Television system, television set and remote controller

• US 9,319,615 B2
• Filed: 01/01/2014
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NL Giken, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NL Giken, Inc.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Masahide, Matsui, Tohru
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAIEM, SEAN N
• Application Number:
  US14/145,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20140118546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• 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: H04H 60/76 Arrangements characterised by transmission systems other than for broadcast, e.g. the Internet for broadcast H04H20/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/251 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies details of learning user preferences for the retrieval of video data in a video database G06F16/739; computer systems using learning methods G06N3/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• 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 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• 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 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• 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 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In response to an operation such as power-on or power-off, channel change and sound volume change, a television set combined with a personal computer automatically makes e-mail with information in a predetermined format indicative of the operation attached. The e-mail is automatically sent to another television set to inform the other television set of operation of the own television set. On the other hand, the e-mail can be sent to a rating company for audience share survey. The television set automatically reads the received e-mail and attachment to change the indication of display. The television set has storage of the received information for analysis of an abnormality. Abnormality can be also sensed through abnormal act on the remote controller apt to be taken by a person in panic or off the truck. The television set refuses information from unknown address for blocking an attack of a stranger.

Claims

1. A television set system comprising:

a television function unit;

a display arranged to display a broadcast program in accordance with the television function unit;

a receiver arranged to receive, without request or acknowledgement, information of one definite broadcast program which can be displayed on the display and is identified by a channel selection of another television set in another place; and

a manual controller arranged to change the display in response to a predetermined same manual operation from own motive of a viewer of the display on the basis of the information received by the receiver, the predetermined same manual operation from own motive having no influence on the channel selection of the another television set, but having influence solely on the change in the display of the own television set into the one definite broadcast program identified by the channel selection of the another television set with the information received by the receiver,

wherein the information includes information of a broadcast program which is currently not displayed on the display, but can be displayed by a channel change, and

wherein the manual controller is arranged to instantly carry out replacement of the currently displayed broadcast program with the one definite broadcast program identified by the channel selection of the another television set in response to the predetermined same manual operation, the same manual operation being universal regardless of the information and without any channel selecting operation,

whereby same experience as that of a viewer of the another television set is possible from own motive of the viewer by means of the manual controller.

2. The television set system according to claim 1, wherein the channel information of the another television set is converted into its own local channel number if it differs from that of the local channel number in an area where the another television set is located.

3. The television set system according to claim 1, wherein the manual controller is a remote controller including:

an operating part including a plurality of keys each of which are assigned to predetermined functions, respectively, the plurality of keys including a predetermined key for replacing the currently displayed broadcast program by the one definite broadcast program identified by the channel selection of the another television set; and

a signal transmitter arranged to transmit a control signal to the television function unit in response to the operation of the predetermined key in the operating part.

4. A broadcast program viewing system for viewing a broadcast program same as that identified by a program selection of another broadcast program viewing system in another place to share same experience of viewing same broadcast program, comprising:

a display arranged to display a broadcast program;

a receiver arranged to receive, without request or acknowledgement, information of one definite broadcast program which can be displayed on the display and is identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system, the information including information of a broadcast program which is not currently not displayed on the display, but can be displayed by a channel change; and

a manual controller having a predetermined operating portion to change the display in response to a predetermined same manual operation from own motive of a viewer of the display on the basis of the information received by the receiver, the predetermined same manual operation from own motive having no influence on the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system, but having influence solely on the change in the display of the own broadcast program viewing system into the one definite broadcast program identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system with the information received by the receiver, wherein the manual controller is arranged to instantly carry out replacement of the currently displayed broadcast program with the one definite broadcast program identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system in response to the same manual operation at the predetermined operating portion, the same manual operation being universal regardless of the information and without any program selecting operation.

5. The broadcast program viewing system according to claim 4, wherein the broadcast program is television program transmitted from a broadcast station, and wherein the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system is a channel selection to identify a broadcast station.

6. The broadcast program viewing system according to claim 4, wherein the broadcast program is television program data to be downloaded from a server station, and wherein the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system is a code setting to download the selected broadcast program.

7. The broadcast program viewing system according to claim 4, wherein the manual controller is a remote controller including:

an operating part including a plurality of operating portions each of which are assigned to predetermined functions, respectively, the plurality of operating portions including the predetermined operating portion; and

a signal transmitter arranged to transmit a control signal to the display in response to the operation at the predetermined operating portion.

8. In a broadcast program viewing system for viewing a broadcast program same as that identified by a program selection of another broadcast program viewing system in another place in accordance with information of one definite broadcast program which can be viewed by the broadcast program viewing system and is identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system to share same experience of viewing same broadcast program, a remote controller comprising:

a manual operating part including a plurality of manual operating portions each of which are assigned to predetermined functions, respectively, the plurality of operating portions including a predetermined operating portion to generate, in response to a same manual operation from own motive of a viewer, a control signal for carrying out replacement of a currently viewed broadcast program with the one definite broadcast program identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system, the same manual operation being universal regardless of the information and without any program selecting operation; and

a signal transmitter arranged to wirelessly transmit the control signal in response to the same manual operation from own motive of the viewer at the predetermined operating portion to instantly carry out the replacement of the currently viewed broadcast program with the one definite broadcast program identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system, wherein the same manual operation from own motive having no influence on the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system, but having influence solely on the replacement of the broadcast program of the own broadcast program viewing system into the one definite broadcast program identified by the program selection of the another broadcast program viewing system in accordance with the information,

wherein the information includes information of a broadcast program which is not currently viewed, but can be viewed by a channel change, the information being without request or acknowledgement from the another broadcast program viewing system.

9. The remote controller according to claim 8 further comprising a display.

10. The remote controller according to claim 9, wherein the manual operating portions of the manual operating part include a phone call key.

11. The remote controller according to claim 10, wherein the manual operating portions of the manual operating part include ten key.

12. The remote controller according to claim 11 further comprising a speaker.

13. The remote controller according to claim 12 further comprising a microphone.

14. The remote controller according to claim 13, wherein the manual operating portions of the manual operating part include a menu key.

15. The remote controller according to claim 13, wherein the manual operating portions of the manual operating part include a scroll key.

16. The remote controller according to claim 13, wherein the manual operating portions of the manual operating part include a push-down operation key.