Patent · US Expired

Scheduler apparatus employing a gopher agent that sends e-mail messages for use in a television receiver

US7315881B2 · kind B2 · utility

10Cited by
12References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 27, 2000
Grant dateJan 1, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 23, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L51/00
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In a television system in which at least program title information for programs which are to be transmitted in the future is transmitted in advance to form a channel guide listing, apparatus is provided for searching the listing for specific user-entered information, and upon successful conclusion to the search, the apparatus schedules the tuning of the desired program, or in the alternative, notifies the viewer of the availability of the program by sending an e-mail message to an address provided by the viewer. In those instances where descriptive text accompanies the program listing, apparatus of the invention performs a search of the text for a particular text string which may relate to the title, the star, the director, or the context of the program, among other search criteria.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.