Method and apparatus for a search-enabled remote control device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A search-enabled remote control device comprising:
- a plurality of input controls;
a display portion;
a processor coupled to said plurality of input controls and said display portion; and
a memory coupled to said processor, said memory to include instructions sequences to cause the processor to,receive one or more search criteria entered using said plurality of input controls of the search-enabled remote control device,transmit said one or more search criteria from the search-enabled remote control device to a remote server via a set top box coupled to a display device,receive a plurality of viewer requests entered using said plurality of input controls,transmit said plurality of viewer requests to the set top box, wherein said plurality of viewer requests are used to update a viewer profile, said viewer profile including a plurality of tracked viewer actions tracking a user'"'"'s viewing habits by monitoring content being displayed on a display device coupled to the set top box and transmitting the plurality of tracked viewer actions to the remote server via the set top box,receive a plurality of search results on the search-enabled remote control device based on at least one of said one or more search criteria and said viewer profile from the remote server via the set top box, the search-enabled remote control device receiving the plurality of search results according to the content being displayed on the display device,present the plurality of search results on said display portion of the search-enabled remote control device, andreceive, independent of any subsequent viewer-issued requests, one or more updated search results from the remote server, the one or more updated search results corresponding to a change of the content being displayed on the display device.
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Abstract
A search-enabled remote control device to facilitate viewers'"'"' ability to search through programming and/or content options and view results. In one embodiment, a viewer is able to use a traditional remote control interface to navigate through menus or selections and to display search results on screen. In another embodiment, a viewer'"'"'s watching behavior and/or searching habits are tracked by the search-enabled remote control and used to develop a viewer profile, which may in turn be used to target advertisements, information and/or future programming options.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A search-enabled remote control device comprising:
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a plurality of input controls; a display portion; a processor coupled to said plurality of input controls and said display portion; and a memory coupled to said processor, said memory to include instructions sequences to cause the processor to, receive one or more search criteria entered using said plurality of input controls of the search-enabled remote control device, transmit said one or more search criteria from the search-enabled remote control device to a remote server via a set top box coupled to a display device, receive a plurality of viewer requests entered using said plurality of input controls, transmit said plurality of viewer requests to the set top box, wherein said plurality of viewer requests are used to update a viewer profile, said viewer profile including a plurality of tracked viewer actions tracking a user'"'"'s viewing habits by monitoring content being displayed on a display device coupled to the set top box and transmitting the plurality of tracked viewer actions to the remote server via the set top box, receive a plurality of search results on the search-enabled remote control device based on at least one of said one or more search criteria and said viewer profile from the remote server via the set top box, the search-enabled remote control device receiving the plurality of search results according to the content being displayed on the display device, present the plurality of search results on said display portion of the search-enabled remote control device, and receive, independent of any subsequent viewer-issued requests, one or more updated search results from the remote server, the one or more updated search results corresponding to a change of the content being displayed on the display device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method comprising:
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on a search-enabled remote control device, receiving one or more search criteria; transmitting said one or more search criteria from the search-enabled remote control device to a remote server; receiving a plurality of viewer requests entered using said search-enabled remote control device; transmitting said plurality of viewer requests to a set top box, wherein said plurality of viewer requests are used to update a viewer profile, said viewer profile including a plurality of tracked viewer actions tracking a user'"'"'s viewing habits by monitoring content being displayed on a display device coupled to the set top box and transmitting the plurality of tracked viewer actions to the remote server via the set top box; receiving a plurality of search results on the search-enabled remote control device based on at least one of said one or more search criteria and said viewer profile from the remote server via the set top box, the search-enabled remote control device receiving the plurality of search results according to the content being displayed on the display device; presenting the plurality of search results on said display portion of the search-enabled remote control device; and receiving, independent of any subsequent viewer-issued requests, one or more updated search results from the remote server, the one or more updated search results corresponding to a change of the content being displayed on the display device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A non-transitory computer usable medium having computer program code embodied therein to display information, the computer program code including:
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computer readable program code to receive one or more search criteria from a search-enabled remote control device; computer readable program code to transmit said one or more search criteria from the search-enabled remote control device to a remote server; computer readable program code to receive a plurality of viewer requests entered using said search-enabled remote control device; computer readable program code to transmit said plurality of viewer requests to a set top box, wherein said plurality of viewer requests are used to update a viewer profile, said viewer profile including a plurality of tracked viewer actions tracking a user'"'"'s viewing habits by monitoring content being displayed on a display device coupled to the set top box and transmitting the plurality of tracked viewer actions to the remote server via the set top box; computer readable program code to receive a plurality of search results on the search-enabled remote control device based on at least one of said one or more search criteria and said viewer profile from the remote server via the set top box, the search-enabled remote control device receiving the plurality of search results according to the content being displayed on the display device; computer readable program code to present the plurality of search results on a display portion of said search enabled remote control device; and computer readable program code to receive, independent of any subsequent viewer-issued requests, one or more updated search results from the remote server, the one or more updated search results corresponding to a change of the content being displayed on the display device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification