Content providing system, content providing apparatus and method, content distribution server, and content receiving terminal

• US 20070005655A1
• Filed: 06/26/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takai, Motoyuki, Sako, Yoichiro, Terauchi, Toshiro, Takehara, Mitsuru
• Granted Patent: US 8,027,965 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching

Abstract

A content providing system comprising a content distribution server and a content receiving terminal connected to each other through a communication channel. The content distribution server includes a content storage unit in which content items are stored in association with at least time information and attribute information concerning the time information, a search unit searching, in response to a content providing request, the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information, and a distributor distributing at least one content item to the content receiving terminal. The content receiving terminal includes a time information input unit receiving the input of time information, a request sender sending a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information to the content distribution server, and a provider providing at least one content item to a user.

Claims

1. A content providing system comprising:

a content distribution server; and

a content receiving terminal connected to the content distribution server through a communication channel,

wherein the content distribution server includes;

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

search means for searching, in response to a content providing request including time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information sent from the content receiving terminal, the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information included in the content providing request; and

distribution means for distributing the at least one content item searched by the search means to the content receiving terminal; and

wherein the content receiving terminal includes;

time information input means for receiving the input of time information;

request sending means for sending, to the content distribution server, a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information; and

providing means for providing at least one content item sent from the content distribution server to a user.

2. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein, in the content storage unit of the content distribution server, at least one set of time information concerning each of the content items and attribute information concerning the time information is stored, and the request sending means includes the attribute information concerning the time information in the content providing request as the accompanying information.

3. The content providing system according to claim 2, wherein the content receiving terminal further includes time attribute information input means for receiving the input of the attribute information concerning the time information, and the request sending means includes the attribute information concerning the time information received by the time attribute information input means in the content providing request as the accompanying information.

4. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein,

content attribute information is stored in the content storage unit of the content distribution server together with the time information, in association with each of the content items;

the content receiving terminal further includes content attribute information input means for receiving the input of the content attribute information; and

the request sending means includes the content attribute information received by the content attribute information input means in the content providing request as the accompanying information.

5. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of content items are provided as a search result by the search means of the content distribution server, the distribution means sequentially sends the plurality of content items to the content receiving terminal.

6. The content providing system according to claim 5,

wherein the distribution means of the content distribution server sequentially sends part of each of the plurality of content items to the content receiving terminal, and also sends, in response to a content determination instruction from the content receiving terminal, the entirety of a content item which is being sent when receiving the content determination instruction to the content receiving terminal;

the providing means of the content receiving terminal sequentially plays back part of each of the plurality of content items sent from the content distribution server;

the content receiving terminal further includes;

determining means for receiving an input operation for a content determination instruction when part of each of the plurality of content items is being played back; and

means for sending the content determination instruction to the content distribution server when the input operation for the content determination instruction is received by the determining means; and

the providing means receives content sent from the content distribution server in response to the content determination instruction and provides the received content to the user.

7. The content providing system according to claim 5, wherein the content receiving terminal further includes

next request input means for receiving an input operation for a next request for a next content item while a content item received from the content distribution server is being provided to the user by the providing means;

and

means for sending the next request to the content distribution server when the input operation for the next request is received by the next request input means; and

wherein the distribution means of the content distribution server discontinues the distribution of the content item which is being sent to the content receiving terminal when receiving the next request from the content receiving terminal, and starts distributing the next content item.

8. The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content distribution server further includes content list sending means for sending list information concerning a plurality of content items searched by the search means to the content receiving terminal, and

the distribution means receives, from the content receiving terminal, specifying information concerning one of the plurality of content items in the list information sent by the content list sending means, and sends the content item specified by the specifying information to the content receiving terminal.

9. A content distribution server connected to a content receiving terminal through a communication channel to form, together with the content receiving terminal, a content providing system, the content distribution server comprising:

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

search means for searching, in response to a content providing request sent from the content receiving terminal including time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information included in the content providing request; and

distribution means for distributing said at least one content item searched by the search means to the content receiving terminal.

10. The content distribution server according to claim 9, wherein, in the content storage unit, at least one set of time information concerning each of the content items and attribute information concerning the time information is stored, and the attribute information concerning the time information is included in the accompanying information.

11. A content receiving terminal connected to a content distribution server through a communication channel to form, together with the content distribution server, a content providing system, a plurality of content items being stored in the content distribution server in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information, the content receiving terminal comprising:

time information input means for receiving the input of time information;

request sending means for sending a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information to the content distribution server; and

means for providing at least one content item sent from the content distribution server to a user.

12. The content receiving terminal according to claim 11, wherein the content distribution server stores at least one set of time information concerning each of the content items and attribute information concerning the time information, wherein

the content receiving terminal further comprises time attribute information input means for receiving the input of the attribute information concerning the time information, and

the request sending means includes the attribute information concerning the time information received by the time attribute information input means in the content providing request as the accompanying information.

13. The content receiving terminal according to claim 11, wherein the content distribution server stores content attribute information, together with the time information, in association with each of the content items, wherein

the content receiving terminal further comprises content attribute information input means for receiving the input of the content attribute information, and

the request sending means includes the content attribute information received by the content attribute information input means in the content providing request as the accompanying information.

14. A content providing apparatus comprising:

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

time information input means for receiving the input of time information;

search means for searching the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information received by the time information input means and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information; and

means for providing at least one content item searched by the search means to a user.

15. The content providing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, in the content storage unit, at least one set of time information concerning each of the content items and attribute information concerning the time information is stored,

the content providing apparatus further comprises time attribute information input means for receiving the input of the attribute information concerning the time information, and

the search means determines a search condition by including the attribute information concerning the time information received by the time attribute information input means in the accompanying information.

16. The content providing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein

content attribute information is stored in the content storage unit, together with the time information, in association with each of the content items,

the content providing apparatus further comprises content attribute information input means for receiving the input of the content attribute information, and

the search means determines a search condition by including the content attribute information received by the content attribute information input means in the accompanying information.

17. A content providing method for a content providing system including a content distribution server and a content receiving terminal connected to the content distribution server through a communication channel, the content providing method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the content receiving terminal, an input of time information;

sending, by the content receiving terminal, a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information to the content distribution server;

providing, by the content receiving terminal, at least one content item sent from the content distribution server to a user;

receiving, by the content distribution server, the content providing request from the content receiving terminal;

searching, by the content distribution server, in response to the content providing request including the time information and the accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information sent from the content receiving terminal, a content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information included in the content providing request, the content storage unit storing a plurality of content items in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information; and

distributing the at least one content item which is searched to the content receiving terminal.

18. A content providing method for reading and providing a content item from a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information, the content providing method comprising the steps of:

receiving an input of time information;

searching the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the received time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information; and

providing said at least one content item which is searched to a user.

19. A content providing system comprising:

a content distribution server; and

a content receiving terminal connected to the content distribution server through a communication channel,

wherein the content distribution server includes;

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

a search unit configured to search, in response to a content providing request including time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information sent from the content receiving terminal, the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information included in the content providing request; and

a distributor configured to distribute said at least one content item searched by the search unit to the content receiving terminal; and

the content receiving terminal includes;

a time information input unit configured to receive the input of time information,

a request sender configured to send a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information to the content distribution server, and

a provider configured to provide at least one content item sent from the content distribution server to a user.

20. A content distribution server connected to a content receiving terminal through a communication channel to form, together with the content receiving terminal, a content providing system, the content distribution server comprising:

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

a search unit configured to search, in response to a content providing request including time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information sent from the content receiving terminal, the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information and the accompanying information included in the content providing request; and

a distributor configured to distribute the at least one content item searched by the search unit to the content receiving terminal.

21. A content receiving terminal connected to a content distribution server through a communication channel to form, together with the content distribution server, a content providing system, a plurality of content items being stored in the content distribution server in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information, the content receiving terminal comprising:

a time information input unit configured to receive the input of time information;

a request sender configured to send a content providing request including the input time information and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information to the content distribution server; and

a provider configured to provide at least one content item sent from the content distribution server to a user.

22. A content providing apparatus comprising:

a content storage unit in which a plurality of content items are stored in association with at least time information concerning each of the plurality of content items and attribute information concerning the time information;

a time information input unit configured to receive a input of time information;

a search unit configured to search the content storage unit for at least one content item according to a search condition based on the time information received by the time information input unit and accompanying information for specifying a range of content items to be searched by using the time information; and

a provider configured to provide said at least one content item searched by the search unit to a user.