JP2015053632A - Content provision system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide content in a form applicable to a user state especially even when the user is driving a vehicle in consideration of the present state of the user.SOLUTION: A server 31 of an information center 14 includes: identification units 33, 34, 35 for obtaining the states of respective devices (a smart phone 12, a vehicle 16, and an on-vehicle machine 13) on the basis of device information; a scene identification unit 36 for estimating the present scene of a user on the basis of the states of the respective devices and also determining content to be provided; a service selection unit 37 for receiving the content from a service provider 15; and a provision method selection unit 38 for determining a device to which the content is to be transmitted. A control unit 24 of the on-vehicle machine 13 has a function of identifying the in-vehicle scene of the user again when the content is transmitted and also controlling the output of the content in accordance with the identified scene.

Description

  The present invention relates to a content providing system that automatically provides content from an information center to a plurality of devices used by a user.

  In recent years, in the IT field, content (information and services) desired by users has been provided for mobile information terminals such as mobile phones and smartphones held by users (or in-vehicle devices such as car navigation systems installed in vehicles on which users ride). A service system called an agent service (or concierge service) that is distributed from a provider is considered (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  FIG. 8 shows an outline of a conventional agent service. In this system, a smartphone 1 possessed by a user and an in-vehicle device (car navigation system) 3 mounted on a vehicle 2 on which the user rides are provided by a service provider 4. Communicatively connected. In this case, the user can acquire desired information from the service provider 4 by requesting content using the smartphone 1, for example. In addition, the user information such as news and hobby fields that the user is interested in is registered in advance in the service provider 4, or based on the user's past usage history information, without requesting each time. The contents of the field are automatically distributed from the provider 4. Such a service is called a PUSH service.

JP 2011-227746 A JP 2010-282273 A

  However, in the conventional PUSH service system described above, content is unilaterally distributed from the service provider 4 regardless of the current situation of the user. For this reason, it is sufficient if the user can enjoy the content. However, when the load is high, for example, during driving of the vehicle 2, for example, there is no room for viewing the screen even if the content is received. There were circumstances that could not be enjoyed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is a system that can automatically provide a content service to a device used by a user, taking into account the current situation of the user, In particular, the present invention provides a content providing system capable of providing content in a form adapted to the user situation even while the user is driving a vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, a content providing system according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a plurality of devices (12, 13, 16) provided with a content output unit (18, 25) and used by a user, and a content providing system. A system (11) in which an information center (14) provided with a server (31) is communicably connected, and contents are provided from the information center (14) to the devices (12, 13, 16). The device (12, 13, 16) has, for one user, a portable information terminal (12) possessed by the user and an in-vehicle device (13) mounted on the vehicle (16) on which the user rides. The server (31) of the information center (14) includes the devices (12, 13, 16) based on information transmitted from the devices (12, 13, 16). From the status of the device status specifying means (33, 35, 34) for grasping the status of the device and the status of each device (12, 13, 16) specified by the device status specifying means (33, 35, 34), A scene estimation unit (36) for estimating a current scene, a determination unit (36) for determining content to be provided to a corresponding user from the user's scene estimated by the scene estimation unit (36), and the scene estimation Device selection means (38) for determining the device (12, 13, 16) to transmit the content based on the estimation of the means (36) and the determination of the determination means (36), and the in-vehicle device ( 13) specifies a scene in the vehicle of the user when the content is transmitted from the information center (14) to the vehicle-mounted device (13). An internal scene specifying means (24) and a control means (24) for controlling the output of the content to the content output section (25) according to the scene specified by the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24). Has characteristics.

  According to this, in the server (31) of the information center (14), each of the device status specifying means (33, 35, 34) is based on the information transmitted from each device (12, 13, 16). The state of the device (12, 13, 16) is grasped, and the current scene of the user is estimated by the scene estimation means (36) from the identified state of each device (12, 13, 16). From the user's scene estimated by the scene estimation means (36), the determination means (36) determines the presence / absence, type, timing, etc. of the content to be provided to the user, and at the same time, the scene estimation means (36) Based on the judgment of the estimation and judgment means (36), the device (12, 13, 16) for transmitting the content is determined by the device selection means (38).

  When content is transmitted from the information center (14) to the in-vehicle device (13), the in-vehicle device (13) specifies the scene in the user's vehicle again by the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24). Is done. At the same time, the output of the content to the content output unit (25) is controlled by the control means (24) according to the scene specified by the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24).

  Therefore, it is possible to automatically provide the type according to the user's scene, in other words, the content that is estimated to be desired by the user at an appropriate timing. At that time, even when there are a plurality of devices (12, 13, 16) used by the user, the content can be provided to the most suitable device (12, 13, 16) according to the current situation of the user. . And since the output of the content is controlled based on the specification of the in-vehicle scene of the user at the time when the content is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device (13), the user's situation changes with the passage of time from the initial scene estimation However, content can be provided in a form adapted to the current situation of the user.

The block diagram which shows one Example of this invention and shows the whole structure of a system roughly Sequence diagram mainly showing processing procedure (routine) executed by server of information center and communication flow in system The flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of step B22 of FIG. The flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of step A22 of FIG. Flow chart showing the procedure for determining the privacy scene Schematic diagram showing an overview of services in the system The figure which shows scene specific classification | category (a) and in-vehicle scene specific classification | category (b) Schematic diagram showing an overview of services in the system, showing a conventional example

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in a present Example, mentioning as a specific example the case where a user uses in-vehicle devices, such as a smart phone as a personal digital assistant, and a car (car) carried in a user (car) as a plurality of devices. explain.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of a content providing system 11 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the system 11 includes a smartphone 12 and an in-vehicle device (car navigation system) 13 as devices used by the user, an information center 14, and a service provider 15. The content providing system 11 is configured as a system that realizes a so-called agent service that automatically provides various contents (services) provided by the service provider 15 to the smartphone 12 and the vehicle-mounted device 13.

  The various contents are provided by a plurality of service providers 15. The service provider 15 includes a server for providing contents and a mail server. Examples of contents (services) provided (distributed) from the service provider 15 to the smartphone 12 or the vehicle-mounted device 13 include news distribution, weather forecast distribution, mail service, and clipping of information according to the user's hobbies and interests. There are various services such as services such as driving destinations and route proposal services. In this case, the service provider 15 distributes the content requested by the information center 14 as will be described later, and performs an automatic content distribution service (PUSH service) based on registration by the user in advance. In addition, information such as alert (warning) information of the vehicle 16 (described later) and emergency earthquake warning information is also provided to the smartphone 12 and the vehicle-mounted device 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device (car navigation system) 13 is mounted on a vehicle (automobile) 16 on which the user gets (drives). Communication connection is possible between the smartphone 12 and the information center 14 and between the vehicle 16 (the vehicle-mounted device 13) and the information center 14 via a carrier network. The information center 14 and the service provider 15 are connected via the Internet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the smartphone 12 includes a control unit 17, a display unit 18, an operation unit 19, a communication unit 20, and a display unit 18 connected to the control unit 17. A GPS receiver 21, a vibration sensor 22, a storage unit 23, a voice input / output device (not shown), and the like are provided. The control unit 17 is mainly configured by a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like (not shown), and controls the entire smartphone 12 according to a program stored in the ROM.

  The display unit 18 is configured by, for example, a color displayable liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and the screen displays, for example, phone book data or images and videos stored in the storage unit 23, for example. The The display unit 18 functions as a content output unit. The operation unit 19 includes a touch panel provided on the screen of the display unit 18. The voice input / output unit includes a microphone and a speaker (not shown), and inputs speech sound during a call and outputs received speech. The voice input / output unit also outputs, for example, music or video audio stored in the storage unit 23, synthesized voice obtained by reading text data, and the like.

  The GPS receiver 21 receives a signal from a GPS satellite. As is well known, the control unit 17 generates current position information of the smartphone 12 based on a reception signal of the GPS receiver 21. The vibration sensor 22 detects vibrations acting on the main body of the smartphone 12. The storage unit 23 stores telephone book data, music, and the like, and stores various applications executed by the smartphone 12, various data, and the like.

  The communication unit 20 performs wide-area communication connected to a carrier network (or network), thereby enabling communication with the information center 14. In this case, from the communication unit 20, current position information of the smartphone 12, display on / off information, vibration information of the vibration sensor 22, and the like are transmitted to the information center 14 as device information. The communication unit 20 receives content transmitted from the information center 14 to the smartphone 12.

  In this embodiment, for example, the user can access an external scheduler (not shown) by operating the smartphone 12 and register his / her schedule data in the scheduler. Schedule data includes data such as user name, start / end date and time, place (destination), schedule items (business trips, in-house meetings, drop-offs, holidays, etc.), transportation means (vehicle 16, public transportation, taxi, etc.) It is. For example, when there is a scheduled item at a fixed time on a fixed day of the week, a repeated schedule can be registered. The user can freely refer to the registered schedule data. The scheduler function may be provided in the smartphone 12 itself or may be provided in the information center 14.

  On the other hand, the in-vehicle device (car navigation system) 13 includes a control unit 24, a display unit 25, an operation unit 26, a voice output device (not shown), a storage unit (not shown), and the like connected to the control unit 24. . Among them, the control unit 24 is mainly configured by a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls the entire in-vehicle device 13 according to a program stored in the ROM or the like. At this time, as will be described in detail later, the control unit 24 also functions as an in-vehicle scene specifying unit and a control unit. The control unit 24 is connected to a communication unit 27 provided in the vehicle 16. The storage unit stores various programs such as a navigation function and various data such as map data.

  The display unit 25 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display capable of color display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, or the like, and is provided, for example, at the center of an instrument panel in the passenger compartment. On the screen of the display unit 25, for example, a map screen when using navigation, a display screen of various contents, and the like are displayed, and the display unit 25 functions as a content output unit. The operation unit 26 includes a touch panel provided on the screen of the display unit 25, a switch provided around the touch panel, and the like, and accepts various input operations by the user. The audio output device includes a speaker or the like, and outputs music, guide audio, and the like. In addition, with this voice output device, as will be described later, it is possible to read aloud the text of distributed content (for example, news).

  In addition to the in-vehicle device 13, the vehicle 16 is provided with a control unit 28 mainly composed of a computer, and a vehicle information acquisition unit 29 and the communication unit 27 connected to the control unit 28. ing. Although not shown in detail, the vehicle information acquisition unit 29 is connected to an in-vehicle position detection unit made up of an in-vehicle network (CAN), a GPS unit, etc., for example, vehicle speed, steering angle, fuel remaining amount, alert information, seat sensor Necessary vehicle information such as information such as the traveling state of the vehicle 16 and the vehicle position is acquired.

  The communication unit 27 performs wide area communication connected to a carrier network (or network), and can communicate with the information center 14. In this case, information on the vehicle 16 itself is transmitted from the communication unit 27 to the information center 14 as device information together with information on the in-vehicle device 13. Specifically, in addition to the current position information of the vehicle 16, vehicle speed information, steering angle information, fuel remaining amount information, alert information, seat sensor information, and the like are transmitted to the information center 14. In addition, the communication unit 27 receives content transmitted from the information center 14 to the in-vehicle device 13.

  Instead of the communication unit 27 provided in the vehicle 16, communication with the outside (information center 14) may be performed using an external communication device possessed by the user, such as a smartphone 12 or a mobile phone. In addition to the smartphone 12 and the vehicle-mounted device 13 described above, the device used by the user may include, for example, a personal computer or a television set installed at the user's home and connected to the Internet.

  On the other hand, the information center 14 includes a communication device (not shown) and, as shown in FIG. 1, a server (control unit) 31 mainly composed of a computer and a storage unit ( Database) 32. In the storage unit 32, for example, a service time table that stores a behavior histogram learned from a history of what actions each user has taken and what services have been used, and each user device (smart phone) 12, a device state table for storing the current state of the vehicle-mounted device 13 and the vehicle 16) is provided.

  The server 31 implements an agent service in the content providing system 1 of the present embodiment by executing a content providing program according to the present embodiment stored in, for example, a ROM. The content providing program may be stored in a computer-readable external storage medium, for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a card type memory, a USB memory, or the like, and may be provided from these storage media.

  At this time, the server 31 realizes the following functions by its software configuration (a plurality of routines executed by the content providing program). That is, the server 31 includes a smartphone state specifying unit 33, a vehicle state specifying unit 34, an in-vehicle device state specifying unit 35, a scene specifying unit 36, a service selecting unit 37, and a providing method selecting unit 38.

  The smartphone state specifying unit 33 specifies the state of the smartphone 12. The vehicle state specifying unit 34 specifies the state of the vehicle 16, and the in-vehicle device state specifying unit 35 specifies the state of the in-vehicle device 13. These are based on the device information including the current position information transmitted from each device (smart phone 12, vehicle 16, vehicle-mounted device 13), and the state of each device (smart phone 12, vehicle 16, vehicle-mounted device 13), respectively. It functions as a device status specifying means to grasp.

  Among them, the smartphone state specifying unit 33 collects the state in cooperation with the smartphone 12 possessed by the user, specifies the movement state of the user and the position of the user, and acquires device information. The vehicle state specifying unit 34 collects the state in cooperation with the vehicle 16 on which the user rides, and specifies the state of the vehicle 16 such as the running state such as the vehicle speed and the steering angle, alert information, and the presence or absence of a passenger. The in-vehicle device state specifying unit 35 collects the state in cooperation with the in-vehicle device 13 of the vehicle 16 on which the user rides, and specifies information related to the position of the vehicle 16 such as a GPS position, a navigation route, and a destination.

  The scene specifying unit 36 determines the user's state from the state of each device (smart phone 12, vehicle 16, on-vehicle device 13) specified by the smartphone state specifying unit 33, the vehicle state specifying unit 34, and the on-vehicle device state specifying unit 35. It functions as scene estimation means for estimating the current scene. Together with this, it functions as a determination means for determining the presence, type, timing, etc. of the content to be provided to the user.

  More specifically, the scene specifying unit 36 determines what scene the user currently belongs to, and uses it in various ways such as estimating the user's behavior, learning it, and scheduling attributes. In the present embodiment, the scene specifying unit 36 determines that the user is acting (wakes up) while the vibration sensor 22 provided in the smartphone 12 detects vibration. . In addition, the scene specifying unit 36 records what actions the user has taken so far and uses the service, and learns a movement pattern and a regular route. Further, the service provision is driven by referring to the schedule data of the scheduler at regular intervals, for example. It also holds schedules such as weekdays / holidays and determines them.

  As will be described later in the description of the operation (flowchart description of FIG. 3), as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the scene specifying unit 36, as shown in FIG. 7A, is driving, stopping, working, relaxing, and going out. One of the six types of scenes during sleep or sleep is estimated. At this time, if there is no vibration detected by the vibration sensor 22 and the operation unit 19 is not operated, it can be determined that the user is sleeping. By using the vibration sensor 22, it can be estimated with sufficient certainty whether the user is sleeping or waking up. Further, if the position information of the smartphone 12 matches the position information of the vehicle 16, it can be determined that the user is in the vehicle, and it can be determined from the vehicle speed information of the vehicle 16 whether the vehicle is driving or stopped. Based on the location information of the smartphone 12 (in-house, home, outing) or the like, it can be determined whether the user is working, relaxing, or going out.

  The service selection unit 37 has a function of requesting a service from the service provider 15 and receiving content from the service provider 15 based on the determination of the scene specifying unit 36. In the present embodiment, the service selection unit 37 prioritizes according to the type of content when providing a plurality of contents (service based on schedule, vehicle warning (alert) notification, PUSH service mail, etc.) to the user. It also has a function as arbitration means for adding ranking and arbitrating between a plurality of contents.

  The provision method selection unit 38 functions as a device selection unit that determines a device to transmit the content based on the estimation of the scene specification unit 36 and the determination of the service selection unit 37 and transmits the device to the device. In this case, when the scene specifying unit 36 estimates (specifies) that the user is driving the vehicle 16, the providing method selection unit 38 considers whether there is a passenger other than the user in the vehicle 16. The device that sends the content is selected. As will be described later, when there is a passenger in the vehicle 16, the mail is sent to the smartphone 12 instead of the in-vehicle device 13 in consideration of the privacy of the user.

  At the same time, in the present embodiment, the providing method selection unit 38, based on the estimation of the scene specification unit 36 and the determination of the service selection unit 37, an appropriate output form of content on the device (for example, moving image, still image, audio) Output, text (character) display, combinations thereof, etc.). The providing method selection unit 38 also has a function as conversion means for processing the output form when necessary.

  With the configuration of the server 31 described above, the content providing system 11 according to the present embodiment executes a service as shown in FIG. That is, device information including current position information is transmitted to the information center 14 (server 31) from devices such as the smartphone 12 and the vehicle 16 (onboard device 13) used by the user. In the server 31, the user's current scene is estimated from the device information and the like, and the content desired by the user in the scene is requested from the service provider 15. When the content is acquired from the service provider 15, the server 31 transmits the content to a device corresponding to the scene in an output form corresponding to the scene. The user can enjoy the content in the output form corresponding to the scene with the device corresponding to the scene.

  In this embodiment, as will be described later in the description of the operation, when content is transmitted from the information center 14 to the in-vehicle device 13 (vehicle 16), the control unit 24 of the in-vehicle device 13 Is specified, and the output of the content to the display unit 25 is controlled in accordance with the specified scene. Therefore, the control unit 24 functions as an in-vehicle scene specifying unit and a control unit.

  More specifically, when the user is driving the vehicle 16, the control unit 24 determines the magnitude of the load related to the user's driving as a scene in the vehicle. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the control unit 24 determines whether the vehicle 16 is traveling or stopped based on the vehicle speed and the steering angle of the vehicle 16, and when the vehicle 16 is traveling. Determines whether the vehicle is going straight or turning left or right. That is, one of the three in-vehicle scenes, straight driving, turning left and right, and stopping is specified.

  The control unit 24 determines that the driving load is large when the vehicle is turning right and left, the driving load is medium when the vehicle is traveling straight, and the driving load is small when the vehicle is stopped. Thus, the control unit 24 makes a right or left turn, that is, if the driving load is large, and if it is going straight, that is, if there is a driving load, the emergency unit such as emergency earthquake information or alert information. With the exception of high content, output of content is temporarily stopped (paused), and control is performed so that the content is output after the driving load is reduced.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a processing procedure of each unit, a main processing procedure (routine) executed mainly by the server 31 of the information center 14, and a communication flow in the content providing system 11 of the present embodiment. 3 shows a detailed procedure of the process of step B22 in FIG. 2, and the flowchart of FIG. 4 shows a detailed procedure of step A22 in FIG. Furthermore, the flowchart of FIG. 5 shows a procedure for determining whether or not there is privacy when selecting a device that transmits content.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, in the content providing system 11, content (service) provision processing is performed, and device state update processing and usage history update processing are performed. First, in the device status update process, it is determined whether or not the device information is updated in each device (smart phone 12, in-vehicle device 13, vehicle 16) on the user side (step A1). If device information is updated (Yes in step A1), the updated device information is transmitted to the information center 14 (step A2). In the information center 14 (server 31), when the updated device information is received (step B1), the device state table in the storage unit 32 is updated (step B2).

  Next, in the usage history update process, when the content service is used in each device (smart phone 12, in-vehicle device 13, vehicle 16) on the user side (step A11), the usage history data is information. It is transmitted to the center 14. When the information center 14 (server 31) receives the usage history data (step B11), it updates the user behavior histogram data learned from the usage history, that is, the service time table in the storage unit 32 (step B12). .

  When providing a content providing service to a user's device, the following processing is executed in the information center 14 (server 31). That is, first, in step B21, the device state table is read, and it is grasped what state each device (smart phone 12, in-vehicle device 13, vehicle 16) of the current user is in. Next, the user's scene is estimated (specified) from the state of each device (step B22).

  The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows details of the scene estimation process in step B22. That is, in step B31, it is determined whether there is vibration detection of the vibration sensor 22 or operation of the operation unit 19 in the smartphone 12. When neither the vibration detection of the vibration sensor 22 nor the operation of the operation unit 19 is performed (No in Step B31), it is estimated that the user is sleeping (Step B32).

  When there is vibration detection of the vibration sensor 22 or when there is an operation of the operation unit 19 (Yes in Step B31), it is estimated that the user is acting. Whether it is inside (driving) is determined. If the current position information of the smartphone 12 matches the current position information of the vehicle 16, it can be determined that the user is driving the vehicle 16 (Yes in Step B33), and the process proceeds to Step B34. In step B34, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed is 0. If the vehicle speed exceeds 0 (Yes in step B34), it is estimated that the user's scene is being driven (step B35). When the vehicle speed is 0 (No in step B34), it is estimated that the user's scene is stopped (step B36).

  On the other hand, when the user's position is not in the vehicle 16 (No in Step B33), it is determined in Step B37 whether the current position of the smartphone 12 is the user's workplace. If it is a workplace (Yes in Step B37), it is estimated in Step B38 that the user's scene is being worked. If the current position of the smartphone 12 is not the user's workplace (No in Step B37), it is determined in the next Step B39 whether the current position of the smartphone 12 is the user's home. If it is home (Yes in Step B39), in Step B40. It is assumed that the user's scene is relaxing. If it is not home (No in step B39), it is estimated in step B41 that the user's scene is out.

  As described above, in step B22, from the device state of the smartphone 12, the vehicle-mounted device 13, and the vehicle 16, what kind of scene the user is currently in (driving, stopping, working, relaxing, going out, sleeping) Is specified. Returning to FIG. 2, in step B23, the user's behavior is estimated based on the identified scene and the service time table. At this time, since the user's past service usage history data stored in the service time table and the user's schedule data registered in the scheduler are taken into account, the user's behavior can be estimated with sufficient certainty. it can.

  In the next step B24, it is determined whether there is a service (content) to be provided to the user. If there is no service to be provided (No in step B24), the service time table is updated in step B25, and the process returns to step B21. If there is a service to be provided (Yes in Step B24), a content distribution request is made to the service provider 15 in Step B26.

  The service provider 15 distributes the content requested by the information center 14 to the information center 14 (step C22). At this time, in addition to the request from the information center 14, the service provider 15 always determines whether there is content to be PUSH distributed to the user (step C21). If there is content to be delivered by push (Yes in Step C21), the content is delivered in Step C22. Further, for example, content (information) that needs to be urgently distributed, such as emergency earthquake information, is similarly distributed in step C22.

  In the information center 14, when content is received from the service provider 15, which device (smart phone 12 or in-vehicle device 13) of the user is to be transmitted with respect to the content is selected in step B 27. At this time, in the present embodiment, when content (email or the like) can be transmitted to the in-vehicle device 13, the device is selected in consideration of privacy depending on the presence or absence of a passenger in the vehicle 16. The flowchart in FIG. 5 shows a privacy scene specifying processing procedure executed by the information center 14 (server 31).

  That is, when specifying the privacy scene, first, in step B51, it is determined whether or not the current position of the user is in the vehicle. If it is not in the vehicle (No in step B51), the process ends as it is. If the user is in the vehicle (Yes in Step B51), it is determined in Step B52 whether or not a seat sensor other than the driver is on, that is, whether there is a passenger. If the seat sensor other than the driver is on, that is, if there is a passenger (Yes in Step B52), it is determined that there is privacy in Step B53. If there is no passenger (No in Step B52), it is determined in Step B54 that there is no privacy.

  Although not shown, when there is no passenger in the vehicle 16 (no privacy), content is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 13. On the other hand, when there is a passenger other than the user in the vehicle 16 (with privacy), the content is transmitted to the user's personal smartphone 12 without performing transmission to the in-vehicle device 13. As a result, the user's privacy can be protected.

  Returning to FIG. 2, in the next step B28, if necessary, the output form of the content (moving image, still image, audio output, text (character) display, these are displayed, so as to obtain an appropriate output form according to the user's situation. In combination). In step B29, the content is transmitted to the user's device. Although not shown, when there are a plurality of contents that are candidates for provision to the user, priorities are assigned in descending order of importance (urgency), and contents are transmitted according to the priorities. The

  On the user side, the content is received by the device (either the smartphone 12 or the in-vehicle device 13) (step A21). Then, the content is output in the device that has received the content. When the in-vehicle device 13 (vehicle 16) receives the content, the following processing of Step A22 to Step A25 is performed. First, in step A22, specific processing of a scene in the user's vehicle is performed.

  The flowchart in FIG. 4 shows the details of the process for specifying the in-vehicle scene in step A22. That is, in step A31, it is determined whether or not the current position of the user (smart phone 12) is in the vehicle. When the position of the smartphone 12 is not in the vehicle (No in Step A31), it is specified in Step A32 that the user is out of the vehicle. If the user is in the vehicle (Yes in step A31), it is determined in step A33 whether the vehicle speed exceeds zero. If the vehicle speed is 0 (No in Step A33), it is determined in the next Step A34 that the vehicle 16 is stopped, and the driving load is determined to be low (small).

  If the vehicle speed exceeds 0 (Yes in Step A33), it is determined in next Step A35 whether the steering angle exceeds 5 degrees. If the steering angle is 5 degrees or less (No in step A35), it is determined in step A36 that the vehicle 16 is traveling straight, and the driving load is determined to be medium. On the other hand, when the steering angle exceeds 5 degrees (Yes in Step A35), it is specified in Step A37 that the vehicle 16 is turning right or left, and the driving load is high (large). Determined. By the above processing, the user's in-vehicle scene is specified, and the driving load is determined in three stages of high, medium and low.

  When the in-vehicle scene is specified in this way (step A22), the process returns to FIG. 2, and in step A23, whether the transmitted content is highly urgent content such as emergency earthquake information or vehicle 16 alert information. Judgment is made. If the content is highly urgent (Yes in Step A23), the content is output unconditionally as it is (Step A25).

  On the other hand, if the content is not urgent (No in step A23), it is determined in step A24 whether the driving load is determined to be low (stopped) in step S22. Is done. When the driving load is low (small) (Yes in step A24), the process proceeds to step A25 and the content is output. If the driving load is not low (No in step A24), the process returns to step A22 and the identification of the in-vehicle scene is repeated. As a result, in the in-vehicle device 13, except for a highly urgent one, the content is output after the driving load becomes low (small).

  With the configuration of the content providing system 11 as described above, it is possible to automatically provide the type according to the user's scene, in other words, the content presumed to be desired by the user at an appropriate timing. At that time, even if there are a plurality of devices used by the user, the content can be provided to the most suitable device according to the current situation of the user. And since the output of the content is controlled based on the specification of the in-vehicle scene of the user at the time when the content is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 13, even when the user's situation changes with the passage of time from the first scene estimation, Content can be provided in a form adapted to the current situation of the user.

  Here, although not shown, some specific examples in the case where the user receives a content service will be given. For example, when the user receives the usual news content service at home on a weekday morning (for example, at a fixed time such as 7 o'clock), the device information including the current position information sent from the smartphone 12 to the information center 14 is used to obtain the information center. 14 servers 31 estimate that the user is at home and is active. When the user is always watching the news on the smartphone 12 at this time, the information center 14 (server 31) acquires the content of the news from the service provider 15 and transmits it to the user's smartphone 12. As a result, the user can view the news with the smartphone 12.

  In addition, for example, when the user receives an e-mail on a weekday afternoon (during work) and traveling with a passenger in a car (driving), the current position information is received from the user's smartphone 12 and the vehicle-mounted device 13 (vehicle 16). Is sent to the information center 14. The server 31 estimates that the user is driving the vehicle 16 and there is a passenger. When mail is delivered from the service provider 15 to the user, the smartphone 12 is selected as a device that transmits the mail in order to protect the privacy of the user. The information center 14 (server 31) transmits the mail content to the smartphone 12 instead of the in-vehicle device 13 (vehicle 16). Thus, the content of the mail is not displayed on the display unit 25 of the in-vehicle device 13, and the user can view the mail later on the smartphone 12.

  Furthermore, for example, when the user receives a usual weather forecast content service during a car commute (driving) on a weekday morning (for example, a fixed time such as 8:30), the user's smartphone 12 and in-vehicle device 13 ( Device information including the current position information is sent from the vehicle 16) to the information center. The server 31 estimates that the user is driving the vehicle 16 and is heading for the company. At this time, when the user is always watching the weather forecast in the vehicle, the information center 14 (server 31) acquires the content of the weather forecast from the service provider 15 and transmits it to the in-vehicle device 13. .

  At this time, during the traveling of the vehicle 16 being driven by the user, especially while the steering wheel is turned off (while turning right or left), the driving load is relatively large and the user needs to concentrate on driving. In the present embodiment, on the in-vehicle device 13 side, a scene in the vehicle of the user is specified, and the content is output when the driving load is small (stopped) or after it becomes small. Accordingly, when the driving load is relatively large (the driving load is medium or high), the content is not output, so that the user can concentrate on driving. Thus, the user can view (or listen to) the weather forecast content on the in-vehicle device 13 while ensuring safety. If the content requires urgency such as earthquake early warning or alert information, it is output regardless of the in-vehicle scene, so that the information that requires urgency can be reliably communicated to the user. .

  As described above, according to the content providing system 11 of the present embodiment, the following excellent effects can be obtained. That is, the server 31 of the information center 14 determines the status of each device (smart phone 12, vehicle 16, vehicle-mounted device 13) based on the device information, and the user's current status from the status of each device. A scene specifying unit 36 that estimates a scene and determines content to be provided to a user, a service selection unit 37 that receives content from the service provider 15 and mediates between a plurality of content, and determines a device that transmits the content A provision method selection unit 39 for converting to an appropriate output form is provided, and a scene in the user's vehicle is specified again when content is transmitted from the information center 14 to the vehicle unit 13 to the control unit 24 of the vehicle unit 13. And outputting the content to the display unit 25 according to the specified scene. And to provide a function of controlling.

  Thereby, the type according to the user's scene, in other words, the content presumed to be desired by the user can be automatically provided to the most suitable device at an appropriate timing. And since the output of the content is controlled based on the specification of the user's in-vehicle scene at the time when the content is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted device 13, it corresponds to the case where the user's situation changes with the passage of time from the first scene estimation can do. Therefore, according to the content providing system 11 of the present embodiment, there is a system that can automatically provide a content service from the service provider 15 to a plurality of devices used by the user. In consideration of the current situation, the content can be provided in a form adapted to the user situation, particularly even while the user is driving the vehicle.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 24 of the in-vehicle device 13 determines the magnitude of the user's driving load when specifying the in-vehicle scene, and when it is determined that the driving load is large, the content output is stopped and the driving load is stopped. Since the content is output after the driving load is reduced, the user can concentrate on driving when the driving load is large, and the user can enjoy the content safely after the driving load is reduced. it can. At this time, since it is configured to determine whether or not the user is making a right / left turn that needs to concentrate on driving based on the vehicle speed and the steering angle of the vehicle 16 and to determine the driving load, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 16 is determined. The magnitude of the driving load can be easily determined based on the steering angle.

  In the present embodiment, the provision method selection unit 38 needs to determine an appropriate output form of content on the device (for example, moving image, still image, audio output, text (character) display, combination thereof, etc.). In this case, a function as a conversion means for processing the output form is provided, so that the content can be output in an appropriate output form according to the user's situation on the device, and the content can be more effectively Can be provided.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the scene specifying unit 36 is configured to estimate any one of six types of scenes while the user is driving, stopping, working, relaxing, going out, and sleeping. These six types of scenes of the user are clearly distinguished and can be easily estimated (identified). At the same time, the content desired by the user differs depending on each scene, so that appropriate content can be provided for each scene. Since the scene specifying unit 36 is configured to estimate the current scene of the user by taking into account the user's past service usage history data or taking into account the registered user's schedule data. The certainty of the user's scene estimation can be further increased.

  In this embodiment, when providing a plurality of contents to a user to the service selection unit 37 of the server 31, priority is given according to the type of contents, and arbitration means for arbitrating between the plurality of contents. In the case where multiple contents can be provided at the same time, priority is given to those with high importance, and unnecessary and urgent contents are provided (output) first. Can be prevented in advance.

  In the present embodiment, when it is estimated that the user is driving the vehicle, the providing method selection unit 38 of the server 31 transmits the content in consideration of the presence or absence of the passenger of the vehicle 16 as the state. Since the device is selected, when there is a passenger other than the user in the vehicle 16, the content is transmitted to the user's personal smartphone 12 without transmitting to the in-vehicle device 13, and the privacy of the user is protected. Can be achieved.

  In the above embodiment, the smartphone 12 is adopted as the portable information terminal possessed by the user. However, the present invention is not limited to the smartphone, and any portable information device with a communication function can be used as a portable phone or a tablet terminal. There may be. The in-vehicle device is not limited to the car navigation device, but can be applied to any in-vehicle device including a display unit such as a head-up display and a meter. Moreover, in the said Example, although the conversion of the output form of the content provided was performed in the server 31 of the information center 14, you may implement in the smart phone 12 or the vehicle equipment 13. FIG. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

  In the drawing, 11 is a content providing system, 12 is a smartphone (portable information terminal), 13 is an in-vehicle device, 14 is an information center, 15 is a service provider, 16 is a vehicle, 18 is a display unit (content output unit), and 22 is a vibration. Sensor (vibration detecting means), 24 is a control unit (in-vehicle scene specifying means, control means), 25 is a display unit (content output unit), 31 is a server, 32 is a storage unit, 33 is a smartphone state specifying unit (device state specifying) Means), 34 is a vehicle state specifying unit (device state specifying unit), 35 is an in-vehicle device state specifying unit (device state specifying unit), 36 is a scene specifying unit (scene estimation unit, determining unit), and 37 is a service selecting unit ( Arbitration means) 36 represents a provision method selection unit (device selection means, conversion means).

Claims (10)

A plurality of devices (12, 13, 16) provided with a content output section (18, 25) and used by a user and an information center (14) provided with a server (31) for providing content are communicably connected. In the content providing system (11) configured to provide content from the information center (14) to the devices (12, 13, 16),
The device (12, 13, 16) includes, for one user, a portable information terminal (12) possessed by the user and an in-vehicle device (13) mounted on the vehicle (16) on which the user rides. And
The server (31) of the information center (14) is a device state specifying means for grasping the state of each device (12, 13, 16) based on the information transmitted from each device (12, 13, 16). (33, 35, 34),
Scene estimation means (36) for estimating the current scene of the user from the state of each device (12, 13, 16) specified by the device status specifying means (33, 35, 34);
Determination means (36) for determining the content to be provided to the corresponding user from the user's scene estimated by the scene estimation means (36);
A device selection unit (38) for determining a device (12, 13, 16) to transmit the content based on the estimation of the scene estimation unit (36) and the determination of the determination unit (36);
The in-vehicle device (13) includes an in-vehicle scene specifying means (24) for specifying a scene in the vehicle of the user when the content is transmitted from the information center (14) to the in-vehicle device (13).
A content providing system comprising: control means (24) for controlling output of the content to the content output unit (25) according to the scene specified by the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24). When the user is driving the vehicle, the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24) determines the magnitude of the load related to the user's driving,
The control means (24) stops output of contents other than highly urgent contents when the in-vehicle scene specifying means (24) determines that the driving load is large, and after the driving load becomes small, the control means (24) The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content is output.   The in-vehicle scene specifying means (24) specifies whether the vehicle (16) is turning right or left based on the vehicle speed and steering angle of the vehicle (16), and the load is large when the vehicle is turning right or left. 3. The content providing system according to claim 2, wherein the content providing system is determined to be present.   Based on the estimation or specification of the scene estimation means (36) or the in-vehicle scene specification means (24), an appropriate output form of the content in the device (12, 13, 16) is determined, and the content is output. The content providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising conversion means (38) for processing into a form.   The portable information terminal (12) includes vibration detection means (22), and the device state identification means (33, 35, 34) is a user while the vibration detection means (22) detects vibration. The content providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the content providing system is determined to be acting.   6. The scene estimation means (36) estimates one of six types of scenes during driving, stopping, working, relaxing, going out, and sleeping. The content providing system according to any one of the above.   The said scene estimation means (36) estimates the said user's present scene in consideration of the data of the user's past service use history, The said user's present scene is characterized by the above-mentioned. Content provision system.   The content according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the scene estimation means (36) estimates the current scene of the user in consideration of registered user schedule data. Offer system.   The server (31) of the information center (14), when providing a plurality of contents to the user, adds a priority according to the type of contents and arbitrates between a plurality of contents (37). The content providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:   The device selection means (38) takes into account the presence or absence of a passenger of the vehicle (16) as a state when the scene estimation means (36) estimates that the user is driving the vehicle (16). The content providing system according to claim 1, wherein a device (12, 13, 16) that transmits content is selected.

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