JP2005071519A - System, method and program for browsing media and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reproduce and browse a disk which is not stored in a disk changer under server management in a media browsing system. <P>SOLUTION: The disk changer 5 where a plurality of disks are stored and information on the selected disk can be reproduced, a browsing terminal 1 which can request browsing to the disk changer 5 and managing means (server 2 and management terminal 3) giving an instruction to the disk changer 5 to play-back the disk which is requested to be read from the browsing terminal 1 and to supply reproduced information to the browsing terminal 1 are connected through a network 4. The server 2 is provided with a database including information on the disk stored in the disk changer 5 and information on an outer disk which is not stored. When the browsing terminal 1 selects the outer disk, the browsing request of the outer disk is informed to the management terminal 3 if the server 2 confirms that the outer disk is not stored in the disk changer 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a media browsing system, a media browsing program, and a recording medium that manage external media that are not prepared in a media changer and that can be browsed on a browsing terminal.

  Conventionally, public facilities such as libraries, art galleries, museums, etc. have recorded video information and audio information on DVD-Video discs, music CDs, video CDs, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, etc., or media such as tapes ( A media browsing system that can browse media) is installed. In such a media browsing system, a disc changer capable of managing and operating a plurality of discs is used in order to reproduce and browse one selected from a large number of discs (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

This disc changer stores a plurality of discs in a stocker, and allows a specific disc to be selected and reproduced from the stored plurality of discs. In addition, by managing each disk in the disk changer, information management and operation is intended only for the disk stored in the disk changer.
JP 2002-245705 A

However, since the conventional media (hereinafter, representatively described about the disk) browsing system can manage and operate only the information on the disk stored in the disk changer, when a new disk is to be added. The number of disc changers was exceeded, and additional disc changers were required.
Further, when the disk changer is not added, there is a problem that a disk with a low usage frequency must be taken out of the disk changer for the number of disks to be added and removed from the system management.

  An example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve a problem that a disk that is not stored in a disk changer cannot be played back and viewed under server management in a media browsing system.

  The media browsing system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of media on which information is recorded are stored, a media changer capable of reproducing information on the selected media, and a browse request for the selected media can be made to the media changer. A network-connected media browsing device, and a management means for instructing the media changer to play back the media requested to be browsed from the browsing terminal and to provide the reproduced information to the browsing terminal In the system, the management means includes a database including information on external media not stored together with information on media stored in the medium changer, and when the external media is selected by the browsing terminal, Before the external media is not stored in the media changer If the management unit was confirmed by referring to the database, the media browsing system characterized by browse request of the external media is notified to the management unit.

  The media browsing method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of media on which information is recorded are stored, a media changer capable of reproducing information of the selected media, and a browse request for the selected media can be made to the media changer. In a network-connected environment, and a management means for instructing the media changer to play back the media requested to be browsed from the browsing terminal and to provide the reproduced information to the browsing terminal A method for browsing a medium, the step of requesting the management means to browse the external media selected by the browsing terminal, and the management means when the media requested to be browsed is not stored in the medium changer. Writing an external media browsing request in a database, and the management means And outputting an external media browsing request notification with reference to the source, and playing back the external media temporarily stored in the medium changer based on the browsing request notification under the management of the management means and providing the browsing terminal And a step of performing.

  The medium browsing program according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of media on which information is recorded are stored, a medium changer capable of reproducing information on the selected medium, and a request for browsing the selected medium to the medium changer. In a network-connected environment, and a management means for instructing the media changer to play back the media requested to be browsed from the browsing terminal and to provide the reproduced information to the browsing terminal A function for requesting the management means to browse the external media selected by the browsing terminal in the computer, and the management means is external when the media requested to be browsed is not stored in the medium changer. A function for writing a media browsing request to the database; and A function to output a browse request notification of external media with reference to the media, and the external media temporarily stored in the media changer based on the browse request notification is played under the management of the management means and provided to the browsing terminal And a function to realize the function.

  A recording medium according to a twelfth aspect is characterized in that the medium browsing program according to the eleventh aspect is recorded.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a media browsing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view conceptually showing the internal structure of the disk changer shown in FIG.
Here, a case where the medium to be browsed is a disk such as a DVD-Video disk, a music CD, a video CD, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like will be described.

The media browsing system 100 includes a browsing terminal 1 (one browsing terminal 1 is provided in each of a plurality of booths, for example), a server 2 and a management terminal 3 constituting management means via a network 4, respectively. It is connected.
The server 2 is connected (for example, SCSI connection) to the control unit 7 (see FIG. 2) of the disk changer 5 in which the browsing target medium (disk) is stored. In addition, a plurality of disk drives of a disk drive device 8 (see FIG. 2) provided in the disk changer 5 and the browsing terminal 1 provided in each booth are respectively connected (for example, SCSI connection).

The disc changer 5 stores a plurality of discs on which information is recorded in the stocker 6, conveys the selected discs to the disc drive device 8, and reproduces the information.
In the browsing terminal 1, when the user selects a desired disk on the menu screen, the browsing request for the selected disk is made to the server 2, and the desired disk selected in response to the browsing request is reproduced. It is performed by the disk drive device 8 in the disk changer 5, and the reproduced information can be browsed by the user on the screen of the browsing terminal 1.

  The server 2 instructs the disc changer 5 to transport the disc that has been requested to be browsed from the viewing terminal 1 to the temporary storage area for reproduction, and to provide the reproduced information to the viewing terminal 1. Further, the server 2 stores in the database (DB) information on the presence / absence of an external disk that is stored externally and used for browsing, and information that identifies the external disk.

  The management terminal 3 is connected to the server 2 and the browsing terminal 1 via the network 4, and the server 2 refers to the database that the disk selected by the user at the browsing terminal 1 is not prepared in the disk changer 5. In the case of confirmation, an external disk browsing request is notified on the screen of the display unit of the management terminal 3.

The management terminal 3 is connected to a receipt printer 11 as a printing unit. When there is a request for an external disk from the viewing terminal 1, the receipt printer 11 prints a disk request notification so that it can be provided to the administrator. In this way, if there is a printed notification (arrangement instruction), when the management terminal 3 is away from the storage location of the external disk, the external disk can be reliably searched while viewing the arrangement instruction. Alternatively, a person other than the administrator can go to search for an external disk based on this arrangement instruction, and the administrator does not have to leave the management terminal 3.
It should be noted that the management terminal 3 issues a warning by a sound such as a bell sound or a voice or a display (blinking display that is easier to understand than normal character display) instead of or together with the receipt printer 11. An apparatus etc. can also be provided. As a result, even when the administrator is away from the management terminal 3, it can be seen from the alarm that there is a request to browse the external disk.
Moreover, the server 2 and the management terminal 3 may be comprised integrally.

As shown in FIG. 2, the disk changer 5 includes a stocker 6 for storing a disk, a control unit 7, a disk drive device 8, and a disk insertion slot 9.
The stocker 6 is provided with an internal disk storage area 61 in which internal disks are stored, and a temporary storage area 62 in which external disks are temporarily stored.
The internal disk is stored in advance in a predetermined position of the internal disk storage area 61, and the position information and information such as the title of the disk are stored and managed in a database in the server 2.
The external disk is normally stored outside the disk changer 5 and is not shown by inserting a predetermined external disk requested from the disk insertion slot 9 by the administrator in response to a request from the browsing terminal 1. It is transported to the temporary storage area 62 by a disk transport mechanism or the like. The temporary storage area 62 is preferably provided so that a plurality of external disks can be stored. Thereby, it can respond also when there is a browsing request from a plurality of browsing terminals 1 at the same time.

The control unit 7 controls the entire operation of the disk changer 5 such as control of the conveyance of the disk, etc., mounting of the disk to the disk drive device 8, and drive control.
The disk drive device 8 is provided with, for example, the same number of disk drives corresponding to the number of browsing terminals 1, and reproduces information on a disk that is transported from the stocker 6 and mounted.

  Next, the procedure from the external disk browsing request process to the playback process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a procedure from when an external disk browsing request is made to when the external disk is stored in the disk changer 5 and when the storage is confirmed. 32 is a request after the external disk is confirmed to be stored. The procedure until the disc can be browsed is shown.

  First, the user selects a desired disk on the screen menu at the browsing terminal 1. At this time, if the disk selected by the user is an external disk that is not always stored in the medium changer, the fact that it takes time to prepare the disk is commented on the screen of the viewing terminal 1, and a request for browsing the external disk is made. Is performed on the server 2 (step S1).

The server 2 checks whether or not the browsed external disk is stored in the temporary storage area 62 of the disk changer 5 (step S2).
If the disk requested to be browsed is not stored in the temporary storage area 62, a request for browsing the external disk is written in the database (step S3).

  The management terminal 3 constantly monitors the database, and when an external disk browsing request is written to the database, the management terminal 3 displays on the display section that there is an external disk browsing request, and the alarm device emits an alarm sound ( Step S4). In addition, the receipt printer 11 performs receipt printer printing of the external disk request notification (step S5). Through these steps S4 and S5, the administrator can receive notification of a request to browse the external disk.

On the other hand, the browsing terminal 1 displays a disk storage standby screen (step S6).
When the waiting time is timed out or when the browsing request is canceled (step S7), the server 2 writes that the browsing request is canceled in the log file of the database (step S8).

  On the other hand, the administrator inserts a predetermined external disk requested to be viewed from the disk insertion slot 9 of the disk changer 5. The external disk is stored in the temporary storage area 62 of the stocker 6 by a disk transport mechanism (not shown). The position information (in the stocker 6) of the stored external disk, the title information of the external disk, and the like are written and displayed in the storage page that displays the disk storage status of the server 2 (step S9).

  Then, the server 2 writes the end of storage processing in the database (step S10). Since the management terminal 3 constantly monitors the database as described above, when the end of the storage process is written in the database, the state of the external disk browsing request is changed (step S11). At this time, if the display or warning of the external disk browsing request is not manually stopped, it is automatically stopped.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the external disk has already been stored in the temporary storage area 62 of the stocker 6, the return cancellation log display of the external disk is performed (step S12), and the storage process ends. Is written in the database (step S10).

  Furthermore, if the standby time has not yet timed out in step S7 and the browsing request has not been canceled and the storage of the external disk has been confirmed, the process proceeds to 32.

  The browsing terminal 1 makes a disk mount request to the disk drive device 8 of the disk changer 5 (step S13). At the same time, a standby screen is displayed.

The server 2 processes the disk mount request from the browsing terminal 1, and transmits a command to the management program (SVAP) on the server 2 side (step S14).
The management program (SVAP) on the server 2 side sends a disk mount check command to the management program (CLAP) on the viewing terminal 1 side, and writes the completion of disk mounting in the database (step S15).
The management program (CLAP) on the viewing terminal 1 side receives the disk mount check command (step S16), confirms the completion of disk mounting (step S17), and then transitions to the normal playback screen and requests it. The disc can be browsed (step S18).

In the above processing flow, the browsing request from the browsing terminal 1 is made to the external disk, but the browsing request is made to the internal disk stored in the internal disk storage area 61 of the disk changer 5. In this case, processing can be performed in the same procedure as shown in 32 in FIG. 3 without going through the flow 31 in FIG. 3 (media is immediately played back without notifying the management means).
In addition, when an external disk that has already been browsed is stored in the temporary storage area 62 without being returned, if there is a browsing request for this external disk again, As in the case where a browsing request is made, processing is performed in the same procedure as shown in 32 in FIG. 3 without going through the flow 31 in FIG. 3 (media is immediately played back without being notified to the management means). be able to.

  Next, a specific example to which the media browsing system according to the present embodiment is applied will be described in detail. In the following specific example, for example, in a library, an art museum, a museum, etc., a visitor views (views) a disc (media) such as a DVD or CD stored in the hall at a booth (BOOTO01) where the viewing terminal 1 is located. ).

Of the disks such as DVDs and CDs stored in the hall, external disks that cannot be stored in the disk changer 5 are stored in a bookcase in the hall. Information such as the titles of these external disks is stored in the server 2. The information is registered and can be displayed on the browsing terminal 1.
Therefore, when there is a request for viewing an external disk from the viewing terminal 1, the administrator or the like can view the external disk in the temporary storage area 62 of the disk changer 5.

  First, when a user (in BOOT01) selects a desired disc, title information is displayed on the screen of the browsing terminal 1. In the title information, for example, in the case of a movie, information such as a title, a director, an original author, and a performer is displayed. If this disk is an external disk, a warning message “This disk will take time to prepare” is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (see step S1 described above).

  Further, an “arrangement request message” as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the server 2 and the management terminal 3, and a warning sound is emitted. At the same time, an arrangement instruction as shown in FIG. 6 is printed out from the receipt printer 11 (see step S5 described above).

  Then, when the time-out time described in the arrangement instruction is reached without temporarily storing the external disk, a “time-out” display as shown in FIG. The browse request is canceled after the timeout time.

  Next, a procedure for the administrator to temporarily store the external disk in the disk changer 5 will be described. The administrator clicks the “arrangement request message” (see FIG. 5) of the server 2 according to the arrangement instruction as shown in FIG. 6 to display the “external disk temporary storage” page as shown in FIG. . On this “External Disk Temporary Storage” page, a list of external disks requested from each booth is currently displayed (in this example, only BOOT01). From this list display, find the disk for the placement instruction and click it. .

  As a result, a confirmation message as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. When a confirmation “OK” button as shown in FIG. 10 is clicked, a disk name and a storage instruction are displayed as shown in FIG. When the storage of the disc is completed, a completion message as shown in FIG.

If the requested external disk cannot be used for some reason such as being in use, rented out, or designated to be prohibited from browsing, the administrator can refuse temporary storage.
As described above, when the temporary storage is rejected, the “location request message” of the server 2 similar to that shown in FIG. 5 is clicked to display the “external disk temporary storage” page similar to FIG. Click “Reject” in the list.
Then, a confirmation message as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed, and an “OK” button is clicked. As a result, a message “This disc cannot be used now” is displayed on the viewing terminal 1 as shown in FIG.

Next, a case where the temporarily stored external disk is removed will be described.
When the reproduction of the material on the external disk is completed, a “return request message” as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed on both the server 2 and the management terminal 3.
Therefore, when the return request message of the server 2 is clicked, an “external disk temporary removal” page as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed. In this “external disk temporary removal” page, a list of disks stored in the temporary storage area 62 of the disk changer 5 is displayed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 17, when a disk to be taken out from the list display is searched and clicked, a confirmation message as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. When the “OK” button is clicked, a tray operation message as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed. When the removal of the disc is completed in this way, a completion message as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed.

As described above, in order to respond to an external disk arrangement request, an administrator needs to be always near the management terminal 3.
However, there may be a situation in which the manager cannot leave the management terminal 3 and cannot respond to the arrangement request. In such a case, it is necessary to temporarily stop the management function of the external disk.

  As described above, when the management function of the external disk is temporarily stopped, the “booth usage status” page as shown in FIG. 21 is opened, and “use of the external disk management function is enabled” at the bottom of this page. Click the “Medium” button (the part shown in FIG. 22). Then, a confirmation page as shown in FIG. 23 is displayed, and an “OK” button is clicked. As a result, the “external disk management function enabled” becomes “suspended” as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, in order to resume the external disk management function, the “booth usage status” page shown in FIG. 21 is opened again. At this time, “paused” is displayed at the bottom of the page as shown in FIG. Click on this. Then, an external disk management use (resumption) confirmation page as shown in FIG. 25 is displayed, and an “OK” button may be clicked. As a result, as shown in FIG. 22, “external disk management function enabled” returns to “in use”.

  As described above, even when an external disk of a material selected by a visiting user is not stored in the disk changer in a library, an art museum, a museum, etc., the material can be reproduced (viewed).

  In the above-described embodiment, the media browsing system, the media browsing program, and the recording medium according to the present invention are a DVD-Video disc, a music CD, a video CD, a CD-ROM, and a DVD-ROM on which video information and audio information are recorded. However, the present invention is also applicable to a media browsing system using other media such as a hot swappable (replaceable) HDD or tape.

  As described above in detail, according to the embodiment of the present invention, a disc (media) changer 5 in which a plurality of discs (media) on which information is recorded is stored and information on the selected disc can be reproduced, The disc changer 5 is configured so that the browsing terminal 1 that can request browsing of the selected disc to the disc changer 5 and the disc that has been requested to browse from the browsing terminal 1 are reproduced and the reproduced information is provided to the browsing terminal 1. Management means (server 2, management terminal 3) for instructing the server is connected via the network 4, and the server 2 includes information on the disks stored in the disk changer 5 as well as information on external disks that are not stored. When the external disk is selected by the browsing terminal 1, the external disk is not stored in the disk changer 5. If the server 2 confirms with reference to the database that, browse request of the external disk is notified to the management terminal 3.

  As a result, even when there is a browsing request for an external disk (medium) that is not stored in the disk (media) changer 5, the browsing request is notified to the management terminal 3. By receiving, the administrator inserts the external disk that has been requested to be browsed into the temporary storage area of the disk changer 5, so that this external disk is played under the management of the server 2, and the playback information is provided to the viewing terminal. The user can view (view). Therefore, even when there are a large number of discs exceeding the capacity of the disc changer 5, all the discs exceeding the capacity of the disc changer 5 can be managed in the database and easily used for browsing (viewing) on the browsing terminal. it can.

It is a block diagram which shows the media browsing system of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows notionally the internal structure of the disc changer in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure from the request | requirement of the external request to disk reproduction | regeneration in embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the title display screen at the time of the external disk selection of embodiment based on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning request | requirement message screen at the time of temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing arrangement | positioning instruction | indication at the time of the temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time-out screen at the time of temporary accommodation of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the list display screen at the time of the temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the screen at the time of the disk selection at the time of temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the temporary storage confirmation screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the disk accommodation instruction | indication screen at the time of the temporary accommodation of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the disk storage completion message screen at the time of temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the confirmation message screen at the time of refusal of temporary storage of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the rejection notification screen at the time of taking out of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the return request message screen at the time of taking out the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the list display screen at the time of taking out the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the screen at the time of the disk selection at the time of taking out the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the removal confirmation screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the taking-out display screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the extraction completion screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display screen of the booth usage status page of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the management function effective screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the management function temporary stop message screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the management function invalid screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the management function use message screen of the external disk of embodiment which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 browsing terminal 2 server (management means)
3 management terminals (management means)
4 Network 5 Disk (Media) Changer 6 Stocker 61 Internal Disk Storage Area 62 Temporary Storage Area 7 Control Unit 8 Disk Drive Device 9 Disk Insertion 11 Receipt Printer 100 Media Browsing System

Claims (12)

A medium changer capable of storing a plurality of media on which information is recorded and reproducing information of the selected media;
A browsing terminal capable of browsing the selected medium to the medium changer;
A management means for instructing the medium changer to play back the media requested to be browsed from the browsing terminal and to provide the reproduced information to the browsing terminal, is a network browsing system connected to a network,
The management means includes a database including information on media stored in the medium changer and information on external media not stored,
When the management unit confirms that the external medium is not stored in the medium changer by referring to the database when the external medium is selected by the browsing terminal, the browsing request for the external medium is the management A media browsing system that is notified to means. 2. The media browsing system according to claim 1, wherein the medium changer has a temporary storage area that can temporarily store an external medium inserted based on a request for browsing the external medium notified to the management unit. . The media browsing system according to claim 2, wherein the temporary storage area is provided so that a plurality of external disks can be stored. 4. The media browsing according to claim 3, wherein when the external media selected by the viewing terminal is already stored in the temporary storage area, the media is immediately played back without being notified to the management means. system. 5. The media browsing system according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit connected to the management unit, wherein the notification of the browsing request for the external medium is printed out by the printing unit. . The media browsing system according to claim 1, wherein the management unit includes an alarm device that issues an alarm, and the notification of the external media browsing request is made by the alarm device. The media browsing system according to claim 1, wherein the management unit includes a display unit, and a notification of the browse request for the external media is displayed on the display unit. 8. The media browsing system according to claim 1, further comprising means for temporarily refusing storage of the external media requested to be browsed in the medium changer. The media browsing system according to claim 1, wherein when the external medium is not stored in the medium changer within a predetermined time, the browsing request from the management unit is canceled. A medium changer capable of storing a plurality of media in which information is recorded and reproducing information of the selected medium, a browsing terminal capable of requesting browsing of the selected medium to the medium changer, and a browsing request from the browsing terminal A medium browsing method in a network-connected environment, and a management means for instructing the medium changer to play back the media that has been recorded and to provide the reproduced information to the browsing terminal,
Requesting the management means to browse the external media selected by the browsing terminal;
When the media requested to be browsed is not stored in the media changer, the management means writes a browse request for external media in a database;
The management means referring to the database to output an external media browsing request notification;
Playing back external media temporarily stored in a medium changer based on the browsing request notification under the management of the management means and providing the media to the browsing terminal. A medium changer capable of storing a plurality of media in which information is recorded and reproducing information of the selected medium, a browsing terminal capable of requesting browsing of the selected medium to the medium changer, and a browsing request from the browsing terminal In a network-connected environment, management means for instructing the media changer to play back the media that has been played and to provide the played information to the viewing terminal,
On the computer,
A function of requesting the management means to browse the external media selected by the browsing terminal;
A function in which the management means writes an external media browsing request to the database when the media requested to be browsed is not stored in the medium changer;
A function for the management terminal to output an external media browsing request notification with reference to the database;
A media browsing program that realizes a function of reproducing external media temporarily stored in the media changer based on the browsing request notification under the management of the management means and providing the same to the browsing terminal. 12. A recording medium on which the media browsing program according to claim 11 is recorded.

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