JP5255946B2 - Content scheduling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content scheduling technique for an information system that performs a content distribution schedule.

  With the recent widespread use of broadband networks, video and audio content with a large capacity of one content is rapidly increasing. On the other hand, there is a need for a user who views these contents to find the time when the contents can be viewed and receive the contents. As a service that meets this need, recently, for example, for video content, not only conventional content reception such as a television or reception by a personal computer, but also a reception form that is not limited by location or time such as a mobile device or a car navigation system is realized. Products and services are becoming possible. In particular, in-car information providing services such as car navigation systems are attracting attention as services for acquiring necessary information while riding. For example, a service that selects and provides content corresponding to travel position information.

  In addition, as a conventional content selection method, there is an in-vehicle content selection / playback function that can download and distribute content that can be played back within the time required to the destination to the in-vehicle database. Yes (Patent Document 1). Also, as a function targeted at music content, the user selects a song selected by an operation of inputting / editing a song to be played and estimates the correlation between the user's action and the feature amount of the song, There is a function that allows the user to select and play a piece of music that suits the user's preference (Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-10664 A JP 2007-109013 A

  Patent Document 1 is an invention that enables content to be viewed to be distributed without interruption within the boarding time, for example, for in-vehicle use. This is effective in that the capacity of a storage device such as a hard disk in the vehicle is limited or new contents are registered.

  However, on the other hand, users who use these contents can only select the contents within the number of contents corresponding to the capacity of the hard disk. Furthermore, depending on the boarding time, they must get off in the middle of the contents. There are cases where it is necessary. From such a background, there is a demand for a service that allows users to view content that they want to view in a limited life time in combination with time (hereinafter referred to as gap time). In addition, as described above, even if the content that the user wants to view is distributed during the gap time, if the content being distributed is halfway at the time when the gap time ends, the user may be dissatisfied. It is necessary to prevent interruption.

  Patent Document 2 is an invention in which what kind of music the user likes and selects is estimated from the user's music selection process. However, the number of pieces of music to be input by the user is limited, and it is difficult to estimate the relevance between the music to be input and the other large numbers of music from the input operation. Also, if an input operation is performed during the gap time and content is selected, whether or not the content can be set as the gap time is the only clue. Will repeat. From the above background, it is necessary to easily select content that suits the taste or purpose without bothering the user as much as possible.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a content scheduling apparatus that sets an optimal combination from stored contents in a certain time zone and distributes the combination.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a content scheduling apparatus that includes a processing unit, a storage unit, and an information input / output unit, and performs content distribution,
The processing unit approximates the fluctuating time length received from the terminal via the information input / output unit by a fixed time length possessed by a plurality of contents, and sets the content group set by the approximation by the fixed time length to the terminal. The content scheduling apparatus to be distributed is provided.

  Further, in order to solve the above problem, a content scheduling apparatus including a processing unit, a storage unit, and an information input / output unit, the processing unit for the gap time received from the terminal via the information input / output unit, When a combination of a plurality of contents each having a fixed time length is stored in the storage unit, the set content is controlled to be distributed to the terminal, and a gap length time length change is received from the terminal during distribution, Provided is a content scheduling apparatus for changing and distributing a part of a combination of a plurality of contents according to the time length change.

  In particular, in the approximation of the gap time and the fixed time length of each content, select content that has a lot of content with similar fixed time length, set it at the end of the gap time that may vary, and distribute it .

  According to the present invention, even when the gap time can be abruptly changed or changed, it is possible to quickly create a content distribution schedule with high user satisfaction.

  BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the best mode of the present invention will be described. Prior to that, the outline of typical ones of the inventions disclosed in this specification will be briefly described as follows. It is based on an electronic content use case such as a personal computer or mobile phone.

  First of all, the gap time is approximated by a combination of fixed time lengths of multiple contents with respect to the time length of the gap time considering fluctuations, and the combination of contents set in the same approximation is set as a schedule and set in the schedule Distributed content.

  In particular, in the approximation of the gap time and each content time length, a content having a lot of contents having similar time lengths is selected, set to the last part of the fluctuating gap time, and distributed.

  In addition, in this apparatus, when a user or group has a so-called schedule and a gap time is set in the schedule, the content related to the event is displayed at the head of the gap time immediately before the event immediately after the gap time. Set to location or rear location.

  In addition, in order to efficiently browse various contents during the gap time, not only contents based on video and audio media, but also contents composed of character strings, Convert to voice and manage with time length, set during gap time.

  In addition, if the user skips the content being distributed or deletes other content for the content group set as the gap time, the content after the skipped time is reset and a content distribution schedule is created. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly create a content distribution schedule even when the gap time is abrupt, and the time length is similar even when the gap time fluctuates during content distribution. It is possible to absorb time fluctuations by selecting content having a lot of content. In addition, it is possible to select content that is prioritized according to the schedule scheduled by the user or group, and in particular, select content according to the event immediately after the gap time. By setting the same content at the beginning or end of the gap time from the cognitive scientific knowledge in the memory of the affinity effect, it becomes easier to memorize the event. In addition to content based on video and audio media, content that consists of character strings is also managed by converting the character string included in the content to audio and managing it with time length, and setting it during the gap time, It is possible to efficiently browse various contents during the gap time.

  In addition, by enabling users to skip content being delivered or to delete other content, the user's freedom to set content is increased, and content after the skipped time is reset. By creating a content distribution schedule, it is possible to view content without interruption at the end in accordance with the gap time even after skipping.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A content scheduling apparatus according to the first embodiment is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, an example for in-vehicle use is shown, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a personal computer, a mobile phone, and the like as described above. First, an example of the system configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, this system is realized by a device connected via a network 106, for example, the Internet. Data is transmitted to the passenger car 101 and content is displayed. The system configuration includes a data management / analysis server 102 that performs data management and data analysis. The content database hard disk 103 stores content to be used and content attributes. Further, in the in-vehicle example, the boarding time is set as a gap time for using the content. In this case, the boarding time varies depending on the road condition. Therefore, as a method for acquiring the variation, the position information of the passenger car 101 is obtained from the satellite 108. Car navigation system 104 for obtaining from is installed.

  On the other hand, as a client environment unit, an in-vehicle terminal 105 and a user data management terminal 107 are set as terminals of users who use contents.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the data management / analysis server 102 constituting the content scheduling apparatus is a storage unit in addition to a central processing unit (CPU) 10201 that drives the server and executes various programs. A program storage memory 10202 and a hard disk 10203 are connected by an internal bus (not shown) or the like, and are connected to the Internet 106 of an external network by an interface 10204 which is an information input / output unit.

  The program storage memory 10202 is loaded with a system program 1020201, which is executed by the CPU 10201 which is a processing unit, and operates the server, a data transmission / reception program 1020202 which is a data transmission / reception function, and a content scheduling program 1020203 which performs content scheduling. Also, the hard disk 10203 includes user event data 1020301 which is an event input by the user from the in-vehicle terminal 105, boarding time fluctuation data 1020302 acquired by the car navigation system, and content distribution schedule data 1020303 created by the content scheduling program 1020203. Stored.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the content database hard disk 103 connected to the data management / analysis server 102 via the network 106 includes content data 1030101 which is actual content data and content which is attribute data of each content. Stored are attribute data 1030102, inter-content relevance data 1030103 indicating relevance between contents, and content use information data 1030104 indicating frequency of use of the contents. This hard disk is also connected to other devices via the Internet 106. For content composed of the character strings described above, the character string is converted into audio data using a voice conversion program (not shown), and the converted audio data is stored in the same manner as the content by the audio media. Can do. It goes without saying that the content database hard disk 103 may be installed inside the data management / analysis server 102.

  Further, the in-vehicle terminal 105 shown in FIG. 4 is connected with a program storage memory 10502, a hard disk 10503, and an input unit 10504 through an internal bus 10505 in addition to a CPU 10501 that drives the terminal. The internal bus is connected to the Internet 106 via an interface 10506 serving as an input / output unit. For convenience of explanation, the GPS antenna 10401, the GPS signal receiving unit 10402, and the GPS signal processing unit 10403 included in the car navigation system 104 of FIG. Usually, in the vehicle, the car navigation system 104 and the in-vehicle terminal 105 are connected via an in-vehicle network.

  In the program storage memory 10502, a system program 1050201 for operating this terminal, a data transmission / reception control program 1050202 for transmitting / receiving data, executed by the CPU 10501 as a processing unit, and a user input serving as a user interface when a user performs input A UI program 1050203 and a data display program 1050204 for displaying content video and a user interface on the display are stored. Also, the hard disk 10503 stores input event data that is user input and content use history data that is a content history used by the user. For user input, for example, an input unit 10504 having a touch panel attached to the input unit is used. As a device of this input unit, a mouse, a keyboard, and the like can be substituted, but in the case of in-vehicle use, a touch panel is used.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the user data management terminal 107 is provided with a program storage memory 10702, a hard disk 10703, and an input unit 10704 in addition to the CPU 10701 that drives the terminal. Connected with. The program storage memory 10702 includes a system program 1070201, a data transmission / reception control program 1070202, a user schedule input program 1070203 for a user or a user's agent to input a schedule, and a UI for manually inputting content priorities. A content priority input program 1070204 and a data display program 1070205 which is a user interface for input / viewing are stored. The hard disk 10703 stores a user schedule created by the user schedule input program. In the input unit 10704, a mouse and a keyboard are assumed.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the content scheduling apparatus of this embodiment will be described according to the flow shown in FIG. First, the scenes used in the car will be described. The data management / analysis server 102 and the content database hard disk 103 which are content scheduling apparatuses are activated. Next, the in-vehicle terminal 105 is started up (FIG. 14-3001). This terminal is activated when the engine of the passenger car 101 is started. The data display program 1040204 is activated when the terminal is activated and the activation button displayed on the screen is pressed or when data indicating that the user is sitting on the rear seat is acquired (FIGS. 14 to 3002). The screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the screen (FIGS. 14 to 3003).

  Here, FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 6 mainly displays three types of information. They are a main screen 10511, a directly succeeding data display screen 10512, and a content distribution schedule screen 10513.

  On the main screen 10511, the first content scheduled by the content scheduling program 1020203 of the data management / analysis server 102 is displayed, and is distributed and displayed in the scheduled order. On the immediately succeeding data screen 10512, one image included in the content set to the next point, the next point, and the next point of the currently distributed content is displayed in the form of a still image. The content distribution schedule display screen 10513 displays the content setting contents in the entire boarding time as the gap time. For example, one image included in the content is stationary in the length area corresponding to the time length of each content. Displayed in the form of an image.

  At the same time as the screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, the content is distributed and displayed on the main screen 10511 (FIGS. 14 to 3004). Here, the display may be triggered by a trigger such as pressing a button. When the trigger is entered, the content distribution schedule may be changed by the function of the content scheduling program corresponding to the change in the boarding time, which is the gap time shown below.

  FIG. 7 is a screen assuming that a touch panel is stretched on the screen. When the user presses the touch panel with a finger, for example, in the main screen display touch panel area 10521, each content touch panel area 10522, and each content touch panel area 10523 in the content distribution schedule display using the touch panel as an input device (FIGS. 14 to 3005). The content defined in the area is deleted from the content distribution schedule data 1020303 (FIG. 14-3006). If there is no input to all the touch panel areas, the display continues (FIGS. 14 to 3008), the content is displayed until it gets off, and the content distribution ends according to the content distribution schedule (FIG. 14 to 3009). When one or more contents are selected by the touch panel, the contents are reset (FIG. 14-3007).

  Next, the content setting flow in the present embodiment will be described. In the content setting, when the in-vehicle terminal 105 is activated, the content scheduling program 1020203 of the data management / analysis server 102 is activated (FIG. 15-4001). However, a data management / analysis server 102, a content database hard disk 103, a user data management terminal 107, and a boarding time calculation program (not shown) installed in the car navigation system 104, which is a vehicle-mounted terminal, are used. There is also a method in which the data management / analysis server 102 is also mounted and content scheduling is performed before the boarding time.

  When the content scheduling program 1020203 of the data management / analysis server 102 is activated, user schedule data 1070301 is acquired from the user data management terminal 107 (FIG. 15-4002). Further, event occurrence position information which is the next boarding destination is acquired from the user schedule data 107031 (FIGS. 15 to 4003). Next, the acquired event occurrence position information is transmitted to the car navigation system 104 (FIGS. 15 to 4004). In the car navigation system 104, the current position information of the passenger car is calculated by the satellite 108, and the boarding time which is a required time from the event occurrence position information as the destination to the destination is calculated. The calculated boarding time information is sent to the content scheduling program 1020203 of the data management / analysis server 102, and the content scheduling program side acquires the boarding time information (FIGS. 15 to 4005).

Next, the user schedule data 1070301 and the content attribute data 1030102 of the content database hard disk 103 are collated (FIGS. 15 to 4006), and a high priority value is given to the content highly related to the event (FIG. 15). 15-4007), using the boarding time information, the content priority value, and the content time length, create and set a content schedule that approximates the time within the boarding time (FIG. 15-4008).

  Specifically, when V [i] [d] is “a maximum value of the total value of the luggage that is entered when considering the luggage i to the knapsack of the capacity d”, the following equation is established.

  Therefore, V [i] [d] is obtained for all i and d. Therefore, V [N] [D] is the optimum value for the given problem situation. At the same time, the optimum solution is also obtained by back calculation. The result of dynamic programming is always an optimal solution. In addition, at the stage of boarding, since the boarding time fluctuation has not yet occurred, scheduling is performed for the boarding time of a fixed time length.

  Next, based on FIG. 16, a case where a change in the boarding time that is the gap time occurs will be described. Whether or not the boarding time fluctuation has occurred is obtained every five minutes by changing the boarding time information Dif [i] up to the event occurrence position information acquired by the satellite 108 and the car navigation system 104 (FIGS. 16-5001, 5002). Judgment is made based on whether or not there is a time difference set in Dif [i] and Dif [i ++] (FIG. 16-5003). When there is a difference, the time value of the difference value, the content set at the end of the schedule and the content group located in the periphery in the content database 10301 are acquired (FIG. 16-5004), and this time length is obtained. Is compared with the predicted value of the time fluctuation and replaced with the content having the closest time length (FIG. 16-5005). When there is no content that can be approximated to the predicted value (FIG. 16-5005), the time length from the distribution end item of the currently distributed content to the arrival time is calculated (FIG. 16-5006). Rescheduling is performed (FIGS. 15 to 4008).

  Here, a method for setting the priority value of content in the present embodiment will be described. First, an example of the data structure of the content database hard disk 103 is shown in FIG. This data structure includes, for example, a content ID, a time length, a program frame, a genre, a cast, a provider, a broadcast date, and a related word. A program frame is a frame in which a broadcast time zone is determined, as represented by television content. The related word input method includes the case where the user himself / herself inputs the related word and the case where the broadcaster provides the content. It is also possible to store text information extracted by recognizing content audio or recognizing images / videos.

  Further, the user's content usage history data stored in the hard disk 10503 of the in-car terminal 105 is composed of a content ID, a program frame, and the number of times the program frame has been viewed as shown in FIG. This data is a variable indicating whether or not priority is given to program frames in content selection. As shown in FIG. 10, the data structure of the user schedule data 107031 includes an event, date / time, time length, content, member, and member information. Member information is stored in a form corresponding to each member.

  In the flow of FIG. 15, first, the contents and member information stored for each event other than “ride” are acquired from the user schedule data 1070301. The acquired contents and member information are matched with the related words of the content database hard disk 103 (FIGS. 15 to 4006). The content and content ID collated by matching are acquired. For example, data in which the number of collation words of related words is sorted in descending order and the collation word number n is associated with the content ID, Id_n [i] [j] (i = 0−k (number of selected IDs)) , j = 0−m (ID attribute), Id_n [i] [0] = ID number, ID_n [i] [1] → n). Further, the selected / acquired content ID is collated with the content ID of the content usage history data, and when the same content ID exists, the number of times of viewing the same content ID is acquired, and Id_n [i] [3] = Number of already viewed slots. A content group stored in Id_n is a content group used for the content scheduling program 1020203.

  The predicted value of the boarding time fluctuation is a time fluctuation calculated as an error when the car navigation system 104 calculates the boarding time. Search for content with a large number of exchange personnel for the predicted value. The exchange personnel is content that can absorb time fluctuations by rescheduling a certain content instead. As a condition of the exchange personnel, the time length is similar to the time length of the target content (within the expected time fluctuation range), but it is not the same, and the total value is within the content that is close to the time length. There are two points to be maximized.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the distribution of time length of actual video content. Content with many exchange personnel is represented by a dotted circle in the figure. Next, selection of content that is resistant to fluctuations is selected based on the analysis result. Select the content with the most exchange personnel as the last content in the schedule. Although it is conceivable to select a plurality of contents, in the apparatus of this embodiment, for example, only one content having a large number of exchange personnel is selected. Finally, the content that was initially saved is returned to the database, and a schedule is created using dynamic programming for the remaining time limit.

Next, details of the scheduling method in this embodiment will be described. First, it searches for content that is always adopted regardless of variations within the prediction range. In dynamic programming, when the optimal schedule for the time limit t = T is obtained, the optimal schedule for all time limits from t = 1 to T is obtained simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to easily find content that is always adopted regardless of variations within the prediction range. Next, examine the number of substitutes. A specific procedure is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure,
(1) Arrange the contents in the database in order of time length. If there are multiple contents with the same time length, the contents other than those with the highest value are excluded.
(2) If a content has a smaller value than the content that exists in the neighborhood as a time length, that content is excluded.
(3) Calculate the number of substitutes. Attention is paid to one of the contents remaining in the database, and the contents within the range of the predicted time fluctuation are examined centering on the contents. For each of these contents, the difference (interval) d _i of the time length with the adjacent contents is all squared to obtain the sum Σd _i . This value Σd _i decreases as the content has more substitutes.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the reciprocal of Σd _i for the content data shown in FIG. (Σd _i ) ⁻¹ increases in the vicinity of 30 minutes (1800 sec) and 60 minutes (3600 sec), which are contents with many substitutes, and the contents with many substitutes have been successfully determined.

  In addition, when the content scheduling program 1020203 obtains the boarding time information from the car navigation system 104 (FIGS. 15 to 4005) and the user skips the contents (FIGS. 17 to 6002), the program is included in the content to be deleted. It is determined whether the content currently being distributed is included (FIGS. 17 to 6003). If not included, the time lengths L [j], L [k]... Of the content to be deleted are referred to (FIGS. 17 to 6004). On the other hand, if the currently distributed content is included (FIG. 17-6005), the undelivered time length L [0] of the content being distributed is calculated, and the time length L of the other content to be deleted is calculated. Reference is made to [j], L [k] (FIGS. 17-6006). Next, whether or not the content being delivered is included or not, L [0], L [j], L [k] ... is substituted for Left by subtracting the current content delivery time L_all (FIGS. 17-6007). Finally, rescheduling is performed using the above method for the time length of Left, the content is reset (FIG. 17-6008), and a new screen is displayed on the terminal screen.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole system configuration | structure of a 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows one structure of the server for data management and analysis as a content scheduling apparatus concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which illustrates one structure of the hard disk for content databases concerning a 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the terminal for vehicles concerning a 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the user data management terminal concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 screen of the terminal for in-vehicle use concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 screen of the terminal for in-vehicle use concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the hard disk for content databases concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of a user's content utilization log | history data concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of user schedule data concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the content structure in the hard disk for content databases concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the procedure which searches the content with many exchange personnel concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the time length of content, and the number of exchange personnel concerning the 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the user's event input flow concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the content setting flow concerning a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the content setting flow when the boarding time fluctuation | variation occurs concerning the 1st Example. It is a figure which shows an example of the content setting flow when the time fluctuation | variation occurs by user operation concerning a 1st Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Passenger car, 102 ... Data management / analysis server, 103 ... Content database hard disk, 104 ... Car navigation system, 105 ... In-vehicle terminal, 106 ... Network, 107 ... User data management terminal, 108 ... Satellite.

Claims (8)

A content scheduling apparatus that includes a processing unit, a storage unit, and an information input / output unit and performs content distribution,
The processor is
The variable time length received from the terminal via the information input / output unit is approximated by a fixed time length of a plurality of contents, and the content set by the approximation by the fixed time length is transmitted to the terminal Deliver ,
The content having a lot of content with a fixed fixed time length is set as the last part of the variable time length .
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The storage unit stores a schedule of the user of the terminal,
When the variable time length is set in the stored schedule, the processing unit sets the content related to the event to the beginning of the variable time length prior to the event immediately after the variable time length. Set to the location or rear location,
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
The processing unit converts the character string into sound for the content configured by a character string, and manages the content by the time length of the content after sound conversion.
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
When the content requested to be set and distributed to the terminal is requested to stop the distribution of the content being distributed or scheduled to be distributed, the processing unit sets the time of the content requested to be stopped Remove the length, reconfigure the other content and deliver it to the device,
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A content scheduling apparatus including a processing unit, a storage unit, and an information input / output unit ,
The processor is
Corresponding to a gap time received from a terminal on the network via the information input / output unit, a plurality of contents stored in the storage unit and each having a fixed time length are set, and the set contents are stored in the terminal. If the time length change of the gap time is received from the terminal during distribution of the content based on the schedule, and changing a part of the plurality of contents according to the time length change Deliver,
The content having a lot of the content that is close to the fixed time length is set as the last part of the gap time .
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
When the time length change of the gap time is received from the terminal , the processing unit changes the content installed at the last part of the gap period to any one of the contents having the near fixed time length,
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
The processing unit converts the character string into sound with respect to the content configured with a character string, and manages the content with the time length of the content after conversion into sound.
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The content scheduling apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
When the content requested to be set and distributed to the terminal is requested to stop the distribution of the content being distributed or scheduled to be distributed, the processing unit sets the time of the content requested to be stopped Remove the length, reconfigure the other content and deliver to the device,
The content scheduling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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