JP2007299420A - Server and program for distributing content, computer readable recording medium recorded with program for distributing content - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a server for distributing contents, which transmits information reliably without any redundancy in accordance with a user's usage state for a network. <P>SOLUTION: The server 1 for distributing the contents comprises a communication information collecting unit 104 which collects communication means information to identify the communication means used by a user and time information to identify the time when the communication means is used; a determining unit 108 for determining the communication means, which determines a communication means to require the longest user's usage time when the contents are distributed during a pre-defined time period as a communication means for distribution the contents during the user's usage time period, based on the collected information on the communication means and the time; and a means 112 for distributing data, which distributes the contents to a user terminal at a distributing time by using the communication means, which has been determined as the communication means for distributing the contents. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution server, a content distribution program, and a computer-readable recording medium that records the content distribution program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when content such as voice and data is distributed from a content distribution server to a user terminal, distribution is simultaneously performed using different communication means. By using a plurality of communication means in this way, the user's information acquisition probability is increased and the information distribution range is expanded.

For example, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, content is transmitted from the server to all base stations of a plurality of communication media in the communicable range of the in-vehicle terminal according to information such as the current position, moving direction, and speed of the in-vehicle terminal. It is realized that the in-vehicle terminal receives the content while switching and using a plurality of communication media.
JP 2001-144814 A

  However, in the above-described prior art, since content is simultaneously transmitted using a plurality of communication media, duplicate content data is flowed to the network.

  Recently, communication means have been diversified to mobile packet data communication, voice communication by VoIP (Voice over IP), data transmission by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), etc. It is difficult to use properly according to the usage situation of the user.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these problems, and a content distribution server, a content distribution program, and a content distribution program capable of reliably transmitting information without waste according to a user's network usage situation It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded.

  The content distribution server of the present invention includes communication information collecting means for collecting communication means information for specifying communication means used by a user and time information for specifying time when the communication means is used, and the collected communication means. A communication means determining means for determining, based on the information and time information, a communication means having the longest usage time of the user in a time zone to which a predetermined distribution time belongs, as a communication means for distribution relating to the user at the distribution time; and a communication means determining means The content selection means for selecting the content to be delivered to the user's terminal and the delivery communication means determined by the communication means determination means to the user's terminal at the delivery time according to the delivery communication means determined by The data distribution means for distributing the content selected by the content selection means and the data distribution means Based on the content type related to the content distributed to the terminal and the distribution history storage means for storing the distribution time information related to the time when the content was distributed, based on the stored content type and distribution time information, Content type determining means for determining the content type having the longest distribution time for the user's terminal in the time zone to which the predetermined distribution time belongs as the distribution content type related to the user at the distribution time, and the specific information and content content that can specify the content Storage means for associating and storing the type, and the content selection means is selected from the content specified by the specific information stored by the storage means in association with the distribution content type determined by the content type determination means, By communication means determination means In accordance with the determined distribution communication means, and selects the content to be delivered to the user's terminal.

  The content distribution program according to the present invention includes a communication information collection unit that collects communication unit information for identifying a communication unit used by a user and time information for identifying a time when the communication unit is used. Communication means determination means, communication means determination for determining communication means having the longest usage time of a user in a time zone to which a predetermined distribution time belongs as communication means for distribution relating to the user at the distribution time based on the communication means information and the time information According to the distribution communication means determined by the means, the content selection means for selecting the content to be distributed to the user's terminal, the distribution communication means determined by the communication means determination means, and the user's terminal at the distribution time Data distribution means and data distribution means for distributing the content selected by the content selection means Based on the distribution history storage means for storing the content type related to the content distributed to the user's terminal and the distribution time information related to the time when the content was distributed, based on the stored content type and distribution time information , Content type determining means for determining the content type having the longest distribution time for the user's terminal in the time zone to which the predetermined distribution time belongs, as the distribution content type related to the user at the distribution time, specific information capable of specifying the content, and content content The content selecting means functions as storage means for storing the contents in association with each other, and the content selecting means is a content item specified by the specific information stored by the storage means in association with the distribution content type determined by the content type determining means. To Depending on the distribution communication means determined by means determination means, is intended to function to select the content to be delivered to the user's terminal.

  The above-described content distribution program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium on which the content distribution program of the present invention is recorded.

  In such a content distribution server, the communication information collecting means collects information on the communication means used by the user and its use time from the network, and the communication means determining means has the most used time in the time zone to which the specific delivery time belongs. The long communication means is determined as the communication means for distribution, and the content is distributed at the distribution time by the communication means for distribution determined by the data distribution means. Thereby, according to the usage status of the communication means for each user's time zone, the highly reliable communication means is alternatively determined as the means for notifying the user, and the content is distributed. In addition, the past content distribution history to the user is stored, the distribution content type having the maximum distribution time in the time zone to which the distribution time belongs is determined from the distribution history, and stored in association with the determined distribution content type Since the content to be distributed is selected from the content stored by the means and distributed, the optimal content distribution corresponding to the temporal change of the user's taste is realized from the user's content usage situation. Furthermore, since the content corresponding to the communication means for distribution is selected and distributed, the content is reliably distributed according to each communication means.

  The same applies when the computer is operated using the content distribution program of the present invention and the content distribution program recorded on the recording medium of the present invention.

  In the content distribution server, the distribution history storage means further stores the communication means for distribution used for distribution, the storage means further stores the data size of the content in association, and the content selection means stores the distribution Of the data stored in the history storage means, the distribution time of data including the predetermined communication time in the time zone and including the communication means for distribution determined by the communication means determination means, and the content stored in the storage means It is also preferable to select the content according to the communication means for distribution determined by the communication means determination means by selecting the content to be distributed to the user's terminal based on the data size.

  In this case, by distributing contents having a data size suitable for the communication means and the distribution time, the contents are reliably distributed according to each communication means.

  According to the content distribution server of the present invention, information on communication means used by a user and its use time is collected from the network, and the communication means having the longest use time in a time zone to which a specific distribution time belongs is distributed for communication. The content is determined as the means, and the content is distributed at the distribution time by the determined communication means for distribution. Thereby, according to the usage status of the communication means for each user's time zone, the highly reliable communication means is alternatively determined as the means for notifying the user, and the content is distributed. As a result, it is possible to provide a content distribution server that can reliably transmit information without waste according to the user's network usage situation. In addition, the past content distribution history to the user is stored, the distribution content type having the maximum distribution time in the time zone to which the distribution time belongs is determined from the distribution history, and stored in association with the determined distribution content type Since the content to be distributed is selected from the content stored by the means and distributed, the optimal content distribution corresponding to the temporal change of the user's taste is realized from the user's content usage situation.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a content distribution server according to the present invention. The content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment includes a mobile phone 201 via a mobile communication network 301, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) terminal 202 via the Internet 302, and a tag reader device 40 via a dedicated network 303. Each is configured to be able to transmit and receive data. The tag reader device 40 is for reading and writing data from and to an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag 204 built in a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) terminal 203. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

  The mobile phone 201 is a user terminal that receives content distribution, and is wirelessly connected to a base station (not shown), which is one of the components of the mobile communication network 301, so that the mobile communication network This is an information communication terminal capable of sending and receiving e-mails by packet data communication together with other equipment connected to 301.

  The PDA terminal 202 is a terminal used by the same user as the user who owns the mobile phone 201, and is a so-called portable small personal computer. The PDA terminal 202 has a LAN access function and a wireless LAN access function by infrared communication, and is thereby connected to the Internet 302 via a wireless LAN base unit, and IP to / from other equipment connected to the Internet 302. Packet data communication using (Internet Protocol). Further, the PDA terminal 202 is configured to be able to transmit and receive voice calls and e-mails using VoIP by transmitting and receiving packet data.

  Further, each of the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202 is equipped with a WEB browser, and data communication by HTTP using packet data communication is possible. In this case, the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202 periodically request content distribution request data (details) to the content distribution server 1 in order to realize pseudo-push type content distribution from the content distribution server 1. Also has a function of automatically transmitting (described later).

  Similarly, the PHS terminal 203 is a terminal used by the same user as the user who owns the mobile phone 201, and has an RFID tag 204 built therein. In the RFID tag 204, ID information for specifying the PHS terminal 203 is recorded. This ID information can be read by the tag reader device 40 using non-contact wireless communication at a short distance. In addition, when data is written from the tag reader device 40, the PHS terminal 203 operates to display information indicated by the data on the display.

  The tag reader device 40 is a device for reading data from the RFID tag 204 and writing data to the RFID tag 204 by non-contact wireless communication. When the ID information is read from the RFID tag 204 when the PHS terminal 203 is approached, the tag reader device 40 has a function of adding the reader ID information for specifying the tag reader device 40 and transmitting it to the content distribution server 1. When the tag reader device 40 receives data from the communication I / F 103 (details will be described later) of the content distribution server 1, the tag reader device 40 operates to write the data to the RFID tag 204.

  The wireless LAN base unit 50 is a wireless transceiver called a so-called access point, and is used to connect the PDA terminal 202 to the Internet 302 by transmitting and receiving wirelessly with the PDA terminal 202.

  The content distribution server 1 is a server system that distributes content to a user's terminal via a network. The content distribution server is physically configured as a computer system including a CPU (central processing unit), a memory, an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, a display device such as a display, and a storage device such as a hard disk.

  The functional components of the content distribution server 1 include communication I / Fs 101, 102, and 103, a communication information collection unit 104 (communication information collection unit), a communication characteristic calculation unit 105, a request reception unit 106, a distribution management. Unit 107, communication means determination unit 108 (communication means determination means), content type determination unit 109 (content type determination means), content selection unit 110 (content selection means), data conversion unit 111, data distribution means 112, protocol conversion unit 113, user information storage unit 121, distribution history storage unit 122 (distribution history storage means), communication history storage unit 123, communication characteristic storage unit 124, schedule information storage unit 125, And a content storage unit 126. Hereinafter, these components will be described in detail.

  Communication I / Fs 101, 102, and 103 are portions that directly transmit and receive data to and from the mobile communication network 301, the Internet 302, and the dedicated line network 303. The communication I / Fs 101, 102, and 103 convert between digital signals handled in the respective networks and digital signals handled in the content distribution server 1.

  The communication information collection unit 104 includes communication means information for specifying a communication means used by a user from the mobile communication network 301 and the Internet 302, time information for specifying a time when the communication means is used, and the communication means. It is a part that collects communication information including the location information used. Here, “use” means that the user transmits / receives data to / from other equipment connected to the mobile communication network 301 or the Internet 302 by the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202. The communication information collection unit 104 collects communication information related to communication performed by the mobile phone 201 from the mobile communication network 301 via the communication I / F 101. The communication information in this case further includes a telephone number that identifies the mobile phone 201. As the location information included in the communication information, information for identifying a base station that performs wireless communication with the mobile phone 201 is collected, and the communication information collection unit 104 converts the information into location information regarding the installation location of the base station. When the mobile phone 201 straddles communication areas of a plurality of base stations during communication, communication information is collected by being separated into communication portions with the respective base stations.

  Further, the communication information collection unit 104 collects communication information related to communication performed by the PDA terminal 202 from the Internet 302 via the communication I / F 102. The communication information in this case includes an IP telephone number or manufacturing apparatus number for specifying the PDA terminal 202. As the location information included in this communication information, information specifying the wireless LAN base unit 50 that accommodates the PDA terminal 202 or the wireless LAN gateway facility (not shown) that accommodates the PDA terminal 202 is collected. Then, the communication information collection unit 104 converts the information into place information regarding the installation location. When the PDA terminal 202 straddles communication areas of a plurality of wireless LAN base units during communication, the communication information is collected by being separated into communication portions with the respective wireless LAN base units.

  The “communication means” in the communication means information collected by the communication information collection unit 104 is a combination of a network type and a terminal application used when a user performs communication using the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202. means. For example, examples of communication means used by a user include “mobile communication network + WEB browser”, “mobile communication network + e-mail transmission / reception function”, “mobile communication network + voice call function”, “Internet + WEB browser”. "Internet + e-mail transmission / reception function", "Internet + VoIP voice call function", and the like. Hereinafter, “mobile communication network + WEB browser” is “mobile phone WEB”, “mobile communication network + email transmission / reception function” is “mobile mail”, “mobile communication network + voice call function” is “mobile voice”, “ “Internet + WEB browser” will be described as “Internet WEB”, “Internet + electronic mail transmission / reception function” will be described as “Internet mail”, and “Internet + VoIP voice call function” will be described as “Internet voice”.

  Note that the communication information collection unit 104 receives operation logs from the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202, and the communication information is collected from facilities such as the mobile communication network 301 and the exchange 302 and the gateway in the Internet 302. It is collected by receiving.

  Further, the communication information collection unit 104, through the communication I / F 103, ID information read by the tag reader device 40 from the RFID tag 204, read time information for specifying the read time, and reader ID for specifying the tag reader device 40. RFID information including information is collected. The communication information collection unit 104 converts the reader ID information into location information regarding the installation location of the tag reader device 40. Then, the communication information collection unit 104 stores the collected communication information regarding the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202 and the RFID information read by the tag reader device 40 in the communication history storage unit 123.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration diagram of data stored in the communication history storage unit 123 in this way. According to the example of FIG. 2, the communication start time “2003/5/30 20:11:40”, which is time information, and the communication end time are used as the communication information of the user of the mobile phone 201 identified by the user ID “12345”. Data including “2003/5/3020: 12: 50”, an event “mobile phone WEB” which is communication means information, and a communication place “Near C area” which is place information is stored. Based on such data, the content distribution server 1 grasps the past communication means usage status of the user. At the same time, as the RFID information of the user of the PHS terminal 203 identified by the user ID “12345”, the communication start time “2003/5/2910: 12: 20” which is the reading time information and the event indicating the RFID information Data including “RFID tag detection” and communication location “B station west ticket gate” which is location information is stored. With such data, the content distribution server 1 grasps the movement history of the user.

  Note that the communication information collection unit 104 refers to the user information storage unit 121 that stores information on the user of the content distribution server 1 in order to identify the user ID from the telephone number of the mobile phone 201 included in the communication information. FIG. 3 shows an example of a configuration diagram of data stored in the user information storage unit 121. As shown in FIG. 3, the user information storage unit 121 includes a mobile phone number “090-XXXX-XXXX” of the mobile phone 201 and an IP phone number of the PDA terminal 202 as information on users who use the content distribution server 1. “050-XXXX-XXXX”, RFID tag ID “XXXXXXXX” as ID information of the RFID tag 204, phone number “070-XXXX-XXXX” of the PHS terminal 203, and mail address “XXX1 @ XX” of the mobile phone 201 .XX ”and the mail address“ XXX2@XX.XX ”of the PDA terminal 202 are stored in association with the user ID“ 12345 ”. For example, after receiving the communication information including the telephone number “090-XXXX-XXXX”, the communication information collection unit 104 refers to the data in the user information storage unit 121 and identifies this communication information with the user ID “12345”. The communication information is stored in the communication history storage unit 123 together with the user ID. Similarly, the communication information collection unit 104 determines to which user the RFID information belongs.

The communication characteristic calculation unit 105 is a part that calculates the probability that the user uses each communication unit for each time zone based on the user communication unit information and time information stored in the communication history storage unit 123. . More specifically, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 extracts the communication information stored in the communication history storage unit 123 for each time period, and calculates the total communication time T1tot. Thereafter, the extracted communication information is grouped for each event that is communication means information. For each grouped communication information, using the communication time T1 calculated from the communication start time and the communication end time, the use probability P1 of the communication means in the corresponding time zone is calculated by the following equation (1). In this way, the usage probability P1 is calculated for a specific user for every time zone and for each event. Here, the calculation of the use probability P1 may be performed for all users indicated by the data stored in the user information storage unit 121, or may be performed only for users who intend to distribute content.

In addition, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 includes a content type included in the user's content distribution history stored in the distribution history storage unit 122, a distribution start time and a distribution end time that are distribution time information regarding the time when the content is distributed. Based on the above, the distribution probability for each content type to which the content distributed to the user's terminal belongs for each time period is calculated. FIG. 4 shows an example of a configuration diagram of data stored in the distribution history storage unit 122. According to the example of FIG. 4, in response to a content distribution request using the communication means “mobile WEB” from the user specified by the user ID “12345”, the distribution start time “2003” is sent to the user terminal. / 5/3020: 11: 40 ”to content end time“ 2003/5/30 20:12:50 ”Content belonging to content type“ game information ”is distributed using communication means“ mobile audio ” It means that it was done. The communication characteristic calculation unit 105 extracts the content distribution history stored in the distribution history storage unit 122 for each time period, and calculates a total distribution time T2tot. Thereafter, the extracted content distribution history is grouped for each content type. Then, for each grouped content distribution history, using the communication time T2 calculated from the distribution start time and the distribution end time, the distribution probability P2 of the content type is calculated by the following equation (2). In this way, for a specific user, the distribution probability P2 is calculated for every time zone and content type. Here, the calculation of the distribution probability P2 may be performed for all users indicated by the data stored in the user information storage unit 121, or may be performed only for the users who intend to distribute the content.

  For each user and time zone, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 determines a communication means having the maximum use probability P1, a communication means having the second largest P1 and a content type having the maximum distribution probability P2 as candidate communication means, The candidate communication means and the candidate content type are stored in the communication characteristic storage unit 124. FIG. 5 shows an example of a configuration diagram of data stored in the communication characteristic storage unit 124 in this way. According to the example of FIG. 5, candidate communication means “mobile mail” with a usage probability “30%”, next candidate communication means “Internet mail” with a usage probability “20%”, and candidate content with a distribution probability “10%”. The type “stock price information” is stored in association with the user ID “12345” and the time zone “6:00 to 7:00”. Based on these data, the content distribution server 1 determines what type of communication means is frequently used by the user and the type of content that is frequently distributed. It should be noted that for the time zone when there is no communication information or content distribution history data, the use probability and data of candidate communication means and next candidate communication means, or the data of distribution probability and candidate content type are set to NULL.

  The request receiving unit 106 is a part that receives content distribution request data from the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202 via the protocol conversion unit 113. This request data includes voice data by mobile communication using the communication means “portable voice”, voice data by VoIP using the communication means “Internet voice”, HTTP using the communication means “Internet WEB” or “portable WEB”. Is once received by the protocol conversion unit 113. The request receiving unit 106 receives the request data converted into a protocol that can be read by the protocol conversion unit 113, and identifies the user who requested the content distribution from the request data. After receiving the request data, the request receiving unit 106 outputs a user ID for identifying the user to the communication means determining unit 108.

  The distribution management unit 107 is a part that manages a schedule in which the content distribution server 1 actively distributes content by a so-called push method. For this purpose, the distribution management unit 107 refers to the schedule information storage unit 125 continuously. FIG. 6 shows an example of a configuration diagram of data stored in the schedule information storage unit 125. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the schedule information storage unit 125 stores data of the distribution time “6:30” for the user ID “12345”. The distribution management unit 107 continuously refers to such data, and outputs the user ID to the communication means determination unit 108 when the current time is the distribution time.

  Here, when the content distribution server 1 performs pseudo push-type content distribution using the communication means “mobile WEB” or “Internet WEB” to the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202, Behaves like First, the request receiving unit 106 receives periodic request data automatically transmitted from the mobile phone 201 or the WEB browser of the PDA terminal 202. At the reception timing, the distribution management unit 107 refers to the schedule information storage unit 125 and manages the distribution schedule by the method described above. As a result, content is actively distributed from the content distribution server 1 to the terminal without requiring the user's operation of the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202.

  Based on the communication means information and the time information collected by the communication information collection unit 104, the communication means determination unit 108 distributes the communication means having the longest usage time of the user in the time zone to which the distribution time belongs to the distribution related to the user at the distribution time. It is a part determined as a communication means for use. The distribution time here is determined as the time when the user ID is output from the request receiving unit 106 or the distribution management unit 107. More specifically, when the user ID is output from the request receiving unit 106 or the distribution management unit 107, the communication means determination unit 108 searches the communication characteristic storage unit 124 based on the user ID and sets the distribution time to the time. The candidate communication means and the next candidate communication means related to the user included in the band are acquired. Then, the communication means determination unit 108 determines the candidate communication means that is the communication means having the highest use probability in the time zone including the distribution time for the user specified by the user ID as the communication means for distribution, and the next candidate communication The contents and the user ID are output to the content type determination unit 109. If the candidate communication unit and the next candidate communication unit in the corresponding time zone are NULL, the process is stopped and the process waits for the next content distribution process.

  The communication means determination unit 108 also transmits information of the determined communication means for distribution to the tag reader device 40 via the communication I / F 103. Thereafter, the tag reader device 40 writes the information of the communication means for distribution on the RFID tag 204 using non-contact wireless communication and displays it on the display of the PHS terminal 203, so that the user can distribute the content in a timely manner. It becomes possible to know the communication means to be used.

Based on the content type and distribution time information stored in the distribution history storage unit 122, the content type determination unit 109 determines the content type with the longest distribution time for the user terminal in the time zone to which the distribution time belongs to the user at the distribution time. This is a part to be determined as the distribution content type. More specifically, when the user ID is output from the communication means determination unit 108, the content type determination unit 109 searches the communication characteristic storage unit 124 based on the user ID and includes the distribution time in the time zone. The candidate content type related to the user is acquired. Then, the content type determination unit 109 determines the acquired candidate content type as the distribution content type at the distribution time related to the user specified by the user ID, and selects the content together with the distribution communication unit, the next candidate communication unit, and the user ID. Output to the unit 110. When the candidate content type in the corresponding time zone is NULL, a default content type preset for the user is acquired as the distribution content type.

  The content selection unit 110 is a part that selects the content type and data size of the content to be distributed to the user terminal in accordance with the distribution communication unit and the distribution content type determined by the communication unit determination unit 108. The content selection unit 110 first refers to the index data related to the content heading stored in the content storage unit 126. FIG. 7 shows an example of a configuration diagram of index data stored in the content storage unit 126. According to the example shown in FIG. 7, the content type “stock price information” indicating the content type, the “text” indicating the data format of the content, and the content data size “20 MB” are included in the file name “content A”. Is stored in association with "." The content selection unit extracts index data corresponding to the distribution content type from such data. For example, when the distribution content type is “stock price information”, index data with the content type “stock price information” is extracted. Then, the content selection unit 110 refers to the communication history storage unit 123, searches the data of the corresponding user including the distribution time in the time zone for data including the communication means for distribution as an event, and calculates the average distribution time from the data. Is calculated. Furthermore, the content selection unit 110 extracts index data having a data size that can fit within the average distribution time. The distribution bit rate for calculating the distribution time from the data size is predicted to be an appropriate value from the communication means for distribution. The content selection unit 110 acquires the content of the file name of the extracted index data from the content storage unit 126 and outputs it to the data conversion unit 111 together with the distribution communication unit, the next candidate communication unit, and the user ID.

  The data conversion unit 111 is a part that converts the content output from the content selection unit 110 into a data format corresponding to the communication means for distribution. For example, when the communication means for distribution is “mobile mail” and the data format of the content is “speech”, the content is converted into a data format of “text”. Specifically, the data converter 111 sets the content data format to “text” if the communication means for distribution is “mobile mail” or “Internet mail”, and “mobile WEB” or “ If it is “Internet WEB”, it is converted to “WEB page format”, and if the communication means for distribution is “portable voice” or “Internet voice”, it is converted to “voice”. The data conversion unit 111 outputs the converted content to the data distribution unit 112 together with the distribution communication unit, the next candidate communication unit, and the user ID.

  The data distribution unit 112 uses the distribution communication unit determined by the communication unit determination unit 108 using the distribution time determined when the user ID is output from the data conversion unit 111 as the distribution time. This is a part for distributing content belonging to the content type to the user terminal. The data distribution unit 112 includes a voice response unit 112a, a mail response unit 112b, and a WEB server unit 112c. When the delivery communication means is a communication means using voice data such as “portable voice” or “Internet voice”, the voice response unit 112 a sends voice to the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 that is a user terminal. Send content in data format. When the communication means for distribution is a communication means by electronic mail such as “mobile mail” or “Internet mail”, the mail response unit 112b sends a text to the mobile phone 201 or PDA terminal 202 that is a user terminal. Send data format content as e-mail. When the communication means for distribution is an HTTP communication means such as “mobile WEB” or “Internet WEB”, the WEB server unit 112c sends text data to the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 which is a user terminal. WEB page format content that is image data or composite data thereof is transmitted. The content transmission destination is acquired by referring to the user information storage unit 121 based on the user ID output from the data conversion unit 111. Further, the data distribution unit 112 determines that the next candidate communication unit when the distribution communication unit is other than the electronic mail and the reception response is not returned from the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 within a certain time after the transmission of the content. In addition, it has a function of repeating the content selection and distribution processing again. When receiving a reception response after the content is distributed, the data distribution unit 112 stores the distribution history of the content in the distribution history storage unit 122.

  The protocol conversion unit 113 converts the content transmitted from the data distribution unit 112 into a protocol suitable for the communication unit for distribution and transmits the content to the mobile communication network 301 and the Internet 302 via the communication I / Fs 101 and 102. Part. The protocol conversion unit 113 receives content distribution request data transmitted from the mobile phone 201 and the PDA terminal 202, converts the data into a protocol readable by the content distribution server 1, and outputs the protocol to the request reception unit 106. Also do.

  Subsequently, an operation of the content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment will be described, and a content distribution method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an operation at the time of communication characteristic calculation of the content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 shows an operation when the content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment actively distributes content. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation when the content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment performs content distribution in response to a request from the terminal.

  First, the operation at the time of calculating the communication characteristics of the content distribution server will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, communication information regarding the user is periodically transmitted from the mobile communication network 301 and the Internet 302 to the content distribution server 1. When the ID information is read by the tag reader device 40, the RFID information is transmitted from the tag reader device 40 to the content distribution server 1 (step S01).

  The communication information collection unit 104 collects the transmitted communication information and RFID information (step S02). Then, the user ID is added to these data and stored in the communication history storage unit 123 (step S03).

  Thereafter, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 calculates the use probability for each communication means of the user and the distribution probability for each content type as follows (steps S04 to S10). First, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 extracts communication information related to the user stored in the communication history storage unit 123, and totals the communication time for each time zone (step S04). And the communication time for every event and every time slot | zone which is the information regarding a communication means is totaled from the extracted communication information (step S05). The use probability for each user's communication means and time zone is calculated from the above-mentioned total result (step S06).

  Furthermore, the communication characteristic calculation unit 105 extracts the distribution history for the user stored in the distribution history storage unit 122, and totals the distribution time for each time zone (step S07). Then, from the extracted distribution history, the distribution time for each content type and time zone, which is information related to the content type, is totaled (step S08). The distribution probability for each user's content type and time zone is calculated from the above-mentioned total result (step S09).

  And the communication characteristic calculation part 105 determines whether calculation of use probability and distribution probability was performed about all the users (step S10), and when not performed about all the users (step S10; NO) ), Steps S04 to S09 are repeated. As a result of the determination, if calculation is performed for all users (step S10; YES), candidate communication means and next candidate communication are performed for each user ID and time slot based on the calculated use probability and distribution probability. The means and the distribution content type are specified and stored in the communication characteristic storage unit 124 (step S11).

  Next, the operation when the content distribution server 1 actively distributes content will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the distribution management unit 107 of the content distribution server 1 periodically refers to the schedule information storage unit 125 to acquire a content distribution schedule related to the user (step S21). Then, the distribution management unit 107 determines whether or not the current time is a distribution time in the schedule (step S22). As a result, when the current time is not the distribution time (step S22; NO), the process is terminated, and the process is suspended until the next timing. On the other hand, when the current time is the distribution time (step S22; YES), the user ID of the user is output to the communication means determination unit 108, and the communication means determination unit 108 determines the communication characteristics based on the user ID. The storage unit 124 is referred to (step S23).

  And the communication means determination part 108 determines the candidate communication means which includes a delivery time in a time slot | zone as a communication means for delivery (step S24). The communication means determination unit 108 notifies the user of the PHS terminal 203 by transmitting information on the determined communication means for distribution to the RFID tag 204 via the tag reader device 40 (step S25). Next, the content type determination unit 109 refers to the communication characteristic storage unit 124 based on the user ID, acquires the distribution content type including the distribution time in the time zone, and determines the distribution content type for the content to be distributed. (Step S26). Thereafter, the content selection unit 110 selects and acquires the content whose content type is the distribution content type and whose data size fits in the average distribution time according to the communication means for distribution and the distribution content type (step S27). ). Then, the data converter 111 converts the data format of the acquired content into a data format corresponding to the distribution communication means (step S28).

Next, the data distribution unit 112 transmits the converted content to the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 using the distribution communication unit (step S29). On the other hand, when the content is transmitted normally, the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 returns a content reception response (step S30). After receiving the reception response, the data distribution unit 112 stores the distribution history of the transmitted content in the distribution history storage unit 122 (step S31).

  Here, the data distribution unit 112 determines whether or not a reception response is returned from the mobile phone 201 or the PDA terminal 202 within a predetermined time (step S32). When the response is not returned (step S32; NO), The processes in steps S27 to S31 described above are repeated for the next candidate communication unit. On the other hand, when the reception response is returned (step S32; YES), the process is terminated and the process is suspended until the next delivery time.

  Next, an operation when the content distribution server 1 performs content distribution in response to a request from the terminal will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, request data for requesting content distribution is transmitted from the mobile phone 201 or the PDA 202 to the content distribution server 1 (step S41). The request receiving unit 106 of the content distribution server 1 receives the request data and outputs a user ID that identifies the user to the communication means determining unit 108 (step S42). Thereafter, the content is distributed in exactly the same manner as the operations in steps S23 to S32 in FIG. 9 (steps S43 to S52).

  Next, a content distribution program according to an embodiment of the present invention and a computer-readable recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording medium) on which the content distribution program is recorded will be described. Here, the recording medium causes a state of change in energy such as magnetism, light, electricity, etc., corresponding to the description content of the program to the reading device provided in the hardware resource of the computer, and corresponds to it. The contents of the program description can be transmitted to the reading device in the form of a signal. Examples of such a recording medium include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a CD-ROM, and a memory built in a computer.

  FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a recording medium according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the recording medium 9 includes a program area 91 for recording a program. In this program area 91, a content distribution program 90 is recorded. The content distribution program 90 includes a main module 901 that supervises processing, a communication I / F module 902, a communication information collection module 903, a communication characteristic calculation module 904, a request reception module 905, a distribution management module 906, The communication means determination module 907, the content type determination module 908, the content selection module 909, the data conversion module 910, the data distribution module 911, and the protocol conversion module 912 are configured. Here, the communication I / F module 902, the communication information collection module 903, the communication characteristic calculation module 904, the request reception module 905, the distribution management module 906, the communication means determination module 907, the content type determination module 908, the content selection module 909, data The functions realized by operating each of the conversion module 910, the data distribution module 911, and the protocol conversion module 912 are the communication I / Fs 101, 102, 103, the communication information collection unit 104, the communication characteristic calculation unit of the content distribution server 1. 105, request reception unit 106, distribution management unit 107, communication means determination unit 108, content type determination unit 109, content selection unit 110, data conversion unit 111, data distribution unit 112, protocol conversion unit 113 Les is the same as the function of. In this case, each of the user information storage unit 121, the distribution history storage unit 122, the communication history storage unit 123, the communication characteristic storage unit 124, the schedule information storage unit 125, and the content storage unit 126 of the content distribution server 1 is as follows. A user information storage unit 921, a distribution history storage unit 922, a communication history storage unit 923, a communication characteristic storage unit 924, a schedule information storage unit 925, and a content storage unit 926 may be stored in the data area 92 of the recording medium 9. However, it may be stored in another recording medium.

  Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the content distribution server 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. According to the content distribution server 1 configured as described above, the communication information collection unit 104 collects information on the communication means used by the user and the use time from the mobile communication network 301 and the Internet 302, and determines the communication means. The unit 108 determines the communication means having the longest usage time in the time zone to which the distribution time belongs as the communication means for distribution, and the data distribution means 112 distributes the content at the distribution time by the determined communication means. Thereby, according to the usage status of the communication means for each user's time zone, the highly reliable communication means is alternatively determined as the means for notifying the user, and the content is distributed.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the communication means determination unit 108 in the content distribution server 1 according to the present embodiment uses a distribution communication means having a high use probability. However, this may be performed in combination with a method of using a communication means that lowers the communication charge as the communication means for distribution.

  In addition, the PHS terminal 203 in the present embodiment includes the RFID tag 204 as a user location capturing unit. However, the PHS terminal 203 is not limited to this as long as the PHS terminal 203 can be identified. A barcode may be attached or an infrared communication device or the like may be incorporated so that the content distribution server 1 can receive the ID information therefrom.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows suitable one Embodiment of the content delivery server by this invention. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the communication history storage part of FIG. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the user information storage part of FIG. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the delivery history storage part of FIG. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the communication characteristic storage part of FIG. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the schedule information storage part of FIG. It is a block diagram of the index data stored in the content storage part of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement at the time of the communication characteristic calculation of a content delivery server. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement at the time of a content delivery server actively delivering a content. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement at the time of a content delivery server delivering content according to the request | requirement from a terminal. It is a block diagram of the recording medium concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Content delivery server, 101,102,103 ... Communication I / F, 104 ... Communication information collection part, 105 ... Communication characteristic calculation part, 106 ... Request reception part, 107 ... Delivery management part, 108 ... Communication means determination part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 109 ... Content type determination part, 110 ... Content selection part, 111 ... Data conversion part, 112 ... Data delivery means, 112a ... Voice response part, 112b ... Mail response part, 112c ... WEB server part, 113 ... Protocol conversion part, 121 User information storage unit 122 Distribution history storage unit 123 Communication history storage unit 124 Communication characteristic storage unit 125 Schedule information storage unit 126 Content storage unit 201 Mobile phone 202 PDA terminal 203 ... PHS terminal, 204 ... RFID tag, 301 ... Mobile communication network, 302 ... Internet 303 ... dedicated network, 40 ... tag reader device, 50 ... wireless LAN base unit.

Claims (4)

Communication information collecting means for collecting communication means information for specifying communication means used by a user and time information for specifying time when the communication means is used;
Communication that determines, based on the collected communication means information and time information, a communication means having the longest usage time of the user in a time zone to which a predetermined distribution time belongs as a communication means for distribution related to the user at the distribution time. Means determining means;
Content selection means for selecting content to be distributed to the user's terminal in accordance with the communication means for distribution determined by the communication means determination means;
Data distribution means for distributing the content selected by the content selection means to the user's terminal at the distribution time using the distribution communication means determined by the communication means determination means;
A distribution history storage unit that stores content types related to content distributed to the user terminal by the data distribution unit, and distribution time information related to the time when the content was distributed;
Based on the stored content type and distribution time information, the content type having the longest distribution time for the user's terminal in the time zone to which the predetermined distribution time belongs is determined as the distribution content type related to the user at the distribution time. Content type determination means;
Storage means for associating and storing specific information capable of specifying content and the content type of the content;
With
The content selection means is for the distribution determined by the communication means determination means from the contents specified by the specific information stored by the storage means in association with the distribution content type determined by the content type determination means. A content distribution server, wherein content to be distributed to the user terminal is selected according to communication means. The delivery history storage means further stores the delivery communication means used for delivery in association with each other,
The storage means further stores the content data size in association with each other,
The content selection means includes a delivery time of data including the predetermined delivery time in a time zone and the delivery communication means determined by the communication means determination means among the data stored in the delivery history storage means; And selecting the content to be distributed to the terminal of the user based on the data size of the content stored in the storage means, and according to the communication means for distribution determined by the communication means determination means The content distribution server according to claim 1, wherein selection is performed. Computer
Communication information collecting means for collecting communication means information for specifying communication means used by a user and time information for specifying time when the communication means is used;
Communication that determines, based on the collected communication means information and time information, a communication means having the longest usage time of the user in a time zone to which a predetermined distribution time belongs as a communication means for distribution related to the user at the distribution time. Means determining means,
Content selection means for selecting content to be distributed to the user terminal in accordance with the communication means for distribution determined by the communication means determination means;
Data distribution means for distributing the content selected by the content selection means to the user's terminal at the distribution time using the distribution communication means determined by the communication means determination means;
A distribution history storage unit that stores a content type related to content distributed to the terminal of the user by the data distribution unit and distribution time information related to a time when the content was distributed;
Based on the stored content type and distribution time information, the content type having the longest distribution time for the user's terminal in the time zone to which the predetermined distribution time belongs is determined as the distribution content type related to the user at the distribution time. Content type determination means,
Storage means for associating and storing specific information capable of specifying content and the content type of the content;
Function as
Further, the content selection unit is determined by the communication unit determination unit from among the contents specified by the specific information stored by the storage unit in association with the distribution content type determined by the content type determination unit. A content distribution program that functions to select content to be distributed to the user's terminal in accordance with a communication means for distribution.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the content distribution program according to claim 3 is recorded.

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