JP2012249267A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, information processing program, and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus capable of easily restricting for each user an output to the content or the like which is acquired via a network.SOLUTION: A PDA 2 comprises: a content acquisition part 122 which acquires a content from a content server 4 capable of distributing the content; a ranking information acquisition part 124 which acquires first ranking information from a ranking information server where the first ranking information is preliminarily registered which is associated with a distribution source for distributing the content and controls an output of the content; a user ranking information acquisition part 110 which acquires second ranking information which is allocated to each user and controls the output of the content; and an output control part 150 which controls the output of the acquired content. The output control part 150 compares the first ranking information and the second ranking information with each other when outputting the content, and controls the output of the content on the basis of the comparison result.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for restricting output of content, and particularly to an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing program, and an information processing system for restricting output of content acquired via a network.

  Recent technological developments enable access to various contents via a network. However, content that is inappropriate for children to browse, such as sexual content, violent content, and content that contains harsh language, has spread on the network, which has become a serious problem. Therefore, several methods for restricting access to the harmful contents as described above to children have been proposed.

  For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-86576 (Patent Document 1) describes a content of a streaming method so that viewing of only a part of the content, for example, a violent scene, for example, can be restricted instead of the entire content. There has been proposed a method capable of restricting the viewing of a part of packet data.

  For example, in Japanese translations of PCT publication No. 2009-527806 (patent document 2), it differs by associating a second content rating by a user different from the first content rating associated with the content only once with the content. A method for improving the convenience of subsequent access from the user to the same content derived from the source has been proposed.

  On the other hand, there are cases where the user desires an objective evaluation of the content based on information provided by a third party organization. For example, in JP 2010-73167 A (Patent Document 3), a guardian or the like sets a filtering condition for his / her child or the like together with the child identification information in the filtering management server, so that the management server has A method has been proposed that can restrict access to children's network and content files according to filtering conditions.

JP 2006-86576 A Special table 2009-527806 JP 2010-73167 A

  However, according to the technology proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-73167, even a content whose access is restricted to children can be downloaded by a guardian. Therefore, access to children cannot be restricted for content downloaded by a guardian to his / her PC (Personal Computer) or the like.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of easily limiting output for content or the like acquired via a network for each user. An object is to provide an information processing program and an information processing system.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is associated with a content acquisition unit for acquiring content via a network from at least one content server capable of distributing content, and a distribution source for distributing content, and The first corresponding to the distribution source of the content acquired by the content acquisition unit via the network from the rating information server in which the first rating information that can be used for controlling the output of the content is registered in advance. A first rating information acquisition unit for acquiring the rating information, and a second rating information that is assigned to each user and that can be used to control the output of content. A rating information acquisition unit and an output control unit that controls output of content are provided. When outputting the content, the output control unit compares the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit with the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit. The content output is controlled based on the comparison result.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus further includes a writing unit that associates the content acquired by the content acquisition unit with the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit and stores the associated information in the storage unit. When outputting the content stored in the storage unit, the output control unit compares the first rating information stored in association with the content and the second rating information, and outputs the content based on the comparison result. To control.

  Preferably, the output of the content includes a reproduction output of the content on the display unit of the information processing device or an output to an external device connected to the information processing device.

  Preferably, the information processing device can be connected to an external device, and the second rating information acquisition unit registers corresponding to the connected external device when the information processing device and the external device are connected The second rating information is acquired.

  Preferably, the first rating information acquisition unit transmits the first address information according to the data position in the network at the time of content distribution, and is associated with the first address information stored in the rating information server. The first rating information acquisition unit obtains the first rating information associated with the first address information from the rating information server when transmitting the first address information. If it cannot be obtained, the second address information is changed to the second address information according to the upper data position to which the data position of the content belongs in the network, and the second address information is transmitted and stored in the rating information server. First rating information associated with address information is acquired.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus determines whether or not the content acquired by the content acquisition unit includes third rating information that can be used to control output, and the third rating information is A third rating information acquisition unit that acquires third rating information when it is included is further included. When the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the third rating information is not included in the content acquired by the content acquisition unit, the output control unit outputs the first rating when the content is output. The first rating information acquired by the rating information acquisition unit and the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit are compared, the output of content is controlled based on the comparison result, and output control When the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the content acquired by the content acquisition unit includes the third rating information, the unit outputs the third rating information when outputting the content. The third rating information acquired by the acquiring unit is compared with the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquiring unit, and the output of the content is controlled based on the comparison result.

  Preferably, the information processing apparatus determines whether or not the content acquired by the content acquisition unit includes third rating information that can be used to control output, and the third rating information is A third rating information acquisition unit that acquires third rating information when it is included is further included. When the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the third rating information is included in the content acquired by the content acquisition unit, the output control unit outputs the first rating when the content is output. One of the rating information and the third rating information included in the content is compared with the second rating information, and the output of the content is controlled based on the comparison result.

  An information processing method executed by a computer according to an aspect of the present invention, wherein the information processing method distributes content from at least one content server capable of distributing content via a network. The first rating corresponding to the content distribution source from the rating information server in which the first rating information associated with the distribution source and used to control the output of the content is registered in advance. A step of acquiring information, a step of acquiring second rating information assigned for each user and usable for controlling output of the content, and a step of controlling output of the content. The step of controlling the output includes a step of comparing the first rating information and the second rating information when outputting the content, and controlling the output of the content based on the comparison result.

  An information processing program to be executed by a computer according to an aspect of the present invention, wherein the information processing program distributes content from at least one content server capable of distributing content via a network. The first rating corresponding to the content distribution source from the rating information server in which the first rating information associated with the distribution source and used to control the output of the content is registered in advance. Obtaining the information; obtaining the second rating information assigned for each user that can be used to control the output of the content; and controlling the output of the content; The step of controlling the output includes the first rating information when the content is output. It is compared with the second rating information, based on the comparison result, comprising the step of controlling the output of the content.

  An information processing system according to an aspect of the present invention includes at least one content server capable of distributing content, and a first rating that can be used to control output of the content associated with a distribution source that distributes the content. A rating information server in which information is registered in advance, and an information processing apparatus connected to the content server and the rating information server via a network are provided. The information processing apparatus includes a content acquisition unit that acquires content from the content server, and first rating information acquisition that acquires, from the rating information server, first rating information corresponding to the content distribution source acquired by the content acquisition unit. A second rating information acquisition unit that acquires second rating information that is assigned to each user and that can be used to control output of the content, and an output control unit that controls output of the content including. When outputting the content, the output control unit compares the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit with the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit. The content output is controlled based on the comparison result.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily limit content output for each user.

It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the structure of the information processing system according to Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the relationship between the application 50 which CPU20 according to Embodiment 1 of this invention performs, the library 60, and OS (Operating System) 70. It is a functional block diagram of PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 performs at the time of content acquisition. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which the rating server 6 performs at the time of the rating rank request | requirement reception from PDA2. It is a figure which shows the example of a rating rank judgment table. It is the figure which showed the rating rank of the user age and the target age which can be accessed. It is the figure which showed the relationship between a content and a rating server rating rank. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 of this invention performs at the time of content output. It is the figure which showed an example of the login screen. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 of this invention performs at the time of reception of the new registration from a user. It is a figure which shows a new registration setting screen. It is the figure which showed the user registration information table. It is the figure which showed an example of the system which judges output propriety based on the comparison result of a user rating rank and a rating server rating rank. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process with PDA2 according to Embodiment 1 of this invention, the content server 4, and the rating server 6. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of PDA2 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement performed from the external output request | requirement of content to the PDA2 from the television 8a to the content reproduction | regeneration by the television 8a. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when PDA 2 according to the second embodiment outputs content to TV 8a externally. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of the content external output of PDA2 and the television 8a according to Embodiment 2 of this invention. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when the PDA 2 externally outputs content to the USB memory 8c. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of the content external output of PDA2 and USB memory 8c according to the modification of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 3 performs at the time of content acquisition. It is the figure which showed an example of the address change system. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process with PDA2, the content server 4, and the rating server 6 according to Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of PDA2 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 4 performs at the time of content acquisition. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 4 of this invention performs at the time of content output. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process with PDA2, the content server 4, and the rating server 6 according to Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 5 performs at the time of content output. It is the figure which showed an example of the system which selects either one based on the comparison result of a rating server rating rank and a metadata rating rank. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of the content output of PDA2 according to Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 6 performs at the time of content list acquisition. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which PDA2 according to Embodiment 6 performs at the time of streaming content output. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process with PDA2, the content server 4, and the rating server 6 according to Embodiment 6 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, the detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  Hereinafter, “content” includes video, audio, image, text, and digital data for outputting them. Also, part or all of the content may be provided from a plurality of servers or networks. In addition, the content may be provided via a network such as a television broadcast, an Internet broadcast, or a mobile phone network.

  In the following, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) will be described as an example of the “information processing apparatus” of the present invention. However, the information processing apparatus only needs to have a network communication function and a content display function or an audio output function. For example, the portable information device may be another portable information device such as a mobile phone or a netbook, or other portable type. Or it is applicable also to a stationary communication terminal device.

[Embodiment 1]
An information processing system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for illustrating a configuration of an information processing system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the information processing systems according to the following different embodiments also have the same configuration as that of the information processing system 10 in FIG. 1, and therefore, the detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  Referring to FIG. 1, in the information processing system according to the first embodiment, PDA 2 that functions as a content output device, TV 8a, PC 8b, and USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory 8c that are external devices connected to PDA 2 And content servers 4a and 4b that provide content to the PDA 2 via the network, and a rating server 6 that provides rating information associated with the content distribution destination to the PDA 2 via the network. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the television 8a, the PC 8b, and the USB memory 8c are collectively referred to as the external device 8, and the content servers 4a and 4b are collectively referred to as the content server 4.

  Rating information is information classified based on a certain standard for content, such as classification by age (ranking), classification by content such as sexual, violent, and discriminatory, bulletin board, Web mail, etc. Including classification by purpose.

  The PDA 2 receives content distributed from the content server 4 by communicating with the content server 4. The content server 4 may include a plurality of servers, for example, a billing server, a settlement server, a server for providing content data, and the like.

  The content server 4 is a server that provides the PDA 2 with content and related information of the content (or content including content-related information in the content itself) via the network. The content-related information is, for example, a network address of a content server that provides content, a content title name or file name, a content price, a content data amount, and the like. The content server 4 may be a workstation or a personal computer.

  The content server 4 may store Web page information for selling content and other products. In response to a request from the PDA 2, the content server 4 can transmit the content or a web page of a content sales site to the PDA 2.

  The PDA 2 transmits information (network address) specifying the content distribution source acquired from the content server 4 included in the content related information to the rating server 6 and requests rating information associated with the content distribution source. The rating server 6 may be a plurality of servers, and is a server that provides rating information associated with a content distribution source on the network via the network. Note that the rating server 6 may be a server that provides rating information associated with the title name, file name, and the like of content. In this case, the PDA 2 may send information such as the title name and file name of the content to the rating server 6 and request rating information associated with the title name and file name of the content.

  The external device 8 includes an external display device having a display function such as a television 8a and a PC 8b, and an external storage device having a storage function such as a USB memory 8c. The PDA 2 and the external device 8 are connected wirelessly or by wire. Content output to the external device 8 is analog output, digital output such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or DLNA (Digital Living You may output via Network Alliance.

Next, a specific hardware configuration of the PDA 2 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of PDA 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the hardware configuration of the PDA 2 according to the following different embodiments is the same as the hardware configuration of the PDA 2 in FIG. 2, and therefore, the detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  The PDA 2 includes a CPU 20, a communication device 22, an input device 24, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 26, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 28, a display controller 30, a display 32, a hard disk 34, and an external device I. / F (Interface) 36, a television 8a, a PC 8b, and a USB memory 8c.

  The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20 is any of a microprocessor, a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and other circuits having arithmetic functions. Also good.

  The CPU 20 reads out a program stored in the ROM 26, RAM 28, or USB memory 8c, and controls each part of the PDA 2 by sequentially executing the program. More specifically, the CPU 20 implements each process (step) of the PDA 2 described later by executing the program.

  The communication device 22 receives data transmitted from the content server 4 and the rating server 6, converts it into a format suitable for internal processing in the PDA 2, and sends it to the CPU 20. Conversely, when the PDA 2 transmits data to the content server 4 and the rating server 6, the communication device 22 converts the data output from the CPU 20 into data for transmission and transmits the data.

  The input device 24 includes, for example, a numeric keypad and other buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like arranged on the surface of the PDA 2 casing. The input device 24 receives an instruction input to the PDA 2 and sends a signal corresponding to the input to the CPU 20. The CPU 20 executes a predetermined process based on the input and realizes a function corresponding to the input instruction. For example, when the PDA 2 requests input of a user ID and a password, the input of the user ID and password is realized by an instruction given to the input device 24.

  The ROM 26 stores data input in advance for configuring the PDA 2. The data includes, for example, firmware executed by the CPU 20, application programs, and other software.

  The RAM 28 temporarily stores data generated by the CPU 20. The temporarily held data includes data for displaying an image on the display 32, for example.

  The display controller 30 displays the received data image or text on the display 32 under the control of the CPU 20. For example, the CPU 20 displays the content on the display 32 based on the content data downloaded from the content server 4.

  The hard disk 34 stores data received by the PDA 2 and the like. The stored data includes content distributed from the content server 4, content-related information (for example, content title, file name, URL specifying the content server or other information providing device, etc.), and rating provided from the rating server 6. Includes information. The stored data described above may be stored in the USB memory 8c, which is a detachable nonvolatile storage medium connected to the PDA 2 via the external device I / F 36.

  The external device I / F 36 receives attachment of a cable (not shown) to the PDA 2 and performs data communication via the cable. The external device I / F 36 accepts attachment of a cable that complies with, for example, an HDMI cable, USB cable, or other communication standard.

  The PC 8b and the television 8a are connected to the PDA 2 via the external device I / F 36, and output the content received by the PDA 2. Specifically, video, image, and text data are stored or displayed.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for illustrating the relationship among application 50 executed by CPU 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, library 60, and OS (Operating System) 70. The following different embodiments are also the same as the conceptual diagram of FIG. 3, and thus the detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated.

  The CPU 20 implements various functions by reading a program stored in the memory. The memory stores an application 50, a library 60, and a program of the OS 70, and various functions are realized in the CPU 20 by cooperating with each other. For example, the communication library 62 mediates between the application 50 and the driver of the OS 70 to realize a communication function with the modem. The display library 64 mediates between the application 50 and the driver of the OS 70 and realizes display control of the internal display device. The image output library 66 mediates between the application 50 and the driver of the OS 70 to realize display control for the external display device. The data input / output library 68 mediates between the application 50 and the driver of the OS 70 to realize data input / output control with the external IO.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of PDA 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The function of each unit is realized by the CPU 20 executing the program of the application 50. The PDA 2 includes a control unit 100 that controls the entire apparatus, a user rating information acquisition unit 110, a communication control unit 120 controlled by the control unit 100, a content acquisition unit 122, a rating information acquisition unit 124, and a writing unit 130. The output control unit 150 and the display control unit 152 are configured as main parts.

  As described above, the rating information is information classified based on a certain standard with respect to the content. However, for the sake of explanation, in the following, information classified by age (ranking) for content (rating) Rank).

The control unit 100 controls the operation of each unit of the PDA 2.
The user rating information acquisition unit 110 acquires a user rating rank that is a rating rank of the users of the PDA 2 and the external device 8.

  The communication control unit 120 controls communication with the content server 4 and the rating server 6 and receives content provided by the content server 4, content-related information, and a rating rank provided by the rating server 6. More specifically, the content acquisition unit 122 included in the communication control unit 120 acquires content and content-related information from the content server 4. Further, the rating information acquisition unit 124 included in the communication control unit 120 acquires a rating server rating rank that is a rating rank associated with the content distribution destination from the rating server 6.

  The writing unit 130 writes the content acquired from the content server 4 and the rating server rating rank acquired from the rating server 6 in the storage unit 140 in association with each other.

  The storage unit 140 stores content, content-related information, a user rating rank, and a rating server rating rank. The storage unit 140 corresponds to the RAM 28 and the hard disk 34.

  The output control unit 150 controls content output in the PDA 2 based on the comparison result between the user rating rank and the rating rank associated with the content distribution source. The display control unit 152 is a part of the output control unit 150 and controls output to the display unit 160. Note that “controlling content output” also includes “regulating content output”.

  The display unit 160 displays the content acquired from the content server 4 under the control of the display control unit 152. The display unit 160 corresponds to the display 32.

  The operation unit 180 receives various types of information from the user. For example, the operation unit 180 accepts a user ID, a password, a content selection command, a terminal selection command, a content playback command, a content stop command, and the like according to an operation from the user. The operation unit 180 corresponds to the input device 24.

  Next, the content output restriction processing procedure of PDA 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation performed by PDA 2 according to the first embodiment when content is acquired.

  First, the control unit 100 requests content from the content server 4 (step S100). Specifically, the control unit 100 receives an operation for acquiring content from the user via the operation unit 180. Further, the content acquisition unit 122 included in the communication control unit 120 makes a content acquisition request to the content server 4 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100.

  Next, the control unit 100 acquires content from the content server 4 (step S102). Specifically, the content acquisition unit 122 acquires content distributed from the content server 4 according to an instruction from the control unit 100. For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the content acquired from the content server includes content-related information. The same applies to the following description.

  Next, the control unit 100 transmits the acquired content-related information to the rating server 6 and requests a rating server rating rank (step S104). Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the rating information acquisition unit 124 included in the communication control unit 120 controls the rating server 6 to make an acquisition request for the rating server rating rank.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation performed by the rating server 6 when a rating server rating rank request is received from the PDA 2.

  Referring to FIG. 6, rating server 6 selects a rating server rating rank based on content-related information transmitted from communication control unit 120 when receiving a rating rank request, and assigns the rating rank to rating information acquisition unit 124. The distribution operation will be described.

  First, when there is no rating rank request from the rating information acquisition unit 124 (NO in step S120), the CPU of the rating server 6 maintains the state of step S120. On the other hand, if there is a rating rank request from the rating information acquisition unit 124 (YES in step S120), the CPU of the rating server 6 distributes the content included in the content related information transmitted from the communication control unit 120. It is determined whether there is a rating rank corresponding to the information (network address) for specifying (step S122). The CPU of the rating server 6 makes a determination based on the rating rank determination table.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rating rank determination table. The rating rank determination method will be described later. The rating rank determination table registered by the rating server administrator is stored in the memory of the rating server 6 and indicates the rating rank corresponding to the content distribution source (network address). Referring to FIG. 7, for example, when the network address of the content distribution source is “http://www.abc.co.jp/abc/def.html”, the rating rank is “A” and “http” : //www.def.co.jp/abc/def.html ”, the rating rank is C, and“ http://www.ghi.co.jp/abc ”, the rating rank is D. If “http://www.jkl.co.jp”, it is determined that it is B. A rating rank determination table corresponding to the title name or file name of the content may be used.

Here, an example of a rating rank determination method will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a rating rank of a user age and an accessible target age. Rating ranks are determined by age. The rating rank shown in FIG. 7 is determined based on FIG. Referring to FIG. 8, the user age means the age of the user who uses the PDA 2 or the external device 8, and the accessible target age is the access to the content provided by the rating server 6. It means the target age of possible users. In the following description, it is expressed that the rank is higher in the order of ranks A, B, C, D, and E.

  Therefore, referring to FIG. 8, for example, when the user's age is 18 years or older, the user rating rank of the user is A. Similarly, the user age is 16 to 18 years old (user rating rank is B), the user age is 13 to 16 years old (user rating rank is C), and the user age is 7 to 13 years old. (User rating rank is D) and user age is less than 7 years old (user rating rank is E). In addition, when the rating server administrator determines that the target age at which the content corresponding to the distribution source can be accessed is 18 years old or more based on the network address of the content distribution source, the rating server rating rank is A. To do. Similarly, when it is determined that the target age that can be accessed is 16 years old or more, the rating server rating rank is set to B. When it is determined that the target age that can be accessed is 13 years or older, the rating server rating rank is C. When it is determined that the target age that can be accessed is 7 years old or more, the rating server rating rank is D. If it is determined that there is no limit to the target age that can be accessed, the rating server rating rank is set to E.

  Referring to FIG. 6 again, when rating server 6 can identify the content distribution source based on the rating rank determination table (YES in step S122), rating server 6 is associated with the content distribution source. The rating rank is distributed to the rating information acquisition unit 124 (step S124), and the process ends. If the content distribution source cannot be specified (NO in step S122), error distribution is performed to the rating information acquisition unit 124 (step S126), and the process ends.

  Referring to FIG. 5 again, control unit 100 determines the acquisition state of the rating server rating rank distributed from rating server 6 (step S106). Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the rating information acquisition unit 124 determines whether or not the rating server rating rank corresponding to the content has been acquired from the rating server 6 as described above. When the rating information acquisition unit 124 has acquired the rating server rating rank (YES in step S106), the writing unit 130 associates the content with the rating server rating rank according to an instruction from the control unit 100. Writing to the storage unit 140 (step S108), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the rating information acquisition unit 124 has not acquired the rating rank (NO in step S106), the writing unit 130 stores the content in the storage unit 140 without associating the rating server rating rank with the content. Write and end processing.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between content and rating server rating rank.
With reference to FIG. 9, for example, when the distribution source of the content α is “http://www.abc.co.jp/abc/def.html”, the rating rank determination table in FIG. 7 is referred to. Thus, since the rating server rating rank is A, the writing unit 130 associates the rating server rating rank A with the content α and stores it in the storage unit 140. Similarly, in the case where the distribution source of the content β is “http://www.def.co.jp/abc/def.html”, the writing unit 130 associates the rating server rating rank C with the content β and stores the content β. 140. When the distribution source of the content γ is “http://www.ghi.co.jp/abc”, the rating server rating rank D is associated with the content γ and stored in the storage unit 140. When the distribution source of the content δ is “http://www.jkl.co.jp”, the rating server rating rank B is associated with the content δ and stored in the storage unit 140.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when PDA 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention outputs content.

With reference to FIG. 10, the operation performed by the PDA 2 when outputting content will be described.
When the control unit 100 receives an operation for logging in to the PDA 2 from the user via the operation unit 180, the control unit 100 displays a login screen to identify the user (step S130).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a login screen. The login screen is provided with a column for inputting a user ID and a password and a column for receiving an input for new registration.

  Referring to FIG. 11, for example, the control unit 100 identifies a user by a user ID and a password requested to the user when logging into the PDA 2. Note that the method is not limited to the above method as long as the user of the PDA 2 can be specified. It may be specified by fingerprint or other biological information.

  Next, the control unit 100 receives input of a user ID and password from the user via the operation unit 180, and determines whether or not the user is a registered user (step S132).

Here, the user registration method of the PDA 2 will be described.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation performed when PDA 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives a new registration from a user.

  First, the control unit 100 determines whether or not an operation for new registration has been received from the user via the operation unit 180 (step S150).

  Control unit 100 maintains the state from step S150 when new registration input from the user has not been received (NO in step S150). On the other hand, when receiving a new registration input from the user (YES in step S150), control unit 100 displays a new registration setting screen (step S152).

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a new registration setting screen. The new registration setting screen is provided with columns for inputting a user ID, a password, and a user age.

  Referring to FIG. 12 again, the control unit 100 receives an operation for inputting a user ID, password, and age from the user via the operation unit 180, and determines whether or not a new registration setting has been made ( Step S154).

  If the new registration setting has not been made (NO in step S154), control unit 100 ends the process and returns to the login screen. For example, this corresponds to a case where an input to the cancel button shown in FIG. 13 is accepted. On the other hand, when the new registration setting is made (YES in step S154), control unit 100 sets a user rating rank corresponding to the user age (step S156).

  Next, the control unit 100 stores the user ID, password, and user rating rank corresponding to the user age as user registration information in the user registration information table stored in the storage unit 140 (step S158), and processing Exit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a user registration information table.
Referring to FIG. 14, for example, the user ID “AAA” has a password “WWW” and a user rating rank A. Therefore, referring to FIG. 8, the user indicates that the age is 18 years or older. Similarly, the user (user rating rank B) of the user ID “BBB” has an age of 16 to 18 years old, and the user (user rating rank E) of the user ID “CCC” has an age of less than 7 years old. The user with the user ID “DDD” (user rating rank D) indicates that the age is between 7 and 13 years old.

  Referring to FIG. 10 again, control unit 100 acquires the user rating rank when it is determined that the user information is registered and the user authentication is OK (YES in step S132). Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the user rating information acquisition unit 110 acquires a user rating rank corresponding to the logged-in user from the user information table (step S134). On the other hand, when the user information is not registered and the user authentication is NG (NO in step S132), control unit 100 maintains the state of step S132.

Next, the control unit 100 determines whether or not an operation for reproducing content from the user has been received via the operation unit 180 (step S136).
Control unit 100 maintains the state of step S136 when no content playback request has been received (NO in step S136). On the other hand, when the content reproduction request is accepted (YES in step S136), control unit 100 acquires a rating server rating rank associated with the content (step S137).

  Next, the control unit 100 determines whether the content can be output (step S138). Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the output control unit 150 compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank associated with the content, and determines whether the content can be output. .

  Here, a comparison method between the user rating rank and the rating server rating rank will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining whether or not output is possible based on a comparison result between the user rating rank and the rating server rating rank. Referring to FIG. 15, for example, in the case of content α, the user rating rank is A, and the rating server rating rank is A. Therefore, the output control unit 150 determines that content can be output and performs output. Similarly, in the case of content β, the user rating rank is B and the rating server rating rank is C, so output is possible. In the case of content γ, the user rating rank is E, and the rating server rating rank is D, so output is not possible. In the case of content δ, it is determined that the user rating rank is D and the rating server rating rank is B, so that output is impossible, and output is performed. That is, when the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the rating server rating rank, the output control unit 150 determines that output is possible and performs output.

  When the rating server rating rank is not associated with the content, that is, when the rating server rating rank cannot be acquired from the rating server 6 (NO in step S106 in FIG. 5), the output control unit 150 Shall not output content. However, regarding the case where the rating server rating rank is not associated with the content, whether the output by the output control unit 150 is an item that can be arbitrarily set by the user, the output control unit 150 may output the content.

  As described above, when the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the rating server rating rank (when YES in step S138), the output control unit 150 reproduces the content (step S140) and ends the process. To do. On the other hand, when the user rating rank is lower than the rating server rating rank (NO in step S138), the output control unit 150 ends the process without reproducing the content (step S142).

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow between PDA 2, content server 4 and rating server 6 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the flow of processing in which the PDA 2 acquires the content from the content server 4 and the rating server rating rank from the rating server 6 will be described.

  When a content request is made from the PDA 2 to the content server 4 (step SQ100), the content server 4 accepts the content request (step SQ102) and distributes the requested content to the PDA 2 (step SQ104). The PDA 2 acquires the content distributed from the content server 4 (step SQ106), transmits the content related information of the content to the rating server 6, and requests the rating server rating rank associated with the content distribution source. (Step SQ108). The rating server 6 receives the rating server rating rank request (step SQ110), and distributes the requested rating server rating rank to the PDA 2 (step SQ112). The PDA 2 acquires the rating server rating rank distributed from the rating server 6 (step SQ114), and stores the content and the rating server rating rank in association with each other (step SQ116).

Next, a flow of processing for outputting content acquired by the PDA 2 will be described.
When the PDA 2 receives the login from the user (step SQ118), the PDA 2 acquires the user rating rank of the user (step SQ119). Next, when the PDA 2 receives a content reproduction request from the user (step SQ120), the PDA 2 acquires a rating server rating rank associated with the content (step SQ121). The user rating rank is compared with the rating server rating rank to determine whether or not the content can be output (step SQ122), and output or non-output processing is performed (step SQ124).

  As described above, the PDA 2 can limit the output of content according to the user of the PDA 2 by associating the content acquired from the content server 4 with the rating server rating rank acquired from the rating server 6. Become. Further, since it is not necessary for the user to set output restrictions for each individual content, management of content output after content acquisition is facilitated.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment described above, the operation for performing content reproduction control in the PDA 2 has been described. In the second embodiment, the operation in which the PDA 2 performs content external output control to an external display device included in the external device 8 will be described. . Here, for the sake of explanation, the external display device will be described as the television 8a.

FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of PDA 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
PDA 2 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as PDA 2 shown in FIG. 4 except that external output control unit 154 and external output unit 170 are added. Therefore, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  The external output control unit 154 is a part of the output control unit 150 and controls content output to the external output unit 170.

  The external output unit 170 externally outputs the content acquired from the content server 4 to the television 8a in accordance with the control of the external output control unit 154.

  An operation performed when the television 8a reproduces content externally output from the PDA 2 will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing operations executed from a content external output request from the television 8a to the PDA 2 until content reproduction on the television 8a.

  First, when receiving an operation for logging in to the television 8a from the user, the CPU (not shown) of the television 8a displays a login screen shown in FIG. 11 in order to identify the user (step S180).

  Next, the CPU of the television 8a accepts the input of the user ID and password from the user and is registered from the user registration information table shown in FIG. 14 stored in the memory (not shown) of the television 8a. It is determined whether or not the user is a user (step S182).

  When the user information is registered and the user authentication is OK (YES in step S182), the CPU of the television 8a acquires the user rating rank from the user information table (step S184). On the other hand, when the user information is not registered and the user authentication is NG (NO in step S182), the CPU of the television 8a maintains the state of step S182. If the user authentication is OK in step S182, a list for selecting contents stored in the PDA 2 is displayed on the display (not shown) of the television 8a.

  Next, the CPU of the television 8a determines whether or not a content output request has been accepted by the user selecting content displayed on the display (not shown) of the television 8a (step S186).

  When the CPU of the television 8a has not received the content output request (NO in step S186), the state of step S186 is maintained. On the other hand, when a content output request is accepted (YES in step S186), the CPU of television 8a makes a content output request to control unit 100 of PDA 2 (step S188).

  Next, the CPU of the television 8a determines whether a user rating rank request has been received from the user rating information acquisition unit 110 of the PDA 2 (step S190).

  When the CPU of the television 8a has not received the user rating rank request (NO in step S190), the state of step S190 is maintained. On the other hand, when receiving the user rating rank request (YES in step S190), the CPU of the television 8a transmits the user rating rank to the PDA 2 (step S192).

  Next, the CPU of the television 8a determines whether or not content output from the PDA 2 has been received (step S194).

  If the CPU of the television 8a has not received the output of the content from the PDA 2 (NO in step S194), the CPU ends the process without reproducing the content. On the other hand, when the CPU of the television 8a receives the output of the content (YES in step S194), the content is played back (step S196), and the process ends.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation performed when PDA 2 according to the second embodiment outputs content to television 8a externally.

  First, the control unit 100 determines whether or not a content external output request has been received from the CPU of the television 8a (S160).

  If the content output request is not received (NO in step S160), control unit 100 maintains the state in step S160. On the other hand, when receiving a content output request (YES in step S160), control unit 100 requests a user rating rank. Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the user rating information acquisition unit 110 requests the user rating rank from the television 8a (step S162).

  Next, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the user rating information acquisition unit 110 determines whether or not the user rating rank transmitted from the television 8a has been acquired (step S164).

  The user rating information acquisition unit 110 maintains the state of step S164 when the user rating rank has not been acquired (NO in step S164). On the other hand, when the user rating information acquisition unit 110 has acquired the user rating rank (YES in step S164), the control unit 100 acquires the rating server rating rank associated with the content (step S166). . Next, the control unit 100 determines whether the content can be externally output (step S168). Specifically, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the output control unit 150 compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank associated with the content, and determines whether the content can be output. . Note that the process of step S166 may be between the process of step S160 and the process of step S162.

  If the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the rating server rating rank (YES in step S168), the output control unit 150 externally outputs the content to the television 8a (step S170) and ends the process. On the other hand, when the user rating rank is lower than the rating server rating rank (NO in step S168), the output control unit 150 ends the process without outputting the content to the television 8a (step S172).

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the processing procedure of each device at the time of content acquisition is the same as that of the first embodiment, the detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing when content is externally output between PDA 2 and television 8a according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  When the television 8a receives a login from the user (step SQ150), the television 8a acquires the user rating rank of the logged-in user (step SQ151). Next, when receiving an external content output request from the user, television 8a requests external output of content from PDA 2 (step SQ152). The PDA 2 accepts the user's content external output request (step SQ154) and requests the user rating rank from the television 8a (step SQ156). Television 8a accepts the user rating rank request from PDA 2 (step SQ158), and transmits the user rating rank to PDA 2 (step SQ160). When the PDA 2 acquires the user rating rank from the television 8a (step SQ162), the PDA 2 acquires the rating server rating rank associated with the content (step SQ163). The PDA 2 compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank, determines whether or not the content can be output to the television 8a (step SQ164), and outputs the content to the television 8a (step SQ166). When the television 8a accepts a reproduction request from the user, the television 8a reproduces the content (step SQ168). Note that the process of step SQ163 may be performed between the process of step SQ154 and the process of step SQ155.

  As described above, according to the user who accesses the television 8a connected to the PDA 2, it is possible to restrict the reproduction of the content stored in the PDA 2 on the television 8a.

[Modification]
Next, in Embodiment 2 of the present invention, the operation in which the PDA 2 performs the content external output control to the television 8a has been described. The case where control is performed will be described. For the sake of explanation, the external device 8 will be described as being a USB memory 8c. Here, the external output specifically refers to movement, copying, or the like of a content file to a USB memory.

  The components of PDA 2 according to the modification of the second embodiment are the same as those of the second embodiment shown in FIG.

  An operation executed when the PDA 2 externally outputs content to the USB memory 8c will be described.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when the PDA 2 externally outputs content to the USB memory 8c.

  First, the control unit 100 determines whether an external content output request from the user to the USB memory 8c is received via the operation unit 180 (step S200).

  Next, the control part 100 maintains the state of step S200, when the external output request | requirement of the content from a user is not received (when it is NO in step S200). On the other hand, if the control unit 100 has received a request for external output of content from the user (YES in step S200), the control unit 100 requests the control unit 100 to perform a user authentication request by a user authentication program stored in the USB memory 8c. In order to identify the user, the login screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed (step S202).

  Next, the control unit 100 receives input of a user ID and password from the user via the operation unit 180, and determines whether or not the user is a registered user from the user registration information table stored in the USB memory 8c. Is determined (step S204).

  When the user information is registered and the user authentication is OK (YES in step S204), the control unit 100 makes a request for obtaining the user rating rank corresponding to the user to the USB memory 8c (step S206). . On the other hand, when the user information is not registered and the user authentication is NG (NO in step S204), control unit 100 maintains the state of step S204.

  Next, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the user rating information acquisition unit 110 determines whether a user rating rank has been acquired (step S206).

  When the user rating information acquisition unit 110 has not acquired the user rating rank (NO in S208), the processing from S206 is repeated. On the other hand, when the user rating information acquisition unit 110 has acquired the user rating rank (YES in S208), the control unit 100 acquires the rating server rating rank associated with the content (step S209). Next, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the output control unit 150 compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank, and determines whether the content can be externally output (step S210).

  If the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the rating server rating rank (YES in step S210), the output control unit 150 outputs the content to the USB memory 8c externally (step S212), and ends the process. To do. On the other hand, if the user rating rank is lower than the rating server rating rank (NO in step S210), the output control unit 150 ends the process without outputting the content to the USB memory 8c (step S214). To do.

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the processing procedure of each device at the time of content acquisition is the same as that of the first embodiment, the detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing when content is externally output by the PDA 2 and the USB memory 8c according to the modification of the second embodiment of the present invention.

  A procedure for the PDA 2 to externally output the acquired content to the USB memory 8c will be described.

  When the PDA 2 makes an external output request for content to the USB memory 8c (step SQ180), the USB 8c accepts the external output request (step SQ182) and makes a user authentication request (step SQ184). Next, the PDA 2 makes a login request to the user in order to specify the user who has requested the external output (step SQ186), and requests the user rating rank of the logged-in user from the USB memory 8c (step SQ188). The USB memory 8c receives the user rating rank request from the PDA 2 (step SQ190), and transmits the user rating rank to the PDA 2 (step SQ192). The PDA 2 acquires the user rating rank from the USB memory 8c (step SQ194). Next, the PDA 2 acquires a rating server rating rank associated with the content (step SQ195). The PDA 2 compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank to determine whether or not content can be output to the USB memory 8c (step SQ196), and outputs the content to the USB memory 8c (step SQ198). The USB memory 8c stores the content when the user's output request is received (step SQ199).

  As described above, according to the user who accesses the USB memory 8c connected to the PDA 2, it is possible to restrict the movement, copying, and the like of the content file stored in the PDA 2 to the USB memory 8c. .

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, an operation will be described in which the PDA 2 performs the re-acquisition of the rating rank to the rating server 6 when the PDA 2 cannot acquire the rating rank from the rating server 6.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an operation performed by PDA 2 according to the third embodiment when content is acquired. Since the operation at the time of content output is the same as in the first embodiment, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  Since the process shown in FIG. 23 is the same as that in FIG. 5 except that steps S250 and S252 are added, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated. Here, the processing of steps S250 to S252 will be described.

  When the rating information acquisition unit 124 determines that the rating rank has not been acquired (NO in step S106), the control unit 100 has one or more rating rank re-acquisition request counts to the rating server 6. Is determined (step S250).

  When control unit 100 determines that the number of times of reacquisition is 1 or more (in the case of YES in step S250), it does not make a rating rank reacquisition request to rating server 6; 130 writes the content in the storage unit 140 without associating the rating rank with the content, and ends the process. On the other hand, when control unit 100 determines that the number of reacquisition requests is not 1 or more (in the case of YES in step S250), communication control unit 120 first transmits to rating server 6 in accordance with an instruction from control unit 100. The address is changed to a network address different from the network address of the content distribution source (step S252). Next, it repeats from the process (step S104) which transmits content related information including the network address of the changed content distribution source to the rating server 6 and requests the rating server rating rank. The number of reacquisition requests can be arbitrarily set by the user, and the above processing is repeated according to the number of times.

Here, the network address changing method will be described.
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a network address changing method.

  If the network address of the content distribution source included in the content related information is “http://www.abc.co.jp/abc/def.html”, the upper directory to which the area (data position) belongs Change the network address to “http://www.abc.co.jp/abc”. If the number of reacquisition requests is multiple, the network address is changed to the upper directory each time the number is repeated, and finally the network address of the top directory is `` http://www.abc. change to "co.jp". As described above, the PDA 2 changes the network address a plurality of times even when the rating server rating rank associated with the content distribution source cannot be obtained with the network address of the content distribution source that is transmitted first. By making a rating rank re-acquisition request, it is possible to acquire the rating server rating rank from the rating server 6 without omission.

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the processing procedure of each device at the time of content output is the same as that in the first embodiment, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow between PDA 2, content server 4, and rating server 6 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the processing procedure shown in FIG. 25, the processes other than steps SQ200 to SQ210 are the same as those in FIG. 16, and therefore, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated. Here, the processing from step SQ200 to step SQ210 will be described. A case where the rating server rating rank can be acquired at the time of the re-acquisition of the rating server rating rank from the PDA 2 to the rating server 6 will be described.

  When the rating server 6 receives a rating server rating rank request associated with the content distribution source from the PDA 2 (step SQ110), an error occurs if there is no rating server rating rank associated with the content distribution source. Distribution is performed (step SQ200). Upon receiving the error delivery from the rating server 6 (step SQ202), the PDA 2 changes the address to a network address different from the network address of the content delivery source that was first transmitted to the rating server 6 (step SQ203). The network address of the subsequent content distribution source is transmitted to the rating server 6 and a reacquisition request for the rating server rating rank is made (step SQ204). Rating server 6 accepts the reacquisition request from PDA 2 (step SQ206), and distributes the rating server rating rank (step SQ208). The PDA 2 acquires the rating server rating rank distributed from the rating server 6 (step SQ210), and stores the content and the rating server rating rank in association with each other (step SQ116).

  As described above, the PDA 2 can obtain the rating server rating rank from the rating server 6 without omission.

[Embodiment 4]
In the fourth embodiment, the content reproduction control is performed by comparing the metadata rating rank associated with the content distribution source and the user rating rank included in the content metadata acquired by the PDA 2 from the content server 4. Is described.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of PDA 2 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
PDA 2 according to the fourth embodiment has the same configuration as PDA 2 shown in FIG. 17 except that attribute determination unit 126 is added. Therefore, detailed description of the same parts will not be repeated.

  The attribute determination unit 126 determines whether or not the metadata rating rank is included in the content metadata acquired from the content server 4.

An operation executed by PDA 2 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.
FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an operation performed by PDA 2 according to the fourth embodiment when content is acquired.

  Since the processing from step S100 to S102 is the same as that in FIG. 5, detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated.

  The attribute determination unit 126 determines whether or not the metadata rating rank is included in the content metadata acquired in step S102 (step S300).

  If the attribute determining unit 126 determines that the metadata rating rank is not included in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100 (NO in step 300), the subsequent processing is processing after step S104 in FIG. Since the same processing is performed, detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated. On the other hand, when attribute determination unit 126 determines that the metadata rating rank is included (YES in step 300), the content is stored in storage unit 140 and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when PDA 2 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention outputs content.

  Since the processing from step S130 to S136 is the same as that in FIG. 10, the detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated.

  Next, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the attribute determination unit 126 determines whether or not the metadata of the content requested to be reproduced has a metadata rating rank (step S300). If attribute determination unit 126 determines that there is a metadata rating rank (YES in step S300), output control unit 150 compares the user rating rank with the metadata rating rank in accordance with an instruction from control unit 100. Then, it is determined whether or not the content can be output (step S302). The comparison method is the same as the comparison method between the user rating rank and the rating server rating rank, and the rating server rating rank is replaced with the metadata rating rank.

  If the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the metadata rating rank (YES in step S302), the output control unit 150 plays the content (step S140) and ends the process. On the other hand, when the user rating rank is lower than the metadata rating rank (NO in step S302), the output control unit 150 ends the process without reproducing the content (step S142).

  On the other hand, when attribute determination unit 126 determines that there is no metadata rating rank (NO in step S300), control unit 100 determines whether there is a rating server rating rank associated with the content. (Step S304). If control unit 100 determines that there is a rating server rating rank (YES in step S304), the subsequent processing is the same as the processing in step S137 and subsequent steps in FIG. The explanation is not repeated. On the other hand, if the control unit 100 determines that there is no rating server rating rank (NO in step S304), the output control unit 150 ends the process without reproducing the content (step S142).

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing among PDA 2, content server 4, and rating server 6 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The case where the metadata of the content acquired by the PDA 2 from the content server 4 has a metadata rating rank will be described.

First, a processing procedure at the time of content acquisition of the PDA 2 is described.
Since the processing from step SQ100 to step SQ106 is the same as that in FIG. 16, the detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated. When content is acquired from the content server 4 (step SQ106). In this case, it is assumed that the metadata of the content has a metadata rating rank (step SQ300).

Next, a processing procedure at the time of content output of PDA 2 will be described.
Since the processing from step SQ118 to step SQ120 for the content metadata is the same as that in FIG. 16, the detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated. The PDA 2 compares the user's rating rank with the metadata rating rank to determine whether the content can be output (step SQ302), and performs output or non-output processing (step SQ124).

  As described above, if the content metadata acquired from the content server 4 has a rating rank, the PDA 2 can also control the output of the content using the metadata rating rank.

[Embodiment 5]
In the fifth embodiment, an operation in which the PDA 2 performs content reproduction control by comparing one of the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank with the user rating rank will be described.

  Since the operation performed by PDA 2 according to the fifth embodiment at the time of content acquisition is the same as the process shown in FIG. 5, detailed description will not be repeated.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an operation performed by PDA 2 according to the fifth embodiment when content is output.

  Since the processing from step S130 to S136 is the same as that in FIG. 10, the detailed description of the same portions will not be repeated.

  If the attribute determining unit 126 determines that the metadata rating rank is not included in the metadata of the content according to the instruction of the control unit 100 (NO in step S300), the subsequent processing is as shown in FIG. Since it is the same process as the process after step S304, detailed description will not be repeated.

  On the other hand, when the attribute determination unit 126 determines that the rating metadata associated with the content distribution source is included in the metadata of the content (YES in step S300), the control unit 100 determines that the content It is determined whether there is a rating server rating rank associated with the distribution source (step S304).

  If control unit 100 determines that there is no rating server rating rank (NO in step S304), the subsequent processing is the same as the processing after step S302 in FIG. . On the other hand, when the control unit 100 determines that there is a rating server rating rank (YES in step S304), the output control unit 150 instructs the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank according to an instruction from the control unit 100. And either one of them is selected as a rating rank for controlling content output (step S400).

  Here, a comparison method between the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank will be described.

  FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of selecting one of both based on the comparison result between the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank.

  Referring to FIG. 31, in the case of content α, since the metadata rating rank is B and the rating server rating rank is A, the rating server rating rank having a higher rating rank is selected as the rating rank for controlling the content. . Similarly, in the case of content β, since the metadata rating rank is D and the rating server rating rank is C, the rating server rating rank is selected. In the case of content γ, since the metadata rating rank is C and the rating server rating rank is D, the metadata rating rank is selected. Select as a rating rank to control content. In the case of the content δ, since the metadata rating rank is B, the rating server rating rank is B, and the rating rank is the same, the rating server rating rank is selected as the rating rank for controlling the content. That is, the one with a higher rating rank is selected, and if the rating rank is the same, the rating server rating rank is selected. Note that when the rating ranks are the same, which one to select is an item that can be arbitrarily set by the user, and therefore the metadata rating rank may be selected.

  If the output control unit 150 determines that the rating server rating rank is the same as or higher than the metadata rating rank (when YES in step S400), the subsequent processing is performed in step S138 of FIG. Since the processing is the same as the subsequent processing, detailed description will not be repeated. On the other hand, when the output control unit 150 has a rating server rating rank lower than the metadata rating rank (NO in step S400), the subsequent processing is the same as the processing after step S302 in FIG. Therefore, detailed description will not be repeated.

  Next, a processing flow of each device in information processing system 10 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 32 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow between PDA 2, content server 4, and rating server 6 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

First, the processing procedure of each device at the time of content acquisition will be described.
In the processing procedure of each device at the time of content acquisition according to the fifth embodiment, step SQ300 shown in FIG. 29 having content metadata is added between step SQ106 and step SQ108 shown in FIG. Since the other parts are the same as the processing procedure of FIG. 16, detailed description will not be repeated.

  Next, it is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of the content output of PDA2 according to Embodiment 5 of this invention.

  The processing from step SQ118 to step SQ120 is the same as that in FIG. 16, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated.

  Next, the PDA 2 compares the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank, and selects one of the rating ranks as the rating rank for controlling the output of the content (step SQ400). Next, the PDA 2 compares the user rating rank with the selected rating rank to determine whether the content can be output (step SQ402), and performs output or non-output processing (step SQ124).

  As described above, the PDA 2 can also compare the rating server rating rank and the metadata rating rank, and limit the output of content using the rating rank selected according to a certain standard.

[Embodiment 6]
In the sixth embodiment, an operation in which PDA 2 performs streaming content reproduction control by comparing the rating server rating rank with the user rating rank will be described.

  FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when PDA 2 according to the sixth embodiment acquires a content list. Here, the content list is, for example, a list displayed with an icon corresponding to the content on a Web page or the like when accessing the content server, and the list is a distribution source (network address) that distributes the streaming content. Associated with. The user can request streaming content from the content server 4 by accessing the list.

  First, the control unit 100 requests a content list from the content server 4 (step S500). Specifically, when the control unit 100 receives an operation for acquiring a content list from the user via the operation unit 180, the content acquisition unit 122 included in the communication control unit 120 is instructed by the instruction of the control unit 100. The content server 4 is requested to acquire a content list.

  Next, the control unit 100 acquires a content list from the content server 4 (step S502). Specifically, the content acquisition unit 122 acquires the content list distributed from the content server 4 and ends the process.

  FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing an operation executed when PDA 2 according to the sixth embodiment outputs streaming content.

  With reference to FIG. 34, description will be given of an operation performed by PDA 2 according to the sixth embodiment when streaming content is reproduced.

  Since the processing from step S130 to S134 is the same as that in FIG. 10, detailed description will not be repeated.

  Next, the control unit 100 determines whether a streaming playback request for the content specified by the user from the content list is received via the operation unit 180 (step S600).

  The control unit 100 maintains the state of S600 when it has not received a content streaming playback request (NO in step S600). On the other hand, when the request for streaming playback of content is received (YES in step S600), control unit 100 requests streaming content from content server 4 (step S602). Specifically, the content acquisition unit 122 included in the communication control unit 120 makes a streaming content acquisition request to the content server 4 according to an instruction from the control unit 100.

  Next, the control unit 100 acquires streaming content from the content server 4 (step S604). Specifically, the content acquisition unit 122 acquires streaming content distributed from the content server 4.

  Next, the control unit 100 transmits the acquired related information of the streaming content to the rating server 6 via the communication control unit 120. Further, according to an instruction from the control unit 100, the rating information acquisition unit 124 included in the communication control unit 120 requests the rating server 6 to acquire the rating server rating rank associated with the distribution source of the acquired streaming content (step S606). .

  If the rating information acquisition unit 124 has acquired the rating server rating rank (YES in step S608), the output control unit 150 determines the user rating rank and the rating server rating rank according to the instruction from the control unit 100. Comparison is made to determine whether output is possible (step S612). If the user rating rank is the same as or higher than the rating server rating rank (YES in step S612), the streaming content is reproduced (step S140), and the process ends. On the other hand, when the user rating rank is lower than the rating server rating rank (NO in step S612), the output control unit 150 ends the process without playing the streaming content (step S142). Note that the step of the writing unit 130 associating the streaming content with the rating rank and storing it in the storage unit 140 may be added between step S608 and step S612. For example, this is effective when the streaming content is not reproduced at the same time as acquisition but is reproduced later.

  On the other hand, when the rating information acquisition unit 124 has not acquired the rating server rating rank (NO in step S608), the output control unit 150 does not reproduce the streaming content according to an instruction from the control unit 100 (step S142). ).

  Next, the flow of processing of each device in information processing system 10 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 35 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow between PDA 2, content server 4, and rating server 6 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

  First, a processing procedure in which the PDA 2 acquires a content list from the content server 4 will be described.

  When the PDA 2 makes a content list request to the content server 4 (step SQ500), the content server 4 accepts the content list request (step SQ502) and distributes the requested content list to the PDA 2 (step SQ504). The PDA 2 acquires the content list distributed from the content server 4 (step SQ506).

Next, a procedure in which the PDA 2 performs streaming output of content will be described.
When the user logs in to PDA 2 (step SQ118), PDA 2 obtains the user rating rank (step SQ119). When the PDA 2 receives a playback request for the streaming content selected from the content list by the user (step SQ510), the PDA 2 requests the streaming content from the content server 4 (step SQ511). Upon receiving the streaming content request (step SQ512), the content server 4 distributes the streaming content to the PDA 2 (step SQ514). The PDA 2 acquires the streaming content (step SQ516) and requests the rating server 6 for the rating server rating rank of the streaming content (step SQ518). Rating server 6 receives a rating server rating rank request (step SQ520) and distributes the rating server rating rank to PDA 2 (step SQ522). The PDA 2 acquires the rating server rating rank distributed from the rating server 6 (step SQ524), compares the user rating rank with the rating server rating rank, determines whether the content can be output (step SQ528), and outputs or does not Output processing is performed (step SQ124). A step of associating and storing the content and the rating server rating rank may be added between step SQ524 and step SQ528.

  As described above, the PDA 2 also associates the streaming content acquired from the content server 4 with the rating rank associated with the distribution source of the content acquired from the rating server 6 according to the user of the PDA 2. The output can be limited.

<Other embodiments>
In the above-described embodiment, the method of acquiring the user rating rank by user login has been described. However, for example, the user rating rank is determined in advance for each device that outputs content. You may get it.

  In the sixth embodiment, output control of streaming content has been described. However, the contents of the second to fifth embodiments can be applied to the sixth embodiment. For example, streaming content output control to the external device 8 may be performed, a streaming content reacquisition request may be performed, or streaming content output may be controlled using the streaming content metadata rating rank. Alternatively, the output of the streaming content may be controlled using one of the metadata rating rank of the streaming content and the rating server rating rank.

  It is also possible to provide a program that causes a computer to function and execute control as described in the above flow. Such a program can be read by a non-transitory computer such as a flexible disk attached to a computer, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a memory card. It can also be recorded on a recording medium and provided as a program product. Alternatively, the program can be provided by being recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk built in the computer. A program can also be provided by downloading via a network.

  The program may be a program module that is provided as part of an operating system (OS) of a computer and that calls necessary modules in a predetermined arrangement at a predetermined timing to execute processing. In that case, the program itself does not include the module, and the process is executed in cooperation with the OS. A program that does not include such a module can also be included in the program according to the present invention.

  The program according to the present invention may be provided by being incorporated in a part of another program. Even in this case, the program itself does not include the module included in the other program, and the process is executed in cooperation with the other program. Such a program incorporated in another program can also be included in the program according to the present invention.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  2 PDA, 4, 4a Content server, 6 Rating server, 8 External device, 8a TV, 8c Memory, 10 Information processing system, 20 CPU, 22 Communication device, 24 Input device, 26 ROM, 28 RAM, 30 Display controller, 32 Display, 34 Hard disk, 36 External device I / F, 50 application, 60 library, 62 communication library, 64 display library, 66 image output library, 68 data input / output library, 100 control unit, 110 user rating information acquisition unit, 120 communication Control unit, 122 content acquisition unit, 124 rating information acquisition unit, 126 attribute determination unit, 130 writing unit, 140 storage unit, 150 output control unit, 152 display control unit, 154 external output control unit, 160 display unit, 1 0 external output unit, 180 operation unit.

Claims (10)

A content acquisition unit for acquiring the content from at least one content server capable of distributing content via a network;
From the rating information server pre-registered with the first rating information that is associated with a distribution source that distributes the content and that can be used to control the output of the content, the content via the network A first rating information acquisition unit for acquiring the first rating information corresponding to the content distribution source acquired by the acquisition unit;
A second rating information acquisition unit assigned to each user for acquiring second rating information that can be used to control the output of the content;
An output control unit for controlling the output of the content,
The output control unit, when outputting the content, the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit and the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit. An information processing apparatus that compares rating information and controls output of the content based on a comparison result. A writing unit that associates and stores the content acquired by the content acquisition unit and the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit in a storage unit;
The output control unit compares the first rating information stored in association with the content and the second rating information when outputting the content stored in the storage unit, and compares the result. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output of the content is controlled based on the information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output of the content includes reproduction output of the content to a display unit of the information processing apparatus or output to an external device connected to the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus can be connected to an external device,
The second rating information acquisition unit acquires the second rating information registered corresponding to the connected external device when the information processing apparatus and the external device are connected. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The first rating information acquisition unit transmits first address information according to a data position in the network at the time of distribution of the content, and corresponds to the first address information stored in the rating information server Obtaining the assigned first rating information;
When the first rating information acquisition unit cannot acquire the first rating information associated with the first address information from the rating information server when transmitting the first address information. The second address information is changed to the second address information according to the upper data position to which the data position of the content belongs in the network, and the second address information is transmitted and stored in the rating information server. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first rating information associated with address information is acquired. When it is determined whether the content acquired by the content acquisition unit includes third rating information that can be used to control output, and the third rating information is included And further comprising a third rating information acquisition unit for acquiring the third rating information.
The output control unit outputs the content when the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the third rating information is not included in the content acquired by the content acquisition unit. When comparing the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit and the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit, based on the comparison result Control the output of the content,
The output control unit outputs the content when the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the third rating information is included in the content acquired by the content acquisition unit. In comparison, the third rating information acquired by the third rating information acquisition unit is compared with the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit, and based on the comparison result The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein output of the content is controlled. When it is determined whether the content acquired by the content acquisition unit includes third rating information that can be used to control output, and the third rating information is included And further comprising a third rating information acquisition unit for acquiring the third rating information.
The output control unit outputs the content when the third rating information acquisition unit determines that the third rating information is included in the content acquired by the content acquisition unit. In this case, one of the first rating information and the third rating information included in the content is compared with the second rating information, and the output of the content is controlled based on the comparison result. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. An information processing method executed by a computer,
The information processing method includes:
Acquiring the content via a network from at least one content server capable of delivering the content;
Distribution of the content via the network from a rating information server pre-registered with first rating information that is associated with a distribution source that distributes the content and can be used to control output of the content Obtaining the first rating information corresponding to the original;
Obtaining second rating information that can be used to control the output of the content assigned to each user;
Controlling the output of the content,
The step of controlling the output includes the step of comparing the first rating information and the second rating information when outputting the content, and controlling the output of the content based on a comparison result. Information processing method. An information processing program to be executed by a computer,
The information processing program includes:
Acquiring the content via a network from at least one content server capable of delivering the content;
Distribution of the content via the network from a rating information server pre-registered with first rating information that is associated with a distribution source that distributes the content and can be used to control output of the content Obtaining the first rating information corresponding to the original;
Obtaining second rating information that can be used to control the output of the content assigned to each user;
Controlling the output of the content,
The step of controlling the output includes the step of comparing the first rating information and the second rating information when outputting the content, and controlling the output of the content based on a comparison result. Information processing program. At least one content server capable of delivering content;
A rating information server pre-registered with first rating information that is associated with a distribution source that distributes the content and can be used to control the output of the content;
An information processing apparatus connected to the content server and the rating information server via a network;
The information processing apparatus includes:
A content acquisition unit for acquiring the content from the content server;
A first rating information acquisition unit that acquires the first rating information corresponding to a distribution source of the content acquired by the content acquisition unit from the rating information server;
A second rating information acquisition unit that acquires second rating information that is assigned to each user and can be used to control the output of the content;
An output control unit for controlling the output of the content,
The output control unit, when outputting the content, the first rating information acquired by the first rating information acquisition unit and the second rating information acquired by the second rating information acquisition unit. An information processing system that compares rating information and controls output of the content based on a comparison result.

Images