Television receiver and system including the same

• US 7,861,264 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2003
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Wada, Hirofumi, Takatori, Masahiro, Kataoka, Mitsuteru
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley; Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hicks; Charles N
• Application Number:
  US10/505,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20050166228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,750 Days
• Field of Search: 725/40, 725/43, 725/51, 725/109, 725/110
• US Class Current: 725/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• 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 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• 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 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A television receiver (1) acquires numerical quantity information from program list information acquired from a television signal or the like, the acquired numerical quantity indicates the number of program-related information related to a television program and (2) displays the acquired numerical quantity information on a television display screen. When a user selects a television program whose program-related information is to be acquired, the television receiver acquires a URL of program-related information from an address server by utilizing the program identification code of the selected television program, acquires the program-related information from an information server by utilizing the acquired URL, and displays the acquired program-related information so as to be superimposed on a television picture.

Claims

1. A television receiver for receiving a television signal and acquiring information via a communication network, the television receiver comprising:

television broadcast receiving means for obtaining a television program based on the television signal and for displaying the obtained television program on a television display screen;

numerical quantity acquisition means for acquiring, from one of the television signal and program list information that is acquired via the communication network, a numerical quantity of available program-related information related to a television program and acquirable via the communication network, such that the numerical quantity represents a specific number identifying a number of pieces of program-related information available and related to the television program;

numerical quantity display means for simultaneously displaying, for each television program of a plurality of television programs, a respective numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means, as a numeric character, together with a title of each respective television program, each respective numerical quantity and the title of each respective television program being simultaneously displayed in a program list displayed on the television display screen, such that the displayed numeric character represents the specific number identifying the number of pieces of the program-related information available and related to each television program of the plurality of television programs;

input means for accepting, from a user, a selection of a television program, of which program-related information is to be acquired;

information acquisition means for acquiring, from an address server that (i) is connected to the information acquisition means via the communication network and (ii) accumulates address information of program-related information, address information only of the program-related information related to the television program selected by the user via the input means, and for acquiring the program-related information related to the television program selected by the user via the input means, the program-related information being acquired by utilizing the acquired address information; and

information display means for displaying, on the television display screen, the program-related information acquired by the information acquisition means.

2. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the numerical quantity display means (i) generates a program list in which each television program identified in the program list information is shown to correspond, respectively, to a numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means and (ii) displays the generated program list on the television display screen.

3. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the numerical quantity display means generates, based on the program list information, a program list including the numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means and displays the generated program list on the television display screen.

4. The television receiver according to claim 3, wherein the numerical quantity display means displays, on the television display screen, (i) a program content screen including the numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means, and (ii) the obtained television program having a reduced size.

5. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the numerical quantity acquisition means acquires the numerical quantity with respect to a television program which is being displayed by the television broadcast receiving means.

6. The television receiver according to claim 1 wherein the numerical quantity display means displays a banner which (i) corresponds to the numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means, and (ii) is superimposed on the television program being displayed by the television broadcast receiving means.

7. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the numerical quantity display means displays, on the television display screen, (i) a program content screen including the numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means and (ii) the obtained television program having a reduced size.

8. The television receiver according to claim 1, further comprising program identification information acquisition means for acquiring, from the program list information, program identification information for uniquely identifying a television program,

wherein the information acquisition means acquires desired program-related information via the communication network by utilizing the program identification information acquired by the program identification information acquisition means.

9. The television receiver according to claim 8, wherein the information acquisition means acquires the desired program-related information by accessing an information server connected thereto in which program identification information and program-related information are accumulated in association with each other, the information server being accessed by utilizing the program identification information acquired by the program identification information acquisition means.

10. The television receiver according to claim 8, wherein the information acquisition means acquires desired program-related information by:

(i) accessing an information server connected thereto in which program identification information and address information of program-related information are accumulated in association with each other, the information server being accessed by utilizing the program identification information acquired by the program identification information acquisition means; and

(ii) accessing an information server connected thereto in which program-related information and address information of the program-related information are accumulated in association with each other, the information server being accessed by utilizing the address information of the program-related information acquired from the address server.

11. The television receiver according to claim 10, wherein the information display means displays, on the television display screen, the address information of the program-related information acquired from the address server before the information acquisition means accesses the information server.

12. The television receiver according to claim 8, wherein the program identification information is encoded information including (i) a channel and (ii) a date and time, on or at which a television program is broadcast.

13. The television receiver according to claim 12, wherein the program identification information is a G-code®

.

14. The television receiver according to claim 8, wherein the program identification information is encoded information including (i) a broadcasting station and (ii) a date and time, from or at which a television program is broadcast.

18. The television receiver according to claim 1, wherein, when the program list information includes program-related information for a selected television program, the numerical quantity display means automatically displays the numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means to allow the user to automatically recognize a numerical quantity of address information available for the selected television program.

15. A system in which information is provided from an information server to a television receiver, the system comprising:

a television receiver including;

television broadcast receiving means for obtaining a television program based on a received television signal and for displaying the obtained television program on a television display screen;

numerical quantity acquisition means for acquiring, from one of the television signal and program list information that is acquired via the communication network, a numerical quantity of available program-related information related to a television program and acquirable via the communication network, the program list information being acquired from the television signal or via the communication network, such that the numerical quantity represents a specific number identifying a number of pieces of program-related information available and related to the television program;

program identification information acquisition means for acquiring, from the program list information, program identification information for uniquely identifying a television program;

numerical quantity display means for simultaneously displaying, for each television program of a plurality of television programs, a respective numerical quantity acquired by the numerical quantity acquisition means, as a numeric character, together with a title of each respective television program, each respective numerical quantity and the title of each respective television program being simultaneously displayed in a program list displayed on the television display screen, such that the displayed numeric character represents the specific number identifying the number of pieces of the program-related information available and related to each television program of the plurality of television programs;

input means for accepting, from a user, a selection of a television program, of which program-related information is to be acquired;

information acquisition means for acquiring, from an address server that (i) is connected to the information acquisition means via the communication network and (ii) accumulates address information of program-related information, address information only of the program-related information related to the television program selected by the user via the input means, and for acquiring the program-related information related to the television program selected by the user via the input means by utilizing the acquired address information; and

information display means for displaying the program-related information acquired by the information acquisition means on the television display screen; and

an information server connected to the television receiver, the information server (i) being operable to accumulate program identification information and program-related information in association with each other and (ii), when receiving the program identification information from the television receiver, transmit the program-related information corresponding to the received program identification information to the television receiver.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein,

the program identification information acquisition means acquires, from the program list information, the program identification information with respect to the television program being displayed by the television broadcast receiving means.

17. The system according to claim 15,

wherein the address server accumulates program identification information and address information of program-related information in association with each other and, when receiving the program identification information from the television receiver, transmits the address information of the program-related information corresponding to the received program identification information to the television receiver,

wherein the information server accumulates address information of program-related information, instead of program identification information, to be associated with the program-related information, and

wherein the information acquisition means acquires desired program-related information by:

accessing the address server by utilizing the program identification information acquired by the program identification information acquisition means; and

accessing the information server by utilizing the address information of the program-related information acquired from the address server.