JP2005301428A - Content providing system, providing device and method, receiving device and method, recording medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide contents of quality corresponding to a distance. <P>SOLUTION: A distance to a PDA 2 is measured by a mobile telephone set 3. The mobile telephone set 3 stores a table in which the distance to the PDA 2 and the quality of contents that the PDA 2 is requested to provide are made to correspond to each other, and the mobile telephone set 3 determines the quantity of the contents that the PDA 2 is requested to provide. The PDA 2 reads the contents of the quality requested by the mobile telephone set 3 and provides them to the mobile telephone set 3. The contents of specified quality provided by the PDA 2 are outputted by the mobile telephone set 3. This invention is applicable to various information processors such as a mobile telephone set, a PDA, and a personal computer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content providing system, a providing apparatus and method, a receiving apparatus and method, a recording medium, and a program, and in particular, a content providing system, a providing apparatus, and a content providing system capable of providing content of quality according to distance. The present invention relates to a method, a receiving apparatus and method, a recording medium, and a program.

  In conventional wireless communication, content transmitted and received between a content sender and receiver (a device used by the sender and a device used by the receiver) may have a constant quality regardless of the distance between them. It is common.

  For example, when the content to be transmitted / received is text data, the number of characters is constant, and when the content is a still image, the resolution and size are constant. Also, the bit rate and volume of moving images and audio are constant.

  That is, regardless of the distance between the sender and receiver of the content, the transmitted and received content is homogeneous, so that the sender and the receiver can keep the distance from each other from the transmitted and received content. I don't feel it.

By the way, in Patent Document 1, for example, an image representing a communication partner device is displayed with a density or size changed according to the distance so that the distance to the communication partner device can be intuitively understood. Technology is disclosed.
International Publication No. 03/021825 Pamphlet

  In the real space, one information filtering method is used to reduce the distance from the target so that a person approaches an interesting thing to see in more detail or moves away from an object that is not interested or disliked. Unconsciously used as.

  In addition, the person grasps the distance from the object by the change in the sound volume, with the clue that the sound volume gradually increases when approaching the generation source and gradually decreases when the object is moved away.

  In this way, since the quality of the real space is naturally adjusted according to the distance to the target, it is better that the quality of the transmitted / received content changes according to the distance. It is easy to understand because it suits the situation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to provide content of quality according to distance.

  The content providing system of the present invention is a content providing system including a providing device and a receiving device connected via wireless communication, and the providing device requests based on a distance measurement result performed by the receiving device. Provided with providing means for providing the receiving apparatus with quality content corresponding to the distance between the receiving apparatus and itself, the receiving apparatus comprising: measuring means for measuring the distance between the providing apparatus and itself; Requesting means for requesting the providing apparatus for quality content corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring means, and output for outputting the quality content corresponding to the distance provided from the providing apparatus in response to the request by the requesting means. And a control means.

  The providing apparatus according to the present invention is a providing apparatus that performs wireless communication with a receiving apparatus that outputs content, and is requested between the receiving apparatus and itself, which is requested based on a distance measurement result performed by the receiving apparatus. And providing means for providing the receiving apparatus with a content of a quality corresponding to the distance.

  The providing means can provide the receiving apparatus with content of a quality corresponding to the distance selected from a plurality of contents stored in advance and having different qualities.

  The providing means can generate content of a quality corresponding to the distance based on the stored content, and provide the receiving apparatus with the content of the quality corresponding to the generated distance.

  The providing apparatus of the present invention can further comprise table providing means for providing the receiving apparatus with a table associating the distance with the content quality.

  The providing method of the present invention is a providing method of a providing apparatus that performs wireless communication with a receiving apparatus that outputs content, and the receiving apparatus and itself that are requested based on a distance measurement result performed by the receiving apparatus Providing a receiving device with quality content corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and the receiving device.

  The program recorded on the first recording medium of the present invention is a receiver that is requested based on a distance measurement result performed by a receiver that outputs content and is connected via wireless communication. It includes a providing step of providing the receiving device with quality content corresponding to the distance between itself and the receiver.

  The first program of the present invention is a distance between the receiving device and itself, which is requested based on a distance measurement result performed by the receiving device that outputs the content connected via wireless communication. A providing step of providing the receiving apparatus with the content of the quality corresponding to the above.

  The receiving device of the present invention is a receiving device that performs wireless communication with a providing device that provides content, a measuring unit that measures a distance between the providing device and itself, and a distance measured by the measuring unit. And a request means for requesting a corresponding quality content from the providing device, and an output control means for outputting the content of the quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to a request by the request means. To do.

  The receiving apparatus of the present invention can further include a management unit that manages a table provided by the providing apparatus that associates the distance with the content quality. In this case, the requesting unit selects the quality of the content corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring unit based on the table managed by the management unit, and requests the content of the selected quality from the providing device. And

  The receiving method of the present invention is a receiving method of a receiving apparatus that performs wireless communication with a providing apparatus that provides content, and includes a measurement step that measures a distance between the providing apparatus and itself, and processing of the measurement step A request step for requesting the providing device with quality content corresponding to the measured distance, and an output control step for outputting the quality content corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to a request by the processing of the request step It is characterized by including.

  The program recorded on the second recording medium of the present invention corresponds to the measurement step for measuring the distance between the providing apparatus that provides the content and itself and the distance measured by the processing of the measurement step. A requesting step for requesting a quality content from the providing device, and an output control step for outputting the quality content corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to a request by the processing of the requesting step. To do.

  A second program according to the present invention provides a measuring device that measures a distance between a providing device that provides content and the device itself, and a content that has a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the processing of the measuring step. A computer is caused to execute processing including a requesting step for requesting and an output control step for outputting content of quality corresponding to a distance provided from a providing device in response to a request by processing of the requesting step. .

  In the content providing system of the present invention, content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving apparatus and itself, which is requested based on the distance measurement result performed by the receiving apparatus, is provided to the receiving apparatus. Further, the distance between the providing device and the receiving device is measured, the content corresponding to the measured distance is requested from the providing device, and the quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device upon request is provided. Is output.

  In the providing apparatus and method, the first recording medium, the first program, and the program according to the present invention, the distance between the receiving apparatus and itself is requested based on the distance measurement result performed by the receiving apparatus. Corresponding quality content is provided to the receiving device.

  In the receiving apparatus and method, the second recording medium, the second program, and the program of the present invention, the distance between the providing apparatus and itself is measured, and the quality content corresponding to the measured distance is stored in the providing apparatus. Required. Also, the content of the quality corresponding to the measured distance provided from the providing device upon request is output.

  According to the present invention, content can be provided. In particular, it is possible to provide content of quality according to distance.

  This makes it possible to convey a sense of distance to the content receiver.

  BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below. The correspondence relationship between the invention described in the specification and the embodiment is exemplified as follows. Although there is an embodiment which is described in the specification but is not described here as corresponding to the invention, it does not mean that the embodiment corresponds to the invention. It doesn't mean not. Conversely, even if an embodiment is described herein as corresponding to an invention, that means that the embodiment does not correspond to an invention other than the invention. Absent.

  Further, this description does not mean that all the inventions corresponding to the embodiments described in the specification are described. In other words, this description does not deny the existence of other inventions described in the specification, that is, the existence of inventions that will be filed in division in the future, or that appear and are added by amendments.

  The content providing system according to claim 1 is a content providing system comprising a providing device (for example, PDA 2 in FIG. 1) and a receiving device (for example, mobile phone 3 in FIG. 1) connected via wireless communication. The providing apparatus provides the receiving apparatus with quality content corresponding to the distance between the receiving apparatus and itself, which is requested based on the distance measurement result performed by the receiving apparatus. Providing means (for example, the content management unit 62 in FIG. 7), and the receiving device measures the distance between the providing device and itself (for example, the distance measuring unit 81 in FIG. 9); Request means (for example, the content acquisition unit 83 in FIG. 9) that requests the providing device for content of quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measurement means, and responds to the request by the request means. Wherein it has been provided from the providing apparatus, an output control means for outputting the contents of the quality corresponding to the distance (e.g., the output control unit 84 of FIG. 9); and a Te.

  The providing apparatus according to claim 2 is a providing apparatus (for example, PDA 2 in FIG. 1) that performs wireless communication with a receiving apparatus (for example, the mobile phone 3 in FIG. 1) that outputs content, and is provided by the receiving apparatus. Providing means (for example, the content management unit 62 in FIG. 7) that provides the receiving device with a content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself, which is requested based on the measurement result of the distance performed. ).

  The providing apparatus according to claim 5 further includes a table providing unit (for example, a table providing unit 64 in FIG. 7) that provides the receiving apparatus with a table that associates the distance with the content quality.

  The providing method according to claim 6 is a providing method of a providing apparatus (for example, PDA 2 in FIG. 1) that performs wireless communication with a receiving apparatus (for example, the mobile phone 3 in FIG. 1) that outputs content, A providing step of providing the receiving device with content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself, which is required based on the measurement result of the distance performed by the receiving device (for example, the step of FIG. 15). S49) is included.

  In the program recorded on the recording medium according to claim 7 and the program according to claim 8, an embodiment (however, an example) corresponding to each step is the same as the providing method according to claim 6. It is.

  The receiving device according to claim 9 is a receiving device (for example, the mobile phone 3 in FIG. 1) that performs wireless communication with a providing device (for example, the PDA 2 in FIG. 1) that provides content, and the providing device Measuring means for measuring the distance to itself (for example, distance measuring unit 81 in FIG. 9), and requesting means for requesting the providing apparatus for content of quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring means ( For example, the content acquisition unit 83 in FIG. 9 and output control means (for example, the output in FIG. 9) that outputs the content of the quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to the request from the request means. And a control unit 84).

  The receiving device according to claim 10 further includes management means (for example, the table management unit 85 in FIG. 9) for managing a table provided by the providing device that associates the distance with the content quality. Selecting the quality of the content corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring means based on the table managed by the management means, and requesting the content of the selected quality from the providing device. And

  The reception method according to claim 11 is a reception method of a receiving device (for example, the mobile phone 3 of FIG. 1) that performs wireless communication with a providing device (for example, the PDA 2 of FIG. 1) that provides content, A measuring step (for example, step S2 in FIG. 10) for measuring the distance between the providing device and itself, and requesting the providing device for quality content corresponding to the distance measured by the processing of the measuring step. A request step (for example, step S14 in FIG. 10) and an output control step (for example, FIG. 10) for outputting the content of the quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to the request by the processing of the request step. 10 step S13).

  In the program recorded on the recording medium according to claim 12 and the program according to claim 13, the embodiment (however, an example) corresponding to each step is the same as the receiving method according to claim 11. It is.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the concept of a content providing system according to the present invention.

  In the content providing system 1, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) 2 as a content providing side and a mobile phone 3 as a content receiving side include, for example, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)) communication or connected by wireless communication conforming to a wireless communication standard such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band).

  In FIG. 1, only one PDA 2 and one mobile phone 3 are shown, but it is of course possible to configure a plurality of them. The type of device is not limited to a PDA and a mobile phone, and various devices such as a notebook personal computer can be used.

  The PDA 2 stores a table (FIG. 2) that associates the distance to the mobile phone 3 with the content quality. The table is provided from the PDA 2 to the mobile phone 3 at the start of communication with the mobile phone 3, for example.

  The PDA 2 stores a plurality of contents having different qualities, reads a predetermined quality content in response to a request from the mobile phone 3, and transmits it to the mobile phone 3.

  The mobile phone 3 acquires and stores a table (FIG. 2 described later) provided from the PDA 2 when communication with the PDA 2 is started.

  Further, the mobile phone 3 measures the distance to the PDA 2, determines the quality of the content corresponding to the measured distance based on the stored table, and requests the PDA 2 to provide the content of that quality. The cellular phone 3 displays a predetermined quality moving image or still image content provided from the PDA 2 on the display unit 11 or reproduces audio content from the speaker 12 in response to a request.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table that associates distances with content quality.

  As shown in the figure, the table is associated with the distance, the measured value (m), and the requested content (content quality requested by the mobile phone 3 from the PDA 2).

  The distance is defined as “far”, “normal”, and “close”. Here, “far” is “10 m”, “normal” is “3 m”, and “close” is “1 m”. Is supposed to be obtained.

  In addition, “small thumbnail” is requested for “far”, “large thumbnail” is requested for “normal”, and “demo video” (streaming) is requested for “close”. Each request is shown.

  That is, here, the provided content is an image (moving image, still image). The quality is said to be represented by size and demo video. The larger the thumbnail size, the higher the quality, and the higher the quality of the video than the thumbnail.

  When the provided content is an image (a still image or a moving image), the quality may be different depending on the resolution and transparency. In this case, for example, the higher the resolution and the lower the transparency, the higher the quality.

  In addition, when the provided content is a moving image or sound, the quality may be varied depending on the sampling rate. In this case, for example, the higher the sampling rate, the higher the quality.

  The table as described above is prepared in the PDA 2, provided to the mobile phone 3 from the PDA 2 at the start of communication with the mobile phone 3, and stored in the mobile phone 3. The table may be stored in the mobile phone 3 instead of being provided from the PDA 2 to the mobile phone 3 but downloaded from a predetermined site by the mobile phone 3 itself.

  Hereinafter, the table as shown in FIG. 2 that associates the distance with the quality of the content as appropriate is referred to as a correspondence table.

  Next, an example of the quality of content provided according to the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. It is assumed that the correspondence table as shown in FIG. 2 has already been stored in the mobile phone 3.

Now, for example, there is a mobile phone 3 (a user holding the mobile phone 3) at a position P ₁ in FIG. 3, and there is a PDA 2 at a position P ₄ on a circumference of a radius of 10 m centering on the mobile phone 3. To do.

  In this case, the mobile phone 3 requests the “small thumbnail” having the lowest quality (bad) in the example of FIG. 2 from the correspondence table according to the distance of 10 m that is the measurement result of the distance to the PDA 2. And requests the PDA 2 to provide a “small thumbnail”.

  In response to this request, the PDA 2 selects a “small thumbnail” from the stored content and transmits (provides) it to the mobile phone 3.

  In the mobile phone 3 that has received this content, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, a thumbnail 21 that is a small thumbnail is displayed on the display unit 11. In the example of FIG. 4A, the thumbnail 21 is different from a thumbnail of a higher quality than the thumbnail 21 described later, and only the outline of the passenger car is displayed. Details of passenger cars such as doors and tires are also shown in the thumbnail of FIG. 4B and the demo video of FIG. 4C, which are higher quality content than the thumbnail 21 described later.

Further, when the mobile phone 3 moves from the position P ₁ and the mobile phone 3 is at the position P ₂ , the mobile phone 3 determines from the correspondence table in the example of FIG. It decides to request a “large thumbnail” of a higher quality than the “small thumbnail” and requests the PDA 2 to provide a “large thumbnail”.

  In response to this request, the PDA 2 selects a “large thumbnail” from the stored content and transmits it to the mobile phone 3.

  In the mobile phone 3 that has received this content, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, a thumbnail 22 that is a larger thumbnail than the thumbnail 21 of FIG. 4A is displayed on the display unit 11.

Further, when the mobile phone 3 moves from the position P ₂ and the mobile phone 3 is at the position P ₃ , the mobile phone 3 determines from the correspondence table in FIG. In the example, it is determined that the highest quality “demo video” is requested, and the PDA 2 is requested to provide “demo video”.

  In response to this request, the PDA 2 selects “demo video” from the stored contents and transmits it to the mobile phone 3.

  In the mobile phone 3 that has received this content, for example, as shown in FIG. 4C, a demo video 23 that is a streaming image is displayed on the entire display unit 11.

  As described above, since the quality of the content output from the mobile phone 3 varies depending on the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3, the user of the mobile phone 3 can use the PDA 2 as the content provider based on the quality. Can be grasped intuitively.

  For example, a user of the mobile phone 3 can output the contents as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C according to the distance from the PDA 2 placed in a certain booth at the exhibition hall of a passenger car. From the thumbnail 21 of 4A, it can be confirmed that there is a considerable distance from your location to the booth. Further, the user can confirm that the user is approaching from the thumbnail 22 of FIG. 4B, and can confirm that the user is near the booth from the demo video 23 of FIG. 4C.

  Next, a method for measuring the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 will be described. In this embodiment, the distance measurement method is not particularly limited, and is described here as an example only.

  The first method is to measure the distance based on the intensity of the received radio wave. In other words, the reception intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the communication partner device is usually inversely proportional to the distance, so that the distance is closer as the radio wave intensity is higher, and the distance is farther as the radio wave intensity is weaker.

  This is used, for example, when the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 perform Bluetooth communication in which communication is performed directly (without using an access point or the like) or wireless communication such as IEEE802.11a or 802.11b in ad hoc mode.

  The second method is to measure the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 based on the positioning result by GPS (Global Positioning System). That is, in this case, a GPS module is mounted on the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3, and the distance between them is measured from the difference between the positioning results.

  In the third method, when the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 perform UWB wireless communication, the distance is measured from the delay time of the reflected wave of a short pulse wave (1 ns to several hundreds ns) used in the communication. Is. UWB is a communication standard characterized by the ability to measure distances.

  The fourth method is to measure an approximate distance from the position of the access point.

  More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the radio wave reach ranges of the access points (AP) 31 to 33 are each 1 m, the distance between the access points 31 and 32, and the access point 32 Assume that the distance of 33 is 10 m each.

  It is assumed that these pieces of information are acquired by the mobile phone 3 that measures the distance. Further, it is assumed that information on which access point the PDA 2 is connected to has been acquired by the mobile phone 3.

  In this case, when viewed from the mobile phone 3 connected to the access point 31, the distance from the PDA 2 connected to the access point 33 is approximately 20m (far), although an error occurs in the range of 18m to 22m. Can be guessed.

  Further, when viewed from the mobile phone 3 connected to the access point 32, the distance from the PDA 2 connected to the access point 33 is approximately 10 m (normal) although an error occurs in the range of 8 m to 12 m. Can be guessed.

  Furthermore, when the mobile phone 3 is connected to the same access point 33 as the PDA 2, the distance between them is in the range of 0 m to 2 m, and it can be estimated that the distance is close.

  As in the above example, the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 can be measured. The processing of the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 that measures the distance as described above and outputs the content according to the distance will be described later with reference to a flowchart.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the PDA 2.

  The control unit 51 controls the communication unit 53 and the storage unit 54. For example, the control unit 51 reads content of a predetermined quality requested from the mobile phone 3 from the storage unit 54 and transmits it to the mobile phone 3 via the communication unit 53 and the antenna 52.

  The antenna 52 transmits data supplied from the communication unit 53 as radio waves, or receives radio waves transmitted from other devices and supplies them to the communication unit 53.

  The communication unit 53 performs D / A (Digital to Analog) conversion processing, frequency conversion processing, and the like on the correspondence table, content, and the like supplied from the control unit 51, and transmits the obtained signal from the antenna 52. In addition, the communication unit 53 performs frequency conversion processing, A / D conversion processing, and the like on the signal received by the antenna 52, and outputs the obtained data to the control unit 51.

  The storage unit 54 stores a control table and the like necessary for the control unit 51 to perform various types of processing, in addition to the correspondence table and the contents having different qualities.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the control unit 51 in FIG. 6.

  The functional configuration example illustrated in FIG. 7 is realized by the control unit 51 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 54, for example.

  The request determination unit 61 determines the content of the request transmitted from the mobile phone 3 based on the data supplied from the communication unit 53. The determination result by the request determination unit 61 is output to the content management unit 62.

  The request transmitted from the mobile phone 3 includes, for example, a streaming start request (demo video request), a streaming stop request, a small thumbnail request, and a large thumbnail request.

  The content management unit 62 reads content of a predetermined quality from the storage unit 54 according to the determination result supplied from the request determination unit 61, and outputs it to the transmission control unit 63.

  When communication with the mobile phone 3 is started, the table providing unit 64 reads the correspondence table from the storage unit 54 and causes the transmission control unit 63 to transmit it to the mobile phone 3.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the mobile phone 3.

  The control unit 71 controls the communication unit 73, the storage unit 74, the display unit 11, and the speaker 12. For example, the control unit 71 measures the distance to the PDA 2 and performs a process of determining the quality of the requested content, a process of outputting the content transmitted from the PDA 2 according to the measurement result.

  The antenna 72 transmits the data supplied from the communication unit 73 as a radio wave, or receives a radio wave or pulse wave transmitted from another device and supplies it to the communication unit 73.

  The communication unit 73 performs D / A conversion processing, frequency conversion processing, and the like on the data supplied from the control unit 71, and transmits the obtained signal from the antenna 72. In addition, the communication unit 73 performs frequency conversion processing, A / D conversion processing, and the like on the signal received by the antenna 72 and supplies the obtained data to the control unit 71.

  The storage unit 74 stores a control table and the like necessary for the control unit 71 to perform various processes in addition to the correspondence table and contents provided from the PDA 2.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the control unit 71 in FIG. 8.

  The functional configuration example illustrated in FIG. 9 is realized by the control unit 71 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 74, for example.

  The distance measuring unit 81 measures the distance to the PDA 2 by the various methods described above. For example, when the distance is measured based on the radio wave intensity, the distance measuring unit 81 is supplied with data representing the radio wave reception intensity at the antenna 72. The measurement result by the distance measuring unit 81 is output to the quality determining unit 82.

  Based on the correspondence table supplied from the table management unit 85, the quality determination unit 82 determines the quality of content requested from the PDA 2 corresponding to the distance of the measurement result supplied from the distance measurement unit 81. The quality determination unit 82 instructs the content acquisition unit 83 to request the PDA 2 to provide content of the determined quality.

  The content acquisition unit 83 controls the communication unit 73 to request the PDA 2 to transmit the content of the quality determined by the quality determination unit 82 and acquire the content transmitted from the PDA 2 in response to the request. The acquired content is stored in the storage unit 74 as appropriate. Further, the content acquisition unit 83 reads the content stored in the storage unit 74 as necessary, and outputs the read content to the output control unit 84.

  When the content supplied from the content acquisition unit 83 is a moving image or a still image, the output control unit 84 displays the content on the display unit 11 and the content supplied from the content acquisition unit 83 is an audio content. If so, the audio content is output from the speaker 12.

  The table management unit 85 manages the correspondence table acquired from the PDA 2 at the start of communication, and provides the correspondence table to the quality determination unit 82 as appropriate.

  Next, operations of the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 having the above configuration will be described.

  First, content reception processing of the mobile phone 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When communication with the PDA 2 is started, the table management unit 85 of the mobile phone 3 acquires the correspondence table provided from the PDA 2 and stores it in the storage unit 74 in step S1. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the correspondence table in FIG. 2 is acquired from the PDA 2.

  In step S <b> 2, the distance measuring unit 81 measures the distance to the PDA 2 and outputs the measurement result to the quality determining unit 82. The processes after step S2 are repeated at a predetermined cycle.

  In step S3, the quality determination unit 82 determines whether the distance to the PDA 2 is 1 m or less based on the measurement result supplied from the distance measurement unit 81, and determines that it is 1 m or less. If yes, go to Step S4. In this case, the distance to the PDA 2 is expressed as “near” (FIG. 2), and this is confirmed by the quality determination unit 82 based on the correspondence table managed by the table management unit 85.

  In step S4, the quality determination unit 82 determines whether or not the demo video is being played (streaming) by streaming. Here, for example, it is determined whether or not the demo video is being output based on the tables shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 (FIGS. 13A and 13B) managed by the quality determination unit 82.

  In the table of FIG. 11, a flag is set for an ID for identifying a communication partner (streaming content provider). For example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address or a MAC (Media Access Control) address is used as the ID representing the communication partner.

  When the flag is ON, it indicates that the content provided from the communication partner is being streamed. Therefore, the table of FIG. 11 indicates that the contents provided from the respective communication partners identified by the IDs “00100”, “00101”, and “00104” are being streamed.

  In the table of FIG. 12, the port number being used for streaming is managed for the ID of the communication partner.

  In the example of FIG. 12, the content provided from the communication partner identified by the ID “00100” is being streamed using the port “12345” and is provided from the communication partner identified by the ID “00101”. It is indicated that the content is being streamed using the port “12346”. Further, it is indicated that the content provided from the communication partner identified by the ID “00104” is being streamed using the port “13332”.

  In the table of FIG. 13A, the status of the content provided from the communication partner is managed by the control No for the communication partner ID. The state of the content represented by the control No is defined in the table of FIG. 13B.

  In FIG. 13B, control Nos. “0” to “3” respectively indicate that streaming of content is stopped, being played back (streaming is being performed), being paused, and fast-forwarding / winding. Indicates that a return operation is being performed.

  Therefore, the table of FIG. 13A shows that the content provided from the communication partner identified by the ID “00100” is streaming, and the content provided from the communication partner identified by the other ID is stopped. Represent.

  The quality determination unit 82 determines what the content state is based on the settings of the various tables as described above.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 10, if the quality determination unit 82 determines in step S <b> 4 that the demo video is being streamed, it ends the process. In this case, since the distance to the PDA 2 is “close” as in the previous determination, streaming of the demo video as shown in FIG. 4C is continued.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the streaming is not in progress, the quality determination unit 82 proceeds to step S5 and starts streaming.

  That is, the quality determination unit 82 controls the content acquisition unit 83 to request the PDA 2 to start streaming. The content provided from the PDA 2 in response to the request and acquired by the content acquisition unit 83 is supplied to the output control unit 84, and reproduction is performed by the output control unit 84.

  Thereby, when the distance to the PDA 2 is “close”, the demonstration video 23 as shown in FIG. 4C is displayed on the display unit 11. Thereafter, the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the distance to the PDA 2 is not 1 m or less, the quality determination unit 82 proceeds to step S6 and determines whether the content is being streamed.

  In step S6, if the quality determination unit 82 determines that the demo video provided from the PDA 2 is being streamed, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is stopped. That is, the content acquisition unit 83 requests the PDA 2 to stop streaming.

  Thereby, for example, when the distance from the PDA 2 is increased, the streaming performed until then is stopped.

  If it is determined in step S6 that streaming is not being performed, the process of step S7 is skipped.

  In step S8, the quality determining unit 82 determines whether or not the distance from the PDA 2 is more than 10 m (not including 10 m). If it is determined that the distance is more than 10 m, the quality determining unit 82 ends the process. That is, since the distance from the PDA 2 is sufficiently large, the content provided from the PDA 2 is not output to the mobile phone 3 here.

  If the quality determining unit 82 determines in step S8 that the distance to the PDA 2 is not as much as 10 m, the quality determining unit 82 proceeds to step S9 and determines whether the distance to the PDA 2 is 10 m or less and greater than 3 m (excluding 3 m). Determine whether or not.

  If the quality determining unit 82 determines in step S9 that the distance to the PDA 2 is 10 m or less and greater than 3 m, the process proceeds to step S10. In this case, the distance from the PDA 2 is expressed as “far” (FIG. 2).

  In step S <b> 10, the content acquisition unit 83 indicates in the data stored in the storage unit 74 whether or not the “small thumbnail” provided from the PDA 2 when the distance from the PDA 2 is “far” has already been received. Judgment based on.

  Whether the content provided by the PDA 2 including the “small thumbnail” has already been received is determined based on, for example, a table as shown in FIG. 14A.

  In the table of FIG. 14A, the type and recording date and time of thumbnails provided from the communication partner are managed for the communication partner ID. The type of content represented by the thumbnail number (quality) is defined in the table of FIG. 14B.

  In FIG. 14B, thumbnail Nos. “1” to “3” are respectively maximum (1 MB or more) (including the above-described demo video), large (100 KB or more and less than 1 MB) (large thumbnail), and small (less than 100 KB) ( Small thumbnail).

  Therefore, the table of FIG. 13A is identified by the ID “00101” that the demonstration video provided by the communication partner identified by the ID “00100” was recorded in “February 18, 2004 4:58”. This indicates that the demonstration video provided by the communication partner was recorded on “January 5, 2004 13:31”. Further, it represents that a small thumbnail provided from the communication partner identified by the ID “00104” was recorded on “December 27, 2003 16:27”.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 10, if the content acquisition unit 83 determines in step S10 that the “small thumbnail” has already been received, the process proceeds to step S11, and the currently provided version of “small thumbnail” is added to the PDA2. Contact

  For example, if it is confirmed that the “small thumbnail” that has already been received is of the same version as that currently provided by the PDA 2, the process proceeds to step S 12, and the content acquisition unit 83 stores the information from the storage unit 74. Read it. For example, when the version of the content (“small thumbnail”) stored in the storage unit 74 is older than the version currently provided by the PDA 2, the latest version is acquired from the PDA 2.

  The “small thumbnail” read from the storage unit 74 by the content acquisition unit 83 is output to the output control unit 84 and displayed on the display unit 11 by the output control unit 85 in step S13. Thereafter, the process is terminated.

  Thereby, when the distance from the PDA 2 is “far”, the thumbnail 21 as shown in FIG. 4A is displayed. In addition, since the version is inquired, it is possible to prevent the output of an old version of the thumbnail after a certain amount of time has elapsed since reception, and to output the same one that PDA2 currently provides become.

  If it is determined in step S10 that the “small thumbnail” has not yet been received, the content acquisition unit 83 proceeds to step S11 and requests the PDA 2 to provide “small thumbnail”.

  The content acquisition unit 83 receives the “small thumbnail” transmitted from the PDA 2 in response to the request in step S15, stores it in the storage unit 74, and outputs it to the output control unit 84. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S13, and the “small thumbnail” newly acquired by the content acquisition unit 83 is displayed.

  On the other hand, if the quality determining unit 82 determines in step S9 that the distance to the PDA 2 is 10 m or less and not greater than 3 m, the process proceeds to step S16, and then whether the distance to the PDA 2 is 3 m or less. Determine whether or not.

  If it is determined that the distance from the PDA 2 is not 3 m or less, the quality determination unit 82 ends the process, and if it is determined that the distance is 3 m or less, the process proceeds to step S17. When it is determined that the distance is 3 m or less, the distance from the PDA 2 is expressed as “normal” (FIG. 2).

  In step S <b> 17, the content acquisition unit 83 stores in the storage unit 74 whether or not the “large thumbnail” provided from the PDA 2 when the distance from the PDA 2 is “normal” has already been received. Judgment based on data.

  If the content acquisition unit 83 determines in step S17 that the “large thumbnail” has already been received, the process proceeds to step S18.

  In step S18, the content acquisition unit 83 inquires of the PDA 2 about the version of the “large thumbnail” currently provided, and the already received “large thumbnail” is of the same version as that provided by the PDA 2. When it is confirmed that there is, the process proceeds to step S 19, and it is read from the storage unit 74.

  The “large thumbnail” read by the content acquisition unit 83 is output to the output control unit 84 and displayed on the display unit 11 by the output control unit 84 in step S20. Thereafter, the process is terminated.

  Thereby, when the distance from the PDA 2 is “normal”, the thumbnail 22 as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed.

  If the content acquisition unit 83 determines in step S17 that the “large thumbnail” has not been received yet, the content acquisition unit 83 proceeds to step S21 and requests the PDA 2 to provide the “large thumbnail”.

  The content acquisition unit 83 receives the “large thumbnail” transmitted from the PDA 2 in response to the request in step S 22, stores it in the storage unit 74, and outputs it to the output control unit 84. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S20, and a “large thumbnail” is displayed based on the data newly acquired by the content acquisition unit 83.

  Through the above processing, different quality contents (still images and moving images) are output to the display unit 11 of the mobile phone 3 according to the distance from the PDA 2.

  In the above, the PDA 2 is inquired about the version of the currently provided content, and the currently provided content is newer than the content stored in the storage unit 74. In this case, the latest content is acquired for the first time. Of course, the latest content is always acquired from the PDA 2 regardless of whether the storage unit 74 stores the content. Good.

  Next, content transmission processing of the PDA 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When communication with the mobile phone 3 is started, in step S41, the table providing unit 64 of the PDA 2 reads the correspondence table for the currently provided content from the storage unit 54, and reads it from the transmission control unit 63 to the mobile phone. 3 to send.

  In step S42, the request determination unit 61 determines whether or not a request from the mobile phone 3 has been received based on the output from the communication unit 53, and waits until it is determined that the request has been received.

  If it is determined in step S42 that the request from the mobile phone 3 has been received, the request determination unit 61 proceeds to step S43, and then the received request is a streaming stop request (transmitted in step S7 in FIG. 10). Request).

  If the request determination unit 61 determines in step S43 that the received request is a streaming stop request, the request determination unit 61 controls the content management unit 62 to stop the streaming.

  On the other hand, if the request determination unit 61 determines in step S43 that the received request is not a streaming stop request, the process proceeds to step S45, where the received request is transmitted in the streaming start request (step S5 in FIG. 10). Request).

  If the request determination unit 61 determines in step S45 that the received request is a streaming start request, the request determination unit 61 controls the content management unit 62 to start streaming. The content management unit 62 reads content provided by streaming from the storage unit 74 and causes the transmission control unit 63 to transmit the content to the mobile phone 3.

  If the request determination unit 61 determines in step S45 that the received request is not a streaming start request, the request determination unit 61 proceeds to step S47, where the received request is a small thumbnail transmission request (the request transmitted in step S14 of FIG. 10). ).

  If the request determination unit 61 determines in step S47 that the received request is a transmission request for a small thumbnail, the request determination unit 61 controls the content management unit 62 to provide the mobile phone 3 with the small thumbnail.

  That is, the content management unit 62 reads out a small thumbnail to be provided to the mobile phone 3 from the storage unit 74 and outputs it to the transmission control unit 63 in step S48. The transmission control unit 63 that has received the small thumbnail supplied from the content management unit 62 transmits the small thumbnail from the communication unit 53 to the mobile phone 3 in step S49.

  On the other hand, if the request determination unit 61 determines in step S47 that the received request is not a transmission request for a small thumbnail, the request determination unit 61 proceeds to step S50 to transmit a thumbnail transmission request for which the received request is large (transmit in step S21 of FIG. Request).

  If the request determination unit 61 determines in step S50 that the received request is a transmission request for a large thumbnail, the request determination unit 61 controls the content management unit 62 to provide the mobile phone 3 with the large thumbnail.

  That is, the content management unit 62 acquires a large thumbnail to be provided to the mobile phone 3 from the storage unit 74 and outputs it to the transmission control unit 63 in step S51. The transmission control unit 63 that has received the large thumbnail supplied from the content management unit 62 transmits the large thumbnail from the communication unit 53 to the mobile phone 3 in step S52.

  After streaming is stopped in step S44, after streaming is started in step S46, after a small thumbnail is transmitted in step S49, and after a large thumbnail is transmitted in step S52, the process is terminated. The process is started at a predetermined timing. If it is determined in step S50 that the received request is not a large thumbnail transmission request, a predetermined error process is performed, and then the process ends.

  As a result of the above processing, quality content corresponding to the request from the mobile phone 3 is provided from the PDA 2.

  In the above description, the distance measurement is performed by the mobile phone 3 that is the content receiving side, but may be performed by the PDA 2 that is the content transmitting side.

  In this case, the quality of the content corresponding to the distance of the measurement result of the distance performed by the PDA 2 is determined by the PDA 2 based on the correspondence table, and the content of the determined quality is transmitted from the PDA 2 to the mobile phone 3. That is, in this case, the cellular phone 3 simply receives the content transmitted from the PDA 2 and outputs it.

  In the above, a plurality of contents of different quality are prepared in the PDA 2, and the contents to be provided to the mobile phone 3 are selected from the contents, but one content is prepared, The quality may be adjusted when it is provided to the telephone 3.

  For example, when a “large thumbnail” is requested from the mobile phone 3, the PDA 2 generates the “large thumbnail” from one content (thumbnail) prepared in advance, and requests a “small thumbnail”. In this case, the “small thumbnail” is generated from one content prepared in advance.

  This also makes it possible to provide content of different quality.

  Also, depending on the correspondence table, various contents can be provided according to the distance.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating another example of the correspondence table.

  In this example, the content itself provided is switched according to the distance between the content transmitting device (for example, PDA 2) and the receiving device (for example, the mobile phone 3).

  That is, in the example of FIG. 16, when the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 is a distance (10 m) represented by “far”, a “shop name” is provided and a distance represented by “normal” ( In the case of 5m), an image of the “inside photo” of the shop is provided. In addition, when the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 is a distance (1 m) expressed as “close”, “SALE” information is provided, and a distance (0.3 m) expressed as “very close” , "Price" for SALE products is provided.

  The PDA 2 that provides content according to such a correspondence table is, for example, placed in a certain store.

  In this way, by enabling the content of the provided content to be switched, for example, a mobile phone interested in the store of the provider by looking at the “shop name” provided when the user is farthest away The user 3 approaches the store, looks at the “introspection photo” provided when approaching the store, and approaches the store to get a little closer, so that information filtering by distance in the real world is performed. It is also reproduced in the transmission / reception of content.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table when the provided content is music (voice) content.

  When the provided content is music content, the quality is expressed by the difference in sampling rate. In the example of FIG. 17, when the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 is a distance (10 m) represented by “far”, a “low” rate is provided, and a distance represented by “normal” ( In the case of 5m), the “medium” rate is provided. Further, when the distance between the PDA 2 and the mobile phone 3 is a distance (1 m) expressed as “near”, a “high” rate is provided.

  As described above, since the sampling rate of the provided music content is different, a clearer sound can be heard near the transmission source, and the relationship between the distance and the sound in the real world can be reproduced.

  The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. In this case, the information transmitting apparatus that executes the software is configured by, for example, a personal computer 100 as shown in FIG.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 executes various processes according to a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 or a program loaded from a storage unit 108 to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103. The RAM 103 also stores data necessary for the CPU 101 to execute various processes as appropriate.

  The CPU 101, ROM 102, and RAM 103 are connected to each other via a bus 104. An input / output interface 105 is also connected to the bus 104.

  The input / output interface 105 includes an input unit 106 including a keyboard and a mouse, a display including an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an output unit 107 including a speaker, a storage unit 108 including a hard disk, and a network. A communication unit 109 that performs all communication processes is connected.

  A drive 110 is connected to the input / output interface 105 as necessary, and a removable medium 111 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is appropriately installed, and a computer program read from the medium is required. Is installed in the storage unit 108 according to the above.

  When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software may execute various functions by installing a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs. For example, it is installed from a network or a recording medium into a general-purpose personal computer or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the recording medium is distributed to provide a program to the user separately from the apparatus main body, and includes a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk) on which the program is recorded, an optical disk (CD- Removable media 111 (package media) made of ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), magneto-optical disk (including MD (registered trademark) (Mini-Disk)), or semiconductor memory ), And a ROM 102 on which a program is recorded and a hard disk included in the storage unit 108 provided to the user in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance.

  In the present specification, each step includes not only processing performed in time series according to the described order, but also processing executed in parallel or individually, although not necessarily performed in time series.

  Further, in this specification, the system represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatuses.

It is a figure which shows the concept of the content provision system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a correspondence table. It is a figure which shows the example of the positional relationship of PDA and a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the example of the content output in a mobile telephone. It is a figure shown about the example of the measuring method of distance. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of PDA. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of the control part of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a mobile telephone. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of the control part of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the reception process of a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the example of the table which manages the state of a content. It is a figure which shows the other example of the table which manages the state of a content. It is a figure which shows the further another example of the table which manages the state of a content. It is a figure which shows the example of the table which manages a content. It is a flowchart explaining the transmission process of PDA. It is a figure which shows the other example of a correspondence table. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a corresponding | compatible table. And FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a personal computer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content provision system, 2 PDA, 3 Mobile telephone, 61 Request determination part, 62 Content management part, 63 Transmission control part, 64 Table provision part, 81 Distance measurement part, 82 Quality determination part, 83 Content acquisition part, 84 Output control Department, 85 Table Management Department

Claims (13)

In a content providing system comprising a providing device and a receiving device connected via wireless communication,
The providing device includes:
Providing means for providing to the receiving device content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself, which is required based on a distance measurement result performed by the receiving device;
The receiving device is:
Measuring means for measuring the distance between the providing device and itself;
Requesting means for requesting the providing device for content of a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring means;
An output control means for outputting content of a quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to a request from the request means; In a providing device that performs wireless communication with a receiving device that outputs content,
And providing means for providing the receiving device with quality content corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself, which is required based on the measurement result of the distance performed by the receiving device. Providing device. 3. The provision according to claim 2, wherein the providing unit provides the receiving apparatus with a content having a quality corresponding to the distance selected from a plurality of contents having different qualities stored in advance. apparatus. The said providing means produces | generates the content of the quality corresponding to the said distance based on the memorize | stored content, and provides the content of the quality corresponding to the produced | generated distance to the said receiving device. The providing device according to 1. The providing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a table providing unit that provides the receiving apparatus with a table that associates a distance with a quality of content. In a providing method of a providing device that performs wireless communication with a receiving device that outputs content,
Providing the receiving device with content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself, which is required based on the measurement result of the distance performed by the receiving device. How to provide. Content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself is requested based on a distance measurement result performed by a receiving device that outputs content and is connected via wireless communication. A recording medium on which a computer-readable program is recorded, comprising a providing step provided to a receiving device. Content of a quality corresponding to the distance between the receiving device and itself is requested based on a distance measurement result performed by a receiving device that outputs content and is connected via wireless communication. A program that causes a computer to execute processing characterized by including a providing step that is provided to a receiving device. In a receiving device that performs wireless communication with a providing device that provides content,
Measuring means for measuring the distance between the providing device and itself;
Requesting means for requesting the providing device for content of a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring means;
An output control means for outputting content of a quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing apparatus in response to a request from the request means. A management means for managing a table provided by the providing apparatus and corresponding to the distance and the quality of the content;
The requesting unit selects a quality of content corresponding to the distance measured by the measuring unit based on the table managed by the management unit, and requests the providing device for content of the selected quality. The receiving device according to claim 9. In a receiving method of a receiving device that performs wireless communication with a providing device that provides content,
A measuring step of measuring a distance between the providing device and itself;
A requesting step for requesting the providing device for content of a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measurement step;
An output control step of outputting content of a quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing device in response to a request by the processing of the request step. A measurement step for measuring the distance between the providing device that provides the content and the device itself;
A requesting step for requesting the providing device for content of a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measurement step;
An output control step for outputting content of a quality corresponding to the distance, which is provided from the providing device in response to a request by the processing of the request step. Recording medium. A measurement step for measuring the distance between the providing device that provides the content and the device itself;
A requesting step for requesting the providing device for content of a quality corresponding to the distance measured by the measurement step;
A program for causing a computer to execute a process including: an output control step of outputting content of a quality corresponding to the distance provided from the providing apparatus in response to a request by the process of the request step.

Images