JP2016200892A - Schedule management apparatus, schedule display control apparatus, and schedule management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology of facilitating schedule setting.SOLUTION: A schedule management unit 13 manages a reproduction schedule modified by editing on an interface. When one piece of reproduction time information in a reproduction schedule managed by the schedule management unit 13 is inconsistent with reproduction time information adjacent to the above reproduction time information and digital signage on/off schedule, a time consistency processing unit 18 corrects the above reproduction time information in the reproduction schedule to ensure consistency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a schedule management apparatus, a management method thereof, and a schedule display control apparatus related to a playback schedule to be played back by digital signage.

  In recent years, POP (Point of Purchase) devices consisting of display devices that display product advertisements and services in stores, and electronic signboards consisting of display devices that display company advertisements and product advertisements in public places, etc. have rapidly spread. doing. These are generally referred to as digital signage and enhance the sales promotion effect for customers. Under such circumstances, a conventional signage system (digital signage system) uses a playback device such as a personal computer or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) player, or a storage medium such as a memory card as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. Or the like, and when the company advertisement or product advertisement (content) is repeatedly reproduced, and when the contents are distributed from the distribution server via the network as in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 below. Exists. In the former case, the playback device or storage medium storing the content is simply connected to an existing display device such as a television or personal computer display, so even those who do not have special system and application knowledge can easily A signage system can be realized. However, there are a drawback that the reproducible content is limited to those stored in the storage medium, and there is a disadvantage that the content currently being reproduced must be stopped once for updating the content. On the other hand, in the latter case, since the playback content is managed according to the time zone and the day of the week, the playback schedule can be changed as appropriate, which is highly convenient.

  In any signage system, it is required that a plurality of contents be automatically switched in order and played back without human intervention by scheduling the playback date and time of the contents in advance. The act of setting the playback schedule is to select the content desired to be played, and set the playback start time, end time, number of repetitions, etc. for this content. It is complicated. Therefore, as in Patent Document 4, a technique for easily setting a schedule by dragging a content to be reproduced from a list of contents to a screen area indicating a reproduction time has been proposed.

JP 2001-100653 A JP 2007-174611 A JP 2010-086232 A JP 2013-186497 A

  However, in the digital signage system as shown in Patent Document 4, it is assumed that an operation is performed on a user interface device such as a general mouse or touch panel on a personal computer. Therefore, there is a problem that it is relatively difficult for a user who is not used to operating a personal computer and setting a schedule to perform a digital signage schedule setting.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for facilitating schedule setting.

  A schedule management apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a schedule management apparatus that manages a playback schedule to be played back by digital signage, and the playback schedule includes a plurality of playback targets in order of playback. One of an interface that receives editing of the playback schedule, a schedule management unit that manages the playback schedule that has been changed by the editing received through the interface, and the playback schedule that is managed by the schedule management unit. If the time information of the reproduction target is not consistent with the time information of the reproduction target before and after the one reproduction target, and the schedule for turning on and off the digital signage, the Time information of one playback target Time to correct the time information matching and a matching processing section.

  A schedule display control apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a schedule display control apparatus that causes a display apparatus to display a playback schedule to be played back by digital signage, and stores schedule data that is data of the playback schedule. A schedule database, a week schedule screen generation unit that generates a week schedule screen indicating the reproduction schedule in one week unit based on the schedule data, and a daily schedule that indicates the reproduction schedule in one day unit based on the schedule data A daily schedule screen generation unit for generating a screen; and an interface for accepting editing of the playback schedule, and reflecting the edit accepted by the interface in the schedule data, To reflect on both the Yuru screen and the day schedule screen.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the time information of one playlist is inconsistent with the time information of the reproduction target before and after the one reproduction target and the schedule for turning on and off the digital signage. In this case, the time information of the one reproduction target in the reproduction schedule is corrected to consistent time information. Therefore, the schedule setting can be facilitated.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the editing accepted through the interface is reflected on both the weekly schedule screen and the daily schedule screen. Therefore, the schedule setting can be facilitated.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a signage system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signage terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining display control of a schedule management screen generation unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a weekly schedule screen according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a day schedule screen according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signage terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of schedule data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the signage terminal according to Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the signage terminal according to Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the signage terminal according to Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows the hierarchical structure of the week schedule screen which concerns on Embodiment 1, and a day schedule screen. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the time alignment process part which concerns on a modification.

<Embodiment 1>
In general, in a signage system, one or a plurality of contents for digital signage are combined, and reproduction is often performed in units of playlists that define the reproduction order of these contents. Therefore, in the following description, it is assumed that a reproduction target that is a unit of reproduction is a playlist. However, the reproduction target is not limited to this, and may be content, for example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire signage system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The signage system of FIG. 1 includes a playlist management device 1, a schedule management device 2, a distribution server 3, and signage display terminals 4 and 5, and these components are connected to each other via a network 6. ing.

  The playlist management device 1 generates and manages playlists.

  The signage display terminals 4 and 5 that are digital signage are terminals that reproduce and display a playlist. In FIG. 1, the number of signage display terminals 4 and 5 is two, but the number is not limited to this.

  The schedule management device 2 sets and manages a reproduction schedule of a playlist (reproduction target) reproduced on the signage display terminals 4 and 5. For example, the schedule management device 2 sets the playback start time, playback end time, playback order, and time for turning on and off the power of the signage display terminals 4 and 5 to be played back on the signage display terminals 4 and 5. Set and manage dataized schedules.

  The distribution server 3 manages the content, playlist, schedule, and signage display terminals 4, 5 and distributes the content, playlist, and schedule to the signage display terminals 4, 5.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the signage terminal 9 according to the first embodiment. For simplification of explanation, the signage terminal 9 in FIG. 2 includes at least a display 10 (display device), a schedule display control device for displaying a reproduction schedule on the display 10, and the schedule management device 2 shown in FIG. It will be described below as being incorporated. However, the signage terminal 9 is not limited to this, and may be configured to incorporate any one of the schedule management device 2 and the schedule display control device. Further, instead of incorporating hardware, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) of the signage terminal 9 executes a program stored in a storage device such as a semiconductor memory (not shown) of the signage terminal 9 to thereby execute the CPU. It may be realized as a function.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the signage terminal 9 includes a display 10, a content display control unit 11, a playlist management unit 12, a schedule management unit 13, a content database 14, a playlist database 15, and a schedule database 16. , A playback control unit 17, a time matching processing unit 18, a content playback unit 26, and a schedule management screen generation unit 101.

  The playlist management unit 12 generates and manages a playlist. The playlist database 15 stores and reads out the playlist generated by the playlist management unit 12.

  The schedule management unit 13 sets and manages a reproduction schedule of a playlist (reproduction target) that is reproduced on the signage terminal 9 and displayed on the display 10. Here, the reproduction schedule is a schedule in which the reproduction start time, reproduction end time, reproduction order, and time for turning on / off the signage terminal 9 are converted into data. In the first embodiment, in the reproduction schedule, a plurality of playlists are arranged in the order of reproduction.

  Note that the reproduction schedule managed by the schedule management unit 13 can be changed by editing received by an operation interface 24 (FIG. 6) described later.

  The schedule database 16 stores and reads playback schedule data set and managed by the schedule management unit 13 (hereinafter referred to as “schedule data”).

  The time alignment processing unit 18 includes time information of one playlist among the reproduction schedules (each schedule data) managed by the schedule management unit 13, time information of playlists before and after the one playlist, and It is determined whether or not it matches the schedule for turning off and on the signage terminal 9. When the time alignment processing unit 18 determines that they are not consistent, the time alignment processing unit 18 corrects the time information of the one playlist in the reproduction schedule, and hence the schedule data, to the consistent time information. The correction processing of the time alignment processing unit 18 will be described in detail later.

  The content database 14 stores and reads content.

  Based on the playlist acquired from the playlist management unit 12 and the schedule acquired from the schedule management unit 13 via the playlist management unit 12 or the like, the playback control unit 17 plays the playback time and the content corresponding to the playlist. Reproduction is instructed to the content reproduction unit 26. The content playback unit 26 acquires the content instructed to be played back from the playback control unit 17 from the content database 14, plays back the acquired content, and outputs the content to the content display control unit 11. The content display control unit 11 scales the images and still images output from the content playback unit 26 according to the size and resolution of the display 10, and the audio output from the content playback unit 26 is not shown in the speaker of the display 10. Adjust to the audio output of the.

  The schedule management screen generation unit 101 displays a schedule, a playlist, contents, the status of the signage terminal 9 and the like on the display 10 in an integrated manner. Although not shown here, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 has a function of a schedule display control device, and generates a screen indicating an operation state and presents it on the display 10 in response to an operation request received from the user. Or a screen showing the content and playlist playback schedule is created and displayed on the display 10.

  Next, display control of the schedule management screen generation unit 101 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 generates a week schedule screen 103 indicating a weekly playback schedule and a day schedule screen 105 indicating a daily playback schedule, and selects these screens. This is displayed on the display 10. The display of the week schedule screen 103 and the display of the day schedule screen 105 can be changed in both directions according to the button operation of the remote controller 102.

  By displaying the reproduction schedule separately for each week and day in this way, the number of user operations can be reduced, so that an apparatus with easy-to-understand operations can be realized. Moreover, by suppressing the information displayed on the display 10 at a time, the user's hesitation can be reduced or the user can easily understand. Further, it is possible to suppress the specifications required for drawing and calculation on the apparatus side, and it is possible to reduce the calculation load. Therefore, a television, a monitor display, a public display, or the like realized by an embedded CPU can be applied to the signage terminal 9. It should be noted that if the schedule data is configured to be sequentially read and written in the schedule database 16 along with the transition of the screen, the loss of data due to an unexpected apparatus stop can be suppressed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the weekly schedule screen 103.

  In the lower half of the weekly schedule screen 103, a weekly schedule display area 123, which is a screen area that allows a bird's-eye view of a reproduction schedule for each week of the playlist, is allocated. In the weekly schedule display area 123, a table is displayed in which the horizontal axis indicates the day of the week from Monday to Sunday and the vertical axis indicates the time of the day. In stores and the like that display playlists, it is often the case that Saturdays and Sundays are holidays, so the same schedule is often set, and in the order of the days of the week, Saturday and Sunday are adjacent to each other. .

  In the two-dimensional area of the day of the week and the time, a playlist to be reproduced at the day of the week and the time is arranged in a display format that can be identified for each playlist. Here, as the display format, a playlist is displayed with a different number or color assigned to each playlist.

  Now, while the display is performed with digital signage (that is, while the play list is being reproduced), the signage terminal 9 needs to be powered on. For this reason, the first embodiment is configured such that the power on / off control can also be set as part of the schedule setting. In the weekly schedule display area 123 of FIG. 4, the power-on time is indicated by a power-on time display 121 indicated by a lower triangle (三角), and the power-off time is indicated by an upper triangle (Δ). This is indicated by the off time display 122. The effective range of the schedule setting is shown in the direction indicated by the two triangles (lower triangle and upper triangle).

  The user can perform screen operations using the remote controller 102 (FIG. 3). A part of the screen that is an operation target is highlighted. As the highlight display, for example, the selected screen component is displayed so as to shine brighter than other screen components, or the screen component is displayed in a color different from the original color. As a result, the user can perceive which part of the screen is the operation target. In the example of FIG. 4, a rectangular frame 131 corresponding to the highlight display is attached to the playlist (5) scheduled to be played back from 12:00 to 16:00 on Wednesday, and the playlist ( It is shown that 5) is selected as the operation target.

  At the top of the weekly schedule screen 103, a preview area 114, which is a screen area for reproducing and checking the playlist selected as described above (playlist (5) in the example of FIG. 4), a playlist, A detailed information display area 127, which is a screen area for displaying various pieces of content information, is allocated. In the preview area 114, a playback video (not shown in the example of FIG. 4) of the content included in the playlist selected in the weekly schedule display area 123 is appropriately displayed. In the detailed information display area 127, for example, information for assisting schedule editing is displayed to the user, such as a file format and a moving image format of the content reproduced in the preview area 114.

  A pre-playlist selection button 125 and a next-playlist selection button 126 are displayed on the left and right of the preview area 114, respectively. When one of these buttons is pressed, the pre-playlist currently displayed in the preview area 114 or The next playlist is displayed in the preview area 114. For example, when the playlist pre-selection button 125 in FIG. 4 is pressed, the playback video of the playlist (3) before the playlist (5) on Wednesday is displayed in the preview area 114, and the playlist next selection button is displayed. When 126 is pressed, a playback video of the playlist (1) next to the playlist (5) on Wednesday is displayed in the preview area 114.

  An effective / invalid button 129 is displayed below the weekly schedule screen 103. With this valid / invalid button 129, schedule information edited and set on the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 is stored in the schedule database 16 as schedule data, and is reproduced according to the stored schedule (press valid) ) Or not (press invalid). A return button 124 for ending the schedule editing is also displayed.

  On the upper part of the weekly schedule display area 123 described above, a day of the week button 104 composed of a total of seven buttons from Monday to Sunday is displayed. By selectively pressing the day of week button 104, a day schedule screen 105, which is a screen for setting a detailed reproduction schedule for each day of the week, can be displayed.

  As a processing flow when the user sets a playback schedule, first, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 generates a weekly schedule screen 103 and displays it on the display 10. When generating the weekly schedule screen 103, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 reads schedule data including information on the playlist and information on the day of the week and time when the playlist is reproduced from the schedule database 16. Then, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 arranges playlists set to be played on the day of the week and time among the playlists included in the read schedule at the day of the week and the time on the weekly schedule screen 103. To display.

  Further, when the user performs an operation on the remote controller 102 by moving the highlight display to the day button of the day of the week to be edited among the day buttons 104a to 104g from “Monday” to “Sunday”, the schedule button is pressed. The management screen generation unit 101 generates a day schedule screen 105 for the specified day of the week and displays it on the display 10.

  Hereinafter, the day schedule screen 105 will be described in detail assuming that the “Monday” day-of-week button 104a is pressed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the day schedule screen 105, specifically, an example of the day schedule screen 105 corresponding to Monday.

  The item “power control” is an item for setting a time (schedule) from power-on to power-off of the signage terminal 9. The user can select any one of “On time setting”, “No power control”, and “Power off” by operating the highlight display in the power control selection box 161. It is possible.

  When “ON time setting” is selected in the power control selection box 161, the input of the start time 166, 167 and the end time 168, 169 next to it becomes valid, and the signage terminal 9 is automatically turned on / off. It becomes possible to control. The start time 166, 167 is set to the time when the signage terminal 9 is turned on, and the end time 168, 169 is set to the time when the signage terminal 9 is turned on.

  When “no power control” is selected in the power control selection box 161, the power is always turned on for that day (Monday here) without performing automatic power-off control. When “power off” is selected in the power control selection box 161, the power is not turned on for that day (here, Monday), and the power control is always turned off. When “no power control” and “power off” are selected, inputs of the start times 166 and 167 and the end times 168 and 169 are invalid. As a method of invalidating the input, for example, items of start time and end time may be deleted from the screen, or grayed out.

  On the daily schedule screen 105 in FIG. 5, four schedules from schedule 1 to schedule 4 can be set. The user performs an operation in a state where the highlight display is moved to the playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d of the schedule to be set, so that the number of the playlist to be reproduced is displayed in the playlist selection box where the highlight display is located. It is possible to select. For example, when playlists (1) to (5) exist as shown in FIG. 3, “playlist (1)” to “playlist (5)” are selected in playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d, respectively. It is possible to do.

  In the playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d, any one of “no setting” and “no display” can be selected. If there is no playlist to be reproduced, “no setting” or “no display” may be selected in the playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d.

  When a valid playlist is selected in each of the playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d, a start time for setting the playback start time of the playlist and an end for setting the playback end time of the playlist are selected. The time is displayed. In the example of FIG. 5, since a valid playlist is selected in the playlist selection boxes 171a and 171b, the start time 176 (176a, 176b), 177 (177a, 177b) and the end time 178 (178a, 178b), 179 (179a, 179b) are displayed. On the other hand, since “no setting” is selected in the playlist selection boxes 171c and 171d, the start time and the end time are not displayed.

  Here, in the playlist selection boxes 171a and 171b in which a valid playlist is selected in the example of FIG. 5, the start times 176 and 177 are displayed and editable, but the end times 178 and 179 are displayed. However, the remote controller 102 or the like cannot be selected (the highlight display is moved). That is, when a valid playlist is selected in the schedule, the start times 176 and 177 and the end times 178 and 179 are displayed on the screen, but only the start times 176 and 177 can be changed by editing. The end times 178 and 179 cannot be directly changed.

  Instead, the time alignment processing unit 18 described above is configured to match the playback end time of the preceding playlist with the playback start time of the subsequent playlist. This is because in digital signage operation, when there are multiple playlists to be played, there is almost no time gap between the preceding playlist and the subsequent playlist (no playlist is played back). This is because it is normal. That is, it is set so that continuous playback of content such that playback of the next playlist is started as soon as playback of one playlist ends is continued until a predetermined power-off time is reached. This is because it is normal.

  In view of this, as described above, the time alignment processing unit 18 according to the first embodiment is configured so that the playback end time of the preceding playlist matches the playback start time of the subsequent playlist. ing. As a result, for example, in the example of Wednesday on the weekly schedule screen 103 in FIG. 4, between the playlist (3) and the playlist (5) and between the playlist (5) and the playlist (1). There is no time gap.

  According to such a configuration, since the user's operation range can be limited, a user-friendly screen can be provided. If you do not want to display anything between playlists, select “None” in the schedule (playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d) for that section, and select a time zone that you do not want to display. Can be dealt with by setting the start times 176 and 177 and the end times 178 and 179, respectively.

  “Copy this schedule setting to another day of the week” displayed at the bottom of the day schedule screen 105 is an operation screen for copying the schedule data of the day schedule screen 105 displayed on the display 10 to a desired day of the week. is there. On this operation screen, the day of the week copy button 112 is displayed for each day of the week so that the corresponding day of the week can be selected with the remote controller 102.

  By selecting the day of the week copy button 112 corresponding to the day of the week and pressing the “OK” button or the like on the remote controller 102, it is possible to change the presence or absence of a check mark in the check box of the selected day of the week copy button 112. Yes. The signage terminal 9 copies the schedule data on the day schedule screen 105 displayed on the display 10 to the schedule data for the day of the week with a check mark. As a result, not only the day of the week (Monday in the example of FIG. 5) corresponding to the day schedule screen 105 can be edited, but also other days of the week can be edited. It should be noted that a check mark is added to the check box for the day of the week (Monday in the example of FIG. 5) corresponding to the day schedule screen 105 from the beginning. Also, if the check box of the day of the week copy button 112 is unchecked, it will not be copied thereafter.

  Next, a process in which the schedule management screen generation unit 101 generates the daily schedule screen 105 will be described. When generating the day schedule screen 105, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 reads the schedule data for the corresponding day from the schedule database 16, generates the day schedule screen 105 based on the read schedule data, and displays it on the display 10. To do.

  When the read schedule data includes the time from when the signage terminal 9 is turned on until it is turned off, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 selects the item “power control” based on the information. “ON time setting” is displayed on the display 10, and start times 166 and 167 and end times 168 and 169 are displayed on the display 10.

  In the example of FIG. 5, start times 166 and 167 indicate “10:05”, and end times 168 and 169 indicate “20:30”. In this case, the power of the signage terminal 9 is automatically turned on at 10:05 and automatically turned off at 20:30.

  When the read schedule data includes information indicating the playback time (playback start time and playback end time) of the playlist, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 uses the information of the corresponding schedule based on the information. The playlist corresponding to the item, the start times 176 and 177 and the end times 178 and 179 are arranged on the display 10 in the order of reproduction.

  In the example of FIG. 5, “Playlist (1)” is displayed in the item of “Schedule 1”, the start times 176a and 177a indicate “10:05”, and the end times 178a and 179a indicate “15:15”. Show. In this case, the playlist (1) is reproduced from 10:05 to 15:15. In the example of FIG. 5, “Playlist (5)” is displayed in the item of “Schedule 2”, the start times 176b and 177b indicate “15:15”, and the end times 178b and 179b indicate “20:30”. Is shown. In this case, the play list (5) is reproduced from 15:15 to 20:30. Note that for the third and fourth schedules, there is no playlist to be played back, so the schedule management screen generation unit 101 displays “no setting” on the display 10.

  Next, a method for setting a power control schedule will be described.

  When the user wants to change the “hour” of “hour” and “minute” of the start time for power control, the highlight display is moved to the start time 166 and then the operation of pressing the “decision” key is performed on the remote control. By performing at 102, the number at the start time 166 can be changed. In this state, when the user performs an operation of pressing the up / down key with the remote controller 102, the displayed “10” is changed to “11”, “09” or the like.

  Similarly, when the user wants to change “minute” of “hour” and “minute” of the power-on time, the highlight display is moved to the end time 167 and then the “decision” key is pressed. If the operation and the operation of pressing the up / down key are performed with the remote controller 102, the “minute” can be changed. Similarly, when the user wants to change the “hour” or “minute” of the end time for power control, the user moves the highlight display to the end times 168 and 169 and then presses the “enter” key. If the remote controller 102 performs an operation of pressing the up / down key, the end time of the power control can be changed.

  Here, the end time of the last schedule of the same day is changed in conjunction with the change of the end time 168 indicating “hour” or the end time 169 indicating “minute”. In the example of FIG. 5, the schedule 2, which is the last schedule on Monday, that is, the end time 178b, 179b of the playlist (5) is changed to coincide with the end time 168, 169 of “20:30” of power control. Is done. As a result, the user can change the end time of the last schedule on the same day only by changing the end time of the power control, thereby eliminating the trouble of performing an operation only for that purpose.

  Next, a method for setting a play list reproduction schedule will be described. Here, a case where the user changes the start time of schedule 2 from 15:15 to 16:30 will be described.

  When the user moves the highlight display to the start time 176b indicating “hour” and performs an operation of pressing the “OK” key on the remote control 102, and then performs an operation of pressing the up / down key on the remote control 102, the display “15” is changed to “16”, “14” or the like. Similarly, after the user moves the highlight display to the start time 177 b indicating “minutes” and presses the “OK” key on the remote controller 102, the user presses the up and down keys on the remote control 102. The displayed “15” is changed to “30” or “00”.

  In conjunction with the change by the user's operation, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets “15” of the end time 178a indicating “hour” of the schedule 1 to “16” or “14”, etc., and 179a indicating “minute”. “15” is automatically changed to “30” or “00”. In this way, the time alignment processing unit 18 matches the playback end time (end time 178a, 179a) of the preceding playlist with the playback start time (start time 176b, 177b) of the subsequent playlist. As a result, the user can change the end time of the immediately preceding schedule 1 only by changing the start time of the schedule 2, thereby eliminating the trouble of performing an operation for changing the end time of the playlist.

  In the example of FIG. 5, an example is shown in which “hour” and “minute” are set separately. However, “hour” and “minute” may be displayed together as in “HH: MM”. Good. Further, although an example in which the up and down keys of the remote controller 102 are used in changing the “hour” and “minute” is shown, numeric keys or the like of the remote controller 102 may be used, and the key assignment is not particularly specified. Further, as a device that receives a user operation, in addition to the remote controller 102, for example, a device using a gesture, voice recognition, LAN (Local Area Network), serial control, or the like, a communication apparatus, and a control apparatus may be applied. In the example of FIG. 5, the time display is shown using numerals, but the time display may be shown using a hand type.

  In the example of FIG. 5, a plurality of schedules included in one day are displayed on one screen and can be directly changed on the same screen. May be displayed in multiple screens. Further, a dedicated screen may be displayed for the schedule and time to be edited. Furthermore, the end time of the schedule is not intentionally displayed on the screen, and a display format is adopted in which the user implicitly recognizes that the end times 178a and 179a of the preceding schedule are the start times 176b and 177b of the following schedule. May be. Similarly, a display format may be adopted in which the user implicitly recognizes that the last schedule end times 178b and 179b coincide with the power-off times 168 and 169 without displaying them on the screen. In the example of FIG. 5, the number of playlist schedules set is four, but the number is not limited to this.

  If the day of the week copy button 112 of a day different from the day corresponding to the day schedule screen 105 is checked in “Copy this schedule setting to another day of the week” at the bottom of the screen of the day schedule screen 105, the same screen is displayed. The schedule data having the contents displayed in (1) is written into the schedule database 16 as schedule data for the day of the week with a check mark. The timing of writing may be the timing of adding a check mark (the timing of selecting the screen component of the day of the week) or the timing of pressing the return button 113, and is not limited to these. By such a writing process, it is possible to set a plurality of days of the week at once, so that the time required for schedule editing can be reduced.

  Note that in “Copy this schedule setting to other days of the week”, the days of the week once the schedule data are shared are linked to each other. For this reason, when the day schedule screen 105 is opened by pressing the day button 104 corresponding to the linked copied day of the week on the week schedule screen 103, the signage terminal 9 displays the day of the week to be linked (the copy source A check mark is added to the check box of the day of the week copy button 112 for the day of the week and the day of the copy destination). Thereby, the user can recognize that the schedule setting is linked. When it is desired to cancel the link of the day of the week to which the schedule setting is linked, the remote controller 102 performs an operation of selecting the check box of the day of the week not to be linked from the day copy button 112 and pressing the enter button. In this case, the signage terminal 9 removes the check mark for the day of the week and stops the copy link until the next check mark is added.

  In the day schedule screen 105 of FIG. 5, “Schedule setting of“ Monday ”every week” is displayed at the top. That is, as a result of selecting the Monday day button 104 on the weekly schedule screen 103, it is displayed that the Monday schedule is being edited. Here, in “Copy this schedule setting to another day of the week” at the bottom of the screen of the day schedule screen 105, the check mark is removed on Monday and the check mark is added on Thursday, and then the day schedule screen 105 is edited. In this case, the signage terminal 9 reflects the editing result only on Thursday. According to such a configuration, when it is desired to switch the day of the week to be edited, the day of the week whose schedule is to be changed can be edited while the day schedule screen 105 is displayed without having to return to the weekly schedule screen 103 in FIG. Can do.

  When the schedule setting and change are completed on the daily schedule screen 105, the return button 113 is pressed. In this case, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 stores the schedule information displayed on the daily schedule screen as schedule data in the schedule database 16 and discards the daily schedule screen 105. Next, the schedule management screen generation unit 101 reads schedule data for each day of the week from the schedule database 16, generates a weekly schedule screen 103, and displays it on the display 10. In the same manner as described above, the playlist to be reproduced at the day of the week and the time is arranged in a two-dimensional area of the day of the week and time in a display format that can be identified for each playlist. However, the week schedule screen 103 generated and displayed here reflects the contents edited on the daily schedule screen 105.

  As described above, the signage terminal 9 according to the first embodiment is configured to reflect the received edits in both the week schedule screen 103 and the day schedule screen 105 by reflecting the schedule data in the schedule data. Yes. That is, the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 exchange schedule data via the schedule database 16. As a result, in the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105, it is possible to avoid a state in which only one of the screens being edited is updated, and only the other screen is not updated.

  The signage terminal 9 according to the first embodiment is configured not to display the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 at the same time. In this way, by exclusively displaying the week schedule screen 103 and the day schedule screen 105, access to the schedule database 16 is limited to one of the week schedule screen 103 and the day schedule screen 105. Therefore, it is possible to avoid data inconsistencies and conflicts. In addition, since the simultaneous writing of the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 can be suppressed, as a result, troubles such as collisions and deadlocks on the software program can be avoided, and troubles on these software programs can be avoided. It is not necessary to provide a mechanism for avoiding such as a critical section.

  Of the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105, only one of the screens for which the screen operation is enabled is given a write right that permits writing to the schedule database 16, and the other screen has the schedule database. 16 may be configured to perform only reading from 16. When configured in this way, even if the signage terminal 9 is configured to display the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 at the same time, it is possible to avoid data inconsistencies and conflicts.

  In addition, the signage terminal 9 according to Embodiment 1 matches the playback end time of the preceding playlist with the playback start time of the subsequent playlist. Thereby, the plurality of playlists displayed on the weekly schedule screen 103 are continuously reproduced (displayed) without any gaps in the arranged order. In the example of Wednesday on the weekly schedule screen 103 in FIG. 4, three rectangular areas respectively indicating the playlist (3), the playlist (5), and the playlist (1) are displayed adjacent to each other without a gap. Is done. As a result, there is no gap between the playlists, so that the content played back with digital signage can be played back without interruption.

  In the above description, the example in which the schedule for the specified day of the week is collectively changed on the day schedule screen 105 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the playlist displayed in the weekly schedule display area 123 is selected by the remote controller 102, and another screen is generated from the state, and the start time of the corresponding playlist on the screen or The display format may be such that the end time can be edited. Then, after the playlist is changed, the start time and the end time of the preceding and succeeding playlists or the on / off time of power control are changed in conjunction with each other, and then reflected in the schedule database 16.

  For the playlist displayed in the weekly schedule display area 123, the boundary between the playlists can be selected, and the user moves the focus (highlight display) to select and determine the boundary. May be configured to be performed by the remote controller 102. If the screen configuration is such that when the boundary is selected and determined, the determined boundary is moved up and down on the screen, it is possible to easily change the playlist switching time with only the up and down buttons of the remote controller 102. It becomes possible to move back and forth.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the signage terminal 9 according to the first embodiment. 6 shows a configuration that could not be illustrated in FIG. The week schedule screen generation unit 21, the day schedule screen generation unit 22, and the time screen generation unit 23 are included in the schedule management screen generation unit 101 of FIG. The signage terminal 9 includes not only the components shown in FIG. 2 but also an operation interface 24 and a playlist reproduction control unit 25. The playlist reproduction control unit 25 may be separate from the reproduction control unit 17 in FIG. 2 or may be the same as the reproduction control unit 17.

  The operation interface 24 that is an interface has a function of receiving a control signal from the remote controller 102 of FIG. 2 or another system or device (not shown), and can be used by the signage terminal 9 according to the received control signal. Is generated. Note that the control signal received by the operation interface 24 includes information indicating editing of a reproduction schedule. The operation interface 24 outputs the generated command to the week schedule screen generation unit 21, the day schedule screen generation unit 22, and the time screen generation unit 23.

  The week schedule screen generation unit 21 generates a week schedule screen 103 as shown in FIG. 4 based on the schedule data. The day schedule screen generation unit 22 generates a day schedule screen 105 as shown in FIG. 5 based on the schedule data. The time screen generator 23 generates the start times 166, 167, 176, 177 and the end times 168, 169, 178, 179 of FIG. 5 based on the schedule data in cooperation with the day schedule screen generator 22. Here, the time screen generation unit 23 is described as a separate body from the day schedule screen generation unit 22, but may be part of the function of the day schedule screen generation unit 22.

  When receiving a start command from the operation interface 24, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 requests schedule data from the schedule management unit 13. Upon receiving this request, the schedule management unit 13 reads the stored schedule data from the schedule database 16 and returns it to the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21. The weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 inquires the playlist management unit 12 about the playlist included in the schedule data received from the schedule management unit 13. The playlist management unit 12 receives the inquired playlist data from the playlist database 15 (required file names, playback time lengths, playback order, etc. of contents such as videos, still images, and music included in the playlist). Information) is returned to the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21. The weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 generates a weekly schedule screen 103 as shown in FIG. 4 based on the received schedule data and playlist data, and displays it on the display 10.

  When the user performs an operation for reproducing content on the remote controller 102, the operation interface 24 outputs a command for instructing reproduction and the instructed playlist to the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21. When receiving the command and the playlist, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 instructs the playlist reproduction control unit 25 to reproduce the corresponding playlist.

  When receiving the reproduction instruction from the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21, the playlist reproduction control unit 25 inquires of the playlist management unit 12 about the content included in the designated playlist, the reproduction time, and the like. Then, upon receiving the inquiry result from the playlist management unit 12, the playlist reproduction control unit 25 instructs the content reproduction unit 26 to reproduce the corresponding section of the content.

  The content reproduction unit 26 reads out the corresponding content from the content database 14, performs initialization processing such as a decoder (not shown), and then sends the read content to the decoder for reproduction. By repeating this content reading process and sending to the decoder, reproduction continues. The output video, image, and audio from the decoder are sent to the content display control unit 11 and then output from the display 10 and a speaker (not shown).

  When the user performs an operation for stopping the reproduction of the content with the remote controller 102, the operation interface 24 outputs a reproduction stop command to the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21. When the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 receives a playback stop command, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 instructs the playlist playback control unit 25 to stop playback. When the playlist playback control unit 25 receives this instruction, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 instructs the content playback unit 26. To stop playback. Upon receiving the reproduction stop, the content reproduction unit 26 stops reading the content from the content database 14, stops the decoder and the like, and stops the output of the content display control unit 11.

  Next, a process for changing the schedule will be described. When the user performs an operation of pressing one of the day buttons 104a to 104g corresponding to each day of the week shown in FIG. 3 on the remote control 102, the operation interface 24 activates the day schedule screen generation unit 22, The designated day of the week is output to the day schedule screen generation unit 22. When receiving the designated day of the week, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 requests the schedule data for the designated day of the week from the schedule management unit 13. The schedule management unit 13 reads the held schedule data from the schedule database 16 and returns it to the daily schedule screen generation unit 22.

  As a result, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 can read out information such as the playlist of the day, the start time and end time of the playlist, and the power on / off time from the schedule data of the specified day. It has become. The day schedule screen generation unit 22 generates a day schedule screen 105 as shown in FIG. 5 based on the schedule data received from the schedule management unit 13 and displays it on the display 10. Note that the daily schedule screen generation unit 22 can change the schedule data in accordance with the editing accepted by the operation interface 24 as described below.

  Next, the process in which the day schedule screen generation part 22 changes the start time of a schedule is demonstrated. When the remote controller 102 receives a playlist to be edited and a time to be edited, that is, a start time or an end time, from the user, the information is input to the operation interface 24. When receiving the information, the operation interface 24 activates the time screen generator 23 and outputs the information to the time screen generator 23. The time screen generating unit 23 includes schedule start times 166, 167, 176, 177 and end times 168, corresponding to the received information (playlist to be edited, time to be edited, that is, start time or end time). 169, 178, and 179 are determined.

  The time screen generator 23 generates new time information (hereinafter, “new time information”) indicating a new time. For example, when a start time 176a indicating “10” as “hour” of schedule 1 in FIG. 5 is selected as an operation target, if a command corresponding to “advance” is received from the operation interface 24, “ 11 "is generated. The time screen generation unit 23 outputs the generated new time information to the time matching processing unit 18 via the schedule management unit 13.

  The time matching processing unit 18 acquires the time information of the schedule before and after the schedule and the power control schedule from the schedule database 16 via the schedule management unit 13 for one schedule for which the new time information is generated. Then, the time alignment processing unit 18 determines whether the new time information is consistent with the acquired time information and schedule.

  If the time alignment processing unit 18 determines that they are not consistent, it returns an error message to the time screen generation unit 23, corrects the new time information to the consistent time information, and displays the corrected time information. Return to the time screen generator 23. When the time matching processing unit 18 determines that they are matched, the time matching processing unit 18 returns a normal response to the time screen generating unit 23.

  As described above, the time alignment processing unit 18 matches the time information set and displayed on the time screen generation unit 23, so that the time of each schedule, and further, between each schedule and the time of power control. The occurrence of inconsistency can be suppressed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of schedule data corresponding to the contents of the schedule of FIG.

  Data is generated for each day of the week as indicated by Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun. Since there is no schedule data for Thursday, there is no data in the brackets of Thu. Of Monday data indicated by Mon, the power-on time of 6:00 is set as “p-on” and “6:00”, and the power-off time of 18:00 is “p-off” and “18:00”. "Is set. For a playlist to be reproduced between the power-on time and the power-off time, the playlist number and the reproduction start time are set. For example, on Monday, “playlist1” and “6:00” are set. For example, when there are a plurality of playlists such as Tuesday, playlists such as “playlist2” “6:00”, “playlist3” “12:00”, “playlist4” “16:00” And the reproduction start time are set in the order of reproduction.

  Here, according to the data structure of FIG. 7, the reproduction end time is not set. The reason for not setting the playback end time is that, as described above, the signage terminal 9 according to Embodiment 1 is configured so that the playback end time of the preceding playlist matches the playback start time of the subsequent playlist. Because it is. According to such a configuration, as shown in the data structure of FIG. 7, if only the start time of the subsequent playlist and the topmost playlist is set, the switching time of a plurality of playlists can be set.

  The advantage of not setting the playlist end time is that there is no setting work, or the time interval between the end time of the preceding playlist and the start time of the subsequent playlist, that is, playback. It is conceivable that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of non-performing time zones. In addition, when the start time of the subsequent playlist is set before the end time of the previous playlist due to a user's operation mistake, etc., it is not necessary to make a logical decision such as which one has priority. Is also possible. Furthermore, if you want to edit the playback start time and playback end time of each playlist once created, you can edit only the start time, so you can expect to shorten the setting change time and suppress errors in the change. it can.

  8, 9 and 10 are flowcharts showing processing of the signage terminal 9 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the processing of the signage terminal 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10.

  First, in step S1, when the operation interface 24 receives an operation to start editing a schedule, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 is activated. In step S <b> 2, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 reads schedule data from the schedule database 16.

  In step S3, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 generates a weekly schedule screen 103 based on the read schedule data. At this time, if a playlist is set for a day of the week and a time on the weekly schedule screen 103 to be generated, a color of the partial area of the screen is changed, hatching is performed, and a playlist number is assigned. And so on.

  In step S4, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not an input operation from the user (here, a control signal from the remote controller 102) has been received. When it determines with having received, it progresses to step S5, and when that is not right, step S4 is performed again.

  In step S5, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation received in step S4 is a pressing operation on the day button 104. If it is determined that the operation is a pressing operation on the day of the week button 104, the process proceeds to A of FIG. 9, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation accepted in step S4 is an operation for a playlist area. If it is determined that the operation is for the play list area, the process proceeds to step S7, and if not, the process proceeds to step S8.

  In step S7, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 instructs the content reproduction unit 26 to reproduce and display the play list that is the operation target. As a result, the playlist is reproduced and displayed in the preview area 114. Then, it returns to step S4.

  In step S8, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation received in step S4 is a pressing operation on the return button 124. If it is determined that the operation is a pressing operation on the return button 124, the process proceeds to step S9, and if not, the process returns to step S4.

  In step S9, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 determines whether there is a change in schedule data. If it is determined that there is a change, the process proceeds to step S10. If not, the process proceeds to step S11, and the process ends.

  In step S <b> 10, the weekly schedule screen generation unit 21 writes the changed schedule data in the schedule database 16. Then, it progresses to step S11 and complete | finishes a process.

  Next, A will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S21, the daily schedule screen generation unit 22 is activated. Then, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 reads from the schedule database 16 the day schedule data corresponding to the day of the week button 104 received in step S4. In step S22, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 generates the day schedule screen 105 based on the read schedule data.

  In step S23, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not an input operation from the user (in this case, a control signal from the remote controller 102) has been received. When it determines with having received, it progresses to step S24, and when that is not right, step S23 is performed again.

  In step S24, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation received in step S23 is an operation for an area indicating a schedule (here, playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d in FIG. 5). If it is determined that the operation is for the area indicating the schedule, the process proceeds to step S25, and if not, the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S25, the daily schedule screen generation unit 22 displays a changeable playlist candidate in one of the playlist selection boxes 171a to 171d that is an operation target. Thereby, the user can select and change a playlist to be reproduced. Thereafter, the process returns to step S23.

  In step S26, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation received in step S23 is an operation for the edit area of the reproduction start time (here, the start times 176 and 177 in FIG. 5). If it is determined that the operation has been performed on the editing area at the reproduction start time, the process proceeds to C of FIG.

  In step S27, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the operation received in step S23 is a pressing operation on the return button 113. If it is determined that the operation is a pressing operation on the return button 113, the process proceeds to step S28, and if not, the process returns to step S23.

  In step S <b> 28, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 writes the schedule data of the displayed day schedule screen 105 in the schedule database 16. In step S29, the day schedule screen generation unit 22 discards the displayed day schedule screen 105. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S2 in FIG.

  Next, C will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S41, the operation interface 24 determines whether or not the editing target by the operation received in step S23 is the top schedule (schedule 1 in FIG. 5 here). If it is determined that the schedule is the head schedule, the process proceeds to step S42, and if not, the process proceeds to step S43.

  In step S <b> 42, the time alignment processing unit 18 determines whether or not the reproduction start time that is the editing target is consistent with the schedule for turning off and on the signage terminal 9. Specifically, the time alignment processing unit 18 determines that the reproduction start time to be edited is consistent when it is between the power control start time 166, 167 and the end time 168, 169, Otherwise, it is determined that they are not consistent. If it is determined in step S42 that the data matches, the process proceeds to step S45, and if not, the process proceeds to step S44.

  In step S43, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the reproduction start time to be edited, that is, the reproduction start time of one playlist, the time information of the playlist before and after the one playlist, and the signage terminal 9 It is determined whether or not it is consistent with the schedule for turning off and on the power of the computer. For example, the time matching processing unit 18 matches when the reproduction start time to be edited is between the start time 176 and 177 of the immediately preceding playlist and the start time 176 and 177 of the immediately following playlist. If not, it is determined that they are not consistent. If there is no playlist immediately after, the power control end times 168 and 169 are applied instead of the start times 176 and 177. If it is determined in this step S43 that they are matched, the process proceeds to step S45, and if not, the process proceeds to step S44.

  In step S44, the time alignment processing unit 18 corrects the reproduction start time to be edited to a consistent reproduction start time. For example, if the process has proceeded from step S42 to step S44, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the reproduction start time to be edited as the power control start times 166 and 167 and the start time 176 of the immediately following playlist. It is corrected to a time (for example, an intermediate value thereof) between 177 and the earlier time of the end times 168 and 169. For example, when the process has proceeded from step S43 to step S44, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the reproduction start time to be edited as the immediately preceding playlist start times 176 and 177 and the immediately following playlist start time. The time is corrected to a time between 176 and 177 (for example, an intermediate value thereof). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S45.

  In step S45, the time alignment processing unit 18 matches the reproduction end time paired with the reproduction start time to be edited to the start times 176 and 177 of the immediately subsequent playlist. When there is no immediately following playlist, power control end times 168 and 169 are applied instead. Then, the time screen generator 23 switches the display to the start time 176, 177 and the end time 178, 179 of the editing target displayed on the display 10 and switches to the playback start time and playback end time edited or corrected as described above. To do. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S23 in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of the week schedule screen 103 and the day schedule screen 105. As shown in FIG. 11, the transition from the week schedule screen 103 to the day schedule screen 105 for each day of the week is performed by specifying the day of the week on the week schedule screen 103 or the user interface such as the remote control 102. By displaying the weekly schedule screen 103, the user can roughly confirm the trend of the schedule for one week, the relationship between the days of the week, and that editing cannot be performed on the screen. When the user grasps them and determines the day button 104 of the day of the week to be edited, a day schedule screen 105 corresponding to the day of the week is generated. Therefore, it is possible to edit the schedule for the day of the week to be edited.

  The display of the day schedule screen 105 allows the user to confirm and edit details such as the playlist for the specified day of the week, the start time and end time of the playlist, and the power on time and power off time of the digital signage. Can do. As described above, since the week schedule screen 103 and the day schedule screen 105 are not displayed on the display 10 at the same time, the user wants to edit without paying attention to the relationship between the days of the week during the editing work on the day schedule screen. You can concentrate on editing the day. When editing of the day is completed, the user can return to the weekly schedule screen 103 with a return button or the like, and can grasp the relationship between the days of the week for the entire week. In the day schedule screen 105, the schedule can be copied to another day of the week after editing, and a plurality of days can be set at a time. Thus, by limiting the user's thinking target by switching between week and day, the work can be facilitated and mistakes can be suppressed.

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
By limiting the schedule editing screen to one week or one day, it is possible to edit the schedule even in a CPU embedded device having a narrow screen area or a low screen resolution. By dividing the schedule editing screen into a weekly schedule and a day schedule, even if the screen area is limited, it can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. Here, when the schedule screen is divided into two, the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105, the data updated on one screen is the data on the other screen, or the data that is not displayed but is retained It seems to contradict. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, all data is centrally managed in the schedule database 16 and the latest data is read from the schedule database 16 so that no contradiction occurs between the screens. .

  In the first embodiment, the schedule editing screen is divided into a weekly schedule and a daily schedule, and these form a hierarchical structure. According to such a configuration, as in the daily schedule screen 105, the order of playback, the content and playlist to be played back, and the start time and end time thereof are limited to the schedule within the day. , The user is less likely to get lost.

  A day button 104 is provided on the week schedule screen 103. As a result, the editing target is limited to the schedule for only that day, and thus the user can clearly separate the act of considering the entire schedule for one week from the act of considering the schedule for one day. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily understand the editing target. Moreover, since the range considered in each screen is limited, a user's confusion is suppressed and an understanding can be promoted. In particular, by displaying the weekly schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 exclusively, usability is improved for the user who performs editing. In addition, every time the week schedule screen 103 and the daily schedule screen 105 are switched, the schedule data is fixed and stored, so that even if a system stoppage occurs, a lot of newly edited data can be left. .

  Furthermore, the amount of data developed on the memory can be reduced. For example, it is assumed that 4 bytes are required for specifying a playlist, specifying a start time, and specifying a playback order for one schedule, and that 8 bytes are required for the power-off time of one day. If the schedule is set, 56 (= 3 × 4 × 4 + 8) bytes are required per day. In this case, 336 bytes can be reduced compared to 392 bytes in the case of developing for one week. Also, even if a power outage occurs and the data being deployed disappears unexpectedly, the scope of influence is very small.

  Further, since the schedule is edited on a daily schedule basis, the schedule for the day being edited can be easily copied to the schedule for another day. In particular, in general retail stores and the like, since almost every day is operated with the same schedule or with a schedule different from other days of the week only on Saturday and Sunday, the created schedule can be easily copied. Further, since the schedule created for one day can be copied to the schedule for a plurality of days, productivity is high.

  By displaying the weekly schedule screen 103, the user can look down on the weekly schedule. For this reason, it is convenient in grasping a general management style in a retail store or the like, that is, an operation style that only distinguishes weekdays from Saturday and Sunday.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the time information of one playlist is consistent with the time information of the playlist before and after the one playlist and the schedule for turning on and off the digital signage. If not, the time information of the one playlist in the reproduction schedule is corrected to the consistent time information. As a result, there is no need for the user to confirm time alignment, and human failure can be suppressed. As a result, the digital signage schedule can be easily set and edited, so that even a user unfamiliar with the schedule setting can set the schedule accurately and easily.

  Also, it is not an interface device that enables complex operations such as a mouse or a touch panel, which is commonly used as an interface for personal computers, but an interface such as a remote control 102 that uses buttons that are generally used for home appliance operations. However, it is possible to easily set a schedule.

  Also, according to the first embodiment, the playback end time of the preceding playlist is made to coincide with the playback start time of the subsequent playlist, so there is no playlist to be played back between schedules, and what is displayed on the screen Can be prevented from being displayed. Furthermore, since the end time of the immediately preceding schedule is automatically changed simply by editing the start time of the schedule to be edited on each day, it is possible to reduce the time and trouble of user operations.

  In the above description, the configuration in which the playback end time of the preceding playlist is matched with the playback start time of the subsequent playlist has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the playback start time of the subsequent playlist may be matched with the playback end time of the preceding playlist.

  The target to be matched may be not only the playlist, but also the start time and end time between contents constituting the playlist, or a chapter between playlists and contents. In the case of a chapter, in addition to the matching process for confirming that the corresponding playlist or content exists between the playback start time and the end time, a matching process with previous and subsequent chapters is required.

  In the above description, the time information to be edited is the reproduction start time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the playback end time may be used. In this case, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the playback end time to be edited, that is, the playback end time of one playlist, the end times 178 and 179 of the immediately preceding playlist, and the end times 178 and 178 of the immediately following playlist. 179, it is determined that there is a match. Otherwise, it is determined that there is no match. When there is no previous playlist, power control start times 166 and 167 are applied instead of the end times 178 and 179, and when there is no immediately subsequent playlist, the end times 178 and 179 are applied. Instead, power control end times 168 and 169 are applied.

  When the time alignment processing unit 18 determines that they are not consistent, the time alignment processing unit 18 corrects the reproduction end time to be edited to a consistent reproduction end time. Thus, even if it is the structure which adjusts reproduction end time, the effect similar to the above-mentioned structure which adjusts reproduction start time can be acquired.

  In the above description, in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the unit of editing is the day of the week. However, the editing may be performed on a day-by-day basis and can be edited across days of the week. Also good. For example, in FIG. 5, the schedule may be one day from 9:00 on Monday to 9:00 on Tuesday of the following day. When the above editing is performed in the week schedule display area 123 of the week schedule screen 103, the color displayed in the area from the upper side of Tuesday, which is the next day, to 9 o'clock is displayed in the area after 9 o'clock. It may be different from the color. As a result, the user can easily know that it is possible to edit (set) a schedule across days on the day schedule screen 105.

<Modification>
In the first embodiment, in step S44 (FIG. 10), the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the reproduction start time to be edited as the power control start time 166, 167 or the immediately preceding playlist start time 176, 177. And the time immediately after the playlist start times 176 and 177 (for example, intermediate values thereof) have been described. However, it is not limited to this.

  For example, it is assumed that the time “21:00” is erroneously set in the start times 176b and 177b of the playlist (5) of schedule 2 as shown in FIG. This set time is not between “10:05” set at the power control start times 166 and 167 and “20:30” set at the end times 168 and 169. Further, the set time is between “10:05” set at the start times 176a and 177a of the immediately preceding schedule 1 and “18:00” set at the start times 176c and 177c of the immediately following schedule 3. Nor. In such a case, the time alignment processing unit 18 determines that “21:00” set in the start times 176b and 177b of the schedule 2 is not consistent, and corrects the reproduction start time.

  In the present modification, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets 1 from “18:00” set at the start times 176c and 177c of the immediately following schedule if the playback time of the playlist (5) of schedule 2 is 1 hour. The start times 176b and 177b of schedule 2 are corrected to “17:00” before the time. Even in such a configuration, the time alignment processing unit 18 sets the reproduction start time of the schedule 2 to be edited between the reproduction start time of the immediately preceding schedule 1 and the reproduction start time of the immediately following schedule 3. Since the correction is made, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In the present invention, the embodiments can be appropriately modified and omitted within the scope of the invention.

  9 signage terminal, 10 display, 13 schedule management unit, 16 schedule database, 18 hour alignment processing unit, 21 week schedule screen generation unit, 22 day schedule screen generation unit, 24 operation interface, 103 week schedule screen, 105 day schedule screen .

Claims (11)

A schedule management device for managing a playback schedule to be played back with digital signage,
In the reproduction schedule, a plurality of reproduction objects are arranged in order of reproduction,
An interface for accepting editing of the playback schedule;
A schedule management unit for managing the reproduction schedule changed by the editing accepted by the interface;
Among the playback schedules managed by the schedule management unit, one of the playback target time information turns on and off the playback target time information before and after the one playback target and the digital signage. A schedule management apparatus comprising: a time matching processing unit that corrects the time information of the one playback target in the playback schedule to time information that matches when the schedule does not match. The schedule management device according to claim 1,
The schedule management device, wherein the time information is a reproduction start time. The schedule management device according to claim 1,
The schedule management device, wherein the time information is a reproduction end time. The schedule management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The time alignment processing unit
A schedule management device that matches one of a playback end time of the preceding playback target and a playback start time of the subsequent playback target to the other. A schedule display control device for causing a display device to display a playback schedule to be played back by digital signage,
A schedule database for storing schedule data which is data of the reproduction schedule;
A week schedule screen generation unit for generating a week schedule screen indicating the reproduction schedule in units of one week based on the schedule data;
A day schedule screen generating unit for generating a day schedule screen indicating the reproduction schedule in units of one day based on the schedule data;
An interface for accepting editing of the playback schedule,
A schedule display control apparatus that reflects the editing accepted by the interface on both the weekly schedule screen and the day schedule screen by reflecting the schedule data on the schedule data. The schedule display control device according to claim 5,
A schedule display control device that does not simultaneously display the week schedule screen and the day schedule screen on the display device. The schedule display control device according to claim 5,
In the reproduction schedule, a plurality of reproduction objects are arranged in order of reproduction,
An interface for accepting editing of the playback schedule;
A schedule management unit for managing the reproduction schedule changed by the editing accepted by the interface;
Among the playback schedules managed by the schedule management unit, one of the playback target time information turns on and off the playback target time information before and after the one playback target and the digital signage. A schedule display control device, further comprising: a time matching processing unit that corrects the time information of the one reproduction target in the reproduction schedule to the time information to be matched when it is not consistent with the schedule. The schedule display control device according to claim 7,
The schedule display control device, wherein the time information is a reproduction start time. The schedule display control device according to claim 7,
The schedule display control device, wherein the time information is a reproduction end time. The schedule display control device according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
The time alignment processing unit
A schedule display control device that matches one of a playback end time of the preceding playback target and a playback start time of the subsequent playback target to the other. A schedule management method for managing a playback schedule to be played back with digital signage,
In the reproduction schedule, a plurality of reproduction objects are arranged in order of reproduction,
(A) accepting editing of the reproduction schedule;
(B) managing the reproduction schedule changed by the editing accepted in the step (a);
(C) Among the reproduction schedules managed in the step (b), one reproduction target time information includes the reproduction target time information before and after the one reproduction target, and the power of the digital signage. A schedule management method comprising: correcting time information of the one reproduction target in the reproduction schedule to consistent time information when the schedule is not consistent with an on / off schedule.

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