JP2001177561A - Communications system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a communication system capable of outputting content suitable for the bandwidth of a communication channel and the characteristics of a terminal device without creating a plurality of types of content. A content server includes a communication unit.
The data for content creation is sent to the content creation unit 53 via the, and the content 43 is created. The content 43 is converted into A39, B4
0, C41 and D42. Object selector 5
5 is an object A3 based on the reception capability data.
Object A from among 9, B40, C41 and D42
39, B40 and C41 are selected and transmitted from the communication unit 51 to the terminal device 36.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for transmitting contents placed on a server device to a terminal device using a GW device, a backbone communication line, and an access line. It is suitable for use for a service of providing image and audio information from a device to a terminal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional communication system. The communication system shown in FIG. 26 has an Internet line 3 and a gateway (hereinafter, referred to as a backbone network).
ISP (Internet Service Pro)
vider) 4, an ISDN line 5 and a GSTN line 6 as access lines. The bandwidth of the ISDN line 5 is 64 kbps, and the bandwidth of the GSTN line 6 is 28.8 kbps. Content terminal device PC
(Personal Computer) 7 and PC 8 are connected to content server 1 and content server 2 through ISDN line 5 or GSTN line 6, ISP 4, and Internet line 3, and receive the contents stored in content server 1 and content server 2.

[0005] FIG. 27 shows an example of contents stored in the contents server 1. Content 9 is 28.8k
This is a moving image that can be received using a communication path (access line) having a bandwidth of bps or more. GSTN
Line 5 is 28.8 kbps, ISDN line 6 is 64 kb
Since the bandwidth is ps, the content 9 is PC7, PC7.
8 can be received.

However, an IS having a bandwidth of 64 kbps
When the content 9 is received using the DN line 5, there is an additional 35.2 kbps in the line capacity. In general, image quality of moving image data can be improved by increasing the bit rate. When the bandwidth of 64 kbps is effectively used, it is possible to transmit a moving image with higher image quality than when a communication channel having a bandwidth of 28.8 kbps is used. The content server 2 shown in FIG. 26 prepares a plurality of contents in consideration of a different bandwidth for each communication path.

FIG. 28 shows an example of contents stored in the contents server 2. Content 10a is 2
This is a moving image that can be received using a communication path having a bandwidth of 8.8 kbps or more. Content 10b
Can receive content using a communication channel having a bandwidth of 64 kbps or more, and can receive content 10a with the same content.
This is a moving image with higher image quality than that of the moving image. By preparing two types of content 10a and 10b in the content server 2 in this manner, the PC 7 allows the content 1 to be transmitted via the ISDN line 5.
0b, the PC 8 receives the content 10a via the GSTN line 6. Thus, PC7 and PC
8 can receive the highest quality moving image content in each of the ISDN line 5 and the GSTN line 6.

[0006]

However, as the types of access lines are further increased and the bandwidth of each line is diversified, it takes additional time to create contents in accordance with each bandwidth. Poor efficiency. When there are ten types of bandwidths of the access line, it is time-consuming and redundant to create ten types of content having the same content but different bandwidths and place them in the content server. If it is desired to transmit information that fluctuates in real time, for example, a relay image of a sport, it is difficult to simultaneously update ten types of content.

[0007] As shown in FIG. 27, when only one content is prepared according to the line having the narrowest bandwidth, the labor for creating the content is reduced. For example, a dedicated line having a bandwidth of several Mbps is used. Also in this case, only an image having the same image quality as that obtained when the GSTN line is used is obtained, and the advantage of using a broadband line cannot be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of outputting contents suitable for the bandwidth of a communication channel and the characteristics of a terminal device without creating a plurality of types of contents.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a server device for transmitting content, a gateway device for controlling the transmission of content, a main communication line for communicating between the server device and the gateway device, and a gateway device. This is a communication system including a plurality of terminal devices that receive content, and an access line that communicates between the gateway device and the terminal devices.

[0010] In a first aspect, the server device is a content creating means for creating the content, an object dividing means for dividing the created content into a plurality of objects, an access line bandwidth and a receiving capability of the terminal device. And selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the content, and transmits the content having the selected object to the terminal device via the backbone communication line, the gateway device, and the access line.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the server device has content creating means for creating content, and the gateway device divides the content created in the server device into a plurality of objects; Selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device, and transmitting the content having the selected object to the terminal device via the access line. .

[0012] In a third aspect of the present invention, the server device has a content creating means for creating the content, an object dividing means for dividing the created content into a plurality of objects, an access line bandwidth and a receiving capability of the terminal device. Selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the communication path, and object reconfiguring means for reconfiguring an object corresponding to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device based on the selected object, Transmitting the content having the reconstructed object to the terminal device via the gateway device and the access line.

In a fourth aspect, the server device has content creating means for creating content, and the gateway device divides the content created in the server device into a plurality of objects, Selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device; and reconstructing an object corresponding to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device based on the selected object. Object reconstructing means for transmitting content having a reconstructed object to a terminal device via an access line.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the bandwidth of the access line is smaller than the bandwidth required for transmitting the objects at one time, the object selecting means divides the object into groups of objects that can be transmitted at one time. It is characterized in that selection is made sequentially for each group.

A sixth invention is characterized in that the object selecting means selects only an object that can be transmitted when the bandwidth of the access line is narrower than a bandwidth necessary for transmitting the object. .

A seventh invention is characterized in that the object selecting means selects and transmits only a receivable object when the terminal device does not have a capability necessary to receive any of the objects. And

An eighth invention is characterized in that the object selecting means selects only receivable objects when the resources of the terminal device are less than the resources necessary for receiving all the objects. .

In a ninth aspect, the object dividing means adds object attribute information to the divided object, and the object selecting means selects an object based on the object attribute information, and selects the selected object and all objects. Attribute information is transmitted to the terminal device.

A tenth invention is characterized in that the terminal device reconstructs an object based on the received object.

[0020] An eleventh invention is characterized in that the terminal device reconstructs an unsent object based on attribute information of the unsent object among the objects generated from the content.

According to the present invention, the content is divided into a plurality of objects by the server device. Alternatively, the content transmitted from the server device is divided into a plurality of objects by the GW device and transmitted. For example, if the image content to be sent is composed of images of mountains, trees, rivers, and sky,
The image is divided into mountain, tree, river, and sky images. Each image of a mountain, a tree, a river, and the sky is an object constituting the original content. An object to be transmitted is selected according to the receiving capability of the terminal device or the bandwidth of the access line. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of contents in the content server in accordance with the receiving capability of the terminal device and the bandwidth of the access line. Further, since there is only one content, the user does not need to select the content according to the communication band to be used. Also, when using an access line that is narrower than the access line bandwidth required by the content to be transmitted or viewed, or when the terminal device lacks the necessary capability to play the content to be distributed or viewed. Can also deliver or browse the content.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the entire communication system according to the present invention. The content server 11 receives information from the captured image source 12 and the database 13 in real time via the Internet line 14 and creates the content 15. For example, a relay image of sports is captured from the captured image source 12, a progress status of a sports game captured by the captured image source 12 is received from the database 13, contents are created from both information, and the Internet line 14, the GW 16, and The content is transmitted to the terminal device through an access line connected to each terminal device.

An Internet line 14 as a backbone communication network, a GSTN line 17 as an access line, and a wireless 9
600bps data communication line 18, ISDN line 19,
PIAFS line 20, LAN line 21, CATV line 2
2. Various types of lines such as a dedicated line 23 are used. Access lines vary in bandwidth and properties depending on the type. For example, the bandwidth of the LAN line 21 is 10M
bps, the bandwidth of the ISDN line 19 and the PIAFS line 20 is 64 kbps, and the bandwidth of the GSTN line 17 is 28.
8 kbps. Even with the same bandwidth of 64 kbps, a wired ISDN line 19 and a wireless PIAFS line 20
Have different band stability. While the wired ISDN line 19 can secure a 64 kbps band almost stably,
The band of the wireless PIAFS line 20 tends to decrease due to the radio wave condition between the base station and the terminal device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device of the content also has an HPC (Handheld Personal Co.)
mputer) 24, PDC (Personal Digital Cellular)
25, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) 26,
PHS (Personal HandyphoneSystem) 27, PC2
8, 30, TV29, etc. Each terminal device has access lines 17 to 23 and a GW
16. Connect to the content server 11 through the Internet line 14 and receive the placed content 15.

Next, a description will be given of a method of transmitting content, using a communication system shown in FIG. 2 which is a simplified version of FIG. In this communication system, a content server 11 includes a backbone communication line (Internet line) 14, a GW device 1,
6. Terminal device (PC) via access lines 34 and 35
36, 37, and 38. PC36,3
7 is connected to the access line 34, and the PC 38 is connected to the access line 35.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing transmission contents placed on the contents server 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the content 43 is, for example, content for relaying a baseball game. In the content server 11 or the GW device 16 of FIG. 2, the content 43 is divided into a plurality of objects. For example, if the content 43 is an object A39, an object B40, an object C
41, divided into four objects D42. Object A39 shows the progress of the game, object B40 shows the score, object C41 shows the count,
The object D42 shows a camera photographed image of the stadium. Objects A39, B40, C41, and D42 transmit 22 kbps, 14 kbps, 13 kbps,
Requires a bandwidth of 20 kbps. Each object is H
Described in a TML document and transmitted to the terminal device.

FIG. 4 shows the H of each object shown in FIG.
An example of TML description is shown. Each object has a tag indicating an attribute at the beginning. In FIG. 4, the object A
Tag <A> for 39, tag <B for object B40
>, A tag <C> is attached to the object C41, and a tag <D> is attached to the object D42 as attribute information. The attribute information indicates that the object is, for example, a still image, a moving image,
This is information indicating whether it is a voice or the like. Which object the object transmits is determined by the communication path (access line 3).
4, 35) and the receiving capabilities of the terminal devices 36, 37, 38.

As shown in FIG. 5, the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42 to be transmitted are all connected to the communication path 34,
When the limitation of the bandwidth of 35 and the reception availability of the terminal devices 36 and 37 are cleared, the terminal devices 36 and 37 receive all the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42. However, as shown in FIG.
When the four objects 0, C41, and D42 are transmitted, for example, the bandwidth required for transmitting the object B40 exceeds the bandwidth of the communication path 34 or the terminal device 36 receives the object D42. If the output cannot be performed, only the objects A39 and C41 are transmitted to the terminal device 36.

Here, the bandwidths of the access lines 34 and 35 and the capabilities of the terminal devices, which are the materials for determining the object to be transmitted, are transmitted by negotiation between the terminal devices 36, 37 and 38 and the content server 11 or the GW 16. Can be

Next, a method for transmitting content in accordance with the bandwidth of the access line and the capability characteristics of the terminal device will be specifically described.

7 to 25 show the capabilities of the terminal device and
An example of a method of selecting and transmitting an object according to the bandwidth of a communication path will be described. Hereinafter, each embodiment in the communication system shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

(First Embodiment) First, a communication system according to a first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the content server 11a according to the first embodiment connects to the backbone communication line 14 to transmit and receive data, a communication unit 51, a content creation unit 53, and divides the created content into a plurality of objects. The configuration includes an object dividing unit 54 and an object selecting unit 55 for selecting an object to be transmitted. The GW device 16a connects the main communication line 14 and the access lines 34 and 35 to relay data (not shown). Terminal devices 36, 37, 3
8, a communication unit 61 for transmitting and receiving data by connecting to the access lines 34 and 35, as shown in FIG. 8, a terminal / line capability for detecting the receiving capability of the object and the bandwidth of the access line and notifying the data. A notification unit 62, a resource notification unit 63 that detects the state of the resource of the terminal device and notifies the data, a reception quality notification unit 64 that detects the reception quality of the content and notifies the data, based on the received object data A content reproducing unit 65 for reproducing the content and a content output unit 66 for displaying the reproduced content are provided. The content output unit 66 refers to a display device such as a monitor or an audio output device such as a speaker.

Here, the access line 34 has a bandwidth capable of transmitting the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42 at one time, and the access line 35 has the bandwidth of the object A3.
9, B40, and C41 at a time. The terminal device 36 includes objects A39, B40, and C41.
, And the terminal devices 37 and 38 have the ability to receive the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42.

The terminal units 36, 37, and 38 communicate with the terminal unit 3 via the communication unit 61 by the terminal / line capability notifying unit 62.
6, 37 and 38 and the bandwidths of the access lines 34 and 35 are notified. This notification data reaches the communication unit 51 of the content server 11a via the GW device 16 and the backbone communication line 14.

Here, as shown in FIG.
The sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the capability of the terminal device will be described with attention paid to FIG.

First, the terminal device 36 sends the content server 11 from the terminal / line capability notifying unit 62 through the communication unit 61.
Inform a of the receiving capability of the terminal device that the objects A39, B40 and C41 can be received (the object D42 cannot be received) and the bandwidth of the access line 34.
The notification of the reception capability of the terminal device 36 is transmitted, for example, according to H.264, which is an ITU-T recommendation. This is performed using the terminal capability setting message of H.245, and reaches the content server 11a via the access line 34, the GW device 16a, and the main communication line 14. The content server 11a that has received the notification responds to the notification with, for example, H.264. In addition to returning the terminal capability setting response message (Ack) of H.245, the receiving capability data is sent to the object selecting unit 55. The notification of the bandwidth of the access line 34 is based on, for example, H.264, which is an ITU-T recommendation. 22
This is performed using the RAS bandwidth request message defined in 5.0. Alternatively, there is a method of notifying the bandwidth using SDP defined by rfc2327 of the Network Working Group. The content server 11a that has received the notification responds to the notification with, for example, H.264. 225.0 RAS bandwidth confirmation message (Ac
k) is returned, and the bandwidth data is sent to the object selector 55.

On the other hand, the content server 11a sends data for content creation to the content creation unit 53 via the communication unit 51, and creates the content 43. This content 43 is converted into A39, B
40, C41 and D42. The object selecting unit 55 sets the object A3 based on the reception capability data.
Object A from among 9, B40, C41 and D42
39, B40, and C41 are selected and transmitted from the communication unit 51 to the terminal device 36 (since the access line 34 can transmit all objects at once, the bandwidth is not a condition for selecting objects). Objects A39 and B
The data of 40 and C41 reach the terminal device 36 via the main communication line 14, the GW device 16a, and the access line 34, where the content is reproduced by the content reproduction unit 65 and output to the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted in accordance with the bandwidth of a communication channel will be described with attention paid to FIG.

First, the terminal device 38 transmits the content server 11 a from the terminal / capability notifying unit 62 through the communication unit 56.
The receiving capability of the terminal device 38 and the access line 3 to be used
5 bandwidth. As described above, the content server 11a that has received the notification, as a response to the notification,
A response message is returned, and the data of the receiving capability and the bandwidth are sent to the object selecting unit 55.

The object selector 55 selects the objects A39 and B40 that can be transmitted at one time based on the bandwidth data of the access line 35, and the communication unit 51
Send to 7. Next, the object selecting unit 55 selects the objects C41 and D42 at a sufficient interval, and transmits them by the communication unit 51 (since the terminal device 38 can receive and display all the objects, the receiving capability is determined by the object selection condition. And not). Objects A39, B4
The data of 0, C41 and D42 are stored in the backbone communication line 14, G
W device 16a, terminal device 38 via access line 35
, And the content reproducing unit 65 via the communication unit 61
Reach The content is reproduced by the content reproduction unit 65 and output to the content output unit 66.

Alternatively, the object selector 55 selects only the objects A39 and B40 that can be transmitted to the access line 35 at one time, and selects the objects C41 and B41.
In some cases, D42 is not selected. In this case, the terminal device 3
In the content reproduction unit 65 of FIG.
Only B40 is reproduced and displayed on the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Focusing on, a sequence in the case of selecting and transmitting an object according to the resource of the terminal will be described.

The access line 34 has a bandwidth capable of transmitting the objects A39, B40, C41 and D42 at one time, and the terminal device 37 has the object A39, B40 and C42.
41 and D42 can be received. Therefore, as described above, the content server 11a sets the object A3
9, B40, C41 and D42 are selected and transmitted to the terminal device 37.

Now, assume that the terminal device 37 starts receiving another content, for example, halfway through and runs out of resources so that the object D cannot be received. At this time, the resource notification unit 63 of the terminal device 37 detects this capacity down and notifies the content server 11a of a reception capability that only the objects A39, B40, and C41 can be received. This notification is made, for example, by H.264, which is an ITU-T recommendation. This is performed using the terminal capability setting message of H.245, and reaches the content server 11a via the access line 34, the GW device 16a, and the main communication line 14.
The content server 11a that has received the notification responds to the notification with, for example, H.264. In addition to returning the terminal capability setting response message of H.245, the receiving capability data is sent to the object selecting unit 55. The object selection unit 55 of the content server 11a selects the objects A39, B40, and C41 based on the reception capability data, and transmits them from the notification unit 51. Therefore, the terminal device 37 reproduces the content in the content reproducing unit 65 based on the objects A39, B40, and C41, and outputs the content to the content output unit 66.

When the resources of the terminal device 37 are recovered and the object D42 can be received again, the resource notifying section 63 of the terminal device 37 detects this and sends the object A39, B40, C41, D4 to the content server 11a.
2 receiving capability. After receiving the notification, the content server 11a returns a response to the notification, and then sends the reception capability data to the object selecting unit 55. The object selection unit 55 of the content server 11a determines the objects A39, B40, C41, D based on the reception capability data.
42 is selected, and the communication unit 51 transmits this object. Therefore, the terminal device 37 includes the content reproduction unit 6
In step 5, the contents of the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42 are reproduced and output to the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
And a sequence in a case where an object is selected and transmitted according to a change in the bandwidth of a communication channel.

First, the content server 11a transmits the objects A39 to D42 to the terminal device 37.
While receiving the objects A39 to D42, the terminal device 37 detects the reception quality with the reception quality notification unit 64,
The reception quality feedback is transmitted to the content server 11a at regular intervals. The content server 11a monitors the reception quality feedback by the bandwidth detection unit 56, so that the content server 11 confirms the bandwidth of the line.

The reception quality feedback is, for example, the ITU
-T Recommendation H. Uses RTCP defined in 225.0. If the monitoring detects that the bandwidth of the communication path has been reduced from 64 kbps to 34 kbps on the way, for example, the objects A39 to D42 cannot be transmitted at once. For this reason, the bandwidth detecting unit 56 transmits this to the object selecting unit 55, and after selecting and transmitting the objects A39 and B40, the object selecting unit 55 transmits the objects C41 and D42 at a sufficient interval.
Select and send. Alternatively, object A39,
Switch to transmit only B40.

Thereafter, when the bandwidth detecting unit 56 detects that the bandwidth has been recovered by monitoring, the content server 11a switches to transmission of the objects A39 to D42.

(Second Embodiment) A communication system according to a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, the content server 11b according to the second embodiment has a configuration including a communication unit 51 connected to the main communication line 14 for transmitting and receiving data and a content creation unit 53. GW
The device 16b is, as shown in FIG.
And an access line 34, 35 for relaying data, an object dividing unit 74 for dividing content received from the content server 11b into a plurality of objects, and an object selecting unit 75 for selecting an object to be transmitted. Configuration. Terminal device 36,3
7 and 38 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The receiving capability and bandwidth of each terminal device and access line are the same as in the first embodiment.

The terminal units 36, 37, and 38 communicate with the terminal unit 3 via the communication unit 61 by the terminal / line capability notifying unit 62.
6, 37 and 38 and the bandwidths of the access lines 34 and 35 are notified. This notification data is access line 3
4 and 35, and reaches the relay unit 71 of the GW device 16b.

Here, as shown in FIG.
Focusing on No. 6, a sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the capability of the terminal device will be described.

First, the terminal device 36 receives the object A39, B40, and C41 from the terminal / line capability notifying unit 62 via the communication unit 61 and receives the object A39, B40, and C41 (the object D42 cannot be received). The capacity and the bandwidth of the access line 34 are notified. Terminal device 36
Is notified, for example, according to ITU-T recommendation H.264.
This is performed using the terminal capability setting message of H.245, and reaches the GW device 16b via the access line. The GW device 16b that has received the notification, as a response to the notification,
For example, H. H.245 terminal capability setting response message (Ac
k), and sends the reception capability data to the object selection unit 75. The notification of the bandwidth of the access line 34 is
For example, ITU-T Recommendation H.264. This is performed using the RAS bandwidth request message defined in 225.0.
Alternatively, there is a method of notifying the bandwidth using SDP defined by rfc2327 of the Network Working Group. The GW device 16b that has received the notification transmits, for example, H.264 as a response to the notification. A bandwidth confirmation message (Ack) of 225.0 RAS is returned, and the bandwidth data is sent to the object selecting unit 75.

On the other hand, the content server 11b sends content creation data to the content creation unit 53 via the communication unit 51, creates the content 43, and transmits the content 43 from the communication unit 51 to the GW device 16b.

The GW device 16b receives the content 43 via the trunk communication line 14, and sends the content 43 from the relay unit 71 to the object dividing unit 54. In the object division unit 54,
The contents 43 are stored in the objects A39, B40, and C4.
1 and D42. The object selecting unit 55 selects the objects A39 and B4 based on the reception capability data.
0, C41 and D42, objects A39 and B
40 and C41 are selected and transmitted from the relay unit 71 to the terminal device 36 (since the access line 34 can transmit all the objects at once, the bandwidth is not a condition for selecting the objects). Objects A39, B40, C
41 is transmitted to the terminal device 3 via the access line 34.
6 and reaches the content reproduction unit via the communication unit 61. The content is reproduced by the content reproduction unit 65 and output to the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted in accordance with the bandwidth of a communication channel will be described with attention paid to FIG.

First, the terminal device 38 notifies the GW device 16b of the reception capability of the terminal device 38 and the bandwidth of the access line 35 to be used from the terminal / capability notifying unit 62 via the communication unit 56. As described above, the notified GW device 1
6b returns a response message as a response to the notification, and sends data of the receiving capability and the bandwidth to the object selecting unit 75.

The object selection unit 75 selects the objects A39 and B40 that can be transmitted at one time based on the bandwidth data of the access line 35, and the relay unit 71
Send to 7. Next, the object selecting unit 75 selects the objects C41 and D42 at a sufficient interval, and transmits the objects C41 and D42. (The terminal device 38 can receive and display all the objects. And not). Objects A39, B40
And the data of the objects C41 and D42 sequentially reach the terminal device 38 via the access line 35 and are sent to the content reproduction unit 65 via the communication unit 61. The content reproducing unit 65 reproduces the content, and outputs the content to the content output unit 66.
To be displayed.

Alternatively, the object selecting section 75 selects only the objects A39 and B40 that can be transmitted to the access line 35 at one time, and selects the objects C41 and B41.
In some cases, D42 is not selected. In this case, the object reproducing unit 65 reproduces only the objects A39 and B40 and outputs the reproduced objects to the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Focusing on, a sequence in the case of selecting and transmitting an object according to the resource of the terminal will be described.

The access line 34 has a bandwidth capable of transmitting the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42 at one time, and the terminal device 37 has the object A39, B40, C40
Since the GW device 16b can receive the objects A39, B40, C41, and D, as described above,
42 to the terminal device 37.

Now, assume that the terminal device 37 starts receiving another content, for example, halfway through and runs out of resources so that the object D cannot be received. At this time, the resource notification unit 63 of the terminal device 37 detects this capacity down and sends the object A3 to the GW device 16b.
9, B40, and C41 are notified of the reception capability of being able to receive only. This notification is made, for example, by the ITU-T recommendation H.264. 245 using the terminal capability setting message,
Access line 34, GW device 16a, backbone communication line 14
To the GW device 16b via the. GW notified
The device 16b responds to the notification by, for example, H.264. 2
Forty-five terminal capability setting response message is returned, and the receiving capability data is sent to the object selector 75. The object selection unit 75 of the GW device 16b selects the objects A39, B40, and C41 based on the reception capability data, and the relay unit 71 transmits the objects. Therefore, the terminal device 3
7, the content is reproduced by the content reproducing unit 65 based on the objects A39, B40, and C41, and is output to the content output unit 66.

When the resources of the terminal device 37 are recovered and the object D42 can be received again, the resource notifying section 63 of the terminal device 37 detects this, and the GW device 16b
To the objects A39, B40, C41, and D42. After returning the response to the notification, the GW device 16b that has received the notification stores the reception capability data in the object selection unit 75. The object selection unit 75 of the GW device 16b includes objects A39, B40, C4
1, and D42, and the relay unit 71 transmits this object. Therefore, the content creation unit of the terminal device 37 transmits the objects A39 and B4 via the communication unit 61.
0, C41 and D42, and receives the content
And reproduces the content on the content output unit 66.

Next, as shown in FIG.
And a sequence in a case where an object is selected and transmitted according to a change in the bandwidth of a communication channel.

First, the GW device 16b transmits the objects A39 to D42 to the terminal device 37. While receiving the objects A39 to D42, the terminal device 37 detects the reception quality with the reception quality notification unit 64 and transmits the reception quality feedback to the GW device 16b at regular intervals. The GW apparatus 16b monitors the reception quality feedback by the bandwidth detection unit 76, so that the GW apparatus 16b confirms the bandwidth of the line.

The reception quality feedback is, for example, the ITU
-T Recommendation H. Uses RTCP defined in 225.0. If the monitoring detects that the bandwidth of the communication path has been reduced from 64 kbps to 34 kbps on the way, for example, the objects A39 to D42 cannot be transmitted at once. For this reason, the bandwidth detection unit 76 transmits this to the object selection unit 75, and the object selection unit 75 selects and transmits the objects A39 and B40, and after a sufficient interval, the objects C41 and D42
Select and send. Alternatively, object A39,
Switch to transmit only B40.

Thereafter, when the bandwidth detector 76 detects that the bandwidth has been recovered by monitoring, the GW device 16b switches to transmission of the objects A39 to D42.

<Third Embodiment> In the third embodiment, the reception capability of the terminal device and the bandwidth of the access line are adjusted according to the following.
It changes the form of the object.

First, a case where an object is reconstructed by the terminal device will be described. For example, FIG. 19 shows a received HTML description example when the terminal device 36 receives only the objects A39, B40, and C41. The object D described in the tag <D> is missing as compared with the description example of FIG. However, since the tag <D> remains, the terminal device 36 detects that the object D exists. Therefore, when reconstructing and outputting the content from the received object, the object reproducing unit 65 of the terminal device 36 reconstructs and outputs the object D'44 from the tag <D> which is the attribute information of the object D42. The object D'44 is, for example, a still image of a baseball stadium or the like when the object D42 is a camera-relay image of a baseball game.

FIG. 20 shows the content 45 constructed in this manner. By inserting the object D ′ in place of the object D that could not be received, even if the D42 cannot be displayed like the terminal device 36, the object D ′ can be displayed.
The object D ′ 44 close to the object 42 can be reconstructed and output as the content 45.

If the object D42 cannot be received and the construction of the object D'44 is difficult, for example,
8 is a PHS, the display screen is small, and the object D'4
Consider the case where even four cannot be displayed. Terminal device 38
Is the object A received from the reception HTML in FIG.
39, B40, and C41 are converted into sentences or voices and output. That is, the content reproducing unit 65 understands the description in each of the tags of the objects <A>, <B>, and <C> as a text document, and forms a text or a sound object corresponding to each tag. For example, for the tag <A>,
`` In the ○○○ battle, ○ score ○○○ during ○ attacks ○○○
Is the lead. As shown in FIG. 21, a sentence or voice that reads, "G / T battles have 5 backs, T attacks, 2.3 points, and T is the lead." An object is created and output to the content output unit 66.

When the original content is voice or text, if the terminal device is a terminal such as a PC capable of outputting image content, the terminal device constructs and outputs an image object. When a sentence or a voice object as shown in FIG. 21 is received, the HTML shown in FIG. 19 can be constructed and the content shown in FIG. 20 can be output.

As another method when the object D42 cannot be received and the construction of the object D'44 is difficult, there is a method of converting the object D'44 into an object suitable for the terminal device by the content server 11 or the GW 16 and transmitting the object.

As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the object reconstruction unit 5 is provided in the content server 11c or the GW 16c.
7,77. The other configuration is the same as the above embodiment. For example, when the terminal device 38 is the PHS 27 and the display screen is small, the objects A, B, and C are converted into sentences or voices from 24 HTMLs received from the content server 11c or the GW device 16c and output. <
A>, <B>, <C> The description in each tag is understood as a text document, and is composed into a sentence or a sound object corresponding to each tag. For example, in the case of tag <A>, "○ ・ ○
In the battle, during ○ times ○ and ○ attacks, the score is ○ ・ ○ and ○ is the lead. As shown in FIG. 21, a sentence or voice that reads, "G / T battles have 5 backs, T attacks, 2.3 points, and T is the lead." An object is created and transmitted to the terminal device 38.

When the original content is voice or text, if the terminal device is a terminal such as a PC capable of outputting image content, the GW 16c constructs an image object and transmits it to the terminal device. The GW 16c constructs the HTML shown in FIG. 20 from the text or voice object as shown in FIG.
8 outputs the content 45. In the terminal device, the reconstructed object can be further reconstructed.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a received HTML description when the objects A and B are received first and the objects C and D are received later. Compared with the description example of FIG.
> And the tag <D> are described as Send Later instead of the objects C and D described in the tags <D>. With this description, the terminal device can understand that the objects C and D are transmitted with a delay. Therefore, when reconstructing and outputting the content from the received object, the terminal device first outputs the content including only the objects A and B, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the objects C and D are received, the transmission content 43 shown in FIG. 3 can be reconstructed and output.
In this way, the original content can be constructed and output even when the objects constituting the content are received with a time lag.

[0078]

According to the present invention, the server device or the gateway device divides the content into a plurality of objects, and sets the object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device. Since there is provided a selection means for selecting, it is possible to always output a content that matches the receiving capability of the terminal device and the bandwidth of the access line without creating a plurality of contents. Even when the bandwidth of the access line, the reception capability of the terminal device, and the resources of the terminal device change, the content matching the changed characteristics can be output to the terminal device, and the content optimum for the system can always be output.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the server apparatus or the gateway apparatus reconfigures the object corresponding to the bandwidth of the access line and the reception capability of the terminal apparatus based on the selected object. Since the information processing apparatus further includes a configuration unit, it is possible to reconstruct a form different from the form of the selected object, for example, a character into a sound, and the present invention is not limited to the original content and can be expressed in various forms.

According to the ninth aspect, the server device or the gateway device adds object attribute information and selects an object based on the attribute information.
Since all the attribute information is sent to the terminal device, the terminal device can detect what kind of object the original content has, and perform the processing accurately.

According to the tenth and eleventh aspects, since the object can be reconstructed by the terminal device, it is possible to construct the object according to the capability of the terminal device.
In particular, according to the eleventh aspect, an object that cannot be received can be reconstructed based on the attribute information, so that a form close to the original content is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an entire communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication system used in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing content placed on a content server.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of HTML description of each object shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an object communication situation when a terminal device and an access line have no restriction on an object.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an object communication situation when a terminal device and an access line have restrictions on an object.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a content server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the capability of the terminal device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the bandwidth of a communication channel in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence when an object is selected and transmitted according to resources of a terminal device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence in the case where an object is selected and transmitted according to a change in the bandwidth of a communication channel in the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a content server according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a GW device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the capability of a terminal device in the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence at the start of object reception when an object is selected and transmitted according to the bandwidth of a communication channel in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence when an object is selected and transmitted according to resources of a terminal device in the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a sequence in a case where an object is selected and transmitted according to a change in the bandwidth of a communication channel in the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an HTLM description example according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing contents according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a sentence and a sound object in the third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a content server according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a GW device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of HTLM description in the third embodiment.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing another content according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional communication system.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of content placed on a content server.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of content placed on another content server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 content server 14 trunk communication line 16 GW device 17-23, 34, 35 access line 24-30, 36-38 terminal device 51, 61 communication unit 53 content creation unit 54, 74 object division unit 55, 75 object selection unit 56 , 76 Bandwidth detection unit 71 Relay unit 62 Terminal / line capability notification unit 63 Resource notification unit 64 Reception quality notification unit 65 Content playback unit 66 Content output unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B089 GA11 GA21 GA31 GB04 GB10 HA03 HA10 JB04 JB05 KA07 5K030 HC01 HD03 JT02 LE14 5K034 BB03 CC02 DD02 FF01 FF02 FF11 FF13 HH63 MM08

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A server device for transmitting contents,
A gateway device for controlling transmission of content, a backbone communication line for communicating between the server device and the gateway device,
In a communication system including a plurality of terminal devices that receive content via a gateway device and an access line that communicates between the gateway device and the terminal device, the server device includes: content creation means for creating content; Object dividing means for dividing the content into a plurality of objects, and selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device. A communication system for transmitting content having a selected object to a terminal device via a line. 2. A server device for transmitting contents,
A gateway device for controlling transmission of content, a backbone communication line for communicating between the server device and the gateway device,
In a communication system including a plurality of terminal devices that receive content via the gateway device and an access line that communicates the gateway device and the terminal device, the server device has content creation means for creating content, The gateway device, an object division unit that divides the content created in the server device into a plurality of objects, a selection unit that selects an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the reception capability of the terminal device, A communication system comprising: transmitting a content having a selected object to a terminal device via an access line; 3. A server device for transmitting contents,
A gateway device for controlling transmission of content, a backbone communication line for communicating between the server device and the gateway device,
In a communication system including a plurality of terminal devices that receive content via a gateway device and an access line that communicates between the gateway device and the terminal device, the server device includes: content creation means for creating content; Object dividing means for dividing the received content into a plurality of objects, selecting means for selecting an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the receiving capability of the terminal device, and the bandwidth of the access line based on the selected object And object reconstructing means for reconstructing an object corresponding to the receiving capability of the terminal device, and transmitting the content having the reconstructed object to the terminal device via the backbone communication line, the gateway device, and the access line. A communication system characterized by the following. 4. A server device for transmitting contents,
A gateway device for controlling transmission of content, a backbone communication line for communicating between the server device and the gateway device,
In a communication system including a plurality of terminal devices that receive content via the gateway device and an access line that communicates the gateway device and the terminal device, the server device has content creation means for creating content, The gateway device, an object division unit that divides the content created in the server device into a plurality of objects, a selection unit that selects an object that can be transmitted according to the bandwidth of the access line and the reception capability of the terminal device, Object reconstructing means for reconstructing an object corresponding to the bandwidth of the access line and the reception capability of the terminal device based on the selected object, comprising: a content having the reconstructed object transmitted to the terminal device via the access line. Communication system characterized by transmitting 5. The object selecting means, when the bandwidth of the access line is smaller than the bandwidth required for transmitting the objects at one time, divides the objects into groups of objects that can be transmitted at one time, The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication system is selected. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said object selecting means selects only a transmittable object when a bandwidth of said access line is narrower than a bandwidth required for transmitting the object. 5. The communication system according to any one of 4. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said object selecting means selects and transmits only a receivable object when the terminal device does not have a capability required to receive any of the objects. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said object selecting means selects only receivable objects when resources of the terminal device are less than resources required for receiving all the objects. 5. The communication system according to any one of 4. 9. The object dividing means adds object attribute information to the divided objects, the object selecting means selects an object based on the object attribute information, and combines the selected object and all object attribute information with each other. 9. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication is transmitted to a terminal device. 10. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device reconstructs the object based on the received object. 11. The terminal device according to claim 9, wherein, among the objects generated from the content, the terminal device reconstructs the unsent object based on attribute information of the unsent object. Communication system.