Receiving device, receiving method, transmitting device, and transmitting method for controlling applications

• US 9,456,245 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2013
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kitazato, Naohisa, Eyer, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): MENDOZA, JUNIOR O
• Application Number:
  US13/777,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20140013379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• Field of Search: 725/118
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/65 Transmission of management data between client and server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/08 Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band , e.g. by time division H04N7/007 takes precedence

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a receiving device including: a receiver configured to receive broadcast content; a trigger information acquirer configured to acquire trigger information for identifying a command to control an operation of an application program that is run in conjunction with the broadcast content and is delivered via a network; a correspondence table acquirer configured to acquire a correspondence table in which the command is associated with information for identifying the command; and a control section configured to control operations of a subject application program and another application program other than the subject application program in response to the command identified by the trigger information and the correspondence table.

Claims

1. A receiving device comprising:

circuitry configured to

receive broadcast content;

extract from the received broadcast content trigger information identifying a correspondence table and a command included in the identified correspondence table;

acquire the correspondence table identified in the acquired trigger information; and

execute the command identified in the trigger information and included in the acquired correspondence table by controlling operations of a predetermined application program and another application program, which is not associated with the identified command, wherein

the trigger information and the correspondence table are acquired separately.

2. The receiving device according to claim 1,

wherein the command is to activate the predetermined application program and the same command causes stop, pause, or hiding of the another application program.

3. The receiving device according to claim 2,

wherein additional information for ordering event firing of the predetermined application program is further associated with the command.

4. The receiving device according to claim 1,

wherein the command is used to control the operations of both of the predetermined application program and the another application program, and

the circuitry is configured to control the operations of both of the predetermined application program and the another application program in direct response to the command.

5. The receiving device according to claim 4,

wherein the command is used to control activation of the predetermined application program and stop, pause, or hiding of the another application program.

6. The receiving device according to claim 5,

wherein additional information for ordering event firing of the predetermined application program is associated with the command.

7. The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to

extract a feature from data of the broadcast content, and

acquire the trigger information corresponding to an identification result of the broadcast content identified by using the feature.

8. The receiving device according to claim 1,

wherein the command and a valid period of the command are associated with each other in the correspondence table, and

when a time that is determined based on the trigger information and that indicates progression of the broadcast content satisfies a predetermined valid condition based on the valid period, the circuitry controls the operations of the predetermined application program and the another application program in direct response to the command associated with the valid period.

9. The receiving device according to claim 8,

wherein an identifier of the command is further associated in the correspondence table, and

when the identifier of the command obtained from the trigger information corresponds with the identifier of the command associated in the correspondence table, the circuitry controls the operations of the predetermined application program and the another application program in direct response to the command associated with the identifier.

10. The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

suspend the another application and execute the predetermined application program in direct response to the same command.

11. The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

control the operations of the predetermined application program and the other application program in direct response to only the one command.

12. A receiving method of a receiving device, the method executed by the receiving device, comprising:

receiving broadcast content;

extracting from the received broadcast content, by circuitry of the receiving device, trigger information identifying a correspondence table and a command included in the identified correspondence table;

acquiring, by the circuitry, the correspondence table identified in the acquired trigger information; and

executing the command identified in the trigger information and included in the acquired correspondence table by controlling, by the circuitry, operations of a predetermined application program and another application program other than the predetermined application program, wherein

the trigger information and the correspondence table are acquired separately.

13. A transmitting device comprising:

circuitry configured to

generate trigger information identifying a correspondence table and a command included in the correspondence table, to control an operation of a predetermined application program that is run in conjunction with broadcast content and is delivered via a network, the trigger information causing a receiving device to acquire the correspondence table identified in the trigger information and execute the command identified in the trigger information and included in the acquired correspondence table by controlling operations of the predetermined application program and another application program, which is not associated with the command, in direct response to the same command identified by the trigger information and in the correspondence table; and

transmit the trigger information together with the broadcast content.

14. A transmitting method of a transmitting device, the method executed by the transmitting device, comprising:

generating, by circuitry of the transmitting device, trigger information identifying a correspondence table and a command included in the correspondence table, to control an operation of a predetermined application program that is run in conjunction with broadcast content and is delivered via a network, the trigger information causing a receiving device to acquire the correspondence table identified in the trigger information and execute the command identified in the trigger information and included in the acquired correspondence table by controlling operations of the predetermined application program and another application program, which is not associated with the command, in direct response to the same command identified by the trigger information and in the correspondence table; and

transmitting, by the circuitry, the trigger information together with the broadcast content.