JPH08202521A - Multimedia communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To switch a GUI screen in hierarchical structure fast as to the multimedia communication system wherein a terminal equipment requests a service of server through the GUI screen. CONSTITUTION: When providing a terminal device 2-1 a service, the server 1 sends display data on the GUI screen of a 1st layer to the terminal device 2-1, selects the partial GUI screen of the highest frequency of use out of plural GUI screen of a 2nd layer having possibility to be displayed next, and sends the display data of the selected GUID screen to the terminal device 2-1 in advance. Consequently, the terminal equipment 2-1 displays the GUI screen of the 1st layer at a display part 24 and stores the display data of the GUI screen of the 2nd layer sent in advance. On condition that the display data of a GUI screen to be displayed are stored in a storage part 23 when the next GUI screen is displayed, the display data are utilized to display the GUI screen, but when the data are not stored, a request for the display data is sent to the server 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a GUI (Graphical User) having a hierarchical structure in which a server for providing various services and a terminal device of a user are connected by a bidirectional communication line and sequentially displayed on a display unit of the terminal device. Interf
ace) related to the multimedia communication method in which the server provides the terminal device with the service requested by the user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A multi-computer which connects a terminal device such as a personal computer and a workstation to a server through a bidirectional communication line and provides various services such as video on demand to the terminal device in response to a request from the terminal device. Media communication systems have been known for some time.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a network system which realizes the above-mentioned multimedia communication system, and a plurality of terminal devices 101-1 to 10-1 to 10-10.
1-m, 102-1 to 102-n are connected to local area networks (LAN) 104 and 105, and a plurality of servers 103-1 to 103-p are connected to LAN 1
06, and a wide area network (WAN) 107 that connects the LANs 104 to 106.

Terminal devices 101-1 to 101-m, 102
-1 to 102-n are users of the servers 103-1 to 10-3.
When using the service provided by 3-p, a predetermined terminal operation is performed. As a result, a request is sent from the terminal device to the server of the service provider through the bidirectional communication lines LAN and WAN, and the server that receives the request receives the LAN and W.
A service is provided to the requesting terminal device via the AN.

By the way, in the multimedia communication system as described above, in order to make the operation of issuing a request from the terminal device to the server easy for the user of the terminal device, a GUI screen having a hierarchical structure is displayed. It is generally used.

FIG. 14 shows the video on demand.
It is the figure which showed an example of the GUI screen displayed on the display part of a terminal device when receiving a video service.

When the terminal device and the server are connected via the bidirectional communication line, the display data of the GUI screen of the highest layer (first layer) shown in FIG. 14A is sent from the server to the terminal device. To be The terminal device displays the GUI screen of the first layer shown in FIG. 14A on the display unit according to the display data from the server. In the GUI screen of the first layer,
A video service button that is pressed when receiving a video service, a TV service button that is pressed when receiving a TV service, and a game service button that is pressed when receiving a game service are displayed.

The user of the terminal device who wants to receive the video service presses the video service button when the first level GUI screen is displayed. As a result, the terminal device transmits push button information indicating that the video service button has been pushed to the server via the two-way communication line.

Upon receiving the push button information, the server selects, from among the GUI screens of the second layer existing for each of the video service, TV service, and game service,
The GUI screen of the second layer of the video service is selected, and the display data of the selected GUI screen is transmitted to the terminal device. As a result, the terminal device displays the second level GUI screen of the video service shown in FIG. 14B on the display unit. On this GUI screen, a Western picture selection button to be pressed when selecting a Western picture and a Japanese picture selection button to be pressed when selecting a Japanese picture are displayed.

When the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14 (B) is displayed, the user of the terminal device presses a Western picture selection button to watch a Western picture video, and selects a Japanese picture to watch a Japanese picture video. Press the button. Now, for example, if the Western picture selection button is pressed, the terminal device transmits the pressed button information indicating this to the server.

Upon receiving the push button information from the terminal device, the server selects the GUI screen of the third layer to be displayed on the terminal device when the Western picture selection button is pushed from among the plurality of GUI screens of the third layer. Then, the display data of the selected GUI screen is transmitted to the terminal device. Thereby, the terminal device displays the GUI screen of the third layer shown in FIG. 14C on the display unit. In the GUI screen of the third layer,
"Love", "Comedy", "Action", "S.
F. The genre selection button for "" is displayed.

When the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14C is displayed, the user of the terminal device presses the genre selection button corresponding to the genre he / she wants to watch. Now, for example, "love"
If the genre selection button corresponding to is pressed,
The terminal device transmits push button information indicating that to the server.

When the server receives the push button information from the terminal device, the fourth screen displayed on the terminal device when the genre selection button corresponding to "love" is pushed from among the plurality of fourth-layer GUI screens. The GUI screen of the hierarchy is selected, and the display data of the selected GUI screen is transmitted to the terminal device. Thereby, the terminal device displays the GUI screen of the fourth layer shown in FIG. 14D on the display unit. On the GUI screen of the fourth layer, a plurality of title selection buttons and a play button are displayed.

When the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14 (D) is displayed, the user of the terminal device presses the title selection button corresponding to the video desired to be watched and the play button. Accordingly, the push button information corresponding to the button operation is transmitted from the terminal device to the server, and when the server receives the push button information, the video source is distributed to the terminal device.

[0015]

As described above, conventionally, the server selects and selects the GUI screen of the next layer to be displayed next on the terminal device based on the push button information sent from the terminal device. Since the display data of the GUI screen is transmitted to the terminal device, the display data of the GUI screen is affected by the transmission time of the display data of the GUI screen, the time required for the selection process of the GUI screen, and the like to display the GUI screen of the next layer. There is a problem that the response time from the time the operation is performed until the next GUI screen is actually displayed becomes long.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-216157, the terminal device requests the server for display data of a screen to be displayed next to the currently displayed screen, and in response to this request, the server defers the display data. A technique is disclosed in which the received display data is stored in a display frame buffer in the terminal device and the display data stored in the display frame buffer is used when the next screen is displayed. This technique enables the next screen to be displayed at high speed when the screen to be displayed next is uniquely determined, for example, when each page of a book is displayed in page order.
However, there are a plurality of candidates for the next display screen, and the next display screen is different depending on the operation content of the previous screen. GUI
In the case of a screen, the above-described technique cannot be applied because the screen to be displayed next is not uniquely determined. It is also possible to postpone all display data of the GUI screen that may be displayed next to the terminal device,
This causes a problem that a large-capacity memory for storing the display data that has been postponed to the terminal device is required.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to select some GUI screens that are likely to be displayed from among the GUI screens that are likely to be displayed next, and to display only the data relating to the selected GUI screen. By postponing to the terminal device,
Even if the terminal device does not have a large capacity memory,
It is intended to shorten the response time from the operation for displaying the UI screen to the actual display of the GUI screen of the next layer.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention connects a server for providing various services and a terminal device by a bidirectional communication line, and sequentially displays them on a display unit of the terminal device. In a multimedia communication method in which a service of a type requested by a user is provided from the server through the bidirectional communication line through a GUI screen having a hierarchical structure, the server is currently displayed on a display unit of the terminal device. From all the GUI screens of the next layer that may be displayed next to the GUI screen of the displayed layer, select some GUI screens to be postponed to the terminal device based on the past usage frequency. , A first control means for forwarding data relating to the selected GUI screen to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device is a GU which has been forwarded from the server.
When it becomes necessary to display a storage unit for storing data regarding the I screen and a GUI screen of the next layer on the display unit, data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed on the display unit is stored in the storage unit. In this case, the second control means for displaying the GUI screen on the display unit using the data is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the GUI screen to be displayed next can be displayed even when the data relating to the GUI screen to be displayed next has not been postponed to the terminal device. When the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed on the display unit is not stored in the storage unit, the control means of 2 requests the server for the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed and responds to the request. Then, the GUI screen is displayed on the display unit according to the data related to the GUI screen sent from the server, and the first control means transmits the data related to the GUI screen requested by the terminal device to the terminal device.

Further, according to the present invention, each terminal device connected to the server via the two-way communication line is provided so that data relating to a GUI screen that is likely to be displayed next can be postponed to the terminal device. A usage frequency table storing the usage frequency of each GUI screen in
When selecting a GUI screen to be postponed to the terminal device, the control means selects the GUI screen to be postponed based on the usage frequency of each GUI screen in the terminal device stored in the usage frequency table. To do.

[0021]

The first control means provided in the server selects from among all GUI screens of the next layer that may be displayed next to the GUI screen of the layer currently displayed on the display unit of the terminal device. , A part of GUI screens to be postponed to the terminal device is selected based on the past use frequency, and the data regarding the selected GUI screen is postponed to the terminal device.

The delayed data regarding the GUI screen is stored in the storage unit of the terminal device. Then, in the terminal device, when it becomes necessary to display the GUI screen of the next layer on the display unit, the second control means provided in the terminal device causes the GUI to be displayed next in the storage unit. When the data regarding the screen is stored, the GUI screen is displayed on the display unit by using the data. When the storage unit does not store the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed next, the second control unit requests the server regarding the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed next.

When the above-mentioned request is received, the first control means provided in the server transmits the data regarding the requested GUI screen to the terminal device, and the second control means provided in the terminal device. , GU from server in response to request
When the data regarding the I screen is sent, the GUI screen is displayed on the display unit according to the data.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which a server 1 for providing various services and a plurality of terminal devices 2-1 to 2-i are connected via a bidirectional communication line 3 such as ISDN. It is connected.

The server 1 includes a data communication means 11 and a first
Control unit 12, storage unit 13, search unit 14, usage frequency table 15, display data creation unit 16, G
A UI screen management information storage unit 17 is provided.

The data communication means 11 includes terminal devices 2-1 to 2-1.
2-i has a function of performing bidirectional communication.

The GUI screen management information storage unit 17 stores information for managing a GUI screen having a hierarchical structure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 and shows the following.

A. There is only one GUI screen with the identifier I1 as the GUI screen of the first hierarchy (the highest hierarchy).

B. The GUI screen of the second layer that can be displayed next to the GUI screen of which the identifier of the first layer is I1 is 3
Exist, and their identifiers are T2, V2, and G2. The GUI screens with the identifiers T2, V2, G2 are displayed when the TV service button, the video service button, and the game service button are pressed, respectively.

C. The GUI screen of the third layer that can be displayed next to the GUI screen of which the identifier of the second layer is V2 is 2
Exist, and their identifiers are V3-1 and V3-2. The GUI screens with the identifiers V3-1 and V3-2 are displayed when the Western picture selection button and the Japanese picture selection button are pressed, respectively.

D. GUI whose third-level identifier is V3-1
There are four fourth-layer GUI screens that can be displayed next to the screens, and their identifiers are V4-1, V4-2, and V4.
-3 and V4-4. Also, the identifiers are V4-1 and V4.
The GUI screens of V-2, V4-3, and V4-4 are the romance, comedy, action, and S.S. F. It is displayed when the genre selection button is pressed.

E. GUI whose third-level identifier is V3-2
There are three fourth-level GUI screens that can be displayed next to the screens, and their identifiers are V4-5, V4-6, V4.
-7.

F. The identifiers of the fourth layer are V4-1 to V4-
The GUI screen of No. 7 is the GUI screen of the lowest hierarchy.

In the following description, the GUI screen of the identifier I1 is the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14A, and the GUI screen of the identifier V2 is the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14B.
The GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 is the GUI shown in FIG.
The GUI screen of the identifier V4-1 is displayed on the I screen as shown in FIG.
It corresponds to the GUI screen shown in.

In the usage frequency table 15, each terminal device 2
The usage frequency of each GUI screen in -1 to 2-i is stored.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the usage frequency table 15. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 2-1 has previously displayed the GUI screen of the identifier T2 three times and the GUI screen of the identifier V2.
This indicates that the screen is used 100 times, the GUI screen of the identifier G2 is used 10 times, the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 is used 80 times, and the GUI screen of the identifier V3-2 is used 20 times.

The storage unit 13 stores definition data defining each GUI screen. The definition data that defines the GUI screen includes data indicating the position, size, etc. of each push button in the GUI screen.

The first control means 12 is a terminal device 2-j.
(1 ≦ j ≦ i) A function of acquiring from the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 the identifier of the GUI screen of the next layer that may be displayed next to the GUI screen currently displayed, and the GUI that acquired the identifier. From the screen, a function of selecting a part of GUI screens to be postponed to the terminal device 2-j based on the past usage frequency stored in the usage frequency table 15 and a search for definition data of the selected GUI screen are performed. It has a function of instructing the search means 14.

The retrieval means 14 has a function of retrieving the GUI screen definition data instructed by the first control means 12 from the storage section 13.

The display data creating means 16 is the searching means 14
Has a function of creating display data of the GUI screen from the definition data of the GUI screen searched by.

The terminal device 2-1 comprises the data communication means 21.
A second control unit 22, a storage unit 23, and a display unit 24.
And an operation unit 25. The other terminal devices also have the same configuration as the terminal device 2-1.

The data communication means 21 has a function of performing bidirectional communication with the server 1.

The second control means 22 has a function of storing the display data of the GUI screen deferred from the server 1 in the storage unit 23, and when a button on the GUI screen displayed on the display unit 24 is pressed. When the display data of the GUI screen corresponding to the pressed button is stored in the storage unit 23, the GUI screen is displayed on the display unit 24 using the display data and the pressed button information is transmitted to the server 1. If it is not stored, the push button information with a display request is sent to the server 1, and if the display data of the GUI screen is sent from the server 1 in response to this, the display is displayed. It has a function of displaying a GUI screen on the display unit using data.

The storage unit 23 stores the display data of the GUI screen which is deferred from the server 1 and the like.

4 and 5 are flowcharts showing an example of processing of the terminal device 2-1 and FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing an example of processing of the server 1. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Will be explained.

When using the service provided by the server 1, the user of the terminal device 2-1 first performs an operation for connecting the server 1 and the terminal device 2-1 using the operation unit 25.

When this operation is performed, the second control means 22 in the terminal device 2-1 sends a line connection request to the server 1 via the data communication means 21 (FIG. 4, step S).
1).

When the first control means 12 in the server 1 receives the line connection request via the data communication means 11, the first control means 12 performs line connection processing (FIG. 6, step S21). After that, the first control unit 12 instructs the search unit 14 to search the GUI screen of the first layer (step S22). That is, the first control means 12 has the G content shown in FIG.
By referring to the UI screen management information storage unit 17, it is found that the identifier of the GUI screen of the first layer is I1, and therefore the search means 14 is instructed to search for the definition data of the GUI screen having the identifier of I1. . As a result, the search means 1
4 retrieves the definition data of the GUI screen of the first layer from the storage unit 13 and passes the retrieved definition data to the first control means 12.

When the first control means 12 receives the definition data of the first level GUI screen from the search means 14, the first control means 12 transfers it to the display data creating means 16 (step S23).
Thereby, the display data creating means 16 creates the display data of the GUI screen of the first layer which can be immediately displayed on the terminal device 2-1 based on the above definition data, and the created display data is used as the data communication means. Terminal device 2 using 11
Send to -1.

Second control means 22 in the terminal device 2-1
When the display data of the GUI screen of the first layer transmitted from the server 1 is received via the data communication unit 21, the storage unit 23 stores the display data and the display unit 2
No. 4 is displayed (FIG. 4, steps S2 and S3).

On the other hand, in the server 1, when the display data of the GUI screen of the first layer is transmitted to the terminal device 2-1, use of each of the plurality of GUI screens that may be displayed next on the terminal device 2-1. The frequency is calculated, and a predetermined number of GUI screens are selected in order from the one with the highest usage frequency (FIG. 6, step S24).

The process of step S24 will be described in detail below. First, the first control means 12 is G
The GUI of the first layer by referring to the UI screen management information storage unit 17
The identifier of the GUI screen that may be displayed next to the I screen is acquired. Since the contents of the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 are as shown in FIG. 2, the first control means 12
Is T2, V2, as an identifier of a displayable GUI screen.
You will get G2. Then, the first control means 1
2 refers to the usage frequency table 15 to identify the identifiers T2 and V
A predetermined number of frequently used screens are selected from the GUI screens of G2 and G2. Since the content of the usage frequency table 15 is as shown in FIG. 3, assuming that the number to be selected is one, the first control means 12 will select the GUI screen with the identifier V2.

When the GUI screen with the identifier V2 is selected in step S24, the first control means 12 causes the search means 14 to operate.
Is instructed to select the definition data of the GUI screen of the identifier V2 (step S25). As a result, the search unit 14 searches the storage unit 13 for the definition data of the GUI screen with the identifier V2, and passes the searched definition data to the first control unit 12.

The first control means 12 is the first control means 1
When the definition data of the GUI screen having the identifier V2 is passed from 2, the GUI screen of the identifier V2 is the GUI screen to be displayed when the video service button is pressed, while passing it to the display data creating means 16. Information indicating the display trigger is also passed to the display data creating means 16 (step S26). Thereby, the display data creating means 16
The display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V2 is created, and the created display data and the information indicating the display trigger are transmitted to the terminal device 2-1 using the data communication unit 11 (step S26). Through the above process, the display data of the GUI screen with the highest frequency of use among the GUI screens that may be displayed next on the terminal device 2-1 is postponed to the terminal device 2-1. .

After that, the first control means 12 sets the GUI screen currently displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2-1 in the memory (not shown) with the identifier (I1 in this case) as the terminal state. (FIG. 7, step S27), and waits for the push button information to be sent from the terminal device 2-1 (step S28).

When the data communication means 21 receives via the data communication means 21 the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V2 and the information indicating the display trigger sent from the server 1, the data communication means 21 stores them in the storage unit 23 ( FIG. 5, step S12). Whether or not the information has been postponed can be determined based on the presence or absence of the information indicating the display opportunity.

Therefore, the terminal device 2-1 at this point
As shown in FIG. 8, the state of
The GUI screen is displayed, and the identifier that has been postponed to the storage unit 23 is in a state of holding the display data of the GUI screen of V2 and the information indicating the display trigger. That is, the display unit 24
The GUI screen shown in FIG. 14A is displayed on the storage unit 23.
14B, the display data of the GUI screen shown in FIG.

The identifier I shown in FIG.
When the GUI screen of No. 1 is displayed, the user of the terminal device 2-1 uses the operation unit 25 to display the video service button, TV
One of service button or game service button
Press one. Now, for example, it is assumed that the video service button is pressed.

When the video service button is pressed (FIG. 4, step S4), the second control means 22 stores the display data of the GUI screen displayed when the video service button is pressed in the storage unit 23. It is determined whether or not (step S5). In this case, since the storage unit 23 stores the display data of the GUI screen with the identifier V2 and the information indicating that the display trigger is the pressing of the video service button, the determination result of step S5 is YES. .

If the decision result in the step S5 is YES, the second control means 22 sends push-button information indicating that the video service button has been pushed, to the data communication means 2.
1 to the server 1 (step S6), and
The GUI screen shown in FIG. 14B is displayed on the display unit 24 using the display data of the GUI screen with the identifier V2 stored in the storage unit 23 (step S7), and then the process returns to step S4. Therefore, the state of the terminal device 2-1 at this time is G of the identifier V2 as shown in FIG.
The UI screen is displayed on the display unit 24.

When the first control means 12 in the server 1 receives the push button information indicating that the video service button is pushed via the data communication means 11 (FIG. 7, step S28), the received push button is received. It is determined that the GUI screen displayed on the terminal device 2-1 is the GUI screen of the identifier V2 based on the information, the contents of the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 and the terminal state set in the memory, and the GUI screen management information is displayed. Terminal device 2-1 stored in storage unit 17
Among the number of times of use of each GUI screen in the above, the number of times of use of the GUI screen with the identifier V2 is incremented by 1 (step S29).

After that, the first control means 12 obtains the frequency of use of the plurality of GUI screens that may be displayed next on the terminal device 2-1, and selects a predetermined number of frequently used screens.
(Step S33).

The process of step S33 will be described in detail below. First, the first control means 12 is G
Referring to the UI screen management information storage unit 17, the current terminal device 2
The identifier of the GUI screen in which the identifier displayed as -1 may be displayed next to the GUI screen of V2 is acquired. In this case, since the contents of the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 are as shown in FIG. 2, the identifiers V3-1 and V3
-2 will be acquired. Identifiers V3-1, V3-
When 2 is acquired, the first control unit 12 refers to the usage frequency table 15 and refers to the GUI of the identifiers V3-1 and V3-2.
From the screen, select a predetermined number (one) that is frequently used. In this case, since the contents of the usage frequency table 15 are as shown in FIG. 3, the first control means 12 has the identifier V
The GUI screen of 3-1 will be selected.

In step S33, the GU having the identifier V3-1
When the I screen is selected, the first control means 12 instructs the search means 14 to search for the definition data of the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 (step S34). As a result, the search means 14 causes the storage unit 13 to store the identifier V3-1.
The GUI screen definition data is searched, and the searched definition data is passed to the first control means 12.

When the definition data of the GUI screen whose identifier is V3-1 is passed from the searching means 14, the first control means 12 passes it to the display data creating means 16 and also the GUI screen whose identifier is V3-1. Also passes to the display data creating means 16 information indicating a display trigger indicating that the screen is a GUI screen displayed when the Western image selection button is pressed (step S35). Thereby, the display data creating means 16 creates the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1, and forwards the created display data and the information indicating the display trigger to the terminal device 2-1 using the data communication means 11. . After that, the first control unit 12 determines that the terminal status is the identifier V2.
(Step S27), and waits for the push button information to be sent from the terminal device 2-1 (step S2).
8).

Second control means 22 in the terminal device 2-1
Is the GU with the identifier V3-1 via the data communication means 21.
When the display data of the I screen and the information indicating the display trigger are received, they are stored in the storage unit 23 (FIG. 5, step S12). Therefore, the terminal device 2-1 at this point
10, the GUI screen of the identifier V2 is displayed on the display unit 24, and the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 that has been postponed is held in the storage unit 23.

By the way, when the state of the terminal device 2-1 is as shown in FIG.
If the video service button is pressed while the GUI screen shown in FIG. 4 (A) is displayed and the display data of the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14 (B) of the identifier V2 is postponed, the above processing is performed. However, if the TV service button is pressed at this time, the following processing is performed.

The second control means 22 performs step S in FIG.
When it is detected that the TV service button is pressed in step 4, it is determined whether the display data stored in the storage unit 23 is the data of the GUI screen displayed when the TV service button is pressed (step S5). ). In this case, the storage unit 23 stores the display data of the GUI screen whose identifier is V2 to be displayed when the video service button is pressed, and the display data of the GUI screen displayed when the TV service button is pressed is Since it is not stored in the storage unit 23, the determination result of step S5 is NO.

If the decision result in the step S5 is NO,
The second control means 22 transmits the push button information with display request to the server 1 by using the data communication means 21 in order to obtain the display data of the GUI screen displayed when the TV service button is pushed from the server 1. (Step S
8). Here, the push button information with display request is obtained by adding a push request to the push button information indicating the pushed button with a display request to request the display data of the GUI screen displayed when the button is pushed.

When the first control means 12 of the server 1 receives the above-mentioned push button information with display request via the data communication means 11 (FIG. 7, step S28), the usage frequency table 15 is used in the same manner as described above. Is updated (step S29).

Thereafter, since the pressed button information received this time is the button pressed information with the display request (step S
31), the first control means 12 performs the process of step S36.

In step S36, the first control means 12 determines that the push button information with display request indicates the push of the TV service button, and the contents of the GUI screen management information storage unit 17 are as shown in FIG. Requested by the GUI
The display data of the screen is determined to be the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier T2, and the search means 14 is instructed to search the definition data of the GUI screen (step S36). As a result, the search unit 14 searches the storage unit 13 for the definition data of the GUI screen with the identifier T2, and passes it to the first control unit 12.

The first control means 12 controls the G of the identifier T2.
When the definition data of the UI screen is delivered, the definition data is delivered to the display data creating means 16 (step S37). As a result, the display data creating means 16 causes the G of the identifier T2
The display data of the UI screen is created, and the created display data is transmitted to the terminal device 2-1 via the data communication unit 11.

The second control means 22 of the terminal device 2-1 is
When the display data of the GUI screen with the identifier T2 is received via the data communication means 21, it is stored in the storage unit 23 (step S11 in FIG. 4,) and further displayed on the display unit 24 (step S7).

On the other hand, the first control means 12 of the server 1
When the display data of the GUI screen having the identifier T2 is transmitted to the terminal device 2-1 in step S37 of FIG. 7, the terminal device 2-
The frequency of use of all GUI screens (in this case, GUI screens with identifiers T3-1 and T3-2) that may be displayed in 1 is calculated, and a predetermined number (one) is selected with a high frequency of use. , The display data of the selected GUI screen and the information indicating the display trigger thereof are postponed to the terminal device 2-1 (step S3).
3, S34, S35). Now, for example, if the GUI screen with the identifier T3-1 is used more frequently, the first control means 12 sends the display data of the GUI screen with the identifier T3-1 and the information indicating the display trigger to the terminal. It will be postponed to the device 2-1.

The second control means 22 of the terminal device 2-1 is
The data communication means 21 uses the above-mentioned GUI of the identifier T3-1.
When the display data of the screen and the information indicating the display trigger are received, they are stored in the storage unit 23 (FIG. 5, step S12).

Therefore, at this point, the terminal device 2-
In the state of No. 1, as shown in FIG. 11, the GUI screen of the identifier T2 is displayed on the display unit 24 and the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier T3-1 that has been deferred to the storage unit 23 is held. Become.

As described above, even if the display data of the GUI screen to be displayed next is not postponed to the terminal device 2-1, the next GUI screen can be displayed.
All GUs that may be displayed next to the next GUI screen
Among the I screens, the display data of the GUI screen with the highest frequency of use in the past can be postponed to the terminal device 2-1.

Again, the operation will be described by returning to the state where the terminal device 2-1 is in the state shown in FIG.

When the terminal device 2-1 is in the state shown in FIG.
When the video service button is pressed, the processing described above is performed, and the state of the terminal device 2-1 becomes as shown in FIG. That is, the identifier shown in FIG.
2 GUI screen is displayed, and FIG.
The display data of the GUI screen whose identifier is V3-1 is stored.

In the state shown in FIG. 10, it is assumed that the user of the terminal device 2-1 presses the Western picture selection button.
When the second control means 22 of the terminal device 2-1 detects this in step S4 of FIG. 4, the display data of the GUI screen displayed when the Western picture selection button is pressed is stored in the storage unit 2.
It is determined whether or not the data is stored in step 3 (step S
5). In this case, since the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 displayed when the Western picture selection button is pressed is stored in the storage unit 23, the determination result of step S5 is YES. Thereby, the second control means 22
In the same manner as described above, the push button information indicating that the foreign-image selection button has been pushed is transmitted to the server 1 and displayed using the display data of the GUI screen of the identifier V3-1 stored in the storage unit 23. The GUI screen shown in FIG. 12C is displayed on the section 24 (steps S6 and S7).

When the first control means 12 of the server 1 receives the push button information through the data communication means 11 (FIG. 7, step S28), the contents of the use frequency table 15 are updated in the same manner as described above. Yes (Step S2
9).

Next, the first control means 12 uses the past GUI screen among the GUI screens (GUI screens with identifiers V4-1 to V4-4) that may be displayed next on the terminal device 2-1. GUI screen with the highest frequency (GU with identifier V4-1
The display data of the I screen) and the information indicating the display trigger are forwarded to the terminal device 2-1 (step S33), and then the identifier V3-1 is set as the terminal state (step S27).

The second control means 22 of the terminal device 2-1 is
When the above information is received via the data communication unit 21, it is stored in the storage unit 23 (FIG. 5, step S1).
2). Therefore, the state of the terminal device 2-1 at this time is as shown in FIG.
1 GUI screen is displayed, and the identifier is V4 in the storage unit 23.
The display data of the -1 GUI screen is stored.

The terminal device 2-1 is in the state shown in FIG. 12, that is, when the identifier on the display unit 24 is V3-1, G shown in FIG.
When the user presses the genre selection button for selecting the genre “love” in the state where the UI screen is displayed (FIG. 4, step S4), the second control means 22
Is a GU whose identifier corresponding to the above push button is V4-1.
Since the display data of the I screen is stored in the storage unit 23, the push button information is transmitted to the server 1, and the display data stored in the storage unit 23 is used to display the identifier V4 in the display unit 24. The GUI screen shown in FIG. 14D of No. 1 is displayed (steps S5 to S7).

When the first control means 12 of the server 1 receives the push button information via the data communication means 11,
(FIG. 7, step S28), the contents of the usage frequency table 15 are updated in the same manner as described above (step S2).
9). After that, the first control means 12 controls the terminal device 2-1.
The push button information sent from
(Step S31 is NO), and since the identifier V3-1 set as the terminal state in the memory is the GUI screen identifier of the (lowermost -1) layer (step S3)
2 is YES), the process of step S27 is performed without performing the display data forwarding process shown in steps S33 to S35, and the identifier V4-1 is set in the memory as the terminal state. That is, the GU of the (lowest -1) layer is added to the terminal device 2-1
When the I screen is displayed, the display data of the GUI screen of the lowest hierarchy displayed next by the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2-1 has already been postponed. Is not done.

The user of the terminal device 2-1 has the display unit 24.
When the GUI screen shown in FIG. 14D is displayed, the title selection button corresponding to the title of the video to be watched is pressed, and further the play button is pressed.

The second control means 22 of the terminal device 2-1 is
When this is detected in step S4 of FIG. 4, since the display data of the GUI screen corresponding to the pressed button is not stored in the storage unit 23, the pressed button information with display request is transmitted (step S5). S8).

When the first control means 12 of the server 1 receives the above-mentioned push button information via the data communication means 11 (FIG. 7, step S28), the usage frequency table 15 is updated in the same manner as described above. (Step S29).

After that, the first control means 12 determines that the identifier V4-1 set as the terminal state in the memory is the identifier of the GUI screen of the lowest layer (step S
30), the service source corresponding to the push button information is provided to the terminal device 2-1 (step S38).

The first control means 12 of the terminal device 2-1 is
When the service source is provided from the server 1 (FIG. 4, step S9), the service source is used (step S10).

In the embodiment described above, the frequency of use of each GUI screen in each terminal device is managed in the use frequency table, and when the display data of the GUI screen is postponed to the terminal device, Although the GUI screen to which display data is postponed is selected based on the past use frequency of the GUI screen of the terminal device, the use frequency of the GUI screen of the entire system is managed, and the display is postponed based on that. It is also possible to select data. But,
The service contents used by the users of the terminal devices are biased, and the GUI screens used are also biased accordingly. Therefore, the GUI screen that is most likely to be displayed next is more like the embodiment. Data can be postponed.

Also, in the embodiment, the display data of the GUI screen is postponed, but the definition data of the GUI screen is postponed and the display data is created from the definition data in the terminal device. You can also

Further, in the embodiment, the usage frequency of the GUI screen is managed on the server side, but each terminal device manages the usage frequency of the GUI screen on its own terminal device, When selecting the GUI screen to be postponed, the GUI screen to be postponed may be selected using the frequency of use of the GUI screen managed by the terminal device of the transmission destination.

[0097]

As described above, according to the present invention, the GUI screen of the hierarchy currently displayed on the display unit of the terminal device is forwarded to the terminal device from all GUI screens that may be displayed next to the GUI screen. Select some GUI screens that should be
Only the data regarding the UI screen is postponed to the terminal device, and when the terminal device needs to display the GUI screen of the next layer on the display unit, the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed is stored in the storage unit. If so, the data is used to display the GUI screen on the display unit, so that the capacity of the storage device for storing the data regarding the delayed GUI screen is reduced. Moreover, the response time from the operation for displaying the GUI screen of the next layer to the actual display of the GUI screen of the next layer can be shortened.

If the storage unit does not store the data on the GUI screen to be displayed next, the server is requested to send the data on the GUI screen to be displayed next, and the server responds to the request. Since the GUI screen is displayed on the display unit based on the data sent from the device, the GUI screen should be displayed next even if the storage device does not store the data related to the GUI screen to be displayed next. A GUI screen can be displayed.

The present invention also applies to each G in each terminal device.
The usage frequency of the UI screen is managed in the usage frequency table, and when the display data of the GUI screen is postponed to the terminal device, based on the usage frequency of the GUI screen of the terminal device managed in the usage frequency table. Since the GUI screen to be postponed is selected, the GUI screen that is likely to be displayed next in the terminal device can be postponed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a GUI screen management information storage unit 17.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a usage frequency table 15.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the server 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the server 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state of the terminal device 2-1.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a system that implements a multimedia communication system.

FIG. 14 is a GU displayed when receiving a video service.
It is the figure which showed the example of I screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server 11 ... Data communication means 12 ... 1st control means 13 ... Storage part 14 ... Search means 15 ... Utilization frequency table 16 ... Display data creation means 17 ... GUI screen management information storage parts 2-1 to 2-i ... Terminal device 21 ... Data communication unit 22 ... Second control unit 23 ... Storage unit 24 ... Display unit 25 ... Operation unit

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area H04N 7/173

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A type requested by a user through a GUI screen having a hierarchical structure in which a server for providing various services and a terminal device are connected by a bidirectional communication line and which are sequentially displayed on a display unit of the terminal device. In the multimedia communication system in which the service of the above is provided from the server via the two-way communication line, the server is the GU of the layer currently displayed on the display unit of the terminal device.
All GUIs in the next layer that may be displayed after the I screen
Some GUs to be postponed to the terminal device from the screen
I screen is selected based on the frequency of use in the past, and the first control means for forwarding the data related to the selected GUI screen to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device is the data related to the GUI screen that has been deferred from the server. When it becomes necessary to display a storage unit for storing a GUI screen and a GUI screen of the next layer on the display unit, if data related to the GUI screen to be displayed on the display unit is stored in the storage unit, Second, displaying the GUI screen on the display unit using the data
And a control means of the multimedia communication system. 2. The second control means, if the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed on the display unit is not stored in the storage unit, the data regarding the GUI screen to be displayed to the server. Request and display the GUI screen on the display unit in accordance with the data related to the GUI screen sent from the server in response to the request, and the first control unit is configured to display the GUI requested by the terminal device.
The multimedia communication system according to claim 1, wherein data regarding a screen is transmitted to the terminal device. 3. A usage frequency table storing the usage frequency of each GUI screen in each terminal device connected to the server via the two-way communication line, wherein the first control means is a terminal. GUI to postpone to device
3. The multi screen according to claim 2, wherein when selecting a screen, the GUI screen to be postponed is selected based on the usage frequency of each GUI screen in the terminal device stored in the usage frequency table. Media communication method.