CONTENT REPRODUCTION APPARATUS

• US 20120020641A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: SAKANIWA, Hidenori, Nozoe, Takahiko, Asada, Yukinori, Nakade, Mayumi, Yoshinaga, Tomoaki
• Application Number:
  US13/167,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20120020641A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/230
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

The content reproduction apparatus comprises: an input unit to which a content is input; a reproduction position recording unit to record a reproduction position of a content being reproduced; a display unit to display the content; a sensor to detect a human'"'"'s presence or absence in or from a predetermined area; and a timer to measure a time period of a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area detected by the sensor; wherein, if the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, the reproduction position of the content being reproduced is recorded in the reproduction position recording unit and, according to the time period measured by the timer, the content reproduction apparatus is configured to control whether or not to present a screen image prompting to start reproducing the content from the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit.

Claims

1. A content reproduction apparatus to control content reproduction, comprising:

an input unit to which a content is input;

a reproduction position recording unit to record a reproduction position of a content being reproduced;

a display unit to display the content;

a sensor to detect a human'"'"'s presence or absence in or from a predetermined area; and

a timer to measure a time period of a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area detected by the sensor;

wherein, if the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, the reproduction position of the content being reproduced is recorded in the reproduction position recording unit, and, according to the time period measured by the timer, the content reproduction apparatus controls whether or not to display a screen image prompting to start reproducing the content from the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit.

2. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the time period measured by the timer is shorter than a predetermined threshold, the screen image prompting to start reproducing the content from the position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is not displayed.

3. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the time period measured by the timer is longer than a predetermined threshold, the screen image prompting to start reproducing the content from the position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is displayed.

4. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the time period measured by the timer is longer than a predetermined threshold, the reproduction of the content being reproduced is stopped.

7. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction position of the content recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is a position reproduced a predetermined time before the sensor detected a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area.

8. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a genre decision unit to determine a genre of the content;

wherein, if the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, the reproduction of the content being reproduced is stopped according to the genre of the content being reproduced.

9. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is deleted from the reproduction position recording unit when the content has been reproduced from the reproduction position.

10. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a unit to add, at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit, information on date and time when the reproduction position was recorded;

wherein, according to a time difference between a clock time when the content is about to be reproduced and date and time represented by the information on date and time, a reproduction from the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit and a reproduction from a position a predetermined time before the recorded reproduction position are switched.

11. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user recognition unit to recognize a user;

wherein information about an individual recognized by the user recognition unit is added at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit.

12. A reproduction player according to claim 1, further comprising:

a device identification unit to identify a device in which the content to be reproduced is recorded; and

a unit to add, at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit, information about the device identified by the device identification unit, the device recording the content to be reproduced.

5. A content reproduction apparatus to control content reproduction, comprising:

an input unit to which a content is input;

a reproduction position recording unit to record a reproduction position of a content being reproduced;

a display unit to display the content;

a sensor to detect a human'"'"'s presence or absence in or from a predetermined area; and

a reproduction control unit to control the reproduction of the content;

wherein, if the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, the reproduction position of the content being reproduced is recorded in the reproduction position recording unit and, according to a reproduction state of the content, it is controlled whether or not to display a screen image prompting to start reproducing the content from the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit.

6. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, if the reproduction state of the reproduction control unit is a suspend state and the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, displaying a video on the display unit is stopped.

13. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is a position reproduced a predetermined time before the sensor detected a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area.

14. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a genre decision unit to determine a genre of the content;

wherein, if the sensor detects a human'"'"'s absence from the predetermined area, the reproduction of the content being reproduced is stopped according to the genre of the content being reproduced.

15. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit is deleted from the reproduction position recording unit when the content has been reproduced from the reproduction position.

16. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a unit to add, at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit, information on date and time when the reproduction position was recorded;

wherein, according to a time difference between a clock time when the content is about to be reproduced and date and time represented by the information on date and time, a reproduction from the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit and a reproduction from a position a predetermined time before the recorded reproduction position are switched.

17. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a user recognition unit to recognize a user;

wherein information about an individual recognized by the user recognition unit is added at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit.

18. A content reproduction apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a device identification unit to identify a device in which the content to be reproduced is recorded; and

a unit to add, at the reproduction position recorded in the reproduction position recording unit, information about the device identified by the device identification unit, the device recording the content to be reproduced.