The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 25, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 02, 1993
John S Hendricks, Potomac, MD (US);
Alfred E Bonner, Bethesda, MD (US);
Richard E Wunderlich, Alpharetta, GA (US);
Discovery Communications, Inc., Bethesda, MD (US);
Abstract
A novel reprogrammable set top terminal for a television program delivery system which suggests programs for viewing is described. The invention relates to methods and apparatus for reprogramming set top terminals, and selecting and displaying programs to suggest to subscribers for viewing. The invention is particularly useful in television program delivery systems with hundreds of channels of programming, a menu driven program selection system, and a program control information signal which carries data and identifies the available program choices. Specifically, the invention relates to remote reprogramming of terminal memory and the gathering and analysis of data for selecting programs to suggest to a subscriber. The invention is a terminal which includes a circuit for receiving incoming signals, a processor, memory, and a circuit to generate menu screens for display on a TV or monitor. Various data gathering and analysis techniques are used to customize selection of programs for display on a menu.