Interactive video distribution systems – Video distribution system with upstream communication – Having link to external network
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-14
2004-02-10
Srivastava, Vivek (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
Video distribution system with upstream communication
Having link to external network
C725S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06691313
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a terminal apparatus used in communication services such as digital satellite broadcasting and digital CATV (Community Antenna Television), and to a method used for the terminal apparatus.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
As the number of channels provided in the satellite broadcasting or CATV has increased greatly, competition among broadcasting companies has been intensified. Broadcasting companies hope that broadcasting systems known as interactive TV broadcasting systems will attract many viewers, and active studies into interactive TV broadcasting systems are under way. The term “interactive” indicates that the user can display desired images by making requests. Suppose, for example, each screen includes a plurality of icons which are related to other pieces of image information which form screens. It is supposed that in the interactive TV broadcasting system, a desired piece of image information is displayed when the operator selects an icon on the interactive screen. The operator feels as if he/she could display what he/she desired. Such an interactive TV broadcasting system is epoch-making in TV broadcasting where one-way broadcasting has long been the norm. There is a possibility that the interactive TV broadcasting system will become a next-generation standard for TV broadcasting system.
Such an interactive TV broadcasting system may be achieved by a method in which each terminal apparatus sends a request for transmitting a desired piece of image information to the broadcasting station, and in response, the broadcasting station transmits the desired piece of image information to the terminal apparatuse. For achieving this, the broadcasting station needs to store a large amount of image information which can be provided to the terminal apparatuses.
It is increasingly difficult to achieve the above system as the number of terminal apparatuses increases. This is because a number of communication lines need to be provided for transferring the transmission requests and image information. Such a construction may also suffer from an overflow in handling the transmission requests in the broadcasting station due to an overflow in the communication lines which are used for transferring the read requests and image information. Viewers may stop using such an interactive TV broadcasting system if it takes very long to display a desired image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terminal apparatus and a method used therein for immediately displaying a desired piece of image information in an interactive broadcasting system upon request of the operator, where a large number of terminal apparatuses receive broadcasts in the interactive broadcasting system.
The above object is achieved by a terminal apparatus for displaying an image by reproducing one out of m pieces of image information and for interactively changing the image using n pieces of navigation information, where the image is one of a moving picture, a still picture, and a mixture of a moving picture and a still picture, where the m pieces of image information and the n pieces of navigation information together are broadcast by a broadcasting station to the terminal apparatus, where each piece of navigation information is related to an origin piece of image information and indicates a plurality pieces of link-target image information, where m and n are each an integer either of being equal to and larger than “1,” the terminal apparatus including: a cache unit for storing a pair of one out of the m pieces of image information and one out of the n pieces of navigation information; reproducing unit for reproducing the one out of the m pieces of image information stored in the cache unit; monitoring unit for monitoring whether an operator has performed a certain operation responding to the image displayed; a receiving unit for, before the monitoring unit determines that the operator has performed the certain operation, receiving s pieces of image information which have possibility of being displayed and t pieces of navigation information respectively related to the s pieces of image information based on the one out of the n pieces of navigation information stored in the cache unit, and storing the s pieces of image information and the t pieces of navigation information in the cache unit, where s is an integer satisfying 1≦s<m, and t is an integer satisfying 1≦t<n; a specifying unit for specifying one out of the plurality pieces of link-target image information based on the certain operation when the monitoring unit monitors that the operator has performed the certain operation; an identifying unit for identifying the one out of the plurality pieces of link-target image information specified by the specifying unit as one out the s pieces of image information stored in the cache unit; and a first controlling unit for reading the piece of link-target image information identified by the identifying unit and instructing the reproducing unit to reproduce the piece of link-target image information, and instructing the receiving unit to receive other s pieces of image information and other t pieces of navigation information based on one out of the t pieces of navigation information in the cache unit corresponding to the piece of link-target image information identified by the identifying unit.
With such a construction, a desired piece of image information is immediately displayed. The current screen is changed to the next screen at high speed upon request of the operator since while the current screen is displayed, a plurality pieces of link-target image information and corresponding pieces of navigation information are stored in the cache unit. The above screen change is also performed using the waiting time of the terminal apparatus for a period during which the operator determines an icon on the screen.
The above terminal apparatus may further include: a superimposing unit for superimposing, based on a piece of navigation information corresponding to the one out of the m pieces of image information stored in the cache unit, a plurality of icons on the image which is displayed when the reproducing unit reproduces the one out of the m pieces of image information, where the monitoring unit includes: a determination operation detecting unit for detecting a determination operation performed on one out of the plurality of icons, where the identifying unit identifies one out of the plurality pieces of link-target image information detected by the determination operation detecting unit.
With such a construction, a visual interactive operation is achieved since a plurality of icons, which indicate link-target pieces of image information, are superimposed on the screen image.
In the above terminal apparatus, the reproducing unit may include: a focus setting unit for making one out of the plurality of icons be in focus, where the monitoring unit includes: a cursor move operation detecting unit for detecting a cursor move operation; and a focus changing unit for making another one out of the plurality of icons be in focus based on the cursor move operation detected by the cursor move operation detecting unit, where the determination operation detecting unit detects a determination operation performed on the other one out of the plurality of icons in focus.
With such a construction, the cursor (icon in focus) is moved based on the interactive operation. This enables cursor moves with the use of cross keys.
The above terminal apparatus may further include: a rank setting unit for setting ranks of the m pieces of image information stored in the cache unit based on possibility of being displayed; and a cache table registering unit for registering identifiers of high ranking s pieces of image information in a cache table, out of the m pieces of image information and registering identifiers of t pieces of navigation information corresponding to the high ranking s pieces of image information, where the re
Hirai Junichi
Kakiuchi Takashi
Kozuka Masayuki
Kusumi Yuki
Mimura Yoshihiro
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Srivastava Vivek
LandOfFree
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