Navigation among grouped television channels
US5982411A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 18, 1996 |
| Grant date | Nov 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 18, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N5/50
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A television viewer can easily navigate programs which are grouped according to a common service provider or other grouping criteria by depressing the "channel up" or "channel down" buttons on a hand-held remote control. Programming services which are provided via one or more transmission paths are integrated, thereby allowing a viewer to successively select the grouped channels regardless of the broadcast signal, transmission path, frequency spectrum, transport stream and/or PID in which the channel is carried. Data is provided with broadcast signals to indicate broadcast address information which corresponds to a primary channel and one or more secondary channels of a channel group. A viewer can successively view the channels of the group while bypassing intermediate non-group channels. Grouped channels can thus be designated by a common channel designator such as a channel number. Goodwill and brand loyalty which has been built up over time in a local station channel number can be used to define a family of programs to maintain continuity as channels are added or dropped, or channel assignments of programming services are rearranged.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.