INTEGRATED BROADCASTING COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER

• US 20140090000A1
• Filed: 05/18/2012
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nippon Hoso Kyokai
• Original Assignee: Nippon Hoso Kyokai
• Inventors: Takechi, Masaru, Mitsuya, Shigeaki, Matsumura, Kinji, Baba, Akitsugu, Fujisawa, Hiroshi, Kanatsugu, Yasuaki, Hamada, Hiroyuki
• Application Number:
  US14/118,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20140090000A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/110
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/13 Arrangements for device control affected by the broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/43 for identifying broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game

Abstract

Provided is a broadcast communication cooperative reception device which controls the activation of applications associated with sub-channels. A broadcast communication cooperative reception device (400) is provided with: an APL activation information extraction means (402a) for extracting application activation information; an APL activation information storage means (407) for storing application activation information in association with a sub-channel of an event information channel; an activation control means (409a) for activating an application, the activation of said application being instructed by a control code of the application activation information corresponding to the sub-channel; and a termination control means (409b) for causing the application to terminate, the termination of said application being instructed by the control code.

Claims

1. An integrated broadcasting communications receiver having a broadcast receiving unit for receiving broadcast data via a broadcast wave and a communication transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting/receiving communication data via a communication line wherein the integrated broadcasting communications receiver controls activation of an application linked with an allocated channel of broadcast, integrated broadcasting communications receiver comprising:

an application activation information extracting unit for extracting application activation information including an address for specifying location of the application and a control code for controlling activation of the application, from an event information table included in the broadcast data received via the broadcast receiving unit;

an application activation information storing unit for storing the application activation information, associating the application activation information with an allocated channel in the event information table;

an application obtaining unit for obtaining the application as the communication data via the communication transmitting/receiving unit;

an application execution unit for executing the application;

an activation controlling unit for

controlling the application obtaining unit to obtain, from the address, the application on which activation has been instructed by the control code in the application activation information corresponding to an allocated channel that is currently selected, the application activation information being stored in the application activation information storing unit, and controlling the application execution unit to activate the obtained application, and

a termination controlling unit for controlling the application execution unit to terminate the application on which termination has been instructed by the control code.

2. The integrated broadcasting communications receiver according to claim 1,

wherein the application activation information is added to a descriptor area of the event information table, as an application activation information descriptor,

and wherein the application activation information extracting unit extracts the application activation information from the application activation information descriptor added to the descriptor area.

3. The integrated broadcasting communications receiver according to claim 1,

wherein the event information table is a p/f EIT,

and wherein the application activation information extracting unit extracts the application activation information from the p/f EIT of the broadcast data.

5. The integrated broadcasting communications receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

an activated application identification information storing unit for storing identification information for identifying the application activated in linkage with the allocated channel, associating the identification information with the allocated channel,

wherein when the allocated channel has been switched, the termination controlling unit controls the application execution unit to terminate the application in association with the allocated channel before the switching, the application being stored in the activated application identification information storing unit.

6. The integrated broadcasting communications receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

a list displaying unit for displaying a list of an application/applications on which activatability has been instructed by the control code, with reference to the application activation information being stored in the application activation information storing unit and associated with the currently selected allocated channel; and

a list selecting unit for instructing the activation controlling unit to activate an application selected by the list.

7. The integrated broadcasting communications receiver according to claim 1, further comprising:

an activated application identification storing unit for storing a piece of identification information for identifying a parent application that is activated in association with the allocated channel and a piece of identification information for identifying a child application that is activated by the parent application itself, linking the pieces of identification information with each other,

wherein the activation controlling unit writes the identification information of the activated child application into the activated application identification information unit, in linkage with the parent application,

and wherein when the termination controlling unit terminates the parent application activated in association with the allocated channel, the termination controlling unit terminates the child application linked with the parent application.

4. An integrated broadcasting communications receiver having a broadcast receiving unit for receiving broadcast data via a broadcast wave and a communication transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting/receiving communication data via a communication line wherein the integrated broadcasting communications receiver controls activation of an application linked with an allocated channel of broadcast, the integrated broadcasting communications receiver comprising:

an application activation information extracting unit for extracting application activation information including an address for specifying location of the application and a control code for controlling activation of the application, from data of a data carousel specified by a component tag and a module that are included in the broadcast data received via the broadcast receiving unit and are predetermined;

an application activation information storing unit for storing the application activation information, associating the application activation information with an allocated channel in the data carousel;

an application obtaining unit for obtaining the application as the communication data via the communication transmitting/receiving unit;

an application execution unit for executing the application;

an activation controlling unit for

controlling the application obtaining unit to obtain, from the address, the application on which activation has been instructed by the control code in the application activation information corresponding to an allocated channel that is currently selected, the application activation information being stored in the application activation information storing unit, and controlling the application execution unit to activate the application, and

a termination controlling unit for controlling the application execution unit to terminate the application on which termination has been instructed by the control code.