WO2002045408A1

WO2002045408A1 - Method of providing content data

Info

Publication number: WO2002045408A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/008454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Toru Saito
Original assignee: Flex-Firm Inc.
Priority date: 2000-11-29
Filing date: 2000-11-29
Publication date: 2002-06-06
Also published as: JPWO2002045408A1; AU2001215552A1

Abstract

A method for providing content data for Internet terminals (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) connectable with the Internet (4) using a server computer (6) connected to the Internet (4) comprises the steps of converting the content data distributed to the Internet terminals (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) into a format corresponding to the access method of the Internet terminals, and distributing the converted content data to the Internet terminals.

Description

Description Content provision method Technical field

The present invention relates to a content providing method for distributing content data to an Internet terminal connectable to the Internet. Background art

In recent years, the spread of the Internet, which is an open network of computers, has been remarkable, and the usage status of personal computers has been increasing, and the use of personal computers has been shifting from business use to personal use. The number of people using the Internet is also rapidly increasing.

On the other hand, with the spread of mobile phones in recent years, Internet connection services that enable these mobile phones to connect to the Internet have been provided, and these mobile phones have been connected to the Internet. Even so, it becomes possible to obtain desired information, various contents such as music and images, and the number of users is increasing rapidly. -The population of mobile users who can access the Internet is expected to increase due to its convenience and quick access to information.

In this way, the Internet connection, which was owned by some people until a few years ago, has spread to homes and the spread of mobile phones with Internet connection function as described above. At the same time, it has become an indispensable information means (tool) for many people. Therefore, it is indispensable to set up a Web server for companies to provide or transmit information and other content as public relations, publicity and EC (Electric commerce) sites when considering corporate strategies. ing.

However, as described above, it is easy to set up a Web server for ordinary personal computers etc. as the Internet terminal, but it is easy to install these Web servers as well as the ordinary computer. Web server for mobile phones with security This means that each carrier (mobile phone operator) that provides mobile phone services has a different access method to the Internet than an access method in browsing software that runs on ordinary personal computers. Therefore, the content provider must create and register the content to be provided in advance in a file format corresponding to each of these access methods, as shown in Figure 15. Therefore, when updating the content data, it is necessary to perform the update work every time each content of each access method is performed, and the update work of the content is extremely complicated. As a result, the cost of maintenance such as updating has increased, and there has been a problem that the update period is long and useful content cannot be promptly provided.

In addition, when providing content data corresponding to the individual access methods, an individual address (URL) is required for each of the access methods. If you have both a mobile phone and a mobile phone with an Internet connection function, to obtain the same content, use an address (URL) that matches the type of terminal you are using. It is necessary to access, and the user needs to manage these addresses (URLs) for each terminal type, and it is difficult for the users to understand, and the management of these addresses (URLs) becomes complicated. There was a problem.

Therefore, as a method of solving these problems, it has been proposed that the accessing in-net terminal appropriately converts the content data to the corresponding access method and provides the content. However, in such a case, since various Internet terminals can access the same Web server, the access load to the same Web server increases, and with this, the change of the content is changed. Since the conversion processing load accompanying the conversion becomes extremely large, it is impossible to cope with such many accesses, and the advantage that various Internet terminals can access the same Web server is an advantage. There was a problem that it was reduced. Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. By reducing the load of the conversion processing accompanying the conversion of the content data, various Internet terminal devices can be connected to the same Web server. Reduced the benefits that can be accessed It is an object of the present invention to provide a content providing method capable of minimizing the content as much as possible. Disclosure of the invention

In order to solve the above-described problem, a content providing method according to the present invention provides an Internet-connected terminal capable of connecting to an Internet network by providing a server computer connected to the Internet network. A content providing method for providing content via the Internet terminal, wherein the content data to be delivered to the Internet terminal includes an image data cited in the evening; The content data is converted into a description format corresponding to the access method described above, and the image data is converted into an image file format that can be displayed on the Internet terminal. Alternatively, image data is distributed to the Internet terminal.

According to this feature, since the conversion of the content and the conversion of the image data can be separately performed, when only the conversion of the content is performed without the quoted image, only the conversion of the content is performed. However, when distributing image data that is cited in the content database, processing can be selected according to the situation so that image data is converted. The capacity can be reduced, and the advantage that various Internet terminals can access the same Web server can be minimized. The content providing method according to the present invention further comprises: type information capable of specifying or estimating either the type of the Internet terminal or the type of browsing software installed on the Internet terminal; and the description format corresponding to the type. And a terminal information database in which an image file format and at least are registered in association with each other, and the type information is extracted from a request message transmitted from the Internet terminal. It is preferable to specify the corresponding description format and image file format with reference to the terminal information database.

In this way, it is possible to eliminate the need for the access user to sequentially input the type of the Internet terminal used by the user or the type of browsing software installed in the Internet terminal. Can be. In the content providing method according to the present invention, it is preferable that, when the type information cannot be extracted in the extraction step, an input screen for the type information is distributed to the internet terminal and accepted.

In this way, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of inconvenience caused by the inability to identify the type of the Internet terminal used by the access user or the type of the viewing software installed on the Internet terminal.

In the content providing method of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the image data in the file format to be converted already exists, and in the determination, it is determined that the image data in the file format to be converted already exists. In this case, it is preferable to omit the image file conversion.

By doing so, the processing load associated with unnecessary image file conversion can be eliminated, and the processing load associated with conversion can be further reduced.

In the content providing method according to the present invention, in the terminal information database, display screen size information of the Internet terminal is registered in association with the type information, and the size of the image file to be quoted and the display When the size of the image file is larger than the display screen size, the size of the image file is reduced to an image size smaller than the display screen size and distributed. Is preferred.

In this way, it is possible to avoid a situation where the entire image is not displayed on the display screen of the Internet terminal. · Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server combination constituting the content providing system in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing processing contents in a “cross-subrate (X-Server V 1 et) engine” which is a file conversion program used in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an overall flow chart showing processing contents in a “cross-sublet (X-Server V 1 et) engine” which is a file conversion program used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method for acquiring terminal information from a request message sent from an access user's Internet terminal in the terminal type identification processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents in the terminal type identification processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a terminal information database used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of the conversion processing of the image data of the quoted image in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the content conversion process in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen divided into pages in the conversion process of the content in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing content of session management in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing contents of script processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing contents in pictogram / code conversion processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the contents of the updating process of the terminal information table and the pictogram table in the embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

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

(Example)

FIG. 1 shows a file conversion created to realize the content providing method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the content providing system of the present embodiment constructed by a content providing server equipped with a cross-subrate (X-Server V1 et) engine, which is a conversion program. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the content providing server used in the embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a process of a “cross-subrate (X-Server V 1 et) engine” which is a file conversion program used in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an overview diagram, and FIG. 4 is an overall flow chart showing processing contents in a “cross sub-rate (X-Server V 1 et) engine” which is a file conversion program used in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of acquiring terminal information from a request message sent from an access user's Internet terminal in terminal type identification processing. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents in the terminal type identification processing. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal information database used in the present embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a processing for converting the image data of the quoted image. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of the content data conversion process, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen divided into pages in the content data conversion process. Fig. 11 is a flow chart showing the processing contents of the section management, Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing contents of the script processing, and Fig. 13 is the processing in the pictograph and code conversion processing. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the contents of the terminal information template and the processing of updating the pictogram table.

First, the content providing system of the present embodiment is configured as shown in FIG. 1, and a delivery center 5 that provides a content providing service includes a server computer, which is a computer that performs delivery of each content. Evening 6 is installed, and the sub-computer view 6 is a computer terminal 1a connected to Carrier A, which provides ordinary telephone service via Internet network 4, and a mobile phone. Carrier B, a mobile phone service company, is connected to Carrier B, Carrier C, and Carrier D's central control stations 3b, 3c, and 3d, which provide telephone services. The mobile terminals 1b, lc, and Id, which are the wireless terminals subscribed to those of Carrier C and Carrier D, are the base stations 2b of each carrier company. 2c, 2d and the central control stations 3b, 3c, 3d and a gateway server (not shown) can be connected to the Internet network 4. The server computer 6 of the distribution center 5 can be accessed via the Internet network 4.

As the mobile phone used in the present embodiment, a normal mobile phone having an Internet connection function corresponding to a predetermined access system in each carrier company can be used. In this embodiment, the wireless terminal is a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a simple mobile phone (Personal Handy Phone; PHS). Terminal.

Further, in the present practical example, the server computer 6 is connected to the central control stations 3b, 3c, and 3d of each carrier company via the Internet network 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is optional to connect these central control stations 3b, 3c, 3d and the server computer 6 with a dedicated line or the like.

Also, a content provider that transmits information, etc., is provided with a computer terminal 7 that is connected to a server computer 6 installed at the distribution center 5 via the Internet network 4 so as to be able to perform data communication. The computer terminal 7 is used to access the server computer 6 so that the server computer 6 can update the content data provided to the access user.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the server computer 6 registers information of browsers which are terminal information viewing software of each carrier and a mobile phone terminal used in the carrier. A terminal information table and a pictogram table in which conversion information such as pictograms used in each terminal and browser are registered are registered.The terminal information table and the pictogram table are new models. And new versions are released successively, and it is necessary to add and update information in order to respond to these. Therefore, the updating computer terminal that updates these terminal information tables and pictogram tables 8 Is installed in the management center, and the server computer 6 connects the Internet network 4 to the updating computer terminal 8. By periodically accessed, so as to update the terminal information tapes Le and pictogram table are registered.

The configuration of the server-computer 6 used in this embodiment is shown in FIG. As described above, the operation of the server computer 6 is controlled by the data bus 20 for transmitting and receiving data overnight within the server computer 6, particularly the computer terminal 1 a that has accessed and the mobile phone terminals lb and lc of the carriers of each company. The control of the status of data exchange (session) with the Id is performed based on a predetermined processing program, and the content is transmitted to the computer terminal 1a or the mobile phone terminal 1b, lc, 1d of the distribution destination. A central processing unit (CPU) 21 that performs the process of converting to a file format that conforms to the carrier method of each company based on the file conversion program “Cross Sublet (XSer V1et) engine”. RAM for temporary storage of processing data, etc., in real-time clocks, and a real-time clock (RTC) 26 capable of outputting time information such as access time A central processing unit, comprising: a communication interface 22 for enabling data communication with the internet network 4; a display device 23 such as a display; a magnetic disk or a magneto-optical disk; (CPU) A control program in which various control contents executed by the CPU 21 are described, a cross conversion (XSer V 1 et) engine, which is the file conversion program, and a content in which information provided by a content provider is registered. An overnight database (DB) and a terminal information table that stores information on the carriers and the mobile phone terminals used by the carriers and information on browsers that are browsing software. Performs relatively high-speed processing by connecting a storage device 25 storing pictogram tables, etc., in which conversion information such as pictograms used in is registered. The server is provided with a single (common) terminal that can be used when accessing from the convenience terminal la or the mobile phone terminals lb, lc, Id of each carrier. ) Server address (URL).

Next, an overview of the process in which the server computer 6 of this embodiment distributes content to the computer terminal 1a of each company carrier and the mobile phone terminals 1b, lc, 1d will be described with reference to FIG. Then, for example, when the server computer 6 is accessed from the mobile phone terminal 1 b of the carrier B, the server computer 6 firstly accesses the user—agent included in the header of the request message from the mobile phone terminal 1 b. From the information, the type of the carrier of the mobile phone terminal 1b and the type of the terminal Information that can identify the type is extracted, and information such as the type of access method (markup language) of the carrier corresponding to this information and the display performance of the terminal is obtained from the terminal information table, and the request message is obtained. Obtain the required content from the content overnight pace.

The content read out from this content overnight is converted into an HDML format file, which is the access method of the carrier company B of the mobile phone terminal 1b that has accessed, and the file conversion Based on the information on the display performance and the like, which is the terminal information of the mobile phone terminal 1b obtained in this way, the layout of the display device (LCD panel) of the mobile phone terminal lb is adjusted to match the number of display lines and the number of digits. The converted HDML file is appropriately modified, for example, divided into pages, and is transmitted and distributed to the mobile phone terminal 1b. As shown in FIG. If the carrier A is a convenience store terminal 1a, the terminal that accessed is the HTML file format, and the terminal that accessed is Carrier C or Carrier D. In this case, all the access terminals are converted from the MML and C-HTML file formats, and the content is transmitted and distributed. Since the contents can be obtained overnight, the content provider registers and updates the provided information in the server computer 6 so that the same server address (URL) can be used for mobile phones and computers of different carriers. Content can be distributed to all terminals.

Hereinafter, the content providing process in the server computer 6 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, a request message from the computer terminal 1a or the mobile phone / mobile phone terminal lb, lc, 1d (hereinafter collectively referred to as an Internet terminal) used by the access user is sent to the server computer 6 at the server computer 6. The terminal ID, session ID, and parameters received by the running servlet engine and capable of specifying the type of the carrier terminal included in the request message are sent to the cross-subrate core program.

As a method of obtaining this terminal type ID, as shown in Fig. 5, the request message The HTTP header sent at the top of the page contains user agent information, and the user agent information includes information specific to each carrier as shown in FIG. In addition to the description, the model and browser version information of the terminal transmitting the request message are also described. Whether they match can be specified by collating with the terminal information table shown in FIG.

The specific processing contents of the terminal type identification processing for specifying the terminal type based on the extracted description data in the user agent information are as shown in FIG. 6, and the description data of the user agent information is as follows. Based on the acquisition of the evening, words indicating the carrier name and the type (model) of the terminal included in the description data are detected.

Next, the terminal information table is searched using the detected carrier name or terminal model name as a search key. At this time, if there is no applicable registration, the terminal information table is searched again with the model identification information as “default”. If this still does not apply, the carrier suggestion information is set to “default”. The registration information corresponding to the carrier suggestion information and the model identification information determined in this way, such as the markup language format, the maximum number of bytes of the content, the number of lines on the display screen, and the number of characters, are acquired from the terminal information tape. Apply to subsequent content conversion processing.

In the case where no word indicating the carrier name and the type (model) of the terminal has been extracted or there is no corresponding word in the search of the terminal information table, the carriers and terminals registered in the terminal information table will be described. The information of each model is returned to the Internet terminal that sent the request message on a data entry screen configured to allow the access user to select and input the information. When a model is selected, the terminal information table is searched for and acquires information on the selected carrier company and the terminal model.

As described above, in the case where the carrier company and the terminal model cannot be specified from the request message, the data input screen is returned to the access user's Internet terminal so that the information on the carrier company and the terminal model can be received. Since the company and terminal model are unspecified, subsequent content conversion It is preferable because it is possible to avoid a disadvantage that an inappropriate conversion process is performed in theory or the like, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The configuration of the terminal information table used in this embodiment used in the terminal type identification processing and the like is as shown in FIG. 7, and the “name” of the “browser” corresponding to each carrier company, “Name” of “Terminal” corresponding to the model, information on receivable content (“Name” of “Markup Language”, character code of content, maximum number of content bytes), information on terminal screen size (“Number of horizontal characters” and “Number of vertical lines” in “Screen”), information on displayable images (“Format”, “Number of horizontal pixels”, “Number of vertical pixels”, “Aspect ratio”, “ Information such as “animation availability”, “color mode”, and “color gradation number” are registered. These terminal information tables are regularly updated to the latest ones by the update process described later. It has been.

Next, in the cross-sublet core program, as shown in FIG. 4, the acquisition processing of session information is performed, and the specific processing contents of the session information are as shown in FIG. That is, if the request message does not include the session ID, the session is recognized as a new session and a session ID is created. If the section is shorter than the reference lifetime, it is stored and managed in the GO set, otherwise stored in the other set (other).

Here, the GO set is a set that manages all sessions that have been accessed between a certain time and the reference life time (however, those whose life is less than the reference life time). If the current time has passed “the time obtained by adding the reference life time from a certain time”, the GO set is managed by changing its name to the G1 set. Then, the GO set is newly defined as "from the current time to the time obtained by adding the reference life time". When the G O set is changed to the G 1 set, if the G 1 set already exists, all its contents are discarded. This enables efficient deletion of invalid sessions.

If the request message contains a session ID, the expiration date of the session ID is checked. If not, the session is discarded and a new session ID is obtained as described above. If it is valid, the last access time of the session is updated and stored in the GO set or other set. The session is identified by defining the session ID as a key in this way. After that, processing such as acquisition and conversion of contents is performed, and before responding to the user with the processing result, if HTTP Cookie is available, the session ID is set to Cookie and the user is responded with the result of the content processing. If the cookie cannot be used, it responds to the user by adding session ID information to all linked URLs included in the content. Note that even if the HTTP Cookie is usable, the HTTP Cookie may not be used.

Next, the pictograms and character codes included in the request message are converted into the conversion contents registered in the pictogram table corresponding to the carrier company and terminal model information obtained in the terminal type identification processing. Based on the applicable emoji or character

-Convert the code to the specified one.

Based on the request message converted to the predetermined character code, the requested content data is specified, and the corresponding content data is transmitted to the content server.

-Get the document object model (D0M) from the source (DB).

After creation of these document object models (DOM), script execution processing is performed. The processing contents of the script execution processing in this embodiment are as shown in FIG. 12, and the contents obtained from the content (DB) based on the request message are scripted (processed on the user terminal). If a script is included, execute the script on the server, set the values of variables, etc., and determine the contents of the screen to be displayed.

The content conversion and pictogram conversion processes are performed on the determined content, and the user responds. At this time, standard style sheets are provided for content conversion. Note that the script is used to change the value of a variable or the like in accordance with the operation of the user, and to change the display screen only by the processing on the user terminal. Is transmitted to the server as a request message, and the server performs this processing. This will not only enable the provision of content to Internet devices that do not have the ability to process the form of content contained in the content, This is preferable because the processing load on the Internet terminal associated with the processing of these scripts can be significantly reduced, but the present invention is not limited to this.

After these script processes, a conversion process for content is performed. The content of the conversion process of content in this embodiment is as shown in Fig. 9.If the content requested by the request message has already been converted and exists in the cache, it is designated from the cache. Get the specified page of the content and respond to the user. If the content requested by the request message does not exist in the cache, the content is obtained by executing an application program of a server side such as a servlet, and the obtained content is converted based on the terminal information. .

At this time, if the converted size exceeds the content size that can be received by the terminal (specified in the terminal information template), the acquired content is viewed from the end and the part that can be separated ( Then, the content is converted and the pictographs are converted again for the first divided part. This is repeated until the size of the content becomes receivable by the terminal, and one or both links of “previous page” or “next page” are added to each page, and each of the divided pages is The page responds to the user. Then, for the unprocessed portion of the first content, the content conversion, pictograph conversion, and size check are repeated in the same manner, all the content is converted, all pages are created, and registered in the cache. After this, the user responds with the specified page (or the first page if no page is specified). The display situation by page division in the file conversion process will be described with reference to FIG. 10. If the content size exceeds the size (number of characters) that can be received (displayable) by the terminal, the content is not divided into pages. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, part of the content is not displayed or the entire content is not displayed.

On the other hand, when the page division is performed as described above, as shown in FIG. 10, by sequentially moving the divided pages, it is possible to display all the contents without omission, When moving these divided pages, It is preferable to add one or both links of “previous page” and “next page” as in the embodiment, since it is possible to easily perform the movement between pages. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Not something.

If a quoted image exists during the content of the converted file, the image data conversion process is performed on the quoted image. If the quoted image does not exist, the image data conversion process is skipped. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, it is determined whether an image is requested in the request message, and if so, the specified image name (for example, a.gif ) And the identified terminal name (for example, {502}) as a key to search the cache. If the corresponding data exists in the cache, calculate the digest value of the specified image a.gif and compare it with the saved digest value.

If the two match, it is determined that the specified image has not been changed, and the converted image data stored in the cache is returned to the user as a response. Except in this case, if the size of the specified image a.gif is larger than the specifications of the user terminal, the compression process is performed, if the number of colors is large, the color reduction process is performed, and if the format is different, the format is changed. Performs conversion and responds to the user with the processing result. At this time, if the digest value for a.gif already exists in the cache and it is different from the value calculated this time, all cache contents for a.gif are discarded. The digest value of a.gif and the converted image are stored in the cache using the image name a.gif and the terminal name N502i as keys.

As described above, when converting image data, it is determined whether or not the image data corresponding to the converted image data already exists in the cache. If so, the conversion process is not performed. Although it is preferable because the processing load involved in the processing can be reduced, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image data may be uniquely converted to update the cache data.

In addition to the conversion of the image data, conversion processing of pictograms and character codes in the converted content data is performed. These processing contents are described as specific processing contents based on the flow of FIG. 13 as a series of processing together with the conversion of pictograms and character codes in the request message. If the specified URL is the execution of a server side program such as a servlet, the emoticon code included in the request message is converted to a unified emoticon code by searching for “emoji table”. Also converts the request message to the character code assumed by the specified server side program. After that, execute the server side program and get the content as a result.

If the URL specified in the request message is not the execution of the server-side program, the content may be obtained from the specified URL, for example, the computer terminal 7 of the content provider.

The character code of the content obtained in this way is converted into the character code of the output terminal, and all the pictogram codes included in the content are searched for “pictogram tables” to obtain the pictogram code for the output terminal. Convert and respond to user. The updating of the “pictogram table” and the “information terminal table” is performed by periodically performing the updating process shown in FIG. 14 and updating by accessing the computer terminal 8 of the management center. It will be updated on the latest day. Specifically, it accesses the convenience terminal 8 of the management center periodically to issue an inquiry, and obtains the updated time of the “terminal information database” registered in the computer terminal 8. If this time is newer than the time managed by the server convenience 6, a request message is issued to the computer terminal 8, and the “terminal information table” is downloaded from the computer terminal 8. Update the information registered in Server Convenience Store 6.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the content corresponding to the request message from the Internet terminal of the access user is provided from the same server computer 6 to the Internet terminal of each carrier company. When distributing content, the work of converting the content into a file compatible with the access method of each carrier company and the effort to individually manage these converted files in each format are greatly reduced. It is possible to distribute these contents simply and quickly to more users at low cost.

In addition, a single server address (URL) can be used for access from each wireless terminal, ie, a mobile phone terminal, which simplifies user management. Or, these server addresses (URLs) can be easily understood. As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in the above embodiments with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and changes and additions may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. However, it goes without saying that it is included in the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the number of carrier companies is four has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and four or more carrier companies may be used. Both the telephone company and the PHS service company may be able to connect.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the HDML format, the C-HTML format, and the MML format are exemplified as the format of the conversion file converted from the content file registered based on the content file. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The file format is not limited, and the next generation file format, XHTML format, may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, the conversion from the content registered in the content database to the file format is performed directly, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the conversion to an intermediate file, the file may be once converted to an XML format file and then converted to a file in each desired format. Explanation of reference numerals

1a computer terminal

1 b, 1 c, I d

2b, 2c, 2d

3b, 3c, 3d Central control station

4 Internet network

5 Delivery Sen Yuichi

6 Server convenience evening

7 Computer terminal (content provider)

8 Computer terminal (Yuichi Sensen)

20 Data bus 2 1 Central processing unit (CPU)

22 Communication In Yuichi Face

23 Display device

24 RAM

25 storage

26 Real-time clock (RTC)

Ten

Fifteen

20

twenty five

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A content providing method for providing content data to an internet network terminal connectable to the internet network using a server computer connected to the internet network, Conversion of content data to a description format corresponding to the access method of the Internet terminal when there is an image data cited during the content to be delivered to the Internet terminal And individually converting the image data into an image file format that can be displayed on the Internet terminal, and converting the converted content and image data or the image data into the Internet terminal. A content providing method characterized by distributing to a content.

2. At least the type information that can specify or estimate either the type of the Internet terminal or the type of browsing software installed in the Internet terminal and the description format and image file format corresponding to the type correspond to It has a terminal information database registered and attached, extracts the type information from a request message transmitted from the Internet terminal, and describes a description format corresponding to the extracted type information. 2. The content providing method according to claim 1, wherein an image file format is specified with reference to the terminal information database.

3. The content providing method according to claim 2, wherein, when the type information cannot be extracted in the extracting step, an input screen for the type information is distributed to the Internet terminal and accepted.

4. It is determined whether or not the image data of the file format to be converted already exists, and if it is determined that the image data of the file format to be converted already exists in the determination, The content providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image file conversion is omitted.

5. In the terminal information database, display screen size information of the Internet terminal is registered in association with the type information, and the size of the quoted image file is compared with the display screen size. When the size of the image file is larger than the display screen size in the comparison, the size of the image file is The content providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the content is distributed to an image size smaller than the display screen size.