Program information broadcasting system, broadcasting device, and receiving terminal unit

• US 6,507,950 B1
• Filed: 10/23/1997
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1996
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaneko, Shigeki, Fujita, Kenichi, Tsukidate, Ryota, Takeuchi, Yoshiyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): YENKE, BRIAN P
• Application Number:
  US08/956,344
• Time in Patent Office: 1,909 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.716, H04/N.5445, 725/23, 725/50, 725/54, 725/39, 725/24, 725/51, 348/906
• US Class Current: 725/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/04 Studio equipment; Interconnection of studios
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• 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 21/8453 by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program
• 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: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems

Abstract

In a program information broadcasting system, it is aimed to minimize time for retrieval of program by viewers in operating an electronic program guide or time for waiting when applying for subscription. As a program information broadcasting system, program elements constituting a broadcasting program are divided into a plurality of items and are turned to data at a center, and a master data 21 of a program information to recognize the program is prepared. From the data constituting the master data, minimal necessary items for preparation of a program table are extracted, and a program basic information 22 is prepared. Said master data and said program basic information are transmitted simultaneously with the broadcasting, and said program basic information is received, reproduced and displayed before receiving of the master data at a receiving terminal unit 31 is completed. As a result, the program basic information having far less amount of data than the master data can be incorporated, and it is possible to minimize the time required for storage of the data in memory of the receiving terminal unit.

Claims

1. A program information broadcasting system, comprising:

means for assembling a master data compilation of program information for recognizing a broadcast program, wherein program elements of said broadcasting program are divided into a plurality of items and are converted to data at a broadcasting center;

means for assembling basic information with a minimum of necessary items sufficient for preparation of a program guide, wherein said basic information is extracted from said data constituting said master data compilation, said program basic information including extracted items of all of programs included in said master data compilation so that the amount of data in said basic program information is considerably smaller than that of said master data;

means for transmitting said master data and said program basic information simultaneously with broadcasting programs; and

means for receiving, reproducing and/or displaying said program basic information before completion of receipt of said master data at a receiving terminal unit.

2. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein, at said broadcasting center, said means for preparing said program basic information is arranged to prepare said program basic information by extracting information with high utilization frequency from said master data.

3. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein said means for preparing said program basic information is arranged to prepare said program basic information by extracting data based on predetermined attributes from the master data of the program information.

4. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 3, wherein the attributes serving as basis for preparation of the program basic information are related to at least one of program category, individual information or service provider.

5. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 4, wherein said means for preparing said program basic information is arranged to prepare a plurality of types of program basic information, and wherein said plurality of types of information are as many as are related to said attributes.

6. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 5, wherein said plurality of program basic information comprise data, which are prepared by turning the attributes serving as basis for preparation of said program basic information to key code and are arranged in a summarized table, and data, which are prepared by arranging identification information of the program extracted using said attributes as basis in a summarized table, whereby said data prepared by turning said attributes to key code and arranged in a summarized table are linked to said data prepared by arranging identification information in a summarized table.

7. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein said means for transmitting said master data and said program basic information is arranged to transmit said master data and said program basic information at cycles that are different from each other.

8. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 7, wherein said means for transmitting said master data and said program basic information is arranged to transmit said master data at a longer cycle than said program basic information.

9. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for preparing program extended information by deleting the data used for preparation of the program basic information from the master data; and

means for linking the program basic information with the program extended information;

wherein said means for transmitting is arranged to transmit said program basic information and said program extended information simultaneously with the transmitting of programs.

10. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 1, further comprising means for preparing mail, and the means for preparing said mail is arranged to broadcast mail from the broadcasting center in addition to transmission of the program information, and said mail is linked to said program information so that the receiving terminal unit can gain access to the linked data of the program information from the received mail.

11. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 10, further comprising means for preparing voting and questionnaire data related to a call function to enable viewers to participate in voting or questionnaire and the voting and questionnaire data are incorporated in the mail to be transmitted.

12. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 11, wherein the means for transmitting is arranged to broadcast a summarized table of mails, and further comprising means at the terminal unit for checking whether the items listed in the summarized table of mails have been already read or not, and means for displaying only the mails not yet read.

13. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 11, wherein the means for transmitting is arranged to transmit an e-mail together with some receiving condition, and means are provided at the terminal unit for checking whether the user of the terminal unit satisfies said receiving condition or not, and the e-mail is displayed only when the user satisfies the receiving condition.

14. A broadcasting device, comprising:

program information data preparing means for dividing program elements, constituting a broadcasting program, into a plurality of items and turning them into data and for preparing a master data list of program information that is adapted to recognize the program;

information retrieval means for retrieving minimal necessary items for preparation of a program guide from the master data list;

program basic information preparing means for preparing program basic information using said minimal necessary items obtained by said information retrieval means, said program basic information including extracted items of all programs included in said master data so that the amount of data in said program basic information is substantially smaller than the amount of data in said master data;

transmission data generating means for converting said master data and said program basic information to transmittable data; and

transmitting means for transmitting said transmittable data.

15. A broadcasting device according to claim 14, wherein there are further provided mail data preparing means separately arranged from said program information data preparing means and used for preparing mail data, and transmission information data base means for integrating the program information data with the mail data and sending to the transmission data generating means.

16. A broadcasting device according to claim 15, wherein said transmission information data base means is arranged to send the integrated data of the program information data and the mail data to the information retrieval means.

17. A broadcasting device according to claim 15, further comprising:

voting and questionnaire data preparing means for preparing voting and questionnaire data and for sending the voting and questionnaire data to the program information data preparing means;

voting data receiving means for receiving voting data including replies from subscribers to questionnaire(s); and

voting data processing means for processing the received voting data.

18. A broadcasting device according to claim 17, wherein said voting and questionnaire data preparing means is arranged to send the prepared voting and questionnaire data to the mail data preparing means.

19. A receiving terminal unit, comprising:

receiving means for receiving a master data list of a broadcast program information;

program basic information preparing means for extracting a minimal number of items necessary for preparation of a program guide from the received master data, and for preparing a program basic information, said program basic information including extracted items of all programs included in said master data so that the amount of data in said program basic information is substantially smaller than that of said master data;

storage means for storing data of said program basic information;

data reproducing means for reproducing data of the received program information and the program basic information; and

control means for controlling various types of operations,

whereby;

when an instruction to display program information is inputted, said control means receives the master data of said program information, and prepares a summarized table of the programs by reading program basic information from said storage means.

20. A receiving terminal unit according to claim 19, wherein said program basic information is prepared by extracting information with a higher utilization frequency from said master data.

21. A receiving terminal unit according to claim 19, wherein said program basic information is prepared by extracting data based on predetermined attributes from the master data of the program information.

22. A receiving terminal unit according to claim 21, wherein said attributes serving as basis for preparation of the program basic information are related to at least one of program category, individual information or service provider.

23. A receiving terminal unit according to claim 22, wherein said plurality of types of program basic information are prepared as many as related to said attributes.

24. A receiving terminal unit according to claim 23, wherein said plurality of program basic information comprise data, which are prepared by turning the attributes serving as basis for preparation of said program basic information to key code and are arranged in a summarized table and data prepared by arranging identification information of the program extracted using said attributes as basis in a summarized table, and said data prepared by turning said attributes to key code and arranged in a summarized table are linked to the data prepared by arranging the identification information in a summarized table.

25. A program information broadcasting method, comprising the steps of:

preparing a master data of program information for recognizing a broadcast program wherein program elements of said broadcasting program are divided into a plurality of items and wherein said items are converted to data at a broadcasting center;

preparing a program basic information list, comprising a minimal number of items that are necessary for the preparation of a program guide, that are extracted from said master data, said program basic information including extracted items from all programs included in said master data so that the amount of data in said program basic information is substantially smaller than the amount of data in said master data;

transmitting said master data and said program basic information simultaneously with broadcasting a program; and

receiving, reproducing and/or displaying said program basic information before completion of receipt of said master data at a receiving terminal unit.

26. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 25, wherein said program basic information is prepared by extracting information from said master data that has a higher utilization frequency.

27. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 25, wherein said program basic information is prepared by extracting data, based on predetermined attributes, from the master data of the program information.

28. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 27, wherein the attributes serving as basis for preparation of the program basic information are related to at least one member of the group consisting of a program category, individual information about an individual subscriber or information about a a service provider.

29. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 28, further comprising preparing a plurality of types of program basic information, wherein there are as many types of program basic information as there are attributes.

30. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 29, wherein said plurality of program basic information comprise data, which are prepared by converting the attributes serving as basis for preparation of said program basic information to key code(s) and arranging them in summarized table form, and preparing data, by arranging identification information of the program(s) extracted using said attributes, as basis in said summarized table, whereby said data prepared by converting said attributes to key code that are arranged in a summarized table are linked to said data prepared by arranging identification information in a summarized table.

31. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 25, wherein said master data and said program basic information are transmitted at cycles different from each other.

32. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 31, wherein said master data are transmitted at a longer cycle than said program basic information.

33. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 25, further comprising preparing program extended information by deleting the data used for preparation of the program basic information from the master data, linking the program basic information and the program extended information and transmitting the linked data.

34. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 25, further comprising linking an e-mail to said program information so that the receiving terminal unit can gain access to the linked data of the program information from the received e-mail, and transmitting said e-mail from said broadcast center in addition to transmitting program information.

35. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 34, further comprising incorporating, in the transmitted e-mail, a data to call function to enable viewers to participate in voting on questionnaire(s).

36. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 35, further comprising broadcasting a summarized table of the e-mails together with said e-mail(s), checking at a receiving terminal unit whether the e-mails listed in the summarized table of e-mails have been already read or not, and displaying only the e-mails not yet read.

37. A program information broadcasting method according to claim 35, further comprising transmitting at least one e-mail together with at least one receiving condition, checking, at the receiving terminal unit, whether the user of the terminal unit satisfies said receiving condition or not, and displaying an e-mail only when the user satisfies the receiving condition.

38. A program information broadcasting system, comprising:

means for preparing a master data of program information for recognizing a broadcast program, wherein program elements of said broadcasting program are divided into a plurality of items and means for converting said items to data at a broadcasting center;

means for preparing a program basic information with a minimal number of items necessary for preparation of a program guide, including means for extracting said items from said data constituting said master data;

means for transmitting said master data and said program basic information simultaneously with the broadcast program; and

means for receiving, reproducing and/or displaying said program basic information before completion of receipt of said master data at a receiving terminal unit;

further comprising;

means to broadcast mail from said broadcast center in addition to transmission of the program information;

means for linking said mail to said program information so that the receiving terminal unit can gain access to the linked data of the program information from the received mail, and

a data to call function that enables viewer(s) to participate in voting and/or questionnaire data incorporated in the mail.

39. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 38, further comprising a summarized table of the mails, means for broadcasting said table, means for checking, at the receiving terminal unit, whether the items listed in the summarized table of the mails have been already read or not, and means for displaying only the mails not yet read.

40. A program information broadcasting system according to claim 38, further comprising a receiving condition that is transmittable with said mails, means for checking at the receiving terminal unit whether the user of the terminal unit satisfies said receiving condition or not, and means for displaying mail only when the user satisfies the receiving condition.