Network system, electronic equipment terminal, server apparatus and method for distributing and reproducing the contents

• US 8,065,382 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2004
• Issued: 11/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yokota, Teppei
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong; Oanh
• Application Number:
  US10/832,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20050021607A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,765 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/231, 709/247, 709/246, 707/999.01
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data

Abstract

A network system by which contents providing services over the Internet may be accepted in each room of a home includes a server apparatus and an electronic equipment terminal interconnected over a LAN. The server apparatus may be connected to the Internet. The electronic equipment terminal transmits a command requesting contents to be acquired over the Internet to the server apparatus via a communication interface and the LAN and receives digital data of the decoded result of the contents transmitted from the server apparatus over the LAN. The electronic equipment terminal performs audio reproduction and/or video display by an audio reproducing unit and/or a video display unit.

Claims

1. A network system comprising:

a server apparatus; and

an electronic equipment terminal interconnected over a network, wherein said electronic equipment terminal includes;

a terminal transmitting unit configured to send a command requesting contents to said server apparatus over said network; and

a reproducing unit configured to reproduce digital data of said contents sent from said server apparatus over said network; and

wherein said server apparatus includes

a server transmitting unit which, on receipt of said command from said electronic equipment terminal, transmits digital data of said contents requested over said network to said electronic equipment terminal,

whereby;

said command specifies contents stored in a database or broadcast contents, said command comprises a server number, an album number and a track number,

when said command specifies broadcast contents, said album number indicates a broadcasting station, and

the contents stored in the database and the broadcast contents being demarcated by album numbers such that a first range of the album numbers indicates the contents stored in the database and a second range of the album numbers indicates the broadcast contents.

2. The network system according to claim 1 wherein said server apparatus further includes

a storage unit for storing digital data of contents;

and wherein

the digital data of the contents are read out from said storage unit in response to said command from said electronic equipment terminal and transmitted to said electronic equipment terminal.

3. The network system according to claim 2 wherein said server apparatus further includes

a decoding unit configured to decode compressed digital data wherein

the compressed digital data stored in said storage unit is decoded by said decoding unit and the decoded digital data are transmitted to said electronic equipment terminal.

4. The network system according to claim 1 wherein said server apparatus further includes

a data receiving unit configured to acquire the digital data of said contents over said network in response to said command from said electronic equipment terminal wherein

the digital data acquired are transmitted to said electronic equipment terminal over said network.

5. The network system according to claim 4 wherein said server apparatus further includes a decoding unit configured to decode the compressed digital data wherein

compressed digital data, acquired over said network, is decoded by said decoding unit, and the decoded digital data is sent to said electronic equipment terminal.

6. The network system according to claim 1 wherein said server apparatus further includes means configured to transmit ancillary information pertinent to said contents to said electronic equipment terminal, and wherein

said electronic equipment terminal receives the ancillary information pertinent to said contents and supplies the received ancillary information to a user.

7. The network system according to claim 1 wherein said electronic equipment terminal further includes a receiving unit configured to receive broadcast electrical waves and to take out broadcast contents therefrom and wherein, when a receiving function of said receiving unit is selected by said electronic equipment terminal, a circuit unit configured to send out a command and to receive data over said network is set to one of a power off state and a standby state.

8. The network system according to claim 1 wherein the command sent from said electronic equipment terminal to said server apparatus is composed of server identifying information for identifying the server apparatus and contents identifying information for identifying the contents.

9. An electronic equipment terminal connected to a server apparatus over a network, comprising:

a terminal transmitting unit configured to transmit a command requesting contents from said server apparatus over said network, wherein the terminal transmitting unit comprises a modem; and

a reproducing unit configured to reproduce digital data of said contents sent from said server apparatus over said network,

whereby;

said command specifies contents stored in a database or broadcast contents, said command comprises a server number, an album number and a track number,

when said command specifies broadcast contents, said album number indicates a broadcasting station, and

the contents stored in the database and the broadcast contents being demarcated by album numbers such that a first range of the album numbers indicates the contents stored in the database and a second range of the album numbers indicates the broadcast contents.

10. The electronic equipment terminal according to claim 9 further comprising a receiving unit for receiving broadcast electrical waves and to take out broadcast contents wherein

when a receiving function of said receiving unit is selected, a circuit unit configured to send out a command and to receive data over said network is set to one of a power off state and a standby state.

11. A server apparatus connected to an electronic equipment terminal over a network, comprising:

a server transmitting unit which, when a command requesting contents from said electronic equipment terminal, transmits digital data of said contents to said electronic equipment terminal over said network, wherein a server transmitting unit comprises a modem;

whereby;

said command specifies contents stored in a database or broadcast contents, said command comprises a server number, an album number and a track number,

when said command specifies broadcast contents, said album number indicates a broadcasting station, and

the contents stored in the database and the broadcast contents being demarcated by album numbers such that a first range of the album numbers indicates the contents stored in the database and a second range of the album numbers indicates the broadcast contents.

12. The server apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising

a storage unit configured to store the digital data of said contents, wherein

the digital data of said contents are read out from said storage unit in response to said command from said electronic equipment terminal and transmitted to said electronic equipment terminal.

13. The server apparatus according to claim 12 further comprising

a decoding unit configured to decode compressed digital data, wherein

the compressed digital data, stored in said storage unit, is decoded in said decoding unit and the decoded digital data is sent to said electronic equipment terminal.

14. The server apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising

a data receiving unit configured to acquire the digital data of said contents over said network in response to said command from said electronic equipment terminal, wherein

the digital data acquired by said data receiving unit is transmitted over said network to said electronic equipment terminal.

15. The server apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising

a decoding unit configured to decode compressed digital data, wherein

the compressed digital data, acquired over said network, is decoded by said decoding unit and the decoded digital data is sent to said electronic equipment terminal.

16. The server apparatus according to claim 11 wherein

ancillary information pertinent to the contents is sent along with the digital data of said contents to said electronic equipment terminal.

17. A method for distributing and reproducing contents comprising:

a step of transmitting a command requesting contents to a server apparatus from an electronic equipment terminal over a network;

a step of decoding compressed data of said contents, on receipt of said command from said electronic equipment terminal, to generate digital data of said contents;

a step of said server apparatus transmitting the digital data of said contents acquired on decoding by said step of decoding to said electronic equipment terminal over said network; and

a step of said electronic equipment terminal on receipt of the digital data of said contents reproducing said digital data of said contents,

whereby;

said command specifies contents stored in a database or broadcast contents, said command comprises a server number, an album number and a track number,

when said command specifies broadcast contents, said album number indicates a broadcasting station, and

the contents stored in the database and the broadcast contents being demarcated by album numbers such that a first range of the album numbers indicates the contents stored in the database and a second range of the album numbers indicates the broadcast contents.

18. The method for distributing and reproducing contents according to claim 17 further comprising

a step of acquiring the compressed data of said contents over said network;

the compressed data of said contents acquired being decoded by said decoding step to generate the digital data of said contents.