Scheduler apparatus employing a gopher agent for use in a television receiver

• US 9,118,972 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2014
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Reavis, Jeffrey Philip, Miller, Robert Howard, Crosby, Sheila Renee, Wehmeyer, Keith Reynolds, Morrison, Hugh Boyd, Brown, Megan Louise, Maze, Kenneth Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US14/288,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20140344865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 725/53, 725/58
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• 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 21/4823 using a channel name
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.

Claims

1. A method for processing program guide information for a video signal receiver, comprising:

receiving at a video signal receiver program guide information;

receiving at said video signal receiver a user-entered search request, wherein said user-entered search request is a string of text;

performing until said search request is turned off, a search of said program guide information for a program in said program guide information having a program description that satisfies said user-entered request, wherein said search continues as program guide information is updated by the receipt of new program guide information during said searching operation; and

having said video signal receiver display a listing comprising information corresponding to a programs that are found during said performing operation having said program description that satisfies said user-entered request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-entered search request is modified when the performing operation is on-going.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the program description is selected from at least one element in group comprising:

title, star, director, rating, and plot.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least different video programs with different program titles are recorded in view of said same search request;

and one of the at least two different programs has the search request matching part of title information of a first program and a second program from said at least two different programs has the search request matching part of at least one of;

star information, director information, rating information, and plot information, where the matching of said search request is not found in said title of said second program.

9. The method of claim 1 where the video signal receiver is a television signal receiver.

10. The method of claim 1 where the video signal receiver is a set top box.

23. The apparatus of claim 1 where the video signal receiver is a television signal receiver.

5. A video signal receiver apparatus for processing program guide information for a receiver, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to said processor of a video signal receiver, the memory for storing instructions which, when executed by the processor of said video signal receiver, performs the operations of;

receiving program guide information;

receiving a user-entered search request, wherein said user-entered search request is a string of text;

performing until said search request is turned off, a search of said program guide information for a program in said program guide information having a program description that satisfies said user-entered request, wherein said search continues as program guide information is updated by the receipt of new program guide information during said searching operation; and

displaying a listing comprising information corresponding to programs that are found during said performing operation having said program description that satisfies said user-entered request.

6. The video signal apparatus of claim 5, wherein the user-entered search request is modified when the performing operation is on-going.

7. The video signal apparatus of claim 5, wherein the program description is selected from at least one element in group comprising:

title, star, director, rating, and plot.

8. The video signal apparatus of claim 5, wherein the instructions are executed by the processor further comprises:

recording at least different video programs with different program titles in view of said same search request; and

one of the at least two different programs has the search request matching part of title information of a first program and a second program from said at least two different programs has the search request matching part of at least one of;

star information, director information, rating information, and plot information, where the matching of said search request is not found in said title of said second program.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 where the video signal receiver is a television signal receiver.

12. The method of claim 8 where the video signal receiver is a set top box.

13. A method for processing program guide information for a video signal receiver, comprising:

receiving at a video signal receiver program guide information;

receiving at said video signal receiver a user-entered search request, wherein said user-entered search request is a string of text;

performing until said search request is turned off, a search of said program guide information for a program in said program guide information having a program description that satisfies said user-entered request, wherein said search continues as program guide information is updated by the receipt of new program guide information during said searching operation; and

having said video signal receiver generate for display a listing comprising information corresponding to a programs that are found during said performing operation having said program description that satisfies said user-entered request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user-entered search request is modified when the performing operation is on-going.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the program description is selected from at least one element in group comprising:

title, star, director, rating, and plot.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein at least different video programs with different program titles are recorded in view of said same search request;

and one of the at least two different programs has the search request matching part of title information of a first program and a second program from said at least two different programs has the search request matching part of at least one of;

star information, director information, rating information, and plot information, where the matching of said search request is not found in said title of said second program.

17. The method of claim 13 where the video signal receiver is a television signal receiver.

18. The method of claim 13 where the video signal receiver is a set top box.

19. A video signal receiver apparatus for processing program guide information for a receiver, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to said processor of a video signal receiver, the memory for storing instructions which, when executed by the processor of said video signal receiver, performs the operations of;

receiving program guide information;

receiving a user-entered search request, wherein said user-entered search request is a string of text;

performing until said search request is turned off, a search of said program guide information for a program in said program guide information having a program description that satisfies said user-entered request, wherein said search continues as program guide information is updated by the receipt of new program guide information during said searching operation; and

generating for display a listing comprising information corresponding to programs that are found during said performing operation having said program description that satisfies said user-entered request.

20. The video signal apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user-entered search request is modified when the performing operation is on-going.

21. The video signal apparatus of claim 19, wherein the program description is selected from at least one element in group comprising:

title, star, director, rating, and plot.

22. The video signal apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions are executed by the processor further comprises:

recording at least different video programs with different program titles in view of said same search request; and

one of the at least two different programs has the search request matching part of title information of a first program and a second program from said at least two different programs has the search request matching part of at least one of;

star information, director information, rating information, and plot information, where the matching of said search request is not found in said title of said second program.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 where the video signal receiver is a set top box.