US 9,438,953 B2Granted

Program guide application interface system

AssigneeRovi Guides, Inc.

InventorsMichael D. Ellis, Robert A. Knee

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

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Abstract

A program guide system is provided that supports a program guide application and multiple non-guide applications. The program guide system has a program guide application interface that allows the non-guide applications to use both device resources and program guide resources. The application interface maintains a list of registered applications and directs control requests from various applications to the current primary application. The application interface also has a user interface input director that directs keystrokes and other user input commands to the appropriate application. If a keystroke for the program guide application is detected while a non-guide application is running, the program guide application is invoked.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A method for allowing a plurality of applications, each implemented on user equipment and associated with a resource requirement, to assume control of the user equipment, wherein one of the plurality of applications is an interactive program guide, the method comprising:

receiving, with a control request processor, a control request from a requesting application, wherein the requesting application is one of the plurality of applications;
comparing a first plurality of buttons associated with an active mode of the requesting application with a second plurality of buttons associated with an active mode of a second application of the plurality of applications;
determining, with the control request processor and without user input, whether any button in the first plurality of buttons is included in the second plurality of buttons;
and
transferring control of the user equipment to the requesting application in response to determining that none of the first plurality of buttons is included in the second plurality of buttons.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/869,287Filed 26 Aug 2010 · continuation
Priority: 5 Sep 1997
Published: US 2011/0093894 A121 Apr 2011
Granted: 6 Sep 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification17 codes

H04N 21/4508
Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data…
H04N 5/772
Between a recording apparatus and a television camera: the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
H04N 5/782
Using magnetic recording: on tape
H04N 7/17318
Transmission or handling of upstream communications: direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Family

Application60/058,073Us provisional application · filed 5 Sep 1997
Application09/145,232Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Sep 1998
Application10/684,326Parent of this continuation · filed 10 Oct 2003
US 6,665,869 B1Parent of this continuation · filed 16 Dec 2003
Application12/579,635Parent of this continuation · filed 15 Oct 2009
US 7,624,410 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 24 Nov 2009
US 2011/0093894 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Apr 2011
US 7,805,742 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2004/0139464 A1Published application
US 2010/0122292 A1Published application
US 9,438,953 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

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