Receiver set, information apparatus and receiving system

• US 7,257,132 B1
• Filed: 02/05/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kudo, Yoshimichi, Akamatsu, Chiyo, Shinagawa, Tetsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US09/245,347
• Time in Patent Office: 3,112 Days
• Field of Search: 370/474, 370/230, 370/270, 370/259, 370/395.64, 370/465, 370/480, 370/485, 370/486, 370/487, 370/493, 725/8, 725/25, 725/80, 725/82, 725/93, 725/97, 725/100, 725/31, 725/74, 725/78, 725 85- 87, 725/91, 725/98, 725/104, 725/131, 725/132, 725/133, 725151-153, 348/14.04, 348/14.12, 348/385.1, 348/423.1, 375/240.01, 375/240.02, 375/240.26, 380210-212, 380240-242
• US Class Current: 370/486
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4108 characterised by an identification number or address, e.g. local network address protecting specific internal or external computer components using identification number G06F21/73; network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4508 Management of client data or end-user data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

For providing a receiving contract service being convenient or friendly to both the broadcast service providers and the viewers, and in particular, for providing a digital broadcast receiver set, an information apparatus and a digital broadcasting receiving system, there is provided a system in which a digital broadcast receiver set 100, an output apparatus 110 and recording apparatuses 120 and 130 are connected with a control bus 10, wherein there are provided a designated program devising portion 203 for extracting a plurality of programs at the same time, a receiving contract managing portion 212 for managing information relating to receiving contacts, and a output destination supervising portion 213 for managing distributing destination of the broadcast programs at the present, thereby distributing the broadcast programs to the output apparatus 110 and/or the recording apparatuses 120 and 130, on a basis of the contents of the receiving contracts.

Claims

1. A receiver apparatus for receiving a program and outputting it to other apparatuses, comprising:

an output circuit for outputting said program to said other apparatus; and

a controller for controlling an output of said output circuit, so as to manage a number of said other apparatuses, through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or simultaneously recorded,

wherein said controller determines the number of said other apparatuses,

wherein said controller determines whether said other apparatuses are regularly certified apparatuses which can receive said program, and

wherein said controller restricts said other apparatuses, to which said output circuit can output said program, to the regularly certified apparatuses, and restricts said other apparatuses which can simultaneously view or simultaneously record the program being output to be less than or equal to at least one of a number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or a number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

2. A receiver apparatus as defined in the claim 1, wherein said control circuit provides no program to the other apparatuses other than that, to which the control circuit is outputting at present, when the number of the other apparatuses to which the control circuit is outputting at present is equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

3. A receiver apparatus as defined in the claim 2, wherein said control circuit gives notice to the other apparatus, to which said program is not being output, that no program is to be output through said output circuit.

4. A receiver apparatus as defined in the claim 1, further comprising:

an input circuit for inputting a command from said other apparatuses,

wherein said input circuit inputs an outputting requirement for said program from said other apparatuses.

5. A receiver apparatus as defined in the claim 1, wherein said control circuit interrupts an output to one set of the other apparatuses, to which the control circuit is outputting at present, when the number of the other apparatuses to which the control circuit is outputting at present is equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

6. A receiver apparatus as defined in the claim 1, wherein said at least one of the number of the other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded, is determined based on a receiving contract between a provider of said program and a user of said receiver apparatus.

7. A receiver apparatus, as defined in the claim 1, wherein said output circuit outputs said program being coded.

8. An information output apparatus for outputting Audio Visual (AV) data received from a source of said data to other apparatuses, comprising:

an output circuit for outputting said data received from the source to said other apparatuses; and

a controller for controlling an output of said output circuit, so as to manage at least one of a number of said other apparatuses through which the data can be simultaneously viewed or a number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded,

wherein said controller determines the number of said other apparatuses, determines whether said other apparatuses are regularly certified apparatuses which can receive said data, restricts said other apparatuses, to which said output circuit outputs said data, to the regularly certified apparatuses, and restricts said other apparatuses which can simultaneously view or record the data being output to be less than or equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

9. An information output apparatus as defined in the claim 8, wherein said control circuit provides no data to the other apparatuses other than that, to which the control circuit is outputting at present, when the number of the other apparatuses to which the control circuit is outputting at present is equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

10. An information output apparatus as defined in the claim 9, wherein said control circuit gives notice to the other apparatuses, to which no data is being output, that no data is to be output, through said output circuit.

11. An information output apparatus as defined in the claim 8, further comprising:

an input circuit for inputting a command from said other apparatuses,

wherein said input circuit inputs an outputting requirement for said data from said other apparatuses.

12. An information output apparatus as defined in the claim 8, wherein said control circuit interrupts an output to one set of the other apparatuses, to which the control circuit is outputting at present, when the number of the other apparatuses to which the control circuit is outputting at present is equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

13. An information output apparatus, as defined in the claim 8, wherein said output circuit outputs said data being coded.

14. An information output method for outputting Audio Visual (AV) data received from a source of said data to other apparatuses, comprising the steps of:

managing at least one of a number of said other apparatuses through which said data received from the source can be simultaneously viewed or a number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded, by determining the number of said other apparatuses, determining whether said other apparatus are regularly certified apparatuses which can receive said data, and restricting said other apparatuses, to which the data is to output, to the regularly certified apparatuses; and

restricting said other apparatuses which can simultaneously view or record the data being output to be less than or equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

15. An information output method as defined in the claim 14, wherein no data is provided to the other apparatuses other than that, to which data is being output at present, when the number of the other apparatuses to which data is being output at present is equal to said at least one of the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously viewed or the number of said other apparatuses through which the program can be simultaneously recorded.

16. An information output method as defined in the claim 15, wherein a notice is given to the other apparatuses, to which no data is being output, that no data is to be output.

17. An information output method, as defined in the claim 14, wherein said output circuit outputs said data being coded.