JP2008009292A - Karaoke system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load of recording processing to be performed by a server while maintaining the convenience of a guest who is not a specific user registered by agreeing to receive various kinds of services provided by a karaoke enterpriser and further to avoid wasting the investment amount spent by the system in service processing by promoting that the guest becomes the registered user in a karaoke system having a grading function. <P>SOLUTION: When a user reserving a karaoke playing music played by the karaoke is judged to be the registered user (the specific user), the grading result information including a user ID afforded to the user is created and is transmitted to the server 8. On the other hand, when the user reserving the karaoke playing music played by the karaoke is judged to be the guest who is not the registered user, the character string grading result information indicating that the user is the guest is created and is transmitted to the server 8 (S110). Namely, the guest among the user groups using the karaoke device 1 is uniformly managed as the above-described character strings. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a karaoke system having a scoring function, and in particular, improves the convenience of a general user who is not a specific user registered by agreeing to receive various services provided by a karaoke company, The present invention relates to a technique for reducing the system management burden.

  Conventionally, a scoring function is well known as an incidental function of a karaoke apparatus. This scoring function generates singing data indicating a singing state such as a pitch, a voice volume, or a tempo uttered by a singer by sampling a singer's voice signal input from a microphone. The singing data is compared with scoring reference data such as main melody data in karaoke data, and a predetermined score is given based on the comparison result to generate scoring data. When the singing part ends, the scores in the scoring data are totaled to calculate a total score. The total score is displayed as it is on the scoreboard or the display, or a video reflecting the total score such as a video including a predetermined message or predetermined expression content is output to the display.

  By the way, in recent years, karaoke operators provide various services for members using the infrastructure of the online karaoke system. As a form of providing this service, a storage area for each member is prepared in the host device, the communication karaoke terminal transmits the karaoke use history of each member to the host device, and the host device transmits each member's transmitted karaoke history. Store the karaoke usage history in the corresponding member's area. In addition, when a member uses a communication karaoke terminal, information stored in a storage area for each member of the host device is downloaded from the host device, and various services are provided to the member using the downloaded information. .

  As an example, in the communication karaoke system as described above, a performance reservation command including a remote control identifier and a music number is transmitted to a communication karaoke terminal from a music selection reservation remote control device individually owned by a member. The communication karaoke terminal uses the remote control identifier as a member identification code (member global ID), and records the use history of the communication karaoke terminal in association with the identification code. The usage history includes a music selection history, a scoring result when the above-described scoring function is used at the time of performance, and the like. Then, the communication karaoke terminal transmits the usage history to the host device at regular communication opportunities with the host device. On the other hand, in the host device, based on the usage history received from the online karaoke terminal, for example, the scoring results collected from other online karaoke terminals are periodically aggregated to create a scoring ranking, Points are given according to the number of reservations. Then, the karaoke company provides various privileges to members according to the scoring rankings and points created and aggregated by the host device. In this way, various services for members are provided to members by karaoke operators using the infrastructure of the online karaoke system.

  In addition, many general users (participants) want to register as a member after trying out a trial and experiencing convenience even when new services for members are offered. is there. In other words, there are some users who are not willing to register as a member at first, but who feel the convenience and enjoyment when they happen to use it.

  However, it is troublesome for users who have not registered as members to use them only after registering, and it is also unfriendly to users. In other words, even if a karaoke company provides a variety of services, it may not be widely used.

Therefore, a member global ID as an identification code for managing personal information as a member and a temporary local ID as an identification code of a participant at the time of using karaoke are set as separate systems, and the temporary local ID of these is used at the time of karaoke use. There has been proposed a method of temporarily giving each participant (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As a result, when using karaoke, not only pre-registered members but also unregistered temporary users are identified by the same system identification code, so that it is possible to enjoy personalized services. Yes.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-134570 (page 9, FIG. 11)

  However, in the karaoke system as described above, the temporary local ID is assigned to each participant at the time of using the karaoke, either temporarily or temporarily. That is, it is necessary to manage the issued temporary local ID until the participants finish using the communication karaoke terminal and leave the karaoke room. In addition, for unregistered temporary users (guests) who have been issued a provisional local ID, in order to receive various services, the use of the online karaoke terminal is completed and the user leaves the karaoke room. During this period, the issued temporary local ID had to be remembered.

  Further, when the above-mentioned member global ID and temporary local ID are compared, if the functions of the service providing both the former ID and the latter ID are the same, the host device can execute the service. There is no significant difference in the load of computer processing. However, there is a great difference in the effect on the so-called karaoke business after the computer processing. More specifically, for the former ID, as illustrated in FIG. 10, since the corresponding user is registered as a member (hereinafter referred to as member registration), various member registration information (for example, age, region, preference, etc.) Based on the singing history, etc., it becomes possible to provide the most appropriate service for each member (for example, if the preference information is used, the 18th song is displayed in advance on the screen) and the past usage information (for example, From the relationship between the singing history and the age), it can be used for marketing to provide a new service in the future. On the other hand, since the latter ID is provisionally given to the user, even if the temporary local ID information is temporarily recorded, it is merely temporarily used, and future karaoke business Is less likely than the ID. In other words, the possibility that the above-mentioned various IDs are useful for the business after processing for recording by the host device is high for the former ID, but is low for the latter ID. it is conceivable that. Therefore, when considering the case where the karaoke business collects the funds invested in the karaoke service (for example, the computer maintenance cost related to the host processing) in the future, the former ID is sufficiently recovered without being wasted. On the other hand, the latter ID is less likely to be used in the future despite the fact that the temporary local ID information is temporarily recorded as described above. There was a problem that processing was wasted.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to register in a karaoke system having a scoring function by agreeing to receive various services provided by a karaoke company. A system that reduces the load of recording processing performed by the host device while maintaining the convenience of a general user who is not a specific user, and further promotes the general user to become a specific user. However, the investment amount spent for the service processing is not wasted.

  The karaoke system according to claim 1, which has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, “a temporary user who is not registered is not given a temporary local ID individually, but is uniformly managed as one character string. It is characterized by.

  Specifically, the above-mentioned karaoke system (100: In this column, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the symbols used in the “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” column are attached as necessary. This code does not mean that the scope of claims is limited.) Is a plurality of karaoke apparatuses (1) that perform karaoke performance based on music data, a server (8), a plurality of karaoke apparatuses and servers, And a network (7) for connecting the plurality of karaoke apparatuses and the server so that various data can be transmitted and received via the network.

  Each of the plurality of karaoke apparatuses includes a reservation receiving means (18) for accepting a reservation for a karaoke performance song by a user, a performance song storage means (16) for storing one or more karaoke performance songs, and a performance order storage means. (16), storage control means (12), karaoke performance means (30), voice signal input means (26) for inputting voice signals of karaoke singing, scoring means (12), and judgment means ( 12), specific information storage means (16) for storing specific information for specifying the karaoke apparatus, and apparatus-side transmission / reception means (14) capable of transmitting / receiving various data between the server and other karaoke apparatuses. , Transmission control means (12), and notification means (36). Among these, the performance order storage means can store the reservation of the karaoke performance songs accepted by the reservation reception means as a reservation list in the order of performance, and the storage control means stores the reservation of the karaoke performance songs accepted by the reservation reception means in the performance order. The reservation is stored in the reservation list stored in the means, and the reservation of the karaoke performance music that has been performed is deleted from the reservation list stored in the performance order storage means.

  And a karaoke performance means reads a karaoke performance music from a performance music memory | storage means based on the reservation list which a performance order memory | storage means memorize | stores, and performs a karaoke performance. Further, the scoring means scores the karaoke song input from the audio signal input means when the karaoke performance is performed by the karaoke performance means.

  In addition, the determination means agrees that the user who made a reservation for the karaoke performance performed by the karaoke performance means through the reservation reception means receives various services provided by the karaoke company. It is determined whether or not it is a “specific user” to be registered. Here, when it is determined by the determination means that the user who made the reservation of the karaoke performance music performed by the karaoke performance means through the reservation reception means is the specific user, the transmission control means Then, scoring result information is generated, and the generated scoring result information is transmitted to the server via the network by controlling the apparatus side transmitting / receiving means. In addition, about the scoring result information in this case, the identification information given to the specific user, the specific information for specifying the karaoke device stored in the specific information storage means, and the scoring result scored by the scoring means Information that contains at least. Among these, the identification information is acquired by the transmission control means, for example, by an input by a specific user. Moreover, as a specific example of specific information, the serial number etc. which are provided to the said karaoke apparatus are mentioned, for example. On the other hand, when it is determined by the determination means that the user who made the reservation of the karaoke performance music performed by the karaoke performance means through the reservation reception means is a general user who is not a specific user, The transmission control unit generates scoring result information, and transmits the generated scoring result information to the server via the network by controlling the apparatus-side transmitting / receiving unit. The scoring result information in this case was scored by the character string indicating that the user is a general user, the specific information for specifying the karaoke device stored in the specific information storage means, and the scoring means. Information including at least the scoring results. That is, the general user of the user group using the said karaoke apparatus is managed uniformly as the above-mentioned character string.

  On the other hand, the server includes server-side transmission / reception means (8f) capable of transmitting / receiving various data to / from the karaoke apparatus, rank storage means (8g), scoring ranking management means (8e), and transmission control means (8e). . Among them, the rank storage means stores a scoring ranking generated by arranging the scoring results of karaoke singing by a specific user in descending order.

  Further, when the scoring ranking management means includes identification information in the scoring result information received by the server-side transmission / reception means, whether the scoring result by the same specific user is included in the scoring ranking stored in the rank storage means If it is not included, the stored contents of the rank storage means are updated by adding the received scoring results to the scoring ranking stored in the rank storage means so that the received scores are arranged in descending order. .

  On the other hand, when the scoring ranking management means includes identification information in the scoring result information received by the server-side transmitting / receiving means, whether the scoring result by the same specific user is included in the scoring ranking stored in the rank storage means If it is included, the scoring result by the same specific user in the scoring ranking memorized by the storage means is compared with the received scoring result, and the scoring result with the higher score is ranked. The contents stored in the rank storage means are updated by adding the score rankings stored in the storage means so that the scores are arranged in descending order.

  Further, when the scoring result information received by the server-side transmitting / receiving means includes a character string, the scoring ranking management means has a high score with respect to the scoring ranking received by the ranking storage means. The ranking when added temporarily so as to be arranged in order is calculated as a reference ranking.

  Note that the scoring ranking does not include a plurality of scoring results by the same specific user as described above. Specifically, for example, even if the specific user A scores 3 times a week and the first time is 92 points, the second time is 95 points, and the third time is 94 points, it is included in the scoring ranking. Of the three scoring results, only one of the highest 95 points is included in the scoring ranking as the scoring result of the specific user A. This is due to the following reason. That is, if the above-mentioned scoring ranking includes a plurality of scoring results by the same specific user, for example, a plurality of scoring results by a specific user with singing ability may be arranged at the top of the scoring ranking. Specifically, in the scoring ranking in which the top three people are displayed, for example, the specific user B scores 91 points once a week, and the specific user C also scores once a week to 90 Even if it is a point, only the specific user A is displayed in the ranking. In such a case, the user who always gives a high score such as the specific user A can enjoy the scoring ranking, but the problem that the user who gives a high score such as the specific users B and C sometimes cannot enjoy it. To do. In order to solve such a problem, the present invention is configured such that a plurality of scoring results by the same specific user are not included.

  Then, when the scoring ranking is updated by the scoring ranking management means, the transmission control means stores the predetermined number as a higher scoring result in order from the scoring result with the highest score among the scoring results included in the scoring ranking. And the server's transmitting / receiving means is controlled and transmitted to the karaoke apparatus which is the transmission source of the scoring result information. On the other hand, when the reference ranking is calculated by the scoring ranking management unit, the transmission control unit ranks the predetermined number as a higher scoring result in order from the scoring result with the highest scoring result included in the scoring ranking. And the high-order scoring result that has been read out is transmitted to the karaoke apparatus that is the transmission source of scoring result information by controlling the server-side transmitting / receiving means together with the reference order.

  Further, in the karaoke apparatus which is the transmission source of the scoring result information, when the apparatus-side transmission / reception means receives information transmitted from the server in response to the transmission of the scoring result information by the apparatus-side transmission / reception means, a notification is given. The means informs the received information together with the scoring result by the scoring means until the next karaoke performance piece is played by the karaoke performance means.

  According to the karaoke system of the present invention configured as described above, when the user is a general user, by notifying the higher scoring result and the reference ranking until the next karaoke performance is started, Even if the provisional local ID is not assigned to each general user, it is possible to specify which general user the higher scoring result is from. That is, it is not necessary to manage the temporary local ID issued as before, until the participants finish using the karaoke device and leave the karaoke room. In addition, even for general users, in order to receive various services, it is not necessary to remember the temporary local ID issued in the conventional manner until the user leaves the karaoke room after using the karaoke apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience of a general user who is not a specific user registered by agreeing to receive various services provided by the karaoke business, and to reduce the management burden in the system.

  By the way, for example, when comparing the scoring results of each user within a group that uses the karaoke device, it is necessary for each user to know the scoring results and reference rankings when singing karaoke in the past. . For that purpose, for example, it is necessary for each user to memorize or write down the scoring results and reference rankings when singing karaoke in the past. However, when enjoying a karaoke performance for a long time, it is considered difficult for each user to memorize and write down all the scoring results and reference rankings when the user sang karaoke in the past.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that a general user temporarily stores the scoring results and the reference ranking when singing karaoke, and notifies the user. Specifically, as in claim 2, when the karaoke apparatus receives the information transmitted from the server in response to the scoring result information transmitted by the apparatus-side transmission / reception means, It is conceivable that temporary storage means (16) for storing the received information together with the scoring result by the scoring means is provided, and the notification means of the karaoke apparatus can notify the information stored in the temporary storage means.

  In this way, for example, when comparing the scoring results of each user within the group using the karaoke device, the scoring results of each user can be obtained by confirming the content of the notification by the above-mentioned notification means. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

  By the way, when the ratio of the general users to the users is large, there is a large amount of general user scoring result information transmitted to the server, which may increase the processing load on the general users on the server. That is, the process related to the general user scoring result information as described above is a process that is unlikely to be useful for a future karaoke business as seen from the karaoke manager side. In addition, the above-mentioned general user scoring result information is not accurate because it is merely a reference order when viewed from the karaoke user side, and the general user's scoring result is the next time the karaoke user uses it. Since no information is recorded, for example, general users cannot enjoy trying to improve the ranking from the previous time. That is, the general user scoring result information is information that cannot be very useful information for general users. From such a background, it is necessary for a karaoke manager to shift a general user to a specific user in order to increase the possibility of being useful for karaoke business, and for the karaoke user to accurately score.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to encourage a general user to register as a specific user. Specifically, as in claim 3, the karaoke device comprises a registration means (12) for registering a general user as a specific user by accepting an input by a general user, and the notification means of the karaoke device comprises: It may be possible to display information that prompts a general user to become a specific user.

  In this way, it can be expected that the number of specific users will increase. Thus, if the number of specific users increases, the ratio of the specific users to the users increases. At that time, for the scoring result of scoring the song of a specific user, the parameter of the entire specific user is specified, and the ranking in that is clear, so the scoring order is more accurate than the scoring of the provisional local ID Therefore, for a karaoke user who has become a specific user from a general user, the exact ranking can be referred to at a later date, so that, for example, the convenience as a user can be enjoyed to further improve the ranking from the previous time. improves. Also, for various information temporarily recorded by general users, after the general user becomes a specific user, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, it is used for various marketing by a karaoke administrator. It will be useful for future karaoke business. Therefore, if the general user scoring result information transmitted to the server decreases, the scoring result processing executed in the server is not wasted and can be a process useful in the future.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the karaoke system 100 of this embodiment and the configuration of peripheral devices during operation. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the karaoke apparatus 1 and the remote control terminal 50. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the server 80. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing a reservation queue stored in the HDD of the karaoke apparatus, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing records included in the reservation queue.

[Description of configuration of karaoke system 100 and configuration of peripheral devices]
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of karaoke devices 1 installed in each karaoke room in the karaoke box (“store” in FIG. 1 and the “problem to be solved by the invention” column) and the plurality of karaoke devices The local server 2 that manages the device 1 is connected to the LAN 3 in the karaoke box. The LAN 3 in the karaoke box is connected to the LAN hub device 4. The plurality of karaoke apparatuses 1 and the local server 2 are configured to be able to communicate with the central server 8 via the LAN hub apparatus 4, the broadband router 5, the ADSL modem 6, and the high-speed communication line 7. The same applies to other karaoke boxes (stores). In this embodiment, a karaoke system 100 is configured by a plurality of karaoke apparatuses 1 and servers 8 installed in each karaoke room in each karaoke box. Yes.

[Description of configuration of karaoke apparatus 1]
As shown in FIG. 2, the karaoke device 1 includes a control unit 12 that controls the operation of the karaoke device 1 as a whole, an interface unit 14 for connecting the karaoke device 1 to the LAN 3 in the karaoke box, and performance music (karaoke performance music). A hard disk (HDD) 16 for storing music data and video data indicating accompaniment content and lyrics, a plurality of key switches, an operation unit 18 for accepting reservation of karaoke performance music by a user, and an infrared signal from a remote control terminal 50 From an infrared communication unit 20 for receiving a signal by infrared communication, an operation processing unit 22 for processing a signal from the operation unit 18, a microphone 26 for inputting a voice signal of karaoke singing, and music data stored in the hard disk 16 Generate and generate audio signals for music (signals related to sound and voice) The audio control unit 24 that amplifies the audio signal input from the microphone 26 and outputs the audio signal to the speaker 28, and the MIDI sound source 30 that performs karaoke performance based on the music data (performance data) acquired from the HDD 16 by the control unit 12. A video RAM 32 for temporarily storing video information, a video playback unit 34 for controlling playback of video based on video data, a video information stored in the video RAM 32, and a video display unit 36 for playing back video. And a video control unit 38 for controlling the display of the image. The control unit 12 and the audio control unit 24 are connected by a USB 40. Further, the karaoke apparatus 1 can perform data communication with the remote control terminal 50 and the server 8 via the interface unit 14.

  The HDD 16 stores a serial number and a reservation queue (reservation list, see FIG. 4A). The serial number is information for specifying the karaoke apparatus 1. The serial number corresponds to “specific information” in the claims. The reservation queue is composed of a plurality of storage areas for storing various information necessary for reserving a karaoke performance as a reservation queue record. This reservation queue record is composed of data indicating the music number, serial number, distinction between internal data / recorded data, performance key, performance speed, and recording file name (see FIG. 4B).

Further, the control unit 12 executes various processes such as a main process described later.
The control unit 12 corresponds to scoring means, determination means, storage control means, transmission / reception control means, and registration means. The interface unit 14 corresponds to a device side transmission / reception means. The HDD 16 corresponds to a performance music storage unit, a performance order storage unit, a specific information storage unit, and a temporary storage unit. The operation unit 18 corresponds to a reservation receiving unit. The microphone 26 corresponds to an audio signal input unit. The MIDI sound source 30 corresponds to karaoke performance means. The display unit 36 corresponds to a notification unit.

[Description of configuration of remote control terminal 50]
The remote control terminal 50 includes a control unit 52 that controls the overall operation of the remote control terminal 50, an infrared communication unit 54 that transmits infrared signals to the karaoke apparatus 1 by infrared communication, a memory 56 that stores various information, and a display area of the display unit 58. An operation unit 60 including a touch panel and a plurality of key switches installed along the line, an operation processing unit 62 for processing signals from the operation unit 60, a video RAM 64 for temporarily storing video information, and a video stored in the video RAM 64 According to the wireless LAN standard (for example, IEEE802.11a / b / g standard) between the video control unit 66 for controlling the display on the information display unit 58 and the wireless access point 9 connected to the LAN 3 in the karaoke box. A wireless LAN communication unit 68 for performing wireless communication is provided.

[Description of Configuration of Server 8]
As shown in FIG. 3, the server 8 includes a LAN interface 8b, a ROM 8c, a RAM 8d, a CPU 8e, a control interface 8f, and an HDD 8g. The LAN interface 8b, ROM 8c, RAM 8d, CPU 8e, control interface 8f, and HDD 8g are connected to each other by a bus 8a. The LAN interface 8b is connected to an external high-speed communication line 7 via a bus.

  Of these, the HDD 8g stores a nationwide scoring result (scoring ranking). As shown in FIG. 7B, the nationwide scoring results include the music selection number, rank, score, user ID (identification information), nickname, serial number of the karaoke device 1 used during karaoke singing, registration date and time, and the like. It is a list in which information associated with various types of information is arranged in descending order. In addition, about this national scoring result, the several scoring result by the same registered user is not included. Specifically, for example, even when the registered user A scores three times a week and the first time is 92 points, the second time is 95 points, and the third time is 94 points, it is included in the scoring ranking. Regarding the scoring result, only one of the highest 95 scores among the above three scoring results is included in the scoring ranking as the scoring result of the registered user A. This is due to the following reason. That is, if the above-mentioned nationwide scoring result includes a plurality of scoring results by the same registered user, for example, a plurality of scoring results by a registered user with singing ability may be arranged at the top of the scoring ranking. Specifically, in the scoring ranking in which the top three are displayed, for example, registered user B scores 91 points once a week, and registered user C scores 90 points once a week. Even so, only the registered user A is displayed in the national scoring results. In such a case, a registered user who always gives a high score, such as the registered user A, can enjoy the scoring ranking, but a problem that a registered user who sometimes gives a high score, such as the registered users B and C, cannot enjoy it. In order to solve such a problem, the national scoring results do not include a plurality of scoring results by the same registered user.

Further, the CPU 8e executes various processes such as a main process described later.
The control interface 8f corresponds to a server side transmission / reception means. The HDD 8g corresponds to a rank storage unit. The CPU 8e corresponds to a scoring ranking management unit and a transmission control unit.

[Main processing of control unit 12 of karaoke apparatus 1]
Below, the process sequence of the main process performed by the control part 12 of the karaoke apparatus 1 is demonstrated based on the flowchart of FIG. This main process is executed independently of other processes when the karaoke apparatus 1 is activated.

  First, national scoring is started (S100). Specifically, the scoring menu is displayed on the display unit 58 of the remote control terminal 50 in the same manner as the display unit of the karaoke device 1, and when the national scoring button is pressed from the scoring menu, the control unit 12 of the karaoke device 1 is pushed. The information is transmitted and the national scoring mode is started.

  Subsequently, referring to the reservation queue stored in the HDD 16, it is determined whether or not there is a reservation for a karaoke performance song (S102). If it is determined that there is a reservation for the karaoke performance song (S102: YES), the song data of the karaoke performance song reserved at the head of the reservation queue is read from the HDD 16 and the karaoke performance is performed (S108). When the karaoke performance is completed, the reservation of the karaoke performance song is deleted from the reservation queue. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no reservation for the karaoke performance song (S102: NO), it waits until the user performs an operation of selecting a karaoke performance song from the operation unit 18 or the operation unit 60 (S104, S106). : NO). When it is determined that an operation for selecting a karaoke performance song has been performed from the operation unit 18 or the operation unit 60 (S106: YES), the selected karaoke performance song is karaoke played (S108).

In addition, when a karaoke performance is performed in S108, the karaoke song by the user input from the microphone 26 is scored.
Then, the scoring result performed in previous S108 is transmitted to the server 8 (S110). Specifically, (a) it is determined whether or not the reservation person of the karaoke performance music performed in S108 is a registered user, and the reservation person of the karaoke performance music performed in karaoke is the registered user (specification). If it is determined that the user is a user), scoring result information is generated, and the generated scoring result information is transmitted to the server 8. In addition, about scoring result information in this case, the music selection number of the performed karaoke performance music, the user ID (identification information) given to the registered user, the serial number of the karaoke apparatus 1 stored in the HDD 16, and the scoring result (See FIG. 7A). Among these, the user ID is acquired by an input to the operation unit 18 by a registered user. On the other hand, if it is determined that the person who reserved the karaoke performance performed at S108 is a guest who is not a registered user, scoring result information is generated, and the generated scoring result information is displayed. Send to server 8. Note that the scoring result information in this case includes the song selection number of the karaoke performance song that has been played, the character string indicating that the user is a guest, the serial number of the karaoke device 1 stored in the HDD 16, and the scoring result. It is information to include. That is, the guests in the user group that uses the karaoke device 1 are uniformly managed as the character strings described above.

When the scoring result is transmitted to the server 8 in S110 described above, the system waits until the national scoring result transmitted from the server 8 is received.
Subsequently, the national scoring result and rank or reference rank transmitted from the server 8 is received (S112). Then, the received rank or reference rank is temporarily stored in the HDD 16 as history information together with the song name, singer name and scoring result, and the received national scoring result is recorded until the next karaoke performance song is played karaoke. And the history information are displayed on the display unit 36 (S114, see FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the reservation person of the karaoke performance music performed in S108 is a registered user (S116). When it is determined that the karaoke performance karaoke performance reservation person is a registered user (specific user) (S116: YES), the process proceeds to S102. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reservation person of the karaoke performance karaoke performance is a guest who is not a registered user (S116: NO), information indicating that the guest is urged to register as a user is displayed on the display unit 36. It is displayed (refer to the display content at the bottom of FIG. 8A), and it is determined whether or not the information input by the user via the operation unit 18 is information indicating that user registration is to be performed ( S118). When it is determined that the information input by the user via the operation unit 18 has pressed the “do not register user” button (S118: NO), the process proceeds to S102. On the other hand, if it is determined that the information input by the user via the operation unit 18 has pressed the “perform user registration” button (S118: YES), a user registration screen is displayed on the display unit 36 (FIG. 10), for example, the user is registered as a user based on information input by the user via the operation unit 18 such as ID, password, date of birth, and sex (S120). Then, the process proceeds to S110.

[Main processing of CPU 8e of server 8]
Below, the processing procedure of the main process performed by CPU8e of the server 8 is demonstrated based on the flowchart of FIG. This main process is executed independently of other processes when the server 8 is activated.

  First, it waits until the scoring result transmitted from the karaoke apparatus 1 is received (S200: NO). When it is determined that the scoring result information has been received (S200: YES), the received scoring result information is registered. It is determined whether or not it is by the user (S202). More specifically, if the received scoring result information includes a user ID, it is determined that the received scoring result information is from a registered user, while a character string is included in the received scoring result information. If it is included, it is determined that the received scoring result information is not from the registered user but from the guest.

  If it is determined that the received scoring result information is from a registered user (S202: YES), the scoring result is registered in the national scoring result (S204). More specifically, the user ID (identification information) included in the received scoring result information is compared with the user ID (identification information) of each record registered in the nationwide scoring result stored in the HDD 8g, and the registration is performed. If the user's past scoring result information is not included in the national scoring result, the received scoring result information is added to the national scoring result so that the scoring results are arranged in descending order, thereby updating the national scoring result. On the other hand, when the past scoring result information of the registered user is included in the national scoring result, the score included in the received scoring result information is larger than the past score of the registered user already registered in the national scoring result Deletes the past scoring result information of the registered user from the national scoring result and adds the received scoring result information to the national scoring result so that the score is arranged in descending order, and the number of points included in the received scoring result information Is smaller than the past score of the registered user already registered in the national scoring result, the past scoring result information of the registered user is validated and the received scoring result information is invalidated. Then, referring to the national scoring results, the ranking of the scores included in the received scoring result information is calculated (S206).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the received scoring result information is not from the registered user (S202: NO), the received scoring result information is regarded as being by the guest, and the national scoring result is The ranking when the received scoring result information is added so that the scores are arranged in descending order is calculated as a reference ranking (S206).

  Then, for example, the top three scoring result information is read out from the nationwide scoring results stored in the HDD 8g, and the read scoring result information is stored in the music selection number, user ID (or character string), number of participants by song (monthly), by song. Are transmitted to the karaoke apparatus 1 together with information such as the top three rankings, points, nicknames (monthly), the ranking (or reference ranking) calculated in S206, and the average score (monthly) for each song (S208, FIG. 7 ( a)). Then, the process proceeds to S200.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
(1) Thus, according to the karaoke system 100 of 1st embodiment, there exist the following effects. That is, in the main process executed by the karaoke apparatus 1, if it is determined that the karaoke performance karaoke performance reservation person is a registered user (specific user), the user ID assigned to the registered user is included. Scoring result information is generated and transmitted to the server 8. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reservation person of the karaoke performance karaoke performance is a guest who is not a registered user, the user is a guest. The character string scoring result information shown is generated and transmitted to the server 8 (S110). That is, the guests in the user group that uses the karaoke device 1 are uniformly managed as the above character strings. Further, in the main process executed by the server 8, when the received scoring result information is from a registered user, the ranking of the scores included in the received scoring result information is calculated with reference to the national scoring result. (S206). On the other hand, if the received scoring result information is from a guest, the rank when the received scoring result information is added to the national scoring result so that the scoring is arranged in descending order is calculated as a reference ranking. (S206).

  By this, when a user is a guest, even if a temporary local ID is not given to each guest by notifying the higher scoring result and the reference ranking until the next karaoke performance is started, It is possible to specify which guest the top scoring result is from. That is, it is not necessary to manage the temporary local ID issued as before, until the participants finish using the karaoke device and leave the karaoke room. Also, for guests, in order to receive various services, it is not necessary to remember the provisional local ID issued as before until the guest leaves the karaoke room after using the karaoke apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience of a general user who is not a specific user registered by agreeing to receive various services provided by the karaoke business, and to reduce the management burden in the system.

  (2) Also, according to the karaoke system 100 of the first embodiment, when the national scoring result and rank or reference rank transmitted from the server 8 is received in the main process executed by the karaoke apparatus 1 (S112). The received rank or reference rank is temporarily stored in the HDD 16 as history information together with the song name, singer name, and scoring results, and when the received national scoring results are displayed on the display unit 36, the history information is displayed. It is read out and displayed on the display unit 36 together with the national scoring result (S114, see display contents “history” in the lower right part of FIGS. 8A and 8B).

  Thereby, for example, when comparing the scoring results of each user within the group using the karaoke apparatus 1, the scoring results of each user can be obtained by confirming the display content by the display unit 36 described above. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved.

  (3) Moreover, according to the karaoke system 100 of the first embodiment, in the main process executed by the karaoke apparatus 1, it is determined that the reservation person of the karaoke performance karaoke performance is a guest who is not a registered user. (S116: NO), information indicating that the guest is urged to register is displayed on the display unit 36 (see the display content at the bottom of FIG. 8A), and the user operates the operation unit 18 via the operation unit 18. Based on the input information, the user is registered as a user (S120).

  This can be expected to increase the number of registered users. Thus, if the number of registered users increases, the ratio of registered users to users increases. At that time, for the scoring result of scoring the registered user's singing, the parameters of the entire registered user are specified, and the ranking in that is clear, so the scoring order is more accurate than the scoring of the provisional local ID For this reason, the karaoke user who has become a registered user from the guest can refer to the exact ranking at a later date, so that the convenience as a user, such as the pleasure of further improving the ranking from the previous time, is improved. In addition, various types of information temporarily recorded by guests can be useful for future karaoke business, for example, by karaoke managers for various marketing after the guest has become a registered user. (See FIG. 10). Therefore, if the guest scoring result information transmitted to the server 8 decreases, the scoring result processing executed in the server 8 is not wasted and can be a process useful in the future.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It is possible to implement in various aspects.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a karaoke system, and the structure of the peripheral device at the time of operation. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a karaoke apparatus and a remote control terminal. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a server. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the reservation queue which HDD of a karaoke apparatus memorize | stores, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the record contained in a reservation queue. It is a flowchart which shows the main process which the control part of a karaoke apparatus performs. It is a flowchart which shows the main process which CPU of a server performs. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of national scoring result data in a server and a karaoke apparatus, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the list of national scoring result data in a server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of national scoring result data, (a) is a display example in the case of a guest, (b) is a display example in the case of registration data. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display at the time of user registration. It is explanatory drawing which shows the business model in the case of moving the guest in a karaoke provider to a registered user.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Karaoke apparatus, 2 ... Local server, 3 ... LAN in karaoke box, 4 ... LAN hub apparatus, 5 ... Broadband router, 6 ... ADSL modem, 7 ... High-speed communication line, 8 ... Server, 8a ... Bus, 8b ... LAN Interface, 8c ... ROM, 8d ... RAM, 8e ... CPU, 8f ... Control interface, 9 ... Wireless access point, 12 ... Control part, 14 ... Interface part, 16 ... Hard disk, 18 ... Operation part, 20 ... Infrared communication part, 22 ... Operation processing unit, 24 ... Audio control unit, 26 ... Microphone, 28 ... Speaker, 30 ... MIDI sound source, 32 ... Video RAM, 34 ... Video playback unit, 36 ... Display unit, 38 ... Video control unit, 50 ... Remote control Terminal 52, control unit 54 ... infrared communication unit 56 ... memory 58 ... display unit 60 ... operation unit 62 ... operation Processing unit, 64 ... video RAM, 66 ... video control unit, 68 ... wireless LAN communication unit, 100 ... karaoke system

Claims (3)

A plurality of karaoke apparatuses that perform karaoke performance based on music data; a server; and a network that connects the plurality of karaoke apparatuses and the server; and the network between the plurality of karaoke apparatuses and the server. Karaoke system configured to be able to send and receive various data via,
The plurality of karaoke apparatuses are respectively
Reservation acceptance means for accepting reservations for karaoke performances by users;
Performance song storage means for storing one or more karaoke performance songs;
Performance order storage means capable of storing reservations of karaoke performance songs received by the reservation reception means as a reservation list in order of performance;
The reservation list stored in the performance order storage means is stored in the reservation list stored in the performance order storage means, and the reservation of the karaoke performance music that has been performed is stored in the reservation list stored in the performance order storage means. Storage control means for deleting from,
Karaoke performance means for reading out karaoke performance music from the performance music storage means based on the reservation list stored in the performance order storage means and performing karaoke performance;
An audio signal input means for inputting an audio signal of karaoke singing;
Scoring means for scoring a karaoke song input from the audio signal input means when a karaoke performance is performed by the karaoke performance means;
A user who has made a reservation for a karaoke performance performed by the karaoke performance means through the reservation reception means, and is registered by consenting to receiving various services provided by the karaoke company. A determination means for determining whether or not the user is a user;
Specific information storage means for storing specific information for specifying the karaoke device;
A device side transmitting / receiving means capable of transmitting and receiving various data between the server and the other karaoke device;
If it is determined by the determination means that the user who made the reservation of the karaoke performance music performed by the karaoke performance means through the reservation reception means is the specific user, the specific use Scoring including at least the scoring result obtained by scoring by the scoring means, and the scoring result obtained by scoring by the scoring means. The result information is generated, and the generated scoring result information is transmitted to the server via the network by controlling the apparatus-side transmission / reception means, while the karaoke performance music performed by the karaoke performance means The determination means determines that the user who made the reservation through the reservation receiving means is a general user who is not the specific user. If determined, a character string indicating that the user is a general user, specific information for specifying the karaoke device stored in the specific information storage means, and a scoring result scored by the scoring means Transmission control means for generating scoring result information including at least, and transmitting the generated scoring result information to the server via the network by controlling the apparatus-side transmission / reception means,
When the device-side transmission / reception means receives information transmitted from the server in response to the scoring result information being transmitted by the device-side transmission / reception means, the karaoke performance means causes the next karaoke performance song to be karaoke. An informing means for informing the received information together with the scoring result by the scoring means before being played,
The server
Server-side transmission / reception means capable of transmitting / receiving various data to / from the karaoke device;
Rank storage means for storing a scoring ranking generated by arranging the scoring results of the karaoke singing by the specific user in descending order;
In the case where the identification information is included in the scoring result information received by the server-side transmitting / receiving unit, it is determined whether or not the scoring result by the same specific user is included in the scoring ranking stored in the ranking storage unit If not included, the stored contents of the rank storage means are updated by adding the received scoring results to the scoring ranking stored in the rank storage means so that the scores are arranged in descending order. On the other hand, if included, the scoring result by the same specific user in the scoring ranking stored in the storage means is compared with the received scoring result, and the scoring result with the higher scoring is obtained. By adding the score ranking stored in the rank storage means so that the scores are arranged in descending order, If the character string is included in the scoring result information received by the server-side transmitting / receiving unit, the received scoring result is stored in the scoring ranking stored in the ranking storage unit. A scoring ranking management means for calculating the ranking when added temporarily so that the scores are arranged in descending order as a reference ranking;
When the scoring ranking is updated by the scoring ranking management means, a predetermined number is read from the ranking storage means as a high-order scoring result in order from the scoring result with the highest scoring result included in the scoring ranking, The read high-order scoring result is transmitted to the karaoke apparatus that is the transmission source of the scoring result information by controlling the server-side transmission / reception means. On the other hand, when the reference ranking is calculated by the scoring ranking management means, A predetermined number is read from the rank storage means in order from the scoring result with the highest score among the scoring results included in the scoring ranking, and the read high scoring result is transmitted and received on the server side together with the reference ranking. Control means to transmit to the karaoke apparatus which is the transmission source of the scoring result information Karaoke system characterized in that it comprises a transmission control unit. The karaoke system according to claim 1,
The karaoke device
When the device-side transmitting / receiving unit receives information transmitted from the server in response to the transmission of the scoring result information by the device-side transmitting / receiving unit, the scoring result by the scoring unit is received. Temporary storage means for storing together with,
The karaoke system characterized in that the notification means of the karaoke apparatus can notify information stored in the temporary storage means. In the karaoke system according to claim 1 or 2,
The karaoke device
Registration means for registering the general user as the specific user by accepting an input by the general user;
The karaoke system characterized in that the notification means of the karaoke apparatus can display information indicating that the general user is urged to become the specific user.

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