JP2008242888A - Content distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for estimating the profile or attributes of a user who views content, and for distributing content suitable for the profile or attributes without depending on registered personal information or viewing time. <P>SOLUTION: This content distribution system is configured of terminal equipment and a content server device for distributing content to the terminal equipment. The terminal equipment transmits model identification information to a content server device, and the content server device stores a plurality of content candidates to be distributed to the terminal equipment, and acquires the model identification information of terminal equipment at the distribution destination of content, and selects and distributes the stored content according to the acquired model identification information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution system, and more particularly to a system suitable for estimating a user's profile, attributes, and the like and distributing content suitable for it.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for extracting and distributing advertisement content to be distributed for each user based on a user profile is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a technique, in order to receive distribution of appropriate advertising content, the user has to register personal information and the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-236846

  However, as the privacy awareness of the general public has increased and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Law No. 57 of May 30, 2003) has been enacted, hesitate to register personal information. The number of individuals who do not do so has increased. In addition, in conventional television and radio broadcasting, the broadcast time is determined, so the audience of viewers has been decided during that time zone. Due to the spread, it has become difficult to specify a person's layer only in the time zone and provide content such as advertisements suitable for that layer.

  Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention estimates the profile and attributes of a user who views the content without using registered personal information, viewing time, etc., and distributes content suitable for it. The purpose is to provide a system.

  To this end, in the following, a content distribution system including a terminal device and a content server device that distributes content to the terminal device, the terminal device transmits model identification information to the content server device. The content server device holds a plurality of content candidates to be distributed to the terminal device, acquires the model identification information of the terminal device to which the content is distributed, and holds it according to the acquired model identification information A content distribution system for selecting and distributing content is disclosed.

  With the model identification information, a clue to guess the profile and attributes of the user who occupies the terminal device can be obtained, and appropriate content can be selected and distributed, thereby solving the problem.

  In addition, the screen identification information of the terminal device is associated with the model identification information, and the content server apparatus selects and distributes content according to the screen size information associated with the acquired model identification information. It may be.

  For example, for flat-screen TVs that are rapidly spreading at present, prices are set according to the screen size, and if the price that can be purchased is related to the user's income, the user's income from the screen size, etc. This makes it possible to select an appropriate content and distribute it, thereby solving the problem.

  Also, the model identification information is associated with the manufacturing time information of the terminal device, and the content server apparatus selects and distributes content according to the manufacturing time information associated with the acquired model identification information. It may be.

  For example, there is a correspondence between the production time and the sales time, and depending on the production time, it is possible to specify attributes such as user preferences that make up the layer purchased with interest in a specific terminal device. It is possible to select and distribute various contents, and the problem is solved.

  In addition, the content distribution device distributes content including link information to other content to the terminal device, and holds the history of the content accessed through such content in association with the model identification information of the terminal device. An access tendency for each piece of model identification information with respect to the content may be calculated.

  As a result, it is possible to know the access tendency of content such as each type of user, and it is possible to provide appropriate content, and the problem is solved.

  If the terminal device can transmit user identification information, and the content server device can acquire the user identification information transmitted from the terminal device, the content held according to the user identification information Can be selected, and content selection according to model identification information and content selection according to user identification information may be controlled and distributed.

  As a result, it is possible to provide appropriate content according to the profile or the like to a user who has registered personal information such as a profile on the content server device side.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a system that estimates the profile and attributes of a user who views a content and distributes the content suitable for the content without depending on registered personal information and viewing time.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described as an embodiment with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 is a content distribution system including a terminal device and a content server device that distributes content to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device transmits model identification information to the content server device, and the content The server device holds a plurality of content candidates to be distributed to the terminal device, acquires the model identification information of the terminal device to which the content is distributed, and selects the held content according to the acquired model identification information The content distribution system to be distributed will be described.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment. The content distribution system 100 includes a terminal device 101 and a content server device 102, and the terminal device 101 and the content server device 102 are connected via a communication network 103 such as the Internet. The terminal device 101 is a device capable of transmitting and receiving information via the communication network 103. Examples include personal computers, information appliances, and mobile phones. Information home appliances include, for example, digital television. The content server device 102 is a device that becomes an Internet site or the like that distributes content to the terminal device 101. Here, the content mainly assumes digital information, and refers to content that can be perceived by human senses by playing back still image information, moving image information, audio information, and the like. In addition, the information represented by the content includes things such as novels, screenplays, papers, lectures and other languages, music and other sounds, information such as dance, information that appeals to the visual sense of movement, paintings, sculptures, etc. There are those that are exclusively accompanied by still image information, movies and the like that combine video information and audio information, and programs that are intended to be executed after downloading. Some contents require payment for viewing, but the advertiser pays the operator of the content server device 102 or the user of the terminal device who has viewed the content, such as an advertisement. Some pay.

  Although FIG. 1 illustrates a mode in which the content server device 102 itself transmits content to the terminal device 101 and distributes it, a content distribution system may be configured from a plurality of content server devices.

  FIG. 2A illustrates a functional block diagram when a content distribution system is configured from a plurality of content server devices. In this case, in the content distribution system 200, a terminal device 201 and a content server device 202 that is a portal server device are connected via a communication network 203, and the content server device 202 is connected to a plurality of content server devices 204 and 205. Yes. In order to distribute content to the terminal device 201, the terminal device 201 is first connected to the content server device 202. Then, the content is delivered from the content server device 204 or the like to the terminal device 201 via the content server device 202. “Through the content server device 202” means that the content information is relayed and transmitted from the content server devices 204 and 205 to the terminal device by the content server device 202. Further, as in the content distribution system 206 illustrated in FIG. 2B, for example, when the content provided from the content server device 206 serving as the portal server includes link information for other content, the link information is traced. When an operation (for example, an operation for selecting link information to the content server device 210) is performed on the terminal device 207, a content request is made to the content server device 210, and the content server device 210 that has received the request sends it to the terminal device 207. Content is sent. When the link information of the content server device 210 is selected by the terminal device 207, the terminal device 201 may send a history of accessing the content server 210 to the content server device 208.

  1 and 2 (a) and 2 (b), only one terminal device is illustrated, but a plurality of terminal devices are connected to a communication network such as the Internet, and each terminal device is connected from the content server device. The content may be distributed to.

  FIG. 3 illustrates a sequence diagram illustrating a process of communication between the terminal device and the content server device. Normally, when the terminal device is in a state where communication is possible, such as when the terminal device is turned on, the default content, the date and time and the surrounding conditions (such as weather conditions such as temperature and humidity, and the surroundings of the terminal device) A request for content determined in accordance with the situation of the person who is operating or the person performing the operation (for example, body temperature, electroencephalogram situation) is sent from the terminal device to the content server device, and accordingly, the content is sent from the content server device. Returned to the terminal device. Then, a request for the next content is made from the terminal device to the content server device, and the next content is returned from the content server device to the terminal device accordingly. In addition, when the first content is content described using the HTML FRAME attribute, the link to the content included in each FRAME is detected, and the user of the terminal device does not operate, In some cases, requests corresponding to the links of the contents included in each FRAME are transmitted one after another from the terminal apparatus to the content server apparatus, and the contents are returned. In such a case, a plurality of contents are simultaneously displayed at different positions on the display screen of the terminal device 101 and reproduced.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which content is displayed on the terminal device 101. In this example, the content is described using the FRAME attribute described above, and is displayed on a display screen such as a display that the terminal device has or is connected to the terminal device. The top column displays the content of plasma TV advertisements. The left side of the bottom column displays content for selecting the content to be displayed on the right side of the screen. The right side of the bottom column The selected content is displayed on the screen. For example, by moving the cursor 401 displayed on the display to the screen on the left side of the lower column where “TV column” is displayed, the shape of the cursor changes as indicated by reference numeral 402 so that clicking is possible. Inform the user of the terminal device that there is. When clicked, a request for the content corresponding to the TV column is made from the terminal device to the content server device, and the content as a reply to the request is received. Displayed.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a hardware module configuration diagram of the terminal device. The terminal device 501 includes a display module 502, an input module 503, a request transmission module 504, a content reception module 505, and a control module 506. The display module 502 is a module that performs display on a display included in the terminal device 501 or a display connected to the terminal device 501 for content reproduction. The input module 503 is a module for handling operation of a pointing device such as a remote controller and a mouse, detection of input via a keyboard, buttons, and the like. The request transmission module 504 is a module that transmits information such as a content request to a content server device or the like. The content receiving module 505 is a module for receiving information such as content returned from a content server device or the like. The control module 506 is for controlling other modules of the terminal device 501. For example, when a cursor displayed on the display module 502 is moved in response to a remote control operation detected by the input module 503 and an operation such as a click is detected, a request for content corresponding to the link where the cursor is located is requested. The content transmitted and transmitted using the transmission module 504 is received using the content reception module, and the display module 502 is used to perform control such as displaying the content for reproduction.

  FIG. 6 illustrates a hardware module configuration diagram of the content server apparatus. The content server device 601 includes a request reception module 602, a content transmission module 603, a log recording module 604, a content storage module 605, a control module 606, and the like. The request receiving module 602 receives information such as a content request. This content request is transmitted from the terminal device. The content transmission module 603 transmits content corresponding to the received request. Note that the request and the content corresponding to the request do not necessarily have to be determined one-to-one. For example, the content corresponding to the request may change depending on from which terminal device the request is transmitted, the time when the request is transmitted, and the like. The log recording module 604 records a log including a history of content requests received by the request receiving module 602, a history of content transmitted by the content transmission module 603, and the like. The content storage module 605 is a module that stores and holds content transmitted in response to a request received by the request reception module 602. The control module 606 is for controlling other modules of the content server device. For example, when a request for content is received by the request receiving module 602, the reception history is recorded in the log recording module 604, the content is selected according to the content request, read from the content storage module 605, and read. The content transmission module 603 transmits the received content, and the log recording module 604 records the identifier of the transmitted content.

  FIG. 7 illustrates a functional block diagram of the terminal device of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment. The terminal device 701 has a model identification information transmission unit 702.

  The “model identification information transmission unit” 702 transmits model identification information to the content server device. “Model identification information” is information for identifying the model of the terminal device 701. The “model” is the type of terminal device. This is the format of the terminal device in the terminal device manufacturer. “Information for identifying the model” is information for specifying the format of the terminal device. For example, the name of the format of the terminal device. In addition, if a program such as a browser for browsing content operates in the terminal device, the name, version number, and the like of the program may be included in the model. Further, since it is only necessary to identify the model, it may be information indicating which terminal device is manufactured in what month, what day by which line in the factory of the manufacturing company. In addition, information for identifying the individual terminal device may be included in the model identification information. As described above, when the model identification information includes information for identifying an individual, when the content distribution system has the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the content server apparatus 202 identifies the individual of the terminal apparatus 201. The terminal device 201 may be authenticated by the information (measures such as allowing only the terminal device in which the information for identifying the individual is properly registered to view the content).

  The timing at which the model identification information transmitting unit 702 transmits the model identification information can be the time when a content request is transmitted. In this case, the model identification information transmission unit 702 is preferably included in the request transmission module 504. The model identification information may be included in a header portion of information called a content request. In FIG. 7, “User-Agent:” indicates the field name in which the model identification information appears in the header portion, and “Gorilla / 4.0 (Natiom)...” Indicates the model identification information. For example, “Natiom” indicates a manufacturing company, and “Gorilla / 4.0” is a name that identifies the format of a product manufactured by the manufacturing company.

  Further, the model identification information is not included in the content request information but is added to the content request, and the addition is a layer (for the terminal device to communicate with the content server device ( For example, the layer in the OSI reference model may be different from the layer in which the content request is generated. For example, the content request may be generated in the application layer, and the model identification information may be added to the content request in a session layer, which is a lower layer of the application layer. In this way, by adding the model identification information in a layer different from the layer where the content request is generated, the content request is not encrypted, while the model identification information is encrypted. It becomes possible. The model identification information is important information for companies because the model share can be calculated by counting the model identification information. For this reason, by encrypting the model identification information, it is possible to prevent the terminal device from knowing the share etc. by the Internet service provider used for communication with the content server device.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment. The content server device 801 includes a content holding unit 802, a model identification information acquisition unit 803, a first content selection unit 804, and a content distribution unit 805.

  The “content holding unit” 802 holds a plurality of content candidates to be distributed. “Hold” means to store data in a readable manner. The content holding unit 802 is included in the content storage module, and holds content using, for example, a hard disk device. Since there is a “candidate”, it is not always necessary to distribute all of the stored content. “To be distributed” means that it can be specified in response to a request transmitted from the terminal device.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which the content holding unit 901 holds content 1 (902), content 2 (903), content 3 (904), and the like. Content 1 or the like is held by being stored as a file or the like in a hard disk device or the like constituting the content holding unit 901. When reading the content, the content is read by designating, for example, a cylinder number, a sector number, a block number, or the like, which is the position where the file is stored. The content holding unit 901 includes a device driver that configures a file system and converts a path of a file in the file system from information for configuring the file system into a cylinder number, a sector number, a block number, and the like. You may go out.

  The “model identification information acquisition unit” 803 acquires the model identification information of the terminal device as the content distribution destination. For example, model identification information transmitted from a terminal device that is a content distribution destination is acquired. When the model identification information is included or added to the content request or the like, the model identification information acquisition unit 803 is included in the request reception module 602.

  The “first content selection unit” 804 selects the held content according to the acquired model identification information. “Acquired model identification information” refers to model identification information acquired by the model identification information acquisition unit 803, and “held content” refers to content held by the content holding unit 802. “Accept” means that some relationship is established between the model identification information and the selected content. Information other than model identification information may be referred to upon selection. The first content selection unit 804 is included in the control module 606.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which the first content selection unit 1001 maintains and manages a table for selecting content according to the model identification information. The table includes a column 1002 named “model identification information” and a column 1003 named “content ID”. For example, if the model identification information is Gorilla / 4.0, the content identified by the content 25 is selected, and if the model identification information is Fox / 5.5, the content identified by the content 26 is selected. If the table illustrated in FIG. 10 is used, the content can be selected only from the model identification information regardless of which content is requested. Such a table is used, for example, to select default content determined for each model when the terminal device is turned on and model identification information is transmitted from the terminal device when the power is turned on. Can do. A table for selecting the content by referring to the ID of the requested content in addition to the model identification information will be exemplified later.

  The “content distribution unit” 805 distributes the selected content to the terminal device. “Selected content” is the content selected by the first content selection unit 804. The “terminal device” is assumed to be a terminal device that has the model identification information acquisition unit 803 acquire the model identification information. If the content delivery destination is included in or added to the information transmitted from the terminal device, such as model identification information or content request, the delivery destination is referred to herein as “terminal device”. It is also assumed that The content distribution unit 805 is included in the content transmission module 603.

  FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of processing when content is selected using the table illustrated in FIG. 10 with reference to the acquired model identification information in order to distribute the content. In step S1101, 1 is substituted into a variable “line number”. In step S1101, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable “row number” is equal to or less than the number of rows in the table illustrated in FIG. If the value of the variable exceeds the number of rows in the table, the acquired model identification information is the information stored in the column 1002 named “model identification information” so that it can be read from the description after step S1104. Since no match was found, the default content for the model identification information in such a case is selected. An example of the default content here is content that can be displayed and reproduced on any terminal device. For example, content expressed by text information (ASCII art such as emoticons).

  If the value of the variable “line number” is equal to or less than the number of lines in the table illustrated in FIG. 10, the process proceeds to step S1104, and the acquired model identification information is the value of the variable “line number”. It is determined whether or not the information matches the information stored in the column of “model identification information” in the row indicated by the number. The determination of “matching” includes determination of whether they are the same, for example, when information stored in a column named “model identification information” is expressed using a wild card or the like This includes determining whether or not the wild card is matched. If there is a match, the process proceeds to step S1105 to select the content indicated by the content ID stored in the column 1103 named “content ID” in the row indicated by the value of the variable “row number”. To do. If there is no match, the process proceeds to step s1106, the value of the variable “line number” is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S1102.

  FIG. 12 illustrates a table for selecting content by referring to requested content identification information (ID) in addition to model identification information. This table includes a column 1201 named “request content ID”, a column 1202 named “model identification information”, and a column 1203 named “selected content ID”. This table is grouped according to the value in the column 1201. For example, when “content A” is requested from the terminal device, if the acquired model identification information is Gorilla / 4.0, content 1 is selected, and if it is Fox / 5.5, content 2 is selected. Otherwise, the content 3 is selected. Similarly, when “content B” is requested from the terminal device, if the acquired model identification information is Gorilla / 4.0, content 12 is selected, and if it is Fox / 5.5, content 11 is selected. Otherwise, the content 10 is selected.

  FIG. 13 exemplifies a flowchart for explaining a process in which content is distributed by the content distribution unit after the content is selected by the first content selection unit. In step S1301, the content ID selected by the first content selection unit is acquired. In step S1302, the content identified by the acquired content ID is acquired. For example, the content obtained by passing the content ID to the content holding unit is temporarily stored in the memory. In step S1303, the acquired content is distributed. For example, the address of the memory in which the content is temporarily stored is transferred to the content transmission module 602 for transmission.

  FIG. 14 illustrates a functional block diagram of a content distribution unit for executing the flowchart illustrated in FIG. The content distribution unit 1401 includes a content ID acquisition unit 1402, a content acquisition unit 1403, and a content distribution unit 1404. The content ID acquisition unit 1402 corresponds to step S1301 and acquires the content ID 1405 selected by the first content selection unit. Corresponding to step S1302, the content acquisition unit 1403 converts the acquired content ID 1405 into a content ID 1406 expressed in a format that can be received by the content holding unit (for example, a directory from the root directory as a file name). A request is made as the content ID 1406, and the held content 1407 is acquired. The content distribution means 1404 corresponds to step S1403, distributes the content 1407, and sets it as the distributed content 1408.

  As described above, according to the content distribution system according to the present embodiment, a profile or the like can be obtained by expressing the relationship such as the user profile and attributes estimated from the model identification information as a table illustrated in FIG. Even if the user is not registered, it is possible to distribute appropriate content that matches the user's preference and the like from the model identification information.

(Embodiment 2)
As a second embodiment, the content distribution system according to the first embodiment, wherein the model identification information is associated with the screen size information of the terminal device, and the content server device has the screen size associated with the acquired model identification information. A content distribution system configured to select and distribute content according to information will be described.

  FIG. 15 illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal device constituting the content distribution system according to the second embodiment. The terminal device 1501 includes a model identification information transmission unit 1502, and the model identification information transmission unit 1502 includes a screen size model identification information transmission unit 1503.

  “Screen size model identification information transmitting means” 1503 is a means for transmitting model identification information associated with screen size information indicating the screen size of the terminal device 1501. The “screen size of the terminal device 1501” is the size of the screen (display) of the display device included in the terminal device 1501 or the display device to which the terminal device 1501 is connected. The display device is realized using, for example, a plasma display panel or a liquid crystal panel. Of course, it can also be realized by using conventional technology such as a cathode ray tube. The screen size is usually expressed by the length of the diagonal line of the screen of the display device, but may be expressed using the number of scanning lines or the number of pixels such as 1024 × 768 dots. In FIG. 15, “50” of “LX-50” included in “User-Agent: Fox / 5.5 (Natiom LX-50)” indicates the screen size. For example, the length of the diagonal line is 50 inches. Indicates that there is. Further, the screen size need not be included in the model identification information. For example, information such as a table that associates the model identification information with the screen size information is stored in the content server device or the like. May refer to such information and obtain the screen size information from the model identification information.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of a table associating model identification information with screen size information. A column 1601 is named “model identification information” and stores model identification information. The column 1602 is named “screen size” and stores screen size information. For example, the screen size of a terminal device having model identification information of Gorilla / 4.0 is, for example, 25 inches, and the screen size of a terminal device having model identification information of Fox / 5.5 is 50 inches. It is shown.

  Further, the screen size information may include information on what kind of member the screen is realized using. For example, in FIG. 15, “LX-50” is included in the model identification information, but “L” in “LX” means a liquid crystal panel, and the screen of the terminal device 1501 uses a member called a liquid crystal panel. It is shown that it is realized. In addition to the liquid crystal panel, the member includes a plasma display panel, a surface electric field display panel, an organic EL panel, a cathode ray tube, and the like. Which member is used can be used as reference information for estimating the selling price of the terminal device, as will be described later.

  FIG. 17 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution device according to the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the content server device 1701 includes a content holding unit 1702, a model identification information acquisition unit 1703, a first content selection unit 1704, and a content distribution unit 1705. In the present embodiment, the first content selection unit 1704 has a screen size dependent content selection unit 1706.

  A “screen size dependent content selection unit” 1706 acquires screen size information associated with the model identification information, and selects content according to the acquired screen size information. That is, when the screen size information is included in the model identification information acquired by the model identification information acquisition unit 1703, the screen size information is acquired by extracting the screen size information portion from the model identification information. . If the screen size information is not included in the model identification information and the screen size information is associated with the model identification information by information such as the table illustrated in FIG. 16, the model identification information is used as a key. The screen size information is obtained by searching information such as the table. Then, the screen size dependent content selection unit 1706 selects content according to the screen size information.

  FIG. 18 illustrates a table used by the screen size dependent content selection unit 1706 to select content according to the screen size information. The table includes a column 1801 named “request content ID”, a column 1802 named “screen size”, and a column 1803 named “selected content ID”. In a column 1801, content IDs requested from the terminal device are stored as content A, content B, and the like. In a column 1802, screen size information is stored for each requested content ID, and the screen size information of the terminal device that has transmitted the ID of each content as a request can be searched. The column 1803 stores the ID of the content to be selected in association with the content ID and the screen size information. According to such a table, for example, if the content ID requested from the terminal device is content A, and the screen size indicated by the screen size information of the terminal device is less than 25 inches, the content 7 is selected. If it is 25 inches or more and less than 30 inches, the content 3 is selected, if it is 30 inches or more and less than 35 inches, the content 5 is selected, and if it is 35 inches or more, the content 6 is selected.

  In the present embodiment, the reason for selecting the content according to the screen size information is that the selling price of the terminal device can be roughly estimated based on the screen size indicated by the screen size information (for example, in a terminal device such as a flat-screen television). The price of the terminal device can be estimated from the number of inches, such as 5000 yen per inch). In general, a terminal device is not something that can be purchased like daily necessities, and is not frequently purchased by consumers. For this reason, the price of the terminal device is considered to be related to the amount of income and the amount of income such as disposable income of the purchased consumer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the income amount and income amount of the terminal device owner are estimated from the screen size information, and content suitable for the consumer group having the income amount and income amount is provided.

  FIG. 19 is a table associating screen size information with the average income of consumers who have purchased a terminal device having the screen size. The column 1901 named “screen size” and the name “average income” It consists of a column 1902. For example, the average annual income of a consumer who purchases a terminal device having a screen size of less than 25 inches is 5 million yen, and the consumer who purchases a terminal device having a screen size of 25 inches or more to less than 30 inches For example, the average annual income is 5.5 million yen. The average income amount can be known, for example, by conducting a questionnaire for consumers who have purchased the terminal device. By using such a table, for example, for high-income earners with incomes exceeding 7 million yen, select content such as advertisements for real estate such as villas, and low-income earners with incomes of 5.5 million yen or less. Can select content such as advertisements for rental apartments. In addition, users who have terminal devices with large screen sizes often live in a wide-floor house, so the content of advertisements such as equipment suitable for the size of the house, such as a system kitchen or large home appliances, etc. May be selected.

  As described above, for flat-screen televisions and the like that are rapidly spreading at present, the price is set according to the screen size, and the price that can be purchased is considered to be related to the income of the user. According to 2, the user's income and the like can be estimated from the screen size, and appropriate content can be selected and distributed to the user layer.

(Embodiment 3)
As the third embodiment, in the content distribution system according to the first or second embodiment, the model identification information is associated with the manufacturing time information of the terminal device, and the content server apparatus is manufactured according to the acquired model identification information. A content distribution system that selects and distributes content according to time information will be described.

  FIG. 20 illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal device of the content distribution system according to the third embodiment. The terminal device 2001 includes a model identification information transmission unit 2002, and the model identification information transmission unit 2002 includes a manufacturing time model identification information transmission unit 2003. Further, as in the second embodiment, the model identification information transmission unit 2002 may include a screen size model identification information transmission unit.

  “Manufacturing time model identification information transmitting means” 2003 is a means for transmitting model identification information associated with manufacturing time information indicating the manufacturing time of the model to which the terminal apparatus 2001 belongs. The “manufacturing time of the model to which the terminal device 2001 belongs” is a period in which a terminal device of the type of the terminal device 2001 is manufactured. For example, the model to which the terminal device 2001 belongs is manufactured from January to March 1996. If so, it is expressed as the first quarter of 1996. In FIG. 20, “1996” included in “User-Agent: Dog / 6.0 (Natiom; 1996)” indicates the manufacturing time, and the manufacturing time of the model to which the terminal apparatus 2001 belongs is 1996. Show. In addition, the model identification information does not need to include information indicating the production time. For example, the content server device stores information such as a table that associates the model identification information with the production time information. The content server device or the like may be able to obtain manufacturing time information from the model identification information with reference to such information.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of a table associating model identification information with manufacturing time information. A column 2101 has a name “model identification information” and stores model identification information. The column 2102 has a name “manufacturing time” and stores manufacturing time information. For example, the manufacturing time of a terminal device belonging to a model having model identification information of Gorilla / 4.0 is 1997, and the manufacturing time of a terminal device belonging to a model having model identification information of Fox / 5.5 is 2000. It is shown that there is. When such a table is used, the table is held by the content server device or held by another server and can be referred to by communication or the like by the content server device.

  FIG. 22 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the third embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the content server device 2201 includes a content holding unit 2202, a model identification information acquisition unit 2203, a first content selection unit 2204, and a content distribution unit 2205. In the present embodiment, the first content selection unit 2204 includes a production time-dependent content selection unit 2206. Further, as in the second embodiment, the first content selection unit 2204 may include screen size dependent content selection means.

  “Manufacturing time dependent content selection means” 2206 acquires manufacturing time information associated with the model identification information, and selects content according to the acquired manufacturing time information. That is, when the model identification information acquired by the model identification information acquisition unit 2203 includes manufacturing time information, the manufacturing timing information is acquired by extracting the manufacturing timing information from the model identification information. Further, when the manufacturing time information is not included in the model identification information and the manufacturing time information is associated with the model identification information by information such as a table illustrated in FIG. 21, the model identification information is used as a key. Information such as the table is searched to obtain model identification information. Then, the production time dependent content selection unit 2206 selects the content according to the model identification information. As a result, for example, it is possible to select and distribute a new type of advertisement content to a terminal device manufactured around the expected life of the terminal device and encourage replacement by purchase.

  FIG. 23 illustrates a table used by the production time dependent content selection unit 2206 to select content according to the production time information. The table includes a column 2301 named “requested content ID”, a column named “manufacturing time” 2302, and a column 2303 “selected content ID” and name. The column 2301 stores content IDs requested from the terminal device as content A, content B, and the like. In a column 2302, manufacturing time information is stored for each requested content ID, and search is possible based on the manufacturing time information of the terminal device that has transmitted the ID of each content as a request. The column 2303 stores the ID of the content to be selected in association with the content ID and the production time. According to such a table, for example, if the content ID requested from the terminal device is content A and the manufacturing time of the terminal device is before 1993, the content 10 is selected, and from 1994 to 1998 If it is before, the content 9 is selected, and if it is after 1999, the content 8 is selected.

  Further, when the first content selection unit 2204 includes the screen size dependent content selection unit 1706 as in the second embodiment, the liquid crystal display device or the plasma display device at the time is manufactured from the manufacturing time of the terminal device. Read the unit price per screen size of the display device (for example, the unit price of about 10,000 yen per inch in 2000), estimate the price of the terminal device, and the user's income, disposable The contents may be selected by estimating income and the like.

  In addition, if the manufacturing time is an early stage such as the start-up time in the life cycle of a product called a terminal device, a user who has purchased at such an early stage becomes a user group interested in electronic equipment such as a terminal device. It is possible to select content suitable for such a user group, considering that it belongs.

  As described above, the manufacturing time and the sales time are in a correspondence relationship, and depending on the manufacturing time, it is possible to specify attributes such as user preferences that make up the layer purchased with interest in a specific terminal device. Yes, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to select and distribute appropriate content.

(Embodiment 4)
As Embodiment 4, in the content distribution system according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, content including link information for other content is distributed to the terminal device, and the history of the content accessed through such content is A configuration will be described in which the access tendency for each piece of model identification information with respect to the content is stored in association with the model identification information of the terminal device.

  FIG. 24 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the fourth embodiment. The content server device 2401 includes the content holding unit 2402, the model identification information acquisition unit 2403, the first content selection unit 2404, and the content distribution unit 2405 like any one of the content server devices in the first to third embodiments. Have. In the present embodiment, the content server apparatus 2401 further includes a content history holding unit 2407 and an access tendency calculation unit 2408. The content distribution unit 2405 includes a linkable content distribution unit 2406. Further, as in the second embodiment, the first content selection unit 2404 has a screen size dependent content selection unit, or as in the third embodiment, the first content selection unit 2404 has a manufacturing time dependent content selection unit. You may have.

  “Linkable content distribution means” 2406 distributes content including link information for other content. Here, such content is referred to as “linkable content”. Examples of the linkable content include a web page described in HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language). In HTML, a link to another content indicated by “a url” can be described by the description “<A HREF=“a url”>” and “</A>”. When a web page is displayed, another content can be reproduced or displayed by clicking a portion corresponding to this portion using a remote control device or the like.

  The “content history holding unit” 2407 is a unit that holds the history of the content accessed via the distributed linkable content in association with the model identification information of the terminal device. For example, it is realized by a hard disk device or the like.

  The content server device according to the present embodiment is preferably realized as, for example, the content server device 202 in FIG. In this case, the description of the link of the linkable content distributed by the content server apparatus according to the present embodiment is, for example, <A HREF = ”http://www.example1.com/?goto=http://www.example. .Com / content1.htm ">, etc. example1. com indicates the content server apparatuses 202 and 208 according to the present embodiment, and it is desirable that the URL of the content to be originally displayed be displayed after “? As a result, when a link is clicked in a state where the linkable content distributed by the content server device according to the present embodiment is displayed, a request by the click is transmitted to the content server device according to the present embodiment. can do. The content server apparatus according to the present embodiment that has received the request by the click causes the content holding unit 2402 to hold the model identification information included in the request and the URL after “? And www. example. com, content1. Forward html request.

  FIG. 25 shows an example of the structure of a table for the content holding unit 2402 to hold the history of accessed content in association with the model identification information. This table includes a column 2501 having the name “model identification information” and a column 2502 having the name “requested content ID”. The model identification information of the terminal device that requested the content, the URL of the content, etc. Is stored. In FIG. 25, for example, a content identified by content A is requested from a terminal device having model identification information of Gorilla / 4.0, and then a content is received from a terminal device having model identification information of Fox / 5.5. It is exemplified that B is requested.

  In addition, the table illustrated in FIG. 25 may store the time when the request is made.

  FIG. 26 exemplifies a flowchart for explaining the operations of the model identification information acquisition unit 2403 and the content history holding unit 2407. In step S2601, the requested content ID is acquired. In step S2602, model identification information is acquired. Up to this point, the process is performed by the model identification information acquisition unit 2403 and the like. Next, as processing in the content history holding unit 2407, in step S2603, holding is performed as a history.

  The “access tendency calculation unit” 2408 is a unit for calculating an access tendency to the content of the terminal device based on the history held in the content history holding unit 2407. For example, the access tendency calculation unit 2408 reads the history held in the content history holding unit 2407, and obtains the top 100 of the identification information of the content having the most accesses for each model identification information of the terminal device. For example, from the terminal device having the model identification information of Gorilla / 4.0, the request for the content 124 is acquired most frequently, followed by the content 512, etc., and having the model identification information of Fox / 5.5. The request for the content 2048 is acquired from the terminal device with the highest frequency, and then the content 128 and so on. Further, for each screen size information or manufacturing time information obtained from the model identification information, the top 100 of the identification information of the content with the most accesses may be obtained. The access tendency calculation unit 2408 periodically calculates such an access tendency and sends it to a person in the marketing department of the company by e-mail or the like, or is manually operated by an operator of the content server device 2401 or the like. Thus, the calculated access tendency is stored in the storage device or sent by e-mail.

  In the fourth embodiment, the access tendency to the content can be obtained for each model identification information, and when a certain advertisement banner or the like is displayed, the model identification information having a high click rate can be obtained. Based on the information, content such as effective advertisement can be distributed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2A, the content distribution system according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 2B in addition to the content server creation h 204 and 205 under the content distribution device 202 serving as the portal server. It may be the case of the content server apparatuses 210 and 211 independent from the portal server apparatus 208 as shown. In the case of FIG. 2B, the description of the link of the linkable content distributed by the portal server device 208 is, for example, <A HREF = “http://www.example1.com/?goto=http://www. example.com/content1.htm ">. When a link described in this way is clicked, the terminal device 207 is moved to http: // www. example. com / content1. The fact that the content indicated by the URL “html” is requested, www. example1. com (the FQDN of the portal server device 208) and www. example. com, content1. Request the content specified by html. In this manner, the content history holding unit 2407 can hold the history of the content accessed via the linkable content in association with the model type information of the terminal device.

(Embodiment 5)
As a fifth embodiment, in the content distribution system according to any one of the first to fourth embodiments, the terminal device can transmit user identification information, and the content server device acquires the user identification information transmitted from the terminal device. If possible, the content held according to the user identification information can be selected, and the content selection according to the model identification information and the content selection according to the user identification information are controlled and distributed. A content distribution system configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 27 illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal device of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment. The terminal device 2701 includes a model identification information transmission unit 2702 as in the first embodiment, and further includes a user identification information transmission unit 2703.

  The “user identification information transmission unit” 2703 is a unit capable of transmitting user identification information to the content server device. “User identification information” is information for identifying the user of the terminal device 2701. For example, it consists of an address and name, or a membership number. In addition, the user does not need to be identified directly by the user identification information. For example, the operating company of the content distribution system other than the terminal device can identify the device identification information and the purchaser of the terminal device identified by the device identification information. Information that can indirectly identify a user may be used, such as device identification information in the case of managing information associated with a user. Further, since the user identification information transmission unit 2703 is “transmittable”, the user identification information is not always transmitted. For example, user identification information such as the user's address and name is set in the terminal device 2701. It may be transmitted only in the case.

  The user identification information may be transmitted along with the model identification information when the model identification information is transmitted, for example. Alternatively, it may be transmitted only when the terminal device first starts communication with the content distribution server.

  FIG. 28 illustrates a functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the content server device 2801 includes a content holding unit 2802, a model identification information acquisition unit 2803, a first content selection unit 2804, and a content distribution unit 2805, and further includes user identification information. An acquisition unit 2806, a second content selection unit 2807, and a selection method control unit 2808 are included.

  The “user identification information acquisition unit” 2806 acquires the identification information of the user of the content distribution destination terminal device if it can be acquired. For example, whether or not user identification information is included in the content request is determined based on the presence or absence of a field name constituting the request. If the user identification information is included, the value of the field name is acquired.

  The “second content selection unit” 2807 selects the held content according to the acquired user identification information. For example, if a table such as a user attribute is held for each user identification information, a content suitable for the user attribute held in the table is selected. For example, if the attributes of the user's age and marital status are singles in their twenties, advertisement contents such as a marriage agency are selected, and if they are married in their thirties, advertisement contents such as condominiums are selected. .

  A “selection method control unit” 2808 controls whether the first content selection unit 2804 selects content or the second content selection unit 2807 selects content. For example, if the user identification information is acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 2806, the content is selected by the second content selection unit 2807, and if not, the content is selected by the first content selection unit 2804. Further, when the content server device 2801 has a content history holding unit or the like as in the fourth embodiment, the access history of the user content identified by the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 2806 is referred to. When an access tendency is obtained in which there is no content to be accessed in a concentrated manner, the content by the first content selection unit 2804 may be selected. Thereby, when it is obtained from the access tendency that the selection of the content based on the user attribute is not successful, the type of content provided to the user can be changed by changing the content selection method. it can.

  FIG. 29 exemplifies a flowchart for explaining a processing flow of the content server apparatus of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment. In step S2901, a content request is received. This step is performed by the request receiving module 602, for example. In step S2902, model identification information is acquired. This step is performed by the model identification information acquisition unit 2803. In the next steps S2903 and S2904, it is determined whether or not the user identification information is acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 2806. For example, in step S2903, user identification information is acquired. In step S2904, it is determined whether the user identification information is registered as a member or the like. If the user identification information cannot be received from the terminal device and the user identification information acquisition unit 2806 cannot acquire the user identification information, NULL or the like is acquired as a dummy value as the user identification information in step S2903. Suppose that it is supposed to be.

  If it is determined in step S2904 that the user is registered as a member, the process proceeds to step S2905, and the member profile and the like are read from a storage device such as a database management system. In step S2906, the second content selection unit 2807 is operated to select content according to the member profile. If it is determined in step S2904 that the user is not registered as a member or the like, the process proceeds to step S2907, and the first content selection unit 2804 is operated to perform content selection according to the model identification information. Thereafter, the content distribution unit 2805 is operated to distribute the selected content.

  FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment. The left half of FIG. 30 illustrates the terminal device side, and the right half illustrates the content server device side. If the terminal device 3001 is a terminal device used by a user registered as a member or the like, the user identification information is transmitted to the content server device, the member profile database 3002 is searched for the user identification information, etc. A profile is obtained, and content 3003 for a member suitable for the attribute is selected and distributed. On the other hand, if the terminal device 3004 is a terminal device used by a non-member user, the model database 3005 is searched based on the model identification information, and the model-specific purchase layer classification database 3006 is searched based on the search result. The model-specific purchase layer classification database is a database for searching for the tendency of the user layer of the terminal device from the manufacturing time of the model to which the terminal device belongs, for example. For example, when the age is divided into sections every five years, the database stores information such as which section has the most purchase time with respect to the production time. Then, from the search result of the model-specific purchase layer classification database 3006, for example, the advertisement content is selected from the advertisement database 3009 suitable for the age group, and distributed to the terminal device 3004. For example, an advertisement in which an idol appears appears in a terminal device of a user in the early 20s, and an advertisement in which an enka singer appears appears in a terminal device of a user in the late 60s. is there.

  When selecting content from the advertisement database, the model-specific access log 3007 and the model-specific field of interest database 3008 may be referred to. The model-specific access log 3007 is, for example, a database composed of data held by the content history holding unit 2407, and information indicating what kind of content requests are high or low for each model identification information of the terminal device, Alternatively, information that can be obtained whether there is more or less is retained. The model-specific field-of-interest database 3008 stores information for identifying a field in which the user is interested for each model identification information of the terminal device, based on the number of accesses to the content. For example, from terminal devices manufactured about two years ago, there are many accesses of content related to idols, and it is noted that users of such terminal devices are interested in idols by model-specific field of interest database. 3008 is stored. On the other hand, terminal devices manufactured about five years ago often have access to contents explaining the architecture of the computer, and the user of such a terminal device indicates that it is a so-called computer geek in the model-specific field of interest database 3008. Stored. When selecting content from the advertisement database 3009, the idle is related by referring to the information stored in the model-specific purchase layer classification database 3006 and referring to the information stored in the model-specific field of interest database. Make sure that many idle-type advertisements are selected for terminal devices with many types of content access, and advertisements such as new game devices are selected for terminal devices that users think are computer geeks. By doing so, it is possible to distribute effective advertising content.

Functional block diagram of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment Functional block diagram of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment Sequence diagram showing the process of communication between the terminal device and the content server device Example diagram showing how content is displayed on the terminal device Hardware configuration diagram of terminal device Hardware configuration diagram of content server device Functional block diagram of the terminal device of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment Functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the first embodiment Example diagram showing how content is held in the content holding unit An example figure which shows a mode that the table for selecting a content is hold | maintained at the 1st content selection part. Flow chart of processing for selecting content Example of table used for selecting content Flowchart of processing for distributing content Functional block diagram of the content distribution unit Functional block diagram of a terminal device constituting the content distribution system according to the second embodiment Example of table that associates model identification information with screen size information Functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution device according to the second embodiment An example of a table used to select content according to screen size information Example of a table that associates screen size information with the average income of consumers Functional block diagram of the terminal device of the content distribution system according to the third embodiment An example of a table associating model identification information with manufacturing time information Functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the third embodiment Example of table used for selecting content Functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the fourth embodiment An example of a table for holding a history of accessed content in association with model identification information A flowchart for explaining operations of the model identification information acquisition unit and the content history holding unit Functional block diagram of the terminal device of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment Functional block diagram of the content server device of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment 10 is a flowchart for explaining a processing flow of a content server apparatus of the content distribution system according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of functions of a content distribution system according to a fifth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Content Distribution System 101 Terminal Device 102 Content Server Device 103 Internet

Claims (6)

A content distribution system comprising a terminal device and a content server device serving as an Internet site for distributing content to the terminal device,
The terminal device
A model identification information transmission unit for transmitting model identification information to the content server device;
The content server device
A content holding unit that holds a plurality of content candidates to be distributed;
A model identification information acquisition unit that acquires model identification information of the terminal device of the content distribution destination;
A first content selection unit that selects content held in accordance with the acquired model identification information;
A content distribution unit that distributes the selected content to the terminal device;
A content distribution system. The model identification information transmission unit of the terminal device includes a screen size model identification information transmission unit that transmits model identification information associated with screen size information indicating the screen size of the terminal device,
The content according to claim 1, wherein the content selection unit of the content server device includes screen size dependent content selection means for acquiring screen size information associated with the model identification information and selecting content according to the acquired screen size information. Distribution system. The model identification information transmitting unit of the terminal device has a manufacturing time model identification information transmitting means for transmitting model identification information associated with manufacturing time information indicating the manufacturing time of the model to which the terminal device belongs,
The content selection unit of the content server apparatus has a manufacturing time-dependent content selection unit that acquires manufacturing time information associated with the model identification information and selects content according to the acquired manufacturing time information. Content distribution system. The content distribution unit of the content server device includes a linkable content distribution unit that distributes linkable content including link information to other content,
A content history holding unit that holds the history of the content accessed via the distributed linkable content in association with the model identification information of the terminal device;
An access tendency calculating unit for calculating an access tendency to the content of the terminal device based on the history held in the content history holding unit;
The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The terminal device
A user identification information transmission unit capable of transmitting user identification information to the content server device;
The content server device
A user identification information acquisition unit that acquires the identification information of the user of the terminal device of the content distribution destination if it can be acquired;
A second content selection unit that selects content held in accordance with the acquired user identification information;
A selection method control unit that controls whether the first content selection unit selects content or the second content selection unit selects content;
The content delivery system according to claim 1, further comprising: An operation method of a content distribution system comprising a terminal device and a content server device serving as an Internet site that distributes content to the terminal device,
In the terminal device,
A model identification information transmission step of transmitting model identification information to the content server device;
In the content server device,
A content holding step for holding a plurality of content candidates to be distributed;
A model identification information acquisition step of acquiring model identification information of the terminal device of the content distribution destination;
A first content selection step of selecting content held in accordance with the acquired model identification information;
A content distribution step of distributing the selected content to the terminal device;
The operation method of the content distribution system for executing.

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