JP2002189675A - Information distributing system and information distributing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information distributing service efficiently using a network source. SOLUTION: Data on the summary contents 15 (a summary of the detailed contents 23) are transmitted to a push distribution controller 2 from a push server 3, and data on a terminal 1 is transmitted to the push distribution controller 2 from the terminal 1. The push distribution controller 2 determines a terminal to transmit the summary contents on the basis of these data, and informs the push server 3 of the terminal. The push server 3 transmits the summary contents to the informed terminal. The terminal 1 instructs a pull server 4 to transmit the detailed contents when wishing to acquire the detailed contents corresponding to the received summary contents. The pull server 4 transmits the detailed contents to the terminal 1 accoding to an instruction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information distribution system, a server, a push distribution control device, a charging center, an information distribution method, a display control method, a program, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information distribution services for distributing various contents have been provided.

[0003]

However, if the contents (particularly, large-capacity contents such as moving image contents) are delivered as they are, many network resources are consumed and the efficiency is low.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution service that efficiently uses network resources.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information distribution system including a first server, a second server, and a terminal. One server includes means for storing summary content that is a summary of detailed content, and means for transmitting the summary content to the terminal. The second server stores means for storing the detailed content; Means for transmitting the detailed content to the terminal in response to an instruction, the terminal receiving the summary content from the first server, displaying the received summary content, and receiving the summary content. Means for instructing the second server to transmit detailed content corresponding to the summary content, and transmitting the detailed content corresponding to the received summary content to the second server. Characterized by comprising a means for receiving from the second server.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information distribution system according to the first aspect, wherein the information distribution system further includes a push distribution control device, and the terminal is provided with the push distribution control device. Further comprising: means for transmitting data relating to the summary content to the push distribution control device, wherein the first server further comprises means for transmitting data relating to the summary content to the push distribution control device, wherein the push distribution control device transmits data relating to the terminal from the terminal. Receiving means; means for receiving data on the summary content from the first server; means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on the data on the terminal and the data on the summary content. Transmitting information of a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted to the first server; And a stage, the first server,
The summary content is transmitted only to the terminal to which the summary content determined by the push distribution control device is to be transmitted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the first aspect, the terminal further comprises means for transmitting data relating to the terminal to the first server, Further comprising: means for receiving data related to the terminal from the terminal; and means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on the data related to the terminal and the data related to the summary content. And transmitting the summary content only to the terminal to which the determined summary content is to be transmitted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the second or third aspect, the data relating to the terminal includes data of a content display capability of the terminal, and the data relating to the summary content includes the data relating to the summary content. It is characterized by including data of display ability necessary for displaying the summary content.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the second or third aspect, the data related to the terminal includes data of a position where the terminal is located, and the data related to the summary content is included in the data. It is characterized by including data of a position associated with the summary content.

[0010] The invention according to claim 6 is the information distribution system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the data relating to the terminal includes data relating to a user of the terminal, and the data relating to the summary content includes the summary content. Is characterized by including attribute data associated with.

[0011] The invention according to claim 7 is the information distribution system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the summary content includes a display control code for controlling display of the content on the terminal. The code controls display of content on the terminal based on data on the terminal that is different from data on the terminal transmitted by the terminal.

The invention according to claim 8 is the information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the detailed content corresponding to the summary content is a moving image content, and the summary content is a frame of the moving image content. It is characterized by including.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the first aspect, the summary content includes:
It is characterized by including data describing the structure of the detailed content corresponding to the summary content.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the first aspect, the summary content includes a display control code for controlling display of the content on the terminal.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the tenth aspect, the display control code controls display of content on the terminal based on data on the terminal. Features.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the tenth aspect, the summary content includes structure description data describing a structure of a detailed content corresponding to the summary content. The display control code acquires information for receiving the detailed content based on the structure description data, and controls display of the content on the terminal using the acquired information.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the first aspect, the summary content includes data for authenticating the summary content.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information distribution system according to the first aspect, further comprising a charging center for charging communication between the terminal and the second server. It is characterized by.

The invention according to claim 15 is the information distribution system according to claim 14, wherein the charging center comprises:
According to an instruction from the second server, a billing destination for communication between the terminal and the second server is determined.

The invention according to claim 16 is the information distribution system according to claim 15, wherein the second server comprises:
When the information regarding the charge exemption is received from the terminal, the charge center is instructed to charge the second server with respect to the communication performed thereafter with the terminal.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the sixteenth aspect, the summary content includes the information on the charge exemption or the information for generating the information on the charge exemption. It is characterized by the following.

The invention according to claim 18 is the information distribution system according to claim 15, wherein the second server comprises:
After the communication with the terminal is completed, the charging center is instructed to charge the second server for the communication performed with the terminal.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the fourteenth aspect, the charging center comprises:
When the information regarding the charge exemption is received from the terminal, the second server is charged for subsequent communication between the terminal and the second server.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the information distribution system according to the first aspect, the terminal is a mobile terminal.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server, comprising: means for storing a summary content which is a summary of detailed content; and means for transmitting the summary content to a terminal.

The invention according to claim 22 is the server according to claim 21, wherein the means for receiving data related to the terminal from the terminal, and the data based on the data related to the terminal and the data related to the summary content. Means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted, wherein the summary content is transmitted only to the terminal to which the determined summary content is to be transmitted.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a push distribution control device, comprising: means for receiving data relating to the terminal from a terminal; and a server storing the summary content which is a summary of the detailed content. Receiving the information, the means for determining the terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on the data on the terminal and the data on the summary content, and transmitting information on the determined terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted to the server. And means for performing the operation.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal for receiving the summary content from a first server storing the summary content, which is a summary of the detailed content, and displaying the received summary content. Means for instructing a second server to transmit detailed content corresponding to the received summary content, and means for receiving detailed content corresponding to the received summary content from the second server. It is characterized by.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an accounting center, comprising: means for charging communication between a terminal and a server storing detailed contents; and means for receiving an instruction from the server. And determining a charging destination in accordance with an instruction from the server, and charging the determined charging destination.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a billing center for charging a communication between a terminal and a server storing detailed contents, and receiving information relating to a charge exemption from the terminal. Means for receiving a charge exemption from the terminal and charging the server for subsequent communication between the terminal and the server.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information distribution system comprising: a first server for storing a summary content that is a summary of a detailed content; a second server for storing the detailed content; and a terminal. Transmitting the summary content from the first server to the terminal; displaying at the terminal the summary content received by the terminal; and responding to the summary content received by the terminal. Instructing the second server from the terminal to transmit detailed content to be transmitted, and transmitting the detailed content corresponding to the summary content received by the terminal from the second server to the terminal. It is characterized by the following.

An invention according to claim 28 is a display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, wherein the display control method is based on structure description data describing a structure of the content.
The method includes a step of obtaining information for receiving the content, and a step of controlling display of the content on the terminal using the obtained information.

An invention according to claim 29 is a program for causing a terminal to execute a display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, wherein the display control method includes a structure description describing a structure of the content. A step of acquiring information for receiving the content based on the data; and a step of controlling display of the content on the terminal using the acquired information.

[0034] The invention according to claim 30 is the program according to claim 29, wherein the display control method is for receiving the content based on the structure description data and data on the terminal. It is characterized by acquiring information.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing a program for causing a terminal to execute a display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, wherein the display control method has a content structure. Acquiring information for receiving the content based on structure description data describing the content, and controlling display of the content on the terminal using the acquired information. .

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide an information distribution service using network resources efficiently. In addition, it is possible to efficiently and conveniently push product advertisements, store advertisements, and other promotional contents including AV media that appeal to the five senses, and visually provide a user's selection means therefor.

[0037]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the information distribution system according to the present embodiment. This information distribution system enables multimedia web contents including audiovisual (AV) media to be customized and efficiently distributed for each user's usage environment. This information distribution system has a terminal 1, a push distribution controller 2, a push server 3, and a pull server 4 as main components.

In this information distribution system, summary contents, which are summaries of detailed contents stored in the push server 3, are distributed to the terminal 1 by push. The terminal 1 displays the received summary content. The summary content is
It is displayed in a format with links for pull operations.

The detailed contents stored in the pull server 4 are distributed in response to a pull (transmission instruction (transmission request)) from the terminal 1. That is, if the user of the terminal 1 views the summary content and wants to obtain the detailed content, the user may issue a transmission instruction to the pull server 4.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of displaying the summary content on the terminal 1. On the liquid crystal display 40 of the terminal 1, a heading 41, a heading photograph 4
2, and links 43 and 44 are displayed. If the user wants to see the detailed content of “home run”, the user may operate the button 50 and select the link 43. When the link 43 is selected, the terminal 1 issues a transmission instruction of the detailed content to the pull server 4 that stores the detailed content of “home run”. Upon receiving the transmission instruction, the pull server 4 transmits the detailed content of “home run” to the terminal 1. Then, the terminal 1 displays the received detailed content of the “home run”.

In the present embodiment, the digest content transmitted (pushed) to the terminal 1 is limited to the contents that the user of the terminal 1 is interested in by the push distribution controller 2, but such a restriction is not provided. It is also possible to send all summary content to

The terminal 1 has an Internet access function, and has a function of receiving and displaying multimedia web contents produced in a predetermined format via the network 5. The terminal 1 may be a fixed position personal computer, a mobile information terminal or a mobile terminal having an Internet function, but in the present embodiment, a mobile terminal is assumed. The network connecting the push server 3 and the pull server 4 to the push distribution controller 2 is a general Internet, and the network connecting the push distribution controller 2 and the terminal 1 is a mobile-only network (for example, WAP (Wire)).
Less Application Protocol
1) Network, the push distribution controller 2 can be regarded as a function inside a gateway between two networks.

The terminal 1 has user-written data 7 previously written in an external storage medium 6 such as an IC card.
Is input to the terminal by the user's own hand. Here, the user description data 7 includes, for example, the following information. -User's personal information (age, gender, address, etc.)-Content genre that the user wants to watch (sports, music, economy, etc.)-User's favorite content cast (actor name, singer name,
Such)

The user description data 7 is protected from being updated except intentional rewriting by the user himself or automatic rewriting permitted by the user. The transmission of the user description data 7 to the outside of the terminal 1 is also performed within a range permitted by the user. Therefore, the terminal 1 includes a user description management unit 8 for protecting and managing the user description data 7 (see FIG. 2). The user description management unit 8 has the following functions. -User authentication (collation of the user-specific information stored in the terminal 1 with the input user description data 7)-Update of the user description data 7 requested by the user-Support for creating new user description data-User Data access control settings (automatic update,
Automatic transmission of the user description data 7 within the permitted range, external transmission • Interface for access from the content display control code 19 described later

From the above functions, the user description data 7 is large and is classified into private data 9 and public data 10. The private data 9 is user description data that is not allowed to be automatically updated or transmitted externally, and the public data 10 is user written data that is permitted to be automatically updated by the system or transmitted outside the terminal via the network 5 such as the push server 3. is there. The format of the user description data is, for example, MPEG-7 (Moving
Picture Experts Group-7)
User Preferences being standardized in Japan
DS (“Multimedia Description
n Schemes XM ", http: // www
w. cselt. it / mpeg / public / mm
ds_xm. zip), P3P being standardized in W3C
(Platform for Privacy Pre
ferences Project, “The Pl
atform for Privacy Preferred
encounters 1.0 (P3P1.0) Specif
ication ”, W3C Working Draf
t 10 May 2000, http: // www
w. w3. org / TR / P3P /).

When the terminal 1 establishes a session necessary for push distribution by the present system, the terminal 1 communicates the public data 10 of the user description data 7 with the GPS (Glo
The terminal position data (data of the position where the terminal exists) 11 acquired based on the position identification technology such as the bal Positioning System function and the media display processing capability (terminal capability data 12) of the terminal are represented by XM
L (Extensible Markup Langua)
ge) and sends it to the push distribution controller 2 via the network 5 in a predetermined coded expression.

As a format usable for the terminal position data 11, for example, W3C (World Wide)
POIX (Point of Interest) standardized by the Web Consortium
Xchange language, “POIX: P
point of interest eXchange
"Language Specification",
W3C Note -24 June 1999, h
http: // www. w3. org / TR / poix
/) And Place DS of MPEG-7. Formats available for the terminal capability data 12 include:
For example, CC / PP (Co) standardized by W3C
mpossite Capability / Prefer
enceProfile, “Composite C
availability / Preference Prof
iles (CC / PP): A user side f
framework for content nego
Tation ", W3C Note 27 July
1999, http: // www. w3. org /
TR / NOTE-CCPP /), User Agent Profile (UAPR) at WAP Forum
OF, “Wireless Application
Group User Agent Profile
Specification ", Version 1
0, Nov. 1999, http: // www1. w
aforum. org / tech / document
s / WAP-174-UAProf-19911110
-A. pdf).

First, a session establishment procedure required for push distribution will be described. The push server 3 is connected on the Internet, and notifies the push distribution controller 2 of the preparation for push distribution by the negotiation information 13 (delivery request). When receiving the distribution request from the push server 3, the push distribution controller 2 inquires of all the terminals to be serviced based on the negotiation information 14 whether or not the terminal to be prepared for the push distribution is accepted.
If it is determined that the terminal 1 accepts the distribution, the session is established by the negotiation information 14,
The above-described user description data 7 (only public data 10), terminal location data 11, and terminal capability data 12
To the push distribution controller 2.

On the other hand, the push server 3 also transmits the following content-related information to the push distribution controller 2 together with the distribution request by using the negotiation information 13. It is desirable that these data have the same format as the data transmitted from the terminal 1 and are easily collated. -Required terminal capability data indicating how much terminal capability is required to display the content to be pushed-Location data associated with the content (such as regional information included in the content)-Various attributes associated with the content Information (genre of content, name of celebrity appearing in content, for young / elderly, for male / female, etc.)

The push distribution controller 2 transmits the user description data (public data 1) transmitted from the terminal 1.
0), terminal location data 11, and terminal capability data 12
And the above-mentioned content-related information sent from the push server 3 to select a terminal having an appropriate reception condition, and determine whether or not distribution is possible. If a terminal having an appropriate reception condition is not included in the service target, the terminal notifies the push server 3 via the negotiation information 13 that distribution is impossible. By the above procedure, the user of the terminal 1 can receive an appropriate push distribution according to the taste, the position, and the like.

The push distribution controller 2 may cache the above-mentioned user description data 10, terminal position data 11, and terminal capability data 12 so that they can be used for providing a service for a certain period of time. The cached data is rewritten or deleted according to a request from the terminal. For example, when the position of the terminal 1 changes due to movement of the user, or when the degree of the position change is extremely severe, such as in a car, the terminal 1 may request an update of the terminal position data 11. . Also, at the end of the service or when the user has not used the service for a certain period of time, the contents may be deleted in order to effectively use the cache resources.

The user description data 10, terminal location data 11, and terminal capability data 12 may be transferred to the push server 3 itself for use in more detailed content selection in the push server 3. In the case of such a configuration, it is also possible to generate distribution contents specialized for the user by arranging the contents of the contents to be distributed in the push server 3 by the site capable of distributing various contents in more detail. is there. In such a case, it is possible to generate a content that does not require distribution destination selection and distribution availability determination in the push distribution controller 2, and there is also an advantage that the processing load on the push distribution controller 2 can be reduced.

The push server 3 does not distribute the entire contents to the user but distributes the contents (hereinafter referred to as “summary”) to the user, because the push server 3 distributes contents including information that requires a great deal of network resources such as AV media. Content 15). The summary content 15 is provided with a mechanism that allows the user who has received the summary content 15 to access more detailed content content and related information.

In order to explain the structure of the summary content 15, for example, distribution of news content is taken as an example. For example, complete multimedia web content for news distribution has a page structure as shown in FIG. First, news headlines and detailed articles are written in the text area. Also, a photograph representing the particular headline is displayed as still image data such as JPEG. In addition, video (mostly with accompanying audio) content is also provided. In order to intuitively play videos and specify link destinations,
Graphics such as buttons are also used. Animations may also be used to display a page sponsor's advertisement. In order to arrange these various media on the screen, HTML (Hypertext M) is used.
In general, a page description is created using an appropriate authoring tool using a display description language such as ARCUP Language.

From the content provider's point of view, it is desirable to distribute such content to any device having an Internet browser. However, in order to distribute to a device having a limited screen size and display capability, such as a mobile terminal, it is necessary to adapt contents in accordance with the display performance of the device. For example, R. Han et al. "Dynamic Adapt
Tation in Image Transcodi
ng Proxy for Mobile Web B
rowing "(IEEE Personal C
communications, Dec. 1998)
Proposes that content adaptation be performed dynamically by a proxy in the network. For example, when distributing the content of FIG. 3 to a browser mounted on a mobile terminal, only the heading is composed as a page, and the content is displayed in a “1 page → multiple page” form that can be followed by a link from there. (For example, Oracle)
"Portal-To-Go" etc.). On the other hand, dynamically performing the adaptation process one by one when actually distributing content to various terminals is not preferable from the viewpoint of system load. Rather, content in multiple formats is prepared in advance in accordance with a specific terminal standard expected as a service providing destination, or common content elements are stored in a predetermined database and shaped only for display at the time of access. By selecting and shaping the content to be distributed based on the type of the selected terminal, it is possible to provide a service with a reduced system load.

By the way, since the AV media for displaying a moving image requires a lot of network resources for transmission, generally only the first frame is shown as a still image as shown in FIG. It has been provided in such a way that streaming can be performed as needed by clicking. However, in this format, it is difficult to efficiently present the contents of contents having various topics, such as news distribution, on AV media, and can only be used to supplement a specific topic. Nevertheless, since the entire AV media is transmitted, it can be said that network resources are consumed more than necessary compared to the amount of information obtained.

According to the present invention, in order to solve this problem and to be able to positively focus on AV media so that visually comprehensible summary contents can be distributed, summary contents distributed from the push server 3 to the terminal 1 15 is composed of the following information (FIG. 4). -Text data 16 (including simple graphics data such as icons)-Key frame set 17 of AV media-Structure description data 18 of AV media-Content display control code 19-Content authentication data 20

The summary content 15 having this configuration enables visual content browsing mainly of an image by the key frame set 17. The text data 16 represents the event (=
Meaning of contents with key frame as representative image)
It is used as the minimum required description. Since this is a description of the key frame itself, it may be positioned as a part of the structure description data 18 of the AV media described later.

The AV media structure description data 18 describes the physical and semantic structure of the full AV media (detailed content) stored in the pull server 4, and the existence of individual key frames in the full AV media This is data that describes the time at which an event is performed, an event associated with a key frame included in the summary content, and the like.

The content display control code 19 is transmitted in the form of, for example, a Java (registered trademark) Applet, and operates on a Java (registered trademark) execution environment (Java (registered trademark) VM) in the receiving terminal. Conceivable. The functions of the content display control code 19 include, for example, the following. -Control to layout the key frame set 17 and text data 16 on the browser of the terminal 1-Display control taking into account user description data (mainly private data 9) input to the terminal 1 (strong taste) Priority display of items, filtering of display information in consideration of private data 9, etc.)
By solving the structure description data 18, the logical relationship (corresponding time, corresponding key event, etc.) between the received key frame set 17 and the full AV media stored in the pull server 4 is managed, and the response to the user interaction 22 is controlled. To do

The content authentication data 20 is data for confirming that the delivered summary content 15 has been correctly delivered in response to a request from the user. This prevents illegal content input to the terminal 1 from a third party. Technically, for example, MIM
E (Multipurpose InternetMa
There is a method of transmitting the summary content using il Extensions and using an authentication procedure provided by MIME.

By distributing the summary content 15 in this format, the terminal 1 that has received the content can visually browse the key events in the content mainly in the form of image data called key frames. In addition, since the summary content 15 includes a code for controlling the display of the key frame to the browser, the terminal side has, for example, Ja.
If only the va (registered trademark) execution environment is installed, there is no need to perform extra mounting.

In the present embodiment, the summary content 15 composed of the above information is distributed. Among the summary content 15, information other than the content display control code 19 is left in the push server 3, Only when the display control code 19 requires it, it can be obtained by interaction with the push server 3.

It should be noted that there is a prospect that the extraction processing of the key frame set 17 can be automated to some extent at the time of content authoring based on existing research results. For example, R. B
runelli and others "A Survey on the
Automatic Indexing of Vid
eo Data "(Journal of Visual)
l Communication and Image
Representation 10, 1999)
Many technologies are introduced. Therefore, if the authoring tool supports a smart interaction operation related to the key frame automatic extraction process and the key event association, the generation of the summary content 15 can be actually performed. This embodiment does not include a content authoring system.

The information included in the summary content 15 such as the content display control code (program) 19 includes:
It is possible to write to a recording medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk) or read from the recording medium.

According to the above description, an appropriate summary content 15 is sent to the terminal 1 according to the user's preference and situation. Subsequently, a pull operation of the detailed content 23 using the summary content 15 on the terminal 1 side will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which is a detailed internal configuration example of the terminal 1. Here, the detailed content 23 may be a file of the above-described full AV media,
It may be a web content description including media.
The mechanism for acquiring detailed content by pull access based on the content of the summary content is useful, for example, in the following cases.

A key frame set representing a key event of a sports news (a home run scene, a soccer goal scene, a golf putting scene, etc.) is distributed as summary content, and a detailed video scene including the moment is transmitted from the user. To deliver in response to a pull request.
The key event can be obtained from the user description data 7, and how these key frames are shown on the terminal 1 can be controlled by the degree of taste for the key event. In addition, it is also possible to transmit information on sports events in the surrounding area related to key events according to the position of the user.

The latest CD new music information is distributed in the form of a key frame set representing a video clip (any source is acceptable, such as an excerpt from a TV music program), and a detailed video clip is provided in response to a request from the user. When delivering. Depending on the location of the user, it is also possible to create content that reflects the chart for each region.

· Multimedia town guide service.
Various types of town information around the user's current location are distributed with video clips. For example, an image of an entrance of a nearby restaurant is pushed and distributed as a key frame set, and a user can check a video inside the restaurant as needed.

The summary content 15 is coded in a predetermined protocol and format such as HTTP, MIME, and XML, and is push-distributed to the terminal 1. In the terminal 1, first, the summary content 15 is
Decomposes into components. Next, when the validity of the summary content 15 is confirmed based on the content authentication data 20 in the content authentication unit 25, the content display control code 19 operates in the Java (registered trademark) execution environment 26 soil on the terminal 1, The data used for display, such as the key frame set 17 and the text data 16, is developed on the memory 27. Image media such as key frames are developed in the memory 27 via the dedicated media decoding unit 100 as needed. The content display control code 19 is programmed with a layout rule for displaying data in the memory 27 on the browser, and lays out the data on the browser 28 based on the layout rule. That is, by changing the program of the content display control code 19, various display layouts that make use of the characteristics of the push content provider can be realized. Further, a configuration is possible in which a standard display control engine is resident in the terminal 1 without including the content display control code 19. In this case, the transmission cost of the summary content can be reduced by not transmitting the content display control code 19.

At this time, the private data 9 of the user description data 7 is read out and expanded on the memory 27,
It may be configured to perform display control reflecting the user's preference. For example, in the case where the received summary content 15 is content that is divided into a plurality of sub-genres (baseball or soccer in sports, etc.), the key frame set 17 is selected from the key frame set 17 in consideration of user preferences corresponding to the sub-genres. It is conceivable to perform control such as preferentially displaying a key frame that the user wants to see most. In addition, by making use of the property of the private data 9 and configuring the summary content so that information filtering can be performed by the private data 9, the content can be divided into two stages: public (push distribution side) and private (terminal side). It is possible to provide filtered information. For example, when the age, gender, etc. are set to be private, for the push content selected based on the hobbies / hobbies that can be made public, information to be displayed on the receiving terminal according to the age and gender is selected. Can be considered.

The content display control code 19 is
In order to generate the information necessary for the pull operation of the user interaction 22, decoding of the AV media structure description data 18 associated with the key frame set 17 is involved.
The format of the AV media structure description data 18 is, for example, MPEG-7 Summarization.
DS and MPEG-7 Segment DS can be used. The AV media structure description data 18 includes the time at which each key frame corresponds to the full AV media, or the URL (Uniform) of the full AV media 21 represented by each key frame.
Resource Locator), various attribute information associated with the key frame (event corresponding to the key frame, subject information in the key frame,
Etc.) are stored. Content display control code 1
9 mainly extracts and generates the following two types of information from the AV media structure description data 18.

Locator information: address information of a full AV medium corresponding to a key frame. When the full AV media is one stream file, it describes which time in the stream file. If the full AV media is divided into shot units corresponding to the key frames, the URL is described. Alternatively, the URL of the entire detailed web content 23 including the full AV media corresponding to the key frame, or the like.

Annotation information: Various attribute information associated with a key frame is used as a related link in the UR.
Generate a link in a format that can be converted to L or output as a keyword to a text-based web search engine.

The information extraction / generation processing can also be controlled using the private data 9. For example, a configuration is conceivable in which only annotations that match the user's taste are used as link information for a pull operation.

With the above configuration and procedure, the summary content with the link for the pull operation in accordance with the user's preference is displayed on the browser 28. The user can receive the detailed content 23 by a pull operation as needed based on these links. In the pull operation, the detailed content 23 may be received in a download type by HTTP, or may be received by RTSP (Real-time Str).
It is also possible to receive the data in a streaming type by using an “eating protocol”.

The locator information sent to the pull server 4 when going to pull access from a key frame may be a URL indicating the physical location of the detailed contents 23 or an arbitrary time and time interval in the detailed contents. . The former is applied to the case where the detailed contents 23 are physically divided and stored, and the latter is applied to the case where the detailed contents 23 are physically aggregated into one and the inside is randomly accessed.

In general, the communication performed by the terminal 1 is charged. However, it may be desirable to prevent the user of the terminal 1 from being charged for content viewing. By making the content viewing free, the user can obtain various information free of charge, while, for example, the advertiser can acquire a wider content audience.

As a method of exempting charging for pull access, use of a one-time password can be considered. The summary content 15 includes one-time password generation trigger information, and the user performs an action on the one-time password generation trigger information at the terminal 1 to generate a one-time password. The one-time password generation trigger information is, for example, questionnaire page description data, and can generate a one-time password when a user fills out a questionnaire and performs transmission processing. Because the content of the survey and the content of the survey are closely related,
It is desirable to create each content. for that reason,
It is desirable that the questionnaire page description data be included in the summary content 15. Content display control code 19
Has a one-time password function based on one-time password generation trigger information and user input. Thus, the user of the terminal 1 can obtain the one-time password. Note that the one-time password itself may be transmitted to the terminal 1 instead of the one-time password generation trigger information.

The pull server 4 has a user authentication unit for receiving and authenticating the one-time password. After receiving the one-time password, the pull server 4 accepts and guarantees a request from the same user for a certain period of time (eg, within one hour). The requested detailed content 23 is delivered to the user without charging. In the case where a one-time password is generated for each detailed content, instead of exempting from charging for a certain period of time, it is also possible to exempt only charging for communication of detailed content corresponding to the one-time password.

In the case where the one-time password is not used, for example, the terminal 1
For all users. However, terminal 1 and pull server 4
After the communication with the terminal 1, the communication fee for requesting the detailed content 23 is paid back from the pull server 4 to the user of the terminal 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of charging for communication between a terminal and a pull server. The communication is performed by, for example, packet communication.

When there is a predetermined access mode, charging center 31 temporarily suspends charging. For example, it is conceivable to suspend charging when there is an access mode that can be performed only by a person who has viewed the summary content. Also, usually H
It is conceivable that charging is suspended when communication based on RTSP is performed when communication based on TTP is performed. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the destination address included in the packet is checked, and if the destination is a specific destination, charging is suspended. Next, a charging destination is determined according to the pull server selection information from the terminal 1 or the feedback information from the pull server, and charging is started. The billing center 31 receives the pull server selection information from the terminal 1 (normal UR
L, etc.) to determine the billing destination (normal Web
b) and a function of determining a billing destination based on feedback information from the pull server. The latter functions only when the former is determined to be “pull server burden”.

Each of the pull servers 4a to 4c determines, based on the authentication information (such as a one-time password) transmitted from the terminal 1, whether or not the pull server will charge the access (communication with the terminal 1). The information is transmitted to the charging center 31.

When receiving an instruction that the pull server is responsible for charging, the charging center 31 charges all transmitted / received packets including the pull access from the terminal 1 to the pull server. Conversely, if the pull server does not accept (eg, a normal Web server or unauthorized access), the terminal 1 is charged.

The charging center has, as its own function, a one-time password authentication function notified in advance from a pull server registered as a service provider, and is configured so that the charging center directly determines a charging destination from pull access. You can also. That is, when the billing center receives a valid one-time password from the terminal, the billing center can charge the pull server for subsequent communication between the terminal and the pull server. At this time, the charging center must have an authentication function for each pull server, but on the other hand, there is no need to monitor the flow of packets thereafter to determine the charging destination, reducing the burden of monitoring the entire communication procedure. it can. Also, if a standard procedure is defined in advance for the authentication function of each pull server as a service, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of authentication functions, and the implementation load can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, summary content 1
5 includes a key frame set 17, which is explicitly shown to the user using the content display control code 19, thereby realizing a function of visually confirming the outline of the detailed content 23. This converts summary content to HTM
The simple description in the page description language such as L takes into account the problem that the contents of the detailed contents cannot be known at all without explicit user interaction.

Also, by transmitting together with the media structure description data 18 describing the logical relationship between the key frame set 17 and the detailed content 23, the detailed content 23 corresponding to the key frame selected by the user can be transmitted.
It is possible to dynamically designate and distribute to the terminal 1 according to the viewing condition desired by the user. That is, it is possible to selectively specify an arbitrary place of the long-time real-time media and reproduce it.

Further, in this embodiment, the push server 3 push-distributes the summary contents 15 to the terminal 1 under the control of the push distribution controller 2. For example, the push server 3 is configured as a pull server, 1 may instruct the pull server to transmit the summary content and acquire the summary content.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the information distribution system in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
In the configuration (1), a pull server 3 'is installed instead of the push server 3 in FIG. Pull server 3 '
Distributes the summary content 15 in response to the summary content transmission request 33 from the terminal 1. The terminal 1 can acquire the detailed content 23 according to the detailed content locator / link 32.

[0092] The pull server 3 'can have the function of the push distribution controller 2. The summary content transmission request 33 can include the terminal capability data 12, the user description data 7, and the like. The pull server 3 'can determine, based on the terminal capability data 12, the user description data 7, and the like, whether the terminal is a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted.

For example, in HTTP, it is possible to transmit the description data relating to the terminal type to the pull server 3 ′. By extending this mechanism, it is possible to negotiate the content transmission and reception between the terminal 1 and the pull server 3 ′. Exchange of information becomes possible. That is, when the terminal side is a terminal having a low display capability that accepts only the resolution of QCIF, the server side can provide a low-resolution content in consideration of this point.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention, an information distribution service using network resources efficiently can be provided. In addition, the user can obtain multimedia web contents according to his / her tastes and circumstances at low cost, and can also receive detailed contents as necessary.
It is possible to provide a system that efficiently distributes web content using V media. From the service provider side, it is possible to introduce a hierarchical charging system on the premise of secondary access to detailed contents and to deliver multimedia contents to a large number of users by effectively utilizing network resources.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed internal configuration example of a terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a page configuration example of multimedia web content.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a summary content according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of charging for communication between a terminal and a pull server.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example of the information distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which summary content is displayed on a terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 terminal 2 push delivery controller 3 push server 3 ', 4, 4a, 4b, 4c pull server 5 network 6 external storage medium 7 user description data 8 user description management unit 9 private data 10 public data 11 terminal location data 12 terminal capability data 13 , 14 negotiation information 15 summary content 16 text data 17 key frame set 18 structure description data 19 content display control code 20 content authentication data 22 user interaction 23 detailed content 24 parser 25 content authentication unit 26 Java (registered trademark) execution environment 27 memory 28 Browser 31 Billing center 32 Detailed content locator / link 33 Summarized content transmission request 40 Liquid crystal display 41 Headline 42 Watch And photo 43, 44 link 50 button 100 media decoding section

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 326 G06F 17/60 326 332 332 506 506 ZEC ZEC H04N 7/16 H04N 7/16 C 7 / 173 610 7/173 610A 620 620D F term (reference) 5B075 KK07 ND12 ND14 ND16 NS01 PR08 UU40 5B085 AA01 AA08 BA07 BG02 BG03 BG07 5C064 BA01 BB01 BC04 BC06 BC23 BC25 BD02 BD03 BD07

Claims (31)

[Claims] 1. An information distribution system comprising a first server, a second server, and a terminal, wherein the first server stores a summary content that is a summary of detailed content; To the terminal, the second server comprises: means for storing the detailed content; and means for transmitting the detailed content to the terminal in response to an instruction from the terminal, wherein the terminal Means for receiving the summary content from the first server; means for displaying the received summary content; means for instructing the second server to transmit detailed content corresponding to the received summary content. Means for receiving, from the second server, detailed content corresponding to the received summary content. System. 2. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the information distribution system further includes a push distribution control device, and the terminal transmits a data relating to the terminal to the push distribution control device. Further, the first server further comprises: means for transmitting data relating to the summary content to the push distribution control device; wherein the push distribution control device comprises: means for receiving data relating to the terminal from the terminal; A means for receiving data relating to the summary content from one server; a means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on data relating to the terminal and data relating to the summary content; and transmitting the determined summary content. Means for transmitting terminal information to the first server, 1 server, information distribution system, characterized in that said push delivery control unit to transmit the summary content only to devices to transmit the summary content was determined. 3. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal further includes a unit that transmits data relating to the terminal to the first server, wherein the first server transmits the data from the terminal to the terminal. Means for receiving data regarding the terminal, and means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on the data regarding the terminal and the data regarding the summary content, wherein the first server determines the determined summary content. An information distribution system, wherein the summary content is transmitted only to a terminal to be transmitted. 4. The information distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the data relating to the terminal includes data of a content display capability of the terminal, and the data relating to the summary content is used for displaying the summary content. An information distribution system including necessary display capability data. 5. The information distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the data related to the terminal includes data of a position where the terminal is located, and the data related to the summary content is associated with the summary content. An information distribution system comprising position data. 6. The information distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the data related to the terminal includes data related to a user of the terminal, and the data related to the summary content has an attribute associated with the summary content. An information distribution system comprising data. 7. The information distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the summary content includes a display control code for controlling display of the content on the terminal.
The information distribution system, wherein the display control code controls display of content on the terminal based on data on the terminal that is different from data on the terminal transmitted by the terminal. 8. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the detailed content corresponding to the summary content is a moving image content, and the summary content includes a frame of the moving image content. Information distribution system. 9. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the summary content includes data describing a structure of a detailed content corresponding to the summary content. 10. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the summary content includes a display control code for controlling display of the content on the terminal. 11. The information distribution system according to claim 10, wherein the display control code controls display of content on the terminal based on data on the terminal. 12. The information distribution system according to claim 10, wherein the summary content includes structure description data describing a structure of the detailed content corresponding to the summary content, and the display control code includes the structure description data. An information distribution system, comprising: acquiring information for receiving the detailed content based on description data; and controlling display of the content on the terminal using the acquired information. 13. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the summary content includes data for authenticating the summary content. 14. The information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising a charging center for charging communication between the terminal and the second server. . 15. The information distribution system according to claim 14, wherein the charging center determines a charging destination for communication between the terminal and the second server according to an instruction from the second server. An information distribution system, characterized in that: 16. The information distribution system according to claim 15, wherein when the second server receives information related to exemption from the terminal from the terminal, the second server performs communication with the terminal thereafter. An information distribution system for instructing the charging center to charge the second server. 17. The information distribution system according to claim 16, wherein the summary content includes information on the charge exemption or information for generating the information on the charge exemption. system. 18. The information distribution system according to claim 15, wherein the second server charges a fee for communication performed with the terminal after the communication with the terminal is completed. An information distribution system instructing the charging center to perform the following. 19. The information distribution system according to claim 14, wherein, when the charging center receives the information on the exemption from the terminal from the terminal, the charging center transmits the information between the terminal and the second server. An information delivery system, wherein the second server is charged for communication performed on the second server. 20. The information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal is a mobile terminal. 21. A server, comprising: means for storing summary content that is a summary of detailed content; and means for transmitting the summary content to a terminal. 22. The server according to claim 21, wherein: means for receiving data related to the terminal from the terminal; and a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on the data related to the terminal and the data related to the summary content. A server that transmits the summary content only to terminals to which the determined summary content is to be transmitted. 23. A push distribution control device, comprising: means for receiving data relating to the terminal from a terminal; means for receiving data relating to the summary content from a server storing the summary content which is a summary of the detailed content; Means for determining a terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted based on data on the terminal and data on the summary content; and means for transmitting information on the determined terminal to which the summary content is to be transmitted to the server. A push distribution control device. 24. A terminal, comprising: means for receiving the summary content from a first server storing summary content that is a summary of detailed content; means for displaying the received summary content; and receiving the summary content A terminal comprising: means for instructing a second server to transmit detailed content corresponding to the summary content; and means for receiving, from the second server, detailed content corresponding to the received summary content. 25. A charging center, comprising: means for charging communication between a terminal and a server storing detailed content; and means for receiving an instruction from the server, wherein the instruction from the server is provided. A billing center, which determines a billing destination according to the following formula, and charges the determined billing destination. 26. A charging center, comprising: means for charging for communication between a terminal and a server storing detailed content; and means for receiving information on charge exemption from the terminal. A charge center for charging the server and the server when the information about the charge exemption is received from the terminal. 27. An information distribution method in an information distribution system, comprising: a first server that stores summary content that is a summary of detailed content; a second server that stores the detailed content; and a terminal. Transmitting the summary content from one server to the terminal; displaying the summary content received by the terminal at the terminal; and transmitting detailed content corresponding to the summary content received by the terminal. Further comprising the steps of: instructing the second server from the terminal; and transmitting detailed content corresponding to the summary content received by the terminal from the second server to the terminal. Method. 28. A display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, the method comprising: acquiring information for receiving the content based on structure description data describing a structure of the content; Controlling the display of the content on the terminal using the information. 29. A program for causing a terminal to execute a display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, the display control method comprising: And a step of controlling display of content on the terminal using the obtained information. 30. The program according to claim 29, wherein the display control method acquires information for receiving the content based on the structure description data and data on the terminal. And the program. 31. A recording medium storing a program for causing a terminal to execute a display control method for controlling display of content on a terminal, wherein the display control method includes a structure description data describing a structure of the content. A recording medium, comprising: acquiring information for receiving the content based on the information; and controlling display of the content on the terminal using the acquired information.