JP2008109421A - Information communication system, server, terminal device, update instruction transmission device, information communication method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an information communication system capable of realizing output of content information corresponding to each terminal device without complicated settings by a user of each terminal device.
In an information communication system, a server 1 transmits program configuration information, which is information related to the timing of outputting content information, to a corresponding terminal device 2. The terminal device 2 receives and accumulates the program configuration information transmitted from the server 1, acquires and accumulates content information indicating the timing to output with the accumulated program configuration information, and stores the accumulated content information as Output at the timing indicated by the program configuration information.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication system that performs communication between servers and terminal devices.

Conventionally, audio content and video content have been provided via mass media such as radio broadcasting and television broadcasting. In providing such contents, an electronic program guide (EPG) has been used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-1-307944

  However, the provision of content by mass media has a problem that it cannot cope with the recent diversification of values. On the other hand, it is possible to set the order in which various contents are output by each individual operating an audio device or a video device. However, in this case, it is complicated for the individual who performs the setting. Will be forced to work.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and information communication that can realize output of content information corresponding to each terminal device without requiring complicated settings by the user of each terminal device. The purpose is to provide a system.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information communication system according to the present invention is an information communication system including a server and two or more terminal devices, and the server is information related to timing at which content information is output by the terminal device. The program configuration information is stored for each terminal device, and the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit is transmitted to the terminal device corresponding to the program configuration information. A program configuration information storage for storing program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit and program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit. A content information acquisition unit for acquiring content information indicating a timing to be output in the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit, Content information storage unit for storing content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit, and content information output by the content information storage unit at the timing indicated by the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit And an output unit.

  With such a configuration, output of content information according to each terminal device can be realized. Therefore, it is possible to realize output of individual content information instead of providing uniform content information like conventional radio broadcasting and television broadcasting. Therefore, content information suitable for the location where the terminal device is installed can be output for each terminal device. For example, when terminal devices are installed at one end and the other end of a shopping street, content information for advertising the nearby stores where each terminal device is installed is output for each terminal device Can be. On the other hand, the user of the terminal device does not need to individually perform operations such as downloading content information from the Internet or the like, and the content information is automatically acquired according to the program configuration information. No complicated work is forced.

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the server includes an update instruction receiving unit that receives an update instruction that is an instruction to update the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit, and the update instruction receiving unit. An update unit that updates the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit according to the received update instruction may be further included.

  With such a configuration, the program configuration information held in the server can be changed by an update instruction. This update instruction may be transmitted from another apparatus, for example, or may be input by a server user or the like via an input device.

The information processing system according to the present invention further includes an update instruction transmission device that transmits the update instruction to the server, wherein the update instruction transmission device includes: a second update instruction reception unit that receives the update instruction; An update instruction transmission unit that transmits the update instruction received by the second update instruction reception unit to the server.
With such a configuration, an update instruction can be transmitted from the update instruction transmission device, and the program configuration information can be changed by the update instruction.

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the server includes a content information storage unit that stores content information, a content information reception unit that receives the content information, and stores the received content information in the content information storage unit. The transmission unit may also transmit content information stored in the content information storage unit.

  With such a configuration, content information can also be transmitted from the server to the terminal device. The content information stored in the server may be part of the content information output from the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device acquires content information that is not stored in the server from another source (for example, another content server or a source such as a DVD).

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the terminal device determines whether or not the content information storage unit has stored content information indicating a timing to be output with the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit. The content information acquisition unit may further include content information that the determination unit has determined that the content information storage unit has not yet stored.

  With such a configuration, only content information that has not yet been acquired by the terminal device is acquired, and it is possible to avoid acquiring content information that has already been acquired again.

In the information processing system according to the present invention, the content information output unit may output the content information at least as audio or display.
With such a configuration, a voice, an image, a video, or the like is output, so that a person in the vicinity of the terminal device can view the content information.

In the information processing system according to the present invention, the display output may be a projection display output.
With such a configuration, it is possible to project and display images, videos, and the like. In this case, the device to be projected (for example, a liquid crystal projector or the like) can be installed in a place that is out of the reach of people (for example, a high place). is there.

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the program configuration information includes priority information that is information indicating a priority for outputting content information, and the content information output unit includes a priority indicating a high priority. Content information corresponding to the information may be output preferentially.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to output content information according to the priority. For example, by setting the priority according to the amount to be charged, more charged content information is more preferential. May be output.

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the content information includes content information indicating an emergency notification, and the priority indicated by the priority information corresponding to the content information indicating the emergency notification is highest. There may be.

  With such a configuration, content information indicating an emergency notification can be output with the highest priority. For example, content information including highly urgent information such as a lost child inquiry or alert regarding a suspicious person can be output with priority over other content information. By doing in this way, for example, local safety etc. can be improved.

  In the information processing system according to the present invention, the terminal device includes: an input receiving unit that receives an input from a user; and a process execution unit that executes a predetermined process in response to the input received by the input receiving unit. In addition, when the input receiving unit receives an input to the processing execution unit, the processing by the processing execution unit may be executed instead of the output of the content information by the content output unit.

  With such a configuration, the terminal device can be used in addition to outputting content information, and the utility value of the terminal device can be improved. The process execution unit holds, for example, user information, which is information having a user attribute and an e-mail address in association with each other, and message information, which is information having a transmission destination attribute in association with a message, in a recording medium. When the input receiving unit receives an input indicating the attribute of the destination, an email including a message corresponding to the attribute of the destination is created, and the email is sent to the input destination. You may send to the e-mail address corresponding to an attribute. In this way, for example, so-called aggressive sales can be performed.

  According to the information communication system and the like according to the present invention, it is possible to realize output of content information corresponding to each terminal device without the user having to make complicated settings.

  Hereinafter, an information communication system according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repetitive description may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
An information communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information communication system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the information communication system according to the present embodiment includes a server 1, a plurality of terminal devices 2, an update instruction transmission device 3, and a content server 4. The server 1, the terminal device 2, the update instruction transmitting device 3, and the content server 4 are connected via wired or wireless communication lines, respectively. The communication line is, for example, the Internet, an intranet, a public telephone line network, or the like. 1 shows a case where the information communication system has one update instruction transmission device 3 and one content server 4, but the information communication system has two or more update instruction transmission devices 3. Alternatively, two or more content servers 4 may be provided.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the server 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 1 according to the present embodiment includes a program configuration information storage unit 11, a transmission unit 12, an update instruction reception unit 13, an update unit 14, a content information reception unit 15, and a content And an information storage unit 16.

  In the program configuration information storage unit 11, program configuration information is stored for each terminal device 2. Here, the program configuration information is information relating to the timing at which the content information is output by the terminal device 2. The content information may include, for example, audio information, video information, or both. The content information may be, for example, image information, text information, website information, or a message for advertisement (so-called CM). . The program configuration information may be any information as long as it is information that allows the output timing of the content information to be known. The program configuration information may be information indicating the time at which each content is output, for example, as in the electronic program guide, and the frequency at which each content is output (for example, once every hour, every two hours). Information such as once, once a day, etc.) or other information. Further, the program configuration information may include content acquisition information that is information for acquiring content information indicating the timing to output the program configuration information. The content acquisition information may be, for example, an address such as a URL for accessing the content information, and is information indicating a recording medium (for example, a DVD-RROM or a CD-ROM) in which the content information is stored. Alternatively, it may be information indicating a date and a channel on which the content information is broadcast, or a recording medium (for example, a hard disk drive or a semiconductor) that is a recording medium included in the terminal device 2 and stores the content information. It may be information indicating a storage location of content information in a memory or the like, or other information. Further, the program configuration information may include priority information that is information indicating the priority of outputting content information. For example, when it is desired to preferentially output content information indicating an emergency notification, the priority indicated by the priority information corresponding to the content information may be set high. The content information indicating the urgent notification is, for example, information for notifying that the child has been lost, information for notifying that there is a suspicious person, and the like. Further, storing the program configuration information for each terminal device 2 may mean that the program configuration information and the terminal device 2 correspond one-to-one. It may mean that the terminal device 2 is supported.

  The program configuration information storage unit 11 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.). The storage in the program configuration information storage unit 11 may be temporary storage in the RAM or the like of program configuration information read from an external storage device, or may be long-term storage. In the present embodiment, the latter case will be described. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the program configuration information is updated by the update unit 14 described later.

  The transmission unit 12 transmits the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 to the terminal device 2 corresponding to the program configuration information. There is no limitation on the timing at which the transmission unit 12 transmits the program configuration information. For example, the transmission unit 12 may transmit the program configuration information periodically, may transmit the program configuration information when a predetermined event occurs, or transmits the program configuration information at other timings. Also good. The predetermined event may be, for example, that an instruction to transmit the program configuration information is transmitted from the terminal device 2, and the program configuration information related to the output timing of the content information indicating the emergency notification is newly added to the program It may be stored in the configuration information storage unit 11 or may be another event. For example, the transmission unit 12 may transmit the program configuration information by e-mail, may transmit the program configuration information by FTP (File Transfer Protocol), or may receive the program configuration information by other IP (Internet Protocol) communication. You may send it. Further, the transmission unit 12 transmitting the program configuration information to the terminal device 2 means that the program configuration information only needs to be received by the terminal device 2 as a result. For example, the program is transmitted by e-mail or server relay. When transmitting the configuration information, the transmission destination of the actual program configuration information may be a mail server, a relay server, or the like.

  Moreover, the transmission part 12 may also transmit the content information memorize | stored in the content information storage part 16 mentioned later. The transmission of the content information may be performed together with the transmission of the program configuration information or may be performed separately. In the latter case, the server 1 has the same function as the content server 4 described later. Here, sending the content information and the program configuration information together may not mean sending them simultaneously in a strict sense. For example, program configuration information may be transmitted first, and then content information whose output timing is indicated by the program configuration information may be transmitted.

  The transmission unit 12 may or may not include a transmission device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing transmission. The transmission unit 12 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives the transmission device.

  The update instruction receiving unit 13 receives an update instruction. Here, the update instruction is an instruction to update the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11. The update of the program configuration information may be to change a part of the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11, and the program configuration information is newly stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11. The program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 may be deleted.

  Here, the reception may be, for example, reception of information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.), reception of information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, Information read from a recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory) may be accepted. Note that the update instruction receiving unit 13 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The update instruction receiving unit 13 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The update unit 14 updates the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 in accordance with the update instruction received by the update instruction reception unit 13. For example, when the update instruction indicates that content information whose output timing is indicated by certain program configuration information, the updating unit 14 changes the content information in accordance with the update instruction.

  The content information receiving unit 15 receives content information. Then, the received content information is stored in the content information storage unit 16. Here, the reception may be, for example, reception of information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.), reception of information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, Information read from a recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory) may be accepted. Note that the content information receiving unit 15 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. In addition, the content information receiving unit 15 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The content information storage unit 16 stores content information. This content information is received and accumulated by the content information receiving unit 15. The content information storage unit 16 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.). The storage in the content information storage unit 16 may be temporary storage in RAM or the like of performance data read from an external storage device or the like, or may be long-term storage.

  The program configuration information storage unit 11 and the content information storage unit 16 may be realized by the same recording medium or may be realized by different recording media. In the former case, the area storing the program configuration information is the program configuration information storage unit 11, and the area storing the content information is the content information storage unit 16.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment includes a program configuration information receiving unit 21, a program configuration information storage unit 22, a determination unit 23, a content information acquisition unit 24, a content information storage unit 25, and a content The information output part 26, the input reception part 27, and the process execution part 28 are provided.

  The program configuration information receiving unit 21 receives the program configuration information transmitted from the server 1. The program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 and the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 of the server 1 may be exactly the same, but not May be. In the latter case, the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 of the server 1 includes information necessary for management, and the program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 The information may not include such information. In addition, the program configuration information receiving unit 21 may or may not include a receiving device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The program configuration information receiving unit 21 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a receiving device.

  The program configuration information storage unit 22 stores the program configuration information received by the program configuration information reception unit 21 in a predetermined recording medium. The recording medium is, for example, a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or the like, and may be included in the program configuration information storage unit 22 or may exist outside the program configuration information storage unit 22. Further, this recording medium may or may not temporarily store program configuration information.

  Whether the content information storage unit 25 (to be described later) has already stored the content information indicating the timing to be output in the program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 and stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22. Judge whether. The determination by the determination unit 23 indicates whether or not the content information acquisition unit 24 (to be described later) has to acquire content information indicating the timing to be output in the program configuration information received by the program configuration information reception unit 21. Become. If it has already been accumulated, it is not necessary to obtain it, and if it has not yet been accumulated, it is necessary to obtain it.

  The content information acquisition unit 24 acquires content information that is received by the program configuration information reception unit 21 and indicates the output timing of the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22. The content information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content information that the determination unit 23 determines that the content information storage unit 25 has not yet stored. By doing in this way, only the content information which the content information acquisition part 24 has not acquired yet can be acquired, and it can avoid acquiring the already acquired content information again.

  For example, the content information acquisition unit 24 may acquire content information via a communication line or the like, may acquire content information from a recording medium, or may receive broadcast content information. Further, the content information acquisition unit 24 may include a communication device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing communication, an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.) for inputting information, or the like. It does not have to be included. The content information acquisition unit 24 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a communication device.

  The content information storage unit 25 stores the content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit 24 in a predetermined recording medium. This recording medium is, for example, a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or the like, and may be included in the content information storage unit 25 or may exist outside the content information storage unit 25. In addition, this recording medium may or may not store content information temporarily.

  The content information output unit 26 outputs the content information stored in the content information storage unit 25 at the timing indicated by the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 22. The content information output unit 26 outputs or displays at least audio content information. The sound output is, for example, sound output from a speaker or the like. The display output is, for example, display on a display device such as a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or a projector. The display output may be a projection type display output. The projection display output may be, for example, a display output from a liquid crystal projector, a CRT projector, or the like, or may be a hologram display output. The content information output unit 26 may perform both audio output and display output of content information. When the content information output unit 26 performs audio output and display output, the content information output unit 26 may be, for example, an audio / video output such as a movie or a TV program, and may output music and the like, and information on the music and the like, For example, an artist name, a song title, or the like may be displayed and output, an image may be displayed and output, and information related to the image, for example, a description of the image may be output as audio.

  Note that the content information output unit 26 may preferentially output content information corresponding to priority information indicating a high priority. In this way, content information can be output in order of priority. Therefore, when content information indicating an emergency notification is included in certain content information and the priority indicated by the priority information corresponding to the content information is set at the highest level, the emergency notification is indicated. Content information is preferentially output.

  The content information output unit 26 may or may not include a device (for example, a display device or a speaker) that performs output. The content information output unit 26 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives these devices.

The input receiving unit 27 receives input from the user. Here, this reception may be, for example, reception of information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.), or reception of information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. The input receiving unit 27 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The input receiving unit 27 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.
The process execution unit 28 executes a predetermined process according to the input received by the input reception unit 27. This predetermined process will be described later.

  In addition, when the input reception part 27 receives the input with respect to the process execution part 28, it may replace with the output of the content information by the content information output part 26, and may perform the process by the process execution part 28, or Both may be executed in parallel.

  Further, the recording medium in which the program configuration information storage unit 22 stores program configuration information and the recording medium in which the content information storage unit 25 stores content information may be the same or different. There may be.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the update instruction transmitting apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment. 4, the update instruction transmission device 3 according to the present embodiment includes an update instruction reception unit 31, an update instruction transmission unit 32, a content information reception unit 33, and a content information transmission unit 34.

  The update instruction receiving unit 31 receives an update instruction. Here, the reception may be, for example, reception of information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.), reception of information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, Information read from a recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory) may be accepted. The update instruction receiving unit 31 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The update instruction receiving unit 31 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The update instruction transmission unit 32 transmits the update instruction received by the update instruction reception unit 31 to the server 1. For example, the update instruction transmission unit 32 may transmit an update instruction by e-mail, may transmit an update instruction by FTP, or may transmit an update instruction by other IP communication. Further, the transmission of the update instruction to the server 1 by the update instruction transmission unit 32 means that the update instruction may be received by the server 1 as a result. For example, the update instruction is transmitted by e-mail or server relay. In the case of transmission, the transmission destination of the actual update instruction may be a mail server, a relay server, or the like.

  The update instruction transmission unit 32 may or may not include a transmission device (for example, a modem or a network card) for performing transmission. The update instruction transmission unit 32 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a transmission device.

  The content server 4 is a server for the content information acquisition unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to acquire content information, and is a web server, an FTP server, or the like, for example. Since such a content server 4 is already generally known, detailed description thereof is omitted. For example, the content server 4 receives a content information transmission request and transmits the content information requested by the transmission request to the terminal device 2 that is a transmission source of the transmission request. I will provide a.

Next, the operation of each device constituting the information communication system according to the present embodiment will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server 1 according to this embodiment.

(Step S101) The content information receiving unit 15 determines whether content information has been received. If the content information is accepted, the process proceeds to step S102. If not, the process proceeds to step S103.
(Step S102) The content information receiving unit 15 stores the received content information in the content information storage unit 16. Then, the process returns to step S101.

  (Step S103) The update instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether an update instruction has been received. If an update instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S104. If not, the process proceeds to step S105.

  (Step S <b> 104) The updating unit 14 updates the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 in accordance with the update instruction received by the update instruction receiving unit 13. Then, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S105) The transmission unit 12 determines whether it is time to transmit the program configuration information. If it is time to transmit the program configuration information, the process proceeds to step S106. If not, the process returns to step S101.
(Step S106) The transmission unit 12 reads the program configuration information from the program configuration information storage unit 11, and transmits the program configuration information to the corresponding terminal device 2.

  (Step S107) The transmission unit 12 determines whether to also transmit content information. For example, if the content information whose output timing is indicated by the program configuration information transmitted in step S106 is stored in the content information storage unit 16, it may be determined that the content information is also transmitted. And when transmitting content information, it progresses to step S108, and when that is not right, it returns to step S101.

  (Step S <b> 108) The transmission unit 12 transmits content information to the terminal device 2. The terminal device 2 that is the transmission destination of the content information is the same as the terminal device 2 that transmitted the program configuration information in step S106. Then, the process returns to step S101.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process is terminated by powering off or a process termination interrupt. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, when the program configuration information is transmitted to a plurality of terminal devices 2, the processing from step S <b> 106 to step S <b> 108 may be repeated for the number of the terminal devices 2.

  Further, although the flowchart of FIG. 5 shows the case where the content information and the program configuration information are transmitted together, the information may be transmitted separately. In this case, when a content information transmission request is received, processing for transmitting content information may be executed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device 2 according to the present embodiment.
(Step S201) The program configuration information receiving unit 21 determines whether or not the program configuration information has been received. If the program configuration information is received, the process proceeds to step S202. If not, the process proceeds to step S203.
(Step S202) The program configuration information storage unit 22 stores the program configuration information received by the program configuration information reception unit 21. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S203) The content information acquisition unit 24 refers to the program configuration information received by the program configuration information reception unit 21 and stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22 to determine whether it is the timing to acquire content information. To do. For example, the content information acquisition unit 24 may determine that it is time to acquire content information when a predetermined time before the content information output timing (for example, 5 minutes before) is reached. The acquisition unit 24 may determine that it is time to acquire the content information when the program configuration information is accumulated, or when the content information is broadcast, the content information acquisition unit 24 It may be determined that it is time to acquire the content information when the broadcast date and time indicated by the content acquisition information in the information has arrived. In addition, when it is determined that it is a timing to acquire content information at a time before a predetermined time before the timing of outputting content information, the predetermined time may be changed according to the route to be acquired. For example, when acquiring content information from a recording medium such as a DVD, it is determined that it is time to acquire content information one minute before the timing of outputting content information, and the content information is acquired via a communication line. In such a case, it may be determined that it is time to acquire the content information 10 minutes before the content information is output. In order to make this determination, the content information acquisition unit 24 may be configured to be able to refer to the current time indicated by a clock or the like. If it is time to acquire content information, the process proceeds to step S204; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S207.

  (Step S <b> 204) The determination unit 23 determines whether the content information determined to be the timing acquired in step S <b> 203 has already been stored by the content information storage unit 25. If it is stored by the content information storage unit 25, it is not necessary to acquire the content information. Therefore, the process returns to step S201, and if it is not stored by the content information storage unit 25, the acquisition of content information is performed. Since it is necessary, the process proceeds to step S205.

(Step S205) The content information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content information determined to be the timing acquired in step S203.
(Step S206) The content information storage unit 25 stores the content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit 24. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S207) The content information output unit 26 refers to the program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 and stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22 to start output of content information. Judge whether. If it is time to start outputting the content information, the process proceeds to step S208. If not, the process proceeds to step S209.

  (Step S208) The content information output unit 26 reads the content information from the predetermined recording medium in which the content information storage unit 25 has stored the content information, and starts outputting the content information. Then, the process returns to step S201. Note that the content information whose output is started in step S208 ends when all the content information is output, or ends when output of the content information is stopped by the processing of step S212 described later. Until it is done, it will be output continuously.

  (Step S209) The input receiving unit 27 determines whether an input from the user has been received. If the input is accepted, the process proceeds to step S210. If not, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S <b> 210) The input receiving unit 27 determines whether or not the input from the user is an input related to processing in the processing execution unit 28. If the input is related to the process in the process execution unit 28, the input content is passed to the process execution unit 28 and the process proceeds to step S211. If not, the input content is transferred to the corresponding component. Proceed to step S214.

  (Step S211) The content information output unit 26 determines whether content information is being output. If the content information is being output, the process proceeds to step S212. If not, the process proceeds to step S213.

(Step S212) The content information output unit 26 stops outputting the content information.
(Step S213) The process executing unit 28 executes a process corresponding to the input received by the input receiving unit 27. Then, the process returns to step S201.

  (Step S214) The component corresponding to the input received by the input receiving unit 27 executes processing corresponding to the input. Then, the process returns to step S201. This processing may be, for example, volume adjustment for audio output or image quality adjustment for display output.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends. Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the case where content information is output (step S <b> 206) after content information is acquired (step S <b> 205) and stored (step S <b> 206) has been described. The output may be performed in parallel. When the content information is streamed from the server 1, the content server 4 or the like, the content information is acquired, stored, and output in such a format.

  When the transmission of the program configuration information from the server 1 is made in response to a transmission request from the terminal device 2, the terminal device 2 performs the process before receiving the program configuration information (step S201). A transmission request may be transmitted to the server 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the update instruction transmitting apparatus 3 according to this embodiment.
(Step S301) The update instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether an update instruction has been received. If an update instruction is accepted, the process proceeds to step S302. If not, the process proceeds to step S303.

(Step S <b> 302) The update instruction transmission unit 32 transmits an update instruction to the server 1. Then, the process returns to step S301.
(Step S303) The content information receiving unit 33 determines whether content information has been received. If the content information is accepted, the process proceeds to step S304. If not, the process returns to step S301.

(Step S304) The content information transmitting unit 34 transmits the content information received by the content information receiving unit 33 to the server 1. Then, the process returns to step S301.
In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the process is terminated by power-off or a process termination interrupt.

  Next, the operation of the information communication system according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, it is assumed that the terminal device 2 is installed, for example, in front of a store, a shopping street, a station premises, a bus stop, or the like.

  In this specific example, as shown in FIG. 8, the program configuration information storage unit 11 of the server 1 stores terminal device identification information, program configuration information, and the last update date in association with each other. To do. The terminal device identification information is information for identifying the terminal device 2, and may be, for example, a manufacturing number of the terminal device 2 or an address (for example, an IP address or a MAC address) of the terminal device 2. It may be a telephone number corresponding to the terminal device 2, an ID of a user having the terminal device 2, or other information as long as the information can identify the terminal device 2. The last update date and time is information indicating the date and time when the update unit 14 was last updated. In the first record of FIG. 8, terminal device identification information “T001”, program configuration information “P001”, and last update date “October 30, 2006, 12:00:00” are associated. Accordingly, the program configuration information “P001” corresponds to the terminal device 2 identified by the terminal device identification information “T001”, and the program configuration information “P001” was last updated in “2006. It is understood that it is “October 30 12:00”.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the program configuration information “P001”. In the program configuration information “P001” shown in FIG. 9, the output time, the content identification information, the content acquisition information, and the transmitted flag are associated with each other. The output time indicates the time when the output of content information is started. The content identification information is information for identifying the content information. Here, the file name of the content information is adopted, but other information may be used. For example, the content identification information may be a URL that is information indicating a location where the content information is stored. The content acquisition information is information for acquiring content information, and shows URL and information for identifying a recording medium. The transmitted flag is information indicating whether or not the content information has been transmitted from the server 1 to the terminal device 2. When the transmitted flag is “1”, it indicates that transmission has already been performed, and when the transmitted flag is “0”, it indicates that transmission has not yet been performed. When the server 1 does not have content information, the server 1 cannot transmit the content information, and therefore the transmitted flag does not change from “0”. In the first record of FIG. 9, the output time “October 30, 2006, 15:00:00”, the content identification information “aaaa.mp3”, and the content acquisition information “http: //www...aaaa.mp3” And the transmitted flag “0” are associated with each other. Therefore, it is indicated that the content information identified by the content identification information “aaaa.mp3” is output at the output time “October 30, 2006 15:00:00”. It is also shown that the content information can be acquired by accessing the URL “http: //www...aaaa.mp3”. Further, it is indicated that the content information is not transmitted from the server 1 to the terminal device 2.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing content identification information for identifying content information stored in the content information storage unit 16. As shown in FIG. 10, the content information identified by all the content identification information included in the program configuration information is not stored, but a part of the content information is stored.

  Also, in the server 1, as shown in FIG. 11, information having terminal device identification information and an IP address associated with each other is also held in a recording medium (not shown). By referring to this information, the transmission unit 12 can transmit information to the terminal device 2 identified by the desired terminal device identification information.

  The terminal device 2 shall transmit the request | requirement to the effect of transmitting program structure information to the server 1 regularly (for example, every hour). Here, the request from the terminal device 2 identified by the terminal device identification information “T001” (hereinafter also referred to as “terminal device T001”) includes the terminal device identification information “T001” of the terminal device 2; It is assumed that the last update date and time “October 30, 2006 8:00:00” corresponding to the program configuration information stored last by the program configuration information storage unit 22 of the terminal device 2 is included. This request may be transmitted by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 or may be performed by other components.

  The server 1 receives a request for transmitting the program configuration information transmitted from the terminal device 2. Then, the transmission unit 12 of the server 1 uses the information shown in FIG. 8, and the last update date and time “October 30, 2006 12:00:00” corresponding to the terminal device identification information “T001” included in the request. And the last update date / time is compared with the last update date / time “October 30, 2006 8:00:00” transmitted from the terminal device T001. As a result of the comparison, since the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 is newer, the transmission unit 12 determines to transmit the program configuration information (step S105). Then, the transmission unit 12 acquires the program configuration information “P001” corresponding to the terminal device T001 and the last update date “October 30, 2006 12:00:00” from the program configuration information storage unit 11, and these 11 is transmitted to the IP address “192.168.0.11” associated with the terminal device identification information “T001” in the table shown in FIG. 11 (step S106). In addition, the transmission part 12 shall not transmit about the transmitted flag among program structure information. This is because it is unnecessary information in the terminal device 2.

  Thereafter, the transmission unit 12 stores the content information identified by the content identification information corresponding to the transmitted flag “0” in the transmitted program configuration information “P001” in the content information storage unit 16. Determine if something exists. In this case, it is assumed that it did not exist. Then, the transmission unit 12 determines that content information is not transmitted (step S107), and content information is not transmitted.

  The program configuration information “P001” transmitted from the server 1 is received by the program configuration information receiving unit 21 of the terminal device T001 (step S201) and stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22 (step S202). FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the program configuration information accumulated as described above. As shown in FIG. 12, the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22 does not include a transmitted flag. The program configuration information is the same as the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11 of the server 1 except that the transmitted flag is not included. In the program configuration information shown in FIG. 12, “DVD001” is set as the content acquisition information. Therefore, it is assumed that the user of the terminal device T001 previously sets a DVD disc identified by the DVD001 in the terminal device T001.

  It is assumed that the terminal device 2 is set to determine that it is the timing to determine acquisition 5 minutes before the output time of the content information. Here, if it is five minutes before 15:00 on October 30, 2006, the determination unit 23 refers to the program configuration information shown in FIG. 12, and the content identified by the content identification information “aaa.mp3” It is determined that it is the timing of information acquisition determination (step S203).

  Then, the determination unit 23 determines whether or not the content information storage unit 25 has already stored the content information identified by the content identification information “aaaa.mp3” (step S204). In this case, if it has not been stored yet, the determination unit 23 needs to acquire the content information identified by the content identification information “aaaa.mp3”, and acquires the content corresponding to the content identification information. Information to the content information acquisition unit 24. Then, the content information acquisition unit 24 accesses the content server 4 indicated by the URL indicated by the received content acquisition information, and acquires content information (step S205). The content information is stored in a predetermined recording medium by the content information storage unit 25 (step S206). Thus, in the terminal device 2, content information is acquired by executing each record of the program configuration information like a command for acquiring content information.

  At 15:00 on October 30, 2006, the content information output unit 26 refers to the program configuration information shown in FIG. 12 stored by the program configuration information storage unit 22 and uses the content identification information “aaa.mp3”. It is determined that it is time to output the identified content information (step S207). Then, the content information output unit 26 reads the content information and starts outputting the content information (step S208). As a result, the audio of the content information identified by the content identification information “aaaa.mp3” is output from the terminal device T001. In this manner, the content information is sequentially output in the order of the program configuration information shown in FIG.

  Next, processing in which the update instruction transmission device 3 transmits content information and an update instruction to the server 1 will be described. In this specific example, the case where the update instruction transmitting device 3 is a mobile phone will be described, but it goes without saying that the update instruction transmitting device 3 may be a device other than the mobile phone.

  First, the user executes software for registering content information in the server 1 in the update instruction transmission device 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, a content registration screen is displayed. In the display, when the user inputs the content information ID (content identification information) and the password and selects the button “OK”, the screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed, and the user is prompted to input voice. According to this display, it is assumed that the user inputs a sales talk that “sale will be held from 6:00 in the evening. Then, the content information (audio information) is received by the content information receiving unit 33 (step S303). Then, the content information ID, password, and content information input by the user are transmitted to the server 1 (step S304).

  The content information transmitted from the update instruction transmitting device 3 is received by the content information receiving unit 15 (step S101). Then, if authentication is performed using a password and authentication is performed as valid, the content information receiving unit 15 accumulates the received content information in the content information storage unit 16 with the file name “kkk.mp3” (step) S102). In this accumulation, when the content information transmitted from the update instruction transmitting device 3 is not a file in the mp3 format, the process for converting the content information into the mp3 file is performed by the content information receiving unit 15 or other components. May be executed, and the converted content information may be stored in the content information storage unit 16.

  Thereafter, in update instruction transmitting device 3, as shown in FIG. 15, a screen for inputting the terminal ID (terminal device identification information) of terminal device 2 that outputs the registered content information and the output start time of the content information Is displayed. In this display, when the user inputs the terminal ID and the output start time, the information is received by the update instruction receiving unit 31 (step S301). When the user selects the button “OK”, the terminal device identification information “ An update instruction including “T001”, the output start time “17:00:00”, and the content identification information “kkkk.mp3” input when the content information is registered is transmitted to the server 1 (step S302).

  The update instruction transmitted from the update instruction transmitting device 3 is received by the server 1 update instruction receiving unit 13 (step S103). Then, in response to the update instruction, the update unit 14 includes, in the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit 11, the program configuration information “T001” corresponding to the terminal device identification information “T001” included in the update instruction. In “P001”, the program configuration information “P001” is updated so that the content identification information “kkk.mp3” is output from the output start time “17:00:00” on that day “October 30, 2006” ( Step S104). As a result, the program configuration information “P001” is as shown in FIG. In this case, since the content acquisition information is not included in the update instruction, the content acquisition information is blank, and the initial value “0” is set as the transmission flag.

  Here, the case where the registration of the content information and the instruction to update the program configuration information are performed simultaneously has been described, but these may be performed separately or only the instruction to update the program configuration information may be performed. . In the former case, the content information may be registered in a content server 4 different from the server 1. In the latter case, the content acquisition information is included in the update instruction, and the content acquisition information may be registered in the program configuration information.

  Although the case where the program configuration information is updated by transmitting an update instruction from the update instruction transmitting device 3 as a mobile phone has been described here, the update of the program configuration information is not limited to this. For example, the user of the server 1 may receive an update instruction by operating an input device or the like, and the program configuration information may be updated, or the program configuration information may be updated by other methods.

  Here, a process of outputting content information indicating an emergency notification will be described. For example, if it is desired to output emergency notifications such as lost child guidance information or suspicious person information, the program can be output in the same manner as described above so that the content information indicating the emergency notification can be output immediately. Update configuration information. For example, when the program configuration information is updated at about 4:50, the program configuration information may be set so that the content information indicating the emergency notification is output from 5:00:00. The content information may be transmitted to the server 1 as described above, or may be uploaded to another content server 4. Further, the program configuration information updated by the server 1 may be transmitted to the terminal device 2 after waiting for a transmission request from the terminal device 2, and the program configuration information indicating the output timing of the content information indicating the emergency notification is described. The server 1 may transmit to the terminal device 2 without waiting for a transmission request from the terminal device 2. By doing in this way, an emergency notification can be appropriately output by the terminal device 2.

  Next, the process performed by the process execution part 28 of the terminal device 2 is demonstrated. In this specific example, a case will be described in which the process execution unit 28 transmits a message set in advance to a predetermined user group by e-mail. Here, it is assumed that the user group includes a general customer group, a customer group, a top customer group, and a top customer group.

  It is assumed that the process execution unit 28 stores user information shown in FIG. 17 and message information shown in FIG. 18 in a recording medium (not shown). In the user information in FIG. 17, a customer ID, a customer attribute, and a customer e-mail address are associated with each other. The customer attribute indicates which group the user belongs to. For example, the first record in FIG. 17 indicates that the user identified by the customer ID “C001” belongs to the general customer group and the e-mail address is “C001 @ abc ... com”. ing. In the message information of FIG. 18, the transmission destination attribute and the message are associated with each other. The transmission destination attribute is information indicating a group of users. For example, if the destination attribute is “general or higher”, in the user information, the attribute is “general” or higher, that is, the group having the attributes “general”, “special”, “top”, and “best” is the destination. It is shown that.

  When the user of the terminal device 2 inputs to the terminal device 2 that a message is to be transmitted to a customer who is “good or better”, the input is received by the input receiving unit 27 (step S209). The input may be designated by a rotary switch or the like, for example. For example, it may be possible to designate “more than general”, “more than good” or the like as a message transmission destination by a rotary switch.

  When receiving the input, the input accepting unit 27 determines that the process is performed by the process executing unit 28 (step S210) because it is an input for transmitting a message, and passes the input to the process executing unit 28. At that time, if the content information output unit 26 is outputting content information, the output is stopped (steps S211 and S212). Thereafter, the process execution unit 28 reads a message corresponding to the transmission destination attribute “excellent or better” from the message information, and creates an e-mail including the message. Then, the process execution unit 28 reads an e-mail address from a record whose user information attribute is “good” or more, and transmits the created e-mail using each e-mail address as a destination address (step S213). ). In this way, the terminal device 2 can also conduct business activities. In particular, when the user of the terminal device 2 operates a store, it is possible to conduct aggressive sales instead of waiting sales, which is effective.

  When the input receiving unit 27 receives an input other than that processed by the process executing unit 28, processing corresponding to the input is executed in the terminal device 2 (step S214). When the output of the content information is stopped by the execution of the process by the process execution unit 28, the output of the content information may be stopped until it is determined that the next content information output timing (step S207). Alternatively, the output of the content information that has been stopped may be resumed from the time when the execution of the process by the process execution unit 28 is completed. When the output of the content information is resumed, it may be resumed from the point at which it was stopped, or the output of the content information is resumed from the position where the content information was skipped for the time during which the output of the content information was stopped. May be.

  Further, in this specific example, the case where the program configuration information is information indicating the content information to be output and the time to be output, as in the case of an electronic program guide, has been described. It may be information indicating the output frequency of information. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of program configuration information indicating the output frequency of content information. In FIG. 19, output frequency, content identification information, priority, number of distributions, and content acquisition information are associated with each other. The content identification information and content acquisition information are the same as described in the specific example. The output frequency is information indicating the frequency of outputting content information. The priority is information indicating the priority for outputting the content information. The priority is higher as it is closer to A. Therefore, when the output of the priority A content information and the priority B content information competes, the priority A content information is output preferentially. The distribution count is information indicating the number of times content information is output. For example, the content information identified by the content identification information “cccc.mp3” is set to be output five times.

  Here, a method for outputting content information based on the program configuration information shown in FIG. 19 will be described. First, a method of creating the program configuration information shown in FIG. 12 from the program configuration information shown in FIG. 19 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Here, although the case where the determination unit 23 executes the process will be described, other components may execute the process.

(Step S401) The determination unit 23 sorts the records of the program configuration information shown in FIG. 19 so that the records are in the descending order of priority.
(Step S402) The determination unit 23 sets the counter i to 1.

  (Step S403) The determination unit 23 determines whether or not the i-th record in the sorted program configuration information can be added to the program configuration information in the format of FIG. For example, when the number of distributions of the i-th record is 0, it is determined that it cannot be added. When the output frequency of the i-th record is “every hour”, the content identification already indicated by the i-th record in the program configuration information in the format of FIG. 12 within one hour from the time when the record is added. If the information exists, it is determined that it cannot be added. If it can be added, the process proceeds to step S404. If it cannot be added, the process proceeds to step S406.

  (Step S404) The determination unit 23 adds the i-th record to the program configuration information in the format of FIG. Specifically, content identification information and content acquisition information are acquired from the program configuration information of FIG. 19 and added to the program configuration information in the format of FIG. Then, a time obtained by adding the time of the content information identified by the content identification information added to the time of the added record is added as the output time of the record next to the added record.

  (Step S405) The determination unit 23 decrements the delivery count of the i-th record by one. When the number of distributions is ∞ (infinity), it remains ∞ even if it is decremented by 1.

  (Step S406) The determination unit 23 determines whether or not to end the process of adding a record. For example, when the record is added until the time when the final time for outputting the content information is passed, it is determined that the process for adding the record is ended. When the process ends, the series of processes for creating the program configuration information in the format of FIG. 12 ends, and when not, the process proceeds to step S407.

(Step S407) The determination unit 23 adds the i-th record, so that the time unit of the output time for adding the next record is larger than the time unit of the output time corresponding to the added i-th record. It is determined whether or not one hour has been exceeded by determining whether or not it has increased by one or more. If one hour has been exceeded, the process returns to step S402; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S408.
(Step S408) The determination unit 23 increments the counter i by 1 and returns to Step S403.

  By executing the processing shown in FIG. 20, the program configuration information shown in FIG. 21 can be created from the program configuration information shown in FIG. Since the program configuration information shown in FIG. 21 has the same format as the program configuration information shown in FIG. 12, the content information output unit 26 can output the content information according to the program configuration information shown in FIG. it can. The processing is the same as that described in the specific example, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In addition, in step S407 of the flowchart of FIG. 20, since the highest frequency of the output frequency of the program configuration information shown in FIG. 19 is “every hour”, the determination is made based on whether or not one hour has been exceeded. If the highest frequency is “every 30 minutes”, the determination may be made based on whether or not it exceeds 30 minutes.

  In the case where the output frequency of the content information is indicated in the program configuration information, the case where the content information is output by creating the program configuration information in the format of FIG. 12 has been described. The program configuration shown in FIG. You may make it output content information directly using information. In that case, what content information is to be output next may be determined by executing a process similar to the flowchart of FIG.

  Here, a process of outputting content information indicating an emergency notification will be described. For example, when it is desired to output emergency notification such as lost child guidance information or suspicious person information, the content indicating the emergency notification so that the content information indicating the emergency notification can be output immediately. It is preferable that the priority indicated by the priority information corresponding to the information be the highest. The content information may be transmitted to the server 1 as described above, or may be uploaded to another content server 4. Further, the program configuration information updated by the server 1 may be transmitted to the terminal device 2 after waiting for a transmission request from the terminal device 2, and the program configuration information indicating the output timing of the content information indicating the emergency notification is described. The server 1 may transmit to the terminal device 2 without waiting for a transmission request from the terminal device 2. By doing in this way, an emergency notification can be appropriately output by the terminal device 2. When a new program configuration information record including priority information with the highest priority set is registered in the program configuration information storage unit 11 of the server 1, the server 1 May be immediately transmitted to the corresponding terminal device 2. Further, when the terminal device 2 receives new program configuration information including priority information whose priority is set to the highest priority, the terminal device 2 outputs the content information even if it is in the middle of the output of the content information. The content information corresponding to the priority information having the highest priority may be output immediately. In this way, content information with a high degree of urgency can be immediately output from the terminal device 2.

  Further, in the above specific example, the case where content information as audio information is output as audio has been described, but it goes without saying that content information as video information may be displayed and output. When content information is displayed and output, the display output may be a projection-type display output. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, content information as audio information is output as audio, and information corresponding to the output audio information, such as music artist name, song name, lyrics, etc. It may be projected and output on a screen, a wall near the terminal device 2 or the like.

  As described above, according to the information communication system according to the present embodiment, the program configuration information is transmitted from the server 1 to each terminal device 2, and the content information is output at each terminal device 2 at the timing indicated by the program configuration information. By doing so, it is possible to realize output of content information corresponding to each terminal device 2. Therefore, it is possible to realize output of individual content information corresponding to each terminal device 2 instead of providing uniform content information such as radio broadcasting and television broadcasting. On the other hand, the user of the terminal device 2 does not need to individually perform operations such as downloading content information from the Internet or the like, and the content information is automatically acquired according to the program configuration information. The user is not forced to perform complicated work.

  In addition, by using such an information communication system, it is possible to activate local communication. For example, since individual information can be transmitted from each terminal device 2, it is also possible to perform information transmission closely related to the region by using the individual information, and communication of the region can be performed through such information transmission. It can be activated. More specifically, information on sales at local shops, information on events in the area, information on suspicious persons, guidance on lost children, etc. are quickly and accurately transmitted using this information communication system in a simple manner. Can be.

  Further, since the program configuration information is managed in the server 1, more various content information can be output from each terminal device 2. In other words, the types and amounts of content that can be personally grasped by each user of each terminal device 2 are limited, but by centralized management in the server 1, specialized staff familiar with various content information can configure the program structure. Information can also be set. Therefore, in such a case, it is possible to select appropriate content information according to each terminal device 2 and to realize effective output of content information.

  In addition, the program structure information memorize | stored in the server 1 is according to the attribute (a woman, a man, a housewife, a business person, an adult, a child, an elderly person, etc.) passing through the place where each terminal device 2 is set. It is preferred that it be created. For example, if the place where the terminal device 2 is installed is a place where many women pass, program configuration information corresponding to the terminal device 2 may be set so that content information popular with women is output. Is preferred.

  In the present embodiment, terminal device 2 may be installed in combination with another predetermined device. For example, it may be combined with a so-called gacha gacha (registered trademark) or capsule vending machine called gashapon (registered trademark). In such a case, a capsule containing a password (for registering content information in the server 1) or a medium (for example, a piece of paper) in which a content ID (content identification information) is written is stored in the capsule vending machine. May be sold. When a password or the like for registering content information in the server 1 is sold by the capsule vending machine, for example, the user purchases the capsule for 100 yen so that the content information for one minute is stored in the server 1. The right to register can be purchased. In addition, the terminal device 2 may be installed in combination with other devices such as a malodor detection device installed in a garbage collection site, a vending machine for beverages, a public telephone box, and the like.

  Moreover, although this Embodiment demonstrated the case where the program structure information memorize | stored in the program structure information storage part 11 was updated by the update part 14, it does not need to be so. For example, the program configuration information storage unit 11 may be a detachable recording medium, and the program configuration information storage unit 11 may be realized by mounting the recording medium storing the program configuration information on the server 1. In such a case, the server 1 may not include the update instruction receiving unit 13 and the update unit 14, and the information communication system may not include the update instruction transmitting device 3.

  Further, the update instruction transmission device 3 may be updated as one unit with the terminal device 2. In that case, an update instruction can be transmitted from the terminal device 2.

  Moreover, although the case where the server 1 transmits content information has been described in the present embodiment, the server 1 may not transmit content information. The content information may be transmitted only from the content server 4 or the like, for example. In such a case, the server 1 may not include the content information receiving unit 15 or the content information storage unit 16.

  In the present embodiment, the case where content information is acquired according to the determination result by the determination unit 23 has been described. However, the terminal apparatus 2 acquires content information regardless of the determination result by the determination unit 23. May be. For example, if the content information storage unit 25 has a small storage medium for storing content information and the content information is set to be deleted when the content information is output, the content information is stored. Since content information must be acquired at the output timing, it is not necessary to make such a determination. When acquiring content information regardless of the determination result by the determination unit 23, the terminal device 2 may not include the determination unit 23.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the terminal device 2 includes the input receiving unit 27 and the processing execution unit 28 has been described. However, when the processing by the processing execution unit 28 is not necessary, The reception unit 27 and the processing execution unit 28 may not be provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the update instruction transmission device 3 transmits content information to the server 1 has been described. However, the transmission destination of content information may be the other content server 4 instead of the server 1. . Further, the update instruction transmission device 3 may not transmit content information. In this case, the update instruction transmission device 3 may not include the content information reception unit 33 and the content information transmission unit 34.

  In the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or may be distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems. It may be realized by doing.

  In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. In addition, the software which implement | achieves the server 1 in the said embodiment is the following programs. In other words, this program is a program for causing a computer to function as the server constituting an information communication system including a server and two or more terminal devices, and relates to the timing at which content information is output by the terminal device. Program configuration information that is information for causing the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit stored for each terminal device to function as a transmission unit that transmits to the terminal device corresponding to the program configuration information Is.

  Moreover, the software which implement | achieves the terminal device 2 in the said embodiment is the following programs. That is, this program stores a program configuration information receiving unit that receives program configuration information, which is information related to timing at which content information is output from a terminal device, and program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit. A program configuration information storage unit, a content information acquisition unit that acquires content information indicating the timing to be output in the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit, and the content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit The content information storage unit functions as a content information output unit that outputs the content information stored in the content information storage unit at a timing indicated by the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit.

  In the program, the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can be realized only by hardware. For example, functions that can be realized only by hardware such as a modem or an interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information, an output unit that outputs information, and the like are not included in at least the functions realized by the program.

  Further, this program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, and a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like) is read out. May be executed by

  Further, the computer that executes this program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an external appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the server 1, the terminal device 2, the update instruction transmission device 3, and the like according to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment is realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

  23, the computer system 100 includes a computer 101 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 105, an FD (Flexible Disk) drive 106, a keyboard 102, a mouse 103, and a monitor 104.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a computer system. 24, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 105 and the FD drive 106, a computer 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112 for storing a program such as a bootup program, A CPU (Random Access Memory) 113 that is connected to the CPU 111 and temporarily stores application program instructions and provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 114 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, a CPU 111 and a ROM 112. Etc. to each other. Since the computer 101 has a communication function, it may include a network card (not shown) that provides connection to a LAN, for example.

  A program for causing the computer system 100 to execute the functions of the server 1, the terminal device 2, the update instruction transmission device 3 and the like according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the CD-ROM 121 or the FD 122, and the CD-ROM drive 105 or FD. It may be inserted into the drive 106 and transferred to the hard disk 114. Instead, the program may be transmitted to the computer 101 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 114. The program is loaded into the RAM 113 at the time of execution. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 121, the FD 122, or the network.

The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 101 to execute the functions of the server 1, the terminal device 2, the update instruction transmission device 3, and the like according to the above-described embodiment. . The program may include only a part of an instruction that calls an appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 100 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the information communication system and the like according to the present invention can realize output of content information according to each terminal device, and are useful as an information communication system or the like that outputs content information.

The figure which shows the structure of the information communication system by Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the server by the embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device by the embodiment The block diagram which shows the structure of the update instruction | indication transmission apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the server by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the terminal device by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the update instruction | indication transmission apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the program structure information hold | maintained for every terminal device in the server by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the program structure information currently hold | maintained in the server by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the content identification information which identifies the content information currently hold | maintained in the server by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of a response | compatibility with the terminal device identification information and IP address hold | maintained in the server by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the program structure information hold | maintained in the terminal device by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the update instruction | indication transmission apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the update instruction | indication transmission apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the update instruction | indication transmission apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the program structure information currently hold | maintained in the server by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the user information hold | maintained in the terminal device by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the message information hold | maintained in the terminal device by the embodiment The figure which shows another example of the program structure information in the embodiment The flowchart which shows the process regarding the format conversion of the program structure information in the embodiment The figure which shows another example of the program structure information in the embodiment The figure for demonstrating the output of the content information of the terminal device by the embodiment Schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of the computer system in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system in the embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server 2 Terminal device 3 Update instruction transmission device 4 Content server 11 Program structure information storage part 12 Transmission part 13 Update instruction reception part 14 Update part 15 Content information reception part 16 Content information storage part 21 Program structure information reception part 22 Program structure information Storage unit 23 Determination unit 24 Content information acquisition unit 25 Content information storage unit 26 Content information output unit 27 Input reception unit 28 Processing execution unit 31 Update instruction reception unit 32 Update instruction transmission unit 33 Content information reception unit 34 Content information transmission unit

Claims (17)

An information communication system comprising a server and two or more terminal devices,
The server
A program configuration information storage unit for storing program configuration information, which is information related to the timing of outputting content information at the terminal device, for each terminal device;
A transmission unit that transmits the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit to a terminal device corresponding to the program configuration information,
The terminal device
A program configuration information receiving unit for receiving program configuration information transmitted from the server;
A program configuration information storage unit for storing the program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit;
A content information acquisition unit for acquiring content information indicating a timing of output in the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit;
A content information storage unit for storing content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit;
An information communication system comprising: a content information output unit that outputs content information stored by the content information storage unit at a timing indicated by program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit. The server
An update instruction receiving unit that receives an update instruction that is an instruction to update the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit;
The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: an update unit that updates program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit in response to an update instruction received by the update instruction reception unit. An update instruction transmitting device for transmitting the update instruction to the server;
The update instruction transmission device includes:
A second update instruction receiving unit for receiving the update instruction;
The information communication system according to claim 2, further comprising: an update instruction transmission unit that transmits the update instruction received by the second update instruction reception unit to the server. The server
A content information storage unit for storing content information;
A content information receiving unit that receives content information and stores the received content information in the content information storage unit;
The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission unit also transmits content information stored in the content information storage unit. The terminal device
A determination unit for determining whether or not the content information storage unit has stored content information indicating a timing to be output in the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit;
5. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the content information acquisition unit acquires content information that the determination unit determines that the content information storage unit has not yet stored. The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the content information output unit outputs at least audio or display of the content information. The information communication system according to claim 6, wherein the display output is a projection type display output. The program configuration information includes priority information that is information indicating the priority of outputting content information,
The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the content information output unit preferentially outputs content information corresponding to priority information indicating a high priority. The content information includes content information indicating an emergency notification,
The information communication system according to claim 8, wherein the priority indicated by the priority information corresponding to the content information indicating the emergency notification is the highest. The terminal device
An input receiving unit that receives input from the user;
A process execution unit that executes a predetermined process in response to the input received by the input reception unit;
10. The process according to claim 1, wherein when the input receiving unit receives an input to the process execution unit, the process execution unit executes a process instead of outputting content information by the content output unit. Information communication system. The server which comprises the information communication system in any one of Claims 1-10. The terminal device which comprises the information communication system in any one of Claims 1-10. An update instruction transmitting apparatus constituting the information communication system according to claim 3. An information processing method executed by the server constituting an information communication system including a server and two or more terminal devices,
A terminal corresponding to the program configuration information, the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit in which the program configuration information, which is information related to the timing at which the content information is output by the terminal device, is stored for each terminal device An information processing method comprising a transmission step of transmitting to an apparatus. A program configuration information receiving step for receiving program configuration information, which is information relating to the timing at which the content information is output by the terminal device;
A program configuration information storage step for storing the program configuration information received in the program configuration information reception step;
A content information acquisition step for acquiring content information indicating the timing of output in the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage step;
A content information storage step for storing the content information acquired in the content information acquisition step;
A content information output step of outputting the content information stored in the content information storage step at a timing indicated by the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage step. Computer
A program for causing a server to function as the server constituting an information communication system including two or more terminal devices,
A terminal corresponding to the program configuration information, the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit in which the program configuration information, which is information related to the timing at which the content information is output by the terminal device, is stored for each terminal device A program for functioning as a transmission unit that transmits to a device. Computer
A program configuration information receiving unit that receives program configuration information that is information related to the timing at which the content information is output by the terminal device;
A program configuration information storage unit for storing the program configuration information received by the program configuration information receiving unit;
A content information acquisition unit for acquiring content information indicating a timing of output in the program configuration information stored by the program configuration information storage unit;
A content information storage unit for storing content information acquired by the content information acquisition unit;
A program for causing the content information stored in the content information storage unit to function as a content information output unit that outputs at timing indicated by the program configuration information stored in the program configuration information storage unit.

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