KR20000047625A - Method and apparatus for remote interaction with a television system - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable program selection device (PSD) according to the present invention stores data related to program scheduling which can be downloaded to itself. The apparatus includes a database and an application program as well as an end user interface for querying that database. The database includes parameters associated with the television program, such as description, time, airtime, genre, channel number, and unique program code associated with each program, and is keyword searchable. When a user selects a program by searching for a keyword or activating the program by looking at the program channel / time grid, the selected program is stored as program code sent by the IR link to the remote VCR and / or television. Then, in response to the received program code, the VCR is automatically programmed to record the selected program at the appropriate time, or the television channel is automatically changed if the program selection relates to a real time program.

Description

A computer program product embodying a method of remote communication with a television, and a device and a method of remote communication on a medium {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTE INTERACTION WITH A TELEVISION SYSTEM}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to consumer television systems, and more particularly, to a system and method for viewer program selection and TV program recording.

With the advent of consumer television satellite antennas, fiber optic cables, and other devices capable of transmitting even wider bandwidths to the home, home television viewers are being baptized with a huge number of television programs to choose from. This surge in quantitative and qualitative aspects of program content has resulted in a familiar practice of "time shifting" a program by VCR recording for later viewing, which now allows viewers to take advantage of this increase in television programming. It has become more important in making it possible. This proliferation also allows users to easily select from this vast amount of program content in an intelligent and more refined way for program selection, and to easily schedule some of these programs to write to tape if desired. It has caused great difficulty in providing viewers with a simple, user-friendly way to arrange.

Regarding the current technology available for VCR programming itself, it was unbelievable how inadequate this technology was, and it even made a joke of a famous comedian about the inability to operate a VCR. However, assuming that this problem is solved by physically facilitating the development of an easier way to program the VCR, it alone would lead to other serious problems associated with current consumer televisions, namely the increased bandwidth transmitted to the home. This does not solve the aforementioned problem in choosing valuable television programming for recording or viewing from a growing set of options.

In the past, there have been several attempts to solve this problem by helping viewers in program selection. The best known is the list of various programs published in hardcopy television guides or local newspapers such as "TV Guides." This approach is clearly limited, and what matters with these limitations is the limited ability to provide details about each program without any search capabilities at all. Moreover, since some satellite systems have more than 1000 channels, it can be readily seen that conventional methods of providing television programming information cannot meet modern needs.

One attempt to address these shortcomings of hardcopy TV guides is to provide such TV guides via cable, Internet or satellite providers. This approach also suffers from the hardcopy system in that there is no active search facility. Thus, while using a list of programs in a physical form that is more convenient due to the program schedules appearing on the screen, the user struggles to traverse through a huge number of these screens to find the desired program. This approach also requires the user to traverse through a large list of information and programs that are not of interest to the user. Moreover, this type of hardcopy or on-TV program guide can only show the programming of the day, due to the logistical strategy of providing a wealth of information to the end user.

In addition to selecting such valuable viewing material, in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems of end users who can easily program the VCR for time-shifting, end users are in need of a video clipping service. Providing companies have emerged. In this way, the user creates a profile of interest. Then, the company periodically records programs that match the user profile, such as programs that the user may be interested in and may be of interest to the user, and then physically record these tapes to end users that record potentially interesting programs. Send. This approach also has a very serious and obvious disadvantage, the main one of which is that program selection is made by a third party and there is a delay and cost until these physical tapes reach the end user.

In addition, various mechanisms have been commercialized in the consumer domain in an attempt to simplify VCR programming such as "VCR." One of these systems uses an infrared link between the cable tuner box and the VCR to allow the user to select an arbitrary program from the on-screen program guide and thus direct the IR signal from the cable box to the VCR with a corresponding unique code. You want to program the VCR automatically by sending it. This system is quite good in its implementation, but nevertheless still has most of the disadvantages mentioned above, ie the user still has to chase through a daily program guide, perhaps consisting of thousands of programs. A related approach by another company is to provide the program code number associated with a given program, but physically print the code number in the program guide. In this way, the end user or viewer simply reads the physical program guide and uses the remote channel converter to type in a unique code number associated with the program when selecting a program of interest. However, this method does not, among other things, meet the need for simplification in selecting the desired programs from an extensive list, and has all the other serious drawbacks described in connection with the list of physical hardcopy programs.

Thus, there is an urgent need for a consumer television system that can support the end user's ability to program the VCR for time shifting. It also provides an efficient and inexpensive mechanism for end users to easily select and record to tape programs that more accurately reflect their differentiated viewing needs and better satisfy them in a more refined and detailed way. A system that can provide is very desirable.

1 is an advanced functional block diagram illustrating components of a program selection device used with the system of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the components of the television schedule viewing and scheduling system of the present invention, including the program selection device shown in FIG.

3 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the system shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: CPU 11: ROM

12: RAM 13: I / O Adapter

14: communication adapter 15: disk device

16: bus 17: keyboard

18: user interface adapter 19: display adapter

21: Screen 23: Joy Stick

25: mouse 27: speaker

29: operating system 31: application

A portable program selection device (PSD) according to the present invention stores data related to program scheduling downloadable to it. The apparatus includes a database and an application program as well as an end-user interface for querying this database. The database includes parameters associated with the television program, such as program description, time, total broadcast time, genre, channel number, and unique program code associated with each program, and is keyword searchable. When a user selects a program by searching for a keyword or activating a program by examining the program channel / time grid, the selected program is stored as program code that is sent to the remote VCR and / or television via an IR link. At this time, in response to the received program code, the VCR is automatically programmed to record the selected program at its appropriate time, or automatically changes the television channel if the program selection relates to a real-time program.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a computer system that can advantageously utilize the improved GUI control protection system of the present invention. The system includes a CPU 10, a ROM 11, a RAM 12, an I / O adapter 13, a user interface adapter 18, a communication adapter 14 and a display adapter 19, all of which are Are interconnected via a common address, data and control path or bus 16. Each of these components accesses a common bus using conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art, such that the CPU 10 becomes a busmaster to dedicate a particular address range for each component in the system. Use the method. As also shown in FIG. 1, these external devices, such as DASD 15, interface to common bus 16 via respective adapters, such as I / O adapter 13. Other external devices, such as the display 21, likewise allow data to be transferred between the bus 16 and the display 21 or other device using their respective adapters, such as the display adapter 19. Also provided are various user interface means interconnected with the user interface adapter 18, as shown in the accompanying drawings, as a representative user input device, a joy stick 23, a mouse 25, a keyboard 17 ) And a speaker and / or microphone 27. The system is also provided with a conventional operating system 29 adapted to run one or more applications 31. Each of these units is well known and will not be described further herein.

The present invention is essentially a computer system, a corresponding microprocessor such as RS / 6000, RISC-based workstations and personal computers from IBM running AIX and OS / 2 operating systems, respectively, or RS / 6000 workstations, for example. Can be implemented on similar machines of other manufacturers, including the 604 PowerPC RISC chip (RS / 6000, IBM, AIX, OS / 2 and PowerPC are registered trademarks of IBM).

Along with the CPU 10 of FIG. 1, one or more microprocessors are typically included to perform the system address, data, and control processing functions necessary to correct the system operation of FIG. 1. Although the present invention allows applications for various microprocessor designs, in the embodiments disclosed herein, the microprocessor is manufactured by IBM Corporation, a type of microprocessor known as a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor. In the form of a PowerPC 604 microprocessor. Further details regarding the architecture and operation of these microprocessors can be obtained from the PowerPC 604 RISC Microprocessor User Manual, document # MPC604UM / AD (Copyright, is IBM's), issued November 1994, which is incorporated herein by reference. It is cited by reference.

In the context of the present invention, a user may control various objects such as a cursor and a pop up or pop down menu, which may be manipulated by various pointing devices 25 such as a mouse 25 and navigation initiated by voice. You see on the display 21. The program code associated with the user interface adapter 18 and the application code residing in the RAM 12 and / or the DASD 15 are connected by the device driver for the pointing device 25 and the microphone 27 in relation to the operating environment. 27 assists the movement of the cursor on the display screen 21 in response to and correlates with the correlated voice command spoken therein and enables its movement.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the program selection device PSD of FIG. 1 is shown in simplified form with reference numeral 42. The program selection device may essentially take the form of any hand held device, such as a palm pilot, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. In its general form, such a program selection device comprises a small screen 43 that supports the functionality of the display 39 of FIG. In addition, the program selection device includes an application program 68, a keyboard 70 in a somewhat limited form that performs the same function as the keyboard 24 of FIG. 1, and a pointing device 72 similar to the pointing device 26 of FIG. Include. In addition, a hard drive 58 or other form of mass read / write storage similar to the disk drive 20 of FIG. 1 is provided for the purpose of the following description.

One function of the PSD 42 is that it can be adapted to communicate with the Internet 46. This is shown in the figure as a link 44 to the Internet, which links the PSD 42 to a telephone jack of a computer system modem that includes a cell phone function or connector and thereby accesses the Internet 46. It can have the form of a telephone link. Alternatively, PSD 42 may be an adapter that communicates with an Internet service provider (ISP) by link 48, which may also take the form of a telephone link to a computer system connected to an ISP. It may be. The purpose of the connection of these links 44, 48 and the Internet 46 or ISP 50 is preferably stored in the storage database 58 in compressed form and is readable by the application program 68, and the PSD ( 42) is a connection to a server, which is a repository of television programming data that may be downloaded.

Such data will preferably contain much more detail than is currently available in conventional hardcopy or on-screen TV program guides, a representative sampling of such abundant data being shown on screen 60 and its configuration. The elements can be driven to appear on the screen 43 which is readable by the viewer if desired. Such a dataset for each program available to viewers may include, for example, a much more detailed description of the program, airing date, airing time, total airing time, lead actor, genre type (comedy, drama, action, etc.), airing channels. And a unique program code number associated with the program for the purpose of describing later.

In addition, a programming grid 64 can be observed on screen 43 that includes a grid of blocks, each associated with a particular date and time, for the daily data downloaded to PSD 42. Each grid block preferably includes an abbreviated title or description of the program associated with it, whereby the information shown on screen 60 is activated upon activation of the block using the pointing device 72 with that particular grid block. It appears to the end user on the screen 43 of the PSD 42.

If the viewer views the information in the dataset 60 and determines that a particular program is worth watching, the end user then activates a block, such as block 61, using the indicating device 72 and the cursor 62 to make his or her intentions. The VCR 54 can be programmed, or the TV 56 can be changed to the corresponding program in real time when the program is currently being broadcast. In this way, an instruction to cause the VCR to record the program in the future or to immediately change the television channel to the program is a conventional IR link 52 between the PSD 42, the VCR 54 and the TV 56. Can be executed using.

One feature of the present invention is to provide a keyword search capability of the dataset 60. Therefore, by navigation on the screen 43 using the pointing device 72, the user can search for a desired program by inputting a certain keyword using the keyboard 70. For example, if the user is interested in knowing whether John Wayne's movie will be aired next week, the user may use the keyboard 70, the pointing device 72 and the screen 43 to "John Wayne" and Enter the desired keyword of the week, resulting in a grid similar to grid 64 containing all movies in which John Wayne appears.

Depending on the details of the program description, the user can also query the database 58 for all programs related to these three keywords by providing a more complex multiword search technique such as "animal, African, science fiction". The present invention is not limited to any particular search strategy and allows any number of databases and query methods that may be up-to-date, including all or part of the stored end user profile, including artificial intelligence. It is also readily appreciated that the end user can enter keywords associated with any information in dataset 60. Thus, for example, an end user can enter genre types such as "comedy" and "movie" as keywords and the date or time at which they can only watch television at a future time, where such future time and date are unique. It may be a keyword y. Due to the automatic program functionality feature using the VCR 54, datasets transmitted from the Internet 46, ISP 50 or other remote links are preferably for some future period, unlike the more common hardcopy and on-screen program listings. It is more desirable to include a list of programs that extend over time. In this way, if the user selects a future program to program using a unique program code number associated with the program, the VCR 54 can be driven to record future programs to be broadcast. The user can also query PSD 42 for already selected programs and edit these selected programs as desired.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, a flow diagram illustrating an operational sequence of the system shown in FIG. 2 to achieve the objects of the present invention is illustrated.

Prior to the start, it is assumed that the end user uses the telecommunications functionality built into the PSD 42 to form a link to the appropriate program schedule source (Internet 46, ISP 50, or other source), which is the step ( 80).

The end user then downloads the program scheduling data to the PSD 42 using the links 44, 48 as appropriate by talking to the PSD 42 (step 82). This data is preferably in compressed form, and this data can be decompressed by the processing of the PSD 42.

Next, as a downloading result of the previous step, the PSD 42 stores the program scheduling data in the storage 58, more specifically, in the form of a user queryable database (step 84). It is contemplated that the query mechanism for the database 58 should be as user-friendly and sophisticated as possible to allow information retrieval by user profile, keyword entry or other data points. Specifically, according to the present invention, for example, when a user inputs profile data into the PSD 42, the PSD 42 automatically retrieves program scheduling data through the links 44 and 48, and the database ( 58) is periodically updated and the screen 43 provides the end user with a future program that satisfies the user profile criteria for future viewing and / or recording.

Once the program scheduling data has been stored in step 84 of FIG. 3, processing proceeds to step 86 to see if the user wishes to program a future program, or alternatively watch and / or transfer the desired program. Inquire about whether you want to edit the scheduled program for recording. In response, if the end user has indicated intent to program for future recording, processing proceeds along path 88, whereby the user enters a search criterion to be used for program scheduling data (step 92). . The user search involves a query of the database 58 in which program scheduling data resides by the application program 68 in addition to entering a keyword search if the user desires, so that the query results are screened for user selection and conversation. Is displayed on (43).

In step 94, in response to the display of the query and result in step 92, the user can then select the desired program for viewing or recording. If a program has been selected for recording, this fact is stored in storage 58 at step 96 and the unique code of the program at step 98 is transferred to the VCR 54 via IR link 52 for subsequent recording. Is sent). On the other hand, if a program is currently being aired, the system of FIG. 2 transmits the program code to execute real-time change of the program content aired on the TV 56 (step 100).

Next, the system running by the application program 68 queries the user as to whether they want a program or other choice for viewing on the screen 43 (step 102). If no further conversation is desired, processing proceeds to step 108 along path 106 and ends. On the other hand, if the user response by keyboard 70 or pointing device 72 indicates that a desired choice is made for the program or viewing, the system proceeds to step 86 along path 104. In step 86 the system inquires whether it wants to program a future program for recording again, or alternatively wants to watch the selected program in real time or edit the list of stored programs for future recording. . Processing then continues as described above, and if the user wishes to program additional programs, the processing proceeds along the left path 88 of step 86 to follow up for future programming of another program. Run them. On the other hand, in response to the query of step 86, indicating that the user selects a program for real-time viewing or edits a list of programs to be recorded in the future, the process returns to the right path 90 of step 86. Proceed accordingly. If an indication is made that the program list is desired to be edited, in step 110, the selected program list of the program schedule for recording is called and edited. On the other hand, in response to the query at step 86, if the viewer indicated a desire to select the current program for viewing, a schedule is provided to select the program currently being broadcast for viewing (step 112). . Processing then proceeds along path 114, and the system inquires again which further conversations are desired by the end user. If not, processing proceeds right along path 106 and ends at step 108.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that various changes and modifications can be made in the preferred embodiment of the present invention without departing from the true scope thereof. This specification is for illustration purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the claims that follow.

According to the present invention, a consumer television system is provided that can support the end user's ability to program the VCR for time shifting. It also provides an efficient and inexpensive mechanism for end users to easily select and record to tape programs that more accurately reflect their differentiated viewing needs and better satisfy them in a more refined and detailed way. A system for providing is provided.

Claims (30)

In a method of communicating with a television system remotely, ① downloading the program schedule to the first device, Navigating the program schedule on the first device to select a program from the schedule; ③ transmitting a signal corresponding to the program from the first device to the television system Remote conversation method comprising a. The method of claim 1, The navigating step includes executing a keyword search of a keyword corresponding to the program on the program schedule. The method of claim 2, The signal is a program identification signal corresponding to the program. The method of claim 3, wherein The television system includes a program recording device, wherein the signal drives programming of the program recording device so that the program can be recorded. The method of claim 3, wherein The television system comprises a television, the signal driving the television to select the program in real time. The method of claim 5, Wherein the program schedule includes a plurality of program descriptions. The method of claim 6, Wherein the program schedule includes scheduling for multiple days of the program. The method of claim 7, wherein And said downloading is from the internet. The method of claim 8, And said downloading is via a wireless link between said first device and said internet. The method of claim 9, Storing the next signal corresponding to the program on the first device. A device for remotely communicating with a television system, (1) means for downloading a program schedule to a first device, Means for navigating the program schedule on the first device to select a program from the schedule; Means for transmitting a signal corresponding to the program from the first device to the television system Remote conversation device comprising a. The method of claim 11, And said means for navigating comprises means for executing a keyword search of a keyword corresponding to said program on said program schedule. The method of claim 12, And the signal is a program identification signal corresponding to the program. The method of claim 13, And the television system comprises a program recording device, wherein the signal drives programming means of the program recording device to record the program. The method of claim 13, The television system comprises a television, the signal driving the television to select the program in real time. The method of claim 15, Wherein the program schedule includes a plurality of program descriptions. The method of claim 16, And the program schedule includes scheduling for multiple days of the program. The method of claim 17, And said downloading is from the Internet. The method of claim 18, And said downloading means comprises a wireless link between said first device and said internet. The method of claim 19, And means for storing the next signal corresponding to the program in the first device. A computer program product on a computer medium for remotely communicating with a television system, the method comprising: (1) program code means for downloading a program schedule to a first device, Program code means for navigating the program schedule on the first device to select a program from the schedule; Program code means for transmitting a signal corresponding to the program from the first apparatus to the television system Computer program product for remote conversation comprising a. The method of claim 21, Said navigating program code means comprising program code means for executing a keyword search of a keyword corresponding to said program on said program schedule. The method of claim 22, And the signal is a program identification signal corresponding to the program. The method of claim 23, The television system comprises a program recording device, wherein the signal drives program code means for programming the program recording device to record the program. The method of claim 13, And said television system comprises a television, said signal driving said television to select said program in real time. The method of claim 25, And the program schedule includes a plurality of program descriptions. The method of claim 26, And the program schedule includes scheduling for multiple days of the program. The method of claim 27, And said downloading is from the Internet. The method of claim 28, Said downloading program code means being via a wireless link between said first device and said Internet. The method of claim 29, And program code means for storing a next signal corresponding to the program in the first device.