U.S. patent application number 14/193889 was filed with the patent office on 2015-09-03 for methods and systems for encouraging behaviour while occupying vehicles.
The applicant listed for this patent is Rovi Guides, Inc.. Invention is credited to Danielle Gonzalez, Paul T. Stathacopoulos, William L. Thomas.
Application Number | 20150249906 14/193889 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54007384 |
Filed Date | 2015-09-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150249906 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thomas; William L. ; et
al. |
September 3, 2015 |
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ENCOURAGING BEHAVIOUR WHILE OCCUPYING
VEHICLES
Abstract
Methods and systems are disclosed herein for encouraging
particular behavior while occupying vehicles. For example, by
granting and restricting access to media and other user comfort
devices based on whether or not a user is conforming to a
predetermined rule set, the media guidance application may
encourage a user to adhere to the rule set.
Inventors: |
Thomas; William L.;
(Evergreen, CO) ; Stathacopoulos; Paul T.; (San
Carlos, CA) ; Gonzalez; Danielle; (Santa Clara,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Rovi Guides, Inc. |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54007384 |
Appl. No.: |
14/193889 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/418 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60K 37/06 20130101;
B60K 2370/11 20190501; H04W 4/48 20180201; H04W 4/027 20130101;
B60K 35/00 20130101; B60K 2370/73 20190501; H04L 67/12
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/02 20060101
H04W004/02 |
Claims
1. A method for encouraging behavior while occupying vehicles, the
method comprising: receiving a rule set, via user input interface
circuitry, associated with desired user behaviors while occupying a
vehicle; determining, using control circuitry, a media option that
is associated with adherence to the rule set; cross-referencing,
using the control circuitry, the rule set with a database listing
rules associated with rule sets to determine a rule that
corresponds to the rule set; monitoring, using the control
circuitry, a user behavior while a user is occupying the vehicle;
comparing, using the control circuitry, the user behavior to the
rule to determine whether the user behavior corresponds to the
rule; and in response to determining that the user behavior
corresponds to the rule, enabling the media option.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to
determining that the user behavior does not correspond to the rule,
disabling the media option.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating for
presentation a notification of a relationship between the user
behavior and the rule.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule set corresponds to not
exceeding speed limits, and wherein the rule corresponds to a
particular speed limit for a particular location.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule set corresponds to not
varying from a predetermined route, and wherein the rule
corresponds to a distance from the predetermined route for a
particular point on the predetermined route.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the user behavior
while the user is occupying the vehicle includes monitoring
global-positioning data received from global positioning circuitry,
vehicular speed data received from a speedometer, or vehicular
status data received from vehicular circuitry.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the media option includes an
option related to a presentation volume of content, an option
related to content that is presented, an option related to a
display device setting, an option related to a speaker setting, an
option related to a climate control setting, or an option related
to a movement of the vehicle.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes self-driving
capabilities.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a mobile
user device within the vehicle; and disabling the media option on
the mobile user device in response to determining that the user
behavior does not correspond to the rule.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising alerting a remote
user device if the mobile user device attempts to access the media
option while the media option is disabled.
11. A system for encouraging behavior while occupying vehicles, the
system comprising: storage circuitry configured to store a database
listing rules associated with rule sets; user input interface
circuitry configured to receive a rule set associated with desired
user behaviors while occupying a vehicle; and control circuitry
configured to: determine a media option that is associated with
adherence to the rule set; cross-reference the rule set with the
database to determine a rule that corresponds to the rule set;
monitor a user behavior while a user is occupying the vehicle;
compare the user behavior to the rule to determine whether the user
behavior corresponds to the rule; and in response to determining
that the user behavior corresponds to the rule, enable the media
option.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to, response to determining that the user
behavior does not correspond to the rule, disable the media
option.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein the control circuitry is further
configured to generate for presentation a notification of a
relationship between the user behavior and the rule.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the rule set corresponds to not
exceeding speed limits, and wherein the rule corresponds to a
particular speed limit for a particular location.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the rule set corresponds to not
varying from a predetermine route, and wherein the rule corresponds
to a distance from the predetermined route for a particular point
on the predetermined route.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry
configured to monitor the user behavior while the user is occupying
the vehicle is further configured to monitor global-positioning
data received from global positioning circuitry, vehicular speed
data received from a speedometer, or vehicular status data received
from vehicular circuitry.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the media option includes an
option related to a presentation volume of content, an option
related to content that is presented, an option related to a
display device setting, an option related to a speaker setting, an
option related to a climate control setting, or an option related
to a movement of the vehicle.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the vehicle includes
self-driving capabilities.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: detect a mobile user device within the
vehicle; and disable the media option on the mobile user device in
response to determining that the user behavior does not correspond
to the rule.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to alert a remote user device if the mobile user
device attempts to access the media option while the media option
is disabled.
21-50. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Recent advances have allowed users to access media in places
in which they previously could not. For example, the rise in mobile
technology has allowed a user to access media of all types even
while the user is moving from one place to another. A typical
example, is a user accessing his or her cellular telephone while in
an automobile. Despite the added convenience of these advances,
these advances also have their drawbacks. For example, accessing
media, whether text messages or video content, is a dangerous
activity to perform while driving a vehicle. In fact, such
activities are outlawed in numerous jurisdictions. However,
notwithstanding the illegality of the activity, these activities
continue to be performed.
SUMMARY
[0002] Accordingly, methods and systems are disclosed herein for
encouraging particular behavior while occupying vehicles.
Specifically, by granting and restricting access to media and other
user comfort devices based on whether or not a user is conforming
to a predetermined rule set, the media guidance application may
encourage a user to adhere to the rule set. For example, while
occupying a vehicle (e.g., whether a driver or a passenger), the
media guidance application may monitor the activities performed by
the user and the vehicle to determine whether the activities (e.g.,
the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the location to which
the vehicle is travelling, etc.) corresponds to one or more
criteria (e.g., a maximum speed for the vehicle, a maximum distance
of travel for the vehicle, etc.) associated with a rule set.
[0003] In some aspects, the media guidance application receives a
rule set associated with desired user behaviors while occupying a
vehicle. For example, the media guidance application may receive a
user input selecting a rule set corresponding with a specific goal.
For example, the rule set may correspond to not exceeding speed
limits at various locations, not varying from a predetermined
route, not using particular devices (e.g., smartphones) while
occupying the vehicle, not performing particular activities (e.g.,
reading/writing text messages) while occupying the vehicle,
etc.
[0004] The media guidance application may also determine a media
option that is associated with adherence to the rule set. For
example, the media option may include an option related to a
presentation volume of content (e.g., how loud music may be played
in the vehicle), an option related to content that is presented
(e.g., whether or not a media asset may be presented while a user
is occupying a vehicle), an option related to a display device
setting (e.g., whether or not video output associated with a media
asset may be shown), an option related to a speaker setting (e.g.,
whether or not audio output associated with a media asset may be
shown), an option related to a climate control setting (e.g.,
whether or not air conditioning or heating systems may be
accessed), or an option related to a movement of the vehicle (e.g.,
where to, or how fast, the vehicle may move).
[0005] The media guidance application then cross-references the
rule set with a database listing rules associated with rule sets to
determine a rule that corresponds to the rule set. For example,
each rule set may be associated with various rules also
corresponding to fulfillment of the goal associated with the rule
set. For example, if a rule set corresponds to not exceeding speed
limits at various locations, the rule set may include one or more
rules indicating a speed limit at various location. If a rule set
corresponds to not varying from a predetermined route, the rule set
may include one or more rules indicating a maximum distance from a
route, or a pre-approved sub-route, associated with various
locations. If the rule set corresponds to not using particular
devices while occupying the vehicle, the rule set may include one
or more rules indicating user devices that are not approved for use
(e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.). If the rule set corresponds to
not performing particular activities while occupying the vehicle,
the rule set may include one or more rules indicating what
activities, if any, are prohibited (e.g., texting) or required
(e.g., use of a seatbelt).
[0006] The media guidance application then monitors a user behavior
while a user is occupying the vehicle. For example, the media
guidance application may monitor the user behavior while the user
is occupying the vehicle by monitoring global-positioning data
received from global positioning circuitry, vehicular speed data
received from a speedometer, or vehicular status data received from
vehicular circuitry.
[0007] The media guidance application then compares the user
behavior to the rule to determine whether the user behavior
corresponds to the rule and enables (or disables) the media option
in response to determining that the user behavior corresponds to
(or does not correspond to) the rule. For example, the media
guidance application may detect that a vehicle (e.g., being
manually driven or driven automatically via self-driving
capabilities) is outside a predetermined area (or deviating from a
predetermined route (e.g., in violation of a rule included in a
current rule set), and, in response the media guidance application
may disable a media option associated with the vehicle.
[0008] In some embodiments, a media option may be associated with a
mobile user device, not necessarily associated with the vehicle.
For example, the media guidance application may detect a mobile
user device (or the use of a mobile device) within the vehicle
(e.g., in violation of a rule included in a current rule set), and,
in response, the media guidance application may disable the use of
the mobile user device.
[0009] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
perform actions alternatively to, or in addition to, enabling or
disabling a media option. For example, in response to determining a
user behavior is in violation of a rule, the media guidance
application may notify a user (or a third party) of a relationship
between the user behavior and the rule (e.g., the rule that the
user is currently in violation of or, a degree to which a user is
violating the rule, etc.). For example, if the media guidance
application determines that a mobile user device located within a
vehicle is attempting to access a media option (e.g., send a text
message) while the media option is disabled (e.g., text messaging
is in violation of a rule), the media guidance application may
notify a third party (e.g., a parent).
[0010] It should be noted, the systems and/or methods described
above may be applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems,
methods and/or apparatuses.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure
will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed
description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout,
and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a media guidance
application in accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a media
guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment
device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 5 shows an illustrative example of a vehicle featuring
various media options in accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for enabling a
media option in response to determining that the user behavior
corresponds to a rule in accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosure; and
[0018] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for modifying
media option(s) based on determined effects of user behavior
corresponding to one or more rules in a rule set in accordance with
some embodiments of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Methods and systems are disclosed herein for encouraging
particular behavior while occupying vehicles. Specifically, by
granting and restricting access to media and other user comfort
devices based on whether or not a user is conforming to a
predetermined rule set, the media guidance application may
encourage a user to adhere to the rule set. For example, while
occupying a vehicle (e.g., whether the driver or a passenger), the
media guidance application may monitor the activities performed by
the user and the vehicle to determine whether the activities (e.g.,
the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the location to which
the vehicle is travelling, etc.) corresponds to one or more rules
(e.g., a maximum speed for the vehicle, a maximum distance of
travel for the vehicle, etc.) associated with a rule set.
[0020] As used herein, "a media guidance application," "interactive
media guidance application," or "guidance application" refers to a
form of media guidance through an interface that facilitates access
to media content. In some embodiments, the media guidance
application may be provided as an on-line application (i.e.,
provided on a website), or as a stand-alone application on a
server, user device, etc. Various devices and platforms that may
implement the media guidance application are described in more
detail below. In some embodiments, the media guidance application
and/or any instructions for performing any of the embodiments
discussed herein may be encoded on computer readable media.
Computer readable media includes any media capable of storing data.
The computer readable media may be transitory, including, but not
limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals, or
may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile and
nonvolatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,
floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media card, register memory,
processor caches, Random Access Memory ("RAM"), etc.
[0021] Interactive media guidance applications may take various
forms depending on the content for which they provide guidance. One
typical type of media guidance application is an interactive
television program guide. Interactive television program guides
(sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known
guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to
navigate among and locate many types of content or media assets.
Interactive media guidance applications may generate graphical user
interface screens that enable a user to navigate among, locate and
select content. As referred to herein, the terms "media asset" and
"content" should be understood to mean an electronically consumable
user asset, such as television programming, as well as pay-per-view
programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems),
Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content,
webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, pictures,
rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books,
electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, social
media, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia
and/or combination of the same. Guidance applications also allow
users to navigate among and locate content. As referred to herein,
the term "multimedia" should be understood to mean content that
utilizes at least two different content forms described above, for
example, text, audio, images, video, or interactivity content
forms. Content may be recorded, played, displayed or accessed by
user equipment devices, but can also be part of a live
performance.
[0022] In some embodiments, the media guidance application receives
a rule set associated with desired user behaviors while occupying a
vehicle. As used herein, a "rule set" refers to a collection of one
or more rules that indicate a user behavior that corresponds to a
specific goal. As used herein, a "rule" refers to a user behavior
that corresponds to a component of the specific goal. For example,
if the rule set may correspond to not to exceeding speed limits, a
first rule of the rule set may indicate a particular speed limit at
a first location and a second rule set may indicate a particular
speed limit at a second location. If the rule set corresponds to
not varying from a predetermined route, a first rule of the rule
set may indicate a first location during the route that the user
should traverse and a second rule set may indicate a second
location during the route that the user should traverse. If the
rule set corresponds to not using particular devices (e.g.,
smartphones) while occupying the vehicle, a first rule of the rule
set may indicate a first device (or a first type of device) that
should not be used and a second rule set may indicate a second
device (or a second type of device) that should not be used. If the
rule set corresponds to not performing particular activities (e.g.,
reading/writing text messages) while occupying the vehicle, a first
rule of the rule set may indicate a first activity (or a first type
of activity) that should not be performed and a second rule set may
indicate a second activity (or a second type of activity) that
should not be performed.
[0023] As used herein, a "user behavior" refers to any attribute
that describes whether or not a user is performing an activity, or
the degree to which a user is performing an activity, while
occupying a vehicle. It should be noted that a user behavior,
includes but is not limited to, attributes that describe the
vehicle (e.g., the location, speed, etc.) as well.
[0024] The media guidance application may also determine a media
option that is associated with adherence to the rule set. As used
herein, a "media option" refers to any option related to the
access, consumption, selection, or navigation of media assets
and/or content. For example, a media option may include an option
related to a presentation volume of content (e.g., how loud music
may be played in the vehicle), an option related to content that is
presented (e.g., whether or not a media asset may be presented
while a user is occupying a vehicle), an option related to a
display device setting (e.g., whether or not video output
associated with a media asset may be shown), an option related to a
speaker setting (e.g., whether or not audio output associated with
a media asset may be shown), an option related to a climate control
setting (e.g., whether or not air conditioning or heating systems
may be accessed), or an option related to a movement of the vehicle
(e.g., where to, or how fast, the vehicle may move).
[0025] In some embodiments, a media option may be associated with a
mobile user device, not necessarily associated with the vehicle.
For example, the media guidance application may detect a mobile
user device (or the use of a mobile device) within the vehicle
(e.g., in violation of a rule included in a current rule set), and,
in response, the media guidance application may disable the use of
the mobile user device.
[0026] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
enable/disable any interior feature of a vehicle. As used herein,
an "interior feature" is any feature used actively or passively by
a user while occupying a vehicle (e.g., climate control,
navigation, door locks, etc.). For example, interior features, as
discussed below in relation to FIG. 5, may include any
enabling/disabling (or limiting the functions thereof) of any
device within a vehicle, any vehicle option (whether equipped on
standard vehicle models or customized) accessible while a user is
within a vehicle, or any system of vehicle used by a user.
[0027] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
perform actions alternatively to, or in addition to, enabling or
disabling a media option. For example, in response to determining a
user behavior is in violation of a rule, the media guidance
application may notify a user (or a third party) of a relationship
between the user behavior and the rule (e.g., the rule the user is
currently in violation or, a degree to which a user is violating
the rule, etc.). For example, if the media guidance application
determines that a mobile user device located within a vehicle is
attempting to access a media option (e.g., send a text message)
while the media option is disabled (e.g., text messaging is in
violation of a rule), the media guidance application may notify a
third party (e.g., a parent).
[0028] For example, alternatively to, or in addition to, enabling
or disabling a media option of a vehicle or user device within a
vehicle occupied by a user, the media guidance application may
alert a third party (e.g., a parent) associated with the user. The
alert may include numerous forms. For example, the alert may appear
as a text message to a parent describing the current status of the
vehicle and/or the user, the alert may appear as a dashboard (e.g.,
overlaying the display of a user device associated with the third
party) that provides numerous options (e.g., communicating with the
user, stopping connectivity to a user device operated within the
vehicle and/or associated with the user, changing a travel
itinerary associated with the vehicle, overriding controls of the
vehicle and/or remotely operating the vehicle, etc.) that may be
applied manually by the third party or automatically (e.g., after a
predetermined amount of time or immediately) unless the third party
instructs the media guidance application otherwise.
[0029] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
publically distribute the notification and/or media assets
associated with the user. For example, the media guidance
application may retrieve a list of friends (e.g., a social network
buddy list), contacts (e.g., retrieved from a phone/text
message/e-mail account associated with the user), and/or other
listings featuring other entities with known associations to the
user and distribute the notification and/or media assets to
contacts. For example, in response to determining that the behavior
of a user has violated a rule, the media guidance application may
post messages to the social network account associated with the
user.
[0030] As used herein, a "social network," refers to a platform
that facilitates networking and/or social relations among people
who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, and/or
real-life connections. In some cases, social networks may
facilitate communication between multiple user devices (e.g.,
computers, televisions, smartphones, tablets, etc.) associated with
different users by exchanging content from one device to another
via a social media server. As used herein, a "social media server"
refers to a computer server that facilitates a social network. For
example, a social media server owned/operated/used by social media
provider may make content (e.g., status updates, microblog posts,
images, graphic messages, etc.) associated with a first user
accessible to a second user that is within the same social network
as the first user. In such cases, classes of entities may
correspond to the level of access and/or the amount or type of
content associated with a first user that is accessible to a second
user.
[0031] With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and
high-speed wireless networks, users are accessing media on user
equipment devices on which they traditionally did not. As referred
to herein, the phrase "user equipment device," "user equipment,"
"user device," "electronic device," "electronic equipment," "media
equipment device," or "media device" should be understood to mean
any device for accessing the content described above, such as a
television, a Smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver
decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a digital storage
device, a digital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter
(DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a
connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, a BLU-RAY
recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet
computer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC
media server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationary
telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone,
a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming
machine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment,
computing equipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the
same. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a
front facing screen and a rear facing screen, multiple front
screens, or multiple angled screens. In some embodiments, the user
equipment device may have a front facing camera and/or a rear
facing camera. On these user equipment devices, users may be able
to navigate among and locate the same content available through a
television. Consequently, media guidance may be available on these
devices, as well. The guidance provided may be for content
available only through a television, for content available only
through one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or
for content available both through a television and one or more of
the other types of user equipment devices. The media guidance
applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e.,
provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients
on user equipment devices. Various devices and platforms that may
implement media guidance applications are described in more detail
below.
[0032] One of the functions of the media guidance application is to
provide media guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the
phrase, "media guidance data" or "guidance data" should be
understood to mean any data related to content, such as media
listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times,
broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information
(e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or
category information, actor information, logo data for
broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g.,
standard definition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement
information (e.g., text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand
information, blogs, websites, and any other type of guidance data
that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locate desired
content selections.
[0033] FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used
to provide media guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS.
1-2 may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or
platform. While the displays of FIGS. 1-2 are illustrated as full
screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over
content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access
content information by selecting a selectable option provided in a
display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a
hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE
button) on a remote control or other user input interface or
device. In response to the user's indication, the media guidance
application may provide a display screen with media guidance data
organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a
grid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category
(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories of
programming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other
organization criteria. The organization of the media guidance data
is determined by guidance application data. As referred to herein,
the phrase, "guidance application data" should be understood to
mean data used in operating the guidance application, such as
program information, guidance application settings, user
preferences, or user profile information.
[0034] FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100
arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different
types of content in a single display. For example, FIG. 1 may
represent a display available to a user while the user is occupying
a vehicle. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a column of
channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content
type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a
different channel or content type available; and (2) a row of time
identifiers 106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the
row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes
cells of program listings, such as program listing 108, where each
listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's
associated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can
select program listings by moving highlight region 110. Information
relating to the program listing selected by highlight region 110
may be provided in program information region 112. Region 112 may
include, for example, the program title, the program description,
the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the
program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other
desired information.
[0035] In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g.,
content that is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user
equipment devices at a predetermined time and is provided according
to a schedule), the media guidance application also provides access
to non-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user
equipment device at any time and is not provided according to a
schedule). Non-linear programming may include content from
different content sources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD),
Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.),
locally stored content (e.g., content stored on any user equipment
device described above or other storage device), or other
time-independent content. On-demand content may include movies or
any other content provided by a particular content provider (e.g.,
HBO On Demand providing "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm").
HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time Warner Company L.P.
et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks
owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content may include web
events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or content available
on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content through an
Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).
[0036] Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear
programming including on-demand listing 114, recorded content
listing 116, and Internet content listing 118. A display combining
media guidance data for content from different types of content
sources is sometimes referred to as a "mixed-media" display.
Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may
be displayed that are different than display 100 may be based on
user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display
of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and
broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings 114, 116, and
118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid
102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access
to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or
Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for
these content types may be included directly in grid 102.
Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the
user selecting one of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an
arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a
similar manner as selecting navigational icons 120.)
[0037] Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement
124, and options region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to
view and/or preview programs that are currently available, will be
available, or were available to the user. The content of video
region 122 may correspond to, or be independent from, one of the
listings displayed in grid 102. Grid displays including a video
region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG)
displays. PIG displays and their functionalities are described in
greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378,
issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued
May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in
their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other media
guidance application display screens of the embodiments described
herein.
[0038] Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content
that, depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscription
programming), is currently available for viewing, will be available
for viewing in the future, or may never become available for
viewing, and may correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of
the content listings in grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for
products or services related or unrelated to the content displayed
in grid 102. Advertisement 124 may be selectable and provide
further information about content, provide information about a
product or a service, enable purchasing of content, a product, or a
service, provide content relating to the advertisement, etc.
Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user's
profile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of display
provided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.
[0039] While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner
shaped, advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape,
and location in a guidance application display. For example,
advertisement 124 may be provided as a rectangular shape that is
horizontally adjacent to grid 102. This is sometimes referred to as
a panel advertisement. In addition, advertisements may be overlaid
over content or a guidance application display or embedded within a
display. Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating
images, video clips, or other types of content described above.
Advertisements may be stored in a user equipment device having a
guidance application, in a database connected to the user
equipment, in a remote location (including streaming media
servers), or on other storage means, or a combination of these
locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application
is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al.,
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan.
17, 2003; Ward, I I I et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun.
29, 2004; and Schein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14,
2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their
entireties. It will be appreciated that advertisements may be
included in other media guidance application display screens of the
embodiments described herein.
[0040] Options region 126 may allow the user to access different
types of content, media guidance application displays, and/or media
guidance application features. Options region 126 may be part of
display 100 (and other display screens described herein), or may be
invoked by a user by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a
dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The
selectable options within options region 126 may concern features
related to program listings in grid 102 or may include options
available from a main menu display. Features related to program
listings may include searching for other air times or ways of
receiving a program, recording a program, enabling series recording
of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,
purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a
main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental
control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, device
synchronization options, second screen device options, options to
access various types of media guidance data displays, options to
subscribe to a premium service, options to edit a user's profile,
options to access a browse overlay, or other options.
[0041] The media guidance application may be personalized based on
a user's preferences. A personalized media guidance application
allows a user to customize displays and features to create a
personalized "experience" with the media guidance application. This
personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to input
these customizations and/or by the media guidance application
monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences.
Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging
in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application.
Customization of the media guidance application may be made in
accordance with a user profile. The customizations may include
varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font
size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,
only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels
based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of
channels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features
(e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users,
recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, customized
presentation of Internet content (e.g., presentation of social
media assets, e-mail, electronically delivered articles, etc.) and
other desired customizations.
[0042] The media guidance application may allow a user to provide
user profile information or may automatically compile user profile
information. The media guidance application may, for example,
monitor the content the user accesses and/or other interactions the
user may have with the guidance application. Additionally, the
media guidance application may obtain all or part of other user
profiles that are related to a particular user (e.g., from other
web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such as
www.allrovi.com, from other media guidance applications the user
accesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses,
from another user equipment device of the user, etc.), and/or
obtain information about the user from other sources that the media
guidance application may access. As a result, a user can be
provided with a unified guidance application experience across the
user's different user equipment devices. This type of user
experience is described in greater detail below in connection with
FIG. 4. Additional personalized media guidance application features
are described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005,
Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and
Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0174430,
filed Feb. 21, 2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference
herein in their entireties.
[0043] Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is
shown in FIG. 2. For example, FIG. 2 may represent a display
available to a user while the user is occupying a vehicle. Video
mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 for content
information organized based on content type, genre, and/or other
organization criteria. In display 200, parental control option 204
is selected, thus providing information related to parental
controls in window 206. For example, window 206 may indicate rules
or rule sets that are currently available and/or are currently
active. Through window 206, the media guidance application may also
display options related to parental controls. For example, the
media guidance application may allow a user to customize the rules,
rule sets, and/or media options available to a user (or not
available to a user) based on a particular user behavior.
[0044] In some embodiments, a media guidance application may
automatically retrieve a set of custom rules based on the
demographic, geographic, familial status of a user. For example, if
a user is located in the state of Kansas, the media guidance
application may automatically retrieve a rule set that corresponds
to the driving regulations associated with the state of Kansas. In
another example, if a user is eighteen years old, the media
guidance application may automatically retrieve a rule set that
corresponds to proper driving etiquette for eighteen year olds. In
yet another example, if a user is part of a family grouping that
has a custom rule set, the media guidance application may
automatically retrieve the custom rule set in response to
determining that the user is part of the family.
[0045] Display 200 also includes listings 208, 210, and 212 as
program listings. For example, listings 208, 210, and 212 may
correspond to media assets that are available to a user based on
the current behavior of the user. In display 200 the listings may
provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the
content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other
types of content that indicate to a user the content being
described by the media guidance data in the listing. Each of the
graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide
further information about the content associated with the listing.
For example, listing 208 may include more than one portion,
including media portion 214 and text portion 216. Media portion 214
and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to view content in
full-screen or to view information related to the content displayed
in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channel that
the video is displayed on).
[0046] The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e.,
listing 206 is larger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if
desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of
different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of
interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by
the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems
and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are
discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0047] Users may access content and the media guidance application
(and its display screens described above and below) from one or
more of their user equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized
embodiment of illustrative user equipment device 300. More specific
implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in
connection with FIG. 4. User equipment device 300 may receive
content and data via input/output (hereinafter "I/O") path 302. I/O
path 302 may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming,
on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a
local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other
content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includes
processing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may
be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable
data using I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry
304 (and specifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more
communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be
provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are
shown as a single path in FIG. 3 to avoid overcomplicating the
drawing.
[0048] Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable
processing circuitry such as processing circuitry 306. As referred
to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean
circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers,
digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core
processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable
number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments, processing
circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or
processing units, for example, multiple of the same type of
processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple
different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel
Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304
executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in
memory (i.e., storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may
be instructed by the media guidance application to perform the
functions discussed above and below. For example, the media
guidance application may provide instructions to control circuitry
304 to generate the media guidance displays. In some
implementations, any action performed by control circuitry 304 may
be based on instructions received from the media guidance
application.
[0049] In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304
may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating
with a guidance application server or other networks or servers.
The instructions for carrying out the above mentioned functionality
may be stored on the guidance application server. Communications
circuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digital
network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a
telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for
communications with other equipment, or any other suitable
communications circuitry. Such communications may involve the
Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths
(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). In
addition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that
enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or
communication of user equipment devices in locations remote from
each other (described in more detail below).
[0050] Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as
storage 308 that is part of control circuitry 304. As referred to
herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device"
should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic
data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory,
read-only memory, hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc
(DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD)
recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders, digital video recorders (DVR,
sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR), solid state
devices, quantum storage devices, gaming consoles, gaming media, or
any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any
combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used to store various
types of content described herein as well as media guidance data
and guidance application data that are described above. Nonvolatile
memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and
other instructions). Cloud-based storage, described in relation to
FIG. 4, may be used to supplement storage 308 or instead of storage
308.
[0051] Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry
and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or
more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry,
high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video
circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry
(e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to
MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Control circuitry
304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and
downconverting content into the preferred output format of the user
equipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analog
converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for
converting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and
encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device to
receive and to display, to play, or to record content. The tuning
and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data.
The circuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning,
video generating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting,
scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using
software running on one or more general purpose or specialized
processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous
tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions,
picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,
etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from user
equipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including
multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 308.
[0052] A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using
user input interface 310. User input interface 310 may be any
suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse,
trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input,
joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input
interfaces. Display 312 may be provided as a stand-alone device or
integrated with other elements of user equipment device 300. For
example, display 312 may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive
display. In such circumstances, user input interface 312 may be
integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may be
one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display
(LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low
temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display,
electrophoretic display, active matrix display, electro-wetting
display, electrofluidic display, cathode ray tube display,
light-emitting diode display, electroluminescent display, plasma
display panel, high-performance addressing display, thin-film
transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,
surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser
television, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric
modulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying
visual images. In some embodiments, display 312 may be
HDTV-capable. In some embodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display,
and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable
content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may
generate the output to the display 312. The video card may offer
various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D
graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to
connect multiple monitors. The video card may be any processing
circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry 304. The
video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.
Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of
user equipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio
component of videos and other content displayed on display 312 may
be played through speakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may
be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and
outputs the audio via speakers 314.
[0053] Detection module 316, or the detection module circuitry, may
be incorporated into, coupled to, or accessible by the media
guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304. Detection
module 316 may be used to monitor, identify, and determine user
and/or vehicular behavior. For example, the media guidance
application may receive data describing the user behavior while
occupying a vehicle by monitoring global-positioning data received
from global positioning circuitry, vehicular speed data received
from a speedometer, or any other vehicular status data received
from any other vehicular circuitry and/or component that describes
the behavior of the user or the vehicle.
[0054] In some embodiments, detection module 316 may include a
Global Positioning System ("GPS") detection component, which
determines or receives information describing the geographic
position of a user. For example, the GPS detection component may,
additionally or alternatively, determine whether or not the user is
taking a particular route (e.g., whether or not the current
position of a user corresponds to a position in the route), is on
schedule (e.g., whether or not the current position of a user
corresponds to the position the user is scheduled to be at the
route based on the current time), or the current travelling speed
of the user. In some embodiments, the GPS detection component
includes one or more sensors that transmit data to processing
circuitry 306, which determines a change and/or update to a user's
travel itinerary, a user status, and/or objective.
[0055] In some embodiments, detection module 316 may include an
Internet access component, which determines or receives information
describing the current trip retrieved over the Internet. For
example, the Internet access component may, additionally or
alternatively, determine whether or not information on the Internet
(e.g., a website of an airline) indicates a change or update to the
determined travel itinerary or the determined objective of the
user. Additionally or alternatively, detection module 316 may
include a vehicle access component, which determines or receives
information (e.g., from the odometer, speedometer, etc. of a car)
describing the current trip retrieved from the vehicle. For
example, the media guidance application may be configured to
receive information from the flight control system of an airplane,
control system of manually controlled or automatically controlled
(e.g., a self-driving car) automobile, etc. In some embodiments,
the Internet access component and vehicle access component may
transmit data to processing circuitry 306, which determines a
change and/or update to a user's travel itinerary, a user status,
and/or objective.
[0056] For example, detection module 316 may access and/or receive
commands from systems and/or data associated with the method or
mode of transportation. For example, detection module 316 may
receive specific inputs from the media control system associated
with the method or mode of transportation (e.g., an airline IFE
system or suitable self-driving car system). Furthermore, the media
guidance application may incorporate information and/or commands.
For example, during a trip, detection module 316 may incorporate
driver/pilot/flight attendant announcements, flight/navigation
equipment signals, and/or data collected on previous trips.
Furthermore, the media guidance application may determine when or
how to deliver/incorporate commands. For example, the media
guidance application may wait to deliver messages (e.g.,
notification of violations of rules), instructions to
enable/disable media options, etc. based on current conditions of
the trip. For example, if a user is currently in an immediately
hazardous situation, the media guidance application may delay
notifying the user of rule violations if such notification would
only increase the hazards to the user (e.g., distract the user from
the immediate danger).
[0057] In some embodiments, detection module 316 may access and/or
receive commands from systems and/or data associated with the user.
For example, detection module 316 may access a bio-metric
application on a device associated with a user to interface with or
pull data about the user. For example, if the data retrieved from
the user's device indicates the user did not sleep well, is
intoxicated, or distracted, the media guidance application may
adjust the rules or rule sets accordingly.
[0058] It should be noted detection module 316 may also interface
with other users, devices, and/or people near a user. For example,
detection module 316 may determine (e.g., via the detection methods
above) whether other users, devices, and/or people near the user
are talking, sleeping, moving about the vehicle, being active,
performing functions (e.g., sending text messages), etc. This
information may also be used to determine user behaviors.
[0059] In some embodiments, to monitor user behavior, and/or
adherence to one or more rules or rule sets, the media guidance
application may receive data associated with the travel itinerary.
As used herein, a "travel itinerary" refers to a description of the
circumstances and/or progress of a current trip of a user. For
example, a travel itinerary may include numerous details associated
with the travel itinerary, including, but not limited to, the
location of departure and/or arrival (e.g., including, but not
limited to, the geographical location, customs and/or activities
associated with the location, things-to-do, cultural elements
and/or attractions, etc.), length of travel (e.g., including, but
not limited to, time and/or distance spent travelling, time spent
at one or more locations, etc.), time of departure and/or arrival
(e.g., including any time-zone changes), anticipated stops (e.g.,
layovers, fuel stops), route (e.g., either currently taken or
expected to take), of the current trip of the user. In addition,
details associated with the travel itinerary may include activities
or occurrence that occurs before or after a current trip. For
example, a scheduled work-shift that begins contemporaneously with
the end of a current trip (e.g., as indicated by a calendar
application associated with the user) may be related to the current
trip (e.g., a user was travelling to work). In some embodiments,
this information, or any of the other details explained above and
below, may be used to determine whether or not the behavior of a
user corresponds to one or more rules in a rule set.
[0060] In some embodiments, additional factors, user preferences,
parental controls may adjust the rule sets and/or rules applied.
For example, the media guidance application may apply different
rule sets at different times based on information received about a
purpose or goal of a current trip. For example, if a user is
travelling for work (e.g., as indicated by the travel itinerary),
the rule sets and/or rules that associated with a destination of a
current trip, the route of a current trip, and the length of time
associated with the current trip may differ than rule sets and/or
rules if a user is not travelling for work.
[0061] Additionally or alternatively, the media guidance
application may determine the user behaviors by applying one or
more content recognition techniques. For example, detection module
316 may record user behavior while a user is occupying a vehicle.
For example, the media guidance application (e.g., via control
circuitry 304) may use a content recognition module or algorithm to
generate data describing the context, content, and/or any other
data necessary for determining a user behavior. For example, the
content recognition module may use object recognition techniques
such as edge detection, pattern recognition, including, but not
limited to, self-learning systems (e.g., neural networks), optical
character recognition, on-line character recognition (including,
but not limited to, dynamic character recognition, real-time
character recognition, intelligent character recognition), and/or
any other suitable technique or method to analyze recorded behavior
of a user. For example, the media guidance application may receive
data in the form of a video. The video may include a series of
frames. For each frame of the video, the media guidance application
may use a content recognition module or algorithm to determine the
objects (e.g., people, places, things, etc.) in each of the frames
or series of frames, which may be used to determine user behaviors.
For example, based on the detection of a looking/touching a mobile
device, the media guidance application may determine the user is
accessing a mobile device. The media guidance application may then
compare this determination to the one or more rules or rule sets to
determine if this action corresponds to one or more rules or rule
sets.
[0062] In some embodiments, the content recognition module or
algorithm may also include speech recognition techniques,
including, but not limited to, Hidden Markov Models, dynamic time
warping, and/or neural networks (as described above) to translate
spoken words into text and/or processing audio data. The content
recognition module may also combine multiple techniques to
determine user behavior.
[0063] In addition, the media guidance application may use multiple
types of optical character recognition and/or fuzzy logic, for
example, when processing keyword(s) retrieved from data (e.g.,
textual data, translated audio data, user inputs, etc.) describing
user behavior (or when cross-referencing various types of data in
databases). For example, if the particular data received is textual
data, using fuzzy logic, the media guidance application (e.g., via
a content recognition module or algorithm incorporated into, or
accessible by, the media guidance application) may determine two
fields and/or values to be identical even though the substance of
the data or value (e.g., two different spellings) is not
identical.
[0064] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
analyze particular received data of a data structure or media asset
frame for particular values or text using optical character
recognition methods described above in order to determine a
characteristic of a media asset. For example, the media guidance
application may process audio content of a media asset to find
particular keywords that may be indicative of a user behavior.
[0065] The guidance application may be implemented using any
suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone
application wholly implemented on user equipment device 300. In
such an approach, instructions of the application are stored
locally (e.g., in storage 308), and data for use by the application
is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed,
from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach).
Control circuitry 304 may retrieve instructions of the application
from storage 308 and process the instructions to generate any of
the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions,
control circuitry 304 may determine what action to perform when
input is received from input interface 310. For example, movement
of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated by the processed
instructions when input interface 310 indicates that an up/down
button was selected.
[0066] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a
client-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin
client implemented on user equipment device 300 is retrieved
on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the user
equipment device 300. In one example of a client-server based
guidance application, control circuitry 304 runs a web browser that
interprets web pages provided by a remote server. For example, the
remote server may store the instructions for the application in a
storage device. The remote server may process the stored
instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) and
generate the displays discussed above and below. The client device
may receive the displays generated by the remote server and may
display the content of the displays locally on equipment device
300. This way, the processing of the instructions is performed
remotely by the server while the resulting displays are provided
locally on equipment device 300. Equipment device 300 may receive
inputs from the user via input interface 310 and transmit those
inputs to the remote server for processing and generating the
corresponding displays. For example, equipment device 300 may
transmit a communication to the remote server indicating that an
up/down button was selected via input interface 310. The remote
server may process instructions in accordance with that input and
generate a display of the application corresponding to the input
(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated
display is then transmitted to equipment device 300 for
presentation to the user.
[0067] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is
downloaded and interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or
virtual machine (run by control circuitry 304). In some
embodiments, the guidance application may be encoded in the ETV
Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received by control circuitry 304
as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by a user agent running
on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidance application may
be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, the guidance
application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are
received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitable
middleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of such
embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital media
encoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example,
encoded and transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG
audio and video packets of a program.
[0068] User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in
system 400 of FIG. 4 as vehicle television equipment 402, vehicle
computer equipment 404, wireless user communications device 406, or
any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content,
such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these
devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or
user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user
equipment devices described above. User equipment devices, on which
a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a
standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various
network configurations of devices may be implemented and are
discussed in more detail below. In some embodiments, user equipment
may refer to components incorporated into, coupled to, or
accessible by a vehicle.
[0069] A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the
system features described above in connection with FIG. 3 may not
be classified solely as vehicle television equipment 402, vehicle
computer equipment 404, or a wireless user communications device
406. For example, vehicle television equipment 402 may, like some
vehicle computer equipment 404, be Internet-enabled allowing for
access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 404 may,
like some vehicle television equipment 402, include a tuner
allowing for access to television programming. The media guidance
application may have the same layout on various different types of
user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of
the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404,
the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by
a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be
scaled down for wireless user communications devices 406.
[0070] In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type
of user equipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to
avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may
utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more
than one of each type of user equipment device.
[0071] In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., vehicle
television equipment 402, vehicle computer equipment 404, wireless
user communications device 406) may be referred to as a "second
screen device." For example, a second screen device may supplement
content presented on a first user equipment device. The content
presented on the second screen device may be any suitable content
that supplements the content presented on the first device. In some
embodiments, the second screen device provides an interface for
adjusting settings and display preferences of the first device. In
some embodiments, the second screen device is configured for
interacting with other second screen devices or for interacting
with a social network. The second screen device can be located in
the same room as the first device, a different room from the first
device but in the same house or building, or in a different
building from the first device.
[0072] The user may also set various settings to maintain
consistent media guidance application settings across in-home and
vehicular devices and remote devices. Settings include those
described herein, as well as channel and program favorites,
programming preferences that the guidance application utilizes to
make programming recommendations, display preferences, and other
desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channel
as a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on
their personal computer at their office, the same channel would
appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user
television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as the
user's mobile devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one
user equipment device can change the guidance experience on another
user equipment device, regardless of whether they are the same or a
different type of user equipment device. In addition, the changes
made may be based on settings input by a user, as well as user
activity monitored by the guidance application.
[0073] The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications
network 414. Namely, vehicle television equipment 402, vehicle
computer equipment 404, and wireless user communications device 406
are coupled to communications network 414 via communications paths
408, 410, and 412, respectively. Communications network 414 may be
one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone
network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network),
cable network, public switched telephone network, or other types of
communications network or combinations of communications networks.
Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include one or
more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic
path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications
(e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other
wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless
communications path or combination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn
with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment
shown in FIG. 4 it is a wireless path and paths 408 and 410 are
drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although
these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with
the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these
communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to
avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
[0074] Although communications paths are not drawn between user
equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each
other via communication paths, such as those described above in
connection with paths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other
short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as USB cables,
IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE
802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communication via wired or
wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a certification mark owned by
Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices may also communicate
with each other directly through an indirect path via
communications network 414.
[0075] System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance
data source 418 coupled to communications network 414 via
communication paths 420 and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422
may include any of the communication paths described above in
connection with paths 408, 410, and 412. Communications with the
content source 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be
exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a
single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In
addition, there may be more than one of each of content source 416
and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each is shown
in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different
types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired,
content source 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be
integrated as one source device. Although communications between
sources 416 and 418 with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406
are shown as through communications network 414, in some
embodiments, sources 416 and 418 may communicate directly with user
equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 via communication paths (not
shown) such as those described above in connection with paths 408,
410, and 412.
[0076] Content source 416 may include one or more types of content
distribution equipment including a television distribution
facility, cable system headend, satellite distribution facility,
programming sources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC,
ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and/or
servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other
content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by the National
Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by the
American Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned
by the Home Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the
originator of content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast
provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of content (e.g., an
on-demand content provider, an Internet provider of content of
broadcast programs for downloading, etc.). Content source 416 may
include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers,
Internet providers, over-the-top content providers, or other
providers of content. Content source 416 may also include a remote
media server used to store different types of content (including
video content selected by a user), in a location remote from any of
the user equipment devices. Systems and methods for remote storage
of content, and providing remotely stored content to user equipment
are discussed in greater detail in connection with Ellis et al.,
U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0077] Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance
data, such as the media guidance data described above. Media
guidance application data may be provided to the user equipment
devices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the
guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television
program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed
(e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Program schedule data
and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment on a
television channel sideband, using an in-band digital signal, using
an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data
transmission technique. Program schedule data and other media
guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog
or digital television channels.
[0078] In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data
source 418 may be provided to users' equipment using a
client-server approach. For example, a user equipment device may
pull media guidance data from a server, or a server may push media
guidance data to a user equipment device. In some embodiments, a
guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may
initiate sessions with source 418 to obtain guidance data when
needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of date or when the
user equipment device receives a request from the user to receive
data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment with any
suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified
period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a
request from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418
may provide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media
guidance application itself or software updates for the media
guidance application.
[0079] Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone
applications implemented on user equipment devices. For example,
the media guidance application may be implemented as software or a
set of executable instructions which may be stored in storage 308,
and executed by control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device
300. In some embodiments, media guidance applications may be
client-server applications where only a client application resides
on the user equipment device, and server application resides on a
remote server. For example, media guidance applications may be
implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry
304 of user equipment device 300 and partially on a remote server
as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 418)
running on control circuitry of the remote server. When executed by
control circuitry of the remote server (such as media guidance data
source 418), the media guidance application may instruct the
control circuitry to generate the guidance application displays and
transmit the generated displays to the user equipment devices. The
server application may instruct the control circuitry of the media
guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on the user
equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry of
the receiving user equipment to generate the guidance application
displays.
[0080] Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user
equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT)
content. OTT content delivery allows Internet-enabled user devices,
including any user equipment device described above, to receive
content that is transferred over the Internet, including any
content described above, in addition to content received over cable
or satellite connections. OTT content is delivered via an Internet
connection provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), but a
third party distributes the content. The ISP may not be responsible
for the viewing abilities, copyrights, or redistribution of the
content, and may only transfer IP packets provided by the OTT
content provider. Examples of OTT content providers include
YOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IP
packets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is a
trademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by
Hulu, LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively
provide media guidance data described above. In addition to content
and/or media guidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute
media guidance applications (e.g., web-based applications or
cloud-based applications), or the content can be displayed by media
guidance applications stored on the user equipment device.
[0081] Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number
of approaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment
devices and sources of content and guidance data may communicate
with each other for the purpose of accessing content and providing
media guidance. The embodiments described herein may be applied in
any one or a subset of these approaches, or in a system employing
other approaches for delivering content and providing media
guidance. The following four approaches provide specific
illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 4.
[0082] In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with
each other within a home network. User equipment devices can
communicate with each other directly via short-range point-to-point
communication schemes described above, via indirect paths through a
hub or other similar device provided on a home network, or via
communications network 414. Each of the multiple individuals in a
single home may operate different user equipment devices on the
home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media
guidance information or settings to be communicated between the
different user equipment devices. For example, it may be desirable
for users to maintain consistent media guidance application
settings on different user equipment devices within a home network,
as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different
types of user equipment devices in a home network may also
communicate with each other to transmit content. For example, a
user may transmit content from user computer equipment to a
portable video player or portable music player.
[0083] In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user
equipment by which they access content and obtain media guidance.
For example, some users may have home networks that are accessed by
in-home and mobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a
media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For
example, users may access an online media guidance application on a
website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device
such as a PDA or web-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set
various settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings)
on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home
equipment. The online guide may control the user's equipment
directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on
the user's in-home equipment. Various systems and methods for user
equipment devices communicating, where the user equipment devices
are in locations remote from each other, is discussed in, for
example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issued Oct. 25,
2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
[0084] In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside
and outside a home can use their media guidance application to
communicate directly with content source 416 to access content.
Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment 402
and user computer equipment 404 may access the media guidance
application to navigate among and locate desirable content. Users
may also access the media guidance application outside of the home
using wireless user communications devices 406 to navigate among
and locate desirable content.
[0085] In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in
a cloud computing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud
computing environment, various types of computing services for
content sharing, storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites
or social networking sites) are provided by a collection of
network-accessible computing and storage resources, referred to as
"the cloud." For example, the cloud can include a collection of
server computing devices, which may be located centrally or at
distributed locations, that provide cloud-based services to various
types of users and devices connected via a network such as the
Internet via communications network 414. These cloud resources may
include one or more content sources 416 and one or more media
guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, the
remote computing sites may include other user equipment devices,
such as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,
and wireless user communications device 406. For example, the other
user equipment devices may provide access to a stored copy of a
video or a streamed video. In such embodiments, user equipment
devices may operate in a peer-to-peer manner without communicating
with a central server.
[0086] The cloud provides access to services, such as content
storage, content sharing, or social networking services, among
other examples, as well as access to any content described above,
for user equipment devices. Services can be provided in the cloud
through cloud computing service providers, or through other
providers of online services. For example, the cloud-based services
can include a content storage service, a content sharing site, a
social networking site, or other services via which user-sourced
content is distributed for viewing by others on connected devices.
These cloud-based services may allow a user equipment device to
store content to the cloud and to receive content from the cloud
rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-stored
content.
[0087] A user may use various content capture devices, such as
camcorders, digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders,
mobile phones, and handheld computing devices, to record content.
The user can upload content to a content storage service on the
cloud either directly, for example, from user computer equipment
404 or wireless user communications device 406 having content
capture feature. Alternatively, the user can first transfer the
content to a user equipment device, such as user computer equipment
404. The user equipment device storing the content uploads the
content to the cloud using a data transmission service on
communications network 414. In some embodiments, the user equipment
device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipment devices
can access the content directly from the user equipment device on
which the user stored the content.
[0088] Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device
using, for example, a web browser, a media guidance application, a
desktop application, a mobile application, and/or any combination
of access applications of the same. The user equipment device may
be a cloud client that relies on cloud computing for application
delivery, or the user equipment device may have some functionality
without access to cloud resources. For example, some applications
running on the user equipment device may be cloud applications,
i.e., applications delivered as a service over the Internet, while
other applications may be stored and run on the user equipment
device. In some embodiments, a user device may receive content from
multiple cloud resources simultaneously. For example, a user device
can stream audio from one cloud resource while downloading content
from a second cloud resource. Or a user device can download content
from multiple cloud resources for more efficient downloading. In
some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloud resources
for processing operations such as the processing operations
performed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG.
3.
[0089] FIG. 5 shows a vehicle 500 equipped with a media guidance
application that may be used to enable/disable media options and/or
other interior features. For example, an interior feature may be
located within the mechanisms or engine of a vehicle (e.g.,
heating/cooling system 504). In addition, an interior feature may
form or create a boundary for interior or cargo space of vehicle
500 (e.g., windows 506 or sunroof (not shown)). Interior features
may be in direct contact with a user (e.g., headrest 508 or seat
510), may be included within a feature in contact with a user
(e.g., a heater located within seat 510), may be located on the
exterior of vehicle (e.g., windshield wipers and fluid (not shown)
or external thermometers (not shown)), or may be a mobile device
(e.g., a smartphone) that may be freely taken within or out of the
vehicle. Interior features may be equipped in vehicle 500 upon
manufacturing (e.g., by the manufacturer of vehicle 500) or may be
added as modifications and/or upgrades after the manufacturing of
vehicle 500 (e.g., by the manufacturer or third party).
[0090] For example, a user in vehicle 500 may use media component
502 to access a media asset and/or media options associated with a
media asset. In some embodiments, media component 502 may be an
audio and/or video system incorporated into vehicle 500 or user
equipment used to access a media asset while using vehicle 500.
[0091] Vehicle 500 may have numerous interior features used to
provide media options. Vehicle 500 may include any type of vehicle
(e.g., automobiles, airplanes, motorcycles, recreational vehicles,
boats, helicopters, or any other device or equipment capable of
transporting and/or being occupied by a user). In some embodiments,
vehicle 500 may determine the position of a user accessing a media
asset or media option via the media guidance application. For
example, in some embodiments, vehicle 500 may use sensors (e.g.,
associated with detection module 316 (FIG. 3)) in seat 510 or other
interior feature (e.g., a seat belt) to detect a user or a user
behavior. In some embodiments, users may input data describing
their position or behavior via a user interface (e.g., user input
interface 312 (FIG. 3)) incorporated into or accompanying media
component 502 either by direct input into the user interface (e.g.,
activating the system via selectable option 204 (FIG. 2) to affect
particular positions) or passive detection schemes (e.g., detecting
a user accessing seat-belt or a headphone jack corresponding to a
particular seat). For example, in some embodiments, a user may need
to actively turn-on the parental control/monitoring features in
order for the vehicle to turn on. In such embodiments, the guidance
application may direct the interior features to only be
enabled/disabled at a particular position within the vehicle (e.g.,
a particular seat on an airplane or bus).
[0092] In some embodiments, vehicle 500 may include particular
zones or areas which correspond to the location of a user. In some
embodiments, these locations may correspond to the locations of
seat belts or climate control zones. The interior features of
vehicle may be equipped to alter media options for one or more
zones at a time. For example, the driver of vehicle 500 may not
wish to have a media option enable/disable based on the behavior of
a passenger. The media guidance application may determine the
position of users accessing a media asset and/or media option and
direct a vehicle interior features (e.g., a vehicle television in
the passenger seat of the vehicle) in response to media guidance
application enable/disable instructions.
[0093] In some embodiments, the guidance application receives media
information associated with a media asset and/or user device being
accessed in the vehicle. As used herein, "media information" refers
to data associated with the media asset, media option, and/or user
device that may be used by the media guidance application to
determine whether a behavior of a user corresponds to a rule or
rule set. For example, media information may include condition
identifiers, which may include signals, metadata, triggers, flags,
or data packets associated with the media asset, media option,
and/or user device that may indicate to the media guidance
application that a user is performing (or not performing) a
particular behavior. For example, a mobile device may transmit
signals that may be detected (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG.
3)) to determine whether or not a user behavior corresponds to a
rule or rule set.
[0094] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for enabling a
media option in response to determining that the user behavior
corresponds to a rule. It should be noted that process 600 or any
step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the
devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 600 may be
executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a media
guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user
equipment devices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to
determine whether to determine whether or not a user behavior
corresponds to a rule. In addition, one or more steps of process
600 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of
any other process or embodiment (e.g., process 700 (FIG. 7)).
[0095] At step 602, the media guidance application receives a rule
set associated with desired user behaviors while occupying a
vehicle. For example, the media guidance application may receive a
user input (e.g., via user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) selecting
a rule set (e.g., from window 204 (FIG. 2)) corresponding with a
specific goal. For example, the rule set may correspond to not
exceeding speed limits at various locations, not varying from a
predetermined route, not using particular devices (e.g.,
smartphones) while occupying the vehicle, not performing particular
activities (e.g., reading/writing text messages) while occupying
the vehicle, etc.
[0096] Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance
application may receive (e.g., via I/O path 302 (FIG. 3)) a rule
set transmitted from a remote location (e.g., a remote user
device), which accesses the media guidance application via a
communications network (e.g., communications network 414 (FIG. 4)),
that indicates the particular rule set that should applied. For
example, a remote device (e.g., operated by a parent) may set
and/or customize the rule set that governs the media options
enabled/disabled based on the behavior or a user (e.g., a child)
while operating a vehicle.
[0097] Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance
application may receive (e.g., from storage 308 (FIG. 3)) a rule
set based on predetermined conditions. For example, the media
guidance application may store one or more user profiles, each
associated with a particular user, and each indicating one or more
rule sets that should be applied to the user while occupying the
vehicle. For example, customizations to the rules, rule sets,
and/or available media options may be retrieved by the media
guidance application upon the media guidance application
identifying (e.g., manually via a user input through user input
interface 310 (FIG. 3) or automatically via detection module 316
(FIG. 3)) a user.
[0098] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
inherent a rule set based on rules associated with other devices
and/or vehicles. For example, if parental controls indicate that
content of a particular rating is never permitted on a set-top box
in a household of a user, the media guidance application may
determine that content with the same rating is also never permitted
on any devices associated with or brought into a vehicle occupied
by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the media guidance
application may retrieve parental controls associated with a user
for a plurality of devices (e.g., vehicles, set-top boxes,
smartphones, etc.), the media guidance application may then apply
all of the parental controls to the vehicle and/or devices brought
into the vehicle or may filter the parental controls for rule sets
specific to use of a vehicle and apply only those rule sets.
[0099] At step 604, the media guidance application (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) determines a media option that is
associated with adherence to the rule set. For example, the media
option may include an option related to a presentation volume of
content (e.g., how loud music may be played in the vehicle), an
option related to content that is presented (e.g., whether or not a
media asset may be presented while a user is occupying a vehicle),
an option related to a display device setting (e.g., whether or not
video output associated with a media asset may be shown), an option
related to a speaker setting (e.g., whether or not audio output
associated with a media asset may be shown), an option related to a
climate control setting (e.g., whether or not air conditioning or
heating systems may be accessed), or an option related to a
movement of the vehicle (e.g., where to, or how fast, the vehicle
may move).
[0100] For example, the media guidance application may query a
database, for example, located locally (e.g., on storage 308 (FIG.
3)) or remotely (e.g., at media content source 416 (FIG. 4), media
guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4), and/or located at any location
accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) to determine a
media option that is associated with adherence to the rule set. For
example, the database may be structured as a look-up table. The
media guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG.
3)) may input a rule and/or rule set into the look-up table. The
look-up table may then filter the results and output all media
options that correspond to the particular rule set.
[0101] At step 606, the media guidance application cross-references
the rule set with a database listing rules associated with rule
sets to determine a rule that corresponds to the rule set. For
example, each rule set may be associated with various rules also
corresponding to fulfillment of the goal associated with the rule
set. For example, if a rule set corresponds to not exceeding speed
limits at various locations, the rule set may include one or more
rules indicating a speed limit at various locations. If a rule set
corresponds to not varying from a predetermined route, the rule set
may include one or more rules indicating a maximum distance from a
route, or pre-approved sub-routes, associated with various
locations. If the rule set corresponds to not using particular
devices while occupying the vehicle, the rule set may include one
or more rules indicating user devices that are not approved for use
(e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.). If the rule set corresponds to
not performing particular activities while occupying the vehicle,
the rule set may include one or more rules indicating what
activities, if any, are prohibited (e.g., texting) or required
(e.g., use of a seatbelt).
[0102] Similar to step 604, the media guidance application may
query a database that is located locally (e.g., on storage 308
(FIG. 3)) or remotely (e.g., at media content source 416 (FIG. 4),
media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4), and/or located at any
location accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) to
determine a rule that corresponds to a rule set. For example, the
database may be structure as a look-up table. The media guidance
application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may input a
rule set into the look-up table. The look-up table may then filter
the results and output all rules that correspond to the particular
rule set.
[0103] At step 608, the media guidance application monitors a user
behavior while a user is occupying the vehicle. For example, the
media guidance application may monitor (e.g., via detection module
316 (FIG. 3)) the user behavior while the user is occupying the
vehicle by monitoring global-positioning data received from global
positioning circuitry (e.g., incorporated into, coupled to, and/or
accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), vehicular speed data
received from a speedometer (e.g., incorporated into, coupled to,
and/or accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), or vehicular
status data received from vehicular circuitry (e.g., incorporated
into, coupled to, and/or accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG.
3)).
[0104] Additionally or alternatively, as discussed above, the media
guidance application (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3)) may
monitor for signals, metadata, triggers, flags, or data packets
associated with a media asset, media option, and/or user device
that may indicate to the media guidance application that a user is
performing (or not performing) a particular behavior. For example,
a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) may transmit signals (e.g.,
indicative that a user is transmitting a text message) that may be
detected (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3)) to determine
whether or not a user behavior (e.g., texting) corresponds to a
rule or rule set. Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance
application (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3)) may monitor a
social network account of a user to determine whether or not
content is being uploaded/posted to a social networking account
while a user is occupying a vehicle (e.g., in violation of a
rule).
[0105] At step 610, the media guidance application compares (e.g.,
via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the user behavior to the rule
to determine whether the user behavior corresponds to the rule, and
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) enables or disables the
media option in response to determining (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the user behavior corresponds to (or
does not correspond to) the rule at step 612. For example, the user
behavior and the rule may be quantified into a particular value,
the media guidance application may (e.g., via control circuitry 304
(FIG. 3)) then compare the values to determine whether the two
values correspond.
[0106] For example, the media guidance application may quantify a
rule set that indicates where a predetermined area or route in
which the vehicle must remain. Each rule of the rule set may
indicate suitable coordinates within the area. The media guidance
application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may
determine the current coordinates of the vehicle (e.g., via global
positioning data received from global positioning circuitry coupled
to control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)). Based on a comparison of the
current coordinates to each of the coordinates associated with the
rules of the rule set, the media guidance application may detect
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether a vehicle (e.g.,
being manually driven or driven automatically via self-driving
capabilities) is outside a predetermined area (or deviating from a
predetermined route (e.g., in violation of a rule included in a
current rule set), and, in response the media guidance application
may disable a media option associated with the vehicle.
[0107] In some embodiments, a media option may be associated with a
mobile user device (e.g., user equipment device 406 (FIG. 4)), not
necessarily associated with the vehicle. For example, the media
guidance application may detect (e.g., via detection module 316
(FIG. 3)) a mobile user device is sending/receiving data within the
vehicle (e.g., in violation of a rule included in a current rule
set), and, in response, the media guidance application (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may disable the use of the mobile
user device.
[0108] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
perform actions alternatively to, or in addition to, enabling or
disabling a media option. For example, in response to determining
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user behavior is in
violation of a rule, the media guidance application may (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) notify a user (or a third party) of
a relationship between the user behavior and the rule (e.g., the
rule that the user is currently in violation of or, a degree to
which a user is violating the rule, etc.). For example, if the
media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry
304 (FIG. 3)) that a mobile user device located within a vehicle is
attempting to access a media option (e.g., send a text message)
while the media option is disabled (e.g., text messaging is in
violation of a rule), the media guidance application may notify
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a third party (e.g., a
parent). For example, the media guidance application (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may transmit a message to another
device (e.g., operated by a parent) indicating that the user
occupying the vehicle (e.g., a child) is violating a rule.
[0109] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6
may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the steps and descriptions described in relation to FIG.
6 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further the
purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these steps may
be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices or
equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could be used to
perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 6.
[0110] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for modifying
media option(s) based on determined effects of user behavior
corresponding to one or more rules in a rule set. It should be
noted that process 700 or any step thereof could be performed on,
or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example,
process 700 may be executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as
instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user
device (e.g., user equipment devices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4))
in order to determine whether to determine whether or not a user
behavior corresponds to a rule. In addition, one or more steps of
process 700 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more
steps of any other process or embodiment (e.g., process 600 (FIG.
6)).
[0111] At step 702, the media guidance application retrieves (e.g.,
via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a rule set. For example, the
media guidance application may retrieve a rule set in response to
determining a particular user is occupying a vehicle. For example,
in response to a user entering a vehicle, the media guidance
application may request the user provide identification (e.g., a
password, key, biometric measurement, etc.). Upon identifying the
user, the media guidance application may (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) retrieve (e.g., from storage 308 (FIG. 3)
and/or any location accessible via communications network 414 (FIG.
4)) a user profile associated with a user that includes one or more
rule sets associated with the user.
[0112] At step 704, the media guidance application detects a user
behavior. For example, as discussed above in step 608 (FIG. 6), the
media guidance application may monitor (e.g., via detection module
316 (FIG. 3)) the user behavior while the user is occupying the
vehicle by monitoring global-positioning data received from global
positioning circuitry (e.g., incorporated into, coupled to, and/or
accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), vehicular speed data
received from a speedometer (e.g., incorporated into, coupled to,
and/or accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), or vehicular
status data received from vehicular circuitry (e.g., incorporated
into, coupled to, and/or accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG.
3)).
[0113] At step 706, the media guidance application retrieves a rule
from the rule set. For example, the rule set may include one or
more rules, or may itself include one or more rule sets. The media
guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
retrieves a rule for the rule set to compare it to current user
behavior at step 708. If the current user behavior corresponds to
the rule set, the media guidance application proceeds to step 710
and determines an effect that not corresponding to the rule set has
on one or more media options. For example, in response to
determining (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3) coupled to
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that a user is speeding (e.g., in
violation of a rule of a rule set), the media guidance application
may no longer allow a user to access an in-vehicle stereo system.
In response to determining (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3)
coupled to control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that a user has not
gotten an oil change (e.g., in violation of another rule of a rule
set), the media guidance application may no longer allow a user to
access the air-conditioning. In response to determining (e.g., via
detection module 316 (FIG. 3) coupled to control circuitry 304
(FIG. 3)) that a user has not returned home before curfew (e.g., in
violation of yet another rule of a rule set), the media guidance
application may limit the use of an in-vehicle navigation system
(e.g., only show a user how to return home).
[0114] At step 712, the media guidance application determines
whether or not there are any additional rules in the rule set. For
example, the media guidance application (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may perform one or more iterations of
comparing a retrieve rule to user behavior. If the media guidance
application determines (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
that there are additional rules, the media guidance application
returns to step 706. If the media guidance application determines
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that there are no
additional rules in the rule set, the media guidance application
proceeds to step 714.
[0115] At step 714, the media guidance application determines
whether or not there are any additional user behaviors. For
example, the media guidance application (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may perform one or more iterations of
comparisons of retrieved rules to detected user behaviors. If the
media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry
304 (FIG. 3)) that there are additional user behaviors, the media
guidance application returns to step 704. If the media guidance
application determines (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
that there are no additional user behaviors, the media guidance
application proceeds to step 716, and at step 716, the media
guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
modifies one or more available media options based on the
determined effects.
[0116] In some embodiments, the media guidance application (e.g.,
via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may perform actions
alternatively to, or in addition to, enabling or disabling a media
option. For example, in response to determining (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user behavior is in violation of a rule,
the media guidance application may (e.g., via control circuitry 304
(FIG. 3)) notify a user (or a third party) of a relationship
between the user behavior and the rule (e.g., the rule the user is
currently in violation or, a degree to which a user is violating
the rule, etc.). For example, if the media guidance application
determines (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that a mobile
user device located within a vehicle is attempting to access a
media option (e.g., send a text message) while the media option is
disabled (e.g., text messaging is in violation of a rule), the
media guidance application may (e.g., via control circuitry 304
(FIG. 3)) notify a third party (e.g., a parent).
[0117] In some embodiments, the actions alternatively to, or in
addition to, enabling or disabling a media option may include
generic punishments. As used herein, a "generic punishment" refers
to an action taken by the media guidance application to coerce a
particular user behavior. For example, in response to determining
(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user behavior is in
violation of a rule, the media guidance application may (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) publicly distribute (e.g., via a
posting on a social network) embarrassing pictures related to a
user. For example, the media guidance application may receive data
(e.g., metadata) indicating that a media asset is embarrassing
and/or has one or more characteristics of an embarrassing media
asset (e.g., the media asset may include an image of the user in
which the user is out-of-focus, has his or her eyes closed, etc.).
Alternatively, the media guidance application may (e.g., via
detection module 316 (FIG. 3)) determine (e.g., via one or more
object recognition technique discussed above) that the contents of
the media asset are embarrassing to the user.
[0118] Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance
application may request (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
a media asset from a local database (e.g., storage 308 (FIG. 3)) or
a remote database (e.g., any device accessible via communications
network 414 (FIG. 4)) that is associated with embarrassing media
assets of a user. For example, in response to determining that a
user is not wearing a seatbelt (e.g., in violation of a rule), the
media guidance application may retrieve an embarrassing message
related to the rule (e.g., "Joe is too dumb to wear his seatbelt")
and publically distribute the message. For example, a third party
(e.g., a parent) may upload embarrassing media assets of a user
(e.g., a child) to the database. The third party may indicate that
each media asset is embarrassing and/or indicate what media asset
should be publically distributed in response to particular
violations.
[0119] In another example, in response to determining (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user behavior is in violation of
a rule, the media guidance application may (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) delete media assets (e.g., stored in
storage 308 (FIG. 3)) associated with the user or fail to take
actions (e.g., record a media asset scheduled to be recorded)
requested by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the media
guidance application may determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304
(FIG. 3)) that a media asset corresponds to a favorite program of
the user. For example, the media guidance application may (e.g.,
via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) compare attributes associated
with stored media assets to user preferences (e.g., retrieved from
a user profile stored in storage 308 (FIG. 3)). In response to
determining that a particular media asset corresponds to the user
preferences, the media guidance application may (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) delete the media asset (e.g., from storage
308 (FIG. 3)) or cancel a scheduled recording.
[0120] In another example, in response to determining (e.g., via
control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user behavior is in violation of
a rule, the media guidance application may (e.g., via control
circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) charge an account associated with the user
a fixed fee. For example, the media guidance application may (e.g.,
via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) retrieve a fixed fee (e.g., as
indicated in a database located at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any
location accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) that
should be attributed to the account of a user based on the
violation. Upon determining that the user behavior is in violation
of the rule (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), the media
guidance application may (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))
charge an account associated with the user the determined fixed
fee.
[0121] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7
may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the steps and descriptions described in relation to FIG.
7 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further the
purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these steps may
be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices or
equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could be used to
perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 7.
[0122] The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure
are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation,
and the present disclosure is limited only by the claims which
follow. Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and
limitations described in any one embodiment may be applied to any
other embodiment herein, and flowcharts or examples relating to one
embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment in a suitable
manner, done in different orders, or done in parallel. In addition,
the systems and methods described herein may be performed in real
time. It should also be noted, the systems and/or methods described
above may be applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems
and/or methods.
* * * * *
References