JP2006031154A - Image collection/distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To construct an image collection/distribution system for managing image data to be provided from a plurality of terminals in a batch by an image collection/distribution center, and for simplifying connection processing between terminals for providing image data. <P>SOLUTION: The image collection/distribution system is provided in which image data are collected and distributed between a plurality of terminals 10m and 20n and an image collection/distribution center 1 connected through networks 10 and 20, wherein the image collection/distribution center 1 is provided with: a storage server which stores at least either image data provided from any of terminals 10m and preregistered image; a management server for adding either the image data provided from any of the terminals 10m or the preregistered image to attribute data to identify the image data, and for storing the image data into the storage server, and for retrieving the image data requested from any of the terminals 20n in the storage server on the basis of the attribute data; and a distribution server for distributing the retrieved image data to the request origin terminal 20n. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image collection and distribution system that collects and distributes image data via a computer network, and a program used in the system, and particularly to prevent or minimize a disaster when a disaster is expected or occurs. The present invention relates to an image collection and delivery system for disaster prevention and a program used for the system.

  In recent years, digital video cameras have become widespread, video data distribution services using broadband Internet have started, and digital video has been widely used for various purposes.

The camera installed at multiple points along the river captures the current state of the river as video data and sends it to the server. The server collects and stores this video data, and the stored video data or the camera side is sending it to the server. There is an image collection and distribution system for disaster prevention that distributes raw video data to users. (Patent Document 1)
In this system, when a river passes through multiple municipalities, a server is provided in each municipality, and the server receives and accumulates video data transmitted from cameras installed in the area of each municipality, and others according to demand. Deliver video data to a server in a local government.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-367065

The above-described conventional image collection and delivery system has the following problems.
First, as the number of local governments increases, the connection processing between servers required to send and distribute video data between servers in each local government becomes more complicated because the servers are connected to a mesh network, It costs money to build and maintain a network.
In addition, the burden on each server increases in order to store video data stored in each server and to ensure cooperation between the servers, and local governments may also use the server for general purposes to transmit and distribute video data. This is difficult and requires a separate server, which is expensive.

Second, the location of cameras monitoring the disaster site is not limited to one, and if multiple cameras are installed in a dense location, the location of the camera is unknown to the user, and the image data desired by the local government cannot be identified. Convenience is bad.
Third, each local government distributes video data such as network information (IP address) in addition to the video data when distributing the video data to other local governments. It cannot be secured.
Fourth, it is difficult to centrally manage the calculation of the fee charged for the provision of video data between the local governments and the fee charged for the usage.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional image collection and distribution system. The main object of the present invention is to improve the conventional image collection and distribution system. Simplify the process and reduce the burden on each server. Secondly, the location of the camera is clarified and the user can easily obtain the desired video data. The purpose is to provide an image collection and distribution system and a program used for the system that secure the security of the server and fourthly facilitate the calculation of the video data provision fee and usage fee between local governments .

  An image collection and distribution system according to a first aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is the image collection and distribution system that collects and distributes image data to and from a plurality of terminals connected via a network. Storage means for storing the image data provided from the terminal, and attribute data for identifying the image data is attached to the image data provided from any of the terminals and stored in the storage means. A management unit that searches the storage unit for the requested image data based on the attribute data, and a distribution unit that distributes the searched image data to the requesting terminal.

In the image collection and delivery system according to the second aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object, the delivery means delivers image data stored in the storage means and related to the attribute data to a terminal that requested the image data. To do.
In the image collection and delivery system according to the third aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object, the management means delivers information other than the image data stored in the storage means to the terminal that requested the image data. Control to do.
In the image collection and delivery system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object, when the image data provided from any of the terminals is delivered to the requesting terminal of the image data, the provider of the image data And a charge unit for calculating a charge for providing the image data and a charge for providing the image data, and notifying the charge to the provider and the charge to the provider.

  A program used in an image collection and distribution system according to the present invention that achieves the above object is a program used in an image collection and distribution system that collects and distributes image data with a plurality of terminals connected via a network. A first step of attaching attribute data for identifying the image data to at least one of image data provided from any of the terminals and pre-registered image data; and means for storing the image data to which the attribute data is attached A second step of storing in the storage unit, a third step of searching the storage means based on the attribute data for the image data requested from any of the terminals, and the requesting terminal for the retrieved image data. A fourth step of distributing is executed by a computer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, image data provided from a plurality of terminals can be collectively managed, for example, at an image collection and distribution center, so that connection processing between terminals that provide image data can be simplified, and The burden can be reduced.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image data related to the attribute data is distributed to the terminal that requested the image data, so that the location information from which the image data was acquired becomes clear to the user, and the image desired by the user Data can be easily acquired, and the convenience of the image collection and distribution system is improved.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to ensure the security of the terminal that provides the image data.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the calculation of the provision fee for the image data provider and the usage fee for the image data provider.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image collection and delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image collection / delivery system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image collection / delivery center 1, a plurality of providing terminals 101, 102,..., 10m and a plurality of use terminals 201, 202,. This image collection and distribution system is for constructing a system for searching and distributing images collected using the image ASP. The image data collected individually by each local government is collected in the IDC, and the collected images are collected. Is provided to the user as a searchable state.

  The image collection / distribution center 1 according to the present invention performs an ASP (Application Service Provider) service by an IDC (Internet Data Center) to collect image contents. Here, IDC is a facility that keeps customer servers and provides connection lines to the Internet, maintenance / operation services, etc. ASP is a business that rents business application software to customers through the Internet. The user uses application software installed on a server held by the ASP using a web browser.

  The image collection / distribution center 1 collects image data from a plurality of providing terminals 101, 102,..., 10 m connected via a network 10, and a plurality of use terminals 201, 202,. , 20n, the image data is distributed. The providing terminal only needs to provide image data, and the using terminal may only use image data. However, these providing terminal and using terminal may provide and use image data. In the present embodiment, the providing terminal is a mixture of only providing image data and providing and using image data, and the using terminal provides only image data and image data. And what you use is mixed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image collection and distribution center 1 shown in FIG. As illustrated, the image collection and distribution center 1 includes a storage server 2, a management server 3, and a distribution server 4.
The accumulation server 2 accumulates at least one of image data provided from any of the providing terminals 101, 102,..., 10m and image data registered in advance.
The management server 3 attaches attribute data identifying these image data to at least one of the image data provided from any of the providing terminals 101, 102,. The image data requested to be distributed from any of the use terminals 201, 202,..., 20n is searched in the storage server 2 based on the attribute data.

The distribution server 4 distributes the searched image data to the requesting use terminal.
The images distributed to the use terminals 201, 202,..., 20n are either stored in the storage server 2 or currently collected from any providing terminal.
The distribution server 4 can also distribute the image data stored in the storage server 2 and related to the attribute data to the use terminals 201, 202,.

Methods for attaching attribute data to image data include a method of using a tag for image data that is generally performed and a method of using an empty area that is not related to an image in the image data.
The image data stored in the storage server 2 is made into a database, and this database is owned only by the provider of the image data collection / delivery service, that is, the operator of the image collection / delivery service by the image collection / distribution center 1. The information is hidden from the service users.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a peripheral portion of the providing terminal shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the encoder 10m is a providing terminal having a digital transmission function, is connected to the camera 10mC, receives video captured by the camera as an NTSC format signal, and if this video is a still image, JPEG format. If it is a moving image, it is converted into image data compressed by the MPEG method, and attribute data is attached to this image data and transmitted to the image collection and distribution center 1 via the network 10. The attribute data includes camera position information (installation position for an installed camera, current position of a camera using GPS for a moving camera), transmission time, and voice at the time of transmission. The position information of the installed camera may be set at the time of registration of the providing terminal in the image transmission / distribution system, without being transmitted as attribute data simultaneously with the image data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a peripheral portion of the user terminal shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, a display 20nD is connected to the use terminal 20n, and the use terminal 20n receives image data transmitted from the image collection / distribution center 1 via the network 20 and displays an image on the display 20nD.

  Next, a processing routine by the image collection / delivery system 1 will be described below. The image collection / delivery system 1 includes a CPU, an internal storage (memory such as a RAM and a ROM), an external storage (a hard disk (HD) such as a magnetic disk and a magneto-optical disk), an input unit such as a mouse and a keyboard, a CRT, a printer, and the like. It comprises a general computer having an output unit, a communication unit capable of data communication with an external computer, and a reading / writing unit for a recording medium such as a flexible disk drive and a CD driver. A program used in the image collection / delivery system 1 is written in a memory via a recording medium or an external computer, then stored in the HD, and written in the memory as necessary, and executed by the CPU. .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure by the image collection and delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the subsequent flowcharts, the numbers following S indicate step numbers. Hereinafter, these flowcharts will be described.
In the first step (S1), attribute data for identifying these image data is attached to at least one of the image data provided from any of the providing terminals 101, 102,.

In the second step (S2), the image data with the attribute data is stored in the storage server 2.
In the third step (S3), image data requested from any of the use terminals 201, 202,..., 20n is searched in the storage server 2 based on the attribute data.
In the fourth step (S4), the searched image data is distributed to the requesting use terminals 201, 202,..., 20n.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of the third and fourth steps shown in FIG. 5, and shows a processing procedure from a search request to provision of image data. The management server 2 of the image collection / distribution system 1 requires the user input by an image collection / distribution service user (hereinafter simply referred to as a user) when it is necessary to view various images such as a disaster. The image condition is received (step S101).

  The management server 2 searches based on the input image conditions to determine whether or not there is an image required by the user in the image data collected by the input user first (step S102). If it is determined that there is an image, the image data is provided to the user (step S111). If it is determined that there is no image, the stored database (storage server 2) is referred to, and an image collection and distribution service is provided. The image data collected from the image data provider using the image is searched for whether or not the image required by the user is present (step S103), and the image required by the user is found. It is determined whether or not the image is present (step S104). When it is determined that the image is present, the user is notified of the presence of the image (step S105). “None” is notified (step S121).

  After step S105, it is determined whether or not the image data requires a viewing usage fee (step S106), and if a viewing usage fee is required, an inquiry about whether or not viewing is desired. (Step S107), and when browsing is desired, the image data is provided to the user (Step S108). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S106 that no viewing usage fee is required, provision of image data to the user is started (step S131). If the user does not wish to view in step S107, the user is notified of “no viewing desired” in the image data (step S141).

  In the image collection / distribution system according to the above-described embodiment, image data is obtained from an image collection / distribution center different from the registered image collection / distribution center by providing a plurality of image collection / distribution centers 1 and sharing a database among the centers. be able to.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a display screen of the display, (A) is a diagram showing a screen for selecting a spot as a search condition, and (B) is a diagram showing a screen at the time of surrounding search. FIG. 7A shows a display screen at the time of inputting a condition of an image that a user wants to see, such as a video of a river current, at the terminal of the image collection and distribution system when a natural disaster occurs. . This screen is displayed as a natural disaster on the display screen (not shown) of the terminal used, and a list of registered river names is displayed by clicking this display, and then the name of the river you want to view is displayed. The map information including the river is displayed by clicking.

  On the right side of FIG. 7A, a schematic diagram of the Iroha River passing through the X city, Y city, and Z city is displayed, and camera installation locations in each city, that is, A1 to A3 in X city, B1 to B4 in Y city. The positions of C1 and C2 in Z city are shown. A list of camera installation locations is displayed on the left side of FIG. The user can display the camera image at that point by clicking any one of A1 to A3, B1 to B4, C1 and C2 on the right or left side of FIG.

  The upper right of FIG. 7B shows an image displayed on the user's display as a result of the management server 2 executing the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 6 after the user inputs the point A1, and FIG. ) Is a diagram showing a selection screen for selecting the shooting time of the camera video at that point. Currently, an image at a desired time can be viewed by moving the cursor to the display section of 1 hour ago, 2 hours ago,... The time can be selected in minutes or days. When the present time is selected, for example, 24 frames of image data per second are stored in the storage server for the currently captured video, and at the same time, the image is sent to the terminal that requested the distribution server to receive the video. Sent.

  The left side of FIG. 7B displays a list of peripheral camera installation locations A101, A102, and A103, that is, peripheral search candidates for the point A1 in the camera image area A100 centered on the point A1. The user can display the camera video at that point by clicking any one of the points A101, A102, A103 on the upper right side or the left side of FIG. The single-screen display and the multi-screen display displayed at the lower left part of FIG. 7B select the single-screen display when you want to see any one of the points A101, A102, and A103, and select the points A101 and A102. When it is desired to view at least one part of A103 at the same time as the point A1, it is possible to simultaneously display camera images at a plurality of points by selecting multi-screen display.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the video displayed on the screen of the display, (A) is a diagram showing the video screen when the camera A1 is selected, and (B) is the camera A1 by the user. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a setting screen for displaying an image near the camera A103 when searching for the vicinity of the camera. As shown in FIG. 8A, the video of the camera installed at the point A1 is displayed as an image of a circular area A100 centered on A1. In the area A100, peripheral points A101, A102, and A103 are displayed in a color different from A1 as peripheral search candidates. FIG. 8B shows that the color of the peripheral point A103 changes from, for example, red to blue when it is desired to display an image near the camera A103. A region indicated by a rectangle in FIGS. 8A and 8B shows a map near the point A1.

  7 and 8 show an embodiment in which a camera is installed at each point along the river flow to capture the situation of the water flow as video data in order to prevent natural disasters. It can also be applied to a traffic management system that captures the situation of traffic jams and traffic accidents as video data with a camera installed at the location.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when a related image is searched. This flowchart shows a processing procedure from a search request to provision of image data when a user of an image collection and distribution system who wants to browse images desires to display related images. Here, the related image means, for example, an image when it is desired to obtain detailed information of the image currently browsed by the peripheral search. The management server 2 of the image collection / distribution system 1 receives the image condition required by the user, which is input by the user when it is necessary to view various images such as a disaster (step S201).

  The management server 2 executes the image data search process shown in FIG. 6 based on the input image conditions (step S202). As a result of step S202, provision of image data is started for the user, and when the screen shown in FIG. 8B is displayed, it is determined whether or not retrieval of a related image is desired (step S204). This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not the cursor is clicked at the peripheral points A101, A102, and A103 of the peripheral search on the display screen on the user side. If it is determined that there is a desire to search for a related image, the process proceeds to step S205, and if it is determined that there is no hope, the process of this flowchart ends.

  In step S205, a search is made as to whether or not there is a related image requested by referring to the stored database (storage server 2) (step S205), and it is determined whether or not the related image exists (step S205). S206) If it is determined that there is a related image, the user is notified of “there is a related image” (step S207), and if it is determined that there is no related image, the user is notified of “no related image”. (Step S221).

  After step S207, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the related image is desired to be browsed (step S208). If it is determined that there is hope for browsing, the process proceeds to step S205, where it is determined that there is no hope. In this case, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

  Next to step S208, it is determined whether or not the related image requires a viewing usage fee (step S209), and if the viewing usage fee is required, an inquiry about whether or not viewing is desired. (Step S210), and if the user wishes to browse, the related image data is provided to the user (Step S211). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S209 that no viewing usage fee is required, provision of related image data to the user is started (step S231). If the user does not wish to view in step S210, the user is notified of “no viewing request” for the image (step S241).

  Next, when each local government distributes video data to other local governments, it does not distribute information that manages video data such as network information (IP address) in addition to video data. The configuration to be secured will be described below.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of security measures in the image collection and delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the image collection and distribution system according to the present invention, when a user of the system browses image data provided by another user, the image collection and distribution center does not provide information other than the image data to the image viewer. For this reason, a mechanism is provided for operating image data between users of the image collection and distribution system as follows.

  First, image data provided from each user is at least logically separated from another area, for example, separate areas in the storage server 2 of the image collection / distribution center (user A area 201, user B area 202,... It is stored in the user N area 20n) so that information relating to the image network other than the image data of other users cannot be seen. In each of these areas, in addition to the image data, the IP address and control information of the providing terminal 10i and the use terminal 20i at the provider of the image data are also stored.

  Therefore, when disclosing image data to the user of the user terminal 20i, all the information regarding the image network of the user of the providing terminal 10i (provider of the image data) is transmitted to the user of the user terminal 20i (request to view image data). The management server 3 of the image collection and distribution center receives a request for image data search from the user B of the user terminal 20i, and the user A of the providing terminal 10i receives the image conversion. When it is found that the data is provided, it requests the user B to send the image data of the user A area 201 to the user B, and the distribution server 4 of the image collection and distribution center asks the user B to "Only search is possible" and the provision of image data is executed, and the IP address information of the image provider A and network information such as the camera are not transmitted or received. Cormorant, a firewall 50A, 50B, ..., by installing a 50N, to ensure a secure utility of image collection and delivery center 1 by controlling the flow of network traffic. By providing network information and image data that have undergone address conversion operations in this way, the image browsing side also includes network information that indicates which provider provided the provided image. Since it is impossible to obtain the image network, it is possible to ensure the security of the image network on the image providing side.

Next, a configuration for centrally managing the calculation of the fee charged for the provision of video data between the local governments and the fee charged for the usage will be described below.
11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining central management of video data by the image collection and delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating recording at the start of use, and FIG. It is a figure which shows recording. When an image usage fee is generated for image data provided by another user and the usage fee is calculated, the usage records of the user A of the provider and the user B of the provider for each image are calculated. Aggregate. At that time, the management server 3 automatically records the cut of the image 1 and the start time t ₀ at the time of transmission as shown in FIG. The image 1 cut at the end time and the recording of the end time t ₁ are automatically performed again as shown in FIG. These records include the camera name of the provided image.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the details of the provision fee and usage fee of the video data collection and distribution service in the image collection and distribution system of the embodiment of the present invention, and (A) is a diagram showing the details of the provision fee. B) shows the details of the usage fee. As described with reference to FIG. 11, the record of use in units of images is recorded, and both the calculation of the image usage fee for the image user and the calculation of the image provision fee for the image provider are automatically performed simultaneously. . The user of the image collection / distribution system pays the usage fee for the browsed image to the image collection / distribution center, and conversely receives the provision fee for providing the image from the image collection / distribution center.

  In this case, since image exchange within the same image collection / distribution center is a basic configuration, both the payment amount to the service provider and the amount received from the service provider in this image collection / distribution system are used. Since it is possible to calculate the difference amount, calculate the difference settlement amount from the calculation result of both amounts, and if the usage fee> the provision fee, the user of the image data is charged for the difference in the usage fee Conversely, if the usage fee is less than the provision fee, it is possible to pay the difference in the provision fee to the provider of the image data.

The effects of the image collection and delivery system using the present invention described above are as follows.
First, by building an image search system by an image collection and distribution center as an image collection and distribution system, use the image ASP, and use other users' images to install and maintain a camera and network Can reduce the cost. When using an image stored in another user's server, the server of the user of the image collection / distribution system uses outsourcing by the image ASP, so that it is complicated for cooperation with the server of the other user. Free from hard work.

In addition, since images of other users are also search targets, it is possible to search a wider range of images and collect images.
When using the image ASP service, a remote image collection and distribution center is used, so that even when a disaster occurs, server-related equipment will not be damaged at the same time. It becomes a means.

  Secondly, since the installation location of the camera monitoring the disaster site is clear to the user of the image collection and distribution system, it is possible to specify the video data desired by the user, which is convenient. Further, since related images can be searched from the search conditions, it is possible to collect more detailed or broader image information.

  Third, it is possible to provide an image while ensuring security. That is, when it becomes necessary to provide image data, only the image data is disclosed to other users of the image collection and distribution system, and other information is hidden to maintain the security of each user's image network. Therefore, the user of the image collection and distribution system can secure security in providing image data to other users.

  Fourth, the usage record of image data can be automatically totaled. By automatically aggregating the usage results of image data, it becomes easy to manage billing for each user and payment for provision fees without checking a huge log file. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of work for management at the provider of the image ASP service.

(Supplementary note 1) In an image collection and distribution system for collecting and distributing image data with a plurality of terminals connected via a network,
Storage means for storing image data provided from any of the terminals;
Attribute data for identifying these image data is attached to the image data provided from any of the terminals and stored in the storage means, and the image data requested from any of the terminals is based on the attribute data. Management means for searching in the storage means;
Distribution means for distributing the searched image data to a requesting terminal;
An image collection and distribution system comprising: (1)

(Additional remark 2) The image delivered to the said terminal is what was accumulate | stored in the said accumulation | storage means,
The image collection and delivery system according to attachment 1.
(Supplementary note 3) The image collection and distribution system according to supplementary note 1 or 2, wherein the image delivered to the terminal is currently being collected from any terminal.

(Supplementary Note 4) The distribution unit distributes image data stored in the storage unit and related to the attribute data to a terminal that requests the image data.
The image collection and delivery system according to any one of appendices 1 to 3. (2)
(Supplementary Note 5) The management unit controls the distribution unit to distribute information other than the image data stored in the storage unit to the terminal that requested the image data.
The image collection and delivery system according to any one of appendices 1 to 4. (3)
(Supplementary Note 6) When image data provided from any of the terminals is distributed to the terminal requesting the image data, a charge for the image data provider and a charge for the image data provider And charging means for notifying the provider of the provision fee and notifying the provider of the usage fee,
The image collection and delivery system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5. (4)

(Supplementary note 7) A program used in an image collection and distribution system that collects and distributes image data with a plurality of terminals connected via a network,
A first step of attaching attribute data identifying these image data to image data provided from any of the terminals;
A second step of storing the image data with the attribute data in the storage means;
A third step of searching the storage means for image data requested from any of the terminals based on the attribute data;
A fourth step of distributing the searched image data to a requesting terminal;
A program that causes a computer to execute. (5)

It is a figure which shows the image collection delivery system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image collection delivery center 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the peripheral part of the provision terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the peripheral part of the utilization terminal shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence by the image collection delivery system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of the 3rd step shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the display screen of a display, (A) is a figure which shows the screen which selects a spot as a search condition, (B) is a figure which shows the screen at the time of a periphery search. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the image | video displayed on the screen of a display, (A) is a figure which shows a video screen when camera A1 is selected, (B) is a user's periphery search of camera A1 It is a figure which shows the setting screen when it wants to display the image | video of camera A103 vicinity. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the case of searching a related image. It is explanatory drawing of the security measure in the image collection delivery system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the unified management of the video data by the image collection delivery system of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a figure which shows the recording at the time of utilization start, (B) shows the recording at the time of completion | finish of utilization FIG. It is a figure which shows the specification of the provision fee of a video data collection and delivery service and the usage fee in the image collection and delivery system of one Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a figure which shows the specification of a provision fee, (B) is a figure. It is a figure which shows the detail of a usage fee.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image collection distribution center 2 Storage server 3 Management server 4 Distribution server 10, 20 Network 101, 102, 10m Provision terminal 201, 202, 20n Use terminal 10mC Camera 20nD Display

Claims (5)

In an image collection and distribution system for collecting and distributing image data with a plurality of terminals connected via a network,
Storage means for storing image data provided from any of the terminals;
Attribute data for identifying these image data is attached to the image data provided from any of the terminals and stored in the storage means, and the image data requested from any of the terminals is based on the attribute data. Management means for searching in the storage means;
Distribution means for distributing the searched image data to a requesting terminal;
An image collection and distribution system comprising: The distribution means distributes image data stored in the storage means and related to the attribute data to a terminal that requested the image data;
The image collection and delivery system according to claim 1. The management means controls the delivery means to deliver information other than the image data stored in the storage means to the terminal that requested the image data.
The image collection / delivery system according to claim 1 or 2. When the image data provided from any of the terminals is delivered to the terminal requesting the image data, a provision fee for the image data provider and a usage fee for the image data provider are calculated, A billing means for notifying the provider of the provision fee and notifying the provider of the usage fee;
The image collection / delivery system according to claim 1. A program used in an image collection and distribution system that collects and distributes image data with a plurality of terminals connected via a network,
A first step of attaching attribute data identifying these image data to at least one of the image data provided from any of the terminals and pre-registered image data;
A second step of storing the image data with the attribute data in the storage means;
A third step of searching the storage means for image data requested from any of the terminals based on the attribute data;
A fourth step of distributing the searched image data to a requesting terminal;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images