Apparatus and method for collaborating between a video device and a telephonic device

• US 7,965,826 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2006
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ota, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo; Stella L
• Application Number:
  US11/608,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20080141302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,656 Days
• Field of Search: 379/102.03, 455/415, 455/420
• US Class Current: 379/102.03
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An apparatus and method for collaborating over a short-range communication path between a video output device, such as a television, and a telephonic device which is also configured for simultaneous communication over a long-range communication path. Call progress of the telephonic device is annunciated by the video output device whose functions can be controlled through the telephonic device. Embodiments of the invention describe utilizing the telephonic device in a hands-free mode as well as tracking the relative position of the user based on the position of the telephone. The short-range communications can comprise a Bluetooth™ communications protocol, or similar short-range communications mechanism, which preferably provides a mechanism for identifying the telephonic device as well as its range and/or position.

Claims

1. An apparatus for collaborating between a video device, a video content source, and a telephonic device, comprising:

means for outputting video content received from a source of video content;

means for recognizing the presence of a telephonic device of a selected user;

means for communicating over a first, short-range wireless, communication path with the telephonic device of the selected user;

wherein the telephonic device of said user is configured to support simultaneous communication over said first communication path as well as over a second, long-range, communication path; and

means for controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress of a call received by the telephonic device over the second communication path in response to short-range communications received from said telephonic device over said first communication path and for pausing of non-real-time content playback and/or the storage of real-time content within a storage media for later playback in response to the call progress of a call on the long-distance communications received by the telephonic device.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said apparatus comprises a television set configured for communication over the short-range wireless link of said first communication path with a telephonic device.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for outputting video content is selected from the group of video devices consisting of analog TV sets, digital TV sets, set top boxes, video players, fixed media players, digital video recorders (DVRs), removable media players, digital video disc (DVD) players, personal computers, video gaming systems and combinations thereof.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1:

wherein said source of video content receives internal or external video content sources;

wherein said internal content sources comprises devices which can store content in fixed media, removable media or a combination of fixed and removable media;

wherein said external content sources comprise devices which receive and/or convert content from external devices, broadcast content sources or a combination of external devices and broadcast content sources; and

wherein said broadcast content can be delivered over radio frequency, Internet, cable, satellite, local network, and combinations thereof.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the second communication path comprises a long-range wireless communication link.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said short-range wireless communication operates under FCC class 1, class 2, or class 3 with respect to communication range.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said short-range wireless link comprises communications performed according to a Bluetooth protocol standard.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the telephonic device can be selected from the group of electronic devices configured for performing telephonic communication consisting of:

telephones, wireless telephone handsets, wireless telephones, satellite telephone systems, pagers, personal electronic devices, portable personal computer devices, and combinations thereof.

9. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress is configured for audio and/or visual annunciating of incoming calls received by the telephonic device.

10. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for controlling the display of video content is configured for receiving user control commands from the telephonic device to control the mode of operation and output of the video output device.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress is configured for muting audio of said video output device in response to detecting a call through the long-distance communication path as received by the telephonic device.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress is configured for interfacing between the video device and a separate telephonic device of a selected user to allow the user to perform telephonic operations through the video device in a hands-free mode.

13. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress is configured for communicating video and/or audio accessible from said video output device to the telephonic device through said short-range communication link.

14. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for recognizing the presence of a telephonic device of a user recognizes the telephonic device of the user in response to a positive comparison between an identifier received through the short-range communications path from the telephonic device with an identifier for the telephonic device as stored within said apparatus.

15. An apparatus for collaborating between a video device, a video content source, and a telephonic device, comprising:

a video output device configured for outputting video content received from a source of video content to a video display;

a first communication interface on said video output device;

said first communication interface is configured to create a short-range wireless communication path to a telephonic device configured for supporting simultaneous communication over said first, short-range wireless, communication path as well as over a second, long-range, communication path;

a computer processor and memory within said video output device; and

programming executable from said memory on said computer processor for,

recognizing the presence of the telephonic device of at least one specified user,

communicating over a first communication path, including a short-range wireless link, with the telephonic device of the specified user,

controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress of a call received by the telephonic device from the long-range communication path and communicated to the video output device over said short-range communications path, and for pausing of non-real-time content playback and/or the storage of real-time content within a storage media for later playback in response to the call progress of a call on the long-distance communications received by the telephonic device.

16. An apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein said video output device comprises a television set incorporating a video display.

17. An apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein said first communication interface operates according to a Bluetooth communication protocol.

18. A method of collaborating between a video device, a video content source, and a telephonic device, comprising:

outputting video content received from a source of video content;

recognizing the presence of a telephonic device of at least one selected user in response to communicating over a short-range first communication path with the telephonic device of the selected user;

wherein the telephonic device of the user is configured to support simultaneous communication over said first communication path as well as over a long-range, second communication path; and

controlling the display of video content and annunciating progress of a call to, or from, the telephonic device over the long-range communication path and communicated through the telephone device to the video device over the short-range communications path, and for pausing of non-real-time content playback and/or the storage of real-time content within a storage media for later playback in response to the call progress of a call on the long-distance communications received by the telephonic device.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising interfacing between the video device and a separate telephonic device of a selected user to allow the user to perform telephonic operations through the video device in a hands-free mode.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising tracking of the position of the selected user in response to short-range communications between the video device and the telephonic device of the user.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, further comprising transferring of viewing characteristics, from said video device at a first location to another video device at a second location, in response to a determination based on said tracking that the user has left the first location and entered the second location.