JP2008076539A - Video billboard device characterized by configuration of operation schedule - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video billboard device capable of televising various video works such as a video work advertising a user's company and video advertisements advertising other companies, which are provided by other sponsors, together on a video billboard. <P>SOLUTION: Many video billboard devices 2 not operated by one and the same operator and an advertisement management server 1 are so configured as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet. Each video billboard device comprises a billboard operating computer equivalent to a general personal computer, a display control device 6 having a personal computer specialized for display control as a main body, and a video billboard 7. The video billboard 7 is a large-screen full color display having many LED lamps integrated therein. A work database, a televising schedule, and a televising history are stored in a hard disk 4 of the billboard operating computer. The billboard operating computer successively extracts video works to be televised, from the work database on the basis of the televising schedule and supplies them to the video billboard to display them out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to information technology for rationally operating video signboards installed on the walls of buildings in the city, and storefront roadsides of large stores in the suburbs, and in particular, video works for in-house advertisements. It also relates to technology that simplifies the operation schedule when various video works are mixed and broadcast, such as video advertisements from other companies provided by other advertisers.

  Recently, there are LED signboards that display a bright video on a large full-color screen both in the city and in the suburbs. Many of the video signboards seen in the suburbs are operated by the stores where they are installed, and exclusively broadcast video advertisements at those stores. In the case of such a video signboard, if you continue watching the content for several tens of minutes, you will find that not many advertising works have been repeatedly shown. Since it is difficult to continue to broadcast attractive advertising works that will not get bored even if you keep watching, it is difficult to think about the cost of producing advertising works, so the owner of the advertising billboard must compromise on the situation where few works are aired repeatedly It must be.

  The signboard operator wants people in the city to be interested in the content that will be shown on the video signboard, but the advertisements in his store are not enough. The present invention was created in order to overcome this situation and increase the value of video signage by effectively utilizing it.

  Since there are not many video advertising works by the signboard owners themselves (in-house advertisements), if attractive video works are procured separately and mixed with the company advertisements, they will attract more attention and reach the company advertisements. The rate and appeal will also increase. This is a very attractive business model for signboard operators, so long as they adopt video ads from other companies as attractive video works that are mixed with their own ads and receive advertising fees from advertisers (other companies). is there.

  However, for operators who have introduced video signage for advertisements in their own stores, they will be troubled by the specific operation operations when various types of video works such as other companies' advertisements are mixed and broadcasted in-house advertisements. So it will not be very hired. Even if many video works are mixed and aired, the operation of the video signage device should be simple and clear.

  As is well known, large-scale video signage in a building district has been widely used to pay for video advertisements recruited from various advertisers. It cannot be applied to such purposes.

The video signage device according to the present invention is specified by the following items (1) to (12).
(1) Storage means, main control means, video memory, display control means, and a video signage device provided with a video signage (2) Storage means includes a work database, a main schedule, and an interrupt schedule (3) The video work database includes a plurality of video works associated with the work ID. (4) The main schedule includes a plurality of time frames and a plurality of group definitions. (5) Time frame. (6) A group definition associates a group ID with an array of a plurality of work IDs. (7) An interrupt schedule is a combination of a start time and an array of a plurality of group IDs. (8) The main controller determines the work ID to be output by the output order process, extracts the corresponding video work from the work database, (9) The display control means supplies the video data on the video memory to the video signboard for display output. (10) The output order processing is based on the main schedule. (11) The first process compares each start time with the current time and extracts one time frame, and the group ID array of the time frame includes the first process based on the interrupt schedule and the second process based on the interrupt schedule. According to the above, one group ID is cyclically extracted sequentially, a work ID array is extracted from the group definition of the group ID, one work ID is sequentially extracted according to the work ID array, and the work ID to be output (12) In the second process, when the current time is the interrupt time, the work ID associated with the interrupt time is prioritized over the first process and the work ID to be output. Rukoto

  In the video signage apparatus according to the present invention, the product IDs of several video works arranged in the order in which they are desired to be broadcast (work ID array) are grouped into one group, and a group ID is assigned to this to define one group. . A plurality of such group definitions are created and stored in the storage means. Assuming that the operation of the video signboard is managed in units of one day, one day is divided into several time frames, a start time is set for each time frame, and an array of a plurality of group IDs is set. This is the main schedule.

  When the current time comes to the start time of a certain time frame, the group ID array for that time frame is extracted. Then, the group definition is extracted based on the first group ID of the group ID array, the first work ID of the work ID array of the group definition → the second work ID → the third work ID →. → Video works will be aired in the order of the last work ID. As a result, all the video works in the group definition corresponding to the first group ID in the group ID array are broadcast in the designated order.

  Next, on the basis of the second group ID in the group arrangement, all the video works in the group definition are broadcast in the designated order in the same manner as described above. Similarly, all the video works in the group definition are broadcast based on the third group ID in the group arrangement, and all the video works in the group definition are broadcast based on the last group ID in the group arrangement.

  In the above process, when the current time becomes the start time of the next time frame, the same processing as described above is performed for the next time frame. If the current time has not reached the start time of the next time frame when the processing of the last group ID is completed based on the time frame, the process is repeated from the first group ID of the time frame. When the start time of the next time frame is reached, the process moves to that time frame.

  In parallel with the above processing, the interrupt schedule is checked. When the current time becomes the interruption time, the work ID associated with the interruption time is extracted instead of broadcasting the video work according to the main schedule, and the video work is broadcast. When the work ends, it will resume airing according to the main schedule.

  Since the operation schedule has a hierarchical structure as described above, it is very easy to create or change the schedule.

=== Outline of system configuration ===
An outline of a video signboard advertising system to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIG. This video signboard advertisement system is configured such that a large number of video signboard apparatuses 2 that are installed at various places and whose operators are not the same can communicate with the advertisement management server 1 via the Internet.

  The video signboard apparatus 2 includes a signboard operation computer 3 equivalent to a general personal computer, a display control apparatus 6 mainly composed of a personal computer for display control, and a video signboard 7. The video signboard 7 is a large screen full color display in which a large number of LED lamps are integrated.

  The hard disk 4 of the signboard operation computer 3 stores a work database, a broadcast schedule, and a broadcast history, which will be described in detail later. The signboard operation computer 3 sequentially extracts video works to be broadcast from the work database based on the broadcast schedule, and sequentially develops video data based on the video works in the video memory 5 according to a broadcast schedule. The display control device 6 supplies the video data on the video memory 6 to the video signboard 7 for display output.

=== Work database ===
An outline of a work database stored in the signboard operation computer 3 is shown in FIG. A number of video works stored in the hard disk 4 are identified by work IDs. In the work database, the work ID, the location and file name of the video work, the data format of the video work, the title and content description as the work catalog, and the other company's advertisement flags are associated with each other. The other company's advertisement flag is set to “1” when the video work is for another company's advertisement, which is different from the advertisement of the business of the signboard operator, and is set to “0” when the video work is not for another company.

=== Broadcasting schedule ===
The broadcast schedule is roughly divided into a main schedule and an interrupt schedule. The main schedule includes a time frame shown in FIG. 3 and a group definition shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, time frames are distinguished by frame numbers, and start times are associated with arrays of a plurality of group IDs. As shown in FIG. 4, the group definition associates a group ID with an array of a plurality of work IDs. As shown in FIG. 5, the interrupt schedule associates an interrupt time with a work ID.

=== Output order processing ===
The signboard operation computer 3 executes output order processing based on the main schedule and the interrupt schedule, determines the work ID to be displayed and output, extracts the video work from the work database, and video data based on the video work Are sequentially expanded in the video memory 5.

  In the output order process based on the main schedule, the start time of each time frame shown in FIG. 3 is compared with the current time to select one time frame, and the group described in that time frame in the first step An ID array is extracted. In the next second step, the first group ID of the extracted group ID array is selected, and the work ID array corresponding to the group ID is extracted from the group definition of FIG. In the next third step, the first work ID in the extracted work ID array is selected, and the video work with the work ID is extracted from the work database and developed in the video memory 5. In the fourth step, the video work corresponding to the second work ID in the work ID array is extracted from the work database by the end of the airing of the video work. Will continue to be broadcast.

  In the same manner, the video works are broadcast in order according to the work ID array extracted in the second step, and until the video work of the last work ID in the array ends, the group ID array extracted in the first step The second group ID is selected, and the work ID array of the group ID is extracted. Then, the video works are successively broadcast according to the order of the work ID arrangement. When the broadcast of all works in the work ID array corresponding to the second groove ID is finished, the output order is controlled according to the work ID array corresponding to the third group ID.

  In the above process, the current time is always compared with the start time of each time frame. If all the works in the work ID array corresponding to the last group ID in the group ID array extracted in the first step are finished, but the current time has not reached the start time of the next time frame, the group ID array The first group ID is selected, and the above processing is repeated from the beginning. When the current time reaches the next time frame, the broadcast process being executed is interrupted or the end of the video work being broadcast is waited for, and the process proceeds to the output order process based on the next time frame.

  Furthermore, the signboard operation computer 3 always checks the interrupt schedule in parallel with the above processing based on the main schedule. When the current time is the interrupt time described in the interrupt schedule, the broadcast process of the video work based on the main schedule is interrupted or the end of the video work being broadcast is waited to be associated with the interrupt time. The process of extracting and broadcasting the video work with the work ID that has been made from the work database is executed, and when the interrupted work ends, the process returns to the broadcast process according to the main schedule.

  The interrupt time is defined by the interrupt start time and interrupt end time (it is an interrupt time zone), and one or more video works specified in the interrupt time zone are broadcasted the specified number of times. Interrupt processing can also be changed.

=== History processing of other company's advertisements ===
In the output order processing explained in detail above, when the signboard operation computer 3 develops a video work with a certain work ID on the video memory 5 and broadcasts it, the signboard operation computer 3 checks the other company's advertisement flag of the work ID in the work database. If it is a video work of another company's advertisement with “1”, as shown in FIG. 6, the broadcast time on the hard disk 4 is recorded in association with the broadcast time and the work ID.

=== Telegram report ===
The signboard operation computer 3 communicates with the advertisement management server 1 in a timely manner, and transmits a broadcast report message including the update information of the broadcast history and the signboard ID of the video signboard device 2. This communication may be performed from the signboard operation computer 3 or from the advertisement management server 1. In the former case, a broadcast report message can be generated and transmitted to the server 1 every time the broadcast history is updated, every time the broadcast history is updated a predetermined number of times, or periodically. In the latter case, the advertisement management server 1 periodically communicates with each signboard operation computer 3 periodically and collects broadcast report messages.

=== Ad management server 1 ===
The advertisement management server 1 organizes broadcast report telegram information collected from each signboard operation computer 3 and aggregates it in the advertisement execution database. In this database, when and how many times each video advertisement specified by the work ID is aired is arranged. Based on the information gathered in this way, it is possible to calculate the advertising fee to be paid by the advertiser of each video advertisement and to calculate the advertising fee to be received by the operator of each video signage device 2. FIG. 7 shows a table by work of the database created by the advertisement management server 1, and FIG. 8 shows a table by signboard. The work-specific table associates the work ID with the advertisement implementation amount, and the signboard-specific table associates the signboard ID with the advertisement implementation amount for each work ID.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video signboard advertisement system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the work database in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the time frame in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the group definition in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the interruption schedule in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the broadcast history in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the table according to work in one Example. It is a conceptual diagram of the table according to signboard in one Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Advertisement management server 2 Image | video signboard apparatus 3 Signboard management computer 4 Hard disk 5 Video memory 6 Display control apparatus 7 Image signboard

Claims (4)

A video signage device comprising storage means, main control means, video memory, display control means, and video signage,
The storage means stores the work database, the main schedule, and the interrupt schedule,
The video work database includes a plurality of video works associated with the work ID,
The main schedule includes multiple time frames and multiple group definitions,
The time frame associates the start time with an array of a plurality of group IDs,
The group definition associates a group ID with an array of multiple work IDs,
The interrupt schedule includes a plurality of correspondences between interrupt times and work IDs,
The main control device determines the work ID to be output by the output order process, extracts the corresponding video work from the work database, sequentially develops video data based on the video work in the video memory,
The display control means supplies the video data on the video memory to the video signboard for display output,
The output order process includes a first process based on the main schedule and a second process based on the interrupt schedule,
The first process compares each start time with the current time to extract one time frame, sequentially extracts one group ID according to the group ID array of that time frame, and defines the group ID of the group ID The work ID array is extracted from the above, one work ID is extracted in order according to the work ID array, and it is set as the work ID to be output.
When the current time is the interrupt time, the second process sets the work ID associated with the interrupt time as the work ID to be output in preference to the first process. The video signage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the work ID is determined by the second process, the main control means ends display output of the video work halfway and shifts to the process of the determined work ID. The video signage device according to claim 1, wherein when the work ID is determined by the second process, the main control means waits for the display output of the video work to be completed, and then proceeds to the process of the determined work ID. The interrupt schedule includes a plurality of correspondences between the interrupt time, the work ID, and the priority flag,
When the priority ID associated with the work ID is set when the work ID is determined by the second process, the main control means terminates the display output of the video work halfway, and determines the determined work ID. The video signage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process shifts to a process, and when the priority flag is not set, the process shifts to the process of the determined work ID after the display output of the video work ends.

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