Internet television apparatus

• US 6,622,306 B1
• Filed: 03/04/1999
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Inventors: Kamada, Tomihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoye, Michael W.
• Application Number:
  US09/254,369
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 725/109, 725/110, 725/112, 345/760, 345/854
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/36 characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76202 using a local oxidation of silicon, e.g. LOCOS, SWAMI, SILO H01L21/76235 takes precedence; together with vertical isolation, e.g. LOCOS in a SOI substrate, H01L21/76264
• 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 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 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 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An internet television apparatus which has an internet connecting capability, comprising a means for storing an HTML document received from a Web server, a means for interpreting the HTML document and develops an image on an image memory, a display device on which the developed image is displayed, a means for recognizing anchor tags existing in the HTML document to detect mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on the browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines the positional-relationship, and a control means for determining to which hot spot a focus is to be transferred next from a currently focussed hot spot by referring to the transfer list on the basis of the currently focussed hot spot and a user'"'"'s operation to the operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions, and for transferring the focus onto the determined hot spot.

Claims

1. An Internet television apparatus having an Internet connecting capability, comprising:

a connector for connecting to a Web server of the Internet;

a storage unit for storing a markup language document received from the Web server;

an interpreter for interpreting the markup language document and developing an image on an image memory;

a display device for displaying the developed image thereon;

a wireless remote controller having an operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions for remotely controlling the Internet television apparatus;

a recognizer for recognizing, for each markup language document, anchor tags existing in the markup language document to detect mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on a browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines, for each hot spot, indication of either no hot spot or a hot spot existing next to said each hot spot in respective directions capable of being indicated by said operation key or keys; and

a control unit for determining to which hot spot a focus is to be transferred next from a currently focused hot spot, by referring to said transfer list on the basis of the currently focused hot spot and a user'"'"'s operation to said operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions, and for transferring said focus to the determined hot spot.

2. The Internet television apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a receiver for receiving the markup language document through a telephone line.

3. The Internet television apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a receiver for receiving the markup language document from a data broadcasting.

4. The Internet television apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the focusing is achieved by displaying a cursor placed on a hot spot to be focused on.

5. The Internet television apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the focusing is achieved by an enhancement display of a hot spot to be focused on.

17. The Internet television apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transfer list further defines for one or more of said hot spots, coordinates of at least one diagonal point of said hot spot.

6. An external device to be connected to a television apparatus for providing the same with an Internet accessing capability, comprising:

a connector for connecting to a Web server of the Internet;

a storage unit for storing a markup language document received from the Web server;

an interpreter for interpreting the markup language document and developing an image on an image memory;

a transmitter for transmitting the developed image to said television apparatus;

a wireless remote controller which has an operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions and remotely control said external device;

a recognizer for recognizing, for each markup language document, anchor tags existing in the markup language document to detect the mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on a browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines, for each hot spot, indication of either no hot spot or a hot spot existing next to said each hot spot in respective directions capable of being indicated by said operation key or keys; and

a control unit which refers to said transfer list in response to a user'"'"'s operation to the operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions and in response to a currently focused hot spot, so as to determine to which hot spot the focus is to be transferred next from the current hot spot, and to transfer the focus onto the determined hot spot.

7. The external device according to claim 6, characterized in that said remote controller is used in common as that for said television apparatus.

8. The external device according to claim 6, comprising a receiver for receiving the markup language document through a telephone line.

9. The external device according to claim 6, comprising a receiver for receiving the markup language document from a data broadcasting.

10. The external device according to claim 6, wherein the focusing is achieved by displaying a cursor placed on a hot spot to be focused on.

11. The external device according to claim 6, wherein the focusing is achieved by an enhancement display of a hot spot to be focused on.

18. The device according to claim 6, wherein said transfer list further defines for one or more of said hot spots, coordinates of at least one diagonal point of said hot spot.

12. A method of transferring, by key operation, a focus to a plurality of hot spots on a browser screen displaying a markup language document, in a device with a display for displaying the markup language document, comprising the steps of:

receiving the markup language document;

recognizing, for each markup language document, anchor tags existing in the markup language document received;

detecting the mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on a browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines, for each hot spot, indication of either no hot spot or a hot spot existing next to said each hot spot in respective directions capable of being indicated by said operation key or keys;

determining to which hot spot the focus is to be transferred next from a current hot spot by referring to the transfer list in accordance with the operation taken by the user to the operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions and with the hot spot currently focused on; and

transferring the focus onto the determined hot spot.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein said transfer list is generated to further define for one or more of said hot spots, coordinates of at least one diagonal point of said hot spot.

13. A recording medium recording a computer program for achieving a method of transferring by, key operation, a focus to a plurality of hot spots on a browser screen displaying a markup language document on a device with a display for displaying the markup language document, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the markup language document;

recognizing, for each markup language document, anchor tags existing in the markup language document received;

detecting the mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on a browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines, for each hot spot, indication of either no hot spot or a hot spot existing next to said each hot spot in respective directions capable of being indicated by said operation key or keys;

determining to which hot spot the focus is to be transferred next from a current hot spot by referring to said transfer list in response to a user'"'"'s operation to said operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions and the currently focused hot spot; and

transferring the focus onto the determined hot spot.

14. The recording medium according to claim 13, wherein said transfer list is generated to further define for one or more of said hot spots, coordinates of at least one diagonal point of said hot spot.

15. An Internet unit having an Internet connecting capability, comprising:

a connector for connecting to a web server of the Internet;

a storage unit for storing a markup language document received from the Web server;

an interpreter for interpreting the markup language document and developing an image on an image memory;

a display device for displaying the developed image thereon;

an operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions for controlling the Internet apparatus;

a recognizer for recognizing, for each markup language document, anchor tags existing in the markup language document to detect mutual positional relationship among hot spots, corresponding to the recognized anchor tags, on a browser screen so as to generate a transfer list which defines, for each hot spot, indication of either no hot spot or a hot spot existing next to said each hot spot in each direction capable of being indicated by said operation key or keys; and

a control unit for determining to which hot spot a focus is to be transferred next from a currently focused hot spot, by referring to said transfer list on the basis of the currently focused hot spot and a user'"'"'s operation to said operation key or keys for indicating at least four directions, and for transferring said focus to the determined hot spot.

16. The Internet unit according to claim 15, wherein said transfer list further defines for one or more of said hot spots, coordinates of at least one diagonal point of said hot spot.