JP2012231425A - Viewing management server device, viewing management system, and viewing terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To synchronously switch streaming sources among a plurality of users.SOLUTION: When a user of a client terminal 200A wants a user of a client terminal 200B to view the same streaming data, a URL of a viewing management service 102 of a viewing management server 100 and identification information on a management object user are transmitted to the client terminal 200B by a mail service. The user of the client terminal 200B accesses the viewing management service 102 by using a URL in mail and views the same streaming data. When the user of the client terminal 200A switches viewing from an Internet radio station server 300A to 300B, the information is monitored to rewrite identification information on an Internet radio station that is a viewing object in a user database. In response to a change of the identification information on the Internet radio station that is a viewing object of the management object user, the client terminal B starts viewing of new streaming data in a polling system.

Description

  The present invention relates to a viewing management technique for browsing and viewing information.

  A terminal is connected to a streaming server to view audio and video streaming data. In addition, it has been proposed to register data of a plurality of user terminals in a streaming server and simultaneously view the same streaming data on a plurality of terminals (Patent Document 1).

  By the way, when a user who is viewing streaming data (for example, an Internet radio station) causes an acquaintance to view streaming data at the same position, the user can change the streaming data to another streaming data (for example, another Internet radio station). When switching to, the acquaintance may also want to view other streaming data.

  Note that the streaming data may be video as well as audio from an Internet radio station, and viewing may be browsing data such as a normal web page.

  It should be noted that the present invention should not be understood in a limited manner due to the above-described problems, the contents of which are defined in the claims and will be described in detail below using examples.

JP 2010-1114639 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a viewing technique or a browsing technique that enables a streaming source (for example, an Internet radio station or an Internet television station) to be switched in synchronization among a plurality of users. The purpose is to do.

  According to this invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the configuration as described in the claims is adopted. Here, prior to describing the invention in detail, supplementary explanations of the claims will be given.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the first viewing terminal, the second viewing terminal, and the communication network that can receive and view streaming data from the streaming server device A streaming data identification information storage means for holding identification information of streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal in association with identification information of the first viewing terminal; A request with identification information of the first viewing terminal is received from the second viewing terminal, the corresponding streaming data identification information is retrieved by referring to the streaming data identification information storage means, and the above-mentioned streaming data identification information is used. Request processing means for enabling the streaming data to be viewed on the second viewing terminal; Viewing terminal is to be provided and control means for allowing view the different stream data in the second viewing device in response to the streaming data being viewed is switched to another streaming data.

  In this configuration, streaming sources (for example, Internet radio stations and Internet television stations) can be switched between a plurality of users in synchronization.

  The viewing terminal is typically realized as an application on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, but is not limited thereto. It may be realized as an application of a normal personal computer, or may be realized as a dedicated device for viewing. The viewing management server device may be implemented by a single computer or a combination of a plurality of computers.

  The viewing terminal may be a terminal capable of viewing arbitrary streaming data, such as a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a game machine, other information terminals, and a personal computer. The streaming data may be audio or video. It can also be applied to normal web content browsing switching synchronization. The streaming server device is typically a server device of an Internet radio station or Internet television station, but is not limited thereto.

  The control means may notify the second streaming data identification information to the second viewing terminal by using a polling method so that the second streaming data can be viewed on the second viewing terminal. . The polling method may be realized by any method.

  The identification information of the first viewing terminal may be user identification information. The user identification information may be assigned on the server device side, or may be an e-mail address or the like.

  Further, the identification information of the first viewing terminal may be unique identification information that can be assigned to the first viewing terminal only or in duplicate. It may be a ticket made up of a unique (unique) symbol string issued on the server side. The same ticket can be distributed to synchronize switching.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, the first viewing terminal and the second viewing terminal that can receive and view streaming data from the streaming server device, the first viewing terminal, and the first viewing terminal In the viewing system having the viewing management server device that can be connected to the two viewing terminals via the communication network, the viewing management server device includes: identification information of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal; Streaming data identification information storage means for holding in association with the identification information of the viewing terminal; receiving a request accompanied by identification information of the first viewing terminal from the second viewing terminal and referring to the streaming data identification information storage means The identification information of the corresponding streaming data is extracted and the above-mentioned streaming data identification information is Request processing means for enabling the streaming data to be viewed on the viewing terminal of the second viewing terminal; the second viewing terminal responding to the switching of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal to another streaming data. Control means for enabling viewing of the other stream data, wherein the first viewing terminal is: identifying the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal using the streaming identification of the viewing management server device First notification means for notifying the information storage means for registration in association with the first viewing terminal; and second notification means for notifying the second viewing terminal of identification information of the first viewing terminal. The second viewing terminal includes: means for receiving identification information of the first viewing terminal notified from the first viewing terminal; and the first viewing terminal Switching means for acquiring identification information of the other streaming data from the viewing management server device and switching the viewing source to the other streaming data in response to switching of the streaming data being viewed to another streaming data; Have come to have.

  In this configuration as well, streaming sources (for example, Internet radio stations and Internet television stations) can be switched in synchronization among a plurality of users.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a viewing terminal used together with a viewing management server device that holds identification information of streaming data viewed by the viewing terminal for each viewing terminal: First notification means for registering the streaming data identification information associated with the viewing terminal in the streaming identification information storage means of the viewing management server apparatus; and identifying the viewing terminal itself to other viewing terminals. A second notification means for notifying information.

  In this configuration as well, streaming sources (for example, Internet radio stations and Internet television stations) can be switched in synchronization among a plurality of users.

  The second notification means may be an e-mail service. In addition, any message transmission service may be used.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the first browsing terminal capable of receiving browsing data from the server device and viewing it and the browsing management server device connectable to the second browsing terminal via a communication network. : Browsing data identification information storage means for holding identification information of browsing data being browsed by the first browsing terminal in association with identification information of the first browsing terminal; and from the second browsing terminal to the first The request with the identification information of the browsing terminal is received, the browsing data identification information storage means is referred to retrieve the corresponding browsing data identification information, and the browsing is performed on the second browsing terminal based on the identification information of the browsing data. Request processing means for enabling browsing of data; the second browsing terminal responds when the browsing data browsed by the first browsing terminal is switched to another browsing data; And a control means for enabling view different browsing data.

  According to this configuration, browsing switching can be synchronized among a plurality of users.

  The present invention can be realized not only as an apparatus or a system but also as a method. Of course, a part of the invention can be configured as software. Naturally, software products (computer programs) used for causing a computer to execute such software are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The above-described aspects and other aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, and will be described in detail below using examples and the like.

  According to the present invention, a streaming source and a browsing source can be switched synchronously among a plurality of users.

1 is a diagram schematically showing an Internet radio station search / viewing management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the entry of the radio station database of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the entry of the user database of the above-mentioned Example. It is a system figure explaining the example of mounting of the above-mentioned Example. It is a block diagram explaining the structural example of the mobile telephone of the said Example.

  A viewing management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  In the following description, viewing of Internet radio stations is taken as an example, but viewing of moving images and the like is also possible, and it can also be applied to browsing of web pages.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows an Internet radio station search / viewing management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, client terminals 200A and 200B, an Internet radio station search / viewing management server 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as viewing). Internet radio station servers 300A and 300B are also connectable via a communication network. Only two client terminals and two Internet radio station servers are shown, but there may be many.

  The viewing management server 100 executes a search service 101 and a viewing management service 102. The viewing management server 100 has a radio station database 103A, a user database 103B, a search index 103C, and the like. The search service 101 uses the search index 103C to receive a search request accompanied by a keyword or the like from a user and searches for a radio station. Based on the search result, the user accesses the Internet radio station server 300 to acquire stream data for viewing.

  The radio station database 103A manages radio station profiles (name, URL, etc.) under radio station identification information, and is typically as shown in FIG. 2, but is not limited thereto. The user database 103B manages user information (including viewing history) under user identification information, and is typically as shown in FIG.

  The viewing management service 102 manages the viewing history of the user or a part thereof in the user database 103B together with other profiles of the user, and manages at least the identification information of the Internet radio station server 300 currently viewed. When there is an access specifying the identification information of the management target user from another user, the viewing management service 102 sets the network address (URL) of the Internet radio station server 300 currently viewed by the management target user to the other To the user. Other users can use the network address to access the Internet radio station server 300 viewed by the management target user and view the same stream data.

  Here, it is assumed that the client terminal 200A is a terminal of a management target user and the client terminal 200B is a terminal of another user.

  The user of the client terminal 200A makes a search request to the search service 101 of the viewing management server 100, receives the hit list (X01), acquires the URL of the desired Internet radio station server 300A based on this, and acquires the URL of the Internet radio station server 300A. To start viewing the streaming data (X02). The viewing management service 102 writes the identification information of the Internet radio station server 300A being viewed (which may be uniquely assigned by the server 100, or may be the URL) in the user database of the user (X03).

  When the user of the client terminal 200A wants the user of the client terminal 200B to view the same streaming data, the network address (URL) of the viewing management service 102 of the viewing management server 100 and the management target user (user of the client terminal 200A) The identification information is transmitted to the client terminal 200B by mail service (X04). The user of the client terminal 200B opens a mail when viewing the managed streaming data, accesses the viewing management service 102 using the URL, and manages the managed Internet radio station server 300A based on the identification information of the managed user. To view streaming data from the Internet radio station server 300A (X05, X06). In this way, two users can view the same streaming data.

  Thereafter, when the user of the client terminal 200A switches viewing from the Internet radio station server 300A to 300B, the information is rewritten (X07, X08), the information is monitored, and the viewing management service 102 is the current viewing target of the user database. The identification information of the Internet radio station is rewritten to that of the Internet radio station server 300B (X09, X10).

  The client terminal B periodically accesses the user database 103B by a polling method (the change status may be monitored and the database 103 may be accessed at the time of change), and the Internet radio station of the corresponding management target user's viewing target Internet radio station When the identification information is changed, the corresponding URL is acquired from the radio station database 103A and the new Internet radio station server 300B is accessed to start viewing the new streaming data.

  Thus, the music selection of the Internet radio station is synchronized between the two users.

  FIG. 4 shows an implementation example of the Internet radio station search / viewing management system of FIG. 1. In FIG. 4, the system constituting the Internet radio station search / viewing management server 100 (also simply referred to as a viewing management server) is shown. , Web server 10, application server 11, database management system 12, router 13, LAN 14 and the like. The web server 10, the application server 11, and the database management system 12 may be implemented on a single computer or a plurality of computers. The web server 10 and the application server 11 execute the search service 101 (or an index server may be provided separately), and execute the viewing management service 102. The viewing management service 102 uses a user database 103B and a radio station database 103A, and these databases 103A and 103B are managed by the database management system 12.

  The client terminal 200A of the user to be managed is realized by the mobile phone 20 such as a smartphone, but may be realized by a personal computer, a game machine, or other information terminals. A viewing application 20A and mail software 20B are installed in the mobile phone 20. The viewing application 20A searches for an Internet radio station from a dedicated screen, browses a list of search results, selects an Internet radio station for viewing from the list (separately or can be selected for viewing from a favorite list), an Internet radio station Streaming data can be used. If the viewing synchronization function button is selected while viewing streaming data, the URL of the viewing management service 102 and user identification information (one or a plurality of pre-registered mail addresses input or registered in advance) are specified. A mail including the client terminal 200A, that is, the user identification information of the user of the mobile phone 20, is transmitted to the mail destination. The mail is sent to the destination client terminal 200B via the packet communication network 40, the mail server 502 of the mobile telephone center 50, the automatic mail transfer function 502a, the gateway 501, the Internet 60, and the like.

  In this example, the client terminal 200B is realized by the personal computer 30, but may be another mobile phone, a game machine, or any other information terminal. The personal computer 30 has a web browsing application 30A and mail software 30B installed. The personal computer 30 does not need to install an application equivalent to the viewing application 20 </ b> A installed in the mobile phone 20. There may be a web browsing application 30A that can view normal streaming data. However, an equivalent application is required to synchronize other users with the Internet radio station being viewed by the user of the client terminal 200B.

  The user of the personal computer 30 receives the mail from the mobile phone 20, and operates the URL (viewing management service 102) of the mail body, for example, and sends the user identification information to be managed to the viewing management service 102 to synchronize with the Internet radio station. Access to the URL of the server 300 is performed.

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the mobile phone 20 as a whole. In this figure, the mobile phone 20 includes a CPU 210, a RAM 211, a ROM 212, an input unit 213 including a keyboard, a display unit 214 including a liquid crystal panel, and an audio processing unit 215. , A data processing unit 216, a wireless transmission / reception unit 217 including an antenna, a microphone / speaker 218, a bus system 219, and the like.

  The mobile phone 20 is installed with mail software 20B and a viewing application 20A. The mail software 20B links the viewing management service 102 URL and user identification information to the partner client terminal 200B (personal computer 30) in cooperation with the viewing application 20A. send. Also, the viewing application 20A registers the identification information of the Internet radio station selected for viewing by the user in the user database 103B using the viewing management service 102.

  This is the end of the description of the embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, although the above-described embodiment is an example applied to viewing audio streaming data such as an Internet radio station, it can also be applied to viewing moving image streaming data such as an Internet television station. It can also be applied to browsing web pages.

  In the above example, the user identification information (unique identification information, which may be an e-mail address) is managed by associating the identification information of the streaming data with a ticket (unique symbol string) for one user. Alternatively, it may be assigned like a numeric string or a numeric symbol string, and this may be used in the same manner as the previous user identification information to synchronize switching of viewing of streaming data or the like.

  In the above-described embodiments, a mobile phone and a personal computer have been described as examples. However, various mobile phones, personal computers, portable game machines, video game machines, electronic dictionaries, portable information devices, electronic cameras, digital photo frames, etc. It can be similarly applied to television receivers and other electronic devices.

20 Mobile phone 20A Viewing application 20B Mail software 30 Personal computer 30A Web browsing application 30B Mail software 100 Internet radio station search / viewing management server 101 Search service 102 Viewing management service 103A Radio station database 103B User database 103C Search index 200 Client terminal 300 Internet Radio station server

Claims (10)

In a viewing management server device that can be connected to a first viewing terminal and a second viewing terminal that can receive and view streaming data from a streaming server device via a communication network,
Streaming data identification information storage means for holding identification information of streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal in association with identification information of the first viewing terminal;
A request with identification information of the first viewing terminal is received from the second viewing terminal, the corresponding streaming data identification information is retrieved by referring to the streaming data identification information storage means, and based on the identification information of the streaming data. Request processing means for enabling the streaming data to be viewed on the second viewing terminal;
Control means for enabling the second viewing terminal to view the other stream data when the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal is switched to another streaming data. A featured viewing management server device.   2. The control means notifies the second streaming data identification information to the second viewing terminal using a polling interface so that the second streaming data can be viewed on the second viewing terminal. Viewing management server apparatus.   The viewing management server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the first viewing terminal is user identification information.   The viewing management server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the first viewing terminal is unique identification information that can be assigned to the first viewing terminal in a unique or overlapping manner. First viewing terminal and second viewing terminal capable of receiving streaming data from a streaming server device and viewing, and viewing capable of being connected to the first viewing terminal and the second viewing terminal via a communication network In a viewing system having a management server device,
The viewing management server device
Streaming data identification information storage means for holding identification information of streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal in association with identification information of the first viewing terminal;
A request with identification information of the first viewing terminal is received from the second viewing terminal, the corresponding streaming data identification information is retrieved by referring to the streaming data identification information storage means, and based on the identification information of the streaming data. Request processing means for enabling the streaming data to be viewed on the second viewing terminal;
Control means for enabling the second viewing terminal to view the other stream data in response to switching of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal to another streaming data,
The first viewing terminal is
First notification means for notifying the streaming identification information storage means of the viewing management server device for registering the identification information of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal in association with the first viewing terminal; ,
Second notification means for notifying the second viewing terminal of identification information of the first viewing terminal;
The second viewing terminal is
Means for receiving identification information of the first viewing terminal notified from the first viewing terminal;
In response to the switching of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal to another streaming data, the identification information of the other streaming data is acquired from the viewing management server device, and the viewing source is changed to the other streaming data. A viewing management system comprising switching means for switching to streaming data. In the viewing terminal used together with the viewing management server device that holds the identification information of the streaming data that the viewing terminal is viewing for each viewing terminal,
First notification means for notifying the streaming identification information storage means of the viewing management server device for registering the identification information of streaming data being viewed by the viewing terminal in association with the viewing terminal;
A viewing terminal, comprising: a second notification means for notifying other viewing terminal of identification information of the viewing terminal itself.   The viewing terminal according to claim 6, wherein the second notification means is an electronic mail service. In a computer program for a viewing management server device connectable to a first viewing terminal and a second viewing terminal capable of receiving and viewing streaming data from a streaming server device via a communication network,
The viewing management server device is
Streaming data identification information storage means for holding the identification information of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal in association with the identification information of the first viewing terminal;
A request with identification information of the first viewing terminal is received from the second viewing terminal, the corresponding streaming data identification information is retrieved by referring to the streaming data identification information storage means, and based on the identification information of the streaming data. Request processing means for enabling the streaming data to be viewed on the second viewing terminal;
For functioning as control means for enabling the second viewing terminal to view the other stream data in response to the switching of the streaming data being viewed by the first viewing terminal to another streaming data. Computer program for viewing management server apparatus. In a computer program for a viewing terminal computer used together with a viewing management server device that holds identification information of streaming data being viewed by the viewing terminal computer for each viewing terminal computer,
The viewing terminal computer;
First notification means for notifying the identification information of streaming data being viewed by the viewing terminal computer for registration in association with the viewing terminal computer in the streaming identification information storage means of the viewing management server device;
A computer program for a viewing terminal computer for causing the other viewing terminal computer to function as second notification means for notifying identification information of the viewing terminal computer itself. In a browsing management server device that can be connected to a first browsing terminal and a second browsing terminal capable of receiving browsing data from a server device and a second browsing terminal via a communication network,
Browsing data identification information storage means for holding identification information of browsing data being browsed by the first browsing terminal in association with identification information of the first browsing terminal;
Based on the identification information of the browsing data, the request with the identification information of the first browsing terminal is received from the second browsing terminal, the identification information of the corresponding browsing data is retrieved by referring to the browsing data identification information storage means. Request processing means for enabling browsing of the browsing data on the second browsing terminal;
Control means for enabling viewing of the other browsing data on the second browsing terminal in response to switching of the browsing data being browsed by the first browsing terminal to another browsing data. A browsing management server device as a feature.

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