User interface for audio video display device such as TV

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9955102-B2
Application number	US-201414324118-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 4, 2014
Priority date	Apr 7, 2011
Publication date	Apr 24, 2018
Grant date	Apr 24, 2018

Abstract

A graphical user interface (GUI) for an audio video display device (AVDD) such as a TV includes content panels which can be selected for searching for additional information related to the content underlying the content panels. A history of previous searches is maintained in memory “stacked” notionally to the left or right of the current display so that a viewer can easily review previous search results using a simple scroll command.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Device comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one computer readable storage medium with instructions executable by the processor to:
present on a video display a first graphical user interface (GUI) including plural content panels, each content panel representing a respective video;
responsive to a viewer selection of a content panel in the first GUI, present on the display a search GUI containing information pertaining to the selected content panel from the first GUI;
responsive to a viewer selection of a panel in the search GUI, present on the display a first new search GUI including plural content panels,
responsive to a viewer selection of a panel from the first new search GUI, present at least a second new search GUI including plural content panels that are selectable to present a third new search GUI, wherein the second new search GUI is a “child” new search GUI relative to the “parent” first new search GUI, and wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to present N subsequent child new search GUIs responsive to viewer selection of a panel from an N−1 parent new search GUI;
maintain a record of the GUIs;
responsive to a first continuous scroll command in a first direction on the first new search GUI, scroll new content panels onto the first new search GUI with at least a first portion of the first new search GUI not scrolling offscreen and with at least a second portion of the first new search GUI scrolling offscreen to be replaced by the new content panels;
responsive to a second continuous scroll command in a second direction different from the first direction, replace the first new search GUI with the search GUI; and
responsive to a third continuous scroll command in substantially the opposite direction as the second direction, replace the first new search GUI with the second new search GUI.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to:
responsive to at least one scroll command subsequent to the third scroll command also in substantially the opposite direction as the second direction and in a different direction than the first direction, replace a parent N−1 new search GUI with a child N new search GUI such that the new search GUIs are stacked in the sequence in which their respective searches were conducted.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to:
responsive to at least one scroll command subsequent to the second scroll command in substantially the same direction as the second direction, replace a child N new search GUI with a parent N−1 new search GUI;
wherein each child N new search GUI and its respective parent N−1 new search GUI are associated with searches executed prior to respective scroll commands to scroll from one GUI to another being input by a viewer.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to configure the first GUI to include content panels and a current video panel together arranged in an N×M grid, wherein N and M are integers equal to or greater than two, wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to scroll the content panels responsive to the first scroll command and to not scroll the current video panel responsive to the first scroll command.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to maintain records of the search GUI and new search GUIs on the medium.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the scroll commands are each established by a human gesture in free space distanced from the display.

7. Method comprising:
presenting on a display a graphical user interface (GUI) using an audio video device (AVD), the GUI including selector elements selectable to initiate a search for content related to a selected selector element;
responsive to receiving a selection of a first selector element, receiving a first search results set including information related to content represented by the selected selector element, the information related to the content being information related to subject matter in the content and not to additional content programming;
storing the first search results set;
presenting at least a portion of the first search results set on the display;
responsive to receiving a selection of a second selector element from a GUI presented on the display, receiving a second search results set including additional content programming information related to the subject matter invoked by selection of the first selector element,
storing the second search results set;
presenting at least a portion of the second search results set on the display;
wherein at least one selection of a selector element derived from the second search results set is received subsequent to presenting the second search results set such that at least in part responsive to receiving selection of at least one N subsequent selector element from at least one N GUI presented on the display, an N search results set is received including additional content programming information related to the subject matter invoked by selection of an N−1 selector element from an N−1 GUI, the N GUIs being continuously scrollable after being initially presented on the display such that receiving plural continuous scroll commands at the display in substantially the same direction causes the N GUIs to be consecutively scrolled in the sequence in which they were initially presented.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the scroll commands are left or right scroll commands relative to the display.

9. Audio video device (AVD) comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by the processor to:
present on a display a first graphical user interface (GUI) including plural content panels;
responsive to a viewer selection of a content panel in the first GUI, present on the display a search GUI containing information panels pertaining to the selected content panel from the first GUI;
responsive to a viewer selection of an information panel from the search GUI, present on the display at least a first new search GUI including content panels representing content associated with the panel selected from the search GUI, wherein responsive to a viewer selection of a panel from the first new search GUI, present at least a second new search GUI including plural content panels representing content associated with the panel selected from the first new search GUI, the content panels of the second new search GUI being selectable to present a third new search GUI responsive to selection of a panel from the second new search GUI such that the second new search GUI is a “child” new search GUI relative to the “parent” first new search GUI and the third new search GUI is a “child” new search GUI of the “parent” second new search GUI, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to present N subsequent child new search GUIs responsive to viewer selection of a panel from an N−1 parent new search GUI; and
responsive to consecutive continuous scroll commands in the same direction, replace a parent new search GUI with its respective child new search GUI, the continuous scroll commands being received at a time after searches associated with each of the new search GUIs were initially executed.

10. The AVD of claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by the processor configure the processor to configure the first GUI to include content panels and a current video panel together arranged in an N×M grid, wherein N and M are integers eq

Assignees

• Sony Corp
• Saturn Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Friedlander Steven
• Young David
• Yeh Sabrina Tai-Chen

Classifications

• H04N21/482

  End-user interface for programme selection · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title

• H04N21/4314 Primary

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

• H04N5/4403 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F3/04842

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