Broadcast receiving terminal and program execution method

• US 8,677,368 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Satoshi, Suzuki, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): KAWSAR, ABDULLAH AL
• Application Number:
  US11/421,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20070157209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,848 Days
• Field of Search: 718 1-105, 709223-226, 725 32- 36
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5014 Reservation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/522 Manager
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/526 Mutual exclusion algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• 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 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/79 Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording

Abstract

Under a resource manager, unexpected blocking is prevented without calling a handler for resolving a resource contention, by assigning a priority level depending on the program that has requested for a reservation of a resource as well as by assigning a special priority level which permits a reservation of a resource without any conditions in the case of a program which is urgently needed such as an EAS module.

Claims

1. A broadcast receiving terminal, comprising:

a processor;

a program executioner configured to control execution of a program among a plurality of programs including a specified program according to a priority level of the program;

a resource contention detector configured, in a case where a reservation of a resource is requested according to the execution of the program performed by said program executioner, to detect whether or not a contention of the resource occurs due to a fact that the requested resource has already been reserved by another program executed by said program executioner;

a resource reservation program determiner configured to determine whether or not the program reserves the resource, and

a resource reservation program notifier configured to notify of the reservation of the resource which is permitted to reserve the resource, based on the determination made by said resource reservation program determiner, wherein,

(i) when the contention occurs and the program requesting the reservation of the resource is not the specified program,

(i-a) in the case where a resource contention handler is registered, call the resource contention handler for resolving the contention and determine to permit a program according to a priority level returned from the resource contention handler, and

(i-b) in the case where the resource contention handler is not registered, determine to permit the program to reserve the resource which is under contention, according to the priority level of the program, and

(ii) when the contention occurs and the program requesting the reservation of the resource is the specified program,

the resource reservation program determiner permits the specified program to reserve the resource without using the resource contention handler and checking whether or not the resource contention handler is registered; and

the resource reservation program determiner, after the specified program has been executed, has the resource reservation program notifier notify that the resource has been released by the specified program.

2. A program execution method for executing a program in a broadcast receiving terminal, comprising:

controlling, via a program executioner, execution of a program among a plurality of programs including a specified program according to a priority level of the program;

detecting, via a resource contention detector, when a reservation of a resource is requested according to the execution of the program performed by said program executioner, whether or not a contention of the resource occurs due to a fact that, the requested resource has already been reserved by another program executed by said program executioner;

determining, via a resource reservation program determiner, whether or not the program reserves the resource, and

notifying, via a resource reservation program notifier, of the reservation of the resource which is permitted to reserve the resource, based on the determination made by said resource reservation program determiner, wherein,

(i) when the contention occurs and the program requesting the reservation of the resource is not the specified program,

(i-a) in the case where a resource contention handler is registered, call the resource contention handler for resolving the contention and determine to permit a program according to a priority level returned from the resource contention handler, and

(i-b) in the case where the resource contention handler is not registered, determine to permit the program to reserve the resource which is under contention, according to the priority level of the program, and

(ii) when the contention occurs and the program requesting the reservation of the resource is the specified program,

permitting, via the resource reservation program determiner, the specified program to reserve the resource without using the resource contention handler and checking whether or not the resource contention handler is registered; and

the resource reservation program determiner, after the specified program has been executed, has the resource reservation program notifier notify that the resource has been released by the specified program.