JP2007243605A - Communication equipment, communication method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide communication equipment capable of promoting communication. <P>SOLUTION: The communication equipment is provided with: a contents holding means for holding contents; a contents transmission means for transmitting the contents to communication equipment of a communication partner; a contents viewing history acquisition means for acquiring from the communication equipment of the communication partner the viewing history information on the contents transmitted by the contents transmission means; and a contents viewing history information presenting means for presenting the contents viewing history information in association with the contents held by the contents holding means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication method, and more particularly to a technique for transmitting information related to content. The present invention further relates to a program for causing a computer to execute the communication method.

  In recent years, with the development of networks, communication devices that can easily transmit content such as videos and photographs have been developed. Many Web sites have various types of content including videos and photographs, and users can freely browse the content.

  When many users browse various contents, there is a desire to grasp the user's tendency. Therefore, a method of recording access history information and confirming it has been conventionally established.

For example, in a Web site, the Web server has a log recording function. By confirming this, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), access time, access source IP (Internet) to the accessed content (page, image data, etc.) is confirmed. Protocol) address and the like can be known, and the user's tendency can be grasped to some extent by statistically processing the URL and the like.
In addition to the Web, video programs may be broadcast by satellite or the like.

  For example, as a method for transmitting one activity history to the other between two terminal devices, for example, in Patent Document 1, the content of a viewing history is specified by using EPG (Electric Program Guide). The system which can transmit to the center side apparatus at the time is proposed, and the center side can extract the user's preference by processing the history information and can use it for the advertisement.

JP 2002-305760 A

  However, the conventional example of Patent Document 1 uses a method of statistically processing viewing time confirmation of viewing history confirmation independent of the original content data, reproducing reproduction on the user side, etc. It was not possible to accurately grasp the trend of viewing history in association with the content data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device and a communication method capable of accurately grasping a tendency of a viewing history in association with original content data. The present invention also provides a program for causing a computer to execute such a communication method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a communication device according to the present invention includes a content holding unit that holds content, a content transmission unit that transmits content to a communication device of a communication partner, and viewing of content transmitted by the content transmission unit. Content viewing history acquisition means for obtaining history information from the communication device of the communication partner, and content viewing history information presentation means for presenting the content viewing history information in association with the content held by the content holding means. It is characterized by.

  Content viewing history information holding means for holding content viewing history information acquired by the content viewing history information acquiring means is further provided, and the content viewing history information presenting means is content viewing history information held by the content viewing history information holding means. May be presented.

  The content viewing history information presenting means may present only the content viewing history information during a predetermined recent period.

  The content viewing history information may include a communication partner identifier for identifying the communication partner, and the content viewing history information presenting means may present the content viewing history information in association with the communication partner identifier.

  When the content viewing history information includes a plurality of communication partner identifiers, the content viewing history information further includes communication partner identifier selecting means for selecting one, some, or all of them, and the content viewing history information presenting means includes the communication partner identifier Only the content viewing history information related to the communication partner selected by the identifier selecting means may be presented.

  The content may be a still image content, and the content viewing history information may include at least one of playback control commands for content including viewing execution, zoom-up, slide show start, slide show pause, and slide show stop.

  The content may be moving image content, and the content viewing history information may include at least one of playback control commands for content including playback start, pause, stop, fast forward, rewind, and slow playback.

  The content viewing history information presenting means may play the content in accordance with a playback control command included in the content viewing history information.

  The content viewing history information presenting unit may not present the content viewing history information on which related content has been reproduced.

  Another communication device of the present invention includes a content receiving unit that receives content from a communication device of a communication partner, a content presentation unit that presents content received by the content receiving unit, and a content presentation unit that displays content by the content presentation unit. Content viewing history information creating means for creating content viewing history information, and content viewing history information transmitting means for transmitting the content viewing history information created by the content viewing history information creating means to the communication device of the communication partner. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a program that can accurately grasp the tendency of viewing history in association with original content data.

   The communication device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the communication apparatus of the present invention is connected to a network. The communication device 1 is connected to a network such as the Internet and can communicate by communicating with the communication device 2. Typically, the communication device 1 is connected to the communication device 2 by a “phone” (SIP: Session Initiation Protocol, (Including those that use).

  The communication device 2 is connected to a network such as the Internet. When a “telephone” is received from the communication device 1, the communication device 2 responds (receives a call) to perform communication. Further, the “telephone” function of the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 is essentially the same, and the communication device 2 can make a call to the communication device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the communication device 1. The communication apparatus 1 includes a communication unit 101, a display unit 102, a speaker 103, a microphone 104, a camera 105, a video / audio processing unit 106, a remote control reception unit 107, a content input unit 108, and a video input unit 109. A content DB 110, a telephone directory DB 111, a history DB 112, a history acquisition unit 113, a disclosure processing unit 114, a notification transmission unit 115, a call control unit 116, and an operation processing unit 117.

  The communication unit 101 can transmit and receive data to the network. Essentially, it is an Ethernet card that can be connected to an IP network, a device for enabling connection to a mobile phone network, and driver software for controlling the device.

  The display unit 102 visually provides various information to the user, such as a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) or a liquid crystal display device. Further, it may be configured by an external display device and a cable for transmitting a video signal such as a VGA (Video Graphics Array) cable.

  The speaker 103 provides various information to the user by voice, and may be essentially the same as a commonly used speaker component.

  The microphone 104 inputs a voice generated by the user and may be essentially the same as a commonly used microphone component.

  The camera 105 converts a landscape around the user into an electrical signal and inputs it, and may be essentially the same as a commonly used one.

  The video / audio processing unit 106 mutually converts an electrical signal that communicates with the display unit 102, the speaker 103, the microphone 104, and the camera 105 and corresponding digital data. There are no particular limitations on the format of the digital data. For example, there are various media formats such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 and MPEG4 for video and MPEGAudio, G711 and G726 for audio. Generally, they are already distributed in the market in the form of codec chips corresponding to them.

  The remote control receiving unit 107 receives an operation signal from the remote control 11 and transmits it to the operation processing unit 117. There are many remote control systems that use IrDA (Infrared Data Association) and household electrical appliance association format infrared signals, but there are other wireless communication systems such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Further, the communication device 1 may be configured not to use wireless communication, such as a mobile phone, by directly installing buttons on the panel portion of the housing.

  The content input unit 108 reads content data recorded on, for example, a memory card and writes the data in a content DB (Data Base) 110. Further, it may be connected to an external storage device provided with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal. Many devices equipped with data input means from such memory cards and external memories are already on the market and are essentially the same. Typically, a photographic image taken with a digital camera is input. The photo data of the digital camera has a folder structure and the like, and is read according to the folder structure. Of course, the photographic image or the like need not be via a memory card. For example, the photograph image may be captured by a camera built in the mobile phone type communication device 1 and directly taken into the content DB 110.

  The video input unit 109 inputs video images (including audio) captured by the home video camera and other video signals, and writes data related to the content in the content DB 110. As the input terminal, a composite terminal, an IEEE (Institut of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 terminal, or the like is used. When the signal is an analog signal, it is written in the content DB 110 while being encoded into digital data using a codec chip distributed in the market. However, it is not necessary to capture the video image from an external generation device. For example, the video image may be captured by a camera built in the mobile phone type communication device 1 and directly captured in the content DB 110.

  The content DB 110 manages photographic images, video content, meta information thereof, and the like. The implementation includes a magnetic storage device, an optical disk device, a semiconductor memory device, and the like, and is controlled by software such as database software and a file system.

  The phone book DB 111 stores information on the other party who makes a “phone call”. A so-called telephone number including a SIP address, the name of a partner, a nickname, flag information indicating whether or not to disclose, and other information are stored. The configuration of the implementation is essentially the same as that of the content DB 110.

  The history DB 112 stores history information collected by the history acquisition unit 113. The stored information will be described in detail later. The implementation is essentially the same as the content DB 110 or the like.

  The history acquisition unit 113 stores the history information transferred from the communication unit 101 in the history DB 112. The mounting configuration is typically configured as hardware configured with a CPU, a bus, a memory, and the like, and a software program executed thereon.

  The public processing unit 114 provides content data managed by the content DB 110 as a response to a remote request transferred from the communication unit 101. Typically, it is an HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) server that performs file transfer, and in the case of streaming content such as video, it is an RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) server. Since both the HTTP server and the RTSP server are existing technologies and are already widely distributed in the market, no further explanation will be given. Further, any protocol may be used as long as it is used for content transmission.

  The notification transmission unit 115 performs processing for generating a notification information packet when content is newly added to the content DB 110 or when the content is updated and transmitting the notification information packet to a remote user such as the communication device 2. As a communication protocol for that purpose, the SIP SUBSCRIBE / NOTIFY mechanism may be used as it is. However, any communication protocol may be used as long as it has a similar mechanism. The mounting configuration is essentially the same as the history acquisition unit 113 and the like.

  The call control unit 116 processes an incoming call instructed by the operation processing unit 117 and an incoming call that receives a remote call via the communication unit 101, and the video / audio processing unit 106 responds accordingly. Perform processing such as activating a function. The operation processing unit 117 mainly performs data communication related to the user interface, such as displaying “Calling.”. Also, a process of transferring the video / audio data to / from the video / audio processing unit 106 is performed. In terms of implementation, libraries having SIP functions are already distributed in the market and are essentially the same.

  The operation processing unit 117 is a part corresponding to a main routine, and performs various processes including state management such as a cursor position. A user operation from the remote control receiving unit 107 is processed, or an instruction related to call control with the call control unit 116 is processed. A process of making a call according to a user instruction is also performed here, and related history information is associated depending on the state. Moreover, the process which extracts the content which should be displayed from the acquired log | history is also performed. The display unit 102 also gives an instruction to lay out and display user interface components in the communication device 1. The implementation is essentially the same as the history acquisition unit 113 and the like.

  The remote controller 11 transmits button operation information to the remote control receiving unit 107. As a mounting configuration, many remote controllers using infrared rays and mobile phones with built-in remote control functions are distributed in the market, and are essentially the same as those. Of course, instead of or in addition to the remote control 11 and the remote control receiving unit 107, a button similar to the button of the remote control 11 may be directly provided in the housing of the communication apparatus 1.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the communication device 2. The communication device 2 includes a communication unit 201, a display unit 202, a speaker 203, a microphone 204, a camera 205, a video / audio processing unit 206, a remote control reception unit 207, a telephone directory DB 211, a history DB 212, and a history transmission unit. 213, a notification receiving unit 215, a call control unit 216, and an operation processing unit 217.

  The communication unit 201, the display unit 202, the speaker 203, the microphone 204, the camera 205, the video / audio processing unit 206, the remote control reception unit 207, the telephone directory DB 211, and the call control unit 216 are each a communication unit of the communication device 1 illustrated in FIG. 101, display unit 102, speaker 103, microphone 104, camera 105, video / audio processing unit 106, remote control receiving unit 107, telephone directory DB 111, and call control unit 116.

  The history DB 212 mainly stores activity at the agent 214 and operation history information at the operation processing unit 217. The stored information will be described in detail hereinafter. The mounting configuration includes a magnetic storage device, an optical disk device, a semiconductor memory device, and the like, and is controlled by software such as database software and a file system.

  The history transmission unit 213 generates a history information packet from the history information stored in the history DB 212 and performs transmission processing on the communication device 1 via the communication unit 201. The mounting configuration is typically configured as hardware configured with a CPU, a bus, a memory, and the like, and a software program executed thereon.

  The agent 214 is an HTTP client, an RTSP client, or the like that receives an instruction from the operation processing unit 217 and performs content acquisition access to the public processing unit 114 of the communication device 1. In general, the agent 214 often has a cache mechanism. In this case, if there is target data on the cache (cache hit), the data can be returned without causing communication. The agent 214 can be instructed without worrying about whether or not the cache has been hit. The HTTP client and the RTSP client are existing technologies including the implementation of a cache and are already distributed in the market, and therefore will not be described in further detail. Further, any protocol may be used as long as it is used for content transmission.

  The notification reception unit 215 receives the notification information packet generated by the notification transmission unit 115 of the communication device 1 via the communication unit 201, interprets it, and transmits it to the operation processing unit 217. As a communication protocol for that purpose, the SIP SUBSCRIBE / NOTIFY mechanism can be used as it is. The mounting configuration is essentially the same as the history transmission unit 213 and the like.

The operation processing unit 217 processes a user operation from the remote control reception unit 207 and processes an instruction related to call control with the call control unit 216. The display unit 202 also gives an instruction to lay out and display user interface components in the communication device 2. The mounting configuration is essentially the same as the history transmission unit 213 and the like.
The remote controller 21 is essentially the same as the remote controller 11.

  FIG. 4 is an external view of an example of a communication apparatus according to the present invention. The communication device 1 and the communication device 2 may have almost similar appearances.

  FIG. 5 is an external view of the remote controller 11 or 12 according to the present invention, which includes a power button, a menu operation button, a numeric keypad (which can also be used for character input using a mobile phone system, etc.), a video operation button, and the like. Button operations for some functions may be selected from a hierarchical menu.

  Next, communication functions in the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process for registering the other party who makes a “phone call” in the communication apparatus 1.

  It is assumed that the communication device 1 is already turned on, has been initialized, has a screen displayed, and can be operated with the remote controller 11.

  In step S101, a registration screen is first called. When the “menu” button on the remote controller 11 is pressed, the remote control receiving unit 107 receives the signal, and the operation processing unit 117 can call up a menu screen as shown in FIG. The description that the remote control receiving unit 107, the operation processing unit 117, and the audio / video processing unit 106 are controlled when the user interface screen is displayed from the remote control operation is omitted). Here, when the cursor button of the remote controller 11 is used to select “1. Address registration”, an input form for address setting as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

  In step S102, data is input. In this example, “Grandpa” is entered as the name, the SIP address “sip: g-chan @ domain” in SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is entered as the phone number, and the contents in the communication device 1 are disclosed to “Grandpa”. Set a flag indicating that it may be possible, and execute registration. Here, SIP is the most promising protocol for realizing a conventional telephone system on an IP network, and has been spreading in recent years. In the present embodiment, a SIP-based telephone system is assumed as an example. However, Skype (registered trademark) (http://www.skype.com/), a call signal in an ISDN telephone system, etc. Such a protocol may be used.

  The input data is registered in the telephone directory DB 111 in step S103. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example of data registered in the phone book DB 111. In this example, only the name, address, and public flag are shown as table attributes. However, actually, an index number and other attribute data may be added.

  The processes in steps S101 to S103 are performed in place of the remote controller 11, the remote controller receiver 107, the operation processor 117, the video / audio processor 106, and the telephone directory DB 111, respectively, the remote controller 21, the remote controller receiver 207, the operation processor 217, and the video. If the voice processing unit 206 and the telephone directory DB 211 are used, the communication apparatus 2 can execute the same.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing for making (calling) a “telephone” in the communication apparatus 1.

  In step S201, a telephone directory screen is called. When “2. Address list” is selected from the menu of FIG. 7 and the “OK” button on the remote controller 11 is pressed, a screen as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. At this time, since the address information is in the telephone directory DB 111, it is acquired and displayed in a list. Here, only the name is displayed.

  In step S202, for example, when “1. Grandpa” is selected and the “OK” button on the remote controller 11 is pressed, a screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. In step S203, “call” is selected, and the “OK” button on the remote controller 11 is pressed to make a call.

  After this, the called side displays a screen such as "Call from Mr. XX" along with the ringing tone, etc., and the called side user responds accordingly to establish the call and communicate. . A similar process has already been established for a called party in a conventional telephone or mobile phone.

  The processing of step S201 to step S203 can be similarly executed in the communication apparatus 2 by using the remote controller 21 and the telephone directory DB 211 instead of the remote controller 11 and the telephone directory DB 111, respectively.

  Next, a case will be described in which photographic image data of a digital camera is disclosed in the communication device 1 and browsed by the communication device 2 or the like.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing for registering photographic image data stored in a memory card as data to be disclosed.

  In step S301, the content input unit 108 detects that new photo data is stored in the memory card, and notifies the operation processing unit 117 of it. This processing is a function already realized as PnP (Plug and Play) in a personal computer, and the same processing may be performed here.

  Here, the memory card is not limited to this, and any memory device may be used as long as the image is stored.

  In step S302, the operation processing unit 117 searches the telephone book DB 111 to check a remote user to be disclosed, displays a screen as shown in FIG. 14, and inquires whether or not to disclose to the user. The reason why the remote user to be disclosed is displayed is to prevent mistakes that are shown to the other party who does not want to be seen unexpectedly. If Yes, the process proceeds to S303, and if No, the process ends.

  In step S303, a screen as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed, the album name is input, and registration is executed.

  In step S304, the photograph data acquired by the content input unit 108 is registered in the content DB 110. An example of registration contents of the content DB 110 is shown in FIG. FIG. 16 shows meta information of content, which includes a file name, update date, update ID, and the like. Here, the update ID is introduced in order to easily determine whether or not there has been a change compared to the previous state. If the update ID having the maximum value in the content DB 110 is examined, the content DB 110 from the previous state is checked. It is possible to easily determine whether or not there has been one update. Further, by checking the update ID for a specific file, it can be easily determined individually whether or not the specific file has been updated from the previous state. The content DB 110 also has flag information indicating whether there is new arrival data.

  In step S305, a new arrival flag is set. By setting this flag, the notification transmitter 115 can determine that there is new arrival data to be notified.

  In addition, in the case of the photograph data image | photographed with the built-in camera of the mobile telephone type communication apparatus 1, you may consider that it registered with content DB110 at the time of image | photographing, and step S301-step S305 are a series of operation | movement at this time. You can think that it is done in. In step S302, a screen for publishing from a menu or the like may be called by a button operation. At this time, as a result, the operation of photographing leads to the new arrival flag set.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing for notifying the communication device 2 that there is newly arrived photo image data.

  In step S401, the notification transmission unit 115 determines whether there is new arrival data by checking the new arrival flag in the content DB 110. If the new arrival flag is set, the process proceeds to step S402. Even if the new arrival flag is not set, if a predetermined period has elapsed since the time of the previous notification, the process may proceed to step S402 in order to notify again of the same content. For example, it is recommended that a NOTIFY message in SIP is re-transmitted once every 180 seconds.

  In step S402, the new arrival flag is reset, the notification content maximum number N, the counter i, and the temporary list area L are initialized, and a loop is entered.

In step S403, the newest contents in the content DB 110 are selected in order and added to L. At this time, the update ID is found from the largest value.
In steps S404 and S405, the counter is incremented. If the notification content maximum number N is not exceeded, steps S403 to S405 are repeated. However, if there is no more content in the content DB, it will not be repeated.

When the loop of step S405 is exited, notification data is generated based on L in step S406. For example, data as shown in FIG. 18 can be used as data in an XML (extensible Markup Language) format. Here, the “update-id” attribute in the report element indicates that the latest update ID at the time when the notification data is generated is 1013, and therefore the state at the time when the notification data was transmitted before that. From this, it can be determined from this data whether there has been a new update. The update ID is also attached to the update element (representing an update information summary for each file or group) and the action element (representing individual update information). The temporal order, relationship with other update IDs, etc. can be easily determined. The watcher element represents a user who has viewed the corresponding content, and in this example, the # 2.jpg content represents that it has already been viewed by an aunt (sip: oba @ domain).
In step S407, the notification transmission unit 115 acquires an address whose public flag is Y from the telephone directory DB 111. For example, take out Grandpa (sip: g-chan @ domain). In addition, after the loop of S409, an aunt (sip: oba @ domain) is taken out next.

  In step S <b> 408, packets are packetized corresponding to the extracted addresses and transmitted via the communication unit 101. For example, when FIG. 18 is packetized as a SIP NOTIFY message, FIG. 19 is obtained.

In step S409, the process is repeated until all the appropriate addresses are notified.
Here, in the case of the camera-equipped mobile phone type communication device 1, as a result of these processes, the activity history is automatically notified to the communication device 2 or the like when a photograph is taken. .

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating notification message processing in the communication device 2.
In step S 501, the notification receiving unit 215 receives the notification message shown in FIG. 19, interprets it, and transmits it to the operation processing unit 217.

  In step S502, the operation processing unit 217 displays a screen as shown in FIG. 21, and when the user selects “Yes”, the user browses the photo in step S503. For example, when content is acquired by HTTP, the HTTP client function of the agent 214 is used to access the public processing unit 1 of the communication device 1 to download photo content, and the operation processing unit 217 includes a video / audio processing unit. A layout display and a user interface process are performed on 206.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing processing for history information generation in the photo browsing in step S503.

  In step S601, the user operates, in step S602, the operation history is stored in the history DB 212 according to the operation content, and in step S603, the history history flag is set. The history transmission unit 213 performs history transmission.

  For example, in the operation shown in FIG. 23, operation history data is generated when image data is acquired, when a slide show is started, or when a specific image is paused, and stored in the history DB 212. . An example of data stored in the history DB 212 is shown in FIG. The history data includes the target file, operation type, group name, history ID, and transmission history ID. The types of operations may include acquisition, simple viewing, zooming up, starting a slide show, pausing a slide show, stopping a slide show, and the like. The history ID is introduced with the same idea as the update ID, is assigned to each history operation, and the temporal order thereof can be easily distinguished. The transmission history ID is a recent history ID in a certain history transmission, and represents that it is actually transmitted (transmitted to the remote side) by a history information packet having the transmission history ID. Therefore, in the case of a history that has not been transmitted yet, the transmission history ID is not set. Further, it can be considered that a group of files having the same transmission history ID forms a certain set.

In step S604, steps S601 to S603 are repeated until the end operation is performed.
Here, the feature of history transmission changes according to the order of step S603 and step S604. That is, if step S603 is executed before S604, the history update of each operation is transmitted to the history transmission unit 213, and is transmitted to the communication device 1 in real time, but there is no collective data. It becomes difficult to handle. When step S603 is executed after step S604, the operation history up to that point is collectively treated as the same group history and transmitted as the same transmission history ID, so that the history data receiving side performs a history operation having the same transmission history ID. It becomes easy to handle as a group.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a process for transmitting history information stored in the history DB 212 of the communication device 2 to the communication device 1.

  In step S701, the history transmission unit 213 waits for the history flag of the history DB 212 to be set. However, similarly to S401 in the notification transmission process, the same history as the previous time may be sent after a predetermined period.

  In step S702, the history flag is first reset, and the temporary list area L of history data is initialized.

  In step S703, an appropriate history is selected in the history DB 212. Here, the appropriate history refers to the following: The transmission history ID is not set or has the latest transmission history ID if it is not set; it is not set in the list L Things that are useful as history information according to other application specifications. If there is no appropriate item, the process proceeds to step S705.

  In step S704, the selected history is added to L, and the process is repeated from step S703.

  In step S705, history data is generated based on L. An example of the history data is shown in FIG. A history-id attribute is set in the report element, which indicates a transmission history ID. Therefore, history information in notification data having the same history-id attribute value can be regarded as forming a specific group.

  In step S706, the history data is transmitted via the communication unit 201. An example of the history data packet is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing history data reception processing in the history acquisition unit 113 of the communication device 1.

  In step S801, the history acquisition unit 113 receives the history data packet, interprets it, and stores it in the history DB 112 in step S802. An example of data stored in the history DB 112 is shown in FIG. Although it is almost the same as the data shown in FIG. 24, an attribute "user" indicating who the operation history is added. This is because the user who views the content may be not only “Grandpa” but also “Aunt” and can handle them separately. The transmission history ID is paraphrased as a reception history ID.

  Next, a description will be given of a situation in which the history data accumulated in the history DB 112 as described above is confirmed and used for communication based on the history data.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing processing for confirming accumulated history information and browsing a photograph associated therewith.

  In step S901, a content list is displayed. When “3. content list” is selected from the menu shown in FIG. 7 and the “OK” button on the remote controller 11 is pressed, a screen as shown in FIG. 31 is displayed.

  In this screen example, thumbnails of photographic images are arranged on the left side, and a mark indicating who viewed the image is added. “G” indicates viewing from a grandpa, and “o” indicates viewing from an aunt. This marking is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The color corresponding to the user may be determined in advance, and the color of the frame of the image may be shown as that color, or it may be displayed by opening a temporary window (balloon display, tooltip) after a certain time depending on the cursor position. You may do it. It may be displayed only in the detailed information described later. Below that, detailed information for the image selected by the cursor is displayed. Here, only the details of the viewing history are displayed.

  On the right side of the screen, there are operation menus that can be associated with the entire content list. For example, when “Grandpa history” is selected, reproduction is performed so as to reproduce the viewing based on the history information as shown in FIG. As a result, the screen transition as shown in FIG. 23 is reproduced. At this time, the history of the replayed portion may be excluded from the replay target in the future history confirmation screen. Then, once played back and confirmed, it will not be played back until another history arrives next, so a new history can always be played back.

  “Grandpa phone” can make a “Grandpa” call in association with these content lists. These content lists are, for example, contents related to a history set defined by the latest reception history ID corresponding to each remote user.

  Here, the buttons “Grandpa ...” and “Aunt…” are displayed because Grandpa and Aunt are registered in the DB shown in FIG. 9, and if there are other registered users, That will also be displayed. If the corresponding button is selected by operating the remote controller or the like, the call destination address can be determined from FIG.

  “Three-party call” is not a one-to-one call, but makes a call in a form of communication between three or more people. In this example, since the history from "Grandpa" and the history from "Aunt" are included, by making a three-party call, the same photo data can be shared by three people, and communication can be boosted. . Since the call between the three parties is already established in a video conference system or the like, it will not be described in detail. Moreover, what is necessary is just to apply the description so far similarly about sharing of photograph data. In particular, not limited to “three parties”, a general user interface for selecting two or more users from among three or more users is provided, and a multi-party call can be made by three or more people together. It may be.

  In step S902, the left side of the screen can be browsed in the same manner as the content browsing in the communication device 2 shown in FIG. However, since the content itself exists in the content DB 110 of the communication device 1, there is no need for the agent 214 of the communication device 2, and the content can be directly accessed. Here, by performing a menu operation such as “Grandpa phone”, it is possible to make a call to a remote user after indicating that he / she is interested in the displayed content. As for “Grandpa phone” here, the call destination address can be determined from the address table of FIG.

  FIG. 32 shows an operation example in which the specific content is superimposed on the cursor in step S903, a new submenu is displayed, and “Grandpa” is called from there. When you make a call in association with specific content instead of “Grandpa Phone”, the importance in the content becomes clear, even if you share the same (send or receive) history ID with remote users, especially among them You can specify the photo image you want to talk about.

  FIG. 33 shows an example of a screen on which calling is being executed and calling. In the middle, the photographic image to be noticed selected with the cursor on the screen of FIG. 32 is displayed, and other images that have the same reception history ID and are regarded as a group are displayed on both sides. On this screen, it may be possible to switch an image to be displayed with a cursor or the like.

  FIG. 34 shows an example of a call message being called. Again, an example using SIP INVITE was used. Among them, X-History-ID is a reception (transmission for the communication apparatus 2) history ID, and a content set to be discussed is defined. In this example, 2005. In addition, a subject parameter is specified, and this specifies a photo that is specified with a cursor and that is particularly desired to be noticed.

  In addition, X-SHARP-CTRL at the bottom of FIG. 34 assumes a protocol that can switch between shared images by mutual operation after a call is established. Is shown in FIG. A function that is essential in this protocol is to be able to exchange “switching commands” for switching each other's display image. For example, when a display image is switched at a grandchild terminal, it is transmitted over the network, The grandpa terminal receives the command and switches the display image, and vice versa.

  FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing processing when an incoming call is received by the communication device 2. In step S1001, a call message from the communication device 1 is received. In the case of a SIP INVITE message, an incoming call process is performed thereafter by a method defined by SIP.

  In step S1002, a content set corresponding to the history ID indicated by X-History-ID is searched. When the history DB 212 shown in FIG. 24 is searched, a corresponding file group, a focused file, and the like can be specified.

In step S1003, a calling screen is displayed and a ringing tone is generated based on the specified file group. An example of a call screen is shown in FIG.
Thereafter, a normal incoming call process may be performed. When a call is established, a screen as shown in FIG. 38 is displayed.

  At this time, the content specified by the X-History-ID can be shared by both the communication device 1 and the communication device 2, and for example, the same photographic image can be displayed small in the upper right. Other photographic images are arranged on the lower side in this example, and can be switched to another photo by a cursor or the like. In that case, the screen of the remote terminal can be switched using the protocol as shown in FIG. Further, the photographic image may be displayed on the full screen or in a larger size instead of being displayed in the upper right.

  Here, the content set defined by the reception history ID (= transmission history ID at the other terminal) is typically searched based on the history information of FIG. 27 received at the previous timing. The packet transmission / reception timing is not limited to this, and FIG. 27 may be transmitted / received continuously after calling by INVITE of FIG. At that time, for example, if FIG. 27 is received during a call, it will be displayed one after another as time passes on the calling screen (lower side of FIG. 37). Furthermore, if the message is received later after the call is established, when the still image is shared (the thumbnail list on the lower side of FIG. 38), it is displayed one after another.

  Here, the shared photographic images are displayed only when there is a grandfather's viewing history, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be displayed including those that are not shared. At this time, for example, if there is a mark that can distinguish between those with viewing history and those with no viewing history (such as there is an explanatory note or the color of the frame is different), it is rather a photo that the other party has not seen and If there is a recommendation, you can talk about it and communicate smoothly.

  Next, the case where video content, not photographic images, is used as content will be described in detail.

  Even when video images are used, a considerable part of the explanation with the photographic images described above can be used in common. For example, the address registration is the same operation. Here, the part peculiar to video images will be described.

  First, the registered part of the video image data is different from the case of a photographic image. In the case of a video image, if it exists on a memory card as digital data, it can be executed by the same processing as in the case of a photographic image.

  However, it exists in some form in an external storage device, and often involves a special operation of converting and transferring it to a storage device in the communication device 1.

  FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing processing for registering external video image data. 13 in the case of a photographic image is replaced.

  In step S2301, the user operates the remote controller 11 to call a screen for video content registration. An example of the screen is shown in FIG. In this process, the phone book DB 111 is searched and the information that is disclosed to the public is displayed to prevent mistakes that are shown to the other party who does not want to be seen unexpectedly.

If YES in step S2302, the process proceeds to step S2303.
In step S2303, a screen as shown in FIG. 41 is displayed, and the name of the video to be registered is input. In step S2304, the screen is registered in the content DB 110. A schematic diagram of data registered in the content DB 110 is shown in FIG. In many cases, video data (including accompanying audio) is an analog signal, which is encoded by a codec and copied to the content DB 110 as well. Even in the case of digital data, the same processing may be performed by re-encoding, or may be directly copied to the content DB 110 without being re-encoded.
In step S2305, a new arrival flag is set. The same as S305.

  Next, since the mechanism of new notification is the same, video browsing instead of photo browsing will be described.

  In step S503 in FIG. 20, it is read as video browsing instead of photo browsing.

  FIG. 22 also applies to video browsing as it is, and the screen corresponding to the operation in step S601 is different.

  FIG. 42 shows an example of a video browsing screen in step S601. In this screen example, playback is first performed from the stopped state, rewinding is performed after 45 seconds, the position is returned to the 30-second position, paused, and then stopped. An example of the contents of the history DB 112 at this time is shown in FIG. As the type of operation, data such as acquisition, simple playback, and pause, stop, fast forward, rewind, etc. can be recorded. The difference from FIG. 24 is that in the case of video, the video and audio differ depending on the playback position, and therefore there is a “position” attribute. The target file is not HTTP but a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for RTSP suitable for streaming reproduction.

  The history shown in FIG. 42 results in the history data shown in FIG. 44 and is transmitted to the communication device 1. A duration element is included as corresponding to the “position” attribute.

  As a result of the reception by the history acquisition unit 113 of the communication device 1, data as shown in FIG. 45 is stored in the history DB 112.

  Next, in the history confirmation, video browsing instead of photo browsing will be described.

In step S902 in FIG. 30, photo browsing is replaced with video browsing.
FIG. 46 shows an example of a video browsing screen in step S902. On the upper left, a video screen corresponding to the reception history ID is displayed. In particular, a position that is likely to be noted in the history ID list is displayed. For example, in the history element having the same history ID as the reception history ID (in this case, 2505), the duration value is “00:00:30”, and it is considered that the position is attracting attention. An image corresponding to the appropriate history element pause is displayed. Below that, the video operation history in the communication device 2 is displayed as a graph.

  FIG. 47 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the graph. The horizontal axis is the elapsed time, and the origin is the time when the content is added, the time when the communication device receives the notification, or the time when the communication device is operated for the first time, and the right end is the current time. The vertical axis represents the position ratio in the content at the position being played back, where the origin is the case where no playback is performed, and the upper end is 100% (the last playback state). Taking the “grandpa history” represented by a solid line as an example, the part that rises to the right is playing, the part that folds to the lower right is rewound, and the part that is level is paused. The white arrow indicates the time position currently displayed on the screen.

  In FIG. 46, when “Grandpa history” is selected, the history can be reproduced from the white arrow, and by moving the arrow with a cursor, the favorite portion can be reproduced in the grandpa's history. , You can better understand the feelings of Grandpa watching the content.

Next, the method for making a call from the screen is the same as in the case of a photograph.
The calling screen is basically the same as the video browsing, and can be applied as it is.

  FIG. 48 is a screen example when a call is established. As in the case of photos, communication can be performed with the video image shared in the upper right. As with history browsing, a history graph can be displayed, and the history can be reproduced. Since the history graph only needs to have history information, it can be similarly performed on the communication device 2 side notified by the X-History-ID.

  The case where a call is made from the content providing side has been described above. However, there is a case where the call is made from the content browsing side.

FIG. 49 shows a screen example in which the menu is opened in the photo browsing state shown in FIG. If “Grandpa” is selected here, a call can be made in association with the corresponding photo history. Since the history information shown in FIG. 26 is also transmitted at this time, it is associated with the photo history by specifying “2005” as the X-History-ID. (If step S603 and step S604 are interchanged, processing corresponding to step S603 is performed once when the menu is displayed.)
In the description so far, not all the steps are essential. If the intended purpose can be achieved, the steps may be unnecessary or the order may be changed.

  In the first embodiment, a description will be given of a case where the history acquisition unit of the communication device 1 does not acquire a history by receiving a history notification from the communication device 2, but acquires it based on an access history to the public processing unit. .

  In this embodiment, the communication apparatus 1 is replaced with the communication apparatus 1b in FIG. 1 to operate.

FIG. 50 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the communication device 1b.
Compared to the communication device 1, the communication device 1 b includes a history acquisition unit 123 instead of the history acquisition unit 113 and a disclosure processing unit 124 instead of the disclosure processing unit 114.

  The history acquisition unit 123 receives the notification from the disclosure processing unit 124, generates history data based on the notification, and stores the history data in the history DB 112. The mounting configuration is essentially the same as the history acquisition unit 113.

  In addition to the function of the publication processing unit 114, the publication processing unit 124 has a function of notifying the history acquisition unit 123 of remote access as a history. As an implementation, the log output function part of the public processing unit 114 is corrected, and interprocess communication such as a signal, socket, and shared memory is performed, and the contents are notified to the history acquisition unit 123. The mounting configuration is essentially the same as the public processing unit 114.

Other parts of the communication device 1b are the same as the corresponding portions of the communication device 1, and the description thereof is omitted.
As for the flow of processing, only the parts related to the history acquisition unit 123 and the disclosure processing unit 124 will be described, and the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

  First, the process different from the first embodiment is a content publishing process in the publishing processing unit 124, and the process shown in FIG. 51 is applied to the process performed by the publishing processing unit 114 in step S503.

  In step S <b> 3101, the disclosure processing unit 124 performs processing in the same manner as the disclosure processing unit 114. That is, if it is an HTTP server, it receives an HTTP request and returns a corresponding HTTP response. If it is an RTSP server, it receives an RTSP request and returns a corresponding RTSP response, and if necessary, transports streaming data.

  In step S3102, the history acquisition unit 123 is notified of the access log. The contents of the access log are contents that can be extracted from the HTTP request and response. For example, the operation (GET / POST / SETUP / PLAY / PAUSE / STOP, etc.), the target file (including parameters such as CGI), access date and time, access The original user (obtained from the WWW-Authenticate header, CGI argument, or the like).

  Next, a process different from that of the first embodiment is a history acquisition process in the history acquisition unit 123, and the flowchart shown in FIG. 52 is applied instead of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S3201, the history acquisition unit 123 is notified of the access log from the disclosure processing unit 124. The contents are as described above.

  In step S3202, the notified history information is registered in the history DB 110. An example of registered contents is shown in FIG. Since the history information is not received from the communication device 2, the reception history ID is not allocated, but the same reception history ID is set in a grouped history within a certain period in the grouping at the time of history confirmation. It is possible to do. For example, the same reception history ID may be allocated if accessed continuously within a certain period, for example, within 30 minutes.

  Since the history information is not shared, it cannot be specified by X-History-ID or the like as shown in FIG. 34. Therefore, instead of specifying the ID, the call is made by attaching the history information itself. . For example, FIG. 54 shows a method using a multimedia part of MIME (Multimedia Internet Mail Extension). Each call control unit directly uses the attached history information instead of searching the history information from the ID.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which a photographic image is mainly used is described, but the present invention can also be applied to a video image as it is.

  In the description so far, not all the steps are essential. If the intended purpose can be achieved, the steps may be unnecessary or the order may be changed.

  The first embodiment and the second embodiment depend on the interest regarding the contents held in the communication device, but are not limited thereto, and may depend on the data on the third terminal.

FIG. 55 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment.
The communication device 1c performs communication processing with the communication device 2, but at the same time exchanges with the RSS server.

  The RSS server is a kind of HTTP server, but it can register contents such as a diary (called a blog) very easily. At the same time, since the new arrival information is distributed in a formatted text called RSS (Resource Description Framework (RDF) Site Summary), the program can automatically detect the new arrival contents. Update information can be detected almost in real time by using a program called a reader. Examples of RSS servers and RSS readers include “goo blog” and “gooRSS reader” (http://blog.goo.ne.jp/index.php), and many of them are already in circulation.

FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the communication device 1c.
Compared to the communication device 1, the communication device 1 c includes a phone book DB 151 instead of the phone book DB 111, a history acquisition unit 153 instead of the history acquisition unit 113, and an operation processing unit 157 instead of the operation processing unit 117.

  Compared with the phone book DB 111, the phone book DB 151 also records the address of the RSS site. The history acquisition unit 153 includes an RSS reader function, detects new arrival information on the RSS site, and stores the history in the history DB 112. Compared with the operation processing unit 117, the operation processing unit 157 has an RSS site input function and also has a function of displaying RSS new arrival information on the screen. Others are basically the same as the corresponding parts of the communication device 1.

  As for the flow of processing, only the parts related to the telephone directory DB 151, the history acquisition unit 153, and the operation processing unit 157 will be described, and the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  First, the process different from that of the first embodiment is address registration, and the screen configuration and data items in steps S101 to S103 in FIG. 6 are different.

  The screen displayed in step S101 is as shown in FIG. Compared to FIG. 8, there is a part for inputting the address of the RSS site. For example, enter "http: //.../taro.rdf". Then, an example of the contents of the telephone directory DB 151 is as shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the history acquisition unit 153 will be described. FIG. 59 is a flowchart showing a process in which the history acquisition unit 153 acquires history information.

  In step S4201, the history acquisition unit 153 acquires the registered RDF file. This process is the same as a general RSS reader program, and detailed description thereof is omitted. An example of the RSS file acquired here is shown in FIG. In the RSS file, the title, the URL of the article, the update time, etc. are recorded. In step S4202, the contents of the RSS file are compared with the information already recorded in the history DB 112. In step S4203, history information is registered in the history DB 112. An example of registered contents in the history DB 112 is shown in FIG. Here, the target file is the WEB site URL of the diary text, and the content is “written” (written).

  Next, how to confirm this history on the screen will be described. In step S901 of FIG. 30, when a blog list (which should be traced from FIG. 7) is displayed from the content list, a screen as shown in FIG. 62 is displayed. In this example, “Taro: Diary 132” and the like are displayed in a list. After that, after selecting “Taro: Diary 132”, it is possible to make a call and confirm the contents as in the first embodiment.

  Next, a case where a call is made based on diary contents will be described. Basically, it is as shown in FIG. 30, but since the history information cannot be shared at that time in step S903, the history information itself is attached to the call message by a method such as MIME as in the second embodiment. Will do.

  FIG. 63 shows an example of a call message when making a call by associating “Taro: Diary 132”. Similar to the second embodiment, the communication device 2 can share and use history information.

  In addition, although the exchange of the content based on RSS was demonstrated above, it is not necessarily limited to it, and if a history acquisition part can be appropriately implemented so that an update history can be detected, how is content other than diary data? May be correct data. For example, a normal WEB page may be used, and in this case, a LAST-Modified response header or HTML text itself may be used as a determination material.

  The present invention can be used for a communication device, a communication method, and a program.

It is a figure showing the state which has connected the communication apparatus of this invention to the network. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication device 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication device 2. FIG. It is an external view of an example of the communication apparatus in this invention. It is an external view of a remote control. It is a flowchart which shows the process for registering the other party who makes a "phone". It is a figure which shows a menu screen. It is a figure which shows the input form for an address setting. It is a schematic diagram of the example of data registered into telephone directory DB111. It is a flowchart which shows the process for making a "telephone" (calling). It is a figure which shows a telephone directory screen. It is a figure which shows a telephone directory screen. It is a flowchart which shows the process which registers photographic image data as data to be disclosed. It is a figure which shows the screen which inquires whether an image is exhibited. It is a figure which shows the screen which inputs an album name and performs registration. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the registration content of content DB110. It is a flowchart which shows the process which notifies that there exists newly arrived photographic image data. It is a figure which shows the example of notification data. It is a figure which shows the example of a notification packet. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a notification message. It is a figure which shows the screen which inquires photography browsing. It is a flowchart which shows the process about log | history information generation. It is a figure which shows an example of operation of photograph browsing. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the data stored in log | history DB212. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing for transmitting history information stored in a history DB 212 of the communication device 2 to the communication device 1. It is a figure which shows the example of log | history data. It is a figure which shows the example of a history packet. It is a flowchart which shows a history data reception process. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the data stored in log | history DB112. It is a flowchart which shows the process which confirms the log | history information accumulate | stored and browses the photograph relevant to it. It is a figure which shows a content list screen. It is a figure which shows a mode that a telephone call is made on a content list screen. It is a figure which shows the screen during calling. It is a figure which shows the example of a call message. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the sequence which switches a shared image mutually. 6 is a flowchart showing processing when an incoming call is received by the communication device 2; It is a figure which shows a call screen. It is a figure which shows the screen displayed when a call is established. It is a flowchart which shows the process which registers video image data. It is a figure which shows the screen for video content registration. It is a figure which shows the screen which inputs the name of the video to register. It is a figure which shows the screen of video browsing. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the content of log | history DB112. It is a figure which shows log | history data. It is a table | surface which shows the data stored in log | history DB112. It is a figure which shows the screen of video browsing. It is a graph of a video operation history. It is a figure which shows a screen when a call is established. It is a figure which shows the screen of the state which opened the menu. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication apparatus 1b. It is a flowchart which shows the content publication process in the publication process part. It is a flowchart which shows the history acquisition process in the history acquisition part 123. FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the log | history information registered into log | history DB110. It is a figure which shows log | history information. It is a figure showing the state which has connected the communication apparatus of this invention to the network. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication apparatus 1c. It is a figure which shows an address registration screen. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the content of telephone directory DB151. 10 is a flowchart illustrating history acquisition processing in a history acquisition unit 153. It is a figure which shows the example of an RSS file. It is a figure which shows the example of the registration content of log | history DB112. It is a figure which shows a blog list display screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a call message.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Communication apparatus 11 Remote control 101 Communication part 102 Display part 103 Speaker 104 Microphone 105 Camera 106 Video / audio processing part 107 Remote control receiving part 108 Content input part 109 Video input part 110 Content DB
111 Phonebook DB
112 History DB
113 history acquisition unit 114 public processing unit 115 notification transmission unit 116 call control unit 117 operation processing unit

Claims (13)

Content holding means for holding content;
Content transmission means for transmitting content to a communication device of a communication partner;
Content viewing history acquisition means for acquiring the viewing history information of the content transmitted by the content transmitting means from the communication device of the communication partner;
A communication apparatus comprising: content viewing history information presenting means for presenting the content viewing history information in association with the content held by the content holding means. Content viewing history information holding means for holding content viewing history information acquired by the content viewing history information acquisition means,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit presents content viewing history information held by the content viewing history information holding unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit presents only content viewing history information during a predetermined recent period. The content viewing history information includes a communication partner identifier for identifying the communication partner,
4. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit presents the content viewing history information in association with the communication partner identifier. When the content viewing history information includes a plurality of communication partner identifiers, the content viewing history information further comprises a communication partner identifier selection means for selecting one, some, or all of them.
5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit presents only content viewing history information related to a communication partner selected by the communication partner identifier selecting unit. The content is still image content;
6. The content viewing history information includes at least one of playback control commands for content including viewing execution, zoom-up, slide show start, slide show pause, and slide show stop. Item 1. The communication device according to item 1. The content is video content;
6. The content viewing history information includes at least one of playback control commands for content including playback start, pause, stop, fast forward, rewind, and slow playback. Item 1. The communication device according to item 1.   The communication apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit reproduces content according to a reproduction control command included in the content viewing history information.   9. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the content viewing history information presenting unit does not present content viewing history information for which related content has been reproduced. Content receiving means for receiving content from a communication device of a communication partner;
Content presenting means for presenting the content received by the content receiving means;
Content viewing history information creating means for creating content viewing history information of content presentation by the content presenting means;
A communication apparatus comprising: content viewing history information transmitting means for transmitting content viewing history information created by the content viewing history information creating means to the communication apparatus of the communication partner. A content holding step for holding content;
A content transmission step of transmitting content to a communication device of a communication partner;
A content viewing history information acquisition step of acquiring the content viewing history information transmitted in the content transmission step from the communication device of the communication partner;
A content viewing history information presentation step for presenting the content viewing history information in association with the content stored in the content holding step. A content receiving step of receiving content from a communication device of a communication partner;
A content presentation step for presenting the content received in the content reception step;
A content viewing history information creating step of creating content viewing history information of content presentation in the content presenting step;
A communication method comprising: a content viewing history information transmitting step of transmitting the content viewing history information created in the content viewing history information creating step to the communication device of the communication partner.   The program for making a computer perform each step of the communication method of Claim 11 or 12.

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