KR20050005908A - Electronic program guide device for providing group screens and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention includes an EPG providing unit for grouping and providing program information by predetermined items according to a user's selection, a storage unit for storing the program information, and a display unit for displaying program information grouped by the predetermined items on a screen. And selecting a menu by the user, extracting corresponding program information according to the user's menu selection, and grouping and displaying the extracted information by a predetermined item. do. Accordingly, in the electronic program guide method, the screens are grouped compared to the limited information provided in the conventional text grid method, so that the user can easily grasp and select information on a desired channel or program on one screen. You can expect the effect.

Description

ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE DEVICE FOR PROVIDING GROUP SCREENS AND METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a screen display method grouped in an electronic program guide, and more specifically, EPG (Electronic Program Guide (EPG) provided with a voice recognition function) Program schedule containing a program and summary for each channel The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for displaying information of various channels or programs in a grouped screen form rather than a grid in a text form.

Conventionally, the results of searching for a user to select a desired channel or program using a remote control (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) are generally displayed in text form on the electronic program guide screen as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. to be. For example, a channel name, a program name, a recording time, a category, and the like are displayed in the horizontal direction of the screen, and each data is sequentially displayed in the vertical direction of the screen.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a Quick Grid screen that provides information on a favorite channel, a highlight program, and a recommended program among broadcast programs in a general electronic program guide, is displayed in a list form on the left screen when viewing. The relevant channel or program information is displayed in text. In this case, when the user presses the electronic program guide button, the TV viewing screen disappears or decreases, and the channel of the desired broadcast program can be selected by using the up and down arrow keys or the operation button of the remote controller.

When the electronic program guide button on the remote controller is pressed while watching TV, a search result list screen or a stored list screen is displayed in a grid form as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

However, in the screen display method of the electronic program guide, the viewer is limited to the left and right sides of the remote control repeatedly so that the screen being viewed can be viewed as much as possible. There is an uncomfortable problem that must be done.

Also, only one item is shown on the screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the highlight of the day is displayed on the quick grid screen, but the favorite channel list or the recommended program list is not simultaneously displayed on the screen. . In addition, the grid-type screen shown in the search result list of FIG. 2 or the stored program list of FIG. 3 has a problem that it is difficult to grasp all the information at a glance because it is not only a feeling like a personal computer but a text format.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to display a broadcast program or channel searched using a remote control having a voice recognition means (including a remote control capable of grouping data) on a grid. It is to provide an electronic program guide that can be displayed in a grouped form, rather than a method, so that it is easier to select a desired program or channel.

1 to 3 are diagrams showing a data display method in a conventional electronic program guide.

4 is a main configuration diagram of an electronic program guide device for providing a grouped screen according to the present invention.

5 is a block diagram of a grouped screen of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention.

6 is a block diagram of a search result unit of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention;

7 is a block diagram of a quick guide unit of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention.

8 is a block diagram of a storage list unit of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention;

9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the electronic program guide apparatus of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the electronic program guide apparatus according to FIGS. 7 and 8.

<Description of Drawings on Major Parts of Drawings>

1: input part 2: remote control input part

3: voice input unit 4: voice recognition unit

5: EPG provider 6: storage

7: display unit

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an EPG providing unit for grouping and providing program information according to a user's selection, a storage unit for storing the program information, and program information grouped by the predetermined item. It characterized in that it comprises a display unit to be displayed on.

The method may include selecting a menu by a user, extracting corresponding program information according to the user's menu selection, and displaying the extracted information by grouping the extracted information by a predetermined item.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 shows the main components of the present invention for displaying channels or programs related to the searched content in the form of grouped screens. The input unit 1, the voice recognition unit 4, and the EPG providing unit 5 are shown in FIG. And a storage unit 6 and a display unit 7.

The input unit 1 includes a remote controller input unit 2 that receives a remote controller selection signal generated according to a user's remote controller selection and a voice input unit 3 that receives a user's voice.

The voice recognition unit 4 recognizes the voice of the user input through the voice input unit 3.

The EPG provider 5 provides program information grouped by a predetermined item according to a user's selection, that is, when the user selects any one of a quick guide menu, a search menu, and a storage list menu through a remote controller or a voice, The program information displayed in the selected menu is grouped and provided by predetermined items. Here, the quick guide menu includes a preferred channel unit for displaying a channel frequently viewed by the user, a high light unit for displaying a high light program for a main program provided by the broadcasting station, and a recommendation program unit for displaying programs recommended by the station. . The search menu searches for program information for each category that a user wants to search. In addition, the storage list menu stores channel and program information separately for each group according to a predetermined purpose. Here, the quick guide menu and the save list menu are stored in advance according to a user's arbitrary setting.

The storage unit 6 stores program information. Here, the program information may be understood as a channel number, a channel name, a program name, a date / time, a running time, a recording time, and the like. In addition, according to the user's arbitrary settings, grouped by the item and stored.

The display unit 7 displays program information grouped by predetermined items in the EPG provider unit 5 on the screen. Here, a plurality of program information grouped by predetermined items may be displayed on one screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a grouped screen of an electronic program guide device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, a title 20 displaying a corresponding content name to be searched and a plurality of screens displaying programs corresponding to each content are shown. 30, brief information about a program of a selected screen among a plurality of screens, for example, a brief information unit 40 for displaying a program name, date / time, running time, etc., and a channel number and channel name of the selected screen. And a channel display unit 50 that can move to the corresponding channel. When the viewer wants to move the channel to the screen, the channel can be easily moved to the corresponding channel by selecting the channel number or the channel name of the corresponding channel display unit 50 using the remote controller. Furthermore, if the desired channels or programs are not in each of the grouped screens, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the content is not in the screens 1 to 3 in the case of a movie, the user moves by using the left and right operation keys of the remote controller. You can search various channels.

Unlike the general text form, the grouped screen A can easily select a desired channel or program through the screen information.

FIG. 6 relates to a search result unit. Each search group of the search result unit in the form of the grouped screen A is a result of a search for "movie + drama + sports" input through the voice recognition unit 4. The examples are shown separately.

The content of the "movie" is displayed in the first search group of the search result unit. The title 20 may be displayed as a content name "movie", and movie programs related thereto may be displayed on the screen A grouped according to a predetermined condition, for example, an audience rating. The number of such grouped screens A may be adjusted according to the size of the entire screen. Here, for example, screen 1, screen 2, and screen 3 are displayed. If each of the screens 1 to 3 is selected by focusing on the screen 1, for example, the brief information unit 40 including brief information about the screen 1 may be displayed. Here, the program name, date / time, running time, etc. of the selected screen may be displayed. In addition, a channel display unit 50 is displayed at the bottom of each screen. When the viewer wants to move the channel to the corresponding screen, the channel can be easily moved to the corresponding channel by selecting the channel number or the channel name of the corresponding channel display unit 50 using the remote controller. Furthermore, if the desired program screen is not on the screens 1 to 3, the various channels can be searched by moving by using the left and right operation keys of the remote controller.

Similarly, programs related to the second search group for "drama" and for the third search group for "sports" are displayed and can be applied and used in the same manner as the first search group.

The results of the searched contents are displayed in the form of a screen grouped by each group. Among the displayed screens, a channel provided with a desired program can be stored and stored in the database 6 or the storage list through the search result unit. have.

The above configuration is similar to the following quick guide and storage list section, and thus can be applied and used in the same manner.

FIG. 7 relates to a quick guide providing information such as a favorite channel, a highlight program, and a recommendation program among broadcast programs in an electronic program guide. As shown in FIG.

The quick guide may include a preference channel unit, a high light unit, and a recommendation program unit. The preferred channel unit may be set to display a channel order frequently viewed by the user or a channel preferred by all viewers. The highlight unit displays a highlight program for a main program provided from a broadcasting station. In addition, the recommendation program unit may display programs to be recommended by the broadcasting station on the same day, corresponding week, or corresponding month. These components may be displayed in the form of grouped screens A, respectively.

As described above, the quick guide is displayed in the form of the grouped screen A, that is, the user's favorite channels and the highlights and recommended programs provided by the broadcasting station are displayed in the form of a small screen grouped at the same time. The desired program can be easily selected and viewed from the grouped screens.

Here, the quick guide may be replaced with various contents other than the preferred channel unit, the highlight unit, and the recommended program unit.

FIG. 8 illustrates a storage list unit in which various channels or program information are classified and stored according to a predetermined purpose in an electronic program guide, and each group is configured in a grouped screen form A and displayed on the screen.

The storage list unit may divide programs recorded in a set-top box, which is a subscriber signal converting device, into a group by a predetermined video using a personal video recording (PVR) function. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the recorded programs may be selectively classified according to contents (or genres), recording time (Preservation), stored capacity (or running time), and the like. The programs classified as described above may be stored in the first to third list groups, respectively. The first list group is classified and stored according to contents such as a movie, drama, and sports. The second list group is stored according to the recording time (date / time / day, etc.), and the third list group according to the running time of the program and the stored capacity.

The first to third list groups are configured and stored in the form of grouped screens A, respectively. In the grouped screen A, a plurality of programs corresponding to the title of the list group are arranged and displayed on each screen.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the electronic program guide device according to the present invention. First, when a user selects a menu using a remote controller or a voice (S10), the EPG provider 5 responds to the user's menu selection. The program information is extracted (S20). Here, the user may select one of the quick guide menu, the search menu, and the save list menu. For example, when the user selects a favorite channel item from the quick guide menu, the EPG provider 5 may store the storage 6. Extract the channel information frequently viewed by the user, which is already set in the user, and when the user selects the high light item, the EPG provider 5 extracts the high light program for the main program provided from the broadcasting station, and the user recommends the program. If an item is selected, the EPG provider 5 extracts programs recommended by the broadcasting station.

In addition, when the user selects a search menu, the EPG provider 5 extracts a program according to a category that the user wants to search from the storage unit 6, and when the user selects a save list menu, the EPG provider 5 Extract the program information saved by the user on a random basis.

Next, the EPG provider 5 groups the extracted information by a predetermined item and displays it (S30). Here, a plurality of grouped information may be displayed on one screen.

Therefore, the user can easily select information on a desired channel or program through program information grouped by predetermined items.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of an electronic program guide in which a result of searching for a desired content or program through voice recognition means is displayed in a grouped screen A form.

First, a content or a program desired by a viewer, for example, "movie + drama + sports", etc., is input through a voice input unit 3 attached to a remote controller, etc. (S100). Next, after retrieving the program or the broadcast channel related to the content input from the EPG provider 5 through the voice recognition unit 4 in the storage unit 6, the retrieved program or the broadcast channels according to each content in the search result unit After being stored in the form of the screen A grouped in the first to third search groups, it is displayed on the screen (S110). Among the grouped screens A, the screens are checked by moving the left and right moving keys of the remote controller to see if there is a desired channel or program (S120). At this time, if there is a desired channel or program, if the channel display unit 50 displayed on the screen is selected (S130), it moves to the corresponding channel and is displayed in full screen (S140). If the desired channel is not found, other content is input again and searched (S150).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the electronic program guide using the grouped screen A provided by the quick guide and the storage list unit according to FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, the viewer selects the quick guide or the storage list unit using the voice input unit 3 or the operation key of the remote control to select the content (channel or broadcast program) to be searched (S200). The quick guide or the storage list unit stores the channels or programs in groups according to a predetermined purpose in the form of a grouped screen A, and is displayed on the screen by the display unit 7 (S210). Among the grouped screens A of the quick guide or the storage list unit, the screens are checked by moving the left and right moving keys of the remote controller to see if there is a desired channel or program (S220). At this time, if there is a desired channel or program, if the channel display unit 50 displayed on the screen is selected (S230), it moves to the corresponding channel and is displayed in full screen (S240). If the desired channel is not found, other content is searched through the EPG provider 5 (S250).

As such, in searching and selecting a desired channel or program, the grouped screens A are displayed on the display unit 7 while providing brief information and images in a plurality of screen forms. Channel or broadcast program can be selected.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may variously modify the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. It is apparent that the present invention may be modified or modified. Therefore, a simple change according to an embodiment of the present invention will not be possible without departing from the technology of the present invention.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, in the electronic program guide method, by providing the grouped screens, respectively, compared to the limited information provided in the conventional text-type grid method, one screen for information on the channel or program desired by the user You can expect effects that can be identified and selected more easily.

Claims (10)

An EPG provider for grouping and providing program information by predetermined items according to a user's selection; A storage unit for storing the program information; And And a display unit for displaying program information grouped by the predetermined items on a screen. The method of claim 1, And a voice recognition unit for recognizing a user's voice. The method of claim 1, The EPG provider, And the program information displayed on the selected menu is grouped by a predetermined item when the user selects any one of a quick guide menu, a search menu, and a storage list menu. The method of claim 1, And the program information is grouped by at least two items. The method of claim 1, And the grouped predetermined program information is displayed as additional program information upon selection of a user. A user selecting a menu; Extracting corresponding program information according to the user's menu selection; And And displaying the extracted information by grouping the extracted information by a predetermined item. The method of claim 6, And the user can select a menu through a voice. The method of claim 6, The menu selected by the user is Method for providing an electronic program guide in the form of a grouped screen, characterized in that any one of a quick guide menu, a search menu and a save list menu. The method of claim 6, And the program information is grouped by at least two items. The method of claim 6, The program information for the grouped predetermined items is provided in the grouped screen form, characterized in that additional program information is displayed when the user selects.