Television broadcast receiving apparatus

• US 20030208778A1
• Filed: 03/12/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Aratani, Shuntaro, Kikkawa, Teruki, Mizutome, Atsushi, Yamamoto, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 7,886,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/139
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4349 by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

A receiving apparatus for, in case that an application program is executed at a television receiving apparatus, permitting execution of the application program during a period in which a predetermined channel or a broadcast program is viewed.

Claims

1. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

broadcast data processing means for generating image data on the basis of television broadcast data received by said recording means and outputting the data to a monitor device;

application executing means for executing an application program; and

control means for controlling an execution an application program by said application executing means on the basis of an output state of the image data associated with a predetermined broadcast program relevant to the monitor device.

2. An application according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said application executing means so as to inhibit execution of the application program in a period in which image data associated with the predetermined broadcast program is not outputted to the monitor device.

3. An application according to claim 1, wherein the television broadcast contains condition data indicating a condition for executing said application program, and said control means controls said application executing means on the basis of the condition data detected from among television broadcast data received by said receiving means.

4. An application according to claim 3, wherein the condition data contains information on a broadcast program to be displayed on said monitor device.

5. An application according to claim 3, wherein the television broadcast contains said application program, and said application executing means has an application program detected from a television broadcast received by said receiving means, and the condition data that corresponds to the application program.

6. An apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising selection means for selecting any one from among a plurality of the application programs, wherein said control means control an operation for executing said application program on the basis of condition data that corresponds to the selected application program among a plurality of the condition data that correspond to said plurality of application programs, respectively.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising readout means for reading out condition data indicating a condition for executing the application program from a recording medium, wherein said control means control said application executing means on the basis of the condition data read out by said readout means.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising acquisition means for acquiring condition data indicating a condition for executing the application program from a server over the network.

9. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

broadcast data processing means for generating image data from a television broadcast signal received by said recording means, and outputting the data to a monitor device;

application executing means for executing an application program; and

control means for, in the case where image data associated with a predetermined broadcast program is not outputted to said monitor device, controlling said application executing means so as to inhibit execution of the application program.

10. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

broadcast data processing means for generating image data from a television broadcast signal received by said recording means, and outputting the data to a monitor device;

application executing means for executing an application program; and

control means for controlling whether or not the application program is executed by said application executing means, on the basis of a broadcast program displayed on said monitor device and condition data indicating a condition for executing the application program.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, in the case where a broadcast program being displayed on said monitor device meets a condition specified by said condition data, said control means permits execution of the application program.

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said control means includes storage means for storing the condition data.

13. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the application program and the condition data are processed to be archived as one item of file data, and are distributed by the television broadcast, and said application executing means includes storage means for storing the application program and the condition data detected from a television broadcast received by said receiving means.

14. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said broadcast data processing means includes display control means for synthesizing image data associated with the application program and image data associated with the television broadcast, and outputting the synthesized image data to said monitor device.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, in the case where a broadcast program displayed on said monitor device during execution of the application program is not coincident with a condition specified by said condition data, said control means controls said display control means so as to display a predetermined warning image.

16. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising booking processing means for carrying out booking processing for receiving a broadcast program specified at a specified time, wherein said control means controls said display control means so as to display a predetermined warning image before a predetermined time of a time specified by said booking processing during execution of said application program.

17. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the condition data contains an ID indicating a broadcast service to be displayed when the application program is executed, and said control means determines whether or not to permit execution of the application program, on the basis of a result of comparison between a broadcast service ID of a broadcast program being displayed on said monitor device and a broadcast service ID contained in the condition data.

18. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the condition data contains validity information, and said control means determines whether or not to permit execution of the application program, on the basis of condition data determined to be within the range of validity on the basis of the validity information.

19. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

application executing means for executing an application program; and

control means for controlling an operation for executing an application program by said application executing means, on the basis of a viewing history of the television broadcast.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said control means controls an operation for executing the application program, on the basis of a viewing history concerning a predetermined channel in the television broadcast.

21. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said control means controls an operation for executing the application program, on the basis of an integrated value of a viewing time of the predetermined channel in a predetermined period of time.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, in the case where the integrated value of the viewing time of the predetermined channel meets a predetermined condition, said control means permits execution of the application program.

23. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

contents processing means for detecting predetermined contents data from a television broadcast received by said receiving means, writing the detected data into a storage device, and reproducing the predetermined contents data from said storage device;

application execution means for executing an application program; and

control means for controlling an operation for executing an application program by said application executing means, on the basis of a state of reproduction of the predetermined contents from said storage device by said contents processing means.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said control means permits execution of the application program during a period in which the contents is reproduced.

25. An apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising application detecting means for detecting the application program from a television broadcast received by said receiving means, and writing the detected application program in said storage device, wherein said application execution means reads out the application program from said storage device and executes the read-out application program.

26. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said control means selects contents data in accordance with a predetermined condition from among a plurality of said contents data stored in said storage device, and said contents processing means reproduces the selected contents data.

27. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said control means selects said contents data on the basis of an execution time of the application program and predetermined user information.

28. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said control means changes the predetermined condition on the basis of an attribution of the application program.

29. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving a television broadcast;

detection means for detecting predetermined contents data and attribution data concerning the contents data from a television broadcast received by said receiving means, selecting contents data to be reproduced from among a plurality of the contents data stored in a storage device, on the basis of the attribution data, and reproducing the selected contents data;

application executing means for executing an application program; and

control means for controlling an operation for executing an application program by said application executing means, on the basis of a state of reproduction of the predetermined contents from said storage device by said contents processing means.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said control means permits execution of the application program during only a period in which the contents data is reproduced.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said control means cancels execution of the application program in response to the fact that reproduction of the contents data is stopped during execution of the application program.

32. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the attribution data contains information concerning a time at which the corresponding contents data is to be reproduced.

33. An apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the attribution data contains information concerning a user to which the contents data is to be reproduced.

34. A receiving apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving an application program and predetermined contents data via a same transmission channel;

writing means for writing an application program and contents data received by said receiving means in a storage device;

application executing means for executing an application program stored in said storage device;

reproduction means for reproducing contents data stored in said storage device; and

control means for controlling an operation for executing an application program by said application executing means, on the basis of a state of reproduction of the predetermined contents from said storage device by said contents processing means.

35. An apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said control means permits execution of the application program during only a period in which the contents data is reproduced.

36. An apparatus according to claim 35, wherein said control means cancels execution of the application program in response to the fact that reproduction of the contents data is stopped during execution of the application program.