JP5694913B2 - Communication apparatus and communication method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication method, and more particularly to a communication device and a communication method for reproducing content.

  In recent years, there has been an increase in content generation services, such as healthcare services, that accumulate data collected by users in a database on the Internet and publish content generated by service providers based on the data to users on the Web. In such a content generation service, after transmitting data, the user accesses the service provider's Web page or the like and reproduces the content on the user's terminal.

  On the other hand, there is a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) as a specification for reproducing content on a network by a device on a local area network (LAN) in a home. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration of a content access system compliant with the DLNA specification.

  DLNA defines specifications that guarantee interoperability for sharing digital contents between devices of different manufacturers with respect to digital contents. In DLNA, DMC (Digital Media Controller), DMS (Digital Media Server), DMR (Digital Media Renderer, Digital Media Renderer) and the like are defined as device specifications.

  The DMC is a device having a function for operating information home appliances such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) recorder. The DMC performs “search” for information home appliances, “acquisition of specification information”, and “control of functions possessed by the information home appliances” by UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) functions. The DMC also acquires and plays back content stored in the DMS.

  A DMS is a device having functions for storing and distributing content, such as an information home appliance such as a DVD recorder installed in a home network. The DMS performs “notification” and “transmission of specification information” of the DMS itself by the UPnP function. In addition, the DMS notifies the DMC or DMR of a list of contents held by itself.

  The DMR is a device having a function for reproducing content, such as an information home appliance such as a television set installed in a home network. The DMR also performs its own “notification” and “transmission of specification information” using the UPnP function. In addition, the digital content stored in the information home appliance such as the DVD recorder is reproduced.

JP 2009-118112 A

  In the content generation service such as the health care service described above, the user has to access the network by himself / herself in order to view the data processed by the service provider. For example, the user transmits data to the service provider, and after the data processing of the service provider is completed, a personal computer, a smart phone, or a communication terminal such as a television receiver that supports network connection is connected to the service provider's website, etc. It was necessary to check the contents of the processed data. For this reason, even if the processed data is intended to be confirmed at a later date, the confirmation is forgotten, and there is a problem that the user may not be able to confirm the content in a timely manner. Further, if the user accesses the service provider's Web site before the data processing is completed, there is a problem that there is a case where there is no need for access because there is no content to be reproduced.

  On the other hand, the DLNA described in Patent Document 1 enables content on a network to be played back by a device connected to a home LAN or the like. However, the specification stipulated by DLNA does not allow the user to replay the data generated by the service provider based on the data transmitted by the user in a timely manner.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems so that content generated based on data transmitted by a user to a service provider can be reproduced without the user performing an operation of accessing the service provider's server. It is to provide a technique for doing this.

  The communication device of the present invention transmits input data to a service server existing on the network, receives the service content generated by processing the data, an address where the service content is stored, and Media control means for acquiring the address of a playback device that plays back service content and notifying the address of the playback device of the address where the service content is stored.

  The communication method of the present invention transmits input data to a service server existing on a network, receives service content generated by processing the data, and reproduces an address and service content where the service content is stored. The address of the playback device to be acquired is acquired, and the address where the service content is stored is notified to the address of the playback device.

  The present invention has an effect that the content generated by the service provider based on the data provided by the user can be reproduced without the user performing an operation of accessing the server of the service provider.

It is a figure which shows the content reproduction system of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating collection of the measurement data of a user by a collection device. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement from which measurement data is transmitted to a service server from HGW. It is a figure for demonstrating the service content production | generation in a service server. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the service content in HGW. It is a sequence diagram of processing of the content reproduction system of the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the service content which a service content production | generation part produces | generates. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content reproduction system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of the content reproduction system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the content reproduction system of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows another operation | movement flow of a content reproduction system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a content reproduction system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The content reproduction system 100 is configured by connecting an Internet 101 and a home network 105. On the Internet 101, there is a service server 103 that manages services related to content reproduction. The home network 105 includes an HGW (home gateway) 107, a collection device 115, and a DMR 119 therein. The HGW 107 is connected to the Internet 101. The collection device 115 collects various service data. The DMR 119 is a digital media renderer defined by DLNA, for example, a television receiver compatible with DLNA.

The HGW 107 includes a collection device control unit 201, a built-in DMS 109, a built-in DMC 111, and a service server communication control unit 301. The built-in DMS 109 is a digital media server defined by DLNA, and the built-in DMC 111 is a digital media controller defined by DLNA. In the following description, the built-in DMS 109 and the built-in DMC 111 may be collectively referred to as a service viewer control unit 501.
(Description of operation of the first embodiment)
Next, the operation of the content reproduction system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of a series of processes of the content reproduction system according to the first embodiment, and is appropriately referred to in the following description.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining collection of user measurement data by the collection device 115. In FIG. 2, a collection device 115 is connected to the HGW 107. In the first embodiment, the collection device 115 is a device that collects measurement data 205 for a healthcare service used by a user. The measurement data 205 is data for user health management such as blood pressure and weight measured by the measuring machine 203 by the user. The collection device 115 transmits the measurement data collected by the measuring device 203 to the HGW 107 (601 in FIG. 6).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation in which measurement data is transmitted from the HGW 107 to the service server 103. In the HGW 107, the address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the service server 103 is set in advance.

  The HGW 107 collects the measurement data 205 from the collection device 115 by the collection device control unit 201. Then, the HGW 107 transmits the measurement data 205 collected by the collection device control unit 201 to the communication control unit 303 of the service server 103 via the service server communication control unit 301 (603 in FIG. 6).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining service content generation in the service server 103. The service server 103 includes a communication control unit 303, a database management unit 401, a service manager 403, and a service content generation unit 405. The service server 103 receives the measurement data 205 received from the HGW 107 by the communication control unit 303. The database management unit 401 saves and accumulates the received measurement data 205. Based on the data stored in the database management unit 401, the service manager 403 selects a service used by the user who transmitted the data. Then, the service manager 403 causes the service content generation unit 405 to generate service content 411 to be played back by the user according to the selected service (605 in FIG. 6).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of service content generated by the service content generation unit 405 in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the service content generation unit 405 generates the weight transition graph 801 illustrated in FIG. 7 as the service content 411 based on the weight data collected from the user. Of course, the service content is not limited to the weight transition graph. For example, another example of the generated service content 411 may be a graph showing a temporal transition of other measurement data such as blood pressure. Alternatively, the service content may include, but is not limited to, service provider comments regarding measurement data or service content generation results, moving images or still images associated with the service.

  The service server 103 transmits the generated service content 411 to the HGW 107 via the communication control unit 303 (607 in FIG. 6). The service server 103 may automatically transmit the service content 411 to the HGW 107 when the generation of the service content 411 in the service content generation unit 405 is completed. Alternatively, the HGW 107 may prompt the service server 103 to transmit the service content 411 when a predetermined time arrives.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing of the service content 411 in the HGW 107. In FIG. 5, the built-in DMC 111 belonging to the service viewer control unit 501 detects the built-in DMS 109 using the UPnP Discovery protocol (611 in FIG. 6) defined by UPnP (613 in FIG. 6). Similarly, the built-in DMC 111 detects the DMR 119 connected to the HGW 107 (617 in FIG. 6) by the UPnP Discovery protocol (615 in FIG. 6).

  When the service server communication control unit 301 receives the service content 411 from the service server 103 (607 in FIG. 6), the service server communication control unit 301 arranges and stores the content in the built-in DMS 109 of the service viewer control unit 501 (609 in FIG. 6).

  The built-in DMC 111 searches for the service content 411 stored in the built-in DMS, and transmits the searched service content 411 from the built-in DMS to the built-in DMR. The built-in DMC 111 is a CDS. In response to the Browse request (619 in FIG. 6), the service content 411 arranged in the built-in DMS 109 is detected (621 in FIG. 6). Then, the built-in DMC 111 is connected to the AVT. Using the SetAVTransportURI message (623 in FIG. 6), the URL of the service content 411 is notified to the DMR 119 detected by UPnP Discovery (615 in FIG. 6). Subsequently, the built-in DMC 111 is connected to the AVT. A PLAY message (625 in FIG. 6) is notified to the DMR 119. DMR119 is an AVT. The service content 411 is acquired from the built-in DMS 109 using the URL and HTTP: GET request (627 in FIG. 6) notified by the SetAVTransportURI (623 in FIG. 6), and the reproduction of the service content 411 is started (629 in FIG. 6).

  Here, the built-in DMC 111 may manage the detected service content 411 and the DMR 119 that reproduces the service content 411 in association with each other. For example, the type of service content to be played back by the DMR 119 may be registered in the built-in DMC 111 in advance, and the built-in DMC 111 may play back the service content by the DMR 119 only when the registered service content is placed in the DMS 109. . When a plurality of DMRs 119 are connected to the home network 105, the built-in DMC 111 may set the type of service content to be played back for each DMR.

  In the above series of operations, the user can reproduce the service content generated by the service server 103 with the predetermined DMR 119 only by performing the predetermined measurement with the measuring device 203.

  As described above, in the content reproduction system 100 according to the first embodiment, the user can automatically receive and reproduce the service content generated by the service provider based on the data provided by the user. When the service content 411 processed in the DMR 119 is reproduced, it is not necessary for the user to operate the DMR to access the service server 103 in order to reproduce the content.

  That is, the content reproduction system 100 according to the first embodiment can reproduce the content generated by the service provider based on the data provided by the user without the user performing an operation of accessing the server of the service provider. There is an effect.

In the first embodiment, the case where each device is a DLNA compatible device has been described. However, if each device can realize the same function as described above, the specification of each device does not need to comply with DLNA.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a content reproduction system 200 according to the second embodiment of this invention. The content reproduction system 200 shown in FIG. 8 is different from the content reproduction system 100 of the first embodiment in that the HGW 107 does not include the built-in DMS 109.

  In the following description of each embodiment, the same elements and reference numerals are assigned to the already described elements, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the content reproduction system 200 according to the second embodiment. In the content reproduction system 200, the generated service content 411 is stored inside the service server 103. For example, the service data 411 may be stored in the service content generation unit 405. After generating the service content 411 (605 in FIG. 9), the service server 103 transmits the URL of the storage location of the service content 411 to the HGW 107 (901 in FIG. 9). The built-in DMC 111 is AVT. The URL of the service content 411 is notified to the DMR 119 through SetAVTransportURI (623 in FIG. 9). The DMR 119 acquires the service content 411 on the service server 103 using the URL and the HTTP: GET request (627 in FIG. 9), and reproduces the service content 411 (629 in FIG. 9).

In the content reproduction system 200, service content 411 is arranged on the service server 103 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the content reproduction system 200 can reproduce the service content 411 by the DMR 119 without including the built-in DMS 109 having a function of storing the service content 411. As a result, the content reproduction system 200 has an effect that the size and cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts of the HGW 107 in addition to the effect exhibited by the content reproduction system 100 of the first embodiment.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a content reproduction system 300 according to the third embodiment of this invention. As shown in FIG. 10, in the content reproduction system 300, a DMS 151 is disposed outside the HGW 107 in place of the built-in DMS 109 provided in the HGW 107 in the first embodiment. The collection device 115, the DMR 119, and the DMS 151 are connected to the built-in DMC 111 through a network. The content reproduction system 300 can perform the same operation as the content reproduction system 100 of the first embodiment by using the DMS 151 instead of the built-in DMC 111. In the content reproduction system 300, the collection device control unit 201 described in the first and second embodiments is built in the service server communication control unit 301.

  The content reproduction system 300 having such a configuration does not include a DMS inside. Accordingly, in the same manner as the second embodiment, the content reproduction system 300 can be reduced in size and cost by reducing the number of components in addition to the effect exhibited by the content reproduction system 100 of the first embodiment. Play.

  In the content reproduction system 300 according to the third embodiment, the configuration of the HGW 107 can also be described as follows.

  That is, the communication apparatus (HGW 107) includes a communication control unit (service server communication control unit 301) and a media control unit (built-in DMC 111). The communication control means transmits the input data to the service server 103 existing on the network, and receives service content generated by processing the data. The media control means acquires the address where the service content 411 is stored and the address of the playback device that plays back the service content, and notifies the address where the service content is stored to the address of the playback device.

  A communication apparatus having such a configuration transmits data provided by a user to a service server of a service provider. Then, the communication apparatus acquires the address of the service content generated in the service server and the address of the reproducing means for reproducing the service content. As a result, the communication device can reproduce the service content in the reproduction means without the user performing an operation of accessing the service server.

That is, the communication apparatus having the above configuration also has an effect that the content generated by the service provider based on the data provided by the user can be reproduced without the user performing an operation of accessing the server of the service provider. .
(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing still another operation flow of the content reproduction systems 100 to 300 described in the first to third embodiments as a fourth embodiment.

  In FIG. 11, the built-in DMC 111 obtains information about the performance of the DMR 119, for example, the type of content that can be supported by the DMR 119 and the screen size, using the UPnP Get Device Capability message (651 in FIG. 11) (653 in FIG. 11). The built-in DMC 111 transfers the acquired information to the service server communication control unit 301 (654 in FIG. 11). Then, the service server communication control unit 301 transmits the information acquired by the built-in DMC 111 to the service server 103 together with the measurement data (655 in FIG. 9).

  The service server 103 generates service content based on the information of the DMR 119 received from the built-in DMC 111. For example, when the response speed of the image display of the DMR 119 is low, the service content generation unit 405 may generate the service content 411 so as to suppress the movement when a moving image is included. As a result, in addition to the effects described in the first to third embodiments, the content reproduction system of the fourth embodiment can provide the user with service content 411 that is suitable for the performance of the DMR 119.

In addition, although embodiment of this invention can be described also as the following additional remarks, it is not limited to the following.
(Appendix 1)
Communication control means for transmitting input data to a service server existing on a network and receiving the service content generated by processing the data;
Media control means for acquiring an address where the service content is stored and an address of a playback device that plays the service content, and notifying the address of the playback device of the address where the service content is stored;
A communication device comprising:
(Appendix 2)
The communication apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the media control means is a digital media controller compatible with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), and the playback apparatus is a digital media renderer compatible with DLNA.
(Appendix 3)
The communication apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, further comprising media storage means for storing the service content, wherein the media control means transmits an instruction to play the service content stored in the media storage means to the playback apparatus. .
(Appendix 4)
The communication apparatus according to appendix 3, wherein the media storage unit is a DLNA compatible digital media server.
(Appendix 5)
The communication apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein the media storage unit can be connected to the outside of the communication apparatus.
(Appendix 6)
The communication device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, wherein the media control unit further acquires capability information indicating the playback capability of the playback device and transmits the acquired capability information to the service server.
(Appendix 7)
A service server, comprising: transmission / reception means for receiving data from the communication device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6 and transmitting the service content generated based on the data to the communication device.
(Appendix 8)
The service server according to appendix 7, further comprising content storage means for storing the service content, wherein the service content is transmitted to the playback means based on a request received from the playback means for playing back the service content.
(Appendix 9)
A communication device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6;
A service server that generates service content based on data received from the communication device and transmits the service content to the communication device;
Playback means for playing back the service content connected to the communication device;
A communication system comprising:
(Appendix 10)
The communication device described in appendix 6,
A service server that generates the service content based on data received from the communication device and capability information indicating a playback capability of a playback device that plays the service content, and transmits the service content to the communication device;
Playback means for playing back the service content connected to the communication device;
A communication system comprising:
(Appendix 11)
Send the entered data to the service server on the network,
Processing the data to generate service content;
Receiving the service content;
Obtaining an address where the service content is stored and an address of a playback device for playing the service content;
Notifying the address of the playback device of the address where the service content is stored;
Communication method.

100, 200, 300 Content playback system 101 Internet 103 Service server 105 Home network 107 HGW
109 Built-in DMS
111 Built-in DMC
115 Collection device 119 DMR
151 DMS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 201 Collecting apparatus control part 203 Measuring device 205 Control part 301 Service server communication control part 303 Communication control part 401 Database management part 403 Service manager 405 Service content generation part 411 Service content 501 Service viewer control part

Claims (8)

The service generated by transmitting input data and capability information indicating the playback capability of a playback device that plays back service content to a service server existing on the network, and processing the data based on the capability information Communication control means for receiving content from the service server;
Media storage means for storing the service content;
An address of the media storage means storing the service content and an address of a playback device that plays back the service content are acquired, and an address where the service content is stored and an instruction to play the stored service content Media control means for notifying the address of the playback device;
A communication device comprising:   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the media control means is a digital media controller compatible with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), and the playback device is a digital media renderer compatible with DLNA.   The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the media storage unit is a DLNA compatible digital media server.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a connection unit capable of connecting the media storage unit to the outside. A service server, comprising: transmission / reception means for receiving data from the communication device according to claim 1 and transmitting the service content generated based on the data to the communication device.   6. The service server according to claim 5, further comprising content storage means for storing the service content, wherein the service content is transmitted to the playback means based on a request received from the playback means for playing back the service content. A communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
A service server that generates service content based on data received from the communication device and transmits the service content to the communication device;
Playback means for playing back the service content connected to the communication device;
A communication system comprising: Transmitting the input data and capability information indicating the playback capability of the playback device that plays back the service content to a service server existing on the network;
Receiving and storing the service content generated by processing the data based on the capability information from the service server;
Obtain the address where the service content is stored and the address of the playback device,
Notifying the address of the playback device of the address where the service content is stored and the playback instruction of the stored service content ;
Communication method.

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