Web TV Based Information Browsing Method and System

A web TV based information browsing method includes receiving, by a web TV, information on the Internet sent by an information server, classifying the received information, and setting an information tag for the classified information, and displaying, on a display interface currently displayed on the web TV, an information interface for a user to read information corresponding to the information tag with a window according to a size of the display interface, wherein the window is smaller than the display interface. Accordingly, the user can watch TV and read information at the same time, thereby bringing better use experience to users.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inFIGS. 1-8. It should be understood that specific embodiments described herein are merely adapted for explaining the present invention, but are not intended to limit the present invention. In accordance with the purposes of this disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, this invention, in one aspect, relates to an information browsing method based on a web TV, which is capable of displaying an information interface of information on a current TV program interface so that the user can read the information while watching a TV program.

Referring toFIG. 1, a schematic flow chart of an information browsing method based on a web TV is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the information browsing method based on a web TV includes the following steps:

In Step S10, a web TV receives information on the Internet sent by an information server.

In Step S20, the information is classified, and an information tag is set for the classified information.

When the information from the Internet is displayed to a user through the web TV, the information from the Internet is sent through the information server. The web TV receives the information sent by the information server, classifies all the information according to types of content of the information, and then sets a corresponding information tag for the classified information, so as to identify the type of the content of all information under the information tag, so that the user can conveniently choose to read the information from the information tag of interest.

In Step S30, an information interface for a user to read the information corresponding to the information tag is displayed, according to the size of the display interface, and with a window smaller than the display interface, on a display interface currently displayed on the web TV.

When the user selects information to be browsed through a menu of a remote controller and enters an information browsing mode, no matter which mode the web TV is currently in, through a channel of the mode, the information interface formed by the information tag can be directly displayed to the user on the current display interface according to the size of the display interface and with a window smaller than the current display interface. The user can read the information corresponding to the information tag through the information interface without interrupting current use of the web TV. For example, when a TV program that the user is watching enters advertisement time, the user may select an information browsing mode to read information on the interface of the current TV program if the user neither wants to watch advertisement nor wants to miss the TV program.

In one embodiment, after receiving the information on the Internet sent by an information server, the web TV classifies the received information, sets a corresponding information tag for the classified information, and displays on a display interface currently displayed on the web TV, according to the size of the display interface, and with a window smaller than the display interface, an information interface for the user to read the information corresponding to the information tag. Such method of browsing information through a web TV is easy to operate, from which the user can watch TV and read latest information at the same time, thereby bringing better use experience to users.

Referring toFIG. 2, a schematic flow chart of an information browsing method based on a web TV is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention.

On the basis of the above embodiment shown inFIG. 1, before Step S10, the information browsing method based on a web TV of the present invention further includes the following step:

In Step S40, the information server searches for information on the Internet, sorts the found/searched information, and sends the sorted information to the web TV in real time.

In this embodiment, when the information on the Internet needs to be displayed to the user, the information server first searches on the Internet, namely, searching for latest hot information, then sorts the found information, namely, filtering out advertisement or useless links and information, and finally sends the sorted information to the web TV in real time.

The information server searches for and sorts information on the Internet, and sends the sorted information to the web TV in real time, thereby ensuring that information data is transmitted efficiently and in real time.

FIG. 3is a schematic flow chart of an information browsing method based on a web TV according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

On the basis of the above embodiment shown inFIG. 1, before Step S10, the information browsing method based on a web TV further includes the following step:

In Step S50, the information server filters the found/searched information according to user customization, and sends to the web TV the filtered information of interest to the user.

Before reading the information through the web TV, the user may customize the information type of interest in advance according to a preference. When customizing the type of information, the user may also set preference levels for different information types according to different preference degrees. When finding latest hot information on the Internet, the information server filters the found information according to user customization, namely, filtering out information irrelevant to the type of information customized by the user, and sends to the web TV the filtered information of interest to the user.

After the user customizes the information type of interest according to the preference, the information server finds information, filters the found information according to user customization, and sends to the web TV the filtered information of interest to the user, so that the user can quickly find information of interest within short time, thereby further improving the use experience of the user.

Referring to4, a schematic flow chart of displaying an information interface in an information browsing method based on a web TV according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In the above embodiments shown inFIGS. 1-3, Step S30includes the following sub-steps:

In Step S31, the web TV adjusts the size of the information interface and the character font and size of the information tag according to a preset parameter.

In Step S32, with a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface, the information interface is displayed at a corresponding position of the display interface currently displayed on the web TV.

To further ensure that the user can still normally use other functions of the web TV, and can return to the display interface displayed in the current mode in time, the information interface may be translucent. In addition, after the size of the information interface and the character font and size of the information tag are adjusted, the information interface is displayed at a corresponding position of the current display interface with a floating window smaller than the display interface. Moreover, in this embodiment, the theme of the floating window and the background color of the information interface can be customized by the user.

When the information interface is displayed on the current display interface, the size of the information interface, the character font and size of the information tag, and whether the information tag is displayed in bold or highlighted are adjusted according to the preset display parameter, and then the information interface is displayed at the corresponding position on the current display interface with a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface. The display parameter is set flexibly, so as to display the information adaptively, and by using a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface, the information interface can be superposed on the current display interface no matter which mode the web TV is currently in. The user can exit the information interface in any channel, and can switch the interface without entering the information browsing mode.

Referring toFIG. 5, a schematic flow chart of an information browsing method based on a web TV according to one embodiment of the present invention.

On the basis of the above embodiments shown inFIGS. 1-3, after Step S30, the information browsing method based on a web TV further includes the following step:

In Step S60, the web TV receives a selection instruction of selecting an information tag from the user, and displays on the information interface prompt content of a piece of information corresponding to the currently selected information tag, the prompt content at least including a tile, a picture and brief description of the piece of information.

After displaying the information interface on the current display interface, the user may select a corresponding information tag in the information interface through a remote controller according to an actual requirement, and at this time, a selection instruction is sent to the web TV. After receiving the selection instruction, the web TV displays on the information interface the prompt content of a piece of information corresponding to the currently selected information tag. The selected piece of information is usually the most important piece of information under the information tag, and the prompt content includes prompt information such as the title, picture and brief description of the information, so that the user can conveniently determine whether to read this piece of information according to the prompt content.

Meanwhile, on the information interface, the user can select different information tags through the remote controller, and after the current information tag is selected, the user can further choose the prompt content of the information through the remote controller. For example, the information tag can be selected through the left button and right button of the remote controller, while the prompt content of the information can be selected through the upper button and lower button of the remote controller.

After receiving the selection instruction of selecting the current information tag from the user, the web TV displays on the information interface prompt content such as the title, picture and brief description of the most important piece of information under the currently selected information tag. Each page loads only one piece of information each time, so the loading of the page is smoother, and the user waits shorter time.

In another aspect, the present invention also provides an information browsing system based on a web TV. The system includes a web TV and an information server.

Referring toFIG. 6, a schematic structural block of an information browsing system based on a web TV is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the exemplary embodiment, the web TV based information browsing system includes a web TV10and an information server20.

The web TV10is adapted for receiving information on the Internet sent by the information server; classifying the information, and setting a corresponding information tag for the classified information; and displaying, on a display interface currently displayed on the web TV, according to the size of the display interface, and with a window smaller than the display interface, an information interface for a user to read information corresponding to the information tag.

The information server20is adapted for sending information on the Internet to the web TV.

When information from the Internet is displayed to a user through the web TV10, the information from the Internet is sent through the information server20. The information server20is adapted for sending information on the Internet to the web TV10. The web TV10receives the information sent by the information server20, classifies all the information according to types of content of the information, and then sets a corresponding information tag for the classified information, so as to identify the type of the content of all information under the information tag, so that the user can conveniently choose to read information from an information tag of interest.

When the user selects information to be browsed through a menu of a remote controller and enters an information browsing mode, no matter which the web TV10is currently in, through a channel of the mode, the information interface formed by the information tag can be directly displayed to the user on the current display interface according to the size of the display interface and with a window smaller than the current display interface. The user can read the information corresponding to the information tag through the information interface without interrupting current use of the web TV10. For example, when a TV program that the user is watching enters advertisement time, the user may select an information browsing mode to read information on the interface of the current TV program if the user neither wants to watch advertisement nor wants to miss the TV program.

In one embodiment, after receiving information on the Internet sent by an information server, the web TV10classifies the received information, sets a corresponding information tag for the classified information, and displays, on a display interface currently displayed on the web TV10, an information interface for a user to read information corresponding to the information tag with a window according to a size of the display interface, wherein the window is smaller than the display interface. Such web TV based information browsing system is easy to operate, where the user can watch TV and read latest information at the same time, thereby bringing better use experience to users.

In one embodiment, the information server20is further adapted for searching for information on the Internet, sorting found information, and sending the sorted information to the web TV10in real time.

In the exemplary embodiment, when the information on the Internet needs to be displayed to the user, the information server20first searches on the Internet, namely, searching for latest hot information, then sorts the found information, namely, filtering out advertisement or useless links and information, and finally sends the sorted information to the web TV10in real time. The information server20searches for and sorts information on the Internet, and sends the sorted information to the web TV10in real time, thereby ensuring that information data is transmitted efficiently and in real time.

In another embodiment, the information server20is further adapted for filtering the found information according to user customization, and sending to the web TV the filtered information of interest to the user.

Before reading the information through the web TV10, a user may customize the information type of interest in advance according to a preference. When customizing the information type, the user may also set preference levels for different information types according to different preference degrees. When finding latest hot information on the Internet, the information server20filters the found information according to user customization, namely, filtering out information irrelevant to the type of information customized by the user, and sends the filtered information of interest to the user to the web TV10.

After the user customizes the information type of interest according to the preference, the information server finds information, filters the found information according to user customization, and sends the filtered information of interest to the user to the web TV10, so that the user can quickly find information of interest within short time, thereby further improving the use experience of the user.

Referring toFIG. 7, a schematic structural block of a web TV utilized in a web TV based information browsing system is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the web TV10includes an adjustment module11, adapted for adjusting the size of the information interface and the character font and size of the information tag according to a preset display parameter; and a first display module12, adapted for displaying, with a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface, the information interface at a corresponding position of the display interface currently displayed on the web TV.

To further ensure that the user can still normally use other functions of the web TV10, and can return to the display interface displayed in the current mode in time, the information interface may be translucent. In addition, after the size of the information interface and the character font and size of the information tag are adjusted, the information interface is displayed at a corresponding position of the current display interface with a floating window smaller than the display interface. Moreover, in this embodiment, the theme of the floating window and the background color of the information interface can be customized by the user.

When the information interface is displayed on the current display interface, the size of the information interface, the character font and size of the information tag, and whether the information tag is displayed in bold or highlighted are adjusted according to the preset display parameter, and then the information interface is displayed at the corresponding position on the current display interface with a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface. The display parameter is set flexibly, so as to display the information adaptively, and by using a translucent floating window smaller than the display interface, the information interface can be superposed on the current display interface no matter which mode the web TV is currently in; the user can exit the information interface in any channel, and can switch the interface without entering the information browsing mode.

Referring toFIG. 8, a schematic structural block of an information browsing system based on a web TV according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the web TV10, in addition to the adjustment module11and the first display module12shown inFIG. 7, further includes a second display module13that is adapted for receiving a selection instruction of selecting an information tag from the user, and displaying on the information interface prompt content of a piece of information corresponding to the currently selected information tag, the prompt content at least including a tile, a picture and brief description of the piece of information.

After displaying the information interface on the current display interface, the user may select a corresponding information tag in the information interface through a remote controller according to an actual requirement, and at this time, a selection instruction is sent to the web TV. After receiving the selection instruction, the web TV displays, through the second display module13, on the information interface the prompt content of a piece of information corresponding to the currently selected information tag. The selected piece of information is usually the most important piece of information under the information tag, and the prompt content includes prompt information such as the title, picture and brief description of the information, so that the user can conveniently determine whether to read this piece of information according to the prompt content.

Meanwhile, on the information interface, the user can select different information tags through the remote controller, and after the current information tag is selected, the user can further choose the prompt content of the information through the remote controller. For example, the information tag can be selected through the left button and right button of the remote controller, while the prompt content of the information can be selected through the upper button and lower button of the remote controller.

After receiving the selection instruction of selecting the current information tag from the user, the web TV displays on the information interface prompt content such as the title, picture and brief description of the most important piece of information under the currently selected information tag. Each page loads only one piece of information each time, so the loading of the page is smoother, and the user waits shorter time.

The methods described above may be implemented by one or more computer programs executed by one or more processors. One aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the above disclosed system to perform the above-disclosed method for web TV based information browsing. The computer programs may also include stored data. Non-limiting examples of the non-transitory tangible computer readable medium are nonvolatile memory, magnetic storage, and optical storage. The storage medium may include, for example, CD/DVD, Read-Only Memory or ROM, and Random Access Memory or RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, flash dive, or the likes.