Dynamically adjustable electronic service guide

• US 7,827,580 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rosberg, Kristian, Jansky, Martin, Kiiskinen, Arto
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley; Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tilahun; Alazar
• Application Number:
  US11/615,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20080155596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 61, 725/62, 725/85, 725/89, 725/100, 725/110, 725/131, 725/139, 725/151, 455/464, 455/452.1
• US Class Current: 725/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/42 Arrangements for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/25 Arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/39 for identifying broadcast space-time use of Electronic Programme Guides H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4435 Memory management allocation of memory to service a request G06F9/5016; addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures G06F12/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64315 DVB-H
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to allocating mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide (ESG) memory for use in storing a dynamically adjustable ESG, determining a composition of a dynamically adjustable ESG that can be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal ESG memory, and determining whether ESG fragments are deleted from the dynamically adjustable ESG to reduce the size of the dynamically adjustable ESG. The size of the allocated ESG memory may be determined based on an amount of memory dynamically available in a mobile terminal and/or by checking statistics of previously stored and/or received ESG data. A time-filter value may be determined for use in determining whether particular ESG fragments should be stored in the dynamically adjustable ESG. The time-filter value may be determined based on a number of channels (or services) for which ESG fragments will be stored in the dynamically adjustable ESG and/or based on whether an ESG-memory-usage threshold has been exceeded.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

while receiving electronic-service-guide data in a delivery session, dynamically allocating mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory by a processor and storing fragments of the electronic-service-guide data in the memory, according to a plurality of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data and at least one memory usage threshold in the delivery session by;

determining a first composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a first processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a first time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a first current memory usage and a first number of services to be supported by the first composition; and

applying the selected at least one of the first time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a second composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a second processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein the second processed percentage is bigger than the first processed percentage, said determining includes selecting at least one of a second time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a second current memory usage and a second number of services to be supported by the second composition; and

applying the selected at least one of the second time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the second time-filter value is smaller than the first time-filter value.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a third composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that is either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a third processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, the third processed percentage being bigger than the second processed percentage, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a third time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a third current memory usage and a third number of services to be supported by the third composition, for which electronic-service-guide fragments are stored in the memory; and

applying the at least one of the third time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the third time-filter value is smaller than the second time-filter value.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a size of the allocated electronic-service-guide memory.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining a size of the allocated electronic-service-guide memory based on an amount of memory dynamically changing to become available in a mobile terminal during the delivery session.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining a size of the allocated electronic-service-guide memory by checking statistics of previously stored and/or received electronic-service-guide data.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the time-filter value is determined based on whether the corresponding memory usage threshold has been exceeded.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more types of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are determined to be stored in the memory.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a number of days of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are determined to be deleted from the memory based upon a time-filter value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein some stored fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are determined to be deleted from the memory.

20. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one memory usage threshold is defined as a percentage of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide memory.

21. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

in response to increased memory, de-selecting at least one of the time-filter value and the type-filter value.

22. The method of claim 5, wherein the second composition are different from the first composition due to the at least one of the first time-filter and type-filter values, the at least one of the second time-filter and type-filter values, the first and second numbers of services, the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide memory, or a combination thereof.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning filtering priorities to a plurality of type-filter values corresponding to different types of electronic-service-guide data; and

deploying the type-filters based upon the filtering priorities and the increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the types of electronic-service-guide data include a program description, interactive service, image, or combination thereof.

11. A method comprising:

in response to an amount of electronic-service-guide data memory dynamically changing to become available in a mobile terminal during a current delivery session;

checking a size of previously stored electronic-service-guide data in a previous delivery session and a size of stored electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session;

estimating a time-filter value to determine whether to store incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory, wherein the time-filter value is determined based on a number of services for which fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are to be stored in the memory;

estimating a type-filter value to determine whether to store the incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory; and

determining a composition of fragments of electronic-service-guide data to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, according to the estimated time-filter and type-filter values,

wherein the time-filter and type-filter values are estimated by a processor according to at least one memory usage threshold of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide data memory and a corresponding one of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the time-filter value is determined based on whether the memory usage threshold has been exceeded.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a size of an available mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory to store the memory.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a number of days of applicable electronic-service-guide fragments are determined to be deleted from the memory based upon the time-filter value.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein one or more types of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are stored in the memory.

28. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one memory usage threshold is defined as a percentage of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide memory.

29. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

in response to increased memory, de-selecting at least one of the time-filter value and the type-filter value.

30. The method of claim 11,

assigning filtering priorities to a plurality of type-filter values corresponding to different types of electronic-service-guide data;

and

deploying the type-filters based upon the filtering priorities and the increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the types of electronic-service-guide data include a program description, interactive service, image, or combination thereof.

16. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

while receiving electronic-service-guide data in a delivery session, dynamically allocate mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory and store fragments of the electronic-service-guide data in the memory, according to a plurality of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data and at least one memory usage threshold in the delivery session by;

determining a first composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a first processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a first time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a first current memory usage and a first number of services to be supported by the first composition; and

applying the selected at least one of the first time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine a second composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a second processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein the second processed percentage is bigger than the first processed percentage, said determining includes selecting at least one of a second time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a second current memory usage and a second number of services to be supported by the second composition; and

apply the selected at least one of the second time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the second time-filter value is smaller than the first time-filter value.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine a third composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that is either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a third processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, the third processed percentage being bigger than the second processed percentage, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a third time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a third current memory usage and a third number of services to be supported by the third composition, for which electronic-service-guide fragments are stored in the memory; and

apply the at least one of the third time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the third time-filter value is smaller than the second time-filter value.

19. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

in response to an amount of electronic-service-guide data memory dynamically changing to become available in a mobile terminal during a current delivery session;

check a size of previously stored electronic-service-guide data in a previous delivery session and a size of stored electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session;

estimate a time-filter value to determine whether to store incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory, wherein the time-filter value is determined based on a number of services for which fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are to be stored in the memory;

estimate a type-filter value to determine whether to store the incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory; and

determine a composition of fragments of electronic-service-guide data to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, according to the estimated time-filter and type-filter values,

wherein the time-filter and type-filter values are estimated according to at least one memory usage threshold of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide data memory and a corresponding one of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session.

32. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one memory usage threshold is defined as a percentage of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide memory.

25. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause an apparatus to at least perform the following steps:

while receiving electronic-service-guide data in a delivery session, dynamically allocating mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory and store fragments of the electronic-service-guide data in the memory, according to a plurality of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data and at least one memory usage threshold in the delivery session by;

determining a first composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a first processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a first time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a first current memory usage and a first number of services to be supported by the first composition; and

applying the selected at least one of the first time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof.

26. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

determining a second composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that are either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a second processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, wherein the second processed percentage is bigger than the first processed percentage, said determining includes selecting at least one of a second time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a second current memory usage and a second number of services to be supported by the second composition; and

applying the selected at least one of the second time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the second time-filter value is smaller than the first time-filter value.

27. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

determining a third composition of fragments of the electronic-service-guide data that is either stored or to be stored in the allocated mobile-terminal electronic-service-guide memory after reaching a third processed percentage of the electronic-service-guide data and the at least one or a different memory usage threshold while receiving electronic-service-guide data, the third processed percentage being bigger than the second processed percentage, wherein said determining includes selecting at least one of a third time-filter value and a type-filter value based on a third current memory usage and a third number of services to be supported by the third composition, for which electronic-service-guide fragments are stored in the memory; and

applying the at least one of the third time-filter value and the type-filter value on electronic-service-guide fragments to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, wherein the third time-filter value is smaller than the second time-filter value.

33. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause an apparatus to at least perform the following steps:

in response to an amount of electronic-service-guide data memory dynamically changing to become available in a mobile terminal during a current delivery session;

checking a size of previously stored electronic-service-guide data in a previous delivery session and a size of stored electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session;

estimating a time-filter value to determine whether to store incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory, wherein the time-filter value is determined based on a number of services for which fragments of the electronic-service-guide data are to be stored in the memory;

estimating a type-filter value to determine whether to store the incoming electronic-service-guide data in the memory; and

determining a composition of fragments of electronic-service-guide data to be stored in the memory, to be deleted from the memory, or a combination thereof, according to the estimated time-filter and type-filter values,

wherein the time-filter and type-filter values are estimated according to at least one memory usage threshold of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide data memory and a corresponding one of increasing processed percentages of the electronic-service-guide data in the current delivery session.

34. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 33, wherein the at least one memory usage threshold is defined as a percentage of the dynamically changing electronic-service-guide memory.