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:
Feb. 16, 2010
Filed:
Jul. 15, 2003
Joseph H. Matthews, Iii, Redmond, WA (US);
Frank Lawler, Seattle, WA (US);
James O. Robarts, Redmond, WA (US);
David S. Byrne, Seattle, WA (US);
Joseph H. Matthews, III, Redmond, WA (US);
Frank Lawler, Seattle, WA (US);
James O. Robarts, Redmond, WA (US);
David S. Byrne, Seattle, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
An electronic programming guide (EPG) resides in a user interface unit memory and is executable on the processor of the user interface unit to organize programming information that is descriptive of the programs supplied over an interactive entertainment system. The EPG supports a user interface (UI) which visually correlates programs titles to scheduled viewing times. A hyperlink browser also resides in memory and is executable on the processor. One or more hyperlinks, which reference target resources containing interactive content related to the video programs, are integrated as part of the EPG UI. When a viewer activates a hyperlink within the EPG, the user interface unit launches the browser to activate the target resource specified by the hyperlink. The instruction might cause the visual display unit to tune to the program or channel represented by the particular label, or to initiate procedures to record the program when it begins playing, or to jump to a related target resource, such as a Web site.