JP2006173987A - Image transformation server and method of controlling it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit image data to a mobile phone which transmits a request by performing appropriate processing on the mobile phone, and transmitting the request to it irrespective of the type of the image requested from the mobile phone. <P>SOLUTION: An http request which requires the acquisition of an image is transmitted to the image transformation server 10 from the mobile phone 1. The requested data is contained in the http request in the type of the mobile phone 1, and model as which the mobile phone 1 can display a moving video, or a model which cannot display the moving video can be judged. The moving video is changed into a still image when the mobile phone 1 cannot display the moving video, though the demanded image is the moving video. The changed still image is transmitted to represent a file by the mobile phone 1. When the mobile phone 1 can display the moving video, the moving video file according to the request is transmitted to the mobile phone 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image conversion server and a control method thereof.

Mobile phones that can display movies have become popular. For this reason, there is one that finds moving image data representing a moving image corresponding to the type of the mobile phone and transmits it to the mobile phone (Patent Document 1).
JP2003-319365

In addition, there is one that changes a moving image file to be transmitted to a terminal device in accordance with the line status (Patent Document 2).
JP 2002-116984 A

  However, there are various types of mobile phones, such as those that can display still images but cannot display moving images, those that can display both still images and moving images, and those that cannot display both still images and moving images. For this reason, as for image requests, still image requests and moving image requests are mixed. It is necessary to perform appropriate processing according to the mobile phone that transmitted the request, and to transmit image data representing a still image and image data representing a moving image to the mobile phone.

  An object of the present invention is to enable image data to be transmitted to a mobile phone that has transmitted a request by performing appropriate processing on the mobile phone regardless of the type of image requested from the mobile phone.

  An image conversion server according to the present invention comprises an image request receiving means for receiving an image request transmitted from a mobile phone, an image data searching means for finding data representing an image specified by the image request received by the image request receiving means, In response to the still image / moving image determining means for determining whether the image represented by the image data found in the image data searching means is a still image or a moving image, First still image data generating means for generating still image data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone from the image data found by the image data searching means, and determined as a moving image by the still image / moving image determining means A video that determines whether the mobile phone can not display a video in response to Second still image data generation for generating data representing a still image corresponding to the model of the mobile phone in response to the mobile phone being unable to display the video by the display determining means and the moving image display determining means Means, moving image data generating means for generating moving image data representing a moving image suitable for display on the mobile phone in response to determining that the mobile phone can display a moving image by the moving image display determining means, and the first The still image data generated by the still image data generating means, the still image data generated by the second still image data generating means, or the moving image data generated by the moving image data generating means is transmitted to the mobile phone. A transmission means is provided.

  The present invention also provides a control method suitable for the image conversion server. That is, this method receives an image request transmitted from a mobile phone, finds data representing an image specified by the received image request, and determines whether the image represented by the found image data is a still image or a moving image. In response to being determined as a still image, still image data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone is generated from the found image data, and in response to being determined as a moving image, It is determined whether or not the mobile phone cannot display a moving image, and when it is determined that the mobile phone cannot display a moving image, data representing a still image corresponding to the mobile phone model is generated, and the mobile phone Generates video data representing video suitable for display on the mobile phone, and generates still image data or generated video. The over data, is intended to be sent to the mobile phone.

  According to the present invention, an image request transmitted from a mobile phone is received. Then, image data representing an image specified by the received image request is found. It is determined whether the image represented by the found image data is a still image or a moving image. If it is determined that the image is a still image, still image data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone that transmitted the request is generated. If it is determined as a moving image, it is determined whether or not the mobile phone that transmitted the request cannot display the moving image. If it is determined that the moving image cannot be displayed, data representing a still image corresponding to the model of the mobile phone that transmitted the request is generated. When it is determined that the moving image can be displayed, moving image data representing the moving image suitable for the mobile phone that transmitted the request is generated. The generated still image data or moving image data is transmitted from the image conversion server to the mobile phone.

  According to the present invention, an appropriate image can be displayed regardless of the type of the mobile phone, such as a mobile phone that has transmitted a request can display a moving image, or a mobile phone that cannot display a moving image but can display a still image. A still image or moving image suitable for display refers to a still image or moving image that can be displayed on a mobile phone in consideration of the size of the display screen of the display device of the mobile phone.

  The first storage device that stores display specifications such as the size and format of still images for each mobile phone model, and the display specifications and videos such as video size and format that cannot be displayed for each mobile phone model You may further provide the 2nd memory | storage device which memorize | stores the image processing method. In this case, the first still image data generating means generates data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone based on the display specifications stored in the first storage device. The second still image data generating means generates a still image corresponding to the model of the mobile phone based on the image processing method stored in the second storage device, and the moving image data generating means Based on the display specifications stored in the second storage device, data representing a moving image suitable for display on the mobile phone will be generated.

  Further, the second still image data generating means may be, for example, data representing a single frame still image constituting a moving image, data representing an image based on the animation GIF, or data representing an error image, depending on the mobile phone model. Is generated.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and shows an outline of a communication system.

  The communication system includes a mobile phone 1 provided with a display device and an image conversion server 10. The mobile phone 1 and the image conversion server 10 can communicate with each other via the Internet. The image conversion server 10 is connected to an image database 11 in which a large number of image files (an image file representing a still image and an image file representing a moving image) are stored.

  In the communication system according to this embodiment, an image (including both a still image and a moving image) is requested from the mobile phone 1 to the image conversion server 10. An image file corresponding to the image request is found in the image database 11. The image represented by the found image file may be a still image or a moving image. If the mobile phone 1 can display a moving image, an image file representing the found moving image is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone 1. On the display device of the mobile phone 1, a moving image represented by the image file transmitted from the image conversion server 10 is displayed. If the mobile phone 1 cannot display a moving image, the image file representing the found moving image is converted to an image file representing a still image (an image based on the animation GIF (graphics interchange format) is also considered a still image) To do.) The converted image file is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone 1. A still image is displayed on the display device of the mobile phone 1. Even when there is a moving image request from the mobile phone 1 that cannot display a moving image, the mobile phone 1 can display a still image. More details will become apparent from the following description.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the image conversion server 10.

  The overall operation of the image conversion server 10 is controlled by the CPU 12.

  The CPU 12 includes a communication circuit 13 for communicating with the mobile phone 1 via the Internet, a display device 14, a still image format that can be displayed on the mobile phone 1, a still image size, a moving image format, and a moving image size. A memory 15 and an input device 16 for storing setting information such as (size of one still image constituting a moving image) for each model of the mobile phone 1 are connected. The setting information stored in the memory 15 includes a still image and a moving image. As described above, the CPU 12 and the image database 11 are connected by an interface (not shown).

  FIG. 3 is an example of still image setting information.

  The still image setting information indicates the format and size (width, height) of a still image that can be displayed by the mobile phone for each mobile phone model.

  The first line of the still image setting information is an InputFile line. In the InputFile line, the file format name defined by the setting information for still images is described based on MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). In the first InputFile line, the input file (image file found in response to the image request) is based on jpeg (joint photographic experts group) (image / jpeg), and the input file is in gif (graphics interchange format). If the original file (image / gif), the input file is png (portable network graphics) (image / png), or the input file is bmp (bitmap) (image / bmp), a still image It is stipulated that the setting information is used.

  The second to fifth lines of the still image setting information specify the format and size of the still image for each mobile phone model. The second line stipulates the mobile phone model “Keitai D001”. This "Keitai D001" mobile phone is capable of displaying a monochrome image with a width of 118 pixels and a height of 128 pixels based on the GIF format. The third line stipulates the mobile phone model “Keitai D002”. This “Keitai D002” mobile phone stipulates that an image (including a color image) having a width of 118 pixels and a height of 128 pixels based on the GIF format can be displayed. The fourth line specifies the mobile phone model “Keitai D003”. This “Keitai D003” mobile phone stipulates that an image (including a color image) having a width of 118 pixels and a height of 128 pixels based on the JPEG format can be displayed. The fifth line stipulates the mobile phone model “Keitai D900”. This “Keitai D900” mobile phone is capable of displaying an image (including a color image) having a width of 240 pixels and a height of 269 pixels based on the JPEG format.

  It can be seen that by using the still image setting information, it can be converted into a format and size that can be displayed by the mobile phone according to the model of the mobile phone that sent the image request.

  FIG. 4 is an example of moving image setting information.

  The moving image setting information indicates the format of a moving image that can be displayed by the mobile phone and the width and height of a still image constituting the moving image for each mobile phone model. In this embodiment, when there is a moving image request from a mobile phone that cannot display a moving image, an image file representing a still image is transmitted to the mobile phone that cannot display the moving image. An image processing method for generating an image file of a still image and transmitting it to a mobile phone that cannot display a moving image is defined for each mobile phone model in the moving image setting information.

  The first line of the moving picture setting information is an InputFile line, like the first line of the still picture setting information. In the InputFile line, the file format name specified by the setting information for moving images is described based on MIME. The InputFile line on the first line was an input file based on mpeg2 (moving picture experts group) (video / mpeg), an input file based on x-msvideo (video / x-ms-video), etc. In some cases, the use of moving image setting information is specified.

  The second to fifth lines of the setting information for moving images indicate the format of the moving image, the width and height of the still image constituting the moving image, and the image processing method in the case of a mobile phone that cannot display the moving image for each mobile phone model. It is stipulated in.

  As with the still image setting information, the second, third, fourth and fifth lines are about the mobile phone models "Keitai D001", "Keitai D002", "Keitai D003" and "Keitai D900". It prescribes. The mobile phones “Keitai D001”, “Keitai D002” and “Keitai D003” cannot display moving images. For this reason, when there is a video image request from these “Keitai D001”, “Keitai D002” and “Keitai D003” mobile phones, a still image file representing a still image from the video corresponding to the image request is displayed. The generated still image file is transmitted to the mobile phone that requested the image. The "Keitai D900" mobile phone is a mobile phone that can display moving images. For this reason, when there is an image request from the mobile phone of “Keitai D900”, the image conversion server 10 converts the moving image file so that it can be displayed and the width and size of the still image constituting the moving image. The The converted video file is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone “Keitai D900”.

  As described above, the second line stipulates the case where there is a video image request from the mobile phone “Keitai D001”. When there is a video image request from this “Keitai D001” mobile phone, a still image representing an error image having a file name of i-am-sorry.jpg is generated (may be generated in advance) ), A still image file representing the error image is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone “Keitai D001”. It can be seen that the user of the mobile phone of “Keitai D001” requested transmission of a moving image even though the device cannot display the moving image.

  The third line specifies the case where there is a video image request from the mobile phone “Keitai D002”. When there is a moving image request from the mobile phone “Keitai D002”, the image conversion server 10 extracts the first frame of still images from among the still images of a number of frames constituting the moving image. A still image file representing the extracted still image is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone “Keitai D002”. The mobile phone user of “Keitai D002” knows that it is a model that cannot display the movie, and the still image of the first frame of the movie is displayed, so that the contents of the movie can be grasped at least. . However, the still image of the other frame may be used instead of the first frame of the moving image.

  The fourth line stipulates the case where there is a video image request from the mobile phone “Keitai D003”. When there is a moving image request from the mobile phone “Keitai D003”, a still image based on the animation GIF is generated in the image conversion server 10 from the moving image. An image file representing the generated animation GIF is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone “Keitai D0013”. Since the user of the mobile phone of “Keitai D001” can view a pseudo moving image based on the animation GIF, the user can almost confirm the content of the moving image.

  The fifth line stipulates the case where there is a video image request from the “Keitai D900” mobile phone. Since this “Keitai D900” mobile phone can display moving images, when there is a moving image request, the moving image format and the width and height of the images constituting the moving image are displayed. Conversion is performed in the conversion server 10. An image file representing the converted moving image is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone “Keitai D900”.

  By using the moving image setting information, it is understood that image processing suitable for the mobile phone can be performed according to the model of the mobile phone that transmitted the image request.

  FIG. 5 shows a data structure of an http (hypertext transfer request protocol) request (image request) transmitted from the mobile phone to the image conversion server 10.

  The http request contains a method, header, and request body.

  The method includes “GET” data and “URL” data indicating an instruction (for example, an image file transmission instruction) given from the mobile phone to the image conversion server 10. This is a command to retrieve an image file stored at a location specified by the “URL” data.

  The header contains User Agent and other management data. User Agent includes mobile phone models that send http requests. Therefore, the image conversion server 10 that has received the http request can determine which model mobile phone has transmitted the http request by referring to the User Agent in the http request. The image file can be converted according to the type of image file requested (moving image or still image).

  In addition, the http request contains a request body, which is usually empty.

6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the image conversion server.

  An http request describing a URL (uniform resource locator) indicating a location where an image file to be acquired is stored is transmitted from the mobile phone to the image conversion server 10, and the http request is received by the image conversion server 10 ( Step 21). Then, the model of the mobile phone that has transmitted the http request from the User Agent included in the http request is determined (step 22). Further, the image file stored in the location specified by the URL described in the http request method is found from the image database 11 (step 23).

  If the image represented by the requested image file (found image file) is not a video (NO in step 24) (image file based on jpeg, based on gif, based on png, based on bmp) Since it is a still image, the setting information of the mobile phone that transmitted the http request is read from the still image setting information (step 25). According to the read setting information, the still image represented by the found image file (still image file) is converted so as to be suitable for display on the mobile phone that transmitted the http request (step 26). The converted image file is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone (step 27). A still image is displayed on the display device of the mobile phone according to the http request.

  If the image represented by the requested image file is a video (YES in step 24) (the image file is based on mpeg, the one based on x-msvideo, etc.), the setting information of the mobile phone that sent the http request is It is read from the moving picture setting information (step 31).

  If the read setting information specifies a moving image / still image conversion program for converting a moving image to a still image as described in the third line of FIG. 4 (YES in step 32), the moving image / The moving image is converted into a still image according to the still image conversion program (step 33). Needless to say, the moving image / still image conversion program is stored in the memory 15 of the image conversion server 10. When the still image is generated, the processing of steps 25 to 27 in FIG. 6 is performed. Even when there is an http request from a mobile phone that cannot display a moving image, a still image representing the content of the moving image can be displayed.

  If the read setting information does not specify a video / still image conversion program (NO in step 32), whether or not the read setting information specifies an error display method as shown in the second line of FIG. Is confirmed (step 34). If the error display method is designated (YES in step 34), an error message (error image) is generated according to the error display method (step 35). The generated error message is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone (step 36). It can be seen that a mobile phone user cannot display a video on his mobile phone.

  If the read setting information does not specify an error display method (NO in step 34), it is considered that the mobile phone that transmitted the http request can display a moving image. Therefore, according to the setting information read, the found image file (movie file) is converted to a format so that the mobile phone that sent the http request can display it, and the width and height of the images of many frames that make up the movie. Conversion is performed (step 37). The converted moving image file is transmitted from the image conversion server 10 to the mobile phone that transmitted the http request (step 38). When the mobile phone receives the moving image file, the moving image is displayed on the mobile phone.

  In this way, relatively appropriate processing is performed such as transmitting a still image file that can understand the content of a moving image even when a request is made to transmit a moving image file from a mobile phone that cannot display the moving image.

1 shows an overview of a communication system. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of an image conversion server. Still image setting information is shown. Movie setting information is shown. Indicates the data structure of the http request. It is a flowchart which shows a part of process sequence of an image conversion server. It is a flowchart which shows a part of process sequence of an image conversion server.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone
10 Image conversion server
11 Image database
12 CPU
13 Communication circuit

Claims (4)

Image request receiving means for receiving an image request transmitted from a mobile phone,
Image data search means for finding data representing an image specified by the image request received by the image request receiving means;
A still image / moving image determining means for determining whether an image represented by the image data found in the image data searching means is a still image or a moving image;
In response to being determined as a still image by the still image / moving image determination unit, a still image data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone is generated from the image data found by the image data search unit. 1 still image data generating means,
Moving image display determining means for determining whether or not the mobile phone cannot display a moving image when the still image / moving image determining means determines that the moving image is a moving image;
Second still image data generating means for generating data representing a still image corresponding to a model of the mobile phone in response to determining that the mobile phone cannot display a moving image by the moving image display determining means;
Moving image data generating means for generating moving image data representing moving images suitable for display on the mobile phone in response to the moving image display determining means determining that the mobile phone can display moving images, and the first stationary Transmitting means for transmitting still image data generated by the image data generating means, still image data generated by the second still image data generating means, or moving image data generated by the moving image data generating means to the mobile phone ,
An image conversion server. The first storage device that stores the display specifications such as still image size and format for each mobile phone model, and the display specifications and videos such as video size and format that cannot be displayed for each mobile phone model A second storage device for storing the image processing method;
The first still image data generating means generates data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone based on the display specifications stored in the first storage device.
The second still image data generating means generates a still image corresponding to the model of the mobile phone based on the image processing method stored in the second storage device.
The moving image data generating means generates data representing moving images suitable for display on the mobile phone based on display specifications stored in the second storage device.
The image conversion server according to claim 1. The second still image data generating means generates data representing one frame of still images constituting the moving image, data representing an image based on the animation GIF, or data representing an error image, depending on the mobile phone model. Is,
The image conversion server according to claim 1. Receives an image request sent from a mobile phone,
Find data representing the image specified by the received image request,
Determine whether the image represented by the found image data is a still image or a video,
In response to being determined as a still image, it generates still image data representing a still image suitable for display on the mobile phone from the found image data,
In response to being determined to be a video, the mobile phone determines whether the video cannot be displayed,
In response to determining that the mobile phone cannot display a video, data representing a still image corresponding to the mobile phone model is generated,
When it is determined that the mobile phone can display a video, video data representing a video suitable for display on the mobile phone is generated,
Send the generated still image data or generated moving image data to the mobile phone,
Control method of image conversion server.

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