User defined rules for assigning destinations of content

Abstract
A media guidance application is provided by which users can define rules for assigning user equipment devices as destinations for media content. For example, a user may define a rule by which selected media content having attributes that satisfy a user-defined condition are downloaded, recorded, or streamed to a particular, user-specified user equipment device. The user may define and manage rules using media guidance menus, and may restrict other users from accessing the rules (e.g., parents restricting children).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to systems and methods for creating rules that assign user equipment devices as destinations for media content.


Using interactive media guidance applications, such as interactive television program guides, users may set up a recording by selecting a program and a recording device to perform the recording. Some interactive media guidance applications automatically select a recording device to record a program scheduled for recording based on the availability and capabilities of the recording devices associated with the user. For example, if a user has two recording devices in his home, the media guidance application may automatically record a scheduled program using the recording device with which the recording was scheduled. As another example, the media guidance application may automatically select the recording device that has sufficient space for the program (e.g., if one recording device is full). As still another example, the media guidance application may automatically record a program using a recording device that is not subject to conflict (e.g., if the tuners of a recording device are in use or scheduled to be in use).


Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a media guidance application that receives rules defined by a user for automatically assigning a recording device to perform particular recordings. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a media guidance application that receives rules defined by a user for more generally assigning a user equipment device as a destination for selected media content.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of this invention, an interactive media guidance application receives rules defined by a user for assigning a user equipment device as a destination for media content is provided. For example, the interactive media guidance application may receive a rule identifying the particular recording device that performs a recording. As another example, the interactive media guidance application may receive a rule identifying with which to access a recording performed with a recording device of the user's media network. As still another example, the interactive media guidance application may receive a rule identifying a device for streaming or downloading media content.


A user may have access to a plurality of user equipment devices that, together, form the user's media network. To control the media content that is stored in the devices of the user's media network, the user may define one or more rules for assigning specific user equipment devices as destinations for media content. To define a rule, the user may first define one or more conditions for identifying media content to which the rule applies. The one or more conditions may include one or more attributes of media content such as, for example, genre, theme, title, actor, rating, user rankings (e.g., popularity rankings from tvguide.com), resolution, or any other suitable attribute. In some embodiments, the attributes may be automatically selected based on one or more user preference profiles (e.g., a condition to capture media content that is of interest to a particular user). In such an embodiment, the attributes selected may include, for example, the genre, theme, and actors stored in a particular user's preference profile.


The user may also select one or more user equipment devices as a destination for the media content that satisfies the conditions of a rule. For example, the user may select one or more recording devices, storage devices, computers, car systems, personal media devices, cellular telephones, or any other suitable user equipment device. Once the user has selected both at least one condition and at least one user equipment device, the user may direct the interactive media guidance application to define the rule.


In some embodiments, the interactive media guidance application may require the user to authenticate or to provide authorization information before a rule is defined or modified. For example, the interactive media guidance application may require the user to enter a parental control code before a rule is defined. This may prevent, for example, a child from setting up a rule directing the interactive media guidance application to set the child's personal device as a destination for media content that the child's parents do not wish the child to access (e.g., R-rated content).


The interactive media guidance application may store the rule in any suitable location in or out of the user's media network. For example, the interactive media guidance application may store the rule in a central location (e.g., a central server). As another example, the interactive media guidance application may store the rule in some or all of the devices of the user's media network (e.g., only in the devices identified in the rule, or only in the devices with which the user may select content for storing in the media network). As still another example, the rule may be stored in a data structure that defines the user's media network.


In some embodiments, any suitable process or method may be used to provide media content for which a particular user equipment device is a destination device. For example, the rule may be applied to programs selected for recording, streamed media content (e.g., on-demand media), webcasts, cached media content, or any other suitable process for providing media content. As another example, the rule may direct the interactive media guidance application to transfer a recorded or otherwise stored program (e.g., recorded with a default recording device) to a particular user equipment device. In some embodiments, the rules may be constrained to one or more processes (e.g., only recorded and streamed media content).


The user may select media content for which rules apply in any suitable manner. For example, the user may direct the media guidance application to identify a destination device using the rules when the user selects a program for recording. As another example, the media guidance application may use the rules as a default mechanism for identifying the destination of media content. In some embodiments, the user may direct the media guidance application to apply the rules only to content selected with particular user equipment devices (e.g., any device other than the user's primary television).





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:



FIG. 1 shows an illustrative grid program listings display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 2 shows an illustrative video mosaic program listings display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 3 shows an illustrative login overlay in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 4 shows an illustrative user media network viewing overlay in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 5 shows an illustrative rules overlay in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 6 shows an illustrative record-setup overlay in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 7 shows a generalized embodiment of an illustrative user equipment device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 8 shows a generalized embodiment of an illustrative interactive media guidance system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 9 is a diagram of an illustrative profile data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 10 is a diagram of an illustrative user media network data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 11 is a diagram of an illustrative profile information data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 12 is a diagram of an illustrative media content information data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 13 is a diagram of an illustrative rule data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;



FIG. 14 shows an illustrative flow chart of a process for allowing a user to assign a device among a plurality of devices in a user's media network as a destination for media content in accordance with the present invention;



FIG. 15 shows a flow chart of an illustrative process for setting up a rule in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;



FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of an illustrative process for assigning a user equipment device as a destination for media content selected by an identified user in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and



FIG. 17 shows an illustrative process for identifying the applicable rules when a user is not identified in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The amount of media available to users in any given media delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form of media guidance through an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate media selections and easily identify media that they may desire. An application which provides such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a media guidance application or a guidance application.


Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms depending on the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many types of media content including conventional television programming (provided via traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other means), as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, Webcasts, etc.), and other types of media or video content. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among and locate content related to the video content including, for example, video clips, articles, advertisements, chat sessions, games, etc.


With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users are accessing media on personal computers (PCs) and other devices on which they traditionally did not, such as hand-held computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal media players (e.g., MP3 players), mobile telephones, in-car television devices, or other mobile devices. On these devices users are able to navigate among and locate the same media available through a television. Consequently, media guidance is necessary on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be for media content available only through a television, for media content available only through one or more of these devices, or for media content available both through a television and one or more of these devices. The media guidance applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients on hand-held computers, PDAs, mobile telephones, or other mobile devices. The various devices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications are described in more detail below.


A user, as referred to herein, may be an individual user or a group of users such as the members of a family or a group of friends, for example. A user may use multiple user equipment devices, such as a television, a cell-phone and a personal media player, to access media content. The user equipment devices used by the user form the user's media network. The user's media network may be a home network including, for example, the user's television and personal computer connected through the user's WIFI home network. Alternatively, the user's media network may include user equipment devices connected through the Internet or third-party networks including television service provider networks and cell-phone networks, for example (e.g., a work computer for accessing an on-line interactive program guide, a television and recording device in the user's car, and a plurality of televisions and recording devices in the user's home). The user's media network may include equipment devices that are only used by the user, such as the user's cell-phone. The user's media network may also include shared equipment, such as a television used by multiple members of a household. In some embodiments, shared equipment may be associated with a primary user or group of users (e.g., the television in the parents' bedroom is associated with the parents, while the television in the game room is associated with a child).


User profile information for the user equipment devices of a user's media network may be shared between the devices to coordinate the media guidance provided to the user on each device. The coordination may include sharing user configuration information to provide a common or similar media guidance interface on all of the user's devices. The coordination may also include sharing preference information in order to provide coordinated media content recommendation on the devices. The coordination may include sharing media content information, to allow a user to access recorded content or other stored content from multiple devices. The coordination may provide additional functionality, such as allowing the user to remotely communicate with or control devices on the user's media network using another device on the network.


The media guidance application may provide users with the opportunity to define rules for assigning particular devices of a user's media network as destination devices. Such rules may automatically control where media content is transmitted, stored, or both in the media network. A destination device is a device that can be used to store (e.g., download, cache or record) or display (e.g., stream) media content. The rules may define conditions for identifying media content that is assigned a destination device. In some embodiments, the conditions may be based on the attributes of the media content (e.g., rating, actors, high definition, or theme). In some embodiments, the conditions may be based on the manner in which the media content is received (e.g., recorded, streamed or cached). For example, a rule may assign recordings to particular recording devices. As another example, a rule may assign downloaded content to a particular device of the media network (e.g., media content downloaded from an online store, such as iTunes or Google Video, may be downloaded to a user's personal media device). As still another example, a rule may assign media content streamed from a server (e.g., a VOD server) or provided by a webcast to a particular user device.


One of the functions of the media guidance application is to provide media listings and media information to users. FIGS. 1-6 show illustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance, and in particular media listings. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-6 may be implemented on any suitable device or platform. While the displays of FIGS. 1-6 are illustrated as full screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over media content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access media information by selecting a selectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In response to the user's indication, the media guidance application may provide a display screen with media information organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by media type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organization criteria.



FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different types of media content in a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a column of channel/media type identifiers 104, where each channel/media type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or media type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can select program listings by moving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listing selected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program information region 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, the program description, the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.


In addition to providing access to linear programming provided according to a schedule, the media guidance application also provides access to non-linear programming which is not provided according to a schedule. Non-linear programming may include content from different media sources including on-demand media content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored media content (e.g., video content stored on a digital video recorder (DVR), digital video disc (DVD), video cassette, compact disc (CD), etc.), or other time-insensitive media content. On-demand content may include both movies and original media content provided by a particular media provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND, THE SOPRANOS, and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content may include web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or content available on-demand as streaming media or downloadable media through an Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).


Grid 102 may provide listings for non-linear programming including on-demand listing 114, recorded media listing 116, and Internet content listing 118. A display combining listings for content from different types of media sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media” display. The various permutations of the types of listings that may be displayed that are different than display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings 114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. In other embodiments, listings for these media types may be included directly in grid 102. Additional listings may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons 120.)


Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, options region 126, and user media network identification region 128. User media network identification region 128 may identify the user media network with which the media guidance application is currently associated. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/or preview programs that are currently available, will be available, or were available to the user. The content of video region 122 may correspond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed in grid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the present invention.


Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for media content that, depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscription programming), is currently available for viewing, will be available for viewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, and may correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the media listings in grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or services related or unrelated to the media content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement 124 may be selectable and provide further information about media content, provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing of media content, a product, or a service, provide media content relating to the advertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user's profile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of display provided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.


While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped, advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and location in a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may be provided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid 102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. In addition, advertisements may be overlaid over media content or a guidance application display or embedded within a display. Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other types of media content. Advertisements may be stored in the user equipment with the guidance application, in a database connected to the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming media servers), or on other storage means or a combination of these locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/347,673, filed Jan. 17, 2003, Ward, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004, and Schein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will be appreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the present invention.


Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types of media content, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidance application features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (and other display screens of the present invention), or may be invoked by a user by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The selectable options within options region 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102 or may include options available from a main menu display. Features related to program listings may include searching for other air times or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling series recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental control options, access to various types of listing displays, subscribe to a premium service, edit a user's profile, define a rule for assigning a destination for media content, access a browse overlay, or other options.


The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user's preferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user to customize displays and features to create a personalized “experience” with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by the media guidance application monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences. Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application. Customization of the media guidance application may be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations may include varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font size of text, etc.), aspects of media content listings displayed (e.g., only HDTV programming, user-specified broadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels, recommended media content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, and other desired customizations.


The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profile information or may automatically compile user profile information. The media guidance application may, for example, monitor the media the user accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application may obtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such as www.tvguide.com, from other media guidance applications the user accesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from a handheld device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that the media guidance application may access. As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance application experience across the user's different devices. This type of user experience is described in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additional personalized media guidance application features are described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/437,304, filed Nov. 9, 1999, and Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.


Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown in FIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 for media content information organized based on media type, genre, and/or other organization criteria. In display 200, television listings option 204 is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcast program listings. Unlike the listings from FIG. 1, the listings in display 200 are not limited to simple text (e.g., the program title) and icons to describe media. Rather, in display 200 the listings may provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the media content, video clip previews, live video from the media content, or other types of media that indicate to a user the media content being described by the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide further information about the media content associated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include more than one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216. Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to view video in full-screen or to view program listings related to the video displayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video is displayed on).


The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 is larger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by the media provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically accentuating media listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.


Selectable options 202 may also include user media network options such as View My Media Network, User Preferences and/or Logoff Media Network options. View My Media Network option may be used to view a list of user equipment devices that are associated with the current user media network. The View My Media Network option may also be used to add or remove devices from a user's media network. The User Preferences option may be used to access a user preference menu allowing the user to modify user preference and user personalization options associated with the user's media network and/or the device the media guidance application is associated with. The user preference menu may also allow the user to define and modify rules for assigning a device of the user media network as a destination for media content. The Logoff Media Network option may be used to log off of the user media network the media guidance application is currently associated with, and/or to log on to a different user media network. Further access features for user media networks are discussed in connection with FIG. 3.



FIG. 3 shows an illustrative login overlay 302 that allows a user to log in to a user media network. Login overlay 302 may be presented in response to a user selection of the Logoff Media Network menu option 202 of FIG. 2, for example. Login overlay 302 may include a user selection field 304 and a password field 306. A user may enter a username or other identifier in user selection field 304 by using the arrow buttons to the left and right of field 304 to toggle between the names of users that have recently used the user equipment device. A user may alternatively type a username or identifier into field 304, or use other appropriate means to identify themselves to the user equipment device. An optional password field 306 may be used to confirm the identity of the user logging on.


The login feature may be required in order to associate a user equipment device with a user's media network. A user may be required to log in to her media network the first time she uses a user equipment device. The act of logging into the user's media network may permanently associate the device with the user's media network by storing an identifier of the device in the user's media network profile information. The act of logging in may also download at least part of the profile information associated with the user's media network onto the user equipment device, allowing the user to access her personalization and preference options and her media content information from the device. The device may remain associated with the media network until the user removes the device from her media network.


Alternatively, the user may be required to login to her media network every time she uses the user equipment device in order to confirm her identity to the device and/or to her media network. In the case of shared devices that may be used by multiple users, for example, logging into the user's media network may ensure that the correct user's profile information is loaded onto the equipment device. Other means of logging onto the device may be used. For example, the device may automatically detect the identity of the user using the equipment device based on the user's interactions with the device, and in response to the automatic detection, may prompt the user to confirm her identity or automatically log in to the user's media network. As another example, the device may automatically detect the identity of the user based on the time of day (e.g., a day-parting approach).



FIG. 4 shows an illustrative overlay 402 of a user's media network allowing a user to view user equipment devices associated with the user's media network (e.g., in response to a user selection of the View My Media Network option 202, FIG. 2). The devices associated with the user's media network may be displayed according to the device types (e.g., television, PC, recording device, cell-phone), and according to whether the devices are currently available or unavailable. The media guidance application may identify the user equipment devices associated with the user's media network from, for example, a user media network data structure (e.g., data structure 1000, FIG. 10).


Devices may be unavailable if, for example, they are turned off, they are not currently connected to the network, they are being used by other users, or they are performing background functions such as a scheduled recording. A device may also be marked as unavailable if the device, or features of the device, cannot be accessed from the device the media network is being accessed from. A device may not be accessible because of limitations of the device or limitations imposed by service providers. For example, a cell-phone device may be indicated as unavailable on the user's home television system because the set-top box may not be capable of accessing recordings stored on the phone or scheduling recordings on the phone. In another embodiment, the cell-phone device may be indicated as unavailable because of limitations imposed by telephone service and/or television service providers. For example, limitations imposed by a cell-phone telephone service provider may bar users from scheduling recordings on home television systems using the users' cell-phones. The service providers may limit cross-device functionality and may make such functionality available to users having both their phone service and television service with the same provider, for example. Alternatively, full cross-device functionality may be available for an additional fee. In another embodiment, cross-device functionality may be limited by agreements that users may have entered into. For example, a user may have purchased a recording for playback on a single device, or on particular types of devices, but the recording and/or the device having the recording may be marked as unavailable if the user tries to access the recording from an unauthorized device.


Available devices which will become unavailable at a scheduled time may include indications of the time at which they will become unavailable. Similarly, unavailable devices that will become available at a scheduled time may include indications of their future availability. For example, a recording device that is currently recording a program may be listed as unavailable and may include an indication that the device will become available at a scheduled time (as shown). Conversely, a recording device that is currently available may contain an indication of when it will become unavailable (e.g., the start time of its next scheduled recording).


Overlay 402 may also include a menu option 404 for adding a new device to the network. Menu option 404 may be used to associate the user equipment device currently being used by the user with the user's media network. Menu option 404 may also be used to associate another device with the user's media network by, for example, requesting that the user identify the device to be associated with the network by providing an IP address or other unique identifier of the device. Menu option 406 may allow the user to remove a device from the user's media network. Menu option 406 may be used to disassociate the device being used by the user from the user's media network. Menu option 406 may also be used to disassociate other devices from the user's media network.


The selection of a device listed from overlay 402 may allow a user to access options relating to the device. The user may, for example, access a schedule of the device indicating times at which the device is scheduled to be available or unavailable. The user may also access options for sending a message for display on the device, for remotely controlling the device (e.g., for setting up a recording on a recording device), or for accessing other information relating to the device (e.g., for accessing a list of media content recorded on a recording device).



FIG. 5 shows an illustrative overlay 502 of a menu for allowing a user to define rules for assigning one or more devices of the user's media network as a destination for media content. Overlay 502 includes condition field 504 and user equipment device field 508. To define a rule for automatically assigning a destination for media content, the user may first select a condition for identifying media content. In some embodiments, the condition may be an attribute of media content. For example, the user may select a condition type using arrows 502. In response to a user selection of a condition type, listing 506 of fields associated with the condition type is displayed. The user may then select one or more fields using a highlight region to define the condition for identifying media content.


The user may select any suitable condition type in condition field 504. Such condition types may include, for example, program rating, themes, channel, actor, actress, or any other suitable condition type. In some embodiments, the condition type may include the user (e.g., the user requesting or scheduling a recording), or a user profile (e.g., to capture media that fits within the user's profile information). In some embodiments, the condition type may include the manner in which the media content is transmitted. In the example, of FIG. 5, the displayed condition types are Theme, Rating, and User. Any suitable field may be displayed for each selected condition type. For example, when a user or user profile is selected, the fields displayed may include a listing of users or user profiles associated with one or more devices of the currently selected user media network (e.g., the members of a household). In the example of FIG. 5, the fields listed under the condition type Rating include G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. In some embodiments, the user may simultaneously select a plurality of condition types, fields, or both to define a condition for identifying media content (e.g., the media guidance application may display a plurality of condition types and logical operators between the condition types).


In addition to setting up a condition, the user may select one or more user equipment devices of the user media network as a destination for the media content that satisfies the condition. To select a device, the user may select a device in user equipment device field 508 using arrows 510. The user equipment devices that the user may scroll through in field 508 may include the user equipment devices of the user's media network. In some embodiments, the user may enter identification information (e.g., an IP address or other unique identifier) for a user equipment device that is not listed in field 508.


When the user has selected both the one or more conditions and the one or more user equipment devices for the rule, the user may select an option to define the rule. In the example of FIG. 5, the user selects OK option 512. In response to receiving the user request to define the rule, the media guidance application may store the rule in memory. The rule may also be added to the user profile of the user setting up the rule, transmitted to the devices of the user media network, transmitted to the destination device, or stored in any other suitable location. In some embodiments, if the user is in a household, the rule may be incorporated in the user profiles of each of the users of the household.


The user may view a listing of rules that have been defined by selecting a View Rules option (e.g., option 514). In response to the user selection of the option, the media guidance application may display a listing of rules, which the user may select to modify or remove a rule. The listing may be displayed in a new screen, in an overlay, in a pop-up window, or in any other suitable manner.


When the user has finished managing the rules, the user may return to other display screens of the media guidance application (e.g., screen 100 of FIG. 1 or screen 200 of FIG. 2) by selecting an Exit option. In the example of FIG. 5, the user may select Exit option 516.


In some embodiments, the rules may be protected by a parental control feature. This feature may prevent a child, for example, from having R rated media recorded to a recording device in the child's room or downloaded to the child's media player without the parents' knowledge. To access a parental control menu, the user may select Parent Control Option 520. The parental control menu (not shown), may include a field for entering a parental control password. In response to receiving the correct parental control password, the parental control menu may provide the user with access to some or all options of overlay 500 (e.g., OK option 512), or define or modify the rules as requested by the user.


The user may be required to log in to access overlay 500. For example, the user may be required to log in to his media network (e.g., using overlay 300, FIG. 3). In some embodiments, the parental control menu may serve as a login. This may serve to associate the rules with the user's profile information. The media guidance application may in addition or instead associate the rule with the devices of the user's media network. In such an embodiment, when media content is selected to be stored in a particular user's media network, the rules of all users who are associated with user equipment devices of the user's media network may be applied (e.g., the parents' and older siblings' rules in a household are applied to a younger sibling's recording request).


If the user does not log in, the media guidance application may use a default media network and apply the rules that are associated with the user equipment devices of the network, or require the user to select one or more particular user equipment devices. This approach may be used, for example, for a member of a household that does not have a user ID associated with a particular media network (e.g., a young child in a family does not log-in, and uses a default family media network), or guests (e.g., a babysitter).


A user may remotely assign any device associated with the user's media network as a destination for media content. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may automatically select or recommend a device from the plurality of devices of the user's media network as a destination for media content that satisfies the conditions of a rule. In some embodiments, the user may assign a device as a destination for media content from a web-interface or other user interface allowing the user to communicate with and access information about the media network. The web-interface or other user interface may run on a device of the media network or on a device that is not part of the media network.


Any suitable interface may be used to assign one or more user equipment devices as a destination for media content. For simplicity, the following interface will be described in the context of assigning user equipment devices for recording media content. It will be understood, however, that this or another interface with some or all of the same features may be used to assign one or more equipment devices as a destination for media content in other contexts. Such contexts may include, for example, streaming, downloading, webcasts, caching, or transferring a recorded program to another user equipment device.



FIG. 6 shows an illustrative display 600 of a record-setup overlay 602. Overlay 602 may be presented in response to, for example, the user selecting a Record option while highlight region 110 of FIG. 1 is located on program listing 108. As another example, overlay 602 may be displayed in response to a user pressing a Record key or key sequence while the program is displayed. Overlay 602 may allow the user to select to record media content on any recording device associated with the media network using selection arrows 610 and recording device selection option 608. Alternatively, the user may select to record the program on the device the user is currently using by selecting Current Device option 604, or allow the media guidance application to select a recording device using the rules by selecting Rules option 606.


In response to a user selection of Rules option 606 to set-up a recording, the media guidance application retrieves the rules and applies the condition of each rule to the media content scheduled for recording. After identifying the one or more rules for which the media content satisfies the condition, the media guidance application may schedule the media content for recording with the recording devices specified in the identified rules. In some embodiments, if two or more rules apply to the media content, a single recording may be performed using a single recording device based on an ordering of the rules (e.g., ratings related rules have priority over user-preference and theme related rules, or an ordering set by the user). Alternatively, the media guidance application may direct some or all of the recording devices identified in the rules to perform the recording. In some embodiments, a user may order the rules in response to selecting a View Rules option (e.g., option 514, FIG. 5) to set the relative priority of each rule. The ability to order rules may also be limited to users with the proper parental control password.


In some embodiments, the user may also select one or more formats in which to record the media content. As shown in overlay 602, a user may select to record media content in HDTV format and in a Cell Phone-Highlights format, corresponding to an edited version suitable for viewing on a cell-phone and containing only highlights of the program. A user may select additional formats to record the media content in using Other option 616. A user may select to record the media content in the best available format(s) by selecting Best option 618. Best option 618 may allow the user to record the media content in the highest quality format the content is available in, or in the highest quality format available that can be viewed on the recording device or on any of the user equipment devices associated with the user's media network. A user may select to record the media content in all available formats by selecting All option 618. All option 618 may alternatively allow the user to record the media content in the available formats that are suitable for viewing or recording on user equipment devices associated with the user's media network (e.g., do not record a program in HD if no user equipment device is HD capable). In some embodiments, the rules may automatically determine the format used for the selected content.


In some embodiments, the media guidance application may automatically select a recording device and a format for the selected media content. For example, the rules may the a default selection for identifying the one or more recording devices that are selected to perform the recording. As another example, the rules may automatically select a format for recording the selected content.


Users may access media content and the media guidance application (and its display screens described above and below) from one or more of their user equipment devices. FIG. 7 shows a generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device 700. More specific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 8. User equipment device 700 may receive media content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 702. I/O path 702 may provide media content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, and other video or audio) and data to control circuitry 704, which includes processing circuitry 706 and storage 708. Control circuitry 704 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 702. I/O path 702 may connect control circuitry 704 (and specifically processing circuitry 706) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 7 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.


Control circuitry 704 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry 706 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 704 executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 708). In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 704 may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidance application server or other networks or servers. Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths (which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 8). In addition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (described in more detail below).


Memory (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, or any other suitable memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices (e.g., DVD recorder, CD recorder, video cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may be provided as storage 708 that is part of control circuitry 704. Storage 708 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. For example, user equipment device 700 may include a hard drive for a DVR (sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR) and a DVD recorder as a secondary storage device. Storage 708 may be used to store various types of media described herein and guidance application data, including program information, guidance application settings, user preferences or profile information, or other data used in operating the guidance application. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions).


Control circuitry 704 may include video generating circuitry and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Control circuitry 704 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting media into the preferred output format of the user equipment 700. Circuitry 704 may also include digital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment to receive and to display, to play, or to record media content. The tuning and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating, encoding, decoding, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or more general purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage 708 is provided as a separate device from user equipment 700, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 708.


A user may direct control circuitry 704 using user input interface 710. User input interface 710 may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input interfaces. Display 712 may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of user equipment device 700. Display 712 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 712 may be HDTV-capable. Speakers 714 may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device 700 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other media content displayed on display 712 may be played through speakers 714. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 714.


User equipment device 700 of FIG. 7 can be implemented in system 800 of FIG. 8 as user television equipment 802, user computer equipment 804, wireless user communications device 806, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing media, such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices. User equipment devices, on which a media guidance application is implemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.


User television equipment 802 may include a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a television set, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video-cassette recorder (VCR), a local media server, or other user television equipment. One or more of these devices may be integrated to be a single device, if desired. User computer equipment 804 may include a PC, a laptop, a tablet, a WebTV box, an Apple TV, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC media server, a PC media center, or other user computer equipment. WEBTV is a trademark owned by Microsoft Corp. Wireless user communications device 806 may include PDAs, a mobile telephone, a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming machine, or other wireless devices.


It should be noted that with the advent of television tuner cards for PC's, WebTV, and the integration of video into other user equipment devices, the lines have become blurred when trying to classify a device as one of the above devices. In fact, each of user television equipment 802, user computer equipment 804, and wireless user communications device 806 may utilize at least some of the system features described above in connection with FIG. 7 and, as a result, include flexibility with respect to the type of media content available on the device. For example, user television equipment 802 may be Internet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 804 may include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The media guidance application may also have the same layout on the various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment, the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices.


In system 800, there is typically more than one of each type of user equipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 8 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device (e.g., a user may have a television set and a computer) and also more than one of each type of user equipment device (e.g., a user may have a PDA and a mobile telephone and/or multiple television sets).


The user may also set various settings such as user profile settings to maintain consistent media guidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices. Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and program favorites, programming preferences that the guidance application utilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, and other desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channel as a favorite on, for example, the web site www.tvguide.com on their personal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can change the guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless of whether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device. In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user, as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.


User profile information including user settings, user personalization, user preference, rules, and user media content information may be stored on user equipment devices and/or on user profile server 824. User profile server 824 may be in communication with user equipment devices 802, 804 and 806 through communications path 826 and communications network 814. User profile server 824 may include storage devices for storing user profile information associated with user media networks. User profile server 824 may also include storage devices for storing media content information associated with user media networks including recordings of media content and/or lists of selected media content. User profile server 824 may include processors and communications circuits for managing user profile information, remotely controlling and communicating with user equipment devices, and exchanging user profile information with user equipment devices.


The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 814. Namely, user television equipment 802, user computer equipment 804, and wireless user communications device 806 are coupled to communications network 814 via communications paths 808, 810, and 812, respectively. Communications network 814 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile device (e.g., Blackberry) network, cable network, public switched telephone network, or other types of communications network or combinations of communications networks. BLACKBERRY is a trademark owned by Research In Motion Limited Corp. Paths 808, 810, and 812 may separately or together include one or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths. Path 812 is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 8 it is a wireless path and paths 808 and 810 are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 8 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.


Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each other via communication paths, such as those described above in connection with paths 808, 810, and 812, as well other short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices may also communicate with each other directly through an indirect path via communications network 814.


System 800 includes media content source 816, media guidance data source 818, and user profile server 824 coupled to communications network 814 via communication paths 820, 822 and 826, respectively. Paths 820, 822 and 826 may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths 808, 810, and 812. Communications with the media content source 816, the media guidance data source 818 and the user profile server 824 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 8 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of media content source 816, media guidance data source 818 and user profile server 824, but only one of each is shown in FIG. 8 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, media content source 816 and media guidance data source 818 may be integrated as one source device. Although communications between sources 816 and 818 and server 824 with user equipment devices 802, 804, and 806 are shown as through communications network 814, in some embodiments, sources 816 and 818 and server 824 may communicate directly with user equipment devices 802, 804, and 806 via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths 808, 810, and 812.


Media content source 816 may include one or more types of media distribution equipment including a television distribution facility, cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other media content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by the ABC, INC., and HBO is a trademark owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Media content source 816 may be the originator of media content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of media content (e.g., an on-demand media content provider, an Internet provider of video content of broadcast programs for downloading, etc.). Media content source 816 may include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers, or other providers of media content. Media content source 816 may also include a remote media server used to store different types of media content (including video content selected by a user), in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices, Systems and methods for remote storage of media content, and providing remotely stored media content to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connection with Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.


Media guidance data source 818 may provide media guidance data, such as media listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, media titles, media descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, etc.), advertisement information (e.g., text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locate desired media selections.


Media guidance application data may be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of a channel). Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment on a television channel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital television channels. Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). In some approaches, guidance data from media guidance data source 818 may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 818 to obtain guidance data when needed. Media guidance data source 818 may provide user equipment devices 802, 804, and 806 the media guidance application itself or software updates for the media guidance application.


Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone applications implemented on user equipment devices. In other embodiments, media guidance applications may be client-server applications where only the client resides on the user equipment device. For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry 704 of user equipment device 700 and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 818). The guidance application displays may be generated by the media guidance data source 818 and transmitted to the user equipment devices. The media guidance data source 818 may also transmit data for storage on the user equipment, which then generates the guidance application displays based on instructions processed by control circuitry.


Media guidance system 800 is intended to illustrate a number of approaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devices and sources of media content and guidance data may communicate with each other for the purpose of accessing media and providing media guidance. The present invention may be applied in any one or a subset of these approaches, or in a system employing other approaches for delivering media and providing media guidance. The following three approaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 8.


In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each other within a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with each other directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemes describe above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similar device provided on a home network, or via communications network 814. Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate different user equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media guidance information or settings to be communicated between the different user equipment devices. For example, it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidance application settings on different user equipment devices within a home network, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types of user equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with each other to transmit media content. For example, a user may transmit media content from user computer equipment to a portable video player or portable music player.


In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they access media content and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For example, users may access an online media guidance application on a website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guide may control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Various systems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where the user equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, are discussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/927,814, filed Aug. 26, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.


In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outside a home can use their media guidance application to communicate directly with media content source 816 to access media content. Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment 804 and user computer equipment 806 may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desirable media content. Users may also access the media guidance application outside of the home using wireless user communications devices 806 to navigate among and locate desirable media content.


It will be appreciated that while the discussion of media content has focused on video content, the principles of media guidance can be applied to other types of media content, such as music, images, etc.



FIGS. 9-13 show illustrative embodiments of data structures that may be used in accordance with the principles of the present invention to store user profile information, including rules for performing recordings, in memories of user equipment devices and user profile servers. The data structures of FIGS. 9-13 also show illustrative types of data that may be stored and used by systems providing management of user profiles. The data structures may be used to create and maintain a database of user equipment devices associated with users' media networks, and of user profile information for each media network. The data stored in the data structures may be stored in memories located in user equipment 802, 804 or 806, in one or more user profile servers 824, or on any other servers or devices accessible through communications network 814. The data may alternatively be distributed across different servers and devices, with, for example, device-specific profile information located on the devices the information corresponds to, and more general profile information stored on the user profile server. In one embodiment, the user profile server 824 may be operative to synchronize user profile information stored on the server with that stored on one or more user equipment devices. The profile server may thus be operative to communicate with the equipment devices, and to process the received profile information in order to maintain up-to-date profile information.


The information stored in the data structures of FIGS. 9-13 may include information based on settings input by a user, information based on user activity monitored by a guidance application or user equipment device or both. It will be appreciated that all fields in data structures of FIGS. 9-13 may be organized using any organization scheme. For simplicity, the organization scheme used to describe fields in the data structures of FIGS. 9-13 will be a list.



FIG. 9 shows an illustrative embodiment of a profile data structure 900. Data structure 900 may include field 902 that includes a list of user media networks (UMNs) for which user profile information is stored in the data structure. Field 902 may be organized in the form of a linked list of UMN identifiers, an array of UMN identifiers, a table of UMN identifiers, or any other organization scheme of UMN identifiers.


Each UMN listed in field 902 may be identified by a name and/or other unique identifier that may be used to uniquely identify and locate the UMN. The identifier may include, for example, a username or an equipment address that may be used to locate or identify the UMN on communications network 814. Additional information that may be included in UMN field 902 is described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 10-13.


Data structure 900 may also include field 904 that includes a list of rules for assigning a user equipment device of one or more UMNs as a destination for media content. This approach may be of particular use, for example, when the rules apply to every UMN (e.g., the UMNs are all within a household, and a parent has defined a rule for controlling recording operations within the household).



FIG. 10 shows an illustrative embodiment of a user media network data structure 1000. Information for multiple UMNs may be stored on user equipment devices and profile servers, and thus multiple instances of UMN information data structure 1000, corresponding to different UMNs, may be required. Data structure 1000 may include field 1002 that may include a unique name, address and/or identifier corresponding to a particular UMN. Data structure 1000 may further include field 1004 which stores a list of all user equipment devices associated with the UMN. Data structure 1000 may also include fields 1006, 1008 and 1010 which respectively store general user profile information, device-type specific profile information, and device-specific profile information. Data structure 1000 may also include field 1012, which stores rules for assigning a user equipment device as a destination for media content selected by the user that apply to the users or devices of the UMN.


Each of fields 1006, 1008, 1010 and 1012 may point to separate profile information data structures such as data structure 900 of FIG. 9. Note that while data structure 1000 has separate general, device-type specific, device-specific profile information data and rules fields, data structure 1000 may have different combinations of profile information data fields than that shown in FIG. 10.


For example, in embodiments in which UMN data structure 1000 is stored on a user equipment device, data structure 1000 may include only a device-specific profile information field 1010 containing profile information for the specific device and a rules field 1012 that includes rules that identify the user equipment device (e.g., no field 1012 or an empty field 1012 for user equipment devices that are not assigned as destinations for media content). In such an embodiment, the device-specific profile information data structure stored on the device may include all of the profile information that is stored in the general and device-type specific data fields 1006 and 1008 and that is useable by the user equipment device. In such an embodiment, the UMN data structure 1000 may include data field 1004 including a list of user equipment devices associated with the user media network if the equipment device is capable of communicating with other equipment devices. However, data field 1004 may be omitted in data structures stored on user equipment devices that cannot communicate with other equipment devices.


Each user equipment device (UED) listed in data field 1004 may have an associated UED data structure storing information about the user equipment device. The UED data structure may include information such as the device name, device address or other identifier of the location of the device, device type and device capabilities. The UED data structure may additionally include information regarding the device's availability. The device availability information may include information about the device's current availability, such as an indication of whether the device is powered on, available to receive commands, or busy performing other functions. The device availability information may also include device scheduling information. The device scheduling information may include information and commands used for scheduling functions on the device, as well as a schedule of times when the device is scheduled to be available or not available. The UED data structure may also include additional information for specific types of devices. For example, the data structure may store information about the total and remaining storage space on user recording devices, the types of data the recording may record (e.g., digital or analog video or audio data), and the quality of the recording.



FIG. 11 shows an illustrative embodiment of a profile information data structure 1100. Profile information data structure 1100 may include field 1102 that may include a unique name, address and/or identifier corresponding to the profile information data structure. Data structure 1100 may include personalization information field 1104 including user personalization data used in generating display screens, program recommendations, and other personalized menus and functions for users. Content information field 1106 may include information on media content stored by or otherwise available to the user. Data structure 1100 may also include a list of user equipment devices associated with the user media network in field 1108. The data in field 1108 may be used to enable communication between equipment devices, for example. The data in field 1108 may be identical, or substantially identical, to the information stored in field 1004 of FIG. 10. Thus, each user equipment device listed in field 1108 may have an associated UED data structure identical to, or substantially identical to, the UED data structures discussed in relation to field 1004.


Profile information data structure 1100 may include field 1110 for storing rules defined by or associated with the user identified in field 1102. The rules may include conditions used to identify media content and user equipment device identification information for assigning the identified user equipment device as a destination for the media content that satisfies the conditions. The user equipment devices may be identified from the data stored in field 1108.



FIG. 12 shows an illustrative embodiment of a media content information data structure 1200. Media content information stored in data structure 1200 may include information on stored media content and stored passes for media content. Media content information data structure 1200 may include field 1202 that may include a unique name, address and/or identifier corresponding to the media content information data structure. Field 1204 may include a list of media content that has been stored by the user (e.g., recorded, downloaded, streamed, or cached). Each item of media content listed in field 1204 may have an associated data structure including the recorded media content and information about the storage of the media content. Information about the storage of the media content may include the title, media type, content type, and the quality of the stored media content. The information may also include the storage location, identifying the user equipment device and location in memory at which the media content is located. The information may also include an indication of the types of devices the media content may be displayed on.


Field 1206 may store information on passes that the user may have access to. The passes may allow users to access media content stored at other locations, such as media content stored on other users' media network or on content provider servers 816 such as video-on-demand sources.


Data structure 1200 may include additional fields storing lists of media content organized by device type or by device. Media content by device type field 1208 may store lists of media content that may be accessed from different types of devices. Field 1208 may, for example, include a first list of all media content a UMN has access to and that may be viewed on a television. Field 1208 may also include a second list of all media content that may be viewed on a cell-phone. Media content by device field 1210 may include a list of all media content stored on each device associated with the UMN. Field 1210 may, for example, store a first list of all media content stored on a digital video recorder and a second list of all media content stored on a personal media player. For each instance of media content listed in fields 1204, 1208 and 1210 may identify, in addition to the user equipment devices on which the content is stored, the rule(s), if any, that were used to associate the media content to the particular user equipment device(s).



FIG. 13 shows an illustrative embodiment of a rule data structure 1300. Rule data structure 1300 may include field 1302 that may include a unique name, address and/or identifier corresponding to the rule data structure. Data structure 1300 may include media condition field 1304 that includes the conditions for identifying the media content for which a rule will apply. Media conditions stored in field 1304 may include, for example, program ratings (e.g., G or PG), actors, themes, program rankings (e.g., 4 stars or 3 stars), user preferences, or any other suitable condition. In some embodiments, the conditions may be selected such that no user equipment device is inherently more suited to store media content (e.g., for embodiments in which HD or regular transmission is not be a condition stored in field 1304).


Data structure 1300 may include user equipment device field 1306, which includes an identifier for the one or more user equipment devices that are a destination for media content that satisfies a condition of field 1302. The data in field 1306 may include data that is stored in one or both of field 1004 of FIG. 10 and field 1108 of FIG. 11. Data structure 1300 may include user field 1308, which identifies the user or user profile associated with a particular rule. The data in field 1308 may include data that is stored in field 1102 of FIG. 11.


Data structure 1310 may include action field 1310, which includes information related to the action that is performed by the one or more user equipment devices identified in field 1306. For example, action field 1310 may specify that the rule directs the one or more identified user equipment devices to record, stream, or download media content. As another example, action field 1310 may specify that the rule directs the one or more identified user equipment devices to transfer a recording from a default recording device to the identified user equipment device.


Rule data structure 1300 may include data related to a plurality of rules. For example, each rule may include a unique identifier that is applied to the data associated with the particular rule stored in each field of data structure 1300. In some embodiments, the data associated with each rule may be stored in a distinct data structure 1300.


The following flow charts describe processes for creating and applying rules in some embodiments of this invention. FIG. 14 shows an illustrative process for allowing a user to assign a device among a plurality of devices in a user's media network as a destination for media content in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Process 1400 begins at step 1402. At step 1404, the media guidance application receives user inputs defining a rule for assigning a user equipment device as the destination of media content. For example, processing circuitry 706 (FIG. 7) may receive inputs entered using user input interface 710 (FIG. 7). The user inputs may include identification information for one or more user equipment devices as destinations for media content. For example, the user inputs may include a selection from a listing of user equipment devices, or identification information entered by the user (e.g., an IP address or unique identifier). The user inputs may also include conditions identifying media content for which the rule applies. The conditions may include any suitable attribute of media content, including for example, theme, actor, genre, rating, definition, or any other suitable attribute. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may select the attribute from user profile information (e.g., the rule assigns media content that is of interest to the user to a particular user equipment device). The rule may be stored in a data structure similar to data structure 1300 (FIG. 13).


At step 1406, the media guidance application receives a user input identifying media content for which the rule applies. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may receive inputs entered using user input interface 710. For example, the user may select media content for recording, or select media content to download or stream. As another example, the user may select media content to transfer from a first user equipment device to another user equipment device. The media guidance application may compare the attributes of the identified media content with the attributes selected for the condition of the rule at step 1404. If the attributes of the identified media content match the condition of the rule, process 1400 continues to step 1408. If the attributes of the identified media content do not match the conditions of the rule, the rule is not applied to the media content and process 1400 terminates.


At step 1408, the media guidance application assigns a user equipment device as the destination for the media content identified at step 1406 based on the rule defined at step 1404. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may assign a user equipment device 802, 804 or 806 (FIG. 8) as a destination device. For example, the media guidance application may identify the user equipment devices of the rule and direct the identified user equipment devices to serve as a destination for the media content. The user equipment devices may serve as a destination for the media content by recording the content, streaming the content, downloading the content, caching the content, transferring the content or any other method by which content is assigned to a user equipment device. Process 1400 then ends at step 1410.



FIG. 15 shows a flow chart of an illustrative process for setting up a rule in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Process 1500 begins at step 1502. At step 1504, the media guidance application receives a user selection of at least one criterion for the rule. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 (FIG. 7) may receive at least one criterion from a user input on user input interface 710 (FIG. 1). The criterion may be an attribute of media content, user profile data, time and channel data, a URL, or any other suitable criteria for identifying media content. At step 1506, the media guidance application receives a user selection of a user equipment device as a destination for media content. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may receive a user selection of a user equipment device from a user input on user input interface 710. The user may select any suitable user equipment device, including for example, a recording device, a computer, a portable electronic device, a cellular telephone, or any other suitable electronic device.


At step 1508, the media guidance application receives authorization information. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may receive authorization information from user inputs on user input interface 710. For example, the user may enter parental control data to authorize the user to define a rule. As another example, the user may login to the user's media network. At step 1510, the media guidance application defines the a rule using the condition identified at step 1504 and the user equipment device identified at step 1506 to assign the identified user equipment device as a destination for media content that satisfies the identified condition. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may create a data structure 1300 (FIG. 13) for the rule. Process 1500 then ends at step 1512.



FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of an illustrative process for assigning a user equipment device as a destination for media content selected by an identified user in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Process 1600 begins at step 1602. At step 1604, the media guidance application identifies the current user. For example, the media guidance application may identify the user that has logged in the system. As another example, the media guidance application may identify the user based on the user's interactions with the guidance application. As still another example, the guidance application may identify the user based on the time of day (e.g., using a day-parting approach).


At step 1606, the media guidance application identifies the rules that apply to the identified user. For example, the media guidance application may identify the rules defined by the user. As another example, the media guidance application may identify the rules that involve user equipment devices that are part of the user's media network. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 (FIG. 7) may identify the rules associated with field 1110 (FIG. 11) of the identified user's profile information data structure 1100 (FIG. 11).


At step 1608, the media guidance application receives a user selection of media content. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may receive user inputs from user input interface 710 (FIG. 7). For example, the user may select media content from content listings, while viewing the content, or from any other suitable context. The media content may be selected for recording, downloading, streaming, caching, or any other suitable process by which user equipment devices of the user's media network are destination devices for media content.


At step 1610, the media guidance application determines whether the user specified a destination device for the selected media content. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may determine whether the user provided an input using user input interface 710 for specifying the destination device. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the user selected a particular user equipment device as a destination for media content when the user selected the media content (e.g., selecting a recording device when setting up a recording). If the media guidance application determines that a particular user equipment device was selected, process 1600 moves to step 1612. At step 1612, the identified user equipment device is assigned as a destination for the selected media content. For example, processing circuitry 706 assigns the identified user equipment device 802, 804 or 806 (FIG. 8) as a destination for the selected media content. Process 1600 then ends at step 1614.


If, at step 1610, the media guidance application instead determines that no particular user equipment device was selected as a destination for the selected media content, process 1600 moves to step 1616. In some embodiments, process 1600 may include an additional step for determining whether rules apply for the selected media. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the user selected an option to record a program using rules. If the rules do not apply, a default user equipment device may be used as the destination for the selected media content (e.g., step 1618).


At step 1616, the media guidance application determines whether the selected media content satisfies a condition for one of the rules identified at step 1606. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may determine whether the selected media content satisfies media condition field 1304 (FIG. 13) for the data structure 1300 (FIG. 13) of one of the rules. For example, the media guidance application may compare the attributes of the selected media content with the conditions for each of the rules identified at step 1606. If the media guidance application determines that none of the identified rules have conditions that are satisfied by the selected media content, process 1600 moves to step 1618.


At step 1618, the media guidance application uses a default user equipment device as a destination device for the selected media content. For example, the media guidance application may use a default recording device to perform a recording. Process 1600 then ends at step 1614.


If, at step 1616, the media guidance application instead determines that at least one of the identified rules has a condition that is satisfied by the selected media content, process 1600 moves to step 1620. At step 1620, the media guidance application assigns the user equipment device of at least one rule whose condition is satisfied by the selected media content as the destination device for the selected media content. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 706 may assign user equipment devices 802, 804 and 806 identified in user equipment device field 1306 (FIG. 13) of data structures 1300 of rules for which the media content satisfies media condition field 1304 as destination devices for the selected content. Processing circuitry 706 may then direct the identified user equipment devices 802, 804 and 806 to record, download, stream, cache, transfer (or perform any other suitable action with) the selected media content. For example, the media guidance application may identify every rule that is satisfied by the media content, and use every device associated with those rules as destination devices for the selected media content. As another example, the media guidance application may use only one or some of the destination devices of the rules. The one or some of the user equipment devices used may be selected, for example, using conflict rules, priority rules, or any other suitable mechanism. Process 1600 then ends a step 1614.



FIG. 17 shows an illustrative process for identifying the applicable rules when a user is not identified in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Process 1700 begins at step 1702. At step 1704, the media guidance application receives a user selection of a media network. For example, the user may access one or a combination of user equipment devices that are associated with a user media network. As another example, the user may login to a user media network (e.g., login to a household network without identifying which household member it is).


At step 1706, the media guidance application identifies the rules that apply the user equipment devices of the identified user media network. For example, the media guidance application may identify the rules that are stored with the user media network data structure (e.g., field 1012 of data structure 1000, FIG. 10). As another example, the media guidance application may identify the rules that are stored with the user equipment devices of the user media network. Process 1700 then moves to step 1708, which may correspond to step 1608 of process 1600 (FIG. 16).


The above described embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims
  • 1. A method for allowing media content to be automatically assigned to a device among a plurality of devices belonging to a home media network of a user, the method comprising: receiving, using processing circuitry, a user input selecting the home media network from a plurality of home media networks, wherein each home media network from the plurality of home media networks: comprises devices associated with the user; andis in a location away from other home media networks of the plurality of home media networks;receiving, using processing circuitry, a user input selecting media content;identifying, using processing circuitry, a rule that applies to the selected home media network, wherein the rule identifies a device in the home media network and includes a condition that comprises at least one media content attribute;determining, using processing circuitry, if the rule is satisfied by the selected media content by comparing the condition of the rule to attributes of the selected media content; andin response to determining that the rule is satisfied, automatically assigning, using processing circuitry, the identified device of the selected home media network of the rule that applies to the selected home media network as the storage destination of the selected media content.
  • 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule is defined by a user input, the user input comprising an identification of a device, an identification of the home media network, and at least one condition that must be satisfied by the media content for the identified device to be assigned as a destination device for the media content, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one attribute that is an attribute associated with media content.
  • 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the user specified a destination device for the selected media content; andassigning the specified destination device as a storage destination for the selected media content if a destination device is specified.
  • 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the user input selecting the home media network from the plurality of home media networks comprises receiving input at a device that is associated with the selected home media network.
  • 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the user input selecting the media content comprises receiving input identifying media content for recording.
  • 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule is stored on a device in the selected home media network.
  • 7. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically assigning the identified device of the selected home media network of the rule as the storage destination comprises automatically assigning the identified device to record the selected media content.
  • 8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the user input selecting the media content comprises receiving input identifying stored media content for transferring.
  • 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically assigning a default device as the destination of the selected media content in response to determining that the rule fails to be satisfied by the selected media content for any of the plurality of devices belonging to the selected home media network.
  • 10. A system for allowing media content to be automatically assigned to a device among a plurality of devices belonging to a home media network of a user, the system comprising processing circuitry configured to: receive a user input selecting the home media network from a plurality of home media networks, wherein each home media network from the plurality of home media networks: comprises devices associated with the user; andis in a location away from other home media networks of the plurality of home media networks;receive, a user input selecting media content;identify a rule that applies to the selected home media network, wherein the rule identifies a device in the home media network and includes a condition that comprises at least one media content attribute;determine if the rule is satisfied by the selected media content by comparing the condition of the rule to attributes of the selected media content; andautomatically assign the identified device of the selected home media network of the rule that applies to the selected home media network as the storage destination of the selected media content in response to determining that the rule is satisfied.
  • 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the rule is defined by a user input, the user input comprising an identification of a device, an identification of the home media network, and at least one condition that must be satisfied by the media content for the identified device to be assigned as a destination device for the media content, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one attribute that is an attribute associated with media content.
  • 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine whether the user specified a destination device for the selected media content; andassign the specified destination device as a storage destination for the selected media content if a destination device is specified.
  • 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive the user input selecting the home media network from the plurality of home media networks at a device that is associated with the selected home media network.
  • 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a user input identifying media content for recording.
  • 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the rule is stored on a device in the selected home media network.
  • 16. The system of claim 10, wherein processing circuitry is further configured to automatically assign the identified device to record the selected media content.
  • 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a user input identifying stored media content for transferring.
  • 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to automatically assign a default device as the destination of the selected media content in response to determining that the rule fails to be satisfied by the selected media content for any of the plurality of devices belonging to the selected home media network.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/726,774, filed Mar. 22, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

US Referenced Citations (555)
Number Name Date Kind
4264924 Freeman Apr 1981 A
4264925 Freeman et al. Apr 1981 A
4355415 George et al. Oct 1982 A
4422105 Rodesch et al. Dec 1983 A
4429385 Cichelli et al. Jan 1984 A
4488179 Krüger et al. Dec 1984 A
4573072 Freeman Feb 1986 A
4602279 Freeman Jul 1986 A
4605964 Chard Aug 1986 A
4625080 Scott Nov 1986 A
4630108 Gomersall Dec 1986 A
4694490 Harvey et al. Sep 1987 A
4706121 Young Nov 1987 A
4718107 Hayes Jan 1988 A
4751578 Reiter Jun 1988 A
4761684 Clark et al. Aug 1988 A
4787063 Muguet Nov 1988 A
4802022 Harada Jan 1989 A
4847698 Freeman Jul 1989 A
4847700 Freeman Jul 1989 A
4857999 Welsh Aug 1989 A
4866434 Keenan Sep 1989 A
4899370 Kameo et al. Feb 1990 A
4908707 Kinghorn Mar 1990 A
4920432 Eggers et al. Apr 1990 A
4930158 Vogel May 1990 A
4945563 Horton et al. Jul 1990 A
4947244 Fenwick et al. Aug 1990 A
4959720 Duffield et al. Sep 1990 A
4965825 Harvey et al. Oct 1990 A
4977455 Young Dec 1990 A
4994908 Kuban et al. Feb 1991 A
5001554 Johnson et al. Mar 1991 A
5016273 Hoff May 1991 A
5036314 Barillari et al. Jul 1991 A
5038211 Hallenbeck Aug 1991 A
5047867 Strubbe et al. Sep 1991 A
5068733 Bennett Nov 1991 A
5086385 Launey et al. Feb 1992 A
5089885 Clark Feb 1992 A
5105184 Pirani et al. Apr 1992 A
5109279 Ando Apr 1992 A
5113259 Romesburg et al. May 1992 A
5123046 Levine Jun 1992 A
5132992 Yurt et al. Jul 1992 A
5134649 Gutzmer Jul 1992 A
5134719 Mankovitz Jul 1992 A
5151789 Young Sep 1992 A
5155591 Wachob Oct 1992 A
5168353 Walker et al. Dec 1992 A
5172413 Bradley et al. Dec 1992 A
5179439 Hashimoto Jan 1993 A
5187589 Kono et al. Feb 1993 A
5195134 Inoue et al. Mar 1993 A
5200822 Bronfin et al. Apr 1993 A
5202915 Nishii Apr 1993 A
5210611 Yee et al. May 1993 A
5216228 Hashimoto Jun 1993 A
5223924 Strubbe et al. Jun 1993 A
5225902 McMullan, Jr. Jul 1993 A
5233423 Jernigan et al. Aug 1993 A
5241428 Goldwasser et al. Aug 1993 A
5249043 Grandmougin Sep 1993 A
5253066 Vogel Oct 1993 A
5253275 Yurt et al. Oct 1993 A
5283560 Bartlett Feb 1994 A
5285284 Takashima et al. Feb 1994 A
5296931 Na et al. Mar 1994 A
5307173 Yuen et al. Apr 1994 A
5319445 Fitts Jun 1994 A
5323234 Kawasaki et al. Jun 1994 A
5325183 Rhee Jun 1994 A
5335079 Yuen et al. Aug 1994 A
5335277 Harvey et al. Aug 1994 A
5353121 Young et al. Oct 1994 A
5359367 Stockill Oct 1994 A
5371551 Logan et al. Dec 1994 A
5377317 Bates et al. Dec 1994 A
5382983 Kwoh et al. Jan 1995 A
5398074 Duffield et al. Mar 1995 A
5410326 Goldstein Apr 1995 A
5410344 Graves et al. Apr 1995 A
5412720 Hoarty May 1995 A
5414756 Levine May 1995 A
5416508 Sakuma et al. May 1995 A
5418622 Takeuchi May 1995 A
5440678 Eisen et al. Aug 1995 A
5442389 Blahut et al. Aug 1995 A
5455570 Cook et al. Oct 1995 A
5459522 Pint Oct 1995 A
5467264 Rauch et al. Nov 1995 A
5469206 Strubbe et al. Nov 1995 A
5477262 Banker et al. Dec 1995 A
5479266 Young et al. Dec 1995 A
5479268 Young et al. Dec 1995 A
5479497 Kovarik Dec 1995 A
5481296 Cragun et al. Jan 1996 A
5483278 Strubbe et al. Jan 1996 A
5485197 Hoarty Jan 1996 A
5485219 Woo Jan 1996 A
5485221 Banker et al. Jan 1996 A
5488409 Yuen et al. Jan 1996 A
5502504 Marshall et al. Mar 1996 A
5517256 Hashimoto May 1996 A
5517257 Dunn et al. May 1996 A
5523796 Marshall et al. Jun 1996 A
5524195 Clanton, III et al. Jun 1996 A
5526034 Hoarty et al. Jun 1996 A
5528304 Cherrick et al. Jun 1996 A
5532754 Young et al. Jul 1996 A
5534911 Levitan Jul 1996 A
5537141 Harper et al. Jul 1996 A
5539449 Blahut et al. Jul 1996 A
5539822 Lett Jul 1996 A
5541662 Adams et al. Jul 1996 A
5543856 Rosser et al. Aug 1996 A
5548345 Brian et al. Aug 1996 A
5550575 West et al. Aug 1996 A
5550576 Klosterman Aug 1996 A
5550863 Yurt et al. Aug 1996 A
5553123 Chan et al. Sep 1996 A
5557338 Maze et al. Sep 1996 A
5557724 Sampat et al. Sep 1996 A
5559548 Davis et al. Sep 1996 A
5559549 Hendricks et al. Sep 1996 A
5559550 Mankovitz Sep 1996 A
5568272 Levine Oct 1996 A
5570295 Isenberg et al. Oct 1996 A
5570415 Stretton et al. Oct 1996 A
5572442 Schulhof et al. Nov 1996 A
5576755 Davis et al. Nov 1996 A
5579239 Freeman et al. Nov 1996 A
5583560 Florin et al. Dec 1996 A
5583561 Baker et al. Dec 1996 A
5583563 Wanderscheid et al. Dec 1996 A
5583653 Timmermans et al. Dec 1996 A
5585838 Lawler et al. Dec 1996 A
5585858 Harper et al. Dec 1996 A
5585865 Amano et al. Dec 1996 A
5585866 Miller et al. Dec 1996 A
5589892 Knee et al. Dec 1996 A
5592482 Abraham Jan 1997 A
5592551 Lett et al. Jan 1997 A
5594509 Florin et al. Jan 1997 A
5596373 White et al. Jan 1997 A
5600364 Hendricks et al. Feb 1997 A
5602582 Wanderscheid et al. Feb 1997 A
5606374 Bertram Feb 1997 A
5606726 Yoshinobu Feb 1997 A
5610653 Abecassis Mar 1997 A
5617526 Oran et al. Apr 1997 A
5619247 Russo Apr 1997 A
5619249 Billock et al. Apr 1997 A
5619274 Roop et al. Apr 1997 A
5621456 Florin et al. Apr 1997 A
5623613 Rowe et al. Apr 1997 A
5625406 Newberry et al. Apr 1997 A
5625464 Compoint et al. Apr 1997 A
5629733 Youman et al. May 1997 A
5630119 Aristides et al. May 1997 A
5631995 Weissensteiner et al. May 1997 A
5632007 Freeman May 1997 A
5635978 Alten et al. Jun 1997 A
5635979 Kostreski et al. Jun 1997 A
5635989 Rothmuller Jun 1997 A
5640484 Mankovitz Jun 1997 A
5644354 Thompson et al. Jul 1997 A
5646603 Nagata et al. Jul 1997 A
5648813 Tanigawa et al. Jul 1997 A
5648824 Dunn et al. Jul 1997 A
5650826 Eitz Jul 1997 A
5650831 Farwell Jul 1997 A
5652613 Lazarus et al. Jul 1997 A
5652615 Bryant et al. Jul 1997 A
5654748 Matthews, III Aug 1997 A
5654886 Zereski, Jr. et al. Aug 1997 A
5655214 Mullett et al. Aug 1997 A
5657072 Aristides et al. Aug 1997 A
5657414 Lett et al. Aug 1997 A
5659350 Hendricks et al. Aug 1997 A
5659367 Yuen Aug 1997 A
5661516 Carles Aug 1997 A
5666293 Metz et al. Sep 1997 A
5666498 Amro Sep 1997 A
5666645 Thomas et al. Sep 1997 A
5675390 Schindler et al. Oct 1997 A
5682206 Wehmeyer et al. Oct 1997 A
5684525 Klosterman Nov 1997 A
5686954 Yoshinobu et al. Nov 1997 A
5689666 Berquist et al. Nov 1997 A
5692214 Levine Nov 1997 A
5694163 Harrison Dec 1997 A
5694381 Sako et al. Dec 1997 A
5696695 Ehlers et al. Dec 1997 A
5696824 Walsh Dec 1997 A
5699052 Miyahara Dec 1997 A
5699107 Lawler et al. Dec 1997 A
5706191 Bassett et al. Jan 1998 A
5710601 Marshall et al. Jan 1998 A
5710605 Nelson Jan 1998 A
5710884 Dedrick Jan 1998 A
5715020 Kuroiwa et al. Feb 1998 A
5717452 Janin et al. Feb 1998 A
5724091 Freeman et al. Mar 1998 A
5727060 Young Mar 1998 A
5734720 Salganicoff Mar 1998 A
5734853 Hendricks et al. Mar 1998 A
5734893 Li et al. Mar 1998 A
5742905 Pepe et al. Apr 1998 A
5745710 Clanton, III et al. Apr 1998 A
5745909 Perlman et al. Apr 1998 A
5748191 Rozak et al. May 1998 A
5748716 Levine May 1998 A
5748732 Le Berre et al. May 1998 A
5751282 Girard et al. May 1998 A
5752159 Faust et al. May 1998 A
5754771 Epperson et al. May 1998 A
5754938 Herz et al. May 1998 A
5758257 Herz et al. May 1998 A
5758259 Lawler May 1998 A
5760821 Ellis et al. Jun 1998 A
5761662 Dasan Jun 1998 A
5768528 Stumm Jun 1998 A
5771275 Brunner et al. Jun 1998 A
5774539 Maass et al. Jun 1998 A
5774664 Hidary et al. Jun 1998 A
5774666 Portuesi Jun 1998 A
5774859 Houser et al. Jun 1998 A
5778182 Cathey et al. Jul 1998 A
5781226 Sheehan Jul 1998 A
5781246 Alten et al. Jul 1998 A
5781734 Ohno et al. Jul 1998 A
5787259 Haroun et al. Jul 1998 A
5788507 Redford et al. Aug 1998 A
5790198 Roop et al. Aug 1998 A
5790202 Kummer et al. Aug 1998 A
5790935 Payton Aug 1998 A
5793438 Bedard Aug 1998 A
5793964 Rogers et al. Aug 1998 A
5796952 Davis et al. Aug 1998 A
5798785 Hendricks et al. Aug 1998 A
5801787 Schein et al. Sep 1998 A
5802284 Karlton et al. Sep 1998 A
5805155 Allibhoy et al. Sep 1998 A
5805204 Thompson et al. Sep 1998 A
5805763 Lawler et al. Sep 1998 A
5805804 Laursen et al. Sep 1998 A
5805806 McArthur Sep 1998 A
5808608 Young et al. Sep 1998 A
5808694 Usui et al. Sep 1998 A
5809204 Young et al. Sep 1998 A
5812123 Rowe et al. Sep 1998 A
5812205 Milnes et al. Sep 1998 A
5812930 Zavrel Sep 1998 A
5812931 Yuen Sep 1998 A
5812937 Takahisa et al. Sep 1998 A
5818438 Howe et al. Oct 1998 A
5818441 Throckmorton et al. Oct 1998 A
5819019 Nelson Oct 1998 A
5819156 Belmont Oct 1998 A
5822123 Davis et al. Oct 1998 A
5828420 Marshall et al. Oct 1998 A
5828945 Klosterman Oct 1998 A
RE35954 Levine Nov 1998 E
5831664 Wharton et al. Nov 1998 A
5838314 Neel et al. Nov 1998 A
5844620 Coleman et al. Dec 1998 A
5846704 Maertens et al. Dec 1998 A
5850218 LaJoie et al. Dec 1998 A
5852437 Wugofski et al. Dec 1998 A
5861881 Freeman et al. Jan 1999 A
5861906 Dunn et al. Jan 1999 A
5864823 Levitan Jan 1999 A
5867223 Schindler et al. Feb 1999 A
5867233 Tanaka Feb 1999 A
5867799 Lang et al. Feb 1999 A
5878222 Harrison Mar 1999 A
5880768 Lemmons et al. Mar 1999 A
5883621 Iwamura Mar 1999 A
5884298 Smith, II et al. Mar 1999 A
5901366 Nakano et al. May 1999 A
5907322 Kelly et al. May 1999 A
5907323 Lawler et al. May 1999 A
5914746 Matthews, III et al. Jun 1999 A
5917405 Joao Jun 1999 A
5926624 Katz et al. Jul 1999 A
5929849 Kikinis Jul 1999 A
5929932 Otsuki et al. Jul 1999 A
5940387 Humpleman Aug 1999 A
5940572 Balaban et al. Aug 1999 A
5945988 Williams et al. Aug 1999 A
5953485 Abecassis Sep 1999 A
5956025 Goulden et al. Sep 1999 A
5956716 Kenner et al. Sep 1999 A
5959592 Petruzzelli Sep 1999 A
5963264 Jackson Oct 1999 A
5963645 Kigawa et al. Oct 1999 A
5969748 Casement et al. Oct 1999 A
5970473 Gerszberg et al. Oct 1999 A
5973683 Cragun et al. Oct 1999 A
5977964 Williams et al. Nov 1999 A
5982411 Eyer et al. Nov 1999 A
5987509 Portuesi Nov 1999 A
5988078 Levine Nov 1999 A
5990885 Gopinath Nov 1999 A
5990890 Etheredge Nov 1999 A
5991799 Yen et al. Nov 1999 A
5991832 Sato et al. Nov 1999 A
5999691 Takagi et al. Dec 1999 A
6002394 Schein et al. Dec 1999 A
6002450 Darbee et al. Dec 1999 A
6005561 Hawkins et al. Dec 1999 A
6005565 Legall et al. Dec 1999 A
6005631 Anderson et al. Dec 1999 A
6006257 Slezak Dec 1999 A
6009153 Houghton et al. Dec 1999 A
6009465 Decker et al. Dec 1999 A
6012086 Lowell Jan 2000 A
6020880 Naimpally Feb 2000 A
6020883 Herz et al. Feb 2000 A
6025837 Matthews, III et al. Feb 2000 A
6025869 Stas et al. Feb 2000 A
6035339 Agraharam et al. Mar 2000 A
6037998 Usui et al. Mar 2000 A
6038367 Abecassis Mar 2000 A
6040829 Croy et al. Mar 2000 A
6049823 Hwang Apr 2000 A
6057872 Candelore May 2000 A
6057890 Virden et al. May 2000 A
6058238 Ng May 2000 A
6061779 Garde May 2000 A
6064980 Jacobi et al. May 2000 A
6067564 Urakoshi et al. May 2000 A
6075568 Matsuura Jun 2000 A
6091884 Yuen et al. Jul 2000 A
6097441 Allport Aug 2000 A
6104334 Allport Aug 2000 A
6130726 Darbee et al. Oct 2000 A
6133847 Yang Oct 2000 A
6133909 Schein et al. Oct 2000 A
6133910 Stinebruner Oct 2000 A
6133912 Montero Oct 2000 A
6141488 Knudson et al. Oct 2000 A
6144401 Casement et al. Nov 2000 A
6144702 Yurt et al. Nov 2000 A
6157411 Williams et al. Dec 2000 A
6157413 Hanafee et al. Dec 2000 A
6160988 Shroyer Dec 2000 A
6163316 Killian Dec 2000 A
6169543 Wehmeyer Jan 2001 B1
6172674 Etheredge Jan 2001 B1
6172677 Stautner et al. Jan 2001 B1
6177931 Alexander et al. Jan 2001 B1
6182094 Humpleman et al. Jan 2001 B1
6188381 van der Wal et al. Feb 2001 B1
6188397 Humpleman Feb 2001 B1
6192340 Abecassis Feb 2001 B1
6195501 Perry et al. Feb 2001 B1
6198479 Humpleman et al. Mar 2001 B1
6199076 Logan et al. Mar 2001 B1
6202211 Williams, Jr. Mar 2001 B1
6208335 Gordon et al. Mar 2001 B1
6208384 Schultheiss Mar 2001 B1
6208799 Marsh et al. Mar 2001 B1
6212327 Berstis et al. Apr 2001 B1
6219839 Sampsell Apr 2001 B1
6233389 Barton et al. May 2001 B1
6233734 Macrae et al. May 2001 B1
6236978 Tuzhilin May 2001 B1
6237049 Ludtke May 2001 B1
6239794 Yuen et al. May 2001 B1
6240240 Nagano et al. May 2001 B1
6240555 Shoff et al. May 2001 B1
6260088 Gove et al. Jul 2001 B1
6263501 Schein et al. Jul 2001 B1
6263503 Margulis Jul 2001 B1
6263507 Ahmad et al. Jul 2001 B1
6268849 Boyer et al. Jul 2001 B1
6275648 Knudson et al. Aug 2001 B1
6279029 Sampat et al. Aug 2001 B1
6286142 Ehreth Sep 2001 B1
6292624 Saib et al. Sep 2001 B1
6298482 Seidman et al. Oct 2001 B1
6305018 Usui et al. Oct 2001 B1
6310886 Barton Oct 2001 B1
6311011 Kuroda et al. Oct 2001 B1
6317881 Shah-Nazaroff et al. Nov 2001 B1
6317884 Eames et al. Nov 2001 B1
6321318 Baltz et al. Nov 2001 B1
6324338 Wood et al. Nov 2001 B1
6326982 Wu et al. Dec 2001 B1
6327418 Barton Dec 2001 B1
6331877 Bennington et al. Dec 2001 B1
6336099 Barnett et al. Jan 2002 B1
6337715 Inagaki et al. Jan 2002 B1
6357043 Ellis et al. Mar 2002 B1
6367080 Enomoto et al. Apr 2002 B1
6374406 Hirata Apr 2002 B2
6388714 Schein et al. May 2002 B1
6389464 Krishnamurthy et al. May 2002 B1
6396544 Schindler et al. May 2002 B1
6397080 Viktorsson et al. May 2002 B1
6408435 Sato Jun 2002 B1
6425000 Carmello et al. Jul 2002 B1
6434524 Weber Aug 2002 B1
6437836 Huang et al. Aug 2002 B1
6442332 Knudson et al. Aug 2002 B1
6445398 Gerba et al. Sep 2002 B1
6463585 Hendricks et al. Oct 2002 B1
6473559 Knudson et al. Oct 2002 B1
6480889 Saito et al. Nov 2002 B1
6486892 Stern Nov 2002 B1
6493875 Eames et al. Dec 2002 B1
6505348 Knowles et al. Jan 2003 B1
6509908 Croy et al. Jan 2003 B1
6530083 Liebenow Mar 2003 B1
6545578 Yoshiyama Apr 2003 B2
6545722 Schultheiss et al. Apr 2003 B1
6557031 Mimura et al. Apr 2003 B1
6564383 Combs et al. May 2003 B1
6571279 Herz et al. May 2003 B1
6603488 Humpleman et al. Aug 2003 B2
6611654 Shteyn Aug 2003 B1
6622304 Carhart Sep 2003 B1
6670971 Oral et al. Dec 2003 B1
6675385 Wang Jan 2004 B1
6678004 Schultheiss et al. Jan 2004 B1
6701523 Hancock et al. Mar 2004 B1
6704028 Wugofski Mar 2004 B2
6721954 Nickum Apr 2004 B1
6727914 Gutta Apr 2004 B1
6732369 Schein et al. May 2004 B1
6732372 Tomita et al. May 2004 B2
6738978 Hendricks et al. May 2004 B1
6744967 Kaminski et al. Jun 2004 B2
6760537 Mankovitz Jul 2004 B2
6772433 LaJoie et al. Aug 2004 B1
6785904 Franken et al. Aug 2004 B1
6788882 Geer et al. Sep 2004 B1
6816172 Iki et al. Nov 2004 B1
6822661 Sai et al. Nov 2004 B2
6847686 Morad et al. Jan 2005 B2
6871146 Kelly et al. Mar 2005 B1
6871186 Tuzhilin et al. Mar 2005 B1
6882299 Allport Apr 2005 B1
6925567 Hirata Aug 2005 B1
6927806 Chan Aug 2005 B2
6934964 Schaffer et al. Aug 2005 B1
6973669 Daniels Dec 2005 B2
7003606 Fukushima et al. Feb 2006 B2
7006881 Hoffberg et al. Feb 2006 B1
7013339 Schwager et al. Mar 2006 B2
7017171 Horlander et al. Mar 2006 B1
7051353 Yamashita et al. May 2006 B2
7084780 Nguyen et al. Aug 2006 B2
7096486 Ukai et al. Aug 2006 B1
7117518 Takahashi et al. Oct 2006 B1
7134131 Hendricks et al. Nov 2006 B1
7152236 Wugofski et al. Dec 2006 B1
7194755 Nakata et al. Mar 2007 B1
7224886 Akamatsu et al. May 2007 B2
7328450 Macrae et al. Feb 2008 B2
7343614 Hendricks et al. Mar 2008 B1
7343616 Takahashi et al. Mar 2008 B1
7403693 Shteyn Jul 2008 B2
7480929 Klosterman et al. Jan 2009 B2
8073921 Thomas et al. Dec 2011 B2
9084006 Ellis et al. Jul 2015 B2
9185449 Ellis et al. Nov 2015 B2
20010026533 Schwager Oct 2001 A1
20020013941 Ward, III et al. Jan 2002 A1
20020024893 Hashimoto Feb 2002 A1
20020032907 Daniels Mar 2002 A1
20020040475 Yap et al. Apr 2002 A1
20020057892 Mano et al. May 2002 A1
20020057893 Wood et al. May 2002 A1
20020059599 Schein et al. May 2002 A1
20020059610 Ellis May 2002 A1
20020059621 Thomas et al. May 2002 A1
20020073229 Hayashi Jun 2002 A1
20020083455 Sato Jun 2002 A1
20020090203 Mankovitz Jul 2002 A1
20020095673 Leung et al. Jul 2002 A1
20020100044 Daniels Jul 2002 A1
20020100052 Daniels Jul 2002 A1
20020118676 Tonnby et al. Aug 2002 A1
20020129368 Schlack et al. Sep 2002 A1
20020174424 Chang et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020184626 Darbee et al. Dec 2002 A1
20020194596 Srivastava Dec 2002 A1
20030005445 Schein et al. Jan 2003 A1
20030012555 Yuen et al. Jan 2003 A1
20030028887 Frouin et al. Feb 2003 A1
20030031465 Blake Feb 2003 A1
20030037336 Leftwich Feb 2003 A1
20030040962 Lewis Feb 2003 A1
20030046270 Leung et al. Mar 2003 A1
20030066085 Boyer et al. Apr 2003 A1
20030071117 Meade, II Apr 2003 A1
20030079227 Knowles et al. Apr 2003 A1
20030084461 Hoang May 2003 A1
20030093329 Gutta May 2003 A1
20030097227 Bloch et al. May 2003 A1
20030131356 Proehl et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030142957 Young et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030154493 Kagle et al. Aug 2003 A1
20030159157 Chan Aug 2003 A1
20030163813 Klosterman et al. Aug 2003 A1
20030164858 Klosterman et al. Sep 2003 A1
20030188310 Klosterman et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030188311 Yuen et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030196201 Schein et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030198462 Bumgardner et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030208756 Macrae et al. Nov 2003 A1
20030229900 Reisman Dec 2003 A1
20040031050 Klosterman Feb 2004 A1
20040078820 Nickum Apr 2004 A1
20040098744 Gutta May 2004 A1
20040103439 Macrae et al. May 2004 A1
20040194138 Boylan et al. Sep 2004 A1
20050015804 LaJoie et al. Jan 2005 A1
20050028208 Ellis et al. Feb 2005 A1
20050028218 Blake Feb 2005 A1
20050060743 Ohnuma et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050120003 Drury et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050177624 Oswald et al. Aug 2005 A1
20050182931 Robert et al. Aug 2005 A1
20050193414 Horvitz et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050240962 Cooper et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050240968 Knudson et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050251822 Knowles et al. Nov 2005 A1
20050251827 Ellis et al. Nov 2005 A1
20050265169 Yoshimaru et al. Dec 2005 A1
20050278741 Robarts et al. Dec 2005 A1
20060031883 Ellis et al. Feb 2006 A1
20060085825 Istvan et al. Apr 2006 A1
20060112410 Poli et al. May 2006 A1
20060136966 Folk Jun 2006 A1
20060143133 Medvinsky Jun 2006 A1
20060193474 Fransdonk Aug 2006 A1
20070157242 Cordray et al. Jul 2007 A1
20070204308 Nicholas et al. Aug 2007 A1
20080010655 Ellis et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080013429 Chen et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080134239 Knowles et al. Jun 2008 A1
20080184304 Ellis et al. Jul 2008 A1
20080184313 Knudson et al. Jul 2008 A1
20080184322 Blake Jul 2008 A1
20080189742 Ellis et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080189743 Ellis et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080194272 Smith et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080263600 Olague et al. Oct 2008 A1
20090241144 LaJoie et al. Sep 2009 A1
20090297124 Ng Dec 2009 A1
20110030027 Nishioka et al. Feb 2011 A1
Foreign Referenced Citations (192)
Number Date Country
2232003 Apr 1997 CA
2764753 Jun 1998 CA
31 51 492 Jul 1983 DE
3151492 Jul 1983 DE
44 31 438 Mar 1996 DE
44 40 174 May 1996 DE
4440174 May 1996 DE
195 02 922 Aug 1996 DE
195 31 121 Feb 1997 DE
197 40 079 Mar 1999 DE
0 439 281 Jul 1991 EP
0 560 593 Sep 1993 EP
0 627 857 Dec 1994 EP
0 682 452 Nov 1995 EP
0 744 853 Nov 1996 EP
0 753 964 Jan 1997 EP
0 774 853 May 1997 EP
0 793 225 Sep 1997 EP
0 795 994 Sep 1997 EP
0 805 594 Nov 1997 EP
0 836 320 Apr 1998 EP
0 836 321 Apr 1998 EP
0 843 468 May 1998 EP
0 854 645 Jul 1998 EP
0 897 242 Feb 1999 EP
0 940 983 Sep 1999 EP
1 099 339 May 2001 EP
1 099 341 May 2001 EP
1213919 Jun 2002 EP
1 271 952 Jan 2003 EP
1 515 549 Mar 2005 EP
1 538 838 Jun 2005 EP
2572235 Apr 1986 FR
2579397 Sep 1986 FR
2 227 622 Aug 1990 GB
2 229 595 Sep 1990 GB
2 256 115 Nov 1992 GB
2256546 Dec 1992 GB
2265792 Oct 1993 GB
2275800 Sep 1994 GB
2 286 754 Aug 1995 GB
2 300 551 Nov 1996 GB
2 346 251 Aug 2000 GB
02045495 Feb 1990 JP
03-22770 Jan 1991 JP
3-35451 Feb 1991 JP
03059837 Mar 1991 JP
03215781 Sep 1991 JP
04250760 Sep 1992 JP
04-276342 Oct 1992 JP
05-260400 Oct 1993 JP
06014129 Jan 1994 JP
06046345 Feb 1994 JP
06-121262 Apr 1994 JP
06-124309 May 1994 JP
06-208500 Jul 1994 JP
06-261139 Sep 1994 JP
07-154349 Jun 1995 JP
07-184131 Jul 1995 JP
07-212328 Aug 1995 JP
07-212331 Aug 1995 JP
07-212732 Aug 1995 JP
07-298153 Nov 1995 JP
08-032528 Feb 1996 JP
08-56352 Feb 1996 JP
08-180505 Jul 1996 JP
08-242313 Sep 1996 JP
08-242436 Sep 1996 JP
09-009245 Jan 1997 JP
09-065300 Mar 1997 JP
09-102827 Apr 1997 JP
09-120686 May 1997 JP
09-148994 Jun 1997 JP
09-162818 Jun 1997 JP
09-163287 Jun 1997 JP
09-270965 Oct 1997 JP
09-298677 Nov 1997 JP
09-322022 Dec 1997 JP
10-40057 Feb 1998 JP
10-108090 Apr 1998 JP
10-257448 Sep 1998 JP
10-512420 Nov 1998 JP
11-284929 Oct 1999 JP
11-317937 Nov 1999 JP
11-512903 Nov 1999 JP
2003-198999 Jul 2003 JP
2005-149372 Jun 2005 JP
1998025758 Jul 1998 KR
10-2000-0022091 Apr 2000 KR
WO 8703766 Jun 1987 WO
WO 8804507 Jun 1988 WO
WO 8903085 Apr 1989 WO
WO-9007844 Jul 1990 WO
WO 9107050 May 1991 WO
WO-9108629 Jun 1991 WO
WO 9217027 Oct 1992 WO
WO 9222983 Dec 1992 WO
WO 9414282 Jun 1994 WO
WO 9414284 Jun 1994 WO
WO 9415284 Jul 1994 WO
WO 9501058 Jan 1995 WO
WO 9501059 Jan 1995 WO
WO 9510910 Apr 1995 WO
WO 9510916 Apr 1995 WO
WO 9528055 Oct 1995 WO
WO-9532583 Nov 1995 WO
WO 9532585 Nov 1995 WO
WO 9532587 Nov 1995 WO
WO 9607270 Mar 1996 WO
WO 9613124 May 1996 WO
WO 9613932 May 1996 WO
WO-9617467 Jun 1996 WO
WO 9620555 Jul 1996 WO
WO 9626605 Aug 1996 WO
WO 9631980 Oct 1996 WO
WO 9634491 Oct 1996 WO
WO 9636172 Nov 1996 WO
WO 9637075 Nov 1996 WO
WO 9641478 Dec 1996 WO
WO 9712486 Apr 1997 WO
WO 9713368 Apr 1997 WO
WO-9713368 Apr 1997 WO
WO-9717774 May 1997 WO
WO-9719565 May 1997 WO
WO 97-19565 May 1997 WO
WO 9722207 Jun 1997 WO
WO 9723997 Jul 1997 WO
WO 9733434 Sep 1997 WO
WO 9734413 Sep 1997 WO
WO 9735428 Sep 1997 WO
WO 9736422 Oct 1997 WO
WO 9746943 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9747106 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9747124 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9747143 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9748228 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9748230 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9749237 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9750251 Dec 1997 WO
WO 9806219 Feb 1998 WO
WO 9810589 Mar 1998 WO
WO 9810598 Mar 1998 WO
WO 9816062 Apr 1998 WO
WO 9817063 Apr 1998 WO
WO 9817064 Apr 1998 WO
WO 9826584 Jun 1998 WO
WO 9826593 Jun 1998 WO
WO 9837694 Aug 1998 WO
WO 9843183 Oct 1998 WO
WO 9843416 Oct 1998 WO
WO 9856173 Dec 1998 WO
WO 9856176 Dec 1998 WO
WO 9859478 Dec 1998 WO
WO 9903267 Jan 1999 WO
WO 9904561 Jan 1999 WO
WO 9904570 Jan 1999 WO
WO 9914947 Mar 1999 WO
WO 9930491 Jun 1999 WO
WO 9945700 Sep 1999 WO
WO 9952279 Oct 1999 WO
WO 9957839 Nov 1999 WO
WO 9960783 Nov 1999 WO
WO 9966725 Dec 1999 WO
WO 0004706 Jan 2000 WO
WO 0004707 Jan 2000 WO
WO 0004709 Jan 2000 WO
WO 0007368 Feb 2000 WO
WO 0008850 Feb 2000 WO
WO 0008851 Feb 2000 WO
WO 0008852 Feb 2000 WO
WO 0016548 Mar 2000 WO
WO 0028739 May 2000 WO
WO 0058833 Oct 2000 WO
WO 0062298 Oct 2000 WO
WO 0062299 Oct 2000 WO
WO 0062533 Oct 2000 WO
WO 0067475 Nov 2000 WO
WO 0122729 Mar 2001 WO
WO 0146843 Jun 2001 WO
WO 0147238 Jun 2001 WO
WO 0147249 Jun 2001 WO
WO 0147257 Jun 2001 WO
WO 0147273 Jun 2001 WO
WO 0176239 Oct 2001 WO
WO 0176248 Oct 2001 WO
WO 02078317 Oct 2002 WO
WO 03098932 Nov 2003 WO
WO 2004054264 Jun 2004 WO
WO 2005091626 Sep 2005 WO
WO-2005119463 Dec 2005 WO
WO2007121388 Oct 2007 WO
WO-2007121388 Oct 2007 WO
Non-Patent Literature Citations (96)
Entry
U.S. Appl. No. 08/900,417, filed Jul. 25, 1997, Daniels.
“Advanced Analog Systems—Addressable Terminals” General Instrument Corp. of Horsham, Pennsylvania (URL:http//www.gi.com/BUSAREA/ANALOG/TERMINAL/WATCH/watch.html) Printed from the Internet on Mar. 4, 1999.
Intel Intercast's Website from Archieve. Org, “How Does It Work?”, <http://web.archive.org/web/19990429214537/www.intercast.com/intercast/howitwks.htm>, Acessed on Jul. 8, 2008.
Intel Intercast's Website from Archieve. Org, “What Is It?”, <http://web.archive.org/web/19990422195517/www.intercast.com/intercast/whatisit.htm>, Acessed on Jul. 8, 2008.
Bach, U., et al., “Multimediales-TV-Gereat,” Radio Fernsehen Electronik, De, Veb, Verlag, Technik, Berlin, vol. 45, No. 9, Aug. 1, 1996, pp. 28, 30-31, XP 000636538, ISSN: 1436-1574 (Translation submitted in parent case, pp. 1-5).
Bach, U., et al., “Multimedia-Terminal ALS Endgeraet,” Funkschau, De, Franzis-Verlag K.G. Munchen, vol. 68, No. 6, Mar. 1, 1996, pp. 70-75, XP 000556486, ISSN: 0016-2841 (Translation submitted in parent case, pp. 1-7).
“Description of Digital Audio-Visual Functionalities,” Digital Audio-Visual Council, DAVIC 1.3.1 Specification Part 1, Technical Report, 86 pages, 1998.
“DIRECTV Digital Satellite Receiver—Operating Instructions,” Sony Electronics Inc. (2001).
“DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo Digital Satellite Receiver/Recorder SAT-T60—Installation Guide,” Sony Corporation (2000).
“DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo Installation Guide,” Philips (2000).
DiRosa, S. “Pinochle's BIGSURF Netguide”, Jul. 1995, Volute 3.1, pp. 260-270.
“DishPro Satellite System—User's Guide,” Dish Network (undated).
Eitz, Gerhard, “Zukünftige Informations—Und Datenangebote Beim Digitalen Fernsehen—EPG Und “Lesezeichen”,” Rundfunktechnische Mitteilungen, vol. 41, pp. 67-72, Jun. 1997.
“Electronic Programme Guide (EPG); Protocol for a TV Guide using electronic data transmission” by European Telecommunication Standards Institute, May 1997, Valbonne, France, publication No. ETS 300 707.
“The Evolve EZ Guide. The Remote. Control,” from the Internet at http://www.evolveproducts.com/display2.html, printed on Dec. 28, 1998.
“Fall 2001 TiVo Service Update with Dual Tuner!,” TiVo Inc. (2001).
Hirtz, Gentlemen: et al:, “Open TV: Betriebssystem Fuer Interaktives Fernsehen,” Fernseh Und Kinotechnik, de vde Verlag GMBH, Berlin, vol. 50, No. 3, Mar. 1, 1996, pp. 84-89, XP 000581417, ISSN: 0015-0142 (Translation submitted in parent case, pp. 1-9).
Hofmann, Neumann, Oberlies, and Schadwinkel, “Videotext Programmiert Videorecorder,” Rundfunktechnische Mitteilungen, Nov.-Dec. 1982, pp. 254-257.
“Honey, is there anything good on the remote tonight?”, advertisement from Multichannel News, Broadband Week Section, p. 168, Nov. 30, 1998.
“How Evolve Works,” from the Internet at http://www.evolveproducts.com/network.html, printed on Dec. 28, 1998.
“JiniTM Architecture Overview,” by Jim Waldo, from the Internet at http://Java.sun.com/products/jini/whitepapers/architectureoverview.pdf/ printed on Jan. 25, 1999. The document bears a copyright date of 1998.
Neumann, Andreas, “WDR Online Aufbau Und Perspektiven Automatisierter Online—Dienste Im WDR,” Rundfunktechnische Mitteilungen, vol. 41, pp. 56-66, Jun. 1997.
Ochiai et al., “@randomTV: A New TV System,” NEC C&C Media Research Laboratories, Mar. 17, 1998, pp. 3-302-3-303 (concise explanation included in Supp. IDS in parent case).
“PTV Recorder Setup Guide,” Philips (2000).
“RCA Satellite Receiver User's Guide,” Thomson Multimedia Inc. (2001).
“Reaching your subscribers is a complex and costly process-until now,” from the Internet at http://www.evolveproducts.com/info.html, printed on Dec. 28, 1998.
Rewind, replay and unwind with new high-tech TV devices, by Lawrence J. Magid, LA Times. This document was printed from the Internet on Jun. 6, 1999 and bears a date of May 19, 1999.
Rogers, Curt, “Telcos vs. Cable TV: The Global View,” Data Communications, No. 13, New York, pp. 75, 76, 78 and 80, Sep. 1995.
Saito, Takeshi, et al., “Homenetwork Architecture Considering Digital Home Appliance,” Technical Committee meeting of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), Japan, Nov. 6, 1997, vol. 97, No. 368, p. 57-64.
“Start Here,” Sony, TiVo and DIRECTV (undated).
“Student.Net TV Search & Remind,” from the internet at http://web.archive.org/web/19970124213237/http://www.student.net/tv/ and http://web.archive.org/web/19970124214926/www.student.net/tv/search.cgi?searchTerm=Fri . . . , printed on May 12, 2005.
“Sun's Next Steps in Digital Set-Tops,” article in Cablevision, p. 56, Nov. 16, 1998.
“Teletext System,” National Technical Report, vol. 27, No. 4, Aug. 1981 (with full English translation submitted in parent case).
User's Guide RCA Color TV with TV PI+ Guide, 1997.
“Using StarSight 2,” published before Apr. 19, 1995.
Venditto, Gus, “Prodigy for Dummies,” 1995, IDG Books, pp. 57-63 and p. 213.
“Verknuepfung von TV mit INternet,” Funkschau, De, Franzis—Verlag K.G. Munchen, vol. 68, No. 18 Aug. 16, 1996, pp. 70-71, XP 000631189, ISSN: 0016-2841 (Translation submitted in parent case, pp. 1-3).
“What is Jini?”, from the Internet at http://java.sun.com/products/jini/whitepapers/whatsjini.pdf, printed on Jan. 25, 1999.
“Why Jini Now?”, from the internet at http://java.sun.com/products/jini/whitepapers/whyjininow.pdf, printed on Jan. 25, 1999. The document bears a copyright date of 1998.
“Windows 98 Feature Combines TV, Terminal and the Internet,” New York Times, Aug. 18, 1998.
Japanese Office Action dated Sep. 18, 2013, for Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-554533 (6 pages).
U.S. Appl. No. 60/019,351, filed Jun. 6, 1996, Williams.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/020,580, filed Jun. 26, 1996, Goldschmidt.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/024,435, filed Aug. 22, 1996, Goldschmid.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/024,436, filed Aug. 22, 1996, Goldschmid.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/024,452, filed Aug. 27, 1996, Goldschmid.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/093,292, filed Jul. 17, 1998, Ellis.
U.S. Appl. No. 60/097,527, filed Aug. 21, 1998, Ellis.
Brad Schepp et al., The Complete Guide to CompuServe, Chapter 7, “IQuest and General Information Gathering,” pp. 211-258, (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, Har/Dis edition 1990).
Claims filed in U.S. Appl. No. 12/759,303 in Preliminary Amendment dated Apr. 13, 2010.
Office Action and Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 10/927,814, filed Aug. 26, 2004.
Office Action and Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 11/246,392, filed Oct. 7, 2005.
Office Actions and Corresponding Replies in relation to U.S. Appl. No. 10/251,670, accessed on Jan. 14, 2015.
Office Actions and Corresponding Replies in relation to U.S. Appl. No. 10/718,187, filed Nov. 20, 2003.
Office Actions and Corresponding Replies in relation to U.S. Appl. No. 11/600,944, filed Nov. 15, 2006.
Office Actions and Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 10/927,582, filed Aug. 26, 2004.
Office Actions and Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,741, filed Aug. 20, 2007.
Office Actions and/or Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 10/877,950, filed Jun. 25, 2004.
Office Actions and/or Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 12/759,303, filed Apr. 13, 2010.
Office Actions and/or Replies from U.S. Appl. No. 12/773,423, filed May 4, 2010.
Counterstatement of the Patentee for European Patent EP 1 213 919B dated Sep. 20, 2011.
Counterstatement of the Patentee for European Patent EP-B-1099341 (Feb. 23, 2006).
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); DVB specification for data broadcasting, European Telecommunications Standards Institute, Draft EN 301 192 V1.2.1 (Jan. 1999).
EBU Technical Review, published by European Broadcasting Union, Geneva, Switzerland, No. 275, Spring 1998, pp. 1-54.
EPO Opposition Against EP1213919 by Virgin Media Limited (Dec. 16, 2010).
EPO Opposition Statement of Grounds of Appeal for EP1099341 dated Feb. 25, 2011.
EPO Opposition Submission for European Patent EP-B-1099341 dated Mar. 19, 2010.
Examiner Interview Summary in U.S. Appl. No. 09/356,161 dated Aug. 10, 2005.
Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 09/356,161 dated Jun. 17, 2005.
Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/179,410 dated Apr. 27, 2009.
Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,618 dated Aug. 3, 2009.
Motorola, Inc.; Integrated Datacasting Solutions for Digital Television XP-002204351; Jun. 1999.
Non-Final Office Action filed in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,724 dated Jun. 9, 2009.
Non-Final Office Action filed in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,724 dated Sep. 19, 2008.
Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 09/356,161 dated Oct. 7, 2004.
Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/179,410 dated Jul. 23, 2008.
Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,618 dated Oct. 1, 2008.
Opposition against EP99935637 by Fast TV Server AG (Aug. 3, 2005).
Opposition against EP99935637 by Velocity 303 Limited (Aug. 3, 2005).
International Search Report, International Application No. PCT/US00/05887, Aug. 2000, 2 pages.
Piesing, J., “Introduction to the MHP PVR/PDR/DVR Specification,” Chair “Technical Aspects of the MHP” Philips Applied Technologies, Redhill, UK, Copyright Digital Video Broadcasting Project DVB, undated.
Reply to Non-Final Office Action filed in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,724 dated Mar. 19, 2009.
Reply to Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 09/356,161 dated Mar. 7, 2005.
Reply to Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/179,410 dated Jan. 23, 2009.
Reply to Non-Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,618 dated Apr. 6, 2009.
Research Disclosure, No. 329, Sep. 1991, HAVANT GB, p. 657, XP226205, “Installation of consumer apparatus”.
Sun's Next Steps in Digital Set-Tops, article in Cablevision, p. 56, Nov. 16, 1998.
U.S. Appl. No. 11/179,410, Office Action issued by the United States Patent Office and applicants' response, accessed on Jan. 14, 2015.
Von Andreas Neumann, “WDR Online Aufbau Und Perspektiven Automatisierter OnlineDienste Im WDR,” Rundfunktechnische Mitteilungen, vol. 41, pp. 56-66, Jun. 1997.
Von Gerhard Eitz, “Zukunftige Informations—Und Datenangebote Beim Digitalen Fernsehen—EPG Und “Lesezeichen”,” Rundfunktechnische Mitteilungen, vol. 41, pp. 67-72, Jun. 1997.
Request for Continued Examination and Reply to Final Office Action in U.S. Appl. No. 11/894,618 dated Feb. 3, 2010.
Davic 1.3.1 Specification Part 1: 1998 (147 pages).
Starsight Telecast, Inc. and United Video Properties, Inc. v. Virgin Media, English High Court Judgment (2014) EWHC 828, Honorable Justice Arnold dated Mar. 26, 2014.
C. Bestler, from NCTA ([US] National Cable Television Association) Technical papers, “Flexible Data Structures and Interface Rituals for Rapid Development of OSD Applications”, pp. 223-236 (1993).
Uniden® UST-4800 Super Preliminary Reference Manual, Nov. 12, 1991 (80 pages).
Michael Ellis et al, U.S. Appl. No. 60/097,527, filed Aug. 21, 1998.
Related Publications (1)
Number Date Country
20130227615 A1 Aug 2013 US
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 11726774 Mar 2007 US
Child 13793326 US