Interactive video distribution systems – Operator interface – To facilitate tuning or selection of video signal
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-10
2003-10-21
Faile, Andrew (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
Operator interface
To facilitate tuning or selection of video signal
C725S039000, C725S043000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06637029
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to television systems in general, and in particular to electronic program guides for television systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electronic program guides are well-known in the art. Electronic program guides provide television program schedule information on the television screen. Typically, electronic program guides display a rectangular grid schedule on the television screen, and allow the viewer to navigate through the schedule and to perform a variety of functions for one or more programs appearing on the schedule. Typical prior art program guides and related technologies are described in the following patents and published applications:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,121 to Young and Reexamination Certificate B1 4,706,121 to Young;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,455 to Young;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,211 to Hallenbeck;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,789 to Young;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,240 to Amano et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,121 to Young et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,499 to Saitoh
U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,266 to Young et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,268 to Young et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,106 to Chaney et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,195 to Clanton, III et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,576 to Klosterman;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,088 to Saitoh;
PCT published application WO 90/00847, assigned to Insight Telecast, Inc.;
PCT published application WO 91/07050, assigned to Insight Telecast, Inc.;
PCT published application 92/04801, assigned to Insight Telecast, Inc.; and
PCT published application WO 95/31069, assigned to Starsight Telecast, Inc.
Customization of program guide information based on information explicitly entered by a viewer is known in the art and is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,266 and 5,479,268, mentioned above Customization of program guide information based on the channel watched and time watched is described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,323,240; 5,444,499; and 5,564,088.
Broadcast methods of interest in the field of the present invention are described in DVB standard ETS
300-468.
The terms “agent” and “intelligent agent” are used interchangeably throughout the present specification and claims to refer to any machine-based assistant, including but not limited to a machine-based assistant implemented in software, with authority delegated from the user or users of the agent. Specifically, the terms “agent” and “intelligent agent”, as used herein, are not limited to agents used by a particular person and may include agents used by one person or a plurality of people, whether used in a domestic, commercial, or other context.
Intelligent agents are both in use and proposed for future use in computer systems, particularly computer systems connected to an internetwork such as the Internet. Publications describing the intelligent agent prior art and proposals for the future use of intelligent agents include the following:
1. Fah-Chun Cheong,
Internet Agents: Spiders. Wanderers, Brokers, and 'Bots
, published by New Riders Publishing, 1996, describes the state of the art in agents in general and in Internet agents in particular. Chapter 1, pages 3-35 and the bibliography thereto on pages 387-390 are particularly relevant to the agent prior art. On page 9, Cheong describes surrogate bots, which are agents to “relieve users of low-level administrative and clerical tasks, such as setting up meetings, sending out papers, locating information, tracking whereabouts of people, and so on.” Cheong gives the example of a visitor scheduling bot whose purpose is to assist in scheduling the visitors of the user of the bot.
On page 19, Cheong describes learning agents, a type of personal agent envisioned in the future for which “learning about the particular user's habits and goals, and tailoring to them accordingly” is the essential principle of operation. As an example of a learning agent, Cheong gives a calendar apprentice which helps a user organize the user's meeting schedule.
2. A World Wide Web Document found on the Internet at www.raleigh.ibm.com/iag/iaghome.html describes intelligent agents in general and IBM intelligent agents in particular. A copy of the document was obtained from the Internet on Sept. 24, 1996 at 2:14 PM.
3. A World Wide Web Document found on the Internet at www.raleigh.ibm.comiiag/iagptc2.html, entitled “The Role of Intelligent Agents in the Information Infrastructure”, describes various application areas that intelligent agents can enhance. In section 3.8, Adaptive User Interfaces, mention is made that “agent technology allows systems to monitor the user's actions, develop models of user abilities, and automatically help out when problems arise.” The document neither describes nor suggests the use of intelligent agents to customize an electronic program guide or any similar system component. A copy of the document was obtained from the Internet on Sep. 24, 1996 at 2:16 PM.
The above-mentioned prior art does not appear to describe or suggest the use of intelligent agents in any of the following contexts: in television systems; with a program guide in any context; or with an entity similar to a program guide in a computer system.
The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout the present specification are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention seeks to provide an improved electronic program guide for use in a television system. Throughout the present specification and claims, the term “television system” is used in a broad sense to include all types of television systems, including but not limited to any one or combination of the following: one-way systems; two-way systems; Systems utilizing cable communication networks, satellite communication networks, telephone communication networks, other communication networks, or any combination thereof, and CATV systems. Particularly, both pay television systems and non-pay or free television systems are included in the term “television system”.
The present invention provides for customization of an electronic program guide by an intelligent agent. Typically, the intelligent agent monitors viewing behavior of one viewer or a plurality of viewers and creates a preference profile based on the monitored viewing behavior. The intelligent agent then preferably employs the preference profile to customize the electronic program guide based on the preference profile.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a television system including a television network, and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, at least one of the multiplicity of subscriber units including a receiving unit for receiving the program schedule information from the television network, a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer, an intelligent agent for customizing the program schedule information based, at least in part, on the viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide including customized program schedule information, and display apparatus for displaying the program guide.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention a subscriber unit for use in a television system including a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the subscriber unit including a receiving unit for receiving the program schedule information, a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer, an intelligent agent for customizing the program schedule information based, at least in part, on the viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide including customized program schedule information, and display apparatus for displaying the program guide.
There is also provided in accordance with another preferred embodiment transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information to a multiplicity of subscriber units, th
Atlow Shabtai
Bar-On Gershon
Eilat Amir
Kranc Moshe
Maissel Jonathan
Faile Andrew
NDS Limited
Tran Hai V.
Welsh & Katz Ltd.
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