Information reproduction device and method and program

• US 20070055643A1
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Iwatsu, Takeshi, Koike, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,156,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching

Abstract

An information reproduction device includes; a player module 2 for reproducing, in response to a reproduction command in page information received, content data included in the page information; a browser 1 for outputting the page information along with the content data returned to the player module 2; and a database module 3 for previously storing the content data which the player module 2 can reproduce. The information reproduction device transmits request information requesting the page information to a server 5 connected to it via a network 4. To receive the page information and a content data in it, the information reproduction device requests the content data corresponding to the reproduction command from the database module 3 or the server 5.

Claims

1. An information reproduction apparatus comprising:

transmission reception means for transmitting request;

information requesting page information from an external apparatus, and receiving said page information and prescribed content data included in said page information, said external apparatus being connected via a network;

content data acquisition means for acquiring content data corresponding to a content data acquisition-request included in said page information received by said transmission reception means;

storage means for storing said content data acquired by said content data acquisition means;

output means for outputting the content data acquired by said content data acquisition means along with said page information; and

control means for detecting whether or not the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is registered in said storage means, and controlling said content data acquisition means such that when said content data is registered said content data is acquired from said storage means by said content data acquisition means, and when said content data is not registered in said storage means said content data is acquired from said external apparatus via said transmission reception means.

2. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means stores in said storage means the content data corresponding to the content data acquisition request included in said page information.

3. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said-control means stores in said storage means an image data associated with page information of portal site.

4. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means stores in said storage means a sound data associated with page information of portal site.

5. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means stores in said storage means the content data that has been accessed more than a certain number of times.

6. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means removes from said storage means the content data that has been relatively less accessed.

7. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said control means registers in said storage means an indicator showing importance of said content data along with said content data, and prevents said content data from being removed in response to said indicator of said content data regardless of a frequency of playback of said content data.

8. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when said control means receives compressed content data from said external apparatus, said control means registers in said storage means said content data in uncompressed format.

9. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when said control means receives the compressed content data with a certain attribute, said control means registers in said storage means said content data in uncompressed format.

10. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said content data acquisition means further including reproduction means for reproducing the content data acquired; and

said control means converts the content data acquired from said external apparatus into a compression format corresponding to characteristics of said reproduction means, and then registers said content data in said storage means.

11. The information reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the page-information received by said transmission reception means includes said content data acquisition request and Uniform Resource Locator (URL); and

said control means accesses, when the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is not registered in said storage means, said URL to acquire said content data from said external apparatus.

12. An information reproduction method comprising:

a transmission step of transmitting request information requesting page information from an external apparatus, said external apparatus being connected via a network;

a reception step of receiving from said external apparatus the page information requested by a process of said transmission step, said page information including a content data acquisition request;

a detection step of detecting whether or not content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is registered in certain storage apparatus, said content data acquisition request being received by a process of said reception step;

an acquisition step of acquiring the content data such that when a process of said detection step detects that the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request included in said page information is registered in said storage apparatus said content data is acquired from said storage apparatus, and when the process of said detection step detects that said content data is not registered the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is acquired from said external apparatus;

a storage step of, when the process of said detection step detects that said content data is not registered, storing in said storage apparatus the content data acquired by a process of said acquisition step; and

an output step of outputting the content data acquired by the process of said acquisition step along with said page information.

13. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a transmission step of transmitting request information requesting page information from an external apparatus, said external apparatus being connected via a network;

a reception step of receiving from said external apparatus the page information requested by a process of said transmission step, said page information including a content data acquisition request;

a detection step of detecting whether or not content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is registered in certain storage apparatus, said content data acquisition request being received by a process of said reception step;

an acquisition step of acquiring the content data such that when a process of said detection step detects that the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request included in said page information is registered in said storage apparatus said content data is acquired from said storage apparatus, and when the process of said detection step detects that said content data is not registered the content data corresponding to said content data acquisition request is acquired from said external apparatus;

a storage step of, when the process of said detection step detects that said content data is not registered, storing in said storage apparatus the content data acquired by a process of said acquisition step; and

an output step of outputting the content data acquired by the process of said acquisition step along with said page information.