Interactive Program Guide Date and Time Toolbar Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional interactive program guides are inadequate for efficiently searching TV programming schedule information, as they often require time-consuming navigation in one-hour increments, making it difficult to select dates or times further away, such as a week ahead.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a date toolbar and time toolbar within an interactive programming guide system, allowing viewers to easily navigate and select desired dates or times, along with quick buttons and customizable options, to facilitate efficient searching of TV programming schedules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional interactive program guides use one-hour increment navigation, then the system structure remains simple, but the time required to select dates further away increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The date selection interface is segmented into multiple navigation levels: day-level selection, week-level selection, and month-level selection. This allows users to navigate to distant dates by selecting broader time units rather than incrementing hour by hour, dramatically reducing the time required to reach dates a week or more away while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to date navigation by allowing users to jump between different time scales (days, weeks, months) rather than moving linearly through hours. This multi-dimensional navigation approach enables rapid access to distant dates by selecting the appropriate time granularity, solving the time loss problem without complicating the underlying system architecture.
2Loss of information
If interactive program guides provide comprehensive TV programming schedule information, then the information completeness improves, but the complexity of navigating and searching through the information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The comprehensive programming information is segmented and organized by multiple dimensions: date, time, channel, and program type. The interface presents information in structured formats such as electronic program guides with searchable fields, allowing users to access complete programming schedules without being overwhelmed by the volume of data, thus reducing navigation complexity while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary search and filter mechanisms that mediate between the user and the comprehensive programming information. These intermediaries include date selection toolbars, time filters, and program category filters that organize and present information in manageable portions, reducing the perceived complexity while preserving access to complete programming schedules.
3Measurement precision
If the interactive program guide allows detailed date and time selection, then the precision of program finding improves, but the time and effort required to search increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-organizing programming information into structured formats with predefined date, time, and category filters. Users can directly select from pre-organized time slots and date ranges rather than manually searching through all available programming, achieving precise date and time selection while minimizing search time through advance information structuring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic navigation capabilities where the level of date and time detail displayed adapts based on user selection. When users select a distant date, the interface dynamically adjusts to show appropriate time slots and program options for that specific timeframe, providing precise selection capability without requiring users to navigate through all intermediate time steps, thus reducing overall search time.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system and method for receiving a request for TV programming schedule information via an interactive programming guide, obtaining the TV programming schedule information associated with a period of time, displaying one or more program icons having the TV programming schedule information associated with the interactive programming guide; adjusting at least one of a date toolbar for selecting one or more dates and a time toolbar for selecting one or more time periods of a day in response to receiving one or more commands; and displaying the one or more program icons having the TV programming schedule information associated with the interactive programming guide based at least on one of the selected one or more dates and the selected one or more time periods of the day.