JP2002358325A - Information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system capable of adapting to a variety of needs on both sides of a contents user and a contents provider when delivering information such as a cinema. SOLUTION: In the system, user terminals 30 demand for contents and also for matters related to the contents, a contents delivery server 20 causes a contents providing terminal 10 to deliver contents corresponding to a contents demand from a user terminal. At the same time, the server 20 performs processings in response to a demand on items related to the contents, and lets the user pay the cost accompanying the contents demand to the contents provider, at the time of delivering the contents to the user terminal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing system, and more particularly to an information providing system capable of responding to various needs of a content user and various needs of a content provider when distributing information such as a movie. Regarding the provision system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The current society is the Internet, WWW
With the spread of information, a large amount of information has been disclosed, and it has become a useful information society for active users who search for information and actively extract necessary information. But,
Many users who are not so active in extracting information have a desire to continuously receive information from a large amount of information that changes from moment to moment, in accordance with the limited information receiving ability of human beings.

[0003] By the way, as a conventional information providing system in which an information provider mainly provides information contents,
There is a "push type" information providing system. Here, an information providing system in which a user accesses a WWW server on the Internet with a WWW browser and retrieves information is referred to as a "pull type", and conversely, an information providing system which sends information from a server is referred to as a "push type". To tell. In the push-type information providing system, all of the headline (headline) and text of the information content are distributed to the user terminals, and the distributed data is stored in each user terminal. Also, a method is adopted in which a dedicated client program is installed in advance in a client system (user terminal side computer system), and information contents are distributed to users via the dedicated client program.

[0004]

However, in the conventional push-type information providing system, the content distributor usually organizes the program unilaterally and the customer accesses the program. Cannot answer detailed needs. Currently, movies that have just been released, hit music, and topical literature can be received relatively easily from the distributor's server and downloaded and enjoyed, but they were released several years ago. It is difficult to search for content such as movies, music that did not hit, and special documents. Also, requests with many requests can be distributed to a plurality of customers at the same time, so that there is no need for labor, while those with few requests are not distributed because of the trouble of handling.

Therefore, the conventional push type information providing system has the following problems. (1) Regarding information contents, a large amount of headlines and texts are all transferred regardless of whether or not the user really reads them. As a result, it puts a heavy load on the network,
In addition, the hard disk area of the user terminal is wasted with unnecessary information. (2) Many formats of information contents to be provided are unique, and information providers create and manage two types of information contents, so-called WWW information contents and information contents for push-type information provision services. There is a need.

Further, the conventional information providing system has the following problems. (3) The provided information content is limited to digital information, and analog information is not provided. (4) When the information content is provided to the user terminal,
Copyright fees cannot be collected completely. (5) When a user searches for desired content, keywords are limited, and it is troublesome to search for desired content.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information providing system capable of responding to various needs of a content user and various needs of a content provider when distributing information such as a movie.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is provided on a user side, and a user terminal on which a user can make a content request; A content distribution server capable of receiving a content request from the user terminal; and a content provider provided to provide information according to the content request via the content distribution server. Possible content providing terminal, comprising a network connecting the user terminal, a content distribution service and a content providing terminal, the user terminal,
It is possible to make a request for the content and to make a request for matters related to the content, and the content distribution server distributes a content in response to a content request from the user terminal from a content providing terminal, and Perform processing according to related matter requirements,
When distributing the content to a user terminal, the content is paid to the content provider according to the content request.

In this way, since the information providing server is of a "pull type", a large load is imposed on the network, and the hard disk area of the user terminal is not wasted with unnecessary information, and the user's information is not lost. Content can be distributed in response to content requests and requests for various content-related items, and the user is allowed to pay for the content request. .

According to a second aspect, in the information providing system according to the first aspect, the content distribution server includes:
The content from the content providing terminal is processed and distributed. In this way, for example, when there is a request from the user terminal to correct the image quality,
Modifications such as increasing the number of pixels are added, and the image is processed after making the image more delicate, and then distributed. This has the effect of suppressing deterioration in image quality and responding to various needs of customers.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first or second aspect, the content providing terminal stores the content in a disk, tape, or the like.
It is characterized in that it is recorded and stored on at least one of various card, stick, and cubic optical, magnetic, semiconductor, and magneto-optical information recording media.

In this way, for example, when the content is stored in a disk-shaped recording medium, there is an effect that the retrieval becomes easy. Further, when the content is stored on a tape-shaped recording medium, there is an effect that the amount of information can be increased.
Further, when the content is stored in a card-shaped or stick-shaped recording medium, it can be carried around, and there is an effect that information can be transmitted from outside. Further, when the content is stored in a cubic recording medium, information recorded in three dimensions can be read, and a search can be made from a medium having a larger amount of information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to any one of the first to third aspects, when a plurality of user terminals request the same content at different times, It is characterized in that it can be distributed to a plurality of users. In this way, when the same content is requested from the user terminal at a different time, the content is not limited to the time, so that the content can be enjoyed at a desired time.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the fourth aspect, the information providing system provides a content providing method on an information recording medium which is capable of random access and has a function of temporarily storing information. After storing the content from the terminal, the content is distributed to the user terminal. With this configuration, for example, even when a content request is made at a different time from the user terminal, the information is temporarily stored, so that the information can be provided from the storage location. Further, since the information is temporarily stored, there is an effect that information can be processed.

According to a sixth aspect, in the information providing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, additional information is added when a content request is made via the user terminal. A request is made, and a desired request can be determined from content candidates indicated by the content distribution server. In this way, for example, a request can be made with additional information,
The time required for searching the request target can be reduced.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the second aspect, the processing of the content is at least one of image quality including characters and colors, sound quality, and software. And In this way, for example, image quality including color can be processed, so that an image suitable for the user's preference can be obtained.

According to claim 8, in the information providing system according to claim 6, the additional information includes a title, a broadcast date, a screening year, a release date, a part of contents,
It includes at least one of a director name, a performer, a composer, a lyric writer, a singer, a title of a song, characters used in the contents, a sentence, a software creator, a production company, and a supply company. In this way, since detailed attributes of the content can be specified, the search time required for searching the content can be reduced.

According to a ninth aspect, in the information providing system according to the first or second aspect, the content providing terminal reads the non-digital content recorded and stored in the non-digital format by the non-digital content reading means. It is characterized by being distributed as electronic information. In this way, the user terminal can obtain non-digital (= analog) content such as a picture or a poster drawn on paper or cloth.

[0019] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the content distribution terminal pays a copyright fee from a fee for the content request. In this way, for example, copyright fees for paintings, designs, music, etc. are not lost.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment. [I] Outline of the Present Invention Prior to the description of the embodiment of the present invention, an outline of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The information providing system JT of the present invention collects information contents from the plurality of information providing servers 10 and the information providing servers 10, edits the desired information contents from the collected information contents, and edits each of the user terminals 30. An information distribution server 20 for distributing the
It comprises a computer network NW and a plurality of user terminals 30 connected to the information distribution server 20 via the computer network NW. Each information providing server 10
Comprises an information providing program 11 for controlling the operation of the information providing server 10 to provide information to a user.

The information distribution server 20 controls the operation of the information distribution server 20 to collect, edit, and temporarily store information contents from the plurality of information providing servers 10 via the computer network NW. An information content collection program 21, an information content database 22 for storing the collected information content, and a user terminal 3 which selects the stored information content and
And an information content distribution program 23 for controlling the operation of the information distribution server 20 in order to distribute the information to the information distribution server 20.
The user terminals 30 are respectively connected to the information distribution server 20.
Information display program 32 for controlling the operation of the user terminal 30 in order to display the information content obtained from
It is a system having.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the information providing system JT of the present invention, a content request is received from the information display program 32 of the user terminal 30, and the content is connected to the information providing server 10 to connect the information content to the information providing server 10. To offer. The information provider provides the content according to the request, and the distributor provides a list of the plurality of collected contents to software having a function of displaying information on a predetermined item on a screen of the user terminal 30 by a predetermined amount such as a request fee. The information on the item is added and the information is distributed to the user terminal 30.

The customer user examines the information, determines a desired information provider, and requests the provision of all the determined information. An information content collection program 21 connects to the information providing server 10 at a predetermined timing to collect information content, accumulates the information content in the information distribution server 20, resides in the information display program 32, and stores in the information display program 32
The information is processed as required by software having a function of displaying information on a predetermined item on the screen of the user, and is distributed to the user terminal 30.

[II] Description of Embodiment (1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each part of the information providing system JT. FIG. 2 is a communication sequence diagram for explaining the basic operation of the information providing system. The information providing system JT according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of information providing servers 10, an information distribution server 20 that collects information contents from the information providing servers 10, edits the collected information contents and distributes the information contents to each user terminal 30. And a plurality of user terminals 30
And a computer network NW connecting them
1, NW2.

Each information providing server 10 has an information providing program 11 for controlling the operation of the information providing server 10 in order to provide information to a user. The information distribution server 20 controls the operation of the information distribution server 20 in order to collect, edit, and accumulate information contents from the plurality of information providing servers 10 via the computer network NW2 at a predetermined timing. 21, an information content database 22, and an information content distribution program 23 for controlling the operation of the information distribution server 20.

The user terminal 30 has an information content request program 31 for controlling the operation of the user terminal 30 in order to make a request for information content to the information distribution server 20 via the computer network NW1. The user terminal 30 is composed of, for example, a computer such as a personal computer, and has a display unit, an input unit such as a mouse, and a storage unit. In the storage unit, a Web browser and an information providing program 11 created in advance are installed. I have.
When this program is installed, the minimum necessary personal attribute data is registered in the client. The user attributes indicate, for example, attributes of the user, such as name, age, gender, and hobby, and are managed by the user and can be arbitrarily changed.

Next, the operation of the information providing system JT will be described with reference to FIG. When there is a content request from the user terminal 30, the information content request program 31 connects to the information content request collection program 24 of the information distribution server 20 at an appropriate timing and requests information content (process a). The information content request collected by the information distribution server 20 is edited by the information content request collection program 21 to extract headings in the information content and attributes such as a genre for each heading,
The information providing request program 25 requests the information providing server 10 to provide the display data (process b).
The information provision request program 25 connects to the information content provision request collection program 12 of the information provision server 10 at an appropriate timing, and requests provision of information contents.

The information provider (information providing server 10) that has received the information provision request selects appropriate headlines that can be provided, adds the headlines, the main part thereof, and various information including the request fee, and adds Information distribution server 20 by information provision program 11 via network NW
(Process c). The content provider (information providing server 10) digitally records and stores the content on any of various types of optical, magnetic, semiconductor, or magneto-optical information recording media in the form of a disk, tape, card, stick, or cubic. In this case, digital information can be provided directly. However, if analog recording is performed on the above-mentioned medium, the information is converted from analog to digital and used. Also,
If you print or write on paper or cloth and save it,
Furthermore, in the case of content stored in the form of a music box, a mural, or the like, the information is read by a scanner or the like and provided as electronic information.

The information providing program 11 connects to the information content collecting program 21 of the information distribution server 20 at an appropriate timing to provide information content. The information content collected by the information distribution server 20 is edited by the information content request collection program 24, and includes a heading in the information content and an address corresponding to the heading, which specifies a position on the network where the main information content exists. (Hereinafter referred to as the information providing server address)
Then, attributes such as a genre for each heading and the added information are extracted and stored in the information content database 22 as display data.

The information content distribution program 23 operating on the information distribution server 20 transmits information including an address list of the information server having the headings and the text from the information content database 22 to the information display program 32 via the computer network NW. (Processing d). The user who operates the user terminal 30 examines the conditions using the information display program 32 and determines the information provider (the information providing server 10). At that time, if the headline of the main story or the image is a part of the information, etc., it is browsed as a sample, and if there is a problem, processing is requested.

The information content determination request program 33 of the user terminal 30 connects to the information content determination request collection program 24 of the information distribution server 20 at an appropriate timing and requests the determined information content (process e). The information content determination request collected by the information distribution server 20 is requested to be provided to the information providing server 10 determined to be provided by the information content determination request program 26 (process f). The determined information providing program 14 of the information providing server 10 connects at an appropriate timing, and passes the determined information to the information distribution server 20 (process g).

The collected decision information content is processed by the decision information content collection program 27 as needed. Its contents are to correct the image quality, sound quality and software including characters and colors. As a result, it is possible to restore the image quality and content to the satisfaction of the user. This content is stored in the decision information content database 28. The decision information content distribution program 29 operating on the information distribution server 20 passes the decision information content database 28 to the decision information display program 32 via the computer network NW (process h).

In the above flow, the distributor (information distribution server 20) receives the request for the request fee from the supplier (information providing server 10), and the user (user terminal 3).
0) negotiates a request fee with the distributor,
The request fee is determined by the content or distribution circumstances. Part or all of the determined fee is transferred to the content provider's account as an information fee.

On the other hand, accompanying information or related factors can be used as a heading used for the search. These include title, broadcast date, year of screening, date of release, part of content, director name, performer, composer, lyricist, singer, song title, characters used in content, text, software Producers, production companies, supply companies, etc. Also, if the distributor needs to pay the copyright fee from the request fee, it does so.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the user terminal can make a request for a content and can also make a request for an item related to the content,
The content distribution server distributes the content in response to the content request from the user terminal from the content providing terminal, performs a process in response to the content-related item request, and provides the user with the content when distributing the content to the user terminal. The content provider is required to pay for the content request, so the request fee (consideration) is determined by the content of the content or the circumstances of distribution, and a part or all of the determined fee is provided as the information fee. It can be transferred to a financial institution account of the user, for example, and the user can examine and select a fee or content for the provider, so that it can respond to the detailed needs of each user.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the content distribution server can process and distribute the content from the content providing terminal, it is possible to meet the detailed needs of each user. For example, if there is a request from the user terminal to modify the image quality, a modification such as increasing the number of pixels is added, and the image is distributed after processing to make the image more delicate. It has the effect of answering various needs.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the content providing terminal converts the content into various types of light, magnetic, magnetic, disk, tape, card, stick, and cubic.
At least one of a semiconductor and a magneto-optical information recording medium
Since they are recorded and stored at the same time, they can respond to the detailed needs of each user and can be distributed immediately. For example, when the content is stored in a disk-shaped recording medium, there is an effect that the search becomes easy. Further, when the content is stored on a tape-shaped recording medium, there is an effect that the information amount can be increased. Further, when the content is stored in a card-shaped or stick-shaped recording medium, it can be carried around, and there is an effect that information can be transmitted from outside. Further, when the content is stored in a cubic recording medium, information recorded three-dimensionally can be read, and there is an effect that a medium having a larger amount of information can be searched.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of user terminals request the same content at different times, the same content can be distributed to a plurality of users. If the request is made at a different time, the content is not limited to the time, so that the content can be enjoyed at the desired time.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the information providing system, after storing the content from the content providing terminal in the information recording medium capable of random access and having the function of temporarily storing information, Since it can be distributed to user terminals, it is possible to respond to detailed needs of each user. For example, even if there is a request for content at a different time from the user terminal, the information is temporarily stored, so the information can be provided from the storage location, and since it is temporarily stored, the information can be processed. There is also an effect.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when making a content request via the user terminal, a request is made with additional information attached, and a request is made from content candidates indicated by the content distribution server. The request can be determined, so that it is possible to respond to the detailed needs of each user. For example, since a request can be made with additional information, the time required for searching for a request target can be reduced.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the processing of the content is at least one of image quality, sound quality, and software including characters and colors, so that it is possible to meet the detailed needs of each user. Users can receive clear or good content. For example, since the image quality including the color can be processed, an image suitable for the user's preference can be obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 8, the additional information includes a title, a broadcast date, a year when the movie was screened, a release date, a part of the content, a director name, a performer, a composer, a lyricist, and a singer. , Song titles, characters used in the contents, sentences, software creators, production companies, and supply companies, it is possible to specify detailed attributes of the contents, and the search time required for the contents search Can be shortened.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the content providing terminal reads the non-digital content recorded and stored in the non-digital format by the non-digital content reading means and distributes it as electronic information. The user terminal can also obtain non-digital format (= analog format) content such as a picture or a poster drawn on the display.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the content distribution terminal pays the copyright fee from the fee for the content request, the copyright fee for painting, design, music, etc. can be removed. Disappears.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of each unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of communication between an information providing server, an information distribution server, and a user terminal in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 NW1, NW2 Computer network 10 Information providing server 11 Information providing program 12 Information content providing request collecting program 14 Decision information providing program 20 Information distribution server 21 Information content collecting program 22 Information content database 23 Information content delivering program 24 Information content request collecting program 25 Information provision request program 26 Information content decision request program 27 Decision information content collection program 28 Decision information content database 29 Decision information content distribution program 30 User terminal 31 Information content request program 32 Information display program 33 Information content decision request program

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 504 G06F 17/60 504 ZEC ZEC H04N 7/173 620 H04N 7/173 620D

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A user terminal provided on a user side, to which a user can make a content request, and a user terminal provided on a content provider side, capable of receiving a content request from the user terminal. A content distribution server, a content providing terminal provided on a content provider side, and capable of providing information in accordance with the content request via the content distribution server, a user terminal, a content distribution service, and content provision A network for connecting to the terminal, wherein the user terminal makes a request for the content and is capable of requesting an item related to the content; and In addition to distributing the requested content from the content providing terminal, Performs a process corresponding to the request, when distributing the content to the user terminal, the compensation due to the content request to the user,
An information providing system, wherein the content provider is made to pay. 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content distribution server processes and distributes the content from the content providing terminal. 3. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content providing terminal converts the content into various types of light, magnetic, semiconductor, disk, tape, card, stick, and cubic. An information providing system characterized by recording and storing in at least one of a magneto-optical information recording medium. 4. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of user terminals request the same content at different times, the plurality of user terminals are notified to the plurality of users. An information providing system characterized in that distribution is possible. 5. The information providing system according to claim 4, wherein the information providing system stores the content from the content providing terminal in an information recording medium that is randomly accessible and has a function of temporarily storing information. An information providing system characterized by delivering to a user terminal after storage. 6. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein when the content request is made via the user terminal, the request is performed by adding additional information to the content request. An information providing system, wherein a desired request can be determined from content candidates indicated by a distribution server. 7. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the processing of the content is at least one of image quality including text, color, sound quality, and software. . 8. The information providing system according to claim 6, wherein the additional information includes a title, a broadcast date, a screening year, a release date, a part of the content, a director name, a performer, a composer, and a lyricist. , Singer, song title, characters used in the content,
An information providing system comprising at least one of a statement, a software creator, a production company, and a supply company. 9. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content providing terminal reads the non-digital content recorded and stored in the non-digital format by the non-digital content reading means and distributes the information as electronic information. An information providing system, characterized in that: 10. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content distribution terminal pays a copyright fee from a fee for the content request.