JP4698653B2 - Content distribution system and content distribution method for content distribution system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution system and a content distribution method of a content distribution system, for example, for content provided to passengers in each train, in which the content in each train is replaced with the latest content in a multistage manner.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a conventional content replacement method.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the conventional content replacement method, each train (for example, train A 142, train B 143) has received content to be provided to passengers from the content center 141 of a specific station.
JP 2004-139171 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-150681 JP 2002-190764 A JP 2004-038242 A

The conventional content replacement method as shown in FIG. 14 has the following problems.
(A) Since not all trains enter the station where the content center 141 exists, there are trains whose contents cannot be replaced.
(B) In order to solve the problem (a), it is necessary to install content centers 141 at many stations.
(C) Since each train that entered the station in the same time zone receives content from the content center 141, the communication bandwidth per train is narrowed by time division for the number of trains, and the time required for content replacement Becomes longer.
(D) However, the time that each train stops at the station is limited to about 10 minutes.

  In the present invention, for example, in order to realize a service in which a web server in a train multicasts content (video, various other information) to a dedicated terminal in the train, it is desired to reduce the number of content centers 141 installed. The purpose is to make it possible to efficiently replace the content for each train (each train) in consideration of the request to distribute the service and the restriction that the time during which the content can be received from the content center 141 is limited. .

  The content distribution system of the present invention is a base transmission device that is installed in a specific facility and transmits content that is data of information provided to passengers of each train, and a train transmission device that is installed in each train and transmits and receives the content. A content distribution system comprising: an intra-train distribution server device installed in each train, storing the content received by the train transmission device, and outputting the stored content from a terminal device installed in each vehicle. The train transmission device of each train receives the content from the base transmission device installed in the specific facility, and when the own train is combined with another train, the train transmission of the other train combined with the own train The content received from the base transmission device is transmitted to a device.

  According to the present invention, not only transmission of content from the base transmission device of a specific facility to the train transmission device of each train, but also transmission of content between train transmission devices, increasing the opportunity for content replacement, Content can be exchanged efficiently for trains.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment.
A configuration of content distribution system 100 and a content replacement method (content distribution method) in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

  The content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment includes a content center 130 provided in a railway-related facility (specific facility) such as a station or a garage (for example, the station platform 120), and trains 110 (for example, Y rows) that are linked together. The train 111 and the on-board system 101 built in the X train 112) provide various contents to passengers of each train 110. Hereinafter, the facility where the content center 130 is provided and the content center 130 are referred to as a content distribution base (or base).

In FIG. 1, a content center 130 is provided in a specific station platform 120 and includes a center content server 200 (base transmission device) that stores and manages various contents.
The center content server 200 includes a center content DB 209 that stores data of videos, advertisements, games, and other various information provided to passengers as content, and the content is transmitted via the center antenna 201 to the Y train 111 that has entered the station platform 120. Send.
The on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the X train 112 stores an on-vehicle content replacement server 210 (train transmission device) that transmits and receives content via the on-board antenna 211, and content and content version information. An on-vehicle content DB 229 and an on-vehicle content distribution server 220 (in-train distribution server device) for providing content to passengers are provided.
In the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111, the onboard content replacement server 210 receives content from the center content server 200 via the onboard antenna 211 while the Y train 111 is on the station platform 120. The content received by the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 is stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229, and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220 provides the content stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229 to the passengers of the Y train 111. In the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, the on-board content replacement server 210 receives the content received from the center content server 200 on the on-board content replacement server 210 of the X train 112 combined with the Y train 111. Transmit via the antenna 211.

  The combination means that a plurality of trains 110 composed of one vehicle or a plurality of vehicles are connected, and each train 110 combined in the first embodiment has an on-board system 101.

  In the onboard system 101 of the X train 112, the onboard content replacement server 210 replaces the onboard content of the Y train 111 via the onboard antenna 211 while the X train 112 is coupled to the Y train 111. The content is received from the server 210. The content received by the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 is stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229, and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220 provides the content stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229 to the passengers of the X train 112. The X train 112 does not need to enter the station platform 120 provided with the content center 130 in order to receive content, and may travel together with the Y train 111 in an arbitrary section.

The content distribution system 100 according to Embodiment 1 enables reflection (replacement) of content between trains 110 by performing transmission between trains (trains) when trains are combined.
Thereby, the content distribution system 100 can update the content of the train 110 that does not enter the content distribution base. That is, the number of content centers 130 can be reduced, and the construction cost of the content distribution system 100 can be reduced.
In addition, since the combined traveling is performed for a certain amount of time (for example, 1 hour or more), the content distribution system 100 maintains communication connection between the trains 110 for a sufficient time for content transmission, and adds / updates a lot of content. can do.

In addition, during the combined running, the on-board system 101 of each train 110 transmits / receives the contents stored therein to each other regardless of whether or not the train 110 has received content from the content distribution base, that is, regardless of the master / slave. Reflect each other's content. For example, the on-board system 101 of each train 110 transmits the content to the other when only one content has the content, and updates the old content with the new content when there is a difference in the version of the content.
As a result, the content distribution system 100 can efficiently reflect the latest content for each on-board system 101 in multiple stages using the combined traveling of the trains 110.

In the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment, the content reflection method (protocol, communication form, etc.) between the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 and the content reflection method between the on-board system 101 are the same method. In other words, the content center 130, the on-board system 101, and the on-board system 101 of the two trains 110 that are connected together perform the content loading operation through a series of processes triggered by the network connection, and reflect the content. For example, as a series of processing, the client side (vehicle system 101) that receives the content requests the content list from the server side (content center 130 or vehicle system 101) that transmits the content, and the content shown in the content list Among them, content that is not possessed or newer than that possessed is loaded from the server side, and the load status of the content is notified to the server side.
By using the same content reflection method between the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 and between the on-board system 101 and the on-board system 101, the functions of the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 can be shared, and content distribution The development cost of the system 100 can be reduced.

Further, in the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment, the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 distribute content by short-range wireless with directivity. For example, as the center antenna 201 and the on-vehicle antenna 211, directional antennas having directivity in the wireless transmission / reception direction are used. The center antenna 201 of the content center 130 is installed toward a specific place where the train 110 enters.
As a result, the content distribution system 100 prevents the content center 130 from communicating with the on-board system 101 of the plurality of trains 110 at the base, and uses an available communication band for one on-board system 101. In addition, more contents can be transmitted to the on-board system 101 connected for communication within a limited time.
However, the communication between the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 and the communication between the on-board system 101 may be wired instead of wireless.

Further, when the on-board system 101 on the client side can be connected to the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 of another train 110 as a server for transmitting content, the on-board system 101 is preferentially connected to the content center 130 for communication. , Load content. When the content center 130 does not exist at the connection destination, the client side tries to connect to the on-board system 101 of another train 110.
Further, the server side permits content loading to only one client at the same time to a plurality of clients that have requested communication connection in the same time period. When the on-board system 101 of a certain train 110 is loading content as a client, the server side does not permit content loading from the on-board system 101 of another train 110.
As a result, the content distribution system 100 is preferentially and exclusively connected to the content center 130 even when the on-board system 101 of the train 110 is communicably connected to the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 of the train 110 connected together. Content can be loaded through communication to ensure consistency of content synchronization.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the on-board system 101 according to the first embodiment.
The configuration of the on-board system 101 included in each train 110 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
The on-board system 101 includes a seat terminal 520, an in-vehicle terminal 530, and a communication device 550 in addition to the on-board antenna 211, the on-board content replacement server 210, the on-board content DB 229, and the on-board content distribution server 220.
The on-vehicle content distribution server 220 distributes each content stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229 to the in-vehicle terminal 530 installed at a specific location of the vehicle or the seat terminal 520 installed at each seat via the communication device 550 of each vehicle. To do. The in-vehicle terminal 530 and each seat terminal 520 provide the passengers with image distribution and audio output of the content distributed from the on-vehicle content distribution server 220. The in-vehicle terminal 530 and the seat terminal 520 are examples of terminal devices.
Communication devices 550 installed in each vehicle are connected by a communication cable to form a ring-type IP network 502, and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220 and each seat terminal 520 of each vehicle are communicatively connected.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware resources of the center content server 200, the on-vehicle content replacement server 210, and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220 in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 3, a center content server 200, an on-vehicle content replacement server 210, and an on-vehicle content distribution server 220 include a CPU 911 (Central Processing Unit, Central Processing Unit, Processing Unit, Arithmetic Unit, Microprocessor, Microprocessor that executes a program. Computer or processor). The CPU 911 is connected to the ROM 913, the RAM 914, the communication board 915, and the magnetic disk device 920 via the bus 912, and controls these hardware devices. Instead of the magnetic disk device 920, another storage device (for example, a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a flash memory) may be used.
The RAM 914 is an example of a volatile memory. The storage medium of the ROM 913 and the magnetic disk device 920 is an example of a nonvolatile memory. These are examples of a storage device, a storage device, or a storage unit. A storage device in which input data is stored is an example of an input device, an input device, or an input unit, and a storage device in which output data is stored is an example of an output device, an output device, or an output unit.
The communication board 915 is an example of an input / output device, an input / output device, or an input / output unit.

  The communication board 915 is wired or wirelessly connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as ISDN, and a telephone line.

  The magnetic disk device 920 stores an OS 921 (operating system), a program group 923, and a file group 924. The programs in the program group 923 are executed by the CPU 911 and the OS 921.

  The program group 923 stores a program for executing a function described as “˜unit” in the embodiment. The program is read and executed by the CPU 911.

In the file group 924, in the embodiment, result data such as “determination result”, “calculation result of”, “processing result of” when executing the function of “to part”, “to part” The data to be passed between programs that execute the function “,” other information, data, signal values, variable values, and parameters are stored as items “˜file” and “˜database”. A content, a content list, a content version management table, and the like are examples of items included in the file group 924.
The “˜file” and “˜database” are stored in a recording medium such as a disk or a memory. Information, data, signal values, variable values, and parameters stored in a storage medium such as a disk or memory are read out to the main memory or cache memory by the CPU 911 via a read / write circuit, and extracted, searched, referenced, compared, and calculated. Used for CPU operations such as calculation, processing, output, printing, and display. Information, data, signal values, variable values, and parameters are temporarily stored in the main memory, cache memory, and buffer memory during the CPU operations of extraction, search, reference, comparison, operation, calculation, processing, output, printing, and display. Is remembered.
In addition, arrows in the flowcharts described in the embodiments mainly indicate input / output of data and signals, and the data and signal values are recorded in the memory of the RAM 914, the magnetic disk of the magnetic disk device 920, and other recording media. . Data and signal values are transmitted online via a bus 912, signal lines, cables, or other transmission media.

  In addition, what is described as “˜unit” in the embodiment may be “˜circuit”, “˜device”, “˜device”, and “˜step”, “˜procedure”, “˜”. Processing ". That is, what is described as “˜unit” may be realized by firmware stored in the ROM 913. Alternatively, it may be implemented only by software, or only by hardware such as elements, devices, substrates, and wirings, by a combination of software and hardware, or by a combination of firmware. Firmware and software are stored as programs on a magnetic disk or other recording medium. The program is read by the CPU 911 and executed by the CPU 911. That is, the program causes the computer to function as “to part”. Alternatively, the procedure or method of “to part” is executed by a computer.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing an operation image of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment.
In the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment, an example of an operation for updating each other's content between the on-board systems 101 of each train 110 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, an operation example of the outbound route of the train 110 will be described based on FIG.
(1) When the Y train 111 enters the A station 121 as the departure point, the content center 130 of the A station 121 establishes communication with the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, and the Y train 111 The content is transmitted to the on-board system 101. The on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 receives content from the content center 130 of the A station 121. During the transmission of the content to the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, the content center 130 at the A station 121 does not transmit the content to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 coupled to the Y train 111. As a result, the latest content is reflected in the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111. Further, the contents of the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 are not updated and remain old. For example, the latest content A is reflected in the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111.
(2) When the Y train 111 and the X train 112 are traveling together from the A station 121 to the B station 122, which is a branching point, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board of the X train 112 Communication with the system 101 is established, and the versions are mutually confirmed by inter-composition transmission to reflect the contents. At this time, since the content of the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 is the latest, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 transmits its content to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, and the X train The on-board system 101 of 112 receives the latest content from the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111. As a result, the latest content is reflected in the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, and the content of the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the content of the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 are both the latest. . Thereafter, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 each independently provide the latest content to the passengers. For example, the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 and the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 each provide the latest content A to the passengers.
(3) The formation of the Y train 111 and the X train 112 is separated at the B station 122 which is a branching place, and the Y train 111 and the X train 112 are the respective destinations Y station 123 and X station. Head to 124.
(4) Until the Y train 111 and the X train 112 traveling independently on different routes arrive at the destination, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board system of the X train 112 101 provides passengers with the latest content. For example, the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 and the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 each provide the latest content A to the passengers.
(5) The Y train 111 and the X train 112 arrive at the destinations Y station 123 and X station 124 while the on-board system 101 provides the latest content to the passengers.

Next, an operation example of the return route of the train 110 will be described based on FIG.
(1) The Y train 111 departs from the Y station 123 that turns back.
(2) Until the Y train 111 arrives at the B station 122 where the Y train 123 is connected to the X train 112, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 uses the content acquired on the outbound route as passengers. To provide.
(3) At the X station 124, which is the turning point, the content center 130 of the X station 124 establishes communication with the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, and transmits the content to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112. . The on-board system 101 of the X train 112 receives content from the content center 130 of the X station 124. During the transmission of the content to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, the content center 130 at the X station 124 does not transmit the content to the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 coupled to the X train 112. As a result, the latest content is reflected in the on-board system 101 of the X train 112. Also, the contents of the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 remain old. For example, the content A acquired by the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 on the outward route is updated to the latest content A ′. Further, it is assumed that the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 cannot receive the content B from the content center 130 of the X station 124 within the stop time. Further, it is assumed that the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 has previously received the content B from the content center 130 of another station or from the on-board system 101 of another train 110.
(4) When the X train 112 and the Z train 113 travel together, the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 and the onboard system 101 of the Z train 113 establish communication with each other, The versions are mutually confirmed by transmission and the contents are reflected. For example, the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 has the latest content A ′, and the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 has content B that is not in the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, so The onboard system 101 of the train 112 transmits the content A ′ to the onboard system 101 of the Z train 113 and receives the content B from the onboard system 101 of the Z train 113. The on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 receives the content A ′ from the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 and transmits the content B to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112. Thereafter, the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 and the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 respectively provide passengers with each content including the content A ′ and the content B. In addition, the X train 112 and the Z train 113 are separated at a middle station (not shown) located between the X station 124 and the B station 122 and travel on different routes.
(5) The formation of the Y train 111 and the X train 112 is combined at the B station 122, which is the combined place, and the formation of the Y train 111 and the X train 112 is the A station 121, which is the destination of the return route. Head for.
(6) When the Y train 111 and the X train 112 travel together from the B station 122 to the destination A station 121, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board of the X train 112 Communication with the system 101 is established, and the versions are mutually confirmed by inter-composition transmission to reflect the contents. At this time, since the content of the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 is the latest, the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 transmits its content to the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, and the Y train The on-board system 101 of 111 receives the latest content from the on-board system 101 of the X train 112. As a result, the latest content is reflected in the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, and the content of the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the content of the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 are both the latest. . Thereafter, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 each independently provide the latest content to the passengers. For example, the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 and the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 provide passengers with content A ′ and content B, respectively.
(7) The Y train 111 and the X train 112 arrive at the A station 121 as the destination while the on-board system 101 provides the latest content to the passengers.

(8) In addition, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, the on-board system 101 of the X train 112, and the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 are reflected when content is reflected. The version information of the contents is also notified to each other, and the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 that has arrived at the A station 121 is the content that each on-board system 101 of the Y train 111, the X train 112, and the Z train 113 has. Is sent to the content center 130 of the station A 121.
That is, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 notify each other of the content version information on the outbound route (2), and the content version information of the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 respectively. And the content version information of the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 are stored. On the return route (3), the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 receives the content version information of the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 and the content version information of the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 at the X station 124. The content center 130 is notified. On the return route (4), the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 and the on-board system 101 of the Z train 113 notify the content version information to each other, and the Y train 111, the X train 112, and the Z train respectively. The content version information of 113 on-vehicle systems 101 is stored. On the return route (6), the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 and the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 notify the content version information to each other, and the Y train 111, the X train 112, and the Z train respectively. The content version information of 113 on-vehicle systems 101 is stored. Then, on the return route (8), the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 transmits the content version information of each onboard system 101 of the Y train 111, the X train 112, and the Z train 113 to the content center 130 of the A station 121. Notice.
In this way, the content version information of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 to be combined is updated together with the content, and the content center 130 can store and manage the version of the content that the on-board system 101 of each train 110 has. That is, the content distribution system 100 notifies the content center 130 of the content version information of the on-board system 101 of the train 110 that does not enter the content distribution base via the on-board system 101 of another train 110. Can do.

  FIG. 6 is a server / client relationship diagram between the content center 130 of the content distribution system 100 and the on-board system 101 of each train 110 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the following four server / client relationships (a) to (d) between the content center 130, the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 and the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 Holds.
(A) Transmission of content and content version information from the content center 130 on the server side to the on-board system 101 of the X train 112 on the client side.
(B) Transmission of content and content version information from the content center 130 on the server side to the on-board system 101 of the Y train 111 on the client side.
(C) Transmission of content and content version information from the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 on the server side to the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 on the client side.
(D) Transmission of content and content version information from the onboard system 101 of the X train 112 on the server side to the onboard system 101 of the Y train 111 on the client side.

However, due to the exclusive control at the time of communication connection, only one relationship is established for communication connection at a time among the four server / client relationships (a) to (d) shown in FIG. After the content transmission is completed in the communication-connected server / client relationship, the communication is connected in the other server / client relationship and the content is transmitted.
As a result, a sufficient communication band can be secured between the server / client connected for communication, and more content can be transmitted from the server side to the client side within a limited time. In addition, it is possible to prevent a plurality of servers from transmitting the same content (the same version or different versions) to the same client in the same time period, and ensure the consistency of the content.
Further, when communication connection is possible in the same time zone as the on-board system 101 of the content center 130 and another train 110 (for example, the X train 112), the on-board system of the train 110 (for example, the Y train 111). 101 gives priority to the communication connection with the content center 130. Thus, the content can be acquired from the content center 130 that stores the latest content before the on-board system 101 of another train 110 that may store the latest content. In other words, the on-board system 101 can eliminate the waste of acquiring the oldest content from the on-board system 101 of another train 110 and then acquiring the latest content from the content center 130, and can shorten the time for content replacement. it can. Note that the on-board system 101 of another train 110 can acquire the latest content during the combined running from the on-board system 101 of the train 110 that has acquired the latest content from the content center 130. In other words, the Y train 111 of each train 110 travels together even if it does not enter the content distribution base, or even if it is not enough time to replace all the contents at the content distribution base. The content can be exchanged by receiving the content from the on-board system 101 of another train 110, and the redundancy of the content exchange method can be ensured.

FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram of the center content server 200 in the first embodiment.
The functional configuration of the center content server 200 installed in the content center 130 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
The center content server 200 includes a server unit 400 that transmits content to the on-board system 101 of the train 110, and a center content DB 209 that stores content and version information of the content of the on-board system 101 of each train 110.
The server unit 400 of the center content server 200 includes a communication connection unit s410 that performs communication connection with the on-board system 101, and content that transmits content and replaces the content stored in the on-board system 101 with the latest one. A replacement unit s420 and a version management unit s430 that manages the version of the content stored in the on-board system 101 are provided.

FIG. 8 is a functional configuration diagram of the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220 in the first embodiment.
The functional configurations of the on-board content replacement server 210 and the on-board content distribution server 220 included in the on-board system 101 of each train 110 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
The on-vehicle content replacement server 210 receives content from the server unit 400 that transmits content to the on-board system 101 of another train 110, the center content server 200 of the content center 130, and the on-board system 101 of another train 110. A client unit 300.
The server unit 400 of the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 has a communication connection unit s410 that performs communication connection with the on-board system 101 of another train 110, and the on-board system 101 of the other train 110 stores the content by transmitting content. A content replacement unit s420 that replaces the current content with the latest one, and a version management unit s430 that manages the version of the content stored in the on-board system 101 of another train 110. The server unit 400 of the center content server 200 and the server unit 400 of the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 are configured with the same function.
The client unit 300 of the on-vehicle content replacement server 210 includes a communication connection unit c310 that performs communication connection with the center content server 200 of the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 of another train 110, and the center content server 200 of the content center 130. The content replacement unit c320 that receives content from the on-board system 101 of another train 110 and replaces the content stored in the on-vehicle system 101 with the latest content, and the content stored in the on-vehicle system 101 Is provided to the center content server 200 of the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 of another train 110.
The on-vehicle content distribution server 220 also distributes content to the on-board content DB 229 that stores the content and version information of the content of each train 110, and to the in-vehicle terminal 530 and the seat terminal 520 (see FIG. 2). Part 221.

9, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are flowcharts showing a content loading procedure of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment.
A content loading procedure in which the content system 130 and the on-board system 101 of each train 110 become the server side or the client side to update the content and the version information of the content will be described below with reference to FIGS.

<S110>
First, a network on which communication connection between the client side and the content side can be detected.
<S120>
Next, the client side connects to the content side via a network.
<S130>
Next, the client side notifies the server side of the content version information held by the client side.
<S140>
Next, the server side records the content version information on the client side.
<S150>
Next, the client side acquires a list of contents that the server side has from the server side.

<S160>
Next, the client side refers to the version information of each content indicated in the server-side content list, and determines the content that needs to be acquired / added from the server side. Here, it is assumed that the client side determines that acquisition of content A and content B is necessary.

<S170>
Next, the client side transmits a content acquisition request determined to be acquired to the server side, and acquires the contents one by one from the server side in order. For example, the client side acquires content A from the server side, and then acquires content B from the server side.

<S180>
When acquisition of one content from the server side is completed, the client side notifies the server side of the completion of acquisition of the content. For example, the client side transmits an acquisition completion notification of content A and an acquisition completion notification of content B to the server side at the completion of acquisition of content A and at the completion of acquisition of content B, respectively.

<S190>
When the content acquisition completion notification is received from the client side, the server side updates the version of the content among the client-side content version information recorded in S140, and updates the client-side content version information. For example, the server side updates the version of content A and the version of content B with respect to the content version information on the client side when receiving the acquisition completion notification of content A and when receiving the acquisition completion notification of content B, respectively. . The updated version is the same as the version of the content acquired on the client side from the server side in S170.

<S200>
Then, the client side disconnects the network with the content side.

Next, the operation of the on-board system 101 (on-vehicle content replacement server 210) on the client side will be described based on FIG.
<S110c>
The communication connection unit c310 determines whether there is a network capable of communication connection with the server side.
For example, the communication connection unit c310 determines that there is a network capable of communication connection with the server side when the communication connection unit c310 is located within a wireless reachable range transmitted from the server side. That is, when the own train 110 enters the content distribution base or when the own train 110 is combined with another train 110, the communication connection unit c310 determines that there is a network capable of communication connection with the server side.

<S120c>
If it is determined in S110c that there is a network capable of communication connection, the communication connection unit c310 requests connection to the server side and connects to the server side through the network.
When it is determined in S110c that there is no network that can be connected for communication, the process returns to S110c, and the communication connection unit c310 periodically determines the presence or absence of the network.

<S130c>
Next, the version notification unit c330 notifies the server side of content version information.
For example, the content version information is transmitted together with the content and stored in the vehicle content DB 229, and the version notification unit c330 transmits the content version information stored in the vehicle content DB 229 to the server side.
Here, the version information of the content notified by the version notification unit c330 to the server side includes the version information of the content notified from the on-board system 101 of another train 110 on the own vehicle system 101 as the server side. The content version information notified from the on-board system 101 of another train 110 includes the version information of the content notified from the on-board system 101 of the other train 110 by the on-board system 101 of the other train 110. It is.

<S150c>
Next, the content replacement unit c320 acquires a server-side content list.
For example, the content replacement unit c320 transmits a content list request for requesting a content list to the server side, and receives the content list from the server side.

<S160c>
Next, the content replacement unit c320 determines whether or not content acquisition is necessary based on the server-side content list acquired in S150c.
For example, the content replacement unit c320 compares the version of each content indicated by the server-side content list with the version of each content indicated by the version information of the local content stored in the on-board content DB 229, and the version on the server side If there is new content, it is determined that the content needs to be acquired.
Also, for example, the content replacement unit c320 compares the server-side content list with its own content list, and determines that the content needs to be acquired when there is content on the server side that is not on its own side.

<S170c>
When it is determined in S160c that content acquisition is necessary, the content replacement unit c320 acquires the content from the server side.
For example, the content replacement unit c320 transmits to the server side a content request for requesting content determined to be acquired, and receives the content from the server side.

<S180c>
Then, the content replacement unit c320 notifies the server side of the completion of content acquisition.
For example, when content reception is completed in S170c, the content replacement unit c320 transmits a content acquisition completion notification indicating the content name and version of the content acquired from the server side to the server side. Then, the content replacement unit c320 updates the content version information stored in the on-vehicle content DB 229 to the content version acquired from the server side in the on-vehicle system 101.
After notifying completion of content acquisition, the process returns to S160c, and the content replacement unit c320 determines whether there is other content that needs to be acquired.

<S200c>
When the content replacement unit c320 determines in S160c that the content acquisition is not necessary, the communication connection unit c310 disconnects the network connection with the server side and ends the loading of the content from the server side.

Next, the operation of the content center 130 (center content server 200) or on-vehicle system 101 (on-vehicle content replacement server 210) on the server side will be described based on FIG.
<S110s>
The communication connection unit s410 determines whether there is a connection request from the client side to the network.

<S120s>
When it is determined in S110s that there is a connection request from the client side to the network, the communication connection unit s410 connects to the client side via the network.
If it is determined in S110s that there is no connection request to the network from the client side, the process returns to S110s, and the communication connection unit s410 periodically determines whether there is a connection request to the network.

<S130s>
Next, the version management unit s430 receives content version information from the client side.
For example, the version management unit s430 receives the version information of the contents of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 that is stored and managed on the client side from the client side.

<S140s>
Next, the version management unit s430 records the version information of the content received from the client side in S130s.
For example, the version management unit s430 adds / updates the version information of the content of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 that is stored and managed by the own side with the version information of the content received from the client side.
The addition / update of content version information will be described separately.

<S150s>
Next, the content replacement unit s420 notifies the client side of the content list.
For example, the on-board system 101 of each train 110 adds / updates the content when it is received, stores and manages version information indicating the content name and version for each content, and the content replacement unit s420 is the own vehicle. Version information about the contents of the upper system 101 is transmitted to the client side.

<S170s>
Next, the content replacement unit s420 determines whether there is a content request from the client side.
For example, the content replacement unit s420 determines that there is a content request when a content request is received from the client side.

<S171s>
When it is determined in S170s that there is a content request from the client side, the content replacement unit s420 transmits the requested content to the client side.

<S180s>
Next, the content replacement unit s420 receives a content acquisition completion notification from the client side.
For example, the content replacement unit s420 receives a content acquisition completion notification indicating the content name and version of the content transmitted by the content replacement unit s420 in S171s from the client side.

<S190s>
Next, the version management unit s430 updates the version information about the content on the client side.
For example, the version management unit s430 updates the version information about the content on the client side based on the content name and version of the content indicated by the content acquisition completion notification received by the content replacement unit s420 in S180s. The version management unit s430 corresponds to the version information of the content of the on-board system 101 on the client side that is currently communicating, out of the version information of the content of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 that is stored and managed on its own side. Then, the version information of the content is searched with the content name indicated by the content acquisition completion notification, and the version indicated by the searched version information is updated with the version indicated by the content acquisition completion notification.

<S200s>
After the version management unit s430 updates the content version information in S190s, or when the content replacement unit s420 determines in S170s that there is no content request from the client side, the communication connection unit s410 receives a network disconnection request from the client side. Judge whether there is.
For example, the communication connection unit s410 determines that there is a network disconnection request when a network disconnection request is received from the client side.

<S201s>
If it is determined in S200s that there is no network disconnection request from the client side, the process returns to S170s, and the content replacement unit s420 determines whether there is a content request.
If it is determined in S200s that there is a network disconnection request from the client side, the communication connection unit s410 disconnects the network connection with the client side and finishes loading the content on the client side.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a content version management table 610 that is an example of content version information in the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the on-vehicle content version recording process (S140s) on the server side in the content distribution system 100 of the first embodiment.
In S140s, the version management unit s430 adds / updates the content version information of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 that is stored and managed by the version management unit s430 based on the content version information received from the client in S130s. Will be described below with reference to FIGS.

For example, the content center 130 and the on-board system 101 of each train 110 store and manage the version of the content of the on-board system 101 of each train 110 using a content version management table 610 having a format as shown in FIG.
The content version management table 610 in FIG. 12 includes train numbers, content names, and versions as items of one record. The version may indicate the creation date of the content as shown in FIG. 12, or may be indicated by a serial number indicating a larger (or smaller) number as it is newer.

  In FIG. 13, the version management unit s430 that has received the content version management table 610 as shown in FIG. 12 as content version information from the client side in S130s executes S140s as follows.

<S141s>
First, the version management unit s430 reads one record from the content version management table 610 received from the client side.

<S142s>
Next, the version management unit s430 compares the version of the content indicated by the record read out in S141s with the version of the content stored and managed on its own side, and determines whether or not the version of the content notified from the client side is new. Determine.
For example, the version management unit s430 searches the content version management table 610 stored and managed on its own side for a record that matches the train number and content name indicated by the record read in S141s, and the version indicated by the record read in S141s Is compared with the version indicated by the retrieved record, and it is determined whether or not the version indicated by the record read in S141s is newer.
If the content indicated by the record read in S141s is not stored and managed in the content version management table 610 on the own side, the version management unit s430 determines that the content version notified from the client side is new.

<S143s>
If it is determined in S142s that the content version notified from the client side is new, the version management unit s430 writes the version of the content indicated by the record read in S141s in the content version management table 610 that is stored and managed on its own side.
For example, when a record that matches the train number and content name indicated by the record read in S141s exists in the content version management table 610 stored and managed by the local side, the version management unit s430 displays the version indicated by the local record. Is updated to the version indicated by the record read in S141s.
Also, for example, if there is no record that matches the train number and content name indicated by the record read in S141s in the content version management table 610 that is stored and managed on its own side, the version management unit s430 automatically records the record read in S141s. Is added to the content version management table 610 stored and managed on the side.

<S144s>
Next, the version management unit s430 determines whether or not S141s to S143s have been processed for all the records in the content version management table 610 received from the client side.
If it is determined that it has not been processed, the process returns to S141s, and the version management unit s430 newly reads a record that has not been processed. If it is determined that it has been processed, the version management unit s430 ends the on-board content version recording process (S140s). .

  In Embodiment 1, a service in which on-vehicle content distribution server 220 (Web server) distributes content stored in center content server 200 on train 110 to dedicated terminals such as seat terminal 520 and in-vehicle terminal 530 in train 110 Explained. And when this service is performed, content that has a large content data capacity, time constraints for replacement, etc. are taken into consideration, and content that efficiently replaces the content generated on the ground equipment for multiple trains 110 The distribution system 100 has been described. The content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system that reflects content not only in the transmission between the content center 130 and the on-vehicle system 101 but also in the transmission between the on-vehicle system 101 and the on-vehicle system 101. Have a lot. Thereby, the content distribution system 100 in Embodiment 1 can replace | exchange a content rapidly with respect to all the trains 110 of reflection object.

1 is a configuration diagram of a content distribution system 100 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an on-board system 101 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the hardware resource of the center content server 200 in Embodiment 1, the on-vehicle content replacement server 210, and the on-vehicle content distribution server 220. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation image of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation image of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a server / client relationship diagram between the content center 130 of the content distribution system 100 and the on-board system 101 of each train 110 in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a center content server 200 in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of on-vehicle content replacement server 210 and on-vehicle content distribution server 220 in the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a content loading procedure of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a content loading procedure of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing a content loading procedure of the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a content version management table 610 that is an example of content version information in the content distribution system 100 according to Embodiment 1. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of on-vehicle content version recording processing (S140s) on the server side in the content distribution system 100 according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the conventional content replacement system.

Explanation of symbols

  100 content distribution system, 101 on-board system, 110 train, 111 Y train, 112 X train, 113 Z train, 120 station platform, 121 A station, 122 B station, 123 Y station, 124 X station, 125 Z Station, 130, 141 Content center, 142 Train A, 143 Train B, 200 Center content server, 201 Center antenna, 209 Center content DB, 210 Onboard content replacement server, 211 Onboard antenna, 220 Onboard content distribution server, 221 On-vehicle content distribution unit, 229 On-vehicle content DB, 300 client unit, 310 communication connection unit c, 320 content replacement unit c, 330 version notification unit c, 400 server unit, 410 communication connection unit s, 420 content replacement unit 430 version management unit s, 502 ring type IP network, 520 seat terminal, 530 in-car terminal, 550 communication device, 610 content version management table, 911 CPU, 912 bus, 913 ROM, 914 RAM, 915 communication board, 920 magnetic disk Device, 921 OS, 923 program group, 924 file group.

Claims (8)

A base transmission device that is installed in a specific facility and transmits content that is information data provided to passengers of each train,
A train transmission device installed in each train for transmitting and receiving the content;
It is a content distribution system including an in-train distribution server device that stores the content received by the train transmission device and is output from a terminal device installed in each vehicle. ,
The train transmission device of each train is
Receiving the content from the base transmission device installed in the specific facility;
When the own train is combined with another train, the content received from the base transmission device is transmitted to the train transmission device of the other train combined with the own train ,
The base transmission device is:
The content distribution system, wherein the content is transmitted to only one train in the same time zone among a plurality of trains entering and connected to the specific facility . The train transmission device that has received the content from the train transmission device of another train that the own train was previously connected to,
When the own train is newly merged with another train, the content data received from the train transmission device of the other train that the own train was previously merged with The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the content transmission system transmits to the train transmission device. Each train transmission device for multiple trains
Comparing the version information of each content stored in the in-train distribution server of each train, and transmitting and receiving each new version of the content stored in the in-train distribution server of each train The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 and 2. The train transmission device
When the own train is newly merged with another train, the version information of each content stored in the in-train distribution server device of the own train and the train transmission of another other train where the own train was previously merged The version information of each content received from the device is transmitted to the train transmission device of the other train where the own train is newly joined,
When the own train enters the specific facility, the base transmission device receives the version information of each content stored in the in-train distribution server device of the own train and the version information received from the train transmission device of another train. To
The base transmission device is:
Each version information transmitted by the train transmission device of the train that has entered the specific facility is received, and the version information of each content stored in the intra-train distribution server device of each train based on the received version information. 4. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein storage management is performed. The train transmission device
When the own train enters the specific facility and is connected to another train, the content is received from the base transmission device, and the content is received from the train transmission device of the other train connected together. 5. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein reception of the content from the base transmission device is preferentially performed. The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base transmission device and the train transmission device transmit the content by the same transmission procedure. The said base transmission apparatus transmits the said content to the said train transmission apparatus of the train which got into the specific location of the said specific facility using the short distance radio | wireless which gave directivity. Item 7. The content distribution system according to any one of Items 6 to 6 . A base transmission device that is installed in a specific facility and transmits content that is information data provided to passengers of each train,
A train transmission device installed in each train for transmitting and receiving the content;
Content of a content distribution system provided with an intra-train distribution server device installed in each train, storing the content received by the train transmission device, and outputting the stored content from a terminal device installed in each vehicle Delivery method,
The train transmission device of each train is
Receiving the content from the base transmission device installed in the specific facility;
When the own train is combined with another train, the content received from the base transmission device is transmitted to the train transmission device of the other train combined with the own train ,
The base transmission device is:
The content distribution method of the content distribution system, wherein the content is transmitted to only one train in the same time zone among a plurality of trains entering and connected to the specific facility .

Images