Electrical computers and digital processing systems: memory – Storage accessing and control – Control technique
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-29
2003-10-21
Moazzami, Nasser (Department: 2187)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: memory
Storage accessing and control
Control technique
C711S162000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06636953
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus that receives and accumulates broadcast contents in a storage medium such as a hard disc, and in particular relates to techniques for storing the contents accumulated in the storage medium into other devices so that the contents are available to users for a long period of time.
(2) Related Art
With the development of telecommunication techniques and multimedia-related techniques, active research and development of data accumulation-type broadcast systems have been made in recent years.
An accumulation-type broadcast system is mainly composed of a broadcasting apparatus and a receiving apparatus. The broadcasting apparatus broadcasts various contents, such as television programs, music, movies, games, and newspapers, and the receiving apparatus receives and accumulates the broadcast contents in a storage medium such as a large-capacity hard disc, so that the contents can be displayed or reproduced when requested by the user. Here, it is assumed that the contents broadcasted by the broadcasting apparatus are received by a number of receiving apparatuses each located distant from the broadcasting apparatus.
In such an accumulation-type broadcast system, a date and time when the user can start access to each content is basically determined beforehand. The broadcasting apparatus broadcasts each content before its determined data and time, so that the receiving apparatuses can receive and accumulate the content. Also, it is assumed that each receiving apparatus is installed in a house or the like and is connected to a television monitor, a video recording/reproducing device, an audio device, a personal computer, and the like, for displaying or reproducing the accumulated content. Here, the content is generally broadcasted after being compressed according to the MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Expert Group) standards or the like, depending on the type of the content. The receiving apparatus accumulates the compressed content in the storage medium, and decompresses the content when displaying or reproducing it.
The receiving apparatus successively receives contents designated by the user individually or according to channel or genre, and accumulates them into the storage medium, when the contents are broadcasted. However, as the capacity of the storage medium is finite, the amount of contents that can be accumulated is limited.
This makes it necessary to provide the receiving apparatus with a structure for deleting the accumulated contents based on a certain method, to secure a storage area for new contents. This deletion includes elimination of the accumulated contents by writing new contents into areas where the contents are recorded.
Accordingly, the receiving apparatus has the function of receiving contents and temporarily storing the received contents in the storage medium to provide them for the user.
This means that the user can utilize contents accumulated in the receiving apparatus only for a limited time period from when the contents are accumulated into the storage medium to when the contents are deleted from the storage medium.
Suppose a newspaper is broadcasted by the broadcasting apparatus every day and the receiving apparatus writes a newly received newspaper over a newspaper received and accumulated on the previous day. In such a case, the user cannot read the newspaper of the previous day once he or she receives the new newspaper.
Also, suppose the receiving apparatus successively receives and accumulates all contents broadcasted on one channel, based on a user indication including a channel designation, and that the receiving apparatus deletes, when a free space in the storage medium becomes insufficient, a content that has been accumulated for no less than one week since the content becomes available. In such a case, the user can utilize a content any time for at least one week. When one week passes, however, the user may not be able to utilize the content.
The above described disadvantage that the finite capacity of the storage medium limits the time period for the user to utilize the contents occurs not only in the receiving apparatuses in accumulation-type broadcast systems but also in any receiving apparatuses that have the functions of receiving and temporarily storing the contents to provide them for the user.
However, the user may want to utilize some contents substantially long after the contents are received and accumulated by the receiving apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the above described user demand, the present invention has its principal object the provision of a receiving apparatus that receives broadcast contents and accumulates the contents in a storage medium, and stores the accumulated contents into other devices to make them available to the user for a long period of time. Another important object of the present invention is to provide a content storage method for use in the receiving apparatus and a control program that instructs to execute the content storage method.
The above object can be achieved by a receiving apparatus that receives and accumulates broadcast contents into a storage medium to make each content available to a user, comprising: a receiving/accumulating unit for receiving and accumulating the contents into a first storage medium; a deleting unit for deleting each content accumulated in the first storage medium; a designation accepting unit for accepting a designation of a content from the user; a transfer arranging unit for (a) judging whether transfer of the designated content from the first storage medium to a second storage medium before deletion of the designated content is possible, and (b) arranging the transfer of the designated content when judging that the transfer is possible; and a transferring unit for transferring the designated content from the first storage medium to the second storage medium before the designated content is deleted, as arranged by the transfer arranging unit.
Here, deleting includes deleting a part of the content, or eventually eliminating the content by writing a new content over the content.
According to this construction, the contents accumulated in the first storage will be deleted some time as the capacity of the first storage medium into which contents are successively received and accumulated is limited. With a simple user designation of a content desired to be stored, however, the content is checked whether it can be transferred to another storage medium before deleted. When such transfer is possible, the transfer of the content is arranged and performed later. This enables the user to utilize the content any time even after it is deleted from the first storage medium.
Here, the second storage medium may be included in an external device that is connected to the receiving apparatus and that can be used by the user, the receiving apparatus may further comprise: the first storage medium; and a device information obtaining unit for obtaining device state information from the external device, the device state information showing whether the external device is in a content-storable state, the content-storable state at least including a state where the external device is not being used by the user, and the transfer ring unit transfers the designated content from the first storage medium to the second storage medium included in the external device, when the device state information shows that the external device is in the content-storable state.
According to this construction, the content is transferred to the external device while the user is not using the external device, such as a D-VHS, connected to the receiving apparatus via the 1394 cable or the like. Namely, the content is transferred, effectively using an available time period of the external device. As a result of this, the user can utilize the content any time.
Also, the receiving apparatus may further comprise an interruption accepting unit for accepting an interruption indication from the external device,
Iitsuka Hiroyuki
Noda Ken
Takeda Hideyuki
Yuasa Aki
Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd.
Moazzami Nasser
LandOfFree
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