JP2005151244A - Content storage support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content storage support system in which the storage of contents can be continued, even if a factor that disturbs the reception and storage of the contents in a communication terminal, occurs. <P>SOLUTION: In the content storage support system 1, a remaining memory capacity monitoring part 110 monitors the remaining capacity of a memory in a content memory part 120, a remaining battery capacity monitoring part 130 monitors the remaining capacity of a battery, and a reception quality monitoring part 140 monitors the reception quality, respectively. As a result of monitoring, when it is decided that the storage of contents is not completed, even from at least one of the remaining capacity of the memory, the remaining capacity of the battery and the reception quality, contents which have been received in a communication terminal 10, are stored in a support memory part 210 of a server device 20. When the storage of contents in the support memory part 210 is completed, the server device 20 then transmits the information of URL, indicating the place where the contents are stored, to the communication terminal 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides support for storing content when a communication terminal capable of transmitting information via a mobile communication network and receiving content via a broadcast network receives and stores the content. The present invention relates to a content storage support system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, services that receive and use content at communication terminals have been put into practical use. The communication terminal can store the received content in the IC memory. However, the capacity of the IC memory may be smaller than the capacity of the content and may not be able to store all of the received content. In order to cope with the shortage of the remaining capacity of the IC memory of the communication terminal, a technique for switching the content storage destination from the IC memory to the hard disk in accordance with the remaining capacity of the IC memory has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). ).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-9049

  According to the technique described above, even when the remaining capacity of the IC memory of the communication terminal is insufficient and content storage cannot be continued, the content can be stored in the hard disk of the communication terminal. However, the factors that hinder the reception and storage of content at the communication terminal are not limited to the shortage of the remaining capacity of the IC memory of the communication terminal, but other factors can be assumed. Therefore, the above-described technique cannot eliminate other factors that hinder the reception and storage of content at the communication terminal.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a content storage support system capable of continuing to store content even when a factor that hinders reception and storage of the content at a communication terminal occurs.

  The content storage support system according to the present invention enables a communication terminal capable of transmitting information via a mobile communication network and receiving content via a broadcast network to receive and store the content. A content storage support system for supporting storage, wherein (1) a first monitoring unit that monitors a remaining capacity of an information storage unit that stores content and generates a result of the monitoring as storage remaining capacity information; ) Second monitoring means for monitoring the remaining capacity of the battery driving the communication terminal, and generating the monitoring result as drive capacity information; and (3) reception quality when the communication terminal receives content via the broadcast network. And (4) at least one information of the remaining storage capacity information, the remaining drive capacity information, and the reception quality information, based on the third monitoring means for generating the monitoring result as reception quality information. (5) storage instruction information including a request to store content when the result of the determination is that content storage is not completed; Instruction transmitting means for transmitting via a mobile communication network.

  The remaining capacity of the information storage means, the remaining capacity of the battery, and the reception quality are monitored, and the results of such monitoring are generated as storage remaining capacity information, drive remaining capacity information, and reception quality information, respectively, so that the content is received and stored. The information which identifies the obstacle factor at the time can be generated. Since it is determined whether content storage is completed based on at least one of these pieces of information, it is possible to predict that content storage will not be completed due to an obstruction factor. When it is determined that content storage is not completed, the storage instruction information is transmitted via the mobile communication network, so that a request to store the content can be notified more reliably.

  In addition, the content storage support system of the present invention includes an instruction receiving unit that receives storage instruction information transmitted via a mobile communication network, an assistance storage unit that stores content based on the received storage instruction information, It is also preferable to comprise. Since the support storage unit stores the content based on the received storage instruction information, it is possible to store the content that is determined not to be stored by the information storage unit.

  Further, the content storage support system of the present invention includes a storage start notification means for transmitting a storage start notification for notifying that the storage of content has started to the communication terminal in response to the start of storage of the content by the support storage means. It is also preferable to include a reception control unit that controls to end the reception of the content in the communication terminal based on the transmitted storage start notification. Since the storage start notification for notifying that the storage of the content by the support storage means is started is transmitted to the communication terminal, and the reception of the content at the communication terminal is controlled based on the transmitted storage start notification. , The reception of duplicate content can be eliminated.

  In addition, the content storage support system of the present invention has a storage location for identifying the content storage completion and the storage location of the content on the mobile communication network in response to the completion of content storage by the support storage means. It is also preferable to provide storage completion notification means for transmitting a storage completion notification for notifying the identification information to the communication terminal. A storage completion notification is sent to the communication terminal to notify the content storage completion and the storage location of the content on the mobile communication network, so that the communication terminal receives the content storage location on the mobile communication network. can do. Therefore, the user of the communication terminal can use the content by referring to the storage location of the content on the mobile communication network even when the reception of the content by the communication terminal is terminated.

  In the content storage support system of the present invention, the reception quality information includes at least one of electric field intensity of a broadcast wave transmitted via the broadcast network and error information indicating an error of data transmitted via the broadcast network. It is preferable to include. Since the reception quality information includes at least one of broadcast wave electric field strength and data error information, the reception quality of the communication terminal can be grasped more accurately.

  According to the present invention, even when a factor that hinders reception and storage of content in a communication terminal occurs, storage of the content can be continued.

  The knowledge of the present invention can be easily understood by considering the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings shown for illustration only. Subsequently, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a content storage support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the content storage support system 1, the communication terminal 10 and the server device 20 are connected so as to be able to receive content from the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4. In addition, the communication terminal 10 and the server device 20 are connected so as to be able to transmit and receive information via the mobile communication network 6.

  First, the communication terminal 10 will be described. The communication terminal 10 is a mobile phone used by a user, and receives various contents such as music and images via the broadcast network 4 or the mobile communication network 6 in addition to voice calls via the mobile communication network 6. Is configured to be possible. The communication terminal 10 physically includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a memory, an input device such as a push button, a display device such as a display, a communication device, a removable battery, and the like.

  The communication terminal 10 includes, as functional components, a content receiving unit 100, a remaining memory capacity monitoring unit 110 (first monitoring unit), a content memory unit 120 (information storage unit), and a remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130 (first storage unit). 2 monitoring unit), reception quality monitoring unit 140 (third monitoring unit), completion determination unit 150 (completion determination unit), instruction transmission unit 160 (instruction transmission unit), and reception control unit 170 (reception control unit). And. Subsequently, each component will be described.

  The content receiving unit 100 is a part that receives the content distributed by the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4. The content receiving unit 100 stores the received content in the content memory unit 120. When content reception unit 100 starts receiving content, content reception unit 100 outputs a notification of content reception start to memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130, and reception quality monitoring unit 140. In addition, when the reception control unit 170 outputs a reception end command, the content reception unit 100 ends the content reception. Then, the notification of the end of content reception is output to the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140.

  The remaining memory capacity monitoring unit 110 is a part that monitors the remaining capacity of the content memory unit 120. Here, the content memory unit 120 is a part that stores the content received from the broadcast station 2. More specifically, the remaining memory capacity monitoring unit 110 outputs a notification of content reception start by the content receiving unit 100, and when content is received, sequentially measures the free capacity value of the content memory unit 120, Generates remaining storage capacity information including the measured free capacity value. Then, the generated remaining storage capacity information is output to the completion determination unit 150. When the content reception end notification is output by the content receiving unit 100, the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110 ends the measurement of the free capacity value of the memory and the generation of the storage remaining capacity information.

  The battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130 is a part that monitors the remaining capacity of a battery (not shown) that drives the communication terminal 10. More specifically, when a content reception start notification is output by the content receiving unit 100, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130 starts measuring the remaining battery level, and determines the measured remaining battery level. The remaining driving force information is sequentially generated. Then, the generated remaining driving power information is output to the completion determination unit 150. In addition, when the content reception end notification is output by the content receiving unit 100, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130 ends the measurement of the battery remaining amount value and the generation of the drive capacity information.

  The reception quality monitoring unit 140 is a part that monitors reception quality when the communication terminal 10 receives content from the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4. More specifically, the reception quality monitoring unit 140 starts monitoring the reception quality of the communication terminal 10 when the content reception unit 100 outputs a content reception start notification. More specifically, the reception quality monitoring unit 140, when a content reception start notification is output by the content reception unit 100, the strength of the radio wave received from the base station (electric field strength) and the received content Measurement of bit error rate is started as error information indicating data error, and reception quality information including electric field strength and bit error rate is sequentially generated. Then, the generated reception quality information is output to completion determination section 150. In addition, when the content reception unit 100 outputs a content reception end notification, the reception quality monitoring unit 140 ends the measurement of the electric field strength and the bit error rate and the generation of the reception quality information. In this embodiment, a bit error rate is used as error information, but other error information such as a frame error rate may be used.

  The completion determination unit 150 includes the storage remaining capacity information generated by the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the remaining drive capacity information generated by the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality information generated by the reception quality monitoring unit 140. This is a part for determining whether or not content storage in the communication terminal 10 is completed based on at least one piece of information. The operation of the completion determination unit 150 will be described subsequently.

  The completion determination unit 150 extracts the free capacity value of the content memory unit 120 included in the remaining storage capacity information. Then, the extracted free capacity value is compared with a predetermined threshold value. Here, the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the free capacity value is a value set in advance as not sufficient for storing the content. When the extracted free space value is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the completion determination unit 150 has insufficient free space in the content memory unit 120 to store the content, that is, stores the content in the communication terminal 10. Is determined to be unable to complete normally. When the extracted free capacity value is larger than the predetermined value, the completion determining unit 150 continues to extract the free capacity value from the stored remaining capacity information generated by the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, and the predetermined value Compare.

  Further, the completion determining unit 150 extracts the remaining battery value included in the remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130 and compares it with a predetermined threshold value. Here, the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the remaining battery level is a value set in advance as not sufficient to drive the communication terminal until content is received and stored. If the extracted remaining battery value is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the completion determination unit 150 normally completes storage of the content in the communication terminal 10 on the assumption that the battery may run out during reception of the content. Judge that you can not. When the extracted remaining battery value is larger than the predetermined value, the completion determination unit 150 extracts the remaining battery value from the sequentially input remaining power information and compares the extracted remaining battery value with the predetermined value. repeat.

  Further, the completion determination unit 150 extracts the electric field strength and the bit error rate included in the reception quality information, and compares this with a predetermined threshold value. Here, the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the electric field strength and the bit error rate is a value set in advance as not sufficient to receive the content with a constant reception quality. Comparing the extracted electric field strength and bit error rate with the predetermined values, and when the reception quality of the communication terminal 10 is intermittently deteriorated, the completion determination unit 150 receives the content at the communication terminal 10. Is determined to be interrupted, it is determined that the storage of content cannot be normally completed in the communication terminal 10. When there is no deterioration in the reception quality of the communication terminal 10, the completion determination unit 150 compares the electric field strength and the bit error rate with predetermined values according to the reception quality information sequentially input.

  In this way, the completion determination unit 150 compares the free capacity value of the content memory unit 120, the remaining battery level, the electric field strength, and the bit error rate with predetermined threshold values corresponding to each, and at least one of them. If it is determined from the comparison result that the content storage cannot be normally completed in the communication terminal 10, an incompletion notification indicating that the content storage is not completed is output to the instruction transmission unit 160. In the present embodiment, the completion determination unit 150 determines whether the content can be stored together, but the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140 A determination may be made and the result of the determination may be output as warning information. In this case, the completion determination unit 150 outputs a completion impossible notification based on the warning information output by the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140.

  When the completion determination unit 150 outputs a completion impossible notification, the instruction transmission unit 160 transmits storage instruction information to the server device 20 via the mobile communication network 6. Here, the storage instruction information is information requesting storage of content, and more specifically. A content identifier for specifying the content received by the communication terminal 10 and a communication terminal identifier for identifying the communication terminal 10 are included. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of storage instruction information transmitted by the instruction transmission unit 160. According to the example shown in FIG. 2, the storage instruction information includes a telephone number “09012345678” as a communication terminal identifier and “LHD12345” as a content identifier.

  The reception control unit 170 is a part that receives a storage start notification and a storage completion notification transmitted by the server device 20 described later. Here, the storage start notification notifies the server device 20 that content storage has started, and the storage completion notification notifies the server device 20 that content storage has been completed. When receiving the storage start notification, the reception control unit 170 controls the content reception unit 100 to end the content reception. More specifically, when receiving the storage start notification, the reception control unit 170 outputs a reception end command to the content receiving unit 100. On the other hand, when the storage completion notification is received, the reception control unit 170 extracts a URL, which is storage location identification information for identifying the content storage location, from the storage completion notification.

  Subsequently, the server device 20 will be described. The server device 20 is physically a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a memory, a data storage device such as a hard disk, a communication device, and the like. Further, the server device 20 stores, as functional components, an instruction receiving unit 200 (instruction receiving unit), a support storage unit 210 (support storage unit), a storage start notification unit 220 (storage start notification unit), and a storage. A completion notification unit 230 (storage completion notification means) and a broadcast reception unit 240 are provided.

  The instruction receiving unit 200 is a part that receives storage instruction information transmitted from the communication terminal 10 via the mobile communication network 6. The instruction receiving unit 200 outputs the received storage instruction information to the broadcast receiving unit 240.

  The broadcast receiving unit 240 is a part that receives content based on the storage instruction information output from the instruction receiving unit 200 and stores the content in the support storage unit 210. More specifically, the broadcast receiving unit 240 receives content from the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4 based on the content identifier included in the storage instruction information. Then, the broadcast receiving unit 240 stores the received content in the support storage unit 210. When the reception and storage of the content is started, the broadcast receiving unit 240 outputs the fact to the storage start notification unit 220 together with the information specifying the storage location of the content and the storage instruction information. In addition, when the reception and storage of the content are finished, the broadcast receiving unit 240 outputs the fact to the storage completion notification unit 230 together with information for specifying the storage location of the content and storage instruction information.

  The storage start notification unit 220 transmits a storage start notification to the communication terminal 10 via the mobile communication network 6 when the broadcast reception unit 240 outputs that the content storage has started. Here, the storage start notification may include a URL indicating the storage location of the content in the support storage unit 210 in addition to indicating the start of storage of the content. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a storage start notification transmitted by the storage start notification unit 220. According to the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the storage start notification includes a message “content storage has started” indicating the start of content storage, and a URL “HTTP: // xxx. co.jp/server-01/0123/1234.3 gp ". The storage start notification unit 220 transmits the storage start notification via the mobile communication network 6 to the communication terminal 10 specified by the communication terminal identifier “09012345678” included in the storage instruction information. In this embodiment, the content is stored as a file in the MPEG-4 format (extension “.3gp”), but in addition to this, the MPEG-1 format (extension “.mpg”) or the ASF format (extension) Child ".asf") file.

  The storage completion notification unit 230 is a part that transmits a storage completion notification when the broadcast reception unit 240 outputs that content storage has been completed. Here, the storage completion notification includes a content indicating completion of content storage and a URL indicating a content storage location in the support storage unit 210. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a storage completion notification transmitted by the storage completion notification unit 230. According to the example shown in FIG. 4, the storage completion notification includes a message “content storage completed” indicating completion of content storage and a URL “HTTP: // xxx. co.jp/server-01/0123/1234.3 gp ". The storage completion notification unit 230 transmits the storage start notification to the communication terminal 10 having the communication terminal identifier “09012345678” included in the storage instruction information via the mobile communication network 6.

  Next, the operation of the content storage support system 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing of each unit in the content storage support system 1. First, the content receiving unit 100 of the communication terminal 10 receives content from the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4 (S1). When receiving the content, the content receiving unit 100 outputs a notification of content reception start to the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140 (S2).

  When the notification of the start of content reception is input, the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110 monitors the free capacity of the memory, generates storage remaining capacity information including the free capacity value of the memory, and outputs it to the completion determination unit 150. (S3). When the notification of the start of content reception is input, the remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130 monitors the remaining battery capacity, generates remaining driving capacity information including the remaining battery capacity value, and outputs the generated information to the completion determining unit 150 ( S4). When the reception start notification of content is input, the reception quality monitoring unit 140 monitors the reception quality, generates reception quality information including the radio wave intensity and the bit error rate, and outputs the reception quality information to the completion determination unit 150 (S5). ). Note that the processes in the remaining memory capacity monitoring unit 110, the remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140 are performed in parallel.

  The completion determination unit 150 determines whether or not content storage is complete based on the remaining storage capacity information, the remaining drive capacity information, and the reception quality information (S6). When the completion determining unit 150 determines that the content storage is not completed based on at least one of the three pieces of information, a completion impossible notification is output to the instruction transmitting unit 160 (S7). The instruction transmission unit 160 transmits storage instruction information including the identifier of the communication terminal 10 and the content identifier to the server device 20 via the mobile communication network 6 (S8).

  The instruction receiving unit 200 of the server device 20 receives the storage instruction information via the mobile communication network 6 and outputs it to the broadcast receiving unit 240. Then, based on the content identifier extracted from the storage instruction information, the broadcast receiving unit 240 receives content from the broadcast station 2 via the broadcast network 4 and stores it in the support storage unit 210 (S9).

  When the broadcast reception unit 240 starts storing the received content in the support storage unit 210, the broadcast reception unit 240 outputs to the storage start notification unit 220 that the storage of the content has started. The storage start notification unit 220 transmits a storage start notification including the content storage start to the communication terminal 10 via the mobile communication network 6 (S10).

  When receiving the storage start notification, the reception control unit 170 of the communication terminal 10 outputs a reception end command to the content receiving unit 100 (S11). In response to the reception end command, the content receiving unit 100 ends the content reception (S12). When the content reception unit 100 finishes receiving the content, the content reception unit 100 outputs a notification of the content reception end to the memory remaining capacity monitoring unit 110, the battery remaining capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140. In response to the output, the remaining memory capacity monitoring unit 110, the remaining battery capacity monitoring unit 130, and the reception quality monitoring unit 140 end monitoring and information generation, respectively.

  When the broadcast reception unit 240 completes the storage of the received content in the support storage unit 210, the broadcast reception unit 240 outputs to the storage completion notification unit 230 that the storage of the content is completed. The storage completion notification unit 230 transmits to the communication terminal 10 a storage completion notification including notification of the completion of content storage and a URL indicating the storage location of the content in the support storage unit 210 (S14).

  When receiving the storage completion notification, the reception control unit 170 of the communication terminal 10 extracts the URL from the storage completion notification. The user of the communication terminal 10 can use the content stored in the support memory unit 210 of the server device 20, that is, the content received by the communication terminal 10 by accessing the extracted URL.

  In this way, the communication terminal 10 receiving the content monitors the remaining memory capacity, the remaining battery capacity, and the reception quality in the content memory unit 120 of the communication terminal 10. As a result of the monitoring, if it is determined that the content storage is not completed from at least one of the remaining capacity of the memory, the remaining capacity of the battery, and the reception quality, the server apparatus 20 supports the content received by the communication terminal 10 Store in the memory unit 210. When the storage of content in the support storage unit 210 is completed, the server device 20 transmits URL information indicating the storage location of the content to the communication terminal 10. Therefore, it is possible to use the content at the communication terminal 10 even when the reception is interrupted in consideration of the possibility of interruption of reception when the content is received at the communication terminal 10.

  Note that, in the content storage support system 1 according to the present embodiment, the reception quality monitoring unit 140 determines that content storage cannot be normally completed in the communication terminal 10 when the reception quality is intermittently deteriorated. However, it may be determined that the content storage cannot be completed normally when the reception quality continuously deteriorates for a predetermined time.

It is a block diagram which shows the content storage assistance system concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the storage instruction information transmitted by the storage instruction information transmission part. It is a figure which shows the example of the storage start notification transmitted by the storage start notification part. It is a figure which shows the example of the storage completion notification transmitted by the storage completion notification part. It is a figure which shows the process in a content storage assistance system.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Content storage support system, 2 ... Broadcasting station, 4 ... Broadcast network, 6 ... Mobile communication network, 10 ... Communication terminal, 20 ... Server apparatus, 100 ... Content receiving unit, 110 ... Memory remaining amount monitoring unit, 120 ... Content storage unit, 130 ... Battery remaining amount monitoring unit, 140 ... Reception quality monitoring unit, 150 ... Completion determination unit, 160 ... Instruction transmission unit, 170 ... Reception control unit, 200 ... Instruction reception unit, 210 ... Support storage unit, 220 ... Storage start notification unit, 230 ... Storage completion notification unit, 240 ... Broadcast receiver.

Claims (5)

Content storage support in which a communication terminal capable of transmitting information via a mobile communication network and receiving content via a broadcast network supports storage of the content when the content is received and stored A system,
First monitoring means for monitoring the remaining capacity of the information storage means for storing the content and generating the monitoring result as stored remaining capacity information;
A second monitoring unit that monitors a remaining capacity of a battery that drives the communication terminal, and generates a result of the monitoring as remaining driving power information;
Third monitoring means for monitoring reception quality when the communication terminal receives the content via the broadcast network, and generating a result of the monitoring as reception quality information;
Completion judging means for judging whether or not the storage of the content is completed based on at least one of the remaining storage capacity information, the remaining drive capacity information, and the reception quality information;
An instruction transmitting means for transmitting storage instruction information including a request for storing the content via the mobile communication network when the result of the determination is that the storage of the content is not completed;
A content storage support system comprising: Instruction receiving means for receiving storage instruction information transmitted via the mobile communication network;
Support storage means for storing the content based on the received storage instruction information;
The content storage support system according to claim 1, comprising: A storage start notifying unit for transmitting a storage start notification for notifying that the storage of the content has started in response to the start of storage of the content by the support storage unit;
A reception control means for controlling to end reception of the content in the communication terminal based on the transmitted storage start notification;
The content storage support system according to claim 2, comprising: In response to the completion of the storage of the content by the support storage means, notification of the completion of the storage of the content and storage location identification information for identifying the storage location of the content on the mobile communication network is notified. The content storage support system according to claim 2, further comprising storage completion notification means for transmitting a storage completion notification for the communication terminal to the communication terminal. 5. The reception quality information according to claim 1, wherein the reception quality information includes at least one of electric field intensity of a broadcast wave transmitted through the broadcast network and error information indicating an error in data transmitted through the broadcast network. The content storage support system according to any one of the above.

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