Abstract:
The invention relates to an improved interactive television having a timer. The timer alerts a television viewer of the expiration of preset timers. For example, the preset timers may be associated with events not traditionally related to television content, such as a kitchen timer. The exemplary kitchen timer can alert a television viewer that a baking time has expired. Thus, the timer can manage alerts in a non-intrusive manner to enhance the viewer&#39;s experience.

Description:
FIELD 
   This invention relates generally to a television and, more particularly, to an improved television having a timer. 
   BACKGROUND 
   People watch television while involved in other tasks. A television may be sufficiently displaced to allow a viewer to lose track of the tasks. For example, if the task has a timer, then the television viewer may not receive sufficient notification from the timer&#39;s alarm. If the task does not have an alarm the television may provide too much of a distraction for the viewer to remember the task. 
   For example, cooks often prepare meals watching television. While television viewing can be a welcome distraction, televisions are often not in the kitchen. In such cases, cooks ignore kitchen timers because they are not conveniently viewed or heard. Generally, people watch television while conducting some other task or while being out of a reasonable notification range of a timer or alert for that other task. 
   Accordingly, a need remains for a television with a timer. The television timer should be easily viewed and allow timing of multiple events. The television should provide an alert for timer expiration and allow easy interaction with the timer. 

   
     BRIEF DRAWING DESCRIPTION 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention(s) will become more readily apparent from the detailed description of invention embodiments that references the following drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a television system embodiment that implements the kitchen timer. 
       FIG. 2  is a television screen view of a kitchen timer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Embodiments of the invention allow a television user to quickly and easily set, manage, and use one or more timers displayed with a television. Therefore, viewers can watch television and set timers for events not related to typical television content, namely, not related to broadcast, record or playback of traditional television content. For convenience, like numerals in the description refer to like structures in the drawings. The invention described herein provides an apparatus and method for a television with a timer. 
     FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a television system embodiment that implements a timer. For example, a kitchen timer manager that programs, displays, and otherwise manages timers may be implemented in one or a plurality of the blocks shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , the television  100  includes a panel  102  having a fixed pixel structure, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, or any television screen or the like. For simplicity, we refer to panel  102  as an LCD panel. Television  100  contains an LCD panel  102  to display visual output to a viewer based on a display signal generated by an LCD panel driver  104 . LCD panel driver  104  accepts a primary digital video signal in CCIR656 format (eight bits per pixel YCbCr, in a “4:2:2” data ratio wherein two Cb and two Cr pixels are supplied for every four luminance pixels) from a digital video/graphics processor  120 . A person of reasonable skill in the art should recognize that the LCD panel driver  104  may accept a primary digital video signal in formats other than CCIR656 and still come within the scope of the present invention. 
   A television processor  106  provides basic control functions and viewer input interfaces for television  100 . Television processor  106  receives viewer commands, both from buttons located on the television itself (TV controls) and from a handheld remote control through the Remote Control Port. The Remote Control Port may accept input from the remote control in a variety of manners including infrared and radio waves as are well known in the art. 
   Based on the viewer commands, television processor  106  controls an analog tuner/input select section  108 , and also supplies viewer inputs to a digital video/graphics processor  120  over a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) command channel. Television processor  106  is also capable of generating basic On-Screen Display (OSD) graphics, e.g., indicating which input is selected, the current audio volume setting, etc. Television processor  106  supplies these OSD graphics as a TV OSD signal to LCD panel driver  104  for overlay on the display signal. 
   Analog tuner/input select section  108  allows television  100  to switch between various analog (or possibly digital) inputs for both video and audio. Video inputs can include a radio frequency (RF) signal carrying broadcast television, digital television, and/or high-definition television signals, NTSC video, S-Video, and/or Red Green Blue (RGB) component video inputs, although various embodiments may not accept each of these signal types or may accept signals in other formats (such as PAL). The selected video input is converted to a digital data stream, DV In, in CCIR656 format (or other formats) and supplied to a media processor  110 . 
   Analog tuner/input select section  108  also selects an audio source, digitizes that source if necessary, and supplies that digitized source as Digital Audio In to an Audio Processor  114  and a multiplexer  130 . The audio source can be selected—independent of the current video source—as the audio channel(s) of a currently tuned RF television signal, stereophonic or monophonic audio connected to television  100  by audio jacks corresponding to a video input, or an internal microphone. 
   Media processor  110  and digital video/graphics processor  120  provide various digital feature capabilities for television  100 , as will be explained further in the specific embodiments below. In some embodiments, processors  110  and  120  can be TMS320DM270 signal processors, available from Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas, Tex. Digital video/graphics processor  120  functions as a master processor, and media processor  110  functions as a slave processor. Media processor  110  supplies digital video, either corresponding to DV In or to a decoded media stream from another source, to digital video/graphics processor  120  over a DV transfer bus. 
   Media processor  110  performs coding and decoding of digital media streams for television  100 , as instructed by digital video/graphics processor  120 . Media processor  110  may perform MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group) coding and decoding of digital media streams. A 32-bit-wide data bus connects memory  112 , e.g., two 16-bit-wide×1M synchronous DRAM devices connected in parallel, to processor  110 . An audio processor  114  also connects to this data bus to provide audio coding and decoding for media streams handled by media processor  110 . 
   Digital video/graphics processor  120  coordinates (and/or implements) many of the digital features of television  100 , including those that may be associated with the kitchen timer of the present invention. A 32-bit-wide data bus connects memory  122 , e.g., two 16-bit-wide×1M synchronous DRAM devices connected in parallel, to processor  120 . A 16-bit-wide system bus connects processor  120  to media processor  110 , an audio processor  124 , flash memory  126 , and removable PCMCIA cards  128 . Flash memory  126  stores boot code, configuration data, executable code such as may be necessary to implement aspects of the kitchen timer, and Java code for graphics applications, etc. PCMCIA cards  128  can provide extended media and/or application capability. Digital video/graphics processor  120  can pass data from the DV Transfer bus to LCD panel driver  104  as is, but processor  120  can also supercede, modify, or superimpose the DV Transfer signal with other content. 
   Multiplexer  130  provides audio output to the television amplifier and line outputs (not shown) from one of three sources. The first source is the current Digital Audio In stream from analog tuner/input select section  108 . The second and third sources are the Digital Audio Outputs of audio processors  114  and  124 . These two outputs are tied to the same input of multiplexer  130 , since each audio processor is capable of tri-stating its output when it is not selected. In some embodiments, processors  114  and  124  can be TMS320VC5416 signal processors, available from Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas, Tex. 
     FIG. 2  is a graphical user interface embodiment of a kitchen timer  200  displayed on the television  100 . The kitchen timer  200  may be implemented using the processor  120 , memory  122  or  126 , and/or any other block shown in  FIG. 1 . The implementation in  FIG. 2  shows six separate timers  221   a – 221   f , each of which may be individually set to display timer information. Timer information may be any information corresponding to or useful for timing, controlling, or displaying events. For example, each timer  221   a – 221   f  may have an associated icon  202   a – 202   f  to aid the user in remembering the timer&#39;s assignment. For example, timer  221   a  is associated with a pot on a stove as indicated by the icon  202   a.  Each timer may show its originally set duration, e.g., originally set duration timers  204   a – 204   f,  as well as its remaining duration, e.g., remaining timers  206   a – 206   f.  The timer  200  may also show the current time of day  208  as well as the date (not shown). 
   Television content  210  may be shown concurrently with timer  200  information. For example, television content  210  is shown in the upper left corner such that the user can continue watching his desired content while viewing the kitchen timer  200 . Or the kitchen timer  200  may shown in a corner while the content  210  is viewed on the remainder of the screen. A person of reasonable skill in the art should recognize that the content  210  and the kitchen timer  200  may be positioned in any of a variety of configurations for concurrent viewing. A person of reasonable skill in the art should realize that television content  210  may be broadcast content, applications, functions, or the like. Technology necessary for concurrently displaying content and the kitchen timer  200  is well known and will not be discussed in any further detail. 
   The kitchen timer  200  may overlay television content  210  using well known on screen display (OSD) technology. For example, television processor  106  may generate graphics, e.g., OSD graphics, indicating the timer  200 . Television processor  106  may supply these OSD graphics as a TV OSD signal to LCD panel driver  104  for overlay on the panel  102 . 
   The timers may be set in a variety of manners. The following description is only one example of a method of setting the timers. To set the timer, the user navigates a cursor to the desired timer, e.g., timer  221   a . The user selects the timer  221   a , enters the set time  204   a,  and presses a predetermined button on the remote control, e.g., the “Enter” button. The timer&#39;s “Set” value  204  is updated with its total duration and the “Expires” value  206   a  is updated with the amount of time remaining before timer expiration. If the user moves the cursor from a timer without pressing the “Enter” button, then the timer may revert to its previous value. 
   When a timer expires, it may send an alert to an alert manager as well as audibly or visually indicate the timer expiration to a viewer. The alert manager may be implemented in the television  100 . The alert manager is explained in more detail in co-pending patent application titled INTERACTIVE TELEVISION ALERT MANAGER filed Mar. 31, 2004, to Bryan Hallberg et al., which we incorporate here by reference. 
   Preferably, the television  100  displays the alert with the associated icon  202 , text (not shown), and chime (or other audible indication means). When the alert is selected, the timer application selects the expired timer so that the user may easily interact with the timer. 
   Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claims.