JPH10243048A - Information transmission method and system therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain efficient data transmission in response to a processing function of a terminal by conducting negotiation with respect to the capability of the terminal between the terminal and a center at call transmission from the terminal or at arrival of a call under the leadership of the center so as to select the optimum transmission method. SOLUTION: An information communication terminal equipment 100 had a terminal state notice means 110 that transfers information relating to the functions and the capability of its itself to a server 200. The server 200 uses a negotiation means 220 to make negotiation about the capability of the information communication terminal equipment 100 with respect to the information communication terminal equipment 100 at call transmission from the terminal or at arrival of a call under the leadership of the center. Based on the information above, the server 200 uses a transmission control means applies selective control to the optimum transmission method of information corresponding to the capability of the information communication terminal equipment 100 and uses a transmission means 260 to send controlled information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmission method and system, and more particularly, to a multimedia e-mail, a multimedia net news (NetNews), a multimedia e-mail conference service, and a content on a WWW server on the Internet. The present invention relates to an information transmission method and system for transmitting multimedia contents distributed on the Internet to terminals.

More specifically, in order to provide a user with a comfortable use environment by economically and efficiently using multimedia contents on the Internet from an information distribution communication terminal (including a mobile communication terminal) used in mobile communication. Information transmission method and system.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional information transmission method for transmitting information from a center to an information communication terminal (including a portable information communication terminal) includes:
A method of transmitting all contents designated by the information communication terminal as it is, and a method of continuously trying to transmit until the error is interrupted due to the exhaustion of resources of the information communication terminal are adopted.

[0004] More specifically, transmission of current content from a server to an information communication terminal is performed by using SMTP, NNTP, or the like.
This is performed using an existing protocol such as HTTP or FTP. These protocols have a function of specifying content on the server to be transmitted from the information communication terminal to the server, and the server transmitting multimedia content specified by the information communication terminal.

[0005]

However, as described above, the content transmission protocol of the center-to-information communication terminal (including the portable information communication terminal) currently used in the Internet world is simply the content to be transmitted. Since it has only the function of specifying the content and transmitting it as it is, ・ I want to change the content of the transmission process according to the type of content; ・ The capability of the information communication terminal (including the portable information communication terminal) ・
There is a problem that it is not possible to respond to a request such as performing a transmission process according to the attribute.

As a result, even for a terminal such as a portable information communication terminal which generally has low expression and communication capabilities in both hardware and software, it is the same as a desktop personal computer having high display capability and high-speed communication capability. In order to send the content in high quality with a large amount of information, ・ Transmission information exceeding the display capability of the portable information communication terminal wastes resources of the portable information communication terminal wastefully; ・ Useless transmission time and communication It is expensive;

Furthermore, in the worst case, a transmission error occurs due to a resource shortage on the (portable) information communication terminal side during transmission, and a mail may be lost or a part of the content may be lost. As one solution, there is a method in which the (mobile) information communication terminal attribute is registered in the center in advance for each user account. However, it is widely and commonly used to use the same account as a (mobile) information communication terminal on the go and in the office with a desktop personal computer. There is a problem that it cannot be dealt with simply by registering at the center.

[0008] As a second solution, a plurality of access points are prepared for each capability classification of the (portable) information communication terminal,
There is also a method in which an appropriate center-side process is selected by using the access telephone number manually by the user or by automatically using the access telephone number in the automatic calling on the (portable) information communication terminal image side. However, according to this method, the use of a plurality of access points is not only complicated in terms of serviceability but also in terms of software and hardware configuration on the center side, and the problem cannot be solved in the case of a service originating from the center. There are fatal flaws.

[0009] Specifically, as the content type in which the above-mentioned problem occurs, there are audio data, still image data, moving image data, long text data, binary data, and the like. These are contents to be obtained from a WWW site, texts of e-mails, net news (NetNews), electronic conferences and the like, and attached contents.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and enables efficient data transmission according to the processing capability of an information communication terminal (particularly, a portable information communication terminal). An information transmission method and system capable of preventing useless use of a disc on the communication terminal side and useless transmission, and displaying easy-to-view contents suitable for the display capability of the information communication terminal (portable information communication terminal). The purpose is to provide.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. The present invention relates to an information transmission method for transmitting information from a center holding information to an information communication terminal via a communication line. Negotiation between the information communication terminal and the center concerning the capability is performed (step 1), and an optimum transmission method is selected that adapts to the capability of the information communication terminal and does not cause unnecessary transmission (step 2). The information is transmitted to the information communication terminal (step 3).

Further, according to the present invention, before transmitting information, the information communication terminal notifies the center of an allowable value of a time required for transmission of the information and an information reception speed of the information communication terminal.
The time required for transmission is estimated from the size of the information to be transmitted and the information reception speed of the information communication terminal notified from the information communication terminal, and the estimated time is used for the information transmission notified by the information communication terminal. If the time required for
Transmit the information, otherwise stop transmitting the information.

Further, according to the present invention, before transmitting information, the information communication terminal notifies the center of a remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal, an allowable value of time required for information transmission, and an information reception speed of the information communication terminal. When the size of the information to be transmitted exceeds the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal notified by the information communication terminal, the center stops transmitting the information, otherwise, the center transmits the information. The time required for transmission is estimated from the size of the information to be transmitted, the transmission speed of the communication line, and the information reception speed notified from the information communication terminal, and the estimated time is the information notified from the information communication terminal. If the time required for the transmission is within the allowable value, the information is transmitted; otherwise, the transmission of the information is stopped.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds binary data as information, before the start of the transmission of the binary data from the center, the information communication terminal stores the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal in the center. The center transmits the binary data if the size of the binary data to be transmitted is within the remaining disk capacity notified from the information communication terminal, and otherwise stops the transmission of the binary data. I do.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds still image data as information, before the start of transmission of the still image data from the center, the information communication terminal sends the information communication terminal to the center. The center reports the resolution that can be displayed and the number of color gradations that can be displayed.If the value of the resolution and the number of color gradations of the still image data to be transmitted is larger than the value notified from the information communication terminal, The color reduction and the resolution reduction processing are performed so as to be equal to or less than the value notified from the information communication terminal, and the image is transmitted to the information communication terminal. Otherwise, the transmission of the still image data is stopped.

Also, according to the present invention, when the center holds still image data as information, before the start of transmission of the still image data from the center, the information communication terminal transmits the information to the center. Remaining disk space, displayable resolution,
The center notifies the number of displayable color gradations. If the value of the resolution and the number of color gradations of the still image data to be transmitted is larger than the value notified by the information communication terminal, the center notifies the center of the resolution. If the size of the obtained still image data is less than the remaining disk capacity obtained from the information communication terminal, the still image data is replaced with the information. Transmit to the communication terminal, otherwise stop transmitting still image data.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds moving image data as information, the information communication terminal can display the information communication terminal on the center before starting transmission of the moving image data from the center. The center notifies the information communication terminal if the resolution and the number of color gradations of the moving image data to be transmitted are larger than the values notified from the information communication terminal. Color reduction and resolution reduction processing are performed so as to be less than or equal to the notified value, and transmission is performed to the information communication terminal. Otherwise, transmission of moving image data is stopped.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds moving image data as information, before starting transmission of moving image data from the center, the information communication terminal stores the remaining disk of the information communication terminal in the center. When the size of the moving image data to be transmitted does not exceed the remaining disk capacity notified from the information communication terminal, the center notifies the moving image data. The transmission is performed to the information communication terminal, and otherwise, the transmission of the moving image data is stopped.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds voice data as information, the information communication terminal transmits the voice of the information communication terminal to the center before starting transmission of the voice data from the center. The center notifies the presence / absence of the function, the reproducible sampling frequency, and the reproducible quantization number. If the information communication terminal does not have the audio reproduction function, the center stops the transfer of the audio data, and the center has the audio reproduction function. If the values of the sampling frequency and the number of quantization of the audio data to be transmitted are larger than the values notified from the information communication terminal, the down-sampling process / It performs a child process and transmits it to the information communication terminal.

Further, according to the present invention, when the center holds voice data as information, before starting transmission of voice data from the center, the information communication terminal stores the remaining disk of the information communication terminal in the center. The center notifies the capacity, the presence or absence of an audio playback function, the sampling frequency that can be played back, and the number of quantizations that can be played back. If the information communication terminal does not have the audio playback function, the center stops transmitting the audio data and plays back the audio. If there is a function, if the values of the sampling frequency and the number of quantization of the audio data to be transmitted are higher than the notification from the information communication terminal, down-sampling is performed so as to be equal to or less than the value notified from the information communication terminal. When the dequantization process is performed and the size of the resulting audio data is within the remaining disk capacity obtained from the information communication terminal, the audio data is transmitted. In the case of performs downsampling Genryoko process to be equal to or less than the value of the remaining disk space notified from the information communication terminal, and transmits to the information communication terminal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention. The present invention provides a server 200 for holding information for transmission,
Information communication terminal 10 for obtaining the information from the server 200
0 and a communication line connecting the server 200 and the information communication terminal 100, wherein the information communication terminal 100 transfers information relating to the function and capability of the terminal itself to the server 200. Status notification means 11
0, the server 200 negotiates between the information communication terminal 100 and the server 200 with respect to the capability of the information communication terminal 100 at the time of outgoing call from the information communication terminal 100 or at the time of center-initiated incoming call. Means 220, a transmission control means 240 adapted to adapt to the capability of the information communication terminal 100 and controlling optimal transmission without wasteful transmission, and transmitting the information controlled by the transmission control means 240 to the information communication terminal 100. Transmission means 26
0.

In the present invention, the information communication terminal 10
0 before the information is transmitted from the server 200, the information communication terminal 100 sets the permissible value of the time required for the transmission of the information and the information reception speed of its own terminal to the server 2.
00, the transmission control means 240 of the server 200 transmits the information based on the size of the information to be transmitted and the information reception speed notified by the terminal status notification means 110 of the information communication terminal 100. The transmission time estimating means for calculating the time required for the information transmission, if the time estimated by the transmission time estimating means is within the allowable value of the time required for information transmission notified from the information communication terminal 100, the information is transmitted,
Otherwise, it includes a first control unit for stopping transmission of information.

In the present invention, the information communication terminal 10
0, the information communication terminal 100 includes a second notification unit for notifying the server 200 of the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal 100 before transmitting the information. The control means determines whether the size of the information to be transmitted is within the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal 100 notified from the information communication terminal 100, and transmits the information if the size is within the remaining disk capacity, Other than that,
A disk capacity determining unit for stopping transmission of the information;

In the present invention, the transmission control means 240 of the server 200, when holding binary data as information to be transmitted, when the disk capacity determination means is within the remaining disk capacity, the binary data And a binary data transmission control means for stopping the transmission of the binary data otherwise.

In the present invention, the information communication terminal 10
Before the start of transmission of still image data from the server 200, the terminal 100 notifies the server 200 of the resolution that the information communication terminal 100 can display and the number of color gradations that can be displayed. And the transmission control unit 240 of the server 200 determines that the resolution and the number of color gradations of the still image data to be transmitted are larger than the values notified by the second notification unit. Includes a first degenerating unit that performs color reduction and resolution reduction processing so as to be equal to or less than the value notified from the information communication terminal 100.

In the present invention, the information communication terminal 10
0 terminal status notifying means 110, before starting transmission of moving image data from server 200,
A third notifying unit for notifying the number of displayable color gradations,
The transmission control means 240 of the server 200 determines that the resolution of the moving image data to be transmitted and the value of the number of color gradations are
If the value is larger than the notified value, the information communication terminal 1
A second reduction means for performing color reduction and resolution reduction processing so as to be equal to or less than the value notified from 00 is included.

In the present invention, the information communication terminal 10
0 terminal status notifying means 110 is a fourth notifying means for notifying whether or not the own terminal has an audio reproducing function, a reproducible sampling frequency, and a reproducible quantization number before transmission of the audio data from the server 200 is started. The transmission control means 240 of the server 200 stops the transfer of the audio data when the information communication terminal 100 does not have the audio reproduction function, and samples the audio data to be transmitted when the information communication terminal 100 has the audio reproduction function. If the values of the frequency and the quantization number are larger than the values notified from the information communication terminal 100,
A third degenerating unit for performing downsampling and dequantization processing so as to be equal to or less than the notified value is included.

As described above, according to the present invention, with respect to the body of all mails, news, and electronic conference articles stored in the center, the center uses the header information obtained from the information communication terminal to change the body of the body. Calculate the size, obtain the transmission speed similarly obtained from the information communication terminal, obtain the estimated transmission time from the calculated size and the transmission speed, and when the transmission time is larger than a predetermined value, determine the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal and the By comparing the sizes, if the size of the text is within the disk capacity, the information accumulated from the center is transmitted to the information communication terminal.

Next, the center side negotiates with the information communication terminal on the basis of the type of information and transmits the information. The information includes binary data, still image data, moving image data, audio data, and the like. Still image data is
According to the number of color gradations and the resolution of the information communication terminal, color reduction gradation processing and resolution reduction processing are appropriately performed, and the transmission is performed according to the capability level of the information communication terminal.

The moving image data is subjected to color reduction, resolution reduction, frame reduction processing and the like in accordance with the display resolution and the number of color gradations of the information communication terminal, and is transmitted according to the capability level of the information communication terminal. The audio data is subjected to downsampling, quantization processing, and the like according to the reproduction capability of the information communication terminal, according to the reproduction capability of the information communication terminal, in accordance with the reproducible sampling frequency of the information communication terminal, and the number of quantizations. Transmit.

In the transmission of binary data, still image data, moving image data, and audio data, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of transmission according to the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal.

[0032]

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of an information transmission system according to the present invention. The information transmission system shown in FIG. 1 includes an information communication terminal (hereinafter simply referred to as a terminal) 100, a center server 200 (hereinafter simply referred to as a server) 200, and a multimedia network 300 connecting these terminals 100 and the server 200. Be composed.

The terminal 100 has a terminal information transfer unit 110 for transferring information such as functions and capabilities of the terminal itself and a remaining disk capacity to the server 200, an information receiving unit 120 for receiving information transmitted from the server 200, The terminal 100 has a display unit 140, an input unit 15
0, the audio output unit 160 and the disk 170 are connected.

The server 200 receives the terminal information transferred from the terminal 100. The terminal information acquiring unit 210 compares the terminal information with a predetermined threshold value or the recorded terminal information and the received terminal information. A comparison information calculation unit 220 for determining whether or not the information is to be transmitted; a predetermined threshold value; information on the form of information to be transmitted on the server 200 side; A transmission processing unit 240 that performs processing such as data degeneration so that information can be transmitted, an information storage unit 250 that stores information to be transmitted, and a transmission unit 260 that transmits information to the terminal 100. .

It should be noted that the information storage section 250 stores any one of the information in which the body / attachment data and the header section are separated, binary data, still image data, moving image data, audio data, and the like. I do. When the terminal 100 transfers information such as the functions and capabilities of the terminal 100 to the server 200 when making a call, the server 200 communicates with the terminal 100 when making a call from the terminal 100 or when receiving a manual call from the center. , The comparison information calculation unit 220
Negotiation on functions, capabilities, and the like acquired from the side is performed, and the transmission processing unit 240 selects an optimal information transmission method.

(1) Information transmission in the case where the server 200 holds text information (information in which a main part / attached data and a header part are separated) will be described. At first,
A case will be described in which the header section including the text / attached data and the title information is separated and stored in the information storage section 250 of the server 200, such as mail or NetNews.

First, the information storage unit 250 on the server 200
The following processing is performed on the server 200 side with respect to the texts of all mails, news, and electronic conference articles stored in. The contents which are directly designated and transferred, such as attached files, in-line expanded multimedia contents, and data on a WWW server, will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method for transmitting information according to the present invention. Step 101) First, the terminal 100 connects to the server 200
, The header information, the allowable value of the time required for information transmission, the information reception speed, and the remaining disk capacity. Step 102) Terminal information acquisition unit 21 of server 200
The information of the size of the text is obtained from the header information obtained at 0.

Step 103) The comparison information calculation section 220 of the server 200 refers to the comparison information table 230 to check the modem transmission speed and the information reception speed obtained from the terminal 100. Step 104) The comparison information calculation unit 220 calculates an expected transmission time from the size obtained in step 102 and the information reception speed obtained from the terminal 100 by the following equation.

Expected transmission time = size / transmission speed Step 105) The comparison information calculation unit 230 refers to the comparison information table 230 to determine whether the estimated transmission time obtained in Step 104 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. And
If the estimated transmission time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step 106; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 108.

Step 106) The transmission processing unit 240
The remaining disk capacity obtained from the terminal 100 is obtained. Step 107) The transmission processing unit 240 compares the remaining disk capacity with the text size. If the remaining disk capacity is equal to or larger than the text size, the process proceeds to step 109; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 108. .

Step 108) The download (information transmission) to the terminal 100 is stopped. Step 109) The transmission unit 260 of the server 200 downloads the text. Step 110) If there is an attached file in the information storage unit 250, the transmission unit 260 of the server 200 downloads the file to the terminal 100 according to the process described later.

Thus, the information receiving unit 12 of the terminal 100
0 transfers the information downloaded from the server 200 to the information processing unit 130. The information processing unit 130 displays information acquired from the server 200 on the display unit 140. (2) Next, send the e-mail with the attached file of NetNews or WW
Information transmission in the case of data on a W server will be described.

The type of the content is determined based on the type identification of the MIME included in the header information and the extension of the file of the attached data stored in the server 200 as a file, and a method described below is selected according to the type of the content. The processing is performed on the server 200 side. In the case where the server 200 has binary data: In the case of binary data, there is no general-purpose method for reducing the amount of information of the content by adapting it to the capability of the (mobile) terminal 100. Confirm that the remaining disk capacity can be accommodated, and transmit it as it is.

If the remaining disk capacity of the (portable) terminal 100 cannot be received, an error is notified. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for transmitting binary data from the server of the present invention. Here, before transmitting information (binary data) from the terminal 100,
It is assumed that the terminal information transfer unit 110 has notified the server 200 of the remaining capacity of the disk 170 of No. 0.

Step 201) The server 200 acquires the size of binary data from the comparison information table 230. Step 202) The remaining disk capacity obtained from the terminal 100 is obtained. Step 203) Transmission processing unit 240 of server 200
Compares the remaining disk capacity obtained from the terminal 100 with the size of the binary data obtained in step 201, and if the remaining disk capacity is larger than the size of the binary data, the process proceeds to step 204; Move to step 205.

Step 204) The transmission section 260 of the server 200 acquires binary data from the information storage section 250 and transmits it to the terminal 100. Step 205) If the data cannot be stored in the disk 170 of the terminal 100, a notification mail to that effect is issued (smt
p) or a notification to that effect (html). In the case where the server 200 has still image data: In general, in particular, in the case of a (portable information communication) terminal, the display capability (the number of color gradations and resolution) of the (portable information communication) terminal side is necessarily hardware. , There is an upper limit due to software specifications. (Portable information communication) Since it is useless to transmit still image data of a quality exceeding the upper limit of the display capability of the terminal, the server at the center side reduces the quality to the quality within the display capability of the (portable information communication) terminal in advance. To transmit.

In the case of (portable information communication) terminal resource restrictions (insufficient remaining disk capacity), quality is further reduced until the display capacity of the terminal side is met, and data size is reduced for transmission. . Through the above-described processing, it is possible to prevent useless data transmission, and it is possible to avoid a fatal inconvenience, such as a failure to transmit at all due to a shortage of disk capacity of the (portable information communication) terminal and an interruption during transmission. .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart when still image data is transmitted from the server of the present invention. Step 301) The server 200 acquires the resolution and the number of color gradations of the still image data from the terminal 100. Step 302) The server 200 checks the resolution and color gradation that can be displayed by the terminal 100.

Step 303) The comparison information calculation unit 220 of the server 200 determines the resolution and the number of color gradations of the terminal 100 and the server 2 stored in the comparison information table 230.
Compare with the resolution and the number of color gradations of the data of the 00 side,
If the resolution of 00 and the number of color gradations are larger than the server 200, the process proceeds to step 305; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 304.

Step 304) If the resolution and the number of color gradations of the terminal 100 are smaller than the resolution and the number of color gradations of the server 200, the transmission processing unit 240 sets the resolution and the number of color gradations within the range of the terminal 100 side. The color reduction gradation processing and the resolution reduction processing are performed, and the process proceeds to step 305. Step 305) Comparison information calculation unit 22 of server 200
0 calculates the size of still image data to be transmitted.

Step 306) Comparison information calculation section 220
Acquires the remaining disk capacity on the terminal 100 side. Step 307) The comparison information calculation unit 220
00 and the size of the still image data to be transmitted and the terminal 10
The remaining disk capacities on the 0 side are compared, and if the remaining disk capacity is larger, the process proceeds to step 309. If not, the process proceeds to step 308.

Step 308) The transmission processing unit 240 of the server 200 performs the color reduction gradation processing and the resolution reduction processing up to the range of the remaining disk capacity of the terminal 100, and proceeds to step 309. Step 309) The transmission unit 260 reads out still image data to be transmitted from the information storage unit 250, and
To be transmitted.

In the case where the server 200 has moving image data: the terminal 1 has the same concept as described above.
The server 200 performs the reduced resolution, reduced color gradation, and reduced frame processing so that the data is within the display capability range of 00. Further, information is reduced by the same method until the amount can be stored in the remaining disk capacity of the terminal 100, and information (moving image data) is transmitted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for transmitting moving image data from the server of the present invention. Step 401) The server 200 checks the display resolution and the number of color gradations on the terminal 100 side. Step 402) The transmission processing unit 240 of the center 200 performs color reduction processing and resolution reduction processing so as to fall within the display capability range of the terminal 100.

Step 403) Comparison information calculation section 220
Calculates the size of moving image data to be transmitted. Step 404) The comparison information calculation unit 220
The remaining disk capacity on the 0 side is obtained. Step 405) The comparison information calculation unit 220 compares the size of the moving image data to be transmitted with the remaining disk capacity on the terminal 100 side. If the remaining disk capacity is larger, the process proceeds to step 407; Then, the process proceeds to step 406.

Step 406) The transmission processing unit 240
The color reduction processing, the resolution reduction processing, and the frame reduction processing are performed until the remaining disk capacity of the terminal 100 is satisfied.
Shift to 07. Step 407) The transmission unit 260 transmits the information
The moving image data is read from the terminal 100 and transmitted to the terminal 100.

When the server 200 has audio data: the audio data is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 100.
Also, in the case of transmission to the terminal 100, processing is performed so as to be appropriately adapted to the terminal 100 side and transmitted based on the same concept as described above. FIG. 8 is a flowchart when audio data is transmitted from the server of the present invention.

Step 501) The server 200 determines whether or not the terminal 100 has a voice processing function based on the capability information obtained from the terminal 100. If so, the process proceeds to step 503; Move to step 502. Step 502) If the terminal 100 does not have a voice processing function, voice data is not transmitted.

Step 503) The terminal 100 checks the reproducible sampling frequency and the quantization number. Step 504) Comparison information calculation unit 22 of server 200
If the reproduction capability (sampling frequency, number of quantization) on the terminal side is higher than the quality of the audio data stored in the comparison information table 230, the process proceeds to step 506; Move to 505.

Step 505) The transmission processing unit 240
The audio data to be transmitted is subjected to a downsampling process and a dequantization number process so as to be within the reproduction capability of the terminal 100, and the process proceeds to step 506. Step 506) The comparison information calculation unit 220 acquires the size of the audio data to be transmitted.

Step 507) Comparison information calculation section 220
Obtains the remaining disk capacity of the terminal 100. Step 508) The comparison information calculation unit 220 compares the size of the audio data to be transmitted with the remaining disk capacity of the terminal 100.
0, otherwise, go to step 509.

Step 509) The transmission processing unit 240
The downsampling process and the quantization number subtraction process are performed within a range in which the audio data to be transmitted can be obtained in the terminal 100, and the process proceeds to step 510. Step 510) The transmission unit 260 transmits the audio data to the terminal 100.

[0064]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in the terminal 100, the server 200
As the function information or capability information to be transferred to the device,-display modification degree (displayable area)-displayable color gradation-presence / absence of audio processing function and reproduction capability (frequency, quantization bit number)-residual disk capacity- Modem transmission speed, etc.

The terminal information transfer unit 110 acquires these information by reading the setting values of the configuration file (registry) stored on the disk 170 of the terminal 100, and transmits the information to the server 200. Terminal 1
When an audio processing device or an image processing device is added to 00, the installation of the device is recorded as information in the configuration file (registry) simultaneously with the installation of the device driver. at the same time,
An area for storing the set value of the terminal 100 that defines the operation of the device is secured. Information such as the maximum resolution of the terminal 100 and the maximum reproducible quantization bit number of the audio device is described as a specific recorded value of the area.

These setting values are stored in the A
It can be easily read via the PI. In this embodiment, the AP of the terminal 100 is transmitted from the server 200 of the center.
It is assumed that information is acquired by hitting I. In the following embodiment, since the terminal 100 has a normal display function, the confirmation of the presence or absence of the function is omitted.

The residual disk capacity of the terminal 100 is obtained by activating the API of the OS of the terminal 100. As for the transmission speed of the modem, the communication speed of the terminal 100 when the connection between the modems is completed, which is held by the communication control process of the server 200 at the center, is read. Since it is sufficient to acquire the actual communication speed during the current communication, there is no need to dare to inquire the terminal 100.

It is assumed that the connection speed sent from the server 200 on the center side as a return value from the modem when the communication between the modems is established is obtained from the communication control process. In addition, the notification method from the terminal 100 to the server 200 is based on the conventional sm.
Protocols such as tp and http are protocols on the premise of a download request from the terminal 100 and information transmission from the server 200 to the terminal 100. A function for acquiring information of the terminal 100 from the server 200 as in the present invention is implemented. It has not been.

For this reason, a protocol for making the inquiry to the application layer is defined, and the server 200
A process for interpreting and executing the protocol is implemented on both the communication side and the terminal 100 side. Specifically, the protocol interpretation execution process of the terminal 100 receives a request from the server 200, hits a necessary API on the terminal 100, and returns a result to the server 200.

First, as one embodiment of the present invention, MIME
5 shows an example of receiving an e-mail including a multimedia part in a multi-part format. The following embodiment shows an example in which one e-mail as described below exists in the mailbox on the server 200 side.・ Header part: subject etc. 1KB ・ MIME 1st part: Email body text 10KB ・ 2nd part: Binary data Word processor original format document data 300KB ・ 3rd part: Still image 640 × 400 × 16-bit gradation 480 KB ・4 parts: Video 320 × 200 × 8-bit gradation × 30 frames / sec 19.2MB ・ Fifth part: Audio data 8-bit quantization × 18kHz sampling × 10 seconds × monaural 160KB Each of these servers Is set in the comparison information table 230.

The following are assumed as machine conditions. -Residual disk capacity: 11 MB-Modem communication speed: 28,800 bps-Terminal-side display capability: 320 x 200 x 8 bits-Audio reproduction capability: 8 bits x 8 kHz x 2-channel stereo Further, the following requirements are set as service conditions. -Download time of the mail text: within 1 minute. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that images and sounds are not compressed.
It can be easily extended to JPEG or JPEG.

(1) Transmission of Mail Header Information First, a case where mail header information is transmitted according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described. Internal holding value of the communication control process of the server 200 (the comparison information table 230
)), The current communication speed with the terminal 100 is set to 2
The data is read out as 8,800 bps (step 103).
It can be seen that the size of the mail body is 10 KB and can be accommodated in one minute which is a sufficient allowable transmission time.

Next, the remaining disk capacity of the disk 170 on the terminal 100 is checked via the API on the OS on the terminal 100 (step 106). In this example, 10 MB is obtained. In addition, the text should be sufficient for the terminal 17
The transmission is executed (step 109) because it fits in the free area of 0 (step 107). The remaining disk capacity value is stored in a disk remaining amount counter in the comparison information table 230 on the server 200 side.

(2) Transmission of Binary Data Next, a case where binary data is transmitted to the terminal 100 according to the flowchart of FIG. 5 will be described. In this example, there is still about 15 MB of remaining disk capacity after the transmission of the mail body (1) in the previous stage, so that transmission of 300 KB of binary data is possible.

(3) Transmission of Still Image Data Next, a case where still image data is transmitted to the terminal 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the terminal 100 reads a registry value through an API on the OS of the terminal 100, and sends the result to the server 20.
0 side is notified. In this example, the display capability of the terminal 100 is 320 × 200 × 8 bits, and 640 × 40
The terminal 100 does not have the ability to display all the data of the gradation of 0 × 16 bits. Therefore, it is useless to transmit all the data as it is, and the data is degenerated within the display capability of the terminal 100 (step 304). Various algorithms for degeneration have been proposed and used so as to minimize the reduction in apparent image quality.
Reduce data to 0x200x8 bits. In this case, the data amount is 64 KB, which is enough to fit in the free area of the disk 170 on the terminal 100 side (step 307).
The still image data is transmitted (step 309).

(4) Transmission of Moving Image Data Next, a case of transmitting moving image data to the terminal 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the case of this example, similarly to the case of the still image data, the terminal 100
Check the display capability of the side. In this example, it can be seen that the display capability of the terminal 100 is sufficient to reproduce the moving image data (step 401). However, in relation to the remaining disk capacity of the disk 100 on the terminal 100 side, it is １ ／.
Needs to be reduced (step 405). here,
As one example of the data size reduction processing, by reducing the number of frames reproduced per second to 、, the data is reduced to 1 /
2 (Step 406). The moving image data thus reduced is transmitted to the terminal 100 (step 407).

(5) Transmission of Audio Data Next, a case where audio data is transmitted to the terminal 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Terminal 10
Since the reproduction capability on the 0 side is up to 8 kHz, a downsampling process is performed to prevent unnecessary transmission (step 505). If the residual disk capacity of the disk 170 of the terminal 100 is sufficient, Step 50
8) Transmit voice data to terminal 100 (step 5)
10). If not enough, the disk 170
Down-sampling and quantization-reduction processing until the size falls within the range (step 509), and the audio data is transmitted to the terminal 100 (step 510).

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified and applied within the scope of the claims.

[0079]

As described above, according to the information transmission method and system of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently transmit data according to the processing capacity of the terminal, to prevent useless use of the disk on the terminal side, This prevents wasteful transmission and the like, and also realizes display of easy-to-view contents suitable for the display capability of the terminal.

Although the present invention can be realized with a general information communication terminal, it is needless to say that the present invention can be realized with a portable information communication terminal.
More effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an information transmission system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an information transmission method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for transmitting binary data from the server of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart when still image data is transmitted from the server of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart in the case of transmitting moving image data from the server of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart when audio data is transmitted from the server of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 information communication terminal 110 terminal status notification means, terminal information transfer section 120 information reception section 130 information processing section 140 display section 150 input section 160 audio output section 170 disk 200 server 210 terminal information acquisition section 220 negotiation means, comparison information calculation section 230 Comparison information table 240 Transmission control unit, transmission processing unit 250 Information storage unit 260 Transmission unit, transmission unit 300 Network

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. An information transmission method for transmitting information from a center holding information to an information communication terminal via a communication line, wherein the information communication terminal side transmits a call from the information communication terminal or an incoming call led by the center. Negotiation between the information communication terminal and the center regarding the capability of the information communication terminal, selecting an optimal transmission method that does not cause wasteful transmission, adapting to the capability of the information communication terminal, and transmitting information from the center to the information communication terminal. An information transmission method, characterized by transmitting the information. 2. Before transmitting the information, the information communication terminal notifies the center of an allowable value of a time required for the transmission of the information and an information reception speed of the information communication terminal. The time required for transmission is estimated from the size of the information to be transmitted and the information reception speed of the information communication terminal notified by the information communication terminal, and the estimated time is transmitted by the information transmission notified by the information communication terminal. 2. The information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted when the time required for the transmission is within the allowable value, and otherwise, the transmission of the information is stopped. 3. Before transmitting the information, the information communication terminal notifies the center of a remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal, an allowable value of time required for information transmission, and an information reception speed of the information communication terminal. The center stops the transmission of the information when the size of the information to be transmitted exceeds the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal notified from the information communication terminal, and in other cases, The time required for transmission is estimated from the size of the information to be transmitted, the transmission speed of the communication line, and the information reception speed notified from the information communication terminal. 2. The information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted if the time required for the information transmission is within the allowable value, and the transmission of the information is stopped otherwise. 4. When the center holds binary data as information, before starting transmission of the binary data from the center,
The information communication terminal notifies the center of the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal, and the center, if the size of the binary data to be transmitted is within the remaining disk capacity notified by the information communication terminal, 2. The information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the binary data is transmitted, and otherwise, the transmission of the binary data is stopped. 5. When the center holds still image data as information, before starting transmission of the still image data from the center, the information communication terminal transmits the information of the information communication terminal to the center. Notifying the displayable resolution and the number of color gradations that can be displayed, the center, when the value of the resolution of still image data to be transmitted, the value of the number of color gradations is larger than the value notified from the information communication terminal Performing a color reduction and a resolution reduction processing so as to be equal to or less than a value notified from said information communication terminal, and transmitting to said information communication terminal; otherwise, stopping transmission of said still image data. Information transmission method described. 6. The information communication terminal, when the center holds still image data as information, before starting transmission of the still image data from the center, the information communication terminal transmits the information to the center. The center notifies the remaining disk capacity, the displayable resolution, and the displayable color gradation number. The center notifies the resolution of the still image data to be transmitted and the value of the color gradation number to the value notified from the information communication terminal. If it is larger, the color reduction and the resolution reduction processing are performed so as to be equal to or less than the value notified from the information communication terminal, and the size of the still image data obtained as a result is the remaining disk obtained from the information communication terminal. 6. The information transmitting method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the still image data is stopped when the capacity is within the capacity, and the transmission of the still image data is stopped otherwise. 7. When the center holds moving image data as information, the information communication terminal can display the information communication terminal at the center before the center starts transmitting the moving image data. The center notifies the resolution of the moving image data to be transmitted, and the value of the number of color gradations is larger than the value notified from the information communication terminal. 2. The information transmission according to claim 1, wherein a color reduction and a resolution reduction processing are performed so as to be equal to or less than a value notified from the information communication terminal, and transmission is performed to the information communication terminal, otherwise, the transmission of the moving image data is stopped. Method. 8. When the center holds moving image data as information, before starting transmission of the moving image data from the center, the information communication terminal stores the remaining disk of the information communication terminal in the center. When the size of the moving image data to be transmitted does not exceed the remaining disk capacity notified by the information communication terminal, the center notifies the moving image. 8. The information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein data is transmitted to the information communication terminal, and otherwise, transmission of the moving image data is stopped. 9. When the center holds voice data as information, the information communication terminal transmits the voice of the information communication terminal to the center before starting transmission of the voice data from the center. The center notifies the presence / absence of a function, a reproducible sampling frequency, and a reproducible quantization number. If the information communication terminal does not have a voice reproduction function, the center stops transferring voice data, If the value of the sampling frequency and the number of quantization of the audio data to be transmitted is higher than the value notified from the information communication terminal, 2. The information transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the information transmission terminal performs sampling processing and dequantization processing and transmits the result to the information communication terminal. 10. When the center holds voice data as information, before starting transmission of the voice data from the center, the information communication terminal stores the remaining disk of the information communication terminal in the center. The center notifies the capacity, presence / absence of an audio reproduction function, a reproducible sampling frequency, and a reproducible quantization number.If the information communication terminal does not have an audio reproduction function, the center stops transmitting the audio data. If the audio reproduction function is provided, if the sampling frequency of the audio data to be transmitted and the value of the quantization number are larger than the values notified from the information communication terminal, the information communication terminal notifies Down-sampling and de-quantization processing so that the size of the audio data obtained as a result is equal to or smaller than the remaining value obtained from the information communication terminal. In the case of less than capacity,
Transmit the audio data, otherwise, perform downsampling / dequantization processing so as to be equal to or less than the value of the remaining disk capacity notified from the information communication terminal, and transmit to the information communication terminal The information transmission method according to claim 1. 11. An information transmission system comprising a server holding information for transmission, an information communication terminal for acquiring the information from the server, and a communication line connecting the server and the information communication terminal. The information communication terminal has terminal status notifying means for transferring information relating to the function and capability of the terminal to the server, and the server transmits a call from the information communication terminal or a center-initiated call , A capability negotiation means for negotiating between the information communication terminal and a server with respect to the capability of the information communication terminal; and adapting to the capability of the information communication terminal and controlling optimal transmission without wasteful transmission. Information transmission, comprising: transmission control means; and transmission means for transmitting information controlled by the transmission control means to the information communication terminal. system. 12. A terminal status notifying means of the information communication terminal, wherein before transmitting the information from the server, the information communication terminal has an allowable value of a time required for transmission of the information, an information reception speed of the terminal itself. And a first notification unit for notifying the server of the information communication terminal, the transmission control unit of the server, based on the size of the information to be transmitted and the information reception speed notified by the terminal status notification unit of the information communication terminal Transmission time estimating means for calculating the time required for transmission, and the time estimated by the transmission time estimating means is within the allowable value of the time required for information transmission notified from the information communication terminal, 12. The information transmission system according to claim 11, further comprising a first control unit that transmits information, and otherwise stops transmission of the information. 13. The information communication terminal, wherein the first notifying means includes: before transmitting the information, the information communication terminal notifies the server of a remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal. Means for determining whether or not the size of the information to be transmitted is within the remaining disk capacity of the information communication terminal notified by the information communication terminal, the first control means of the server comprising: 13. The information transmission system according to claim 12, further comprising a disk capacity determination unit that transmits the information if it is within the range, and stops the transmission of the information otherwise. 14. The transmission control means of the server, when binary data is held as the information to be transmitted, when the disk capacity determination means does not exceed the remaining disk capacity, the binary data is transferred to the server. 14. The information transmission system according to claim 11, further comprising a binary data transmission control unit for transmitting the binary data and transmitting the binary data otherwise. 15. The terminal status notifying means of the information communication terminal, before starting transmission of the still image data from the server, the information communication terminal transmits to the server a displayable resolution of the information communication terminal; A second notifying unit for notifying the number of displayable color gradations, wherein the transmission control unit of the server determines that the resolution of still image data to be transmitted and the value of the color gradation number are determined by the second notification unit. 14. The information transmission system according to claim 11, further comprising a first degenerating unit that performs a color reduction and a resolution reduction processing so as to be less than or equal to the value notified from the information communication terminal when the value is larger than the notified value. 16. The terminal status notifying means of the information communication terminal notifies a displayable resolution and a displayable number of color gradations of its own terminal before starting transmission of moving image data from the server.
The transmission control means of the server, if the resolution of the moving image data to be transmitted, the value of the number of color gradations is larger than the value notified from the information communication terminal, from the information communication terminal 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second degenerating unit that performs a color reduction and a resolution reduction processing so as to be equal to or less than the notified value.
14. The information transmission system according to 1 or 13. 17. The terminal status notifying means of the information communication terminal, before starting transmission of the audio data from the server, determines whether or not the terminal has an audio reproduction function, a reproducible sampling frequency, and a reproducible quantization. A fourth notification unit for notifying the number, wherein the transmission control unit of the server stops transferring the audio data when the information communication terminal does not have an audio reproduction function,
If the audio playback function is provided, the sampling frequency of the audio data to be transmitted, if the value of the quantization number is greater than the value notified from the information communication terminal, to a value less than the value notified from the information communication terminal 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a third degeneration means for performing downsampling and dequantization processing.
14. The information transmission system according to 1 or 13.