JP2008165559A - Information delivery device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information delivery device capable of performing delivery to equipment limited in computer resources or communication conditions while reducing the load in receiving or reproduction. <P>SOLUTION: In the information delivery device, delivery information containing a plurality of synchronously deliverable dynamic information elements is acquired, at least two or more dynamic information elements of the plurality of dynamic information elements contained in the acquired delivery information are taken as processing objects, and the contents of the two or more dynamic information elements of the processing objects are composed according to a predetermined rule to generate one piece of composition information. The generated composition information is delivered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution apparatus and a program.

There is a system that distributes moving images, document videos, audio information, and the like to users in remote locations in a synchronized manner and contributes to uses such as training (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-4543 A

  In recent years, mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have become widespread, and there is a demand for such mobile terminals to receive the above distribution. Accordingly, there is a need for an information distribution apparatus and program that can reduce the burden during reception and reproduction by using a computer with limited computer resources and communication conditions such as a portable terminal.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an information distribution apparatus, an acquisition means for acquiring distribution information including a plurality of dynamic information elements that can be distributed in synchronization with each other, and at least a part of the acquired distribution information Generation means for generating a plurality of dynamic information elements to be processed, and generating one composite information by combining the contents of the part of the plurality of dynamic information elements to be processed according to a predetermined rule And distribution means for distributing the generated composite information.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit synthesizes a part of the plurality of dynamic information elements to be processed in a time-sharing manner. Is to be generated.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit distributes at least one of the dynamic information elements to be processed at a time determined by the rule. Still information to be performed is extracted, and composite information including the extracted information is generated.

  The invention according to claim 4 is a program, an acquisition means for acquiring distribution information including a plurality of dynamic information elements that can be distributed in synchronization with each other, and at least a plurality of at least some of the plurality of information included in the acquired distribution information Generating means for generating dynamic information elements as processing targets, and generating one composite information by combining the contents of the plurality of dynamic information elements subjected to the processing according to a predetermined rule; The computer is caused to function as an information distribution apparatus including distribution means for distributing the combined information.

  According to the first or fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to reduce the burden at the time of receiving or reproducing the distribution information.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to generate distribution information obtained by combining a plurality of dynamic information elements in a time division manner.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform distribution by extracting still information from dynamic information.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the information distribution apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13. The information distribution apparatus 1 is connected to a client apparatus 2 that accepts information distribution via a communication means such as a network. Here, the client device 2 may be not only a personal computer but also a mobile phone. For the mobile phone, the information distribution apparatus 1 can communicate via the mobile phone network.

  The control unit 11 is a program control device such as a CPU, and operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 12. The control unit 11 distributes the distribution information stored in the storage unit 12 in response to a request. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the distribution information includes a moving image (V), audio information (A), and image information (S) associated with information at the start of provision. These pieces of information are synchronized with each other and distributed over time. That is, the moving image (V), the audio information (A), and the image information (S) are examples of dynamic information elements in which the content of the information distributed changes with the passage of the reproduction time. The included dynamic information elements are not limited to these.

  The control unit 11 also sets all or some of the dynamic information elements included in the distribution information as processing targets, and according to a predetermined rule, sets some dynamic information elements that are targets of the processing. One composition information is generated by combining the contents of. Then, the generated composite information is distributed. A specific processing example of the control unit 11 will be described in detail later.

  The storage unit 12 includes a storage element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk. The storage unit 12 functions as a storage medium that stores a program executed by the control unit 11. The program may be copied from another storage medium (for example, a DVD-ROM). Furthermore, the storage unit 12 also operates as a work memory for the control unit 11. The storage unit 12 holds at least one piece of distribution information as already described.

  The communication unit 13 transmits / receives information to / from the client device 2 via communication means such as a network. The communication unit 13 is communicably connected to the client device 2 such as a mobile phone via a telephone line.

  Here, an operation of generating composite information by the control unit 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 functionally, the control unit 11 executes a program stored in the storage unit 12 so that a distribution information acquisition unit 21, a dynamic information element processing unit 22, a synthesis unit 23, And the output unit 24.

  Assume that the client device 2 of the present embodiment sends reference information (URL: Uniform Resource Locator, etc.) of requested distribution information and information related to the reproduction environment to the information distribution device 1. Here, the information related to the reproduction environment is information related to the video display function of the client device 2, for example. Specific examples thereof include the display area size of the display of the client device 2, the presence / absence of a moving image display function (information indicating the type of executable application, such as whether a moving image display application program can be executed, etc.) Storage capacity for holding information to be played back, storage media (RAM, memory card, etc.), image display processing speed (up to frames per second) Display is possible).

  When the distribution information acquisition unit 21 receives the reference information related to the request, information about the reproduction environment, and the like from the client device 2, the distribution information specified by the reference information is read from the storage unit 12 and the dynamic information element processing unit 22 for output. In addition, the received information related to the reproduction environment is output to the dynamic information element processing unit 22.

  The dynamic information element processing unit 22 accepts distribution information input from the distribution information acquisition unit 21. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to distinguish, this distribution information is referred to as “original information”. The dynamic information element processing unit 22 processes at least a part of the dynamic information elements included in the original information as a processing target and processes the dynamic information element that is the target of the processing according to a predetermined rule. The processing result is output to the synthesis unit 23.

  The synthesizer 23 synthesizes the input dynamic information elements, generates synthesized delivery information, and outputs it to the output unit 24. The output unit 24 outputs the input information (original information or combined distribution information input from the combining unit 23) to the requesting client device 2.

  The rules referred to by the dynamic information element processing unit 22 are associated with the conditions specified by the reproduction environment information received from the client device 2 and stored in the storage unit 12 in advance. is there. One example will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the information is associated with the reproduction environment information indicating whether or not window display is possible (whether or not a plurality of videos can be displayed all at once), whether or not movie playback is possible, and whether or not image display is possible. The contents of the processing are specified.

  That is, (1) when all of window display, movie playback, and image display are possible (for example, when playback is performed by a personal computer or the like), the input original information is directly input to the dynamic information element processing unit 22. The instruction to output is described.

  In addition, (2) when window display is not possible and video playback is possible, an instruction to convert the image information (S) into a moving image is described, and (3) window display and video playback are possible. If the image display is possible, an instruction to delete the moving image (V) is described. (4) If the window display, the moving image reproduction, and the image display cannot be performed, the moving image (V) And an instruction to output only the audio information (A) by deleting the image information (S).

  The dynamic information element processing unit 22 processes the input distribution information in accordance with this instruction. For example, it is assumed that window display, moving image playback, and image display are all possible in the client device 2 based on information related to the playback environment received from the requesting client device 2. In this case, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 outputs the input original information as it is to the output unit 24 in accordance with the rules described above.

  A case will be described in which window display and moving image reproduction cannot be performed in the requesting client apparatus 2 and image display is possible. In this case, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 extracts image information (S), moving image (V), and audio information (A) from the original information. Then, according to the instruction to delete the moving image (V), the image information (S) and the audio information (A) are output to the synthesis unit 23. Therefore, the synthesizer 23 generates distribution information that includes the image information (S) and the audio information (A) but does not include the moving image (V), and outputs the distribution information to the output unit 24.

  Furthermore, a case will be described in which none of the window display, the moving image reproduction, and the image display is possible in the requesting client device 2. In this case, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 extracts image information (S), moving image (V), and audio information (A) from the original information. Then, in accordance with an instruction to delete the moving image (V) and the image information (S), the audio information (A) is output to the synthesis unit 23. The synthesizing unit 23 generates distribution information including the audio information (A) and not including the moving image (V) and the image information (S) from the input information, and outputs the distribution information to the output unit 24.

  Furthermore, when window display cannot be performed on the requesting client device 2 and video playback is possible, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 converts the image information (S) into a moving image. Here, the image information (S) is information that associates a plurality of still images G1, G2,... With display start times T1, T2,. The dynamic information element processing unit 22 extracts the image information (S), the moving image (V), and the audio information (A) from the original information. The dynamic information element processing unit 22 displays the corresponding still image Gi from the display start time Ti to the display start time Ti + 1 of the next still image while referring to the image information (S). A moving image (V2) is generated (FIG. 5). The dynamic information element processing unit 22 outputs the generated moving image (V2) and audio information (A) to the synthesis unit 23.

  In this case, the synthesizing unit 23 generates distribution information including the moving image (V2) created based on the image information (S) and the audio information (A), and not including the original moving image (V). To the unit 24.

  Further, in the processing of the dynamic information element processing unit 22 described here, the moving image (V2) generated from the image information (S) is distributed instead of the moving image (V) included in the original information. However, the processing example of the dynamic information element processing unit 22 is not limited to this.

  For example, either the moving image (V) included in the original information or the moving image (V2) generated from the image information (S) is selectively extracted at a time determined by a predetermined method. Thus, a synthesized moving image (V ′) obtained by synthesizing (that is, synthesizing each moving image (V, V2) in a time division manner) may be generated. In this case, distribution information including the synthesized moving image (V ′) and the audio information (A) is distributed.

  As an example of specific processing, a parameter p (0 <p <1) is set in advance, and the display period Ti of the i-th still image of the moving image (V), for example, using the value of p. To (Ti + 1−Ti) × p + Ti is replaced with the corresponding portion of the moving image (V2). As a result, in the moving image (V), the i-th still image is inserted into a portion corresponding to the display period Ti from the i-th still image to (Ti + 1−Ti) × p + Ti (FIG. 6). This parameter p is a parameter indicating how preferentially the information in the image information is displayed, and may be set in advance, or passed from the client device 2 as information indicating the reproduction condition. May be.

  Furthermore, an example has been described in which the moving image (V) is deleted when window display and moving image reproduction cannot be performed in the client apparatus 2 that requested the request, and image display is possible. However, this case is also limited to this processing. is not. That is, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 may extract a representative still image from the moving image (V) and generate a still image sequence.

  For example, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 generates a segmented moving image by dividing the moving image (V) for each still image display period of the image information (S) synchronized with the moving image (V).

  Each divided moving image is further divided into moving image elements VI1, VI2,. Then, a predetermined feature amount is calculated from each moving image element. Here, the feature amount may be a well-known amount for characterizing a moving image, such as the area of a color portion in a specific range included in the moving image element or the total length of motion vectors. The dynamic information element processing unit 22 examines the temporal change of the feature amount of each moving image element. For example, the difference between the feature values of VIj + 1 and VIj is calculated, and when the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, the playback start time τ = j × Δt of VIj + 1 is recorded as a playback segment division point. To do. Here, j is an index, and j = 1, 2,. In another example, for example, when the VIj feature amount exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold, VIj playback start time τ = (j−1) × Δt Record as a point.

  In this way, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 obtains information on the playback section segment point for each segmented moving image based on the feature amount for each moving image element. Depending on the segmented moving image, there may be a segment where the playback segment segment point does not exist.

  Next, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 generates representative image information for each playback section of the segmented moving image divided by each playback section segment point. That is, in each reproduction section, an image that satisfies a predetermined condition is extracted as representative image information. As this extraction method, for example, the intensity of the motion of the object being imaged is detected from the difference between the images of the frames before and after the moving image (V), and the image in the scene with the most motion is represented as the representative image. It may be extracted as information. Further, an image in a scene with the least movement may be extracted as representative image information. Further, images at the beginning, center, and last position of the playback section may be extracted as representative image information. Note that representative image information is extracted from the entire segmented moving image for the segmented moving image in which no playback segment segment point is found.

The dynamic information element processing unit 22 uses the parameter p (0 <p <1) designated in advance for each segmented moving image to display the display time tsi of the i-th still image Si included in the image information (S). The
tsi = p × (Ti + 1−Ti)
(However, T0 = 0). Here, (Ti + 1−Ti) represents the time during which the i-th still image Si should be displayed in the original information.

In addition, in the i-th segmented video obtained by dividing the video (V), if the playback segment segment point is not found, the display time tri of the representative image information obtained from the segmented video is set. ,
tri = (1-p) * (Ti + 1-Ti)
It is determined.

Furthermore, if the playback section segment point is found in the i-th segment movie obtained by dividing the movie (V), the dynamic information element processing unit 22 performs the following process. . That is, the display time of the representative image information extracted from the playback section is set as Δτ1, Δτ2,..., Δτj,.
tri, j = (1-p) × Δτj
It is determined. Here, the sum of tsi and the sum of Δτj for j is
Δτ1 + Δτ2 + ... + tsi = Ti + 1−Ti
It is.

  Then, the dynamic information element processing unit 22 generates an instruction to display the i-th still image Si included in the image information (S) of the original information from the reproduction start time of each segmented moving image. That is, the still image Si and information representing the time Ti are associated with each other and included in the new image information (S ′).

  Furthermore, in the i-th segmented video obtained by dividing the video (V), if no playback section segment point is found, representative image information extracted from the i-th segmented video and time ts Are included in the new image information (S ′).

とを関連づけて、新たな画像情報（Ｓ′）に含める。 In addition, if a playback segment division point is found in the i-th segmented video obtained by dividing the video (V), the representative image information extracted from the first playback segment in the segmented video. And the time ts are associated with each other and included in the new image information (S ′). For the jth playback section that is less than or equal to the second, the representative image information Ij extracted from each playback section and the time

Are included in the new image information (S ′).

  Thereby, in the client apparatus 2, the still image in the image information that should have been displayed in synchronization with the divided moving image is displayed for the time tsi for each divided moving image. Then, the representative image information extracted for each playback section divided according to a predetermined condition is displayed for a time (tri, j = (1-p) × Δτj) corresponding to the time of each playback section.

  The representative image information extracted from each reproduction section may not be one. In addition, even when generating information to be distributed to the client device 2 that can display moving images, the display time of each image is calculated in the same manner as the processing here, and the moving image for each display time is calculated. Image elements may be generated and connected to generate a new moving image.

That is, as described above, the display time tr i, j = (1−p) × Δτ j for the j th playback section in the i th segmented moving image.
Then, a digest process is performed on the portion of the moving image (reproduction time Δτj) corresponding to the j-th reproduction section to generate a moving image (summary moving image) at the time of tri, j. . Further, a moving image that continues to display the i-th still image Si over time tsi is generated, and these are connected to generate a moving image for only time (Ti + 1−Ti).

  In this case, the other segmented moving images are processed in the same manner, and the segmented moving images are connected to each other, and the moving image including part of the still image of the image information and the audio information with the same reproduction time as the original information. And the distribution information from which the image information is removed is generated.

  According to the present embodiment, for example, when a user performs an operation for requesting access to distribution information from a client device 2 such as a mobile phone that can display one moving image (cannot display a window), the client device 2 requests The information for specifying the distribution information related to and the information indicating the reproduction environment are transmitted. The reproduction environment information here represents that window display is not possible and that moving image display is possible. The distribution information requested here is, for example, lecture information, a moving image in which the lecturer's video is captured, image information that presents the material indicated by the lecturer as a still image, and audio that represents the lecturer's voice. Information.

  The information distribution device 1 receives the request and the reproduction environment information. Then, the requested distribution information is read out. Also, information on the reproduction environment is referred to. In this reproduction environment information, since the moving image and the still image included in the image information cannot be displayed at the same time, an instruction to generate a moving image in which the still image and the moving image are combined in a time-division manner is given in advance. It shall be.

  In accordance with this instruction, the information distribution apparatus 1 converts the image information (material video) included in the read distribution information into a moving image. As a result, a moving image (herein referred to as a document moving image) in which the video of the document X is continuously reproduced from the time at which a certain document X is to be presented to the time at which the next document Y is to be presented is generated.

  Then, the information distribution apparatus 1 generates a moving image in which the material moving image obtained by the conversion and the moving image obtained by capturing the lecturer are synthesized in a time division manner. Furthermore, the information distribution apparatus 1 combines the moving image synthesized here and the audio information of the requested distribution information to obtain new distribution information, and distributes the new distribution information to the requesting client apparatus 2. To do.

  As a result, it is possible to provide distribution information that reduces the burden during reception and reproduction for distribution to computer resources and devices with limited communication conditions. The client device 2 is provided with the lecturer's voice along with the moving image in which the document moving image and the lecturer's image are alternately arranged, and the user receives a lecture video that does not impair the document image.

1 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an example of an information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the content of the delivery information which the information delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention hold | maintains. It is a functional block diagram showing an example of the information delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of a setting of the process which should be performed in the information delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the processing operation of the information delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of another process operation | movement of the information delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information delivery apparatus, 2 Client apparatus, 11 Control part, 12 Storage part, 13 Communication part, 21 Delivery information acquisition part, 22 Dynamic information element processing part, 23 Synthesis | combination part, 24 Output part

Claims (4)

Acquisition means for acquiring distribution information including a plurality of dynamic information elements that can be distributed in synchronization with each other;
At least a part of the plurality of dynamic information elements included in the acquired distribution information is a target of processing, and contents of the part of the plurality of dynamic information elements that are the target of the processing according to a predetermined rule Generating means for generating one synthesis information obtained by synthesizing
Distribution means for distributing the generated composite information;
An information distribution apparatus comprising: The generating means includes
The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of dynamic information elements to be processed are combined in a time-sharing manner to generate combined information.   The generation means extracts static information to be distributed at a time determined by the rule for at least one of the dynamic information elements to be processed, and generates composite information including the extracted information The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1. Acquisition means for acquiring distribution information including a plurality of dynamic information elements that can be distributed in synchronization with each other;
Process at least some of the plurality of dynamic information elements included in the acquired distribution information, and synthesize the contents of the some of the plurality of dynamic information elements subject to the processing according to a predetermined rule. Generating means for generating the combined information,
Distribution means for distributing the generated composite information;
A program for causing a computer to function as an information distribution apparatus including:

Images