Television receiver

• US 6,662,366 B1
• Filed: 11/02/2000
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• 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: Wakamatsu, Takashige, Hama, Yoshinori, Nonomura, Takaya, Wakisaka, Masako, Awano, Kiyoshi, Shiono, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, NGOC K
• Application Number:
  US09/703,679
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39, 725/43, 725/47, 348/906, 345/973, 345/974, 345/977
• US Class Current: 725/39
• 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:

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, wherein

the first means comprises

means for displaying a part of a program guide list in a predetermined range as 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 said predetermined range on the basis of a given input signal,

the second means comprises

means for displaying, when the program guides before the time when display is started in said predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph cannot be displayed by scrolling, the shape of an end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion as a first shape,

means for displaying, when the program guides before the time when display is started in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph can be displayed by scrolling, the shape of the end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion as a second shape different from the first shape,

means for displaying, when the program guides after the time when display is terminated in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph cannot be displayed by scrolling, the shape of an end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion as a third shape, and

means for displaying, when the program guides after the time when display is terminated in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph can be displayed by scrolling, the shape of the end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion as a fourth shape different from the third shape.

2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein

the first shape and the third shape are square, the second shape is a triangle projecting outward at the end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion, and the fourth shape is a triangle projecting outward at the end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion.

3. A television receiver comprising:

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 share of a bar graph that is long along the time axis, wherein 24 hours constituting one day is classified into a plurality of time periods, different colors are respectively assigned to the time periods obtained by the classification, and the second means comprises means for displaying each of parts, respectively representing the air times, of a time display portion in the shape of the bar graph in the color assigned to the time period to which the air time represented by the part of the time display portion belongs, and wherein

the first means comprises

means for displaying a part of a program guide list in a predetermined range as 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 said predetermined range on the basis of a given input signal,

the second means comprises

means for displaying, when the program guides before the time when display is started in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph cannot be displayed by scrolling, the shape of an end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion as a first shape,

means for displaying, when the program guides before the time when display is started in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph can be displayed by scrolling, the shape of the end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion as a second shape different from the first shape,

means for displaying, when the program guides after the time when display is terminated in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph cannot be displayed by scrolling, the shape of an end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion as a third shape, and

means for displaying, when the program guides after the time when display is terminated in the predetermined range which is displayed by the time display portion in the shape of the bar graph can be displayed by scrolling, the shape of the end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion as a fourth shape different from the third shape.

4. The television receiver according to claim 3, wherein

the first shape and the third shape are square, the second shape is a triangle projecting outward at the end, on the side of the time when display is started, of the time display portion, and the fourth shape is a triangle projecting outward at the end, on the side of the time when display is terminated, of the time display portion.