JP2010237728A - Content transmitting and receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem of a conventional content transmitting and receiving system which needs a troublesome operation in transmission, and does not allow a receiver to freely select a reception terminal. <P>SOLUTION: In the content transmitting and receiving system, a transmitting-side terminal includes: a transmission content selection unit that allows selection of a content to be transmitted to the other user; an input information detection unit that extracts input information around the time of selecting the content to be transmitted; and a transmission destination selection unit extracting ID of the other user or the like from the extracted input information and displaying it so as to be selected. A receiving-side terminal includes a reproduction terminal selection unit that displays a list table of terminals capable of reproducing the content, so as to be selected; a transmission request section that requests transmission to a reproduction terminal; and a content execution section that reproduces the transmitted content. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for transmitting / receiving content between users.

  Currently, content files such as photos and videos are generally transmitted and received through the Internet. This may be transmission / reception between terminals between users, or transmission / reception by a terminal requesting a server.

  As a method for transmitting / receiving content between users, for example, there is a method in which a sender directly designates a recipient terminal by an IP address or the like via an instant messenger software and sends a file. Moreover, although the method of using the attached file of an electronic mail is via a server, it substantially implements transmission / reception between terminals between users. Further, there is a method of realizing transmission / reception by a sender once uploading a file from a terminal to an FTP server or the like, notifying the receiver of the fact, an address, an ID, and the like, and downloading the receiver.

  On the other hand, when transmitting to a large number of users from the server side, it is common to transmit a page using an HTML file or XML file by an HTTP server. In addition, for a license-managed video file, the server determines whether the receiver's terminal is receivable for license management, and then transmits the video file in response to a request from the sender's terminal. It is also done.

Specific systems include, for example, the systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
Patent Document 1 presents an information distribution support system that distributes a fax or an e-mail after reading contact information from a customer information database. According to this technology, an optimal reception environment is registered in advance according to the customer's environment, and the information can be extracted and transmitted to be received in a manner desired by the customer.
Patent Document 2 describes a system that allows a client system to retrieve electronic content after a server confirms a request from a client system that has received an electronic license.

JP 2004-165748 A JP 2008-181511 A

  However, when the messenger is used, there is a problem that transmission can be performed only to the talking partner who is online at that time, and the transmission partner is limited.

In addition, there are many problems when sending an electronic mail as an attached file.
First, direct input of a destination address or selection from an address book is performed. However, it is troublesome even for a skilled person to accurately input the address directly. Actually, registration in the address book is premised, but the more data written in the address book, the more difficult the selection.
In addition, there are cases where terminals that can receive electronic mail are limited. If it is an e-mail address of a mobile phone, it may not be played back even if it is sent as an attached file. On the other hand, when it is sent to an e-mail address other than a mobile phone, it takes time for confirmation, and it cannot be played back on the spot, and it cannot cope with urgent situations. In addition, there is a capacity limit, and in some cases, it can overwhelm the account space and cause malfunctions.

  In an exchange using an FTP server or the like, the recipient's terminal often does not support downloading. Especially in the case of a portable terminal, it is almost impossible to receive. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a separate notification means, and for this purpose, contact is made by e-mail, messenger, etc., and as a result, it may be troublesome twice.

  In the system of Patent Document 1, although it is possible to update the registered information, the delivery destination for each customer, which is the delivery destination, is basically fixed, and it is possible to cope with the situation of the receiver changing every moment. It was not a thing.

  The system of Patent Document 2 is to allow the user to download to his / her client system after confirming the user's license, and the client system that receives the license is fixed, and can be viewed on any client system There was a problem that could not.

  That is, in the conventional system, transmission is often constrained by whether or not the recipient is online, and it is easy to make a mistake when designating the recipient, and confusion is likely to occur. On the other hand, when receiving, the receiver cannot select the terminal to receive and must receive it in a form constrained by the transmission method determined by the sender, such as being unable to receive unless the receiving terminal is online. There wasn't. The present invention aims to solve these problems.

This invention
A system that transmits and receives content between terminals used by users,
On the sending terminal,
A transmission content selection unit that allows the input device to select the content to be transmitted to another user;
An input information detection unit that extracts input information from an input device at a certain time before, after a certain time, or both from when the content to be transmitted is selected;
Information that can be associated with an ID or ID that can be a transmission destination to which the content selected by the user is extracted from the extracted input information and can be associated with another user ID or another user ID. And a destination selection unit that can be selected by the input device in a list,
On the receiving terminal,
A reproduction terminal selection unit that shows a list table of terminals that can reproduce or store the content to be transmitted, which can be selected by the input device to the terminal used by the receiving user;
A transmission request unit that requests actual transmission of the content to a terminal that performs reproduction or storage;
A content execution unit for reproducing or storing the transmitted content in the receiving terminal;
The above-described problem is solved by a content transmission / reception system having

  The details of the system and the server for executing the above-described units can be specifically configured as follows. As a premise, the transmission side terminal and the reception side terminal have an input device that can input at least character information and presentation information in order to execute the following units.

First, to a server that can communicate with the sending terminal and the receiving terminal,
A user registration database for registering the IDs of all users;
A notification destination database for registering a destination of a terminal that receives the notification for each ID;
Publicity information that classifies at least whether the terminal for receiving the content is a personal terminal or a shared terminal for each ID, and is a portable terminal if it is for personal use A receiving terminal registration database for registering terminal information including information on whether or not the terminal is a fixed terminal, information on a storage format of a file that can be played back on the terminal, and destination information on the terminal.

In addition, either or both of the transmitting terminal and the server,
A content database for storing content;
For each content stored in the content database, a private flag for classifying (branching / determining) whether or not to allow the reproduction of the content according to the publicity of the receiving terminal, the storage format of the content, and A content metadata database that stores content metadata including a file format flag that classifies whether or not the content is reproducible depending on the function of the receiving terminal, or both.

In addition, either the sending terminal or the server
A terminal that receives a notification registered in the notification destination database for an ID that is a transmission destination selected by the input device has a receiving user request unit that makes a request as to whether or not the selected content can be received. .

Furthermore, the server includes
In response to a request from the receiving user request unit, a receiving terminal notifying unit that displays a request for transmission on a terminal receiving the notification is provided.

The contents of the specific execution of the system having such a configuration are as follows.
At the time of transmission, input information from the input device is recorded by the input information detection unit such as key logger software. Since content is rarely transmitted without context, input information before and after selecting content to be transmitted often includes the ID of the other party to whom the content is to be transmitted and information related to the ID. The transmission destination selection unit extracts the ID of the user of the transmission destination from the input information, or information that can be associated with the ID, and enables selection from the input device. Thus, it is possible to make preparations for transmission by simply selecting from a limited number of lists by omitting the task of searching for an address from an address book which may be enormous.
In addition, since the transmission is started after notifying the receiver's registered notification destination terminal by the receiving user request unit and the receiving terminal notification unit, unlike the case of using the messenger, the receiver is not in the so-called online state. , Can send work.

On the other hand, the recipient receives a notification indicating that the message will be transmitted to a terminal or destination that has been registered in advance in the notification destination database and receives notification such as a mobile phone suitable for receiving notification, and confirms that. Therefore, it is possible to select a terminal to be received by the playback terminal selection unit, instead of unilateral reception.
In addition, the playback terminal selection unit selects and displays a suitable one of the terminals presented as receivable with the private flag and file format flag recorded in the transmitted content metadata database. can do. For example, hypothetical content such as home video is not public and can only be viewed on a personal terminal. Therefore, the private flag is a value belonging to personal use, and is shared in conference rooms. Are not listed in the receiving terminal list table. Also, the file format of the content to be transmitted may be a format that cannot be played back by some mobile phones, or conversely, a format that can only be viewed by a special terminal. If it is registered in the receiving terminal registration database that there is no playback environment corresponding to the file format flag recorded in the content metadata database, the playback terminal selection unit excludes the terminal from the list table. To display. As a result, a terminal that cannot be received is not selected. From the list table optimized in this way, the sender selects a terminal according to his / her situation, and the transmission request unit makes a transmission request to the content database, so that the receiver receives the transmitted data. It can be played back or stored in the content execution unit of the terminal desired by the user.

  When the terminal that receives the above notification is a mobile terminal, the above-mentioned destination can specify an e-mail address, voice guidance by utterance, and other destinations that can receive a message for each terminal. On the other hand, in the actual transmission of the content, the network address such as the IP address of the receiving terminal can be directly used as the destination.

  Note that the content database and the content metadata database may be in the terminal of the transmitting user or on another electronic computer connected to the terminal via a network. Moreover, the said receiving user request part which emits said notification may exist in the terminal which a sender uses, and may be processed by the server side.

  In addition, this system has a transmission destination database that records the IDs of other users who can be the transmission destinations of the content, which exists for each user, and the transmission destination selection unit is recorded in the transmission destination database. If IDs or information are extracted for other user IDs, there is a possibility of transmission without referring to the above-mentioned user registration database in which all users of the system are recorded at every transmission. You can use a list of users only. This transmission destination database may be stored in a terminal operated by the transmission source user, or may be stored in a server connected to the operation terminal of the transmission source user via a network. Inquiries are easy when stored in the terminal. On the other hand, when it exists on the server, there is an advantage that the terminal serving as the transmission source is not fixed and can be used universally in an environment connected to the server.

  The system includes an operable device detection unit that detects whether each of the receiving terminals is in an online state in which the content can be reproduced or stored, and a receiving terminal detected by the operable device detection unit. A receiving user status detection unit that determines whether or not the dedicated user terminal of the transmission destination is included, and that the content can be reproduced or stored if it is included. It can be seen that the user who is can quickly receive at the dedicated terminal. As a result, the sender can quickly determine that transmission is possible without having to confirm the online status using an instant messenger or the like.

  By detecting the online state, it is possible to select a user who is more likely to be a transmission destination by preferentially listing user IDs that can be transmission destinations displayed by the transmission destination selection unit. It can narrow down appropriately. This is because if the user is online, the possibility of being a recipient at this time is increased by other means such as chat or messenger software.

  The information on the storage format of the file of the content that can be played back by each terminal of the receiving terminal registration database is classified by an extension that is appropriately attached to the file name of the type of file that can be played back, When the file format flag of the content metadata database is based on the extension of the file name properly attached to the file in the content database, the terminal can reproduce the content without referring to the file header or the like It is possible to quickly determine whether or not. However, in this case, the extension needs to be properly attached, and all the receiving terminals need to be able to reproduce or save the file with the appropriate extension.

The terminal receiving the above notification is a terminal carried by the user, such as a mobile phone, and has a position specifying device such as GPS that can specify the location where the terminal exists, and the playback terminal selection The receiver includes a common receiving terminal in the vicinity of the place where the terminal specified by the position specifying device is included in the list table of terminals to be displayed selectably. Can only receive content using a shared receiving terminal in the vicinity when a notification indicating that content that cannot be received by the mobile phone is transmitted. For example, when shared terminals are installed everywhere in the company, or when terminals that can be used generally in town are installed to the extent that they can be used as social infrastructure, It is conceivable to use and receive.
However, these shared receiving terminals cannot reproduce the content in which the private flag is a value indicating personal use. The above content to be transmitted in this way includes the transmission of communication items that are safe even if they are heard by others, materials that are shared when using internal terminals for meetings, etc., and individuals displayed on terminals in public places Advertisements customized for.

In the case of having the position specifying device as described above, the terminal that receives the notification transmits at least the information on the location of the terminal when receiving the notification to a server that can refer to the receiving terminal registration database. A position information transmitter that
The server that has received the information on the location refers to the reception terminal registration database, lists up the common reception terminals that exist in the vicinity of the location where the terminal specified by the location specifying device exists, It has a peripheral terminal search unit that transmits to the terminal that receives the above notification,
Preferably, the playback terminal selection unit displays the transmitted list of shared receiving terminals as part or all of the list table.
This is because the location information of the receiving terminal is necessary only when a notification is received. In addition, by transmitting the location information to a server that can refer to the receiving terminal registration database, the server can centrally manage the location and promptly list common receiving terminals around the location information. . This is because, in order for the receiving terminal to manage alone, the information on the shared receiving terminal may be enormous, and it is less burdensome to search for peripheral terminals on the server.

  Further, in this system, the playback terminal selection unit extracts and displays a terminal capable of playing back the content from the file format flag of the content to be transmitted with reference to the reception terminal registration database. By doing so, it is possible to prevent terminals that cannot actually be reproduced from being listed, and to improve the convenience of the recipient.

In addition, when transmitting the content, when the storage format of the file of the content is a storage format that cannot be played back by the terminal that plays back the content that is the transmission destination, the file format of the content is changed by the terminal. Having a file format conversion unit for converting to a reproducible format, and the content metadata database has a conversion file format flag indicating a type of a file format of a conversion destination that can be converted when the content is transmitted; Even if the file format as it is cannot be played back by the receiving terminal, it can be played back by conversion, and the convenience is greatly improved.
For example, a moving image file may be reproducible on a limited terminal by converting the compression codec or reducing the vertical and horizontal sizes. The document file may be reproducible by converting it into a format that can be browsed by general-purpose browsing software such as PDF format. When the content database and the content metadata database are in the transmitting terminal, the file format conversion unit may be in the transmitting terminal. When the database is in the server, the file format conversion unit may be in the server. This is because it can be sent in a format that can be reproduced by the receiving side at the time of transmission, making it easier to use. However, even when the content database or the like is in the transmitting terminal, if the file format conversion unit is placed on the server, the processing load on the transmitting terminal can be reduced. This is because it is sometimes difficult to convert the file format when the computing capability of the transmitting terminal is poor.

  In addition, the playback terminal selection unit of the system can perform playback shown in the list table when the private flag recorded in the content metadata database for the content to be transmitted is a value belonging to personal use. If only the terminal for personal use of the receiving user is displayed in the terminal list, there is no possibility of using it on the shared terminal, but it is possible to prevent the extra terminal from appearing in the choice and receive Can be saved.

  In addition, when registering another user in the transmission destination database, this system includes a user confirmation unit that confirms whether or not the user has an ID registered in the user registration database. A user who is not registered in the system as a destination is not presented, and no error occurs even if the user is stored in the transmission source terminal.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine a destination user even by an ambiguous destination input or an unintended destination input in a situation where the source user of the content does not clearly know the specific address of the destination user. To be able to select. In addition, transmission can be performed without worrying about the current location of the transmission destination user, the content reproduction environment, the terminal to be held, and the like. Furthermore, the trouble of directly inputting the transmission destination can be saved, and information can be shared smoothly by transmitting content.

  On the other hand, the destination user can choose the terminal to play the content by himself / herself, and without being restricted by the designation by the sender user, in the optimal environment such as private / public, presence / absence of playback environment, type of terminal, etc. Can receive content. As a result, the transmission destination user can obtain the selection right of the reproduction environment, which is conventionally limited by the transmission destination mail address, designated software, or the like.

  Overall, both the transmission source user and the transmission destination user conceal each other's operation, environment, and personal information, and content can be shared without being aware of detailed environments and procedures.

Conceptual diagram of the entire system according to the present invention Flow diagram showing an example of an embodiment on the transmitting terminal side Flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a notification stage in a server Flow diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a receiving terminal after notification

Hereinafter, a content transmission / reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a content transmission / reception system according to the present invention.
The basic configuration of this content transmission system includes a transmission terminal 1 operated by a user who is a content transmission source, a notification destination terminal 3 that receives a notification that a transmission destination user will transmit content, and a transmission destination The receiving terminal 4 where the user actually receives content and the server 2 having various database functions and execution means described later, which can communicate with these terminals via the network, each have functions described later. Each of However, in carrying out the present invention, a database for storing contents to be transmitted may exist in either the transmission terminal 1 or the server 2. These are collectively described as the content storage unit 6 that may belong to either the transmission terminal 1 or the server 2. In addition, there are other functions that may belong to either the transmission terminal 1 or the server 2, and this will be described separately.

  In the present invention, the content is not inquired about the content as long as it is a file that can be exchanged via a network, such as a music file, a moving image file, and a document file. Among them, in particular, it can be suitably used for transmission / reception of a moving image file that has high appeal and immediacy to the receiver, and on the other hand is strongly bound by file settings and terminal capabilities when played back.

  First, the transmission terminal 1 will be described. The transmission terminal 1 is an information terminal having a network function. Specifically, in addition to a personal computer, a mobile phone, and a workstation, a display device capable of grasping and selecting and displaying the content, selection of options and characters Any device that has the input device 11 capable of inputting For example, a game machine having a network function may be used.

  A flow in the transmission terminal 1 is shown in FIG. First, the transmission source user starts using the transmission terminal 1 (101). Input such as character input or browsing by clicking a hypertext link including text is performed by the input device 11 (102). At this time, the input information detection unit 13 temporarily stores the input and selected character string. Specifically, the input information detection unit 13 is software such as a key logger that records input characters, hypertext access analysis, and network packet capture. Thereby, the input information input directly or indirectly is recorded. This is continued until the content is selected (103). However, it is not realistic to record all the information up to that point in terms of storage capacity and processing speed. The most recent time until content selection is set to about 1 to 5 minutes, and the time has passed. Discarded information.

  The transmission source user selects the content recorded in the content DB 25 in the content storage unit 6 by the transmission content selection unit 15 (103). The transmission content selection unit 15 refers to the content stored in the content database 25 (hereinafter, “database” is abbreviated as “DB”) and the meta data of each content recorded in the content metadata DB 26. It is presented so that it can be selected in a discriminable state corresponding to the data. Specifically, software such as an offline or online filer can be mentioned.

  Here, the content DB 25 and the content metadata DB 26 will be described. Physically, it may be included in the transmission terminal 1 or may be included on the server 2 via a network. The article is such that information recorded on a medium capable of recording information as electronic data such as a magnetic disk or a non-volatile memory can be referred to as a database. The content DB 25 records the content data itself. The content metadata DB 26 includes a private flag for classifying whether or not to permit the reproduction of the content according to the publicity of the receiving terminal 4 for each of the content stored in the content DB 25, and the storage format of the content. And content metadata including a file format flag for classifying whether or not the content can be played back by the correspondence between the content and the function of the receiving terminal, or both. In addition to this, the content metadata may include a reading flag indicating whether or not each user can select, a transmission possible flag indicating whether or not transmission is possible, and the like. An example of a table registered in the content metadata DB 26 is shown in Table 1. In Table 1, examples of private flags are shown as values indicating the publicity. Here, 1 indicates a private one, and 0 indicates a public one. A tag is an identification mark used in a search and can be freely attached by a user during registration. The file format flag is not limited to not only the extension and the video encoding format specifically shown in Table 1, but also whether or not each file can be used if it is 0 based on a separately defined standard. If it is 1, it is digitized such that it can be used. For example, setting a flag corresponding to a specific carrier as a provider, a mobile phone of a specific manufacturer, a usage contract form of a terminal, a setting format such as parental control, whether or not necessary software is installed, etc. .

  The above selection includes not only a selection with a clear intention to transmit the content to the transmission destination but also a case where the transmission source user selects the content to view and play back (104). If it is the former, the input information detection unit 13 takes out the input information accumulated so far (106). In the latter case, input is accepted for a certain period of time even after selection (105), and thereafter the input information detection unit 13 extracts character information. Such a situation may occur when the sender user is willing to share the content with others after viewing the content.

  Note that even in the case of intentional selection for transmission, the input information may be recorded and retrieved for a certain period of time after selection. This is because, depending on the usage, there is a case where the selection is made without performing an input before the content is selected, and the transmission destination is clearly input after the selection.

  From the extracted input information, the transmission destination selection unit 14 selects a transmission destination (111-). The transmission destination selection unit 14 extracts IDs of other users that can be transmission destinations or information that can be associated with other user IDs from the input information, and as a list of transmission destinations that the transmission source user intends to transmit, The ID, information that can be associated with the ID, or both (hereinafter collectively referred to as “ID etc.”) are shown to be selectable (111). The ID is a unique character string assigned when using the system according to the present invention, and the information that can be associated with the ID is a nickname that is easy for the user to distinguish from each other, or the name or organization of an individual. Name. This is because these character strings input before and after the selection of the content are highly likely to be counterparts that the transmission source user intends to transmit.

  Even if the transmission destination selection unit 14 performs morphological analysis on the character information and extracts all the character strings that are considered to be included IDs or the like, the present invention is established. However, since there is a high possibility that an ID that does not exist or an unintended selection destination is extracted, it is preferable to confirm that the ID indicates a system user.

  As a means for ensuring the reliability, there is a means for directly requesting and confirming to the user registration DB 31 in the server 2 for managing the users of the entire system according to the present invention. In addition, there is a means in which a transmission destination DB 21 having a direct relationship with a transmission source user and recording user IDs and the like that can be transmission destination user candidates is created in advance. In this case, the transmission destination selection unit 14 first lists only the IDs recorded in the transmission destination DB 21. This corresponds to an address book in electronic mail software.

  This transmission destination DB 21 may be in the transmission terminal 1 or in the server 2. If it is in the transmission terminal 1, it can also be used as an address book for personal management, and at the time of content transmission, it can be quickly determined by referring to it. When in the server 2, there is an advantage that the transmission source user can use the transmission destination DB 21 without limiting the terminals used for transmission. At the time of use, the contents of the destination DB 21 are read from the server 2 through the network and extracted from the comparison with the character information.

  When registering in the transmission destination DB 21, the user confirmation unit 32 in the server 2 accesses the user registration DB 31, and whether the ID actually exists as the ID of the user of the system. Confirm whether or not. When the transmission destination DB 21 is on the server 2, the transmission destination DB 21 of each user is rewritten for a user whose setting has been changed or deleted from the system due to a change in the system user.

  On the other hand, if the transmission destination DB 21 is in the transmission terminal 1 of each user, whether the user is registered in the user registration DB 31 of the system as it is at the present time even when the transmission destination selection unit 14 is executed. And make changes if necessary. If it is not a change and the corresponding user does not exist, a response indicating that the user does not exist is returned to the transmission terminal 1. In this case, the transmission work ends here.

  In addition, when selecting, transmission to a user who is not registered in the transmission destination DB 21 may be considered. For this reason, the transmission destination selection unit 14 comprehensively registers the users of the system registered in the server 2 when there is no other party in the transmission destination DB 21 to which the transmission source user intends to transmit. The user registration DB 31 to be managed may request a user ID or the like that is set to be disclosed. The same is possible even when the transmission destination DB 21 does not exist in the system. In this case, the transmission destination selection unit 14 directly searches the user registration DB 31 for registration information of users who are set to be public using a corresponding ID as a query. If there is applicable information in the registered information, it is ranked and displayed on the transmission terminal 1. If there is no corresponding person, a response indicating that the user does not exist is returned to the transmission terminal 1. In this case, the transmission work ends here.

The operation of the transmission destination selection unit 14 will be continued.
A ranking related to the content to be transmitted is generated based on the number of appearances in the character information for the ID with high certainty extracted with reference to the transmission destination DB 21 (112). For example, an ID or the like with a large number of appearances has a high ranking, and an ID or the like input at a timing close to the time when content is selected has a high ranking. Of the rankings generated in this way, several high-order items are presented on the display device (not shown) of the transmission terminal 1 for selection (113). Even when the extracted ID or the like is one, it is possible for the user to reliably determine whether or not it is the transmission destination. The transmission source user selects the ID or the like of the transmission destination user from the input device 11 (114). In addition, when there is no corresponding ID, etc., or when the number of cases is small, it may be assumed that the sender user inputs the ID etc. in a simplified manner or if it is input incorrectly. An ID similar to the extracted ID is also included in the ranking.

  When the above ID or the like is selected, the receiving user request unit 22 sends a request including the selected ID or the like to the server 2. At this stage, the content itself is not transmitted, but is a preliminary stage of notification before transmission. If the content to be transmitted is on the server 2, information for determining the content is also transmitted. This is the processing of the request for transmission (116).

  Next, processing in the server 2 that has received a request for an ID or the like will be described. First, as a premise thereof, a procedure for registering user setting information in the system will be described.

  At the time of registration, the user is registered in the user registration DB 31 together with an ID for identifying the user by the system. At this time, the user's own nickname, name, name, and the like are associated with the ID and registered as information for easy identification between the users. Also, register a password to authenticate when using the system. These registrations are performed with respect to the user registration DB 31. In addition, the service grade and contract form when using the service can be registered. Further, an identification code for the notification destination terminal 3 is also input. In addition, the entire user information may be managed by inputting the user's affiliation, job title, address, telephone number, date of birth, keyword extracted from the user's usage service, tag set by the user, and the like. An example of this DB table is shown in Table 2. In addition to a format in which a plurality of notification destination IDs and transmission / reception terminal IDs can be registered for each user as in this table, a format in which a user ID is associated with a notification destination ID or transmission / reception terminal ID on a one-to-one basis is also included.

  In the system according to the present invention, the destination user does not passively receive the content to be transmitted, but receives a notification that the content is once transmitted, responds to the server 2 in response to the notification, and appropriately receives the notification. Reception is performed at the terminal 4. For this reason, it is necessary to register at least information necessary for performing specific notification to the notification destination terminal 3 that is a terminal that receives the notification, in the server 2. Examples of the necessary information include a mobile phone ID, a mobile phone number, an e-mail address, an ID in another service that can serve as a contact means, an address that is effective in other text transmission services, and the like. That is, these may not be fixed to the terminal, and may be IDs of shared services that can be viewed at any time in a network environment. These pieces of information are collected together in a table associated with one notification destination ID and registered in the notification destination DB 33. An example of the table of the notification destination DB 33 is shown in Table 3. The SNS in the table refers to a social network service, and the “video distribution ID” refers to an ID of a service capable of video distribution other than the system itself. Among these, it is particularly preferable to include a mobile phone address that is very likely to be always carried and is suitable for notification. A plurality of notification destination IDs may be registered for one ID.

  Furthermore, if necessary, the addresses of terminals that are owned by individual users and that may be used as the transmission terminal 1 and the reception terminal 4 in the system according to the present invention are registered. First, by registering the address and the like of a terminal that may be used as the transmission terminal 1, the server 2 determines whether or not the request is a terminal obtained by a legitimate user in response to the transmission request. Is possible, and impersonation of a third party can be suppressed.

  Next, a terminal that may be used as the receiving terminal 4 needs to have a function that can actually receive content. However, it is not necessary to be able to receive and play back all the assumed content, and may be able to receive and play back only a limited type of content. In registering the information of the receiving terminal 4 in the receiving terminal registration DB 34, the type of content that can be reproduced, the screen size, the screen resolution, the communication speed, the computing capability of the device, the type of the corresponding content, and the like are described. In addition, it is particularly preferable in the case of a mobile phone to register an address at which the receiving terminal 4 can actually receive a file as content. On the other hand, when a terminal having a high degree of freedom of access such as a personal computer is used, a specific address is not necessarily required because the terminal can be used only with the ID of the notification destination DB 33. An example of such a table of the receiving terminal registration DB 34 is shown in Table 4. Here, the supported format is an extension attached to the file format of video content that can be played back. However, strictly speaking, in the case of “* .avi”, “* .mp4”, “* .wmv”, it is preferable to record up to the corresponding codec type and version. This is because there are files with the same extension but different formats. Specifically, there are a method of setting a flag of several bits for each extension and recording each bit together with a specific version number. Note that the support for each of the file formats listed above can be expanded by installing codecs and playback software.

  Moreover, as for these receiving terminals 4, both the thing which has the processing apparatus which has CPU, the thing with which the screen display apparatus is integrated, and the thing which each isolate | separated are mentioned. Examples of the integrated device include a mobile phone, a notebook computer, and a portable game machine. Examples of the separated ones include a desktop personal computer and a stationary game machine, and there is a case where one display is shared. In addition, there may be a case where a plurality of displays are connected to one desktop personal computer, and from which terminal the received display can be selected. As a usage method, for example, a terminal having a shared processing device is connected to a plurality of displays, and the destination user operates the shared processing device to designate which display to display and display the display. After starting, there is a case in which the processing apparatus continues to display in the background and can accept processing by other destination users. When performing these linkages, the receiving terminal registration DB 34 may record the terminal ID to which each terminal is connected.

  As described above, if files having the same extension but different formats exist, it may happen that the transmitted file cannot be reproduced. For this reason, as a whole system, first, the file extension must be properly attached. In addition, when the correspondence to one extension is registered in Table 4, the problem is less likely to occur if it is imposed on the condition that the terminal is compatible with any format of the file with the extension. . However, since new file formats appear one after another, it is not realistic to support all formats. In practice, it is more realistic to narrow down the types of content that can be transmitted by the system to those that can be reproduced by a general-purpose device.

  As for the receiving terminal 4, in addition to personal items owned by the user, the above information is registered for a shared terminal that can be commonly used by users of this system. As a result, even if the terminal that the transmission destination user (reception user) has at that time does not have the function of reproducing the content, the nearby shared terminal can be used as the reception terminal 4 The content can be received.

  In order to realize this, the receiving terminal registration DB 34 records the type of whether the terminal is public or personal, and if it is personal, the type of fixed or portable Also record. Of course, the information may be classified by adding more detailed information.

  The procedure executed after the server 2 having the user registration DB 31, the notification destination DB 33, and the reception terminal registration DB 34 in which the above information is registered receives the transmission notification from the reception user request unit 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. (151 and 152).

  First, the server 2 executes the operable device detection unit 41 to confirm whether or not a notification destination exists. As for the contents, for the user notified from the receiving user request unit 22, the notification destination address and the like are acquired from the notification destination DB 33 (153). Then, it is detected whether or not the notification destination is currently active (154). “Active” means that it is in a state where a notification can be received promptly, and in the case of a mobile phone, whether it is turned on or in a range where radio waves can reach. If it is the ID of SNS or other services, it is determined whether or not it is online. If none exists, the notification cannot be made, so a response indicating that the notification is not possible is sent to the transmission terminal 1 (161), and the transmission operation is terminated (162).

  Further, the operable device detection unit 41 selects a destination to be notified from at least one of a personal portable terminal, a personal fixed terminal, or an active service address that is considered to be used from the personal portable terminal. Prepare.

  At the same time, the server 2 also executes the operable device detection unit 41 for the receiving terminal 4 registered in the receiving terminal registration DB 34 of the destination user (155), and detects whether it is active as described above. (156). When the notification destination terminal 3 and the reception terminal 4 are shared, a part of the result of the previous notification destination acquisition is used. This makes it possible to list personal terminals and create a list table.

  In addition to supplementing the list of personal terminals, the case of listing public terminals will be supplemented. When the destination user has a terminal having a position specifying device 52 that can specify the position where the terminal exists, such as GPS, and information for referring to the GPS is registered in the user registration DB The server 2 executes the peripheral terminal search unit 44 and activates the position information transmission unit 51 of the GPS terminal possessed by the transmission destination user, and causes the position specifying device 52 to transmit the position information as latitude / longitude information. . Next, among the receiving terminals 4 registered as public fixed terminals in the receiving terminal registration DB 34 of the system, those near the acquired position information are listed up and a list table is created (157). In addition, the peripheral terminal searching unit 44 determines whether or not the receiving terminal 4 that is each public fixed terminal is activated, and excludes those that are not activated and those that are not usable from the list table. (158).

  In addition, the server 2 extracts the receiving terminal 4 that can reproduce the content from the file format flag of the content to be transmitted from the list table with reference to the receiving terminal registration DB 34. The unit 46 is executed (159). This is because even if a terminal that cannot reproduce the content is put on the list table and transmitted, it not only disturbs the user but also causes an error. It should be noted that a terminal that can be saved even if it cannot be reproduced may not be excluded from the list table but may be appended with information indicating that it can only be saved.

  In addition, when the corresponding terminal extraction unit 46 is executed, the content can be converted not only by the actual file format stored in the content storage unit 6 but also by the file format conversion unit 27 of the content storage unit 6. You can also include various formats. That is, even if it cannot be reproduced as it is, if it is converted on the transmission side into a format that can be reproduced by the receiving terminal 4, the types of terminals that can be reproduced are expanded, and the range of use of this system can be expanded. Further, the content metadata DB 26 may be able to record a conversion file format flag recorded for a possible conversion destination format as one of the metadata. The file format conversion unit 27 is specifically encoder software.

  If neither a personal terminal nor a public fixed terminal is available and there is no file reproducible terminal (160), a reply indicating that transmission is impossible is similarly sent to the transmitting terminal 1 (161), and the process ends (162).

  If any one of the terminals is available (160), it is listed. At this time, the order of listing is changed depending on whether or not the private flag (abbreviated as “PVflag” in the figure) of the metadata of the content to be transmitted is 1 (171). When the private flag is 0, that is, when the content is highly public, the list table of the receiving terminal 4 is sorted with the public fixed terminal as the first candidate (172).

  On the other hand, when the private flag is 1, that is, in the case of private content, the server 2 is close to the receiving terminal 4 registered by the receiving user status detection unit 45 as a personal fixed terminal by the receiving user. Whether or not is detected (172). When viewing most content, it is preferable to use a large screen for a fixed terminal rather than a small screen for a mobile device. This is because it is preferable to give priority to the fixed terminal.

  As a specific configuration of the reception user status detection unit 45, for example, when the registered notification destination terminal is a mobile phone having a position specifying device 52 such as GPS, the existence position is confirmed. The position information transmitting unit 51 transmits position information, and it is determined whether or not the position is within a radius of about 10 meters of the location of the receiving terminal 4 that is a personal fixed terminal of the transmission destination user. It is done. As another configuration, there is a configuration in which a system in which a camera or a sensor is attached to each person's seat and whether or not there is a target person is provided in the company. Information on the system for confirming presence information such as these may be recorded in the user registration DB 31 or may be acquired from a DB in a separately provided system.

  If it is determined by the receiving user status detection unit 45 that the user is present (173), the list table of the receiving terminal 4 with the personal fixed terminal provided at the presence location as the first candidate. Are sorted (174). On the other hand, if it is determined that the user is not present, the personal terminal is set as the first candidate, and the peripheral public fixed terminal obtained by the peripheral terminal search unit 44 is set as the second candidate. The list table is sorted (175).

  However, when the private flag of the content is for personal use, it may be set to exclude public reception terminals from the list table. This is because there is content that can be viewed in an open place, and content that requires complete secrecy. In this case, the private flag is not simply 0 or 1, and a finer flag may be set such that a private flag can be opened and a private flag cannot be opened. In addition, it is preferable that the user can set the user himself / herself in the user registration DB 31.

  When the content is dedicated to a specific terminal, it is preferable that the terminal listed in the list table is only the corresponding terminal. For example, this is the case of a ringtone-compatible melody format dedicated to a mobile phone of a specific carrier. This is because there are almost no files in this format that have a playback environment on a personal computer, and it makes little sense to send them to a personal computer. In addition, a light emission pattern setting file for external illumination of a mobile phone is dedicated to a specific terminal. Furthermore, when the content is game data, the receiving terminal 4 is limited to a specific game machine capable of executing the game.

  The receiving terminal notification unit 42 notifies the notification destination terminal 3 that there is a content transmission request together with the list table sorted by any one of the above methods (176). At this time, it is preferable that the content metadata is also transmitted together so that the destination user can easily determine.

  Although it is possible to directly execute the receiving terminal notifying unit 42 without executing the operable device detecting unit 41, since most of the errors that can be assumed cannot be expected, the operating device detecting unit 41 is executed. Is preferred.

  The operation after the destination user receives the notification will be described with reference to FIG. 4 (201). A content transmission notification is sent to the notification destination terminal 3 together with the list table sorted from the receiving terminal notification unit 42 of the server 2. The notification destination terminal 3 executes the reproduction terminal selection unit 53 that displays the list table in a selectable manner (202). Thereby, the transmission destination user, that is, the receiving user determines which receiving terminal 4 is to receive the data. At this time, when sorting is performed, a terminal suitable for reception is displayed with priority, and terminals that cannot be played are excluded, so the user can select efficiently. can do.

  It is also possible to receive only the notification and not receive it. This is because it may be unnecessary for the person. As a result, it is possible to prevent excessive transmission of content having a large capacity, thereby saving communication costs and network resources.

  By selecting the receiving terminal 4 that receives the content by an input device (not shown) of the notification destination terminal 3 (203), the transmission requesting unit 61 of the receiving terminal 4 is sent to the content accommodating unit 6 (that is, transmitting). A request is sent to the terminal 1 and the server 2 for which the content is actually stored (204). Of course, when the notification destination terminal 3 and the receiving terminal 4 are the same terminal, it is possible to transmit content to the terminal immediately after selection.

  Here, if the content file format stored in the content DB 25 of the transmission source can be directly played back by the receiving terminal 4 (205), it is transmitted to the receiving terminal 4 as it is (207). On the other hand, if the format cannot be reproduced as it is, the file format conversion unit 27 of the content storage unit 6 converts it into a format that can be reproduced by the receiving terminal 4 and transmits it (206, 207).

  The content execution unit 62 of the receiving terminal 4 reproduces the transmitted content (207). However, when the receiving terminal 4 is for personal use, the content execution unit 62 may be able to save instead of playing. Although transmission is not rejected, it is effective when there is no room for playback at that time, or when it is desired to watch the content carefully. Further, when the content is in the server 2, the content can be stopped while waiting for transmission. However, when the content is stored in the transmission terminal 1, it is not realistic to set the standby state.

  The above public terminal includes not only a terminal completely installed in a public space but also a terminal placed in a conference room in a company. You may make it divide a delivery destination further finely by the difference in these installation locations. In this case, the publicity flag and the private flag registered in the content metadata DB 26 and the receiving terminal registration DB 34 are set as more detailed values.

  The functions and database included in the server 2 may be included in a server that is a single device, or may include a plurality of servers connected to each other.

In addition, other assumed functions will be described.
The transmission destination selection unit 14 may be linked to the reception user status detection unit 45. In other words, a user who can directly play or store content by directly operating the receiving terminal 4 at that time can be preferentially selected as a transmission destination. This is effective when trying to transmit content during a chat. This is because the conversation partner is always online.

  In the above embodiment, the user is selected after selecting the content. However, as another embodiment, the transmission destination DB 21 may be buffered in advance in the transmission destination DB 21, and the list may be displayed together with the content selection. This is particularly effective when the content is transmitted once and then the next content is transmitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission terminal 2 Server 3 Notification destination terminal 4 Reception terminal 6 Content accommodating part 11 Input device 13 Input information detection part 14 Transmission destination selection part 15 Transmission content selection part 21 Transmission destination DB
22 Receiving user request part 25 Content DB
26 Content metadata DB
27 File Format Conversion Unit 31 User Registration DB
32 User confirmation part 33 Notification DB
34 Receiving terminal registration DB
41 operable device detector 42 receiving terminal notifying unit 44 peripheral terminal searching unit 45 receiving user situation detecting unit 46 corresponding terminal extracting unit 51 location information transmitting unit 52 location specifying device 53 playback terminal selecting unit 61 transmission requesting unit 62 content executing unit

Claims (14)

A system that transmits and receives content between terminals used by users,
An input information detection unit that extracts input information from an input device at a certain time before, after a certain time, or both from when the content to be transmitted is selected;
Information that can be associated with an ID or ID that can be a transmission destination to which the content selected by the user is extracted from the extracted input information and can be associated with another user ID or another user ID. A transmission destination selection unit that lists and indicates that can be selected by the input device;
A reproduction terminal selection unit that shows a list table of terminals that can reproduce or store the content to be transmitted, which can be selected by the input device to the terminal used by the receiving user;
A transmission request unit that requests actual transmission of the content to a terminal that performs reproduction or storage;
A content execution unit for reproducing or storing the transmitted content in the receiving terminal;
Therefore, the content transmission / reception system enables reception at a terminal suitable for the user who transmits the content without knowing the specific address of the destination user. A user registration database for registering the IDs of all users;
A notification destination database for registering a terminal or destination to receive notification for each ID, and
Publicity information that classifies at least whether the terminal for receiving the content is a personal terminal or a shared terminal for each ID, and is a portable terminal if it is for personal use A receiving terminal registration database for registering terminal information including information on whether or not the terminal is a fixed terminal and information on the storage format of a file that can be played back on the terminal;
A content database for storing content;
For each content stored in the content database, a private flag for classifying (branching / determining) whether or not to allow the reproduction of the content according to the publicity of the receiving terminal, the storage format of the content, and A content metadata database that stores content metadata including a file format flag that classifies whether or not the content can be played by correspondence with the function of the receiving terminal, or both;
An input device capable of inputting at least character information and selecting presentation information for a terminal used by a user;
A transmission content selection unit that allows the input device to select the content to be transmitted to other users from the content registered in the content database;
Receiving user who makes a request as to whether or not the selected content can be received with respect to the terminal or destination that receives the notification registered in the notification destination database for the transmission destination ID selected by the input device A request part;
A receiving terminal notification unit that receives a request from the receiving user request unit and transmits a notification that there is a transmission request to a terminal or destination that receives the notification;
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 1. A transmission destination database that records the IDs of other users that can be the transmission destinations of the content, which exists for each user;
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission destination selection unit extracts an ID or information about an ID of another user recorded in the transmission destination database.   The content transmission / reception system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission destination database is in a terminal operated by a transmission source user.   The content transmission / reception system according to claim 3, wherein the transmission destination database is stored in a server connected to an operation terminal of a transmission source user via a network. An operable device detection unit for detecting whether each of the receiving terminals is in an online state in which the content can be reproduced or stored;
It is determined whether or not the receiving terminal detected by the operable device detection unit includes a dedicated terminal of the transmission destination user, and if it is included, it is determined that the content can be reproduced or stored. A receiving user status detection unit,
The content transmission / reception system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising:   As the user ID that can be a transmission destination displayed by the transmission destination selection unit, the reception user status detection unit gives priority to the IDs of other users determined to be able to reproduce or store the content. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 6 to be listed. The information on the storage format of the file of the content that can be played back by each terminal of the receiving terminal registration database is classified by an extension that is appropriately attached to the file name of the type of file that can be played back,
The content according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a file format flag included in the content metadata database corresponds to an extension of a file name appropriately attached to the file in the content database. Transmission / reception system. The terminal that receives the above notification is a terminal that is carried by the user and has a position specifying device that can specify the location where the terminal exists,
The reproduction terminal selection unit includes a common receiving terminal that exists in the vicinity of a place where the terminal specified by the position specifying device exists in a list table of terminals to be displayed in a selectable manner. Item 9. The content transmission / reception system according to any one of Items 1 to 8. The terminal that receives the notification has a position information transmission unit that transmits information on a location where the terminal exists at least when the notification is received to a server that can refer to the reception terminal registration database,
The server that has received the information on the location refers to the reception terminal registration database, so that the peripheral terminals that list the common reception terminals that exist in the vicinity of the location where the terminal specified by the location specifying device exists are listed. Has a search section,
The content transmission / reception system according to claim 9, wherein the reproduction terminal selection unit displays a list including the transmitted shared reception terminals as part or all of the list table.   In response to the notification to the reproduction terminal selection unit, a corresponding terminal extraction unit that extracts a terminal capable of reproducing the content from the file format flag of the content to be transmitted by referring to the reception terminal registration database. The content transmission / reception system according to any one of claims 1 to 10. When transmitting the content, if the storage format of the file of the content is a storage format that cannot be played back by the terminal that plays the content that is the transmission destination, the file format of the content is converted to a format that can be played back by the terminal A file format conversion unit
The content transmission / reception system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the content metadata database includes a conversion file format flag indicating a type of a file format of a conversion destination that can be converted when the content is transmitted.   If the private flag recorded in the content metadata database for the content to be transmitted is a value belonging to personal use, the playback terminal selection unit displays a list of terminals that can be played back as shown in the list table. The content transmission / reception system according to claim 1, wherein only the terminal for personal use of the receiving user is displayed.   The user confirmation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: a user confirmation unit that confirms whether or not the user has an ID registered in the user registration database when registering another user in the transmission destination database. The content transmission / reception system described.

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