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  Television control interface with electronic guideUSPTO Application #: 20060242666Title: Television control interface with electronic guide Abstract: An on-screen menu method and system for controlling the functions of integrated electronic devices and a television schedule system and method for displaying television schedule information on a television screen includes a program guide having a schedule information area that depicts the programs that are being presented on each channel at each time during the day and an interconnected series of menus to control the features of the integrated electronic devices. An input device allows the viewer to move a pointer over different interactive areas of the guide and the function performed when the area is activated is displayed in a contextual help window. Various control glyphs provide for recursive interaction with the guide. (end of abstract) Agent: Alexander Shvarts Fish & Neave - New York, NY, US Inventors: Theresa A. Alba, Marcia A. Casement, William De Stein, David Folker, Keith W. Hunwick, Kenneth D. Johnson USPTO Applicaton #: 20060242666 - Class: 725040000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Interactive Video Distribution Systems, Operator Interface, To Facilitate Tuning Or Selection Of Video Signal, Electronic Program Guide, For Displaying Additional Information The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060242666. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/159,702, filed May 28, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/032,374, filed Feb. 27, 1998, which claims benefit from a U.S. Provisional patent application entitled "Seamless Television Control Interface with Electronic Guide,"U.S. Application No. 60/039,278, which was filed on Feb. 28, 1997, of Alba et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention generally relates to television schedule information, and more particularly to a system and method for displaying a television program guide on a television screen. [0003] As the number of television stations in a metropolitan area or on a cable network has increased, the number of programs of potential interest that are presented to a viewer has risen dramatically. With the use of dish antennas capable of receiving direct satellite signals, the multitude of programs available to the viewer has further increased. [0004] Additionally, television faces a digital future that will see the merger of television and PC technology. The television set of the future will include a micro-computer, a modem of interconnectivity with other computers over networks, intranets, and the internet, and be connectable to computer peripherals such as printers. Such capabilities as near "video on demand" (NVOD), "video on demand", "access to the world wide web", "audio on demand", etc. will be present the viewer with a plethora of information and bandwidth. In addition to PC capabilities, viewers will want to control other consumer electronic devices such as VCR's and surround sound receivers. [0005] As has become increasingly evident, information overload can actually reduce the usefulness of the information delivered. Accordingly, a great challenge exists to provide an interface that manages and provides an intelligent, user-friendly interface to the information available. [0006] Consequently, television schedule systems or electronic program guides (EPG) that are provided directly on the viewer's television screen have been developed to assist the viewer in sorting through these various programs and determining which programs to watch or record. One such television schedule system is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,121 (Young et al.), the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In one embodiment of Young, the television schedule includes a series of menu screens having an array of cells corresponding to different television programs. The viewer may scroll through the cells to view which television programs are being presented on various channels at various times. In addition, the viewer may select certain cells to obtain more information on the associated program or to pull up other sub-menus with additional options. [0007] The recent development of television schedule systems, such as the above described patent to Young, have created many new challenges. One such challenge is to manage intelligently the vast stores of information available and provide user access and control directly through an electronic program guide. Another challenge is to facilitate easy access to a wide range of functionality through the combination of a limited number of user interactions. And still another challenge is to control several differing integrated electronic devices with the same ease of use incorporated into each. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention provides a system and method of accessing a series of menus for controlling a variety of integrated electronic devices and for displaying schedule information on a visual interface, such as a television screen, a computer monitor or the like. An integrated electronic device is any device that has been configured to accept and perform the commands of the on-screen menuing system. The present invention also provides a system and method for allowing the viewer to navigate and interact with a program guide that is displayed, for example, on the viewer's television screen. The program guide will usually include a schedule information area that depicts the programs that are being presented on each channel at each time during the day. With an input device, such as a remote control device, pointing device, mouse, keyboard, microphone or the like, the viewer can browse through the schedule information area and/or obtain more information about programs of particular interest. [0009] According to one aspect of the invention, actions are directly invoked by moving a pointer over areas of the visual interface and selecting or "clicking" on the area. [0010] In one aspect of the invention, a system and method is provided for allowing the viewer to utilize display action controls, configured as glyphs, to recursively vary the configuration of the display area. Each glyph is activated by a point and click action of the user input device and serves as a switch for changing between two modes. [0011] According to one aspect of the invention, a system and method is provided for accessing a series of menus and host functions that control a variety of integrated consumer electronic devices. [0012] According to one aspect of the invention, a system and method is provided for allowing the user to easily change the time frame displayed on the EPG guide, and the accompanying viewer guide by activating the time bar glyph and then activating a specific time indicator glyph. [0013] According to one aspect of the invention, a system and method is provided for changing the configuration of the pointer/cursor to provide the user with additional or alternate information. The pointer/cursor changes depending on the location of the pointer/cursor on the EPG display guide. [0014] According to one aspect of the invention, a system and method is provided for graphically depicting the current time and the show time remaining by displaying a transparent shadow that proceeds across the EPG screen from left to right. [0015] Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent in view of the following detailed description and the appended drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0016] FIG. 1 is a representation of an embodiment of the EPG display of the present invention. [0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a TV system. [0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a hardware unit for generating an on-screen electronic programming guide (EPG). [0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the hierarchical database utilized to generate the EPG. [0020] FIGS. 5A-5D are schematic diagrams of data structures in the database. [0021] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a menuing hierarchy. Continue reading... Full patent description for Television control interface with electronic guide Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Television control interface with electronic guide patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Television control interface with electronic guide or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Interactive television program guide systems with initial channel tuning Next Patent Application: Ad monitoring and indication Industry Class: Interactive video distribution systems ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Television control interface with electronic guide patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.3252 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Daimler Chrysler , DirecTV , Exxonmobil Chemical Company , Goodyear , Intel , Kyocera Wireless , |
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