Control Device, Reproduction System, and Program

• US 20090138921A1
• Filed: 11/20/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Company Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: MIYATA, Katsuya
• Granted Patent: US 8,132,217 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811

Abstract

First, a control device determines a reproduction-display device, from which the control device has been able to obtain neighborhood device information via a short-range wireless communication section, to be located in the neighborhood of the control device, and registers this reproduction-display device to neighborhood determination information. Next, the control device detects the reproduction-display devices connected to a network, to which a content server is connected, using a network communication section and registers these reproduction-display devices to reproduction device registration information. The reproduction-display device, which is registered in both of the reproduction device registration information and the neighborhood determination information, is designated by priority, and reproduces and displays content.

Claims

1. A control device that controls a content retaining device retaining content and a plurality of reproduction devices reproducing and displaying the content supplied from the content retaining device, via a network, the control device comprising:

a predetermined-range determination unit determining the reproduction device located in a predetermined range based on the control device;

a reproduction-device designating unit designating at least one reproduction device from among the reproduction devices which are determined to be located in the predetermined range by the predetermined-range determination unit; and

a reproduction instruction unit instructing the reproduction device designated by the reproduction device designating unit to obtain the content retained by the content retaining device via the network and to reproduce and display the content.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined-range determination unit includes:

a communication unit communicating with the reproduction device via the network;

a reproduction device information acquiring unit acquiring reproduction device information, which is information for identifying each of the reproduction devices, from each of the reproduction devices capable of communication by the communication unit;

a short-range wireless communication unit performing short-range wireless communication, which has a communicable range narrower than that of communication performed by the communication unit, with the reproduction device; and

a neighborhood device information acquiring unit acquiring neighborhood device information from each of the reproduction devices capable of the short-range wireless communication with the short-range wireless communication unit, the neighborhood device information being information for identifying each of these reproduction devices, and wherein,

when registration contents indicated by each set of the reproduction device information acquired by the reproduction device information acquiring unit and registration contents indicated by each set of the neighborhood device information acquired by the neighborhood device information acquiring unit match each other, the predetermined-range determination unit determines the reproduction device, which is a sender of the reproduction device information and the neighborhood device information, to be located in the predetermined range.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined-range determination unit further includes:

a signal level measuring unit measuring a wireless signal level of the short-range wireless communication which is performed with the reproduction device by the short-range wireless communication unit; and

a signal level determination unit determining whether or not the wireless signal level measured by the signal level measuring unit is larger than a predetermined value, wherein,

when the signal level determination unit determines the wireless signal level to be larger than the predetermined value, the predetermined-range determination unit determines the reproduction device, which is in the short-range wireless communication having this wireless signal level, to be located in the predetermined range.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined-range determination unit further includes:

a current location identifying unit identifying a current location of the control device;

a placement information storing unit preliminarily storing placement information associating the plurality of reproduction devices with respective placement regions, which are regions where the reproduction devices are placed, with each other; and

a placement region identifying unit identifying the placement region, including the current location of the control device identified by the current location identifying unit, from among the placement regions registered in the placement information, wherein

the predetermined-range determination unit determines the reproduction device corresponding to the placement region identified by the placement region identifying unit, to be located in the predetermined range, among the reproduction devices registered in the placement information.

5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined-range determination unit includes:

a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication with the reproduction device via a base station;

a belonging destination identifying unit identifying a base station, to which the control device currently belongs while performing the wireless communication via the wireless communication unit;

a base station information storing unit preliminarily storing base station information which associates the plurality of reproduction devices with the base stations, to which the respective reproduction devices belong during the wireless communication, respectively; and

a registered base station identifying unit identifying the base station which matches the base station identified by the belonging destination identifying unit, from among the base stations registered in the base station information, to which the reproduction devices belong, and wherein

the predetermined-range determination unit determines the reproduction device corresponding to the base station identified by the registered base station identifying unit, to be located in the predetermined range, among the reproduction devices registered in the base station information.

6. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction device designating unit includes:

a list displaying unit displaying a reproduction device list which is a list of reproduction devices determined to be located in the predetermined range by the predetermined-range determination unit; and

a manual designating unit designating at least one reproduction device from the reproduction device list displayed by the list displaying unit in response to user'"'"'s operation.

7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the contents retained by the content retaining device includes content attribute information indicating an attribute owned by the content; and

the reproduction device designating unit includes;

an association information storing unit preliminarily storing association information associating a plurality of attributes for classifying the contents with the reproduction devices for reproducing and displaying the contents having these attributes by priority, respectively;

an attribute information acquiring unit acquiring the content attribute information via the network; and

a reproduction device identifying unit identifying the reproduction device corresponding to the attribute indicated by the content attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquiring unit, in the association information, and wherein

the reproduction device designating unit designates the reproduction device identified by the reproduction device identifying unit.

8. A reproduction system comprising a content retaining device retaining content, a plurality of reproduction devices reproducing and displaying the content supplied from the content retaining device, and a control device controlling the content retaining device and the plurality of reproduction devices, connected with one another via a network, wherein

the control device includes:

a predetermined-range determination unit determining the reproduction device located in a predetermined range base on the control device;

a reproduction device designating unit designating at least one reproduction device from among the reproduction devices determined to be located in the predetermined range by the predetermined-range determination unit; and

a reproduction instruction unit instructing the reproduction device designated by the reproduction device designating unit to obtain the content retained by the content retaining device via the network, and to reproduce and display the content.

9. A program for causing a computer to execute:

a predetermined-range determination process of determining a reproduction device located in a predetermined range based on the computer, from among a plurality of reproduction devices reproducing and displaying content supplied from a content retaining device retaining the content;

a reproduction device designating process of designating at least one reproduction device from among the reproduction devices which are determined to be located in the predetermined range by the predetermined-range determination process; and

a reproduction instruction process of instructing the reproduction device designated by the reproduction device designating process to obtain the content retained by the content retaining device via a network and to reproduce and display the content.