JP2005026977A - System and method for contents reservation distribution, mobile communication device, and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable contents to be downloaded quickly at various places. <P>SOLUTION: The download reservation information of desired contents is transmitted from a mobile communication device 1 to a content server 2 via a first radio communication system 3, and a contents server 3 receives the download reservation information. The download request of the desired contents is transmitted to the content server 2 from the mobile communication device 1 to the contents server 2 via a second communication system 5 when the mobile communication device 1 is moved into a second service area 5, and the contents server 2 receives the download request. The contents server 2 transmits the desired contents to a mobile terminal unit 1 via the second communication system 5, and the mobile communication device 1 receives the desired contents. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a content reservation distribution system, a content reservation distribution method, a mobile communication device, and a server device that download content such as music, video information, and newspaper to a mobile communication device such as a portable information terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, services that can use a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) have been actively performed in spaces where people gather such as airport lobbies, stations, and coffee shops. This service is generally a service for connecting to the Internet using a PC (personal computer) or a portable information terminal having a wireless LAN interface conforming to a standard. The data transfer rate of a wireless LAN standardized as IEEE 802.11b is 11 Mb / s at the maximum. By using this wireless LAN, it is possible to download a large amount of data such as music, video information, and newspapers in a short time. As described above, the wireless LAN has an advantage that the data transfer speed is high and a wireless license is unnecessary. On the other hand, since the radio wave output cannot be increased legally, there is a feature that the service can be performed only up to a distance of several hundred meters from the access point which is a base station of the wireless LAN.
[0003]
This wireless LAN service includes, for example, a service that allows you to download newspaper articles instantly at a station to read newspapers on a portable information terminal while on a train, a service that allows you to download music at street corners or convenience stores, etc. It is expected to be deployed in the future.
[0004]
However, in this type of service, even if the content can be downloaded in a short time, the procedure before starting the download may take a long time.
[0005]
For example, consider a service for downloading newspaper articles at a station. After entering the wireless LAN area, the user of the portable information terminal first starts connection with the wireless LAN access point. When the connection is completed, the user of the portable information terminal connects to a portal site (a function like a gateway to the Internet) where a newspaper article can be downloaded, and clicks a URL (uniform resource locator). Furthermore, the user authentication is performed by inputting the billing information, and the download starts for the first time. The time required for the above operation takes several to several tens of times longer than the time required to purchase an old newspaper using a paper medium at a station. The time required for the download procedure cannot be solved even if the data transfer rate is increased.
[0006]
In order to solve such a problem, a system for downloading content from a kiosk terminal to a portable information terminal is known (see Patent Document 1).
In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a portable information terminal makes a reservation for downloading content in advance to a server via a base station. At this time, the portable information terminal designates a kiosk terminal for downloading. The server issues an identifier to the portable information terminal. The server downloads the content reserved for download to the designated kiosk terminal. Then, the content is downloaded from the kiosk terminal by accessing the designated kiosk terminal using the identifier from the portable information terminal.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-338195 A.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the place where the content can be downloaded at a high speed is limited to a range where communication with the kiosk terminal designated at the time of reservation is possible. For this reason, when the user of the portable information terminal could not go to the range where communication with the kiosk terminal designated at the time of reservation was possible, the content could not be downloaded at high speed. In such a case, in order to download the content, the reservation must be changed, and there is a problem that a long time is required for the procedure.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to download content in various places in a short time.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transmits download reservation information of desired content from a mobile communication device to a content server via the first wireless communication system, and the content server receives the download reservation information. To do. The mobile communication device transmits a download request for the desired content to the content server via the second communication system, and the content server receives the download request. According to the received download reservation information and download request, the content server transmits the desired content to the mobile terminal device via the second communication system, and the mobile communication device receives the desired content. did.
[0011]
By taking such means, a download request is sent from the mobile communication device to the content server when the mobile communication device moves into the second service area. Then, based on the download reservation information sent from the mobile communication device to the content server via the first wireless communication system prior to the transmission / reception of the download request and the download request, the content server transfers to the mobile communication device. Content is sent. Therefore, when the mobile communication device moves into the second service area, the content is automatically downloaded from the content server to the mobile communication terminal in accordance with the advance reservation.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content reservation distribution system according to the present embodiment.
The content reservation distribution system shown in FIG. 1 includes a portable information terminal 1 and a content server 2. This content reservation distribution system distributes content such as newspapers, magazines, music, and video images from the content server 2 to the portable information terminal 1.
[0013]
The portable information terminal 1 has an interface function that allows access to the first wireless system 3 by wireless communication with the base station 4 belonging to the first wireless system 3. The portable information terminal 1 has an interface function that allows access to the second wireless system 5 by wireless communication with an access point 6 belonging to the second wireless system 5. The first wireless system 3 has a wider service range than the second wireless system 5, but the second wireless system 5 has a higher data transfer rate than the first wireless system 3. The first wireless system 3 can be connected to the Internet 8 and the authentication / billing server 9 via the gateway 7. The second wireless system 5 can be connected to the Internet 8 via the proxy server 10. The content server 2 is connected to the Internet 8.
[0014]
For example, a cellular telephone system can be used as the first wireless system 3. The gateway 7 performs protocol conversion between the first wireless system 3 and the Internet 8. The authentication / billing server 9 performs user authentication and billing processing for the Internet connection service. As the second wireless system 5, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) typified by IEEE 802.11b or IrDA (infrared communication) can be used. The proxy server 10 caches the content transferred from the Internet 8 to the second wireless system 5.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable information terminal 1. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the portable information terminal 1 includes an antenna 11, an antenna duplexer 12, a first radio unit 13, a second radio unit 14, a distribution reservation unit 15, a completion notification receiving unit 16, a distribution request unit 17, and A content receiver 18 is included.
[0016]
The antenna 11 converts incoming radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna duplexer 12 inputs the signal component of the frequency band used in the first radio system 3 in the output signal of the antenna 11 to the first radio unit 13 and is used in the second radio system 5. The signal component of the frequency band to be input to the second radio unit 14. The antenna duplexer 12 supplies output signals from the first radio unit 13 and the second radio unit 14 to the antenna 11, respectively. The antenna 11 radiates a radio wave according to the signal supplied through the antenna duplexer 12 in this way. The first wireless unit 13 corresponds to the first wireless system 3 and performs a known process for performing wireless communication with the base station 4. The second wireless unit 14 corresponds to the second wireless system 5 and performs a known process for performing wireless communication with the access point 6.
[0017]
The distribution reservation unit 15 inputs reservation information for reserving download of the desired content to the first wireless unit 13 so as to be transmitted to the content server 2 via the first wireless system 3. The completion notification receiving unit 16 extracts the reservation completion notification transmitted from the content server 2 from the output signal of the first wireless unit 13. The reservation completion notification includes use permission information and an IP address. When the portable information terminal 1 moves into the service area of the second wireless system 5, the distribution request unit 17 sends a distribution request for instructing the start of content distribution via the second wireless system 5 to the content server. 2 is input to the second radio unit 14 for transmission. The distribution request unit 17 includes the usage permission information received by the completion notification receiving unit 16 in the above distribution request. The content receiving unit 18 extracts the content transmitted from the content server 2 via the second wireless system from the output signal of the second wireless unit 14.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the content server 2. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the content server 2 includes a network interface 21, a reservation receiving unit 22, a reservation completion notification unit 23, a distribution request receiving unit 24, a content transmission unit 25, and a content storage unit 26.
[0019]
The network interface 21 transmits and receives information via the Internet 8. The network interface 21 inputs information received via the Internet 8 to the reservation receiving unit 22 and the distribution request receiving unit 24. The network interface 21 sends information output from the reservation completion notification unit 23 or the content transmission unit 25 to the Internet 8.
[0020]
The reservation receiving unit 22 extracts reservation information transmitted from the portable information terminal 1 from information output from the network interface 21. The reservation receiving unit 22 performs a content distribution reservation receiving process based on the reservation information. The reservation completion notification unit 23 is configured to transmit a reservation completion notification to the portable information terminal 1 via the first wireless system 3 in response to the reservation reception unit 22 completing the reservation reception process. 21. The distribution request receiving unit 24 extracts the distribution request transmitted from the portable information terminal 1 from the information output from the network interface 21. The distribution request receiving unit 24 inputs the usage permission information included in the distribution request to the content transmitting unit 25. The content transmission unit 25 determines the content to be distributed and the distribution destination of the content based on the details of the reservation received by the reservation reception unit 22 and the usage permission information input from the distribution request reception unit 24. The content transmission unit 25 reads the corresponding content from the content storage unit 26 and inputs the content to the network interface 21 to transmit the content to the corresponding distribution destination.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the content reservation distribution system configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of content reservation delivery.
If the user requests to make a reservation for content distribution, the portable information terminal 1 requests the first wireless system 3 to access the content server 2 (S1). Then, the first wireless system 3 requests authentication / billing from the authentication / billing server 9 (S2). In response to this request, the authentication / billing server 9 authenticates whether the portable information terminal 1 has the authority to access the content server 2 and performs billing processing (S3). Billing can be done by weighting according to the number of accesses or by flat-rate billing per month. The business operator that operates the authentication / billing server 9 need not be the same business operator that operates the content server 2. For example, a telecommunications carrier operating the first wireless system 3 also operates the authentication / billing server 9, and the telecommunications carrier collects a user access fee for content on behalf of the content provider. A mechanism can be used.
[0022]
The authentication / billing server 9 returns an authentication / billing response indicating the result of the authentication / billing process to the first wireless system 3 (S4). If it can be confirmed that the authentication / billing can be normally performed based on the authentication / billing response, the first wireless system 3 calls the content server 2 via the Internet 8 (S5). Although not shown, the first wireless system 3 refuses access to the content server 2 if it is confirmed that there is an abnormality in authentication / billing.
[0023]
When the content server 2 receives a call from the first wireless system 3, it returns a response to the call (S6). This response is transferred to the portable information terminal 1 by the first wireless system 3 as a response to the access request in S1 (S7). Thereby, the portable information terminal 1 and the content server 2 can communicate with each other via the first wireless system 3 and the Internet 8.
[0024]
Thereafter, in the portable information terminal 1, the distribution reservation unit 15 sends the reservation information to the content server 2. The reservation information includes information specifying the desired content. The reservation information is generated by the portable information terminal 1 based on information input by the user. When the reservation information reaches the content server 2, the reservation information is taken out by the reservation receiving unit 22. The reservation accepting unit 22 issues a user ID for identifying a reservation person and an authentication key for content acquisition, and the content assigned to the desired content specified by the reservation information. Use permission information is generated in association with the ID. Then, in the content server 2, the reservation completion notification unit 23 transmits a reservation completion notification to the portable information terminal 1 (S9). The reservation completion notification unit 23 includes the use permission information and the IP address in the reservation completion notification. The IP address is assigned to access the content server 2 when downloading the content. When the reservation completion notification reaches the portable information terminal 1, the reservation completion notification is taken out by the completion notification receiving unit 16. The completion notification receiving unit 16 stores the use permission information and the IP address included in the reservation completion notification.
[0025]
In the portable information terminal 1 in which the usage permission information and the IP address are stored in this way, the distribution request unit 17 monitors whether or not the current position is within the service area of the second wireless system 5 ( S10). The distribution request unit 17 can grasp the position of the portable information terminal 1 and the service area of the second wireless system 5 by using the first wireless system 3. The position of the portable information terminal 1 can be calculated based on information transmitted from a plurality of base stations 4 belonging to the first wireless system 3. It is also possible to have a GPS (Global Positioning System) function and know the position information using this GPS function. The superposition of the position of the portable information terminal 1 and the service area of the second wireless system 5 can be performed on the telecommunications carrier side that operates the first wireless system 3, or on the portable information terminal 1 side. Self-learning is also possible. When self-learning is performed at the portable information terminal 1, the user of the portable information terminal 1 needs to start communication with the access point 6 within the service area of the second wireless system 5 at least once. The distribution request unit 17 can be realized, for example, by causing a processor to execute an application program. In this case, it is necessary to continuously execute the application program. The program that is continuously executed may be an OS (Operating System) or middleware operating on the portable information terminal 1.
[0026]
If the mobile information terminal 1 moves and enters the service area of the second wireless system 5 as shown in FIG. 1, the distribution request unit 17 detects this. In this case, the distribution request unit 17 requests the second wireless system 5 to access the IP address stored in the completion notification receiving unit 16 (S11). Then, the second radio system 5 calls the designated IP address via the proxy server 10 and the Internet 8 (S12). Since the above IP address is assigned to the content server 2, the above call is made to the content server 2.
[0027]
When the content server 2 receives a call from the second wireless system 5, the content server 2 returns a response to the call (S13). This response is transferred to the portable information terminal 1 by the second wireless system 5 as a response to the access request in S11 (S14). Thereby, the portable information terminal 1 and the content server 2 can communicate with each other via the second wireless system 5, the proxy server 10, and the Internet 8.
[0028]
Thereafter, in the portable information terminal 1, the distribution request unit 17 sends a distribution request to the content server 2 (S15). The distribution request unit 17 includes the usage permission information stored in the completion notification receiving unit 16 in the above distribution request. When the distribution request reaches the content server 2, the distribution request is taken out by the distribution request receiving unit 24. The distribution request receiving unit 24 confirms which reservation is requested for distribution from the use permission information included in the above distribution request, and reads the reserved content from the content storage unit 26 to carry it. It transmits to the information terminal 1 (S16). When the content reaches the portable information terminal 1, the content is received by the content receiving unit 18.
[0029]
If the proxy server 10 caches content to be downloaded from the content server 2 to the portable information terminal 1, the content may be transmitted from the proxy server 10 to the portable information terminal 1.
[0030]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, content distribution is reserved in advance from the portable information terminal 1 to the content server 2 using the first wireless system 3 that has a low data transfer rate but can communicate over a wide range. Then, when moving into the service area of the second wireless system 5 capable of high-speed data communication, content is automatically downloaded using the high data transfer speed of the second wireless system 5. Is called. Therefore, the content can be downloaded in a short time. According to the present embodiment, since the download location and the terminal are not designated, the content can be downloaded anywhere within the service area of the second wireless system 5, so that the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used. Compared to this, the content can be downloaded at a more free place.
[0031]
This embodiment can be variously modified as follows.
The first wireless system 3 can be applied to any wireless system capable of providing a wide range of services, such as PHS (Personal Handy Phone System). The second wireless system 5 is, for example, a wireless LAN such as IEEE802.11a or IEEE802.11g, or a wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) such as UWB (Ultra Wide-Band) that has not been standardized at present. In addition, other systems having a high data transfer rate can be applied.
[0032]
Information included in the usage permission information can be arbitrarily changed. For example, if unique information of the portable information terminal 1 such as a terminal ID is used as the user ID, the user ID may not be included in the usage permission information. Further, if the reservation is identified by the reservation number or the like, the use permission information can be configured only by the reservation number. Further, if the reservation is identified by using the unique information of the portable information terminal 1 such as the terminal ID, it is possible to prevent the use permission information from being sent to the portable information terminal 1.
[0033]
Instead of the IP address, another type of address information such as URL (Uniform Resource Locators) may be notified to the portable information terminal 1. If the address for accessing the content server 2 is shared between the reservation and the download, the address is registered in the portable information terminal 1 in advance, or the address acquired at the time of reservation is stored in the portable information. If it is stored in the terminal 1, it is possible to prevent the address from being notified in the reservation completion notification.
[0034]
The proxy server 10 may not be provided. However, considering the case of downloading a newspaper at a station, since many users download the same content, it is more efficient to cache the content on the proxy server 10 without burdening the Internet.
[0035]
Instead of directly accessing the content server 2 from the portable information terminal 1, it may be configured to access a portal site. By placing a portal site server on the telecommunications carrier side that operates the first wireless system 3, that is, on the gateway 7 side, it is possible to charge for each content.
[0036]
The usage permission information and the IP address may be transmitted from the portal site to the portable information terminal 1.
[0037]
In addition, it is possible to charge the contents server 2 by automatically debiting a credit card number or a fixed amount, that is, by charging the ID and password over the Internet.
[0038]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when the mobile communication device moves into the second service area, the content is automatically downloaded from the content server to the mobile communication terminal according to the advance reservation. It is possible to perform in a short time in a short place.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content reservation distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable information terminal 1 in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content server 2 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of content reservation delivery.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Portable information terminal, 2 ... Content server, 3 ... 1st wireless system, 4 ... Base station, 5 ... 2nd wireless system, 6 ... Access point, 7 ... Gateway, 8 ... Internet, 9 ... Authentication and accounting Server 10, proxy server 11, antenna, 12 antenna sharing device, 13 first radio unit, 14 second radio unit, 15 distribution reservation unit, 16 completion notification receiving unit, 17 distribution request , 18 ... content receiver, 21 ... network interface, 22 ... reservation accepting unit, 23 ... reservation completion notifying unit, 24 ... distribution request accepting unit, 25 ... content transmitting unit, 26 ... content storage unit.

Claims (11)

A first wireless communication system having a first service area and a first data transfer rate; a second service area narrower than the first service area; and a second data faster than the first data transfer rate In a content reservation distribution system that performs reservation distribution between a content server that provides content and a mobile communication device via a second wireless communication system having a transfer rate,
The mobile communication device
Means for transmitting download reservation information of desired content to the content server via the first wireless communication system;
Request transmission means for transmitting a download request for the desired content to the content server via the second communication system;
Means for receiving desired content transmitted from the content server via the second communication system,
The content server
Means for receiving the download reservation information;
Means for receiving the download request;
Means for transmitting the desired content to the mobile terminal device via the second communication system in accordance with the received download reservation information and download request. The content server
In response to receiving the download reservation information, the mobile communication device further includes usage permission transmission means for transmitting usage permission data via the first wireless communication system,
The mobile communication device
Means for receiving the license data;
2. The content reservation distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the request transmission means includes the received use permission data in the download request. The content server
Means for transmitting address information indicating an address of the content server to the mobile communication device via the first wireless communication system in response to receiving the download reservation information;
The mobile communication device
Means for receiving the address information;
2. The content reservation distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the request transmission unit transmits the download request to an address indicated by the received address information. A first wireless communication system having a first service area and a first data transfer rate; a second service area narrower than the first service area; and a second data faster than the first data transfer rate In a content reservation distribution method for performing reservation distribution between a content server that provides content and a mobile communication device via a second wireless communication system having a transfer rate,
Transmitting download reservation information of desired content from the mobile communication device to the content server via the first wireless communication system;
The content server receives the download reservation information;
Transmitting a download request for the desired content from the mobile communication device to the content server via the second communication system;
The content server receives the download request;
In accordance with the download reservation information and download request received by the content server, the desired content is transmitted to the mobile terminal device via the second communication system,
A content reservation delivery method, wherein the mobile communication device receives desired content transmitted from the content server via the second communication system. A first wireless communication system having a first service area and a first data transfer rate; a second service area narrower than the first service area; and a second data faster than the first data transfer rate A mobile communication device capable of communicating with a content server that provides content via a second wireless communication system having a transfer rate,
Means for reserving download of desired content to the content server via the first wireless communication system;
Means for instructing the content server to transmit the desired content via the second communication system;
A mobile communication apparatus comprising: means for receiving desired content transmitted from the content server via the second communication system in response to the instruction. Means for receiving usage permission data transmitted from the content server via the second communication system;
6. The content reservation distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the request transmission means includes the received use permission data in the download request. Means for receiving address information transmitted from the content server via the second communication system;
6. The content reservation distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the request transmission unit transmits the download request to an address indicated by the received address information. A first wireless communication system having a first service area and a first data transfer rate; a second service area narrower than the first service area; and a second data faster than the first data transfer rate A content server that provides content to a mobile communication device via a second wireless communication system having a transfer rate,
Means for receiving download reservation information of desired content transmitted from the mobile communication device via the first wireless communication system;
Means for receiving a download request for the desired content transmitted from the mobile communication device via the second communication system;
A content server comprising: means for transmitting the desired content to the mobile terminal device via the second communication system according to the received download reservation information and download request. The system further comprises usage permission transmission means for transmitting usage permission data to the mobile communication device via the first wireless communication system in response to reception of the download reservation information. Item 9. The content server according to Item 8. The usage permission transmission means includes content identification information corresponding to the desired content, user identification information corresponding to a user of the mobile communication device, and authentication key information in the usage permission data. 9. The content server according to 9. And further comprising means for transmitting address information indicating an address of the content server to the mobile communication device via the first wireless communication system in response to the download reservation information being received. The content server according to claim 8.

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