Method, apparatus, and system for transmitting information

• US 8,150,916 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2004
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Togashi, Ryuichiro, Kudou, Shigetaka, Otani, Yasuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): MACILWINEN, JOHN MOORE JAIN
• Application Number:
  US10/976,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20050144224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,714 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-205
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A server controls client apparatuses to transmit the same information to the client apparatuses without imposing workload on each client apparatus. The server is free from any interruption of the transmission of information signal unintended by the server. The server receives information designating at least one client apparatus as a destination of the information signal through a keyboard of the server, and transmits audio contents stored in a content storage hard disk to each of the client apparatuses, designated in the received designate information, through a controller and a communication unit. At least one client apparatus concurrently plays the audio content.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting audio content comprising:

designating, with a controller device, a plurality of audio playing apparatuses as recipients of the audio content to be transmitted by an information transmission apparatus;

concurrently transmitting over a wired local area network, from the information transmission apparatus to the plurality of audio playing apparatuses designated in the act of designating, at least one packet comprising;

identification information for at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses indicating a recipient of the packet;

at least a portion of the audio content; and

control information requiring the playing of the audio content by the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses such that the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses is instructed to play the audio content concurrently with receiving the audio content;

if a rejection message is received from a particular audio playing apparatus of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses, the rejection message identifying that the at least one packet has been rejected by the particular audio playing apparatus, performing a play suspension process to refrain from transmitting further packets to the particular audio playing apparatus;

for each audio playing apparatus of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses from which no rejection message was received, transmitting at least one further packet comprising the identification information, at least another portion of the audio content, and the control information; and

notifying each of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses to which the transmission of the audio content is completed of an end of transmission of the audio content.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing identification information of the information transmission apparatus, said identification information extracted from an information signal sent from the information transmission apparatus, when the plurality of audio playing apparatus receives the information signal; and

rejecting a request of an electronic apparatus having identification information different from the identification information stored in the identification storage step when the plurality of audio playing apparatuses receives the information signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

producing reply information which is to be transmitted to the electronic apparatus that is identified by the identification information contained in the request that is rejected in the control step; and

transmitting the reply information produced in the production step to the electronic apparatus.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of instructing is performed in response to an instruction from a user.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing identification information of at least one audio playing apparatus designated as a recipient of the audio content, wherein the identification information of the at least one audio playing apparatus stored in the act of storing is used to repeatedly transmit the audio content to the at least one audio playing apparatus.

6. A system for transmitting audio content comprising:

an information transmission apparatus; and

a plurality of audio playing apparatuses;

wherein the information transmission apparatus comprises at least one first processor programmed to perform acts of;

receiving destination information designating the plurality of audio playing apparatuses as recipients of audio content,

concurrently transmitting over a wired local area network, to the plurality of audio playing apparatuses designated in the destination information, at least one packet comprising;

identification information for at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses indicating a recipient of the packet;

at least a portion of the audio content; and

control information requiring the playing of the audio content by the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses such that the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses is instructed to play the audio content concurrently with receiving the audio content,

receiving a rejection message from an audio playing apparatus of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses, the rejection message identifying that the at least one packet has been rejected by the audio playing apparatus,

refraining from transmitting further packets to the audio playing apparatus from which the rejection message is received, and

notifying each of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses to which the transmission of the audio content is completed of an end of transmission of the audio content; and

wherein each of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses comprises at least one second processor programmed to perform acts of;

receiving the packet including the audio content from the information transmission apparatus,

processing the audio content storing identification information of the information transmission apparatus transmitting the packet comprising the audio content, said identification information extracted from an information signal sent from the information transmission apparatus, when plurality of audio playing apparatuses receives the information signal, and

rejecting a request of an electronic apparatus having identification information different from the identification information when the plurality of audio playing apparatuses receives the information signal.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the at least one second processor is further programmed to perform acts of:

producing reply information which is to be transmitted to the electronic apparatus that is identified by the identification information contained in the request that is rejected; and

transmitting the reply information to the electronic apparatus.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the information signal is transmitted in response to an instruction from a user.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein the at least one first processor is further programmed to perform an act of storing identification information of at least one audio playing apparatus designated as a recipient of the audio content, wherein the identification information of the at least one audio playing apparatus is used to repeatedly transmit the audio content to the at least one audio playing apparatus.

10. An apparatus for transmitting audio content comprising:

at least one processor programmed to perform acts of;

receiving recipient information designating a plurality of audio playing apparatuses as recipients of audio content;

concurrently transmitting over a wired local area network, to the plurality of audio playing apparatuses designated in the recipient information, at least one packet comprising;

identification information for at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses indicating a recipient of the packet;

at least a portion of the audio content; and

control information requiring the playing of the audio content by the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses designated in the recipient information such that the at least one of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses is instructed to play the audio content concurrently with receiving the audio content;

receiving a rejection message from an audio playing apparatus of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses, the rejection message identifying that the at least one packet has been rejected by the audio playing apparatus;

refraining from transmitting further packets to the audio playing apparatus from which the rejection message is received;

transmitting, to each audio playing apparatus of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses from which no rejection was received, at least one further packet comprising the identification information, at least another portion of the audio content, and the control information; and

notifying each of the plurality of audio playing apparatuses to which the transmission of the audio content is completed of an end of transmission of the audio content.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the information signal is transmitted in response to an instruction from a user.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to perform acts of:

storing identification information of at least one audio playing apparatus designated as a recipient of the audio content,

using the identification information of the at least one audio playing apparatus to repeatedly transmit the audio content to the audio playing apparatus.