INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20080052380A1
• Filed: 07/12/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogata, Shin, Morita, Susumu, Morita, Toshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,890,606 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an information processing apparatus that transmits information to a server, the apparatus including: connection determination means for determining whether a portable terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus; information acquisition means for, when the connection determination means determines that the terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus, acquiring, from the terminal, identification information of the terminal and operation information concerning playing of a content played by the terminal; and transmission means for transmitting, to the server, play history information of the terminal together with the identification information of the terminal, the play history information of the terminal being composed of the operation information acquired by the information acquisition means.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus that transmits information to a server, the apparatus comprising:

connection determination means for determining whether a portable terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus;

information acquisition means for, when said connection determination means determines that the terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus, acquiring, from the terminal, identification information of the terminal and operation information concerning playing of a content played by the terminal; and

transmission means for transmitting, to the server, play history information of the terminal together with the identification information of the terminal, the play history information of the terminal being composed of the operation information acquired by said information acquisition means.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

storage means for storing metadata of a content;

metadata determination means for determining whether metadata of the content played by the terminal is stored in said storage means;

metadata acquisition means for, when said metadata determination means determines that the metadata of the content played by the terminal is stored in said storage means, acquiring the metadata of the content played by the terminal from said storage means; and

play history information generation means for adding the metadata acquired by said metadata acquisition means to the operation information acquired by said information acquisition means to generate the play history information of the terminal.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein when said metadata determination means determines that the metadata of the content played by the terminal is not stored in said storage means,

said information acquisition means further acquires, from the terminal, the metadata of the content played by the terminal, and

said play history information generation means adds the metadata acquired by said information acquisition means to the operation information acquired by said information acquisition means to generate the play history information of the terminal.

4. An information processing method employed by an information processing apparatus that transmits information to a server, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether a portable terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus;

when it is determined that the terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus, acquiring, from the terminal, identification information of the terminal and operation information concerning playing of a content played by the terminal; and

transmitting, to the server, play history information of the terminal together with the identification information of the terminal, the play history information of the terminal being composed of the acquired operation information.

5. A program for causing a computer to execute a process comprising the steps of:

determining whether a portable terminal has been connected;

when it is determined that the terminal has been connected, acquiring, from the terminal, identification information of the terminal and operation information concerning playing of a content played by the terminal; and

transmitting, to the server, play history information of the terminal together with the identification information of the terminal, the play history information of the terminal being composed of the acquired operation information.

6. An information processing apparatus that transmits information to a server, the apparatus comprising:

a connection determination section configured to determine whether a portable terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus;

an information acquisition section configured to, when said connection determination section determines that the terminal has been connected to the information processing apparatus, acquire, from the terminal, identification information of the terminal and operation information concerning playing of a content played by the terminal; and

a transmission section configured to transmit, to the server, play history information of the terminal together with the identification information of the terminal, the play history information of the terminal being composed of the operation information acquired by said information acquisition section.