WO2005057928A1

WO2005057928A1 - Content transmission device and content transmission method

Info

Publication number: WO2005057928A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/017378
Authority: WO
Inventors: Junichi Hirai; Keiji Sugiyama; Masashi Takemura
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2003-11-27
Filing date: 2004-11-24
Publication date: 2005-06-23
Also published as: JPWO2005057928A1

Abstract

There is provided a content transmission device enabling a content reception device to reproduce a content, viewing of which has been interrupted in the content reception device. The content transmission device includes: a holding unit (1013) connected to the content reception device (102) via a network and holding a content; a transmission/reception unit (1014) for transmitting a content to the content reception device (102); a reception state monitoring unit (1015) for acquiring an interruption position where the content reception device (102) is disabled to receive a content or an interruption position where a user of the content reception device (102) has interrupted viewing at the content reception device (102); and a transmission control unit (1017) for controlling the transmission/reception unit (1014) to transmit the content from the holding unit (1013) to the content reception device (102) according to the interruption position acquired by the reception state monitoring unit (1015).

Description

Specification

Content transmission device and content transmission method

Technical field

The present invention relates to a content transmission device and a content transmission method.

Background art

[0002] In recent years, services for providing high-speed network connection to mopile terminals, such as a third-generation mobile phone network and a hot spot service using wireless LAN technology, have been widely used. In the future, mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance), car navigation devices, and other mobile devices will be equipped with high-speed and low-cost network connection functions. It is considered that it will be used as a content receiving device that can receive streaming contents such as video and audio, and will be able to casually view the received streaming content such as video and audio on the go.

[0003] However, in a mopile environment, it is conceivable that the situation around the user suddenly changes in many cases, such as suddenly speaking to someone or approaching some obstacle. As a result, the user may miss a part of the content. As a method for eliminating such overlooked content, for example, the television receiver disclosed in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a storage device such as a hard disk, and compresses a video signal received from a broadcast station or the like to temporarily suspend the television receiver. It is stored in the storage means inside. Then, by reading out and displaying the stored video signal from the reproduction position designated by the user himself, it is possible to view the partial power that was overlooked. According to the television receiver of Patent Document 1 described above, even if the user misses the first part of the program, for example, the user can read the video signal stored in the storage means and reproduce it, thereby starting the program. You can watch it.

[0004] However, in a mopile environment, wireless communication is used for communication with the content receiving apparatus, and thus it is difficult to always maintain a stable network connection in all situations. For example, when the content receiving device enters a shadow of a building or enters a tunnel, it is considered that a case in which the reception state of the radio wave suddenly deteriorates and the network connection is temporarily disconnected may occur. available. As a result, the reception of the content by the content receiving device is interrupted, and a case occurs in which a part of the user-powered S content is missed. In such a case, if the television receiver described in Patent Document 1 cannot receive the content due to the poor reception condition of the radio wave, the user re-reads the content that could not be received and was overlooked. I can't see it. In addition, since the user must select the playback position of the video signal, the user cannot quickly return to the part that the user has missed and view it. Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-250305

Disclosure of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a content transmission device that can reproduce a content whose viewing has been interrupted by the content reception device in the content reception device! Aim.

[0006] In order to solve the above-described problems, the first invention of the present application is a content transmitting device connected to a content receiving device via a network, the content transmitting device comprising: a holding means for holding content; Transmitting means for transmitting content to the receiving device; and interrupting for acquiring the interrupted position where the content receiving device cannot receive the content or the interrupted position where the user of the content receiving device has interrupted viewing on the content receiving device. Position acquisition means, and transmission control means for controlling the transmission means to transmit the content of the holding means to the content receiving device based on the interruption position acquired by the interruption position acquisition means. Provided is a content transmission device characterized by the following.

[0007] When the content reception device fails to receive the content, the content transmission device transmits the content corresponding to the interruption position where the reception failed, to the content reception device. Alternatively, when the user of the content receiving device interrupts the viewing of the content on the content receiving device, the content transmitting device transmits the content corresponding to the interrupted position where the viewing was interrupted to the content receiving device. Therefore, the content receiving device or the content transmitting device instantaneously outputs the content corresponding to the interrupted position in the content receiving device without searching for the interrupted position without looking for the interrupted position. It can be played back. For this reason, the user of the content receiving device can The content can be instantly resumed, and the interrupted content can be viewed even during a short time such as a train waiting time.

[0008] In addition, since the content transmitting apparatus transmits the content corresponding to the interruption position to the content receiving apparatus, the content receiving apparatus plays back the received content only by reproducing the received content or the content for which the user stopped viewing. Can be played. That is, there is no need for the content receiving device to store the content or to search the stored content for the content corresponding to the interruption position. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user using the content receiving device without complicating the configuration of the content receiving device.

[0009] For example, when the content receiving device is a mobile terminal, the receiving state of the mobile device is unstable such that the receiving environment changes at any time, and there are many situations in which content reception fails. In addition, a user of a mobile terminal may occasionally be forced to interrupt viewing on the mobile terminal due to a change in the usage environment of the mobile terminal at any time. Even in such a case, the content transmitting device, the content receiving device, or the user himself / herself can view the interrupted position in the content transmitting device without searching for the interrupted position. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a content transmission device that is most suitable for a usage environment of a mobile terminal.

[0010] In the second invention of the present application, in the first invention, the interruption position acquiring means receives and monitors the state of the content receiving device from the content receiving device, and determines the interruption position based on the state. There is provided a content transmitting apparatus further including a status monitoring unit for acquiring the content.

[0011] In the content transmission device, the status of the content reception device, such as the reception status and the operation status, is monitored and the interruption position is grasped at a time, so that the status of the content reception device can be easily managed.

[0012] In a third aspect of the present invention based on the second aspect, the status monitoring means receives the notification that the content cannot be received from the content receiving device, and acquires the interruption position based on the notification. And a content transmitting apparatus characterized by the following.

[0013] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, based on the second aspect, the status monitoring means is provided with the content receiving device. A content transmission device that detects that an error occurrence rate in communication with a device has exceeded a predetermined value, and acquires an interruption position based on the detection result.

[0014] In a fifth aspect of the present invention based on the second aspect, the state monitoring means detects that communication between the content transmitting device and the content receiving device has been disconnected, and interrupts the communication based on the detection result. Provided is a content transmission device characterized by acquiring a position.

[0015] In a sixth aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, the interruption position acquiring means is configured to determine whether or not the content receiving apparatus is in a state of being unable to receive the content or that the user of the content receiving apparatus is in the content receiving apparatus. A content transmission device characterized in that the interruption position is acquired based on a time when the viewing of the content is interrupted.

[0016] When the interruption position is obtained based on the time, the transmission control unit can transmit the content to the content receiving device based on the time.

[0017] In a seventh aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, the content is configured to include a plurality of chapters, and the interruption position obtaining means obtains the interruption position for each chapter. provide.

[0018] When the interruption position is obtained by the chapter, the transmission control means can transmit the content to the content receiving device based on the chapter. Here, a chapter refers to a program that is broadcast on a television or the like, and is a unit of a unit that also includes content power such as video data and audio data, and is divided into predetermined predetermined units. .

[0019] An eighth invention of the present application is the content transmission device according to the first invention, wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission unit to transmit the content to the interruption position force to the content reception device. provide.

[0020] Since the content transmitting device transmits the content from the interrupted position to the content receiving device, the content transmitting device, the content receiving device, or the user himself / herself does not search for the interrupted position in the content receiving device. Playback can be resumed instantly.

[0021] In a ninth aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, the transmission control means transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus from a position before the interruption position by a predetermined distance. Provided is a content transmission device characterized by controlling.

[0022] Since the content transmission device transmits the content before the interruption position to the content reception device, the user of the content reception device can view the content while grasping the flow before and after the interruption position.

[0023] In a tenth invention of the present application, in the first invention, the content is configured to include a plurality of chapters, and the interruption position acquisition unit is configured to determine the position at which the content receiving device cannot receive the content or the content. The user of the content receiving device acquires a chapter including the position where the viewing on the content receiving device was interrupted as the interrupted position, and the transmission control means controls the start of the chapter acquired by the interrupted position acquiring means. A content transmitting device is provided, wherein the transmitting means is controlled so as to transmit content to the device.

[0024] Since the content transmitting device transmits the leading content of the chapter whose viewing has been interrupted to the content receiving device, the user of the content receiving device has a better break than transmitting the content from the position where the viewing was interrupted. However, you can watch content.

[0025] In an eleventh aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, the interruption position acquiring means is configured to determine whether or not the interruption of the content receiving apparatus being in a state in which the content receiving apparatus cannot receive the content or a user of the content receiving apparatus views the content on the content receiving apparatus. The transmission control means determines a predetermined position that is traced from the interruption position according to the interruption reason, and transmits the determined predetermined position content to the content receiving device. A content transmission device is provided, which controls the transmission unit.

[0026] For example, when the interruption reason is a telephone interruption, the transmission control means determines a longer position from the interruption position and transmits the content to the content transmission device by the determined amount. If the viewing of the content on the content receiving device is interrupted by the user making a call, it is highly likely that the user views the content before the call and forgets the content. Therefore, the content transmission device transmits the content retroactively beyond the interruption position, so that the user can view the content while grasping the flow before and after the interruption position. In this way, the suspension position force goes back according to the suspension reason By determining the predetermined position, the convenience when the user uses the content receiving device can be improved.

[0027] In a twelfth aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, the receiving means for receiving the content with external force, and the content received by the receiving means are recorded in the interrupting position force obtained by the interrupting position obtaining means in the holding means. The content transmitting apparatus further includes a recording control unit that performs the control as described above.

When reception by the content receiving device is normal, the content received by the receiving means of the content transmitting device is transmitted to the content transmitting device without holding the content. On the other hand, the content transmitting device transmits to the content receiving device the content recorded and stored in the holding unit for the interrupted position where the content receiving device failed to receive or the user stopped viewing the content. Therefore, the memory capacity used by the holding unit can be reduced.

[0029] In a thirteenth invention according to the twelfth invention, in the twelfth invention, the recording means transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus based on the interruption position, and the holding means transmits the content to the reception device. The present invention provides a content transmitting apparatus characterized by performing control so as to hold content received by means.

[0030] When the content receiving device receives the content based on the interrupted position, the content transmitting device sends the content, such as a broadcasting station, which is still being received by the receiving means to the content receiving device. Unable to send. Therefore, the content based on the interruption position is transmitted, and the content received by the receiving means is temporarily stored in the holding means. Then, when the transmission of the content based on the interruption position ends, the content transmission device transmits the content held by the holding unit during the transmission to the content reception device. This allows the user of the content receiving apparatus to view the content transmitted based on the interruption position, and then view the content received by the content transmitting apparatus from a broadcast station or the like during that time.

[0031] In a fourteenth aspect of the present invention based on the second aspect, the state monitoring means notifies the transmission control means of a detection result when the content receiving means detects that the content can be received or reproduced. The transmission control means transmits the content of the holding means to the content receiving device based on the detection result. Is provided.

[0032] When the state monitoring means detects that the content receiving apparatus is ready to receive the content, the content transmitting apparatus automatically responds to the detection by instructing the content receiving means to output the content corresponding to the interruption position. Can be sent in a targeted manner.

[0033] In a fifteenth aspect of the present invention based on the second aspect, when the status monitoring means receives a transmission request from the interruption position from the content receiving device, the state monitoring means notifies the transmission control means to the transmission control means, and The control means controls the transmission means so as to transmit the content of the holding means to the content receiving apparatus based on the notification of the transmission request.

[0034] When the status monitoring means receives the content receiving device power transmission request, the content transmitting device can transmit the content corresponding to the interruption position to the content receiving means in response to the transmission request. As a result, the user of the content receiving apparatus can instantly view the content from the interruption position without having to search for the interruption position.

[0035] A sixteenth invention of the present application is a content transmission method in a content transmission device connected to a content reception device via a network, comprising: a holding step for holding the content; A transmitting step of transmitting, and a suspending position acquiring step of acquiring a suspending position at which the content receiving device cannot receive the content or a suspending position at which the user of the content receiving device suspends viewing on the content receiving device. And a transmission control step of controlling the content held in the holding step to be transmitted to the content receiving device based on the interruption position acquired in the interruption position acquisition step. A content transmission method is provided.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram (1) showing a method of acquiring a stop position.

FIG. 2B is an explanatory view (2) showing a method of acquiring the interruption position.

FIG. 2C is an explanatory view (3) showing a method of acquiring the interruption position. [FIG. 2D] An explanatory view showing a method of acquiring an interruption position (4).

[Fig. 3A] Data example when the interruption position is obtained by absolute time or relative time.

[Fig. 3B] Data example when the interruption position is obtained by chapter.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing an interruption position in terminal A in FIG. 3A and a transmission position at which the transmission / reception unit starts transmitting content.

FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing the interruption position and the transmission position in terminal A in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram showing an interruption position in terminal A in FIG. 3A and a transmission position at which the transmission / reception unit starts transmitting content.

FIG. 4D is an explanatory diagram showing an interruption position in terminal A in FIG. 3A and a transmission position at which the transmission / reception unit starts transmitting content.

FIG. 4E is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission position where content transmission is started.

FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart showing a flow of content transmission in the content transmission / reception system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 200 according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 300 according to a third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101, 201, 301: Content transmission device

102, 202, 302: Content receiving device

103, 203, 303: Content distribution device

120, 220, 225, 320: Wireless communication network

204: Relay device

1011, 2011, 3011:: Receiver

1012, 2012, 3012:: Recording control unit

1013, 2013, 3013:: Holder

1015, 2045, 3025:: Status monitor

1016, 2046, 3026:: Interruption position storage

1017, 2017, 3017:: Transmission control unit

2018, 3018: Interruption position receiver BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] (1) Overall configuration

The content transmission / reception system 100 includes a content transmission device 101, a content reception device (102a, 102b '...) 102, and a content distribution device 103. The content distribution device 103 is connected to the content transmission device 101 via a communication network 110. Further, the content transmitting device 101 and the content receiving device 102 are connected via a wireless communication network 120.

[0040] The content distribution device 103 transmits content such as a television program or a radio program to the content transmission device 101 via the communication network 110. The content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content received from the content distribution apparatus 103 via the wireless communication network 120 to each of the content receiving apparatuses 102. If the content transmitting apparatus 101 cannot receive the transmitted content in the content receiving apparatus 102, the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus 102 based on the interrupted position at which the content cannot be received. Alternatively, when the viewing of the content receiving apparatus 102 by the user is interrupted, the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus 102 based on the interruption position.

Hereinafter, configurations of the content transmitting apparatus 101, the content receiving apparatus 102, and the content distribution apparatus 103 will be described in detail.

[0042] (2) Content distribution device

The content distribution device 103 is, for example, a satellite or terrestrial broadcast station or a CATV (Cable Television) station, and is connected to the content transmission device 101 via a communication network 110. Here, the communication network 110 is a satellite communication network using a communication satellite or the like when the content distribution device 103 is a satellite wave content distribution device, and is a case where the content distribution device 103 is a terrestrial wave content distribution device. Is a terrestrial communication network using a radio tower or the like. If the content distribution device 103 is a CATV station, it is composed of an optical fiber network and the like. . Then, the content distribution device 103 transmits a content such as a television program or a radio program broadcast by the content distribution device 103 to the content transmission device 101 via the communication network 110.

[0043] Also, the content distribution device 103 is a data distribution company that distributes content via the Internet, and the content is also distributed to the content transmission device 101 via a communication network 110 that also has the Internet network. good.

(3) Content Transmission Device

Next, the content transmitting apparatus 101 will be described in detail. The content transmission device 101 includes a reception unit 1011, a recording control unit 1012, a holding unit 1013, a transmission / reception unit 1014, a state monitoring unit 1015, an interruption position storage unit 1016, and a transmission control unit 1017. Examples of the content transmission device 101 include, for example, a home server and a communicable hard disk recorder.

The content transmission device 101 receives and holds the content from the content distribution device 103, and transmits the received content to the content transmission device 102. In addition, the content transmitting apparatus 101 acquires the interruption position where the content receiving apparatus 102 could not receive the content or the interruption position where the user interrupted the viewing, and transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus 102 based on the interruption position. I do.

Hereinafter, each configuration of the content transmitting apparatus 101 will be described in detail.

[0047] (3-1) Receiver

The receiving unit 1011 is, for example, a television tuner, a radio tuner, or the like, and receives content distributed by the content distribution device 103.

(3-2) Recording Control Unit

The recording control unit 1012 controls the recording of the content received by the receiving unit 1011 in the holding unit 1013. For example, when recording an analog television broadcast or the like, the recording control unit 1012 performs digital encoding based on a method of compressing and encoding video and audio signals of the MPEG2 standard and the MPEG4 standard. It is configured using hardware and software. Note that the encoding method used when recording the content is not limited to MPEG2 and MPEG4. In addition, digital broadcasting services and streaming services using the Internet etc. If the content received by the receiving unit 1011 such as the content to be distributed is digitally encoded in advance, the content may be recorded as it is.

[0049] The recording control unit 1012 may control the holding unit 1013 to hold all the content received by the receiving unit 1011, or may stop in response to an instruction from the transmission control unit 1017 described later. It may be controlled to hold the content from the position in the holding unit 1013. When the content at the interruption position is set to the holding unit 1013, the memory capacity used by the holding unit 1013 can be reduced.

Further, while the transmission / reception unit 1014 transmits the content to the content reception device 102 based on the interruption position, the recording control unit 1012 stores the content received by the reception unit 1011 in parallel in the holding unit 1013. Control to record. When the content receiving apparatus 102 receives the content from the interrupted position, the content transmitting apparatus 101 cannot transmit the content continuously received from the content distribution apparatus 103 to the content receiving apparatus 102. Therefore, while the content based on the interruption position is being transmitted, the content received by the receiving unit 1011 is held in the holding unit 1013. Then, when the transmission of the content based on the interruption position ends, the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content held by the holding unit 1013 to the content receiving apparatus 102 during the transmission. This allows the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 to view the content transmitted based on the interrupted position, and then view the content received by the content transmitting apparatus 101, such as the content distribution apparatus 103, during that time.

[0051] Further, when the capacity of the content held in the holding unit 1013 exceeds a predetermined value, the recording control unit 1012 deletes the recorded content from the holding unit 1013 in the oldest order or overwrites the recorded content. May be controlled so that At this time, as described later, if the transmission / reception unit 1014 has already overwritten the content from the interrupt position when reading the content from the holding unit 1013, the oldest V , To send from the part.

[0052] (3-3) Holder

The holding unit 1013 is a storage device having a predetermined capacity, and holds the content received by the receiving unit 1011 under the control of the recording control unit 1012. The holding unit 1013 is, for example, It is a storage device such as a hard disk device, an optical disk device, and a semiconductor memory.

The holding unit 1013 holds the content in association with the absolute time, or holds the content in association with the relative time from the start of the content. Alternatively, the holding unit 1013 may hold the content in association with a later-described chapter.

[0054] (3-4) Transmitter / receiver

The transmission / reception unit 1014 transmits the content received by the reception unit 1011 or the content held by the holding unit 1013 to the content reception device 102 under the control of the transmission control unit 1017. Here, since the content receiving apparatus 102 is a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA, and a car navigation apparatus, the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content to the content receiving apparatus 102 via the wireless communication network 120. In addition, the transmission / reception unit 1014 receives the state of the content receiving apparatus 102 including the receiving state of the content receiving apparatus 102 and the operation state of the content receiving apparatus 102 by the user from the content receiving apparatus 102.

[0055] The transmission / reception unit 1014 is commonly used in the Internet, such as a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter, for example, and in the Internet, such as TCP / IP ^ RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol). It can be configured using software or hardware that processes the specified communication protocol. RTP is a standard protocol for streaming distribution of video and audio data, and is described in detail in IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force RFC1889 (Request For comments 1889), etc.). The communication protocol for control communication and transmission used in the above is not limited to the above protocol, and other protocols may be used.

Further, the screen size of the content is reduced in consideration of the bandwidth of the network between the content transmitting device 101 and the content receiving device 102, the screen size when displaying the content on the content receiving device 102, and the like. Alternatively, the content may be transmitted after performing a conversion such as compression or increasing the compression ratio.

[0057] Further, transmission / reception section 1014 may be configured to transmit different contents to a plurality of content receiving apparatuses 102a, 102b, respectively. (0058) (3-5) Status monitoring unit

The user of the content receiving apparatus 102 may interrupt the viewing due to the power of the content receiving apparatus 102 being unable to receive the content from the content transmitting apparatus 101, or may operate the content receiving apparatus 102 by himself / herself. If viewing is interrupted, the content cannot be viewed from the interrupted position. Therefore, in order to enable reproduction from the interruption position, the interruption position is acquired by the state monitoring unit 1015. Specifically, the state monitoring unit 1015 receives and monitors the state of the content receiving apparatus 102 received by the transmitting / receiving unit 1014, such as the state of operation of the content receiving apparatus 102 by the user, and the like. The status monitoring unit 1015 determines whether the content receiving device 102 cannot receive the content based on the monitored status such as the reception status and the operation status! /, The interrupted position where the status has been set, or the content reception device. The interruption position at which the user 102 interrupted the viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 is acquired and output to the interruption position storage unit 1016.

[0059] (3—5—1) How to Obtain Interruption Position

The following describes a method of acquiring a pause position when the content cannot be received due to a bad communication state of the content receiving apparatus 102 and a method of acquiring a pause position when the user stops the viewing. Will be explained.

(A) Acquisition of interruption position based on bad communication status

For example, the state monitoring unit 1015 periodically transmits a control message to the content reception device 102 via the transmission / reception unit 1014 to inquire about the reception state. Then, state monitoring section 1015 receives a response message to the control message from content reception apparatus 102 via transmission / reception section 1014, and monitors the content reception state in content reception apparatus 102.

[0061] Specifically, for example, when the reception state in the content reception apparatus 102 is normal, the transmission / reception unit 1021 of the content reception apparatus 102 inquires the reception state from the content transmission apparatus 101 and receives a matching control message. Then, a response message is immediately returned to the content transmission device 101. On the other hand, if the communication state of the content receiving apparatus 102 is bad, no response message is returned. For example, the content receiving apparatus 102 can receive the control message due to the communication state, and cannot return a response message. Or a case where a control message is received, but a response message cannot be returned due to poor communication conditions. Therefore, the state monitoring unit 1015 obtains the interruption position based on the presence or absence of the response message. Specifically, when the state monitoring unit 1015 does not receive the response message, the interruption position is acquired based on the position where the response message was not received. Further, the interruption position may be obtained based on the position where the control message corresponding to the strong response message that cannot be received is transmitted.

[0062] Note that the content receiving apparatus 102 may transmit a message in response to reception of content instead of returning a response message to the control message. For example, this is realized by configuring the protocol used when the transmitting / receiving unit 1014 of the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits content to the content receiving apparatus 102 includes a procedure for confirming that the content receiving apparatus 102 has received the content. . When such a protocol is used, the transmission / reception unit 1021 of the content reception device 102 transmits a reception confirmation message to the transmission / reception unit 1014 when receiving the content from the transmission / reception unit 1014. Further, transmitting / receiving section 1014 transmits a confirmation message to state monitoring section 1015. On the other hand, if the content has not been received, transmitting / receiving section 1021 does not transmit a confirmation message to transmitting / receiving section 1014. Therefore, state monitoring section 1015 determines that the reception state is normal when the confirmation message is received, and acquires the interruption position based on the reception state when the confirmation message is not received.

Further, an error detection signal may be included in the content transmitted by transmitting / receiving section 1014 to content receiving apparatus 102, and information indicating the error detection status may be included in a response message from content receiving apparatus 102. Specifically, transmitting / receiving section 1014 of content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits content including the error detection signal to content receiving apparatus 102. The transmitting / receiving section 1021 of the content receiving apparatus 102 calculates an error occurrence rate indicating whether the content has been normally received from the content transmitting apparatus 101 based on the received error detection signal. Then, transmitting / receiving section 1021 transmits the calculated error occurrence rate to transmitting / receiving section 1014. The state monitoring unit 1015 receives the error occurrence rate from the transmission / reception unit 1014, and monitors the occurrence state of an error when the content receiving device 102 receives the content. For example, when the received error occurrence rate is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the content is normally received. Meanwhile, receive If the error occurrence rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, it is determined that the content reception device 102 cannot receive the content, and the interruption position is obtained based on the position where the error occurrence rate equal to or higher than the predetermined value is received. I do. Further, the interruption position may be obtained based on the position where the content including the error detection signal is transmitted, corresponding to the received error occurrence rate equal to or higher than the predetermined value.

In addition, the interruption position may be acquired based on the fact that the communication itself between the content transmitting apparatus 101 and the content receiving apparatus 102 is disconnected.

(B) Acquisition of interruption position where viewing was interrupted by user

Next, a method of acquiring a stop position when the user stops viewing will be described. The content receiving device 102 may be configured to detect whether or not the user himself / herself cannot view the content, and to transmit the content to the status monitoring unit 1015 via the transmitting / receiving unit 1014 of the content transmitting device 102.

For example, the mobile phone serving as the content receiving apparatus 102 detects that there is an incoming call when the user continues to view the content using the mobile phone, and sends the detection result to the transmitting / receiving unit 1014 of the content transmitting apparatus 102. Send. Also, the car navigation device as the content receiving device 102 detects that the user is driving a car equipped with the car navigation device, and transmits the detection result to the transmission / reception unit 1014. Alternatively, the content receiving apparatus 102 obtains that the user himself / herself interrupts viewing of the content, for example, interrupts viewing by operating the content receiving apparatus 102, and sends the information to the transmission / reception unit 1014. Transmission. Then, the transmission / reception unit 1014 transmits the content received from the content reception device 102 to the state monitoring unit 1015. As described above, by transmitting the user status from the content receiving device 102 to the content transmitting device 101, the status monitoring unit 1015 can determine not only the interruption position where the content receiving device 102 cannot receive the content but also the content receiving device 102. It is possible to acquire the interruption position where the viewing of the content was interrupted for the user of the device 102 himself.

[0067] (3— 5— 2) Criteria for obtaining the interruption position

The interruption position is obtained based on, for example, the absolute time, the relative time of the starting power of the program, the chapter, and the like. Alternatively, the interruption position may be obtained at a position before the interruption position by a predetermined position. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D are explanatory diagrams showing a method of acquiring the interruption position, and are shaded. The period is a period during which viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 is suspended.

[0068] (A) Acquisition by absolute time

In FIG. 2A, the interruption position is obtained by the absolute time. For example, the content receiving apparatus 102 is receiving a live broadcast program from the content distribution apparatus 103 via the content transmitting apparatus 101, and viewing the program on the content receiving apparatus 102 is “15:20:00 (15:00) 20 minutes). In this case, the absolute time "15:20:00" is acquired as the interruption position.

(B) Acquisition by relative time

In FIG. 2B, the interruption position is obtained based on the relative time. For example, based on a start time at which a program is transmitted from the content transmitting apparatus 101 and received and played back by the content receiving apparatus 102 and viewing is started, the interruption position is acquired based on the relative time of the start time. As shown in FIG. 2B, it is assumed that the start time of the program is “00:00:00”, and the viewing on the content receiving apparatus is interrupted at a position “00:20:00 (20 minutes)” from the start time. I do. In this case, “00:20:00”, which is a relative time from the start time, is acquired as the interruption position.

[0070] (C) Acquisition by chapter

In FIG. 2C, the interruption position is obtained based on the chapter including the interruption position. Here, the chapter refers to a program that is broadcast on a television or the like and is a unit that also constitutes a contenter such as video data and audio data, and is divided into several predetermined units. As shown in FIG. 2C, if the program is composed of Chapter 1, Chapter 2,..., And the interruption position is included in Chapter 2, the program acquires Chapter 2 as the interruption position.

[0071] (D) Acquisition of the interruption position before a predetermined position of the actual interruption position

In FIG. 2D, the interruption position is acquired at a position that is a predetermined position before the interruption position. For example, if the interrupted position is “00:20:00” in relative time, “00:15:00”, which is a position that goes back a predetermined position, is acquired as the interrupted position. Thereby, it is possible to control the transmission control unit 1017 described below to transmit the content from the position “00:15:00” which is traced back to the predetermined position to the content receiving apparatus 102. Therefore, the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 can view the content a little before the interruption position, and You can watch the content while grasping it.

[0072] (3— 5— 3) Obtaining Reason for Interruption

The state monitoring unit 1015 may also acquire the interruption reason together with the interruption position. The content receiving apparatus 102 may not be able to receive the content due to a bad communication condition, or the viewing of the content may be interrupted by the user receiving a call while viewing the content. In such a case, the transmission control unit 1017 described below controls the transmission of the content from the content transmitting apparatus 101 to the content receiving apparatus 102 according to the interruption reason as well as the interruption point, thereby improving the user's convenience.

[0073] The state monitoring unit 1015 obtains the interruption reason, for example, as follows. For example, as described above, when a response message to a control message cannot be received due to deterioration of the communication state, the state monitoring unit 1015 determines the interruption position based on the position at which the response message cannot be received. get. At this time, together with the acquisition of the interruption position, the interruption reason such as “deterioration of communication status” is acquired.

The state monitoring unit 1015 may receive the interruption reason from the content receiving device 102. For example, when a mobile phone serving as the content receiving apparatus 102 receives an incoming call and the user receives the call, the user has to stop viewing on the mobile phone. At this time, the content receiving apparatus 102 transmits the fact that there is an incoming call to the state monitoring unit 1015, so that the state monitoring unit 1015 obtains the interruption reason along with the interruption position such as “incoming”. In addition, when the user is driving a car on which the car navigation device as the content receiving device 102 is mounted, the user has stopped viewing on the car navigation device. At this time, the content monitoring apparatus 1015 notifies the status monitoring unit 1015 that the operation is in progress, so that the status monitoring unit 1015 acquires the interruption reason of “in operation” together with the interruption position.

Further, the state monitoring unit 1015 may acquire the interruption reason according to the content of the operation of the content receiving apparatus 102 by the user. For example, when the user presses the pause button provided on the content receiving apparatus 102, the content of the operation is notified from the content receiving apparatus 102 to the status monitoring unit 1015. Therefore, the status monitoring unit 1015 acquires the interruption reason “PUSH of the pause button”.

Then, the state monitoring unit 1015 outputs the acquired interruption reason to the interruption position storage unit 1016 To do.

[0077] (3—5—4) Acquisition of interruption period

The state monitoring unit 1015 may further acquire the interruption period together with the acquisition of the interruption position. Then, the transmission control unit 1017 described later controls the transmission of the content to the content transmitting apparatus 101 and the content receiving apparatus 102 in accordance with the suspension period, thereby improving the user's convenience.

[0078] Again, the acquisition of the suspension period will be described with reference to Figs. 2A to 2D. In FIG. 2A—FIG. 2D, the hatched portion indicates the period during which viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 is interrupted, and in FIG. 2A—FIG. 2D, the interruption period is “00:05:00 (5 minutes). ) "Has been acquired. Note that the interruption end position may be acquired instead of the interruption period itself. For example, in FIG. 2A, the absolute time “15:25:00” is acquired as the interruption end position, and in FIG. 2B, the relative time “00:25:00” is acquired as the interruption end position. Then, the interruption period is acquired by calculating the difference from the interruption position already acquired.

[0079] Specifically, the state monitoring unit 1015 acquires the suspension period, for example, as follows. The state monitoring unit 1015 stops from receiving a response message to the control message due to a communication state failure until the next response message is received, that is, communication between the content transmitting apparatus 101 and the content receiving apparatus 102. Measure the time until restarting to obtain the suspension period. Alternatively, the interruption period is acquired by acquiring the time at which communication has been resumed as the interruption end position and calculating the difference from the interruption position already acquired.

Then, the state monitoring unit 1015 outputs the acquired interruption period or interruption end position to the interruption position storage unit 1016.

(3-6) Interruption position storage unit

The interruption position storage unit 1016 receives and stores the interruption position, interruption reason, interruption period, and the like from the state monitoring unit 1015. FIG. 3A is an example of data when an interruption position is acquired by an absolute time or a relative time, and FIG. 3B is an example of data when an interruption position is acquired by a chapter. 3A and 3B, for each terminal ID of the content receiving apparatus 102, the content ID of the interrupted program, the interrupt location, the interrupt period, and the interrupt reason are described in one record. For example, on terminal A in Figure 3A, while the user is watching content 001, Due to the occurrence of the incoming call, the content cannot be viewed from the interruption position ta for the interruption time Δta. In addition, in terminal A in FIG. 3B, while the user is viewing content 001, an incoming call prevents the content from being viewed from chapter 2 including the interrupted position during the interruption time At. In this way, by storing the interrupt position and the like for each terminal ID of the plurality of content receiving apparatuses 102 connected to the content transmitting apparatus 101, the transmission control of the interrupting position in the transmission control unit 1017 described later can be performed by the content receiving apparatus. It can be performed accurately for each location 102.

[0082] (3-7) Transmission control unit

The transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 based on the interruption position, interruption period, interruption reason, and the like stored in the interruption position storage unit 1016. Further, the transmission control unit 1017 controls the recording control unit 1012 so that the receiving unit 1011 stores all the content received from the content distribution device 103 in the storage unit 1013. Alternatively, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the recording control unit 1012 based on the interruption position acquired by the state monitoring unit 1015 so as to hold the content from the interruption position in the holding unit 1013.

Next, control of transmission / reception section 1014 based on interruption position, interruption period, interruption reason, and the like by transmission control section 1017 will be specifically described. The state monitoring unit 1015 receives states such as the reception state and the operation state of the content receiving apparatus 102 via the transmission / reception unit 1014. Here, when the state monitoring unit 1015 detects that the content receiving apparatus 102 is ready to receive or reproduce the content, or the state monitoring unit 1015 receives a transmission request from the interruption position from the content receiving apparatus 102. Then, the detection result and the transmission request are transmitted to the transmission control unit 1017. The transmission control unit 1017 first acquires the interruption position and the like from the interruption position storage unit 1016 based on the detection result and the transmission request. Then, transmission control section 1017 controls transmission / reception section 1014 so as to transmit the content in holding section 1013 to content receiving apparatus 102 based on the interruption position and the like. The transmission control unit 1017 transmits the contents in the holding unit 1013 to the transmission / reception unit 1014 based on the interruption position to; interruption time A to; interruption reason “telephone” in the interruption position storage unit 1016 shown in FIG. Control to send. A method of transmitting content based on the interruption position and the like will be described below.

(A) Transmission of interruption position force The transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content starting from the interruption position in the interruption position storage unit 1016. FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing the interruption position and the transmission position at which the transmitting / receiving unit starts transmitting the content in terminal A in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing the interruption position and the transmission position in terminal A in FIG. 3B. .

In FIG. 4A, the time ta is acquired as the interruption position in “content 001”! At this time, the transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content from time ta to the content receiving device 102 that is the terminal A. Therefore, the interruption position = transmission position = t a. Then, the transmission / reception unit 1014 extracts the content with the time t o from the holding unit 1013 and transmits the content to the content reception device 102. Similarly, in FIG. 4B, “chapter 2” is acquired as the interruption position in “content 001”. At this time, the transmission control section 1017 controls the transmission / reception section 1014 so as to transmit the content from “Chapter 2” to the content receiving apparatus 102 as the terminal A. Therefore, the interruption position = transmission position = chapter 2. Then, the transmission / reception unit 1014 extracts the content at which the leading force of Chapter 2 also starts from the holding unit 1013 and transmits the content to the content reception device 102.

[0086] (B) Transmission from a position preceding the interrupted position by a predetermined position

In addition, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the transmission / reception unit 1014 so as to transmit the content in which both the interrupted position force acquired from the interrupted position storage unit 1016 and the position force retroactive to a predetermined position are started. FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram showing the interruption position and the transmission position at which the transmission / reception unit starts transmitting the content in terminal A in FIG. 3A. In FIG. 4C, the time t o; is acquired as the interruption position in “content 001”. At this time, the transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 so that the time to; . Therefore, the transmission position is represented by a transmission position = interruption position t o; —predetermined position At ′. Then, transmitting / receiving section 1014 extracts the content from time t a — At ′ from holding section 1013 and transmits the content to content receiving apparatus 102. The transmitting / receiving unit of the content transmitting device 101 transmits the content to the content receiving device 102 even before the interruption position, so that the user of the content receiving device 102 views the content while grasping the flow before and after the interruption position. Can be.

[0087] (C) Transmission of chapter force including interruption position Further, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content starting from the chapter including the interruption position in the interruption position storage unit 1016. FIG. 4D is an explanatory diagram showing an interruption position and a transmission position at which the transmission / reception unit starts transmission of content in terminal A in FIG. 3A. In Fig. 4D, the time ta is acquired as the interruption position in "content 001". At this time, the transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content starting from “chapter 2” including the time to; Then, transmitting / receiving section 1014 extracts the content from “Chapter 2” from holding section 1013 and transmits the content to content receiving apparatus 102. In this way, by transmitting / receiving the content in accordance with the chapter by the transmission / reception unit 1014, the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 can view the content at a position where the interruption is more sharp than the interruption position itself.

[0088] The transmission control unit 1017 may determine whether or not to control the transmission of the chapter content including the interruption position according to the distance between the interruption position and the chapter. For example, when the interruption position is close to the start position of the chapter, the transmission / reception unit 1014 is controlled to transmit the content from the chapter. On the other hand, when the interruption position is near the end position of the chapter, the transmission / reception unit 1014 is controlled to transmit the content from the interruption position.

[0089] (D) Transmission according to the reason for interruption

Further, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content based on the interruption reason in the interruption position storage unit 1016. For example, the transmission control unit 1017 determines a predetermined position to which the interruption position force also goes back for each interruption reason, such as when the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 is driving or on a call. It is set in the transmission control unit 1017. Then, based on the interruption reason, transmission control section 1017 controls transmission / reception section 1014 so as to transmit to content receiving apparatus 102 the content from the position where the interruption position force goes back a predetermined position. The transmission control unit 1017 may hold a table in which the time to go back for each interruption reason is set in advance.

For example, when the interruption reason is interruption by “telephone”, the transmission control unit 1017 determines a longer position to go back to the interruption position force, and controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 according to the determination. Sending The receiving unit 1014 transmits to the content transmitting apparatus 102 the content from a position that is retroactive by the amount determined by the transmission control unit 1017. If the viewing on the content receiving device 102 is interrupted by the user calling, there is a high possibility that the user views before the call and forgets the contents. Therefore, the transmission / reception unit 1014 of the content transmission apparatus 101 transmits the content retroactively beyond the interruption position, so that the user can view the content while grasping the flow before and after the interruption position. In this manner, by determining the predetermined position where the interruption position force also goes back according to the interruption reason, the convenience when the user uses the content receiving apparatus 102 can be improved.

[0091] (E) Transmission according to interruption period

Further, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content based on the interruption period of the interruption position storage unit 1016. For example, the longer the interruption period is, the higher the possibility of viewing before the interruption and forgetting the contents is high. Therefore, the transmission control unit 1017 increases the time to go back to the interruption position according to the length of the interruption period. The transmission / reception unit 1014 is determined according to the determination. Further, as shown in FIG.4E, when a plurality of short interruption periods are included in a short time, the transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 to transmit the content from the first interruption position. May be. In the case of FIG. 4E, by transmitting the content from the first interruption position rather than transmitting the content for each interruption position, the user can view the content while grasping the flow of the content.

[0092] As described in (A)-(E) above, the transmission / reception unit 1014 transmits content according to the interruption position, so that the content receiving apparatus 102 receives and reproduces the content from the interruption position. Can be. Therefore, the user himself / herself watching the content by the content receiving apparatus 102, or the content receiving apparatus 102 or the content transmitting apparatus 101 can instantly reproduce the content corresponding to the interrupted position in the content receiving apparatus 102 without searching for the interrupted position. It is. Therefore, the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 can instantly resume viewing of the content from the interrupted position, and can view the interrupted content even in a short idle time such as a train waiting time.

Further, the transmission control unit 1017 reads out the data of the holding unit 1013 also at the interruption position and controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 so as to transmit the data to the content reception device 102, and the transmission control unit 1017 operates faster than usual. It may be controlled to transmit at a lower speed. As a result, the content receiving device 102 receives the content at a higher speed than usual. Therefore, the user can confirm the missed portion by fast-forwarding and catch up with the content that the content distribution device 103 is currently transmitting. Also, at this time, if the transmission / reception unit 1014 reads the content at a higher speed than usual and the reception unit 1011 catches up with the content currently being received from the content distribution device 103, the transmission control unit 1017 sends the content to the transmission / reception unit 1014. The receiving unit 1011 is instructed to transmit the received data. Further, when the transmission control unit 1017 instructs the recording control unit 1012 to stop recording of the content that the holding unit 1013 continues from the interrupted position, the capacity of the content to be recorded in the holding unit 1013 is required. It can be minimized.

[0094] (4) Content receiving device

Next, the content receiving apparatus 102 will be described in detail. The content receiving apparatus 102 is, for example, a mobile terminal capable of transmitting and receiving data by wireless communication such as a mobile phone, and includes transmitting / receiving sections (1021a, 1021 to 1021) and display sections (1022 &, 1022b-.

[0095] (4 1) Transmitter / receiver

The transmission / reception unit 1021 can be configured using software for processing a communication protocol for wireless communication or hardware, and communicates with the transmission / reception unit 1014 of the content transmission device 101 via the wireless communication network 120. Then, the transmitting / receiving section 1021 receives the content and the control message transmitted by the content transmitting apparatus 101. Further, the transmission / reception unit 1021 transmits a response message corresponding to the control message, an error detection signal, an operation status of the content receiving apparatus 102, a reason for interruption, and the like to the status monitoring unit 1015. Further, when the user resumes viewing by operating the content receiving device 102, a restart notification is transmitted to the state monitoring unit 1015.

[0096] For example, transmitting / receiving section 1021 receives, via transmission / reception section 1014, a control message periodically transmitted by state monitoring section 1015. Then, transmission / reception section 1021 transmits a response message to the control message to state monitoring section 1015 via transmission / reception section 1014 of content transmission apparatus 101. The status monitoring unit 1015 determines whether or not a response message has been received. The reception state of the ten receiving device 102 is monitored, and the interruption position, interruption reason, interruption period, and the like are acquired.

[0097] Further, upon receiving the content including the error detection signal from transmission / reception section 1014, transmission / reception section 1021 transmits a response message including information indicating the error detection status to transmission / reception section 1014. The status monitoring unit 1015 monitors the reception status of the content receiving apparatus 102 based on the value of the error occurrence rate included in the information indicating the error detection status, and acquires the interruption position, interruption reason, interruption period, and the like.

[0098] Further, transmission / reception section 1021 detects that an incoming call has been received by mobile phone serving as content receiving apparatus 102, and detects that a car equipped with a car navigation apparatus serving as content receiving apparatus 102 is driving. For example, the operation of the content receiving apparatus 102 by the user is detected. Then, transmission / reception section 1021 transmits the detection result to state monitoring section 1015 via transmission / reception section 1014. The state monitoring unit 1015 monitors the operation state of the user by receiving the detection result, and obtains the interruption position, interruption reason, interruption period, and the like.

[0099] (4 2) Display section

The display unit 1022 reproduces the content received by the transmission / reception unit 1021 and presents the content to the user. The display unit 1022 can be configured using a display device such as a liquid crystal or a speaker, and software or hardware for expanding and decoding compressed and digitally encoded content data.

[0100] (5) Flow of content transmission in content transmission / reception system

Next, the flow of content transmission in the content transmission / reception system 100 when the viewing of the content in the content receiving apparatus 102 is interrupted will be described. FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart showing the flow of content transmission in the content transmission / reception system.

[0101] Step S110: The transmission control unit 1017 controls the transmission / reception unit 1014 of the content transmission device 101 to transmit the content to the transmission / reception unit 1021 of the content reception device 102. At this time, the transmitting / receiving unit 1014 may transmit the content received by the receiving unit 1011 from the content distribution apparatus 103 to the transmitting / receiving unit 1021, or the content held in the holding unit 1013. May be sent to the transmitting / receiving unit 1021!

Step S115: The transmission control unit 1017 controls the recording control unit 1012 so that the content received by the reception unit 1011 is stored in the storage unit 1013. Further, the transmission control unit 1017 may control the recording control unit 1012 based on the interruption position acquired by the state monitoring unit 1015 so as to retain the content from the interruption position in the retaining unit 1013.

Step S120: The state monitoring unit 1015 monitors the state of the content receiving apparatus 102, such as the reception state and the operation state. For example, the state monitoring unit 1015 receives a response message corresponding to the control message, receives a response message including an error detection signal, receives a signal indicating that the content receiving apparatus 102 has been operated, and the like. Monitor the status such as.

[0104] Step S125: The state monitoring unit 1015 determines whether or not the viewing of the content receiving device 102 is disabled based on the obtained state. For example, the state monitoring unit 1015 determines that the user has not received a response message, has received a response message having an error rate equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and has become unable to view the content due to an incoming call, driving, or the like. It is determined that viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 has been disabled. If the state monitoring unit 1015 determines that viewing on the content receiving device 102 has become impossible, the process proceeds to step S130. On the other hand, if the state in which viewing is possible continues, the process returns to step S120.

Step S130: If the content cannot be viewed on the content receiving apparatus 102, the state monitoring unit 1015 acquires the interruption position and the interruption reason at that time. The interruption position storage unit 1016 stores the interruption position and the interruption reason.

Step S135: The state monitoring unit 1015 continues to monitor the state, and determines whether the state has changed to a state in which the content cannot be viewed on the content receiving apparatus 102. If the state monitoring unit 1015 determines that viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 is enabled, the process proceeds to step S140. On the other hand, if the state in which the content cannot be viewed continues, the monitoring of the state is continued.

Step S140: In response to the fact that viewing on the content receiving apparatus 102 becomes possible, the state monitoring unit 1015 acquires a suspension period. The interruption period is the amount of interruption already acquired It can also be obtained by calculating the difference between the position and the position at which viewing is possible.

[0108] Steps S145 and S150: When the state monitoring unit 1015 receives a content transmission request from the transmission / reception unit 1021 to the content transmission device from the interruption position, the transmission control unit 1017 determines the interruption position, the interruption reason, and the interruption period. Read from the interrupt position storage unit 1016.

Step S155: The transmission control section 1017 controls the transmission / reception section 1014 to transmit the content in the holding section 1013 to the content receiving apparatus 102 based on the read interruption position and the like.

(6) Effects

In the first embodiment, when the content receiving apparatus 102 fails to receive the content: The content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content corresponding to the interruption position where the reception has failed to the content receiving apparatus 102. Alternatively, when the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 interrupts viewing of the content on the content receiving apparatus 102, the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content corresponding to the interrupted position where the viewing was interrupted to the content receiving apparatus 101. Therefore, the user himself / herself watching the content by the content receiving device 102, or the content receiving device 102 or the content transmitting device 101, instantly reproduces the content corresponding to the interrupted position in the content receiving device 102 without searching for the interrupted position. It is possible. Therefore, the user of the content receiving apparatus 102 can instantly resume viewing of the content from the interrupted position, and can view the interrupted content even in a short idle time such as a train waiting time.

[0111] Also, since the content transmitting apparatus 101 transmits the content corresponding to the interruption position to the content receiving apparatus 102, the content receiving apparatus 102 allows the content user who cannot reproduce the received content to view the content. You can play interrupted content. That is, there is no need for the content receiving apparatus 102 to store the content or to search the stored content for the content corresponding to the interruption position. Therefore, it is possible to enhance the convenience when the user uses the content receiving device 102 without complicating the configuration of the content receiving device 102.

For example, when the content receiving apparatus 102 is a mobile terminal, the receiving state is unstable, for example, the receiving environment of the mobile terminal changes at any time, and the reception of the content fails. There are many situations. In addition, a user of the mobile terminal may be forced to interrupt viewing on the mobile terminal due to a change in the usage environment of the mobile terminal from time to time. Even in such a case, it is possible to view from the interrupted position in the content transmitting device without searching for the interrupted position by the content transmitting device 101, the content receiving device 102, the user, or the like. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a content transmission device that is optimal for a usage environment of a mopile terminal.

Note that the receiving means in the claims is in the receiving unit 1011, the holding means is in the holding unit 1013, the transmitting means is in the transmitting / receiving unit 1014, and the interruption position acquiring means is the state monitoring unit 1015 and the interruption position storage unit In 1016, the transmission control means corresponds to the transmission control unit 1017.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0115] (1) Overall configuration

The content transmission / reception system 200 includes a content transmission device 201, a content reception device (202a, 202b "-) 202, a content distribution device 203, and a relay device 204. The content distribution device 203 is connected via a communication network 210 to the content transmission device. The content transmitting apparatus 201 and the content receiving apparatus 202 are connected to each other via a wireless communication network 220 and a wireless communication network 225. The content transmitting apparatus 201 and the content receiving apparatus 202 are connected to each other. Is performed via the relay device 204. The content transmission / reception system 200 according to the second embodiment acquires and stores the interruption position, the interruption reason, and the interruption period in the relay device 204, and further stores the content. The transmission device 201 transmits content to the content reception device 202 based on the interruption position and the like stored in the relay device 204. Te differs from the content reception system 100 according to the first embodiment

[0116] Hereinafter, the configurations of the content transmitting device 201, the content receiving device 202, and the relay device 204 will be described in detail. The content distribution device 203 has the same configuration as the content distribution device 103 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. First, the configuration of the relay device 204 will be described. [0117] (2) Relay device

The relay device 204 includes a transmission / reception unit 2041, a state monitoring unit 2045, and an interruption position storage unit 2046. Examples of the relay device 204 include a router device and a bridge.

[2-118] Transceiver

The transmission / reception unit 2041 of the relay device 204 relays wireless communication between the content transmitting device 201 and the content receiving device 202 based on, for example, a routing table for relaying wireless communication. At this time, the content transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 2014 of the content transmission device 201 is transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 2021 of the content reception device 202 via the transmission / reception unit 2041 of the relay device 204.

[0119] Further, transmitting / receiving section 2041 receives, from content receiving apparatus 202, a state including a content receiving state and an operation state of content receiving apparatus 202. Further, the transmission / reception unit 2041 transmits the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period stored in the interruption position storage unit 2046 described later to the content transmission device 201.

[0120] (2-2) Status monitoring unit

The user of the content receiving device 202 views the content when the viewing is interrupted because the content receiving device 202 cannot receive the content from the content transmitting device 201 or the user operates the content receiving device 202 by himself / herself. If the content is interrupted, the content cannot be viewed from the interrupted location. Therefore, in order to enable reproduction from the interruption position, the interruption position is acquired by the state monitoring unit 2045. Specifically, the state monitoring unit 2045 receives and monitors the state including the reception state and the operation state of the content reception device 202, which the transmission / reception unit 2041 has received from the transmission / reception unit 2021 of the content reception device 202. Then, based on the monitored state, based on the monitored state, the state monitoring unit 2045 suspends viewing at the content receiving apparatus 202 when the content receiving apparatus 202 cannot receive the content. The interrupted position obtained is obtained and output to the interrupted position storage unit 2046.

[0121] The method of acquiring the interruption position in the state monitoring unit 2045 is the same as that in the first embodiment. For example, the state monitoring unit 2045 periodically transmits a control message for inquiring the reception state to the content receiving apparatus 202 via the transmission / reception unit 2041. And the status monitor 2045 , Based on the presence or absence of a response message to the control message. Further, the state monitoring unit 2045 acquires the interruption reason and the interruption period according to the reception state with the content reception device 202, as in the first embodiment.

[0122] (2-3) Interruption position storage unit

The interruption position storage unit 2046 receives and stores the interruption position, interruption reason, interruption period, and the like from the state monitoring unit 2045.

[0123] (3) Content receiving device

Next, the content receiving device (202a, 202b) 202 will be described in detail. The content receiving device 202 includes a transmitting / receiving unit (2021a, 2021b) 2021 and a display unit (2022a, 2022b) 2022. The transmission / reception unit 2021 receives the content and the control message transmitted by the content transmission device 201 via the relay unit 204. Further, the transmission / reception unit 2021 transmits a response message to the control message, an error detection signal, an operation status of the content reception device 202, a suspension reason, a restart notification, and the like to the status monitoring unit 2045. The display unit 2022 reproduces the content received by the transmission / reception unit 2021 and presents the content to the user.

[0124] (4) Content transmission device

The content transmission device 201 includes a reception unit 2011, a recording control unit 2012, a holding unit 2013, a transmission / reception unit 2014, a transmission control unit 2017, and an interruption position reception unit 2018.

[0125] The interruption position receiving unit 2018 acquires the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period from the interruption position storage unit 2046 via the transmission / reception unit 2041 of the relay device 204. Then, the transmission control unit 2017 controls the transmission / reception unit 2014 to transmit the content in the holding unit 2013 to the content reception device 202 based on the interruption position or the like acquired by the interruption position receiving unit 2018.

[0126] The configurations of the reception unit 2011, the recording control unit 2012, the holding unit 2013, the transmission / reception unit 2014, and the transmission control unit 2017 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted, and the interruption position reception unit 2018 will be described. This will be described in detail.

[0127] When the state monitoring unit 2045 detects that the content receiving device 202 is ready to receive or reproduce content, or when the state monitoring unit 2045 receives a transmission request for the interrupted position from the content receiving device 202. The interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period in the interruption position storage unit 2046 are transmitted to the interruption position receiving unit 2018. Therefore, the interruption position The receiving unit 2018 acquires the interruption position and the like via the transmitting / receiving unit 2041. Further, when the content from the interruption position is stored in the holding unit 2013, the interruption position receiving unit 2018 receives the interruption position from the transmission / reception unit 2041 at the same time that the status monitoring unit 2045 acquires the interruption position. Then, the transmission control unit 2017 may acquire the interruption position from the interruption position receiving unit 2018, and control the recording control unit 2012 so as to hold the content from the interruption position in the holding unit 2013.

(5) Effects

In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when the content cannot be viewed on the content receiving device 202 due to the deterioration of the communication state or the interruption by the user, the content is viewed on the content receiving device 202. The user himself or the content receiving device 202 or the content transmitting device 201 can instantly reproduce the content corresponding to the interrupted position in the content receiving device 202 without searching for the interrupted position. Therefore, the user of the content receiving device 202 can instantly resume viewing of the content from the interrupted position.

[0129] Further, there is no need for the content receiving apparatus 202 to store the content or to search the stored content for the content corresponding to the interruption position. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience when the user uses the content receiving device 202 without complicating the configuration of the content receiving device 202.

[0130] As described above, according to the above invention, it is possible to provide a content transmission device that is optimal for a usage environment of a mopile terminal in which a reception state is likely to be unstable.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a content transmission / reception system 300 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0132] (1) Overall configuration

The content transmitting / receiving system 300 includes a content transmitting device 301, a content receiving device (302a, 302b ') 302, and a content distribution device 303. The content distribution device 303 is connected to the content transmission device 301 via the communication network 310. Further, the content transmitting device 301 and the content receiving device 302 are connected via a wireless communication network 320. . The content transmission / reception system 300 according to the second embodiment acquires and stores the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period in the content reception device 302, and further, the content transmission device 301 stores the interruption information stored in the content reception device 302. It differs from the content transmission / reception system 100 according to the first embodiment in that the content is transmitted to the content reception device 302 based on the position and the like.

[0133] Hereinafter, the configurations of the content transmitting device 301 and the content receiving device 302 will be described in detail. The content distribution device 303 has the same configuration as the content distribution device 103 according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. First, the configuration of the content receiving device 302 will be described.

[0134] (2) Content receiving device

The content receiving device (302a, 302b) 302 includes a transmission / reception unit (3021a, 3021b) 3021, a display unit (3022a, 3022b) 3022, a status monitoring unit 3025, and an interruption position storage unit 3026.

[0135] (2-1) Transmitter / receiver

The transmission / reception unit 3021 receives a content, a control message, and the like from the content transmission device 301. Also, the transmitting / receiving section 3021 notifies the state monitoring section 3025 that the viewing has been interrupted due to the inability to receive the content from the content transmitting apparatus 201. The transmission / reception unit 3021 also notifies the state monitoring unit 3025 when the reception of the content from the content transmission device 201 is restarted. Further, the transmission / reception unit 3021 transmits the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period stored in the interruption position storage unit 3026 to the content transmission device 301.

[0136] (2-2) Status monitoring unit

If the transmission / reception unit 3021 of the content reception device 302 cannot view or receive the content from the content transmission device 301 and the viewing is interrupted, the status monitoring unit 3025 receives a notification from the transmission / reception unit 3021 that the transmission has been interrupted. Also, when the user of the content receiving apparatus 302 has stopped viewing by operating the content receiving apparatus 302, the state monitoring unit 3025 detects the operation. For example, if the user responds to an incoming call to the content receiving device 302 or performs an operation to interrupt reception at the content receiving device 302, The state monitoring unit 3025 detects the operation state of the content receiving device 302. Then, when receiving the notification of the interruption from the transmission / reception unit 3021, the state monitoring unit 3025 acquires the time at which the notification was received as the interruption position, and acquires the interruption reason of “deterioration of communication”. In addition, the state monitoring unit 3025 monitors the operation state of the content reception device 302, and when detecting that the user has performed an operation of interrupting viewing on the content reception device 302, obtains the detection time as an interruption position. At the same time, obtain the interruption reason according to the operation content such as "Interruption due to incoming call".

Further, when receiving a notification from the transmission / reception unit 3021 that the content reception has been resumed, the state monitoring unit 3025 acquires the suspension period based on the time point at which the notification was received. When the state monitoring unit 3025 detects that the user has performed an operation of resuming viewing by monitoring the operation state of the content receiving apparatus 302, the state monitoring unit 3025 acquires a suspension period based on the detection time. .

The status monitoring unit 3025 transmits the acquired interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period to the interruption position storage unit 3026.

[0139] (2-3) Interruption position storage unit

The interruption position storage unit 3026 receives and stores the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period from the state monitoring unit 3025.

[0140] (3) Content transmission device

The content transmission device 301 includes a reception unit 3011, a recording control unit 3012, a holding unit 3013, a transmission / reception unit 3014, a transmission control unit 3017, and an interruption position reception unit 3018.

The interruption position receiving unit 3018 acquires the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period from the interruption position storage unit 3026 in the content receiving device 302. Then, based on the interruption position and the like acquired by the interruption position receiving unit 3018, the transmission control unit 3014

Control is performed so that the content in 013 is transmitted to the content receiving device 302.

[0142] Receiving unit 3011, recording control unit 3012, holding unit 3013, transmitting / receiving unit 3014, and transmission control unit

Since the configuration of 3017 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description is omitted, and the interruption position receiving unit 3

018 will be described in detail.

[0143] The status monitoring unit 3025 sends a notification from the transmission / reception unit 3021 that content reception has been resumed. Upon detecting an operation of receiving or resuming viewing from the user or a request to transmit content from the interruption position, the status monitoring unit 3025 determines the interruption position, interruption reason, and interruption period in the interruption position storage unit 3026 as the interruption position. Transmit to the receiving unit 3018. Therefore, the interruption position receiving unit 3018 acquires the interruption position and the like via the transmission / reception unit 3041.

When the content from the interruption position is stored in the holding unit 3013, the interruption position receiving unit 3018 receives the interruption position from the transmission / reception unit 3041 at the same time when the state monitoring unit 3025 acquires the interruption position. . Then, the transmission control unit 3017 is based on the interruption position acquired by the state monitoring unit 3025! The recording control unit 3012 may be controlled so as to hold the content of the interruption position force in the holding unit 3013.

(5) Effects

In the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when viewing on the content receiving device 202 becomes impossible, the user who is viewing the content by the content receiving device 302 or the content receiving device 302 or The content transmitting device 301 can instantly reproduce the content corresponding to the interruption position in the content receiving device 302 without searching for the interruption position. Therefore, the user of the content receiving device 302 can instantly resume viewing of the content from the interrupted position.

[0146] As described above, according to the above invention, it is possible to provide a content transmission device that is optimal for a usage environment of a mopile terminal in which a reception state is likely to be unstable.

(A) Modification 1

In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the content receiving device receives the content through the content transmitting device also when receiving the content currently being broadcast by the content distribution device. However, when receiving the content currently being broadcast by the content distribution device, the content reception device may directly receive the broadcast wave of the content distribution device. Then, it is also possible to connect to the content transmission device only when the user wants to view the content with the interruption position, and to perform the IJ so that the content stored in the holding unit is transmitted with the interruption position.

(B) Modification 2 In the above embodiment, the content transmission device transmits the content received from the content distribution device to the content reception device. However, the content stored in advance in the content transmitting device! May be transmitted to the content receiving device.

(C) Modification 3

The holding unit holds the content in association with time information such as absolute time or relative time, and associates the chapter with the time information in another location such as a web server. Then, when the state monitoring unit obtains the interruption position based on the chapter, the transmission control unit first obtains time information corresponding to the obtained chapter from a web server or the like. Then, the transmission control unit may cause the content from the interruption position to be transmitted based on the acquired time information corresponding to the interruption position.

[0150] (D) Modification 4

Content Distributing Device The content may be distributed according to a request from the content receiving device. For example, the content receiving device receives the identification information of the content receiving device, and distributes the content corresponding to the identification information.

[0151] (E) Modification 5

In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which one content distribution device receives content, but a plurality of content distribution devices may also receive content.

[0152] (F) Modification 6

The present invention includes a program that causes a computer to execute the processing of the above-described embodiment, and a computer-readable recording medium that records the program. Here, the recording medium is a computer-readable and writable flexible disk, hard disk, semiconductor memory, CD-ROM, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, BD (Blu-ray Disc), magneto-optical disk (MO) , And others.

Industrial applicability

[0153] According to the above invention, it is possible to provide a content transmission device that is most suitable for a usage environment of a mopile terminal in which a reception state is likely to be unstable.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A content transmitting device connected to a content receiving device via a network,

Holding means for holding the content;

Transmitting means for transmitting content to the content receiving device;

An interruption position acquisition unit that acquires an interruption position where the content receiving device cannot receive the content or an interruption position where the user of the content receiving device has interrupted viewing on the content receiving device,

Transmission control means for controlling the transmission means to transmit the contents of the holding means to the content receiving device based on the interruption position acquired by the interruption position acquisition means;

A content transmission device, comprising:

[2] The interruption position acquiring means further includes state monitoring means for receiving and monitoring the state of the content receiving apparatus from the content receiving apparatus, and acquiring the interruption position based on the state. The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The state monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the status monitoring unit receives a notification that the content cannot be received from the content receiving device, and obtains an interruption position based on the notification. Content transmission device.

[4] The state monitoring means detects that an error occurrence rate in communication with the content receiving device has exceeded a predetermined value, and obtains an interruption position based on the detection result. The content transmission device according to claim 2.

[5] The state monitoring means detects that communication between the content transmitting device and the content receiving device has been disconnected, and acquires an interruption position based on the detection result. 3. The content transmission device according to 2.

[6] The interruption position obtaining means is configured to determine whether or not the content receiving apparatus is in a state of being unable to receive the content or a time when the user of the content receiving apparatus has interrupted viewing on the content receiving apparatus. The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the interruption position is acquired by using the content transmission device.

[7] The content is configured to include a plurality of chapters,

2. The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the interruption position acquisition unit acquires the interruption position in chapter units.

[8] The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission unit to transmit the content from the interruption position to the content reception device.

9. The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control device controls the transmission device so as to transmit the content to the content reception device from a predetermined position before the interruption position. .

[10] The content is configured to include a plurality of chapters,

The interruption position acquisition unit may set a chapter including a position where the content reception device cannot receive the content or a position where the user of the content reception device has interrupted viewing on the content reception device as an interruption position. Acquired,

The content transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission unit to transmit content to the content reception device from the beginning of the chapter acquired by the interruption position acquisition unit. .

[11] The interruption position obtaining means obtains an interruption reason that the content receiving device cannot receive the content or an interruption reason that the user of the content receiving device has interrupted viewing on the content receiving device,

The transmission control means determines a predetermined position that is traced from the interruption position according to the interruption reason, and controls the transmission means so as to transmit the determined predetermined position content to the content receiving device. 2. The content transmission device according to claim 1,

[12] External power receiving means for receiving content,

The content transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recording control unit that controls the recording unit to record the content received by the reception unit in the interruption position acquired by the interruption position acquisition unit in the holding unit. .

[13] The recording control means, wherein the transmission means controls the content based on the interruption position. 13. The content transmitting device according to claim 12, wherein the content transmitting device transmits the content to the content receiving device and controls the holding unit to hold the content received by the receiving unit.

[14] When the state monitoring unit detects that the content receiving unit is in a state capable of receiving or reproducing the content, the state monitoring unit notifies the transmission control unit of the detection result. 3. The content transmission device according to claim 2, wherein the content transmission device is controlled to transmit the content of the holding device to the content reception device based on the following.

[15] The state monitoring unit, upon receiving a transmission request from the interruption position from the content receiving device, notifies the transmission control unit of the transmission request,

3. The transmission control unit according to claim 2, wherein the transmission control unit controls the transmission unit to transmit the content of the holding unit to the content receiving device based on the notification of the transmission request. Content transmission device.

[16] A content transmission method in a content transmission device connected to a content reception device via a network,

A retention step for retaining the content;

A transmitting step of transmitting content to the content receiving device;

An interruption position acquisition step of acquiring an interruption position at which the content receiving device cannot receive the content or an interruption position at which the user of the content receiving device has interrupted viewing on the content receiving device;

Based on the interruption position acquired in the interruption position acquisition step, a transmission control step of controlling the content held in the holding step to be transmitted to the content receiving apparatus based on the interruption position!

A content transmission method, comprising: