Data-providing system, transmission server, data terminal, apparatus, authoring apparatus and data-providing method

• US 6,944,879 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2000
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hirayama, Tomoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/730,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20010003832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: 725/101, 725/104
• US Class Current: 725/101
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/124 Details of the optical system between the light source and the polygonal mirror G02B26/123, G02B26/127 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/04 Studio equipment; Interconnection of studios
• 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 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A data-providing system comprising a first data-transmitting section (control unit 1), a control section (control unit 3), and a second data-transmitting section (control unit 3). The first data-transmitting section transmits a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items. The control section processes data items obtained by dividing each program data, attribute data of the auxiliary data items and user profile data, thereby to automatically assemble new data. The second data-transmitting section changes the order in which to transmit the auxiliary data items inserted in a program, in accordance with the new data assembled by the control section.

Claims

1. A data-providing system comprising:

a transmission server section for performing streaming transmission of on-demand programs; and

a terminal section for performing streaming reception of the on-demand programs transmitted from the transmission server section,

wherein the terminal section has a function of selecting a set of auxiliary data items to be inserted into a program, from sets of auxiliary data items, and a function of transmitting a signal representing the selected set of auxiliary data items, along with a terminal code of the terminal section; and

the transmission server section has a function of receiving the signal transmitted from the terminal section and representing the selected set off auxiliary data items, assembling the auxiliary data items in real time, and transmitting the same in accordance with a transmission list of auxiliary data items that correspond to the set of auxciliary data items inserted in a series of programs to be transmitted to the terminal section.

2. The data-providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a charge-settling section having a function of periodically tabulating charge-settling data stored in a data base for each user and controlled in the terminal section and transmitting a statement to the user, thereby to achieve charge-settling, and a function of periodically tabulating equivalents calculated to be paid among suppliers and transmitting a statement to each player, thereby to accomplish charge-settling.

3. The data-providing system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal section has a function of requesting the transmission server section for the advantages and disadvantages of a set of auxiliary data items that can be selected, after selecting a program that may be supplied to a user, and informing the user of the advantages and disadvantages of the set of auxiliary data items that can be selected;

and the transmission server section has a function of determimng, in response to a request made by the terminal section, advantages and disadvantages from the user price of a program and the advantages and disadvantages of the auxiliary data items inserted in the program and transmitting the advantages and disadvantages thus determined, said advantages and disadvantages determined being those the user may have when the program is transmitted together with the auxiliary data items selected.

4. The data-providing system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission server section has a function of transmitting the charge-settling data finally obtained about the program selected by a customer who uses the terminal section, to the charge-settling section and the terminal section;

and the charge-settling section applies the charge-settling data transmitted from the transmission server section, to the charge-settling data base provided for the terminal section, thereby to manage the charge-settling data.

5. The data-providing system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission server section has a function of applying data representing payment made among suppliers to the data base provided for each player, thereby to manage

the payment, when a program is transmitted, together with selected auxiliary data items, in accordance with the supplier-side equivalent conditions of the program and the supplier-side equivalent conditions of auxiliary data items inserted in the program.

6. A data-providing system comprising:

an authoring section having a function of registering, storing and transmitting program prices for user, a function of registering, storing and transmitting supplier-side equivalent conditions, a function of designating positions at which to insert auxiliary data items into a program, a function of designating auxiliary data items to be inserted into a program from auxiliary data libraries, and a function of determining an order in which to transmit the auxiliary data items prepared for a program and holding the qrder determined, in the form of an auxiliary data transmission list;

a transmission server section for transmitting a continuous stream of content

data that consists of multimedia content groups, each being an asspmbly prepared and composed of program data and auxiliary data items; and

a terminal section for performing streaming reception of the on-demand programs transmitted from the transmission server section,

wherein the terminal section has a function of selecting a set of auxciliary data items to be inserted into a program, from sets of auxiliary data items, and a functiqn of transmitting a signal representing the selected set of auxiliary data items, along with a terminal code of the terminal section; and

the transmission server section has a function of receiving the signal transmitted from the terminal section and representing the selected set of auxiliary data items, assembling the auxiliary data items in real time, and transmitting the same in accordance with a transmission list of auxiliary data items that correspond to the set of auxiliary data items inserted in a series of programs to be transmitted to the terminal section.

7. The data-providing system according to claim 6, wherein the authoring section designates groups of auxiliary data items to be inserted into a program, from the plurality of auxiliary data libraries.

8. The data-providing system according to claim 6, wherein the authoring section determines an order in which to transmit the auxiliary data items prepared for a program and holding the order determined, in the form of an auxiliary data transmission list.

9. The data-providing system according to claim 6, wherein the authoring section further has a function of registering, storing and transmitting advantages and disadvantages a user has when a series of auxiliary data items designated in at least one auxiliary data transmission list are transmitted.

10. The data-providing system according to claim 6, wherein the authoring section further has a function of registering, storing and transmitting the equivalents to be paid among suppliers when the auxiliary data items in the auxiliary data transmission list are transmitted and the auxiliary data equivalent conditions that are an order to moving data.

11. A data-providing method comprising the steps of:

selecting a set of auxiliary data items to be inserted into a program, from sets of auxiliary data items, at a terminal that receives a stream of on-demand programs from a transmission server;

transmitting from the terminal a signal representing the selected set of auxiliary data items, along with a terminal code of the terminal section;

receiving, at the transmission server, the signal transmitted from the terminal and representing the selected set of auxiliary data items;

assembling, in the transmission server, the auxiliary data items in real time in accordance with a transmission list of auxiliary data items that correspond to the set of auxiliary data items inserted in a series of programs to be transmitted to the terminal; and

transmitting the auxiliary data items from the transmission server to said terminal.