JP2005334201A - Content communicating device, and content communicating program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content communicating technology for communicating a plurality of contents as a package when a plurality of the contents are communicated (transmitted/received) through various kinds of networks. <P>SOLUTION: A content communicating device (a server 2, terminal units, i.e., cellular phones 6, 8, 10 and 12) is equipped with content receiving means 14 and 24 which receive a plurality of the contents, content storing means 16 and 26 which store a plurality of the contents, content extracting means 18 and 28 which extract a plurality of the contents, and package-transmitting means 20 and 30 which transmit a plurality of the contents as a package. On the cellular phones, a content performing means 32 which performs the contents is provided, and respective contents which have been performed are stored in the content storing means. On the server, a communication managing means 22 which performs a communication management for a plurality of the contents between the terminal units is provided. Then, as the communication managing means manages the content extracting means and the package-transmitting means, a plurality of the contents are collectively transmitted as a package for each terminal unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content communication technique for communicating a plurality of contents at once. For example, when communicating (transmitting / receiving) a plurality of contents through various networks, the content communication technique for communicating a plurality of contents at once About.

In recent years, with the widespread use of various networks (for example, the Internet and LAN (Local Area Network)), content communication techniques for communicating (transmitting / receiving) a plurality of contents between a plurality of nodes connected to the network have been proposed. ing. In this case, as the node, for example, various terminals (mobile phone, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), computer (including server), etc. can be assumed. , Multimedia information such as images (moving images, still images), sounds, and characters can be assumed.
As an example of content communication technology, in the multi-face pointing processing method disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of game screens such as shogi and go (for example, a game board) are displayed on the terminal screen, and a plurality of games can be enjoyed simultaneously. It is like that. In this case, the content is a game screen such as Go or Shogi.

By the way, in the conventional content communication technology as described above, it is designed to communicate (send / receive) the updated content for each game, so if communication of the content is frequently performed, the communication path ( The amount of content (traffic) that passes through (wired or wireless) increases, and the load on the server that manages content communication such as overhead may increase. If so, there is a possibility that a communication time delay or a communication error may occur, and there is a possibility that the interest in the game (contents) may be reduced.
JP-A-9-215868

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a content communication technique for collectively communicating a plurality of contents when communicating (transmitting / receiving) a plurality of contents through various networks. Is to provide.

In order to achieve such an object, the content communication apparatus of the present invention stores content receiving means 14, 24 for receiving a plurality of contents, content storing means 16, 26 for storing a plurality of received contents, Content extraction means 18, 28 for extracting a plurality of contents and batch transmission means 20, 30 for transmitting a plurality of the extracted contents all at once, so that when communicating a plurality of contents through various networks In addition, a plurality of contents are communicated together.
The content communication program of the present invention includes a content reception procedure for receiving a plurality of contents, a content storage procedure for storing a plurality of received contents, a content extraction procedure for extracting a plurality of stored contents, and a plurality of extracted The content communication apparatus executes a batch transmission procedure for transmitting the contents in a batch.
In such an invention, the content communication device is a terminal 6, 8, 10, 12 connected to various networks, and the terminal (the content communication program thereof) is further received by the content receiving means (procedure). It has content execution means 32 (procedure) for executing content, and each content executed by the content execution means (procedure) is stored by the content storage means (procedure).
The content communication device is a server 2 constructed on various networks, and the server (content communication program) further includes communication management means 22 (procedure) for managing communication of a plurality of contents between terminals. The communication management unit (procedure) manages the content extraction unit (procedure) and the collective transmission unit (procedure) to transmit a plurality of extracted contents all at once for each terminal.
In this case, the content receiving means (procedure) may be configured to receive a plurality of contents at once.

  According to the content communication technology of the present invention, when a plurality of contents are communicated (transmitted / received) through various networks, the content amount (traffic) passing through the communication path (wired, wireless) is communicated by collectively communicating the plurality of contents. ) Can be reduced, and the load (for example, overhead) on the server that manages content communication can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a communication time delay, a communication error, and the like, and it is possible to maintain and improve the interest in the content.

Hereinafter, a content communication apparatus and a content communication program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), according to the content communication apparatus of the present embodiment, when a plurality of contents are communicated (transmitted / received) through various networks 4 (for example, the Internet, LAN), the plurality of contents are batched. Communication can reduce the amount of content (traffic) that passes through the communication path (wired, wireless) from the terminal to the server and reduce the load (for example, overhead) on the server that manages content communication. it can. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a communication time delay, a communication error, and the like, and it is possible to maintain and improve the interest in the content.

  The content communication apparatus according to the present embodiment is positioned as a server 2 (computer that manages content communication) or various terminals 6, 8, 10, 12 connected to various networks 4, and the server 2 and the terminals 6, 8, As a method for distributing content between 10 and 12, for example, either a wired or wireless method may be used. In this case, as the terminals 6, 8, 10, and 12, for example, a mobile phone, PHS, PDA, computer, and the like can be assumed. However, in the following description, the mobile phones 6, 8, 10, Assume 12.

In order to realize the above-described effects, the content communication device (server 2, mobile phone 6, 8, 10, 12) receives a plurality of contents as shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c). Content receiving means 14 and 24, content storing means 16 and 26 for storing a plurality of received contents, content extracting means 18 and 28 for extracting a plurality of stored contents, and a plurality of extracted contents at once Collective transmission means 20 and 30 for transmission are provided.
Here, the content means various multimedia information such as moving images, still images, characters, and voices. In the following description, as an example of the multimedia information, shogi, go, card game, mahjong Suppose information about various games, such as pachislot and pachinko. Examples of game-related information include game records that represent the game procedures of Go and Shogi with numbers and symbols, and game records that represent card games, mahjong, pachislot, and pachinko games with numbers and symbols. To do.

  The content receivers 14 and 24 are not particularly limited here because various commercially available receivers can be used as they are. In this case, the content receiving means 14 and 24 may be configured to receive a plurality of contents at once. According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of content (traffic) passing through the communication path (wired, wireless) and reduce the load (for example, overhead) on the server 2 that manages content communication. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a communication time delay or a communication error.

As the content storage means 16, 26, for example, a database that is software for efficiently managing various contents, or a nonvolatile memory (flash memory that can electrically erase and rewrite registered contents and does not require a backup power supply) Memory) etc. can be applied. In this case, the content is converted into a digital signal or an analog signal that can be electrically processed and registered in the content storage means 16 and 26.
For example, assuming a content related to shogi, the content storage means 16 and 26 register the game score (movement of the piece, procedure) in the person-to-person game.

  The content extraction means 18 and 28 are configured to extract a plurality of contents to be transmitted in batch by the batch transmission means 20 and 30 from the content storage means 16 and 26. In this case, the content extraction / transmission method can be arbitrarily set according to the purpose of use of the content communication device (server 2, mobile phone 6, 8, 10, 12). For example, in the mobile phones 6, 8, 10, and 12, all the contents currently being executed are stored in the content storage unit 26, and then all the contents extracted by the content extraction unit 28 are transmitted together by the batch transmission unit 30. . Further, for example, in the server 2, after all the plurality of contents are stored in the content storage unit 16, each content extracted for each transmission destination by the content extraction unit 28 is applied to the corresponding mobile phone 6, 8, 10, Send to 12 at once.

Assuming a terminal (cell phone 6, 8, 10, 12) connected to the network 4 as such a content communication device, the cell phone 6, 8, 10, 12 receives the content by the content receiving means 24, respectively. A content execution unit 32 for executing each content is provided, and each content executed by the content execution unit 32 is stored in the content storage unit 26.
In this case, as the content execution means 32, the dial buttons 6b, 8b, 10b, 12b of the mobile phones 6, 8, 10, 12 and the cursor key 36 can be applied. By operating, the content can be executed.

  For example, assuming a shogi player's game as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the piece to be moved (for example, first 27 “steps”) with the game board surface displayed on the display screens 6a, 8a, 10a, 12a. ) Is selected with the cursor key 36, and then the place where the piece is to be placed (for example, the first 26th square) is selected with the cursor key 36 and is inverted. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), it is possible to display the playing board surface of six steps ahead. Note that this operation method is an example, and it is needless to say that each piece can be moved by another method. For example, after selecting the piece to be moved (for example, the first hand 27 “step”) with the cursor key 36 and pressing the dial buttons 6b, 8b, 10b, 12b in the order of “2” “6”, the first hand 26 steps Can be displayed.

After moving the piece in this manner, the save button 38 (FIG. 2 (a)) displayed on the display screens 6a and 8a is pressed, so that the playing board surface of the first 26 steps is converted into a digital signal or an analog signal. And stored in the content storage unit 26. Then, a plurality of other contents currently being played (personal games) are also stored in the content storage means 26 in the same procedure. At this time, all the contents stored in the content storage unit 26 are extracted by the content extraction unit 28, and all the extracted contents are transmitted in a batch by the batch transmission unit 30.
According to such a content extraction / transmission method, since a plurality of contents can be transmitted at once, the amount of content passing through a communication path (wired or wireless) from the mobile phone 6, 8, 10, 12 to the server 2 By reducing (traffic), it is possible to reduce the load (for example, overhead) on the server 2 that manages content communication. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a communication time delay or a communication error.

Assuming that the server 2 built on the network 4 is assumed as a content communication device, the server 2 has communication management for managing communication of a plurality of contents between terminals (between mobile phones 6, 8, 10, and 12). Means 22 is provided, and the communication management means 22 manages the content extraction means 18 and the collective transmission means 20 to collect a plurality of extracted contents for each terminal (mobile phone 6, 8, 10, 12). Are sent all at once.
The server 2 is also provided with a database (DB) 34 for registering personal information of users who wish to communicate content (FIG. 1 (b)). FIG. 4 shows an example of registration in the DB 34. In the DB 34, for example, the gender, age, shogi repulsion and school for each user (A child, B husband) are registered, and the mobile phone An IP address and a contracted communication carrier are registered in association with the user. As a result, the user who uses the mobile phone can be specified, and the reliability of content communication is ensured. In the DB 34, a game history is registered for each user, and it is possible to grasp past changes in repulsive force, wins and losses of a personal game, and the like.

In this case, the communication management means 22 of the server 2 determines the transmission destination based on the personal information in the DB 34 and manages the content extraction means 18 and the collective transmission means 20. At this time, based on the transmission destination determined by the communication management unit 22, the content extraction unit 18 extracts a plurality of contents from the content storage unit 16, and the plurality of contents extracted at this time correspond to the portable transmission unit 20 corresponding to the batch transmission unit 20. Batch sent to the phone.
According to such a content extraction / transmission method, since a plurality of contents can be transmitted at once, the amount of content passing through the communication path (wired, wireless) from the server 2 to the mobile phones 6, 8, 10, 12 (Traffic) can be reduced, and a plurality of contents can be temporarily stored (pooled) by the content storage means 16 to avoid over-spec, for example, during centralized access. The load (for example, overhead) can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a communication time delay or a communication error.

  Here, the operation of the content communication apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration and effects will be described. In this description of operation, it is assumed that Shogi is a person-to-person game as an example of content, and a user of the mobile phone 6 is connected to a plurality of users (for example, mobile phones 8, 10, 12) via the server 2. A case where multifaceted pointing is performed will be described. In this case, it is assumed that personal information of all users is registered in the DB 34 in advance.

  First, as a method for the user of the mobile phone 6 to register the game with the server 2, for example, “application” registration (FIG. 5 (a)) in which the user himself applies for the game, and waiting for a game application from the other party “ “Reception” registration (FIG. 5B) is considered. In any registration method, it is possible to assume various selection items such as random, user designation, and guidance. When the random item is selected, the server 2 randomly selects the opponent in accordance with the condition setting. When the user designation item is selected, it is possible to play with the other party desired by the user. Then, when a guidance item is selected, it is possible to play with a higher-level opponent or a professional player.

After undergoing such a registration process (for example, selecting a random item), as shown in FIG. 1 (d), for example, the user of the mobile phone 6 is currently pointing to three opponents. Suppose you are playing with 3 opponents. When the game list is displayed in this state, the display screen 6a of the mobile phone 6 of the user can grasp at a glance the progress status of the multifaceted game.
In this case, when an item in the game of three stations is selected, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the display screen 6a of the mobile phone 6 displays the board currently being played, and can play with the opponent. It becomes. Here, the board surface immediately before the first move to the next move at the start of the game is displayed.

  On this board, a display field 40 of other 3 opponents, another player list field 42, etc. are displayed at the same time, so that the detailed progress status of the multifaceted game can be grasped at a glance. For example, when the 1st station button in the other player list field 42 is selected and the enter button 44 is pressed, the 1st station board is displayed instead of the 3rd board, and the 2nd station button is selected and determined in that state. When the button 44 is pressed, two game boards are displayed instead of one board. By selecting the station button in the other player list column 42 in this way, it is possible to arbitrarily display a multi-faced game board surface continuously, and as a result, the multi-faced game is simultaneously displayed by the content execution means 32. Can be executed. Then, if the save button 38 is pressed after the content execution means 32 has made a move on each multi-faced game board face, each board face is converted into a digital signal or an analog signal and stored in the content storage means 26.

  When the save button 38 is pressed, the elapsed time and progress at that time are simultaneously saved in the content saving means 26, and the saved contents are displayed as a game list on the display screen 6a of the mobile phone 6 (FIG. 1 (d). )). In this game list, it is displayed that one game has ended due to the victory of the user, and two games have been displayed that 2 hours and 28 minutes have passed with the user's 54 hands. Then, when the user hits the first 26 steps during the game of three stations (FIG. 2 (a)) (FIG. 2 (b)), by pressing the save button 38, the board surface becomes a digital signal. Or converted into an analog signal and stored in the content storage unit 26. At this time, the elapsed time (3 minutes) and the progress (one hand) of the three stations are displayed in the game list (FIG. 2 (c)).

Thus, when the registration for all the player games is completed, when the user presses the send button 46, all the game board surfaces stored in the content storage unit 26 are extracted by the content extraction unit 28, and the extracted All the game board surfaces are transmitted to the server 2 at once by the collective transmission means 30. At this time, it is preferable that all the digital signals or analog signals stored on the content storage means 26 are erased after a predetermined time.
This is because the game board surface is updated according to the progress of the game (every time it is hit), so that it is necessary to increase the storage capacity of the content storage means 26 in order to save all the update information. In this case, the configuration of the content storage unit 26 must be increased. As a result, the mobile phone 6 is also increased in size, and the power required for controlling the content storage unit 26 is increased, which is not convenient. .

  All the game board surfaces transmitted from the mobile phone 6 are collectively received by the content receiving unit 14 of the server 2 and then stored in the content storing unit 16. Then, the content extraction unit 18 extracts a plurality of contents from the content storage unit 16, and the plurality of extracted contents are collectively transmitted to the corresponding mobile phone by the batch transmission unit 20. The extraction / transmission process at this time is controlled by the communication management means 22.

  For example, if one opponent is a user of the mobile phone 8, two opponents are a user of the mobile phone 10, and three opponents are a user of the mobile phone 12, the communication management means 22 is connected to the DB 34. The content extraction unit 18 extracts a plurality of playing board surfaces from the content storage unit 16 based on the determined transmission destination, and the plurality of playing board surfaces extracted at this time are collectively transmitted. By means 20, the data are transmitted all at once to the corresponding mobile phone. That is, one station board (98-hand board) is transmitted to the user of the mobile phone 8, two stations board (54-hand board) is transmitted to the user of the mobile phone 10, and three stations are played. The board surface (the board surface of one hand) is transmitted to the user of the mobile phone 12.

In this case, for example, if the user of the mobile phone 8 is also playing a multifaceted game, a plurality of game board surfaces may be transmitted to the user from other users than the user of the mobile phone 6. is assumed. In such a case, the content extracting unit 18 extracts all the playing board surfaces to be transmitted to the user of the mobile phone 8, and all the extracted playing board surfaces are directed to the corresponding mobile phone 8 by the collective transmission unit 20. It is sent all at once. At this time, it is preferable that all the digital signals or analog signals stored in the content storage unit 16 are erased after a predetermined time has elapsed.
This is because the game board surface is updated according to the progress of the game (every time it is hit), so that it is necessary to increase the storage capacity of the content storage means 16 in order to save all the update information. In this case, the configuration of the content storage unit 16 must be increased. As a result, the server 2 is also increased in size, and the power required for controlling the content storage unit 16 is increased, which is not convenient.

  After that, each user to whom each game board surface is transmitted executes a game (for example, one hand in the rear hand) with the mobile phone 8, 10 or 12, and then transmits that game board surface to the server 2, all users A new game board surface is transmitted from the server 2 to the user of the mobile phone 6 at a time. At this time, a new game list (not shown) is displayed on the display screen 6a of the mobile phone 6 of the user, and the game can be executed.

  In addition, when there is an application for a new game during the execution of such a game, for example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the information is displayed in the new game reception list column 48 with the buttons “new 1” “new”. 2 "is displayed. When confirming the “new 1” game applicant, when the new 1 button is selected and the enter button 50 is pressed, the new 1 player data as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display screen 6a of the mobile phone 6, for example. Can be displayed. In this case, when the user receives a game of a new player, by selecting the selection item “Receive” displayed on the display screen 6a, for example, the item of 4 stations is “game acceptance” in the game list. The display of “medium” (FIG. 1 (d)) is rewritten to the display of “new 1 acceptance completed” (FIG. 2 (c)). As a result, the multi-point pointing game of four stations can be executed from the state of the multi-point pointing game of three stations at the beginning.

  As described above, according to the operation of the present embodiment, the load (for example, overhead) on the server that manages content communication is reduced by reducing the amount of content (traffic) that passes through the communication path (wired, wireless) from the terminal to the server. Since it is possible to reduce communication time delays and communication errors, it is possible to perform interpersonal games (contents) that meet the needs of users. It becomes possible to further maintain and improve the interest.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shogi player's game is illustrated as the content. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the content includes a plurality of problems such as a packed shogi or the next move, the plurality of content items. Needless to say, the technique of the present embodiment can also be applied to a method of collectively transmitting the result of executing (the answer result of the problem). Further, for example, in various games such as pachislot and pachinko, when different game states are set as a plurality of contents, the technique of the present embodiment can also be applied to a method of transmitting the plurality of contents collectively.

(a) is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the network with which the content communication apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention was constructed | assembled, (b) is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the content communication apparatus as a server, (c) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a content communication apparatus as a terminal, and FIG. 4D is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display screen of a terminal (mobile phone) that is playing a plurality of games simultaneously. (a) is an operation explanatory diagram for moving a shogi piece by content receiving means in a plurality of interpersonal games, (b) is a diagram showing a state after moving a predetermined piece, (c) is a diagram The figure which shows the structural example of the display screen of a terminal (mobile telephone) at the time of pushing a save button after moving a predetermined | prescribed piece. The figure which shows the state by which the personal data of a new 1 player are displayed on the display screen of a terminal (mobile phone) when the new 1 button of the new game acceptance list of FIG. The figure which shows the example of registration of the personal information registered into the database of a server. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display screen of a terminal (mobile phone) when registering a game with a server, and (a) is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display screen when a user applies for a game by himself; (b) is a figure which shows the structural example of a display screen when a user waits for the game application from the other party.

Explanation of symbols

2 Server (content communication device)
4 network
6,8,10,12 Mobile phone (terminal)
14,24 Content receiving means
16,26 Content storage means
18,28 Content extraction means
20, 30 Batch transmission means 22 Communication management means 32 Content execution means 34 Database (DB)

Claims (8)

A content communication device for communicating a plurality of contents collectively when communicating a plurality of contents through various networks,
Content receiving means for receiving a plurality of contents;
Content storage means for storing a plurality of received contents;
Content extracting means for extracting a plurality of stored contents;
A content communication apparatus comprising: a collective transmission unit configured to collectively transmit a plurality of extracted contents. The content communication device is a terminal connected to various networks,
The terminal is further provided with content execution means for executing each content received by the content reception means,
The content communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each content executed by the content execution unit is stored in the content storage unit. The content communication device is a server built on various networks,
The server further includes communication management means for managing communication between a plurality of contents between terminals.
The content communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication management unit manages the content extraction unit and the batch transmission unit to collectively transmit the plurality of extracted contents for each terminal.   The content communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content receiving means receives a plurality of contents all at once. A content communication program for collectively communicating a plurality of contents when communicating a plurality of contents through various networks to a content communication apparatus according to a predetermined procedure,
A content receiving procedure for receiving a plurality of contents;
A content storage procedure for storing multiple received content,
Content extraction procedure for extracting multiple saved content,
A content communication program for causing a content communication apparatus to execute a batch transmission procedure for collectively transmitting a plurality of extracted contents. The content communication device is a terminal connected to various networks,
The content communication program of the terminal further includes a content execution procedure for executing each content received in the content reception procedure.
6. The content communication program according to claim 5, wherein each content executed in the content execution procedure is stored by the content storage procedure. The content communication device is a server built on various networks,
The content communication program of the server further includes a communication management procedure for managing communication of a plurality of contents between terminals.
6. The content communication program according to claim 5, wherein in the communication management procedure, a plurality of extracted contents are collectively transmitted for each terminal by managing a content extraction procedure and a collective transmission procedure.   The content communication program according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein in the content reception procedure, a plurality of contents are received at once.

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