JP4136588B2 - Video file distribution device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a moving image file distribution device, and more particularly to a moving image file distribution device capable of achieving both the distribution of the latest moving image file and the distribution of a past moving image file.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a moving image file is downloaded and distributed by HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), it is common to use a normal WWW file distribution device (hereinafter referred to as a server) that is not specialized for moving image file distribution. is there.
[0003]
A configuration of a conventional server is shown in FIG. The server 1 includes a network I / F unit 2 connected to a network such as a LAN or ADSL, an HTTP server unit 3, a file I / O unit 4, and a storage unit 5 such as a hard disk.
[0004]
When storing a file from the file provider to the server 1, that is, when uploading a file, the HTTP server unit 3 immediately sends the uploaded file via the file I / O unit 4 according to the upload request received via the network I / F unit 2. The data is transferred to the storage means 5 and stored in a predetermined location (directory). Also, the result of upload success or failure is sent as a response to the file provider.
[0005]
The file name when storing the file is specified by the file provider. When continuously uploading moving image files for the purpose of always providing the latest information, such as live moving image distribution, it is sufficient that only the latest files exist on the server. In consideration of convenience, it is common to perform overwrite upload continuously using the same file name.
[0006]
When delivering a file to a receiver (hereinafter referred to as a client), that is, when downloading a file, the client first selects a file to be downloaded from a file list prepared in advance on the server 1, and sends a request regarding the selected file to the server. 1 to send. The HTTP server unit 3 in the server 1 searches the directory for the requested file and distributes the file as a response to the client. Error information such as when the requested file is not found is also sent as a response.
[0007]
In the case of live video distribution, the client only needs to be able to acquire the latest video file, so if you make a download request with the same file name, you will always get the latest video file without being aware of the file name. Can do.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional server, the file name of the moving image file stored in the storage means is determined by the file provider, and the file name displayed as a list when downloading is prepared in advance. It has become a thing.
[0009]
A distribution system using such a server has the advantage that uploading and downloading can be performed with the same file name, and the latest file can always be obtained without being conscious of the file name. However, such a system cannot cope with a request for storing some of the previously uploaded moving image files or a request for confirming a moving image file having important information.
[0010]
It is possible to save the specific file in the server by changing the file name for the specific file as appropriate at the time of uploading, and avoiding overwriting by the subsequent uploaded file, but the list of saved files Are not updated and cannot be referenced from the download side, so it is difficult to access these specific files.
[0011]
An object of the present invention is to provide a moving image file distribution apparatus that solves the above-described problems of the prior art and can achieve both the distribution of the latest moving image file and the distribution of past moving image files. is there.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To solve the problems described above, the present invention is a moving picture file delivery apparatus accumulates received to the storage means a motion picture file, delivering the moving image file stored in the storage means to the client , together with the moving image file during upload, to identify whether the event attribute information including the existence of an event for instructing to accumulate in distinction from the moving image file stored the moving picture file in the storage means is received identification And a moving image file identified as having received event attribute information including the presence of an event by the identifying means, the moving image file is renamed from the file name corresponding to the upload request to the storage means. means for accumulated, an event attribute information including the presence of events in said identification means is not received identification Been for moving image file, the moving picture file, there is a first feature in that and means for accumulating in the storage means the file name as a left file name for the upload request.
[0013]
Further, the present invention, the a moving image file and the event attribute information, there is a second feature in that it is the respective multi-part configuration in which a part.
[0014]
Further, the present invention has a third feature in that the event attribute information is included in the moving image file.
[0015]
Further, the present invention, the event attribute information, there is a fourth feature in that contained in the upload request.
[0017]
Further, the present invention is described above for the uploaded drill Quest accumulated is a file name changed to the moving picture file, after storage, the in that comprises means for deleting the moving picture file when predetermined time elapses There are 5 features.
[0018]
The present invention also videos the uploaded drill Quest accumulated is a file name changed to the moving picture file comprises a means for deleting the moving image file in the order in a predetermined After exceeds a predetermined number, accumulated A sixth feature is that the number of image files is less than the predetermined number.
[0019]
Further, the present invention, for the upload drill quest to file name is changed by the stored moving image file, the event history to record that the moving image file is received along with event attribute information indicating that the event A seventh feature is that a means for creating is provided.
[0020]
Further, the present invention, for the upload to drill quest file name is stored after being changed moving image file after storing, means for deleting the moving picture file and the event history that after the lapse a certain time There is an eighth feature in that it is provided.
[0021]
Furthermore, the present invention comprises means for the uploaded drill Quest accumulated is a file name changed to the moving picture file to remove the moving image file and the event history that the order in a predetermined After exceeds a predetermined number , there is a ninth aspect of the moving image file and the event history are stored in the point to below the predetermined number.
[0022]
According to the feature of the present invention, even if the file has the same file name from the file provider, the file identified as having no event is always kept the latest file by continuous upload, and the file identified as having an event. Are stored as separate files, so that the distribution of the latest moving image file and the distribution of the past moving image file can be made compatible.
[0023]
In addition, for moving image files that have been stored with the information specified in response to an upload request being changed, the moving image files are deleted as appropriate after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the accumulation or when the number of moving image files exceeds a certain number. The storage capacity required for accumulation can be minimized.
[0024]
Furthermore, by creating an event history of the moving image file to be accumulated, it is possible to easily know the history of the moving image file, and it becomes easy to access the related image file by using it.
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a moving image file distribution apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the same or equivalent part as FIG. This embodiment is different from the server of FIG. 7 in that an event identification unit 6 and a file list generation unit 7 are arranged between the HTTP server unit 3 and the file I / O unit 4.
[0026]
2 (a) and 2 (b) are examples of the file structure to be transmitted, and FIG. 2 (a) is a normal file structure composed of video data V and audio data A with one header information H. FIG. 2B shows a fragment structure in which a fragment F composed of video data V and audio data A accompanied by one header information H is continuous.
[0027]
One chunk of V and A is called a chunk. In the case of FIG. 2A, in the specific example, each chunk of V and A includes data for 1 second, and the video frame rate is 10 fps, x = Assuming 15 seconds, each file includes 15 sets of V and A, and there are 10 video frames per chunk.
[0028]
The header information includes, for example, (1) file time length, (2) file creation date and time, (3) time length for each medium (V, A), (4) creation date and time for each medium, (5) V size (vertical x horizontal), (6) V chunk arrangement position (byte offset), (7) total number of V frames, (8) data size (number of bytes) for each V frame, (9) V frame display duration, (10) V encoding bit rate, (11) A sampling frequency, (12) A mode (monaural, stereo), (13) A chunk placement position (byte offset), (14) A data size for each frame, (15) A frame playback duration, (16) A total number of frames, and the like.
[0029]
In the case of FIG. 2B, the header information at the beginning of the file includes the above (1) to (16) as in the case of FIG. 2A, but the subsequent header information includes the above (6) to (10), (13) to (16) are included.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is an example of an HTTP request header transmitted from the file provider side at the time of uploading. Here, “Boundary” designates a delimiter when the subsequent actual data portion is in a multipart format. . Also. “Content-Length” indicates the size of a file to be transmitted.
[0031]
The operation of the moving image file distribution apparatus (server) 1 according to the present embodiment will be described first when uploading. When the server 1 receives an upload request based on the HTTP protocol from the file provider via the network I / F unit 2, the HTTP server unit 3 starts one HTTP upload session. Here, the session corresponds to transmission of one file.
[0032]
Event attribute information is also received upon uploading. The event attribute information is information attached when the uploaded moving image file is stored as it is in distinction from other moving image files. For example, the event attribute information includes the presence / absence of an event, and further includes the event Including the date and time of occurrence, the storage period of the moving image file, the importance level, and the like, can be used as information effective for later use of the file.
[0033]
There are several possible forms of event attribute information transmission, such as the following (1) to (3).
(1) As shown in FIG. 4A, a file to be uploaded (corresponding to “actual data” in FIG. 3) has a multi-part configuration, and each is a moving image file part and an event attribute information part. In addition, “xxx--xxx” shown in the figure is a delimiter character string, and is specified by a request header (“boundary” in FIG. 3) at the time of upload.
[0034]
The leading “-” is automatically added. The event attribute information includes, for example, the presence / absence of an event. When there is an event, the event attribute information further includes an event occurrence date / time, a storage period of the file, a relative importance level, and the like. The last “-” indicates the end of the multipart file.
(2) As shown in FIG. 4B, the event attribute information is embedded in the header information of the moving image file shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B and transmitted. As shown in FIG. 2B, in the case of a fragment format in which the inside of the file is divided, it may be embedded in the subsequent header.
(3) As shown in FIG.4 (c), the form embedded in the request header of HTTP upload. In other words, event attribute information is added to the query part of the uploaded file name. FIG. 4C shows the case where test.mp4 is uploaded with respect to the <file> name in FIG. 3, and the “? Ev = 1... S = 10” portion (query part) is embedded. Event attribute information, “ev = 1” indicates the presence of an event, and “date = 20021010 & time = 173502”, “keep = 24”, and “s = 10” are event occurrence dates and times of October 10, 2002 17 This indicates that the time is 35 minutes and 2 seconds, the file storage period is 24 hours, and the importance is 10.
[0035]
The event attribute information and the moving image file transmitted from the file provider as described above are input to the event identification unit 6 and the file I / O unit 4 via the network I / F unit 2 and the HTTP server unit 3. The
[0036]
The event identification unit 6 extracts and identifies the transmitted event attribute information, and if it is identified that there is an event, the event identification unit 6 appropriately changes the file name of the received moving image file, and sends a list addition command to the file list generation unit 7 Issue. At the same time, the changed file name is notified to the file I / O unit 4 and an instruction is issued to save the file as an event file with the changed file name.
[0037]
When the event identifying unit 6 identifies that there is no event, the moving image file name is not changed and a list addition command is not issued. As a result, the storage unit 5 performs overwriting with the same name file. The case where no event is identified includes the case where event attribute information is not transmitted and is not extracted.
[0038]
Upon receiving the list addition command from the event identification unit 6, the file list generation unit 7 adds the file name of the moving image file as a downloadable file list. The file name to be added may be an item of an event, and an event occurrence date and time can be added at the same time.
[0039]
The file list generated by the file list generation unit 7 is an HTML file that is dynamically generated. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an event item, an occurrence date and time, and an event moving image file are downloaded. A click button is displayed. Furthermore, the latest moving image file required when the client downloads the moving image file, link information to the moving image file at the time of event occurrence, and a history of events can be displayed in a list.
[0040]
Next, the operation at the time of downloading will be described. At the time of downloading, upon request from the client, first, an initial page is presented to make the file list page accessible. The initial page can first select the latest moving image file or event file, and then make the file selectable.
[0041]
Subsequently, when the client selects a moving image file to be acquired on the file list page, a request for the moving image file is issued to the HTTP server unit 3. Accordingly, the HTTP server unit 3 acquires the requested moving image file from the storage unit 5 through the file I / O unit 4 and distributes it to the client. The file can be downloaded by directly specifying the file name. FIG. 6 shows an example of a download request transmitted in this case and a response to the download request.
[0042]
Although the embodiments have been described above, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, for a moving image file that has been stored with a file name changed in response to an upload request, the moving image file can be deleted after a certain period of time has elapsed after storage. In addition, when the number of moving image files that have been renamed and stored in response to an upload request exceeds a certain number, the moving image files are deleted in a predetermined order, for example, in order from the oldest or the order of importance. It can also be done.
[0043]
In addition, when an event history is created for a moving image file whose file name has been changed in response to an upload request, the moving image file and its event history are deleted after a certain period of time has elapsed after accumulation. It is also possible to delete a moving image file and its event history according to a predetermined order when the number of moving image files whose file names have been changed in response to an upload request exceeds a certain number. These processes can be performed by software.
[0044]
Further, the moving image file may not include the audio data A. Further, the storage means for accumulating moving image files is not limited to a hard disk, and various data storage means such as a virtual disk using a memory can be employed.
[0045]
The moving image file distribution apparatus of the present invention can be applied to a monitoring video distribution server system that distributes a live image captured by a monitoring camera to a mobile phone or the Internet, and other moving image distribution server systems.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, event attribute information included in an uploaded file is identified, and a file list is newly generated for those recognized as having an event, and can be displayed as a list. In addition, upload files are stored with unique file names, so even files with the same file name from the file provider will always keep the latest file by continuous upload, The file identified as having an event is stored as a separate file, and both the distribution of the latest moving image file and the distribution of the past moving image file can be made compatible.
[0047]
In addition, for moving image files that have been stored with the information specified in response to an upload request being changed, the moving image files are deleted as appropriate after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the accumulation or when the number of moving image files exceeds a certain number. The storage capacity required for accumulation can be minimized.
[0048]
Furthermore, by creating an event history of the moving image file to be accumulated, it is possible to easily know the history of the moving image file, and it is easy to access the related image file by using it. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a moving image file distribution apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a file structure to be transmitted.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a header of an upload request.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission form of event attribute information.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a list of event files displayed when downloading;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a download request and its response by specifying a file name.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional server.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server, 2 ... Network I / F part, 3 ... HTTP server part, 4 ... File I / O part, 5 ... Storage means, 6 ... Event identification part, 7 ... File list generator

Claims (9)

Moving image file received and accumulated in the storage means, a moving image file stored in the storage means a motion picture file delivery apparatus for delivering to the client,
Together with the moving picture file during upload, identification means for identifying whether an event attribute information including the existence of an event for instructing to accumulate in distinction from the moving image file stored the moving picture file in the storage means is received And
For the moving image file identified as having received event attribute information including the presence of an event by the identifying means, the moving image file is stored in the accumulating means by changing the file name from the file name corresponding to the upload request. When,
Wherein the moving image file event attribute information is identified as not received, including the presence of events in the identification means, the moving picture file, and means for accumulating in the storage means the file name as a left file name for the upload request A moving image file distribution apparatus comprising: The moving image file distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving image file and the event attribute information have a multipart configuration in which each is a part . The event attribute information, moving picture file delivery device according to claim 1, characterized in that contained in the moving image file. The event attribute information, moving picture file delivery device of claim 1, characterized in that contained in the upload request. For the uploaded drill Quest accumulated is a file name changed to the moving image file, after storage, claims 1, characterized in that it comprises means for deleting the moving picture file when predetermined time elapses 5. The moving image file delivery device according to any one of 4 above. Comprising means for said upload to drill quest file name is stored after being changed moving image file to delete the moving image file in the order in a predetermined After exceeds a predetermined number, the predetermined number of moving image files to be stored claims 1, characterized in that below the moving image file delivery device according to any one of the 4. For the upload drill quest to file name is changed by the stored moving image file, comprising means for creating an event history to record that the moving image file is received along with event attribute information indicating that the event 7. The moving image file distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein For the uploaded drill Quest accumulated been changed file name to a moving picture file after storage, and characterized in that it comprises means for deleting the moving picture file and the event history that after the lapse a certain time The moving image file delivery apparatus according to claim 7. Comprising means for the uploaded drill Quest accumulated is a file name changed to the moving picture file to remove the moving image file and the event history that the order in a predetermined After exceeds a predetermined number, moving images accumulated 9. The moving image file distribution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the file and its event history are set to be equal to or less than the predetermined number.

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