IP Library Patent Application 14230411
Patent Application
App. No. 14/230,411

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PERFORMING BINARY SEARCHES USING A MEDIA GUIDANCE APPLICATION

Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US None
App. No.
14/230,411
Abstract

Methods and systems are discussed herein for improving the efficiency and ease of navigating and selecting media content without the need for additional keys, buttons, or other inputs. For example, in response to the same user input, the media guidance application may determine different numbers of content sources to skip, in a binary fashion, based on the total number of content sources, the order of the content sources, the direction a user wishes to navigate, and/or prior user inputs related to navigating the content sources.

Claims (43)

1 . A method of navigating consecutively ordered media content, the method comprising:

navigating, using control circuitry, to a first content source of consecutively ordered content sources in response to a first user request;

receiving, from a user input interface, a second user request to navigate away from the first content source in a first direction;

in response to receiving the second user request, determining, using the control circuitry, a second content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and a last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction; and

navigating, using the control circuitry, to the second content source.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user request to navigate away from the second content source in the first direction; and

in response to receiving the third user request, determining a third content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the second content source and the last content source in the first direction.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the number of content sources between the first content source and the last media is greater than the number of content sources between the second content source and the last content source.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a third user request to navigate away from the second content source in a second direction; and

in response to receiving the third user request, determining a third content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the second content source in the second direction.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last media is greater than the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the second content source.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein navigating to the second content source includes skipping one or more of the consecutively ordered content sources.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction corresponds to one; and

in response to determining that the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction corresponds to one, selecting a content source adjacent to the first content source in the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction as the second content source.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the second media of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source in the consecutively ordered list in the first direction, further comprises determining a content source that corresponds to a median in the consecutively ordered list between the second content source and the last content source.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user request and the second user request are both received after a user selection of the same on-screen option.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user request is triggered based on brain activity of a user.

11 . A system of navigating consecutively ordered media content, the system comprising:

user input interface circuitry configured to receive user requests; and

control circuitry configured to:

navigate to a first content source of consecutively ordered content sources in response to a first user request;

receive a second user request from the user input interface circuitry to navigate away from the first content source in a first direction;

in response to receiving the second user request, determine a second content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and a last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction; and

navigate to the second content source.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a third user request to navigate away from the second content source in the first direction; and

in response to receiving the third user request, determine a third content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the second content source and the last content source in the first direction.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the number of content sources between the first content source and the last media is greater than the number of content sources between the second content source and the last content source.

14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a third user request to navigate away from the second content source in a second direction; and

in response to receiving the third user request, determine a third content source of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on a number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the second content source in the second direction.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last media is greater than the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the second content source.

16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry configured to navigate to the second content source is further configured to skip one or more of the consecutively ordered content sources.

17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction corresponds to one; and

in response to determining that the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source of the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction corresponds to one, select a content source adjacent to the first content source in the consecutively ordered content sources in the first direction as the second content source.

18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry configured to determine the second media of the consecutively ordered content sources to navigate to based on the number of the consecutively ordered content sources between the first content source and the last content source in the consecutively ordered list in the first direction, is further configured to determine a content source that corresponds to a median in the consecutively ordered list between the second content source and the last content source.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the first user request and the second user request are both received after a user selection of the same on-screen option.

20 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the first user request is triggered based on brain activity of a user.

21 - 50 . (canceled)

Assignments (6)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: APTIV DIGITAL INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 051145/0090 →
MERGER Recorded Jun 12, 2015
From: TV GUIDE, INC.
To: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
Reel/Frame 035848/0245 →
MERGER Recorded Jun 12, 2015
From: UV CORP.
To: TV GUIDE, INC.
Reel/Frame 035848/0270 →
MERGER Recorded Jun 12, 2015
From: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
To: UV CORP.
Reel/Frame 035893/0241 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 24, 2014
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033407/0035 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 3, 2014
From: KLAPPERT, WALTER R.; SHIMY, CAMRON
To: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 032590/0385 →