Satellite radio receiver that displays information regarding one or more channels that are not currently being listened to

• US 7,398,051 B1
• Filed: 08/07/2000
• Issued: 07/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bates, Cary Lee, Santosuosso, John Matthew, Nelson, Eric John
• Primary Examiner(s): D AGOSTA, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/633,766
• Time in Patent Office: 2,892 Days
• Field of Search: 455/12.1, 455/427, 455/556.2, 455/3.02, 455/3.06, 455/185.1, 455/186.1, 455/187.1, 348/906, 348/565
• US Class Current: 455/12.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/90 specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter

Abstract

A satellite radio receiver includes a display that displays information regarding one or more channels that are not currently being listened to. For a music channel, this information may include the name of the artist, the song title, time left in the song, etc. For a news channel, this information may include the news currently being discussed, the name of the news program, the time remaining, etc. For a sports channel, this information may include the name of the channel, a description of the sporting event, the time remaining, etc. The preferred embodiments include different ways to select which channels are “favorites” and therefore displayed on the display. One way is to select one or more channels that are assigned to preset buttons on the radio receiver. Another way is to keep track of which channels are most frequently listened to, and to display information regarding those channels. The preferred embodiments extend to any and all mechanisms for displaying information regarding one or more channels that are not currently being listened to.

Claims

1. A method for displaying radio program information to a user on a display within a satellite radio receiver, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of digital satellite radio signals on a plurality of channels, each digital satellite radio signal including a radio program and identifying information related to the radio program;

outputting audio information corresponding to the radio program in one of the digital satellite radio signals that correspond to a selected channel;

displaying information regarding at least one channel that is not the selected channel on the display, wherein the displayed information is derived from the identifying information for the at least one channel that is not the selected channel;

determining a list of favorite channels according to which channels are listened to most frequently; and

storing the list of favorite channels, wherein the at least one channel that is not the selected channel is in the list of favorite channels.

2. A method for displaying radio program information to a user on a display within a satellite radio receiver, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of digital satellite radio signals on a plurality of channels, each digital satellite radio signal including a radio program and identifying information related to the radio program;

outputting audio information corresponding to the radio program in one of the digital satellite radio signals that correspond to a selected channel;

displaying information regarding the selected channel on the display, wherein the displayed information regarding the selected channel is derived from the identifying information for the selected channel and includes a title for the radio program corresponding to the selected channel and the time remaining for the radio program corresponding to the selected channel;

displaying information regarding at least one channel that is not the selected channel on the display, wherein the displayed information is derived from the identifying information for the at least one channel that is not the selected channel and includes a title for the radio program corresponding to the at least one channel that is not the selected channel and the time remaining for the radio program corresponding to the at least one channel that is not the selected channel; and

storing a list of favorite channels, wherein the at least one channel that is not the selected channel is in the list of favorite channels.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the list of favorite channels is at least partially defined by at least one channel preset.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of determining the list of favorite channels according to which channels are listened to most frequently.