Virtual channel system for web appliance, including interactive television

• US 7,406,704 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2001
• Issued: 07/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kondo, Shigeharu, Zustak, Frederick J., Kitsukawa, Tadamasa, Akiyama, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry; Hunter B.
• Application Number:
  US09/802,632
• Publication Number:
  US 20020129376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,699 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 40, 725/46, 725/48, 725/51, 725/105, 725109-110, 725/112, 725/114
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A virtual channel system for a web appliance includes an interactive television having a virtual channel memory disposed therein. The virtual channel memory includes data associated with at least one consumer selectable virtual channel. The data is an updatable Web page that is displayed when its associated virtual channel is selected. The interactive television also includes a user data input memory that includes user demographic information. The user demographic data can be used to customize the virtual channels available at the ITV. More specifically, the ITV system uses the demographic data to establish the virtual channels available to a specific consumer in accordance with the demographic information that he or she has input to the ITV system.

Claims

1. An interactive television, comprising:

a television tuner;

a display communicating with the tuner for displaying broadcast television signals;

at least one virtual channel memory communicating with the display, the virtual channel memory storing Web pages associated with virtual channel numbers, the virtual channel numbers being selectable for presentation on the display, the Web pages being periodically received in the virtual channel memory; and

at least one user data input memory, the user data input memory storing at least some user demographic information input by the user, the user demographic information being at least partially used to establish what Web page is stored in the virtual channel memory.

2. An interactive television, comprising:

a video display;

a television tuner electrically associated with the display; and

at least one virtual channel memory associated with the display, the memory storing Web pages associated with virtual channel numbers, the virtual channel numbers being selectable for displaying the virtual channels on the video display, the Web pages being periodically received in the virtual channel memory, at least one virtual channel being established at least in part on user responses to prompts querying personal user demographics and viewer preferences.

3. The interactive television of claim 2, further comprising:

at least one user data input memory, the user data input memory storing at least some user demographic information, the user demographic information being at least partially used to establish the Web page stored in the virtual channel memory.

4. The interactive television of claim 3, wherein the user data input memory further includes at least some user preferences, the user input preferences being at least partially used to establish the Web page stored in the virtual channel memory.

5. An interactive television system, comprising:

at least one Web server;

at least one television signal source; and

at least one interactive television, the interactive television receiving information from the Web server and the television signal source, the interactive television including at least one virtual channel memory, the virtual channel memory including at least one computer page having an associated virtual channel, the virtual channel being selectable to display the computer page using the interactive television, at least one virtual channel being established at least in part based on user responses to queries for personal demographic data.

6. The interactive television system of claim 5, wherein the interactive television further comprises:

at least one user data input memory, the user data input memory including at least some user demographic information, the user demographic information being at least partially used to establish the page stored in the virtual channel memory.

7. The interactive television system of claim 5, wherein the user data input memory further includes at least some user preferences, the user input preferences being at least partially used to establish the page stored in the virtual channel memory.

8. The interactive television system of claim 5, wherein the computer page is a Web page.