JP3982981B2 - Audio audition service method and audio audition service system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for providing a listening service for audio equipment using a communication network such as the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, products such as audio devices have been sold using a network. In this method, when a product is ordered on the network, the product is sent to the orderer by a courier service or the like.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When a product sold on the network is an audio device, there is a problem that the audio device cannot be auditioned when placing an order. In the case of audio equipment, there is a strong demand to decide to purchase after listening to the equipment. In the case of sales on the network, since the listening service is not provided by the seller, the user has to find a place where the user can audition the audio device to be purchased. However, it is not easy for the user to find the place where he / she has installed the desired audio device.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and to provide a trial listening service that enables easy trial listening of audio equipment.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made to achieve the above object. In the present invention, a server that provides an audio equipment audition service, a user terminal, and a audition facility terminal arranged in an audio audition facility are connected via a communication network, and audio is transmitted from the user terminal to the server. When the data requesting the device audition service is transmitted, the server extracts the audition facility data that allows the user to audition the audio model desired by the user, introduces the data to the user, and installs the data in the audition facility. Reservation processing is performed for the listening facility terminal.
[0006]
According to the present invention, a facility is introduced in which a user can listen to a desired audio device by accessing a server from a user terminal. The user goes to the facility and listens using the desired audio device.
Further, in the present invention, when there is a request for music distribution from the user terminal or the listening facility terminal, the server extracts music data and data of characteristics necessary for the listening from a database, and receives the request. The music data processed according to the characteristic is transmitted to the terminal. In the user terminal or the audition facility terminal, the received music data is reproduced by a predetermined audition equipment.
[0007]
The characteristics required for the audition include the characteristics depending on the location of the audition facility, the characteristics of the audio equipment desired to be auditioned, and the characteristics of the equipment used for the audition. Since the music data is processed with such characteristics, the music played by the trial listening device is played with the characteristics of the audio device desired by the user. Therefore, even if the desired audio device is not installed in the audition facility at a convenient location for the user, the user can make the desired audition.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a system that implements the audio preview service of the present invention. A server 2, a user terminal 3, and a trial listening facility terminal 4 are connected to a communication network 1 such as the Internet.
[0009]
The server 2 is a server that provides an audio preview service. The server 2 may be either a server that sells audio devices on the network or a different server.
The user terminal 3 is a terminal owned by a user who wants to receive an audio preview service.
[0010]
The audition facility terminal 4 is a terminal installed in the audition facility where the user can receive the audition service. Audition facilities include audio equipment stores, showrooms, card dealers, restaurants with audio equipment, and coffee shops. Furthermore, it may be the residence or store of the user who purchased the audio device. Also, the audition facility terminal 4 can be installed at a rental car office, and the audition facility can be a rental car. Thus, by setting a wide range of locations as the audition facility, the user can easily select the audition facility.
[0011]
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the database provided in the server 2. The database (hereinafter, “database” is abbreviated as “DB”) includes a trial facility introduction DB 5 and a trial delivery DB 6.
The sample facility introduction DB 5 includes a sample facility DB 7, a facility homepage DB 8, and a sample vehicle DB 9.
[0012]
The audition facility DB 7 stores, for each facility registered as the audition facility, the model of the installed audio device, the name of the audition facility, the location, the date and time of audition, and the number of times of use.
The facilities registered in the audition facility DB 7 include the above-mentioned facilities, but the user can purchase an audio device and register it after obtaining permission to become an audition facility. can do.
[0013]
The contents of the audition facility DB 7 can be changed from the audition facility terminal 4. In this case, an ID number, a password, and the like are transmitted from the trial facility terminal 4 and the necessary data is changed after obtaining permission from the server 2 to change the data regarding the trial facility. Thereby, the audition facility DB 7 is always updated with the latest data.
[0014]
The facility homepage DB 8 stores data of a facility having a homepage in the trial listening facility terminal 4, and the name of the trial listening facility and conditions necessary for reservation are stored for each facility.
The audition car DB 9 stores a scheduled tour location and time of the audition car. Here, the audition vehicle is a facility in which an audio device for audition is mounted on an automobile and the user performs a trial listening service by patrol.
[0015]
The trial delivery DB 6 includes a model characteristic DB 11, a facility characteristic DB 12, a music DB 13, and a trial equipment characteristic DB 14.
The model characteristic DB 11 stores characteristic data for each model of audio equipment. By processing music data with this characteristic data and playing back the processed music data, it is possible to obtain a state in which music is played back on a specific audio device.
[0016]
The facility characteristic DB 12 stores characteristic data specific to the facility. The facilities include the distinction between a Western-style room and a Japanese-style room, the size of the room, and the vehicle type when the facility is a patrol vehicle. By processing music data according to the characteristics of each facility condition, it is possible to listen to music with characteristics that are not affected by the facility conditions.
The music DB 13 stores music of various genres. When the user auditiones, music of a favorite genre is designated.
[0017]
The audition equipment characteristic DB 14 stores characteristic data for each model of audio equipment that is predetermined as the audition equipment. The audition device is a device used for audition when an audio device desired by the user is not installed in the audition facility. By processing the music data with the characteristics of the listening device, it is possible to listen to music that is not affected by the characteristics of the listening device during playback.
[0018]
The procedure of the trial listening service in the system of FIG. 1 will be described using FIG.
When the user accesses the audition homepage of the server 2 by the user terminal 3 (step S1), the server 2 transmits a screen for selecting the type of the audition service (step S2).
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 4, on the screen for selecting the type of the audition service, a button 15 for selecting introduction of the audition facility and a button 16 for selecting distribution of the audition music are displayed. When the user selects one and selects the transmission button 19 (step S3), the selected data is transmitted.
The server 2 determines whether the transmitted data is an introduction of the audition facility or a distribution of the audition music (step S4). In the case of music distribution, the process proceeds to the process described later (FIG. 7).
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows a facility introduction request screen. On this screen, a frame 17 for inputting the model name of the audio device that the user desires to audition and a frame 18 for inputting the region where the user wishes to audition are displayed. In addition, this frame 18 is good also as what inputs a user's address or work address.
When the user inputs each data in each frame (step S6), each data is transmitted to the server 2. The server 2 searches the audition facility DB 7, extracts the audition facility that matches the user's desire, and transmits the audition facility introduction screen to the user terminal 3 (step S7).
[0021]
FIG. 6 shows the facility introduction screen. A list of facilities is displayed on the facility introduction screen. In this list, the facility name of each audition facility, the type of facility, the location, the date / time of audition, and the name of the audition device are displayed. As the type of facility, a distinction such as a car dealer, an audio equipment store, a showroom, a restaurant, a coffee shop, a patrol car, and a private house is displayed. The sample listening device includes an audio device desired by the user and other cases. Since the reservation button 21 is arranged for each facility, if there is a desired facility, the user selects the reservation button 21 for that facility (step S8).
[0022]
When the server 2 receives the reservation data, the server 2 searches the facility homepage DB 8 and the sample car DB 9 for the sample facility, and transmits a reservation screen (step S9). When the audition facility is an audition vehicle, the scheduled tour location and the tour date and time extracted from the audition vehicle DB 9 are displayed on the reservation screen. When the audition facility has a homepage, the homepage for reservation of the audition facility is displayed by linking with the audition facility terminal 4 extracted by the facility homepage DB8.
[0023]
When the audition facility is a facility that does not have a home page, a screen described below is displayed as a reservation screen. In the case of a facility that does not require a reservation, a message indicating that a reservation is not necessary is displayed on the screen. If online reservation is not possible, the contact information is displayed and the user is contacted directly.
FIG. 7 shows a reservation screen when the audition facility is a restaurant that does not have a home page.
[0024]
The screen displays the name of the facility, the type of facility, the name of the audio device used for the audition, other information, and the date and time when the audition is possible. In addition, a frame 22 for inputting a date and time for which a trial listening is desired and a frame 23 for inputting a menu for the trial listening are displayed.
As other information, store advertisements, restaurant menus, and the like are displayed. By displaying such information to the user, there is a merit that the store becomes a trial listening facility, and the trial listening facility can be expanded. The menu at the time of trial listening is a menu such as a meal taken when the user makes a trial listening at a restaurant. Thus, by providing a store to a trial listening facility, it is possible to help increase the demand for the original business of the store, and the trial listening facility can be expanded.
[0025]
In addition, when the user who has already purchased the corresponding audio device becomes a provider of the audition facility, the user's impression about the audio device is posted on the screen as other information. This impression becomes meaningful information for a user who intends to purchase an audio device.
Further, when the audition facility is a test car, a plurality of audio devices can be mounted on one test car and the user can select a desired device.
[0026]
Returning to FIG. 3, when the user inputs necessary data such as the desired date and time (step S10), the server 2 performs a reservation process (step S11). Here, the corresponding audition facility terminal 4 is inquired, and if there is a vacancy, a reservation is made and the user terminal 3 is notified. Also, 1 is added to the number of times the trial facility database 7 is used. This number of uses is used to give a privilege such as a discount to the listening facility. When the audition facility is an audition vehicle, the model name of the audio device selected by the user is notified.
[0027]
The user confirms the reservation (step S12), and ends the process if the reservation can be made. If the reservation cannot be made, the process returns to step S6 and the above procedure is repeated.
According to the example described above, the user can introduce the audition facility for the desired audio device only by accessing the server 2 that provides information about the audition facility. Therefore, the user can audition the audio device even when purchasing the audio device on the network, and thus can make a purchase without any mistake. The audition facility also has the advantage that the advertisement of the facility can be posted on the server homepage. Furthermore, there is a merit of increasing the number of meal reservations, which is the original business of the facility.
[0028]
In the example described above, the model of the audio device that the user desires to audition is actually used for the audition. However, since there are many types of audio equipment, if the trial listening equipment is determined as such, the facilities and places where the trial listening can be performed are limited and the number is reduced. In the example described below, a headphone is used as a listening device, and the characteristics of an audio device that the user desires to listen to are reproduced using the headphone. Thereby, the facility which can be auditioned can be expanded.
[0029]
In this example, headphones of a predetermined format are installed in the trial listening facility terminal 4 shown in FIG.
The procedure of the trial listening service method in this example is executed according to the time chart of FIG. However, in the reservation screen (FIG. 6) displayed in step S7, the headphones are displayed as other devices instead of the model desired by the user as a trial listening device.
[0030]
The user goes to the audition facility at the reserved date and time. The user accesses the server 2 by operating the trial listening facility terminal 4. The process will be described with reference to FIG.
The process of FIG. 8 is started when the user selects the button 16 for selecting delivery of the trial music in step S3 of FIG. 3 described above. First, the screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed (step S21). On this screen, the model name of the installed headphones is displayed as a trial listening device, and a frame 25 for inputting the model name that the user desires to audition is displayed. Furthermore, a plurality of music genres and a selection button 26 are displayed together with a message “Please select your favorite music genre”.
[0031]
When the user inputs the model name desired for trial listening and selects the button 26 of the desired genre, various data are transmitted to the server 2 (step S22). The server 2 extracts the music of the genre selected by the user from the music DB 13 (step S23). The characteristics of the model desired to be auditioned are extracted from the model characteristic DB 11, and the characteristics of the headphones are extracted from the audition equipment characteristic DB 14 (step S24). Then, the extracted music is processed using the model characteristics and the audition model characteristics (step S25) and transmitted to the audition facility terminal 4 (step S26).
[0032]
The trial listening facility terminal 4 reproduces the received music and outputs it from the headphones (step S27). The music output from the headphones is output with the characteristics of the audio device that the user desires to audition, without the influence of the characteristics of the headphones. Therefore, even if the user uses headphones as a trial listening device, the user can listen to the music with the same characteristics as those of the desired audio device. In addition, the headphones shield surrounding sounds, and the test listening sound is not affected by the external acoustic space characteristics, so that the test listening can be performed without being influenced by the surrounding environment.
[0033]
As described above, the example in which the headphones are used as the trial listening device and the music distribution is received from the server 2 has been described. However, the present embodiment can be variously modified as follows.
The trial listening device is not limited to headphones, and an audio device using a speaker can be used. When the headphones are not used in this way, the facility characteristic DB 12 is searched to extract characteristics corresponding to the trial listening facility, thereby processing the music data. Thereby, the music can be auditioned without being influenced by the environment of the audition facility.
[0034]
The audition equipment installed in the audition facility is not limited to one type, and a plurality of models can be used. In this case, the user can specify a trial listening device.
As described above, when music data with modified characteristics is distributed from the server 2, if the user already has an audio device, the audio device can be used to audition the desired audio device. Become. In this case, the user designates a trial listening device from the user terminal 3 and transmits it to the server 2, and the music data sent from the server 2 is reproduced by an audio device owned by the user. According to this example, the user can perform a trial listening without going to the trial listening facility.
[0035]
When music data is transmitted to the terminal (FIG. 9, step S26), it is possible to experience virtual operation on the terminal by sending the operation screen of the audio device together.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to easily audition an audio device. Thereby, for example, even when the audio device is sold on the Internet, it is possible to purchase the audio device after the user has listened to it.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system that implements an audio preview service according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a DB configuration of the server in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a time chart (part 1) showing a procedure of a trial listening service in the system of FIG. 1;
4 is a diagram showing a screen in the process of FIG. 3 (part 1);
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen in the process of FIG. 3 (part 2);
6 is a diagram showing a screen in the process of FIG. 3 (part 3);
7 is a diagram showing a screen in the processing of FIG. 3 (No. 4).
FIG. 8 is a time chart (part 2) showing a procedure of a trial listening service in the system of FIG. 1;
9 is a diagram showing a screen in the process of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication network 2 ... Server 3 ... User terminal 4 ... Audition facility terminal 5 ... Audition facility introduction DB
6 ... Audition distribution DB
7 ... Audition facility DB
8 ... Facility homepage DB
9 ... Audition DB
11 ... Model characteristics DB
12 ... Facility characteristic DB
13 ... Music DB
14 ... Audition equipment characteristic DB
15 ... Button for selecting a trial facility introduction 16 ... Button for selecting a trial music distribution 17 ... Frame 18 for inputting a model name ... Frame 19 for inputting a desired listening area 19 ... Send button 21 ... Reservation button 22 ... Reservation ) Input frame 23 ... Menu input frame 24 ... Reservation confirmation button 25 ... Desired model name input frame 26 ... Genre selection button

Claims (2)

In an audio viewing service method in a system including a server and a terminal having a database for storing characteristic data for each model of audio equipment for viewing and characteristic data for each model of audio equipment desired to be viewed, connected via a communication network,
In the terminal, select the model of the audio device for viewing and the model of the audio device desired to view,
Transmitting the model of the audio device for viewing and the model of the audio device desired to view via the communication network from the terminal to the server,
In the server, the selected model of the audio device for viewing and the model of the audio device desired to be received are received,
In the server, the first characteristic data corresponding to the received audio device model for viewing and the second characteristic data corresponding to the received audio device model for viewing desired are extracted from the database,
In the server, the music data, the selected viewing desired audio based on the selected effect of the type of characteristics of viewing audio equipment is eliminated and the second characteristic data on the basis of the first characteristic data Processed to the characteristics of the equipment model,
Transmitting the processed music data from the server to the terminal via the communication network ;
An audio viewing method comprising steps. In an audio viewing service system including a server and a terminal connected via a communication network,
The terminal
Selecting means for selecting the model of the audio device for viewing and the model of the audio device desired to be viewed;
The server
Receiving means for receiving the selected model of the audio device for viewing and the model of the audio device desired to be viewed from the terminal via the communication network;
A database storing characteristic data for each model of audio equipment for viewing and characteristic data for each model of audio equipment desired to be viewed;
Extraction means for extracting, from the database, first characteristic data corresponding to the type of audio equipment for viewing received by the receiving means and second characteristic data corresponding to the type of audio equipment for viewing desired;
The influence of the characteristics of the model of the selected audio device for viewing selected based on the first characteristic data is excluded from the music data , and the model of the audio device for viewing desired selected based on the second characteristic data is removed . Processing means for processing to be a characteristic,
And a transmission unit that transmits to the terminal via the communication network music data processed by said processing means,
An audio viewing service system characterized by that.

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