Providing a dedicated channel accessible to a group of users

• US 9,160,975 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2009
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Macwan, Sanjay
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huerta, Alexander Q
• Application Number:
  US12/567,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20110078716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,209 Days
• Field of Search: 725/14, 725/95, 725/109, 725/17
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A system includes a service provider network configured to communicate with a plurality of television-based user devices. The system also includes a database storing a status of user activity with respect to each of the plurality of television-based user devices and storing indicators of user-defined relationships between respective users of the plurality of television-based user devices. The system further includes a dedicated channel accessible to a group of users of the plurality of television-based user devices. The dedicated channel is arranged to enable interactive activity between members of the group.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a server configured to communicate with a plurality of user devices via an access network; and

a database storing a status of user activity with respect to each of the plurality of user devices and storing indicators of user-defined relationships between the plurality of user devices, wherein a particular status of a particular user device is automatically updated from inactive to active in response to detecting an input at the particular user device;

wherein the server is configured to provide a dedicated television channel that is accessible to a first group of user devices of the plurality of user devices based on the user-defined relationships and that is not accessible to a second group of user devices based on the user-defined relationships;

wherein the first group of user devices includes a first user device and a second user device;

wherein the second group of user devices includes a third user device;

wherein the user-defined relationships include a first relationship between the first user device and the third user device and a second relationship between the second user device and the third user device;

wherein the server is configured to perform a procedure to add the third user device to the first group in response to a signal from the first user device;

wherein adding the third user device to the first group includes updating the first relationship to indicate that the first user device and the third user device are in the first group and updating the second relationship to indicate that the second user device and the third user device are in the first group;

wherein the server is configured to send an interaction invitation to the first user device via the dedicated television channel in response to the server receiving a request to send the interaction invitation from the second user device; and

wherein the server is configured to send an interactivity menu that includes a plurality of interactive options of available interaction types to the first user device via the dedicated television channel in response to received acceptance by the server from the first user device of the interaction invitation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interactive options includes a video conferencing option, a game playing option, a picture sharing option, a content watching option, a recommendation watching option, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to perform the procedure in response to a second signal from the second user device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user devices includes a set-top box device, a second server, a mobile computing device, a personal computer, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, a first electronic device that provides voice communication, a second electronic device that provides video communication, an electronic device that provides data communication, or any combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to send the dedicated television channel to a fourth user device in response to the fourth user device selecting the dedicated television channel if the user-defined relationships indicate that the fourth user device is in the first group, and wherein the server is configured to not send the dedicated television channel to the fourth user device in response to the fourth user device selecting the dedicated television channel if the user-defined relationships indicate that the fourth user device is not in the first group.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to display the status of user activity with respect to each user device of the first group of user devices via the dedicated television channel.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the interaction invitation includes a first option to accept the interaction invitation, a second interaction option to decline the invitation, and a third interaction option to ignore the invitation.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the dedicated television channel is programmable to initiate a weekly interactive game accessible to each user device in the first group of user devices.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein content of the dedicated television channel is customizable based on the interactive options.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the dedicated television channel is inaccessible to user devices outside of the first group of user devices.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the dedicated television channel corresponds to a cable television channel.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the dedicated television channel corresponds to an internet protocol television channel.

13. A method comprising:

storing, by a server, indicators of user-defined relationships between a plurality of user devices to a database;

storing, by the server, a status of user activity with respect to each of the plurality of user devices, wherein a particular status of a particular user device is automatically updated from inactive to active in response to detecting an input at the particular user device;

providing, by the server, a dedicated television channel that is accessible to a first group of user devices of the plurality of user devices based on the user-defined relationships with the server via an access network and that is not accessible to a second group of user devices based on the user-defined relationships, wherein the dedicated television channel is accessible to each user device of the first group of user devices via a common television channel number associated with the dedicated television channel, wherein the first group of user devices includes a first user device and a second user device, wherein the second group of user devices includes a third user device, wherein the user-defined relationships include a first relationship between the first user device and the third user device and a second relationship between the second user device and the third user device;

in response to a signal from the first user device, transmitting a group invitation to the third user device;

in response to receiving acceptance of the group invitation from the third user device, adding, by the server, the third user device to the first group by;

updating the first relationship to indicate that the first user device and the third user device are in the first group;

updating the second relationship to indicate that the second user device and the third user device are in the first group;

receiving, at the server from the first user device, a request to send an interaction invitation to the second user device;

sending, from the server, the interaction invitation to the second user device via the dedicated television channel in response to the request;

receive, at the server, acceptance of the interaction invitation from the second user device; and

sending, from the server via the dedicated television channel, an interactivity menu that includes a plurality of interactive options of available interaction types to the second user device in response to the acceptance.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of interactivity options includes a video conferencing option, a game playing option, a picture sharing option, a content watching option, a recommendation watching option, or a combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving, from the second user device, a selection of an interactivity option of the plurality of interactivity options.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, in response to determining that the selection indicates the video conferencing option, displaying a video from a camera associated with the second user device at the first user device via the dedicated television channel.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising, in response to determining that the selection indicates the game playing option, displaying a menu including titles of a plurality of games at the second user device via the dedicated television channel.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising, in response to determining that the selection indicates the recommendation watching option, displaying a preview of content recommended by the second user device, a review of the content recommended by the second user device, the content recommended by the second user device, or a combination thereof, at the first user device and at the second user device via the dedicated television channel.

19. A computer-readable storage device comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform operations comprising:

storing indicators of user-defined relationships between a plurality of user devices in a database, wherein the user devices are coupled via an access network, and wherein the user-defined relationships form groups of user devices;

storing a status of user activity with respect to each of the plurality of user devices, wherein a particular status of a particular user device is automatically updated from inactive to active in response to detecting an input at the particular user device;

providing a dedicated channel that is accessible to a social networking group of user devices of the plurality of user devices and that is not accessible to a second group of user devices based on the user-defined relationships, wherein the social networking group is a group of the groups of user devices, wherein the dedicated channel is accessible to each user device of the social networking group via a common channel number associated with the dedicated channel, wherein the social networking group of user devices includes a first user device and a second user device wherein the second group of user devices includes a third user device, wherein the user-defined relationships include a first relationship between the first user device and the third user device and a second relationship between the second user device and the third user device;

in response to a signal from the first user device, transmitting a group invitation to the third user device;

in response to receiving acceptance of the group invitation from the third user device, adding the third user device to the social networking group by;

updating the first relationship to indicate that the first user device and the third user device are in the social networking group;

updating the second relationship to indicate that the second user device and the third user device are in the social networking group;

receiving a request to send an interaction invitation to the first user device of the social networking group from the second user device of the social networking group;

sending the interaction invitation to the first user device via the dedicated channel;

receiving a second acceptance of the interaction invitation from the first user device; and

sending an interactivity menu that includes a plurality of interactive options of available interaction types to the first user device via the dedicated channel in response to the acceptance,

wherein the dedicated channel is available to each user device in the social networking group, and wherein two user devices in the social networking group are in distinct geographic locations.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein sending the interaction invitation to the first user device comprises sending a menu to the first user device, and wherein the menu includes an accept option, a decline option, and an ignore option.