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`
`U8005659366A
`
`United States Patent
`
`[191
`
`[111 Patent Number:
`
`5,659,366
`
`Roman
`Aug. 19, 1997
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`[54] NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR TELEVISION
`RECEIVERS
`
`StarSight Telecast.
`(1993).
`
`Inc. advertising literature (13 pp),
`
`[75]
`
`Inventor: Charles Walter Ker-man, Mt. Laurel,
`NJ.
`
`['73] Assignee: hilatsushita Electric Corporation of
`America. Secaucus, NJ.
`
`[21] App]. 5103438387
`
`[22] Filed:
`
`May 10,195
`
`rm. Cl.6 ............................... 11mm 7110-, H04N 7100
`[51]
`[52] US. Cl. .. 3481460; 3481553; 34819;
`3481468
`
`....... 34819. 12, 13,
`[58] Field of Seal-d1 ......................
`343111}. 463. 466. 465, 553i 563, 564i 460
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,476,488 1011984
`4520392
`511935
`4,605,964
`311936
`4,706,121
`1171937
`4,977,455 1211990
`5,151,739
`971992
`5,179,439
`171993
`5,416,500
`511995
`
`
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`0447 963
`
`311991 European Pat, Ofi‘.
`
`.
`
`Ul‘I-IER PUBLICATIONS
`
`StarSight Telecast. Inc. mold—folded advertising brochure,
`“In the beginning. television viewers had two choices, ON
`or 01717.", {1994].
`
`Electronic Industries Association. “Standards Proposal No.
`3191. Proposed New Standard ‘Recommended Practice for
`Line 21 Data Servicem (Draft BIA-4603). cover pages and
`pp. 1—115 (Jun. 24, 1993).
`
`S. James. “New Devices for VCR Control Using Teletext
`Services”. IEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, vol.
`
`33.1%. 3, pp. 288-295. Aug. 1992.
`
`Primary Examiner—Victor R. Kostak
`Attorney; Agent. or Fim—Ratner & Prestia
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A notification system for-television receivers including a
`visible alarm andfor an audible alarm that is activated when
`
`a certain event occurs. An information signal is extracted
`from a received television signal and is processed to deter-
`mine the statns of an event. Ifit is detmnined that the event
`
`occurred, then a control signal is sent to the appropriate
`alarm to activate that alamL thereby notifying the user of the
`event’s occurrence. The event may include the reception of
`a text or graphic message. the televising of a certain tele-
`vision program. and the televising of a television program
`with a specific program rating. The user may also deactivate
`the alarm. A personal identification nlnnber may be used to
`restrict access to certain features of the notification system.
`
`18 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`1712231583150
`DIO
`
`AUDIO PROCESSING
`(NORMAL POWER)
`RGEI VIDEO
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`
`NTFX—1006 1' Page 1 of 11
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 19, 1997
`
`Sheet 1 of 4
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`5,659,366
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`NTFX—1006 I Page 2 of 11
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`

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`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 19, 1997
`
`Sheet 2 of 4
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`5,659,366
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`NTFX—1006 I Page 3 of 11
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`

`

`CHANNEL GET DATA
`
`83' TUNER
`TO A
`
`DURING
`
`VBI OF
`VIDEO SIGNAL
`
`
`SEI' TUNER
`TO RECENE
`
`EPG DATA
`
`
`
`
`
`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 19, 1997
`
`Sheet 3 of 4
`
`5,659,366
`
`SELECT
`PROGRAM AND
`STORE TIMES
`
`530
`
`51 0
`
`DECODE
`INFORMATION
`SIGNAL FROM
`DATA
`
`
`
`EXTRACT
`INFORMATION
`
`
`SIGNAL FROM
`
`EPG CHANNEL
`
`
`515
`
`DETERMINE
`CURRENT
`
`TIME
`
`ACTIVATE
`ALARM
`
`FIG. 5
`
`NTFX—1006 I Page 4 of 11
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 19, 1997
`
`Sheet 4 of 4
`
`5,659,366
`
`
` SELECT
`PROGRAM AND
`
`STORE TIMES
`
`
`
`600
`
`
`ALLOW USER
`TO CHANGE
`
`
`CHANNEL
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`DETERMINE
`PROGRAM
`
`BEING RECEIVED
`
`SET RATING
`
`VALUE
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`EXTRACT RATING
`VALUE FROM
`
`
`INFORMATION
`
`
`SIGNAL
`
`ALLOW USER
`TO CHANGE
`CHANNEL
`
`EXTRACT
`INFORMATION
`SIGNAL FROM
`RECEIVED VIDEO
`
`
`
`FIG; 6
`
`FIG. 7
`
`NTFX—1006 I Page 5 of 11
`
`

`

`5,659,366
`
`1
`NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR TELEVISION
`RECEIVERS
`
`5
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to a notification system for televi-
`sion receivers. and more particularly, to a visible andtcr an
`audible alarm that is activated when a certain event occurs.
`
`such as reception of a data message or the televising of a
`certain program.
`A television receiver is present in most homes in the
`United States. Many homes are connected to receive cable
`television signals in addition to broadcast signals while
`some can only receive broadcast signals. Recently, other
`types of service have become available such as direct
`broadcast satellite (DES). In the near future.
`television
`signals may be provided to the home via telephone lines
`anda’or direct wireless links.
`
`Even as the amount of programming has increased. the
`primary source of program scheduling information is a paper
`listing published in a newspaper or magazine. Recently,
`StarSight Telecast. Inc. (SST) has introduced an Interactive
`Program Guide (IPG) data channel that is provided through
`the signal transmitted by a single teleVision channel (e.g. in
`the vertical blanking interval (V131) of the local Public
`Broadcasting System (PBS) afliliate). The IPG is also known
`as an Electronic Program Guide (EPG). The IPG data is
`processed by a microcomputer in the television receiver to
`produce an on-screen television guide that provides the
`viewer with information such as the upcoming television
`programs on all broadcast and cable channels, program plot
`summaries. and the name of and time remaining in each
`program currently being transmitted on each of the broad-
`cast and cable channels. This information is available even
`if the viewer changes channels or if a commercial is being
`televised. The SST system is described in US. Pat. Nos.
`4.706.121. entitled TV SCHEDULE SYSTEM AND PRO—
`CESS; 4.977.455. entitled SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR
`VCR SCHEDULING; and 5.151.739. entitled SYSTEM
`AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC. UNA'I‘I‘ENIDED
`RECORDING OF CABLE TELEVJSION PROGRAMS,
`which patents are hereby incorporated by reference for their
`teachings on microcontrollers used in a television environ-
`ment and on the operation and strud‘ture of [PG systems.
`In addition to SST, other competing services are currently
`being planned or offered. For example. each of the existing
`DBS systems offers an IPG service for its own programs.
`This [PG data may be decoded by circuitry similar to that
`used to decode the SST IPG exceptthat. for DBS signals, the
`circuitry may reside in the DBS decoder rather than in the
`television receiver.
`
`In addition to ]PG systems. other systems exist which
`transfer data using television signals. These includeTeletext.
`Videotex, Extended Data Services ODS) and Closed Cap-
`tioning. In each of these systems. data are transferred during
`the V31 of one or more television signals. All of these
`systems have certain hardware elements in common. cir-
`cuitry which is used to extract the data from the V131 and a
`processor which formats the extracted data for display.
`Other types of systems currently are being planned or
`implemented under the general heading of Interactive Tele-
`vision. Using these systems. message data. such as text
`andlor graphic messages containing communications. news.
`weather. and user-requested information may be sent
`to
`
`2
`television receivers. These messages may be sent with a
`unique identifier that matches the identification code of the
`intended recipient (i.e. an identification code in the televi-
`sion receiver). Because the personal messages are sent with
`the identification code of the intended recipient, only he or
`she will be able to view the message even though it is
`broadcast to all local users of the system. These messages
`may also be sent without an identification code or with a
`general identifier. Messages of this type will be received by
`all users of the system.
`A block diagram of a typical television receiver having an
`integrated data service in accordance with the prior art is
`shown in FIG. 1.
`
`The incoming television signal is received by an antenna
`or a cable 100. A tuner 105. controlled by a host rnicrocon-
`tt'oller 110, selects a particular channel signal and demodu-
`lates the signal to recover a baseband video signal and an
`audio signal. The tuner 105 receives power even when the
`television is turned ofi so that it may continue to receive and
`decode data from the data service.
`
`The audio signal is passed to audio processing circuitry
`115 which produces a signal for the speaker 116 when the
`television is turned on. The baseband video signal is passed
`to video processing circuitry 120 and to data decode cir-
`cuitry 125. The video processing circuitry 120 includes
`video decode and display circuitry 121 which. in turn,
`includes circuitry such as a comb filter (not shown), peaking
`circuitry (not shown) and matrixiug circuitry (not shown).
`The circuitry 121 separates the luminance and chrominance
`components of the video signal and converts the separated
`component signals into red (R). green (G) and blue (B) color
`signals. The RGB signals are applied to a video mixer 132.
`The composite video signals are also applied to a scan
`system 123 which separates the horizontal and vertical sync
`components of the television signal and generates timing
`signals that are applied to the video decoding circuitry 121.
`the deflection system 134 and data decoding circuitry 125.
`The decoding circuitry 125 receives the baseband video
`signal and, responsive to the timing signals provided by the
`scan system separates the data transmitted in the vertical
`blanking interval. stores the data for future reference and
`passes the decoded data to on-screen display circuitry 130.
`The data decoding circuitry also exchanges information with
`the rnicroconu‘oller 110. The microcontroller 110 is used by
`the television receiver to implement the user controls. such
`as channel selection, volume. contrast, brightness, hue and
`color as well as to process the data received during the
`vertical blanking interval.
`The system also includes an electronic clock 111, which
`may be accessed by the microcontroller 110 to determine the
`current time.
`The information transferred by the data decoder 125 and
`the microcontroller 110 may, for example. be user com-
`mands requesting that specific data be displayed and signals
`notifying the rniu-ocontroller that particular data has been
`received and decoded. The same data decoder 125 may be
`used for multiple functions, for example. to decode IPG data
`for a service such as StarSight and to decode closed cap-
`tioning data. The data decoding circuitry 125 is coupled to
`the on-screen display circuitry 130 to allow the IPG infor-
`mation to be formatted and displayed.
`The host microcontroller 110 is also connected to the
`on-screen display circuitry 130 to generate on-screen menus
`that are used in conjunction with the control functions
`implemented via the microcontroller 110.
`The microconn'oller 110 and data deeoding circuitry 125
`continue to operate even when the television receiver is
`
`NTFX—1006 I Page 6 of 11
`
`

`

`5,659,366
`
`3
`turned oh so that they may continue to decode the ]PG,
`Teletext or Videotex data.
`
`The video output signals of the on-screen display circuitry
`130 are applied to the video mixer 132. The mier 132
`combines the on—screen display signal with the received
`video signals to produce a composite display. This display
`may. for example. combine active video with control menu
`displays. add a closed caption display to a video signal or
`diSplay information from the IPG in a window inset into the
`active video image. The combined image is displayed on a
`display device. such as CRT 136. under control of the
`deflection system 134.
`A data message sent along with the IPG. Teletext. Video-
`tex or Closed Captioning data signal may be decoded by a
`data decoder 125 and further processed for display by the
`circuitry 130.
`As described above. interactive television systems may
`also be used to transmit personal messages which may only
`be viewed on a television receiver having a unique address
`code. For these systems, a user will be notified that a
`message has been received as soon as the television receiver
`is turned on.
`
`SUML'IARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention provides a television receiver noti-
`fication system which alerts the television owner of the
`occurrence of an event. such as the reception of a data
`message or the airing of a certain television program.
`through ti're use of a notification signal. This notification
`signal. or alarm. can be visible (such as the light provided by
`a light-emitting diode) or audible {such as a beep tone).
`Furthermore. the notification occurs whether the television
`
`is in its normal mode (turned on) or is in a standby mode
`(turned oil).
`A television receiver notification system in accordance
`with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention
`includes circuitry which collects data during the vertical
`blanking interval (VBI) of the television signal. circuitry
`which extracts an information signal from the data. circuitry
`which determines. from the extracted data. if an event has
`occurred. and. if the event has occurred. activates a notifi-
`cation alarm.
`
`A television receiver notification system in accordance
`with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invenfi
`tion includes circuitry which receives interactive program
`guide (IPG) information and which allows a user to select a
`predetermined television program or a list of selected tele-
`vision programs using the IPG information. The circuitry
`also includes an internal clock and circuitry which compares
`the clockto the selection list. If. while the televisionreceiver
`is turned off. the current time is in the time interval of a
`program in the selection list, an alarm is activated to inform
`the user that one of the selected programs may be received.
`A teleVision receiver notification system in accordance
`with a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention
`also includes circuitry which allows a user to mark an
`undesirable television program or list of undesirable televi-
`sion programs using the IPG information. The television
`tuner and internal clock are subsequently monitored when
`the television receiver is turned on If the program that is
`currently being received matches one of the programs on the
`list. then an alarm is activated.
`
`5
`
`10
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`15
`
`20
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`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`A teleVision receiver notification system in accordance
`with a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present inven-
`tion includes circuitry which allows the user to provide a
`program rating value to the television data processing cir-
`
`65
`
`4
`cuitry. During normal operation of the television receiver,
`the data processing circuitry monitors data signals being
`received and extracts rating codes therefrom If the rating
`value of the program being televised on the selected channel
`is greater than the provided value. an alarm is activated.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 (prior art) is a block diagram of a television
`receiver integrated with a data service in accordance with
`the prior art.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a television receiver inte-
`grated with a data service and a notification system in
`accordance with the present invention.
`FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of an exemplary data
`message containing various information fields, in accor-
`dance with me present invention.
`FIG. 4 is a flow—chart diagram of a television receiver
`notification process in accordance with a first exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 5 is a flow-chart diagram of a television receiver
`notification process in acoordance with a second exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 6 is a flow-chart diagram of a television receiver
`notification process in accordance with a third exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 7 is a flow-chart diagram of a television receiver
`notification process in accordance with a fourth exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`In general terms. the notification system for teleVision
`receivers of the present invention operates by extracting and
`processing an information signal from the received televi-
`sion signal. If. upon processing the information signal. it is
`determined that a targeted event has occurred, a control
`signal activates an alarm to indicate the occurrence of the
`event. In the various embodiments of the invention.
`the
`event may be the reception of a personal message. the
`possible reception of desired television program. the view-
`ing of an undesirable program or the viewing of a program
`having undesirable characteristics.
`A block diagram of a television receiver integrated with a
`data service and a notification system in accordance with the
`present invention is shown in FIG. 2.
`FIG. 2 show the system of FIG. 1. as described above.
`with the addition of two alarm devices, a light source 200
`and an audio source 205. Each of these sources is controlled
`by the host microcontroller 110. In the exemplary embodi-
`ment of the invention, the microcontroller 110 may be. for
`example, an MINIB'TO microcontroller available from Mat-
`sushita.
`
`A typical light source 200 may be a light-emitting diode
`(LED) and a typical audio source 205 may be an electronic
`oscillator (not separately shown) and speaker (not separately
`shown) which produces a beep tone. In addition. the system
`shown in FIG. 2 includes programming in the host micro-
`controller 110 and data decode circuitry 125 which allows
`the system to recognize the occurrence of events based on
`the received data and. once an event has been recognized.
`activate the alarm device or devices as appropriate.
`Initially. a television signal is received by the tuner 105
`through an antenna or a cable 100 and demodulated to
`produce a baseband video signal. An information signal.
`independent from the audio and video portions of the
`
`NTFX—1006 I Page 7 of 11
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`

`

`5,659,366
`
`5
`
`baseband video signal. is extracted and processed by the data
`decoder 125. In the exemplary embodiment, this data signal
`is extracted from the vertical blanking interval of the video
`signal. It is contemplated. however. that this data signal may
`be extracted from a wide-band data signal transmitted in an
`otherwise unused television channel or from other compo-
`nents of a transmitted video signal. for example, a percep-
`tually hidden subcarrier, such as a Fultinulti carrier. trans»
`mitted during the active portion of the received video signal.
`If the data decoder determines. from the information signal.
`that a particular event has occun’ed. the host microcontroller
`110 sends a control signal to activate either the light source
`200. the audio source 205 or both. to indicate the occurrence
`of that event. This control signal may, for example, cause the
`LED to blink and the audio source to emit a beep tone.
`Because the tuner 105, the host microconnoller 110, the
`data decoder 125. the light source 200 and the audio source
`205 are operable on standby power (i.e.. when the television
`receiver is turned off), an event may be detected, and the
`alarms activated. even when the television receiver is not in
`use.
`
`the television
`In the embodiments described below.
`receiver is assumedto have three modes. no—power. standby
`and normal. In no-power mode, the television is not con-
`nected to the electrical service (not plugged-in). In this
`mode. the standby circuitry which may be used, for example,
`to receive the turn-on command fromthe remote control and
`to build the [PG database or to receive information from
`other providers is not active. In standby mode, the television
`receiver is connected to the electrical service but is in a
`
`powered-off mode (plugged-in but turned of). In this mode,
`as described above. only those portions of the receiver which
`receive information from the IPG service or the other
`providers are active and operating at full power. In the
`normal mode. the receiver is connected to the electrical
`service and is in a powered-on mode (plugged-in and nnned
`on). In this mode, the receiver is receiving and displaying
`program information. Ifit is not tnnedto a channel which is
`providing information. the infonnation databases are not
`updated.
`The information signal may include data messages con-
`mining text and other information. As described above. the
`“information signal“ may be IPG dam. Teletext, Videotex.
`closed captioning data or other types of data transmitted as
`a part of the television signal or in a odterwise unused
`television channel.
`
`FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of an exemplary
`message which may be received as a part of the information
`signal. The exemplary data message contains various infor-
`mation fields, such as “Record'Iype”, “Address”. and “Mes-
`sage Tex ”. The “Record Type” field may be used to distin-
`guish a message record from other types of records that may
`be sent as a part of the information signal. The “Address”
`field may be used to direct the message to a particular user
`or to all users and the “Message Text" field conveys the text
`of the message. Other types of events. described below. may
`look for other types of data in the information signal to
`determine if an event has occurred or may examine previ»
`ously stored data. for example. from an IPG, to determine if
`the event has occurred.
`
`10
`
`IS
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`FIG. 4 is a flow-chart diagram of a process which is
`implemented in the microcontroller 110 of the television
`receiver to provide a notification system in accordance with
`a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in
`which the detected event is a message received as a part of
`the information signal.
`
`65
`
`6
`In the process shown in FIG. 4. at step 400, the television
`tuner is initially set to a particular channel. If this embodi-
`ment of the present invention is to be used with the above-
`described SST system. the selected channel will be that
`which carries the SST IPG data (i.e. the local PBS aflIliate).
`At step 405. the microconnoller 110 signals the data decode
`circuitry to extract the [PG data from the signal during the
`vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the received television
`signal. Next, at step 410, the microcontroller 110 signals the
`data decode circuitry to process any information signals that
`have been received during the V131 and pass these informa-
`tion signals to the microcontroller 110. The information
`signal is then processed by the microcontroller at step 415 to
`determine if an event has occurred.
`For this first embodiment of the invention. the events are
`text message which are identified by their “message type"
`fields. as shown in FIG. 3. These messages may be initiated
`directly by a message delivery system such as StarSight
`Telecast, Inc. or by an outside authorized party such as a
`telephone company through the StarSight facilities or the
`facilities of another information provider. These text mes-
`sages may contain news or weather bulletins which are for
`general reception or they may be personal messages
`addressed to a specific user. Although described above as
`“text” messages. it is contemplated that these messages may
`include graphic content or data of other types.
`If the information signal does not contain a message
`record or if a message is received that is addressed to another
`user. the microoontroller, at step 415 determines that no
`event has occurred. When the microconiroller 110 deter-
`mines that no event has occurred, the normal television
`process continues, with further data being retrieved and
`processed as set forth in steps 405, 410. and 415. In the case
`of an iPG, Teletext or Videotex service, the normal televi-
`sion process is active when the television receiver in standby
`mode (i.e. turned oil) and in normal mode (i.e. turned on).
`if, at step 415, it is determined that an event has occurred,
`that event is processed at step 425. This processing may
`include, for example, instructing the data decode circuitry
`125 to continue to decode the message and then store it and
`to schedule a task to display the message when the television
`receivm is turned on. In addition. the appropriate alarm is
`activated at step 430 to notify the user that an event has
`occurred. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention. the
`alarm may be coupled to the microconn'oller as a memory-
`mapped output device. In this configtn'ation, the alarm is
`activated by storing a value to a memory mapped address
`which corresponds to the output device. This alarm may be
`a visible alar'rn. such as a blinking LED, or an audible alarm,
`such as a beep tone. or a combination of the two. In addition,
`the alarm may be programmed to be activated steadily,
`intermittently or in a pattern by storing diiferent values into
`the memory mapped location. After the alarm is activated at
`step 430. no further notification system processing occurs
`and the process ends at step 435. In this embodiment of the
`invention. the alarm signal is latched such that it retains its
`active state until it is explicitly reset. The alarm signal is
`reset as part of the process (not shown) by which the
`message is read.
`The process shown in FIG. 4 has many applications. As
`described above.
`it may be used to receive public and
`personal messages sent via an information service such as an
`lPG, EDS, Teletext or Videotex system In addition, it may
`be used in a hotel environment to notify guests, on their
`television receivers, that they have a waiting message.
`Currently in some hotels, the guest is notified by a light on
`the telephone that a message is waiting even though that
`message may be viewed on the television in the room.
`
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`5,659,366
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`7
`Another application for a system such as that described
`above would be for an emergency warning system. As an
`adjunct to. for example. the Emergency Broadcast System,
`an emergency message may be broadcast in the V131 of every
`station in a particular area. in the same manner in which
`FEDS data are transmitted. Alternatively. if the emergency
`message is being broadcast over the television channel. only
`a message to activate the alarm is sent in the VBI. The
`decoding circuitry 123 in the receiver would decode the
`message and alert the microcontroller 110 that an emergency
`message has been received. Upon receiving this message.
`the microcontroller 110 may activate the audio source 205
`andr'or the light source 200 in a manner which would alert
`anyone within range of the television receiver that an
`emergency message has been received and may be viewed
`by turning-on the receiver. The audio alarm used by this
`embodiment of the invention may emit a distinctive sound,
`for example. it may be pulsed and/'or much louder than that
`used in other embodiments of the invention.
`
`FIG. 5 is a flow-chart diagram of a process implemented
`in the microcoutroller 110 to provide a television receiver
`notification system in accordance with a second exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention.
`This process notifies a user that a previously selected
`program is being transmitted and is available for viewing. At
`step 500 of this process, the userinitially selects one or more
`television programs from the [PG database. This selection
`may be made in much the same way as the StarSight system
`currently allows programs to be selected for recording. The
`selected television programs are to be televised in the
`upcoming days or weeks. This system notifies the user of
`when the program is being televised. The description below.
`assumes that the television receiver is in standby mode. This
`embodiment of the invention will operate in much the same
`way when the system is in normal mode.
`In FIG. 5. after the program or programs have been
`selected by the user and registered with the system. at step
`500, step 505 is executed to determine if the receiver is in
`standby mode. If so. at step 507, the television tuner is set
`to the channel on which the [PG information signal is
`transmitted and the [PG system. at step 510. continues to
`collect television scheduling application. This information
`may include data such as the program time and title. The
`collected information may be direct data in a data structure
`maintained by the rnicroconu'oller 110 or it may be indirect
`data which is represented by a list of pointers into the [PG
`database. After step 510 or if. at step 505. the receiver is not
`in standby mode. control transfers to step 515.
`At step 515. the microcontroller. during the active video
`portion of the video signal. determines the current time and.
`at step 520, compares this time to the times of each of the
`selected programs. If it is determined at step 520 that the
`current time does not correspond to the times of any of the
`selected programs. control returns to step 505. described
`above.
`
`Alternatively, if a match is found at step 520. control is
`transferred to step 530 at which microcomroller 110 acti-
`vates the appropriate alarm. After the alarm is activated.
`control is returned to step 505. If the receiver is in standby
`mode. the notification system continues to extract informa-
`tion fiorn the IPG channel at step 510 and continues the
`alarm activation at step 530. In this embodiment of the
`invention. the alarm is deactivated when the program is no
`longer being televised.
`A deactivation feature (not shown] may also be included
`in the above exemplary embodiment. This feature would
`
`8
`the user to deactivate the alarm after receiving
`permit
`notification that one of his selected programs is being
`televised. This feature is easily implemented as a user
`command to the microcontroller 110 to remove the identified
`program from the list or to temporarily disable the alarm
`device. Accordingly, no flow-chart is needed to describe the
`function.
`
`FIG. 6 is a flow-chart diagram of a process implemented
`in the rnictncontrofler 110 to provide a television receive:
`notification system in accordance with a third exemplary
`embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment uses
`the audible alarm to indicate when a program on a list of
`undesirable programs is being received.
`At the first step in this process, step 600. the user sets a
`predetermined television program or group of programs in a
`list, as described above with reference to the second exem-
`plary embodiment.
`The flow-chart diagram shown in FIG. 6 assumes that the
`IPG infonnation has already been extracted from the infor-
`mation signal and is available for use. After the program or
`programs have been selected by the user. the television tuner
`may be set, at step 605. to any channel. This step is part of
`the normal operation of the television receiver in which the
`rnicrocontroller 110 responds to user commands entered. for
`example, via a remote control unit.
`After the channel has been selected, the [PG data is
`accessed at step 610 to identify the program being received
`via the selected channel at step 615. Step 620 then compares
`the identified program to the programs in the list. If the
`current television program matches any of the predeter-
`mined television programs at step 620. then the microcon-
`troller 110 activates the audio alarm 205, at step 630, to alert
`the user that one of the selected programs is currently being
`televised After the alarm is activated, control returns to step
`605 to allow the user to select a new channel. If a new
`channel is not selected. steps 610, 615. 620 and 630 will
`continue to sound the alarm until a new channel is selected
`or until the identified program is no longer being received on
`the selected channel.
`
`If, however. at step 620. there is not a match between the
`currently televised program and any of the programs on the
`list, control is transferred to step 605 to allow the user to
`select a new channel.
`
`A deactivation feature (not shown) may also be included
`in the above exemplary embodiment. This feature would
`pennit the user to deactivate the alarm after receiving
`notification that one of his selected programs is being
`tele