JP5078751B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a communication function and transmitting content information to an external apparatus.

When an image is transmitted from an imaging device to an external device (an image receiving device or the like) having a display device via a network, the external device displays an image immediately after receiving the image. However, in the past, the convenience of the receiving side was not taken into account, and the external device displays the image as soon as it receives the image. Therefore, there is a possibility that an unspecified person can see an image that the other person does not want to see was there. On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a method for transferring image data after transmitting a notice message asking for permission to transmit.
JP 2005-79622 A

  However, in the image data transfer method described in Patent Document 1, the receiving side can decide whether to accept or reject the image reception by sending a notice message asking for permission to send, but the receiving side refuses to receive the image. In this case, it was not possible to take a response according to the request of the receiving side, such as sending an image to another recipient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of performing information transmission in consideration of convenience on the receiving side.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and receives information on the terminal device from a storage unit that stores content information and a management device that manages one or more terminal devices that process the content information. A selection unit that selects the terminal device that is the transmission destination of the content information from among the terminal devices indicated by the information received by the first reception unit, and the selection unit selects A response information for the transmission advance notice information is received from the first transmission unit for sending the advance notice information for advance notice of the transmission of the content information to the terminal apparatus, and the terminal device that has received the transmission advance notice information. When the response information received by the second receiving unit, the second transmitting unit that transmits the content information, and the response information received by the second receiving unit indicate that the content information can be received, The second transmission unit is controlled to transmit the content information to the terminal device selected by the selection unit, and the response information received by the second reception unit indicates that the content information cannot be received. If the response information includes information indicating the type of service provided by another device or information specifying the transmission destination of the content information to the other device, the service providing the service is provided. And a control unit that controls the second transmission unit to transmit the content information to the other device or the other device designated as the transmission destination .

Further, in the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the control unit causes the first transmission unit to transmit the advance notice information to another device providing the service or another device designated as the transmission destination. It is characterized by controlling .

In the information processing apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit may include a case where the response information received by the second reception unit indicates that the content information cannot be received, and the response information includes the other information. When the display service, the print service, or the storage service is included as the information indicating the type of service provided by the device, the display service, the print service, or the storage service is provided to another device that provides the display service, the print service, or the storage service. In contrast, the second transmission unit is controlled to transmit the content information .

Further, in the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the control unit is a case where the response information received by the second receiving unit indicates that the content information cannot be received, and the response information includes the content information If the IP address of the other device is included as information for designating the information transmission destination to the other device, the second transmitting unit transmits the content information to the other device having the IP address. It is characterized by controlling .

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, when response information indicates that content information cannot be received, by performing an alternative process related to transmission of content information, information can be transmitted in consideration of the convenience of the receiving side. Is obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system shown in FIG. 1 includes an imaging device 1, an AP (access point) 2, the Internet 3, an overall device 4, an image receiving device 5 (such as a television), a printing device 6, and a mobile phone terminal 7. In this embodiment, before the image capturing apparatus 1 transmits image data to an external device existing on the network, a notice message for notifying the transmission is transmitted to the external device. For this reason, the imaging apparatus 1 accesses an external device in the private network (home network) 8 via the Internet 3.

  The imaging device 1 has an imaging function and a communication function, and is connected to the AP 2 by a communication method such as a wireless LAN. AP 2 is connected to the Internet 3 and has a global IP address. The imaging device 1 connected to the AP 2 acquires a global IP address and is connected to the Internet 3.

  The overall device 4 which is a server in the private network 8 manages the states of various devices (image receiving device 5, printing device 6, and mobile phone terminal 7) having a function of processing image data. The central device 4 is connected to the Internet 3 and has a global IP address. The image receiving device 5, the printing device 6, and the mobile phone terminal 7 connected to the central device 4 have private IP addresses. The imaging device 1 cannot communicate by specifying each device in the private network 8. For this reason, the imaging device 1 and each device in the private network 8 communicate via the overall device 4. In this case, the overall device 4 functions as a proxy server. The image receiving device 5, the printing device 6, and the mobile phone terminal 7 are terminal devices that provide predetermined services (display, printing, storage, etc.) by processing image data, respectively.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the imaging apparatus 1. In FIG. 2, only one external device 9 (any one of the image receiving device 5, the printing device 6, and the mobile phone terminal 7) in the private network 8 that is a communication partner of the imaging device 1 is shown. It is assumed that there are multiple units. The imaging apparatus 1 includes a storage unit 101, a notice information creation unit 102, a transmission unit 103, a reception unit 104, a selection unit 105, and a response determination unit 106.

  The storage unit 101 stores image data (content information) created by imaging in the imaging apparatus 1. The advance notice information creating unit 102 creates advance notice information for notifying the external device 9 of the transmission of image data in advance before the imaging apparatus 1 transmits the image data to the external device 9. The notice information includes information related to the image (creation date, creator, comment, thumbnail, file name, etc.).

  The transmission unit 103 has a function of transmitting a service request message for requesting service information related to a service provided by the external device 9 to the overall device 4 and includes a notice message including the notice information created by the notice information creating unit 102. And the function of transmitting the image data stored in the storage unit 101 to the external device 9. When the transmission unit 103 transmits a service request message to the overall device 4, the overall device 4 returns a response message to the service request message. Further, when the transmission unit 103 transmits a notice message to the external device 9, the external device 9 returns a response message to the notice message.

  The receiving unit 104 has a function of receiving a response message transmitted from the overall device 4 and a function of receiving a response message transmitted from the external device 9. The selection unit 105 selects the external device 9 that is the transmission destination of the image data based on the response message from the overall device 4, and controls the transmission unit 103 to transmit a notice message to the external device 9. . The response determination unit 106 determines the next operation based on the response message from the external device 9.

  When the response message from the external device 9 indicates permission of image transmission, the response determination unit 106 controls the transmission unit 103 to transmit the image data stored in the storage unit 101 to the external device 9. When the response message from the external device 9 indicates that image transmission is not permitted, the response determination unit 106 executes an alternative process related to image data transmission. In this alternative process, the response determination unit 106 controls the transmission unit 103 according to the content of the response message from the external device 9. Details of the alternative processing will be described later.

  Next, the operation of the entire system will be described with reference to FIG. The imaging device 1 has a communication function for connecting to a network, and connects to the Internet 3 by connecting to the AP 2 by a communication method such as a wireless LAN. Subsequently, in order to transmit image data to the external device 9 existing on the private network 8, the imaging apparatus 1 executes the following processing.

  First, the imaging device 1 transmits a service request message to the overall device 4 in order to find a service on the network (step S301). The overall device 4 that has received the service request message from the imaging device 1 transmits the service request message to each external device 9 in the private network 8 in which it is included (step S302). The service request message from the overall device 4 is transmitted to each external device 9 by multicast, for example.

  The external device 9 that has received the service request message from the central apparatus 4 transmits a response message including the type of service that can be provided and its own IP address as service information to the central apparatus 4 (step S303). The overall device 4 registers the service information included in the response message received from the external device 9 in its own storage device (step S304), and further transmits a response message including the service information to the imaging device 1 (step S305). .

  The imaging device 1 receives the response message from the overall device 4, and selects a service suitable for the purpose such as printing an image based on the service information included in the response message (step S306). Furthermore, the imaging apparatus 1 selects image data to be transmitted to the external device 9 (step S307).

  At this time, the imaging apparatus 1 displays a list of services provided in the private network 8 based on the service information, and also displays a list of image data stored in the storage unit 101 to provide services to the user. And prompts the user to select image data. The user selects a service and image data via the user interface of the imaging apparatus 1. When the service type associates the service type with the IP address and the user selects the service, the external device 9 having the IP address corresponding to the service is selected as the destination device. Through the processing in steps S301 to S306, the imaging apparatus 1 can specify the external device 9 in the private network 8, and can directly request execution of the service provided by the external device 9. become.

  The imaging apparatus 1 creates the advance notice information based on the selected service and image data (step S308), and transmits the advance notice message including the advance notice information to the external device 9 (step S309). The external device 9 that has received the notice message issues a warning to notify the user that the notice message has been received (step S310). For example, when the external device 9 is the image receiving device 5, the image receiving device 5 lights the icon 502 on the display unit 501 as shown in FIG. 6. Alternatively, when the external device 9 is the mobile phone terminal 7, the mobile phone terminal 7 sounds a ring tone. Other warning methods may be used.

  By the warning in step S310, the user recognizes that the external device 9 has received the notice message, determines the action to be taken for the notice message, and inputs the content via the user interface of the external device 9 ( Step S311). The response to the notice message is, for example, receiving image data immediately, receiving now without receiving image data, transferring image data to another external device 9, receiving image data. It is an operation such as refusal.

  The external device 9 creates a response message based on the content input by the user in step S311 (step S312), and transmits the response message to the imaging device 1 (step S313). The imaging device 1 receives the response message from the external device 9, and determines the content of the response message (step S314).

  When the response message from the external device 9 indicates permission of image transmission, the imaging apparatus 1 transmits the image data selected in step S307 to the external device 9 (step S315). The external device 9 that has received the image data performs image output (image display, image printing, etc.) (step S316). If the response message from the external device 9 indicates that image transmission is not permitted, the imaging apparatus 1 determines an alternative method related to image data transmission and executes processing related to the alternative method (step S317). .

  Note that the process of step S307 may be performed before step S301. In addition, the user makes an input in step S311 in advance and registers it in the external device 9, and automatically generates a response message to the imaging device 1 based on the registered contents when the notice message is received. May be.

  Next, a more detailed operation of the imaging apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The imaging device 1 transmits a service request message to the overall device 4 in order to discover a service on the network (step S401). This process is executed mainly by the notice information creation unit 102 and the transmission unit 103 of the imaging apparatus 1.

  After transmitting the service request message, the imaging device 1 receives a response message from the overall device 4 (step S402). The processing in step S402 is executed mainly by the receiving unit 104 of the imaging device 1. Subsequently, the imaging apparatus 1 analyzes the service information included in the response message and selects a service desired by the user (step S403). The process of step S403 is executed mainly by the selection unit 105 of the imaging apparatus 1. Further, image data to be transmitted to the external device 9 is also selected along with the selection of the service. As described above, the service and the image data are selected based on information input by the user via the user interface of the imaging apparatus 1.

  After selecting the service, the imaging apparatus 1 executes pre-image transmission processing for determining subsequent operations based on the transmission of the notice message and the response (step S404). Details of step S404 will be described later. Subsequently, the imaging apparatus 1 determines whether or not to perform image transmission based on the result of the image transmission preprocessing (step S405). The process of step S405 is executed mainly by the response determination unit 106 of the imaging device 1. If image transmission is possible, the imaging apparatus 1 transmits image data to the external device 9 (step S406). The process of step S406 is executed mainly by the response determination unit 106 and the transmission unit 103 of the imaging device 1. If image transmission is impossible, the imaging device 1 stops image transmission. When one external device 9 provides a plurality of types of services, information indicating the type of service desired to be executed is also transmitted to the external device 9 together with the image data, and image data is desired according to the information. It is distributed to the service.

  Next, details of the image transmission pre-processing in step S404 will be described with reference to FIG. The imaging apparatus 1 creates notice information to be transmitted to the external device 9 selected as the image data transmission destination (step S501). The processing in step S501 is executed mainly by the notice information creation unit 102 of the imaging device 1. Subsequently, the imaging apparatus 1 transmits the created advance notice information to the external device 9 (step S502). The processing in step S502 is executed mainly by the transmission unit 103 of the imaging apparatus 1.

  After transmitting the notice message, the imaging apparatus 1 receives a response message from the external device 9 that has received the notice message (step S503). The processing in step S503 is executed mainly by the receiving unit 104 of the imaging device 1. The response message from the external device 9 includes information indicating whether or not reception is possible. The information indicating that reception is not possible further includes any one of information indicating rejection of reception, information indicating time designation, and information indicating transmission designation to another device. The imaging device 1 that has received the response message from the external device 9 determines the response content based on the response message (step S504).

  If the response message includes information indicating that reception is possible, the imaging apparatus 1 transmits image data to the external device 9 in step S406 of FIG. If the response message includes information indicating that reception is not possible, the imaging apparatus 1 determines the reason (step S505). When the reason for the reception failure is the transmission designation to the other device, the response message from the external device 9 includes the service type or IP address of the other device. The imaging apparatus 1 designates another device based on this information, executes the processing from step S501 again, and transmits a notice message to the designated device.

  The other device in this case may be another external device 9 in the private network 8 or another device connected to the Internet 3. Other devices connected to the Internet 3 are servers (for example, servers for online album sites) that always provide services. It should be noted that information such as the IP address of the server that is always providing the service is not included in the response message from the overall device 4 and is stored in advance in the storage unit 101 of the imaging device 1.

  If the reason for the reception failure is the time designation, the imaging device 1 temporarily stores the image data in the storage unit 101 (step S506). In this case, the response message from the external device 9 includes information specifying the transmission time or the transmission standby time. When the transmission time is specified by the response message from the external device 9, the imaging device 1 transmits the image data to the external device 9 in step S406 of FIG. 4 when detecting that the time has reached the specified time. Alternatively, when the transmission standby time is specified by the response message from the external device 9, when the imaging apparatus 1 detects that the elapsed time from the predetermined timing has become the standby time, the external device is performed in step S406 of FIG. The image data is transmitted to 9.

  On the other hand, if the reason for the reception failure is reception rejection, the imaging apparatus 1 determines whether there is an external device 9 that has not yet transmitted the notice message (step S507). If there is an external device 9 that has not yet transmitted the notice message, the imaging apparatus 1 executes the processing from step S501 again, selects the external device 9 that has not yet sent the notice message, and transmits the notice message. Further, when the notice message is transmitted to all the external devices 9 that provide the discovered service, the imaging apparatus 1 executes a process of stopping the transmission of the image data (step S508). The processes in steps S504 to S508 are executed mainly by the response determination unit 106 of the imaging device 1.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the response message from the external device 9 indicates that the image data cannot be received, by performing the alternative process relating to the transmission of the image data, the convenience of the receiving side is improved. Considering data transmission can be performed. In particular, the imaging apparatus 1 determines an alternative method according to the request of the external device 9 by indicating the reason why the image data cannot be transmitted when the external device 9 cannot receive the image data. Image transmission control with a high degree of freedom can be realized.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, a device that transmits data to a device that provides a service may be a device other than the imaging device (for example, a mobile phone terminal). The data to be transmitted may be data other than image data (for example, music data).

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the imaging device by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the whole system by one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a reference diagram illustrating a warning state given by the image receiving apparatus that has received a notice message in an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Imaging device (information processing device), 2 ... AP, 3 ... Internet, 4 ... Overall device (management device), 5 ... Image receiving device, 6 ... Printing device, 7・ ・ ・ Mobile phone terminal, 8 ... Private network, 9 ... External device, 101 ... Storage unit, 102 ... Preliminary information creation unit, 103 ... Transmission unit, 104 ... Reception unit , 105 ... selection unit, 106 ... response determination unit (control unit)

Claims (4)

A storage unit for storing content information;
A first receiving unit that receives information on the terminal device from a management device that manages one or more terminal devices that process the content information;
A selection unit for selecting the terminal device as a transmission destination of the content information from the terminal device indicated by the information received by the first reception unit;
A first transmission unit for transmitting transmission advance notice information for giving advance notice of transmission of the content information to the terminal device selected by the selection unit;
A second receiving unit that receives response information for the transmission advance notice information from the terminal device that has received the transmission advance notice information;
A second transmission unit for transmitting the content information;
When the response information received by the second receiving unit indicates that the content information can be received, the second information unit is configured to transmit the content information to the terminal device selected by the selecting unit. Information indicating the type of service provided by another device in the response information when the response information received by the second receiving unit indicates that the content information cannot be received by controlling the transmission unit or the case where the destination of the content information includes information for designating to other devices, to transmit the content information to the other device or the other device the designated as a destination for providing the service A control unit for controlling the second transmission unit ;
An information processing apparatus. The control unit controls the first transmission unit to transmit the advance notice information to another device providing the service or another device specified as the transmission destination. The information processing apparatus described in 1. The control unit is a case where the response information received by the second receiving unit indicates that the content information cannot be received, and information indicating a type of service provided by the other device in the response information When the display service, the print service, or the storage service is included, the content information is transmitted to another device that provides the display service, the print service, or the storage service. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus controls the second transmission unit. The control unit is a case where the response information received by the second receiving unit indicates that the content information cannot be received, and designates a transmission destination of the content information to another device in the response information The second transmission unit is controlled to transmit the content information to another device having the IP address when the IP address of the other device is included as information. The information processing apparatus according to 1.

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