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:
Mar. 16, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 26, 1997
Judson A Hofmann, Mendham, NJ (US);
Panasonic Technologies Inc., Princeton, NJ (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for receiving, organizing and presenting program information to a display device in a home from at least two outside sources such as CATV, telephone companies (TELCOs) and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) is disclosed. A distribution network is established within the home using, for example, a consumer electronics bus (CEBus). First, a plurality of signals each from a different outside source and each being associated with information for constructing a program information database for the respective source are received. Next, the separate streams of program information for each outside source are integrated into a single merged database, entries of which can be accessed as a function of user supplied criteria. Additionally, information may be appended to each record of the entries in the separate streams of program information which indicate source and/or cost, and, finally, the information contained in the merged database is presented via the CEBus to a user for viewing and function selection.