JP4337093B2 - Content server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content server that provides content to passengers in a transportation facility that travels for a long time, such as an airplane or a train.

Conventionally, for example, a content providing service for passengers of an aircraft is mainly a broadcast-type free service. Such a content providing service will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the airline 601 can freely provide content to the user 602 by concluding a content usage contract for a usage period or fee between the content distribution company 600 and the airline 601. On the other hand, as a system for improving service to passengers, there is a video-on-demand service system that allows passengers to contract with a content distribution company in advance for distribution of specific prepared content and watch it after boarding. Proposed. Such a service system is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. In the video-on-demand service system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, as shown in FIG. 7, a content usage contract such as a usage period, a fee, and an airline 701 to be used is concluded between a content distribution company 700 and a user 702. Accordingly, the content is distributed to the airline 701 used by the user 702, and the user 702 can receive the content on an airplane or the like.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-199083 (paragraph 0020, FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional content providing service described above, the users 602 and 702 can see only the content contracted between the airline 601 and the content distribution company 600 and between the user 702 and the content distribution company 700. If there is no content that you want to see, you will move by boring aircraft. In order to avoid this, there is a problem that in order to watch the content (such as an original video) that the user wants to watch, it is necessary to bring a portable player or software including the content that the user wants to watch.

  The present invention is for solving the above-described problems, and provides a content server that makes it unnecessary to bring a portable player or software, and can provide content that passengers want to see in transportation such as an aircraft. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a user operated by the user in a content server that provides content stored in a content database to the user in response to a request of a user who uses transportation. Based on the contents of the reservation accepted by the accepting means, and accepting means for accepting the transportation reservation from the terminal, the content compression method for storing the content held by the user in the content database is determined. Determining means; transmitting means for transmitting the content compression method information determined by the determining means to the user terminal; and receiving means for receiving the content compressed by the compression method from the user terminal. , The content received by the receiving means A notification means for notifying the user terminal of usage permission information for allowing only the user to use the stored content stored in the content database; and providing predetermined content for providing the content Content providing means for transmitting the content corresponding to the use permission information stored in the content database to the content providing terminal when the use permission information notified by the notification means is input to the terminal; A content server characterized by comprising:

  Further, according to the present invention, in a content server that provides content stored in a content database to the user in response to a request of a user who uses the transportation facility, the user terminal operated by the user can control the transportation facility. A receiving unit that receives a reservation; a determining unit that determines a compression method of the content when the content of the user is stored in the content database based on the details of the reservation received by the receiving unit; Transmitting means for transmitting the content compression method information determined by the means to the user terminal; and from the content distribution apparatus requested to deliver the content by the content compression method from the user terminal by the compression method. Receive the compressed content Receiving means, and the content received by the receiving means is stored in the content database, and usage permission information for permitting only the user to use the stored content is notified to the user terminal. When the usage permission information notified by the notifying unit is input to a notifying unit and a predetermined content providing terminal for providing the content, the content providing terminal stores the content database. There is provided a content server comprising content providing means for transmitting the content corresponding to use permission information.

  The content server of the present invention has the above-described configuration, makes it unnecessary to bring a portable player or software, and can provide the content that the passenger wants to see by transportation such as an aircraft.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a content server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a content service system including the content server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a processing flow between the content server and the user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, a content service system including a content server according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the content service system includes a content server 100, a content database 200, and a user terminal 201. By transmitting the desired content from the user terminal 201 to the airline content database 200 in advance, the user who has transmitted the content by operating the user terminal 201 uses the transmitted content of the aircraft when using the aircraft. You can receive the offer. Here, the provision of content in an aircraft is described, but the present invention is not limited to an aircraft, and can be similarly implemented in a transportation system such as a railway, a ship, and a bus. In the following description, the transportation system is described as an aircraft.

  Next, the configuration of the content server according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content server 100 includes a reception unit 101, a determination unit 102, a transmission unit 103, a reception unit 104, a notification unit 105, and a content provision unit 106. These are connected by a bus line. The accepting unit 101 accepts a reservation for transportation from the user terminal 201 operated by the user. The user terminal 201 here corresponds to, for example, a PC or a ticket machine. The determination unit 102 determines the capacity of the content database 200 that can be freely used by the user, the usage fee, and the content compression method based on the contents of the reservation received by the reception unit 101. In this way, in addition to the content compression method, the capacity and usage fee of the content database 200 that can be freely used by the user may be determined and used. Below, the case where these are used is demonstrated. Here, the contents of the reservation include, for example, the name of the airline to be used, a seat class indicating an economy seat, a business class seat, a first class seat, etc., a mileage member class indicating a silver member or a gold member, a use date, a flight used Say something that contains information such as name.

  The capacity of the content database 200 that can be freely used by the user, the usage fee, the content compression method, and the like are determined according to the contents of the reservation. That is, when a user who has reserved a first class seat with a high usage fee in a seat class is compared with a user who has reserved an economy seat with a low usage fee, the user who has reserved a first class seat can use the content database 200, for example. Benefits such as large capacity and low usage fees. The same applies to mileage member classes, where gold members receive more advantageous benefits than silver members. Further, the above-mentioned usage fee may be, for example, a bit unit price. This is because the fee to be paid can be calculated if the capacity of the content database 200 to be used is known.

  The transmission unit 103 transmits information such as the capacity of the content database 200 determined by the determination unit 102, a usage fee, and a content compression method to the user terminal 201. The receiving unit 104 receives from the user terminal 201 the content compressed by the content compression method transmitted from the transmitting unit 103. Here, the user who transmits the content transmits the content database 200 in consideration of the capacity of the content database 200 transmitted from the transmission unit 103, the usage fee, and the content compression method. The notification unit 105 stores the content received by the reception unit 104 in the content database 200 and notifies the user terminal 201 of usage permission information for permitting the use of only the stored content user.

  Here, the usage permission information refers to, for example, a usage password. Further, the notification unit 105 notifies the user terminal 201 of the charge for the airfare and the content usage fee before notifying the user terminal 201 of the usage permission information, and notifies the usage permission information when the payment from the user is completed. You may do it. Further, an air ticket may be transmitted together when notifying usage permission information. The content providing unit 106 is stored in the content database 200 for the content providing terminal when the usage permission information notified by the notification unit 105 is input to a predetermined content providing terminal (not shown) for providing the content. The content corresponding to the used permission information is transmitted. Thereby, the user can freely enjoy the content prepared by the user. Here, the content providing terminal refers to, for example, an information terminal provided in each seat of an aircraft, but is not limited thereto. For example, it may be portable or the user terminal 201. Further, the input information is not limited to the use permission information, and may include information such as the user name and seat number. Also, the user can freely receive content via the information terminal installed in the facility by using the use permission information described above not only in the aircraft but also in a facility such as an airline lounge at an airport. You may be able to. The reception unit 101, the determination unit 102, the transmission unit 103, the reception unit 104, the notification unit 105, and the content provision unit 106 correspond to, for example, a CPU. Further, a program for controlling the operation of each of these means is stored in a predetermined storage area (not shown) of the content server 100. The storage area corresponds to, for example, an HDD, a ROM, or a RAM. Further, the content server 100 has an interface (not shown) for communicating with the outside.

  Next, an example of a processing flow between the content server 100 and the user terminal 201 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, the user terminal 201 makes a reservation for an aircraft seat to the content server 100 (step S301). The transmission unit 103 of the content server 100 transmits information such as the capacity of the content database 200 determined by the determination unit 102, the usage fee, and the content compression method to the user terminal 201 (step S302). The user terminal 201 transmits the content to the content server 100 based on the received content database 200 capacity, usage fee, and content compression method (step S303). Here, the content to be compressed may have an image quality commensurate with the fee. The notification unit 105 of the content server 100 stores the content received by the reception unit 104 in the content database 200, and notifies the bill for the airfare and the content usage fee (step S304).

  The user terminal 201 notifies payment completion to the content server 100 (step S305). The payment here is, for example, payment by electronic money or payment by transfer to a designated account. The notification unit 105 of the content server 100 notifies the user terminal 201 of use permission information (use password) necessary for using the air ticket and the content after confirming the completion of payment (step S306). A user who has obtained use permission information via the user terminal 201 can receive content provision by inputting the use permission information or the like to the content providing terminal in the aircraft when boarding the aircraft.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a content service system including a content server according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the content service system includes a content database 400, a user terminal 401, a content distribution device 402, and a content server 403. The desired content is transmitted from the user terminal 401 to the content distribution device 402, and the content distribution device 402 that has received the content transmits the content to the content database 400 in a necessary format. The content server 403 provides the content stored in the content database 400 based on the request of the corresponding user. Note that the configuration of the content server according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the content server according to the first embodiment of the present invention, so the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, an example of a processing flow among the content server 403, the content distribution device 402, and the user terminal 401 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, first, the user terminal 401 makes a reservation for an aircraft seat to the content server 403 (step S501). The transmission unit (not shown) of the content server 403 transmits information such as the capacity of the content database 400, the usage fee, and the content compression method determined by the determination unit (not shown) to the user terminal 401 (step S502). . The user terminal 401 transmits the desired content and the content compression method to the content distribution device 402 based on the received capacity of the content database 400, the usage fee, and the content compression method (step S503). Here, the desired content to be transmitted may be digital data or analog data.

  The content distribution device 402 compresses the content received from the user terminal 401 using a predetermined compression method, and transmits the compressed content to the content server 403 (step S504). Here, the content distribution apparatus 402 may compress the image quality according to the fee. The content distribution apparatus 402 notifies the user terminal 401 of a charge for charge such as content compression (step S505). The user terminal 401 notifies the content distribution device 402 of the completion of payment (step S506). The payment here is, for example, payment by electronic money or payment by transfer to a designated account. On the other hand, the notifying unit (not shown) of the content server 403 stores the content received by the receiving unit (not shown) in the content database 400 and notifies the user terminal 401 of the charge for the airfare and the content usage fee ( Step S507).

  The user terminal 401 notifies the content server 403 of completion of payment (step S508). The payment here is, for example, payment by electronic money or payment by transfer to a designated account. A notification unit (not shown) of the content server 403 notifies the user terminal 401 of usage permission information (use password) necessary for using the air ticket and the content after confirming the completion of payment (step S509). A user who obtains the use permission information via the user terminal 401 can receive the content by entering the use permission information or the like into the content providing terminal in the aircraft when boarding the aircraft. Here, after step S504 is executed, the processing from step S507 to step S509 may not be after the processing from step S505 to step S506. This is because the processing from step S505 to step S506 and the processing from step S507 to step S509 can be performed independently and in parallel.

  As described above, for example, by setting a fee per bit and releasing a part of the content databases 200 and 400, the content prepared by the user and the content prepared by the content distribution device 402 can be provided with video quality commensurate with the fee. The user can enjoy it. In addition, the content databases 200 and 400 in the airline can be effectively used.

  The content server according to the present invention eliminates the need to bring a portable player or software, and can provide the content that the passenger wants to see by means of transportation such as an aircraft. Is useful for a content server for providing content to passengers.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the content server which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content service system containing the content server which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the processing flow between the content server which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and a user terminal. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content service system containing the content server which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the processing flow between the content server which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, a content delivery apparatus, and a user terminal. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional content provision service system. It is a figure which shows the structure of the other conventional content provision service system.

Explanation of symbols

100, 403 Content server 101 Reception unit (reception means)
102 Determination unit (determination means)
103 Transmission unit (transmission means)
104 Receiver (Receiving means)
105 Notification unit (notification means)
106 Content providing unit (content providing means)
200, 400 Content database 201, 401 User terminal 402 Content distribution device 600, 700 Content distribution company 601, 701 Airline company 602, 702 User

Claims (2)

In the content server that provides the content stored in the content database to the user according to the request of the user using the transportation facility,
Accepting means for accepting a reservation for the transportation from a user terminal operated by the user;
Determining means for determining a compression method of the content when storing the content the user has in the content database based on the content of the reservation received by the receiving means;
Transmitting means for transmitting information on the compression method of the content determined by the determining means to the user terminal;
Receiving means for receiving the content compressed by the compression method from the user terminal;
Notification means for storing the content received by the reception means in the content database and notifying the user terminal of usage permission information for permitting only the user to use the stored content;
When the use permission information notified by the notification means is input to a predetermined content providing terminal for providing the content, the use permission information stored in the content database is stored in the content providing terminal. Content providing means for transmitting the corresponding content;
A content server comprising: In the content server that provides the content stored in the content database to the user according to the request of the user using the transportation facility,
Accepting means for accepting a reservation for the transportation from a user terminal operated by the user;
Determining means for determining a compression method of the content when storing the content the user has in the content database based on the content of the reservation received by the receiving means;
Transmitting means for transmitting information on the compression method of the content determined by the determining means to the user terminal;
Receiving means for receiving the content compressed by the compression method from a content distribution device requested to distribute the content by the content compression method from the user terminal;
Notification means for storing the content received by the reception means in the content database and notifying the user terminal of usage permission information for permitting only the user to use the stored content;
When the use permission information notified by the notification means is input to a predetermined content providing terminal for providing the content, the use permission information stored in the content database is stored in the content providing terminal. Content providing means for transmitting the corresponding content;
A content server comprising:

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