Program guide display controller and television receiver

• US 7,051,353 B2
• Filed: 04/25/1997
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsunoda, Hiroshi, Yamashita, Akihiko, Wakisaka, Masako
• Primary Examiner(s): Bella, Matthew C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sajous, Wesner
• Application Number:
  US09/147,094
• Publication Number:
  US 20010035915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,315 Days
• Field of Search: 348/1, 348/3, 348/10, 348/563, 348/564, 348/906, 348/565, 348/569, 348/6, 386/83, 386/10, 455/2, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 345/327, 725 9- 11, 725 13- 14, 725/56, 725/29, 725/40, 725/44, 725/45, 725/47, 725/50, 725/61, 725/69, 725/86, 725/89, 725/90, 725/104
• US Class Current: 725/40
• 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 21/47 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

A program-guide-display controlling apparatus for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis comprises means for displaying to discriminate a time period in which a purchased program is present and a time period in which the purchased program is not present, so as to ensure that a situation in which two or more PPV programs which are broadcast during the same time period happen to be purchased is made difficult to occur.

Claims

1. A program-guide-display controlling apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis;

means for determining whether any of a plurality of time periods includes a purchased one of a plurality of purchasable programs, wherein a first of the plurality of time periods begins immediately after a second of the plurality of time periods ends; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs and the time periods which do not include any purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs.

2. A program-guide-display controlling apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis,

means for determining whether any of a plurality of time periods includes a purchased one of a plurality of purchasable programs; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs and the time periods which do not include any purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs

wherein the means for distinguishing comprises at least one first color associated with the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs and at least one second color which is different than the at least one first color and is associated with the time periods which do not include any purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs.

3. A program-guide-display controlling apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a plurality of items of program guide information on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis;

means for determining whether any of a plurality of time periods includes a purchased one of a plurality of purchasable programs, wherein a first of the plurality of time periods begins immediately after a second of the plurality of time periods ends; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs and the time periods which do not include any purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs, wherein the distinguishing means comprises a means for displaying a bar proximate to the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs.

4. A program-guide-display controlling apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis;

selecting means for allowing at least one time period to be selected by a user, wherein at least one a plurality of programs is associated with the at least one time period; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the at least one time period selected by the user and time periods not selected by the user,

wherein said means for distinguishing comprises at least one first color associated with the at least one time period selected by the user, and at least one second color which is different than the at least one first color and is associated with time periods not selected by the user.

5. The program-guide-display controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said setting means allows the starting time and the ending time of the at least one time period to be set by the user.

6. The program-guide-display controlling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the setting means allows the starting time and the ending time of the at least one time period to be set for each day of the week by the user.

7. A television receiver comprising a program-guide display controlling apparatus:

means for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as time axis;

means for determining whether any of a plurality of time periods includes a purchased one of a plurality of purchasable programs, wherein a first of the plurality of time periods begins immediately after a second of the plurality of time periods ends; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the time periods which include a purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs and the time periods which do not include any purchased one of the plurality of purchasable programs.

8. A television receiver comprising a program-guide-display controlling apparatus for displaying a plurality of program guides on a display unit in a matrix form by using one of the ordinate and the abscissa as a channel number axis and another one as a time axis, said program-guide-display controlling apparatus comprising:

selecting means for allowing at least one time period to be selected by a user, wherein at least one a plurality of programs is associated with the at least one time period; and

means for distinguishing on the display unit between the at least one time period selected by the user and time periods not selected by the user,

wherein said setting means allows the starting time and the ending time of the at least one time period to be set by the user, and said means for distinguishing comprises at least one first color associated with the at least one time period selected by the user, and at least one second color which is different than the at least one first color and is associated with time periods not selected by the user.