JP2009042933A - Network content purchase/registration terminal, network content download terminal, server, and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a web page by which a purchase/registration terminal provides a download service to resolve the problem that the reservation registration of download results in failure in the case only the purchase/registration terminal is present when the purchase/registration terminal performing content purchase and download registration and a download terminal performing download are separated from each other. <P>SOLUTION: When the purchase/registration terminal retrieves connected terminals 300, 301 and finding a terminal 300 capable of receiving the download service, it accesses a server 200 providing the service, as a terminal capable of receiving the service by itself, and displays the web page providing the download service. Thereby, the reservation registration of download can be correctly performed by displaying the web page providing the download service. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal, a server, a system, and the like in a service for downloading video and audio content via a network.

  In recent years, with the development of the Internet, techniques for downloading and playing back movies, music, and the like are becoming common. There are many services for downloading content from a server that distributes content such as movies and music to a PC, AV device, mobile phone, or portable device via a network.

  In such a content distribution service, it is common for a user to access a business operator's server from a terminal that receives the service, and to purchase content from a displayed web page or to make a reservation registration for download. At this time, if the terminal that accesses the service provider server does not have the ability to receive the service, it is necessary to avoid obtaining the web page on which the terminal provides the service. As described above, as a technique for switching the web page acquired by the terminal depending on the capability of the terminal, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional web page switching system. In FIG. 14, the search server 10 is configured by a computer system connected to the Internet 12. A telecommunications carrier server 14 operated by a mobile telecommunications carrier is connected to the Internet 12, and a mobile phone 16 having an internet connection function connects to the Internet 12 from the base station 18 via the telecommunications carrier server 14. be able to. The search server 10 provides a WEB search service to the mobile phone 16 having such an Internet connection function. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone 16 is an i-mode compatible mobile phone and can display a page described in cHTML.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the search server 10 includes a robot engine unit 20, a level determination unit 22, a data registration unit 24, a WEB server unit 26, a search processing unit 28, and a WEB page database 30.

  The robot engine unit 20 periodically circulates web pages published on the Internet 12 in advance, and acquires web page data (that is, HTML text statements) describing each web page. The level determination unit 22 determines the compatibility level representing the degree of compatibility with the mobile phone 16 with reference to the point table 22a for each WEB page data acquired by the robot engine unit 20.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the point table 22a includes various tags and other predetermined symbols (hereinafter referred to as tags), meta information, and WEB page data size, which are constituent elements of an HTML sentence. In addition, a matching point representing the appropriateness to the mobile phone 16 is recorded. This matching point is set to have a larger value as the suitability for display on the mobile phone 16 is higher. In this example, the following points are set as shown in FIG.

  5 points for tags unique to i-mode sites. One point for tags that are commonly used for i-mode sites and PC sites. Cannot be included in i-mode sites, but 0 points for tags that do not hinder display on mobile phones even if included. -1 point for tags that may adversely affect display on mobile phones. Tags, etc. that are presumed to be viewed on a personal computer, and that have a large risk of adversely affecting the display on a mobile phone-3 points. -50 points for tags that are sure to give serious obstacles to the display on mobile phones.

  The points are set as above.

  The level determination unit 22 extracts tags and the like from the WEB page data acquired by the robot engine unit 20, and acquires matching points with respect to each tag and the like, meta information, and page data size with reference to the point table 22a. . Then, relevance points are accumulated for the WEB page data, and the accumulated number of points is set as the relevance level of the WEB page data.

  The data registration unit 24 organizes text information included in each WEB page data acquired by the robot engine unit 20, records the information in the WEB page database 30 in association with the URL of each WEB page, and determines by the level determination unit 22. The conformance level obtained is recorded in relation to the URL of the corresponding WEB page.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 16, when access is made from the mobile phone 16 to the search server 10, when there is access from the mobile phone 16, first, in step 900, the mobile server 16 sends the mobile phone to the mobile phone 16. A search screen is transmitted to the telephone 16. The search screen is provided with a keyword input field, and the user makes a search request by inputting the search keyword in the keyword input field.

  In step 901, the search keyword input on the search screen is received, and this search keyword is delivered to the search processing unit 28.

  In step 902, the search processor 28 refers to the WEB page database 30 to search for a WEB page that includes the search keyword in the text information (primary search).

  In step 903, the search processing unit 28 acquires the compatibility level of each WEB page extracted in the primary search from the WEB page database 30. Next, the WEB page whose acquired compatibility level is a predetermined value (for example, −50) or less is excluded from the primary search result as a site that cannot be displayed on the mobile phone 16 (secondary search). Then, the remaining WEB sites that are not excluded are sorted in descending order of suitability level and delivered to the WEB server unit 26.

  In step 904, the WEB server unit 26 generates a search result screen that displays the secondary search result delivered from the search processing unit 28, and transmits it to the mobile phone 16.

  As described above, when a search request is issued from the mobile phone 16, a WEB page whose compatibility level is a predetermined value or less (that is, a WEB page that cannot be browsed on the mobile phone 16) is excluded from the search results, and the mobile phone 16 Can be presented. That is, only the WEB page that can be viewed on the mobile phone 16 is displayed as a search result. Thus, according to the search server 10, it is possible to provide a search service for mobile phones that is highly convenient for the user without displaying unnecessary search results.

In the conventional web page switching technology described above, the mobile phone 16 can be applied to a content distribution service by replacing the terminal that receives the content distribution service and the WEB server unit 26 with a provider server that provides the content distribution service.
Patent 3714879

  In the content distribution service, consider an environment where a content purchase / registration terminal that purchases content from a web page provided by a provider server and performs reservation registration for download and a download terminal that downloads content are separated. If both a content purchase / registration terminal and a download terminal exist, the content purchase / registration terminal displays an appropriate web page that provides the download service using conventional technology, and download reservation registration is then downloaded from the download terminal. It is possible to make it. However, in an environment where only the content purchase / registration terminal exists, or in an environment where the content purchase / registration terminal is not linked, the content purchase / registration terminal cannot specify download, and reservation registration fails. Therefore, if the download terminal does not exist or is not linked, the content purchase / registration terminal must not display the web page that receives the download service.

  In the case as described above, the conventional technology cannot cope.

  Therefore, as a first problem, in the case of the above-described case where the environment changes dynamically in the determination based on the analysis of the HTML tag of the web page as in the conventional technology, the content is displayed by displaying an inappropriate web page. One of the reasons is that registration for download of the purchase / registration terminal fails.

  As a second problem, when there are a plurality of download terminals, it is troublesome for the user to select each time the content purchase / registration terminal performs content download reservation registration on the download terminal, or at the time of reservation registration.

  Further, consider a case where the content purchase / registration terminal instructs the download terminal to reproduce the stored content, and the content purchase / registration terminal receives the net output of the content performed by the download terminal for viewing.

  At this time, as a third problem, when content downloaded to a plurality of download terminals is scattered, it is difficult to appropriately issue a reproduction instruction to a download terminal having a plurality of content purchase / registration terminals. .

  The present invention provides a content purchase / registration terminal that can display an appropriate web page even when the environment dynamically changes, and can perform download registration registration correctly, in consideration of the above-described problems of the prior art. With the goal.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a content purchase / registration terminal that does not require selection of a download terminal for reservation registration every time a download reservation is registered.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a content purchase / registration terminal or the like that can issue a reproduction instruction from a content purchase / registration terminal to an appropriate download terminal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first invention of the present application is a content purchase / registration terminal having a browser and a search unit for searching for a terminal, wherein the search unit is connected to the content purchase / registration terminal. When searching for a terminal and finding a terminal corresponding to the download function, the browser itself accesses a provider server that provides a content download service as a terminal having the download function. It is a registered terminal.

  The second invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the first invention of the present application, wherein the search unit performs the search when the browser is started or performs at a certain time interval. This is a content purchase / registration terminal.

  Further, the third invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the first invention of the present application, and when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function are found in the search, the plurality of terminals are selected from the plurality of terminals. A terminal having a download destination management unit that holds terminal specifying information for uniquely specifying the selected selected terminal, and transmitting the download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from the provider server. A content purchase / registration terminal that is determined by information and transmits the download information.

  The fourth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the third invention of the present application, wherein the download destination management unit displays information representing the plurality of terminals on a GUI screen, and the user's selection It is a content purchase / registration terminal characterized by assisting.

  The fifth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the third invention of the present application, and the downloaded reservation registered terminal that has received the download information outputs the accumulated content that has been downloaded through the network. In order to identify the download reservation registered terminal that has a network output function, and in which the content purchase / registration terminal receives and reproduces the content output from the network and issues an instruction to perform the network output In addition, the content purchase / registration terminal is characterized in that the terminal specifying information held by the download destination management unit is used.

  Further, the sixth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the first invention of the present application, and when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function are found in the search, the plurality of terminals are selected from the plurality of terminals. , Having a download destination management unit for identifying a candidate terminal having the largest HDD free space in the plurality of terminals and holding terminal information for uniquely identifying the candidate terminal, obtained from the provider server The content purchase / registration terminal is characterized in that a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content is determined by the terminal specifying information and the download information is transmitted.

  The seventh invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the first invention of the present application, and the search has found a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function and having a broadcast recording function. In this case, a candidate terminal having the smallest number of recording reservations for the broadcast recording is identified from among the plurality of terminals, and has a download destination management unit that holds terminal information for uniquely identifying the candidate terminal. A content purchase / registration terminal characterized in that a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from an article trader server is determined based on the terminal specifying information, and the download information is transmitted.

  Further, the eighth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the first invention of the present application, and when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function are found in the search, the plurality of terminals are selected from the plurality of terminals. , Identifying a candidate terminal most suitable for a specific condition set in advance by a user, having a download destination management unit for holding terminal information for uniquely identifying the candidate terminal, and obtaining the content of the content acquired from the provider server A content purchase / registration terminal characterized in that a terminal that transmits download information necessary for download is determined based on the terminal identification information, and the download information is transmitted.

  The ninth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the third invention of the present application, and each time the download destination management unit transmits the download information, the terminal specifying information of the destination terminal is transmitted. The download information transmission terminal identification information that holds the download information is managed, and the download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information has a network output function that outputs the accumulated content that has been downloaded through the network, and is output to the network In the process of receiving and playing back the content by the content purchase / registration terminal, the download reservation registered terminal that gives an instruction to perform the network output of the content stored in any of the plurality of terminals The download information has been sent to identify A content purchase and registration terminal, which comprises using the end specification information.

  The tenth invention of the present application is the content purchase / registration terminal according to the third invention of the present application, and each time the download destination management unit transmits the download information, the terminal specifying information of the destination terminal is transmitted. And a terminal specification information / download information specification information table that associates download information specification information for uniquely specifying the download information, and the download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information has completed downloading. Content stored in any of the plurality of terminals in the process of receiving and playing back the content output through the network by the content purchase / registration terminal. Instructions to do the network output To identify the appropriate the download reservation registered terminal to obtain a content purchase-registering terminal, characterized by using the terminal identification information and download information specifying information table.

  The eleventh invention of the present application is a download terminal for downloading content, and terminal identification information for uniquely identifying the terminal as a response to the search from the content purchase / registration terminal of the first invention of the present application. And a download execution unit that receives download information necessary for content download, transmitted using the terminal identification information from the content purchase / registration terminal, and executes download And a stream information transmission unit that outputs the accumulated content to the content purchase / registration terminal in response to a reproduction instruction using the terminal specifying information from the content purchase / registration terminal. Download terminal.

  Further, the twelfth invention of the present application is a provider server that provides a content download service, and extracts capability information indicating whether or not the download function is supported from a request received from a terminal, and the capability information If the result of the determination is that the download function is supported, information suitable for the download providing service is returned to the terminal as a response to the request.

  The thirteenth invention of the present application is a download system including at least a provider server that provides a content download service, a content purchase / registration terminal, and a download terminal that downloads content. The capability information indicating whether the download function is supported is extracted from the request received from the terminal, the capability information is determined, and if the determination result indicates that the download function is supported, the download provision is provided. Information suitable for the service is returned to the terminal as a response to the request, and the content purchase / registration terminal searches for a connected terminal and finds a terminal corresponding to the download function. Access to the provider server as a terminal, and download At the end, as a response to the search from the content purchase / registration terminal, a communication unit that returns terminal information in which terminal identification information for uniquely identifying the terminal is described, and the terminal from the content purchase / registration terminal Stored by a download execution unit that receives and downloads download information necessary for content download, transmitted using the specific information, and a playback instruction using the terminal specific information from the content purchase / registration terminal A download system comprising a stream information transmission unit for outputting the content to the content purchase / registration terminal via a network.

  Further, the fourteenth invention of the present application is the download system according to the thirteenth invention of the present application, and when the content purchase / registration terminal finds a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function in the search, Having a download destination management unit that holds the terminal identification information of the selected terminal selected from among the terminals, and determining the terminal that transmits the download information acquired from the provider server based on the terminal identification information, A download system characterized by transmitting download information.

  The fifteenth invention of the present application is the download system according to the thirteenth invention of the present application, wherein the content purchase / registration terminal is the accumulated content that has been downloaded by the download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information. A network output function for outputting the content through the network, and the content purchase / registration terminal receives and reproduces the content output from the network, and issues an instruction to perform the network output in the process of performing the download reservation registration In order to specify a terminal, the download system is characterized in that the terminal specifying information held by the download destination management unit is used.

  The sixteenth invention of the present application is a program for causing a computer to function as each part of the content purchase / registration terminal according to any one of the first to tenth inventions of the present application.

  The seventeenth invention of the present application is a program for causing a computer to function as each part of the download terminal described in the eleventh invention of the present application.

  The 18th invention of the present application is a program for causing a computer to function as each part of the business server according to the 12th invention of the present application.

  The nineteenth invention of the present application is a recording medium that records the program according to any one of the sixteenth to eighteenth aspects of the present invention, and is a recording medium that can be processed by a computer.

  According to the present invention, even when the environment changes dynamically, where the content purchase / registration terminal that purchases the content from the web page and downloads and registers the download and the download terminal that downloads the content are separated, it is appropriate. By displaying the web page, the remarkable effect that the download reservation registration can be correctly performed is obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a remarkable effect that it is not necessary for the user to select a terminal for downloading each time a download content is reserved and registered.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a remarkable effect that a reproduction instruction can be given to an appropriate download terminal that stores content that the content purchase / registration terminal wants to reproduce.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a network content download system according to the present invention. The content purchase / registration terminal 100 is connected to a download terminal 300 and a download non-compatible terminal 301 via a LAN. The content purchase / registration terminal 100, the download terminal 300, and the download non-compliant terminal 301 are connected to the provider server 200 via the router 401 and the network 400.

  The business server 200 is a server that transmits web page transmission and download information necessary for downloading network content in response to a request from the content purchase / registration terminal 100.

  The content purchase / registration terminal 100 is a terminal that communicates with the business server 200, acquires and displays a web page, and performs download reservation registration on a terminal connected via a LAN.

  The download terminal 300 is a terminal that downloads content registered for download reservation from the content purchase / registration terminal 100. The non-download compatible terminal 301 is a terminal that does not have a network content download function.

  Here, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 is, for example, a television compatible with the present invention. The download non-compatible terminal 301 is, for example, a recorder corresponding to the present invention. The download non-compatible terminal 301 is, for example, a recorder that does not have a conventional download function. The system configuration example shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the terminal connected by the LAN is configured according to the environment such as the case of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 alone or the case of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and the download terminal 300. Will change. The operation of each terminal in such a network content download system will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 according to the present invention. The content purchase / registration terminal 100 searches for devices connected to the network simultaneously with the activation of the browser. If a device that supports downloading is present among the discovered devices, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 displays a downloadable user agent as a browser. To obtain a downloadable web page from the provider server 200 and display it. If the device is not found or there is no downloadable terminal among the discovered devices, a download-incompatible user agent is set in the browser, and a download-incompatible web page is acquired and displayed. Also, according to the contents of the web page, download information necessary for downloading the network content is acquired from the provider server 200, and the download information is transferred to one of the terminals discovered when searching for the device, and download reservation registration is performed. Hereinafter, each block of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 will be described.

  The remote control signal receiving unit 110 is a block that receives a button press signal generated by a user's remote control operation and notifies the appropriate block as a signal transmission destination of the button press. The remote control signal receiving unit 110 receives the determination button signal 150 from the remote controller when the user presses the enter button, and receives the browser start button signal 151 from the remote control when the user presses the browser start button. When the remote control signal reception unit 110 receives the determination button signal 150, the remote control signal reception unit 110 transmits a determination button press notification 175 to the browser 111, and when receiving the browser start button signal 151, the browser start button 114 is notified to the browser start button. 152 is transmitted.

  The browser activation unit 114 is a block that transmits a request for device search to the terminal search unit 115 simultaneously with activation of the browser 111. When the browser activation unit 114 receives the browser activation button press notification 152 from the remote control signal reception unit 110, the browser activation unit 114 activates the browser 111 with the browser activation request 153 and transmits the device search request 154 to the terminal search unit 115.

  The terminal search unit 115 searches for a terminal connected to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 simultaneously with the activation of the browser 111, acquires information on the terminal, and determines whether the terminal found from the information has a download function. It is a block to judge. When the terminal search unit 115 receives the device search request 154 from the browser activation unit 114, the terminal search unit 115 executes the device search 155. For this device search 155, for example, discovery based on the Universal Plug and Play (hereinafter, UPnP) standard is used. At this time, the terminal search unit 115 has a part of the function of the control point in the UPnP standard. When there is no response in the device search 155, or when a terminal corresponding to the download function of the present invention cannot be found, a no-device-notified notification 157 is transmitted to the user agent setting unit 112. At this time, the terminal search unit 115 determines whether the terminal has a download function from the acquired terminal information 500. In addition, the terminal search unit 115 receives the device search response 156 together with each discovered terminal information 500 as a response in the device search 155. Then, the terminal search unit 115 transmits the acquired terminal information 500 to the terminal information holding unit 116 by each terminal information notification 158. Then, a terminal association information confirmation request 159 is transmitted to the download reservation registration destination management unit 117. In other words, if one or a plurality of terminal information 500 acquired by the terminal search unit 115 does not include the one corresponding to the download function, the corresponding device absence notification 157 is transmitted to the user agent setting unit 112. One acquired by the terminal search unit 115, or when one of the plurality of terminal information 500 corresponding to the download function is included, the one acquired each terminal information notification 158 in the terminal information holding unit 116, or And transmitted together with a plurality of terminal information 500.

  With the function of the terminal search unit 115 as described above, for example, immediately after the purchase and installation of the content purchase / registration terminal 100, when the content purchase / registration terminal 100 accesses the provider server 200 in an environment where the download terminal 300 does not exist, The page corresponding to download is not displayed. When the download terminal 300 is added to the LAN, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 can display a page corresponding to the download when accessing the provider server 200.

  The terminal information holding unit 116 is a block that holds information of each terminal acquired by the terminal searching unit 115 and presents the terminal information 500 in response to a request from another block. The terminal information holding unit 116 holds the terminal information 500 acquired from each terminal information notification 158 from the terminal searching unit 115. When the terminal information holding unit 116 receives the discovered terminal information request 163 from the download reservation registration destination management unit 117, the terminal information holding unit 116 transmits all the terminal information 500 held by each discovered terminal information notification 162. Further, when the terminal information holding unit 116 receives the discovery terminal information request 166 from the terminal association execution unit 119, the terminal information holding unit 116 displays the association GUI screen 700 as shown in FIG. Necessary information is extracted and transmitted to the terminal linking execution unit 119 using the terminal information 167 for linking display. The association GUI screen 700 shown in FIG. 9 will be described later.

  The download reservation registration destination management unit 117 is a block that holds destination information of a terminal associated with the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and presents the destination information in response to a request from each block. When receiving the terminal association information confirmation request 159 from the terminal search unit 115, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 transmits a discovered terminal information request 163 to the terminal information holding unit 116, and the terminal information holding unit 116 holds it. All terminal information 500 is acquired by each discovered terminal information notification 162. When the terminal information 500 including the MAC address 503 held by the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 exists in the acquired terminal information 500, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 sends the user information to the user agent setting unit 112. The corresponding device presence notification 164 is transmitted. If it does not exist, a linking execution request 171 is transmitted to the terminal linking execution unit 119. The download reservation registration destination management unit 117 receives the association terminal information 169 from the terminal association execution unit 119, extracts the MAC address 503 having the role of destination information associated with the content purchase / registration terminal 100 from the association, and holds it. To do. Then, a corresponding device presence notification 164 is transmitted to the user agent setting unit. When the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 receives the destination information request 161 from the information communication unit 118, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 transmits the MAC address 503 held by the destination information notification 160 to the information communication unit 118.

  With the function of the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 described above, when the content purchase / registration terminal 100 performs download reservation registration, the download reservation registration can be automatically performed in the download terminal 300 having the MAC address 503 that is held. It becomes.

When the terminal association execution unit 119 receives the association execution request 171 from the download reservation registration destination management unit 117, the terminal association execution unit 119 transmits a discovery terminal information request 166 to the terminal information holding unit 116, and is held from the terminal information holding unit 116 and is stored in the terminal information Each terminal information 167 for association display is received together with 500. Then, the terminal information 167 for linking display is transmitted to the linking screen display unit 120, and when the linking terminal information 169 is received from the linking screen display unit 120, the linking terminal information 169 is transmitted to the download reservation registration destination management unit 117. Send.

  The association screen display unit 120 is a block that displays a GUI screen that allows the user to select which terminal among the terminals discovered by the device search 155 is associated. When the association screen display unit 120 receives each terminal information 167 for association display from the terminal association execution unit 119, the association screen display unit 120 displays the association GUI screen 700 as shown in FIG. The linking terminal information 169 corresponding to the terminal selected as the linking terminal by the user on the linking GUI screen 700 is transmitted to the terminal linking execution unit 119.

  The user agent setting unit 112 is a block for setting a user agent that supports or does not support download for the browser 111. When the user agent setting unit 112 receives the non-supported device notification 157 from the terminal search unit 115, the user agent setting unit 112 performs the download non-supporting user agent setting 168 for the browser 111, and is shown in FIG. A download-incompatible user agent 601 is set. When the notification 164 indicating that there is a compatible device is received from the download reservation registration destination management unit 117, the download compatible user agent setting 165 is set for the browser 111, and the download compatible user shown in FIG. Agent 600 is set up. The user agent shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a description example, and need not be as described above.

  The browser 111 is a block for requesting a web page from the business server 200 and reading and displaying the acquired web page. The browser 111 is activated by a browser activation request 153 from the browser activation unit 114.

  When the user agent setting unit 112 executes the download non-compliant user agent setting 168, the browser 111 transmits a web page request 221 by the download non-compliant user agent to the business server 200, and the setting from the user agent setting unit 112 is performed. As long as there is no change, the browser 111 uses the download non-corresponding user agent 601 in the subsequent communication with the provider server 200. When the download-enabled user agent setting 165 is executed by the user agent setting unit 112, the browser 111 transmits a web page request 223 by the download-enabled user agent to the business server 200, and the setting change from the user agent setting unit 112 is performed. Unless otherwise specified, the browser 111 uses the download-compatible user agent 600 in the subsequent communication with the provider server 200.

  When the browser 111 receives the download incompatible web page 220 from the business server 200, the browser 111 reads and displays the download incompatible web page 220. When the browser 111 receives the download compatible web page 222, the browser 111 displays the download compatible web page 222. Read and display. In short, the browser 111 simply acquires and displays a web page transmitted from the business operator server 200. Therefore, when a web page that does not support download is transmitted, a web page that does not support download is displayed, and when a web page that supports download is transmitted, a web page that supports download is displayed.

  Further, when the download reservation registration web page is displayed (not shown), the browser 111 receives a selection button press notification 172 indicating that the download reservation registration button has been pressed from the remote control signal receiving unit 110. The download information acquisition request 173 is transmitted to the download information acquisition unit 113.

  The download information acquisition unit 113 is a block that acquires the download information 225 from the business server 200 and passes it to the information communication unit 118. When the download information acquisition request 173 is received from the browser 111, the download information request 224 is transmitted to the provider server 200. In addition, when the download information acquisition unit 113 receives the download information 225 from the provider server 200, the download information acquisition unit 113 transmits the download information 225 to the information communication unit 118.

  The information communication unit 118 is a block that delivers the download information 225 acquired from the download information acquisition unit 113 to the appropriate download terminal 300 through the download reservation registration 170. When the information communication unit 118 receives the download information 225 from the download information acquisition unit 113, the information communication unit 118 transmits a destination information request 161 to the download reservation registration destination management unit 117, and the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 holds the destination information notification 160. The MAC address 503 is acquired. The information communication unit 118 transmits the download reservation registration 170 together with the download information 225 to the download terminal 300 corresponding to the acquired MAC address 503.

  As described above, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 solves the first problem, and even a terminal whose service reception availability state dynamically changes depending on the surrounding environment acquires an appropriate web page according to the reception availability state. The remarkable effect of being able to be obtained is obtained. At the same time, the second problem is also solved, and a remarkable effect is obtained that it is not necessary to select a terminal for downloading each time a download content is reserved and registered.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the operator server 200 in the present invention. Hereinafter, the operation of each block on the server side corresponding to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 described above will be described.

  The business server 200 receives a request from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, and determines whether or not it supports download from the request. If the request is compatible with downloading, the web page corresponding to the download is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100, and if the request is not compatible with downloading, the web page not compatible with downloading is purchased / It transmits to the registration terminal 100. Further, upon receiving a download information acquisition request from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the business server 200 transmits download information. Hereinafter, each block of the provider server 200 will be described.

  The network I / F 214 is a block that transmits communication from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 to a block inside the business server 200 and transmits communication from the internal block to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. When a web page request 221 by a download-incompatible user agent is received from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the web page request 221 by a download-incompatible user agent is transmitted to the user agent determination unit 213. When the web page request 223 by the download-enabled user agent is received from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the web page request 223 by the download-enabled user agent is transmitted to the user agent determination unit 213.

  When the network I / F 214 receives the download incompatible web page 220 from the download incompatible web page distribution unit 211, the network I / F 214 transmits the download incompatible web page 220 to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. When the download compatible web page 222 is received from the download compatible web page distribution unit 210, the download compatible web page 222 is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. Further, when receiving the download information request 224 from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the network I / F 214 transmits the download information request 224 to the download information distribution unit 212. When the download information 225 is received from the download information distribution unit 212, the download information 225 is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100.

  The user agent determination unit 213 is a block that determines whether a request from the network I / F 214 is compatible with downloading from the user agent, and distributes a web page distribution request destination according to the result. When the user agent determination unit 213 receives the web page request 221 from the download incompatible user agent from the network I / F 214, the user agent determination unit 213 transmits the download incompatible web page request 227 to the download incompatible web page distribution unit 211. When receiving the web page request 222 by the download-enabled user agent, the download-enabled web page request 226 is transmitted to the download-enabled web page distribution unit 210.

  The download non-compliant web page distribution unit 211 is a block that distributes a non-download-compliant web page to a terminal not compatible with download. When the download non-compliant web page distribution unit 211 receives the download non-compliant web page request 227 from the user agent determination unit 213, the download non-compliant web page distribution unit 211 transmits the download non-compliant web page 220 to the network I / F 214.

  The download-compatible web page distribution unit 210 is a block that distributes a download-compatible web page to a terminal that supports download. When the download-enabled web page request 226 is received from the user agent determination unit 213, the download-enabled web page 222 is transmitted to the network I / F 214.

  An appropriate web page can be provided to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 by the download non-compliant web page distribution unit 211 and the dyneload compatible web page distribution unit 210.

  The download information distribution unit 212 is a block that distributes download information corresponding to a request from the content purchase / registration terminal 100. When the download information distribution unit 212 receives the download information request 224 from the network I / F 214, the download information distribution unit 212 transmits the download information 225 to the network I / F 214.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the download terminal 300 according to the present invention. In response to the device search of the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the download terminal 300 transmits the terminal information of the own terminal. Also, the network content is downloaded using the download information transmitted from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 (not shown). Hereinafter, each block of the download terminal 300 will be described.

  The information communication unit 310 is a block that transmits communication from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 to an internal block and transmits communication from the internal block to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. When receiving the device search 155 from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the information communication unit 310 transmits a terminal information request 320 to the HDD 312. When the terminal information 500 is acquired from the HDD 312 by the terminal information extraction 321, the acquired terminal information 500 is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 by the device search response 156. Details of the terminal information 500 will be described later. Further, the information communication unit 310 acquires the download information by the download reservation registration 170 from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and transmits it to the download execution unit 311.

  The download execution unit 311 is a block that downloads network content using download information acquired from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and stores the downloaded content in the HDD 312 (not shown). When the download execution unit 311 acquires the download information 225 from the information communication unit 310, the download execution unit 311 uses the download information 225 to download network content.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the download incompatible terminal 301 in the present invention. Blocks having the same functions as the download terminal 300 are assigned the same numbers, and descriptions thereof are omitted. The difference from the download terminal 300 is that the download execution unit 311 existing in the download terminal 300 does not exist.

  FIG. 8 is an internal configuration diagram of the terminal information 500 of the own terminal held in the HDD 312 by the download terminal 300 or the download incompatible terminal 301 in the present invention. The terminal information 500 includes a product name 501, a function 502 possessed, and a MAC address 503. In the owned function 502, in the case of the download terminal 300, a character string (for example, “Download” shown in FIG. 8) that can be identified as having the download function is described. In the case of the download incompatible terminal 301, a character string (for example, “None”) that can be identified as having no download function is described. The MAC address 503 describes the MAC address of the own terminal. In the terminal information 500, information other than the product name 501, the function 502 possessed, and the MAC address 503 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a linking GUI screen 700 displayed by the linking screen display unit 120 of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 according to the present invention. In the association GUI screen 700, the names of terminals discovered by the device search 155 of the terminal search unit 115 of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 are listed in the terminal name 701, and the terminal information 500 held by the terminal name 701 is held. The contents of the function 502 to be displayed are displayed. The user selects a terminal associated with the content purchase / registration terminal 100 with the cursor 703. When the user selects a terminal, the linking screen display unit 120 of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 transmits the linking terminal information 169 corresponding to the selected terminal to the terminal linking execution unit 119, and the linking GUI screen 700 is present. It disappears automatically after a certain time.

  A flowchart of processing of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and the enterprise server 200 in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When the browser of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 is activated (S1), a device search (S2) is performed to check whether a downloadable device has been found (S3). When a download-compatible device is not found, a download-incompatible user agent setting (S4) is made in the browser, and the browser makes a web page request (S5) to the provider server 200. When a web page request is received from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 (S6), it is determined whether the user agent supports download (S7). If the download is not supported, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 does not support download. A web page is transmitted (S8). Then, the browser of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 displays a download-incompatible web page (S9).

  When the device corresponding to the download is found (S3), when the corresponding device is found, it is confirmed whether there is a device that is found and linked in advance (S10). When a device linked in advance has not been found, or when linked with a device linked in advance, the linked GUI screen 700 is displayed (S11), and the terminal selected by the user is displayed. Then, linking of the MAC address 503 serving as the destination information is executed (S12). Then, the user agent setting corresponding to download (S13) is performed on the browser.

  It is checked whether there is a linked device among the discovered devices (S10). If a linked device is found, the user agent setting corresponding to the download is executed without executing S11 and S12 (S13). ) To the browser. The browser makes a web page request (S14) to the business server 200, and the business server 200 receives the web page reception request (S6). Then, it is confirmed whether or not the user agent supports download (S7), and if download is supported, the download compatible web page is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 (S15). Then, the browser of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 displays a download compatible web page (S16).

  When download reservation registration is selected by the browser of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 (S17), a download information request (S18) is transmitted to the business server 200, and the business server 200 receives the download information request (S19). And download information is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 (S20). When the content purchase / registration terminal 100 acquires the download information (S21), the download / registration terminal 100 transmits the download information to the terminal linked in S12 or linked in advance (S22), and performs download reservation registration.

  In the first embodiment, the MAC address 503 of the download terminal 300 is used as the association information between the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and the download terminal 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is obvious that the same effect as that obtained when the MAC address 503 is used can be obtained as long as the information can uniquely identify the download terminal 300.

  In the first embodiment, the device search 155 is performed simultaneously with the activation of the browser 111, but the timing of performing the device search 155 is not limited to this. For example, even if the device search 155 is performed after the browser 111 is activated, it is obvious that the same effect as that described in the present embodiment can be obtained. Further, the terminal search unit 115 may perform the device search 155 at regular intervals without being linked with the activation of the browser 111. Accordingly, there is an effect that the browser 111 can acquire and display the web page from the business server 200 without waiting for the time required for the device search 155.

  In the first embodiment, the terminal search unit 115 receives the device search response 156 together with the respective terminal information 500 as a response to the device search 155, but is not limited thereto. As a response of the device search 155, a device search response 156 indicating only the fact that the device is found may be received, and the respective terminal information 500 may be acquired later. It is obvious that the same effect as the contents described in the first embodiment can be obtained by this.

  In the first embodiment, the remote controller signal receiving unit 110 is used assuming that the user inputs to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 from the remote controller. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is obvious that the same effect as the contents described in the first embodiment can be obtained even by input using a button.

  In the first embodiment, the user manual method using the association GUI screen 700 when the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and the download terminal 300 are associated has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if only one download terminal 300 is found as a result of device discovery by device search 155, the link GUI screen 700 may not be displayed and the download terminal 300 may be automatically linked. Further, when a plurality of download terminals 300 are found as a result of device discovery by device search 155, the download terminals 300 having a large free space in the HDD 312 may be automatically associated. When a plurality of download terminals 300 are found as a result of device discovery by device search 155, and the download terminal 300 has a broadcast recording function, it is automatically linked to the download terminal 300 with a small number of recording reservations. May be attached.

  In addition, when a condition for determining the priority order for the user to associate with the content purchase / registration terminal 100 is set in advance, information necessary for determining the priority order based on the condition is searched for the device search 155. And the device search response 156 that is a response to Then, based on the acquired information, a priority list of the download terminals 300 may be created, and the highest download terminal 300 in the list and the content purchase / registration terminal 100 may be automatically associated. It is obvious that the same effect as the contents described in the first embodiment can be obtained even when the above-described association is performed.

(Embodiment 2)
Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The second embodiment is based on the premise that all contents described in the first embodiment are included, and only additional parts and differences from the first embodiment will be described, and the contents described in the first embodiment. Description of is omitted.

  The content of the second embodiment is that the content stored in the HDD 312 of the download terminal 300 is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 through the network and is output for viewing. Description of the process from the download reservation registration described in Embodiment 1 to the storage of network content in the HDD 312 is omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of content purchase / registration terminal 100 and download terminal 300 according to the second embodiment. The content purchase / registration terminal 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes the internal blocks of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 and the functions of the blocks, and the internal blocks of the download terminal 300 shown in FIG. The registration terminal 100 and the download terminal 300 are assumed to be possessed.

  The content purchase / registration terminal 100 according to the second embodiment displays a list of contents that have been stored in the download terminal 300 and can be viewed on the GUI screen, and when the user selects content from the list, an instruction to reproduce the selected content is displayed. To the download terminal. Then, the stream information of the content transmitted from the download terminal 300 is received and viewed and output on the screen. Hereinafter, each block illustrated in FIG. 11 of the content purchase / registration terminal 100 will be described.

  The remote control signal receiving unit 110 is a block that receives the signal of the button selected by the user and notifies the reproducible content list display unit 125. When the user presses the playback content list button on the remote control, the remote control signal receiving unit 110 receives the playback content list button signal 180 and transmits a playback content list button press notification 181 to the playable content list display unit 125.

  The reproducible content list display unit 125 is a block that displays a reproducible content list screen and, when a user views content, selects the content that the user has viewed, and notifies the net reproduction instruction unit 121 of the reproduction of the content. When the reproduction content list button press notification 181 is received from the remote control signal receiving unit 110, a reproducible content list GUI screen 720 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed, and information related to the content selected by the user (for example, the content is uniquely identified). The content ID for identification) is transmitted to the network playback instruction unit 121 by the playback content notification 182. FIG. 12 will be described later.

  The net reproduction instruction unit 121 is a block that instructs the download terminal having the MAC address 503 held by the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 to reproduce the content selected by the user. When the content ID, which is information related to the content, is received from the reproducible content list display unit 125 together with the playback content notification 182, a linked destination information request 183 is transmitted to the download reservation registration destination management unit 117. When the network playback instruction unit 121 acquires the MAC address 503 together with the linked destination information 184 from the download reservation registration destination management unit 117, the content playback request 185 is sent together with the content ID to the download terminal 300 corresponding to the acquired MAC address 503. Send.

  When receiving the linked destination information request 183 from the network reproduction instruction unit 121 as described above, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 transmits the held MAC address 503 together with the linked destination information 184.

  The stream information receiving unit 122 is a block that receives the stream information of the content transmitted from the download terminal 300 and passes it to the network playback content control unit. When receiving the playback content stream 343 from the download terminal 300, the stream information receiving unit 122 delivers the playback content stream 343 to the network playback content control unit 123.

  The net playback content control unit 123 is a block that performs stream control to perform viewing output of the received playback content stream 343 and performs viewing output on the display screen. When the playback content stream 343 is received from the stream information receiving unit 122, the network playback content control unit 123 controls the playback content stream 343 for viewing and transmits it as display content information 186.

  The network playback content display unit 124 is a block that performs viewing output of content that has been stream-controlled for display. When the display content information 186 is received from the net playback content control unit 123, the net playback content display unit 124 performs net playback of the received content and outputs it to the screen for viewing.

  In accordance with the content playback instruction from the content purchase / registration terminal 100, the download terminal 300 according to the second embodiment extracts the instructed content from the HDD and transmits the stream information of the content to the content purchase / registration terminal 100 through the network. .

  When the information communication unit 310 receives the content reproduction request 185 from the content purchase / registration terminal 100 together with the content ID, the information communication unit 310 transmits the acquired content ID together with the content reproduction instruction 340 to the net reproduction control unit 330.

  When the content reproduction instruction 340 is received from the information communication unit 310 together with the content reproduction instruction 340, the net reproduction control unit 330 transmits the content reproduction instruction 341 to the stream information transmission unit 331 together with the acquired content ID.

  The stream information transmission unit 331 is a block that transmits the stream information of the content for which the reproduction instruction has been received to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. When the stream information transmission unit 331 receives the content ID together with the content reproduction instruction 341 from the net reproduction control unit 330, the stream information transmission unit 331 acquires the content corresponding to the acquired content ID from the HDD 312 through the reproduction content information extraction 342. Then, the reproduction content stream 343 is transmitted to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. Here, it is conceivable to use, for example, a DTCP-IP technique as a transmission method.

  As described above, with the configuration as shown in FIG. 11, the third problem is solved, and a remarkable effect that the content purchase / registration terminal can issue a playback instruction to an appropriate download terminal that stores content to be played back. Is obtained.

  FIG. 12 shows a reproducible content list GUI screen 720 according to the second embodiment. In the reproducible content list GUI screen 720, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 performs download reservation registration, the download terminal 300 downloads from the network using the download information 225 received together with the download reservation registration, and the content stored in the HDD 312 The content titles 722 corresponding to 550 are listed and displayed. In addition, content provider names 721 corresponding to the content titles 722 are listed and displayed. The user selects contents to be viewed with the cursor 723. When the content is selected, the reproducible content list display unit 125 transmits the content ID corresponding to the content to the net reproduction instruction unit 121 by the reproduction content notification 182. Here, the detailed acquisition method of information displayed on the reproducible content list GUI screen 720 is not the main point of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 manages only the MAC address 503 of the associated download terminal 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 may manage the MAC address of the other party so as not to overlap each time download registration is performed. At this time, when the net reproduction instructing unit 121 acquires the content ID together with the reproduction content notification 182 from the reproducible content list display unit 125, the download terminal 300 having all the MAC addresses managed by the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 is transmitted. On the other hand, a content reproduction request 185 is transmitted. The content reproduction request 185 includes a content ID. The download terminal 300 that has received the content ID together with the content reproduction request 185 confirms whether the content 550 corresponding to the received content ID exists in the HDD 312. Only when the corresponding content 550 exists, the stream information transmission unit 331 transmits the reproduction content stream 343 to the content purchase / registration terminal 100. By such processing, even when the content 550 is scattered and accumulated in the plurality of download terminals 300, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 can appropriately reproduce the content only by holding several MAC addresses. There is an effect.

  In the second embodiment, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 manages only the MAC address 503 of the associated download terminal 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the downloaded content 550 is stored in a plurality of download terminals 300, the content ID 801 of the content 550 and the destination information 802 (for example, MAC address) of the terminal in which the content 550 is stored are associated with each other in FIG. The download reservation registration destination management unit 117 may manage the content ID and destination information association management table 800 as shown in FIG. At this time, when the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 receives the content ID together with the association destination information request 183 from the net reproduction instruction unit 121, the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 refers to the content ID and destination information association management table 800 using the content ID. The corresponding destination information 802 is transmitted to the network reproduction instruction unit 121 together with the associated destination information 184. Then, the network reproduction instruction unit 121 can transmit the content reproduction request 185 to the download terminal 300 corresponding to the destination information 802 acquired from the download reservation registration destination management unit 117. Therefore, even when the content 550 is scattered and accumulated in the plurality of download terminals 300, the content purchase / registration terminal 100 can perform content reproduction.

  The display content and format of the reproducible content list GUI screen 720 shown in FIG. 12 displayed on the reproducible content list display unit 125 are not limited to this. For example, content stored for each download terminal 300 may be displayed, or content that has not been viewed may be displayed with priority. At this time, when the user selects the content that the user has watched, the network reproduction instruction unit 121 can acquire the content ID corresponding to the content, so the download reservation registration destination management unit 117 associates the content ID and destination information shown in FIG. If the management table 800 is managed, the network reproduction instruction unit 121 can appropriately transmit the content reproduction request 185 to the download terminal 300 in which the content of the acquired content ID is stored.

  The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of the respective units of the above-described apparatus of the present invention, and is a program that operates in cooperation with the computer.

  The recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium that records a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of the respective units of the above-described apparatus of the present invention. The computer-readable program is the computer program. The recording medium executes the function in cooperation with the device.

  Further, one usage form of the program of the present invention may be an aspect in which the program is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM readable by a computer and operates in cooperation with the computer.

  Also, one use form of the program of the present invention is an aspect in which the program is transmitted through a transmission medium such as the Internet and a transmission medium such as light, radio wave, and sound wave, read by a computer, and operates in cooperation with the computer. Also good.

  The computer of the present invention described above is not limited to pure hardware such as a CPU, and may include firmware, an OS, and peripheral devices.

  As described above, the configuration of the present invention may be realized by software or hardware.

  In the content purchase / registration terminal according to the present invention, even a terminal whose service reception availability state dynamically changes depending on the surrounding environment can acquire an appropriate web page according to the reception availability state. In addition, it is possible to appropriately perform download reservation registration and playback instruction via the network. Therefore, the present invention is useful for a variety of content purchase and registration terminals that receive content distribution services.

Configuration diagram of download system according to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of the present invention Block diagram of content purchase / registration terminal in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The block diagram of the provider server in Embodiment 1 of this invention Block diagram of a download terminal in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Block diagram of a terminal not supporting download in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Example of user agent for download according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Example of user agent not compatible with download in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Structure diagram of terminal information in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Example of a linking GUI screen in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the content purchase / registration terminal and company server in Embodiment 1 of this invention Block diagram of content purchase / registration terminal and download terminal in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Example of reproducible content list GUI screen in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Structure diagram of content ID and destination information association management table in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Overall configuration diagram of conventional system The figure which shows the contents of the point table where the matching point of the tag in the prior art was recorded The flowchart which shows the flow of processing of the conventional system

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Search server 12 Internet 14 Communication carrier server 16 Mobile phone 18 Base station 20 Robot engine part 22 Level judgment part 22a Point table 24 Data registration part 26 WEB server part 28 Search processing part 30 WEB page database 100 Content purchase and registration terminal 110 Remote control signal reception unit 111 Browser 112 User agent setting unit 113 Download information acquisition unit 114 Browser activation unit 115 Terminal search unit 116 Terminal information holding unit 117 Download reservation registration destination management unit 118 Information communication unit 119 Terminal association execution unit 120 Association screen Display unit 121 Net playback instruction unit 122 Stream information receiving unit 123 Net playback content control unit 124 Net playback content display unit 125 List of reproducible content Part 150 Decision button signal 151 Browser activation button signal 152 Browser activation button press notification 153 Browser activation request 154 Device search request 155 Device search response 157 Device not responding notification 158 Each device information notification 159 Terminal association information confirmation request 160 Destination Information notification 161 Destination information request 162 Each discovered terminal information notification 163 Each discovered terminal information request 164 Corresponding device presence notification 165 Download compatible user agent setting 166 Discovered terminal information request 167 Linked display terminal information 168 Download unsupported user agent setting 169 Association terminal information 170 Download reservation registration 171 Association execution request 172 Selection button press notification 173 Download information acquisition request 180 Playback content list button signal 181 Raw content list button press notification 182 Playback content notification 183 Linked destination information request 184 Linked destination information 185 Content playback request 186 Displayed content information 200 Business server 210 Download-enabled web page distribution unit 211 Download-incompatible web page distribution unit 212 Download information distribution unit 213 User agent determination unit 214 Network I / F
220 Web page not supported by download 221 Web page request by user agent not supported by download 222 Web page requested by download 223 Web page request by user agent supported by download 224 Download information request 225 Download information 226 Request web page by download 227 Request by web page not supported by download 300 download terminal 301 non-download compatible terminal 310 information communication unit 311 download execution unit 312 HDD
320 terminal information request 321 terminal information extraction 330 net reproduction control unit 331 stream information transmission unit 340 content reproduction instruction 341 content reproduction instruction 342 reproduction content information extraction 343 reproduction content stream 400 network 401 router 500 terminal information 501 product name 502 possessed function 503 MAC address 550 Content 600 Downloadable user agent 601 Non-downloadable user agent 700 Linked GUI screen 701 Terminal name 702 Terminal holding function description 703 Cursor 720 Reproducible content list GUI screen 721 Content provider name 722 Content title 723 Cursor 800 Content ID And destination information association management table 801 Content ID
802 Destination information

Claims (19)

A content purchase / registration terminal having a browser and a search unit for searching for a terminal,
When the search unit searches for a terminal connected to the content purchase / registration terminal and finds a terminal corresponding to the download function, the browser provides a content download service as a terminal having the download function. A content purchase / registration terminal characterized by accessing a business server.   The content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 1, wherein the search unit performs the search when the browser is activated or performs the search at a certain time interval. In the search, when discovering a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function, having a download destination management unit that holds terminal identification information for uniquely identifying a selected terminal selected from the plurality of terminals,
The content purchase / registration according to claim 1, wherein a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from the provider server is determined based on the terminal identification information, and the download information is transmitted. Terminal.   The content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 3, wherein the download destination management unit displays information representing the plurality of terminals on a GUI screen to assist the user in the selection. The download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information has a network output function for outputting the accumulated content that has been downloaded through a network, and the content purchase / registration terminal receives the content that has been output to the network, In the process of playing,
4. The content purchase / registration according to claim 3, wherein the terminal specifying information held by the download destination management unit is used to specify the download reservation registered terminal that issues an instruction to perform the network output. Terminal. In the search, when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function are found, a candidate terminal having the largest HDD free space in the plurality of terminals is identified from the plurality of terminals, and the candidate terminals are It has a download destination management unit that holds terminal information for uniquely identifying,
The content purchase / registration according to claim 1, wherein a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from the provider server is determined based on the terminal identification information, and the download information is transmitted. Terminal. In the search, when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function and having a broadcast recording function are found, a candidate terminal having the smallest number of recording reservations for the broadcast recording is identified from the plurality of terminals. And having a download destination management unit for holding terminal information for uniquely identifying the candidate terminal,
The content purchase / registration according to claim 1, wherein a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from the provider server is determined based on the terminal identification information, and the download information is transmitted. Terminal. In the search, when a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function are found, a candidate terminal most suitable for the specific condition set in advance by the user is identified from among the plurality of terminals, and the candidate terminal is uniquely specified. Has a download destination manager that holds device information for
The content purchase / registration according to claim 1, wherein a terminal that transmits download information necessary for downloading the content acquired from the provider server is determined based on the terminal identification information, and the download information is transmitted. Terminal. Each time the download destination management unit transmits the download information, the download destination management unit manages the download information transmitted terminal identification information that holds the terminal identification information of the terminal of the transmission destination, and the download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information Has a network output function for outputting the accumulated content that has been downloaded through the network, and the content purchase / registration terminal receives and reproduces the content that has been output to the network.
The download information transmitted terminal specifying information is used to specify the download reservation registered terminal that gives an instruction to perform the network output of the content stored in any of the plurality of terminals. The content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 3. Each time the download destination management unit transmits the download information, the terminal specification information / download associated with the terminal specification information of the transmission destination terminal and the download information specification information for uniquely specifying the download information A network output function for managing an information specifying information table, and outputting a stored content that has been downloaded and registered by a download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information over a network, and the content output to the network is the content In the process that the purchase / registration terminal receives and plays,
Use the terminal specification information / download information specification information table to specify an appropriate download reservation registered terminal that gives an instruction to perform the network output of content stored in any of the plurality of terminals. The content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 3. A download terminal that downloads content,
As a response to the search from the content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 1, a communication unit that returns terminal information in which terminal identification information for uniquely identifying a terminal is described;
A download execution unit that receives the download information necessary for downloading the content transmitted using the terminal identification information from the content purchase / registration terminal, and executes the download;
A download terminal comprising: a stream information transmission unit that outputs the accumulated content to the content purchase / registration terminal in response to a reproduction instruction using the terminal specifying information from the content purchase / registration terminal . A provider server that provides content download services,
Capability information indicating whether or not the download function is supported is extracted from the request received from the terminal, the capability information is determined, and if the determination result indicates that the download function is supported, the download provision is provided. An operator server characterized in that information suitable for service is returned to the terminal as a response to the request. at least,
A business server that provides content download services;
Content purchase / registration terminal,
A download system comprising a download terminal for downloading content,
When the provider server extracts capability information indicating whether the download function is supported from the request received from the terminal, determines the capability information, and, as a result of the determination, corresponds to the download function Returns information suitable for the download providing service to the terminal as a response to the request,
When the content purchase / registration terminal searches for a connected terminal and finds a terminal corresponding to the download function, the content purchase / registration terminal accesses the provider server as a terminal having the download function,
The download terminal, as a response to the search from the content purchase / registration terminal, a communication unit that returns terminal information in which terminal identification information for uniquely identifying the terminal is described; and from the content purchase / registration terminal The download execution unit that receives the download information necessary for downloading the content transmitted using the terminal identification information and executes the download, and the reproduction instruction using the terminal identification information from the content purchase / registration terminal A download system comprising: a stream information transmission unit for outputting the accumulated content to the content purchase / registration terminal via a network. When the content purchase / registration terminal finds a plurality of terminals corresponding to the download function in the search, a download destination management unit that holds the terminal specifying information of a selected terminal selected from the plurality of terminals Have
14. The download system according to claim 13, wherein a terminal that transmits the download information acquired from the provider server is determined based on the terminal specifying information, and the download information is transmitted. The content purchase / registration terminal
The download reservation registered terminal that has received the download information has a network output function for outputting the accumulated content that has been downloaded through a network, and the content purchase / registration terminal receives the content that has been output to the network, In the process of playing,
14. The download system according to claim 13, wherein the terminal identification information held by the download destination management unit is used to identify the download reservation registered terminal that issues an instruction to perform the network output.   A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the content purchase / registration terminal according to claim 1.   The program for functioning a computer as each part of the download terminal of Claim 11.   The program for functioning a computer as each part of the provider server of Claim 12. A recording medium on which the program according to any one of claims 16 to 18 is recorded, wherein the recording medium can be processed by a computer.

Images