JP2006079368A - Information distribution system, client and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a ticker to disappear or hide in accordance with the start/end of an application. <P>SOLUTION: A ticker display window 22 is displayed on a task bar 26. Information is sent from an information distribution server to the display window 22. At the time, the freshness of information is managed by ID so that only the latest information is acquired. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution system, a client, and a method.

There is known a ticker that displays advertisements, news and other information on a computer screen imitating the telop display on an electric bulletin board. In addition to displaying information to the user, the ticker is often configured so that links are formed and more detailed information can be accessed. The ticker allows the user to know the latest news, weather forecast, and the like while working on a personal computer or other information terminal (hereinafter simply referred to as a PC or the like). Patent Document 1 discloses a window display technique capable of switching between a character input window and a ticker display window. For example, the URL display area formed on the browser toolbar need not always be displayed, and the screen area can be used effectively by using the area to display a ticker.
JP 2004-220128 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, if the browser is closed, the ticker window disappears. However, with a type of ticker that is always displayed on a part of the screen, when a word processor software or other application is started, it is hidden behind the area where the application is displayed and is not displayed effectively. The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and aims to achieve both effective use of the screen area and timely and highly exposed information provision to the user. Another object of the present invention is to improve the operational efficiency of the information distribution system and the convenience of the user.

  One embodiment of the present invention is an information distribution system including an information distribution server and a client. The client includes means for forming a display window on the task bar of the own device, means for attaching an identifier of acquired information and requesting the information distribution server to provide information, means for acquiring information from the information distribution server, Means for displaying the acquired information on the display window, and the information distribution server determines from the identifier whether there is information newer than the information already acquired by the client, and has already been acquired by the client If there is information newer than the above information, the information is delivered to the client, and if it does not exist, means for notifying that is provided. Each means of the client may be constituted by a ticker program and a microprocessor that executes the ticker program. Both “server” and “client” may refer only to software that provides these functions, or a combination of such software and hardware such as a computer.

  According to this aspect, since the information is displayed on the display window on the task bar, the effective work area of the screen is not affected. Even if the application is activated, it is not hidden in the display area. Furthermore, if there is no information newer than the information already acquired by the client, it is unnecessary to distribute the information body, which is useful in terms of system operation efficiency.

  Another aspect of the present invention is an information distribution client. The client includes a means for forming a display window on a task bar of the own apparatus, a means for requesting the information distribution server to provide information with an identifier of the acquired information, and a means for acquiring information from the information distribution server And means for displaying the acquired information on the display window, and the means for displaying controls the moving speed of the displayed information according to the point position of the pointing device in the display window. Also in this mode, information is displayed on the task bar, and the above-described effect is obtained. Moreover, since the movement speed of information can be controlled by a user's will, convenience is improved.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, so-called ticker utilization and operation efficiency is increased.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an information distribution system 20 according to the embodiment. A download server 16, an information distribution server 18, and a plurality of clients 14 are connected via the Internet 12. The download server 16 and the information distribution server 18 may be integrated. Similarly, a search engine (not shown) connected to the Internet 12 is also provided behind the download server 16 or the information distribution server 18 or at another location. The client 14 downloads from the download server 16 and installs a ticker program that forms a display window on the task bar of its own device. Acquisition of information is requested from the client 14 to the information distribution server 18 by the action of the ticker program. The client 14 displays the acquired information on the display window. In acquiring the information, the client 14 notifies the information distribution server 18 of the identifier of the information that has already been acquired. The information distribution server 18 refers to the identifier, determines whether there is information newer than the information acquired by the client 14, and if new information exists, distributes the information to the client. If it does not exist, a notification to that effect is given. A configuration that plays a central role in a series of processes will be described in detail.

[1] Client 14
The ticker program that implements the client 14 includes the following components (not shown).
Display window forming unit: A display window for a ticker is formed on the task bar using a function provided by the OS. For example, in the case of Windows XP (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation), when creating a DLL COM class, a ticker program is installed and registered in a predetermined registry, so that the display location can be changed from a horizontal band, a vertical band, a task bar, etc. It is known that you can choose.

Information requesting unit: As a premise, an identifier (hereinafter referred to as ID) is given to information distributed from the information distribution server 18 to the client 14, and this ID changes each time the information distribution server 18 updates the information. It shall be. As an example, a simple numerical increment may be used. If the ID of the information already acquired by the client 14 is “25”, the information requesting unit requests the information distribution server 18 to distribute information while clearly indicating this ID. The request may be periodic, for example every hour, but of course may be irregular. An example of a request is
http://www.abcd.com/?id=25
GET REQUEST message.

  Information acquisition unit: Receives information distributed from the information distribution server 18 and temporarily holds it until display.

  Ticker display section: The acquired information is sent as a telop to the display window. Since the general realization method of ticker is widely known, detailed explanation is avoided, but as an overview, acquisition of text and other display target data flowing as telop, reading of attributes such as font and its size, acquisition of display start position, This is done by executing movement of display contents at a specified speed (described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5).

  Link setting unit: A link is set to information flowing in the ticker, and when clicked by the user, a process for accessing a site having the detailed information of the information and related information is started.

  Movement control unit: When the user points any position of the display window with a mouse or other pointing device, the movement speed is controlled according to the position (described later in FIG. 6). The point position is acquired using the function of the OS. The movement control unit divides the area in the display window into a plurality of areas in advance, and determines which area the point position enters. If the entered area is an area corresponding to “accelerate display speed”, necessary processing such as speeding up the movement is performed.

  Ticker / search switching unit: When a switching button 24 described later in FIG. 2 is clicked, a text input area for search is displayed on the display window instead of the ticker (this state is hereinafter referred to as a search mode). In the search mode, a search request is issued by a known method to a search engine (not shown). When the switch button 24 is pressed again, the ticker is displayed again.

[2] Information distribution server 18
The following components are provided (not shown).
Distribution necessity determination unit: When information is requested from the client 14, the ID accompanying the request is compared with the ID of the information held by itself. The determination result is notified to the distribution execution unit.

Distribution execution unit: If both IDs match in the above comparison result, the client 14 has the latest information, so that “the client 14 has the latest information” instead of the distribution of the information. Notice. If they do not match, the information is transmitted to the client 14. As an example, when the ID notified from the client 14 is “25”, if the ID of the latest information on the information distribution server 18 side is “25”,
<IsLatest> true </ IsLatest>
XML data containing a tag indicating the latest information is returned to the client 14. If the ID of the latest information on the information distribution server 18 side is “26”,
<IsLatest> false </ IsLatest>
<ID> 26 </ ID>
<NewsLines>
<NewsLine>
<Image> http://www.abcd.com/efgh.png </ Image>
<Text> Super slim *** is ... </ Text>
<URL> http://www.abcd.com/ </ URL>
</ NewsLine>
XML data containing information such as is returned. The ID of this information is specified as “26”, and “NewsLines” is given as the meaning of the information. Here, an image, text, and URL are a group of information. The client 14 stores the XML data locally and changes the image data path to a local path. This change is made by the information acquisition unit described above.

  The flow of information distribution with the above configuration is shown. First, prior to information distribution, the client 14 downloads and installs a ticker program from the download server 16. As a result, the display window 22 and the switching button 24 appear close to the task bar 26 of the screen 100 such as a PC shown in FIG.

  3 to 5 show examples of information displayed on the display window 22. In FIG. 3, only text information such as news and topics is displayed. In FIG. 4, an advertisement with a banner image is flowing. In FIG. 5, as a result of pressing the switching button 24, the search mode is set. Other than these, it is also effective to enhance the graphic elements by flowing content with a semi-transparent image in PNG format, or to enhance symbolism by converting clouds and the sun seen in weather forecasts into icons.

  FIG. 6 shows a plurality of areas set by the movement control unit. The display window 22 is provided with three areas, a first area 32, a second area 34, and a third area 36, which correspond to “display reverse feed”, “stop”, and “display fast forward”, respectively. If the user points in the first area 32 with the mouse, the information flowing from the right to the left returns from the left to the right, and the user can see the information to be reconfirmed. If the point position is within the second area 34, the display stops. The second area 34 is also used as an area to which a link is attached. When a click is detected in this area, access to the linked page occurs. If the point position is within the third area 36, the moving speed is increased, and the user can postpone unnecessary information.

It is a block diagram of the information delivery system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of a client. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a ticker. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a ticker. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a ticker. It is a figure which shows the division area in the display window of a ticker.

Explanation of symbols

  12 Internet, 14 Clients, 16 Download Server, 18 Information Distribution Server, 20 Information Distribution System, 22 Ticker Display Window, 24 Switch Button, 26 Task Bar, 32 First Area, 34 Second Area, 36 Third Area.

Claims (4)

An information distribution system including an information distribution server and a client,
The client
Means for forming a display window on the taskbar of the own device;
Means for requesting information provision to the information distribution server with an identifier of the acquired information;
Means for obtaining information from the information distribution server;
Means for displaying the acquired information on the display window;
The information distribution server comprises
Means for determining from the identifier whether there is newer information than information already acquired at the client;
If there is information newer than the information acquired at the client, the information is delivered to the client, and if it does not exist, means for notifying that,
An information distribution system comprising: Means for forming a display window on the taskbar of the own device;
A means for requesting information provision to the information distribution server with an identifier of the acquired information;
Means for obtaining information from the information distribution server;
Means for displaying the acquired information on the display window;
An information distribution client comprising: a display unit configured to control a moving speed of displayed information according to a point position of a pointing device in a display window. An information distribution method in a network system including a download server, an information distribution server, and a client,
A client downloads and installs a ticker program that forms a display window on the task bar of the own device from a download server;
The client obtains information from the information distribution server by the action of the installed ticker program;
Displaying the acquired information on the display window;
And the step of obtaining comprises
A step of issuing an information provision request from the client to the information distribution server with an identifier of the acquired information,
In the information delivery server, determining from the identifier whether there is information newer than the information acquired at the client;
In the information distribution server, if there is information newer than the information acquired at the client, the information is distributed to the client, and if there is no information, a step of notifying that is performed;
An information delivery method comprising: Forming a display window on a taskbar of a device in which the program is installed;
Requesting the information delivery server to provide information with the identifier of the acquired information;
Obtaining information from the information distribution server;
Displaying the acquired information on the display window;
And the step of displaying comprises the step of controlling the moving speed of the displayed information in accordance with the point position of the pointing device in the display window, and causing the computer to execute a series of these processes. Delivery program.

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