JP5121845B2 - Content receiving apparatus and content transmitting / receiving system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content transmission apparatus and a content transmission / reception system for transmitting content received via a network to another device.

  In recent years, digital cameras have become widespread, and the work of taking photo data taken with a digital camera into a personal computer and sending the photo data to an acquaintance as an attached file has become common. Mobile phones with a built-in camera function are also widespread, and the act of sending photograph data taken with a mobile phone to an acquaintance by attaching it to an email on the mobile phone is also common.

  Not only digital cameras but also mobile phone cameras are becoming higher resolution. For high-resolution photos, the details cannot be displayed on the small screen of a mobile phone, and because the data size is large, it takes time and the communication fee is high if it is sent through the mobile phone network. There is.

  On the other hand, especially in Japan, a so-called broadband Internet environment using ADSL or an optical line is widely spread to ordinary households. Therefore, when sending a photo image with a large data size or when sending multiple photos at once, the communication fee is often fixed at a constant connection, rather than being attached to a mobile phone email. Many consumers choose to send to personal computers via the Internet. Consumers who regularly use the e-mail function of a mobile phone often notify the other party by e-mail on the mobile phone that a photo has been sent to the e-mail address of a personal computer.

Regarding the problem that high-resolution photos cannot be displayed on the screen of a mobile phone, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, the photo received by the mobile phone is transmitted to a large-screen display device through a communication means and displayed. Means to do so have been proposed.
JP 2002-164968 A

  However, even if the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is used, if a photograph is attached to a mail of a mobile phone and sent, the problem that the transmission time is required and the communication fee becomes high remains unresolved.

  On the other hand, when displaying a photo received as a mail attachment file of a personal computer on a display device such as a large-screen TV, first start the mail software, search for the desired mail from the received mail, and temporarily attach the attached image. Save to removable media such as a memory card. Next, it is necessary to perform a time-consuming operation of removing the memory card storing the photos from the personal computer, inserting the memory card into the display device, and operating the display device for display.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a means that eliminates the hassle while solving problems related to transmission time and communication charges.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, the content receiving unit that receives the content transmitted through the first communication path is associated with the content via a second communication path that is different from the first communication path. Content information receiving means for receiving content information that can identify the content transmitted in a form that can be analyzed, and the content receiving means analyzes the association between the received content and the received content information Then, a content receiving apparatus is provided that identifies the associated content based on the content information and transmits it to the content output means.

  The first communication path is, for example, an inexpensive communication path having a large capacity and a flat-rate system, and the second communication path is a communication path that uses a device that is convenient for carrying although the capacity is not large. The first communication path is suitable for transmitting and receiving content, and corresponds to, for example, optical fiber transmission via the Internet. The second communication path is suitable for transmitting and receiving text information such as content information, and corresponds to a communication means using a mobile phone, for example.

  When the content is specified and output by the content output means, the content output means preferably transmits the content ID received from the content information reception means to the content reception means and receives a reply of the corresponding content. .

  As a result, information exchange on the receiving side is limited to low-capacity information such as a content ID, and high-speed communication is possible.

  It is preferable that the content receiving unit lowers the content specified based on the content information specifying the content received from the content information receiving unit and returns the content together with the information specifying the content to the content information receiving unit. .

  By reducing the volume of the content and returning it to the content information receiving means together with information for specifying the content, it becomes easy to confirm the content to be output.

  The content information is preferably content transmission time. If the transmission time of the content is approximate, it can be estimated with high probability that the content corresponds to the content information.

  The content receiving means notifies a content acquisition key for acquiring content when returning to the content information receiving means.

  The content may be a still image, and the means for reducing the content may generate a thumbnail image of the content, and the content receiving unit may notify the content information receiving unit of the thumbnail image. Is a moving image, and the means for reducing the capacity of the content may generate a thumbnail image of the frame image representing the content, and the content receiving means may notify the content information receiving means of the thumbnail image. .

  In response to a content acquisition request by a content acquisition key via the content information receiving unit or the output unit, the content receiving unit may transmit the corresponding content to the output unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a communication unit that receives content via a first communication path and receives content information transmitted via a second communication path from a content information receiving device; An analysis unit that analyzes the association between the received content and the received content information, and identifies the content specified based on the association analyzed by the analysis unit and transmits the content to the content output unit A content processing apparatus is provided.

  A content acquisition key for acquiring content, a content that has been reduced in capacity, a generation unit that generates the content, and the content acquisition key and the content that has been reduced in capacity are transmitted as a set to the content information receiving apparatus. It is preferable to have a transmitter.

  In addition, the content transmitting means for transmitting the content via the first communication path and the content information capable of specifying the content via the second communication path different from the first communication path are associated with the content. Content information transmitting means for transmitting in an analyzable form, content receiving means for receiving content transmitted via the first communication path, and content information transmitted via the second communication path Content information receiving means for analyzing the association between the content received from the content transmitting means and the content information received from the content information transmitting means, and making an association based on the content information Content that is identified and transmitted to content output means Transmission and reception system is provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a step of receiving content via a first communication path, a step of receiving content information transmitted via a second communication path from a content information receiving device, and reception Analyzing the association between the received content information and the received content information, and specifying the content specified based on the association analyzed by the analysis unit and transmitting the content to the content output means A content processing method is provided. A program for causing a computer to execute the above steps or a computer-readable recording medium that records the program may be used, or a form in which the program is acquired by a transmission medium may be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily display content received via the Internet on a high-definition television by operating a mobile phone.

It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the system transmission / reception system by one embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the content delivery system by this Embodiment, and is a functional block diagram supposing that it is implement | achieved as the software which operate | moves on a personal computer. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the mail information analysis process in a personal computer. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of an image URL transmission process. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of an image transmission process. It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the system by the 2nd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 ... Communication partner's house
102 ... Mobile phone of communication partner
103 ... Personal computer of communication partner
104 ... Mobile phone mail
105 ... Photo image attachment email
106 ... Operator's home
107 ... Operator's mobile phone
108 ... Operator's personal computer
109 ... Operator's TV

  Hereinafter, a content transmission / reception technique according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Below, the case where an image is used as content will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image transmission / reception system according to the present embodiment. The image transmission / reception system according to the present embodiment considers a case where there is an operator who wants to display a photographic image attached to an e-mail on a television by operating a mobile phone and the communication partner. The communication partner, for example, at home 101 first operates the personal computer 103 in which a photograph taken with a digital camera or the like is stored, attaches a photographic image to the e-mail 105, and sends it to the operator's personal computer 108. Transmit (L2). Subsequently, the communication partner operates the mail software of the mobile phone 102 to describe in text that the photograph has been sent to the personal computer and notifies the operator's mobile phone 107 at home 106 by mail 104 ( L1). The mobile phone 102 may be notified that the image has been transmitted by operating the personal computer 103, and the mobile phone 107 of the operator may be notified based on the notification.

  When the operator reads the received mail on the mobile phone 107, the operator calls a photo display function assigned to the menu key or the like (L3). Then, the personal computer 108 extracts a desired photo image from the received mail, and transmits a URL for accessing the photo image and a thumbnail image of the photo to the mobile phone 107 (L4). Since the thumbnail image is displayed on the mobile phone 107, the operator selects a thumbnail to be displayed. The mobile phone 107 notifies the television 109 of the URL of the photo image (L5). The television 109 uses the notified URL to access the personal computer 108 (L6), downloads a photographic image, and displays it on the screen (L7).

  Note that the URL of a photographic image uniquely indicates the location of the photographic image in the personal computer 108, and it is sufficient that the photographic image can be specified in the personal computer 108, even if it is not a general URL. For example, it may be the transmission date and time of the image attached mail. Since a plurality of images can be specified by their order (number), they can be sent to the operator from the personal computer 103 or the mobile phone 102 together with the transmission date and time. Further, if the transmission date and time of L1 and L2 are almost the same and there is only one photo, the simultaneity may be used.

  Even in a usage example where a camera with a built-in mobile phone is used to take a high-resolution photo, create a thumbnail image using the function of the mobile phone 102, and send only the thumbnail image to the email from the mobile phone. good. In this case, the original high-resolution photo can be sent from the personal computer 103 as an email attachment. In this example, identification information may be embedded in the header of the image file so that the thumbnail image transmitted from the mobile phone 102 and the original image transmitted from the personal computer 103 can be associated with each other. The mail information analysis unit 204 can easily perform mail correspondence by using the identification information.

  Alternatively, even when the identification information is not used, the similarity between the thumbnail image attached to the mail received by the mobile phone 107 and the original image received by the personal computer 108 is measured by image correlation processing or the like. Can be associated.

  A more detailed configuration for realizing the above system will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of the content distribution system of the present invention. The system 201 shown in FIG. 2 is assumed to be realized as software that operates on the personal computer 108. The description will be made with reference to FIG. 1 as appropriate.

  A mail 105 attached with a photographic image sent by a communication partner by the personal computer 103 is received through the communication unit 202 of the personal computer 108 and stored in a storage device such as an internal hard disk (not shown).

  Here, when the operator receives an e-mail with the mobile phone 107 (L1) and calls the above-described photo display function, the address, name, content of the e-mail text, etc. of the received e-mail are stored in the personal computer 108. (L3). The communication protocol is accessed using, for example, an HTTP request. The personal computer 108 extracts and acquires information about those mail senders by the mobile mail information acquisition unit 203.

  On the other hand, information related to mail received by the personal computer 108 is extracted and acquired by the PC mail information acquisition unit 205. Each mail stored on the hard disk is managed by a mail ID such as a serial number, and attribute information such as the sender and destination of the mail, the subject, the presence / absence of an attached image, and the storage location of the attached image is managed in association with the mail ID. Has been.

  The mail information analysis unit 204 receives information related to mobile mail from the mobile mail information acquisition unit 203, receives information related to electronic mail of the personal computer 108 from the PC mail information acquisition unit 205, and analyzes both information, For example, a mobile mail and an e-mail are associated with each other by being transmitted from the same sender at almost the same timing, and an e-mail attached with a photograph to be displayed by the operator is extracted. An example of processing contents in the mail information analysis unit 204 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step 301, when the analysis process is called, it is checked in step 302 whether there is an unchecked PC mail. If there is no unchecked mail (NO), the process proceeds to step 307 and the process is terminated. If there is an unchecked mail (YES), one of them is acquired in step 303. First, in step 304, it is confirmed whether a photograph image is attached to the acquired mail. Whether or not the attached file is a photographic image can be determined based on, for example, the extension of the file or whether the format is a general image format such as Jpeg or bitmap. If no photographic image is attached, the process returns to the process of step 302 and proceeds to the next unchecked mail process.

  If a photographic image is attached (YES), the process proceeds to step 305, where it is checked whether the sender of the PC mail matches the sender of the mobile mail. If the two do not match (NO), the process returns to step 302, and a series of processes is repeated until a matching mail is found. Whether or not the sender of the PC mail matches the sender of the mobile mail can be determined from the name of the sender, for example. The email address differs between PC email and mobile email, but the sender name displayed on the email software is determined to be the same sender by managing with the same character string such as real name and nickname. be able to. Or it is also possible to estimate by the name described in the famous sentence attached to the end of the mail text. If the creator name is recorded as the attribute information of the content, the sender can be specified by the attribute information.

  As described above, it is also possible to use mail transmission date / time information. If a plurality of emails with attached photo images are found, it is sufficient to select the one whose transmission date and time is closer to the transmission date and time of the mobile mail. Also, depending on whether the content of the text of the mobile mail is the past tense “Send a photo” or the future tense “Send a photo” Is selected from the old PC mail, and if it is the future form, the PC time may be selected from the new PC mail.

  It should be noted that it is very rare for a general user to receive an e-mail attached with several photos a day, except for a user who frequently exchanges photos in business, etc. With the above method, it is possible to associate mobile mail and PC mail almost certainly. Further, in consideration of the case where the above method is not associated, a plurality of mails with high possibility may be selected as candidates, and the operator may be selected from among the plurality of mails. All the photos attached to the mail may be displayed on the television receiver 109 in a slide show format.

  If a mail with a matching sender is found, the mail ID of the mail is notified to the URL and thumbnail image generation unit 206 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the URL and thumbnail image generation unit 206. The processing is started in step 401, and the processing from step 402 to step 406 is repeated until an end command is issued in accordance with the end processing of the application. First, in step 403, it is confirmed whether or not a mail ID is notified from the mail information analysis unit 204. When the mail ID is notified, a URL for accessing the attached photograph image stored on the PC through the network is generated in the process of step 404. The generated URL is notified to the image transmission unit 207 together with information for specifying an attached image such as a mail ID or a file name indicating an attached image associated with the mail ID. The information received by the image transmission unit 207, the notified URL, and the photographic image transmitted when accessed by the URL are associated and stored in the storage device.

  Subsequently, in the process of step 405, a thumbnail image is generated by the reduction process and the format conversion process of the photographic image. The order of steps 404 and 405 may be reversed. When a plurality of mail IDs are notified, the processing in step 404 and step 405 is also executed a plurality of times. The generated URL and thumbnail image are notified from the mobile phone 102 to the mobile phone 107 in the process of step 406. For example, it is possible to notify in a format of HTML format with a photographic image and a URL embedded as a link destination.

  When the mobile phone 107 is notified of the URL and the thumbnail image, the thumbnail image is displayed on the screen of the mobile phone 107. When the operator operates a button on the mobile phone 107 to select a desired thumbnail image, the notified URL is transmitted to, for example, the current television receiver 109 by, for example, infrared communication. When there are a plurality of photographic images, the contents of the photos can be confirmed with the thumbnail images when selecting which photo to display or when determining whether the photo is desired to be displayed by the operator.

  Subsequently, the television receiver 109 activates the browser, communicates with the HTTP protocol using the received URL, and accesses the personal computer 108 (L6). The personal computer 108 receives the HTTP request through the communication unit 202 in FIG. 2 and notifies the image transmission unit 207 of the URL information.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the image transmission unit. The processing is started at step 501, and the processing from step 502 to step 504 is repeated until an end command is issued according to the end processing of the application. In the process of step 503, it is confirmed whether or not there is an image acquisition request by the HTTP request from the television receiver 109. When there is an image acquisition request, a photographic image associated with the URL is read from the hard disk and transmitted to the television receiver 109 as a response message.

  The television receiver 109 develops the received photographic image and displays it on the display. When the operator operates the mobile phone 107 to select another thumbnail image, the URL is transmitted from the mobile phone 107 to the television receiver 109, and then the image is transferred from the personal computer 108 to the television receiver 109. The process until it is transmitted and displayed is repeated.

  In the above embodiment, an example of transmitting a photographic image attached to an e-mail has been described. However, the content to be transmitted is not limited to a photographic image, and may be a moving image, music, or the like. A real-time streaming protocol such as RTSP may be used as a protocol for transmitting moving images and music. In the case of a moving image, a representative frame image can be used as the thumbnail image.

  As described above, the content transmission system according to the present embodiment has been described using a typical system configuration. In another configuration example, the thumbnail image is not transmitted from the content transmission system to the mobile phone, and only the URL may be transmitted.

  In addition, assuming that the personal computer and the mobile phone are connected through a sufficiently high-speed communication path such as a wireless LAN, the content entity is transmitted to the mobile phone instead of the URL and the thumbnail image. Also good. In this case, it is assumed that the content entity is transmitted at high speed from the mobile phone to the television receiver using high-speed infrared communication such as IrSimple, Bluetooth, wireless LAN, or the like.

  Alternatively, even if the mobile phone does not have a function of transmitting content to the television receiver, it is effective because the content received by the personal computer can be easily confirmed on the screen of the mobile phone.

As a second embodiment, the system of FIG. 6 will be described as an example of the configuration of a system for easily and inexpensively sending a photograph taken with a mobile phone with a digital camera function.

  The image transmission / reception system according to the present embodiment transfers photographic data taken by the mobile phone 602 with a digital camera to the personal computer 603 by short-range wireless communication (L0) such as IR or Bluetooth, and the photographic image is transmitted from the personal computer 603. A mail with the data attached is sent to the personal computer 608 of the communication partner, and a text mail is sent from the mobile phone 602 to notify that the mail with the photo image data attached is sent to the personal computer of the communication partner. Sent to mobile phone 607.

  When the communication partner reads the text mail on the mobile phone 607, the communication partner calls the photo display function assigned to the menu key or the like (L3). Then, the personal computer 608 transmits the photographic image data attached to the received mail to the mobile phone 607 using the short-range wireless communication (L4).

  Details of this processing will be described.

When the mobile phone with digital camera 602 transmits the file name of the photographed image data, the photograph image data, and the mail address of the other party to which the photograph image data is to be transmitted to the personal computer 603 by short-range wireless communication, the personal computer 603 has a mail client. Automatically starts and performs mail transmission processing based on information obtained by short-range wireless communication. In parallel with this, the mobile phone with digital camera 602 points the file name of the photographed image data to the email address of the other party to which the photograph image data is to be transmitted, together with a text message to be transmitted to the other party to which the photograph image data is to be transmitted And send it by text mail.

  When receiving the text mail from the digital camera-equipped mobile phone 602, the communication partner mobile phone 607 transmits the file name information of the photo image data included in the mail to the personal computer 608 by short-range wireless communication. Then, the personal computer 608 automatically checks the received mail until the mail client is automatically activated and a mail attached with the photo image data of the file name transmitted by the short-range wireless communication is received. When a mail with the attached photo image data of the file name is received, the attached photo image data is transmitted to the mobile phone 607 using short-range wireless communication. The mobile phone displays the photographic image data received by short-range wireless communication in association with the text mail received from the mobile phone with digital camera 602.

  With the above processing, it is possible to exchange photographic image data at low cost by using a personal computer network for transmitting photographic image data, in the same way as sending a mail with a photo attached between mobile phones. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the same operational feeling as that of mail transfer with a photo between mobile phones is realized by transmitting the photo image data attached to the mail sent to the personal computer 608 to the mobile phone 607. As shown in the first embodiment of the present invention, a photo image URL or a thumbnail image may be transmitted from the personal computer 608 to the mobile phone 607.

  When the mobile phone has a function of accessing the Internet and can receive mail addressed to the personal computer, the system of the present invention is implemented as software that operates on the mobile phone, not on the personal computer. It is also possible to do. In that case, the URL of the content is notified from the processing module of the present invention to the module that performs the process of transmitting the URL information to the television receiver inside the mobile phone.

  In addition, the content such as a photo image may be acquired by being downloaded directly from a photo sharing service on the Internet or a personal computer at a communication partner's house, instead of being attached to an e-mail. . Even in this case, it is preferable that the content is stored in association with information such as the name of the sender, as in the case where the content is attached to the e-mail.

  In the DLNA, the system according to the present invention may be configured with the DMC as the control device as the mobile phone 107, the DMS as the server device as the personal computer 108, and the DMP as the playback device as the television receiver 109. In that case, the photograph image received by the personal computer 108 is registered as content, and the URL list of the photograph image is provided to the mobile phone 107 using the Content Directory Service function of the DMS. Also, the identification information of the photographic image is simultaneously provided as meta information accompanying the content. A mail information analysis unit is mounted on the mobile phone 107, and it is possible to associate the mobile mail with the URL of the photo image provided from the DMS using the meta information. Alternatively, the URL of the photographic image may be provided as the search result from the personal computer 108 by putting the identification information of the mobile mail in the search message of the content of the DLAN protocol from the mobile phone 107.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative and is not used to limit the scope of the invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims for patent, and includes meanings equivalent to the scope of claims for patent and all modifications within the scope.

  The present invention can be used as a content transmitting / receiving device.

Claims (11)

Content receiving means for receiving content transmitted by the first communication path from the content transmitting means;
Content transmission information receiving means for receiving content transmission information indicating that the content has been transmitted from a content transmission information transmitting means for transmitting content transmission information via a second communication path different from the first communication path; Have
The content receiving unit associates the content received from the content transmitting unit with the content transmission information received from the content transmission information transmitting unit , and sends the content reference destination to the content transmission information receiving unit. A content receiving apparatus that notifies information.   Receiving the content reference destination information from the content output means for receiving the content reference destination information received by the content transmission information receiving means, and transmitting the content specified based on the content reference destination information to the content output means. The content receiving device according to claim 1. The content receiving means reduces the content specified based on the content reference information specifying the content received from the content transmission information receiving means, and returns the content together with information specifying the content to the content transmission information receiving means. The content receiving apparatus according to claim 2. The content reference information is
The content receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content is a time when the content is transmitted.   5. The content according to claim 1, wherein the content receiving unit notifies a content acquisition key for acquiring the content when returning to the content transmission information receiving unit. Receiver device. The content is a still image;
The means for reducing the content generates a thumbnail image of the content,
The content receiving apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the content receiving unit notifies the thumbnail transmission image to the content transmission information receiving unit. The content is a moving image,
Means for low-capacity content generates a thumbnail image of the frame image representing the content, the content receiving unit, according to claim 3, wherein the notifying the thumbnail image on the content transmission information receiving means Content receiving device.   2. The content receiving unit transmits corresponding content to the content output unit in response to a content acquisition request by a content acquisition key via the content transmission information receiving unit or the content output unit. 8. The content receiving device according to any one of items 1 to 7. Content transmitting means for transmitting content via a first communication path;
Content transmission information transmitting means for transmitting content transmission information indicating that the content has been transmitted via a second communication path different from the first communication path;
Content receiving means for receiving content transmitted via the first communication path;
Content transmission information receiving means for receiving content transmission information transmitted via the second communication path,
Content having content receiving means for associating the content received from the content transmitting means with the content transmission information and notifying the content transmission information receiving means of its own content reference destination information Transmission / reception system. A content receiving step of receiving content transmitted from the content transmitting means through the first communication path;
Content received by the content transmission information receiving means from the content transmission information transmitting means for transmitting the content transmission information via the second communication path different from the first communication path. A transmission information receiving step,
The content receiving step includes the content received from the content transmitting means,
The content transmission information indicating that the content received and transferred in the content transmission information reception step is transmitted via a second communication path different from the first communication path, and the content A content processing method comprising a step of notifying transmission information receiving means of its own content reference destination information.   A program for causing a computer to execute the content processing method according to claim 10.

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