JP2006203727A - Communication terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems that user operation burdens related to information notification to users or operations are increased when there are a lot of information to be acquired and operation target devices in coordination between communication terminals through a network, so that smooth coordinated operations cannot be performed. <P>SOLUTION: Based on internal/external state information on a communication terminal 101, the state or function information on a remote terminal 103 is selected, and then an acquisition request is performed. In addition, based on the internal state information, the acquired information is selectively displayed, so that information notification suitable for a using situation is enabled. In the communication terminal 101, an operation request for an operation part 207 is selectively requested to the remote terminal 103, so that burdens of remote operations and coordinated operations are reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal device that acquires and displays status information between communication terminals on a network and performs remote operation of the terminal.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of the Internet, AV equipment capable of operations such as program recording reservation from a remote location has appeared.

  There is a universal plug and play forum (hereinafter referred to as UPnP forum) that conducts standardization activities in order to ensure interoperability between manufacturers for remote operation of devices via such a network. In this UPnP forum, “UPnP Device Architecture”, which is a basic protocol specification for performing mutual status acquisition and device operation between communication terminals on a network, “UPnP AV Architecture”, which is a protocol specification for remote control of AV functions, etc. We are standardizing protocol specifications that allow remote control of the basic functions of communication terminals. Many UPnP-compatible products are already on the market.

In addition, as an example of remote operation using a network, a recording reservation is made to the recording server, and when viewing, the recorded content is obtained from the server by performing a transcodec suitable for the terminal for viewing if necessary. A method that enables viewing of recorded content has also been proposed (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-234984 A JP 2002-77839 A

  However, standardization in the UPnP Forum allows vendor-specific extensions in addition to standard information and operations, so that communication terminal users can use the information they select from the acquired information, remote control selection, etc. There is a problem that requires a lot of judgment before a person performs remote control.

  Further, in a communication terminal such as a small portable terminal in which a display area and operation means are restricted, there is a problem that display of acquired information and selection of remote operation are difficult or restricted.

  Furthermore, when the terminal device is a recording server, content recording and viewing requires a transcodec processing and transfer, which causes an increase in network load and delay, and requires a copyright protection function by broadcasting content flowing over the network. It had problems such as.

  An object of this invention is to provide the communication terminal device which can cooperate easily acquisition, a display, and operation of the state of the communication terminal of a remote place.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal capable of communicating with at least one or more external devices, an internal information management means for acquiring information inside the communication terminal, An internal state management unit that acquires a state, a request unit that requests specific information from an external device based on internal information or a state, and a communication unit that acquires information on the external device based on the request.

  According to the communication terminal device of the present invention, information (state and the like) of a remote communication terminal is acquired, displayed, and requested for operation based on its own communication terminal information. The selection of the operation based on the user's preference can be reduced.

  Furthermore, it is possible to view content suitable for the device to be viewed while reducing the network load and delay caused by transcode processing and transfer by the recording server.

  Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the load accompanying viewing of the viewer due to copyright protection of the broadcast content.

  The communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention is a communication terminal capable of communicating with at least one or more external devices, and includes an internal information management unit that acquires information inside the communication terminal, and an internal state management unit that acquires a state inside the communication terminal. And request means for requesting specific information from an external device based on the internal information or status, and communication means for acquiring information on the external device based on the request.

  Furthermore, an external information management means for managing information acquired from at least one or more external devices is provided.

  Furthermore, a display means for selectively displaying information in the external information management means based on information or status inside the communication terminal is provided.

  Further, the request unit operates an external device based on information or a state inside the communication terminal.

  Further, the request unit operates the external device based on the information in the external information management unit and the information or state in the communication terminal.

  Further, the request unit operates an external device based on a request from the operation unit.

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

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between communication terminals including a communication terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a communication terminal capable of recording and viewing broadcast content, for example, and is a communication terminal apparatus according to the present embodiment. Further, 102 is a communication terminal capable of viewing broadcast content, for example, and 103 is a communication terminal capable of recording broadcast content, for example. Here, assuming that the communication terminal 102 and the communication terminal 103 are in the house and the communication terminal 101 is outside the house, the communication terminals 102 and 103 are called remote terminals when viewed from the communication terminal 101.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the communication terminal 101. The communication terminal 101 is communicably connected to the remote terminal 103 via a predetermined communication network. Further, the communication terminal 101 includes an internal state management unit 201 that manages the internal state of the device, an internal information acquisition unit 202 that acquires information inside the device, a communication unit 203 that obtains information from the remote terminal 103, and a communication unit. An external terminal management unit 204 that manages the information obtained in 203, a selection management unit 205 that selects at least one of the internal state management unit 201, the internal information acquisition unit 202, and the external terminal management unit 204; A display unit 206 that displays selected information, an operation unit 207 for a user to operate, and a request unit 208 that issues a request to the remote terminal 103 based on the selection management unit 205 or the operation unit 207 are provided.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote terminal 103, and controls the request receiving unit 301 that receives a request from the request unit 208, the processing unit 302 that performs processing based on the request, and various states of the remote terminal 103. And a communication unit 303 for transmitting information such as the status of the remote terminal. The remote terminal 103 has various functions, and the control unit 304 controls functional blocks such as a recording function, a reproduction function, and a display function.

  The operation of the communication terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  It is assumed that the communication terminal 101 is viewing or recording broadcast content. On the other hand, the communication terminal 101 acquires the status and information of the remote terminals 102 and 103 that can communicate with each other. The status and information to be acquired include operating status (power on / off, viewing, recording, playback, etc.), program information (program content information and channel number obtained by EPG that can identify the target program for recording, etc.) , Information for specifying the channel number system (address, postal code, fixed telephone number, GPS information, etc. where the terminal is located), recordable time information (or capacity of the recording medium), and the like.

  The acquired information is managed for each terminal as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of information managed in the communication terminal 101. The terminal name, information on the location, and the status of the terminal are shown. In this example, the terminal name “home DVD recorder” is at the home of △△ prefecture △△ city, and 2 channels are being recorded, and the terminal name “home TV” is in XX city of XX prefecture. Yes, 2 channels are being watched, and the terminal name “car navigation” is currently traveling in xx prefecture xx city.

  Items to be managed are not limited to this, and may be set according to the purpose of use of information. In addition, if it cannot be moved because it is left at home, unnecessary processing such as re-acquisition of addresses can be omitted from the next time.

  The remote terminal information acquired and managed in this way can be displayed on the display unit 206 of the communication terminal 101 by various methods such as text, icons, thumbnails, streaming images, and lists. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of information display on the display unit 206. FIG. 5A shows that the current terminal is viewing one channel, the home terminal is recording two channels, and the home terminal shows the location and state. Here, since the home terminal is viewing the same channel as that of its own terminal, the display of the channel is omitted. FIG. 5B shows a state where the own terminal is recording or a recording request is made, the own terminal can record for 15 minutes, the home is also recording two channels, and the car navigation system is 4 It shows that the recording of time is possible.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing in the communication terminal 101. Hereinafter, the processing of the communication terminal according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S601, the internal information acquisition unit 202 acquires information on its own device, and in step S602, the internal information management unit 201 acquires its own crisis state. The function information and status information to be acquired are the same as those acquired from the remote terminal described above.

  In step S603, remote terminal information is acquired and managed. First, the request unit 208 makes a transmission request for function information and status information to the remote terminal 103. The remote terminal 103 acquires its own function information and status information from the request receiving unit 301, the processing unit 302, and the control unit 304, and transmits the function information and state information from the communication unit 303 to the communication terminal 101. The external unit information is received by the communication unit 203 and is managed by the external terminal management unit 204. An example is shown in FIG. This step is executed for a plurality of communicable external terminals.

  In step S604, display information is selected, and various types of information are output to the display unit 206 as shown in FIG. For example, if the own terminal is requesting recording, information related to an external terminal having a recording function is displayed.

  In step S605, a function is requested from the remote terminal. For example, if the own terminal is recording as shown in FIG. 5B, the selection management unit 205 specifies the channel system and content and instructs the remote terminal 103 to record. This request may be generated based on the operation unit 207.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to monitor the state of the remote terminal 103 and make an operation request in conjunction with the states of the communication terminal 101 and other remote terminals.

  A communication terminal device according to the present invention can easily perform acquisition, display, and operation of a terminal state at a remote location in relation to the situation of the terminal itself, and a device that performs mutual use of devices using a network Useful for devices or terminals.

The conceptual diagram which shows the relationship of the communication terminal by embodiment of this invention Block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal Block diagram showing the configuration of a remote terminal connected to the communication terminal via a network Conceptual diagram showing information management status in the communication terminal Conceptual diagram showing the display status of the communication terminal Flow chart showing operation of the communication terminal

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Communication terminal 102, 103 Remote terminal 201 Internal state management part 202 Internal information acquisition part 203 Communication part 204 External terminal management part 205 Selection management part 206 Display part 207 Operation part 208 Request part

Claims (6)

A communication terminal capable of communicating with at least one external device,
Internal information management means for acquiring information inside the communication terminal;
Internal state management means for acquiring the internal state of the communication terminal;
Request means for requesting specific information from an external device based on the internal information or state;
A communication terminal device comprising: communication means for acquiring information on the external device based on the request. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising external information management means for managing information acquired from at least one external device. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that selectively displays information in the external information management unit based on information or a state inside the communication terminal. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request unit operates an external device based on information or a state inside the communication terminal. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request unit operates an external device based on information in the external information management unit and information or a state inside the communication terminal. The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request unit operates an external device based on a request from the operation unit.

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