Information processing apparatus and method, and recording medium therefor

• US 7,295,986 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2001
• Issued: 11/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayakawa, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss; John G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CASLER, TRACI
• Application Number:
  US09/756,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20010023422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,500 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 707/5, 235/375, 717/120, 710/15, 710/300, 710/301, 710/302
• US Class Current: 705/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/00 Diagnosis, testing or measuring for television systems or their details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

By installing a device control module (DCM), a functional component module (FCM), and a guarantee card FCM of a digital video cassette recorder (DVCR) into an integrated receiver decoder (IRD), the IRD is able to control the DVCR. The guarantee card FCM is used for accessing an electronic guarantee card stored in a non-volatile memory of the DVCR. The IRD stores purchase information or repair information of the DVCR into the non-volatile memory of the DVCR via an IEEE-1394 serial bus in response to an instruction from a requester. The IRD also reads the purchase information or the repair information from the non-volatile memory of the DVCR via the IEEE-1394 serial bus.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an electronic apparatus, comprising:

communication management means for managing a communication on a home network system, wherein said communication management means provides a transmission mechanism for sending and receiving information signals between apparatuses connected to said home network system, monitor an operation status of said home network system and provide a corresponding information to other means;

software module acquiring means for acquiring, directly from said electronic apparatus, a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said electronic apparatus, wherein said software module acquiring means automatically acquires said software module when said communication management means detect that said electronic apparatus is connected to said home network system;

software module installing means for identifying the software module acquired by said software module acquiring means, for installing said software module on said information processing apparatus and for uninstalling said software module on said information processing apparatus, wherein said software module installing means uninstalls said software module when said communication management means detect that said electronic apparatus is pulled out of said home network system; and

product-history updating means for updating the product history information stored in said electronic apparatus by sending messages for reading/writing the product history information to said electronic apparatus via said home network system and receiving responses to said messages from said electronic apparatus, with the use of said software module installed by said software installing means.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said home network system comprises an IEEE-1394 serial bus.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising product-history storage means, wherein the product history information is read from said electronic apparatus based on the software module, and is stored in said product-history storage means.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

apparatus-identification-number reading means for reading an apparatus identification number of said electronic apparatus from said electronic apparatus; and

central storage means for centrally storing the product history information stored in said product-history storage means together with the apparatus identification number of said electronic apparatus into an external electronic apparatus.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising product-history reading means for reading the product history information of said electronic apparatus from the product history information stored in said external electronic apparatus by said central storage means based on the apparatus identification number of said electronic apparatus.

6. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the product history information is read from said electronic apparatus based on the software module, and said product history updating means comprises product-history display means for displaying the product history information.

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said product history updating means comprises product-history input means for inputting new product history information concerning said electronic apparatus from an external source based on the product history information displayed by said product-history display means.

8. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising purchase-information determining means for determining whether the purchase information has already been written into said electronic apparatus,

wherein said product-history updating means does not write new purchase information into said electronic apparatus when said purchase-information determining means determines that the purchase information has already been written.

9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said product-history updating means does not overwrite the repair information concerning said electronic apparatus.

10. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the purchase information comprises at least one of the date on which said electronic apparatus was purchased, the name, the address, and the telephone number of a store at which said electronic apparatus was purchased, and a digital signature of the store.

11. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the repair information comprises at least one of the date on which said electronic apparatus was repaired, the item and the type of repair, a contact number, the name of a repair company, and information concerning a repair person.

22. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, including stream management means for managing stream data and network resources, and for providing a network status.

23. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, including resource management means for managing device use rights.

12. An information processing method for use in an information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an electronic apparatus, said information processing method comprising:

a communication management step for managing a communication on a home network system, wherein said communication management step provides a transmission mechanism for sending and receiving information signals between apparatuses connected to said home network system, monitors an operation status of said home network system and provides a corresponding information to other steps;

a software acquiring step of acquiring, directly from said electronic apparatus, a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said electronic apparatus, wherein said software module acquiring step automatically acquires said software module when said communication management step detects that said electronic apparatus is connected to said home network system;

a software installing step of identifying the software module acquired by said software acquiring step, for installing said software module on said information processing apparatus, and for uninstalling said software module on said information processing apparatus, wherein said software module installing step uninstalls said software module when said communication management step detect that said electronic apparatus is pulled out of said home network system; and

a product-history updating step of updating the product history information stored in said electronic apparatus by sending messages for reading/writing the product history information to said electronic apparatus via said home network system and receiving responses to said messages from said electronic apparatus, with the use of said software module installed in said software installing step.

13. A recording medium for storing a computer-readable program which controls an information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an electronic apparatus, said computer-readable program comprising:

a communication management step for managing a communication on a home network system, wherein said communication management step provides a transmission mechanism for sending and receiving information signals between apparatuses connected to said home network system, monitors an operation status of said home network system and provides a corresponding information to other steps;

a software acquiring step of acquiring, directly from said electronic apparatus, a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said electronic apparatus, wherein said software module acquiring step automatically acquires said software module when said communication management step detects that said electronic apparatus is connected to said home network system;

a software installing step of identifying the software module acquired by said software acquiring step, for installing said software module on said information processing apparatus, and for uninstalling said software module on said information processing apparatus, wherein said software module installing step uninstalls said software module when said communication management step detects that said electronic apparatus is pulled out of said home network system; and

a product-history updating step of updating the product history information stored in said electronic apparatus by sending messages for reading/writing the product history information to said electronic apparatus via said home network system and receiving responses to said messages from said electronic apparatus, with the use of said software module installed by said software installing step.

14. An information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an external information processing apparatus in a home network system, said information processing apparatus comprising:

software module storage means for storing a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said information processing apparatus;

product-history storage means for storing the product history information to be updated without requiring a user input, by an instruction from said external information processing apparatus; and

software module sending means for sending automatically from said information processing apparatus the software module stored in said software module storage means to said external information processing apparatus in response to a request from said external information processing apparatus.

15. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said home network system comprises an IEEE-1394 serial bus.

16. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising apparatus-identification-number storage means for storing an apparatus identification number of said information processing apparatus,

wherein, in response to an instruction from said external information processing apparatus, the apparatus identification number is read from said apparatus-identification-number storage means, and the product history information is read from said product-history storage means.

17. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising product-history display means for displaying the product history information stored in said product-history storage means.

18. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the purchase information comprises at least one of the date on which said information processing apparatus was purchased, the name, the address, and the telephone number of a store at which said information processing apparatus was, purchased, and a digital signature of the store.

19. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the repair information comprises at least one of the date on which said information processing apparatus was repaired, the item and the type of repair, a contact number, the name of a repair company, and information concerning a repair person.

24. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, including stream management means for managing stream data and network resources, and for providing a network status.

25. An information processing apparatus according to claim 14, including resource management means for managing device use rights.

20. An information processing method for use in an information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an external information processing apparatus, said information processing method comprising:

a software module storage step of storing a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said information processing apparatus, wherein the software module is stored when the information processing apparatus is connected to a home network system and the software module is uninstalled when the information processing apparatus in disconnected from the home network system;

product-history storage step of storing the product history information to be updated by an instruction from said external information processing apparatus; and

a software module sending step of automatically sending from said information processing apparatus the software module stored in said software module storage step to said external information processing apparatus in response to a request from said external information processing apparatus.

21. A recording medium for storing a computer-readable program which controls an information processing apparatus for sending and receiving an information signal to and from an external information processing apparatus, said computer-readable program comprising:

a software module storage step of storing a software module used for writing and reading product history information which includes at least one of purchase information and repair information concerning said information processing apparatus, wherein the software module is stored when the information processing apparatus is connected to a home network system and the software module is uninstalled when the information processing apparatus is disconnected from the home network system;

product-history storage step of storing the product history information to be updated by an instruction from said external information processing apparatus; and

a software module sending step of automatically sending from said information processing apparatus the software module stored in said software module storage step to said external information processing apparatus in response to a request from said external information processing apparatus.