Communications terminal, server, playback control method and program

• US 7,907,563 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2009
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; David Q
• Application Number:
  US12/359,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20090129320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 455/566, 455/412.1, 455/466, 455/459
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8242 Transaction based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7846 Transaction based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/64 file transfer between terminals download of applications H04M1/72406; transfer of messages, e.g. SMS, e-mail or MMS H04M1/7243
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0087 Image storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3246 of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 : data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 : of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3273 : Display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 : Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/913 : Multimedia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 : Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 : Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The communications terminal comprises: a playback device which playbacks content; a reading device which reads in access information recorded on a prescribed recording medium, the access information being necessary for downloading the content which can be played back by the playback device, via a network; a communications device which downloads via communications the content corresponding to the access information according to the access information read in; a storage device which stores the downloaded content, the storage device storing details of the access information in association with the content, the details of the access information being used in downloading the content; a judging device which judges whether or not the content corresponding to the read access information is present in the storage device, according to information which is stored in the storage device, when the access information is read in by the reading device; and a control device which controls the playback device, the reading device, the communications device, the storage device, and the judging device, wherein: if the judging device judges that the content is present in the storage device, the control device controls for acquiring the content corresponding to the access information read in from the storage device, and for playing back the content; and if the judging device judges that the content is not present in the storage device, the control device controls for downloading the content corresponding to the access information read in, and for playing back the content.

Claims

1. A communications terminal, comprising:

a playback device which playbacks content;

a reading device which reads in access information recorded on a prescribed recording medium, the access information being necessary for acquiring the content which can be played back by the playback device from a prescribed server via a network;

a content requesting device which requests the content corresponding to the read access information, from the server;

a receiving device which receives metadata together with the content from the server, the metadata containing playback control information for the requested content;

a storage device which stores the received content and the metadata in a mutually associated condition; and

a playback control device which controls the playback device, the reading device, the content requesting device, the receiving device, and the storage device, wherein;

the playback control device controls for receiving the content and the metadata from the server, and for playing back the content according to the metadata, if the content corresponding to the read access information is not stored in the storage device when the reading device reads in the access information; and

the playback control device controls for playing back the content stored in the storage device according to the metadata stored in the storage device in association with the content, if the content corresponding to the read access information is stored in the storage device.

2. The communications terminal as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the playback control information contains at least one of a frequency of permitted playback and a validity term of playback relating to the content.

3. A playback control method, comprising the steps of:

reading in, by a communications terminal, access information recorded on a prescribed recording medium;

judging whether or not content corresponding to the access information is stored in a prescribed storage device;

acquiring the content and metadata via a network from a prescribed server, if the content corresponding to the read access information is not stored in the storage device when the access information is read in, the metadata containing playback control information for the content;

storing the content and the metadata acquired in the acquiring step in a mutually associated condition in the storage device; and

playing back the content which is stored in the storage device, according to the metadata stored in the storage device in association with the content.

4. A computer readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program for processing by a computer, the computer program comprising:

a first code segment for reading in access information recorded on a prescribed recording medium;

a second code segment for judging whether or not content corresponding to the access information is stored in a prescribed storage device;

a third code segment for acquiring the content and metadata via a network from a prescribed server, if the content corresponding to the read access information is not stored in the storage device when the access information is read in, the metadata containing playback control information for the content;

a fourth code segment for storing the content and the metadata acquired in the acquiring step in a mutually associated condition in the storage device; and

a fifth code segment for playing back the content which is stored in the storage device, according to the metadata stored in the storage device in association with the content.