JP2007220062A - Control program, program offering system, and program offering method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control program, a program offering system, and a program offering method for efficiently developing/evaluating a program having a plurality of functions and efficiently offering the program to a user. <P>SOLUTION: While a plurality of functions and key information for enabling a function selected from a plurality of functions are provided, a development cost of the program is lowered. In displaying a screen for selecting the function, a version of the program or setting for enabling/disabling a function is determined for displaying a function, which can be added, if the version is not the latest one or there is a disabled function, and version upgrade of the program or addition of the function can be easily carried out. For adding the function, only the key information corresponding to the function is downloaded, and downloading/installing operation by a user can be simplified. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control program, a program providing system, and a program providing method.

  In recent years, various services relating to photographic images have been provided. For example, image data is read from a digital camera, digital camera media, photographic film, etc., and the image data is managed as an electronic album, a slide show is created using the image data, a print order is placed, image data, Services are provided in which a program having various functions such as writing data for a slide show on a recording medium is recorded on a recording medium and the program can be downloaded from a server.

  As a service for recording the program on a recording medium and providing the program, for example, Patent Document 1 listed below associates image data provided by a customer, music audio data selected by the customer, image data, and music audio data. A system for providing an information recording medium recorded as a set with a program to be reproduced is disclosed.

JP 2003-288094 A (page 5-13, FIG. 2)

  Here, there are various types of processing using image data, and it is necessary to add a new function to the program according to the needs of the user. Therefore, the program is upgraded as appropriate, but the previous program has a plurality of functions. When providing a new program that has been added, the required functions differ depending on the user. Conventionally, multiple types of programs that combine one or more functions among multiple functions are developed and provided to the user. Was.

  For example, when three new functions E to G are newly added to a program having four functions A to D, the program provider adds E, F, G, E + F, Seven types of programs to which the functions of E + G, F + G, and E + F + G were added were developed, and it was necessary to evaluate whether or not each program operates normally. Therefore, there has been a problem that the development of the program is costly.

  Further, in the method of providing the plurality of types of programs individually, the user does not know what functions can be added to the installed program, and cannot add new functions easily. There was also a problem. In addition, when acquiring a program using a communication network, the program itself with a large amount of data must be downloaded, and even when a function is simply added, the installed program is once uninstalled and then newly installed. There is also a problem that a complicated program has to be installed and the operation becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first object thereof is a program providing system and a program providing method capable of efficiently developing / evaluating a program having a plurality of functions. Is to provide.

  A second object of the present invention is to provide a control program and program that can easily upgrade a program and add functions, and can efficiently provide a user with a program having a plurality of functions. A system and a program providing method are provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control program according to the present invention determines whether a program installed in advance in a predetermined apparatus is the latest version or whether each function of the program is enabled. The determination means for determining, when the program is not the latest version, or when there is a function that is not enabled, causes the display means to function as a display control means for displaying an addable function.

  In the present invention, when a predetermined function is selected from the functions that can be added and the program is not the latest version, the computer is activated in advance with the latest version of the program. And the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function, and if the program is the latest version, only the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function It can be configured to function as an input means for acquiring.

  Further, the present invention provides a program providing system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network. The latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program are stored, and the device stores the downloaded program and a function selected from the plurality of functions. The selected function of the program is made executable by the corresponding key information.

  Further, the present invention provides a program providing system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network. The latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program are stored, and at least the program installed in the apparatus in advance is the latest version. Or a determination means for determining whether each function of the program is enabled, and a display means if the program is not the latest version or has a function that is not enabled. Display control means for displaying possible functions.

  In the present invention, when a predetermined function is selected from among the functions that can be added to the device, and the program is not the latest version, the latest version of the program is enabled in advance. To download the selected function and key information for enabling the selected predetermined function from the server, and to enable the selected predetermined function when the program is the latest version. It is possible to provide an input means for downloading only the key information from the server.

  In addition, the present invention is a program providing method in a system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network, The server stores the latest version of the program and key information for activating each function of the program, and the device has a function selected from the program and the plurality of functions. The corresponding key information is downloaded to enable the selected function of the program to be executed.

  In addition, the present invention is a program providing method in a system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network, Storing the latest version of the program in the server and key information for enabling each function of the program; and whether the program installed in the device is the latest version, Or a step of determining whether or not each function of the program is enabled, and a function that can be added to the display means when the program is not the latest version or there is a function that is not enabled Displaying at least.

  In the present invention, when a predetermined function is selected from the functions that can be added, and the program is not the latest version, the latest version of the program, the function that is enabled in advance, and Key information for enabling the selected predetermined function is downloaded from the server, and if the program is the latest version, only the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function Can be downloaded from the server.

  As described above, the present invention is configured to provide a program having a plurality of functions and key information for enabling each function selected from the plurality of functions. Can develop / evaluate one kind of program, and can reduce the development cost of the program.

  In addition, the version of the installed program and the setting for enabling / disabling the function are determined, and if the program version is not the latest or there is a function that is not enabled, a function that can be added is displayed on the display means. When a function is added, the latest program and key information or only key information is downloaded according to the version of the installed program, so that a desired function can be easily added.

  According to the control program, the program providing system, and the program providing method of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  A first effect of the present invention is that a program having a plurality of functions for executing processing using image data can be efficiently developed / evaluated.

  The reason is not to develop and evaluate a plurality of types of programs combining one or a plurality of functions individually, but to provide a program having a plurality of functions and each selected from a plurality of functions. This is because the provider of the program only needs to develop and evaluate one type of program because the key information for enabling the function is provided.

  The second effect of the present invention is that the program can be easily upgraded and functions can be added, and a program having a plurality of functions can be efficiently provided to the user.

  The reason is that the program version and function enable / disable settings are judged, and if the program version is not the latest or there is a function that is not enabled, it can be added to the screen for selecting the function of the program. This is because the functions are displayed, and the user can easily grasp the functions that can be added and obtain the desired functions by looking at the screen. When adding a function, only the key information corresponding to the latest program and the selected function, or the key information corresponding to the selected function is downloaded according to the version of the installed program. This is because operations such as downloading and program installation / uninstallation can be simplified.

  As shown in the related art, a service is provided that provides a program having a function for executing processing using image data. However, when a plurality of functions are newly added, one or a plurality of services are provided. In the method of providing a plurality of types of programs in which functions are combined, there is a problem that the development and evaluation of the program are expensive. Also, with the conventional program providing method, the user cannot determine whether there is a function that can be added, and when adding a new function, the user downloads a new program with the function added. However, after uninstalling the previous program, it is necessary to reinstall a new program, which causes a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a program having a plurality of functions and a function selected from the plurality of functions are enabled instead of individually providing a plurality of types of programs combining one or a plurality of functions. And key information for providing the key information. Thereby, since the program provider has only to develop and evaluate one type of program, the development cost of the program can be reduced.

  Also, when displaying the screen for selecting a function, the program version and the function enable / disable setting are judged, and if the version is not the latest or there is a function that is not enabled, it can be added Various functions are displayed on the above screen. As a result, the user can easily upgrade the program and add functions. Further, when adding a function, only key information corresponding to the function is downloaded. As a result, it is not necessary to download the program having a large data capacity, and it is not necessary to uninstall or reinstall the program, thereby simplifying the user operation.

  In order to describe the above-described embodiment of the present invention in more detail, a control program, a program providing system, and a program providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a program providing system of the present embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing variations thereof. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the means of the control device of this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the program providing method of this embodiment. 9 to 12 are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the display means.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the program providing system according to the present embodiment enables execution of a program having a plurality of functions for executing processing using image data and a predetermined function among the plurality of functions. Therefore, the control device includes a server 12 that stores information (hereinafter referred to as key information) in a downloadable manner and a control device 1 that downloads the program and key information corresponding to the selected function from the server 12. 1 and the server 12 are connected via a communication network 11 such as the Internet.

  The server 12 may be arbitrarily accessible, or an authentication unit may be provided in the server 12 so that only registered users can access it. The specific contents of the function for executing processing using image data are not particularly limited. For example, a function for creating a slide show using image data, a photo print or postcard using image data, and the like. , Functions for creating nouns, calendars, etc., functions for displaying image data as an electronic album, functions for managing and searching image data, functions for uploading image data to a server, data that can be viewed on a mobile phone, etc. It can be set as the function etc. which convert and transmit to.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the control device 1 uses the network connection unit to download the latest version of the program and key information corresponding to the selected function from the server 12, and if necessary, Recording media such as smart media, compact flash (registered trademark), memory stick (registered trademark), SD memory card, and multimedia card loaded in the media loading unit 2 (hereinafter referred to as media 8), device connection unit Image data (still image data, moving image data, data including image information) from a digital camera 7 (including both a digital still camera and a digital movie camera) connected to the camera 3 and a photographing device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone 7a. (Collectively referred to as image data) and input means 13 for input) and the control device 1 in advance. Added when determining the version of the installed program, determining whether each function provided in the program is enabled, and displaying the function selection screen on the display 5 Display control means 15 for displaying possible functions, storage means 10 such as HDD and RAM for storing programs and key information, display means 5 such as LCD and CRT, and operation means 6 such as buttons, keyboard and mouse Video-CD format, DVD-Video format, and HDTV format data that can be used in home appliances such as DVD players, DVD recorders, HDD recorders, and game machines based on image data (hereinafter, for home appliances) Data generation means 16 for generating data and the like, and a CD-R loaded in the recording medium loading unit 4 RW and DVD ± R / RW, DVD-RAM, HD-DVD, and a like data recording means 17 for recording the image data and for home appliances data on a recording medium 9 such as a Blu-ray disc.

  Each of the above units may be configured as hardware in the control device 1, but is configured as a control program that causes the computer to function as the determination unit 14, the display control unit 15, and the input unit 13 as necessary. The control program may be installed in the control device 1 and executed. In FIG. 1, a computer device such as a personal computer is shown as the control device 1. However, the control device 1 can be of any form, for example, installed in a store such as a photo shop or a convenience store as shown in FIG. 2. Unmanned terminals (kiosks), dedicated set-top boxes as shown in FIG. 3, portable writers as shown in FIG. 4, DVD recorders and HDDs equipped with arithmetic processing functions as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the recorder may be a portable device in which a terminal having a hard disk and a main body for reading and writing image data can be separated, or a car navigation device having an arithmetic processing function. it can.

  Next, a procedure for providing a program to a user using the program providing system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. In the following, it is assumed that a predetermined version of the program is installed in the control device 1 in advance. In the following, a form in which the program and key information are downloaded from the server 12 is shown. However, the program and key information may be recorded in advance on the recording medium 9 and the program and key information may be acquired from the recording medium 9. .

  First, when a program installed in advance in the control device 1 is started in step S101, the display control means 15 causes the display means 5 to display a function selection screen 19 as shown in FIG. 9, for example. The function selection screen 19 includes a tag display field 20 indicating the supply source of the image data, a list display field 21 for displaying a list of reduced images of the image data, and a desired function among the functions provided in the installed program. A function selection field 22 for selecting (four functions A to D here) and a version check button 23 for instructing a program version check are displayed.

  When the user operates the version check button 23 to instruct a version check, the determination unit 14 acquires the version of the installed program in step S102. The method for acquiring this version is not particularly limited. For example, the version can be acquired by referring to the description of the program itself or a file in which information related to the program is recorded.

  Next, in step S103, the determination unit 14 acquires the version of the program stored in the server 12 from the server 12 connected via the communication network 11 using the network connection unit, and the installation is performed in step S104. The version of the stored program is compared with the version of the program stored in the server 12. The method for obtaining the version from the server 12 is not particularly limited, and for example, the version can be obtained by referring to the description of the program itself or a file in which information related to the program is recorded. Further, when the program is provided by being recorded on the recording medium 9, the version of the installed program may be compared with the version of the program recorded on the recording medium 9.

  Here, it is determined whether or not the version of the installed program is the latest by comparing it with the version of the program stored in the server 12, but the server 12 stores the latest program. Therefore, for example, the version information of the program (how many latest versions are) is obtained from the program provider's website, and the version of the installed program is determined by referring to the version information. It can also be set as the structure which determines whether it is the newest.

  If the installed program is the latest version, in step S105, the determination unit 14 provides a plurality of programs for the installed program based on whether there is key information corresponding to each function. It is checked whether or not each of the functions is enabled. If there is no function that is not enabled in step S106, version upgrade or addition of the function is not necessary, and the process skips to step S116.

  On the other hand, if the version is not the latest version in step S104, or if there is a function that has not been activated in step S106, it is possible to upgrade the version or add the function. For example, the function selection screen 19 as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the means 5, and the function selection screen 19 can be added in addition to the tag display field 20, the list display field 21, and the function display field 22. A function addition field 24 for allowing the user to select a proper function is displayed.

  For example, the installed program version is 2.0, and in version 2.0, four functions A to D can be selected, the latest program version is 3.0, and version 3.0 is A. When the seven functions of ˜G can be selected, the three functions of EG can be added, so that the functions of EG can be added as shown in the figure. Also, when the installed program has 7 functions A to G and only 4 functions A to D are enabled, 3 functions E to G are added. Since it is possible, the functions of E to G are displayed as addable as shown in the figure. Note that the function addition column 24 is not limited to the configuration shown in the figure, and it is sufficient that the functions that can be added can be selected individually or collectively.

  In step S108, the user determines whether to add a function with reference to the function selection field 24. If the function is not added, the process skips to step S116. If the function is added, the user adds a function in step S109. A desired function is selected from the functions displayed in the function addition column 24. For example, in the configuration shown in the figure, when the E function is added, the “Purchase Function E” button is selected. When the E and F functions are added, the “Purchase Function E” button and the “Purchase Function F” button are selected. Perform operations such as selecting.

  Next, when the function to be added is selected, in step S110, the determination unit 14 compares the installed program and the version of the program stored in the server 12, and if the versions are the same (ie, installed). If the program is the latest version), key information for enabling the selected function is downloaded from the server 12 in step S112. On the other hand, if the version of the installed program is old, the latest version of the program and key information for enabling the selected function are downloaded from the server 12 in step S111.

  For example, in the above example, when the installed program is the latest version and has seven functions A to G, and four functions A to D are valid, and E is added. Only the key information for enabling the function of E is downloaded. If the installed version of the program is 2.0 and only four functions A to D are provided, the version is 3.0 and the program having the seven functions A to G, Key information for enabling a total of five functions A to D and E newly added.

  If both the program and key information are downloaded, the latest downloaded program is installed in step S113. At this time, the program installed in advance may be uninstalled or not uninstalled depending on the installation form of the latest program. Further, the program may be installed automatically after downloading, or may be installed by a user performing a predetermined operation.

  Next, in step S114, the function selected using the key information downloaded in step S111 or step S112 is validated. For example, when a program determines whether a function is valid or invalid by referring to a file in a predetermined format recorded in a predetermined location (for example, a folder in which the program is recorded), the program is downloaded to the predetermined location. A method such as storing key information can be used.

  Thereafter, in step S115, the display control means 15 updates the function selection screen 19. For example, in the above example, when the function E is added to the functions A to G, as shown in FIG. 11, five functions A to E are displayed in the function selection column 22 as selectable functions. In the function addition column 24, two functions F and G that can be further added are displayed.

  Note that the display method of the function selection field 22 and the function addition field 24 is not limited to the above example. When at least some of the functions are not enabled, for example, as shown in FIG. The column 22 displays all the functions provided in the program (here, seven functions A to G), and the activated functions (here, four functions A to D) are activated so that they can be executed. When the function that is not displayed and enabled (here, three functions E to G) cannot be executed and the function that is not enabled is selected, as shown in FIG. A confirmation screen 25 for confirming to the user whether or not the selected function can be executed may be displayed, and then the processing of steps S110 to S115 may be executed.

  When a desired function is selected from the functions displayed in the function selection column 22 in step S116, the program executes the selected function. For example, when the function of recording slide show data on the recording medium 9 is selected, the input unit 13 is used to use the media 8 loaded in the media loading unit 2 or the digital camera 7 connected to the device connection unit 3. The image data is read from the image data, and the data generation means 16 is used to generate (encode) the moving image data based on the read image data. Data (for example, video-CD slideshow data when the moving image data is in the MPEG1 format and DVD-Video slideshow data when the moving image data is in the MPEG1 or MPEG2 format) is generated (authored). Then, the data recording means 17 is used to record data for home appliances on the inner peripheral side of the recording medium 9 loaded in the recording medium loading unit 4, and then the session is closed if necessary, and an image is displayed on the outer side. Record data etc.

  In this way, in this embodiment, instead of providing a plurality of types of programs in which one or a plurality of functions are arbitrarily combined, a program having a plurality of functions and a function selected from the plurality of functions are provided. Since it is configured to provide key information for enabling it, the development cost of the program can be reduced. In addition, since the version of the installed program or the function that is not enabled is determined and the function that can be added is displayed on the function selection screen 19, the user can easily recognize the function that can be added, Desired functions can be easily added. In addition, when adding a function, it is only necessary to download the key information without downloading the program itself. In that case, there is no need to uninstall the previous program or reinstall a new program. Additional operations can be simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to a program having a plurality of functions for executing processing using image data, but a program having a plurality of functions for executing processing using arbitrary types of data such as music data. It can also be applied to the systems and methods provided.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the program provision system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the means of the control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the procedure of the program provision method based on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the function selection screen displayed on the control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the function selection screen displayed on the control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the function selection screen displayed on the control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the function selection screen displayed on the control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention, and a confirmation screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus 2 Media loading part 3 Device connection part 4 Recording medium loading part 5 Display means 6 Operation means 7 Digital camera 7a Mobile phone with a camera 8 Media 9 Recording medium 10 Storage means 11 Communication network 12 Server 13 Input means 14 Determination means 15 Display control means 16 Data generation means 17 Data recording means 19 Function selection screen 20 Tag display field 21 List display field 22 Function selection field 23 Upgrade button 24 Function addition field 25 Confirmation screen

Claims (8)

Computer
Determining means for determining whether a program installed in advance in a predetermined apparatus is the latest version or whether each function of the program is enabled;
When the program is not the latest version or when there is a function that is not enabled, the control program causes the display unit to function as a display control unit that displays an addable function. Computer,
When a predetermined function is selected from the functions that can be added,
If the program is not the latest version, obtain the latest version of the program, the pre-enabled function and the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function,
2. The control program according to claim 1, wherein when the program is the latest version, the program is caused to function as an input unit that acquires only key information for enabling the selected predetermined function. In a program providing system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions so as to be downloadable and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network.
The server stores the latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program,
In the apparatus, the selected function of the program can be executed by the downloaded program and the key information corresponding to the function selected from the plurality of functions. Offer system. In a program providing system in which a server that stores a program having a plurality of functions so as to be downloadable and a device that executes the functions of the program are connected via a communication network.
The server stores the latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program,
The device includes at least
Determining means for determining whether a program installed in advance in the apparatus is the latest version or whether each function of the program is enabled;
When the program is not the latest version, or when there is a function that is not enabled, a display control unit that causes the display unit to display a function that can be added is provided. In addition to the device,
When a predetermined function is selected from the functions that can be added,
If the program is not the latest version, download the latest version of the program, the previously enabled function and the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function from the server,
5. The program providing system according to claim 4, further comprising: input means for downloading only key information for enabling the selected predetermined function from the server when the program is the latest version. . A program providing method in a system in which a server storing a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device for executing the functions of the program are connected via a communication network,
The server stores the latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program,
The apparatus downloads the program and the key information corresponding to a function selected from the plurality of functions, and enables the selected function of the program to be executed. . A program providing method in a system in which a server storing a program having a plurality of functions in a downloadable manner and a device for executing the functions of the program are connected via a communication network,
Storing in the server the latest version of the program and key information for enabling each function of the program;
Determining whether the program pre-installed in the device is the latest version, or whether each function of the program is enabled;
When the program is not the latest version or when there is a function that is not valid, the program providing method includes at least a step of displaying an addable function on the display means. Furthermore,
When a predetermined function is selected from the functions that can be added,
If the program is not the latest version, download the latest version of the program, the previously enabled function and the key information for enabling the selected predetermined function from the server,
8. The program providing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of downloading only key information for enabling the selected predetermined function from the server when the program is the latest version.

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