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Terminal apparatus and method for achieving interactive operations by displaying a desired piece of image information at high speed using cache memories, out of a large amount of image information sent in a one-way direction

  • US 6,191,782 B1
  • Filed: 08/29/1997
  • Issued: 02/20/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A terminal apparatus for displaying an image by reproducing one out of m pieces of image information and for interactively changing the image using n pieces of navigation information, wherein the image is one of a moving picture, a still picture, and a mixture of a moving picture and a still picture, wherein the m pieces of image information and the n pieces of navigation information together are broadcast by a broadcasting station to the terminal apparatus, wherein each piece of navigation information is related to an origin piece of image information and indicates a plurality pieces of link-target image information, wherein m and n are each an integer either of being equal to and larger than “

  • 1,”

    the terminal apparatus including;

    cache means for storing a pair of one out of the m pieces of image information and one out of the n pieces of navigation information;

    reproducing means for reproducing the one out of the m pieces of image information stored in the cache means;

    monitoring means for monitoring whether an operator has performed a certain operation responding to the image displayed;

    receiving means for, before the monitoring means determines that the operator has performed the certain operation, receiving s pieces of image information which have possibility of being displayed and t pieces of navigation information respectively related to the s pieces of image information based on the one out of the n pieces of navigation information stored in the cache means, and storing the s pieces of image information and the t pieces of navigation information in the cache means, wherein s is an integer satisfying 1≦

    s<

    m, and t is an integer satisfying 1≦

    t<

    n;

    specifying means for specifying one out of the plurality pieces of link-target image information based on the certain operation when the monitoring means monitors that the operator has performed the certain operation;

    identifying means for identifying the one out of the plurality pieces of link-target image information specified by the specifying means as one out the s pieces of image information stored in the cache means; and

    first controlling means for reading the piece of link-target image information identified by the identifying means and instructing the reproducing means to reproduce the piece of link-target image information, and instructing the receiving means to receive other s pieces of image information and other t pieces of navigation information based on one out of the t pieces of navigation information in the cache means corresponding to the piece of link-target image information identified by the identifying means.

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