Electronic television program guide schedule system and method with data feed access

• US 6,769,128 B1
• Filed: 05/24/1999
• Issued: 07/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.), TCI-TVGOS INC
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, Bruce, Miller, Larry, Favia, Anthony R., Knee, Robert Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/317,686
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 348/569, 348/570, 348/563, 348/564, 348/565, 348/906, 348/552, 348/461, 725/59, 725/51, 725/39, 725/40, 725/43, 725/48, 725/36, 725/42, 725/135, 725/138, 725/139, 725/136, 725/141
• US Class Current: 725/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/20 Input arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/57 details of game services offered to the player
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 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 21/4622 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 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 : for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• 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 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• 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 with access to both stored television program schedule information and data feeds containing status information for live programs such as sporting events. The system includes a data processor for receiving program schedule information for a plurality of programs and data feeds containing status information for certain of the programs, and a video display generator for generating a display signal simultaneously comprising information from both the stored schedule information and the received data feed. The system is further provided with user control means such as a remote controller for generating user control commands and transmitting signals to the data processor in response thereto so as to control the content of the display signal. The display signal may be displayed on a display apparatus such as a television receiver. In addition, the program schedule system of the present invention utilizes category-specific user interfaces providing access to multiple services including television programs, received data feeds, home shopping services, and video games as well as the stored program schedule information.

Claims

1. A method for displaying program schedule information and Internet data for use in a multimedia informational system, the method comprising:

receiving at a remote facility Internet data from the Internet;

populating a data feed with the Internet data at the remote facility;

receiving the data feed with user equipment;

receiving program schedule information with the user equipment; and

simultaneously displaying the program schedule information and the Internet data with the user equipment, wherein at least a portion of the displayed program schedule information is interactive.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program listings;

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with at least one of the program listings;

displaying the program schedule information comprises displaying the at least one of the program listings; and

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings comprises simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings and the at least one program listing.

4. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising displaying an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with at least one of the program listings.

5. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information.

6. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data.

7. The method defined in claim 6 wherein:

displaying the program schedule information comprises displaying the program schedule information in a first portion of a display screen;

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying the Internet data in the first portion of the display screen; and

displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data comprises displaying at least a portion of the television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen, wherein the at least a portion of the television program, the television program schedule information, and the Internet data are simultaneously displayed.

8. The method defined in claim 1 wherein:

displaying the program schedule information comprises displaying the program schedule information in a first portion of a display screen;

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying the Internet data in the first portion of the display screen; and

the method further comprises displaying at least a portion of a television program in a second portion of the display screen, wherein the at least a portion of the television program, the television program schedule information, and the Internet data are simultaneously displayed.

9. The method defined in claim 1 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program schedule information for a plurality of topics;

the Internet data comprises Internet data for a plurality of topics;

displaying the program schedule information comprises displaying program schedule information for a particular topic of the plurality of topics; and

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying Internet data for the particular topic.

10. The method defined in claim 1 wherein:

the Internet data comprises data for events that are not televised; and

displaying the Internet data comprises simultaneously displaying the data for events that are not televised with the program schedule information.

11. The method defined in claim 1 wherein displaying the Internet data comprises providing the user with access to the Internet data using an electronic television program guide.

12. A method for displaying television programs and Internet data for use in a multimedia informational system, the method comprising:

receiving at a remote facility Internet data from the Internet;

populating a data feed with the Internet data at the remote facility;

receiving the data feed with user equipment;

receiving television program signals for television programs with the user equipment; and

simultaneously displaying the television programs and the Internet data with the user equipment.

13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein:

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with a given television program;

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program; and

displaying the television program comprises displaying the given television program.

14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program comprises

simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program and the given television program.

15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein:

displaying the given television program comprises displaying at least a portion of the television program in a first portion of a display screen; and

simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program and the given television program comprises displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program in a second portion of the display screen.

16. The method defined in claim 12 further comprising displaying an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with a program.

17. The method defined in claim 12 wherein:

displaying the television program comprises displaying at least a portion of the television program in a first portion of a display screen;

displaying the Internet data comprises displaying the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen.

18. The method defined in claim 12 wherein displaying the Internet data comprises providing the user with access to the Internet data using an electronic television program guide.

19. A multimedia informational system for displaying program schedule information and Internet data comprising:

means for receiving at a remote facility Internet data from the Internet;

means for populating a data feed with the Internet data at the remote facility;

means for receiving the data feed with user equipment;

means for receiving program schedule information with the user equipment; and

means for simultaneously displaying the program schedule information and the Internet data with the user equipment, wherein at least a portion of the displayed program schedule information is interactive.

20. The system defined in claim 19 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program listings;

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with at least one of the program listings;

the means for displaying the program schedule information comprises means for displaying the at least one of the program listings; and

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings.

21. The system defined in claim 20 wherein the means for displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings comprises means for simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings and the at least one program listing.

22. The system defined in claim 19 further comprising means for displaying an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with at least one of the program listings.

23. The system defined in claim 22 further comprising displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information.

24. The system defined in claim 19 further comprising means for displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data.

25. The system defined in claim 24 wherein:

the means for displaying the program schedule information comprises means for displaying the program schedule information in a first portion of a display screen;

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying the Internet data in the first portion of the display screen; and

the means for displaying a television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data comprises means for displaying at least a portion of the television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen, wherein the at least a portion of the television program, the television program schedule information, and the Internet data are simultaneously displayed.

26. The system defined in claim 19 wherein:

the means for displaying the program schedule information comprises means for displaying the program schedule information in a first portion of a display screen;

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying the Internet data in the first portion of the display screen; and

the system further comprises means for displaying at least a portion of a television program in a second portion of the display screen, wherein the at least a portion of the television program, the television program schedule information, and the Internet data are simultaneously displayed.

27. The system defined in claim 19 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program schedule information for a plurality of topics;

the Internet data comprises Internet data for a plurality of topics;

the means for displaying the program schedule information comprises means for displaying program schedule information for a particular topic of the plurality of topics; and

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying Internet data for the particular topic.

28. The system defined in claim 19 wherein:

the Internet data comprises data for events that are not televised; and

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for simultaneously displaying the data for events that are not televised with the program schedule information.

29. The system defined in claim 19 wherein the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for providing the user with access to the Internet data using an electronic television program guide.

30. A multimedia informational system for displaying television programs and Internet data comprising:

means for receiving at a remote facility Internet data from the Internet;

means for populating a data feed with the Internet data at the remote facility;

means for receiving the data feed with user equipment;

means for receiving television program signals for television programs with the user equipment; and

means for simultaneously displaying the television programs and the Internet data with the user equipment.

31. The system defined in claim 30 wherein:

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with a given television program;

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program; and

the means for displaying the television program comprises means for displaying the given television program.

32. The system defined in claim 31 wherein the means for displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program comprises means for simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program and the given television program.

33. The system defined in claim 32 wherein:

the means for displaying the given television program comprises means for displaying at least a portion of the television program in a first portion of a display screen; and

the means for simultaneously displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program and the given television program comprises means for displaying the Internet data associated with the given television program in a second portion of the display screen.

34. The system defined in claim 30 further comprising means for displaying an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with a program.

35. The system defined in claim 30 wherein:

the means for displaying the television program comprises means for displaying at least a portion of the television program in a first portion of a display screen;

the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for displaying the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen.

36. The system defined in claim 30 wherein the means for displaying the Internet data comprises means for providing the user with access to the Internet data using an electronic television program guide.

37. A multimedia informational system for displaying program schedule information and Internet data comprising:

a remote facility for receiving Internet data from the Internet and populating a data feed with the Internet data; and

user equipment comprising;

a video display generator;

a receiver for receiving program schedule information and Internet and the data feed; and

a microcontroller programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the program schedule information and the Internet data, wherein at least a portion of the displayed program schedule information is interactive.

38. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program listings;

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with at least one of the program listings; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display the at least one of the program listings and the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings.

39. The system defined in claim 38 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the Internet data associated with the at least one of the program listings and the at least one of the program listings.

40. The system defined in claim 37 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with at least one of the program listings.

41. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive television program signals;

the system further comprises a tuner configured to tune to a given one of the television program signals; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display a television program of the given one of the television program signals, wherein the television program is associated with the program schedule information.

42. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive television program signals;

the system further comprises a tuner configured to tune to a given one of the television program signals; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display a television program of the given one of the television program signals, wherein the television program is associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data.

43. The system defined in claim 42 wherein:

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display (1) the program schedule information in a first portion of a display screen, (2) the Internet data in the first portion of the display screen, and (3) at least a portion of the television program associated with the program schedule information and the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen.

44. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive television program signals;

the system further comprises a tuner configured to tune to a given one of the television program signals; and

microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display (1) the program schedule information and the Internet data in a first portion of a display screen, and (2) at least a portion of a television program of the given one of the television program signals in a second portion of the display screen.

45. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the program schedule information comprises program schedule information for a plurality of topics;

the Internet data comprises Internet data for a plurality of topics; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to (1) display the program schedule information for a particular topic of the plurality of topics, and (2) display Internet data for the particular topic.

46. The system defined in claim 37 wherein:

the Internet data comprises data for events that are not televised; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the data for events that are not televised with the program schedule information.

47. The system defined in claim 37 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed with at least a portion of an electronic television program guide, wherein the interactive television program guide is configured to provide the user with access to the Internet data.

48. A multimedia informational system for displaying television programs and Internet data comprising:

a remote facility for receiving Internet data from the Internet and populating a data feed with the Internet data; and

user equipment comprising;

a receiver configured to receive Internet the data feed and television program signals for television programs;

a video display generator; and

a microcontroller programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the television programs and the Internet data.

49. The system defined in claim 48 wherein:

at least a portion of the Internet data is associated with a given television program of the television programs; and

the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display the Internet data associated with the given television program.

50. The system defined in claim 49 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display the Internet data associated with the given television program and the given television program.

51. The system defined in claim 50 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to simultaneously display (1) at least a portion of the given television program in a first portion of a display screen, and (2) the Internet data associated with the given television program in a second portion of the display screen.

52. The system defined in claim 48 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display an icon indicating that there is Internet data associated with a given television program of the television programs.

53. The system defined in claim 48 wherein the microcontroller is further programmed to direct the video display generator to display (1) at least a portion of a given television program of the television programs in a first portion of a display screen, and (2) the Internet data in a second portion of the display screen.

54. The system defined in claim 48 wherein the microcontroller is programmed with at least a portion of an electronic television program guide, wherein the electronic television program guide is configured to provide the user with access to the Internet data.