Contents providing device, contents providing method, receiving device, receiving method, communication system, and communication method

• US 7,657,630 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Information Broadcasting Laboratories Incorporated, Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Information Broadcasting Laboratories Incorporated, Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nishio, Fumihiko, Gonno, Yoshihisa, Haraoka, Kazuo, Yamagishi, Yasuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alam; Uzma
• Application Number:
  US10/938,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20050055447A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,971 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/204, 709/217, 709/229, 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

At a server 2, a subject for updating an object registered in a database 3 and an event for obtaining the subject are generated, while a request for the subject from a receiving terminal 5 is received and totaled so that a resource necessary for providing the subject is allocated on the basis of the result of totaling. Then, the event is transmitted and the subject is provided on the basis of the resource allocated thereto. At the receiving terminal 5, the event is received and the necessity of the subject to be obtained on the basis of the event is evaluated so that request data requesting the subject is transmitted to the server 2 on the basis of the result of evaluation. Then, the subject provided by the server 2 in response to the request data is obtained on the basis of the event.

Claims

1. A contents providing device for providing a contents signal to a plurality of contents receiving devices, the contents providing device comprising:

a receiving unit which receives request signals transmitted from the plurality of contents receiving devices;

a totaling unit which totals the request signals received by the receiving unit;

a resource allocation unit which allocates a resource and adjusts a transmission schedule for providing the contents signal on the basis of the result of totaling by the totaling unit; and

a contents providing unit which provides the contents signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices on the basis of the resource allocated by the resource allocation unit;

an event signal generation unit which generates an event signal indicating the provision of the contents signal; and

an event signal transmission unit which transmits the event signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices,

wherein,

the contents providing device further comprises an update signal generating unit which generates an update signal for updating, in the contents receiving device, the same contents signal as an updated contents signal registered in the database when it is updated,

the event signal generation unit generates a signal indicating the provision of the update signal as the event signal,

the resource allocation unit allocates a resource for providing the update signal as the contents signal,

the contents signal providing unit provides the update signal in the contents signal.

2. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the resource allocation unit allocates a transmission band in a multiple-address network as a resource of the update signal, and

the contents providing unit transmits the update signal through the multiple-address network.

3. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the event signal includes information indicating a plurality of methods for providing the contents signal.

4. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contents providing unit provides the contents signal through one of a multiple-address network and a bidirectional network.

5. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the request signal includes one of a first information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing unit using the multiple-address network and a second information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing unit using the bidirectional network.

6. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the totaling unit carries out different totaling in accordance with whether the request signal includes the first information or the second information.

7. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first information includes a degree of request information indicating the degree of request for the contents signal.

8. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the totaling unit allocates the resource on the basis of the number of times the first information is received and the degree of request.

9. The contents providing device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an identification information appended to the contents signal which identifies each contents signal,

wherein,

the request signal including the same identification information as the identification information is appended to the contents signal requested thereby, and

the totaling unit carries out the totaling of the request signal for each contents signal on the basis of the identification information.

10. A contents receiving device for receiving a contents signal provided from a contents providing device for providing the contents signal, the contents receiving device comprising:

a request signal generation unit which evaluates the necessity of the contents signal and generating a request signal for receiving the contents signal on the basis of the result of evaluation;

a request signal transmission unit which transmits the request signal to the contents providing device; and

a contents obtaining unit which obtains the contents signal provided by contents providing unit of the contents providing device;

an event signal receiving unit which receives an event signal indicating the provision of the contents signal transmitted from the contents providing device;

a storage unit which stores the contents signal; and

an update unit which receives, as the contents signal, an update signal for updating the same contents signal as an updated contents signal registered in a database in the contents providing device when it is updated, and updates the contents signal stored in the storage unit on the basis of the update signal,

wherein,

the request signal generation unit evaluates the necessity of the contents signal on the basis of the event signal,

the contents providing unit receives request signals transmitted from a plurality of contents receiving devices, totals the received request signals, allocates a resource and adjusts a transmission schedule for providing the contents signal on the basis of the result of totaling of the request signals, and provides the contents signal to the plurality of contents receiving devices on the basis of the allocated resource, and

the contents obtaining unit obtains the update signal on the basis of the event signal, the contents obtaining unit supplies the update signal to the update unit.

11. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 10, further comprising an update data receiving unit which receives the update signal generated by the contents providing device, through a multiple-address network.

12. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the obtaining unit obtains the contents signal through one of a multiple-address network and a bidirectional network.

13. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the request signal generation unit generates a request signal including one of a first information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing device through the multiple-address network and a second information requesting the provision of the contents signal by the contents providing device through the bidirectional network.

14. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first information includes degree of request information indicating the degree of request for the contents signal.

15. The contents receiving device as claimed in claim 10, further comprising an identification information appended to the contents signal which identifies each contents signal,

wherein,

the request signal generation unit generates the request signal including the same identification information as the identification information appended to the contents signal requested thereby.