INFORMATION-PROVISION CONTROL METHOD, INFORMATION REPRODUCTION SYSTEM, INFORMATION-PROVISION APPARATUS, INFORMATION REPRODUCTION APPARATUS AND INFORMATION-PRESENTATION CONTROL PROGRAM

• US 20170019267A1
• Filed: 09/30/2016
• Published: 01/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Togashi, Ryuichiro, Kudo, Shigetaka, Otani, Yasuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,853,830 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• 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 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• 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 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages

Abstract

When the information-provision apparatus is providing an audio signal to the specific information reproduction apparatus, the user enters an operation input to the specific information reproduction apparatus to switch processing to reproduce an audio content from the specific information reproduction apparatus to another information reproduction apparatus. In this case, the specific information reproduction apparatus requests the information-provision apparatus to start an operation of providing the audio content to the other information reproduction apparatus specified in the operation input as an apparatus to newly reproduce the audio content. Then, the specific information reproduction apparatus requests the information-provision apparatus to end an operation of providing the audio content to the specific information reproduction apparatus specified in the operation input as an apparatus to terminate an operation of reproducing the audio content.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for use in a system comprising a plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, the information processing apparatus comprising:

at least one computer processor, programmed to;

acquire an audio content reproduction request comprising audio content identification information indicating audio content data, server identification information indicating a server which is to transmit the audio content data to one of the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses on a network, and transmission destination information indicating a particular audio reproduction apparatus, specified by a user from among the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, that is to receive the audio content data from the server; and

transmit to the server a request for starting transmission of the audio content data, based on the acquired audio content identification information, the server identification information, and the transmission destination information;

wherein;

the audio content reproduction request specifies that the particular audio reproduction apparatus is to receive the audio content data from the server in addition to another audio reproduction apparatus previously specified to receive the audio content data from the server; and

the request to the server specifies that the audio content data is to be reproduced continuously from the another audio reproduction apparatus and the particular audio reproduction apparatus.

2. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer processor is programmed to transmit to the server a request specifying that audio content data is to be reproduced synchronously by the particular audio reproduction apparatus and the another audio reproduction apparatus.

3. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, for use in a system in which the particular audio reproduction apparatus and the another audio reproduction apparatus are physically remote from each other.

4. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the audio content reproduction request specifies that the particular audio reproduction apparatus is to newly receive the audio content data from the server.

5. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the audio content reproduction request comprises server identification information identifying the server from among a plurality of servers.

6. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer processor is programmed to enable the information processing apparatus to function as one of the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses.

7. A method for use in a system comprising an information processing apparatus and a plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, the method comprising acts of:

(A) acquiring, by the information processing apparatus, an audio content reproduction request comprising audio content identification information indicating audio content data, server identification information indicating a server which is to transmit the audio content data to one of the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses on a network, and transmission destination information indicating a particular audio reproduction apparatus, specified by a user from among the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, that is to receive the audio content data from the server; and

(B) transmitting, by the information processing apparatus to the server, a request for starting transmission of the audio content data, based on the acquired audio content identification information, the server identification information, and the transmission destination information;

wherein;

the act (A) comprises the information processing apparatus acquiring an audio content reproduction request specifying that the particular audio reproduction apparatus is to receive the audio content data from the server in addition to another audio reproduction apparatus previously specified to receive the audio content data from the server; and

the act (B) comprises the information processing apparatus transmitting a request specifying that the audio content data is to be reproduced continuously from the another audio reproduction apparatus and the particular audio reproduction apparatus.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the act (B) comprises the information processing apparatus transmitting to the server a request specifying that audio content data is to be reproduced synchronously by the particular audio reproduction apparatus and the another audio reproduction apparatus.

9. The method of claim 7, for use in a system in which the particular audio reproduction apparatus and the another audio reproduction apparatus are physically remote from each other.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the act (A) comprises the information processing apparatus acquiring an audio content reproduction request specifying that the particular audio reproduction apparatus is to newly receive the audio content data from the server.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the act (A) comprises the information processing apparatus acquiring an audio content reproduction request comprising server identification information identifying the server from among a plurality of servers.

12. The method of claim 7, for use in a system in which the information processing apparatus functions as one of the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses.

13. At least one computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one computer processor in a system comprising an information processing apparatus and a plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, cause the at least one computer processor to perform a method comprising acts of:

(A) acquiring an audio content reproduction request comprising audio content identification information indicating audio content data, server identification information indicating a server which is to transmit the audio content data to one of the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses on a network, and transmission destination information indicating a particular audio reproduction apparatus, specified by a user from among the plurality of audio reproduction apparatuses, that is to receive the audio content data from the server; and

(B) transmitting to the server a request for starting transmission of the audio content data, based on the acquired audio content identification information, the server identification information, and the transmission destination information;

wherein;

the act (A) comprises acquiring an audio content reproduction request specifying that the particular audio reproduction apparatus is to receive the audio content data from the server in addition to another audio reproduction apparatus previously specified to receive the audio content data from the server; and

the act (B) comprises transmitting a request specifying that the audio content data is to be reproduced continuously from the another audio reproduction apparatus and the particular audio reproduction apparatus.