JP2010263541A - Content sharing system, content controller, content sharing method, and content sharing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To share content by a plurality of devices by controlling a function for executing content in a device compatible with specific specifications from each device connected to a network. <P>SOLUTION: The content sharing system is provided with: a content providing device 20 for storing content information; a content execution device 30 for outputting the content information from the content providing device 20; a content controller 40 for controlling the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30; and terminal equipment 50 communicatively connected to the content controller 40. The content controller 40 is provided with: a storage part 41 for storing browsing display data which can be browsed and input by the terminal equipment 50; and an interface part 42 for providing the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal equipment 50, and for receiving a request signal input from the terminal equipment 50; and an execution control part 43 for controlling the content providing device 20 and/or the content execution device 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content sharing system, a content control apparatus, a content sharing method, and a content sharing program that share content held in a device on a home network.

In recent years, in home networks (home networks), AV devices, personal computers, home information appliances, and the like are connected to each other, and digital contents (music data, moving image data, still image data, etc.) are used. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance: registered trademark) is a standard for realizing such connection between devices and control of digital contents in a home network environment.
DLNA defines specifications that guarantee interoperability for sharing digital contents between devices of different manufacturers. In addition, AV devices and the like corresponding to DLNA have been commercialized one after another, and by applying each device to the DLNA standard, for example, contents held by information home appliances connected in the home network can be stored in the home network. You can browse with devices connected to various locations.

  In addition, in this DLNA, the DLNA guideline v1.5 has been recently established, and the content is provided by a digital media server (Digital Media Server: DMS) defined in the conventional DLNA guideline v1.0. In addition to a digital media player (DMP), which is a device that performs the above, a new digital media renderer (Digital Media Renderer: DMR) having only a content playback function and a function for causing the DMR to play back content A digital media controller (Digital Media Controller: DMC) and the like provided are defined. As a result, it is possible to realize a DLNA-compatible device having only a controller function, a DLNA-compatible device that is controlled by this controller function, and performs only reproduction.

  According to the DLNA guidelines, devices that can use Ethernet (registered trademark) as a network, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) as a communication protocol, and HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) for content transmission / reception. It is defined that UPnP (Universal Plug and Play: registered trademark) is used for searching and content acquisition.

  As a technology using such DLNA, for example, a portable communication device having a communication function and a content playback function is connected to a home, and a plurality of DLNA compatible devices including content playback devices are in the current state of the device itself. Based on this, there is a technique for properly using content viewing and a remote control function (Patent Document 1). According to this technology, when viewing the continuation of the content that was viewed outside the home with the content playback device in the home, the user can be viewed with smooth transition of the operation without being particularly conscious.

  In addition, in a W-DLNA module device compliant with W-DLNA (Wide Area-DLNA) obtained by extending DLNA, a message including a content list transmitted from a device compliant with W-DLNA is received, and the received content list is There is a technique for transmitting to an external device (Patent Document 2). According to this technology, even a device that does not have software for uploading a content list can automatically upload a content list existing in the device to another device.

JP 2008-206077 A JP 2008-243100 A

  However, in the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, execution of content held by a device corresponding to a specific standard (for example, DLNA) is performed by an operation from a device corresponding to the specific standard. For example, content cannot be executed and shared from an apparatus that is controlled and does not support a specific standard such as an existing personal computer.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the function of executing content provided by a device corresponding to a specific standard is provided from each device connected to the network. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content sharing system, a content control apparatus, a content sharing method, and a content sharing program that can be controlled and can share content among a plurality of devices.

  In order to achieve this object, a content sharing system of the present invention is connected to each other via a network so as to be able to communicate with each other, a content providing device that holds predetermined content information, and arbitrary content information from this content providing device. A content execution device that reads out and outputs the content, and a content control device that controls the content providing device and the content execution device, and one or more terminal devices that are communicably connected to the content control device. The content control device provides a storage unit that holds predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device, and provides browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, and via the browsing display data An interface unit for receiving a request signal input from the terminal device; In response to a request signal from the terminal apparatus received through the scan unit, a configuration equipped with an execution control unit for controlling the content providing apparatus and / or the content execution device.

  The content control apparatus of the present invention can communicate with a content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information and a content execution apparatus that reads out arbitrary content information from the content providing apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside via a network. A storage unit that controls the content providing device and the content execution device, and is connected to be communicable with one or more terminal devices, and holds predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device; An interface unit that provides browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, receives a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data, and a terminal device that receives the request signal from the terminal unit. Control the content providing device and / or the content execution device according to the request signal A configuration equipped with a that execution control unit.

  In addition, the content sharing method of the present invention can communicate with a content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information via a network, and a content execution apparatus that reads arbitrary content information from the content providing apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside. The content control device is connected to control the content providing device and the content execution device, and predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device by the content control device connected to be communicable with one or more terminal devices. A step of holding, providing browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, receiving a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data, and in response to a request signal received from the terminal device To control the content providing device and / or the content execution device. There is a method and a flop.

  In addition, the content sharing program of the present invention can communicate with a content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information via a network, and a content execution apparatus that reads arbitrary content information from the content providing apparatus and outputs it to the outside. A predetermined computer that is connected and controls the content providing device and the content execution device, and that allows the terminal device to browse and input a computer constituting the content control device that is communicably connected to one or more terminal devices. The storage means for holding the browsing display data, the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, and the interface means for receiving the request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data, via the interface means In response to the received request signal from the terminal device, It is constituted to serve as an execution control means for controlling the content providing apparatus and / or the content execution device.

  According to the present invention, the function of executing content from each device connected to the network can be controlled, and the content can be shared by a plurality of devices.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content sharing system in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the web page displayed on the terminal device in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is an operation | movement procedure figure which shows a content execution control process among the content sharing methods in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the partial structure of the content sharing system in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content execution state management part in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram which shows the process sequence of a general eventing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the event message in eventing. It is an operation | movement procedure diagram which shows a content execution state management process among the content sharing methods in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content sharing system in 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is an operation | movement procedure diagram which shows the additional process procedure of the port mapping by general UPnP. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content execution state management part in 3rd embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a content sharing system, a content control apparatus, a content sharing method, and a content sharing program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, as an embodiment to which the content sharing system, content control apparatus, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present invention are applied, content sharing is performed using a home network that complies with the DLNA guidelines. An example will be described.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of a content sharing system, content control apparatus, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration of the content sharing system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content sharing system of this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the content sharing system 1 mainly includes a content providing device 20, a content execution device 30, a content control device 40, a terminal device (PC) 50, and a terminal device (home appliance) 60. Are communicably connected to each other to form a home network 100. Although the home network 100 includes other devices, they are not shown in FIG.

In addition, the content providing device 20, the content execution device 30, and the content control device 40 in this embodiment are DLNA compatible devices, and the terminal devices 50 and 60 are DLNA non-compatible devices.
The content providing device 20 is a digital media server (DMS) compliant with the DLNA guidelines, the content execution device 30 is a digital media renderer (DMR) compliant with the DLNA guidelines, and the content control device 40 is configured with the DLNA guidelines. Is a digital media controller (DMC) compliant with the above.

The content providing device 20 has a function of holding predetermined content information in an internal storage medium and providing the held content in response to a request from another device.
For example, devices such as HDD recorders and DVD recorders installed in a home network have functions for holding and distributing content, and devices that store content in real time, such as cameras, are also a kind.
Here, the content information includes, for example, name, genre, creation date, data size, location, etc. corresponding to the content data itself and each content. Note that the content information can be set and changed according to the type of content. Moreover, as content in this embodiment, it can be set as a moving image, a still image, music, a sentence, or those combinations, for example.

  The content execution device 30 is a device that reads arbitrary content information held by the content providing device 20 and outputs it to the outside. For example, a DVD player, a CD player, a speaker, a liquid crystal display, a television receiver, and the like are provided with a function of displaying moving images and still images, playing music, presenting text, etc., and only executing content.

  The content control device 40 is a device for controlling the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 in order to execute the content. The content control device 40 mainly acquires content information held by the content providing device 20 and acquires the content execution device 30. A function of giving an instruction to execute a specific content. For example, a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA, or the like can be applied to the content control device 40.

In addition, the content control device 40 includes a storage unit 41, an interface unit 42, and an execution control unit 43.
The storage unit 41 is a storage device (for example, a hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, or the like) built in the content control device 40, and programs and settings for the content control device 40 to control the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30. Values are stored.
And the memory | storage part 41 of this embodiment hold | maintains the predetermined browsing display data which can be browsed and input-operated on the terminal devices 50 and 60 mentioned later. The browsing display data is, for example, content list information included in content information held by the content providing device 20, list information of names of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30, and the like.

The interface unit 42 provides the above-described browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal devices 50 and 60, and receives signals from the terminal devices 50 and 60 that are input to the browsing display data.
Specifically, the interface unit 42 creates a web page including browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal devices 50 and 60 and provides the web page to the terminal devices 50 and 60 via the network. The web page provided to the terminal devices 50 and 60 displays predetermined information, inputs text in the web page in response to an input operation from the terminal devices 50 and 60, and is displayed in the web page. By selecting and inputting an icon or the like, a predetermined input process and a link process to other display data can be performed.

2A, for example, a list of names of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 on the network is displayed, and the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 are displayed on the network. Each of which is selectable. For example, when the content providing apparatus A of the content execution apparatus 30 is selected, a list of contents held by the content providing apparatus A is displayed on the web page as illustrated in FIG. Each content is provided with execution buttons B1 to B3, and the content can be executed by pressing the execution buttons B1 to B3.
The information displayed on the web page is not limited to the above. For example, the data format / size of the content, the content execution history, the content execution status, and the like may be displayed.

The execution control unit 43 controls one or both of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 according to the request signal from the terminal devices 50 and 60 received via the interface unit 42. That is, according to the content operated from on the web page, for example, processing such as an instruction to reproduce the selected content or updating the web page is performed.
The specific operation in the content control device 40 will be described later.

The terminal device (PC) 50 is, for example, an existing personal computer, and displays a web page held by the interface unit 42 of the content control device 40 on a display unit (not shown) of the terminal device (PC) 50. Thus, it is possible to browse and select content.
The terminal device (home electrical appliance) 60 is, for example, an existing home electrical appliance with a display, and the content can be browsed and selected by displaying a web page on the display.

Next, the operation (content sharing method) of the content sharing system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is an operation procedure diagram showing content execution control processing in the content sharing method according to the present embodiment.

In general, in the DLNA guidelines, UPnP is defined as a protocol for realizing cooperation between devices on a network. In this UPnP, content information acquisition and distribution control between devices are performed for AV devices. , Based on the function of UPnP AV (Audio Visual).
Specifically, UPnP AV is a content directory service (CDS) that provides content search, content information, and the like, a connection manager service (CMS) that manages connection when transferring content, and control related to content transfer. It defines an AV transport service (AVT) that provides functions and a rendering control service (RCS) that provides a mechanism for managing parameters (volume, brightness, etc.) at the time of content execution.

The processing procedure of the content execution control process in this embodiment using this UPnP AV function will be described with reference to FIG.
In the following description, an example in which the content held in the content providing device 20 is acquired via the content control device 40 by an operation from the terminal device (PC) 50 and reproduced by the content execution device 30 will be described. To do.

First, when the content control apparatus 40 receives access to the interface unit 42 from the terminal apparatus (PC) 50 (step S1), the content control apparatus 40 includes list information of names of the content providing apparatus 20 and the content execution apparatus 30 on the network detected in advance. A web page is provided (step S2). Thereby, on the display unit of the terminal device (PC) 50, the web page (see FIG. 2) on which the list information of the names of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 is arranged is displayed.
When, for example, the name of the content providing device 20 (content providing device A) is selected from the terminal device (PC) 50 (step S3), the content control device 40 selects the selected content providing device 20. In order to acquire the content held by the content providing device 20 using the above-described CDS, a CDS: Browse command is transmitted (step S4). When receiving the acquisition request, the content providing apparatus 20 returns a Browse Response to the acquisition request (step S5).
The content control device 40 can acquire the content information held by the content providing device 20 from this Browse Response. The acquired content information includes, for example, a content list, a name, a genre, a creation date, a location, etc. corresponding to each content. This information is stored in the storage unit 41.

Next, the content control device 40 provides a web page including the list information of the content included in the content information acquired in step S5 (step S6). Accordingly, the web page (see FIG. 3) on which the content list information is arranged is displayed on the display unit of the terminal device (PC) 50. That is, the terminal device (PC) 50 can browse the list of contents held by the selected content providing apparatus 20 on the web page via the content control apparatus 40.
When the playback button corresponding to the desired content is pressed from the terminal device (PC) 50 (step S7), the content control device 40 performs the above-described AVT on the selected content execution device 30. Then, an AVT: SetAVTransportURI command is transmitted (step S8), and a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) indicating the location of the target content is notified. In response to this notification, the content execution apparatus 30 returns a response indicating that a connection has been established (step S9).
Subsequently, the content control device 40 transmits an AVT: Play command to the content execution device 30 and requests the content reproduction (step S10). The content execution device 30 returns a response indicating that the AVT: Play command has been executed (step S11).
Then, the content execution device 30 acquires content based on the notified URI content from the content providing device 20 and reproduces it (step S12).

  In this way, it is possible to control the function of executing the content provided in the content control device 40 from the terminal device (PC) 50. That is, a DLNA-compatible device can be controlled from each device on the network including the DLNA-incompatible device via the network, and desired content can be executed and viewed.

Next, “state management” for managing the execution state of content will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of a block diagram showing the configuration of the content sharing system in this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content execution state management unit in this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the content control device 40 of the content sharing system 1 in this embodiment further includes a content execution state management unit 44, and the terminal devices 50 and 60 include browsers 51 and 61 and a content execution state acquisition unit. 52, 62.

The content execution state management unit 44 manages the state of one or both of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30, and changes the content execution state to the terminal devices 50 and 60 in response to a request from the terminal devices 50 and 60. It has a notification function and the like, and functions as a device in UPnP.
Specifically, the content execution state management unit 44 monitors the state of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30. For example, when the state of the content providing device 20 and the content execution device 30 is changed, or the self Is disconnected from the network, a message is transmitted to the content execution state acquisition units 52 and 62 (to be described later) of the terminal devices 50 and 60.
In addition, the content execution state management unit 44 includes one or more state variables 441 as shown in FIG. As this state variable 441, for example, Play State 441a for specifying a content reproduction / stop state is defined.

The content execution state acquisition units 52 and 62 have a function of detecting the content execution state management unit 44 connected to the network, a function of performing various controls using the function of the content execution state management unit 44, and the like. Functions as a control point in
Specifically, the content execution state acquisition units 52 and 62 (control points) detect the content execution state management unit 44 (device) connected to the network by transmitting or receiving packets by multicast. Further, the execution state of the content is acquired from the content execution state management unit 44 (device) using the function of the content execution state management unit 44 (device). The execution state of the content is, for example, information such as whether or not the television (broadcast) is being watched for a television and whether or not the television is being viewed for an AV device.

Next, eventing used as a state management mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is an operation procedure diagram showing a general eventing processing procedure, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an event message in eventing.
Eventing is one of the functions defined by UPnP DA (Device Architecture), and when some change occurs in the device (for example, content playback / update / deletion), a mechanism for notifying the control point of an event message It is. Therefore, in order to receive the event message from the device, the control point makes a reservation request to a specific device that wants to subscribe to the event message.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the control point (subscriber) transmits a subscribe message to a device to be subscribed in advance and requests subscription (step S100). The subscribe message is formatted in accordance with a GENA (Generic Event Notification Architecture) method, which is a protocol defined by UPnP DA, and is transmitted by TCP / IP via HTTP. In addition, the device responds with a subscribe response indicating that the subscription request has been accepted (step S101).

Then, when notification becomes necessary, the device notifies the control point that requested the subscription of the event message by unicast (step S102). The event message is expressed in XML (extensible Markup Language) format, formatted according to the GENA method, and transmitted by TCP / IP via HTTP.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, this event message includes the names of state variables (state variable names) and the current values (state variable values) of these variables.
When receiving an event message from the device, the control point returns an event response indicating that the event message has been received (step S103).
Thus, in eventing, when a control point makes a request to subscribe to an event message from a device, the event message is notified to the control point when a state change occurs on the device. Changes in execution state can be recognized.

Next, the operation (content sharing method) of the content sharing system in the present embodiment using this eventing will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is an operation procedure diagram showing content execution state management processing in the content sharing method according to the present embodiment.
In the following description, the terminal device (home appliance) 60 recognizes the execution state by accessing a web page provided in the content control device 40 from the terminal device (PC) 50 via the browser 51 and reproducing the content. An example will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the content execution state acquisition unit 62 that functions as a control point of the terminal device (home appliance) 60 sends a content execution state management unit 44 that functions as a device of the content control device 40 to the content execution state. A SUBSCRIBE (subscribe message) requesting notification is transmitted, and an event message subscription is requested in advance (step S20). In addition, the content execution state management unit 44 returns a response (OK) indicating that the subscription reservation is completed in response to the subscription request (step S21).

When the terminal device (PC) 50 accesses the web page of the content control device 40 via the browser 51 and when an operation for executing the desired content is performed from the browser 51 (step 1 to step S7), the content The control device 40 issues a content reproduction instruction (steps S8 to S11). Then, the content designated by the content execution device 30 is reproduced (step S12).
At this time, the content execution state management unit 44 recognizes that the state of the content execution device 30 is changed by receiving the response signal in step S11. As a result, the content execution state management unit 44 notifies the event execution message (NOTIFY) to the content execution state acquisition unit 62 of the terminal device (home appliance) 60 that has subscribed for subscription by the eventing mechanism (step S22). ). The name and value of the state variable included in the content execution state management unit 44 are added to the event message. For example, “Play State” that specifies the content playback / stop state is set as the value of the state variable. Is set to “1” indicating that playback is in progress. The content execution state acquisition unit 62 returns a response (OK) indicating that the event message (NOTIFY) has been received (step S23).
As described above, when the content is reproduced, the content execution state is changed, and the content execution state can be specified from the content execution state management unit 44 to the terminal device (home appliance) 60 subscribed for subscription. Will be notified. As a result, the terminal device (home appliance) 60 can recognize in real time that the content execution device 30 has shifted to the reproduction state, and the terminal devices 50 and 60 can share information.

  As described above, according to the content sharing system, the content control device, the content sharing method, and the content sharing program of this embodiment, the terminal device (PC) 50 that is a DLNA-incompatible device is DLNA compatible via the web page 51. The content held by the device can be browsed, and the DLNA-compatible device can be controlled by an operation from the terminal device (PC) 50. In addition, the execution state of content executed from other terminal devices can be shared between the devices.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the content sharing system, content control apparatus, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the content sharing system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an operation procedure diagram showing a general port mapping addition processing procedure by UPnP.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, the content control device 40 includes a port connection request unit 45, the gateway device 10 includes a port mapping control unit 11, and the terminal device 70, as compared with the first embodiment. Are different from each other in that they are arranged in another network outside the home network 100.
That is, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 70 arranged in a network outside the home network 100 is connected to the content control device 40 through the Internet 200 to execute the content. Further, by performing port mapping in the gateway device 10, the terminal device 70 provided on the Internet 200 side and the content control device 40 can be connected. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The gateway device 10 is a device that interconnects different networks. Specifically, the gateway device 10 is arranged between a local network such as the home network 100 and a wide area network such as the Internet 200, and performs address conversion, protocol conversion, and the like.

The port mapping control unit 11 sets a port mapping table in response to an Internet connection request from a port connection request unit 45 described later. Based on the port mapping table, communication can be performed between the content control device 40 and the terminal device 70 connected to the Internet 200 side.
Specifically, the port mapping table includes a source private IP address and source port that are address information of the source device, a global IP address and external port that are external address information of the gateway device 10, and address information of the destination. Is a table in which a destination IP address and a destination port are associated with each other. Then, each device of the home network 100 shares a single global IP address assigned to the gateway device 10 and accesses the Internet 200 side.
As described above, the gateway device 10 performs network address translation (NAT) that mutually translates a private IP address and a single global IP address included in a packet.

  The port connection request unit 45 requests port mapping from the gateway device 10. Specifically, it is possible to make a request for adding a designated port by transmitting a packet including a port number and an IP address to the gateway device 10 and to connect via this port.

Next, a procedure for adding port mapping will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an operation procedure diagram showing a port mapping addition processing procedure by UPnP.
First, the port connection request unit 45 of the content control device 40 requests the gateway device 10 to perform additional setting of port mapping (step S201). When the gateway device 10 determines that the request can be accepted, the port mapping control unit 11 returns a message for accepting port mapping addition (step S202).
Then, between the device on the Internet 200 side and the content control device 40, the packet addressed to the mapped port (step S203, step S205) is transferred in the designated direction by the mapping table of the gateway device 10 (step S204, In step S206), NAT traversal in which the terminal device 70 connected to the Internet is directly connected to the content control device 40 under the gateway device 10 is realized.

  As described above, the gateway device 10 sets the port mapping table in response to an Internet connection request from the content control device 40 installed in the home network 100, and establishes a connection between the content control device 40 and the terminal device 70 outside the network. Realize. As a result, the terminal device 70 can control the content control device 40 via the Internet 200, browse the content, and cause the content execution device 30 to execute the desired content. In this case as well, various contents such as moving images / still images and music can be handled.

  As described above, according to the content sharing system, the content control apparatus, the content sharing method, and the content sharing program of the present embodiment, it is possible to directly access the content control apparatus 40 from the terminal device of the external network, and the same network Regardless of the network, content execution can be controlled from another network.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the content sharing system, content control apparatus, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content execution state management unit of the present embodiment.

  This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that Play User 441b, Play Contents 441c, and Play Time 441d are added to the values defined in the state variable 441 of the content execution state management unit 44. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

As described above, when notification is required, the content execution state management unit 44 (device) notifies the event message to the content execution state acquisition units 52 and 62 (control points) that have requested subscription. At this time, Play User 441b, Play Contents 441c, and Play Time 441d are set in the state variables included in the event message, and by setting values corresponding to these variables, the execution state of the content can be known in more detail between devices. Can do.
Needless to say, the state variable 441 and the value of the variable are not limited to these, and other variables and values can be arbitrarily added.

  As described above, according to the content sharing system, content control apparatus, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present embodiment, not only the content playback / stop state, but also the player information, playback content information, playback time Various information such as information can be shared.

Next, the content sharing program will be described.
The content sharing function (function for executing the content sharing method) of the computer (gateway device, content providing device, content execution device, content control device, terminal device, content sharing system) in each of the above embodiments is storage means ( For example, it is realized by a content sharing program stored in a ROM or a hard disk.

The content sharing program is read by a computer control means (CPU or the like), and sends instructions to each component of the computer to perform predetermined processing such as content execution control processing, content execution state management processing, and content execution device 30. Reproduction processing, port mapping processing of the port mapping control unit 11 and the like are performed.
Accordingly, the content sharing function includes a content sharing program as software and each component means of a computer (gateway device, content providing device, content execution device, content control device, terminal device, content sharing system) as hardware resources. Realized by collaboration.

The content sharing program for realizing the content sharing function is stored in a computer ROM, hard disk, or the like, or may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium, such as an external storage device or a portable recording medium. it can.
The external storage device refers to a memory expansion device that incorporates a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and is externally connected to a content control device or the like. On the other hand, the portable recording medium is a recording medium that can be mounted on a recording medium driving device (drive device) and is portable, and refers to, for example, a flexible disk, a memory card, a magneto-optical disk, and the like.

The program recorded on the recording medium is loaded into the RAM of the computer and executed by the CPU (control means). By this execution, functions such as the content control device of each embodiment described above are realized.
Furthermore, when a content sharing program is loaded by a computer, the content sharing program held by another computer can be downloaded to its own RAM or external storage device using a communication line. The downloaded content sharing program is also executed by the CPU, and realizes a content sharing function such as the content control device of each of the above embodiments.

The preferred embodiments of the content sharing system, content control device, content sharing method, and content sharing program of the present invention have been described above. The content sharing system, content control device, content sharing method, and content sharing program according to the present invention are described above. It is needless to say that various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, one gateway device, one content providing device, one content execution device, and one content control device are prepared. However, the number is not limited to one, and two or more can be prepared.
It is also possible to restrict access from the terminal device by registering the network information (for example, IP address or MAC address) of the terminal device in advance on the content control device side. It is also possible to perform contention control.

  The present invention can be used in a configuration in which content held in a device in a network such as a home network is controlled and viewed from a plurality of devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content sharing system 10 Gateway apparatus 11 Port mapping control part 20 Content provision apparatus 30 Content execution apparatus 40 Content control apparatus 41 Storage part 42 Interface part 43 Execution control part 44 Content execution state management part 45 Port connection request part 50,70 Terminal apparatus (PC)
60 Terminal equipment (home appliances)
51, 61 Browser 52, 62 Content execution state acquisition unit 100 Home network 200 Internet

Claims (15)

A content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information connected to each other via a network, a content execution apparatus that reads out arbitrary content information from the content providing apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside, and these content providing apparatuses And a content control device that controls the content execution device, and one or more terminal devices that are communicably connected to the content control device,
The content control device is
A storage unit that holds predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device;
An interface unit that provides the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, and receives a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data;
A content sharing system comprising: an execution control unit that controls the content providing device and / or the content execution device in response to the request signal from the terminal device received via the interface unit. The content control device
The content execution state management part which notifies the execution state of a content to the said terminal device according to the request | requirement from the said terminal device while managing the state of the said content provision apparatus and / or the said content execution apparatus. Content sharing system. The terminal device
A content execution state acquisition unit that transmits a predetermined subscription message for requesting notification of the execution state of the content to the content execution state management unit;
The content execution state acquisition unit receives a predetermined event message for notifying the execution state of the content according to a change in the state of the content providing device and / or the content execution device. 2. The content sharing system according to 2. The content execution state management unit
The content sharing according to claim 3, wherein one or more state variables corresponding to a change in the state of the content providing device and / or the content execution device are held, and the event message includes any of the state variables. system. The content execution state management unit functions as a device in UPnP (Universal Plug and Play),
The content sharing system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the content execution state acquisition unit functions as a control point in UPnP. A gateway device that connects the network that connects the content providing device, the content execution device, and the content control device so that they can communicate with each other;
The content sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device connected to the other network is connected via the gateway device so as to be communicable with the content control device. The content control device includes a port connection request unit that requests port mapping to the gateway device,
The gateway device includes a port mapping control unit that sets a port mapping table in response to the request, and connects the content control device and the terminal device of the other network based on the port mapping table. 6. The content sharing system according to 6. The interface unit provides a web page including the browsing display data;
The terminal device includes a browser capable of displaying the web page, and the execution control unit controls the content providing device and / or the content execution device in response to a request signal input from the browser. The content sharing system according to claim 1.   9. The content control device, the content providing device, and the content execution device are devices that support DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), and the terminal device is a device that does not support DLNA. The content sharing system according to one item. A content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information via a network, and a content execution apparatus that reads out arbitrary content information from the content provision apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside. Controlling the device and being communicably connected to one or more terminal devices,
A storage unit that holds predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device;
An interface unit that provides the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, and receives a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data;
A content control device comprising: an execution control unit that controls the content providing device and / or the content execution device in response to the request signal from the terminal device received via the interface unit.   The content execution state management part which notifies the execution state of a content to the said terminal device according to the request | requirement from the said terminal device while managing the state of the said content provision apparatus and / or the said content execution apparatus. Content control device. A content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information via a network, and a content execution apparatus that reads out arbitrary content information from the content provision apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside. By controlling the device, and a content control device connected to be communicable with one or more terminal devices,
Holding predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device;
Providing the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device, and receiving a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data;
Controlling the content providing device and / or the content execution device in response to the request signal received from the terminal device.   13. The content sharing method according to claim 12, further comprising: managing a state of the content providing device and / or the content execution device, and notifying the terminal device of the content execution state in response to a request from the terminal device. A content providing apparatus that holds predetermined content information via a network, and a content execution apparatus that reads out arbitrary content information from the content provision apparatus and outputs the content information to the outside. A computer that controls the device and constitutes a content control device that is communicably connected to one or more terminal devices,
Storage means for holding predetermined browsing display data that can be browsed and input by the terminal device,
Interface means for providing the browsing display data in response to a request from the terminal device and receiving a request signal input from the terminal device via the browsing display data;
A content sharing program for functioning as an execution control unit that controls the content providing device and / or the content execution device in response to the request signal from the terminal device received via the interface unit.   The computer constituting the content control device further manages the status of the content providing device and / or the content execution device, and notifies the terminal device of the content execution status in response to a request from the terminal device. The content sharing program according to claim 14, which functions as content execution state management means.

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