Receiver, program retrieval method, and receiving method

• US 7,657,905 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2001
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimoto, Yosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Shang; Annan Q
• Application Number:
  US10/021,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,018 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 61, 725/68, 725/85, 725/100, 725/131, 725/139, 725/151, 725/134, 725/142, 348/734
• US Class Current: 725/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• 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 5/63 Generation or supply of power specially adapted for television receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An EPG object of a program A to be broadcast from 19:00 to 20:49 is copied to generate a first clone EPG object and a second clone EPG object. 00 minute is set as the relative start time of the first clone EPG object, and 59 minutes is set as the relative end time. 00 minutes is set as the relative start time of the second clone EPG object, and 49 minutes is set as the relative end time. With reference to the relative times, the clone EPG object is allocated to each time zone with a range of one hour. The first clone EPG object of the program A is allocated to a time zone of 19:00 to 19:59, and the second clone EPG object is allocated to a time zone of 20:00 to 20:59. Retrieval is carried out for each time zone. Thus, a program of a predetermined broadcast time can be quickly retrieved.

Claims

1. A receiver, comprising:

a receiving unit operable to receive program signals and first program guide information, the first program guide information including broadcasting time information of a program;

a production unit operable to produce second program guide information from the first program guide information, the second program guide information including the broadcasting time information of the program for every time slot spanned by the program;

an allocation unit operable to allocate the second program guide information as one or more clone EPG objects in a retrieval table for retrieval based upon the time slots spanned by the program, wherein each of the clone EPG objects is allocated to a single one of the time slots spanned by the program by directly copying the first program guide information of the program as the clone EPG objects and then setting each clone EPG object to a respective one of the time slots spanned by the program;

a retrieval unit employing a given one of the time slots as a search condition to set retrieval processing, the retrieval unit being operable to retrieve a respective one of the clone EPG objects for the second program guide information from the retrieval table using the given time slot as the search condition to identify the respective clone EPG object for the program,

wherein a program table for displaying information of the program to a user is generated based on the respective clone EPG object;

a storage unit operable, in response to the receiver receiving an instruction to turn off a power source of the receiver, to store content information indicating whether content displayed immediately before the receiver turns off the power source is a program guide or a program, and if the content displayed immediately before the receiver turns off the power source is the program, to store genre information indicating a genre of the program; and

a display controller operable to determine whether to display the program guide, a recommended program, or another program of the genre indicated by the stored genre information as an initial image in response to the power source being subsequently turned on, the determination being based solely on the content information and the genre information that were stored immediately before the receiver turns off the power source,

the program guide being displayed as the initial image if the content information stored in said storage unit indicates that the program guide was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver,

the recommended program being displayed as the initial image if the content information stored in said storage unit indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver and the currently broadcast program is the recommended program, the recommended program being determined based on the received program guide information and previously set user preferences, and

the another program of the genre indicated by the stored information being displayed as the initial image if the content information stored in said storage unit indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver and the currently broadcast program is of the genre indicated by the stored genre information.

2. The receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the program guide is displayed as the initial image if the content information indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receive and the currently broadcast program is not the recommended program and is not of the genre indicated by the stored genre information.

3. The receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the production unit produces a retrieval table for each genre of program.

4. The receiver as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an inputting unit operable to receive an inputted broadcast time to be retrieved;

a program retrieval unit operable to execute program retrieval on the basis of the input broadcast time and the retrieval table; and

a processing unit operable to read stored program information of a retrieved program and carrying out display processing to display the information of the program to the user.

5. The receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of programs are allocated in a selected time slot for a given channel, and separate clone EPG objects are assigned to each respective one of the plurality of programs in the selected time slot.

6. The receiver as claimed in claim 1, wherein the program table includes program data of a plurality of programs for a predetermined genre.

7. In a receiver having a power source, a method comprising:

receiving program signals and first program guide information, the first program guide information including broadcasting time information of a program;

producing second program guide information from the first program guide information, the second program guide information including the broadcasting time information of the program for every time slot spanned by the program;

allocating the second program guide information as one or more clone EPG objects in a retrieval table for retrieval based upon the time slots spanned by the program, each of the clone EPG objects being allocated to a single one of the time slots spanned by the program by directly copying the first program guide information of the program as the clone EPG objects and then setting each clone EPG object to a respective one of the time slots spanned by the program;

employing a given one of the time slots as a search condition to set retrieval processing;

retrieving a respective one of the clone EPG objects for the second program guide information from the retrieval table using the given time slot as the search condition to identify the respective clone EPG object for the program;

generating a program table for displaying information of the program to a user based on the respective clone EPG object;

receiving an instruction to turn off a power source of the receiver;

storing, in response to receiving the instruction to turn off the power source, content information indicating whether content displayed immediately before turning off the power source is a program guide or a program, and when the content displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver is the program, storing genre information indicating a genre of the program;

turning off the power source; and

determining whether to display the program guide, a recommended program, or another program of the genre indicated by the stored genre information as an initial image in response to the power source being subsequently turned on, the determination being based solely on the content information and the genre information that were stored immediately before turning off the power source,

the program guide being displayed as the initial image if the stored content information indicates that the program guide was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver,

the recommended program being displayed as the initial image if the stored content information indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver and the currently broadcast program is the recommended program, the recommended program being determined based on the received program guide information and previously set user preferences, and

the another program of the genre indicated by the stored information being displayed as the initial image if the stored content information indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver and the currently broadcast program is of the genre indicated by the stored genre information.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the program guide is displayed as the initial image if the content information indicates that the program was displayed immediately before turning off the power source of the receiver and the currently broadcast program is not the recommended program and is not of the same genre indicated by the stored genre information.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the producing step produces a retrieval table for each genre of program.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

inputting a broadcast time to be retrieved;

executing program retrieval on the basis of the input broadcast time and the retrieval table; and

reading stored program information of a retrieved program and carrying out display processing to display the information of the program to the user.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a plurality of programs are allocated in a selected time slot for a given channel, and separate clone EPG objects are assigned to each respective one of the plurality of programs in the selected time slot.

12. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the program table includes program data of a plurality of programs for a predetermined genre.