System and method for bypassing an emergency alert break-in

• US 8,336,067 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2009
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Howarter, Jamie, Ceballos, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US12/370,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 725 32- 36
• US Class Current: 725/33
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/008 with transmission via TV or radio broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/76 Wired systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/78 CATV [Community Antenna Television] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosed invention include a system and a method for bypassing an emergency alert break-in. An emergency alert break-in means any message, alert, and/or newscast that interrupts by preempting and/or modifying displaying of a regularly scheduled program to present information associated with an urgent and/or important event. For example, in one embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes receiving data from a media content provider; identifying from the data an emergency alert break-in; presenting a user interface that includes an option for bypassing the emergency alert break-in; and displaying a regularly scheduled program in response to receiving a request to bypass the emergency alert break-in.

Claims

1. A set-top box for bypassing an emergency alert break-in, the set top box comprising:

a memory component for storing computer executable instructions;

a communication interface for receiving data from a media content provider, wherein the received data includes the emergency alert break-in and a regularly scheduled program;

an emergency alert break-in monitoring module for identifying the emergency alert break-in from the received data;

an emergency alert break-in bypass user interface module for generating and displaying an emergency alert break-in bypass user interface for enabling a viewer to bypass an identified emergency alert break-in,

wherein in response to receiving a user request to bypass the identified emergency alert break-in, the set-top box transmits a request to a third party content provider to stream the regularly scheduled program to the set-top box; and

displaying the regularly scheduled program.

2. The set top box of claim 1, wherein the third party content provider is a television network that provides the regularly scheduled program.

3. A method executed by a set-top box for bypassing an emergency alert break-in, the method comprising:

receiving data from a media content provider, wherein the data includes the emergency alert break-in and a regularly scheduled program;

identifying from the data an emergency alert break-in;

presenting a user interface that includes an option for bypassing the emergency alert break-in;

responsive to receiving a request to bypass the emergency alert break-in, transmitting a request to a third party content provider to stream the regularly scheduled program to the set-top box; and

displaying the regularly scheduled program.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising displaying the emergency alert break-in in response to not receiving a user response to the presented user interface within a specified period.