Mobile consumer electronic applications on internet video platform

• US 20100194980A1
• Filed: 02/05/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Balasubramanian, Guru Prashanth, Pandya, Utkarsh, Kota, Kalyana
• Granted Patent: US 8,056,113 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/552
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4302 Content synchronisation processes, e.g. decoder synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game

Abstract

A request to transfer a consumer electronics (CE) application from a consumer electronics device to a TV device is received at the TV device. The CE application is received from the consumer electronics device. Application state information associated with the CE application is received from the consumer electronics device. The CE application and the application state information are stored to a memory. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Claims

1. A method of utilizing a television (TV) device for consumer electronics (CE) applications, comprising:

receiving, at the television (TV) device, a request to transfer a CE application from a consumer electronics device to the TV device;

receiving the CE application from the consumer electronics device;

receiving application state information associated with the CE application from the consumer electronics device;

storing the CE application to a memory; and

storing the application state information to the memory.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the CE application and the application state information from the consumer electronics device via a process selected from a group consisting of cellular wireless communication, Bluetooth wireless communication, universal serial bus (USB), and Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL).

3. The method according to claim 1, where the application state information associated with the CE application further comprises pause state information, and further comprising resuming execution of the CE application on the TV device from a state represented by the pause state information.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising executing the CE application on the TV device and allowing a user of the TV device to interact with the CE application via a TV remote control device.

5. The method according to claim 4, where executing the CE application further comprises resuming execution of the CE application based upon the received application state information.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising receiving a request to pause execution of the CE application and storing a current state of execution of the CE application as modified application state information associated with the CE application in the memory in response to receiving the request.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising receiving a request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device via the TV remote control device.

8. The method according to claim 7, where receiving the request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device further comprises receiving the request based upon a user option presented within a Cross Media Bar (XMB) associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) of a TV user interface application executed on the TV device.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising, in response to receiving the request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device via the TV remote control device:

reading the CE application from the memory;

reading the modified application state information from the memory; and

sending the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device.

10. The method according to claim 9, where sending the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device further comprises sending the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device via a process selected from a group consisting of cellular wireless communication, Bluetooth wireless communication, universal serial bus (USB) communication, and Internet Video Link.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing an option to a user via a graphical user interface (GUI) of the TV device to acknowledge the request to transfer the CE application from the consumer electronics device to the TV device.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

receiving an acknowledgement from the user via an input associated with a TV remote control device to transfer the CE application from the consumer electronics device to the TV device; and

where receiving the CE application and the application state information from the consumer electronics device is performed in response to receiving the acknowledgement from the user.

13. The method of claim 11, where providing the option to the user via the GUI of the TV device further comprises providing the option within a Cross Media Bar (XMB) associated with a user interface application.

14. The method according to claim 1, where the CE application further comprises a CE game application.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising synchronizing resumed execution of the CE game application on each of the consumer electronics device and the TV device based upon the received application state information.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising determining which of a user of the consumer electronics device and a user of the TV device was first to complete execution of the CE game application.

17. A television (TV) device, comprising:

a memory adapted to store consumer electronics (CE) applications; and

a processor programmed to;

receive a request to transfer a CE application from a consumer electronics device to the TV device;

receive the CE application from the consumer electronics device;

receive application state information associated with the CE application from the consumer electronics device;

store the CE application to the memory; and

store the application state information to the memory.

18. The device according to claim 17, further comprising a communication interface module adapted to implement a communication process selected from a group consisting of cellular wireless communication, Bluetooth wireless communication, universal serial bus (USB) communication, and Internet Video Link and where the processor is further programmed to receive the CE application and the application state information from the consumer electronics device via the communication interface module.

19. The device according to claim 17, where the application state information associated with the CE application further comprises pause state information and the processor is further programmed to resume execution of the CE application from a state represented by the pause state information.

20. The device according to claim 17, further comprising an input device adapted to receive user inputs from a TV remote control device and where the processor is further programmed to execute the CE application and to allow the user to interact with the CE application via the user inputs from the TV remote control device.

21. The device according to claim 20, where, in being programmed to execute the CE application, the processor is further programmed to resume execution of the CE application based upon the received application state information.

22. The device according to claim 20, where the processor is further programmed to receive a request to pause execution of the CE application via the TV remote control device and to store a current state of execution of the CE application as modified application state information associated with the CE application in the memory in response to receiving the request.

23. The device according to claim 22, where the processor is further programmed to receive a request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device via the TV remote control device.

24. The device according to claim 23, further comprising a display device adapted to display a Cross Media Bar (XMB) associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) of a TV user interface application, and where the processor, in being programmed to receive the request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device, is further programmed to receive the request based upon a selection of a user option presented within the Cross Media Bar (XMB) by the user.

25. The device according to claim 22, where, in being programmed to receive the request to transfer the CE application to the consumer electronics device via the TV remote control device, the processor is further programmed to:

read the CE application from the memory;

read the modified application state information from the memory; and

send the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device.

26. The device according to claim 25, further comprising a communication interface module adapted to implement a communication process selected from a group consisting of cellular wireless communication, Bluetooth wireless communication, universal serial bus (USB) communication, and Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL), and where the processor, in being programmed to send the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device, is further programmed to send the CE application and the modified application state information to the consumer electronics device via the communication interface module.

27. The device according to claim 17, further comprising a display device adapted to display a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with a TV user interface application and where the processor is further programmed to provide an option to a user via the GUI to acknowledge the request to transfer the CE application from the consumer electronics device to the TV device.

28. The device according to claim 27, where the processor is further programmed to:

receive an acknowledgement from the user via an input associated with a TV remote control device to transfer the CE application from the consumer electronics device to the TV device; and

receive the CE application and the application state information from the consumer electronics device in response to receiving the acknowledgement from the user.

29. The device of claim 27, where the processor is further programmed to provide the option to the user via the GUI and to provide the option within a Cross Media Bar (XMB) associated with the GUI on the display.

30. The device according to claim 17, where the CE application further comprises a CE game application.

31. The device according to claim 30, further comprising a timing module and where the processor is further programmed to synchronize resumed execution of the CE game application on each of the consumer electronics device and the TV device based upon the received application state information via the timing module.

32. The device according to claim 31, where the processor is further programmed to determine which of a user of the consumer electronics device and a user of the TV device was first to complete execution of the CE game application based upon information associated with the timing module.

33. A television (TV) device, comprising:

a memory adapted to store consumer electronics (CE) game applications;

a communication interface module adapted to implement a communication process selected from a group consisting of cellular wireless communication, Bluetooth wireless communication, universal serial bus (USB) communication, and Internet Video Link;

an input device adapted to receive user inputs from a TV remote control device;

a display device adapted to display a Cross Media Bar (XMB) associated with a graphical user interface (GUI) of a TV user interface application; and

a processor programmed to;

receive a request to transfer a CE game application from a consumer electronics device to the TV device via the communication interface;

receive the CE game application from the consumer electronics device via the communication interface;

receive pause state information associated with the CE game application from the consumer electronics device via the communication interface;

store the CE game application to the memory;

store the pause state information to the memory;

display a user option within the XMB associated with the GUI to resume execution of the CE game application;

receive a user input request via the input device from the TV remote control device to resume execution of the CE game application; and

resume execution of the CE game application from a state represented by the pause state information in response to the user input request.