JP4860107B2 - Image distribution system and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image distribution system and method, and more particularly to a system and method for preparing a plurality of images on a server, downloading images from the server to a mobile phone, and displaying the downloaded images on the mobile phone.

  In recent years, mobile phones have attracted attention in mass media such as newspapers and magazines. Mobile phones in recent years have not only a simple call function like a conventional installation type phone, but also a function capable of transmitting and receiving data by connecting to a network such as the Internet, and has a function like a computer. .

  On the other hand, there are various preferences of people, and there are also models in which a plurality of standby screens are prepared in accordance with the preferences of the user, such as a screen for waiting for a mobile phone.

  However, the mobile phone has a limited storage capacity and a limited number of images to be stored. For this reason, there is a problem in that an image suitable for the user's preference is not always prepared.

  Furthermore, there is a case where a so-called copyright fee is generated when an image such as a character used for a standby screen is used. In this case, a company that uses an image of a character or the like on a mobile information processing terminal such as a mobile phone on a standby screen must pay the copyright of the character to the copyright holder of the character to be used.

  On the other hand, user preferences vary, and some users do not use images prepared in advance on mobile phones, but even in this case, mobile phone sales companies bear the copyrights of characters. There was a lot of waste of copyright fees.

  As a result, there is a problem that the cost of the mobile phone is increased.

  Therefore, a service for distributing an image that can be used for a standby screen has been proposed.

  However, only pull-type services existed in the past.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image distribution system and method for providing a push-type image distribution service to a conventional pull-type service.

An object of the present invention is an image distribution system that includes a server and a mobile phone that can be connected to the server via a network, and distributes an image from the server to the mobile phone. A mail address used for transmission / reception is set, an operation unit used for selection by the user, an electronic mail transmission / reception means capable of transmitting / receiving an electronic mail according to an instruction from the server, and a registration request for image distribution are transmitted A server mail address used for sending and receiving electronic mail is set, and the server distributes the mail distribution member list in which the mobile phone mail address registered for image distribution is described a storage unit and the image data is stored, when receiving the registration request to the image delivery from the mobile phone, the service Means for transmitting a mail address of the mail address is set to the destination the mobile phone is set to the source e-mail an instruction to transmit to the server, to the mobile phone, the mobile phone in response to the instruction Means for identifying the e-mail address of the mobile phone from the sender of the e-mail sent from the e-mail and registering it in the e-mail delivery member list, and when the image data is added to the storage unit, the added image data Means for creating an e-mail in which the link destination is set, and means for broadcasting the created e-mail to an e-mail address registered in the mail delivery member list. Transmits an access request to the link destination set in the broadcasted e-mail according to the selection by the operation unit, and the server On the basis of the access request from the mobile phone, the read additional image data is achieved by an image distribution system and transmits to the mobile phone. According to the present invention, a so-called push-type service can be provided, and further, it is possible to save the user from having to read the image distribution menu one by one. Even with the mail interface, you can get your email address accurately.

An object of the present invention is an image distribution method for distributing an image from the server to the mobile phone in a network system including a server and a mobile phone that can be connected to the server via a network. In response , the server transmits a registration request for image distribution, and in response to the registration request for image distribution from the cell phone, the server has a server mail address set as a destination, Sending an instruction to the mobile phone to send an e-mail with a mail address set to the sender, and the server sends an e-mail sent from the mobile phone in response to the instruction; From the sender, specify the e-mail address of the mobile phone, and based on the e-mail address of the specified mobile phone. Creating a distribution member list and storing it in a storage unit; and when the image data is added to the storage unit, the server creates an e-mail in which a link destination of the added image data is set; Broadcasting the created e-mail to the e-mail address listed in the mail delivery member list, and setting the mobile phone as the broadcast-transmitted e-mail according to the selection by the user Transmitting an access request to the linked destination, and the server reading the added image data based on the access request from the mobile phone and transmitting the read image data to the mobile phone. This is achieved by a featured image distribution method. According to the present invention, a so-called push-type service can be provided.

The object of the present invention is to set an e-mail address used for sending / receiving e-mail, and to send an operation unit used for selection by the user, e-mail sending / receiving means capable of sending / receiving e-mail, and a registration request for image distribution. An image distribution server that distributes an image via a network to a mobile phone having a means for transmitting and a means for transmitting an access request to a link destination set in an e-mail according to selection by the operation unit. A server mail address used for sending and receiving e-mail is set, a mail delivery member list in which the mail address of a mobile phone registered for image delivery is described, and a memory storing image data to be delivered and parts, when receiving the registration request to the image delivery from the mobile phone, the server mail address is set to the destination the An instruction to send the mail address of the band phone is set to the source e-mail to the server, said means for transmitting to the mobile phone, sending of e-mail transmitted from the cellular phone in response to the instruction Originally, means for specifying the mail address of the mobile phone and registering it in the mail delivery member list, and when the image data is added to the storage unit, an electronic device in which the link destination of the added image data is set Means for creating a mail, and means for broadcasting the created e-mail to a mail address registered in the mail delivery member list, wherein the server is transmitted from the mobile phone. Based on a request for access to the link destination of the broadcasted e-mail, the added image data is read and transmitted to the mobile phone. It is achieved by the image distribution server according to claim. According to the present invention, a so-called push-type service can be provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a push-type image distribution service that is not found in the conventional pull-type service.

  The present invention notifies the user of information on an image that is updated every day by e-mail, and the user operates the link set in the received e-mail to download the latest image data. A push-type service system is provided.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is an information provider server (IP server) that provides content, 2 is a gateway server, 3 is a base station, 4 is a mobile phone, and 5 is a fixed communication network on the gateway server 2 side. 6 is a communication network (Internet) connecting the gateway server 2 and the IP server 1, and 7 is a mobile communication network.

  Next, each component described above will be described.

  First, the IP server 1 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the IP server 1. In FIG. 2, 21 is a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data, 22 is a modulation / demodulation unit for modulating / demodulating data transmitted / received by the transmission / reception unit 21, and 23 is a program, a user list, and image data to be distributed. Reference numeral 24 denotes an MPU that performs processing such as an HTTP request and an HTTP response in accordance with a program stored in the hard disk 23.

  The hard disk 23 stores a member list table 31 and an image folder 32 in which image data to be distributed is stored.

  The member list table 31 is a table in which the user ID of the member of the image distribution service and the date of membership registration are described for each content. The user ID is an identifier for identifying the user, and is transmitted from the gateway server 2 described later. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the member list table 31. The content to be provided is from the content A to the content X, and the user ID of each content member is associated with the membership date of the member. It is shown that.

  The image folder 32 is a folder in which distributed image data is stored. As shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the directory is the image folder 321 for the current day in which the latest image data is stored and the image data of the back number. Are stored in the back number image folder 322. The images stored in each folder are images to be displayed on the display of the mobile phone 4, and can be used as a standby screen of the mobile phone 4, for example, as shown in FIG. Each image data is assigned an identifier for identifying the image as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows images (characters) stored in the image folder 321 and the image folder 322 of the content A. Since the image data distributed by this service is added every day, when the latest image data is stored in the image folder 321 for the current day, the image data stored in the image folder 321 is displayed together with the date of the image data. It is moved to the back number image folder 322. The image data stored in the back number image folder 322 is automatically deleted after a predetermined period.

  Next, the gateway server 2 will be described.

  The gateway server 2 has a role of a gateway to the IP server 1 and has a role of transmitting information from the mobile phone to the IP server 1 in accordance with a request from the mobile phone 4.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the gateway server 2. In FIG. 6, 61 is a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data, 62 is a modulation / demodulation unit for modulating / demodulating data transmitted / received by the transmission / reception unit 61, 63 is a hard disk storing programs and the like, 64 is An MPU that performs processing of a relay function between the mobile phone 4 and the IP server 1 according to a program.

  In addition to the program, the hard disk 63 stores a user ID list table 70. As shown in FIG. 7, the user ID list table 70 includes a phone number of the mobile phone 4, a unique identifier for identifying the mobile phone 4 of this phone number, and a user ID that is paired with this unique identifier. Is a table described in association with.

  In the web interface performed through the gateway server 2, the gateway server 2 uses the above-described user ID list table 70 to receive a unique identifier given to the request of the mobile phone 4 when a request is made from the mobile phone 4. The user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is converted, and the request is transferred to the IP server 1.

  A typical example of such a gateway server 2 is an i-mode server in an i-mode service provided by NTT DoCoMo.

  Next, the mobile phone 4 will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 4.

  The mobile phone 4 is transmitted and received by a display 91 for displaying an image, a video random access memory (VRAM) 92 for displaying an image on the display 91, a transmission / reception unit 93 for transmitting / receiving data, and a transmission / reception unit 93. A modulation / demodulation unit 94 that modulates and demodulates data, a storage unit 95 that stores data, an operation unit 96 that is used for image selection, and a CPU 97 that controls each unit and processes data. .

  When transmitting a request or the like to the IP server 1, the mobile phone 4 is configured to add a unique identifier for identifying itself to the request or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the storage unit 95 is divided into an area 98 where the user of the mobile phone 4 can freely read and write, and an area 99 where the user cannot freely read and write. In the area 98, data such as the user's telephone directory is stored and can be freely written, read and erased by the user. On the other hand, the area 99 stores data that the user cannot read and process freely and would otherwise be difficult to distribute. For example, character image data distributed by the service of the present invention is stored in the area 99 from the viewpoint of copyright protection.

  Further, the mobile phone 4 can download the image data stored in the IP server 1 via the transmission / reception unit 93. Then, the downloaded image data can be displayed on the display 91 and used as a standby screen. The downloaded image data can be stored in the area 99 of the storage unit 95, and can be displayed again on the display 91 under certain conditions.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described. In the description of this operation, a member registration operation for using the image distribution service and an operation of downloading an image to the mobile phone 4 will be described separately.

<Member registration>
In order to use this service, membership registration is first performed.

  FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart showing the member registration operation.

  First, the user of the mobile phone 4 operates the operation unit 96 of the mobile phone 4 to select the site of the IP server 1 to be registered as a member, and transmits an HTTP request (Step 100). FIG. 10 shows that “GET http://IP1.menu.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx” is transmitted from the mobile phone 4 as an HTTP request. As an example of the above request, “IP1” indicates the IP server 1, “menu” indicates the menu screen for member registration, and “xxxxxxx” of “uid = xxxxxxx” indicates the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4. Yes.

In the gateway server 2 that has received the request, the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4 is searched from the user ID list table 70, and the unique identifier added to the received request is converted into the searched user ID. It transmits to the IP server 1 (Step 101). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the user corresponding to “xxxxxxx” The ID is “abcdefgh”. So, convert "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "GET
"http://IP1.menu.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh" is transmitted to the IP server 1.

In the IP server 1, the received request “GET http://IP1.menu.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh” includes “uid =
abcdefgh "is extracted, and the member list table 31 is searched to check whether or not the corresponding user ID has already been registered. If the corresponding user ID is not described in the member list table 31, it is used for member registration. The HTML source is transmitted as a response via the gateway server 2 (Step 102).

  The mobile phone 4 receives the response and transmits a member registration request in accordance with the instruction displayed on the screen (Step 103). For example, it is assumed that “http://IP1.request.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx” is transmitted as a request from the mobile phone 4. Here, “request” indicates a request for member registration.

  The gateway server 2 receives the request “http://IP1.request.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx” from the mobile phone 4 and converts the same operation as Step 101 described above, that is, the unique identifier into a user ID. To the IP server 1 (Step 104).

  The IP server 1 receives the member registration request from the mobile phone 4 and newly describes the user ID described in the request, in this example “abcdefgh”, in the member list table 31 to perform the member registration process. (Step 105). Thereafter, a response of member registration completion is transmitted to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2 (Step 106).

Member registration is completed by the above operation.
<Distribution of image data>
Next, the image data distribution operation after member registration will be described.

  FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart showing an image data distribution operation.

  First, the user of the mobile phone 4 operates the operation unit 96 of the mobile phone 4 to select the site of the IP server 1 that distributes images and transmits an HTTP request (Step 200). FIG. 11 shows that “GET http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx” is transmitted from the mobile phone 4 as an HTTP request. As an example of the above request, “IP1” indicates the IP server 1, “channel” indicates the image distribution menu request, and “xxxxxxx” of “uid = xxxxxxx” indicates the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4. ing.

In the gateway server 2 that has received the request, the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4 is searched from the user ID list table 70, and the unique identifier added to the received request is converted into the searched user ID. It transmits to the IP server 1 (Step 201). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the user ID is “abcdefgh”. is there. So, convert "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "GET
“http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh” is transmitted to the IP server 1.

The IP server 1 is the user ID of the received request “GET http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh”
The member list table 31 is searched for whether or not “abcdefgh” is already registered (Step 202). In the member registration operation, since the user of the mobile phone 4 has completed the member registration, the member list table 31 Therefore, an HTML source for image distribution is transmitted as a response to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2.

The mobile phone 4 receives the response, and transmits a request for requesting distribution of the desired image according to the instruction displayed on the screen (Step 203). For example, it is assumed that “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx” is transmitted as a request from the mobile phone 4. Of the requests that are sent,
“chara = new1” is identification information of an image desired to be distributed, and “new1” indicates the latest image, that is, the image data of the current character.

  The gateway server 2 receives the request “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx” from the mobile phone 4 and performs the same operation as Step 201 described above, that is, assigns a unique identifier to the user. The ID is converted and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 204).

  The IP server 1 receives the request from the mobile phone 4, searches the member list table in the same manner as in Step 202, and if it is confirmed that the member is a member, it is based on the identification information of the image data described in the request. The image data stored in the image folder 32 is read out and transmitted to the mobile phone 4 through the gateway server 2 (Step 205). In this operation, since the request is “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=abcdefgh”, the image identification information is “new1”, which is the image data of the current character. The image data is read from today's image folder 321 and transmitted to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2.

  The cellular phone 4 receives the image data, stores the received image data in the VRAM 92, and displays it on the display (Step 206). On the other hand, when the downloaded image data is displayed again, it is stored in the area 99 of the storage unit 95 (Step 207).

  With the above operation, the character image data is downloaded to the mobile phone 4. Even when the downloaded image data is stored, the image data is stored in the storage area controlled by the user, so the stored image data can be sent to another person or newly processed. No acts that infringe on copyrights such as

  A second embodiment will be described.

  There are various types of mobile phones currently on the market, and each has various screen sizes and image data sizes that can be displayed. Therefore, if only one type of image data to be distributed is prepared, it may not be displayed correctly depending on the type of mobile phone, and may not be displayed at all. Therefore, in the second embodiment, image data corresponding to the model of the mobile phone is prepared for the same content, and a function for distributing the image data corresponding to the model is added to the first embodiment. And In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Currently, various services send their model information when sending a request from a mobile phone. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the IP server 1 determines this model information, and selects and distributes image data corresponding to the model. Therefore, as image data to be prepared, as shown in FIG. 12, a folder for each model is prepared in the image folder 32, and image data corresponding to the model is stored in the folder for each model. In FIG. 12, folders from model AAA to model ZZZ are provided, and a folder for each model, for example, a folder for model NNN, a folder for storing image data for the current day, and a folder for back numbers for storing past image data. It is shown that is provided. Similarly, an image distribution menu is prepared for each model.

  The operation in the above configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart showing an operation of image data distribution by model.

First, the user of the mobile phone 4 operates the operation unit 96 of the mobile phone 4 to select the site of the IP server 1 that is distributing images, and transmits an HTTP request (Step 300). FIG. 14 shows that “GET http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx user = NNN” is transmitted from the mobile phone 4 as an HTTP request. As an example of the above request, “IP1” is the IP server 1, “channel” is the image distribution menu request, “xxx =” of “uid = xxxxxxx” is the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4,
“user = NNN” indicates the model of the mobile phone 4.

In the gateway server 2 that has received the request, the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4 is searched from the user ID list table 70, and the unique identifier added to the received request is converted into the searched user ID. It transmits to the IP server 1 (Step 301). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the corresponding user ID is “abcdefgh”. "It is. So, convert "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "GET
http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh user = NNN "is transmitted to the IP server 1.

  In the IP server 1, the member list indicates whether the user ID "abcdefgh" of the received request "GET http://IP1.channel.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh user = NNN" has already been registered. The table 31 is searched and collated (Step 302). In the member registration operation, since the user of the mobile phone 4 has completed the member registration, the user ID is described in the member list table 31.

  Therefore, an HTML source for image distribution for the model NNN is transmitted as a response from the model information “user = NNN” to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2 (Step 303).

The mobile phone 4 receives the response and transmits a request for requesting distribution of the desired image in accordance with the instruction displayed on the screen (Step 304). For example, it is assumed that “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx user = NNN” is transmitted as a request from the mobile phone 4. Of the requests that are sent,
“chara = new1” is identification information of an image desired to be distributed, and “new1” indicates the latest image, that is, the image data of the current character.

  The gateway server 2 receives the request “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx user = NNN” from the mobile phone 4 and operates in the same manner as Step 301 described above, that is, unique. The identifier is converted into a user ID and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 305).

The IP server 1 receives the request from the mobile phone 4 and searches the member list table in the same manner as in Step 302 (Step 306). If it is confirmed that the user is a member, go to the image folder for the model from the model information, and further read out the image data stored in the image folder based on the identification information of the image data described in the request, and the gateway It transmits to the mobile phone 4 via the server 2 (Step 307). In this operation, the request is "http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=abcdefgh
Since user = NNN ", the model information is" NNN ", and the image identification information is" new1 ", which shows the image data of today's character for the model NNN, and for the model NNN Image data is read from today's image folder and transmitted to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2.

  The cellular phone 4 receives the image data, stores the received image data in the VRAM 92, and displays it on the display (Step 308). On the other hand, when the downloaded image data is to be displayed again, it is stored in the area 99 of the storage unit 95 (Step 309).

  With the above operation, the mobile phone 4 is delivered with image data that is optimal for the model, and the inconvenience that it cannot be displayed depending on the model can be avoided.

  In the second embodiment described above, the model information of the mobile phone 4 is transmitted from the mobile phone 4. However, a table in which the model information of the mobile phone 4 and the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4 are described in correspondence is prepared in the gateway server 2 in advance, and if there is a request from the mobile phone 4, it is added to the request The model information of the mobile phone 4 may be retrieved from the table based on the unique identifier, and the retrieved model information may be added to the request and transmitted to the IP server 1.

  Even with such a configuration, the IP server 1 can obtain the necessary model information of the mobile phone 4, and therefore can select image data suitable for the model of the mobile phone.

  A third embodiment will be described.

  Although it has already been described that mobile phones can send and receive data at present, this can be applied to receive so-called e-mail services. On the other hand, the first and second embodiments described above are so-called pull-type services. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the user is notified of the image information updated every day by e-mail, and the user downloads the latest image data by operating a link set in the received e-mail. And a so-called push-type service system.

Further, since the third embodiment uses electronic mail, not only the web interface, that is, the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) communication method, but also the mail interface as in the first and second embodiments described above. That is, SMTP (Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol) is also used. Normally, in the SMTP communication method, the gateway server 2 does not add a user ID to an electronic mail. Therefore, special processing is performed to maintain the relationship with the user ID.

  The configuration will be described below. In the description of the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the third embodiment, the mobile phone 4 responds to a request from the mobile phone 4 based on the HTTP communication method, and activates the e-mail function of the mobile phone 4 using a function such as a CGI script, for example. Means for creating a mail distribution list of members who wish to distribute e-mails sent from the Internet, and means for notifying members of e-mails described in the mail distribution list based on the SMTP communication method; 1 is provided.

  Furthermore, as described above, since transmission / reception of electronic mail is performed by the SMTP communication method, the IP server 1 cannot obtain a user ID for identifying the user from the electronic mail. Therefore, a means for generating a mail identifier that is paired with the acquired user ID is provided, and the generated mail identifier is set as an email to be transmitted and transmitted.

  These means are realized in the MPU 24 of the IP server 1.

  The operation of the third embodiment will be described below. In the description of this operation, a member registration operation for using the mail delivery service and an operation of downloading an image to the mobile phone 4 will be described separately.

<Mail delivery member registration>
In order to use this service, member registration for mail delivery is first performed.

  FIG. 14 is an operation flowchart showing the operation of mail delivery member registration.

  First, the user of the mobile phone 4 operates the operation unit 96 of the mobile phone 4 to select the site of the IP server 1 to be registered as a member, and transmits an HTTP request based on the HTTP communication method (Step 400). ). FIG. 14 shows that “http://IP1.mail.or.jp/uid=xxxxxxx user = NNN” is transmitted from the mobile phone 4 as an HTTP request. As an example of the above request, “IP1” is the IP server 1, “mail” is the mail distribution member registration menu screen, “uid = xxxxxxx” is “xxxxxxx” is the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4, “user = NNN” indicates the model of the mobile phone 4.

Since the gateway server 2 that has received the request is a request based on the HTTP general method, the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4 is searched from the user ID list table 70 and the unique identifier added to the received request. Is converted into the searched user ID and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 401). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the user corresponding to “xxxxxxx” The ID is “abcdefgh”. So, change "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "http://IP1.mailmenu.or.jp/uid=
abcdefgh user = NNN "is transmitted to the IP server 1.

  In the IP server 1, the mail distribution member list table indicates whether or not the user ID “abcdefgh” of the received request “http://IP1.mail.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh user = NNN” is already registered. Search for 150 and match. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the mail delivery member list table 150. The mail delivery member list table 150 includes a user ID of a member of the mail delivery service, a member's email address, and a date of membership registration. Corresponding is described for each content. If the corresponding user ID is not described in the mail delivery member list table 150, a member registration request is received from the mobile phone 4, and an e-mail function of the mobile phone 4, such as a mailer program, is obtained by a CGI script or the like. Send the response to be activated. At this time, an identifier having a pair relationship with the extracted user ID “abcdefgh”, for example, “200000504” is generated. Then, the generated mail identifier “200000504” and the mail address possessed by the IP server 1, for example, “mail@IP1.or.jp” are added to the response and transmitted (Step 403).

  The above processing is performed by the HTTP communication method.

  Note that the processing of Step 405 and Step 407, which will be described later, is performed by the SMTP communication method, and thus description of the gateway server 2 is omitted.

  When the mobile phone 4 receives the response, the e-mail transmission / reception function is activated (Step 404). The destination of the e-mail is the mail address “mail@IP1.or.jp” of the IP server 1, and the sender of the mail is the mail address “user@xxx.or.jp” of the user (mobile phone 4). Set to In addition, the received mail identifier “20000204” is also set in the mail to be sent (Step 405). Then, the mail with these settings is transmitted based on the SMTP communication method.

  The IP server 1 receives an electronic mail from the mobile phone 4 and specifies a user ID from the mail identifier “20000504” set in the electronic mail. Furthermore, the user's email address is specified from the email sender "user@xxx.or.jp". As a result, the user ID “abcdefgh” and the mail address “user@xxx.or.jp” are associated with each other and stored (Step 406).

  Next, a site for confirming membership registration is prepared. This confirmation site is set so that only the mobile phone 4 having the user ID associated with the mail address can access. Then, the user's mail address is set as the e-mail transmission destination address, the mail address of the IP server 1 is set as the transmission source, and the member registration confirmation mail is set with the link destination of the site dedicated to the user ID. (Step 407). In FIG. 14, the user's mail address “user@xxx.or.jp” is set as the e-mail transmission destination address, and the mail address “mail@IP1.or.jp” of the IP server 1 is set as the sender. This indicates that “IP1.confirmation1.or.jp” is set as the link destination of the site dedicated to the user ID.

  If the mobile phone 4 receives an e-mail for registration confirmation and registers e-mail delivery, the link button set in the received e-mail is pressed, and an HTTP request based on the HTTP communication method is transmitted (Step 408).

Since the HTTP request is based on the HTTP communication method, the gateway server 2 that has received the request searches the user ID list table 70 for the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4, and the unique identifier added to the received request. Then, it is converted into the searched user ID and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 409). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the user corresponding to “xxxxxxx” The ID is “abcdefgh”. So, convert "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "http://IP1.confirmation1.or.jp/uid=abcdefgh
User = NNN "is transmitted to the IP server 1.

  The IP server 1 receives the request and transmits the HTML source of the site (Step 410).

  The mobile phone 4 receives the HTML source and displays it on the screen. If the user wants to register, the user presses an “OK” button displayed on the screen and transmits a member registration request (Step 411). FIG. 14 shows that “http://IP1.confirmation1.or.jp/ok/uid=xxxxxxxx user = NNN” is transmitted as an HTTP request.

Since the HTTP request is based on the HTTP communication method, the gateway server 2 that has received the request searches the user ID list table 70 for the user ID corresponding to the unique identifier of the mobile phone 4, and the unique identifier added to the received request. Then, it is converted into the searched user ID and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 412). In this operation, since the unique identifier added to the request from the mobile phone 4 is “xxxxxxx”, when the user ID corresponding to this unique identifier is searched from the user ID list table 70, the user corresponding to “xxxxxxx” The ID is “abcdefgh”. So, convert "xxxxxxx" to "abcdefgh" and "http://IP1.confirmation1.or.jp/ok/uid=abcdefgh
User = NNN "is transmitted to the IP server 1.

  In response to the request, the IP server 1 registers the stored user ID and mail address as a pair in the mail delivery member list 150 (Step 413).

  Member registration is completed by the above operation.

In this description, in order to carefully check the user's intention to register for mail delivery, the user is linked to a registration confirmation site, and after confirming the intention of registration again, is registered in the mail delivery member list 150. did. However, the registration operation may be terminated when an e-mail from the user is received without confirming the intention of registration again. That is, at Step 406, when the user ID and the mail address are linked in a pair relationship, the mail address and the user ID may be registered in the mail delivery member list 150 as a pair. In this case, the processing after Step 407 becomes unnecessary.
<Distribution of image data>
Next, the image data distribution operation after member registration will be described.

  FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart showing an image data distribution operation.

  First, when an image to be distributed is added, the IP server 1 creates a mail in which a link destination is set so as to read out a folder storing the latest added image data and an image (Step 500). Then, the created mail is broadcasted to the mail addresses described in the mail delivery member list table 150 (Step 501).

In the cellular phone 4, when a mail is received and a link button set in the electronic mail is pressed, a request is automatically transmitted (Step 502). For example, as a request from the mobile phone 4, "http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx
Suppose that user = NNN "is sent. Of the requests sent," chara = new1 "is the identification information of the latest image added,
“user = NNN” indicates the model of the mobile phone 4. The subsequent operations follow the web interface.

In the gateway server 2, a request from the mobile phone 4 "http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=xxxxxxx
User = NNN "is received, the unique identifier is converted into a user ID and transmitted to the IP server 1 (Step 503).

In the IP server 1, the received request "http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=abcdefgh
Whether or not the user ID “abcdefgh” is registered from “user = NNN” is checked by searching the member list table 31 (Step 504) In the member registration operation, the user of the mobile phone 4 has completed the member registration. Therefore, the user ID is described in the member list table 31. Therefore, the model information is moved to the model image folder, and further stored in the image folder based on the identification information of the image data described in the request. The image data is read and transmitted to the mobile phone 4 through the gateway server 2 (Step 505) In this operation, the request is “http://IP1.channel.or.jp/chara=new1/uid=
Since abcdefgh user = NNN ", the model information is" user = NNN ", and the image identification information is" new1 ", which shows the image data of the current character for the model NNN. Image data is read from the NNN image folder for today and transmitted to the mobile phone 4 via the gateway server 2.

  The cellular phone 4 receives the image data, stores the received image data in the VRAM 92, and displays it on the display (Step 506).

  On the other hand, when the downloaded image data is to be displayed again, it is stored in the area 99 of the storage unit 95 (Step 507).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the information provider server.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the member list table.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an image folder.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of how the image provided by the present invention is used.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the gateway server.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the user ID list table.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a mobile phone.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the storage unit.

FIG. 10 is an operational flowchart of member registration in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart of image download in the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an image folder in the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart for downloading an image in the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an operational flowchart of member registration in the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a mail delivery member list table.

FIG. 16 is an operation flowchart of image download in the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Information provider server (IP server)
2 Gateway server 3 Base station 4 Mobile phone 5 Fixed communication network 6 Communication network (Internet)
7 Mobile communication network

Claims (3)

An image delivery system comprising a server and a mobile phone connectable to the server via a network, and delivering an image from the server to the mobile phone,
The mobile phone
The email address used for sending and receiving emails is set,
An operation unit used for selection by the user;
E-mail transmission / reception means capable of transmitting / receiving e-mails according to instructions from the server;
Means for transmitting a registration request for image distribution,
The server
The server mail address used for sending and receiving e-mail is set,
An email delivery member list in which email addresses of mobile phones registered for image delivery are described, and a storage unit storing image data to be delivered;
When receiving a registration request for image distribution from the mobile phone, an instruction to send to the server an e-mail in which the server mail address is set as a destination and the mobile phone mail address is set as a sender Means for transmitting to the mobile phone ;
Means for identifying the mail address of the mobile phone from the sender of the email sent from the mobile phone in response to the instruction and registering it in the mail delivery member list;
Means for creating an e-mail in which a link destination of the added image data is set when the image data is added to the storage unit;
Means for broadcasting the created e-mail to an e-mail address registered in the e-mail delivery member list;
In response to the selection by the operation unit, the mobile phone transmits an access request to the link destination set in the broadcasted e-mail,
The server distributes the added image data based on an access request from the mobile phone and transmits the read image data to the mobile phone. In a network system comprising a server and a mobile phone that can be connected to the server via a network, an image delivery method for delivering an image from the server to the mobile phone,
In response to a user selection, the mobile phone sends a registration request for image delivery;
In response to a registration request for image distribution from the mobile phone , the server sends an e-mail with the server mail address set as the destination and the mobile phone mail address set as the sender to the server. Sending instructions to the mobile phone;
The server specifies a mail address of the mobile phone from a sender of an email transmitted from the mobile phone in response to the instruction, and creates a mail delivery member list based on the mail address of the specified mobile phone. Creating and storing in the storage unit;
When image data is added to the storage unit, the server creates an e-mail in which the link destination of the added image data is set, and the created e-mail is described in the mail delivery member list. Sending a broadcast to a certain email address;
In response to a selection by the user, the mobile phone sends a request to access a link set in the broadcast email;
And a step of reading out the added image data and transmitting the added image data to the mobile phone based on an access request from the mobile phone. A mail address used for transmission / reception of an electronic mail is set, an operation unit used for selection by a user, an electronic mail transmission / reception unit capable of transmitting / receiving an electronic mail, a unit for transmitting a registration request for image distribution, and the operation unit An image distribution server for distributing an image via a network to a mobile phone having a means for transmitting an access request to a link destination set in an e-mail according to the selection by
The server mail address used for sending and receiving e-mail is set,
An email delivery member list in which email addresses of mobile phones registered for image delivery are described, and a storage unit storing image data to be delivered;
When receiving a registration request for image distribution from the mobile phone, an instruction to send to the server an e-mail in which the server mail address is set as a destination and the mobile phone mail address is set as a sender Means for transmitting to the mobile phone ;
Means for identifying the mail address of the mobile phone from the sender of the email sent from the mobile phone in response to the instruction and registering it in the mail delivery member list;
Means for creating an e-mail in which a link destination of the added image data is set when the image data is added to the storage unit;
Means for broadcasting the created e-mail to an e-mail address registered in the e-mail delivery member list;
The server reads the added image data based on a request for access to a link destination of the broadcast email transmitted from the mobile phone, and transmits the read image data to the mobile phone. Image distribution server.

Images