US 6,931,198 B1Granted

Apparatus and method for downloading desired data signal to user-selectable storage unit

AssigneeSony Corporation

InventorsIchiro Hamada, Masao Mizutani, Hiraku Inoue

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An information receiving apparatus instructs a storage device to be ready to perform a downloading operation. For example, the information receiving apparatus instructs the storage device to perform a setup for a recording wait status when the information receiving apparatus has the storage device start the downloading mode, and instructs to start and stop recording on a recording device by detecting the start and stop timing of recording data which a data transmitting section transmits. The information receiving apparatus also requests the storage device to report an operation condition at the storage device during the downloading mode. The information receiving apparatus determines a downloading-operation condition according to the operation-condition report sent from the storage device and appropriately controls the downloading operation.

Claims54

Dependent claims

User receiving apparatus provided at a user end for receiving a repeatedly broadcast multiplexed data signal broadcast from a transmission end remote to the user receiving apparatus, the user receiving apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit operable to accept the repeatedly broadcast multiplexed data signal from a communications channel broadcast from the transmission end remote to the user receiving apparatus;
a demultiplexer operable to extract a desired data signal from the repeatedly broadcast multiplexed data signal;
an instruction unit operable to send download mode instructions to a designated storage unit selected by the user from two or more storage units located at the user end and connected to the user receiving apparatus, the download mode instructions at least indicating that the user-selected storage unit should enter a ready-to-download mode for downloading the desired data signal from the repeatedly broadcast multiplexed data signal;
a status determination unit operable to receive download status information from the user-selected storage unit indicating at least whether the user-selected storage unit has entered the ready-to-download mode;
and
a controller operable to permit the downloading of the desired data signal from the demultiplexer to the user-selected storage unit as a function of the download status information.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/353,707Filed 14 Jul 1999
Priority: JP 10-20026915 Jul 1998
Granted: 16 Aug 2005
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

H04N 21/4349
Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams: by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
H04N 5/765
Television signal recording: interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
H04N 5/781
Using magnetic recording: on disks or drums
H04N 7/163
Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing: by receiver means only