JP2011171976A - Content playback system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content playback system for providing the contents having an unspecified substance to a user through the use of a server with a storage device with a small capacity. <P>SOLUTION: When a content selection request is received from the terminal device 30 of each user, a selection server 10 performs retrieval on a network with respect to a plurality of contents stored in respective contents servers 20, based on user information of the user. Thus, the server 10 selects the contents having the substance suitable for the user, and transmits location information of the selected contents to the terminal device 30. When the contents location information is transmitted from the selection server 10, each terminal device 30 acquires the contents by performing access to a contents server 20 storing the contents, based on the contents location information. Then, when the predetermined playback time has come, the acquired contents are reproduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a content reproduction system for reproducing content such as a moving image selected by a server on each terminal device.

  Usually, a terminal device such as a mobile phone is provided with a timer function that issues an alarm at a time specified by a user. Recently, it has been proposed to store alarm content acquired from the Internet in a mobile phone, generate an alarm at the wake-up time, and then play the content when a predetermined operation is performed (for example, , See Patent Document 1). In addition, an alarm moving image setting system that reproduces a moving image instead of issuing an alarm by extending the timer function has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2). In this alarm video setting system, the terminal device downloads desired video data from the alarm providing server via the Internet, and reproduces the downloaded video data at a set time. Thereby, a user's awakening can be aroused from both hearing and vision.

JP 2006-308461 A JP 2005-121598 A

  However, in such an alarm video setting system, the user himself / herself specifies video data and downloads it to his / her terminal device. For this reason, since the user knows in advance what kind of moving image is to be reproduced, there is a problem in that the user's interest in the content of the reproduced content cannot be increased. In addition, since the moving image data is managed by the alarm providing server, for example, when the number of moving image data is large and the amount of the data is large, the alarm providing server includes a storage device with a huge capacity. There is also a problem that a large amount of equipment costs are required for constructing the system.

  The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and provides a content reproduction system capable of providing unspecified content to a user using a server having a storage device with a small capacity. It is the purpose.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention includes one or a plurality of content servers that store and manage a plurality of contents, a selection server having a function of performing data communication with each content server via a network, and a network. A content reproduction system comprising: a plurality of terminal devices having a function of communicating data with each content server and a selection server via the content server; When the server receives a content selection request from each user's terminal device, the server sends user information about the user that has been sent from the terminal device or another terminal device in advance or sent from the terminal device at that time. Based on this, search the network for multiple contents stored by each content server. Thus, content selecting means for selecting content with contents suitable for the user and transmitting content location information indicating the location of the selected content to the terminal device is provided, and each terminal device reproduces the content. Input means for inputting a power reproduction time on a predetermined screen, storage means for storing information about the input reproduction time, and predetermined content capable of reproducing content at the reproduction time stored in the storage means When a content selection request is transmitted to the selection server at the timing of and when the content location information is sent from the selection server, the content server storing the content is accessed based on the content location information. Content acquisition control means for acquiring the content and content acquisition control means There characterized by comprising a content reproduction control means for reproducing the acquired content, the. Here, the content reproduction method in each terminal device is not limited to the method of reproducing after downloading the entire content, and for example, a streaming method of reproducing the content at the same time as downloading can be adopted.

  In the present invention, with this configuration, the selection server selects content, and after the selection is made and before playback of the content, the user is not informed of what content has been selected. Content with specific contents can be played back at the playback time. For this reason, it is possible to increase the user's interest in the content of the content to be reproduced, and to improve the entertainment. In addition, since each content server manages content, and the selection server does not need to manage content by itself, a server with a small storage capacity can be used as the selection server. In addition, since the content selection means of the selection server selects the content by performing a search on the network, each content server existing on the network can be used. For this reason, it is possible to construct this system without investing a large amount of equipment costs. Furthermore, since the content selection means of the selection server performs a search on the network and selects the content, the content added every day on the network can be selected, so that the latest content is played back on the terminal device. Is possible.

  In the content reproduction system of the present invention, the content selection unit of the selection server obtains the content acquired by accessing the content server storing the selected content instead of the content location information indicating the location of the selected content. The content may be transmitted to the terminal device, and the content acquisition control unit of each terminal device may acquire the content sent from the selection server in response to the content selection request.

  In this case, when the content selection unit of the selection server receives a content selection request from the terminal device of each user, the content selection unit selects the content with the content suitable for the user and stores the selected content. The content is acquired by accessing the content server and transmitted to the terminal device. Thereby, each terminal device can acquire content only by accessing a selection server, and since it is not necessary to access each content server, security can be improved.

  Further, in the content reproduction system of the present invention, the content acquisition control means of each terminal device transmits the content selection request input by the user when the content selection request is transmitted to the selection server. Content selection information that is information related to the content is also transmitted, and when the content selection means of the selection server receives the content selection request and the content selection information from each user's terminal device, the user information and the content selection about the user By performing a search on the network using information, it is also possible to select content having contents suitable for the user and contents desired by the user. Thereby, since the content of the content which a user desires is reproduced | regenerated in a terminal device, a user's interest can be heightened further about the content of the content reproduced | regenerated. However, in this case as well, the content played back by the terminal device is content that is unspecified for the user.

  Further, in the content reproduction system of the present invention, each terminal device has a location information acquisition function for acquiring location information of the terminal device, and the content acquisition control means of each terminal device selects a content with respect to the selection server. When the request is transmitted, the position information acquired by the position information acquisition function is also transmitted, and the content selection unit of the selection server receives the content selection request and the position information from each terminal device of each user. If it is determined that the content should be selected on the basis of the content, the content related to the area indicated by the location information is obtained by performing a search on the network using the location information sent from the terminal device. May be selected. Here, as an example of the content related to the area indicated by the position information, there can be mentioned the content indicating the special sale performed on that day in the area. Accordingly, in some cases, content with contents related to the area indicated by the position information may be reproduced on the terminal device, so that the user can enjoy content with unexpected contents.

  Further, in the content reproduction system of the present invention, the database of the selection server stores history information in which information relating to the content selected in the past by the content selection unit is stored, and the content selection unit receives from the terminal device of each user. When the content of one or more selection candidates is specified by performing a search on the network in response to a content selection request, the history information about the user stored in the database is referred to, and the one or more selections are made. When content other than the content previously selected for the user is included in the candidate content, content other than the content previously selected for the user may be preferentially selected. As a result, content that has been played in the past can be excluded as much as possible, and other content can be played back on the terminal device, so that the user can enjoy content that has never been seen before .

  Such history information management can also be performed by each terminal device. That is, in the content reproduction system of the present invention, the content selection unit of the selection server selects a plurality of contents when receiving a content selection request from each user's terminal device, and the storage unit of each terminal device stores the content History information that is information related to content that has been played back by the playback control unit is stored, and the content playback control unit acquires a plurality of contents selected by the content selection unit of the selection server. , Referring to the history information stored in the storage means, if content other than the content reproduced in the past is included in the plurality of contents, the content other than the content reproduced in the past is preferentially determined, The determined content may be played back.

  Furthermore, in the content reproduction system of the present invention, it is desirable that the content to be selected by the content selection means includes moving image data. In particular, by using moving image data as the content, it is possible to notify the user that the predetermined time has been reached not only by sound but also by video, so that the user's interest in the reproduced content can be further increased. it can.

  According to the content playback system of the present invention, content with contents unspecified for the user can be played back with a timer on the terminal device, so that the user's interest in the content of the content to be played can be increased and entertainment is also provided. Can be improved. Moreover, this system can be constructed without incurring a large amount of equipment costs.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content reproduction system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of a selection server in the content reproduction system, and FIG. 2B is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device in the content reproduction system. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining a process of playing back content using the timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining a process of playing back content using a timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system of the second embodiment.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content reproduction system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of a selection server in the content reproduction system, and FIG. 2B is a terminal in the content reproduction system. It is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the content reproduction system of the first embodiment includes a selection server 10, a plurality of content servers 20, 20,..., And a plurality of terminal devices 30, 30,. The content reproduction system is for reproducing the content selected by the selection server 10 on each of the terminal devices 30, 30,. Here, “content” includes those defined in Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Promotion of Creation, Protection, and Utilization of Content (Act No. 81 of June 4, 2004) Specifically, for example, data such as moving images, music, images, and games. Further, the content includes data on contents related to special sales, data on contents related to events, data on contents related to sight-seeing guides at sightseeing spots, and the like. In the present specification, reproducing such moving image, music, and game data or displaying image data is referred to as “content reproduction”. In the following, a case where the content to be selected by the selection server 10 is moving image data will be described.

  In addition, the selection server 10, the content servers 20, 20,... And the terminal devices 30, 30,. As the network, for example, the Internet, a wired or wireless LAN, or the like can be used. In the following, a case where the network is the Internet will be described in particular.

  The selection server 10 stores and manages user information about users who use the system, and selects content when receiving a content selection request from each terminal device 30. Each content server 20 stores and manages various contents and distributes the contents. The content server 20 is not limited to one operated by the management company of the selection server 10 but can be one operated by another company. Each content server 20 may be a video distribution site that anyone can use on the Internet, for example.

  Each terminal device 30 is an information processing terminal used by a user who uses this system. As the terminal device 30, any information processing terminal can be used as long as it has an input function, a time management function, a data communication function, a program execution function, and a moving image data reproduction function. Specifically, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a portable music player, a game machine, or the like can be used. Below, the case where a mobile telephone is used especially as the terminal device 30 is demonstrated. That is, the terminal device 30 has functions similar to those of a general mobile phone, that is, functions for performing various processes such as calling, calculation, storage, transmission / reception of information via a network, and display of information. Further, it is assumed that the terminal device 30 has a GPS function (position information acquisition function) for acquiring the position information of the terminal device 30.

  Each terminal device 30 includes a timer playback function for unspecified content, which is a characteristic function in the first embodiment, as one of the time management functions. The unspecified content timer playback function is a function in which the terminal device 30 makes a content selection request to the selection server 10 and automatically plays back the content selected by the selection server 10 at a preset time. The selection server 10 selects content, and after the selection is made, the content is not notified to the user before the content is reproduced. For this reason, the user can know the contents only when the reproduction of the content is started. That is, the content reproduced by this function is content that is unspecified for the user, and this means “unspecified content”. Further, the user can use this function specifically as an alarm, an alarm, a task reminder, or the like.

  Next, the configuration of the selection server 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2A, the selection server 10 includes a database 11, a communication unit 12, a management unit 13, and a content selection unit 14.

  The database 11 stores user information about users who use the terminal devices 30, 30,... And history information. The user information includes profile information and terminal information. The profile information is information related to a user-specific profile. Specifically, the profile information includes the user's gender, date of birth, hobbies, and the like. The terminal information is information related to the terminal device 30 used by the user, for example, a manufacturer of the mobile phone, a model number, and the like. In order to use the timer playback function for unspecified content according to the present system, the user needs to download and install a dedicated application program for realizing the function in his / her terminal device 30. When downloading the application program, profile information is input and user information is registered in the selection server 10. Note that after the user information is registered, the user can access the selection server 10 from his / her terminal device 30 to change the content of the user information.

  In addition, the history information is recorded for each user information related to the content selected by the selection server 10 when each terminal device 30 has used the timer playback function for unspecified content in the system in the past.

  The communication unit 12 performs data communication between the selection server 10 and each of the content servers 20, 20,... And between the selection server 10 and each of the terminal devices 30, 30,. Is.

  The management unit 13 controls and controls each unit of the selection server 10 and registers, deletes, searches, and the like for the database 11. When the content selection unit 14 receives a content selection request from the terminal device 30 of each user, the content selection unit 14 performs processing on a plurality of contents stored in each of the content servers 20, 20,. By performing a search on the network, content having contents suitable for the user is selected, and content location information indicating the location of the selected content on the network is transmitted to the terminal device 30. Here, for example, URL information or the like corresponds to the content location information. Specifically, the content location information includes all information necessary for the terminal device 30 to access the content server 20 and acquire the content.

  The selection server 10 serves as an application download server for downloading to each terminal device 30 a dedicated application program for the terminal device 30 to realize the timer playback function for unspecified content in the present system. Also plays.

  Next, the configuration of each terminal device 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2B, each terminal device 30 includes an input unit 31, a display unit 32 such as a liquid crystal display device, a speaker 33, a storage unit 34, a communication unit 35, and a position information acquisition unit 36. And a control means 37.

  The input unit 31 is for inputting predetermined information or performing predetermined setting on various screens displayed on the screen of the display unit 32, for example. Various screens displayed on the screen of the display means 32 include a timer playback function setting screen for unspecified content, a content selection information input screen, and the like. Here, the timer playback function setting screen for unspecified content is used for setting the timer playback function for unspecified content to be valid and inputting the playback time at which the content should be played back. On the other hand, the content selection information input screen is for inputting content selection information. The content selection information will be described later. On the screen of the display unit 32, for example, when moving image data is reproduced as content, the moving image is displayed.

  The speaker 33 outputs various sound data. For example, when moving image data is reproduced as content, the sound of the moving image is output from the speaker 33.

  The storage unit 34 stores various application programs. In addition, the storage means 34 stores various data, specifically information about the playback time input on the timer playback function setting screen for unspecified content, content selection information input on the content selection information input screen, and the like. Is memorized.

  Here, the content selection information input on the content selection information input screen will be described. The content selection information is information related to the content that the user desires to reproduce using the timer reproduction function for unspecified content, and is used when the selection server 10 selects content. Specifically, the content selection information includes a category, a keyword, a selection rule, and the like. A category is a category of content that the user desires to play. Specifically, “sports”, “music”, “news”, “entertainment”, and the like are applicable. For example, when only content related to sports is to be reproduced, the user inputs “sports” in the category input field on the content selection information input screen. The keyword is information regarding the specific content of the content that the user desires to reproduce. Specifically, “soccer”, “baseball”, “jazz”, “classical music”, “comics”, and the like are applicable. In addition, as a keyword, the name of a specific person such as an athlete or a talent can be used. For example, when the user wants to reproduce the content related to a certain talent, the user enters the name of the talent in the keyword input field on the content selection information input screen. The selection rule is a rule when the selection server 10 selects content. For example, if an evaluation from a general user is given to each content on a video distribution site, a rule may be set to select only content whose evaluation value is a certain value or more. It is possible to set a rule of selecting only content whose number ranking is within the best 10. Furthermore, as a selection rule, it is possible to set a rule for selecting content based on position information of the terminal device 30 acquired by the GPS function.

  The communication unit 35 performs data communication between the terminal device 30 and the selection server 10 and between the terminal device 30 and each of the content servers 20, 20,. The position information acquisition means 36 plays a role of realizing a GPS function. That is, the position information acquisition unit 36 acquires position information of the terminal device 30 by receiving radio waves from GPS satellites and measuring the current position. The acquired position information is sent to the control means 37.

  The control means 37 controls each part of the terminal device 30 in an integrated manner. As shown in FIG. 2B, the control unit 37 includes content acquisition control unit 37a and content reproduction control unit 37b. The content acquisition control unit 37a and the content reproduction control unit 37b play a role of realizing a timer reproduction function for unspecified content. The content acquisition control unit 37a performs a process of requesting the selection server 10 to select a content and acquiring the content when the timer reproduction function for unspecified content is valid. Specifically, the content acquisition control unit 37 a transmits a content selection request to the selection server 10 at a predetermined timing at which the content can be reproduced at the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34. At this time, the content selection information and the position information stored in the storage unit 34 are transmitted together with the content selection request. Here, the position information is obtained by the position information obtaining unit 36. Then, when content location information is sent from the selection server 10, the content acquisition control unit 37a acquires the content by accessing the content server 20 in which the content is stored based on the content location information. . In addition, the content reproduction control unit 37b acquires the content acquired by the content acquisition control unit 37a when the time has reached the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34 when the timer reproduction function for unspecified content is valid. Process to play.

  Next, an initial registration work procedure in each terminal device 30 will be described. In order to use the timer playback function of unspecified content in the content playback system of the first embodiment in each terminal device 30, a dedicated application program must be installed in the terminal device 30. The user performs a predetermined initial registration work when installing a dedicated application program in his / her terminal device 30.

  First, the user accesses the selection server 10 using his / her terminal device 30 and displays a predetermined registration screen for installing a dedicated application program on the display means 32. Next, the user inputs profile information on the registration screen. When the user presses the download button, the input profile information and terminal information stored in advance in the terminal device 30 are sent to the selection server 10. The selection server 10 registers the profile information and terminal information sent from the terminal device 30 in the database 11 as user information about the user. Thereafter, the selection server 10 transmits a dedicated application program to the terminal device 30. Thus, the terminal device 30 can download and install a dedicated application program. Note that the management company that operates the selection server 10 can also charge the user for the use of the dedicated application program. As the charging method, various methods such as a method of charging when the application program is downloaded, a method of charging monthly, and the like can be employed.

  Next, a setting procedure for enabling the timer playback function for unspecified content in each terminal device 30 will be described.

  First, the user activates a dedicated application program in his / her terminal device 30 and displays a timer playback function setting screen for unspecified content on the screen of the display means 32. Then, after the user inputs the playback time at which the content should be played back on the timer playback function setting screen for the unspecified content, the user activates the timer playback function for the unspecified content by pressing a predetermined valid button. Here, information about the input reproduction time is stored in the storage means 34. At this time, the user can display the content selection information input screen on the screen of the display means 32 and input the content selection information.

  The content selection information does not necessarily need to be input, but the timer playback function for unspecified content cannot be validated unless at least the playback time is input. Further, the timer playback function setting screen for unspecified content and the content selection information input screen may be configured as one screen.

  Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure for playing back content using the timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining a process of playing back content using the timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system of the first embodiment.

  When the timer playback function for unspecified content is enabled in the terminal device 30, the content acquisition control unit 37a of the terminal device 30 determines the current time based on the information about the playback time stored in the storage unit 34. It is determined whether the time has reached a predetermined time. Here, the predetermined time is a time before the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34. Since it takes a certain amount of time to acquire the content, the content acquisition is completed before the playback time, so that the content can be reliably played back when the time reaches the playback time. is there. Specifically, as the predetermined time, for example, a time 10 minutes before the reproduction time is set. When the content acquisition control unit 37a recognizes that the current time is a predetermined time (step S11), the content acquisition control unit 37a transmits a content selection request to the selection server 10 (step S12). At this time, the content acquisition control unit 37 a also transmits the content selection information stored in the storage unit 34 and the position information of the terminal device 30 acquired using the GPS function to the selection server 10.

  When the content selection unit 14 of the selection server 10 receives the content selection information and the position information together with the content selection request from the terminal device 30, the content selection unit 14 based on the user information and history information about the user and the received content selection information and position information. Then, processing for selecting content is performed (step S13).

  Specifically, the content selection unit 14 first determines whether a rule for selecting content based on position information is set as a selection rule in the user selection information. When a rule for selecting content based on position information is not set, the content selection unit 14 stores a plurality of contents stored in each content server 20, 20,... Using user information and content selection information. Search for content on the network. Here, by performing a search on the network based on the content of the user information, it is possible to find content with content that matches the gender, age, hobby, etc. of the user. Further, by performing a search on the network based on the content of the content selection information, it is possible to find the content with the content that meets the user's desire. For example, when the name of a certain talent is set as a keyword included in the content selection information, the content of the content related to the talent can be found, and the ranking of the number of accesses is the best as the selection rule in the content selection information. If it is set to be within 10, it is possible to find content that matches such conditions.

  On the other hand, when a rule for selecting content based on position information is set as a selection rule in the user selection information, the content selection means 14 should select content based on position information. A determination is made and a search is performed on the network using the position information sent from the terminal device 30. Thereby, the content of the content relevant to the area shown by the said positional information can be found out. Here, the area indicated by the position information is, for example, an area within a radius of 10 km centered on the position indicated by the position information, and the content related to the area includes, for example, the day in the area. This includes content that informs the special sale that will be held, content that introduces local attractions, and the like. When the content selection unit 14 determines that the content should be selected based on the location information, the content selection unit 14 uses not only the location information sent from the terminal device 30 but also the keyword in the content selection information on the network. You may make it search by. In this case, if the user inputs, for example, “special sale” as a keyword, the content selection unit 14 finds only the content that informs the special sale that day in that region as the content related to the region. become.

  Specifically, the search process on the network is performed as follows. First, the content selection unit 14 accesses a certain content server 20 and makes a conditional (keyword, category, etc.) search request. When receiving the search request, the content server 20 searches for content. Then, the search result is transmitted to the selection server 10. Such search results include content information about content that matches the conditions. However, if there is no content that matches the conditions, the content information is not included in the search result. Specifically, when the content is video data, the content information includes a title, playback time, content location information (URL), and the like. Here, the content information may include a location management server URL on the content server side for notifying the content location information instead of the content location information. Similarly, the content selection means 14 also makes a search request to the other content servers 20, 20,..., And obtains search results from them.

  In this way, when the content selection means 14 performs a search on the network and receives the search results from each of the content servers 20, 20,..., The content included in the search results is selected as one or more items to be selected. It is specified as a plurality of selection candidate contents. At this time, if there is only one selection candidate content, the content selection unit 14 selects the content. On the other hand, if there are a plurality of selection candidate contents, the content selection unit 14 performs a process of selecting one content from the selection candidate contents. This process is performed with reference to history information, for example. Specifically, the content selection unit 14 refers to the history information about the user, and when the content of the plurality of selection candidates includes content other than the content selected in the past for the user, Content other than the content selected in the past is preferentially selected for the user. For example, content other than the content previously selected for the user is extracted from the plurality of selection candidate content, and one content is extracted from the extracted content randomly or in a predetermined method (for example, the latest Select by date). On the other hand, when all of the plurality of selection candidate contents are contents selected in the past for the user, one content is selected from these contents at random or by a predetermined method.

  Thus, when one content is selected, the content selection unit 14 transmits content location information indicating the location of the selected content to the terminal device 30 (step S14).

  Next, when the content acquisition control unit 37a of the terminal device 30 receives the content location information from the selection server 10, the content acquisition control unit 37a issues a content acquisition request to the content server 20 in which the content is stored based on the content location information. Transmit (step S15). When the content server 20 receives the content acquisition request from the terminal device 30, the content server 20 distributes the content corresponding to the request to the terminal device 30 (step S16). That is, as described above, since the content location information includes all information necessary for the terminal device 30 to access and acquire the content, the content acquisition control unit 37 a The content can be acquired by accessing the content server 20 in which the content is stored based on the information. When the content acquisition control unit 37 a of the terminal device 30 acquires the content sent from the content server 20, the content acquisition control unit 37 a stores the content in the storage unit 34.

  Further, the content reproduction control unit 37b of the terminal device 30 determines whether or not the time has reached the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34. When the content reproduction control unit 37b recognizes that the time has reached the reproduction time (step S17), the content reproduction control unit 37b reproduces the content acquired by the content acquisition control unit 37a (step S18). Thereby, the reproduction of the content is started at the reproduction time set in advance by the user. When the reproduction of the content is completed, the process from step S11 is repeated again.

  Depending on the data amount of the content, the state of the network, etc., it may take a long time for the terminal device 30 to acquire the content. Even when the time reaches the playback time, the content acquisition control unit 37a still does not A situation where the download has not been completed can occur. As described above, when the content acquisition control unit 37a has not completed the download of the content by the reproduction time, the content reproduction control unit 37b thereafter displays the content when the content acquisition control unit 37a completes the content download. The content is reproduced.

  In the first embodiment, the selection server selects content, and after the selection is made and before playback of the content, the user is not informed of what content has been selected. The content of the content can be played back at the playback time. For this reason, it is possible to increase the user's interest in the content of the content to be reproduced, and to improve the entertainment. In addition, since each content server manages content, and the selection server does not need to manage content by itself, a server with a small storage capacity can be used as the selection server. In addition, since the content selection means of the selection server selects the content by performing a search on the network, each content server existing on the network can be used. For this reason, it is possible to construct this system without investing a large amount of equipment costs. Furthermore, since the content selection means of the selection server performs a search on the network and selects the content, the content added every day on the network can be selected, so that the latest content is played back on the terminal device. Is possible.

  In the first embodiment, the content acquisition control unit of each terminal device also transmits content selection information when transmitting a content selection request to the selection server. The content selection unit of the selection server When the content selection request and the content selection information are received from the terminal device, the user information about the user and the content selection information are searched on the network, so that the content is suitable for the user. To select the content desired by the user. For this reason, since the content of the content which a user desires is reproduced | regenerated in a terminal device, a user's interest can be heightened further about the content of the content reproduced | regenerated. However, in this case as well, the content played back by the terminal device is content that is unspecified for the user.

  In the first embodiment, the content acquisition control unit of each terminal device also transmits the position information acquired by the GPS function when transmitting a content selection request to the selection server, and the content selection unit of the selection server In some cases, the content information related to the area indicated by the position information is selected by performing a search on the network using the position information sent from the terminal device. For this reason, content related to the area indicated by the position information may be reproduced on the terminal device, so that the user can enjoy content with unexpected content.

  Further, in the first embodiment, when the content selection unit of the selection server specifies one or a plurality of selection candidate contents by performing a search on the network in response to a content selection request from each user's terminal device. , Referring to the history information about the user, if the content of the one or more selection candidates includes content other than the content selected in the past for the user, the content selected in the past for the user Select content other than content preferentially. For this reason, content that has been played in the past can be excluded as much as possible, and other content can be played back on the terminal device, so that users can enjoy content that has never been seen before .

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The basic configuration of the content reproduction system of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Actually, the content reproduction system of the second embodiment has the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 used for the description of the first embodiment. Therefore, hereinafter, the content reproduction system of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the second embodiment, components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the content reproduction system according to the second embodiment includes a selection server 10, a plurality of content servers 20, 20,..., And a plurality of terminal devices 30, 30,. . The selection server 10, the content servers 20, 20,... And the terminal devices 30, 30,.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the selection server 10 includes a database 11, a communication unit 12, a management unit 13, and a content selection unit 14, and each terminal device 30 is configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the display unit 32 includes an input unit 31, a display unit 32 such as a liquid crystal display device, a speaker 33, a storage unit 34, a communication unit 35, a position information acquisition unit 36, and a control unit 37. Here, the control unit 37 includes a content acquisition control unit 37a and a content reproduction control unit 37b. Each terminal device 30 has a timer playback function for unspecified content.

  The content playback system of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment when the content selection unit 14 of the selection server 10 selects content in response to a content selection request from the terminal device 30 of each user. The content location information is not transmitted to the terminal device 30, but is acquired by accessing the content server 20 in which the selected content is stored and transmitted to the terminal device 30. Thereby, the content acquisition control means 37a of each terminal device 30 can acquire content from the selection server 10 only by transmitting a content selection request to the selection server 10, and accesses the content server 20 to communicate data. There is no need to do. The other points are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure for playing back content using the timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system of the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining a process of playing back content using a timer playback function for unspecified content in the content playback system of the second embodiment.

  When the timer playback function for unspecified content is enabled in the terminal device 30, the content acquisition control unit 37a of the terminal device 30 determines the current time based on the information about the playback time stored in the storage unit 34. It is determined whether the time has reached a predetermined time. Here, the predetermined time is a time before the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34 (for example, a time 10 minutes before the reproduction time). When the content acquisition control unit 37a recognizes that the current time is a predetermined time (step S31), the content acquisition control unit 37a transmits a content selection request to the selection server 10 (step S32). At this time, the content acquisition control unit 37 a also transmits the content selection information stored in the storage unit 34 and the position information of the terminal device 30 acquired using the GPS function to the selection server 10.

  When the content selection unit 14 of the selection server 10 receives the content selection information and the position information together with the content selection request from the terminal device 30, the content selection unit 14 based on the user information and history information about the user and the received content selection information and position information. Then, a process for selecting content is performed (step S33). Specifically, as in the case of the first embodiment, the content selection unit 14 searches the network for a plurality of contents stored in the respective content servers 20, 20,. Select one content.

  Thus, when the content selection unit 14 selects one content, the content selection unit 14 transmits a content acquisition request to the content server 20 in which the content is stored (step S34). Upon receiving the content acquisition request from the selection server 10, the content server 20 transmits the content corresponding to the request to the selection server 10 (step S35).

  When the selection server 10 acquires the content sent from the content server 20, the selection server 10 transmits the content to the terminal device 30 (step S36). That is, the selection server 10 plays a role of mediating between the content server 20 and the terminal device 30 regarding content transmission. When the content acquisition control unit 37 a of the terminal device 30 acquires the content sent from the content server 20, the content acquisition control unit 37 a stores the content in the storage unit 34.

  Further, the content reproduction control unit 37b of the terminal device 30 determines whether or not the time has reached the reproduction time stored in the storage unit 34. When the content reproduction control unit 37b recognizes that the time has reached the reproduction time (step S37), the content reproduction control unit 37b reproduces the content acquired by the content acquisition control unit 37a (step S38). Thereby, the reproduction of the content is started at the reproduction time set in advance by the user. When the reproduction of the content is completed, the processing from step S31 is repeated again.

  The content reproduction system of the second embodiment has the same effects as those of the first embodiment. In particular, in the second embodiment, when the content selection unit of the selection server receives a content selection request from the terminal device of each user, the content selection unit selects the content with the content suitable for the user and stores the selected content. The content is acquired by accessing the content server, and is transmitted to the terminal device. For this reason, each terminal device can acquire content only by accessing a selection server, and since it is not necessary to access each content server, security can be improved.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case has been described where each terminal device starts reproduction of the content when the time reaches a predetermined reproduction time after completion of the content download. For example, a streaming method, a progressive download method, or the like that can be simultaneously played while downloading content may be employed. For example, if the content is divided into two parts, the first streaming data and the second streaming data, after the first streaming data is acquired, even if the second streaming data is being acquired, Since the one streaming data is in a reproducible state, the content reproduction control means can reproduce the first streaming data during acquisition of the second streaming data.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the content acquisition control unit of each terminal device can perform content playback at the playback time stored in the storage unit (for example, 10 minutes before the playback time). The case where the content selection request is transmitted to the selection server at the time) has been described. The “predetermined timing” may be, for example, a time one hour before the reproduction time, a time five minutes before the reproduction time, or the like as long as the time is earlier than the reproduction time. The “predetermined timing” is a timing at which the content can be reproduced at the reproduction time, but may be the reproduction time when the content is reproduced by streaming. In this case, the content can be simultaneously reproduced while being acquired, and therefore the time at which the content actually starts to be reproduced does not greatly deviate from the reproduction time. In particular, in the first embodiment, the content acquisition control means transmits a content selection request to the selection server at a predetermined timing, and after receiving the content location information from the selection server, the time becomes the playback time. Sometimes, a content acquisition request may be transmitted to a predetermined content server based on the content location information. Thereby, for example, when the user inputs 8:00 as the reproduction time, the content acquisition control means can start acquiring the content when 8:00 is reached, and can reproduce the content by the streaming method.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the content reproduction control unit of the terminal device reproduces the content acquired by the content acquisition control unit when the time has reached the reproduction time stored in the storage unit will be described. However, it is also possible to play back content in cooperation with the alarm notification function of the terminal device. In this case, the control unit of the terminal device includes an alarm notification control unit for realizing an alarm notification function. That is, the alarm notification control means generates an alarm from the speaker in order to notify that a predetermined time has come. The alarm notification control means performs alarm notification when the time comes to the reproduction time stored in the storage means, and then when the user performs an operation to cancel the alarm notification or cancels the alarm notification. The content reproduction control means may reproduce the content acquired by the content acquisition control means when a certain time has passed without any operation. In addition, when the terminal device has a snooze function, the content reproduction control means performs the content when the user performs one or more alarm notification temporary release operations or when the snooze function release operation is performed. May be performed. As a result, the user can be notified of the reproduction of the unspecified content by alarm notification, so that the user can surely enjoy the content. The role of the alarm notification control means may be played by the content reproduction control means.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case has been described where user information about each user is transmitted from the terminal device to the selection server in advance and registered in the database of the selection server, but is not limited to the user's own terminal device. Alternatively, user information may be transmitted from another terminal device to the selection server to register the user information. For example, each user can access a website operated by the management company of the selected server with a browser of a personal computer, and register or change user information there. Further, the user information about each user is not stored in the database of the selected server in advance, but the user information about the user is stored in the storage unit of each terminal device, and the content acquisition control unit of the terminal device is stored. However, when a content selection request is transmitted to the selection server, user information about the user may be transmitted.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case has been described in which the content acquisition control unit of the terminal device transmits the content selection information and the position information together with the content selection request to the selection server. However, the content acquisition control unit further stores the content selection control unit in the storage unit. Information about the stored playback time may also be transmitted to the selection server. In this case, the content selection means of the selection server can select the content having the content appropriate for the time using the information about the reproduction time. For example, if the playback time is an early morning time zone, the content selection means selects video data including noisy sound data in order to use the sound data included in the video data as an alarm sound. can do.

  Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the content acquisition control unit of each terminal device transmits content selection information and position information when transmitting a content selection request to the selection server has been described. The selection information and position information need not be transmitted to the selection server. This is because the selection server can select the content without such information. Further, the selection server may select the content without considering the user information. As a result, there is a possibility that content that is completely unexpected for the user may be reproduced on the terminal device, and the user's interest in the reproduced content can be further increased.

  In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which one content selected by the content selection unit of the selection server is transmitted to each terminal device. However, the content selection unit of the selection server selects a plurality of contents. Then, the plurality of selected contents may be transmitted to the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device selects and reproduces one content from among the plurality of transmitted contents at the reproduction time, and the next time, the unreproduced among the plurality of transmitted contents. Just select one content from the list and play it. As described above, by transmitting a plurality of contents to the terminal device in advance, for example, even when the terminal device cannot access the selection server, the content is played back at the playback time. There is an advantage that can be. When each terminal device acquires a plurality of contents as described above, the number of contents that the user should acquire in the terminal device may be set in advance. Further, when each terminal device acquires a plurality of contents, the terminal device, when the playback time comes, all of the plurality of transmitted contents, or from among them at random or in a predetermined method. A plurality of selected contents may be continuously played back.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, history information is stored in the database of the selection server, and the case where the content selection unit selects content based on the history information has been described. It is also possible to carry out with each terminal device. That is, in this case, history information, which is information related to content that has been reproduced in the past by the content reproduction control unit, is stored in the storage unit of each terminal device. Then, the content selection unit of the selection server selects a plurality of contents when receiving a content selection request from each user terminal device, and the content reproduction control unit of each terminal device includes the content acquisition control unit of the selection server. When a plurality of contents selected by the content selection means are acquired, the history information stored in the storage means is referred to, and when the contents other than the contents reproduced in the past are included in the plurality of contents The content other than the content that has been reproduced in the past may be determined preferentially and the determined content may be reproduced. For example, content other than the content reproduced in the past is extracted from the plurality of contents, and one or a plurality of contents are determined randomly or by a predetermined method from the extracted contents. On the other hand, if all of the plurality of contents are contents reproduced in the past, one or more contents are determined randomly or by a predetermined method from the plurality of contents, and the determined contents are reproduced. Good.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, history information is stored in the database of the selection server, and the content selection unit of the selection server refers to the history information, and the content other than the content selected in the past for each user. The case of selecting with priority has been described. However, the history information can be used not only as described above but also as follows. That is, for example, when the content selection unit receives a content selection request and position information P1 from a terminal device A of a certain user and decides to perform a search on the network using the position information P1, the search is performed on the network. It is assumed that the content related to the area indicated by the position information P1 is selected. Then, after a few minutes, the content selection means receives the content selection request and the position information P2 from the terminal device B of another user, and when it is determined that the search is performed on the network using the position information P2. When it is determined that the position indicated by the position information P2 sent from the terminal apparatus B is close to the position indicated by the position information P1 sent from the terminal apparatus A, it is stored in the database without performing a search on the network. The content information related to the area indicated by the position information P1 may be selected for the user of the terminal device B by referring to the history information.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the content to be selected by the content selection unit is video data has been described. However, the content to be selected by the content selection unit is data other than video data, for example, music. Or image data or the like. However, with respect to image data, it is desirable to use a combination of image data and sound data as the selection target content, instead of using the image data alone as the selection target content. This is because outputting the sound when reproducing the content can surely notify the user that the reproduction time has come. It should be noted that not only sound but also video can notify the user that the predetermined time has been reached, and the content selection means can be selected in that the user's interest in the content to be reproduced can be increased. It can be said that it is most desirable to use moving image data as the content.

  In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which a dedicated application program for realizing the timer playback function of unspecified content is downloaded and installed in each terminal device. The application program may be preinstalled.

  Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the selection server also serves as an application download server for the terminal device to download a dedicated application program for realizing the timer playback function for unspecified content in this system. Although the case has been described, the role of the application download server may be configured to be played by another server dedicated to application download. In addition, the terminal device may download a dedicated application program from a site server operated by each content provider.

  In addition, although cases have been described with the above embodiments where a system is configured using a plurality of content servers, the number of content servers may be one. Moreover, although each said embodiment demonstrated the case where the system was comprised using one selection server, there may be two or more selection servers.

As described above, according to the content reproduction system of the present invention, what content is selected by the user after the selection server selects the content and before the content is reproduced after the selection is made. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce content having contents unspecified for the user at the reproduction time. For this reason, it is possible to increase the user's interest in the content of the content to be reproduced, and to improve the entertainment. In addition, since each content server manages content, and the selection server does not need to manage content by itself, a server with a small storage capacity can be used as the selection server. In addition, since the content selection means of the selection server selects the content by performing a search on the network, each content server existing on the network can be used. For this reason, it is possible to construct this system without investing a large amount of equipment costs. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a content reproduction system for reproducing the content selected by the server on each terminal device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Selection server 11 Database 12 Communication means 13 Management means 14 Content selection means 20 Content server 30 Terminal device 31 Input means 32 Display means 33 Speaker 34 Storage means 35 Communication means 36 Position information acquisition means 37 Control means 37a Content acquisition control means 37b Content Reproduction control means

Claims (7)

One or a plurality of content servers for storing and managing a plurality of contents, a selection server having a function of performing data communication with each of the content servers via a network, each of the content servers and the selection via the network A content reproduction system comprising a plurality of terminal devices having a function of performing data communication with a server, and for reproducing the content selected by the selection server on each terminal device,
When the selection server receives a content selection request from the terminal device of each user, the selection server is sent from the terminal device or another terminal device in advance or is sent from the terminal device at that time. Content location indicating the location of the selected content by selecting the content suitable for the user by searching on the network for a plurality of content stored in each content server based on user information Comprising content selection means for transmitting information to the terminal device;
Each terminal device is
Input means for inputting a reproduction time at which content should be reproduced on a predetermined screen;
Storage means for storing information about the inputted reproduction time;
The content selection request is transmitted to the selection server at a predetermined timing at which the content can be reproduced at the reproduction time stored in the storage unit, and the content location information is transmitted from the selection server. Content acquisition control means for acquiring the content by accessing the content server storing the content based on the content location information,
Content reproduction control means for reproducing the content acquired by the content acquisition control means;
A content reproduction system comprising:   The content selection means of the selection server, instead of content location information indicating the location of the selected content, the content acquired by accessing the content server in which the selected content is stored in the terminal device The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the content acquisition control means of each terminal device acquires the content sent from the selection server in response to the content selection request. The content acquisition control means of each terminal device is content that is input by the user when the content selection request is transmitted to the selection server, and is information related to the content that the user desires to reproduce. Also send selection information,
When the content selection unit of the selection server receives the content selection request and the content selection information from the terminal device of each user, the content selection unit uses the user information and the content selection information about the user on the network. 3. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the content reproduction system selects contents having contents suitable for the user and contents desired by the user by performing a search. Each of the terminal devices has a location information acquisition function for acquiring location information of the terminal device,
The content acquisition control means of each terminal device also transmits the location information acquired by the location information acquisition function when transmitting the content selection request to the selection server,
When the content selection unit of the selection server receives the content selection request and the position information from the terminal device of each user, and determines that the content should be selected based on the position information The content information related to the area indicated by the location information is selected by performing a search on the network using the location information sent from the terminal device. Or the content reproduction | regeneration system of 3 description. The database of the selection server stores history information in which information about the content selected in the past by the content selection unit is recorded,
The content selection means is stored in the database when the content of one or a plurality of selection candidates is specified by performing a search on the network in response to the content selection request from the terminal device of each user. If the content of the one or more selection candidates includes content other than the content selected in the past for the user, with reference to the history information about the user, the user selects in the past The content reproduction system according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein content other than the selected content is preferentially selected. The content selection means of the selection server selects a plurality of contents when receiving the content selection request from the terminal device of each user,
The storage means of each terminal device stores history information that is information related to content that has been reproduced in the past by the content reproduction control means,
The content reproduction control means refers to the history information stored in the storage means when the content acquisition control means acquires a plurality of contents selected by the content selection means of the selection server, and 2. When content other than content reproduced in the past is included in a plurality of contents, content other than content reproduced in the past is determined preferentially, and the determined content is reproduced. 2. The content reproduction system according to 2, 3, 4 or 5.   7. The content reproduction system according to claim 1, wherein the content to be selected by the content selection means includes moving image data.

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