Navigation techniques for electronic programming guides and video

• US 9,497,509 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar UK Holdings Ltd (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Mountain, Dale Llewelyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): TESFAYE, AKLIL M
• Application Number:
  US13/689,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20140150026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 58, 348/734, 374/734
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• 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

Abstract

A system for remote user navigation of content displayed with a display device, including a screen display, is provided. A user input device may be configured to detect a user movement, including a direction and a speed. The user input device may be configured to communicate information based at least in part on the direction and the speed. The system may include a media device configured to receive communications from the user input device. The media device may be configured to process the information from the user input device and to output content to the display device in accordance with a navigation operation. The navigation operation may include moving displayed content based at least in part on the direction and the speed.

Claims

1. A system for remote user navigation of content displayed with a screen display, the system comprising:

a display device comprising a screen display;

a user input device configured to;

detect a plurality of user movements, including at least a first user movement, wherein the first user movement comprises a first direction and a first speed; and

communicate information based on the plurality of detected user movements; and

a media device configured to receive communications from the user input device, wherein the media device comprises;

one or more processors; and

memory communicatively coupled with, and readable by, the one or more processors, the memory having stored therein processor-readable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

process the information from the user input device;

determine a baseline scrolling speed based on a baseline finger swipe speed;

receive first user movement data from the user input device, the first user movement data comprising data indicating the first direction and the first speed;

determine a scrolling operation for outputting electronic programming guide (EPG) content based on the first user movement data;

determine a scroll speed for the scrolling operation, based at least in part on the first speed and based at least in part on the baseline scrolling speed, wherein the determined scrolling operation includes a zoom operation that automatically adjusts a zoom level for outputting EPG content, wherein the zoom level is proportional to the scroll speed of the scrolling operation; and

output electronic programming guide (EPG) content to the display device in accordance with the scrolling operation, wherein the EPG content is output to the display device in accordance with the scroll speed and the automatically adjusting zoom level.

2. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, wherein the user input device comprises a touch screen, and wherein plurality of the user movements are detected via the touch screen.

3. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, wherein the user input device comprises one or more motion sensors, and wherein plurality of the user movements are detected via the one or more motion sensors.

4. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, wherein the scroll speed is determined based at least in part on the difference between the first speed and the baseline scrolling speed.

5. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 4, wherein the scroll speed is proportional to the difference between the first speed and the baseline scrolling speed.

6. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 4, wherein the scrolling operation further comprises:

increasing scroll speed up to the determined scroll speed; and

decreasing scroll speed down from the determined scroll speed.

7. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 4, wherein the scrolling operation further comprises:

increasing scroll speed up to the determined scroll speed;

decreasing scroll speed down from the determined scroll speed to a second scroll speed; and

maintaining the second scroll speed for a time.

8. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 4, wherein the scrolling operation further comprises:

increasing scroll speed up to the determined scroll speed; and

maintaining the determined scroll speed for a time.

9. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 4, wherein determining the baseline scrolling speed comprises:

receiving baseline user movement data from the user input device;

determining that the first user is associated with the received baseline user movement data; and

determining a user-specific baseline speed for the first user.

10. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, wherein the displayed content comprises a two-dimensional programming guide, and the scrolling operation comprises a diagonal scrolling operation through the two-dimensional programming guide, in which a diagonal scrolling angle for the diagonal scrolling operation is determined based on the first direction of the first user movement data.

11. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, wherein:

the scrolling operation is a first scrolling operation;

the user input device is further configured to;

detect a second user movement; and

communicate second information based at least in part on the second user movement; and

the processor-readable instructions further cause the one or more processors to;

process the second information from the user input device to identify a second scrolling operation; and

output content to the display device in accordance with the second scrolling operation, wherein the second scrolling operation alters the display of content in accordance with the first scrolling operation.

12. The system for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 1, the media device further configured to:

receive a command from the user input device to stop the scrolling operation for the output of EPG content;

determine a rollback amount for the EPG content based at least in part on a user response time delay variable and the first scrolling speed; and

roll back the displayed portion of the EPG content in accordance with the determined rollback amount.

13. A method for remote user navigation of content displayed with a screen display, the method comprising:

determining a baseline scrolling speed based on a baseline finger swipe speed;

detecting a user movement that is repeated at a user input device;

processing information corresponding to the user movement detected at the user input device;

determining a first direction and a first speed corresponding to the user movement;

determining a first scrolling operation controlling the display of electronic programming guide (EPG) content to a display device;

determining a scroll speed for the first scrolling operation, based at least in part on the first speed and based on the baseline scrolling speed, wherein the determined first scrolling operation includes a zoom operation that automatically adjusts a zoom level for display of EPG content, wherein the zoom level is proportional to the scroll speed of the first scrolling operation;

retrieving a first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern and a first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern associated with the first scrolling operation; and

outputting the electronic programming guide (EPG) content to the display device in accordance with the first scrolling operation, wherein the first scrolling operation comprises moving the displayed EPG content in accordance with the first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern and based on a number of times the user movement is repeated over a particular time period, and decelerating moving displayed EPG content in accordance with the first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern, and wherein first scrolling operation comprises automatically adjusting the zoom level of the displayed EPG content in accordance with a current scroll speed during the first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern and the first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern.

14. The method for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 13, wherein the user input device comprises a touch screen, and wherein the user movement is detected via the touch screen.

15. The method for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 13, wherein the first scroll speed deceleration pattern associated with the first scrolling operation includes maintaining a maximum first scroll speed for a predetermined period of time after the user movement has stopped.

16. The method for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 13, wherein the first scroll speed deceleration pattern associated with the first scrolling operation includes decelerating the moving displayed EPG content at a rate proportional to the acceleration of the moving displayed EPG content.

17. The method for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 13, wherein the first scroll speed deceleration pattern associated with the first scrolling operation includes decelerating the moving displayed EPG content from a maximum first scroll speed to a reduced first scroll speed, and then maintaining the reduced first scroll speed for a predetermined period of time.

18. The method for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 13, wherein the displayed content comprises a two-dimensional programming guide, the method further comprising:

determining a diagonal scroll angle for the first scrolling operation, based at least in part on the first direction of the first user movement data, wherein outputting the EPG content in accordance with the first scrolling operation comprises moving the displayed two-dimensional programming guide at the determined diagonal scroll angle.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for remote user navigation of content displayed with a screen display, having sets of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive information from a user input device, wherein;

the information is based at least in part on a first direction and a first speed; and

the first direction and the first speed correspond to a detected finger swipe on a touchscreen of the user input device;

process the information from the user input device;

determine a baseline scrolling speed based on a baseline finger swipe speed;

determine a first scrolling operation controlling the display of electronic programming guide (EPG) content to a display device;

determine a scroll speed for the first scrolling operation, based at least in part on the first speed and based at least in part on the baseline scrolling speed, wherein the determined first scrolling operation includes a zoom operation that automatically adjusts a zoom level for display of EPG content, wherein the zoom level is proportional to the scroll speed of the first scrolling operation;

retrieve a first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern and a first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern associated with the first scrolling operation; and

output the electronic programming guide (EPG) content to the display device in accordance with the first scrolling operation, wherein the first scrolling operation comprises moving the displayed EPG content in accordance with the first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern for a time period following discontinued finger contact with the touchscreen that is proportional to an amount of time finger contact is maintained with the touchscreen at an end of the finger swipe, and decelerating moving displayed EPG content in accordance with the first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern, and wherein first scrolling operation comprises automatically adjusting the zoom level of the displayed EPG content in accordance with a current scroll speed during the first predetermined scroll speed acceleration pattern and the first predetermined scroll speed deceleration pattern.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium for remote user navigation of content displayed with the screen display of claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to:

receive second information from the user input device, wherein the second information is based at least in part on a second user movement detected at the user input device;

process the second information from the user input device to identify a second scrolling operation; and

output content to the display device in accordance with the second scrolling operation, wherein the second scrolling operation alters the display of content in accordance with the first scrolling operation.