Patent US3426494A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent EP0854645A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0854645A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electronic television program guide system and method
Assignee: Texas Instruments Inc
•
Filing: 1998-01-05
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2018-01-05
Abstract
Abstract An electronic programming guide (70) operates on a computing platform (12) associated with a television (40). The platform (12) accesses a program listing database (48) containing program listing information (6) for a plurality of television programs. The electronic programming guide (70) includes a profile database (80) that stores a viewer profile (84) and a suggest module (76) that is coupled to the profile database (80). The suggest module (76) accesses the viewer profile (84) and the program listing information (6) and, in response, generates a preferred schedule (100) according to the viewer profile (84) and the program listing information (6). The preferred schedule (100) indicates the desirability of a particular program relative to other programs. The electronic programming guide (70) may also be used to Instruct a recorder (20) to record a television program in accordance with the program listing information (6) and viewer input information that does not specify broadcast information concerning the program.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert T. Killian
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 06:19
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/765; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/47; H04N21/475; H04N21/4751; H04N21/20; H04N21/25; H04N21/258; H04N21/25866; H04N21/25891; H04N21/41; H04N21/414; H04N21/4147; H04N21/43; H04N21/433; H04N21/4332; H04N21/4334; H04N21/45; H04N21/4508; H04N21/4532; H04N21/454; H04N21/458; H04N21/462; H04N21/4622; H04N21/472; H04N21/47214; H04N21/478; H04N21/4782; H04N21/482; H04N21/4828; H04N21/80; H04N21/81; H04N21/812; H04N21/85; H04N21/858; H04N21/8586; H04N5/78; H04N5/782; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17345; H04N7/17354; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S348/00; Y10S348/908
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
An electronic programming guide for computing
platform associated with a television, the platform
operable to access a program listing database containing
program listing information for a plurality of television
programs, the electronic programming guide comprising: a profile database for storing a viewer profile; and a suggest module coupled to the profile database for
accessing the viewer profile and the program listing
information and, in response, to generate a preferred
schedule according to the viewer profile and the program
listing information, the preferred schedule indicative of
the desirability of a particular program relative to other
programs.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
25 words
The electronic programming guide of Claim 1, further
comprising a profile module for receiving viewer
preference information and, in response, for generating
the viewer profile.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The electronic programming guide of Claim 2, wherein
the profile module is operable to provide a preference
template to the viewer for receiving the viewer preference
information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The electronic programming guide of any preceding
Claim, wherein the viewer profile includes a ranking
corresponding to an option selected from the group
consisting of: a genre option; an actor option; a sports team option; and a keyword option.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The electronic programming guide of any preceding
Claim, wherein the suggest module comprises a scoring
algorithm for generating a score for the program according
to the viewer profile and the program listing information.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The electronic programming guide of Claim 5, wherein
the suggest module is further operable to associate a
color with the program in the preferred schedule according
to the score for the program.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The electronic programming guide of Claim 5 or Claim
6, wherein the suggest module is further operable to
select a channel for viewing according to the score for
the program.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
The electronic programming guide of any preceding
Claim, wherein the viewer profile comprises an option that
corresponds to an undesirable program, the suggest module
operable to prevent viewing of the undesirable program in
accordance with the option and program listing information
for the undesirable program.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
88 words
A method performed on a computing platform that
is associated with a television for providing
functionality associated with an electronic programming
guide, the method comprising: storing a viewer profile in a profile database; accessing the viewer profile in the profile database
and program listing information stored in a program
listing database for a plurality of television programs;
and generating a preferred schedule in accordance with
the viewer profile and the program listing information,
the preferred schedule indicative of the desirability of a
particular program relative to other programs.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of Claim 9, further comprising the steps
of: receiving viewer preference information; and generating the viewer profile according to the viewer
preference information.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of Claim 10, further comprising the step
of providing a preference template to the viewer for
receiving the viewer preference information.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
49 words
The method of any of Claims 9 to 11, wherein the step
of storing the viewer profile comprises storing a viewer
profile having a ranking corresponding to an option
selected from the group consisting of: a genre option; an actor option; a sports team option; and a keyword option.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
30 words
The method of any of Claims 9 to 12, further
comprising the step of generating a score for the program
according to the viewer profile and the program listing
information.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of Claim 13, further comprising the step
of associating a color with the program in the preferred
schedule according to the score for the program.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of Claim 13 or Claim 14, further
comprising the step of selecting a channel for viewing
according to the score for the program.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
50 words
The method of any of Claims 9 to 15, wherein the step
of storing the viewer profile having storing a viewer
profile comprises an option that corresponds to an
undesirable program, and preventing viewing of the
undesirable program according to the option and program
listing information for the undesirable program.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
85 words
A method performed on a computing platform that
is associated with a television and a recorder for
recording a television program, the method comprising: receiving viewer input information; accessing program listing information for a plurality
of programs stored in a program listing database coupled
to the platform; comparing the input information with the program
listing information; generating recording information for the program in
accordance with the comparison; and communicating recording information for the program
to the recorder to instruct the recorder to record the
program.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of Claim 17, wherein the step of receiving
viewer input information comprises receiving viewer input
information comprising a program title.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of Claim 17, wherein the step of receiving
viewer input information comprising receiving viewer input
information comprises viewer preference information that
includes a ranking corresponding to an option selected
from the group consisting of: a genre option; an actor option; a sports team option; and a keyword option.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of Claim 19, further comprising the step
of generating a score for the program according to the
viewer preference information and the program listing
information.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
WO1992004801A1
Cited
WO1994014284A1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.