Information retrieval system using an internet multiplexer to focus user selection

Claims

We claim:

1. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus;

wherein associating said focus with a particular identifier includes drawing attention to said particular identifier in turn in said sequence; and

wherein receiving said selection for a particular selected item includes awaiting a signal from said recipient at a time when said focus is associated with said particular selected item.

2. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein associating said focus with a particular identifier includes assigning substantially greater screen space to said particular identifier.

3. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein associating said focus with a particular identifier includes assigning a speaker to said particular identifier.

4. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element alters said sequential order in response to a signal from said background element.

5. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element associates a new identifier with a new item coupled from said background element, and adds said new identifier to said sequential order.

6. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element moves said focus backward or forward within said sequential order in response to a signal from said recipient.

7. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element presents said identifiers to said recipient at a plurality of positions on a two-dimensional screen, and associates said focus with each said identifier, so that presentation of said focus sweeps across said two-dimensional screen along a substantially linear path.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein said linear path is substantially horizontal.

9. Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein said linear path is substantially vertical.

10. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said background element includes a comparator coupled to said items and to at least one recipient preference;

said determination is made in response to an output of said comparator; and

said recipient preference is responsive to at least one said selection by said recipient.

11. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and wherein

said background element includes a comparator coupled to said items and to an interest threshold;

said determination is made in response to an output of said comparator; and

said interest threshold is responsive to at least one said selection by said recipient.

12. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an active mode in which said foreground element presents said items to said recipient, wherein in said active mode said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers, and having an inactive mode in which said foreground element does not present said items to said recipient;

wherein said foreground element switches between said active mode and said inactive mode, in response to said determination; and wherein

said foreground element has an engaging state in which said foreground element operates to attempt to engage said recipient to select said items for presentation, and a nonengaging state in which said foreground element does not operate to attempt to engage said recipient to select said items for presentation; and

said foreground element switches between said engaging state and said nonengaging state, in response to said determination; and

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element presents said identifiers to said recipient at a plurality of positions on a two-dimensional screen, and associates said focus with each said identifier, so that presentation of said focus sweeps across said two-dimensional screen along a substantially linear path.

13. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element, having an engaging state in which said foreground element operates to attempt to engage said recipient to select said items for presentation, and a nonengaging state in which said foreground element does not operate to attempt to engage said recipient to select said items for presentation;

wherein said foreground element switches between said engaging state and said nonengaging state, in response to said determination; and

wherein in said engaging state said foreground element associates an identifier with each one of a plurality of said items, presents said identifiers to said recipient, and presents an associated item selected by said recipient from among said identifiers; and wherein

wherein said foreground element associates a focus with each said identifier in a sequential order, and receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus; and

wherein said foreground element presents said identifiers to said recipient at a plurality of positions on a two-dimensional screen, and associates said focus with each said identifier, so that presentation of said focus sweeps across said two-dimensional screen along a substantially linear path.

14. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element which associates each said item with an identifier for presentation to said recipient, associates each said identifier with a focus in a linear sequential order, receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus, and presents said item to said recipient only when selected; and

wherein associating said focus with a particular identifier includes assigning substantially greater screen space to said particular identifier.

15. Apparatus for presenting information to a recipient, said apparatus including

a background element, having a receiver coupled to at least one information source, said background element associating with items received from said information source a determination whether said items are interesting to said recipient; and

a foreground element which associates each said item with an identifier for presentation to said recipient, associates each said identifier with a focus in a linear sequential order, receives a selection by said recipient of said selected item only when said selected item is associated with said focus, and presents said item to said recipient only when selected; and

wherein said foreground element presents said identifiers to said recipient at a plurality of positions on a two-dimensional screen, and associates said focus with each said identifier, so that presentation of said focus sweeps across said two-dimensional screen along a substantially linear path.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to techniques for presenting broadcast and other information.

2. Related Art

Multiple sources of information are available for recipients at their homes and offices, including traditional broadcast information sources such as standard broadcast radio and television (available by transmission to a receiver in the home or office), and cable and satellite television (possibly encrypted, scrambled, or otherwise restricted for delivery); traditional switched information sources such as telephone services; and traditional recorded information sources such as audio and video recorded tapes, compact discs and laser discs, and other recorded media.

In addition to these traditional information sources, more recently available information sources include enhanced television services such as "closed caption" (sometimes made available using a television vertical blanking interval or other broadcast or narrowcast data delivery paths), "picture-in-picture" and related techniques for presenting more than one television channel for simultaneous viewing, presentation of textual information using a cable or satellite television system, and videoconferencing; enhanced telephone services such as paging, voicemail or voice messaging, voice response systems, and cellular telephone service; and networking services such as electronic mail, access to the world wide web, and other internet and intranet resources.

Some of these enhanced services have included transmitting information in a variety of formats, including stock quotations and similar financial data in real time, textual information serving to complement a television broadcast (such as subtitles), and information in computer formats (such as HTML code). However, even in circumstances where multiple information sources share a common communication channel (such as the television vertical blanking interval or a radio or television subcarrier), in general each information source has been associated with its own information format, its own selection of which information is to be presented, and its own technique for retrieving and using that information.

One problem which has arisen in the art is that, in combination from all these sources, the amount of information, the variety of forms in which information is delivered and stored, and the variety of techniques for receiving and selecting information, can overload the capability of the ordinary recipient to manage and record. The amount and variety of information sources and delivered information can outstrip the capability of the ordinary recipient to organize that information, to select among and assign priorities to that information for review, and to record and respond to that information.

It would be advantageous to provide a single point of contact which an ordinary recipient (one without advanced technical training) could use to receive information from variety of information sources, whether traditional, enhanced, or more recent, and a single technique or interface which an ordinary recipient could use for selecting among and assigning priorities to information for review, reviewing information, and recording and responding to that information.

Known methods for delivering information to recipients include interactive presentation of textual information to a user (much like using a television picture tube as a computer monitor), in which the user receives textual information from a cable or satellite central location and transmits commands or selections back to that central location. For example, some hotel in-house cable systems enable users to review the hotel's event schedules, movie schedules, or billing information. Some hotel in-house cable systems enable users to determine whether there are voicemail messages waiting for them (but they must often use the hotel in-house telephone system to retrieve those messages). Some cable and satellite television broadcast systems, and some video cassette recorders, provide on-screen displays of television program schedules.

However, these interactive methods of using television transmission technology merely substitute for known methods of presenting text and other information on a computer monitor, and do not serve to significantly improve the capability of the user to manage and record information from a variety of information sources. Rather, interactive use of television transmission technology simply provides yet another heterogeneous information source, with yet another interface technique.

Known methods for delivering information to recipients also include periodic presentation of information to a user, in response to selections by the user from a menu of items of likely interest. For example, known services on the internet select a information from delayed stock quotation sources or newswire sources, and present that information to the user, either periodically in a separate window or on a computer monitor. The "PointCast" service also presents information, like a "screen saver", in response to inactivity by the user. In some cases, the information presented may include links to further information, which the user may select to review that further information.

However, these methods of passively filtering information available on a network merely substitute for known methods of searching databases and other information, and do not serve to significantly improve the capability of the user to manage and record information from a variety of information sources. Rather, passively filtering information available on a network simply provides yet another heterogeneous information source, with yet another interface technique. Moreover, being responsive to inactivity by the recipient is a drawback for broadcast media, for which inactivity by the recipient is a common mode of behavior.

In addition to providing a single point of contact for receiving information from a variety of information sources, it would also be advantageous to provide a substantial degree of automated knowledge at the point of contact, so that a device at the point of contact could perform tasks related to selection, assignment of priorities, and organization of incoming information on behalf of the recipient and in response to the recipient's preferences.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and system for receiving information from a variety of sources, both interactive and passive, and for engagingly presenting that information to a recipient. This advantage is achieved in an embodiment of the invention in which a background element operates to interact with, combine, filter and prioritize multiple information sources, possibly using one information source to prioritize other. This advantage is also achieved in an embodiment of the invention in which a foreground element presents information to the recipient when active, but not when inactive, and the background operates even when the foreground is inactive, to trigger the foreground to engage the recipient to select and view that new information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and system for receiving incoming information from multiple information sources, both interactive and passive, and for engagingly presenting that information to a recipient on a presentation interface.

The system includes a "background" element, which interacts with interactive information sources and receives from passive information sources, and determines whether information from those sources is likely to be interesting to the recipient, possibly using one information source to determine priority for another. The system also includes a "foreground" element, which presents information to the recipient when active, but not when inactive. The background is operative even when the foreground element is inactive, and when the background detects new information of interest to the recipient (for example, exceeding a selected threshold of interest or satisfying a selected criterion for interest), it causes the foreground to become active and engage the recipient to select and view that new information. In preferred embodiments, the threshold or criterion may be adaptively responsive to recipient preferences, whether explicitly expressed or implied, but may also be relatively fixed, such as a scheduled time of day.

When active, the foreground focuses on each information source in a selected order, preferably a sequential order prioritized by the recipient preferences, and tracking across a presentation screen along a linear track (such as a horizontal, vertical, or circular sweep of the presentation interface). The foreground allows the recipient to select an information source when the focus arrives at an identifier for that information source, or to move the focus backward or forward to an identifier for a desired information source and then to select that desired information source.

The background examines information both from interactive sources, for which the system acquires information by specific requests (such as database searches, web pages, and other command-directed sources), and from passive sources, for which the system acquires information by turning its attention to the source (such as broadcast or narrowcast signals, electronic mail, news feeds, and other information already targeted at the recipient). The background filters and preferably prioritizes the information sources in response to the recipient preferences (whether explicitly stated by the recipient or deduced in response to the recipient's viewing habits or other information about the recipient), in response to crosslinks between information sources, in response to triggering events (such as time of day, arrival of a new information source or a change in an old information source), in response to demographic information about a recipient, in response to other related information about a recipient, in response to viewing responses by other recipients (such as those persons known to the recipient or in the recipient's demographic group), and in response to statistical measures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the system for receiving information and engagingly presenting that information to a recipient.

FIG. 2 shows a state diagram of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description, a preferred embodiment of the invention is described with regard to preferred process steps and data structures. However, those skilled in the art would recognize, after perusal of this application, that embodiments of the invention may be implemented using one or more general purpose processors (or special purpose processors adapted to the particular process steps and data structures) operating under program control, and that implementation of the preferred process steps and data structures described herein using such equipment would not require undue experimentation or further invention.

System Components

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the system for receiving information and engagingly presenting that information to a recipient.

A system 100 comprises a plurality of information receivers 110, including at least one passive tuner 111 and at least one internet access point 112; an information multiplexer 120, including a processor, program and data memory, and mass storage; a presentation interface 130, including an output device 131 such as a television monitor and speakers, an input device 132 such as a television remote control, and a plurality of sensors such as a motion sensor 141 and a timer 142.

In alternative embodiments, the system 100 may comprise fewer than all these elements and still be effectively operational, such as omitting mass storage elements, omitting the motion sensor 141 or the timer 142, or having a reduced presentation interface 130. A reduced presentation interface 130 may comprise only a television monitor without speakers, only speakers without a television monitor, a moving character display using a plurality of individual lighted elements such as used in motion picture billboards and other applications, or other devices for presenting information to recipients.

The tuner 111 comprises a television signal tuner disposed for receiving broadcast television, cable television, or direct-broadcast satellite television. In alternative embodiments, the tuner 111 may comprise another type of passive information receiver for other types of signals such as those transmitted on radio frequencies, television closed-caption, or television or radio subcarrier signals. The tuner 111 is capable of being tuned to receive information signals, such as signals in a television broadcast format, on one of a plurality of channels. In a preferred embodiment, a primary use of the tuner 111 is to receive television signals in a broadcast television format from a television antenna or from a videocassette recorder-player.

The tuner 111 is coupled to the information multiplexer 120, is disposed for receiving a control signal from the information multiplexer 120 for selecting a target channel for tuning, and is disposed for providing a tuned broadcast signal to the information multiplexer 120.

In a preferred embodiment, the tuned broadcast signal comprises further information in addition to broadcast television shows, such as annotation for those television shows or other broadcast information as described herein. This further information can be incorporated into the vertical blanking interval (VBI) in broadcast television signals, or can be incorporated into known data transmission channels in stored television signal formats such as the "MPEG II" standard. Both use of the VBI and MPEG II are known in the art of television.

The internet access point 112 comprises a communication link to a network 118 such as an internet or intranet, such as a communication link to an internet router using a telephone line modem, an ISDN or T-1 line, a LAN connection, or another type of connection. The communication link to the network 118 can broadly encompass any technique for communication, including for example transmitting commands using a first communication path and receiving data using a second communication path, even when the second communication path is substantially unidirectional (such as a radio signal, a signal transmitted using the vertical blanking interval or other television subcarrier signal, a cable television signal, a direct-broadcast signal, or other broadcast signal used for a data return path).

The internet access point 112 is capable of transmitting and receiving according to one or more communication protocols, including for example an internet telephone protocol, a telnet protocol, file-transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), or other protocol for sending requests and receiving information responsive to those requests.

The internet access point 112 can comprise a communication link to a server device (not shown), which provides the capability of transmitting and receiving according to at least some of the communication protocols as a proxy for the internet access point 112 itself. In a preferred embodiment incorporating such a server device, the server device is coupled to the network 118 and is available to the internet access point 112 using the network 118. However, in alternative embodiments, the server device may be coupled to the internet access point 112 using a direct communication link, using a local area network, or using another type of network such as an intranet or a proprietary network.

In a preferred embodiment, primary uses of the internet access point 112 are to request and receive web pages and other information from web servers coupled to the network 118, to request and receive newswire information and updates from news sources coupled to the network 118, to request and receive television program guides from sources coupled to the network 118, to send and receive electronic mail using the network 118, and to place and receive telephone calls using an internet phone protocol using the network 118.

The internet access point 112 is coupled to the information multiplexer 120 and is disposed for receiving a network request from the information multiplexer 120; the network request can include a request for newswire information, an FTP request, an HTTP request, a request for a television program guide, an request to place an internet telephone call, a request to send electronic mail, or another network protocol request.

The internet access point 112 is also disposed for providing responses to requests to the information multiplexer 120; the responses can include a stream of updated newswire information, a retrieved data file, a hypertext page (such as a web page or information therefrom), a television program guide, received electronic mail, an internet telephone connection, or another network protocol response.