Music piece distributing apparatus, music piece receiving apparatus, music piece distributing method, music piece receiving method, and music piece distributing system

• US 6,271,455 B1
• Filed: 03/26/1999
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shitara, Teruyuki, Ishigaki, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US09/269,459
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 700/500-504, 434/307.A, 846/05
• US Class Current: 84/605
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0058 Transmission between separate instruments or between individual components of a musical system G10H1/0083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/365 the accompaniment information being stored on a host computer and transmitted to a reproducing terminal by means of a network, e.g. public telephone lines
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/111 User Password, i.e. security arrangements to prevent third party unauthorised use, e.g. password, id number, code, pin
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 15/02 Synthesis of acoustic waves synthesis of speech G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/33 via the broadcast channel

Abstract

A music piece distributing apparatus receives a request signal including music piece identification information and compressing system identification information from a receiving apparatus and transmits music piece data in which a music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information has been compressed by a compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information to the receiving apparatus. The request signal is transmitted through a public line. A music piece receiving apparatus receives the music piece data from the music piece distributing apparatus by a digital broadcasting receiving apparatus and decodes the received music piece data by a compression decoding system corresponding to the compressing system designated by the compressing system identification information.

Claims

1. A music piece distributing apparatus for distributing music piece data on the basis of a request from a remote receiver, characterized by comprising:

receiving means for receiving a request signal from said receiver including at least music piece identification information and compressing system identification information; and

transmitting means for transmitting music piece data in which a music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal has been compressed by a compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information included in the request signal.

6. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein receiver identification information to identify the receiver is further included in said request signal, and said music piece data is distributed to the receiver corresponding to said receiver identification information.

7. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

first storing means for storing music piece data which has previously been compressed by a plurality of compressing systems by an amount of only a plurality of music pieces; and

first extracting means for extracting the music piece identification information included in said received request signal and the music piece data corresponding to the compressing system identification information from said first storing means, and

said transmitting means transmits the music piece data extracted by said first extracting means.

8. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

second storing means for storing a plurality of music piece signals;

second extracting means for extracting the music piece signal corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal from said second storing means; and

compressing means for compressing said extracted music piece signal by the compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information included in said received request signal,

and said transmitting means transmits the music piece data compressed by said compressing means.

9. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

third storing means for storing additional information of music pieces by an amount of a plurality of music pieces; and

third extracting means for extracting the additional information of the music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal from said third storing means,

and said transmitting means transmits the extracted additional information together with the music piece data.

10. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

fourth storing means for storing video information corresponding to music pieces by an amount of a plurality of music pieces; and

fourth extracting means for extracting the video information of the music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal from said fourth storing means,

and said transmitting means transmits the extracted video information together with the music piece data.

11. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said video information is a signal compressed by a predetermined compressing system.

12. A music piece distributing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

first storing means for storing music piece data which has previously been compressed by a plurality of compressing systems by an amount of only a plurality of music pieces;

second storing means for storing a plurality of music piece signals;

first detecting means for detecting whether the music piece data corresponding to the music piece identification information and the compressing system identification information included in said received request signal has been stored in said first storing means or not;

fifth extracting means for extracting the requested music piece data from said first storing means in the case where the requested music piece data has been stored in the first storing means as a result of said detection;

sixth extracting means for extracting the requested music piece signal from said second storing means when the requested music piece data is not stored in said first storing means as a result of said detection; and

compressing means for compressing the music piece signal extracted by said sixth extracting means by the compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information included in said received request signal,

and said transmitting means transmits the music piece data which is outputted from said fifth extracting means or said compressing means.

2. A music piece receiving apparatus for requesting music piece data of a music piece selected by the user to a remote music piece distributing apparatus and receiving and outputting the music piece data distributed from the music piece distributing apparatus, characterized by comprising:

forming means for forming a request signal including at least music piece identification information to identify said selected music piece and compressing system identification information to identify a compressing system when the music piece is distributed;

transmitting means for transmitting said formed request signal to said music piece distributing apparatus;

receiving means for receiving the music piece data distributed from said music piece distributing apparatus; and

decoding means for decoding the received music piece data by a compression decoding system corresponding to the compressing system designated by said compressing system identification information.

13. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said forming means further forms a request signal including receiver identification information to identify a receiver, and

said receiving means receives only a transmitted signal in the case where said signal has been transmitted to said receiver itself.

14. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by comprising fifth storing means for storing said received music piece data.

15. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

second detecting means for detecting whether the music piece data of the music piece selected by the user has been stored in said fifth storing means or not; and

seventh extracting means for extracting the selected music piece data from said fifth storing means in the case where the selected music piece data has been stored in said fifth storing means as a result of said detection,

and in the case where the selected music piece data is not stored in said fifth storing means as a result of said detection, said request signal is formed by said forming means.

16. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said receiving means further receives additional information accompanied in the transmitted music piece data.

17. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said receiving means further receives video information corresponding to the transmitted music piece data.

18. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that said fifth storing means stores additional information and video information transmitted together with the music piece data.

19. A music piece receiving apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said apparatus comprises:

decoding means constructed by a plurality of decoders corresponding to different compressing systems; and

selecting means for selecting the decoder corresponding to the compressing system designated by said request signal from said plurality of decoders, and said distributed music piece data is supplied to the selected decoder.

3. A music piece distributing method of distributing music piece data on the basis of a request from a remote receiver, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request signal from said receiver including at least music piece identification information and compressing system identification information; and

transmitting music piece data in which a music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal has been compressed by a compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information included in the request signal.

4. A music piece receiving method of requesting music piece data of a music piece selected by the user to a remote music piece distributing apparatus and receiving and outputting the music piece data distributed from the music piece distributing apparatus, comprising the steps of:

forming a request signal including at least music piece identification information to identify said selected music piece and compressing system identification information to identify a compressing system when the music piece is distributed;

transmitting said formed request signal to said music piece distributing apparatus;

receiving the music piece data distributed from said music piece distributing apparatus; and

decoding the received music piece data by a compression decoding system corresponding to the compressing system designated by said compressing system identification information.

5. A music piece distributing system in which a music piece distributing apparatus distributes music piece data on the basis of a request from a remote receiver, wherein

in said receiver,

a request signal including at least music piece identification information to identify said selected music piece and compressing system identification information to identify a compressing system when the music piece is distributed is formed and

said formed request signal is transmitted to said music piece distributing apparatus, and

in said music piece distributing apparatus,

the transmitted request signal is received from said receiver, and

the music piece data in which the music piece corresponding to the music piece identification information included in said received request signal has been compressed by the compressing system corresponding to the compressing system identification information included in the request signal is transmitted.