guide consisting of an array of favorite stations, each array element providing a selectable area identifying the channel number, station identification and title of currently broadcasted program of each favorite station;

superimposing the favorite station guide over the broadcast on the screen, such that only a portion of the video of the broadcast is covered by the displayed favorite station guide and the audio is broadcasted;

moving a system pointer displayed on the screen to point to a selectable location on the displayed station guide to point to a second program currently broadcasted on a favorite station on a second channel; and

tuning to the second channel to provide a broadcast of the second program on the screen in response to the movement of the pointer.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the favorite station guide includes a selectable area designated as an exit from the menu function, said method further comprising the step of:

said user moving the pointer on the screen to point to the selectable location corresponding to the exit form the menu function;

said system responding to the movement of the pointer to the selectable location corresponding to the exit from the menu function by tuning the system to broadcast the first channel and removing the favorite station guide from the screen.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

said user indicating selection of the second channel; and

said system responding to the selection of the second channel by removing the favorite station guide from the screen.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a favorite station selection menu of available channels which is displayed on the screen, said menu having a plurality of selectable areas, each selectable area corresponding to one available channel; and

said user moving the pointer over corresponding selectable areas of the screen to select available channels as favorite stations, said selected channels displayed in subsequent displays of the favorite station guide.

5. A multiple channel broadcasting system in which programs are broadcasted for display on a screen comprising,

a favorite station guide, said favorite station guide consisting of an array of favorite stations, each array element providing a selectable area identifying the channel number, station identification and title of currently broadcasted program of each favorite station, said favorite station guide superimposed over a broadcast of a first program on a first channel on the screen, such that only a portion of the video of the broadcast is covered by the displayed favorite station guide and the audio is broadcasted;

a pointer control device manipulated by a user, said pointer control device moving a system pointer displayed on the screen to point to a selectable location on the displayed station guide to point to a second program currently broadcasted on a favorite station on a second channel; and

said system responding to the movement of the pointer to the selectable location by tuning the second channel to provide a broadcast of a second program on the screen.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein;

the favorite station guide further includes a selectable area designated as an exit from the menu function; and

said system responding to the movement of the pointer to the selectable location corresponding to the exit from the menu function by tuning the system to broadcast the first channel and removing the favorite station guide from the screen.

7. The system as set forth in claim 5, further comprising:

means for said user indicating selection of the second channel; and

said system responding to the selection of the second channel by removing the favorite station guide from the screen.

8. The system as set forth in claim 5 further comprising:

a favorite channel menu that displays on a single screen a list of any currently selected favorite channels and a list of available channels, each currently selected favorite channel and available channel having a corresponding selectable area on the display; and

said user using the pointer, adding or modifying favorite channels by selection from the list of available channels.