JP2011198391A - Contents distributing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute proper contents corresponding to the change of resource conditions.SOLUTION: A contents server receives a distribution request and terminal resource conditions from an information processing terminal, works contents corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource conditions, and distributes the contents. The information processing terminal includes an arithmetic processing part having a CPU and a memory for implementing functions of the information processing terminal, and a storage device storing software for the arithmetic processing, extracts from the CPU, the memory or the storage device at least an occupation rate of the CPU, a free capacity of the memory or a free capacity of the storage device as resource conditions to be changed by the arithmetic processing after activation, transmits the resource conditions and/or the contents distribution request to the contents server, receives and executes the contents distributed from the contents server.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for distributing content via a network.

  Conventionally, content (computer programs, video files, web pages (files such as HTML), electronic data such as e-mail) received by the terminal is set to operate under preset resource conditions. ing.

  For example, when streaming video streaming data is distributed via a network and played back on a terminal, data matching the communication speed and the processing capability of the terminal is distributed.

  That is, if the communication speed is high, low-quality data is distributed with low compression, and if the communication speed is low, high-definition data with low compression is distributed.

  For this reason, when the content server corresponds to a plurality of resource conditions, it is necessary to accumulate a plurality of data corresponding to each resource condition for the same content data.

  In addition, with the increasing functionality of information processing terminals, a task for reproducing the content and other tasks are processed in parallel (see Patent Document 1). In this case, the resource condition may change depending on the priority of the task assigned to the CPU.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-143631

  As described above, when dealing with a plurality of resource conditions, there is a problem in that it is necessary to store a plurality of types of content having the same contents in accordance with each resource condition. For this reason, the storage capacity of the content increases in proportion to the number of resource conditions, and the equipment cost becomes enormous.

  In addition, when a plurality of pieces of data according to each resource condition are stored, a large amount of design man-hours corresponding to each resource condition is required at the time of content design. Therefore, when a new terminal appears, it takes time to prepare content according to the resource conditions of this terminal, and this time lag has become a major business problem.

  Furthermore, for terminals that process a plurality of tasks in parallel or for terminals whose resource conditions such as processing capacity and communication speed change dynamically, such as mobile terminals, among the contents prepared in advance as described above. However, there is a problem that even if a resource condition is distributed, the resource condition changes during the distribution, and the quality of the distribution, that is, the QoS cannot be guaranteed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. That is, an object of the present invention is to enable distribution of appropriate contents according to changes in resource conditions.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The content distribution system of the present invention includes:
Consists of content server and information processing terminal connected via network
The content server is
Receiving means for receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and the resource condition of the terminal;
Processing means for processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
Distribution means for distributing the content,
The information processing terminal is
An extraction means for extracting resource conditions;
Transmitting means for transmitting the resource condition and / or the content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving means for receiving content distributed from the content server;
Execution means for executing the content.

The content distribution server of the present invention is
Receiving means for receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and the resource condition of the terminal;
Processing means for processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
Distribution means for distributing the content.

The content distribution server
Further comprising generating means for generating QoS control information based on the resource condition received from the information processing terminal;
The processing means adds the QoS control information to the content,
The distribution unit may distribute the content to which the QoS control information is added.

The content distribution server
Detecting means for detecting whether or not the information processing terminal stores a QoS control program;
If the information processing terminal does not store the QoS control program as a result of the detection, the information processing terminal may include program transmission means for transmitting the QoS control program to the information processing terminal.

The information processing terminal of the present invention
An extraction means for extracting resource conditions;
Transmitting means for transmitting the resource condition and / or the content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving means for receiving content distributed from the content server;
Execution means for executing the content.

The information processing terminal
The receiving means receives the content to which the QoS control information is added;
The execution unit may execute the content based on the QoS control information.

The content distribution program of the present invention is
Receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and the resource condition of the terminal;
Processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
And delivering the content to the content server.

The above content distribution program
Detecting whether the information processing terminal stores a QoS control program;
As a result of the detection, when the information processing terminal does not store the QoS control program, the step of extracting the resource condition, the step of transmitting the resource condition to the content server, and the content distributed from the content server are received And a step of delivering to the information processing terminal a QoS control program that causes the information processing terminal to execute the step of executing the content and the step of executing the content.

In the above content distribution program,
Further comprising generating QoS control information based on resource conditions received from the information processing terminal;
In the step of processing the content, the QoS control information is added to the content,
In the step of distributing the content, the content to which the QoS control information is added may be distributed.

In the above content distribution program,
Detecting whether the information processing terminal stores a QoS control program;
A step of transmitting the QoS control program to the information processing terminal when the information processing terminal does not store the QoS control program as a result of the detection.

The content distribution method of the present invention includes:
A method executed by a content server and an information processing terminal connected via a network,
The content server is
Receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and the resource condition of the terminal;
Processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
Delivering the content; and
The information processing terminal is
Extracting a resource condition;
Transmitting the resource condition and / or the content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving content distributed from the content server;
Executing the content.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to distribute content appropriately according to changes in resource conditions.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system according to a first embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the step which an information processing terminal performs Explanatory drawing of the steps executed by the content server Explanation of packet No or packet thinning conditions Illustration of control table Schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system of Embodiment 2 Explanatory drawing of the content delivery method of Embodiment 2.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system according to the first embodiment which is an example of the present invention.

  The content distribution system includes a content server 1 and an information processing terminal 2 connected via a network N such as the Internet. Although FIG. 1 shows one content server 1 and one information processing terminal 2 for convenience, a plurality of these may be connected to each other.

§1. Content server 1
The content server 1 includes an arithmetic processing unit composed of a CPU (central processing unit) and a main memory, a storage device (hard disk) storing data and software for arithmetic processing, an input / output unit, a communication control unit (CCU: Communication Control).
It is a general computer equipped with (Unit).

  An input device such as a keyboard and a mouse and an output device such as a display device and a printer are appropriately connected to the input / output unit.

  The communication control unit communicates with other computers via a network, such as a modem or a network card.

  Software such as an operating system (OS) and middleware (content distribution program) is installed in the storage device. The storage device stores content data to be distributed. Further, a database 19 for registering information for each information processing terminal is constructed in the storage device. Further, the storage device stores a control table 20 in which resource conditions and QoS control information generated at the time of the resource conditions are registered in association with each other.

  The arithmetic processing unit realizes the functions of the receiving unit 13, the generating unit 14, the processing unit 15, and the distributing unit 16 by arithmetic processing according to the content distribution program.

  As a function of the receiving means 13, the arithmetic processing unit receives information (resource conditions, etc.) from the information processing terminal 2 via the communication control unit, performs authentication, and registers the information received from the information processing terminal in the database. .

  As a function of the generation unit 14, the arithmetic processing unit generates QoS control information based on the resource condition received from the information processing terminal.

  As a function of the processing means 15, the arithmetic processing unit processes the content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition. In addition, QoS control information based on the resource condition is added to the content.

  As a function of the distribution unit 16, the arithmetic processing unit distributes the content to which the QoS control information is added via the communication control unit.

§2. The information processing terminal 2 includes an arithmetic processing unit including a CPU (central processing unit) and a main memory, a storage device (hard disk) storing data and software for arithmetic processing, an input / output unit, a communication control unit ( It is a general computer equipped with CCU (Communication Control Unit).

  An input device such as a keyboard and a mouse and an output device such as a display device and a printer are appropriately connected to the input / output unit.

  The communication control unit communicates with other computers via a network, such as a modem or a network card.

  Software such as an operating system (OS) and middleware (QoS control program) is installed in the storage device.

  The arithmetic processing unit realizes the functions of the extraction unit 11, the transmission unit 12, the reception unit 17, and the execution unit 18 by arithmetic processing according to the QoS control program.

  As a function of the extraction means 11, the arithmetic processing unit includes a processing capacity (speed) of the CPU of the information processing terminal, a ratio (occupation ratio) of the CPU processing amount occupied by the activated task, and a free memory capacity. Then, the resource condition such as the free capacity of the storage device is extracted.

  As a function of the transmission unit 12, the arithmetic processing unit transmits the resource condition and / or the content distribution request to the content server 1.

  The extraction and transmission of the resource condition may be performed periodically or at a predetermined timing, or may be performed when the resource condition is changed.

  As a function of the receiving unit 17, the arithmetic processing unit receives content to which QoS control information is added from the content server.

  As a function of the execution means 18, the arithmetic processing unit executes the content. For example, if the content is video or music streaming data, the data is reproduced in real time. If the content is a computer program, the program is installed and executed. At this time, the execution means executes the content based on the QoS control information.

§3. Content Distribution Method Next, the content distribution system, that is, the content distribution method executed by the content server 1 and the information processing terminal 2 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of steps executed by the information processing terminal 2 based on the QoS control program, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of steps executed by the content server 1 according to the content distribution program.

  The information processing terminal 2 extracts the processing capacity of the CPU, the amount of memory, the free capacity of the storage device, and the like as the resource condition (best resource condition) immediately after activation by the function of the extraction unit 11 (Step 1, hereinafter S1). Abbreviated as)).

  Further, the information processing terminal 2 extracts resource conditions such as CPU occupancy rate, free memory capacity, free storage capacity, etc. at predetermined time intervals by the function of the extraction means 11. Since this resource condition changes when another task is executed or data is saved after activation, the resource condition is checked every predetermined time, and this is the worst resource condition (S2).

The information processing terminal 2 confirms whether or not a distribution request has been made (S3). If no distribution request has been made, the process returns to step 2 and waits until there is a distribution request.

  Then, when the user inputs a content specification requesting distribution from the input unit of the information processing terminal 2, the information processing terminal 2 determines that there is a distribution request, and the best resource condition and the worst resource together with the distribution request. The conditions are transmitted to the content server 1 (S4).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the content server 1 receives the distribution request by the function of the receiving means 13 and performs authentication (S21).

  When the authentication is correctly performed, the content server 1 generates QoS control information based on the resource information by the function of the generation unit. This QoS control information is information for enabling the content to be appropriately executed according to the resource state of the terminal. In this embodiment, the QoS control information corresponding to the received resource condition is extracted from the control table 20. These are used as QoS control information.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the control table 20 in which resource conditions and QoS control information generated under the resource conditions are registered in association with each other. According to the example in the figure, when the CPU occupation rate is less than 10%, the streaming data is executed without being thinned out, and when the CPU occupation rate is 10% or more and less than 80%, one frame is thinned out per 4 frames. If the CPU occupancy is 80% or more, control information to be executed by thinning out one frame per two frames is generated (S22).

  Next, the content server 1 determines whether the requested content is streaming data (S23).

  In the case of streaming data, since it is necessary to distribute in real time, the content server 1 performs processing based on the QoS control information. For example, the moving image data is thinned out based on the QoS control information to obtain content with an appropriate amount of information (S24).

  On the other hand, if it is not streaming data, QoS control information is added to the content. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a packet number to be captured by the terminal or a packet thinning condition is designated in the header part (S25).

  The content server 1 distributes the processed content or the content to which the QoS control information is added to the information processing terminal 2 by the function of the distribution unit 16 (S26).

  The information processing terminal 2 receives the content distributed from the content server 1 by the function of the receiving means 17 (S4), and executes the content by the function of the executing means 18 (S5). When QoS control information is added to the content, the information processing terminal 2 executes the execution unit 18 based on the QoS control information. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when a packet number or a packet thinning condition to be captured at the terminal is specified in the header portion, a packet that matches the bucket number or the thinning condition is fetched and executed.

  Further, the information processing terminal 2 extracts resource conditions periodically and / or at predetermined intervals during execution of the content, and transmits them to the content server.

  The content server 1 that has received the resource condition performs steps 22 to 26 and distributes content according to the resource condition.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dynamically changing resource state of the information processing terminal 2 to be controlled is fed back to content distribution in real time, thereby enabling appropriate content distribution.

<Embodiment 2>
This embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that the QoS control program is transmitted to an information processing terminal that does not have the QoS control program, and the other configurations are the same. For this reason, the same elements as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of the content distribution system of the present embodiment.

  In the content server 1 ′, the detection unit 22 and the program distribution unit 23 are realized in addition to the above-described functions by the arithmetic processing unit performing processing according to the content distribution program.

  As a function of the detecting means 22, the arithmetic processing unit detects whether or not the information processing terminal 2 'stores a QoS control program.

  As a function of the program transmission means, the arithmetic processing unit transmits the QoS control program 24 stored in the storage device to the information processing terminal when the information processing terminal does not store the QoS control program as a result of the detection. To do.

The storage device of the content server 1 ′ has a QoS control program for transmission to the information processing terminal 2 ′,
On the other hand, the information processing terminal 2 ′ is generally equipped with an arithmetic processing unit including a CPU and a main memory, a storage device (hard disk) storing data and software for arithmetic processing, an input / output unit, a communication control unit, and the like. Computer.

  The information processing terminal 2 ′ has general communication means such as a web browser, and receives and executes a means for transmitting a content distribution request to the content server 1 ′ and the server 1 ′. Have means.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of steps executed by the content server 1 ′ according to the present embodiment in accordance with the content distribution program.

  First, the content server 1 ′ detects a content distribution request from the information processing terminal 2 ′, determines whether or not there is a distribution request, and repeats this until there is a distribution request (S31, S32).

  When receiving the distribution request, the content server 1 ′ identifies the terminal 2 ′ from the MAC address, the user ID, and the like of the information processing terminal 2 ′ that is the transmission source of the distribution request by the function of the detection unit, and this terminal If the information of 2 ′ is stored in the database, it is detected that the terminal 2 ′ stores the QoS control program. Conversely, if the information of this terminal 2 ′ is not stored in the database, the terminal 2 It is detected that 'does not store the QoS control program (S33).

  When the information processing terminal 2 ′ does not store the QoS control program, the content server 1 ′ transmits the QoS control program 24 stored in the storage device to the information processing terminal 2 ′ (S34).

  Then, the content server 1 ′ transmits a message for charging to the information processing terminal 2 ′ and confirms whether or not charging is allowed. When the user accepts the billing and receives a billing OK signal from the terminal 2 ′, the content server 1 ′ executes the same steps as in FIG. 3 (S35).

  On the other hand, the information processing terminal 2 ′ that has received the QoS control program 24 realizes the functions of the extraction unit 11, the transmission unit 12, the reception unit 17, and the execution unit 18 through arithmetic processing according to the QoS control program. Similarly, the steps are executed.

  As a result, even for information processing terminals that do not have a QoS control program, it is possible to distribute appropriate content according to changes in resource conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content server 2 Information processing terminal 11 Extraction means 12 Transmission means 13 Reception means 14 Generation means 15 Processing means 16 Distribution means 17 Reception means 18 Execution means 22 Detection means 23 Program distribution means 24 QoS control program N Network

Claims (4)

A content distribution system comprising a content server and an information processing terminal connected via a network,
The content server is
Receiving means for receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and a resource condition of the information processing terminal;
Processing means for processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
Distribution means for distributing the content,
The information processing terminal is
An arithmetic processing unit having a CPU and a memory and performing arithmetic processing for realizing the function of the information processing terminal;
A storage device storing software for the arithmetic processing;
Extraction means for extracting resource conditions that change due to the arithmetic processing after startup from the CPU, the memory, or the storage device periodically, at a predetermined timing, or at the time of change;
Transmitting means for transmitting the extracted resource condition and content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving means for receiving content distributed from the content server;
Execution means for executing the content,
The extracted resource conditions include at least the CPU occupancy rate, the free space of the memory, or the free space of the storage device,
The content server processes the content according to at least the CPU occupancy rate, the memory free space, or the storage device free space;
A content distribution system characterized by that. An arithmetic processing unit that performs arithmetic processing using a CPU and a memory;
A storage device storing software for the arithmetic processing;
Extraction means for extracting resource conditions that change due to the arithmetic processing after startup from the CPU, the memory, or the storage device periodically, at a predetermined timing, or at the time of change;
Transmitting means for transmitting the extracted resource condition and content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving means for receiving content distributed from the content server;
Execution means for executing the content,
The information processing terminal characterized in that the extracted resource condition includes at least an occupation ratio of the CPU, a free capacity of the memory, or a free capacity of the storage device. The receiving means receives the content to which the QoS control information is added;
The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein the execution unit executes the content based on the QoS control information. A content distribution method executed by a content server and an information processing terminal connected via a network,
The content server is
Receiving a distribution request from the information processing terminal and a resource condition of the information processing terminal;
Processing content corresponding to the distribution request according to the resource condition;
Delivering the content;
The information processing terminal is
An arithmetic processing unit having a CPU and a memory and performing arithmetic processing for realizing the function of the information processing terminal;
A storage device storing software for the arithmetic processing,
Extracting resource conditions that change due to the arithmetic processing after startup from the CPU, the memory, or the storage device periodically, at a predetermined timing, or at the time of change;
Transmitting the extracted resource condition and content distribution request to a content server;
Receiving content distributed from the content server;
Executing the content; and
The extracted resource conditions include at least the CPU occupancy rate, the free space of the memory, or the free space of the storage device,
The content server processes the content according to at least the CPU occupancy rate, the memory free space, or the storage device free space;
A content distribution method characterized by the above.

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