JP2024054327A - How to start an application - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a digital broadcast receiver capable of executing functions with higher added value. [Solution] The present invention is characterized in that in a broadcast receiving device capable of receiving digital broadcast services including broadcast program information and related information of applications that can be executed in conjunction with broadcast programs, at least one of broadcast program video obtained from broadcast program information and a predetermined application execution video obtained based on the application related information can be displayed, and when the obtained predetermined application does not have a command for displaying the broadcast program video, the broadcast program video is controlled to be displayed in response to a user instruction together with the application execution video. [Selected Figure] Figure 24

Description

The present invention relates to a method for launching an application.

One of the extension functions of digital broadcasting services is data broadcasting, which transmits digital data via broadcast waves and displays various information such as weather forecasts, news, and recommended programs. Many television receivers capable of receiving data broadcasting are already commercially available, and many technologies related to receiving data broadcasting have been published, including Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2001-186486 A

A feature of data broadcasting is that television receivers that support digital broadcasting services can receive data broadcasting on their own and can obtain and display a variety of information. However, because the amount of data that can be transmitted with data broadcasting is limited due to restrictions on radio bands, it is difficult to achieve high-definition screen displays or sophisticated effects. This has made it difficult to implement useful, high-value-added functions on current digital broadcasting receivers.

The objective of the present invention is to realize an application launch method that can execute functions with higher added value.

The technology described in the claims is used as a means to solve the above problems.

For example, in an application startup method for starting an application for accessing broadcast resources in a broadcast receiving device, the application for accessing the broadcast resources includes a broadcast managed application that is started by application control information included in a broadcast signal, and a non-broadcast managed application that is started by something other than the application control information included in the broadcast signal, and the method includes a reception step for receiving the broadcast signal, a first application startup step for starting the broadcast managed application based on the application control information included in the received broadcast signal, a launcher screen display step for displaying a launcher screen on the broadcast receiving device by an application launcher provided in the broadcast receiving device, and a broadcast managed application that is started by a user operation via the displayed launcher screen. The method includes a second application startup step of starting an external managed application, an authentication step of authenticating an external mobile terminal on which a linkage control application for operating in linkage with the broadcast receiving device is installed, a communication step of communicating with the external mobile terminal authenticated in the authentication step, and a third application startup step of starting the external managed application based on a startup request received in the communication step and made by a user operation via the external mobile terminal, and the first application startup step uses an application startup method in which, if the application control information includes information indicating automatic startup of the broadcast managed application, it is confirmed whether the broadcast managed application is executable, and if executable, the broadcast managed application is acquired and started.

By using the technology of the present invention, it is possible to realize an application launch method that can execute functions with higher added value.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a communication system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a broadcast receiving device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a broadcasting station server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a service provider server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable information terminal according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of the portable information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a data configuration diagram of application control information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an operational sequence diagram of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment when an application is started. FIG. 4 is an operational sequence diagram of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment when an application is started. FIG. 4 is an operational sequence diagram of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment when an application is started. FIG. 4 is an operation sequence diagram when the mobile information terminal according to the first embodiment cooperates with another mobile information terminal; FIG. 4 is an operation sequence diagram when the mobile information terminal according to the first embodiment cooperates with one another; FIG. 4 is an operation sequence diagram when the mobile information terminal according to the first embodiment cooperates with another mobile information terminal; 4 is an operational sequence diagram when an application is started in the broadcast receiving device and the portable information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a basic screen of a linkage control application of the portable information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a basic screen of a linkage control application of the portable information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a screen display diagram of a data broadcast screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a notification screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of an error display screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen of the portable information terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a screen display diagram of an EPG display screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing detailed information on an EPG display screen of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment. 4 is an operational sequence diagram of the broadcast receiving device according to the first embodiment when acquiring a broadcast cooperative application. FIG. FIG. 11 is an operational sequence diagram during terminal cooperation according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is an operational sequence diagram during terminal cooperation according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is an operational sequence diagram during terminal cooperation according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is an operational sequence diagram during terminal cooperation according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of a broadcast receiving device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of a broadcast receiving device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of a broadcast receiving device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of a broadcast receiving device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast receiving device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen display diagram of a broadcast cooperative application launcher of a portable information terminal according to a fifth embodiment. 11 is a diagram showing the concept of transition between an HTML document and a broadcast cooperative application. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an HTML document of a broadcast cooperative application. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an HTML document of a broadcast cooperative application in which a command for presenting a broadcast program screen is not described. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an application execution image of an HTML document 20201 according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is an operation sequence diagram of a broadcast receiving device according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a necessity confirmation display unit according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a broadcast program screen according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a display example of another broadcast program screen according to the sixth embodiment.

Below, an example embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, we will explain an example of a digital broadcasting service that can be received by the broadcast receiving device of this embodiment.

For example, in one example of BS/terrestrial digital broadcasting that can be received by the broadcast receiving device of this embodiment, multiple transport streams (TS) can be multiplexed and transmitted on one transponder (frequency channel). A TS is a series of TS packets of a predetermined length in which a data sequence such as a video/audio elementary stream (ES) or program specific information (PSI)/service information (SI) is divided and a TS header is added.

PSI is a unique information table defined in the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 system standard that identifies which program each ES included in a TS belongs to. PSI is composed of a Program Association Table (PAT), Program Map Table (PMT), Conditional Access Table (CAT), etc. The PAT defines the list of programs included in the TS by the PID (Packet Identifier) of the PMT. The PMT defines the PIDs of the components of each program, etc. The CAT contains information related to limited reception.

SI is an extension of PSI to include program information, etc., and includes information on the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) defined by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) in ARIB STD-B10. SI is composed of BIT (Broadcaster Information Table), SDT (Service Description Table), EIT (Event Information Table), TOT (Time Offset Table), etc. BIT includes broadcast station identification information, series information, broadcast station SI transmission information, etc. The SDT includes information such as a network ID for identifying the network, a TS ID for identifying the TS, and a service ID (so-called channel number) for identifying individual services (so-called channels) within the network. The EIT includes a service ID for identifying individual services within the network, and information related to events such as the name, broadcast date and time, and broadcast content of each event (so-called program). The TOT includes information related to the current date and time.

The TS also includes PCR (Program Clock Reference) information, which is the basis for playback timing in the decoder, and BML (Broadcast Markup Language) documents that are subsetted based on the BML specifications defined in ARIB STD-B24.

The broadcast receiving device of this embodiment receives and decodes the TS composed of the video/audio ES and various information, etc., and is therefore capable of providing the user with broadcast programs, EPGs, data broadcast screens produced using BML, etc.

The broadcast receiving device of this embodiment is compatible with a broadcasting and communication cooperation system that combines a digital broadcasting service with a function that utilizes a broadband network, and combines the acquisition of additional content via a broadband network, computation processing in a server device, and presentation processing in cooperation with a mobile terminal device with the digital broadcasting service. In order to realize the broadcasting and communication cooperation system, the broadcast receiving device of this embodiment is capable of executing applications described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or the like. In addition, the broadcasting and communication cooperation system compatible with this broadcasting receiving device uses an extended BML specification, application control information (Application Information Table: AIT) in the broadcasting and communication cooperation system, and extended PSI/SI information required when transmitting an application by broadcast waves. The AIT is information for providing or disseminating various information required to start an application, such as the source where the application is obtained, and control information for controlling the start/end of the application.

The above explanation is based on the digital broadcasting service in Japan, but the application of the broadcast receiving device of this embodiment, including the broadcast and communication cooperation system, is not limited to Japan.

Next, we will explain a specific configuration example of the embodiment in this example.

[System configuration]
1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a communication system of this embodiment that realizes a broadcast communication cooperation system. The communication system of this embodiment is composed of a broadcast receiving device 100, an antenna 100a, a broadband network 200 such as the Internet and a router device 210, a radio tower 300t of a broadcast station, a broadcast station server 300, a service provider server 400, other application servers 500, a mobile telephone communication server 600, a base station 600b of a mobile telephone communication network, and a mobile information terminal 700.

The broadcast receiving device 100 is a television receiver that has a function corresponding to the broadcast communication cooperation system in addition to the existing digital broadcast receiving function. The broadcast receiving device 100 receives broadcast waves transmitted from a radio tower 300t via an antenna 100a. The broadcast receiving device 100 can also connect to the Internet 200 via a router device 210, and can transmit and receive data by communicating with each server device on the Internet 200.

The router device 210 is connected to the Internet 200 by wireless or wired communication, and is also connected to the broadcast receiving device 100 by wireless or wired communication, and to the mobile information terminal 700 by wireless communication. This allows each server device on the Internet 200, the broadcast receiving device 100, and the mobile information terminal 700 to transmit and receive data to and from each other via the router device 210. Note that communication between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 may be performed directly using a method such as BlueTooth (registered trademark) or NFC (Near Field Communication) without going through the router device 210.

The radio tower 300t transmits broadcast waves including digital broadcast signals, AIT, control information related to application presentation, etc. from the broadcasting equipment of the broadcasting station. The control information related to application presentation is control information related to the superimposition of broadcast programs and applications on a television receiver and whether or not applications can be presented. The broadcasting station is also assumed to have a broadcasting station server 300. The broadcasting station server 300 stores broadcast programs (video content, etc.) and metadata such as the program title, program ID, program summary, cast, broadcast date and time of each broadcast program, and is capable of providing the video content and each metadata to a service provider based on a contract. The video content and each metadata may be provided to the service provider through an API (Application Programming Interface) provided by the broadcasting station server 300.

The service provider server 400 is a server device prepared by a service provider to provide services through the broadcasting and communication cooperation system. The service provider server 400 stores, manages, and distributes video content and metadata provided by the broadcasting station server 300, and content and applications created for the broadcasting and communication cooperation system. It also has a function of searching for and providing a list of available applications in response to inquiries from television receivers. The storage, management, and distribution of the content and metadata and the storage, management, and distribution of the applications may be performed by different server devices. The broadcasting station and the service provider may be the same or different providers. A plurality of service provider servers 400 may be prepared for each different service. The functions of the service provider server 400 may also be provided by the broadcasting station server 300.

The other application server 500 is a known server device that stores, manages, and distributes general applications, operating programs, content, and data other than those related to the broadcasting and communication collaboration system.

The mobile telephone communication server 600 is connected to the Internet 200, and is also connected to the mobile information terminal 700 via a base station 600b. The mobile telephone communication server 600 manages telephone communication (calls) and data transmission/reception of the mobile information terminal 700 via the mobile telephone communication network, and enables data transmission/reception through communication between the mobile information terminal 700 and each server device on the Internet 200. Note that communication between the mobile information terminal 700 and the broadcast receiving device 100 may be performed via the base station 600b, the mobile telephone communication server 600, the Internet 200, and the router device 210.

[Hardware configuration of broadcast receiving device]
2A is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the broadcast receiving device 100. The broadcast receiving device 100 is composed of a main control unit 101, a system bus 102, a ROM 103, a RAM 104, a storage unit 110, a LAN communication unit 121, an expansion interface unit 124, a digital interface unit 125, a tuner/demodulation unit 131, a first separation unit 132, a first video decoding unit 133, a first audio decoding unit 134, a first subtitle decoding unit 135, a data broadcast reception processing unit 141, a data broadcast engine 142, a streaming reception processing unit 151, a second separation unit 152, a second video decoding unit 153, a second audio decoding unit 154, a second subtitle decoding unit 155, an application control unit 161, an application engine 162, a video superimposition unit 171, an audio selection unit 172, a video display unit 173, a speaker 174, a video output unit 175, an audio output unit 176, a presentation synchronization control unit 181, and a terminal cooperation control unit 191.

The main control unit 101 is a microprocessor unit that controls the entire broadcast receiving device 100 according to a predetermined operating program. The system bus 102 is a data communication path for transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 101 and each operating block within the broadcast receiving device 100.

ROM (Read Only Memory) 103 is a memory in which basic operation programs such as an operating system and other operation programs are stored, and may be a rewritable ROM such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or a flash ROM. RAM (Random Access Memory) 104 serves as a work area when the basic operation programs and other operation programs are executed. ROM 103 and RAM 104 may be integrated with main control unit 101. ROM 103 may also use a portion of the storage area in storage unit 110, rather than being an independent configuration as shown in FIG. 2A.

The storage unit 110 stores the operation program and operation setting values of the broadcast receiving device 100, personal information of the user of the broadcast receiving device 100, etc. It can also store operation programs downloaded from the network and various data created by the operation programs. It can also store content such as video, still images, and audio acquired from broadcast waves or downloaded from the network. A portion of the storage unit 110 may replace all or part of the functions of the ROM 103. In addition, the storage unit 110 needs to retain the stored information even when power is not being supplied from an external source to the broadcast receiving device 100. Therefore, for example, devices such as flash ROM, semiconductor element memories such as SSD (Solid State Drive), and magnetic disk drives such as HDD (Hard Disc Drive) are used.

The operating programs stored in the ROM 103 and the storage unit 110 can be updated and their functions expanded by downloading them from each server device on the Internet 200.

The LAN (Local Area Network) communication unit 121 is connected to the Internet 200 via the router device 210, and transmits and receives data to and from each server device on the Internet 200. The connection to the router device 210 may be a wired connection, or a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The LAN communication unit 121 includes an encoding circuit, a decoding circuit, and the like. The broadcast receiving device 100 may further include other communication units such as a BlueTooth (registered trademark) communication unit, an NFC communication unit, an infrared communication unit, and the like.

The tuner/demodulator 131 receives broadcast waves from the radio tower 300t via the antenna 100a, and tunes (selects) the channel of the service desired by the user under the control of the main controller 101. Furthermore, the tuner/demodulator 131 demodulates the received broadcast signal to obtain the TS. Note that while the example shown in FIG. 2A illustrates a configuration with one tuner/demodulator, the broadcast receiving device 100 may be configured to include multiple tuner/demodulators for the purposes of simultaneous display of multiple screens, recording of other programs, etc. Also, access restrictions for the demodulated TS may be controlled under the control of the main controller 101.

The first separation unit 132 inputs the TS output from the tuner/demodulation unit 131, separates it into various data strings such as a video data string, an audio data string, a subtitle data string, a program information data string, an AIT data string, a BML data string, etc., and outputs them. These data strings may be in ES format, for example. The first video decoding unit 133 decodes the video data string input from the first separation unit 132 and outputs video information. The first audio decoding unit 134 decodes the audio data string input from the first separation unit 132 and outputs audio information. The first subtitle decoding unit 135 decodes the subtitle data string input from the first separation unit 132 and outputs subtitle information.

The data broadcasting reception processing unit 141 decodes the BML data string input from the first separation unit 132 and reproduces the BML document. The data broadcasting engine 142 is a BML browser that executes the BML document, and executes the BML document reproduced by the data broadcasting reception processing unit 141 to output data broadcasting screen information.

The streaming reception processing unit 151, under the control of the main control unit 101, accesses video content and the like stored in each server device on the Internet 200 via the LAN communication unit 121, and acquires the program stream (PS) of the video content and the like. In addition, under the control of the main control unit 101, it may also control DRM (Digital Rights Management) processing for the acquired PS.

The second separation unit 152 inputs the PS output from the streaming reception processing unit 151, separates it into various data strings such as a video data string, an audio data string, and a subtitle data string, and outputs them. These data strings may be in ES format, for example. The second video decoding unit 153, the second audio decoding unit 154, and the second subtitle decoding unit 155 perform the same processing as the first video decoding unit 133, the first audio decoding unit 134, and the first subtitle decoding unit 135, respectively, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

In addition, the first separation unit 132 and the second separation unit 152, the first video decoding unit 133 and the second video decoding unit 153, the first audio decoding unit 134 and the second audio decoding unit 154, and the first subtitle decoding unit 135 and the second subtitle decoding unit 155 may each be used interchangeably.

The application control unit 161, based on the AIT data string input from the first separation unit or the AIT files acquired from each server device on the Internet 200, works on the application engine 162 with respect to applications created for the broadcasting and communication cooperation system, and controls and manages the life cycle and events for each application. In addition, depending on the state of the application and the instructions of the AIT, it appropriately controls the functional constraints of the application. The application engine 162 is an HTML browser that acquires and executes applications created for the broadcasting and communication cooperation system based on the control of the application control unit 161.

The video superimposition unit 171 inputs the video information output from the first video decoding unit 133, the subtitle information output from the first subtitle decoding unit 135, the data broadcast screen information output from the data broadcasting engine 142, the video information output from the second video decoding unit 153, the subtitle information output from the second subtitle decoding unit 155, and the application execution screen information output from the application engine 162, and performs processing such as selection and/or superimposition. The video superimposition unit 171 is equipped with a video RAM (not shown), and the video display unit 173 and the like are driven based on the video information input to the video RAM. In addition, the video superimposition unit 171 performs scaling processing and superimposition processing of EPG screen information created based on the program information data string output from the first separation unit 132, as necessary, based on the control of the main control unit 101.

The audio selection unit 172 inputs the audio information output from the first audio decoding unit 134, the audio information output from the second audio decoding unit 154, and the application execution audio information output from the application engine 162, and selects and outputs the audio information as appropriate according to the control of the main control unit 101.

The video display unit 173 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and provides the video information selected and/or superimposed by the video superimposition unit 171 to the user of the broadcast receiving device 100. The speaker 174 provides the audio information output from the audio selection unit 172 to the user of the broadcast receiving device 100. The video output unit 175 is a video output interface that outputs the video information selected and/or superimposed by the video superimposition unit 171. The audio output unit 176 is an audio output interface that outputs the audio information output from the audio selection unit 172. As described above, when the broadcast display device 100 is a television receiver or the like, the video output unit 175 and the audio output unit 176 are not essential components of the present invention.

The presentation synchronization control unit 181 controls the presentation synchronization on the video display unit 173 and speaker 174, or on the video output unit 175 and audio output unit 176, of the video information and audio information obtained by decoding the TS obtained from the broadcast waves, the video information and audio information obtained by decoding the PS obtained from each server device on the Internet 200, and the application execution screen information and application execution audio information output from the application engine 162, based on, for example, PCR information, etc.

When linking with an external mobile terminal device, the terminal link control unit 191 manages and controls the discovery and authentication of the linked device (mobile terminal device), the connection between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the linked device, application linking, etc.

The expansion interface unit 124 is a group of interfaces for expanding the functions of the broadcast receiving device 100, and in this embodiment, is composed of an analog video/audio interface, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, a memory interface, etc. The analog video/audio interface inputs analog video/audio signals from external video/audio output devices, outputs analog video/audio signals to external video/audio input devices, etc. The USB interface connects to a PC or the like to send and receive data. A HDD may be connected to record broadcast programs and content. A keyboard or other USB device may also be connected. The memory interface connects to a memory card or other memory medium to send and receive data.

The digital interface unit 125 is an interface that outputs or inputs encoded digital video data and/or digital audio data. The digital interface unit 125 is capable of outputting the TS acquired by the tuner/demodulator unit 131 and the PS acquired by the streaming reception processing unit 151 as is. The digital interface unit 125 may also control the TS or PS inputted from the digital interface unit 125 to be inputted to the first separation unit 132 or the second separation unit 152. The output of digital content stored in the storage unit 110 or the storage of digital content in the storage unit 110 may be performed via the digital interface unit 125. The digital interface unit 125 may be a DVI terminal or an HDMI terminal, etc., and may output or input data in a format conforming to the DVI specification or the HDMI specification, etc. The output or input may be in the form of serial data conforming to the IEEE 1394 specification, etc.

The broadcast receiving device 100 may be a television receiver, an optical disk drive recorder such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) recorder, a magnetic disk drive recorder such as a HDD recorder, a STB (Set Top Box), etc. It may also be a PC (Personal Computer), tablet terminal, game console, etc. equipped with a digital broadcast receiving function and a broadcast communication linkage function. If the broadcast receiving device 100 is a DVD recorder, HDD recorder, STB, etc., the video display unit 173 and speaker 174 may not be provided. By connecting an external monitor and an external speaker to the video output unit 175 and audio output unit 176, the same operation as the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment is possible.

[Software configuration of broadcast receiving device]
2B is a software configuration diagram of the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, and shows the software configuration in the ROM 103, the RAM 104, and the storage unit 110. In this embodiment, a basic operation program 1001 and other operation programs are stored in the ROM 103, and a receiving function program 1002, a BML browser program 1003, an HTML browser program 1004, and other operation programs are stored in the storage unit 110. The storage unit 110 is also assumed to include a content storage area 1011 for storing content such as moving images, still images, and audio, an authentication information storage area 1012 for storing authentication information and the like used when linking with an external mobile terminal device, and various information storage areas for storing various other information.

The basic operation program 1001 stored in ROM 103 is expanded in RAM 104, and the main control unit 101 executes the expanded basic operation program to form a basic operation execution unit 1101. The reception function program 1002, BML browser program 1003, and HTML browser program 1004 stored in the storage unit 110 are each expanded in RAM 104, and the main control unit 101 executes each of the expanded operation programs to form a reception function execution unit 1102, a BML browser engine 1103, and an HTML browser engine 1104. The RAM 104 also includes a temporary storage area for temporarily storing data created when each operation program is executed, as necessary.

In the following, for simplicity, the process in which the main control unit 101 controls each operation block by expanding the basic operation program 1001 stored in the ROM 103 into the RAM 104 and executing it will be described as the basic operation execution unit 1101 controlling each operation block. Similar descriptions will be used for the other operation programs.

The receiving function execution unit 1102 controls each operation block of the broadcast receiving device 100 to realize the broadcast receiving function and the broadcast communication cooperation function. In particular, the broadcast program playback unit 1102a mainly controls the tuner/demodulation unit 131, the first separation unit 132, the first video decoding unit 133, the first audio decoding unit 134, the first subtitle decoding unit 135, the data broadcast reception processing unit 141, and the data broadcast engine 142. The data broadcast engine 142 may be replaced by the BML browser engine 1103 deployed on the RAM 104. The communication content playback unit 1102b mainly controls the streaming reception processing unit 151, the second separation unit 152, the second video decoding unit 153, the second audio decoding unit 154, and the second subtitle decoding unit 155. The cooperation application control unit 1102c mainly controls the application control unit 161 and the application engine 162. The application engine 162 may be replaced by an HTML browser engine 1104 deployed on the RAM 104. The terminal linkage management unit 1102d mainly controls the terminal linkage control unit 191.

The operating programs may be stored in the ROM 103 and/or the storage unit 110 beforehand at the time of product shipment. After product shipment, they may be acquired via the LAN communication unit 121 from other application servers 500 on the Internet 200. In addition, the operating programs stored on a memory card, optical disk, etc. may be acquired via the expansion interface unit 124, etc.

[Configuration of broadcasting station server]
3 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the broadcast station server 300. The broadcast station server 300 is made up of a main control unit 301, a system bus 302, a RAM 304, a storage unit 310, and a LAN communication unit 321.

The main control unit 301 is a microprocessor unit that controls the entire broadcasting station server 300 in accordance with a predetermined operation program. The system bus 302 is a data communication path for transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 301 and each operation block within the broadcasting station server 300. The RAM 304 serves as a work area when each operation program is executed.

The storage unit 310 stores a basic operation program 3001 and a content management/distribution program 3002, and further includes a video content storage area 3011 and a metadata storage area 3012. The video content storage area 3011 stores video content and the like of each broadcast program broadcast by a broadcast station. The metadata storage area 3012 stores metadata such as the program title, program ID, program summary, cast, broadcast date and time, etc., of each broadcast program.

The basic operation program 3001 and the content management/distribution program 3002 stored in the storage unit 310 are each expanded in the RAM 304, and the main control unit 301 executes the expanded basic operation program and content management/distribution program to form a basic operation execution unit 3101 and a content management/distribution execution unit 3102.

In the following, for ease of explanation, the process in which the main control unit 301 controls each operation block by expanding the basic operation program 3001 stored in the storage unit 310 into the RAM 304 and executing it will be described as the basic operation execution unit 3101 controlling each operation block. Similar descriptions will be used for the other operation programs.

The content management/distribution execution unit 3102 manages the video content and each piece of metadata stored in the video content storage area 3011 and metadata storage area 3012, and controls the provision of the video content and each piece of metadata to the service provider based on a contract. Furthermore, when providing the video content and each piece of metadata to the service provider, the content management/distribution execution unit 3102 also performs authentication processing of the service provider server 400 based on the contract, as necessary.

The LAN communication unit 321 is connected to the Internet 200 and communicates with the service provider server 400 on the Internet 200. The LAN communication unit 321 includes an encoding circuit, a decoding circuit, etc.

[Configuration of service provider server]
4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the service provider server 400. The service provider server 400 is composed of a main control unit 401, a system bus 402, a RAM 404, a storage unit 410, and a LAN communication unit 421.

The main control unit 401 is a microprocessor unit that controls the entire service provider server 400 in accordance with a predetermined operation program. The system bus 402 is a data communication path for transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 401 and each operation block within the service provider server 400. The RAM 404 serves as a work area when each operation program is executed.

The storage unit 410 stores a basic operation program 4001, a content management/distribution program 4002, and an application management/distribution program 4003, and further includes a video content storage area 4011, a metadata storage area 4012, and an application storage area 4013. The video content storage area 4011 and the metadata storage area 4012 store the video content and the like and each piece of metadata provided by the broadcast station server 300, as well as content produced by the service provider and metadata related to the content. The application storage area 4013 stores applications required to realize each service of the broadcasting/communication cooperation system, for distribution in response to requests from each television receiver.

The basic operation program 4001, content management/distribution program 4002, and application management/distribution program 4003 stored in the storage unit 410 are each expanded in the RAM 404, and the main control unit 401 executes the expanded basic operation program, content management/distribution program, and application management/distribution program to form a basic operation execution unit 4101, a content management/distribution execution unit 4102, and an application management/distribution execution unit 4103.

In the following, for simplicity, the process in which the main control unit 401 controls each operation block by expanding the basic operation program 4001 stored in the storage unit 410 into the RAM 404 and executing it will be described as the basic operation execution unit 4101 controlling each operation block. Similar descriptions will be used for the other operation programs.

The content management/distribution execution unit 4102 acquires video content and other metadata from the broadcast station server 300, manages the video content and other metadata stored in the video content storage area 4011 and metadata storage area 4012, and controls the distribution of the video content and other metadata to each television receiver. The application management/distribution execution unit 4103 manages the applications stored in the application storage area 4013, and controls the distribution of the applications in response to requests from each television receiver. Furthermore, when distributing the applications to each television receiver, the application management/distribution execution unit 4103 also performs authentication processing for each television receiver, as necessary.

The LAN communication unit 421 is connected to the Internet 200, and communicates with the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 via the broadcast station server 300 on the Internet 200 and the router device 210. The LAN communication unit 421 is equipped with an encoding circuit, a decoding circuit, etc.

[Hardware configuration of mobile information terminal]
5A is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a portable information terminal 700. The portable information terminal 700 is composed of a main control unit 701, a system bus 702, a ROM 703, a RAM 704, a storage unit 710, a communication processing unit 720, an expansion interface unit 724, an operation unit 730, an image processing unit 740, an audio processing unit 750, and a sensor unit 760.

The main control unit 701 is a microprocessor unit that controls the entire portable information terminal 700. The system bus 702 is a data communication path for transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 701 and each operating block within the portable information terminal 700.

ROM 703 is a memory in which basic operation programs such as an operating system and other operation programs are stored, and may be a rewritable ROM such as an EEPROM or flash ROM. RAM 704 serves as a work area when the basic operation programs and other operation programs are executed. ROM 703 and RAM 704 may be integrated with the main control unit 701. Also, ROM 703 may not be an independent configuration as shown in FIG. 5A, but may use a portion of the memory area in the storage unit 710.

The storage unit 710 stores the operating program and operating setting values of the portable information terminal 700, personal information of the user of the portable information terminal 700, etc. It can also store operating programs downloaded from a network and various data created by the operating programs. It can also store content such as video, still images, and audio downloaded from a network. A portion of the storage unit 710 may replace all or part of the functions of the ROM 703. The storage unit 710 must also retain the stored information even when the portable information terminal 700 is not receiving power from an external source. Therefore, for example, a flash ROM, SSD, HDD, or other device is used.

The operating programs stored in the ROM 703 and the storage unit 710 can be updated and their functions expanded by downloading them from each server device on the Internet 200.

The communication processing unit 720 is composed of a LAN communication unit 721, a mobile telephone network communication unit 722, and an NFC communication unit 723. The LAN communication unit 721 is connected to the Internet 200 via the router device 210, and transmits and receives data to and from each server device on the Internet 200. The connection to the router device 210 is assumed to be made via a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The mobile telephone network communication unit 722 performs telephone communication (calls) and data transmission and reception through wireless communication with the base station 600b of the mobile telephone communication network. The NFC communication unit 723 performs wireless communication when in close proximity to a corresponding reader/writer. The LAN communication unit 721, the mobile telephone network communication unit 722, and the NFC communication unit 723 each include an encoding circuit, a decoding circuit, an antenna, etc. The communication processing unit 720 may further include other communication units such as a BlueTooth (registered trademark) communication unit and an infrared communication unit.

The expansion interface unit 724 is a group of interfaces for expanding the functions of the portable information terminal 700, and in this embodiment, is composed of a video/audio interface, a USB interface, a memory interface, etc. The video/audio interface inputs video signals/audio signals from external video/audio output devices, outputs video signals/audio signals to external video/audio input devices, etc. The USB interface connects to a PC or the like to send and receive data. It may also be used to connect a keyboard or other USB devices. The memory interface connects to a memory card or other memory medium to send and receive data.

The operation unit 730 is an instruction input unit that inputs operation instructions to the mobile information terminal 700, and in this embodiment, is configured with a touch panel 730t arranged on top of the display unit 741 and operation keys 730k with an array of button switches. Only one of them may be used. The mobile information terminal 700 may be operated using a keyboard or the like connected to the expansion interface unit 724. The mobile information terminal 700 may be operated using a separate mobile terminal device connected by wired or wireless communication. The touch panel function may also be provided by the display unit 741.

The image processing unit 740 is composed of a display unit 741, an image signal processing unit 742, a first image input unit 743, and a second image input unit 744. The display unit 741 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and provides image data processed by the image signal processing unit 742 to the user of the mobile information terminal 700. The image signal processing unit 742 is equipped with a video RAM (not shown), and the display unit 741 is driven based on the image data input to the video RAM. The image signal processing unit 742 also has a function of performing format conversion, superimposition processing of menus and other OSD (On Screen Display) signals, etc. as necessary. The first image input unit 743 and the second image input unit 744 are camera units that input image data of the surroundings or the object by converting the light input from the lens into an electrical signal using electronic devices such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor.

The audio processing unit 750 is composed of an audio output unit 751, an audio signal processing unit 752, and an audio input unit 753. The audio output unit 751 is a speaker, and provides the audio signal processed by the audio signal processing unit 752 to the user of the mobile information terminal 700. The audio input unit 753 is a microphone, and converts the user's voice, etc. into audio data and inputs it.

The sensor unit 760 is a group of sensors for detecting the state of the mobile information terminal 700, and in this embodiment, is composed of a GPS receiver unit 761, a gyro sensor 762, a geomagnetic sensor 763, an acceleration sensor 764, an illuminance sensor 765, and a proximity sensor 766. These sensors make it possible to detect the position, inclination, direction, and movement of the mobile information terminal 700, as well as the brightness of the surroundings, the proximity of surrounding objects, and the like. The mobile information terminal 700 may also be equipped with other sensors, such as an air pressure sensor.

The mobile information terminal 700 may be a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. It may also be a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a notebook PC. It may also be a digital still camera, a video camera capable of shooting video, a portable game console, or other portable digital device.

The example configuration of the mobile information terminal 700 shown in FIG. 5A includes many components that are not essential to this embodiment, such as the sensor unit 760, but the effect of this embodiment is not diminished even if these components are not included in the configuration. In addition, components not shown, such as a digital broadcast receiving function and an electronic money payment function, may be added.

[Software configuration of mobile information terminal]
5B is a software configuration diagram of the portable information terminal 700 of this embodiment, and shows the software configuration in the ROM 703, the RAM 704, and the storage unit 710. In this embodiment, a basic operation program 7001 and other operation programs are stored in the ROM 703, and a linkage control program 7002, an HTML browser program 7003, and other operation programs are stored in the storage unit 710. The storage unit 710 is also assumed to include a content storage area 7011 for storing content such as moving images, still images, and audio, an authentication information storage area 7012 for storing authentication information used during linkage operation with a television receiver, and various information storage areas for storing various other information.

The basic operation program 7001 stored in the ROM 703 is expanded in the RAM 704, and the main control unit 701 executes the expanded basic operation program to constitute a basic operation execution unit 7101. The cooperative control program 7002 and HTML browser program 7003 stored in the storage unit 710 are expanded in the RAM 704, and the main control unit 701 executes each of the expanded operation programs to constitute a cooperative control execution unit 7102 and an HTML browser engine 7103. The RAM 704 also includes a temporary storage area for temporarily storing data created when each operation program is executed, as necessary.

In the following, for simplicity, the process in which the main control unit 701 loads the basic operation program 7001 stored in the ROM 703 into the RAM 704 and executes it to control each operation block will be described as the basic operation execution unit 7101 controlling each operation block. Similar descriptions will be used for the other operation programs.

The linkage control execution unit 7102 manages device authentication and connection, sending and receiving of various data, etc., when the mobile information terminal 700 links with the television receiver. The HTML browser engine 7103 is an HTML browser that runs applications created for the broadcasting and communication linkage system on the mobile information terminal 700.

The operating programs may be stored in the ROM 703 and/or the storage unit 710 beforehand at the time of product shipment. After product shipment, they may be acquired from other application servers 500 on the Internet 200 via the LAN communication unit 721 or the mobile telephone network communication unit 722. In addition, the operating programs stored in a memory card, optical disk, etc. may be acquired via the expansion interface unit 724, etc.

[Overview of Application Control Information (AIT)]
The application control information (AIT) of this embodiment is information intended to inform a television receiver or the like (in this embodiment, the broadcast receiving device 100) of the existence of an application (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a broadcast linking application) that links to a broadcast service in the broadcast communication linking function supported by the broadcast receiving device 100, and to instruct its control. The broadcast linking application may be classified into (1) a broadcast managed application that operates only in a broadcast reception state based on a control signal such as start/end included in a broadcast signal, and is permitted to access broadcast resources based on the control signal, (2) a non-broadcast managed application that is not controlled by a broadcast signal for start/end, and is permitted to access broadcast resources based on means such as application authentication, and (3) other general applications that are not permitted to access broadcast resources.

The AIT can be transmitted by broadcasting waves using a data carousel (DC) method or the like in which the AIT in section format or XML (extensible Markup Language) format is transmitted, or by distributing the AIT file in section format or XML format from a server device on the Internet 200 using http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or https (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), or the like. Other methods may also be used.

Figure 6 is a data configuration diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the AIT. The AIT is mainly composed of information such as an application type 901, an application identifier 902, an application control code 903, an application profile 904, application acquisition destination information 905, application boundary and access authority settings 906, startup priority 907, cache information 908, and server access distribution parameters 909. In addition, other information may be included.

The application type 901 specifies the description method of the application. In this embodiment, the description method of the application is HTML. The application identifier 902 is identification information for identifying an application unit, which is composed of an organization identification for identifying a business operator and an application identification numbered for each business operator. Note that an application unit is a set of HTML documents and their reference resources, with the HTML document existing at the location specified by the application acquisition destination information 905 as the entry document. The application control code 903 specifies the operation control for the target application, and one of (1) automatic start, (2) operable, (3) terminated, and (4) prefetch is described. The application profile 904 is a value indicating the functions of the television receiver required by the application, and indicates a combination of optional functions of the television receiver. By referring to this value, the availability of the application is determined.

The application acquisition destination information 905 is information that specifies the acquisition destination of the application, and is location information for acquiring the HTML document that is first referenced when the application is started. Since it is assumed that the application will be transmitted by broadcast or placed on a server device on a communication network, the location information specified by the application acquisition destination information 905 is also specified to correspond to both broadcast acquisition and communication acquisition. The application boundary and access restriction setting 906 is information that indicates the operable range as a broadcast managed application as a set of one or more areas (URL: Uniform Resource Locator). In addition, access restrictions for each area are set on a functional basis. The application boundary and access restriction setting 906 specifies the range of document transition to prevent transition to an unexpected document due to a chain of document transitions from an entry document when the application is started, access to inappropriate broadcast resources, etc. In addition, it is possible to set access rights to specific broadcast resources on an area basis within the range of the document transition.

The start priority 907 specifies which is to be started first when data broadcasting by a broadcasting service and a broadcast managed application by an HTML document are present at the same time. It is possible to unconditionally specify data broadcasting as the highest priority on the PMT, to specify the start priority of a specific application type on the PMT, and to specify the start priority of the target application in the start priority 907. The cache information 908 is information used for cache control when holding application resources in preparation for reuse of the application. This information makes it possible to cache application resources that are assumed to be reused even after the application is terminated. The server access distribution parameter 909 is a parameter set for distributing access in order to reduce the load on a server where access is concentrated at the application acquisition destination, etc. The television receiver may operate to probabilistically delay the application of the application control code according to the setting of this parameter.

The operation of the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment is described below.

[Application startup sequence]
First, a description will be given of a process for starting a broadcast-linked app based on an AIT transmitted by a broadcast wave in the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment. In the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to specify which of the two is to be started first when a data broadcast by a broadcast service and a broadcast-linked app are simultaneously present, based on information on the PMT and information such as an application control code 903 and a start priority 907 in the AIT.

Figure 7A is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence of a broadcast-linked app when it is specified that the broadcast-linked app is to be launched with priority. This figure shows a series of steps from when the broadcast receiving device 100 appropriately checks the PMT and AIT to when it launches a specific broadcast-linked app.

When the tuner/demodulator 131 of the broadcast receiving device 100 selects the channel desired by the user and acquires the TS, the main control unit 101 then acquires the PMT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S101) and checks the startup priority described in the PMT. When it is confirmed in the process of S101 that the startup priority of the broadcast linked app is high (S102), the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S103) and checks the application control code 903 of the acquired AIT data string (S104). In the process of S104, if the application control code 903 is "automatic start", the application profile 904 of the acquired AIT data string is further checked (S105), and if it is confirmed that the broadcast-linked application specified in the AIT can be executed, a request to send the broadcast-linked application is sent to a specified service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 based on the information described in the application acquisition destination information 905 (S106).

The service provider server 400, which has received the request to send the broadcast-linked app, performs authentication processing of the broadcast receiving device 100 as necessary based on the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S107). Note that a known method may be used for the authentication processing, and detailed explanations will be omitted. Next, the application engine 162 of the broadcast receiving device 100, based on the control of the application control unit 161, launches the specified broadcast-linked app received from the service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 (S108).

Figure 7B is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence of a broadcast-linked app when it is specified that data broadcasting by a broadcast service is to be launched with priority. This figure shows a series of steps from when the broadcast receiving device 100 appropriately checks the PMT and AIT to when it launches a specific broadcast-linked app.

When the tuner/demodulator 131 of the broadcast receiving device 100 selects the channel desired by the user and acquires the TS, the main control unit 101 then acquires the PMT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S201) and checks the start priority described in the PMT. When it is confirmed in the process of S201 that the start priority of the data broadcast by the broadcast service is high (S202), the data broadcast reception processing unit 141 acquires the BML data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 and plays the BML document (S203). If the BML document sets automatic start of the data broadcast, and if the user uses the operation terminal (mobile information terminal 700, remote control, etc.) to request the start of the data broadcast (S204), the data broadcast engine 142 executes the played BML document to generate data broadcast screen information and displays it on the video display unit 173 (S205).

After the processing of S205, or simultaneously with the processing of S205, the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S206), and checks the application profile 904 of the acquired AIT data string (S207). In the processing of S207, if it is confirmed that the broadcast linked app specified in the AIT can be executed, an entry button to the executable broadcast linked app is displayed on the data broadcast screen. The entry button may be always displayed, and the color scheme may be changed from an inactive color to an active color only when the broadcast linked app can be executed. The entry button may be switched between an inactive state and an active state by changing its shape.

When the user selects the entry button using the operation terminal (S208), the data broadcasting engine 142 ends the process of executing the BML document to generate data broadcasting screen information (S209). Next, the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S210) and checks the application acquisition destination information 905 of the acquired AIT data string. Furthermore, based on the information described in the application acquisition destination information 905 confirmed in S210, a request to send a broadcasting linked app is sent to a specified service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 (S211).

The service provider server 400, which has received the request to send the broadcast-linked app, performs authentication processing of the broadcast receiving device 100 as necessary based on the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S212). Next, the application engine 162 of the broadcast receiving device 100, based on the control of the application control unit 161, launches the specified broadcast-linked app distributed from the service provider server 400 and received via the LAN communication unit 121 (S213).

Figure 7C is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence of a broadcast-linked app when no priority startup is specified. This diagram shows a series of steps taken by the broadcast receiving device 100 to appropriately check the PMT and AIT and start a specific broadcast-linked app.

When the tuner/demodulator 131 of the broadcast receiving device 100 selects the channel desired by the user and acquires the TS, the main control unit 101 then acquires the PMT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S301) and checks the startup priority described in the PMT. When it is confirmed in the process of S301 that the startup priority of the broadcast linked app is high (S302), the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S303) and checks the application control code 903 of the acquired AIT data sequence (S304). In the process of S304, if the application control code 903 is "startable" rather than "automatic startup", the display of the broadcast program is continued without starting either the data broadcast by the broadcast service or the broadcast linked app.

If the user makes a request to start data broadcasting using the operation terminal after the processing of S304 is completed (S305), the BML data string is acquired, the BML document is played, and data broadcasting screen information is generated, as in the processing of S205 and subsequent steps in FIG. 7B (however, not shown). On the other hand, if the user makes a request to start a broadcast-linked app launcher using the operation terminal after the processing of S304 is completed (S306), the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S307) and checks the application profile 904 of the acquired AIT data string (S308). Furthermore, the application control unit 161 displays a list of executable broadcast-linked apps on the video display unit 173 as a broadcast-linked app launcher (S309).

When the user uses the operation terminal to select a specific broadcast linked app from the broadcast linked app launcher displayed in S309 (S310), the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data string separated by the first separation unit 132 (S311) and checks the application acquisition destination information 905 of the acquired AIT data string. Furthermore, based on the information described in the application acquisition destination information 905 confirmed in S311, a request to send the broadcast linked app is sent to the specific service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 (S312).

The service provider server 400, which has received the request to send the broadcast-linked app, performs authentication processing of the broadcast receiving device 100 as necessary based on the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S313). Next, the application engine 162 of the broadcast receiving device 100, based on the control of the application control unit 161, launches the specified broadcast-linked app distributed from the service provider server 400 and received via the LAN communication unit 121 (S314).

In the broadcast-linked app startup sequence described using Figures 7A to 7C, an example is described in which the AIT is acquired from broadcast waves, but the AIT file may be acquired from a specified server device specified by the information description of the PMT, etc. Also, the broadcast-linked app may be acquired from broadcast waves, rather than from a server device (service provider server 400) on the network. That is, when the location information described in the application acquisition destination information 905 of the AIT indicates broadcast waves, the application control unit 161 reproduces an HTML document from the HTML data string transmitted by a data carousel method or the like and separated and output by the first separation unit 132, and the application engine 162 executes the reproduced HTML document (broadcast-linked app).

If there is no information on the PMT specifying the startup priority when data broadcasting by a broadcasting service and a broadcast-linked app exist simultaneously, the startup priority may be confirmed only by information such as the application control code 903 and startup priority 907 of the AIT. Similarly, if acquisition of the information on the PMT fails, the startup priority may be confirmed only by information such as the application control code 903 and startup priority 907 of the AIT. In other words, regardless of the information on the PMT, the AIT may be checked periodically, and if a broadcast-linked app specified as "automatic startup" exists in the application control code 903 of the AIT, startup of the broadcast-linked app may be prioritized, and if a broadcast-linked app specified as "automatic startup" does not exist in the application control code 903 of the AIT, startup of the data broadcasting by the broadcasting service may be prioritized.

In addition, if there is no response from the service provider server 400 for a predetermined period of time when a distribution request for the broadcast-linked app is made in S106, S211, or S312, a message such as "Please wait a moment" may be displayed on the video display unit 173. Alternatively, in this case, a message may be displayed inquiring of the user about stopping execution of the broadcast-linked app.

It goes without saying that the start-up sequence of the broadcast-linked app is not limited to the three patterns mentioned above, and it may be started up using a different sequence.

[Operation sequence when mobile information terminals are linked]
In the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, it is assumed that the function of the broadcast communication cooperative service can be expanded by the cooperative operation between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700. For example, by installing an application (cooperative control app) prepared by a television receiver manufacturer, it is possible to use the mobile information terminal 700 as a high-function remote control for the broadcast receiving device 100. In addition, it is possible to execute the broadcast cooperative app on the mobile information terminal 700 and display, for example, a service linked to a broadcast program being displayed on the broadcast receiving device 100 on the mobile information terminal 700. Note that, in order to expand the function by the cooperative operation between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700, it is preferable that the cooperative control app is running on the mobile information terminal 700, and the broadcast cooperative app running on the mobile information terminal 700 is controlled by the cooperative control app.

Figure 8A is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence when the cooperative control app is launched on the mobile information terminal 700. This figure shows a series of steps (first time) in which the mobile information terminal 700 performs authentication processing with the broadcast receiving device 100 and cooperative operation becomes possible. Note that the cooperative control app is assumed to have been installed in advance in the storage unit 710 of the mobile information terminal 700 as a cooperative control program 7002.

When the user instructs the mobile information terminal 700 to start the linkage control app (S401), the linkage control execution unit 7102 of the mobile information terminal 700 searches for television receivers that can communicate (linkage operation) on the network (S402) and displays the search results as a list of television receivers on the display unit 741. If a television receiver that can communicate cannot be found, the process ends with a message to that effect. When the user selects an arbitrary television receiver (the broadcast receiving device 100 in this embodiment) from the list of television receivers, the linkage control execution unit 7102 displays a login screen for connecting to the broadcast receiving device 100 on the display unit 741. When the user inputs authentication information (login name and password specified by the broadcast receiving device 100, etc.) into the login screen via the operation unit 730 (S403), the linkage control execution unit 7102 stores the input authentication information in the authentication information storage area 7012 and simultaneously transmits it to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S404). The process of transmitting the authentication information to the broadcast receiving device 100 may be performed via the LAN communication unit 721 and the router device 210, or may be performed directly to the broadcast receiving device 100 via the NFC communication unit 723.

The terminal cooperation control unit 191 of the broadcast receiving device 100, which has received the authentication information via the LAN communication unit 121, checks whether the received authentication information is correct by referring to the authentication information storage area 1012 (S405). If the received authentication information is confirmed to be correct by the processing of S405, the information of the mobile information terminal 700 is stored in the authentication information storage area 1012 and the mobile information terminal 700 is authenticated (S406). The mobile information terminal 700, which has been authenticated by the broadcast receiving device 100, displays the basic screen of the cooperation control application (e.g., a high-function remote control screen) on the display unit 741 (S407). If the received authentication information is not confirmed to be correct in S405, the terminal cooperation control unit 191 of the broadcast receiving device 100 returns an error to the mobile information terminal 700. By the above processing, the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 are in a state where cooperation is possible.

Figure 8B is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence when the cooperative control app is launched on the mobile information terminal 700. This figure shows a series of steps (from the second time onwards) in which the mobile information terminal 700 performs authentication processing with the broadcast receiving device 100 and cooperative operation becomes possible.

When the user instructs the mobile information terminal 700 to start the linkage control app (S501), the linkage control execution unit 7102 of the mobile information terminal 700 searches for television receivers on the network that can communicate, and displays the search results as a list of television receivers on the display unit 741. If no television receivers that can communicate are found, a message to that effect is displayed and the process ends. If the user selects an arbitrary television receiver (broadcast receiving device 100 in this embodiment) from the list of television receivers (S502), and the selected broadcast receiving device 100 is a device that has previously been connected (linked operation), the linkage control execution unit 7102 reads out the authentication information of the broadcast receiving device 100 from the authentication information storage area 7012 and transmits it to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S503).

The terminal linkage control unit 191 of the broadcast receiving device 100, which has received the authentication information via the LAN communication unit 121, checks whether the received authentication information is correct by referring to the authentication information storage area 1012 (S504). If the processing of S504 confirms that the received authentication information is correct, it authenticates the mobile information terminal 700 (S505). The mobile information terminal 700, which has been authenticated by the broadcast receiving device 100, displays the basic screen of the linkage control app on the display unit 741 (S506). Through the above processing, the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 are ready for linked operation.

Note that when launching a broadcast-linked app in the broadcast receiving device 100 following the processing of Figures 8A to 8B, the processing of Figures 7A to 7C can be performed after the processing of Figures 8A to 8B.

Figure 8C is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of the operational sequence when the cooperative control app is launched on the mobile information terminal 700. This figure shows a series of steps (from the second time onwards) in which the mobile information terminal 700 performs authentication processing with the broadcast receiving device 100 and cooperative operation becomes possible. However, this figure shows an example in which the broadcast receiving device 100, which executes the launch sequence of the broadcast cooperative app, requests the launch of the cooperative control app on the mobile information terminal 700.

When the tuner/demodulator 131 of the broadcast receiving device 100 performs the process of selecting the channel desired by the user and acquires the TS, the main control unit 101 then acquires the PMT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S601) and checks the startup priority described in the PMT. When it is confirmed in the process of S601 that the startup priority of the broadcast linked app is high (S602), the application control unit 161 acquires the AIT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S603) and checks the application control code 903 of the acquired AIT data sequence (S604). In the process of S604, if the application control code 903 is "automatic startup", the application profile 904 of the acquired AIT data sequence is further checked (S605). In the process of S605, if it is confirmed that the broadcast cooperative app specified in the AIT can be executed, and if it is determined that cooperative control of the mobile terminal device is necessary, the terminal cooperative control unit 191 selects the mobile information terminal 700 as the mobile terminal device by referring to the authentication information storage area 1012, and transmits a cooperative control app startup request to the selected mobile information terminal 700 (S606).

The selection of the mobile information terminal 700 by referring to the authentication information storage area 1012 may be based on the latest information in the authentication information storage area 1012 or on the most frequently used information in the authentication information storage area 1012.

In addition, in the process of S606, if a mobile terminal device to which a request to start the linked control app should be sent cannot be found, a message indicating this may be displayed on the video display unit 173. Alternatively, in this case, a message may be displayed inquiring the user about whether to stop execution of the broadcast linked app.

The main control unit 701 of the mobile information terminal 700 starts the collaborative control app (the collaborative control execution unit 7102) in response to the collaborative control app start request received via the LAN communication unit 721 (S607), and the collaborative control execution unit 7102 further reads out the authentication information of the broadcast receiving device 100 from the authentication information storage area 7012 and transmits it to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S608).

The terminal linkage control unit 191 of the broadcast receiving device 100, which has received the authentication information via the LAN communication unit 121, checks whether the received authentication information is correct by referring to the authentication information storage area 1012 (S609). If the processing of S609 confirms that the received authentication information is correct, it authenticates the mobile information terminal 700 (S610). The mobile information terminal 700, which has been authenticated by the broadcast receiving device 100, displays the basic screen of the linkage control app on the display unit 741 (S611). Through the above processing, the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 are ready for linked operation.

If the broadcast-linked app is to be executed on both the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 following the above-mentioned process, the process shown in FIG. 9 can be performed. FIG. 9 is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of a start-up sequence for the broadcast-linked app on the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700.

That is, after the processing of S601 to S611 in FIG. 8C, the application control unit 161 of the broadcast receiving device 100 acquires the AIT data sequence separated by the first separation unit 132 (S612), and checks the application acquisition destination information 905 of the acquired AIT data sequence. Furthermore, based on the information described in the application acquisition destination information 905 confirmed in S612, a transmission request for the broadcast linked app (TV side) is sent to a specified service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 (S613).

The service provider server 400, which has received the transmission request for the broadcast-linked app (television side), performs authentication processing of the broadcast receiving device 100 as necessary based on the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app (television side) stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S614). Based on the control of the application control unit 161, the application engine 162 of the broadcast receiving device 100 launches the specified broadcast-linked app (television side) distributed from the service provider server 400 and received via the LAN communication unit 121 (S615).

Next, the terminal cooperation control unit 191 of the broadcast receiving device 100 transmits to the mobile information terminal 700, information such as the URL information of the acquisition destination of the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) to be executed on the mobile information terminal 700, which information was acquired from the AIT or the broadcast cooperation app (TV side) executed in S615 (S616). The cooperation control execution unit 7102 of the mobile information terminal 700 transmits a transmission request for the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) to a specified service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 721 based on the URL information of the acquisition destination of the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) received via the LAN communication unit 721 (S617).

The service provider server 400, which has received the request to send the broadcast-linked app (terminal side), performs authentication processing of the mobile information terminal 700 as necessary under the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app (terminal side) stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S618). The HTML browser engine 7103 of the mobile information terminal 700 launches the specified broadcast-linked app (terminal side) received from the service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 721 (S619).

Note that the AIT file can be acquired from a specified server device, and the broadcast-linked app can be acquired from broadcast waves rather than from a server device on the network, which are the same as the operation sequences of Figures 7A to 7C. Note that when acquiring the broadcast-linked app from broadcast waves, the broadcast receiving device 100 may acquire the broadcast-linked app (terminal side) to be executed on the mobile information terminal 700 from the broadcast waves, and transfer the acquired broadcast-linked app (terminal side) to the mobile information terminal 700 via the communication unit 121. Alternatively, the broadcast receiving device 100 may acquire the broadcast-linked app (terminal side) to be executed on the mobile information terminal 700 from the broadcast waves and store it in the storage unit 110, and in the process of S616 in Figure 9, the location information of the storage unit 110 of the broadcast receiving device 100 may be transmitted as URL information to be transmitted to the mobile information terminal 700. The broadcast receiving device 100 may acquire the broadcast linked app (television side) from broadcast waves, and the mobile information terminal 700 may acquire the broadcast linked app (terminal side) from a server device on the network. The mobile information terminal 700 may acquire the broadcast linked app (terminal side) directly from the broadcast waves using a digital broadcast receiving function that the mobile information terminal 700 has.

In addition, the operation sequences in Figures 7A to 7C, 8A to 8C, and 9 can be partially combined as appropriate, and some operation steps can be rearranged or operated simultaneously with other operation steps as appropriate.

[Mobile terminal linkage control app basic screen]
Fig. 10A is a screen display diagram showing an example of a basic screen of the cooperative control app displayed by the process of S407 in Fig. 8A, the process of S506 in Fig. 8B, the process of S611 in Fig. 8C, etc. In this embodiment, the basic screen 741a of the cooperative control app is assumed to have a function as a high-function remote control compatible with the broadcast receiving device 100.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the basic screen 741a of the linked control app is composed of a power key 741a1, a network selection key (digital terrestrial, BS, CS) 741a2, number keys (1-12) 741a3, volume up/down key 741a4, channel up/down keys 741a5, input switching key 741a6, program guide key 741a7, data key 741a8, linked app key 741a9, menu key 741aa, back key 741ab, cursor keys (up, down, left, right) 741ac, enter key 741ad, and color keys (blue, red, green, yellow) 741ae. Other operation keys may also be displayed.

For ease of use, each of the operation keys may have the same key arrangement/operation as that of a dedicated remote control provided with the broadcast receiving device 100. In addition, the power key 741a1, network selection key 741a2, numeric keys 741a3, etc. have the same functions as the operation keys of a known television remote control, and detailed explanations are omitted. The linked application key 741a9 is an operation key provided for the broadcast linked communication function of this embodiment.

In the processing of S204 in FIG. 7B and S305 in FIG. 7C, it is assumed that data broadcasting can be started/ended by selecting the data key 741a8. Also, in the processing of S208 in FIG. 7B and S310 in FIG. 7C, it is assumed that the executable broadcast linked app can be selected by operating the cursor key 741ac and the determination key 741ad. Also, in the processing of S306 in FIG. 7C, it is assumed that a request to start the broadcast linked app launcher can be made by selecting the linked app key 741a9.

In this way, by providing the linked application key 741a9 or another operation key having a similar function on the basic screen 741a of the linked control application, it becomes possible to easily select/launch each broadcast linked application used in the broadcast linked system of this embodiment. In addition, the linked application key 741a9 or another operation key having a similar function may be provided on a dedicated remote control attached to the broadcast receiving device 100.

Figure 10B is a screen display diagram showing an example of the basic screen of the collaborative control app displayed by processing S407 in Figure 8A, processing S506 in Figure 8B, processing S611 in Figure 8C, etc., and is an example different from that of Figure 10A.

The basic screen 741b of the collaborative control app is composed of a collaborative control message 741b1 and a collaborative control app operation screen 741b2. Other objects may also be displayed. The collaborative control message 741b1 is a message display for making the user aware that the mobile information terminal 700 is operating in collaboration with the broadcast receiving device 100. The collaborative control app operation screen 741b2 is an area in which any screen display is performed by the collaborative control app, and detailed explanation is omitted in this embodiment. For example, the configuration within the collaborative control app operation screen 741b2 may be the same as the basic screen 741a of the aforementioned collaborative control app. A sub-screen of a broadcast program displayed on the broadcast receiving device 100, etc. may also be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 10B, by displaying the cooperative control in progress message 741b1, the user of the mobile information terminal 700 can easily understand that the mobile information terminal 700 is operating in cooperation with the broadcast receiving device 100. Note that the cooperative control in progress message 741b1 is not limited to a text display, and may be a symbol display, a graphic display, etc. A difference in background color, etc. may be used as an alternative to the cooperative control in progress message 741b1.

[Data broadcasting screen on broadcast receiving device]
Fig. 11 is a screen display diagram showing an example of a data broadcast screen displayed by the process of S205 in Fig. 7B. In this embodiment, it is assumed that three broadcast cooperative applications, i.e., cooperative application A, cooperative application B, and cooperative application C, are executable by the broadcast receiving device 100 according to the description of the AIT, etc. In this case, an entry button 173a2 for cooperative application A, an entry button 173a3 for cooperative application B, and an entry button 173a4 for cooperative application C are displayed at arbitrary positions on the data broadcast screen 173a.

When the entry button 173a2, entry button 173a3, entry button 173a4, etc. is selected using the cursor keys 741ac and the decision key 741ad on the basic screen 741a of the linkage control app on the data broadcast screen 173a as shown in FIG. 11, the display of the data broadcast screen 173a is terminated and linkage app A, linkage app B, linkage app C, etc. are launched under the control of the application control unit 161 and the application engine 162.

When displaying the data broadcast screen 173a, the frame color, inner color, shape, font, size, blinking state, etc. of each entry button may be changed as appropriate according to the type of broadcast linked application, security status, etc. For example, if the linked application A is a broadcast managed application, the frame color of the entry button 173a2 is blue, if the linked application B is a non-broadcast managed application, the frame color of the entry button 173a3 is yellow, and if the linked application C is a general application, the frame color of the entry button 173a4 is red, etc. Alternatively, if the linked application A is determined to be reliable in terms of security, the frame color of the entry button 173a2 is blue, if the linked application B is determined to be not necessarily reliable in terms of security, the frame color of the entry button 173a3 is yellow, and if the linked application C is determined to be a security risk, the frame color of the entry button 173a4 is red, etc.

In addition, the frame color, internal color, shape, font, size, blinking status, etc. of each entry button may be changed as appropriate depending on the function or genre of the broadcast linked app, or depending on the expiration date of each broadcast linked app. The frame color, internal color, shape, font, size, blinking status, etc. of each entry button may be changed as appropriate depending on whether the broadcast linked app has been acquired from the network or not. For example, if the linked app A has already been acquired from the network (already cached in RAM 104 or storage 110), the frame color of entry button 173a2 is blue; if the linked app B is being acquired, the frame color of entry button 173a3 is yellow; if the linked app C has not been acquired, the frame color of entry button 173a4 is red, etc.

In this way, the user of the broadcast receiving device 100 can easily understand the types of broadcast-linked apps that can be executed on the broadcast receiving device 100, the security status, etc.

[Broadcast linkage application launcher screen of broadcast receiving device]
FIG. 12A is a screen display diagram showing an example of a notification screen for making a user aware that there is a broadcast cooperative app that can be launched in the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment.

For example, in the operation sequence shown in FIG. 7C, after processing of S304, the broadcast program continues to be displayed without launching either the data broadcast by the broadcast service or the broadcast linked app. On the other hand, in this case, if icon 173b0 as shown in FIG. 12A is displayed to let the user know that there is a broadcast linked app that can be launched, the usability of the broadcast receiving device 100 is improved. In other words, by displaying icon 173b0, it is possible to prevent the user from overlooking the existence of a broadcast linked app that can be launched.

The icon 173b0 may be displayed anywhere on the screen, but it is preferable that it be displayed in a location that does not interfere with viewing of a broadcast program. For example, the four corners of the screen. The icon 173b0 may be displayed as text as shown in FIG. 12A, or may be a symbol, figure, etc. The icon 173b0 may be displayed at all times, or may be displayed for a predetermined period of time after the power is turned on or the channel is changed. Alternatively, the icon 173b0 may be displayed simultaneously with the display of program information, channel number, etc.

Figure 12B is a screen display diagram showing an example of a broadcast linked app launcher displayed by the processing of S306 in Figure 7C. In this embodiment, it is assumed that three broadcast linked apps, linked app A, linked app B, and linked app C, are executable on the broadcast receiving device 100 due to the description in the AIT, etc. In this case, the broadcast linked app launcher 173b1 is displayed at an arbitrary position on the broadcast program screen 173b, and further, an entry button 173b2 for linked app A, an entry button 173b3 for linked app B, an entry button 173b4 for linked app C, and a back button 173b5 are displayed within the broadcast linked app launcher 173b1.

When the broadcast cooperative app launcher 173b1 as shown in FIG. 12B is displayed, if the entry button 173b2, entry button 173b3, entry button 173b4, etc. is selected using the cursor keys 741ac and the decision key 741ad on the basic screen 741a of the cooperative control app, cooperative app A, cooperative app B, cooperative app C, etc. are launched under the control of the application control unit 161 and the application engine 162. If the back button 173b5 is selected, the display of the broadcast cooperative app launcher 173b1 is terminated.

When displaying the broadcast linked app launcher 173b1 on the broadcast program screen 173b, the frame color, inner color, shape, font, size, blinking status, etc. of each entry button may be changed as appropriate depending on the type and security status of the broadcast linked app, the function and genre of the broadcast linked app, the acquisition status of the broadcast app from the network, etc., just as when displaying the entry buttons of each broadcast linked app on the data broadcast screen 173a of Figure 11.

In addition, if there is no broadcast linked app that can be executed on the broadcast receiving device 100, the broadcast linked app launcher 173b1 may not be displayed. Alternatively, in this case, a message such as "There are no available applications" may be displayed inside the broadcast linked app launcher 173b1.

[Broadcast linkage app execution screen of broadcast receiving device]
FIG. 13A is a screen display diagram showing an example of a broadcast cooperative application execution screen displayed in the process of S108 in FIG. 7A, the process of S213 in FIG. 7B, the process of S314 in FIG. 7C, the process of S615 in FIG. 9, etc. The broadcast cooperative application of this embodiment has graphics performance and effect performance by HTML description, and is capable of overlay display with the broadcast program screen on the video display unit 173. For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, a broadcast cooperative application unit 173c1 that displays information such as a weather forecast and news is overlaid at an arbitrary position on the broadcast program screen 173c. The broadcast cooperative application unit 173c1 is composed of a first main object 173c2, a second main object 173c3, a third main object 173c4, and a background object 173c5, etc. Other objects may be further displayed.

When the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is overlaid on the broadcast program screen 173c, it is possible to terminate the execution of the broadcast linked app and move to the data broadcast screen by selecting the data key 741a8 on the basic screen 741a of the linked control app. Also, it is possible to terminate the execution of the broadcast linked app and return to the display of only the broadcast program screen 173c by selecting the linked app key 741a9 on the basic screen 741a of the linked control app. The above process may be realized by a different operation key.

In addition, when the broadcast linking app section 173c1 is overlaid on the broadcast program screen 173c, the transparency of the broadcast linking app section 173c1 can be changed by operating each operation key on the basic screen 741a of the linking control app. The transparency change process may be performed collectively on the entire broadcast linking app section 173c1, or may be performed individually on each of the first main object 173c2, the second main object 173c3, the third main object 173c4, and the background object 173c5. It may also be performed for each predetermined group (e.g., multiple objects existing on the same graphics layer).

When performing the above-mentioned process of changing the transparency, for example, the cursor key 741ac on the basic screen 741a of the cooperation control application is used to select an object, and the "blue" key of the color key 741ae is used to increase the transparency of the object, and the "yellow" key is used to decrease the transparency of the object. The above-mentioned process of changing the transparency may be performed using different operation keys. If the entire broadcast cooperation application section 173c1 is collectively set to a transparency of 100%, the broadcast cooperation application section 173c1 can be temporarily hidden. For example, when an emergency broadcast is distributed by airwaves, it is possible to set the entire broadcast cooperation application section to a transparency of 100% and display only the broadcast program screen of the emergency broadcast on the video display section 173. Alternatively, a CM detection section (not shown) may detect that the broadcast program has changed from the main video to the CM video, and control the entire broadcast cooperation application section 173c1 to a transparency of 100% (or a transparency at which the video of the broadcast program can be clearly confirmed) collectively.

By performing the above-mentioned processing, if you want to check the broadcast program screen in the background while the broadcast linked app is running, you can do so without closing the broadcast linked app.

Figure 13B is a screen display diagram showing an example of the broadcast linked app execution screen displayed in the process of S108 in Figure 7A, the process of S213 in Figure 7B, the process of S314 in Figure 7C, the process of S615 in Figure 9, etc., different from the above. In the example shown in Figure 13B, a broadcast linked app section 173c6 that introduces recommended programs is overlaid at an arbitrary position on the broadcast program screen 173c. The broadcast linked app section 173c6 displays first recommended program information 173c7, second recommended program information 173c8, third recommended program information 173c9, etc. Even more recommended program information may be displayed by scrolling, page switching, etc.

The recommended program information may be information on a program recommended in relation to the broadcast program being displayed (broadcast program screen 173c), may be information on a program recommended based on the user's viewing history, or may be information on a program that is currently a hot topic on the Internet, etc. It may also be information on a recommended program sent to the user by a friend of the user of the broadcast receiving device 100. The recommended program may also be a program transmitted by broadcast waves of a digital broadcasting service, or may be a VOD (Video On Demand) program distributed from each server device on the Internet 200. It may also be an information screen such as a homepage prepared on a server device on the Internet 200.

When the broadcast linking app section 173c6 is overlaid on the broadcast program screen 173c, the first recommended program information 173c7, the second recommended program information 173c8, the third recommended program information 173c9, etc. can be selected using the cursor keys 741ac and the decision key 741ad on the basic screen 741a of the linking control app, and the program videos recommended in the first recommended program information 173c7, the second recommended program information 173c8, the third recommended program information 173c9, etc. are displayed on the display section 173.

Figure 13C is a screen display diagram showing an example of a case where a program video recommended by the broadcast cooperation application section 173c6 that introduces the recommended program is displayed. For example, when the first recommended program information 173c7 of the broadcast cooperation application section 173c6 is selected using the cursor key 741ac and the decision key 741ad on the basic screen 741a of the cooperation control application, the program video 173ca of the program recommended by the first recommended program information 173c7 is displayed on the display section 173. The program video 173ca may be paused or time-specified jumped by the user's operation of the operation terminal. In addition, when displaying the program video 173ca, the original broadcast program screen 173c may be displayed at any position in a PIP (Picture In Picture) format. In this case, it may be possible to change which of the program video 173ca of the recommended program and the original broadcast program screen 173c is to be the main screen by the user's operation of the operation terminal. The size of the window of the original broadcast program screen 173c may be adjusted by the user's operation on the operating terminal.

In addition, by displaying an icon display 173cb at any position on the screen indicating that the program video 173ca of the recommended program is a video displayed by selecting any of the recommended program information displayed in the broadcast linkage application section 173c6, user convenience can be improved. Needless to say, the transparency of the broadcast linkage application section 173c6 may also be changed on the broadcast linkage application execution screen shown in FIG. 13B in the same manner as described above.

Figure 13D is a screen display diagram showing an example of a broadcast linkage app execution screen that is different from the above, which is displayed in the process of S108 in Figure 7A, the process of S213 in Figure 7B, the process of S314 in Figure 7C, the process of S615 in Figure 9, etc. In the example shown in Figure 13D, a broadcast linkage app section 173cc, which serves as a portal for a SNS (Social Networking Service) service, is overlaid and displayed at an arbitrary position on the broadcast program screen 173c. The broadcast linkage app section 173cc displays an entry button 173cd for a first SNS service, an entry button 173ce for a second SNS service, an entry button 173cf for a third SNS service, etc. Entry buttons for even more SNS services may be displayed by scrolling, page switching, etc.

With the broadcast linkage application section 173cc overlaid on the broadcast program screen 173c, the cursor keys 741ac and the decision key 741ad on the basic screen 741a of the linkage control application can be used to select the entry button 173cd for the first SNS service, the entry button 173ce for the second SNS service, the entry button 173cf for the third SNS service, etc., to activate the functions assigned to each entry button, such as a chat function, a bulletin board function, or an Internet telephone function. This makes it possible to enjoy the broadcast program being displayed (broadcast program screen 173c) while exchanging information with others. At the same time, the basic screen 741a of the linkage control application on the mobile information terminal 700 may be changed to a character input screen such as a software keyboard, or a voice input screen for chatting or posting on a bulletin board by voice input.

In addition to the above-mentioned examples, the broadcast linking app that can be executed by the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment may be one that uses a linking function between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700, and further synchronizes with the timing of broadcasting a commercial, so that a related commercial app is presented on both the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700. Alternatively, for a paid service available on the broadcast receiving device 100, the broadcast linking app may check whether the user of the broadcast receiving device 100 has subscribed to the paid service, and change the display of the broadcast receiving device 100 and/or the mobile information terminal 700 depending on the result. In the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, regardless of which broadcast linking app is executed, it is possible to enjoy the effects described using Figures 13A and 13B, etc.

[Broadcast receiving device error display screen]
FIG. 14 is a screen display diagram showing an example of an error display screen when it is determined that the broadcast-linked app cannot be executed by checking the application profile 904 of the acquired AIT data string in the processing of S105 in FIG. 7A, the processing of S207 in FIG. 7B, the processing of S308 in FIG. 7C, the processing of S605 in FIG. 8C, etc., when there is an insufficient description of the AIT, or when acquisition of the AIT has failed.

In the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, when it is determined that the broadcast linked app cannot be executed, the reason why the broadcast linked app cannot be executed, such as the result of checking the application profile 904, is displayed in the error message 173d1. For example, when the result of checking the application profile 904 indicates that a predetermined optional function is lacking on the television receiver side, the error message 173d1 indicates this. An error code and a guide (URL, etc.) to the television receiver manufacturer's homepage in which an explanation of the error code is described may be displayed. Alternatively, when the broadcast linked app is acquired from a network, the network connection status is naturally checked in advance. At this time, for example, if the broadcast linked app cannot be acquired due to a defective connection of the LAN cable, the error message 173d1 indicates this. In addition, the error message 173d1 may be displayed when the network connection is established but the broadcast linked app cannot be acquired correctly due to a poor error situation. The error message 173d1 may be displayed when the broadcast linked app is being acquired and is not yet in a state where it can be executed. Also, the error message 173d1 may be displayed when the broadcast wave reception is unstable and, although the AIT and other information was initially received, the AIT and other information can no longer be received midway through. In such a case, if the broadcast-linked app obtained from each server device is cached as is, it can be used as is after the broadcast wave reception is restored.

In addition, if the result of checking the application profile 904 indicates that the television receiver is lacking a specific optional function, an error message 173d1 may be displayed recommending checking or updating the latest firmware for the television receiver. Alternatively, the broadcast receiving device 100 may automatically check or update the latest firmware. Alternatively, if the broadcast linking app can be executed by adding paid optional hardware or optional software to the television receiver, information about the paid optional hardware or optional software may be displayed. Note that the error message 173d1 may be displayed on the mobile information terminal 700 instead of the broadcast receiving device 100.

[Broadcast linkage app execution screen on mobile information terminal]
Fig. 15 is a screen display diagram showing an example of a broadcast cooperative application (terminal side) execution screen displayed in the process of S619 in Fig. 9. The broadcast cooperative application execution screen 741c shown in Fig. 15 is composed of a main window 741c1, a sub window 741c2, a selection marker 741c3, cursor keys 741c4 and 741c5, a commentary display section 741c6, and an end button 741c7. Other objects may be further added.

In this embodiment, the broadcast linkage app (terminal side) executed by the mobile information terminal 700 is an application for checking details of the broadcast program being displayed on the broadcast receiving device 100. The main window 741c1 displays the same image as the broadcast program screen being displayed on the broadcast receiving device 100, and the sub-window 741c2 displays an enlarged image of the position specified by the selection marker 741c3. The position of the selection marker 741c3 can be changed by selecting the cursor keys 741c4 and 741c5. The commentary display section 714c6 displays commentary subtitles about the broadcast program being displayed on the main window 741c1 and comments posted by other users about the broadcast program. The end button 741c7 is a button for ending the operation of the broadcast linkage app (terminal side).

By running the broadcast linkage app (terminal side) on the mobile information terminal 700, it becomes possible to expand the functionality of the broadcast communication linkage service through the linkage operation between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700.

[EPG screen of broadcast receiving device]
16A is a screen display diagram showing an example of an electronic program guide (EPG) display screen in the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment. The EPG display screen 173e is a distribution schedule of broadcast programs in the digital broadcast service of this embodiment, which is created by the main control unit 101 based on the program information data string output from the first separation unit 132. The EPG display screen 173e is displayed on the video display unit 173 by selecting the program guide key 741a7 on the basic screen 741a of the linkage control application.

In this embodiment, the EPG display screen 173e is in a matrix shape with the vertical axis representing time and the horizontal axis representing service ID (channel), and displays detailed information about each broadcast program broadcast on each channel during each time period. As shown in FIG. 16A, the detailed information 173e1 about each broadcast program is mainly composed of a title area 173e2 and a detailed description area 173e3.

The title area 173e2 displays the program title of each broadcast program and symbols representing the attributes of each broadcast program. The symbols representing the attributes of each broadcast program are, for example, a symbolized mark for "New" meaning that it is a new program, or a symbolized mark for "Replay" meaning that it is a rebroadcast program. Alternatively, it may be a symbolized mark for "data" meaning that it is compatible with data broadcasting by a broadcast service. In addition, if the broadcast program is prepared for a broadcast linkage app that can be executed by the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment, a symbolized mark for "Linkage" indicating this may be used. The detailed explanation area 173e3 displays related information such as the program content and performers of each broadcast program, and the URL of a homepage introducing each broadcast program.

The symbolized mark of "Linkage" displayed in the title area 173e2 may not be displayed if the result of checking the application profile 904 indicates that the broadcast program cannot be executed on the information display device 100, even if a broadcast-linked app is prepared for the broadcast program. The symbolized mark of "Linkage" displayed in the title area 173e2, which indicates that the broadcast program has an executable broadcast-linked app, may further have its color, shape, font, etc. changed depending on whether or not the program can be linked with a mobile terminal device. If the program can be linked with a mobile terminal device, a symbolized mark of "Mobile" may be displayed together with the symbolized mark of "Linkage".

The presence or absence of the symbolized mark for "Linkage" or the symbolized mark for "Mobile" may be controlled by acquiring information, which is previously recorded in the EIT information including detailed information about each broadcast program, such as whether or not each broadcast program is a broadcast program for which a broadcast-linked app executable on the broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment is prepared, and whether or not the executable broadcast-linked app is capable of operating in conjunction with a mobile terminal device. Alternatively, the information acquired from the program distribution information of a digital broadcast program prepared on a specific server device on the Internet 200 may be added to an electronic program guide created based on a program information data string acquired from the broadcast waves of a digital broadcast service.

As described above, by displaying on the EPG display screen 173e a symbolized mark of "Linkage" indicating that the broadcast program has an executable broadcast linkage app available, or a symbolized mark of "Mobile" indicating that the broadcast program can be linked with a mobile terminal device, the user can easily understand the compatibility of each broadcast program with the broadcast communication linkage service in the broadcast receiving device 100. Needless to say, the symbolized mark of a specific character representing the attribute of each broadcast program may be replaced with the character itself or a sentence. The compatibility of each broadcast program with the broadcast communication linkage service may be indicated by changing the background color of the detailed information 173e1 of each broadcast program. In addition, the symbolized mark of "Linkage" or the symbolized mark of "Mobile" may not be displayed in the title area 173e2 normally, but may be displayed in a pop-up only when each broadcast program is selected by the program selection cursor 173e4.

The broadcast receiving device 100 of this embodiment has a function of making a viewing reservation and/or a recording reservation for each broadcast program from the EPG display screen 173e. For example, when the EPG display screen 173e is displayed, the program selection cursor 173e4 on the EPG display screen 173e is moved using the cursor keys 741ac on the basic screen 741a of the linkage control application, and an arbitrary broadcast program is selected using the decision key 741ad, thereby making a viewing reservation and/or a recording reservation for the selected broadcast program.

In the above process, if the broadcast program for which the viewing reservation and/or recording reservation has been made is a broadcast program compatible with a broadcast communication cooperation service, the viewing reservation and/or recording reservation may be used as a trigger to start acquiring a broadcast cooperation app prepared for the broadcast program without waiting for the broadcast start time of the broadcast program. That is, information specifying the acquisition destination of the broadcast cooperation app (location information such as a URL) is written in the EIT information including detailed information of each broadcast program. In this way, the broadcast receiving device 100 can grasp the information on the acquisition destination of the broadcast cooperation app prepared for each broadcast program at the time the broadcast program is selected with the program selection cursor 173e4. Therefore, the broadcast receiving device 100 can start acquiring the broadcast cooperation app before the broadcast start time of the broadcast program.

If the broadcast program for which the viewing reservation and/or recording reservation has been made is a broadcast program that supports a broadcast communication cooperation service and is capable of cooperation with a mobile terminal device, the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) prepared for the mobile terminal device may also start acquiring the broadcast program before the broadcast start time, using the same process as described above. Also, as shown in FIG. 16B, a two-dimensional barcode 173e5 or the like indicating information on the acquisition destination (location information such as a URL) of the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) prepared for the mobile terminal device may be displayed on the EPG display screen 173e to prompt the user to download the broadcast cooperation app (terminal side) prepared for the mobile terminal device.

In this way, if the broadcast receiving device 100 refers to the acquisition destination information for the broadcast linked app included in the EPG information and starts acquiring the broadcast linked app before the broadcast start time of the broadcast program, it becomes possible to distribute the load on the service provider server 400 that stores the broadcast linked app. Furthermore, even if the communication speed of the network between the service provider server 400 and the information display terminal 100 is insufficient, it becomes possible to effectively use the broadcast linked app immediately after the broadcast start time of the broadcast program.

Figure 17 is an operational sequence diagram showing an example of a broadcast linkage app acquisition sequence when a broadcast program viewing and/or recording reservation is made from the EPG display screen 173e.

While watching a digital broadcast service, the main control unit 101 of the broadcast receiving device 100 acquires the program information data sequence output from the first separation unit 132 (S701). When the user uses the operation terminal to request the launch of an EPG screen (S702), the EPG display screen 173e is displayed on the video display unit 173 (S703). When the user uses the operation terminal to select an arbitrary broadcast program on the EPG display screen 173e to schedule viewing and/or recording of the broadcast program (S704), the main control unit 101 checks the program information data sequence acquired from the first separation unit 132 (S705), and further checks the location of the acquisition destination of the broadcast linkage app linked to the broadcast program that has been scheduled for viewing and/or recording (S706).

After the processing of S706, the application control unit 161 transmits a request to transmit the broadcast-linked app to the specified service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 based on the confirmed URL (S707). The service provider server 400 that receives the request to transmit the broadcast-linked app performs authentication processing of the broadcast receiving device 100 as necessary based on the control of the application management/distribution execution unit 4103, and then distributes the specified broadcast-linked app stored in the application memory area 4013 via the LAN communication unit 421 (S708). Next, the application control unit 161 caches the specified broadcast-linked app received from the service provider server 400 via the LAN communication unit 121 in the RAM 104 or the storage 110 (S709).

The transmitter/receiver device 100 of this embodiment described above can execute functions with higher added value.

The following describes Example 2 of the present invention. Note that the configuration and effects of this example are the same as those of Example 1 unless otherwise specified. For this reason, the following mainly describes the differences between this example and Example 1, and explanations of common points are omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication.

In the first embodiment, the embodiment in which mobile information terminal cooperation processing (hereinafter referred to as terminal cooperation) is performed has been described, but a more detailed embodiment will be described below.

When performing mobile information terminal linkage, there are cases where it is desirable to restrict the use of terminal linkage to only mobile information terminals 700 that are located in the same home as the broadcast receiving device 100 (hereinafter, this restriction will be referred to as "same-home restriction"). For example, in an application for using broadcast linkage (hereinafter, referred to as "broadcast linkage app"), the display screen of the broadcast receiving device 100 and the display screen of the mobile information terminal 700 are closely related, or when it is desirable to ensure that the user of the mobile information terminal 700 can view advertising video displayed on the broadcast receiving device 100.

One point that must be considered in the procedure is whether or not the broadcast-linked app in question imposes a same-house restriction. If it is assumed that all broadcast-linked apps are subject to the same-house restriction, this determination is not necessary, but if there are cases where there are no restrictions, the broadcast receiving device 100 must obtain control information regarding the presence or absence of a same-house restriction and change the operating procedure. This control information regarding the presence or absence of a restriction may be obtained from the broadcast signal (for example, described as an item in the AIT) or may be obtained from a server designated by the broadcast station.

In this embodiment, including the above steps, we will explain the steps to ensure that the mobile information terminal 700 is located in the same home as the broadcast receiving device 100.

Normally, devices in the same home are on a local network connected to the same router device 210. Therefore, if the mobile information terminal 700 is connected to the same local network as the broadcast receiving device 100, it can be determined that they are in the same home. Note that a known method can be used to determine whether the target device is connected to a local network, and so a description of this will be omitted.

In addition, even if the mobile information terminal 700 is not on the local network, it can be determined that it is present in the same home by directly communicating with the broadcast receiving device 100 using NFC, Bluetooth, infrared communication, etc. In this case, the communication for acquiring the broadcast-linked app, etc. may be the above-mentioned direct communication or may be via mobile telephone communication.

As mentioned above, there are multiple ways to confirm that devices are in the same house, but the method to be used is described, for example, in the AIT and read by the broadcast receiving device 100.

Furthermore, once it has been confirmed that the mobile information terminal 700 is in the same home, it may be considered to be in the same home until the program ends, or a certain valid time (e.g., 10 minutes) may be set, during which it is considered to be in the same home, but once the valid time has elapsed, it will not be considered to be in the same home unless a new confirmation is made. This valid time may be written, for example, in the AIT and read by the broadcast receiving device 100.

Furthermore, for example, an event signal can be set in the broadcast signal at any time during the program, and each time this event signal is received, it can be confirmed that the mobile information terminal 700 is present in the same home.

It is also possible to combine the first two methods.

Next, a specific procedure for allowing terminal linkage only to the mobile information terminal 700 present in the same home will be described. In this embodiment, restrictions are set when the mobile information terminal 700 acquires a broadcast linkage app or when acquiring information used in the broadcast linkage app (hereinafter, the broadcast linkage app and the information used in the broadcast linkage app, specifically, HTML documents and streaming video, are collectively referred to as broadcast linkage information). There are two types of methods for acquiring broadcast linkage information: communication acquisition from the broadcast station server 300 or the business server 400, and broadcast acquisition from broadcast waves. In the case of communication acquisition, there are two types: acquisition after broadcast reception starts and acquisition before broadcast reception starts. Furthermore, in the case of communication acquisition, there are cases where the broadcast receiving device 100 acquires the information once and the mobile information terminal 700 acquires it from the broadcast receiving device 100, and cases where the mobile information terminal 700 acquires it directly from the broadcast station server 300 or the business server 400. There are various methods, but from the perspective of the mobile information terminal 700, they can be broadly divided into two: obtaining the information from the broadcast receiving device 100, and obtaining the information from the broadcast station server 300 or the operator server 400.

In this embodiment, a case where the mobile information terminal 700 obtains broadcast linkage information from the broadcast receiving device 100 is described, and the case where the information is obtained from a server is described in the next embodiment.

Figure 18A shows the procedure for this example.

First, before performing terminal linkage, a linkage control app, which is an application that controls terminal linkage, is started in each of the mobile information terminal 700 and the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10001, S10002). In this state, the mobile information terminal 700 requests terminal linkage to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10003). Next, the AIT is acquired from the broadcast signal (S10004). From the information in this AIT, it is determined whether the application for the target mobile information terminal has a same-house restriction (S10006). If there is a restriction, the procedure proceeds to S10008. At the first stage where a terminal linkage request is made, the procedure proceeds to step S10009, and it is determined whether the mobile information terminal 700 that made the terminal linkage request is in the same house as the broadcast receiver 100 (S10009). If it is determined that they are not in the same house, a response of non-permission of linkage is made to the linkage control app on the mobile information terminal, and the process ends (S10011).

If it is assumed that all device link apps have the same-house restriction, the determination in S10006 is skipped. If there are both apps with and without the same-house restriction, the determination in S10006 is performed.

If it is determined that the mobile information terminal 700 is in the same house, or if the application does not have the same house restriction, the process proceeds to S10012, and a broadcast-linked application-related service is performed. In this service (S10012), a broadcast-linked information distribution request (S10013) from the mobile information terminal 700 is processed, and broadcast-linked information is distributed to the mobile information terminal 700 (S10018). This broadcast-linked information includes information distributed by the broadcast receiving device 100 from a distribution server (S10014, S10015, S10016), information acquired from a broadcast signal (S10017), information stored in the broadcast receiving device 100, etc. The broadcast-linked information received by the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10016, S10017) may not only be based on a broadcast-linked information distribution request (S10013) from the mobile information terminal 700, but may also be acquired autonomously by the broadcast receiving device 100 or based on an event occurring from a broadcast signal. Furthermore, the broadcast linkage information may be delivered to the mobile information terminal 700 (S10018) voluntarily from the broadcast receiving device 100.

After the series of broadcast-related information reception (acquisition) and distribution processes are completed, the broadcast receiving device 100 determines whether the user is continuing to watch the same program (S10019), and if not, responds to the link control app on the mobile information terminal side to not permit linkage, and ends the process (S10020).

If viewing continues, the procedure returns to S10005, and if there is a home restriction, it is confirmed whether the mobile information terminal 700 is within the same home (S10009), but it is determined whether a preset valid time has elapsed since the last check, or whether a confirmation request (S10007) has occurred from the broadcast signal or distribution server since the last check (S10008). If neither condition is met, it does not check whether it is within the same home (S10009), and goes through S10010 to execute the next broadcast linked app related service (S10012). Here, the confirmation request from the broadcast signal (S10008) is described as being obtained from the broadcast linked information, but here the event message is also described as being included in the broadcast linked information. Furthermore, this confirmation request may be described in the AIT.

The procedure described above is a loop processing procedure involving the broadcast signal, broadcast receiving device 100, mobile information terminal 700, and distribution server in the section indicated by the arrow in S10022. The confirmation request in S10007 may be made at any time within the loop.

Furthermore, the authentication information described in the AIT may be incorporated into the authentication key used for authentication in the distribution server (S10015). This makes it possible to confirm that the authentication request is legitimate. Furthermore, by changing the authentication information described in the AIT as the program progresses and not performing authentication unless the authentication key in the authentication server incorporates information synchronized with the program progress, it is possible to confirm that the same program is being continuously viewed. In this case, the information in the AIT is read and updated as appropriate (S10021). Note that the authentication information to be incorporated in the broadcast signal may be incorporated as broadcast linkage information in addition to being described in the AIT. Furthermore, as a method of essentially changing the authentication information, a method of changing the URL of the distribution server itself as the program progresses can also be used.

In this way, while executing the broadcast-linked app-related service (S10012), the mobile information terminal 700 checks whether it is in the same home as the broadcast receiving device 100 at every preset valid time or every time there is a confirmation request from a broadcast signal or distribution server, thereby making it possible to appropriately execute broadcast-related apps that have same-home restrictions. Furthermore, by using the authentication information embedded in the broadcast signal for authentication at the distribution server, the legitimacy of the distribution request can be ensured, and by appropriately changing the authentication information of the broadcast signal, it is also possible to confirm that the same program is being continuously viewed.

The mobile information terminal linkage technology according to the present embodiment described above makes it possible to realize the same-house restriction for mobile information terminals that link with a broadcast receiving device.

In this embodiment, we will explain the case where the mobile information terminal 700 obtains broadcast linkage information from a distribution server.

Figure 18B shows the procedure for this example.

First, before performing terminal linkage, a linkage control app, which is an application that controls terminal linkage, is started in each of the mobile information terminal 700 and the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10101, S10102). In this state, the mobile information terminal 700 requests terminal linkage to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10103). Next, the AIT is acquired from the broadcast signal (S10104). Information such as a URL related to the distribution server is acquired from the information in this AIT, and the information is transmitted to the mobile information terminal 700 (S10105). Next, the broadcast receiving device 100 issues a time confirmation request to the distribution server (S10106), and based on this request, the distribution server transmits time information to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10107). This allows the subsequent authentication key issuance (S10115) to be performed in accordance with the time of the distribution server, but if the time difference is not a problem, this may be omitted.

From this point on, the loop control indicated by the arrow at S10127 will begin.

First, the mobile information terminal 700 issues a request for issuing an authentication key or a request for broadcast linked information distribution to the broadcast receiving device 100 (S10109). The authentication key is used in a broadcast linked information distribution request to the distribution server in the following step (S10125). The broadcast linked distribution request in S10109 is a distribution request for information obtained from a broadcast signal, and corresponds to the procedure in S10126 in the following step.

In any case, when the request of S10109 is issued from the mobile information terminal, it is determined whether the broadcast linked app has a same-house restriction (S10111), and if there is a restriction, proceed to the next step S10112, and if not, skip step S10112 and proceed to S10114. If all broadcast linked apps have same-house restrictions, the determination of S10111 is not made and proceed to S10112. In S10112, it is determined whether the mobile information terminal that issued the request is in the same house, and if not, the terminal linkage is terminated (S10113). If it is in the same house, the requested procedure is performed, which is to obtain broadcast linked information from the distribution server (S10125) or to obtain broadcast linked information from the broadcast signal (S10126). In addition to obtaining information from the distribution server, obtaining information from the broadcast signal may also be acceptable, so the procedure of S10126 is also described.

First, we will explain the procedure for acquiring broadcast linkage information from the distribution server (S10125).

First, the broadcast receiver 100 issues the authentication key requested by the information linkage terminal 700. At this time, the authentication key includes the time information at the time of issuance and is valid only for a predetermined period of time (for example, 10 minutes). The distribution server checks the authentication information, including whether the authentication key is within the valid period, and allows the distribution of broadcast linkage information if the authentication is OK. Thereafter, information distribution is allowed if it is within the valid period, but distribution is stopped once the valid period has elapsed. For example, streaming video will no longer be viewable once the valid period has elapsed.

The preset validity time may be stored in the distribution server, or may be acquired by the broadcast receiving device 100 from a broadcast signal (e.g., AIT) and the validity time information may be incorporated into the authentication key. The portable information terminal 700 is notified of the validity time information in advance, and issuance of an authentication key is requested before the validity time expires. Alternatively, the validity time may be managed by the broadcast receiving device 100, and an authentication key may be automatically issued to the portable information terminal 700 from the broadcast receiving device 100 before the validity time expires after confirming that the portable information terminal 700 is in the same home.

The validity period may be the same throughout a single program, or may change as the program progresses. Also, if no validity period is set, authentication may be performed once and remain valid for the duration of the program.

Furthermore, the authentication information described in the AIT may be incorporated into the authentication key used for authentication in the distribution server (S10117). This allows confirmation that the authentication request is legitimate. Furthermore, if the authentication information described in the AIT is changed as the program progresses and authentication is not performed unless the authentication key in the authentication server incorporates information synchronized with the program progress, it is possible to confirm that the same program is being watched continuously. In this case, the information in the AIT is read and updated as appropriate (S10124). Note that the authentication information to be incorporated in the broadcast signal may be incorporated as broadcast linkage information in addition to being described in the AIT. Furthermore, as a method of practically changing the authentication information, a method of changing the URL of the distribution server itself as the program progresses can also be used. Note that the URL change in this case is when the distribution server is the same but the entrance is different, but it may also be changed to a new distribution server due to a change in the broadcast linkage app, etc. In this case, each time a change is made, the following procedures are performed: sending distribution server information (S10105), requesting time confirmation (S10106), and sending time information (S10107).

Next, we will explain the procedure for acquiring broadcast linkage information from a broadcast signal (S10126).

In this case, after it is confirmed that the mobile information terminal 700 is in the same home, the broadcast receiving device 100 acquires broadcast linkage information from the broadcast signal (S10119), and then distributes the information to the mobile information terminal 700 (S10120).

When the broadcast linkage information is changed as the program progresses, a notification of the change may be issued from the broadcast signal (S10110), and the notification may trigger the acquisition of the broadcast linkage information. In this case, if the information is acquired from the distribution server, the broadcast receiving device 100 issues an authentication key to the mobile information terminal (S10115) and notifies the mobile information terminal that a change notification has been received. If the information is acquired within the valid time, the issuance of the authentication key may be omitted, and only the change notification may be notified. If the information is acquired from the broadcast signal, the broadcast receiving device 100 acquires the information (S10120) and distributes it to the mobile information terminal (S10120). If the information is acquired from the broadcast signal, it may be confirmed that the mobile information terminal 700 is in the same house for each change notification, and as in the second embodiment, if the information is acquired within the valid time, the confirmation may be omitted. Here, the change notification from the broadcast signal (S10110) is described as being acquired from the broadcast linkage information, but here, the event message is also described as being included in the broadcast linkage information. Furthermore, this change notification may be described in the AIT.

After the series of broadcast-related information reception (acquisition) and distribution processes are completed, the broadcast receiving device 100 determines whether the user is continuing to watch the same program (S10121), and if not, responds to the link control app on the mobile information terminal side that linkage is not permitted, and ends the process (S10123). If viewing is continuing, the process returns to S10108, and the loop process S10127 continues.

In this way, by including time information in the authentication key used to authenticate the distribution server and managing the validity period, it is possible to periodically confirm that the mobile information terminal 700 is in the same home as the broadcast receiving device 100, and to appropriately execute broadcast-related apps that have same-home restrictions. Furthermore, by using the authentication information embedded in the broadcast signal for authentication at the distribution server, the legitimacy of the distribution request can be ensured, and by appropriately changing the authentication information of the broadcast signal, it is also possible to confirm that the same program is being continuously viewed.

The mobile information terminal linkage technology according to the present embodiment described above makes it possible to realize same-home restrictions even when a mobile information terminal linked to a broadcast receiving device acquires broadcast linkage information from a distribution server.

In the second and third embodiments, the procedure for realizing the same-house restriction in terminal linkage has been described, but depending on the broadcast linkage app, use from outside the home may also be permitted. In this embodiment, such a case will be described. For example, when a program such as a TV shopping program itself is public relations and advertising, it is desirable for the broadcaster to be able to use the broadcast linkage app regardless of whether the program is in the home or outside the home. In the case of such a program, once it is registered in the broadcast receiving device 100, the broadcast linkage app may be permitted to be used regardless of whether the mobile information terminal 700 is in the home. In this case, convenience is further improved if there is a broadcast linkage app that converts the broadcast video itself into streaming data and distributes it from the broadcast receiving device 100 to the mobile information terminal 700 via the Internet. The streaming data may be encrypted by the broadcast receiving device 100 for copyright protection. Whether the broadcast linkage app permits use from outside the home, including distribution of the broadcast video to outside the home, is described in the data (e.g., AIT) in the broadcast signal.

Specific steps are shown in FIG. 18C. Some of the steps are common to Examples 2 and 3, so the explanation of the overlapping parts with Examples 2 and 3 will be omitted. When there is a terminal link request from outside the home (S10203), if the application is permitted for use outside the home, the broadcast receiving device 100 checks whether the request source is a registered mobile information terminal (S10205) and then permits the link. Here, if necessary, authentication may be performed between the mobile information terminal 700 and the broadcast receiving device 100 for copyright protection of the broadcast video and broadcast link information (S10207). At that time, the authentication may be authentication in an authentication server (S10207). Information on whether copyright protection is necessary and information on the authentication method for copyright protection are obtained from the broadcast signal (for example, described in the AIT), and control is performed accordingly. If this information is not stored in the broadcast signal, a predetermined method is followed in the broadcast receiving device 100. For example, a predetermined copyright protection process may be performed. Furthermore, if this information is not stored in the broadcast signal, it may be predetermined that the broadcast receiving device 100 will not perform copyright protection processing. Specific examples of authentication for copyright protection are shown below. Only one of the following authentications may be performed. Alternatively, multiple authentications exemplified below may be performed in combination. Also, the authentications exemplified below may be performed in combination with other authentication processes not exemplified below.

[ID and password authentication]
When the portable information terminal 700 is registered in the broadcast receiving device 100, an ID and password are issued, and the broadcast receiving device 100 permits cooperation by verifying this ID and password.

[Encryption key usage]
In addition to the authentication using the ID and password described above, an encryption key for decrypting encrypted video data, etc. is transmitted from the broadcast receiving device 100 to the mobile information terminal. This encryption key may be obtained from a broadcast signal (for example, written in the AIT).

[Using an authentication server]
In this method, an encryption key for decrypting encrypted video data, etc. is issued from an authentication server. The mobile information terminal 700 transmits an ID and a password to the authentication server to obtain the encryption key. In this case, the location information (specifically, a URL) of the authentication server is obtained from a broadcast signal (e.g., written in the AIT), and this location information is transmitted from the broadcast receiving device 100 to the mobile information terminal 700, thereby improving security. If the mobile information terminal 700 cannot obtain the encryption key, it cannot decrypt the video data, etc., so the broadcast receiving device 100 may request authentication from the authentication server to authenticate copyright protection, or the mobile information terminal 700 may notify the broadcast receiving device 100 that the encryption key has been obtained, thereby completing the authentication. The authentication server may also perform billing.

[Mutual authentication of encryption keys]
The encryption keys held by the broadcast receiving device 100 and the portable information terminal 700 are mutually authenticated and confirmed to authenticate copyright protection.

When information stored in a broadcast signal indicates that copyright protection is required using a specified method, if the copyright protection cannot be authenticated using that specified method, terminal linkage is not permitted. Also, even if there is no designation in the broadcast signal and authentication is performed using the default method of the broadcast receiver 100, terminal linkage is not permitted if copyright protection cannot be authenticated using that default method.

If terminal linkage is permitted, thereafter, there is no confirmation as to whether the mobile information terminal 700 is present in the same house, and broadcast linkage information is distributed to the mobile information terminal 700 (S10217) and an authentication key for the distribution server is issued (S10212) in accordance with a request from the mobile information terminal 700 (S10211), autonomous control of the broadcast receiving device 100, and a request from the broadcast signal (S10210). In this case, control with a set valid time does not have to be performed. The mobile information terminal 700 outside the house obtains broadcast linkage information from the broadcast receiving device 100 or the distribution server using the issued authentication key (S10215). In addition, if the authentication key issued by the broadcast receiving device 100 incorporates authentication information obtained from the broadcast signal (for example, described in the AIT), and the distribution server allows access if the authentication key incorporates authentication information obtained from the broadcast signal, it is possible to further optimize outside-the-house use.

Furthermore, in some cases, such as when offering a discount as a premium for viewing a program, it may be better not to allow unlimited use of the broadcast-linked app. In such cases, it is preferable to perform authentication once while the mobile information terminal is in the same home, and then permit use of the distribution server even if the mobile information terminal is not in the same home. In this case, it does not matter if the mobile information terminal 700 is not registered in the broadcast receiving device 100.

Specific procedures in this case are shown in FIG. 18D. Some of the procedures are common to those in FIG. 18C, so the explanation of the overlapping parts will be omitted. First, when the portable information terminal 700 is in the same house as the broadcast receiving device 100, the portable information terminal 700 makes a terminal link request to the broadcast receiving device 100, and the broadcast receiving device 100 confirms that the portable information terminal 700 is in the same house (S10305) and then permits the link. Here, if necessary, authentication may be performed between the portable information terminal 700 and the broadcast receiving device 100 for copyright protection of the broadcast video and broadcast link information (S10307). At that time, the authentication may be authentication in an external authentication server. Information on whether copyright protection is necessary and information on the authentication method for copyright protection are obtained from the broadcast signal (for example, as described in the AIT), and control is performed accordingly. If this information is not stored in the broadcast signal, a predetermined method is followed in the broadcast receiving device 100. For example, a predetermined copyright protection process may be performed. Furthermore, if this information is not stored in the broadcast signal, it may be predetermined that the broadcast receiving device 100 will not perform copyright protection processing.

Specific examples of authentication for copyright protection are shown below. Each of the following authentications may be performed alone. Alternatively, multiple authentications exemplified below may be performed in combination. Also, the authentications exemplified below may be performed in combination with other authentication processes not exemplified below.

[Encryption key usage]
When the portable information terminal 700 is in the same house, an encryption key for decrypting encrypted video data, etc. is transmitted from the broadcast receiving device 100 to the portable information terminal. This encryption key may be obtained from a broadcast signal (e.g., written in the AIT). The delivery of this encryption key within the same house constitutes authentication. Furthermore, if the encryption key can be obtained from the broadcast signal only at a certain point in the program and the delivery of the encryption key to the portable information terminal 700 is limited to within the same house, a restriction can be imposed that the user must be in the same house at that time, which can also be used to give a premium to viewing.

[Using an authentication server]
A method in which an authentication server issues an encryption key for decrypting encrypted video data, etc.
The portable information terminal 700 transmits an ID and a password to the authentication server and obtains an encryption key. In this case, the location information (specifically, a URL) of the authentication server is obtained from a broadcast signal (for example, written in the AIT), and this location information is transmitted from the broadcast receiving device 100 to the portable information terminal 700, thereby improving security. If the portable information terminal 700 cannot obtain an encryption key, the video and the like cannot be decrypted. Therefore, the broadcast receiving device 100 may request authentication from the authentication server to perform authentication for copyright protection, or the portable information terminal 700 may notify the broadcast receiving device 100 that the encryption key has been obtained, thereby completing the authentication. The authentication server may be accessed either inside or outside the home, but if the location information of the authentication server can be obtained from the broadcast signal only at a certain point in the program and the transfer of the location information to the portable information terminal 700 is limited to within the same home, a restriction can be set that the user must be in the same home at that time, and this can also be used to give a premium to viewing. It is also acceptable for the authentication server to charge a fee.

[Mutual authentication of encryption keys]
The broadcast receiving device 100 and the portable information terminal 700 mutually authenticate and confirm the encryption keys that they each have, thereby authenticating copyright protection. This authentication may be performed either inside or outside the home.

When information stored in the broadcast signal indicates that copyright protection using a specified method is required, if the copyright protection cannot be authenticated using that specified method, terminal linkage is not permitted. Also, even if there is no specification in the broadcast signal and authentication is performed using a default method of the broadcast receiver 100, if the copyright protection cannot be authenticated using that default method, terminal linkage is not permitted. The procedure after terminal linkage is permitted is the same as the procedure in Figure 18C, so a description is omitted.

The mobile information terminal linking technology according to the present embodiment described above makes it possible to use a mobile information terminal linked to a broadcast receiving device from outside the home while respecting copyright protection.

In actual usage, it is more desirable to easily know whether a program has a device-linked app and which device-linked apps are available. In this embodiment, a method for displaying the availability of device-linked apps will be described.

Figure 19A is an example of a launcher screen (173b11) for a broadcast linked app when there is a terminal linked app. The broadcast linked app is displayed as an icon with framed text. Broadcast linked apps (173b12-173b14) for the broadcast receiving device 100 linked to the program being viewed and broadcast linked apps (173b15-173b17) for the mobile information terminal are displayed. In this example, the thickness of the frame surrounding the text and the color of the frame indicate the app status. Main app A and B (173b12, 173b13) and terminal app A and B (173b15, 173b16) are available, and main app C (173b14) and terminal app (173b17) are unavailable. A terminal app unavailable state means that none of the mobile information terminals 700 that are in a state capable of communicating with the broadcast receiving device 100 have the function to execute the app.

Figure 19B is the screen that appears after terminal app A is selected in Figure 19A. It shows the state of each mobile information terminal 700 related to terminal app A. The mobile information terminals displayed on this screen are terminals that have previously collaborated with the broadcast receiving device 100 or are registered.

Mobile terminal 1 (173b22) and mobile terminal 2 (173b23) whose icons have a solid border are in a state where they can communicate with the broadcast receiving device 100, while mobile terminal 3 (173b24) and mobile terminal 4 (173b25) whose icons have a dotted border are not in a state where they can communicate with the broadcast receiving device 100. Additionally, mobile terminal 1 (173b22) and mobile terminal 3 (173b24) whose icons have a white border are capable of executing terminal app A, while mobile terminal 2 (173b23) and mobile terminal 4 (173b25) whose icons have a gray border are not capable of executing terminal app A. Furthermore, if an app is already running on the device, an icon with a design that indicates this may be used.

Also, icons are easier to understand visually if you use pictures, as shown in the following example.

Figure 19C is an example of a launcher screen (173b31) showing a list of broadcast-linked apps. In addition to the broadcast receiving device 100, icons are shown for each type of mobile information terminal 700. Icons 173b32 and 173b33 are icons indicating a broadcast receiving device 100, icons 173b34 and 173b35 are icons indicating a smartphone-type mobile information terminal 700, and 173b36 is an icon indicating a head-mounted display-type mobile information terminal 700. Each app is for the device indicated by the icon.

In FIG. 19C, if the app cannot be used, a mark indicating that it is unavailable (in this case, a circle with a diagonal line) is displayed superimposed on the image of the device. Also, for the broadcast receiving device 100, if the app is already running, a mark indicating this (in this case, a circle with a dot) may be displayed superimposed. This display makes it possible to prevent unnecessary operation of proceeding with the launcher procedure even though the app is already running. In the case of the mobile information terminal 700, it is also possible to display a mark indicating that the app is running when the app is running on all devices that are capable of communicating with the broadcast receiving device and can run the app.

Figure 19D shows the screen (173b41) after selecting app C (173b34) in Figure 19C. The state of the mobile information terminal 700 of the type corresponding to app C is shown. In this screen, if the mobile information terminal 700 does not have the function to execute the broadcast linked app, if it is not in a state where it can communicate with the broadcast receiving device 100, or if the broadcast linked app is already running, a mark representing that is displayed superimposed on the icon. In this example, if it does not have the execution function, a circle with a line (173b44, 173b46) is displayed, if it is not in a state where it can communicate, an exclamation point mark in a triangle (173b45, 173b46) is displayed, and if the app is already running, a circle with a dot (173b43) is displayed.

Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a display method that would let users know that a broadcast-linked app exists when the situation changes, without the need to start a launcher each time. For example, when the power is turned on, when the channel is changed, at the beginning of a program, or even during a program, when there is a change in the broadcast-linked app, when there is a change in the communication state between the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700, or when the execution status of the app changes, an icon would be displayed for a predetermined period of time to show the status at that time.

Figure 19E shows an example of this case. When an icon showing the type of device is displayed, it indicates that there is a broadcast-linked app that is compatible with that type of device. In this case, a circle with a diagonal line indicates that there are no usable devices of that type that can run the app. A circle with a dot indicates that the app is running on all usable devices of that type.

Figure 19F shows a display screen (10401) on the mobile information terminal 700. When requesting terminal linkage from the mobile information terminal 700, it is convenient to know which broadcast linkage app can be used with which broadcast receiving device 100 in a list. An example of the list is shown in Figure 19F (10402). This table shows which broadcast receiving devices 100 in the home can use the broadcast linkage app corresponding to the program to be searched. In addition, if the status of each broadcast receiving device 100 is also displayed, it is more convenient, especially when using it from outside the home. In this example, display examples such as receiving the program, receiving another program, free, and other program reservation (when recording of another program is reserved from the middle of the program) are shown. Note that here, if there are multiple tuners in the broadcast receiving device 100, it is even more convenient to display the status for each of the multiple tuners. In table 10202, the branch numbers indicate the distinction between tuners in the same device. For example, receiving device B-1 and receiving device B-2 are tuners in the same broadcast receiving device 100. In the case of terminal linkage, if broadcast video and audio can be received as streaming data, there is no need to use the video section of the broadcast receiving device 100, and broadcasts can be used if the tuners in the broadcast receiving device 100 can be used, so it is convenient to know the usage status of each tuner.

In order to perform the display described in this embodiment, information is required for each broadcast-linked app as to whether the app is compatible with the broadcast receiving device 100 or what type of mobile information terminal 700 the app is compatible with. Also, information is required for the broadcast receiving device 100 and the mobile information terminal 700 to execute the compatible app. This information can be obtained by the information receiving device 100 by recording it in the AIT, for example.

According to the mobile information terminal linkage technology of the present embodiment described above, by displaying information related to the broadcast linkage app, the broadcast receiving device 100, and the mobile information terminal 700, it becomes possible to use a more convenient broadcast linkage service.

The following describes Example 6 of the present invention. Note that the configuration and effects of this example are the same as those of Examples 1 to 5 unless otherwise specified. For this reason, the following mainly describes the differences between this example and Examples 1 to 5, and explanations of common points are omitted as much as possible to avoid duplication.

In the above embodiments 1 to 5, the launch of the broadcast-linked app has been mainly described, but as described above, the broadcast-linked app is composed of HTML documents. In other words, it is possible to transition between HTML documents by using links.

Figure 20 shows the concept of transitions between HTML documents and broadcast-linked apps.

As described above, when the broadcast receiving device 100 is receiving a broadcast signal or is executing a BML document to display data broadcast screen information (20000), a broadcast linked app is launched. This is referred to as the first broadcast linked app 20110. The first broadcast linked app 20110 is launched automatically by the AIT or by a user instruction. When the first broadcast linked app 20110 is launched, the first HTML document 20111, which is an entry document, is executed.

The first broadcast cooperative app 20110 includes four HTML documents 20111 to 20114 as shown in the figure. Thus, the four HTML documents 20111 to 20114 form the application boundary of the first broadcast cooperative app 20110. In addition, each HTML document has links to other HTML documents, allowing mutual transitions between the HTML documents.

Furthermore, it is possible to transition from the third HTML document 20113 of the first broadcast linked app 20110 to the second broadcast linked app 20120. The second broadcast linked app 20120 is composed of two HTML documents 20121 and 20122, and these two HTML documents 20121 and 20122 become the application boundary of the second broadcast linked app 20120. Also, similar to the first broadcast linked app 20110, it is possible to transition between the two HTML documents 20121 and 20122.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described using as an example a broadcast linked app that overlays a broadcast linked app section 173c1, such as a weather forecast, on a broadcast program screen (broadcast program video) 173c, as shown in FIG. 13A. An example of an HTML document of this broadcast linked app is shown in FIG. 21. As shown in FIG. 21, the HTML document 20200 of the broadcast linked app consists of a document declaration 20210 and an html element 20220.

The document declaration 20210 indicates the type and version of the HTML description used in the HTML document 20200, and the <!DOCTYPE html> shown in FIG. 21 indicates that it complies with the HTML5 standard.

The html element 20220 includes a head element 20230 and a body element 20240. The head element 20230 includes a title element indicating the title of the HTML document 20200, a meta element, a link element, and the like. Note that the description of the head element is omitted in FIG. 21.

The body element 20220 represents the main body of the HTML document 20200, and describes a command 20251 for presenting the broadcast program screen 173c on the video display unit 173, a command 20252 for displaying the broadcast linkage application unit 173c1, and the like. An example of the command 20251 for presenting the broadcast program screen 173c is <object type="video/x-iptvf-broadcast" //>, which uses the object element and the type attribute. A detailed description of the command 20252 for displaying the broadcast linkage application unit 173c and other commands will be omitted.

In the above, we have described a case where an HTML document contains a command to present a broadcast program screen (broadcast program video), but as a result of transitioning between HTML documents, there may be cases where an HTML document that does not contain a command to present a broadcast program screen is executed.

Figure 22 is an example of an HTML document of a broadcast linked app in which no command to present a broadcast program screen is described. HTML document 20201 includes a document declaration 20211 and an html element 20221, which includes a head element 20231, a body element 20241, etc. As shown in the figure, the body element 20241 does not include a command to present a broadcast program screen. Figure 23 shows an application execution image of this HTML document 20201. As shown in the figure, only the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is displayed on the video display section 173.

In normal use, the user does not check the contents of the HTML document, and therefore cannot know whether the HTML document contains a command to present a broadcast program screen unless the HTML document is executed. In other words, when the HTML document is executed and the broadcast program screen is not displayed on the video display unit 173, the user realizes that the command to present a broadcast program screen is not written. The original function of the broadcast receiving device 100 is to watch broadcast programs, but if the HTML document does not contain a command to not display broadcast program images, this original function cannot be executed. Therefore, in Example 6, it is possible to display broadcast program images even if the HTML document does not contain a command to not display broadcast program images. The broadcast receiving device 100 of Example 6 operates as follows.

Figure 24 is a diagram showing the operation sequence of the broadcast receiving device 100 in Example 6. This flowchart shows the operation when executing a new HTML document, such as starting/transitioning a broadcast collaborative app and transitioning an HTML document.

When a new HTML document is executed, the HTML is first read (S20001), and the read HTML document is then executed (S20002). In other words, step S2002 is the execution of a broadcast-linked app, and the operation is the same as in the above-described embodiments 1 to 5.

In the broadcast receiving device 100 of the sixth embodiment, the following process is performed in parallel with step S20002, which executes the HTML document. First, a check is made to see if the loaded HTML description contains a command to display a broadcast program screen (S20003). For example, this can be done by checking to see if the HTML document contains <object type="video/x-iptvf-broadcast" //). If there is no command to display a broadcast program screen (S20003-No), the process proceeds to step S20004, where a check is made to see if the broadcast program screen is being displayed on the video display unit 173. If not (S20004-No), the video display unit 173 displays the necessity confirmation display unit 173f, which is a confirmation of the necessity of displaying the broadcast program screen (S20005).

Figure 25 is an example of the display of the necessity confirmation display section 173f. As shown in the figure, in addition to the broadcast linked application section 173c1, the necessity confirmation display section 173f is displayed by OSD processing or the like to notify the user that the broadcast program screen will not be displayed in the broadcast linked application being executed. Also, here, a Yes button 173f1 and a No button 173f2 are displayed to allow the user to select. Here, if the Yes button 173f1 is selected (S20006-Yes), a sub-window 173g1 is created (S20007), and the broadcast program screen is displayed in the sub-window 173g1 (S20008).

Figure 26 is an example of the display of sub-window 173g1. As shown in the figure, sub-window 173g1 is provided over broadcast linking application section 173c1, and a broadcast program screen is displayed therein. In this way, even if the HTML document to be executed does not contain a command to present a broadcast program screen, the broadcast program screen is displayed, making it possible to view a broadcast program, which is the original purpose of broadcast receiving device 100.

After displaying the broadcast program screen in the sub-window 173g1, the process proceeds to step S20009, where it is confirmed whether the Delete button has been selected. The Delete button is provided on the operating terminal (mobile information terminal 700, remote control, etc.), and when the user selects the Delete button (S20009-Yes), the sub-window 173g1 is deleted (not displayed) (S20010). In step S20004, where it is confirmed whether the broadcast program screen is being displayed on the video display unit 173, if the broadcast program screen is displayed (S20004-Yes), the process proceeds to step S20009, where it is confirmed whether the Delete button has been selected, and if the user selects the Delete button (S20009-Yes), the sub-window 173g1 is deleted (not displayed) (S20010). This is a state in which the broadcast program screen has been displayed in the sub-window 173g1 since before the transition to the currently executed HTML document. Therefore, the display of the broadcast program screen by the sub-window 173g1 continues until the user selects the Delete button. Here, the reason why the erase button or the operation unit for executing the above-mentioned erase function is provided is to accommodate cases where the user wishes to hide the broadcast program screen after it has been displayed.

If the No button 173f2 is selected in the necessity confirmation display section 173f (S20006-No), that is, if the user does not wish to display the broadcast program screen, the process proceeds to step S20009, in which it is confirmed whether the display button has been selected. The display button, like the erase button, is provided on the operation terminal (mobile information terminal 700, remote control, etc.), and if the user selects the display button (S20013-Yes), the process proceeds to step S20007, in which a sub-window 173g1 is created. Here, the display button or the operation section for executing the display function is provided in response to the case where the user wishes to display the broadcast program screen after hiding it. The operations from step S20007 onwards are the same as those after the Yes button 173f1 is selected, and so a description thereof will be omitted.

In step S20003, which checks whether the command to present a broadcast program screen exists in the above-read HTML description, if a command to present exists (S20003-Yes), in step S20011, it is checked whether a sub-window 173g1 exists. This is because a sub-window 173g1 may have been created and a broadcast program screen may be displayed before transitioning to the currently executed HTML document, so in step S20009, it is checked whether a broadcast program screen is displayed. Also, if a command to present a broadcast program screen exists in the HTML description, in step S20002, which executes the HTML document, the broadcast program screen will be displayed on the video display unit 173. Therefore, if a sub-window 173g1 exists (S20011-Yes), it will overlap with the broadcast program screen displayed in step S20002, so the sub-window 173g1 is deleted (S20012) and this process ends. If sub-window 173g1 does not exist (S20011-No), the broadcast program screen is displayed in step S20002, so this process ends.

In the above explanation, the erase button and the display button are provided on the operation terminal (mobile information terminal 700, remote control, etc.), but they may be displayed as icons on the video display unit 173 and selected by the user.

The operations from step S20003 onwards (processing A within the area surrounded by dotted lines in Figure 24) described above are performed in parallel with the execution of the broadcast linked app. When a transition is made to another HTML document or another broadcast linked app, processing A ends.

In the above explanation, an example (Figure 26) was shown in which a sub-window 173g1 is provided over the broadcast linked application section 173c1 and a broadcast program screen is displayed therein. However, there are cases in which part of the broadcast linked application section 173c1 is hidden by the sub-window 173g1 and cannot be seen.

Figure 27 shows another example of the display of a broadcast program screen. As shown in Figure 27, in addition to the sub-window 173g1 that displays the broadcast program screen, an area 173g2 (called the main window) is provided, and the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is displayed in the main window 173g2. At this time, the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is displayed in a reduced size according to the size of the main window 173g2. In this way, by separating the sub-window 173g1 and the main window 173g2, the entire broadcast linked app section 173c1 can be displayed.

In addition, in the above, an example was described in which the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is displayed on a portion of the screen, but this is not limited to this, and the broadcast linked app section may be displayed on the entire screen.

Furthermore, the broadcast program screen may be used as the background and the broadcast linked app section 173c1 may be displayed in the foreground. In this case, the broadcast program screen may be displayed in full screen. When the broadcast linked app section 173c1 is displayed in the foreground and the broadcast program screen is displayed in full screen, the display will be as shown in FIG. 13A. In addition, the display position of the broadcast linked app section 173c1 may be moved to a position where it does not overlap with the sub-window 173g1.

As described above, in the broadcast receiving device 100 in the sixth embodiment of the present invention, if the HTML document to be executed does not contain a command to present a broadcast program screen, a sub-window 173g1 is created and the broadcast program screen is displayed therein, thereby enabling the broadcast receiving device 100 to view a broadcast program, which is its original function. In the sixth embodiment, step S20005 is provided to display the necessity confirmation display section 173f to confirm whether or not the broadcast program screen is to be displayed, but the necessity of displaying the broadcast program screen may be set in advance, and processing may be performed automatically according to the setting. For example, if the necessity is set, step S20004 to confirm whether the broadcast program screen is being displayed on the video display section 173 is followed by step S20007 to create a sub-window. If the necessity is set, the process may proceed from step S20004 to confirm whether the broadcast program screen is being displayed on the video display section 173 to step S20013 to confirm whether the display button has been selected.

The above describes examples of the embodiment of the present invention using Examples 1 to 6, but it goes without saying that the configurations that realize the technology of the present invention are not limited to the above examples, and various modifications are possible. For example, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one example with the configuration of another example, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another example to the configuration of one example. All of these fall within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the numerical values and messages that appear in the text and figures are merely examples, and the effect of the present invention will not be impaired if different ones are used.

The functions of the present invention described above may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits. They may also be realized by software, with a microprocessor unit or the like interpreting and executing an operating program that realizes each function. Hardware and software may also be used in combination.

The software that controls the broadcast receiving device 100 may be stored in the ROM 103 and/or storage unit 110 of the broadcast receiving device 100 at the time of product shipment. It may be acquired from other application servers 500 on the Internet 200 via the LAN communication unit 121 after product shipment. The software stored in a memory card, optical disk, etc. may be acquired via the extended interface unit 124, etc. Similarly, the software that controls the mobile information terminal 700 may be stored in the ROM 703 and/or storage unit 710 of the mobile information terminal 700 at the time of product shipment. It may be acquired from other application servers 500 on the Internet 200 via the LAN communication unit 721 or mobile telephone network communication unit 722 after product shipment. The software stored in a memory card, optical disk, etc. may be acquired via the extended interface unit 724, etc.

The control and information lines shown in the diagram are those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily represent all control and information lines on the product. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

100: Broadcast receiving device, 100a: Antenna, 101: Main control unit, 102: System bus, 103: ROM, 104: RAM, 110: Storage unit, 121: LAN communication unit, 124: Expansion interface unit, 125: Digital interface unit, 131: Tuner/demodulator unit, 132: First separator, 133: First video decoder, 134: First audio decoder, 135: First subtitle decoder, 141: Data broadcast reception processor, 142 : data broadcasting engine, 151: streaming reception processing unit, 152: second separation unit, 153: second video decoding unit, 154: second audio decoding unit, 155: second subtitle decoding unit, 161: application control unit, 162: application engine, 171: video superimposition unit, 172: audio selection unit, 173: video display unit, 174: speaker, 175: video output unit, 176: audio output unit, 181: presentation synchronization control unit, 191 terminal cooperation control unit,
200: Internet, 210: router device,
300t: radio tower, 300: broadcasting station server, 301: main control unit, 302: system bus, 304: RAM, 310: storage unit, 321: LAN communication unit,
400: service provider server, 401: main control unit, 402: system bus, 404: RAM, 410: storage unit, 421: LAN communication unit,
500: other application servers, 600: mobile telephone communication servers, 600b: base stations,
700: portable information terminal, 701: main control unit, 702: system bus, 703: ROM, 704: RAM, 710: storage unit, 720: communication processing unit, 721: LAN communication unit, 722: mobile telephone network communication unit, 723: NFC communication unit, 724: expansion interface unit, 730: operation unit, 740: image processing unit, 741: display unit, 742: image signal processing unit, 743: first image input unit, 744: second image input unit, 750: audio processing unit, 751: audio output unit, 752: audio signal processing unit, 753: audio input unit, 760: sensor unit, 761: GPS receiving unit, 762: gyro sensor, 763: geomagnetic sensor, 764: acceleration sensor, 765: illuminance sensor, 766: proximity sensor

Claims (1)

1. An application startup method for starting an application for accessing a broadcast resource in a broadcast receiving device, comprising:
The application for accessing the broadcast resource includes a broadcast managed application activated by application control information included in the broadcast signal, and a non-broadcast managed application activated by a method other than the application control information included in the broadcast signal;
a receiving step of receiving the broadcast signal;
a first application launch step of launching the broadcast managed application based on application control information included in the received broadcast signal;
a launcher screen display step of displaying a launcher screen on the broadcast receiving device by an application launcher provided in the broadcast receiving device;
a second application launch step of launching the non-broadcast managed application based on a user operation via the displayed launcher screen;
an authentication step of authenticating an external mobile terminal having a cooperative control application installed thereon for operating in cooperation with the broadcast receiving device;
a communication step of communicating with the external mobile terminal authenticated in the authentication step;
a third application starting step of starting the non-broadcast managed application based on a start request by a user operation via the external mobile terminal received in the communication step;
Equipped with
The first application startup step includes, when the application control information includes information indicating automatic startup of the broadcast managed application, confirming whether the broadcast managed application is executable, and, if executable, acquiring and starting the broadcast managed application.
How to launch the application.

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