Television event marking system

• US 5,907,322 A
• Filed: 10/16/1996
• Issued: 05/25/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Interhome Co., OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: Catch TV Acquisition Corp.
• Inventors: Kelly, Gregory H., Goldberg, Kenneth Y., Gee, John S., Levinson, Philip D., Fullam, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): GRANT, CHRISTOPHER C
• Application Number:
  US08/731,525
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 348/906, 348/1, 348/6, 348/10, 348/11, 348/12, 348/13, 348/7, 348/734, 345/327, 455/4, 455/2, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.3
• US Class Current: 725/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/47214 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 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for bookmarking viewer selected TV broadcast events and displaying a set of associated internet locations or website hotlinks, comprising the selection of a set of broadcast events using a remote control, and storing a set of event-identifier data associated with the set of selected broadcast events in an activity table, and then generating a set of associated internet locations or website hotlinks by comparing the set of event identifiers with a database of TV schedules, events and company information. The generated set of associated internet locations or website hotlinks can then be used by viewer for access to and display of the selected internet locations associated with the set of selected broadcast events.

Claims

1. A method for marking and recording viewer-selected TV broadcast events comprising the steps of:

selecting a set of broadcast events using a remote control, wherein the step of selecting a set of broadcast events comprises;

activating by a viewer an event select button on the remote control; and

detecting in response to the viewer activating the event select button an associated date and time data from a real time clock circuit and an associated channel data from a channel register corresponding to the selected event; and

storing a set of event-identifiers associated with the set of selected broadcast events, comprising storing the detected date and time data and the detected channel data as an activity record in an activity table.

2. The method of recording viewer selected broadcast events of claim 1 further comprising a viewer activating a direct network access button on the remote control for providing network access to an associated network location corresponding to viewer selected event the step of activating network access comprising downloading the stored activity table from the remote control to a network accessing device.

3. The method of recording viewer selected broadcast events of claim 2 wherein the network access device comprises a personal computer having network access interface, and the step of activating network access further comprises providing the stored activity table to a remote database via the personal computer, and transmitting in response thereto, a network address of an associated website correlating to viewer'"'"'s selection from the database to the personal computer.

4. A system for recording viewer selected TV broadcast events and displaying a corresponding set of associated internet locations comprising:

a television for broadcasting a series of television events; and

a remote control for controlling the television, the remote control comprising an event selection button to allow a viewer to mark a set of selected broadcast events the event selection button coupled to a channel register to read channel data and a clock circuit to access a date and time data associated with each selected event; and

a network accessing unit, wherein the network accessing unit having an activity table comprising event identifying data generated in response to the activation of the event selection button and transmits the activity table to an online central database for generating a set of internet locations associated with the set of selected broadcast events.

5. The system of recording viewer-selected broadcast events of claim 4 wherein the remote control further comprises a network access button to allow a viewer direct access to and for displaying websites of selected event.

6. The system of recording viewer-selected broadcast events of claim 4 wherein the remote control further comprises an upload function button to provide a transmission of the activity table from remote control to a network access unit.

7. A method for recording viewer selected TV broadcast events and displaying an associated set of internet locations comprising:

selecting by a viewer a set of broadcast events using a remote control;

storing in response to each viewer activation of an event select button on the remote control an activity record comprising a date and time data from a clock circuit and a channel data from a channel register, each activity record stored into an activity table associated with the set of selected broadcast events;

transmitting the activity table through a network access unit to a central database on the net; and

generating a set of internet locations and website hotlinks in response to each activity entry correlating to events identified by the activity table, wherein the set of internet locations and website hotlinks can be used by the viewer to access and display selected internet locations.

8. The method for recording viewer selected TV broadcast events of claim 7 wherein the network access unit comprises a personal computer.

9. The method for recording viewer selected TV broadcast events of claim 7 wherein the network access unit comprises a set top box.

10. A method for marking and recording listener-selected radio broadcast events comprising the steps of:

selecting a set of broadcast events using a remote control, wherein the step of selecting a set of broadcast events comprises;

activating by a listener an event select button on the remote control; and

detecting in response to the listener activating the event select button an associated date and time data from a real time clock circuit and an associated channel data from a channel register corresponding to the selected event; and

storing a set of event-identifiers associated with the set of selected broadcast events, comprising storing the detected date and time data and the detected channel data as an activity record in an activity table.