JP2004213686A - Structured data transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structured data transmission device making it possible to positively acquire/integrate some or all of the fragments of structured data on the receiving side as necessary. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of fragment data, and pieces of fragment component information corresponding to the fragment data and serving as information for creating the structured data with a tree structure by integrating the fragment data on the receiving side, are received. The pieces of fragment component information include reference information with identification information for identifying the corresponding fragment data from the fragment data, and position information about the connection position of the corresponding fragment data in the structured data created. Based on the position information and the reference information included in each piece of fragment component information received, the fragment data received are integrated to create the structured data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for transmitting structured data such as structured metadata describing the content of multimedia content.

  MPEG-7 (ISO / IEC 15938) is defined as a standard for a framework for describing the contents of multimedia contents. MPEG-7 is a standard for structured metadata in which multimedia contents are structured temporally and spatially, and the contents of the multimedia contents are described using a tree structure.

  The MPEG-7 metadata is characterized by being structured in a tree structure, and is described in a text format using XML (Extensible Markup Language). The format of XML elements and attributes in MPEG-7 metadata is defined using an XML schema.

  The MPEG-7 standard is composed of a plurality of parts. The MPEG-7 system of Part 1 (ISO / IEC 15938-1) defines a framework for transmitting and storing metadata, a method for compressing metadata, and the like.

  In the MPEG-7 system, MPEG-7 metadata is fragmented and transmitted. On the receiving side, MPEG-7 metadata is dynamically generated by sequentially integrating the received metadata fragments.

  FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of an MPEG-7 description stream in the MPEG-7 system. The MPEG-7 description stream is composed of a decoder initial configuration (DecoderInit) and a plurality of access units (Access Units: AU) following the decoder. The decoder initial configuration includes various initial settings for operating the receiving-side decoder. The access unit is a minimum processing unit that performs processing in a single time, and is configured by a plurality of fragment update units (FUU). The fragment update unit is a unit for transmitting a fragment of metadata, and includes a fragment update command (FU Command), a fragment update context (FU Context), and a fragment update payload (FU Payload). The fragment update command is a command indicating a method of processing a fragment, and includes four types of commands: “add”, “replace”, “delete”, and “reset”. The fragment update context is path information indicating a node to which a command is applied in a metadata tree generated on the receiving side. The fragment update payload stores a fragment of the metadata.

  Dynamic generation of metadata by the fragment update unit will be described in more detail. FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram illustrating addition of a fragment to the metadata tree by the “add” command of the fragment update unit. The right side of the figure is a metadata tree generated on the receiving side, and it is assumed that a part drawn by a solid line is generated at an initial stage (a part indicated by a dotted line is not generated). Next, the fragment update unit on the left side of the figure is processed. The fragment update command in this fragment update unit is an "add" command. The fragment update context specifies a node on the metadata tree that has been generated on the receiving side, and the fragment update payload stores a fragment of the metadata. When the fragment update unit is processed, a fragment stored in the fragment update payload is added to a node specified by the fragment update context. That is, a dotted line portion on the right side of the drawing is generated.

  The sending side can also dynamically update the metadata tree generated on the receiving side by using “replace”, “delete”, and “reset” commands in addition to the “add” command.

In the above-described framework of the MPEG-7 metadata transmission by the MPEG-7 system, since the transmission target is the XML data whose format is defined using the XML schema, not only the MPEG-7 metadata but also the XML schema is used. It can be used for transmitting any XML data whose format is defined by using, that is, structured data.
Standard number: ISO / IEC 15938-1: 2002 Title: Information technology-Multimedia content description interface-Part 1: Systems available from: ISO (http://www.iso.ch/) or Japan Standards Association ( http://www.jsa.or.jp/)

  According to the above-described method for transmitting MPEG-7 metadata by the MPEG-7 system, the transmitting side fragmentally transmits the MPEG-7 metadata, and dynamically generates and updates the MPEG-7 metadata on the receiving side. Can be. The transmission target is not only MPEG-7 metadata, but also any XML data whose format is defined using an XML schema, that is, structured data. However, there has been a problem that the receiving side cannot actively acquire and integrate a part or all of the structured data fragments as necessary, and the receiving side cannot determine the timing of acquiring and integrating the fragments.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a system for transmitting / receiving structured data in a fragmented manner, in which the transmitting side not only dynamically generates and updates the structured data of the receiving side, but also allows the receiving side to perform partial or partial fragmentation of the structured data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a structured data transmission apparatus for actively acquiring and integrating all the data as needed, and further, enabling a receiving side to determine the timing of acquiring and integrating fragments. .

Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides the following structured data transmission device.
(1) A plurality of fragment data and respective fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data, which is information for integrating each fragment data into structured data having a tree structure stored on the receiving side, A transmission device for structured data to be transmitted,
The fragment configuration information includes reference information having identification information for identifying the corresponding fragment data from each of the fragment data, and position information regarding a connection position in the structured data of the corresponding fragment data,
The position information included in the fragment configuration information is position information having information specifying a node in the structured data, and information specifying a connection position of the corresponding fragment data to the specified node. ,
A transmission device for structured data, comprising: transmission means for transmitting a data stream generated by arranging the fragment data and the fragment configuration information.
(2) Structured data for transmitting fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data, which is information for integrating a plurality of fragment data into structured data having a tree structure stored on the receiving side. A transmitting device,
The fragment configuration information includes reference information having location information on the location of the corresponding fragment data, and location information on a connection location in the structured data of the corresponding fragment data,
The position information included in the fragment configuration information is position information having information specifying a node in the structured data, and information specifying a connection position of the corresponding fragment data to the specified node. ,
A transmitting unit for transmitting the fragment configuration information to the receiving side;

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.
(A) On the transmitting side, it is possible to divide the structured data into a plurality of fragment data so that the structured data can be reintegrated and transmit the divided data. In addition, it is possible to determine the timing for integrating fragment data on the receiving side, and also to enable efficient reception processing of structured data.
(B) The position information on the connection position of the fragment data, which is included in the fragment configuration information that is the information for integrating the fragment data, is obtained by combining the information specifying the node in the generated structured data with the information for the specified node. In the case of having the information for specifying the connection position of the corresponding fragment data, the position where the structured data is integrated can be specified accurately.
(C) When the reference information for specifying the fragment data included in the fragment configuration information, which is information for integrating the fragment data, includes information on the contents of the fragment data to be referenced, the fragment data is transmitted to the receiving side. Selective reception and integration can be performed, and efficient reception processing of structured data is enabled.
(D) If the reference information for specifying the fragment data included in the fragment configuration information, which is the information for integrating the fragment data, has information on the name of the highest node of the fragment data to be referenced, Even if the referenced data is not integrated into the structured data and the position information included in the other fragment configuration information specifies the position corresponding to the node in the referenced fragment data, It is possible to appropriately process fragment configuration information.

<Basic configuration>
In one embodiment of the content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied, original structured data (for example, MPEG-7 metadata or XML data whose format is defined using an XML schema) is used. A plurality of fragment data to be divided into a plurality of fragments or to be integrated as structured data is created, and for each fragment data, the original structured data (or a structure to be generated by integrating the fragments) And fragment information that includes position information that specifies the position of the fragment data in the fragmented data) and reference information that specifies the fragment data. The reference information included in the fragment configuration information is reference information on fragment data having at least information relating to the location of the fragment data. The reference information may also describe information about the content of the fragment data and the like, and may be used as a judgment material for a user or an application to process the fragment data.

<Reception / Integration>
Further, in the transmission / reception system, the position information specifying the position of the fragment data in the original structured data (or the structured data to be generated by integrating the fragments) included in the fragment configuration information; The fragment data is arranged on the structured data based on the reference information specifying the data, and the original structured data is reconstructed.
<< First Embodiment (Only for Reference, Broadcasting) >>
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, a sender (television station) transmits a metadata stream including content data (program) and structured metadata (structured data) related thereto, and a receiver (viewer) receives them. .

  The sender creates content data and metadata about it. The content data is transmitted to the recipient via broadcasting. The metadata is divided into a plurality of fragment data, and fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data is created. A metadata stream is created by arranging the fragment data and the fragment configuration information, and transmitted to the receiver via broadcasting. The receiver receives the content data and the metadata stream from the broadcast, extracts fragment data and fragment configuration information from the metadata stream, and reconstructs the metadata from the fragment data and fragment configuration information. The reconstructed metadata is used for searching for and viewing content data.

<Description of Metadata (XML)>
The metadata handled in the present embodiment is structured metadata (structured data) such as MPEG-7 metadata, and is described in a text format using XML. The format of XML elements and attributes in metadata is defined using an XML schema.

<Fragmentation processing>
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the metadata fragmentation process according to the present embodiment. The metadata (structured data) is divided into a plurality of fragment data, and an ID for uniquely identifying the fragment data is added to each fragment data. Further, fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data is created. Note that instead of generating fragment data by dividing metadata, fragment data may be created by assuming metadata generated by integration.

<Structure of fragment configuration information>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the fragment configuration information according to the present embodiment. The fragment configuration information is composed of position information and reference information. The position information is composed of an XPath and a position, and is used to specify a position where the highest-order node of the fragment data in the structured data generated on the receiving side is to be arranged. The reference information includes an ID reference, an element name, and an element type. In the ID reference, fragment data is specified using the ID added to the fragment data. The element name describes the element name in XML of the highest node of the fragment data. The element type describes the element type name in the XML schema of the top node of the fragment data.

<Description of location information>
Next, a position designation method using XPath and position in the position information will be described. The XPath specifies a specific node in the structured data generated on the receiving side by using an XML path language (XPath). The position takes one of the values “prevSibling” or “lastChild”. When the value of the position is “prevSibling”, the node specified by the position information is the sibling node immediately before the node specified by the XPath. When the value of the position is “lastChild”, the node specified by the position information is the last child node of the node specified by the XPath.

<Specific example of location information>
Next, a method of specifying position information will be described in detail using a specific example.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a method of specifying position information when a first child node of a certain node is specified. When arranging the top node 'd' of the fragment data as the first child node of the node 'a' in the structured data, specify the node 'b' which is the current first child node of the node 'a' in XPath. , Position is “prevSibling”. Then, the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data is arranged as a sibling node immediately before the node 'b', that is, the first child node of the node 'a'.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a method of specifying position information when a child node other than the first and last child nodes of a certain node is specified. When arranging the top node 'd' of the fragment data as a child node other than the first and last nodes of the node 'a' in the structured data, specify the child node 'c' of the node 'a' in XPath, and set the position value Is “prevSibling”. Then, the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data is arranged as a sibling node immediately before the node 'c', that is, as a child node of the node 'a'.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a method of specifying position information when specifying the last child node of a certain node. When arranging the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data as the last child node of the node 'a' in the structured data, the node 'a' is designated by XPath, and the value of the position is set to "lastChild". Then, the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data is arranged as the last child node of the node 'a'.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a method of specifying position information when a child node of a node having no child node is specified. When arranging the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data as a child node of the node 'b' in the structured data, the node 'b' is designated by the XPath, and the value of the position is "lastChild". Then, the uppermost node 'd' of the fragment data is arranged as a child node of the node 'b'.

<Binary encoding of fragment configuration information>
Note that the fragment configuration information of the present embodiment may be converted into binary data using appropriate means and expressed as binary data.

<Send>
Next, a method of transmitting content data and metadata by the sender of the present embodiment will be described.

  The sender arranges a plurality of fragment data and their corresponding fragment configuration information in an appropriate order to create a metadata stream. The order in which the fragment data and the fragment configuration information are arranged may be such that the fragment data and the fragment configuration information are mixed and arranged, or all the fragment configuration information may be arranged first, and then all the fragment data may be arranged. However, the fragment data may be arranged in an arbitrary order, but the fragment configuration information must be arranged in a depth-first order or a width-first order with respect to the nodes in the structured data indicated by the position information included therein.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata transmission device in a sender.

  The content data storage unit stores content data, and the metadata stream storage unit stores the above-described metadata stream.

  The content data transmission control unit inputs content data from the content data storage unit according to a predetermined schedule, and outputs the content data to the multiplexing unit.

  The metadata stream transmission control unit inputs the metadata stream from the metadata stream storage unit based on a predetermined carousel transmission frequency or cycle and transmits the metadata stream to the multiplexing unit for carousel transmission of the metadata stream. .

  The multiplexing unit multiplexes the content data input from the content data transmission control unit and the metadata stream input from the metadata stream transmission control unit, and outputs the multiplexed stream to the broadcast.

<Reception>
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device in a receiver.

  The separation unit separates the multiplexed stream input from the broadcast into content data and a metadata stream, outputs the content data to a user or an application, and outputs the metadata stream to a metadata stream separation unit.

  The metadata stream separation unit separates the metadata stream input from the separation unit into fragment data and fragment configuration information, outputs the fragment data to the fragment data temporary storage unit, and outputs the fragment configuration information to the metadata integration unit I do.

  The fragment data temporary storage unit is configured by, for example, a memory, and temporarily stores the fragment data input from the metadata stream separation unit. When a list of fragment data IDs is requested from the metadata integration unit, the stored list of fragment data IDs is output to the metadata integration unit. When the metadata integration unit requests the fragment data specified by the ID together with the fragment data ID, the fragment data specified by the ID is output to the metadata integration unit and the fragment data is deleted from the memory. I do.

  The metadata integration unit processes the fragment configuration information input from the metadata stream separation unit according to a fragment configuration information processing method described later, and stores the fragment configuration information or reference information included in the fragment configuration information in the metadata storage unit. Is added to the metadata (structured data) stored in. Further, when the user or the application instructs to resolve the reference information in the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit, the fragment data is acquired from the fragment data temporary storage unit according to the reference information processing method described later. In addition to processing the relevant fragment configuration information in addition to the metadata.

  The metadata storage unit is a storage medium for storing metadata, and the metadata integration unit writes and reads data. It can also read data from a user or application.

  The user or the application instructs the metadata integration unit to resolve the reference information of the arbitrary reference information in the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit, if the fragment data of the reference destination is necessary. Further, the metadata obtained by resolving the reference information is read from the metadata storage unit, and for any reference information contained therein, if the fragment data of the reference destination is necessary, the reference information to the metadata integration unit is provided. Repeat the instructions for solving the problem. If there is no reference information that refers to the required fragment data, the finally obtained metadata is used for each purpose.

<Method of processing fragment configuration information>
Next, a method of processing fragment configuration information will be described. First, position information and reference information are extracted from the fragment configuration information. If the node specified by the XPath included in the position information exists on the structured data (metadata) stored in the metadata storage unit, the reference information is set to the position specified by the position information (XPath and position). Add. However, at this time, the reference information existing on the structured data is treated as an element having an element name included in the reference information. If the node specified by the XPath included in the position information does not exist on the structured data stored in the metadata storage unit, the last node when the structured data is traced as far as possible from the root node according to the XPath (This node should be the reference information.) The fragment configuration information is added as the last child node.

  A method for processing fragment configuration information will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a method of processing fragment configuration information in a case where a node specified by XPath included in position information exists on structured data. The XPath specifies the node 121, and the value of the position is “lastChild”. This means that the top node of the fragment data should be placed at the position of the node 122, and the reference information is added to the position of the node 122.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a method of processing the fragment configuration information in a case where the XPath included in the position information specifies reference information on the structured data. Since the reference information existing at the position of the node 131 includes the element name 'b' of the top node of the fragment data to be arranged at the position of the node 131, it is understood that the XPath specifies the node 131. . Further, since the value of the position is “lastChild”, reference information is added to the position of the node 132.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a method of processing fragment configuration information in a case where a node specified by XPath included in the position information does not exist in the structured data. Since the reference information exists at the position of the node 141, the element name of the highest node of the fragment data to be arranged at the position of the node 141 is known. However, since the XPath specifies the position of the node 141, if the structured data is traced from the root node in accordance with the XPath, the structure data can be traced to the node 141, but cannot trace thereafter. Therefore, the fragment configuration information is added as the last child node of the reference information existing at the position of the node 141.

<How to resolve reference information>
Next, a method of solving the reference information will be described. To resolve the reference information, fragment data specified by an ID included in the reference information is obtained, the reference information is deleted, and the fragment data is added to the position where the reference information was present. However, when the reference information has fragment configuration information (one or more) as its child node, after adding the fragment data, the fragment configuration information is added according to the above-described fragment configuration information processing method (if there is more than one, the fragment configuration information is previously (In order).

<Judgment method of necessity of fragment data>
The determination of the necessity of fragment data is made based on the element type included in the reference information. The format of the XML elements and attributes in the structured data is defined using an XML schema, and the element type included in the reference information is the element type in the XML schema of the top node of the fragment data to be referenced. By interpreting the format definition of the structured data, the general content of the fragment data can be known from the element type. The user or the application determines the necessity of the fragment data based on the rough contents.
<< Second embodiment (for reference only, broadcast and Internet) >>
<System configuration>
FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of a content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, as in the system configuration of the first embodiment in FIG. 1, a sender transmits content data and a metadata stream via broadcast, and a receiver receives them. Further, the sender stores a part of the fragment data in a database connected to the Internet, and the receiver obtains the fragment data from the database via the Internet.

  The sender creates content data and metadata (structured data) related thereto. The content data is transmitted to the recipient via broadcasting. The metadata is divided into a plurality of fragment data, and fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data is created. A metadata stream is created from a part of the fragment data and all the fragment configuration information, transmitted to the recipient via broadcast, and the remaining fragment data is stored in the database. The receiver receives the content data and the metadata stream from the broadcast, extracts the fragment data and the fragment configuration information from the metadata stream, further obtains the fragment data from the database via the Internet, and obtains the meta data from the fragment data and the fragment configuration information. Reconstruct the data. The reconstructed metadata is used for searching for and viewing content data.

<Description of Metadata (XML)>
The metadata in the present embodiment is the same as the metadata in the first embodiment.

<Fragmentation processing>
The method of fragmentation processing in the present embodiment is the same as the method of fragmentation processing in the first embodiment. However, an ID for uniquely identifying the fragment data is added to the fragment data transmitted via broadcasting, and the fragment data to be stored in the database is stored in the database in a file format by adding a unique file name to each fragment data. . A database is constructed so that fragment data stored in the database can be referred to from the Internet by a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).

<Structure of fragment configuration information>
The structure of the fragment configuration information in the present embodiment is the same as the structure of the fragment configuration information in the first embodiment when the corresponding fragment data is transmitted via broadcasting, and the outline is shown in FIG. It is on the street. On the other hand, when the corresponding fragment data is stored in a database connected to the Internet, the structure of the fragment configuration information for that is shown in FIG. 14, and the URI reference is included in the reference information instead of the ID reference in FIG. Then, the fragment data is specified by the URI.

<Transmission by broadcast>
The transmitting method of the content data and the metadata stream in the sender of the present embodiment is the same as the transmitting method of the content data and the metadata stream in the first embodiment. However, the metadata stream includes only some fragment data.

<Transmission on the Internet>
Some fragment data not transmitted by broadcasting is stored in the database connected to the Internet as described above. The database transmits a fragment data file corresponding to the URI to the recipient when the recipient connected to the Internet requests acquisition of the fragment data file together with the URI.

<Reception>
FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device in a receiver.

  The configuration and operation of the separation unit, the metadata stream separation unit, the fragment data temporary storage unit, the metadata storage unit, and the user or application in the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata reception device of FIG. The configuration and operation of the content data and metadata receiving device in the example are the same as those in the configuration diagram.

  The configuration and operation of the metadata integration unit are the same as the operation and configuration of the metadata integration unit in the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata receiving device in the first embodiment of FIG. However, when resolving the reference information, if the reference information specifies fragment data by ID reference, fragment data is acquired from the fragment data temporary storage unit as in the first embodiment, and the reference information is referred to by the URI reference. When the fragment data is specified in the above, the fragment data receiving unit is instructed to receive the fragment data specified by the URI, and the fragment data is acquired from the fragment data receiving unit.

Upon receiving an instruction to receive the fragment data specified by the URI from the metadata integration unit, the fragment data receiving unit requests the database together with the URI and the fragment data specified by the URI and transmits the request from the database. The fragment data is received, and the received fragment data is output to the metadata integration unit.
<< Third embodiment (only for reference, Internet) >>
<System configuration>
FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of a content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention has been applied. In this embodiment, a sender (content provider) stores content data (video, audio, etc.) and structured metadata (structured data) related thereto in a database connected to the Internet, and a receiver (user) Retrieve those data from the database via the internet.

  The sender creates content data and metadata about it. Content data is stored in a database. The metadata is divided into a plurality of fragment data, fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data is created, and the fragment data and the fragment configuration information are stored in a database. The recipient acquires the content data, fragment data, and fragment configuration information from the database via the Internet, and reconstructs metadata from the fragment data and fragment configuration information. The reconstructed metadata is used for searching for and viewing content data.

<Description of Metadata (XML)>
The metadata in the present embodiment is the same as the metadata in the first embodiment.

<Fragmentation processing>
The method of fragmentation processing in the present embodiment is the same as the method of fragmentation processing in the first embodiment. However, no ID is added to the fragment data. Also, a unique file name is added to the fragment data, and the fragment data is stored in a database in a file format. The fragment data stored in the database can be referred to via a URI from the Internet. Further, the fragment configuration information forms a fragment configuration information stream by arranging all the fragment configuration information in the depth-first order or the width-priority order with respect to the nodes in the structured data designated by the position information included therein, Is stored in the database.

<Structure of fragment configuration information>
The structure of the fragment configuration information in the present embodiment is the same as the structure of the fragment configuration information when the corresponding fragment data in the second embodiment of FIG. 14 is stored in a database connected to the Internet.

<Transmission on the Internet>
The content data, fragment data, and fragment configuration information are stored in the database connected to the Internet as described above. The database transmits a file corresponding to the URI to a recipient when a recipient connected to the Internet requests acquisition of a file of content data, fragment data, or fragment configuration information together with a URI.

<Reception>
FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device in a receiver.

  When the user or the application instructs the acquisition of the content data corresponding to the URI together with the URI of the content data, the data receiving unit requests the content data corresponding to the URI from the database via the Internet, and the database transmits the request. The content data corresponding to the URI is received, and the received content data is output to a user or an application. When the metadata integration unit instructs to acquire the fragment configuration information stream or the fragment data corresponding to the URI together with the fragment data stream, the fragment configuration information stream or the fragment data corresponding to the URI is transmitted via the Internet. It requests the database and receives the fragment configuration information stream or fragment data corresponding to the URI transmitted by the database, and outputs the received fragment configuration information stream or fragment data corresponding to the URI to the metadata integration unit.

  The metadata integration unit first instructs the data receiving unit to acquire the fragment configuration information stream, and sequentially processes the fragment configuration information included in the fragment configuration information stream input from the data receiving unit. The method for processing the fragment configuration information is the same as the method for processing the fragment configuration information in the first embodiment. Also, when the user or the application instructs to resolve the reference information in the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit, the fragment data corresponding to the URI included in the reference information is obtained according to the reference information processing method. To the data receiving unit, the fragment data input from the data receiving unit is added to the metadata, and the related fragment configuration information is processed. The method of processing the reference information is the same as the method of processing the reference information in the first embodiment.

  The configuration and operation of the metadata storage unit are the same as the configuration and operation of the metadata storage unit in the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata reception device of the first embodiment in FIG.

The configuration and operation of the user or application are the same as the configuration and operation of the user or application in the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata receiving device of the first embodiment in FIG. However, when the content data is required, the data receiving unit instructs the data receiving unit to acquire the URI of the content data and the content data corresponding to the URI, and inputs the content data from the data receiving unit.
<< Fourth embodiment (reference, command, broadcast) >>
<System configuration>
A fourth embodiment of a content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied is a dynamic generation / update of metadata by a transmission side using an MPEG-7 system and the use of fragment configuration information of the present invention. Active acquisition and integration of fragment data by the receiving side are also realized at the same time.

  The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the first embodiment in FIG. However, the structure of the metadata stream is different.

<Metadata stream>
The metadata stream in this embodiment is an extension of the MPEG-7 description stream in the MPEG-7 system of FIG. The metadata stream according to the present embodiment includes an initial decoder configuration and a plurality of access units following the decoder. The access unit includes a plurality of fragment update units. However, in this embodiment, in addition to the fragment update unit (1) having the same structure as the fragment update unit in the MPEG-7 system, only the fragment update unit (2) for transmitting fragment configuration information, and only the fragment data Is used. FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of the fragment update unit (2). The fragment update unit (2) includes a fragment update command, a fragment update context, and reference information. The fragment update context in the MPEG-7 system has the same structure as the position information included in the fragment configuration information of the present invention, and forms the fragment configuration information by the fragment update context and the reference information.

<Fragmentation processing>
FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically illustrating the fragmentation processing of metadata (structured data) and creation of a metadata stream in the present embodiment. The metadata is divided into a plurality of fragment data. For each fragment data, a fragment update unit (1) is created by adding a fragment update command (here, an “add” command) and a fragment update context (position information) (the fragment data becomes a fragment update payload). Or a fragment update unit (2) in which fragment configuration information is created in the same manner as in the fragmentation processing in the first embodiment, and a fragment update command (here, an “add” command is used) is added, and only fragment data And a fragment update unit (3) including For convenience, the fragment data included in the fragment update unit (3) is referred to as first fragment data, and the fragment data included in the fragment update unit (1) is referred to as second fragment data.

  Instead of creating fragment data by dividing metadata, fragment data is created by assuming metadata generated by integration, and fragment update unit (1) or fragment update unit (2) and fragment update unit (2). An update unit (3) may be created. Further, a “replace” command, a “delete” command, or a “reset” command may be adopted as the fragment update command to dynamically update the structured metadata tree on the receiving side. An access unit is created by arranging an appropriate number of fragment update units (1), fragment update units (2), and fragment update units (3) created by the above processing, and access units are further arranged. Create a metadata stream with additional configuration.

<Send>
The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the sender of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the sender of the first embodiment of FIG.

<Reception>
The configuration of the content data and metadata receiving device of the receiver of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata receiving device of the recipient of the first embodiment of FIG. However, the operations of the metadata stream separation unit and the metadata integration unit are different.

  The metadata stream separation unit separates the metadata stream input from the separation unit into a fragment update unit (1), a fragment update unit (2), and a fragment update unit (3). The update unit (2) is output to the metadata integration unit, the fragment data is extracted from the fragment update unit (3), and the fragment data is output to the fragment data temporary storage unit.

  The metadata integration unit interprets the fragment update unit (1) input from the metadata stream separation unit, and when the fragment update command is an “add” command, the metadata update unit (1) reads out the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit. At the position specified by the fragment update context, the fragment data included in the fragment update payload (included in the fragment update unit (1)) is added, and when the fragment update command is a “replace” command, the fragment update command is stored in the metadata storage unit. Replaces the partial data below the position specified by the fragment update context in the metadata being updated with the fragment data included in the fragment update payload, and if the fragment update command is a "delete" command, stores the fragment data in the metadata storage unit. Metadata Remove the following parts data positions definitive fragment updating contexts specifies, if the fragment updating command is a "reset" command returns to a predetermined initial state metadata stored in the metadata storage unit. However, in the above processing, if there is no node at the position specified by the fragment update context in the metadata, the resolution of the corresponding higher-level reference information on the metadata is continued until the fragment data including the node is obtained. . The solution of the reference information is the same as the solution of the reference information in the first embodiment.

  The metadata integration unit extracts a fragment update command and fragment configuration information (fragment configuration context, that is, position information and reference information) from the fragment update unit (2) input from the metadata stream separation unit, and updates the fragment update. Commands are processed in the same manner as described above, and fragment configuration information is processed in the same manner as in the method of processing fragment configuration information in the first embodiment.

Further, when the user or the application instructs the user to resolve the reference information on the structured metadata tree stored in the metadata storage unit, the metadata integration unit executes the reference information solving method according to the first embodiment. The reference information is resolved in the same manner as in.
<< Fifth Embodiment (Reference and Command, Broadcast and Internet) >>
<System configuration>
A fifth embodiment of a content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied is a dynamic generation / update of metadata by a transmission side using an MPEG-7 system and the use of fragment configuration information of the present invention. Active acquisition and integration of fragment data by the receiving side are also realized at the same time.

  The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the second embodiment in FIG. However, the structure of the metadata stream is different.

<Metadata stream>
The structure of the metadata stream in the present embodiment is the same as the structure of the metadata stream in the fourth embodiment. However, as in the second embodiment, some fragment data are not included in the metadata stream but are stored in a database connected to the Internet.

<Send>
The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the sender of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the sender of the second embodiment of FIG.

<Reception>
The configuration of the content data and metadata receiving device of the receiver of this embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata receiving device of the receiver of the second embodiment of FIG. However, the operations of the metadata stream separation unit and the metadata integration unit are different.

  The operation of the metadata stream separation unit is the same as the operation of the metadata stream separation unit of the content data and metadata reception device in the receiver of the fourth embodiment.

The operation of the metadata integration unit is the same as the operation of the metadata integration unit of the content data and metadata receiving device in the receiver of the fourth embodiment. However, when resolving the reference information, if the reference information specifies fragment data by ID reference, fragment data is obtained from the fragment data temporary storage unit as in the fourth embodiment, and the reference information is referred to as the URI reference. When the fragment data is specified in the above, the fragment data receiving unit is instructed to receive the fragment data specified by the URI, and the fragment data is acquired from the fragment data receiving unit.
<< Realization of receiving device by receiving program >>
Here, a structured data receiving program for realizing the receiving device in each of the above-described embodiments on a computer will be specifically described with reference to the second embodiment.

<Reception system>
As shown in FIG. 20, in the second embodiment, a computer receives content data and a metadata stream from a broadcast, and receives fragment data from a database via the Internet. Further, the metadata is reconstructed from the metadata stream and the fragment data and stored in the internal storage device. By operating the computer, the user searches for the content using the metadata, and displays the metadata at the same time as viewing the content.

<Process flow>
FIG. 21 is a configuration diagram of a computer, and FIG. 22 is a flow of processing executed by the computer.

  First, the central processing unit receives a command from a control program (structured data receiving program) in the main memory, and separates fragment configuration information into content data and a metadata stream from the multiplexed stream input from the broadcast receiving device. Then, the metadata stream is separated into fragment data and fragment configuration information, and the separated fragment configuration information is sequentially processed. At this time, the content data and fragment data separated in parallel are stored in a storage device.

  The method for processing the fragment configuration information is the same as the method for processing the fragment configuration information in the second embodiment. However, the metadata is created on the storage device.

  Next, the central processing unit continues to process the fragment configuration information if all the fragment configuration information has not been processed. If the central processing unit has processed all the fragment configuration information, the user instruction input from the input device. Wait for.

  When an instruction is input from the user, the central processing unit outputs the metadata to the output device if the instruction is to output metadata. If the instruction from the user is to resolve the reference information, the reference information instructed by the user in the metadata stored in the storage device is resolved. The solution of the reference information is the same as the solution of the reference information in the second embodiment. However, if the fragment data referred to by the reference information is included in the metadata stream transmitted by broadcasting, the corresponding data is obtained from the fragment data stored in the storage device, and the fragment data referred to by the reference information is obtained. If is stored in a database connected to the Internet, the corresponding fragment data is acquired from the database by the Internet communication device. If the instruction from the user is completed, the processing is completed.

  The receiving devices in the embodiments other than the second embodiment can be similarly realized on a computer by a structured data receiving program.

<Others>
The structured data receiving program may be read from a computer-readable recording medium on which these are recorded, and may be taken into the computer, or may be transmitted via a communication network or the like and taken into the computer.
<< Sixth embodiment (when reference is to stream) >>
<System configuration>
In the sixth embodiment of the content data and metadata transmission / reception system to which the present invention is applied, the reference target of the reference information in the fragment configuration information includes not only fragment data but also other metadata streams, and the metadata (structure) And the recursive reception processing of a plurality of streams by the receiving side.

  The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission system of the first embodiment in FIG. However, the fragmentation processing, the transmission method, and the reception method are different.

<Fragmentation processing>
FIG. 25 is a diagram schematically illustrating the metadata fragmentation process according to the present embodiment. The metadata (structured data) is divided into a plurality of fragment data, an ID for uniquely identifying the fragment data is added to each fragment data, and fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data is created. Further, similar fragmentation processing may be performed on the generated fragmented data to divide the data into smaller fragmented data. The fragmentation process may be recursively repeated in any number of stages, such as performing a further fragmentation process on the fragmented data generated in the second-stage fragmentation process. At this time, the position information included in the fragment configuration information created by the fragmentation processing of the second and subsequent stages is not information indicating the position in the original metadata (structured data), but the structure to be subjected to the fragmentation processing. Information indicating the position in the encoded data. Note that instead of generating fragment data by dividing metadata, fragment data may be created by assuming metadata generated by integration.

<Send>
The configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the sender of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the content data and metadata transmission device of the first embodiment in FIG. However, the configuration method of the metadata stream is different.

  The sender arranges a plurality of fragment data and their corresponding fragment configuration information in an appropriate order to create a metadata stream. However, a plurality of independent metadata streams are created for each recursively repeated fragmentation process. The information included in the metadata stream corresponding to a certain fragmentation process includes all the fragmented data that has not been recursively fragmented among the fragmented data generated by the fragmentation process, and all the fragments. Configuration information. Further, the ID added to the fragment data corresponding to the fragmentation processing corresponding to the metadata stream is added. However, an ID indicating that the stream is the highest-order metadata stream is added to the highest-order metadata stream.

<Reception>
FIG. 26 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device in a receiver.

  The configuration and operation of the separation unit, the metadata storage unit, and the user or application in the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata reception device are the same as those of the configuration diagram of the content data and metadata reception device in the first embodiment of FIG. And the operation.

  The metadata stream separation unit separates the top metadata stream from the plurality of metadata streams input from the separation unit into fragment data and fragment configuration information, and temporarily stores the fragment data in the fragment data and the metadata stream. And outputs the fragment configuration information to the metadata integration unit. Further, all streams other than the top metadata stream are output to the fragment data and metadata stream temporary storage unit as they are.

  The fragment data and metadata stream temporary storage unit includes, for example, a memory and the like, and the fragment data and metadata stream input from the metadata stream separation unit, and the fragment data input from the fragment data and metadata stream separation unit Is temporarily stored. When the list of fragment data and the ID of the metadata stream is requested from the metadata integration unit, the list of the stored fragment data and the ID of the metadata stream is output to the metadata integration unit. When the fragment data or metadata stream is requested by the fragment data or metadata stream separation unit together with the fragment data or metadata stream ID, the fragment data or metadata stream specified by the ID is transmitted. The data is output to the fragment data and metadata stream separation unit, and the fragment data or the metadata stream is deleted from the memory.

  The fragment data and metadata stream separation unit, when requested by the metadata integration unit together with the fragment data or metadata stream ID and the fragment data or metadata stream specified by the ID, the fragment specified by the ID. The data or metadata stream is requested from the fragment data / metadata stream temporary storage unit, and the fragment data / metadata stream output from the fragment data / metadata stream temporary storage unit is input. Further, when the input data is fragment data, the fragment data is output to the metadata integration unit. When the input data is a metadata stream, the metadata stream is separated into (plural) fragment data and (plural) fragment configuration information, and the fragment data is temporarily stored in the fragment data and the metadata stream. And outputs the fragment configuration information to the metadata integration unit.

  The metadata integration unit processes the fragment configuration information input from the metadata stream separation unit in the same manner as the fragment configuration information processing method in the first embodiment, and is included in the fragment configuration information or the fragment configuration information. The reference information is added to the metadata (structured data) stored in the metadata storage unit. When the user or the application instructs to resolve the reference information in the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit, the fragment data and the metadata are processed in the same manner as the reference information processing method in the first embodiment. Fragment data is obtained from the data stream separation unit and added to metadata, and related fragment configuration information is processed. However, when the fragment data and the data obtained from the metadata stream separation unit are (plural) fragment configuration information, the fragment configuration information is converted by the same method as the fragment configuration information processing method in the first embodiment. Processing, storing the fragment configuration information or reference information included in the fragment configuration information in the metadata storage unit (separately from the metadata already stored), and processing the meta data obtained by processing all the fragment configuration information. Data is added to a predetermined position of the original metadata. Further, when the fragment configuration information obtained from the fragment data and the metadata stream separation unit includes a reference to the metadata stream, the same processing is recursively repeated.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata transmission system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a fragmentation process of structured data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of fragment configuration information according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a method of specifying position information in fragment configuration information according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a method of specifying position information in fragment configuration information according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a method of specifying position information in fragment configuration information according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of a method of specifying position information in fragment configuration information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata transmission device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device according to the first embodiment. 5 is an example of a method of processing fragment configuration information in the content data and metadata receiving device of the first embodiment. 5 is an example of a method of processing fragment configuration information in the content data and metadata receiving device of the first embodiment. 5 is an example of a method of processing fragment configuration information in the content data and metadata receiving device of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata transmission system according to a second embodiment. It is a figure showing the structure of fragment composition information in a 2nd example. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata transmission system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device according to a third embodiment. It is a block diagram of a fragment update unit (2) in the metadata stream of the fourth embodiment. It is a figure showing the outline of fragmentation processing of structured data, and creation of a metadata stream in a 4th example. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for realizing a receiving device in a second embodiment by a computer. FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of a computer that realizes a receiving device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of a structured data receiving program executed by a computer. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of an MPEG-7 description stream in an MPEG-7 system. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing addition of a fragment to a metadata tree by an “add” command of a fragment update unit in the MPEG-7 system. It is a figure showing the outline of fragmentation processing of structured data in a 6th example. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a content data and metadata receiving device according to a sixth embodiment.

Claims (2)

A structure for transmitting a plurality of fragment data and respective fragment configuration information corresponding to the respective fragment data, which is information for integrating the respective fragment data into structured data having a tree structure stored on a receiving side. Device for transmitting encrypted data,
The fragment configuration information includes reference information having identification information for identifying the corresponding fragment data from each of the fragment data, and position information regarding a connection position in the structured data of the corresponding fragment data,
The position information included in the fragment configuration information is position information having information specifying a node in the structured data, and information specifying a connection position of the corresponding fragment data to the specified node. ,
A transmission device for structured data, comprising: transmission means for transmitting a data stream generated by arranging the fragment data and the fragment configuration information. A structured data transmitting apparatus for transmitting fragment configuration information corresponding to each fragment data, which is information for integrating a plurality of fragment data into structured data having a tree structure stored at a receiving side. So,
The fragment configuration information includes reference information having location information on the location of the corresponding fragment data, and location information on a connection location in the structured data of the corresponding fragment data,
The position information included in the fragment configuration information is position information having information specifying a node in the structured data, and information specifying a connection position of the corresponding fragment data to the specified node. ,
A transmitting unit for transmitting the fragment configuration information to the receiving side;

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