Contents providing device, contents providing method, receiving device, receiving method, communication system, and communication method

• US 20050055447A1
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fumihiko Nishio, Kazuo Haraoka, Yasuaki Yamagishi, Yoshihisa Gonno
• Original Assignee: Fumihiko Nishio, Kazuo Haraoka, Yasuaki Yamagishi, Yoshihisa Gonno
• Inventors: Nishio, Fumihiko, Haraoka, Kazuo, Yamagishi, Yasuaki, Gonno, Yoshihisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

At a server 2, a subject for updating an object registered in a database 3 and an event for obtaining the subject are generated, while a request for the subject from a receiving terminal 5 is received and totaled so that a resource necessary for providing the subject is allocated on the basis of the result of totaling. Then, the event is transmitted and the subject is provided on the basis of the resource allocated thereto. At the receiving terminal 5, the event is received and the necessity of the subject to be obtained on the basis of the event is evaluated so that request data requesting the subject is transmitted to the server 2 on the basis of the result of evaluation. Then, the subject provided by the server 2 in response to the request data is obtained on the basis of the event.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled).

13. A contents providing device for providing a contents signal to a plurality of contents receiving devices, the contents providing device comprising:

receiving means for receiving request signals transmitted from the plurality of contents receiving devices;

totaling means for totaling the request signals received by the receiving means;

resource allocation means for allocating a resource for providing the contents signal on the basis of the result of totaling by the totaling means; and

contents providing means for providing the contents signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices on the basis of the resource allocated by the resource allocation means.

14. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising event signal generation means for generating an event signal indicating the provision of the contents signal, and event signal transmission means for transmitting the event signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices.

15. The content providing device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising a database in which a plurality of contents signals are registered,

the contents providing device further comprising update signal generating means for generating an update signal for updating, in the contents receiving device, the same contents signal as an updated contents signal registered in the database when it is updated,

the event signal generation means generating a signal indicating the provision of the update signal as the event signal,

the resource allocation means allocating a resource for providing the update signal as the contents signal,

the contents signal providing means providing the update signal in the contents signal.

16. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the resource allocation means allocates a transmission band in a multiple-address network as a resource of the update signal, and

the contents providing means transmits the update signal through the multiple-address network.

17. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the event signal includes information indicating a plurality of methods for providing the contents signal.

18. the contents providing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the contents providing means the contents signal through one of a multiple-address network and a bidirectional network.

19. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the request signal includes one of first information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing means using the multiple-address network and second information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing means using the bidirectional network.

20. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the totaling means carries out different totaling in accordance with whether the request signal includes the first information or the second information.

21. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the first information includes degree of request information indicating the degree of request for the contents signal.

22. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the totaling means allocates the resource on the basis of the number of times the first information is received and the degree of request.

23. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein identification information for identifying each contents signal is appended to the contents signal,

the request signal including the same identification information as the identification information appended to the contents signal requested thereby,

the totaling means carrying out totaling of the request signal for each contents signal on the basis of the identification information.

24. A contents providing method for providing a contents signal to a plurality of contents receiving devices, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving request signals transmitted from the plurality of contents receiving devices;

totaling the received request signals;

allocating a resource for providing the contents signal on the basis of the result of totaling of the request signals; and

providing the contents signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices on the basis of the allocated resource.

25. A contents receiving device for receiving a contents signal provided from a contents providing device for providing the contents signal, the contents receiving device comprising:

request signal generation means for evaluating the necessity of the contents signal and generating a request signal for receiving the contents signal on the basis of the result of evaluation;

request signal transmission means for transmitting the request signal to the contents providing device; and

contents obtaining means for obtaining the contents signal provided by contents providing means of the contents providing device.

26. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 25, further comprising event signal receiving means for receiving an event signal indicating the provision of the contents signal transmitted from the contents providing device,

the request signal generation means evaluating the necessity of the contents signal on the basis of the event signal.

27. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 26, further comprising

storage means for storing the contents signal, and

update means for receiving, as the contents signal, an update signal for updating the same contents signal as an updated contents signal registered in a database in the contents providing device when it is updated, and updating the contents signal stored in the storage means on the basis of the update signal,

the contents obtaining means obtaining the update signal on the basis of the event signal, the contents obtaining means supplying the update signal to the update means.

28. the contents receiving device as claimed in claim 27, further comprising update data receiving means for receiving the update signal generated by the contents providing device, through a multiple-address network.

29. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the obtaining means obtains the contents signal through one of a multiple-address network and a bidirectional network.

30. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 29, wherein the request signal generation means generates a request signal including one of first information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing device through the multiple-address network and second information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing device through the bidirectional network.

31. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 30, wherein the first information includes degree of request information indicating the degree of request for the contents signal.

32. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 25, wherein identification information for identifying each contents signal is appended to the contents signal,

the request signal generation means generating the request signal including the same identification information as the identification information appended to the contents signal requested thereby.

33. A contents receiving method for receiving a contents signal provided from a contents providing device for supplying the contents signal, the method comprising:

a request signal generation step of evaluating the necessity of the contents signal and generating a request signal for receiving the contents signal on the basis of the result of evaluation;

a request signal transmission step of transmitting the request signal to the contents providing device; and

an obtaining step of obtaining the contents signal provided by the contents providing device.