JP5592919B2 - Signage terminal and signage system - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a signage terminal and a signage system.

  As a mechanism for presenting content such as advertisements, events, and notifications to unspecified persons, an information display system that displays and reproduces digitized content on a signage terminal such as a display device, a so-called digital signage system is known.

  In such a digital signage system, there is a system in which an attribute of a viewer who stops in front of a signage terminal is determined and content is selected according to the determination result.

  However, the conventional digital signage system can provide advertisements and the like by effective content display to the viewer who stops in front of the signage terminal. However, depending on the display mode of the playback content, the viewer can view (view or watch). ) The display mode may be difficult to display, and the signage effect has been reduced.

The signage terminal according to the embodiment includes a reproduction content acquisition unit, an information input unit, a viewer attribute determination unit, a unit that receives an instruction to execute support effect provision , and a support effect provision unit. The reproduction content acquisition means acquires content data to be reproduced. The information input means inputs information of a viewer who is within a predetermined range. The browser attribute determination unit determines the attribute of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input unit. The means for receiving an instruction to execute the provision of the support effect determines the support effect from the support effect data stored in the support effect database based on the viewer attribute determined by the viewer attribute determination unit, and determines the support effect An instruction to execute the grant is accepted. The support effect imparting unit imparts a support effect to the content data when an instruction to execute the support effect is given after determining the support effect to be imparted to the content data.

A signage system according to an embodiment includes a signage terminal that reproduces and displays content data, and an information distribution device that distributes the content data to the signage terminal connected via a communication network. An information input unit, a browser attribute determination unit, a support effect database, a unit that receives an instruction to execute support effect provision , and a support effect provision unit. The information input means inputs information of a viewer who is within a predetermined range of the signage terminal. The browser attribute determination unit determines the attribute of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input unit. The support effect database stores support effect data in which what kind of support effect is given to the content data according to the attributes of the viewer. The support effect providing means determines a support effect from the support effect data based on the viewer attribute determined by the browser attribute determination means, and accepts an instruction to execute the support effect. The support effect imparting unit imparts a support effect to the content data when an instruction to execute the support effect is given after determining the support effect to be imparted to the content data.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a signage system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external front view of the signage terminal. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the signage terminal. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information distribution server. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of data stored in the content database. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of the support effect database. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the signage terminal. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of content display processing in the signage terminal. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a content image to which the support effect is applied. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a support start button for instructing execution of support effect assignment.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a signage system 10 according to the embodiment. The following description demonstrates the case where the signage system 10 concerning embodiment is provided in the shopping mall.

  The signage system 10 according to the present embodiment is mainly configured by an information distribution server 11 that is an information distribution apparatus and a plurality of signage terminals 14.

  The information distribution server 11 is connected to a signage terminal 14 via a communication network 12 such as a local area network (LAN), and information content such as product advertisement information and event information is sent to the signage terminal 14. Distribution or content is acquired by access from the signage terminal 14.

  The signage terminal 14 reproduces and displays content data distributed or acquired from the information distribution server 11 via the communication network 12.

  FIG. 2 is an external front view of the signage terminal 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the signage terminal 14 includes a display unit 21 configured as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, a printer unit 22 that prints and issues various tickets, coupons, and the like, and the display unit 21 and the printer unit 22. And a housing portion 24 to be held.

  On the upper part of the housing unit 24, a person is photographed and image recognition is performed, the sex and age group of the person is specified, and the type of information to be distributed is controlled. A microphone 27 for inputting sound for acquiring attributes is incorporated. In addition, a speaker unit 26 that performs various sound outputs such as BGM and advertisement sound is built in the lower portion of the casing 24. Note that processing such as image recognition may be performed by an upstream server such as the information distribution server 11 without being performed by the signage terminal 14.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the signage terminal 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the signage terminal 14 includes a display unit 21, a printer unit 22, a camera unit 25, a speaker unit 26, a microphone 27, a controller 31 that controls the entire signage terminal 14, and various types of users. An operation unit 32 for performing operations, a network communication interface (IF) 33 for communicating with the information distribution server 11 via the communication network 12, and an external storage device for storing various data such as content data 35. The external storage device 35 is realized by a hard disk device (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) device.

  Here, the controller 31 temporarily stores an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 36 that controls the entire controller 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 37 that stores a control program for operating the MPU 36, and various data. And a RAM (Random Access Memory) 38 for storage. Then, the controller 31 causes the MPU 36 to execute the control program stored in the ROM 37 to reproduce the content data distributed from the information distribution server 11 via the communication network 12, and display the reproduced content data on the display unit 21. To display. The operation unit 32 may be configured with various switches, buttons, or the like, or may be configured integrally with the display unit 21 as a touch panel.

  With such a configuration, the signage terminal 14 basically receives or obtains a plurality of content data set in advance as a reproduction schedule by the information distribution server 11. The signage terminal 14 uses the display unit 21 to introduce advertisement information (a moving image obtained by photographing the advertisement product or an advertisement product) related to a product advertised as content data (hereinafter also referred to as “advertisement product”). Or a sentence for explaining), or the speaker unit 26 is used to output a sound for introducing or explaining the advertisement product.

  Next, the information distribution server 11 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the information distribution server 11. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the information distribution server 11 includes a controller 41 that controls the entire information distribution server 11, an operation unit 42 that includes a keyboard and a mouse for a user to perform various operations, and a communication network 12. A network communication interface (IF) 43 for communicating with the signage terminal 14, an external storage device 44 for storing various data and control programs, and a display unit 45 configured as a liquid crystal display. Yes. The external storage device 44 is realized by a hard disk device (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) device.

  Here, the controller 41 includes an MPU 46 that controls the entire controller 41, a ROM 47 that stores a control program for operating the MPU 46, and a RAM 48 that temporarily stores various data.

  That is, the controller 41 controls the operation of various components by the MPU 46 expanding and executing the control program stored in the ROM 47, the external storage device 44, and the like on the RAM 48, and controls the network communication IF 43 and the communication network 12. It controls the operation of transmitting and receiving various data such as content data distributed to each signage terminal 14 with the signage terminal 14 connected via the network.

  The external storage device 44 stores a content database DB1 for accumulating content data. In the present embodiment, the content database DB1 is stored in the external storage device 44 of the information distribution server 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the content database DB1 is connected to the information distribution server 11 via the communication network 12. The content database DB1 may be stored in the storage device (not shown).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of data stored in the content database DB1. As shown in FIG. 5, the content database DB1 stores a content ID as identification information for identifying content, a content name of the content identified by the content ID, and content data identified by the content ID. Has been.

  The content data is, for example, an image for advertising a product to a customer (for example, a video image of the product) for template data representing a screen specializing in the content of a special offer plan that is an event related to product sales promotion. Image, still image, telop, etc.) as material data.

  Further, the external storage device 44 stores a support effect database DB2 for accumulating support effect data for setting what kind of browsing support effect is given to content data according to the viewer attribute. In the present embodiment, the support effect database DB2 is stored in the external storage device 44 of the information distribution server 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, via the information distribution server 11 and the communication network 12. The support effect database DB2 may be stored in a connected storage device (not shown).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of the support effect database DB2. As shown in FIG. 6, the support effect database DB <b> 2 indicates what browsing support effect for the content IDb according to the attribute “a” of the viewer (hereinafter referred to as the viewer) who stops in front of the signage terminal 14. It is the accumulation of the support effect data that set whether to give.

  Here, the browsing support effect is to change the content data into a form that is easy for the viewer to understand according to the attributes (gender, age, nationality, glasses, etc.) of the viewer. Therefore, in the support effect data stored in the support effect database DB2, the support effect c for the content data and the specific effect information d for implementing the support effect are represented by the attributes of the viewer (gender, age). , Nationality, glasses, etc.).

  For example, if the viewer is young (up to 5 years old), the support effect c may be “convert telop kanji to hiragana” or, if it is an elementary school student (up to 10 years old), waving “ruby to telop kanji”. For a reader who is elderly (over 60 years old) or wearing glasses, the effect is “enlarge the character size” or “enlarge the video area”.

  The specific effect information d for implementing the support effect is, for example, a viewer associated with the support effect of “Hiragana conversion” when the content data includes a telop “Today is a bargain”. If it is an attribute (up to 5 years old), it is “Honjitsu XX is funny”.

  Further, if the specific effect information d for implementing the support effect is the attribute (American) of the viewer associated with the support effect of “translate into English”, information obtained by translating the content data into English It is.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 6, when a plurality of support effects are set for content data having the same content ID, a priority e is assigned to each support effect. You may do it. By assigning priority e in this way, for example, when an elementary school student (up to 10 years old) and an elderly person (over 60 years old) are browsing at the same time, the support effect according to one viewer attribute is implemented. Will be able to.

  With such a configuration, the controller 41 of the information distribution server 11 operates the MPU 46 according to the control program stored in the ROM 47 to distribute the content data to the signage terminal 14 according to a time schedule created in advance.

  Next, characteristic functions of the signage terminal 14 will be described. Schematically, in the signage terminal 14, the content display is changed to display contents that are easier to understand for the viewer in accordance with the attribute of the viewer who is a person who stops in front of the signage terminal 14.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the signage terminal 14. The controller 31 operates the MPU 36 according to the control program stored in the ROM 37, thereby obtaining information input means 361, viewer attribute determination means 362, support effect provision means 363, and content to be reproduced as shown in FIG. It functions as reproduction content acquisition means 364.

  The information input unit 361 inputs information on a person within a predetermined range. In the present embodiment, the information input unit 361 obtains information of a viewer who stops in front of the signage terminal 14 from captured image data captured by the camera unit 25 provided in the signage terminal 14 and in front of the signage terminal 14. Information on the viewer who stops is obtained from the voice data collected by the microphone 27 provided in the signage terminal 14.

  The browser attribute determination unit 362 determines the viewer attribute based on the viewer information input by the information input unit 361. As shown in FIG. 7, the viewer attribute determination unit 362 includes an age / sex determination unit 3621 and a language determination unit 3622.

  Age sex determination means 3621 determines the age and sex of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means 361. The language determination unit 3622 determines the language used by the viewer based on the viewer information input by the information input unit 361.

  The support effect providing unit 363 determines the support effect from the support effect data stored in the support effect database DB2 based on the viewer attribute determined by the browser attribute determining unit 362, and provides the support effect to the content data.

  Next, content display processing in the signage system 10 according to the present embodiment described above will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of content display processing in the signage terminal 14. As shown in FIG. 8, first, the MPU 46 of the information distribution server 11 distributes content data to the signage terminal 14 according to a time schedule created in advance, and causes the signage terminal 14 to reproduce the content data.

  When the reproduction content acquisition unit 364 of the signage terminal 14 receives the content data distributed from the information distribution server 11 (Yes in step S1), the information input unit 361 of the signage terminal 14 captures the viewer imaged by the camera unit 25. Information of the viewer such as captured image data and voice data of the viewer collected by the microphone 27 is input (step S2). Note that the captured image data and audio data may be acquired in advance at a predetermined timing (for example, at intervals of 1 minute).

  The browser attribute determination means 362 (age and gender determination means 3621) of the signage terminal 14 determines the age and sex of the viewer (step S3). As a method for determining the age and gender of the viewer by the age and gender determination means 3621, a feature amount is extracted from each viewer's face image of the captured image data by the camera unit 25, and the age of the person based on the feature amount is extracted. A well-known method for determining gender can be used.

  Also, the browser attribute determination unit 362 (language determination unit 3622) of the signage terminal 14 determines the language used for the browser (step S4). As a method of determining the language used for the viewer by the language determination means 3622, voice recognition processing is executed on the voice data of the viewer collected by the microphone 27, and the language used by the person based on the voice recognition result is obtained. It is possible to use a well-known method for discriminating the above.

  When the viewer attribute is acquired as described above, the support effect granting unit 363 of the signage terminal 14 accesses the support effect database DB2 of the information distribution server 11, and the support accumulated in the support effect database DB2 based on the viewer attribute. If the effect data has a browsing support effect corresponding to the content data distributed from the information distribution server 11 (Yes in step S5), the browsing support effect is determined from the support effect data stored in the support effect database DB2. (Step S6), the content data to which the browsing support effect is applied is reproduced (Step S7).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a content image to which the support effect is applied. As shown in FIG. 9, the display unit 21 of the signage terminal 14 has an image to which the support effect (hiragana conversion, addition of ruby, enlargement of character size, etc.) based on the viewer attribute is applied to the original image of the content data. Is displayed.

  On the other hand, the support effect granting unit 363 of the signage terminal 14 has no viewing support effect corresponding to the content data distributed from the information distribution server 11 in the support effect data stored in the support effect database DB2 based on the viewer attribute. (No in step 5), the content data distributed from the information distribution server 11 is reproduced as it is (step S8).

  Since the support effect may not necessarily be necessary for the viewer, it is possible to wait for the determination of the viewer without adding it to the content being reproduced as it is after determining the support effect. In this case, after the support effect is determined, a support start button B for instructing execution of the support effect is displayed on the screen displayed on the display unit 21 of the signage terminal 14 as shown in FIG. Then, the viewer presses the support start button B when the support effect is required, and when the support effect providing unit 363 of the signage terminal 14 recognizes the press of the support start button B, the support effect is converted into the content data. You may make it provide.

  Further, when the support effect providing unit 363 of the signage terminal 14 determines that the target viewer is no longer in the viewing area, the support effect is deleted and the normal content is reproduced.

  According to the embodiment described above, the support effect is determined from the support effect data stored in the support effect database DB2 based on the viewer attribute, and the support effect is given to the content data. Thereby, according to a viewer attribute, a content display can be changed into the display content which is easier to understand for the viewer, and the signage effect can be further enhanced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the camera unit 25 that captures the viewer within the imaging range is used as the information input unit 361 for inputting the information of the viewer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Etc. may be used. When the RFID reader is used, information such as the customer's sex and age is stored together with the customer ID in a storage medium such as a membership card or a mobile phone possessed by the viewer. Then, the RFID reader reads information such as the gender and age group of the viewer from the storage medium of the viewer who is within the communication range of the wireless communication.

  In the present embodiment, the signage system 10 mainly configured by the information distribution server 11 and the plurality of signage terminals 14 is applied as the signage system, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the signage terminal 14 may be applied as a signage system to cause the signage terminal 14 to execute processing operations in the information distribution server 11.

  In the present embodiment, the signer terminal 14 is provided with the viewer attribute determination means 362, and the viewer attribute is determined based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means 361. The browser attribute determination unit 362 may be executed in the information distribution server 11 without being limited thereto.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the signage terminal 14 is provided with a support effect providing unit 363, and the support effect is determined based on the viewer attribute determined by the viewer attribute determining unit 362, and the support effect is provided to the content data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the viewer attribute determination unit 362 is executed in the information distribution server 11 so that the content data with the support effect is distributed to the signage terminal 14. good.

  The program executed in the information distribution server 11 or the signage terminal 14 of the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). And the like recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the program executed by the information distribution server 11 or the signage terminal 14 of the present embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. good. Moreover, you may comprise so that the program run with the information delivery server 11 or the signage terminal 14 of this embodiment may be provided or distributed via networks, such as the internet.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Signage system 11 Information delivery apparatus 14 Signage terminal 361 Information input means 362 Viewer attribute determination means 363 Support effect provision means 364 Playback content acquisition means DB2 Support effect database

JP 2008-249784 A JP 2010-224329 A

Claims (6)

Reproduction content acquisition means for acquiring content data to be reproduced;
Information input means for inputting information of a viewer within a predetermined range;
Browser attribute determination means for determining the attribute of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means;
Means for determining a support effect from the support effect data stored in the support effect database based on the viewer attribute determined by the viewer attribute determination unit, and receiving an instruction to execute the support effect;
After determining the support effect to be applied to the content data , when there is an instruction to execute the support effect, support effect providing means for providing a support effect to the content data;
A signage terminal comprising: The means for receiving an instruction to execute the support effect displays a button for instructing execution of the support effect on the screen of the display unit. When the button is recognized to be pressed, Suppose that there was an instruction to execute,
The signage terminal according to claim 1. The information input means obtains at least one of captured image data and audio data as information of the viewer;
The signage terminal according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The viewer attribute determining means determines the age and sex of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means.
The signage terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The viewer attribute determining means determines a language used by the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means.
The signage terminal according to claim 1, wherein the signage terminal is a signage terminal. In a signage system comprising: a signage terminal that reproduces and displays content data; and an information distribution device that distributes the content data to the signage terminal connected via a communication network.
Information input means for inputting information of a viewer within a predetermined range of the signage terminal;
Browser attribute determination means for determining the attribute of the viewer based on the information of the viewer input by the information input means;
A support effect database that stores support effect data that sets what support effect is given to the content data according to the attributes of the viewer;
Means for determining a support effect from the support effect data based on the viewer attribute determined by the viewer attribute determination unit, and receiving an instruction to execute the support effect;
After determining the support effect to be applied to the content data , when there is an instruction to execute the support effect, support effect providing means for providing a support effect to the content data;
A signage system comprising:

Images