Service providing apparatus and method, and information processing apparatus and method as well as program storage medium

• US 8,145,776 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Noma, Tsunetake
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, PHILIP C
• Application Number:
  US09/684,063
• Time in Patent Office: 4,190 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/228, 709/203, 709/223, 709/200, 709/204, 709/206, 709/231, 709/217, 707/9, 713/200, 713/163
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests

Abstract

The invention provides a service providing apparatus and method and an information processing apparatus and method as well as a program storage medium by which a plurality of users can communicate with each other simultaneously. A plurality of client computers are connected to a shared server over a network and log in a common chat room of a chat system. If a user of one of those of the client computers which are in a group requests for reproduction of a predetermined tune, then the instruction is transmitted to the shared server over the network. The shared server receives the instruction transmitted thereto and reads out music data of the request stored in a music database therein, and transmits the music data to the client computers of the group.

Claims

1. A service providing apparatus for providing a service to a plurality of information processing apparatuses via a network, said service providing apparatus comprising:

storing means for storing a plurality of chat rooms, a list of available tunes and tune data corresponding to each of the available tunes, the tune data including a title, an artist name and an updating date;

receiving means;

for receiving participation requests transmitted from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to include a corresponding one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses in one of said plurality of chat rooms,

for receiving tune requests transmitted from one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms, the tune request including a selection from the list of available tunes, and

for receiving text messages transmitted from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

acquiring means for acquiring the tune requested by the tune requests from the one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses;

transmitting means for transmitting to all of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

the list of available tunes stored in said storing means;

the tune acquired by said acquiring means, wherein the tune acquired by the acquiring means is transmitted to all of the plurality of information processing apparatuses without receiving a request for the tune from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses;

a list of all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

said text messages received by said receiving means; and

instructions to each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms commanding said one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to simultaneously display in one window on a display configured to display a plurality of windows, the list of available tunes, a name of the tune being shared by all of the information processing apparatuses currently receiving transmissions from the transmitting means, and identification information corresponding to all of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms.

5. The service providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instructions to each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses command said one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to display the list of available tunes in a first display area of the one window, display the name of the tune being shared by all of the information processing apparatuses currently receiving transmissions from the transmitting means in a second display area of the one window, and display the identification information corresponding to all of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms in a third area of the one window.

2. A service providing method for providing a service to a plurality of information processing apparatuses via a network, said service providing method comprising:

a storage step of storing a plurality of chat rooms, a list of available tunes and tune data corresponding to each of the available tunes, the tune data including a title, an artist name and an updating date;

a first reception step of receiving in the service providing apparatus a participation request to include one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses in one of said plurality of chat rooms;

a second reception step of receiving in the service providing apparatus a tune request transmitted from one of the information processing apparatuses belonging to said one of the of the plurality of chat rooms, the tune request including a selection from the list of available tunes;

a third reception step of receiving text messages transmitted from any of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

an acquisition step of acquiring in the service providing apparatus the tune requested by the tune request from the one of the information processing apparatuses;

a first communication step of transmitting from the service providing apparatus to all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms the list of available tunes;

a second communication step of transmitting from the service providing apparatus the tune acquired by the acquisition step to all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms without receiving a request for the tune from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses; and

a transmission step of transmitting to each of the information processing apparatuses in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

a list of all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms,

the text messages, and

instructions to each of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the service providing apparatus and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms commanding said one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to simultaneously display in one window on a display configured to display a plurality of windows, the list of available tunes, a name of the tune being shared by all of the information processing apparatuses currently receiving transmissions from the service providing apparatus, and identification information corresponding to all of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which a computer-readable program for providing a service to a plurality of information processing apparatuses accessing a shared server on a network is stored, said computer-readable program comprising:

a storage step of storing in the shared server a plurality of chat rooms, a list of available tunes and tune data corresponding to each of the available tunes, the tune data including a title, an artist name and an updating date;

a first reception step of receiving in the shared server a participation request transmitted from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses to include said one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses in one of said plurality of chat rooms;

a second reception step of receiving a tune request transmitted from one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms, the tune request including a selection from the list of available tunes;

a third reception step of receiving text messages transmitted from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

an acquisition step of acquiring the tune requested by the tune request received from the one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses;

a first communication step of transmitting from the shared server to all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms the list of available tunes;

a second communication step of transmitting the tune acquired by the acquisition step to all of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms without receiving a request for the tune from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses; and

a transmission step of transmitting to each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

a list of all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms,

the text messages, and

instructions commanding each of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms to simultaneously display in one window on a display configured to display a plurality of windows, the list of available tunes, a name of the tune being shared by all of the information processing apparatuses currently receiving transmission from the shared server, and identification information corresponding to all of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms.

4. A service providing apparatus for providing a service to a plurality of information processing apparatuses, the service providing apparatus functioning as a shared server on a network, said service providing apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store a plurality of chat rooms, a list of available tunes and tune data corresponding to each of the available tunes, the tune data including a title, an artist name and an updating date;

a network interface;

configured to receive participation requests to include a corresponding one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses in one of the plurality of chat rooms, the participation requests transmitted from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses,

configured to receive tune requests transmitted from one of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms, the tune requests including a selection from the list of available tunes; and

configured to receive text messages transmitted from any of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

the network interface configured to acquire the tune requested by the tune requests received from the one of the information processing apparatuses;

the network interface configured to transmit the acquired tune to all of the plurality of information processing apparatuses without receiving a request for the tune from any of the plurality of information processing apparatuses, and the text messages to all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms; and

the network interface configured to transmit to each of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

the list of available tunes;

a list of all of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms;

the received text messages; and

instructions commanding each of the information processing apparatuses currently accessing the shared server and participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms to simultaneously display in one window on a display configured to display a plurality of windows, the list of available tunes, a name of the tune being shared by all of the information processing apparatuses currently receiving transmission from the shared server, and identification information corresponding to all of the information processing apparatuses currently participating in said one of the plurality of chat rooms.