Relay device, method and computer program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11082825-B2
Application number	US-201715833755-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 6, 2017
Priority date	Feb 27, 2013
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

A relay device operable to relay emergency information to a plurality of mobile terminals. The device includes: a receiver configured in use to receive a broadcast signal, the broadcast signal being in a first format and containing the emergency information; a transmitter configured in use to connect to the plurality of mobile terminals using a communication channel; and a processor configured in use to provide the emergency information received in the broadcast signal to the plurality of mobile terminals in a second format using the transmitter, wherein the second format is different to the first format.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
detecting condition information broadcast over a digital television broadcast signal to a plurality of digital television receiver devices; and
modifying an operation of a digital television receiver device of the plurality of digital television receiver devices to a self-contained network server operation in which the digital television receiver device generates emergency web content based on the detected condition information broadcast over the digital television broadcast signal, wherein
the modifying the operation of the digital television receiver device to the self-contained network server operation includes
establishing a communication channel on a WiFi network,
controlling a WiFi interface of the digital television receiver device to allow client devices to connect to the digital television receiver device on the communication channel on the WiFi network,
receiving a connection request from a client device for the communication channel on the WiFi network, and
in response to receiving the connection request, automatically communicating the emergency web content to the client device over the communication channel on the WiFi network.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the condition information comprises emergency information.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the digital television receiver device comprises an ATSC television receiver.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising receiving, at the client device, an indication to connect to the WiFi network via an unencrypted communication channel as the communication channel.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of digital television receiver devices comprise two or more devices from a group comprising mobile terminals, cellular telephones, tablet computers, and laptop computers.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the condition information is included in a forward error correction encoded signal, the forward error correction encoded signal being a common signal delivered to the plurality of digital television receiver devices.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the common signal is in a format of a digital television standard.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the modifying the operation includes setting up an unencrypted communication channel as the communication channel.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of digital television receiver devices comprises circuitry which processes a part of a broadcast signal to obtain the condition information.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the detection of the condition information controls a period of time during which the self-contained network server operation occurs.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the period of time is defined by emergency conditions.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein,
prior to the detection of the condition information, the digital television receiver device operates in bidirectional network operation via a cellular network, and
the client device is configured to connect to the digital television receiver device via the WiFi network when the digital television receiver device is operating in the self-contained network server operation.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the self-contained network server operation includes identifying the communication channel to the client device as relating to an emergency situation.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the identifying the communication channel as relating to the emergency situation includes using a same identifier as identifiers used by each of the plurality of digital television receiver devices that detect the condition information.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the condition information is part of a broadcast signal having a frame structure and the condition information is positioned in a frame at a position known to the plurality of digital television receiver devices.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the position known to the digital television receiver devices further includes other signalling information for the digital television receiver devices.

17. The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein
the condition information is broadcast from a digital television broadcast network,
the bidirectional network operation is via a second network,
the communication of the emergency web content to the client device is via a third network, and
the digital television broadcast network, the second network, and the third network are different networks that communicate data in different formats.

18. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, during performance of the modifying, the digital television receiver device is out of communication with an Internet and/or cellular network.

19. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the generating of the emergency web content includes generating, by the digital television receiver device, information representing a web page including the condition information, storing the generated information representing the web page locally in the digital television receiver device, and providing the information representing the web page to the client device as the emergency web content during the self-contained network server operation.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the self-contained network server operation communicates the emergency web content to the client device over an unencrypted communication channel as the communication channel on the WiFi network.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20 , wherein the self-contained network server operation communicates additional emergency information to an emergency service client device over an encrypted communication channel on the WiFi network.

22. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the self-contained network server operation communicates the emergency web content to the client device over the communication channel on the WiFi network the communication channel being different from one or more communication channels available on the WiFi network prior to the detection of the condition information.

23. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the self-contained network server operation of the digital television receiver device includes storing, in a memory of the digital television receiver device, the emergency web content generated based on the detected condition information broadcast over the digital television broadcast signal, and distributing, over the WiFi network, the stored emergency web content.

24. A method, comprising:
broadcasting, over a digital television broadcast signal, condition information to a plurality of digital television receiver devices; and
using the broadcast condition information, modifying an operation of a digital television receiver device of the digital television receiver devices, to a self-contained network server operation in which the digital television receiver device generates emergency web content based on the condition information broadcast over the digital television broadcast signal, wherein
the modifying the operation of the digital television receiver device to the self-contained network server operation includes
establishing a communication channel on a WiFi network,
controlling a WiFi interface of the digital television receiver device to allow c

Assignees

• Sony Corp
• Sony Europe Bv

Inventors

• Difrancesco Renaud

Classifications

• H04W72/30

  Resource management for broadcast services · CPC title

• H04L61/5007

  Internet protocol [IP] addresses · CPC title

• H04H60/88

  which are wireless networks · CPC title

• H04H20/02

  Arrangements for relaying broadcast information · CPC title

• H04H20/59 Primary

  for emergency or urgency · CPC title