COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION METHOD FOR EXCHANGING CONTENTS

• US 20080318525A1
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Tanabe, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0268 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast

Abstract

Opportunity of enjoying video and music is enlarged. A content reproducing device is used in a contents exchange system including a plurality of contents reproducing devices. The content reproducing device includes a short range communication unit, a memory, a control unit, and a speaker. The short range communication unit communicates request information, response information, content data and flag information to/from content reproducing devices. The control unit controls the short range communication unit so that content data is transmitted. The control unit controls the memory such that the content data and the flag information received by the short range communication unit are stored.

Claims

1. A communication terminal forming a contents exchange system, comprising:

a communication device;

an operation unit receiving an input of an instruction to said communication terminal;

a memory; and

a controller for controlling an operation of said communication terminal;

wherein

said communication device communicates, to/from another communication terminal, request information requiring a response, response information representing the response, content data representing content as at least one of image and voice, and determination information defining whether said content data is to be an object of transmission;

said memory stores said content data and said determination information; and

said controller causes another communication terminal included in said contents exchange system to repeatedly transmit said request information to said communication device,

when the response information transmitted from said another communication terminal in response to said request information is received by said communication device, causes said communication terminal that transmitted said response information to transmit said determination information to said communication device,

when said request information is received from said another communication terminal, causes said communication device to transmit said response information and said determination information to said another communication terminal,

when said communication device transmits said determination information and determination information different from that transmitted by said communication device is received by said communication device, determines whether said content data is to be transmitted or not, based on the determination information transmitted by said communication device and the determination information received by said communication device,

causes said communication device to transmit the content data determined to be transmitted, and

when content data different from the transmitted content data is received by said communication device, stores in said memory said received content data and the determination information on said received content data;

said communication terminal further comprising

an output device for outputting said content.

2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said memory stores a plurality of said content data and pieces of determination information corresponding to said plurality of content data respectively;

and

said controller determines whether each of said plurality of content data is to be transmitted.

3. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

after content data stored in said memory is transmitted by said communication device, said controller erases the content data stored in said memory.

4. The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein

said determination information includes necessary/unnecessary information representing whether erasure of content data stored in said memory is necessary or not;

and

when said necessary/unnecessary information indicates erasure of said content data is necessary, said controller erases the content data stored in said memory.

5. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said communication device receives content data and determination information on said content data from a content data transmitting device, and transmits to said another communication terminal said received content data and said determination information on said content data;

and

said controller stores in said memory the content data received from said content data transmitting device and the determination information on the content data received from said content data transmitting device.

6. The communication terminal according to claim 5, wherein

said controller stores, when determination information permitting transmission is received from said content data transmitting device, the determination information received from said content data transmitting device in said memory, and

when said determination information permitting transmission is not received from said content data transmitting device, stores determination information not permitting said transmission as determination information on the content data received from said content data transmitting device, in said memory.

7. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said communication device receives said content data and the determination information on said content data from the content data transmitting device through wireless communication, and transmits received said content data and said determination information to said another communication terminal through wireless communication;

and

said controller stores said content data and said determination information received by said communication device in said memory.

8. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said response information includes terminal identification information predetermined differently for each communication terminal;

said memory further stores information representing number of transmissions corresponding to said terminal identification information; and

said controller causes a communication terminal of which number of transmissions is the largest among communication terminals to which said response information is transmitted, to transmit said determination information to said communication device, based on said information representing the number of transmissions.

9. The communication terminal according to claim 8, wherein

said communication device communicates said request information, said response information, said content data and said determination information through radio wave;

and

said controller causes, when there is one communication terminal of which number of transmissions is the largest, said communication terminal of the largest transmission number to transmit said determination information to said communication device, and

when there are two or more communication terminals of which number of transmissions is the largest, causes the communication terminal that transmitted response information with radio wave of highest intensity among the communication terminals of largest transmission numbers, to transmit said determination information to said communication device.

10. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said communication device communicates said request information, said response information, said content data and said determination information through radio wave;

and

said controller causes the communication terminal that transmitted response information with radio wave of highest intensity among the communication terminals transmitted said response information, to transmit said determination information to said communication device.

11. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said memory further stores communication permission information indicating whether communication is permitted or not;

said communication permission information corresponds to any of said communication terminals; and

said controller causes the communication terminal corresponding to the communication permission information permitting communication, to transmit said determination information to said communication device.

12. The communication terminal according to claim 11, wherein

said operation unit receives an instruction to update said communication permission information;

and

said controller updates the communication permission information stored in said memory, in response to reception of said instruction.

13. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

when said communication device receives content data different from said transmitted content data, said controller causes the content to be output to said output device, based on the content data received by said communication device.

14. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

said determination information includes information indicating name of said content:

said output device includes a display device;

said memory stores said determination information in correspondence with the order of reception of said content data; and

said controller has the names of said contents displayed on said display device in the order of reception of said content data.

15. A method of exchanging contents, comprising the steps of:

repeatedly transmitting request information requiring response;

receiving response information representing said response, transmitted in response to said request information;

transmitting determination information for determining whether content data representing a content that is at least one of image and voice is to be an object of transmission or not, to the transmitter of said response information;

transmitting said response information and said determination information to the transmitter of said request information;

when said determination information is transmitted and determination information different from said transmitted determination information is received, determining whether said content data is to be transmitted, based on said transmitted determination information and said received determination information;

transmitting the content data determined to be transmitted;

when content data different from said transmitted content data is received, storing said received content data and determination information on said received content data; and

outputting content based on the stored content data.