Menu usage statistics collection and reporting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9600390-B2
Application number	US-201213474654-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 17, 2012
Priority date	May 17, 2012
Publication date	Mar 21, 2017
Grant date	Mar 21, 2017

Abstract

Customizing menus for a consumer electronics device, including: preparing menu definitions for the menus to be customized on the consumer electronics device; generating menu configuration information using the prepared menu definitions; transmitting the generated menu configuration information to the consumer electronics device; and monitoring and tracking menu usage data of the consumer electronics device. Keywords include customization of menus and consumer electronics device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of customizing menus for a consumer electronics device, the method comprising:
preparing menu definitions for the menus to be customized on the consumer electronics device including specifying hierarchical arrangement of menu items in the menus;
generating menu configuration information using the prepared menu definitions,
wherein the generated menu configuration information is used by the consumer electronics device to rearrange an ordering of menu items on the menus of the consumer electronics device;
transmitting the generated menu configuration information to the consumer electronics device;
monitoring and tracking menu usage data of the consumer electronics device by a user;
receiving a request to share the menu configuration information with other consumer electronic devices owned by the user to share customization of the menus; and
generating the menu configuration information for the other consumer electronics devices by specifying the customization of the menus on other consumer electronic devices owned by the user in terms of changes to base configurations of the other consumer electronics devices; and
applying the customization of the menus to the other consumer electronics devices that do not have the same base menu items.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
analyzing the menu usage data to improve a design of the menus on the consumer electronics device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the menu usage data indicates that customers have a hard time finding a particular menu item, and that users first look for the particular menu item in a different place.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the menu usage data comprise a displayed language of the menus when the menus are used.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein analyzing the menu usage data comprises
breaking down the analysis by the displayed language to improve a particular translation if a menu item is less used or harder to find when the menus are displayed in a particular language.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the improvement comprises
moving popular menu items to places that allow quicker access,
wherein the places include locations that need to scroll through fewer menu items or that need to navigate through fewer menu levels.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include a frequency of menu usage.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein popular menu items are positioned in locations in the menus that are easiest to access.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the menu usage data is calculated using data collected from the consumer electronics device.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include day and time of the menu usage.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include a series of menu item clicks or selections to determine a sequence of activity or path.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include a type of application launched.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include duration between two menu selections.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include frequency of language changes.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the collected data include button presses on a remote control.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
directing the consumer electronics device to send the menu usage data at a pre-defined interval.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
triggering the consumer electronics device to send the menu usage data once a certain quantity of data has been collected by the consumer electronics device.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
specifying to the consumer electronics device a type of the menu usage data to collect and send.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
enabling the consumer electronics device to send the menu usage data along with the menu customization request.

20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
enabling the consumer electronics device to send the menu usage data when it is triggered to send the menu usage data.

21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
receiving a menu customization request from the consumer electronics device,
wherein the menu customization request includes device specific information to identify the consumer electronics device.

22. A non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program to customize menus for a consumer electronics device, the computer program comprising executable instructions that cause a computer to:
prepare menu definitions for the menus to be customized on the consumer electronics device including executable instructions that cause the computer to specify hierarchical arrangement of menu items in the menus;
generate menu configuration information using the prepared menu definitions,
wherein the generated menu configuration information is used by the consumer electronics device to rearrange an ordering of menu items on the menus of the consumer electronics device;
transmit the generated menu configuration information to the consumer electronics device;
monitor and track menu usage data of the consumer electronics device by a user; and
receive a request to share the menu configuration information with other consumer electronic devices owned by the user to share customization of the menus;
generate the menu configuration information for the other consumer electronics devices by specifying the customization of the menus on other consumer electronic devices owned by the user in terms of changes to base configurations of the other consumer electronics devices; and
apply the customization of the menus to the other consumer electronics devices that do not have the same base menu items.

23. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 22 , executable instructions that cause a computer to
analyze the menu usage data to improve a design of the menus on the consumer electronics device.

24. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include frequency of menu usage.

25. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include day and time of the menu usage.

26. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include a series of menu item clicks or selections to determine a sequence of activity or path.

27. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include a type of application launched.

28. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 23 , wherein the analyzed menu usage data include duration between two menu selections.

Assignees

• Mccoy Charles
• Pedlow Jr Leo Mark
• Wong Ling Jun
• Xiong True
• Sony Corp
• Sony Network Entertainment Int Llc

Inventors

• Mccoy Charles
• Pedlow Jr Leo Mark
• Wong Ling Jun
• Xiong True

Classifications

• H04N21/4314

  for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid · CPC title

• H04N21/42204

  User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor (constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205) · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• H04N21/4821

  using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time · CPC title

• G06F3/04842

  Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements (G06F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title