Media-integrating system, terminal device, recording medium and broadcasting method for use in the media-integrating system

• US 6,487,543 B1
• Filed: 12/12/1997
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuwabara, Tadashi, Yagawa, Yuichi, Morioka, Michio, Ozaki, Tomochika, Hirasawa, Shigeki, Yajima, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US08/990,026
• Time in Patent Office: 1,810 Days
• Field of Search: 348/12, 348/13, 348/6, 345/327, 345/328, 455/5.1, 395/200.47, 725/51, 725/109-113, 725/131-136, 709/217, 709/218
• US Class Current: 725/112
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/15 on receiving information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/16 on playing information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/23 using cryptography, e.g. encryption, authentication, key distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/94 Telephonic networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/84
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/98 Physical distribution of media, e.g. postcards, CDs or DVDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Information associated with broadcasting, information associated with a network, and information associated with a package are included in data. A terminal device has means for acquiring data from broadcasting, data from the network, and data from the package. The terminal device further has a means for displaying the data acquired by the above-mentioned means together or a means for displaying information included in the data as a link. This novel constitution allows positive information provision to users by a combination of three types of media, broadcasting, network, and package. At the same time, this novel constitution allows provision of new services by making the most of mass storage provided by package and up-to-date information provided over network.

Claims

1. A terminal device of a media-integrating system comprising:

a display block for displaying information;

an input control block for accepting an input instruction from outside;

a memory block for storing a program;

a broadcast receiving block for receiving broadcast information and to extract a video signal, an audio signal and data, said broadcast information containing first and second link information;

a package control block for reading data from a package and writing data thereto;

a communication control block for performing communication with a communications network;

a central processing unit for executing said program and performing control on each of the blocks; and

an information reading block that, based on said first link information of said broadcast information giving an instruction for reading particular information from said package and said second link information giving an instruction for reading information stored in said device, communications network controls said package control block to read said particular information and controls said communication control block to read information from said communications network; and

that, based on third link information read out from said particular information giving an instruction for reading another information in said information providing device, communications network controls said to read said another information;

wherein said broadcast information, said particular information from said package, and said information from said communications network are displayed simultaneously by said display block.

2. A terminal device of a media-integrating system comprising:

a display block for displaying information;

an input control block for accepting an input instruction from outside;

a memory block for storing a program;

a broadcast receiving block for receiving broadcast information and to extract a video signal, an audio signal and data, said broadcast information containing first and second link information;

a package control block for reading data from a package and writing data thereto;

a communication control block for performing communication with a communications network;

a central processing unit for executing said program and performing control on each of the blocks; and

an information reading block that, based on said first link information of said broadcast information giving an instruction for reading particular information from said package and said second link information giving an instruction for reading information stored in said communications network, controls said package control block to read said particular information and controls said communication control block to read information from said communications network, and that, based on third link information read out from said stored information giving an instruction for reading another information in said package, controls said package control block to read said another information;

wherein said broadcast information, said particular information from said package, and said information from said communications network are displayed simultaneously by said display block.