Patent US5880768A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5880768A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Interactive program guide systems and processes
Assignee: Adeia Guides Inc
•
Filing: 1995-04-06
•
Granted: 1999-03-09
•
Expires: 2015-04-06
Abstract
Abstract Interactive program guide systems and related processes are provided which can automatically tune a television, or program a VCR, based on program selections made from program schedule information displayed on a television or other suitable video monitor. The interactive program guide is preferably implemented using a microprocessor-controlled set-top box that is coupled to the viewer's television set. The set-top box receives program schedule information and software from a headend telecasting center. Preferably, program schedule information for the current day and at least six subsequent days is stored in a memory within the set-top box. The interactive program guide provides a display mode for allowing the viewer to apply a restrictive search selection criterion and a nonrestrictive sort attribute to the program schedule information.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas R. Lemmons
- 👤 Donald W. Allison
- 👤 Jerry D. Henshaw
- 👤 Connie T. Marshall
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 11:32
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/40; H04N21/47; H04N21/482; H04N21/4821; H04N5/00; H04N5/44; H04N5/445; H04N5/50; H04N21/41; H04N21/4104; H04N21/4135; H04N21/43; H04N21/431; H04N21/4312; H04N21/4314; H04N21/475; H04N21/4755; H04N21/4828; H04N5/76; H04N5/78; H04N5/782; H04N5/45
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 94
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
An interactive program guide system for displaying program schedule information on a display, the system comprising: a user input device for choosing a restrictive program selection criterion and a nonrestrictive program sort attribute; and a control unit for (a) performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on said restrictive program selection criterion chosen using said user input device, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence, and (b) performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on said nonrestrictive program sort attribute chosen using said user input device, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
157 words
An interactive program guide system for displaying program schedule information on a display, the system comprising: a user input device for choosing a restrictive program selection criterion and a nonrestrictive program sort attribute; and a control unit for (a) performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on said restrictive program selection criterion chosen using said user input device, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence, and (b) performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on said nonrestrictive program sort attribute chosen using said user input device, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein: said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list as a chosen portion of said resulting list; and said control unit further generates, for display on said display, a program guide list that is indexed to said chosen portion of said resulting list and that comprises at least a portion of said program schedule information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 2, wherein said program guide list is arranged in a grid format with rows corresponding to telecast channel numbers and columns corresponding to telecast times.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said resulting list includes a header that indicates how many programs correspond to said resulting list.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said resulting list indicates at least one of a title, a channel number, a call sign, a date, a time, and a rating for each program corresponding to said resulting list.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said resulting list comprises at least one group of programs that are positioned together in said resulting list and that each have a common characteristic.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 6, wherein each of said at least one group comprises a group header that indicates said common characteristic.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
48 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and to indicate that said at least one program is to be added to a scheduled viewing list.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
47 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and to indicate that said at least one program is to be added to a recording list.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and to indicate a request to purchase said at least one program.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
73 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein: said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and to indicate a desire to view other telecast times for said at least one program; and said control unit further generates, for display on said display, an other telecast list that indicates said other telecast times for said at least one program.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a tuner, and wherein: said user input device is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to a program and to select said program for viewing; and said control unit further causes said tuner to tune to said program and generate a program output for display on said display.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
61 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 1, wherein said control unit causes said display to display restrictive program selection criteria and nonrestrictive program sort attributes and said user input device is used to select one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion and one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive sort attribute.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
59 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said user input device is used to select one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
64 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said user input device is used to select one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria and pressing a select key.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
59 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said user input device is used to select one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
64 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said user input device is used to select one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and pressing a select key.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
34 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
44 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria, at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes, and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
50 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes that are displayed are chosen for display as a result of said restrictive program selection criterion, and said nonrestrictive program sort attributes chosen for display differ for at least two of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
27 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
64 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 23, wherein said definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria include at least one of a drama selection criterion, an action selection criterion, a science fiction selection criterion, a movies selection criterion, a comedy selection criterion, a sports selection criterion, a TV selection criterion, a documentaries selection criterion, a Pay-Per-View selection criterion, and an On-In-Next-Hour selection criterion.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
45 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 25, wherein said definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes include at least one of an alphabetize sort attribute, a rating sort attribute, a telecast time sort attribute, a sport sort attribute, and a channel order sort attribute.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
35 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives a definition of a default restrictive program selection criterion from said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
35 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives a definition of a default nonrestrictive program sort attribute from said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
37 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives a definition of an order in which said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
37 words
The interactive program guide system of claim 13, wherein said control unit receives a definition of an order in which said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
130 words
A method for displaying program schedule information on a display, the method comprising: performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on a restrictive program selection criterion chosen using a user input device, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence; and performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on a nonrestrictive program sort attribute chosen using said user input device, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
130 words
A method for displaying program schedule information on a display, the method comprising: performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on a restrictive program selection criterion chosen using a user input device, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence; and performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on a nonrestrictive program sort attribute chosen using said user input device, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list as a chosen portion of said resulting list; and generating, for display on said display, a program guide list that is indexed to said chosen portion of said resulting list and that comprises at least a portion of said program schedule information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 32, wherein said program guide list is arranged in a grid format with rows corresponding to telecast channel numbers and columns corresponding to telecast times.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 31, wherein said resulting list includes a header that indicates how many programs correspond to said resulting list.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 31, wherein said resulting list indicates at least one of a title, a channel number, a call sign, a date, a time, and a rating for each program corresponding to said resulting list.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 31, wherein said resulting list comprises at least one group of programs that are positioned together in said resulting list and each have a common characteristic.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 36, wherein each of said at least one group comprises a group header that indicates said common characteristic.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program; and indicating that said at least one program is to be added to a scheduled viewing list.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program; and indicating that said at least one program is to be added to a recording list.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program; and indicating a request to purchase said at least one program.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program; indicating a desire to view other telecast times for said at least one program; and generating, for display on said display, an other telecast list that indicates said other telecast times for said at least one program.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: choosing a portion of said resulting list corresponding to a program; selecting said program for viewing; tuning to said program; and generating a program output for display on said display.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 31 further comprising: causing said display to display restrictive program selection criteria and nonrestrictive program sort attributes; and selecting, using said user input device, one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion and one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 43, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said selecting of said one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion is achieved by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 43, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said selecting of said one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion is achieved by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria and pressing a select key.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 43, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said selecting of said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute is achieved by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 43, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said selecting of said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute is achieved by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and pressing a select key.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 43, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 43, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 43, wherein at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 43, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria, at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes, and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 43 wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes that are displayed are chosen for display as a result of said restrictive program selection criterion, and said nonrestrictive program sort attributes chosen for display differ for at least two of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 53, wherein said definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria include at least one of a drama selection criterion, an action selection criterion, a science fiction selection criterion, a movies selection criterion, a comedy selection criterion, a sports selection criterion, a TV selection criterion, a documentaries selection criterion, a Pay-Per-View selection criterion, and a On-In-Next-Hour selection criterion.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 55, wherein said definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes include at least one of an alphabetize sort attribute, a rating sort attribute, a telecast time sort attribute, a sport sort attribute, and a channel order sort attribute.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving a definition of a default restrictive program selection criterion from said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving a definition of a default nonrestrictive program sort attribute from said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving a definition of an order in which said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 43 further comprising: receiving a definition of an order in which said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 63
Independent Claim
135 words
An apparatus for displaying on a display, program schedule information based on a restrictive program selection criterion and a nonrestrictive program sort attribute, the apparatus comprising: means for performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on said restrictive program selection criterion, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence; and means for performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on said nonrestrictive program sort attribute, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 64
Independent Claim
135 words
An apparatus for displaying on a display, program schedule information based on a restrictive program selection criterion and a nonrestrictive program sort attribute, the apparatus comprising: means for performing a restrictive search operation on said program schedule information based on said restrictive program selection criterion, wherein said restrictive search operation produces a resulting list of said program schedule information that is arranged in a default sequence; and means for performing a nonrestrictive sort operation on said resulting list of said program schedule information based on said nonrestrictive program sort attribute, wherein said nonrestrictive sort operation rearranges said resulting list of said program schedule information from said default sequence to a sequence indicated by said nonrestrictive program sort attribute without eliminating any of said program schedule information in said resulting list of said program schedule information.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said resulting list includes a header that indicates how many programs correspond to said resulting list.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said resulting list indicates at least one of a title, a channel number, a call sign, a date, a time, and a rating for each program corresponding to said resulting list.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said resulting list comprises at least one group of programs that are positioned together in said resulting list and that each have a common characteristic.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 64, wherein each of said at least one group comprises a group header that indicates said common characteristic.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 61, further comprising: means for choosing said restrictive program selection criterion and said nonrestrictive program sort attribute.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
68 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein: said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list as a chosen portion of said resulting list; and said means for generating further generates, for display on said display, a program guide list that is indexed to said chosen portion of said resulting list and that comprises at least a portion of said program schedule information.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus of claim 67, wherein said program guide list is arranged in a grid format with rows corresponding to telecast channel numbers and columns corresponding to telecast times.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and indicate that said at least one program is to be added to a scheduled viewing list.
Claim 73
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and indicate that said at least one program is to be added to a recording list.
Claim 74
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and indicate a request to purchase said at least one program.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
70 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein: said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to at least one program and indicate a desire to view other telecast times for said at least one program; and said means for generating further generates, for display on said display, an other telecast list that indicates said other telecast times for said at least one program.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the apparatus further comprises: means for tuning to a selected program, wherein: said means for choosing is further used to choose a portion of said resulting list corresponding to said selected program, and to select said selected program for viewing; and said means for generating further generates a program output for display on said display.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
59 words
The apparatus of claim 66, wherein: said means for generating causes said display to display restrictive program selection criteria and nonrestrictive program sort attributes; and said means for choosing is used to select one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion and one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive sort attribute.
Claim 78
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said means for choosing is used to choose one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 79
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said means for choosing is used to choose one of said restrictive program selection criteria as said restrictive program selection criterion by positioning a cursor on said one of said restrictive program selection criteria and depressing a select key.
Claim 80
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said means for choosing is used to choose one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes.
Claim 81
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed in the form of a scrollable list and wherein said means for choosing is used to choose one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes as said nonrestrictive program sort attribute by positioning a cursor on said one of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and depressing a select key.
Claim 82
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 83
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 84
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 85
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein at least a portion of said restrictive program selection criteria, at least a portion of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes, and at least a portion of said resulting list are displayed on said display simultaneously.
Claim 86
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said nonrestrictive program sort attributes that are displayed are chosen for display as a result of said restrictive program selection criterion, and said nonrestrictive program sort attributes chosen for display differ for at least two of said restrictive program selection criteria.
Claim 87
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 88
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 84, wherein said definitions of said restrictive program selection criteria include at least one of a drama selection criterion, an action selection criterion, a science fiction selection criterion, a movies selection criterion, a comedy selection criterion, a sports selection criterion, a TV selection criterion, a documentaries selection criterion, a Pay-Per-View selection criterion, and an On-In-Next-Hour selection criterion.
Claim 89
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 90
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus of claim 86, wherein definitions of said nonrestrictive program sort attribute include at least one of an alphabetize sort attribute, a rating sort attribute, a telecast time sort attribute, sport sort attribute, and a channel order sort attribute.
Claim 91
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives a definition of a default restrictive program selection criterion from said restrictive program selection criteria through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 92
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives a definition of a default nonrestrictive program sort attribute from said nonrestrictive program sort attributes through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 93
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives a definition of an order in which said restrictive program selection criteria are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
Claim 94
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus of claim 74, wherein said means for generating receives a definition of an order in which said nonrestrictive program sort attributes are displayed on said display through a transmission from a service provider.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-03-08 | 2002-09-07 | 2003-03-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-03-08 | 2006-09-07 | 2007-03-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-03-08 | 2010-09-07 | 2011-03-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |