JP2008052599A - Downloader and distribution system using downloader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a downloader for downloading contents on a server to a user terminal and managing them. <P>SOLUTION: When a user makes application for purchase of contents, a command file 231 is transmitted from a distribution server 230. Content acquisition processing 214a of the downloader 214 acquires display data, a display image file, a content file and a license information file according to the command file 231. Content display processing 214b displays a content list, detailed information, and the like which are downloaded, on a screen of the downloader so as to be easy for the user to see. When the content to be reproduced is selected on the screen by the user, content reproduction processing 214c starts a content reproducing software 216 to reproduce the content. The user's burden in downloading and reproducing contents is made extremely light by this downloader. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a downloader that downloads and manages content on a server to a user terminal.

Content distribution that allows users to download and use content currently stored on a server (for example, content such as images, videos, music, electronic books, software, etc., hereinafter simply referred to as “content”) to a terminal such as a personal computer. Many services are provided.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a conventional content distribution service.
The user terminal 110 is a terminal such as a personal computer used by a user who is a content user. The distribution server 130 is a server that distributes (sells) content, and includes a website for users to purchase (including free of charge) content. The content server 140 is a server that stores the content file 142. In addition, a license information file 144 describing license information is also stored for contents that require a license to be used by the user.
In an actual content distribution system, there may be a case where the content server 140 is configured by a plurality of content servers 140 or a case where the content file 142 and the license information file 144 are stored in the distribution server 130.

The user accesses the distribution server 130 through the Internet 120, browses the website with the browser software 112 of the user terminal 110, and selects the desired content. On the website page, for example, a link to the URL of the content file 142 stored in the content server 140 is displayed in the form of hypertext, buttons, etc., together with information such as the content name, content introduction, and price. Is displayed.
When the user clicks the link, the user terminal 110 accesses the URL and downloads the content file 142 to the user terminal 110. In addition, when a license is required to use the content (playback, display, etc., hereinafter simply referred to as “playback”), the license information file 144 of the content is also downloaded.
The downloaded content file and license information file are stored in a storage device 116 such as a hard disk (content file 116a and license information file 116b).

The downloaded content is played back by activating content playback software 114 (for example, Microsoft Media Player or the like when the content is a moving image file or a music file) according to the type of the content.
Here, in preparation for the case where the content reproduction software 114 corresponding to the content is not in the user terminal 110, an installer of the reproduction software for reproducing the content may be prepared in the distribution server 130 (for example, the content is in ATRAC3 format). Non-Patent Document 1 etc. in the case of a music file). Thereby, the user can purchase with peace of mind even content of a type (file format) that has never been used.

"Yahoo Music Download" (http://music.yahoo.co.jp/download/)

According to the conventional content distribution system described above, a user can purchase content simply by accessing a distribution website and performing an operation according to a displayed instruction.
However, in a conventional content distribution system, it is usually necessary for a user to specify a file storage location when downloading content. Further, in order to play back the downloaded content, the user needs to search for the content to be played back using Windows (registered trademark) Explorer or the like. For this reason, a user's work burden is heavy.
Furthermore, there is a high possibility that the storage location specified at the time of downloading will be forgotten, and the file name is often a meaningless character string. For this reason, the user tends not to be able to find the downloaded content or to distinguish the content.
In particular, when the types of content provided by the distribution server increase, it becomes very troublesome for the user to download and manage the content.

  The subject of this invention is providing the downloader which can download and manage the content on a server to a user terminal, and is solving the above-mentioned problem.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention is a content distribution system using a downloader that downloads content on a server to a user terminal, the content file of the content being stored in the server. Content file storage means, display image file storage means for storing the content display image file, display data of the content, URL of the display image file, content acquisition start command, and content playback start A command file storing means for storing a command file describing a command; a command file transmitting means for transmitting the command file to the user terminal upon receipt of the content purchase application from the user terminal; When a request is received Content file transmission means for transmitting the content file to the user terminal, the user terminal including a purchase application transmission means for transmitting the purchase application for the content, the downloader, and content for reproducing the content Replay software, and the downloader cuts out the display data from the command file by executing a content acquisition start command upon receiving the command file and command file receiving means for receiving the command file. The storage means stores the display image file URL, receives the display image file, stores it in the storage means, sends a request to the server, receives the content file, Content acquisition means stored in the storage means; Content display means for displaying the display data and the display image file on the screen in correspondence with the content, and when the user instructs playback of the content in the content display means, the content acquisition start command is executed, and the content A content distribution system comprising: content reproduction means for activating reproduction software to reproduce the content file.

  The present invention is also a downloader for downloading content on a server to a user terminal, from the server, display data of the content, URL of a display image file of the content, a content acquisition start command, content A command file receiving means for receiving a command file describing a reproduction start command; and when the command file is received, the content acquisition start command is executed, and the display data is cut out from the command file and stored in the storage means. , Accessing the display image file URL, receiving the display image file and storing it in the storage means, transmitting a request to the server, receiving the content file of the content and storing it in the storage means Content acquisition means and the display data And content display means for displaying the display image file on the screen in correspondence with the content, and when the user instructs the content display to reproduce the content, the content acquisition start command is executed to reproduce the content. And a content reproduction means for activating the content reproduction software to reproduce the content file.

The content acquisition unit further transmits a request to the server, receives the license information file of the content and stores it in a storage unit, and the content reproduction unit uses the license information file to store the content file It is good also as reproducing | regenerating.
The content acquisition unit may receive the URL of the content file instead of the content file, and access the URL to receive the content file.
The content acquisition unit may receive a URL of the license information file instead of the license information file, and access the URL to receive the license information file.
In addition, the content playback unit may transmit a request to the server to acquire the content playback software when the content playback software for playing back the content is not provided in a user terminal. Also good.

  The present invention is also a download method for downloading content on a server to a user terminal, from the server, the display data of the content, the URL of the display image file of the content, a content acquisition start command, A command file receiving step for receiving a command file describing a content reproduction start command; and when the command file is received, the content acquisition start command is executed, and the display data is cut out from the command file and stored in a storage means Then, the display image file URL is accessed, the display image file is received and stored in the storage means, a request is transmitted to the server, and the content file of the content is received and stored in the storage means. Content acquisition step and before A content display step for displaying the display data and the display image file in correspondence with the content, and when the user instructs the content to be reproduced in the content display means, the content acquisition start command is executed to execute the content acquisition command. A content reproduction step of activating content reproduction software for reproducing the content file and reproducing the content file.

  Moreover, the program for making a computer function each means of the downloader described above is also this invention.

The downloader of the present invention automatically downloads content by a simple user operation. Also, a list of contents downloaded so far, detailed information, etc. are displayed on the downloader screen so that the user can easily see them.
Furthermore, the downloader of the present invention collectively manages a plurality of types of content.
For this reason, the user does not need to know the storage location and file name of the content, and does not need to specify the storage location of the content himself or search for the content to be reproduced.
In the present invention, a command file that is first downloaded at the time of content purchase describes a command for causing the downloader to perform each process and display data for displaying the content on the screen. For this reason, for example, even when the types of content (file formats) handled by the content distribution system increase, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case. On the other hand, the user can purchase and use the content without worrying about the type.
Thus, according to the downloader of the present invention, the burden on the user in downloading and playing back the content is very light.

<1. System configuration>
Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the downloader of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a content distribution system using the downloader of the present embodiment.
In the user terminal 210, the browser software 212 and the content reproduction software 216 are the same as those in the prior art shown in FIG. The Internet 220 is also the same as the prior art shown in FIG.
The downloader 214 is a downloader of this embodiment. The content acquisition process 214 a is a program for downloading the content file 242 and the license information file 244 of the content server 240 to the user terminal 210. The content display process 214b is a program that displays a list of downloaded contents, detailed information, and the like on the screen of the downloader 214. The content reproduction process 214c is a program that causes the content reproduction software 216 to reproduce the content. The contents of these processes will be described in detail later.
The storage device 218 stores files downloaded from the distribution server 230 and the content server 240. The display data 218a is a file describing information for the content display processing 214b to display content information on the downloader 214 screen. The display image file 218 b is an image such as a thumbnail for displaying content information on the screen of the downloader 214. The content file 218c and the license information file 218d are the content file and the license information file described above.

The distribution server 230 stores a command file 231, a display image file 232, a content URL 233 and a license information URL 234 corresponding to each content.
The command file 231 is a file in which the display data 218a described above and commands for causing the downloader 214 to perform the content acquisition process 214a, the content reproduction process 214c, and the like are described.
The display image file 232 is as described for the display image file 218b. In this embodiment, an image prepared for display on a content distribution website is also used as a display image file, but may be prepared separately. The display data of the command file 231 also describes the URL of the display image file 232.
The content URL 233 is the URL of the content file, and the license information URL 234 is the URL of the license information file. In this embodiment, since the content file and the license information file are stored in the content server 240, the content URL 233 and the license information URL 234 are URLs on the content server 240.
Note that the command file 231, the display image file 232, the content URL 233, and the license information URL 234 may be prepared and stored in a server other than the distribution server 230.

The content providing process 236 is a program that transmits a content file and a license information file to the user terminal 210 in response to a request from the downloader 214 of the user terminal 210. In the present embodiment, the content URL 233 and license information URL 234 of the content are transmitted to the user terminal 210. The content providing process 236 will be described in detail later.
The reproduction software installer 235 is an installer and data for the user terminal 210 to install content reproduction software. This is because, depending on the type of content, the content reproduction software may not be installed in the user terminal 210 yet.

The content server 240 is a server that stores a content file 242 and a license information file 244. In the following, an example in which a license is required for content reproduction will be described. However, a part or all of all content may be license-free. In this case, a license information file describing that a license is not required may be prepared for content that does not require a license (that is, a license information file is prepared for all content) A license information file may be prepared only for content that requires a license.
The user terminal 210 can download the content file 242 and the license information file 244 by accessing the content URL and license information URL transmitted from the distribution server 230.
Here, for simplicity of explanation, the case where the content server 240 is a single server is illustrated and described. However, the content server 240 may be composed of a plurality of servers. The content server 240 may not be prepared, and the content file 242 and the license information file 244 may be stored in the distribution server 230, for example.

<2. Overview of processing performed by the downloader>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a procedure of processing performed by the downloader of the present embodiment. The reference numbers in FIG. 3 correspond to the reference numbers in FIG.
In the downloader 214 of FIG. 3, the download manager corresponds to the above-described processing of the downloader 214 (content acquisition processing 214a, content display processing 214b, content reproduction processing 214c). The downloader GUI corresponds to the screen of the downloader 214 displayed on the display of the user terminal 210. The screen of the downloader 214 will be described in detail later.
It should be noted that the downloader 214 of the present embodiment may be easily installed on the user terminal 210 when the user uses the downloader 214 for the first time on the user terminal 210. For example, as is often done, it is possible to store the downloader 214 installer in the distribution server 230 so that the user can download it from the content distribution website.

  Hereinafter, the outline of the processing performed by the downloader 214 will be described in order with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The following (0) to (10) correspond to (0) to (10) shown in FIG.

(0) Content purchase application The user accesses the website on the distribution server 230 using the browser software 212 of the user terminal 210, for example. Then, for example, the user clicks a “buy” button on the web page to purchase the desired content.
Then, the content purchase application is transmitted to the distribution server 230. Note that in a normal content distribution system, the distribution server 230 often performs settlement of the content fee.
(1) Command File Reception When a content purchase application is made, a command file (command file 231 in FIG. 2) corresponding to the content is transmitted from the distribution server 230. The command file will be described in detail later.
When the command file is received, the downloader 214 of this embodiment is activated. Thereafter, the downloader 214 performs processing according to commands and display data described in the command file.

(2) Display Data Acquisition The downloader 214 extracts display data from the command file and stores it in the storage device 218 (display data 218a in FIG. 2). The display data will be described later in detail.
(3) Display Image Acquisition Next, the display image file 232 corresponding to the content is acquired from the distribution server 230 and stored in the storage device 218 (display image file 218b in FIG. 2).
(4) Content URL Acquisition Next, the content URL 233 of the content file 242 corresponding to the content is acquired from the distribution server 230.
(5) Content File Acquisition Next, the content file 242 is acquired from the content server 240 and stored in the storage device 218 (content file 218c in FIG. 2).
(6) Acquisition of License Information URL Next, the license information URL 234 of the license information file 244 corresponding to the content is acquired from the distribution server 230.
(7) Acquisition of License Information File Next, the license information file 244 is acquired from the content server 240 and stored in the storage device 218 (license information file 218d in FIG. 2).
The series of processes (2) to (7) described above (process after receiving the command file) is performed by the content acquisition process 214a of the downloader 214. Thereby, even if a user does not operate, a content and other required files can be downloaded to the user terminal 210.
Further, the content providing process 236 performs a series of processes (processes after command file transmission) on the distribution server 230 side of the above (1) to (7).

(8) Content Display In this embodiment, the downloaded content information can be easily viewed on the downloader screen (downloader GUI in FIG. 3) and can be operated by the user so that the user can easily select the content to be reproduced. To display.
Specifically, using the display data 218a and the display image file 218b acquired in the above (2) to (3), a list of contents, detailed information, buttons for operation, etc. are displayed on the downloader screen. Display easily. A display example on the screen will be described in detail later.
The process (8) described above is performed by the content display process 214b of the downloader 214.

In addition, when the user designates content to be reproduced on the downloader screen, the downloader 214 reproduces the content.
(9) Reproduction software acquisition If the user terminal 210 does not yet have the content reproduction software necessary for reproducing the content specified by the user, the content reproduction software installer (reproduction software installer 235 in FIG. 2) from the distribution server 230. Is acquired and installed in the user terminal 210.
(10) Reproduction software activation The content reproduction software (content reproduction software 216 in FIG. 2) for reproducing the content is activated to reproduce the content file.
The series of processes (9) to (10) described above is performed by the content reproduction process 214c of the downloader 214.

The above is the outline of the processing performed by the downloader 214 of the present embodiment.
Hereinafter, acquisition of content and the like by the content acquisition process 214a, content display by the content display process 214b, and content reproduction by the content reproduction process 214c will be described in detail in order.

<3. Acquisition of content and license information>
FIG. 4 shows the exchanges between the user terminal 210 (downloader 214), the distribution server 230, and the content server 240 from content purchase application to acquisition of content and license information ((0) to (7) in FIG. 3). It is a flowchart. As described above, the processing on the user terminal 210 side is performed by the content acquisition processing 214a, and the processing on the distribution server 230 side is performed by the content provision processing 236. The numbers in parentheses (0) to (7-3) in FIG. 4 correspond to the numbers in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when a content purchase application (0) is transmitted from the user terminal 210 to the distribution server 230, a command file 231 corresponding to the content is transmitted from the distribution server 230 to the user terminal 210 ( 1). When the command file 231 is received, the downloader 214 is activated and the subsequent processing is performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the command file 231 of the present embodiment. In the example of the present embodiment, the command file 231 is described in XML, but the file format is not limited to this.
As shown in FIG. 5, the command file 231 according to the present embodiment includes a header portion 510 (head), a command portion 520 (command_list), and a display data portion 530 (product_list).

The header part 510 is an XML header part.
The command section 520 describes a command that instructs processing to be performed by the downloader 214 after receiving the command file. In the example of FIG. 5, a content acquisition start command 521 (pay_finish) and a content reproduction start command 522 (open_file) are described.
Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, the downloader 214 of the present embodiment first executes the content acquisition start command 521 to activate the content acquisition process 214a and performs the above-described (2) to (7) of FIG. . Subsequently, a content reproduction start command 522 is executed to activate the content reproduction process 214c and perform content reproduction. That is, the command file in FIG. 5 is automatically played once immediately after the content is acquired.
On the other hand, if only content acquisition is desired and automatic reproduction is not desired, only the content acquisition start command 521 needs to be described in the command portion 520 of the command file 231.

The display data section 530 describes information for displaying a list of contents and detailed information on the screen of the downloader 214 and the URL of the display image file 232. In the display data portion 530, for example, the following information is described.
The content summary 531 includes the creation date and time of the content (fTime), tax-inclusive price (price_in_tax), title (prod_nm), tax-excluded price (unit_price), author name (author name) (maker_nm), seller (Publisher) (seller_nm) and supplier (provider) (supplier_nm) are described. The item names “author name”, “publisher”, and “provider” are examples when the content is an electronic book, and may be determined according to the type of content. Further, the description of the content outline 531 in FIG. 5 is an example, and necessary items (tags) may be freely determined by the system.
The content display processing 214b of the downloader 214 refers to the content summary 531 and displays the content summary on the downloader screen.

The display image URL 532 describes the URL of the display image file 232 of the distribution server 230 corresponding to the content. Here, the URL of the display image file (prod_img) on the screen displaying the details of the content, the display image file (list_img) on the screen displaying the content list, and the store logo (shop_logo) of the provider is described. Yes. The display image file is not limited to these.
The content acquisition process 214 a accesses these URLs and downloads the display image file 232 of the distribution server 230.

The content description 533 (list_cmt) describes an explanatory text of the content (an outline or the like when the content is an electronic book). The content display process 214b refers to the content description 533 and displays the content description on the screen.
The file outline 534 describes the outline of the content file of the content. For example, in addition to the download file size (dl_file_size) and file format (file_type), if the content is an electronic book, the number of pages (page_num) is described. For example, when the content is a moving image, a bit rate (bit rate), a recording time (rec_time), a screen size (screen_size), and the like can be described instead of the number of pages. The outline to be described is not limited to these, and may be freely determined according to the type of content and the system.
The content display process 214b refers to the file summary 534 and displays the content file summary on the screen.

The usage environment 535 (sys_req) describes a recommended environment, precautions, and the like for the reproduction and re-downloading of the content. The content display process 214b refers to the usage environment 535 and displays the usage environment of the content on the screen.
The store ID 536 (shop_id) describes the store ID of the store that is the content provider. This facilitates management when there are a plurality of stores providing content in the content distribution system.
The re-download days 537 indicates the number of days since the first download as the time limit for re-downloading the content. In the present embodiment, re-downloading is permitted only for the re-downloading days in case the download is not successful or the user has accidentally deleted the downloaded content.
The content display process 214b refers to the redownload days 537 and displays the content redownload days on the screen.

The display data portion 530 also describes a command for executing the processing of the downloader 214. Here, what is executed by an operation performed on the screen of the downloader 214 by the user after downloading the content is described.
The content reproduction start command 538 (open_file) is a command executed when the user performs an operation for reproducing the content on the screen of the downloader 214, and activates the content reproduction processing 214c to reproduce the content. Let
The re-download start command 539 (re_dl) is a command executed when the user performs an operation for re-downloading the content on the screen of the downloader 214. The re-download start command 539 (re_dl) starts the content acquisition processing 214a, Download the license information again.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 4, in the user terminal 210, display data (the above-described display data portion 530) is cut out from the received command file and stored in the storage device 218 (2).
Next, the display image URL described in the display data is accessed from the user terminal 210 (3-1), and the display image file is downloaded (3-2). The downloaded display image file is stored in the storage device 218 of the user terminal 210 (3-3). Next, a download start notification is transmitted from the user terminal 210 to the distribution server 230 (4-1). Then, the content URL is transmitted from the distribution server 230 to the user terminal 210 (4-2).
Next, the content URL is accessed from the user terminal 210 (5-1), and the content file is downloaded from the content server 240 (5-2). The downloaded content file is stored in the storage device 218 (5-3).

Next, a download completion notification is transmitted from the user terminal 210 to the distribution server 230 (6-1). Then, the license information URL is transmitted from the distribution server 230 to the user terminal 210 (6-2).
Next, the license information URL is accessed from the user terminal 210 (7-1), and the license information file is downloaded from the content server 240 (7-2). The downloaded license information file is stored in the storage device 218 (7-3).

  Hereinafter, the processes performed by the user terminal 210, the distribution server 230, and the content server 240 from the above-described content purchase application to the acquisition of the content and license information ((0) to (7) in FIGS. 3 and 4) will be described. These will be described in order.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the content acquisition process 214 a in the downloader 214. Before the content acquisition process 214a, a user purchase application for content ((0) in FIGS. 3 and 4) is made, and the command file 231 is transmitted from the distribution server 230 ((1) in FIGS. 3 and 4). Has been.
When the command file 231 is received from the distribution server 230 (S605), if the downloader 214 has not been activated (No in S610), the downloader 214 is activated (S615), and the initial screen (home screen) is displayed. indicate. If it has already been activated (Yes in S610), for example, the screen of the downloader is changed to the home screen.
Next, display data (display data portion 530 in FIG. 5) is cut out from the received command file and stored in the storage device 218 (S620).
Next, the display image file 232 is downloaded (S625). Specifically, the display image file URL described in the display data is accessed to download the file. The downloaded display image file is stored in the storage device 218 (S630).
Next, a download start notification is transmitted to the distribution server 230 (S635). Then, since the content URL is transmitted from the distribution server 230, it is received (S640). Then, the content URL is accessed to download the content file 242 (S645). The downloaded content is stored in the storage device 218 (S650).
Next, a download completion notification is transmitted to the distribution server 230 (S655). Then, since the license information URL is transmitted from the distribution server 230, it is received (S660). Then, the license information URL is accessed to download the license information file 244 (S665). Finally, the downloaded license information file is stored in the storage device 218 (S670).
As described above, when the content playback start command 522 is also described in the command portion 520 of the command file (see FIG. 5), the content playback processing 214c is subsequently started and the downloaded content is played back.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the content providing process 236 in the distribution server 230.
First, when a content purchase application is received from the user terminal 210 (S705), a command file 231 corresponding to the content is transmitted to the user terminal 210 (S710). In the user terminal 210, the display data is cut out and stored, and the display image file is downloaded and stored.
Subsequently, when a download start notification is received from the user terminal 210 (S715), a content URL 233 corresponding to the content is transmitted to the user terminal 210 (S720). In the user terminal 210, the content file 242 is downloaded.
Subsequently, when a download completion notification is received (S725), the license information URL 234 is transmitted to the user terminal 210 (S730). In the user terminal 210, the license information file 244 is downloaded.

Here, the processing in the example in which the content file 242 is stored in the content server 240 and the content URL 233 is stored in the distribution server 230 has been described.
However, in the actual content distribution system, the storage location of the content file is not limited to this.
For example, the content file 242 may be stored in the distribution server 230. In this case, by storing both the content file 242 and the content URL 233 in the distribution server 230, the content file can be distributed by the processing described above with reference to FIGS. Can do.
In addition, a part of the content file 242 may be stored in the distribution server 230 and the other may be stored in the content server 240. In this case, for example, when the distribution server 230 receives a content URL request (S640 in FIG. 6) from the user terminal 210, the content file is stored in the distribution server 230 or stored in the content server 240. It is determined whether it has been performed, and processing corresponding to each is performed. That is, when the content file is stored in the distribution server 230, the content file is transmitted to the user terminal 210. When the content file is stored in the content server 240, the content URL is transmitted to the user terminal 210.
Similarly to the example of the present embodiment, when the content file 242 is in the content server 240, the distribution server 230 accesses the content URL, downloads the content file 242 and transmits it to the user terminal 210. May be.

Also, the storage location of the license information file is not necessarily the content server 240. In practice, the license information file 244 may be stored in the distribution server 230 depending on, for example, the type of license or a contract with a content provider.
Hereinafter, license information acquisition when the license information file is stored in the distribution server 230 or the content server 240 will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the steps after license information acquisition (download completion notification (S655) in FIG. 6 described above) performed by the content acquisition process 214a of the downloader when the license information file is stored in the distribution server 230 or the content server 240. ).
When the download of the content file is completed, a download completion notification is transmitted to the distribution server 230 (S805).
Next, a response from the distribution server is received (S810). As described above, the license information file 244 is stored in the content server 240 or the distribution server 230. Here, when the license information file 244 is stored in the content server 240, the license information URL 234 is transmitted from the distribution server 230, and when stored in the distribution server 230, the license information file 244 receives license information from the distribution server 230. Assume that the file itself is sent. Therefore, it is determined whether the response from the distribution server 230 is the license information URL or the license information file itself (S815).
If the response from the distribution server 230 is the license information URL (Yes in S815), the URL is accessed to download the license information file (S820) and stored in the storage device 218 (S825). . On the other hand, if the response from the distribution server is a license information file (No in S815), it is stored in the storage device 218 (S825).

FIG. 9 shows provision of license information performed by the distribution server 230 when the license information file is stored in the distribution server 230 or the content server 240 (steps after receiving the download completion notification in FIG. 7 described above (S725)). It is a flowchart of.
When a download completion notification is received from the user terminal 210 (S905), it is determined whether the license information file is in the distribution server 230 or the content server 240 (S910). If the license information file 244 is not in the distribution server 230, that is, in the content server 240 (No in S910), the license information URL 234 is transmitted to the user terminal 210 (S915). On the other hand, if the license information file 244 is in the distribution server 230 (Yes in S910), the license information file is transmitted to the user terminal 210 (S920).

In the above description, the license information file 244 is stored in the content server 240 or the distribution server 230. When the license information file 244 is stored in the content server 240, the license information URL 234 is transmitted from the distribution server 230 to the user terminal 210 for distribution. The method of transmitting the license information file 244 itself from the distribution server 230 to the user terminal 210 when stored in the server 230 has been described.
In addition, for the license information file in the content server 240, the distribution server 230 may acquire the license information file by accessing the license information URL 234 and transmit it to the user terminal 210.
Regardless of whether the license information file 244 is stored in the content server 240 or the distribution server 230, the license information URL 234 is transmitted to the user terminal 210, and the URL is accessed from the user terminal 210 to access the license. The information file 244 may be acquired.

Note that, as described above, here, an example has been described in which a license is required for reproduction of content, but part or all of all content may be license-free.
Here, when a license information file 244 describing that a license is not necessary is prepared for content that does not require a license (that is, a license information file is prepared for all content), the above-described FIG. This can be dealt with using the processing described in FIG.
When the license information file 244 is prepared only for the contents that require a license, the distribution server 230 that has received the download completion notification (S725 in FIG. 7 or S905 in FIG. 9) receives the license information corresponding to the contents. It is determined whether there is a URL 234 (or whether there is a license information file 244), and if it is present, it is transmitted to the user terminal 210. If not, a message indicating that a license is not required is transmitted.

<4. Storage of content and license information>
The downloader of this embodiment automatically organizes and stores the display data, the display image file, the content file, and the license information file acquired above in a predetermined location (address) of the storage device 218. To do. Here, storage of a file in the storage device 218 will be described using a diagram in which the stored file is displayed on a screen such as Windows (registered trademark) Explorer.

FIG. 10 shows the contents of the folder in which the downloader is installed. The list display unit 1000 displays a list of files and folders stored therein. The content acquisition process 214 a of the downloader 214 stores the acquired display data and display image file in the “xml” folder 1010.
FIG. 11 shows the contents of the “xml” folder 1010. In the list display unit 1100, an “img” folder 1110 is a folder (corresponding to the display image file 218b in FIG. 2) in which a display image file is stored. Further, the “prod” folder 1120 is a folder in which display data is stored (corresponding to the display data 218a in FIG. 2).
The “list.xsl” file 1130 is a style sheet that defines a format for displaying a list of contents on the downloader screen. The “style.xsl” file 1140 is a style sheet that defines a format for displaying content in detail on the downloader screen.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the contents of the “img” folder 1110 (corresponding to the display image file 218b in FIG. 2), which is the storage location of the display image file. As shown in the list display unit 1200, the “img” folder 1110 includes images for representing each content, images to be displayed in common for each content such as “use” button and “buy” button, and stores. Stores logo images and the like.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of a “prod” folder 1120 (corresponding to display data 218a in FIG. 2), which is a storage location of display data. The XML document file shown in the list display unit 1300 is display data cut out from the command file and stored. In the present embodiment, display data is created as an XML file, but other file formats may be used.
The above storage location is an example.

The acquired content file and license information file are also stored at a predetermined address (location).
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the contents of a folder for storing a content file and a license information file. The acquired content file is stored in folders for each content. As shown in the list display unit 1400, content files are stored in the “200420219” folder 1410, the “200420220” folder 1420, and the “900017024” folder 1430, respectively (corresponding to the content file 218c in FIG. 2). That is, the user terminal 210 currently stores three contents.
These folders 1410 to 1430 are folder names that are unique to the content, and are generated when content is acquired, for example, and store downloaded content files. Each folder name corresponds to the file name of the XML file of the display data described with reference to FIG.
The “xml” folder 1440 is a folder (corresponding to the license information file 218d in FIG. 2) that stores license information files of all acquired contents.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the contents of a “200420219” folder 1410 (corresponding to the content file 218c in FIG. 2), which is a storage location of a certain content. As shown in the list display section 1500, here, a content file of an electronic book named “syta0230c” is stored. In the downloader according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to search for the content downloaded by the user, and thus a meaningless file name may be used.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the contents of the “xml” folder 1440 (corresponding to the license information file 218d in FIG. 2), which is the storage location of the license information file. As shown in the list display unit 1600, license information files (in this embodiment, xml files) corresponding to the contents stored in the “200420219” folder 1410, the “200420220” folder 1420, and the “900017024” folder 1430, respectively, Are stored with file names corresponding to the contents of the content (here, “l_ (folder name of each content)”).
The above storage location is an example.

<5. View content>
The downloader according to the present embodiment uses the display data and display image file stored in the storage device 218 as described above to display content information acquired so far on the downloader screen so that the user can easily see it. Hereinafter, display of content on the downloader screen will be described.
FIG. 17 shows the user operations in the download manager (content display process 214b, (8) in FIG. 3) and the downloader GUI (downloader screen) until the user activates the downloader and specifies the content to be played back. It is the flowchart which showed exchange.
First, when the user starts the downloader, the home screen is displayed in the window (8-1).
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the home screen. A window 1800 is a downloader window. The menu display unit 1810 displays menus such as termination of the downloader and display of a help file. The operation button display unit 1820 displays buttons and the like for updating the contents displayed on the screen display unit 1840 to the latest state and returning to the previous screen and the home screen. The content list display unit 1830 displays a list of contents downloaded so far in, for example, a tree format. On the screen display unit 1840, for example, the top page of the content distribution site is displayed as the home screen.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, when the user selects (clicks) the “My library” link 1831 in the content list display unit 1830 (8-2), the content that has been downloaded so far is displayed in a list on the screen display unit 1840. A list screen is displayed (8-3).
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a content list screen. For the display on the content list screen, the style sheet “list.xsl” file 1130 described with reference to FIG. 11 is used.
The screen display unit 1840 displays a list of contents downloaded so far by displaying a display image (for list display) 1841 corresponding to the contents and a title 1842 described in the display data. .
As described above, the file name of the XML file of the display data (see FIG. 13) corresponds to the folder name of the folder (see FIG. 14) for storing each content. Display data corresponding to can be automatically selected. And since the name of the necessary display image file is also described in the display image URL 532 (see FIG. 5) of the display data, the content display processing 214b is a list screen among the display image files corresponding to the content. It is possible to automatically select and display a display image file to be displayed. Further, since the content title is described in the content outline 531 (see FIG. 5) of the display data, the content display process 214b can automatically display the content title on the screen.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, when the user clicks a display image (for list display) 1841 or a title 1842 of the content for which detailed information is to be browsed from the list of displayed contents (8-4), A content detail screen is displayed (8-5).
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a content detail screen. For display on the content list screen, the style sheet “style.xsl” file 1140 described with reference to FIG. 11 is used.
The screen display unit 1840 displays a display image (for detailed display) 1843 of the selected content. The name of the corresponding display image file is described in the display image designation 532 (see FIG. 5) of the display data.
Since the title 1844, the content outline 1845, the content description 1846, and the usage environment 1847 are described in the content outline 531, the content description 533, and the usage environment 535 of the display data (see FIG. 5), the contents are displayed. To do.
A “re-download” link 1848 displays a hyperlink so that the user can re-download this content. When the user clicks on the hyperlink, a redownload start command (redownload start command 539 described in the display data portion 530 in FIG. 5) is executed to download the content.
Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 17, when the user gives an instruction to reproduce the content by clicking the “use” button 1849 in FIG. 20 (8-6), the content reproduction start command described in the display data (FIG. 17). 5), the content reproduction start command 538) described in the display data portion 530 of FIG. 5 is executed to activate the content reproduction processing 214c, and the content is reproduced ((9) to (10)).

<6. Content playback>
FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the content reproduction process 214c in the downloader 214. This processing is the same whether the playback is performed automatically immediately after the content is downloaded or the playback is performed by the user specifying the content on the screen of the downloader 214. Here, an example in which there is content that requires a license and content that does not need a license will be described.
The content reproduction process 214c first determines whether or not the user terminal 210 has content reproduction software for reproducing the designated content (S2105).
If the corresponding content reproduction software is in the user terminal 210 (Yes in S2105), it is next determined whether a license is defined for the content (whether a license information file is necessary) (S2120). Specifically, when a license information file is prepared regardless of whether a license is required, it is determined whether or not a license is defined by referring to the license information file of the content. Further, when a license information file is prepared only for content requiring a license, it is determined whether the license information file for the content exists in the storage device 218 of the user terminal.
If the license is not defined (No in S2120), the content reproduction software corresponding to the content is activated as it is (S2130). If the license is defined (Yes in S2120), the license information file is read (S2125), and the content reproduction software corresponding to the content is activated (S2130). Thereafter, the content reproduction software reproduces the content file.

On the other hand, if the corresponding content playback software is not in the user terminal 210 (No in S2105), the corresponding content playback software installer is downloaded from the distribution server 230 (S2110), and the content playback software is downloaded to the user terminal. Install in 210 (S2115). Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the content is reproduced after determining whether the license is defined (S2120).
FIG. 22 is an example of a content reproduction software acquisition screen. The content reproduction software acquisition screen is displayed when there is no content reproduction software corresponding to the content in the user terminal 210 (No in S2105). The screen display unit 1840 displays the URL of the installer along with the text explaining the procedure for downloading the content reproduction software. The user clicks on the URL to install the content reproduction software on the user terminal 210.
Note that the content reproduction software acquisition screen shown in FIG. 22 may be displayed first at the time of content purchase. In this case, necessary content reproduction software can be installed in the user terminal 210 before downloading the content.

It is the figure which showed an example of the system configuration | structure of the conventional content delivery service. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the content delivery system using the downloader of this embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the procedure of the process which the downloader of this embodiment performs. It is the flowchart which showed the exchange between a user terminal (downloader), a distribution server, and a content server from content purchase application to acquisition of content and license information. It is the figure which showed the example of the command file of this embodiment. It is a flowchart of a content acquisition process. It is a flowchart of a content provision process. It is a flowchart of license information acquisition when a license information file is stored in a distribution server or a content server. It is a flowchart of license information provision when the license information file is stored in the distribution server or the content server. It is the figure which displayed the content of the folder in which the downloader is installed. It is the figure which displayed the contents of the "xml" folder. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of an “img” folder. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a “prod” folder. It is the figure which showed the content of the folder which stores a content file and a license information file. It is the figure which showed the contents of the “200420219” folder. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of an “xml” folder. It is the flowchart which showed the exchange of a content display process and a user's operation until a user starts a downloader and selects the content to reproduce | regenerate. It is the figure which showed the example of the home screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the content list screen. It is the figure which showed the example of the content detailed screen. It is a flowchart of a content reproduction process. It is an example of a content reproduction software acquisition screen.

Explanation of symbols

110 User terminal 112 Browser software 114 Content playback software 116 Storage device 116a Content file 116b License information file 120 Internet 130 Distribution server 140 Content server 142 Content file 144 License information file 210 User terminal 212 Browser software 214 Downloader 214a Content acquisition processing 214b Content display processing 214c Content playback processing 216 Content playback software 218 Storage device 218a Display data 218b Display image file 218c Content file 218d License information file 220 Internet 230 Distribution server 231 Command file 232 Display image file 233 Content UR L
234 License information URL
235 Playback software installer 236 Content provision processing 240 Content server 242 Content file 244 License information file 510 Header portion 520 Command portion 521 Content acquisition start command 522 Content playback start command 530 Display data portion 531 Content overview 532 Display image specification 533 Content Description 534 File overview 535 Usage environment 536 Store ID
537 Re-download days 538 Content playback start command 539 Re-download start command 1000 List display unit 1010 “xml” folder 1100 List display unit 1110 “img” folder 1120 “prod” folder 1130 “list.xsl” file 1140 “style.xsl” File 1200 List display unit 1300 List display unit 1400 List display unit 1410 “200420219” folder 1420 “200420220” folder 1430 “900017024” folder 1440 “xml” folder 1500 List display unit 1600 List display unit 1800 Window 1810 Menu display unit 1820 Operation button Display unit 1830 Content list display unit 1831 “My Library” link 1840 Screen display unit 1841 Display image (for list display)
1842 Title 1843 Display image (Detail display)
1844 Title 1845 Content Overview 1846 Content Description 1847 Usage Environment 1848 “Re-Download” Link 1849 “Use” Button

Claims (8)

A content distribution system using a downloader that downloads content on a server to a user terminal,
The server includes
Content file storage means for storing the content file of the content;
Display image file storage means storing a display image file of the content;
Command file storage means for storing a command file describing the content display data, the URL of the display image file, a content acquisition start command, and a content reproduction start command;
When receiving a purchase application for the content from the user terminal, command file transmitting means for transmitting the command file to the user terminal;
Upon receiving a request from the user terminal, content file transmission means for transmitting the content file to the user terminal,
In the user terminal,
A purchase application transmission means for transmitting a purchase application for the content;
The downloader;
Content reproduction software for reproducing the content,
The downloader is
Command file receiving means for receiving the command file;
When the command file is received, the content acquisition start command is executed, the display data is cut out from the command file and stored in the storage means, and the URL of the display image file is accessed to obtain the display image file. Content acquisition means for receiving and storing in the storage means, sending a request to the server, receiving the content file and storing in the storage means;
Content display means for displaying the display data and the display image file on a screen corresponding to the content;
The content display means includes a content playback means for executing the content acquisition start command to start the content playback software and playing back the content file when the user instructs playback of the content. Content distribution system. A downloader for downloading content on a server to a user terminal,
Command file receiving means for receiving a command file describing the display data of the content, the URL of the content display image file, a content acquisition start command, and a content reproduction start command from the server;
When the command file is received, the content acquisition start command is executed, the display data is cut out from the command file and stored in the storage means, the display image file URL is accessed, and the display image file is received. Content acquisition means for storing in the storage means, transmitting a request to the server, receiving the content file of the content and storing in the storage means;
Content display means for displaying the display data and the display image file on a screen corresponding to the content;
Content reproduction means for executing content acquisition start command to activate content reproduction software for reproducing the content and reproducing the content file when the user instructs the content display means to reproduce the content; A downloader that features. The downloader according to claim 2,
The content acquisition means further transmits a request to the server, receives the license information file of the content and stores it in the storage means,
The downloader, wherein the content playback means plays back the content file using the license information file. The downloader according to claim 2 or 3,
The downloader, wherein the content acquisition unit receives a URL of the content file instead of the content file, accesses the URL, and receives the content file. The downloader according to claim 3 or 4,
The downloader, wherein the content acquisition unit receives a URL of the license information file instead of the license information file, accesses the URL, and receives the license information file. The downloader according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The content playback means transmits a request to the server to acquire the content playback software when the content playback software for playing back the content is not provided in a user terminal. . A download method for downloading content on a server to a user terminal,
A command file receiving step of receiving a command file describing the display data of the content, the URL of the display image file of the content, a content acquisition start command, and a content reproduction start command from the server;
When the command file is received, the content acquisition start command is executed, the display data is cut out from the command file and stored in the storage means, the display image file URL is accessed, and the display image file is received. And storing in the storage means, transmitting a request to the server, receiving a content file of the content and storing in the storage means;
A content display step of displaying the display data and the display image file on a screen in correspondence with the content;
A content playback step of executing the content acquisition start command to start the content playback software for playing back the content and playing back the content file when the user instructs playback of the content in the content display means; A download method characterized by The program for making a computer function each means of the downloader in any one of Claims 2-6.