JP4935845B2 - Karaoke network system and content relay device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for distributing content to a karaoke apparatus connected to a network in a karaoke store.

  Conventionally, a karaoke network system that distributes content played back by a karaoke device from a host server for content distribution to a karaoke device installed in a karaoke store nationwide (for example, a karaoke box) via a wide-area network has become widespread ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in recent years, the content played back by a karaoke device is not only normal performance data (MIDI data) but also a wide variety of contents such as high-quality live music tunes obtained by sampling actual performance sounds, promotional video (PV) images, and CM images. The amount of data is increasing year by year. In addition, in order to provide individual services corresponding to the diversification of hobbies and preferences of users who use karaoke devices, in recent years, dedicated content is required for each individual user. It is becoming a huge amount.

  For this reason, it has become impossible to save all the contents in the storage device in the karaoke apparatus. Therefore, when the user requests playback of content such as karaoke music or video, if the content does not exist in the karaoke device, the content is sent from another device (for example, a host server on the Internet) that holds the content. A service for reproducing content is prepared after the acquisition.

JP 2004-170529 A

  However, in the service as described above, it takes time to acquire content from other devices before starting to reproduce the content, compared to the case of reproducing the content held in advance by the karaoke device, That will make the user wait. Also, in general, a plurality of karaoke devices are installed in one karaoke box store, and all of them share one communication line (ADSL line or optical communication line), and each karaoke apparatus individually In the case of acquiring content from the host server, the load on the communication line is increased, and the communication time required for acquiring the content is further increased.

  However, in the service as described above, it takes time to acquire content from other devices before starting to play the content, compared with the case of playing the content held in advance by the karaoke device. That will make the user wait. In addition, multiple karaoke devices are installed in one store, and many of them share one communication line (telephone line or optical communication line), and each karaoke device individually receives content from the host server. In the case of acquisition, the communication load increases, and the communication time required for acquiring the content further increases.

  In a karaoke box or the like that provides a karaoke service, since the use time of the karaoke device is usually determined for the user, it is not preferable that there is a lot of time for the user to wait for content acquisition.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and in a karaoke network system in which a plurality of karaoke devices are connected, each karaoke device reduces the waiting time of the user when acquiring content reserved from the user. It aims at providing the technique for.

  The karaoke network system according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, receives a plurality of karaoke apparatuses that play back content including at least karaoke music, and content distribution from a content distribution host server. One content relay device distributed to other karaoke devices is connected to be communicable via a network in the karaoke store.

  Among them, the karaoke apparatus accepts reservations of content to be played back from the user, and manages a reservation table that is a list of the reserved content and includes each piece of content identification information and information about when each piece of content is played back. And possession information recording means and acquisition request means. The possession information recording means determines whether or not the own karaoke apparatus possesses the content for which the playback reservation has been received from the user, and records the determination result in association with the record of the content in the reservation table as possession information. . The acquisition request means is based on a reservation table in which possession information of each content is recorded by the possession information recording means, and obtains one content of a predetermined condition with the earliest playback time among the contents not possessed by the own karaoke apparatus. And the acquisition request information including the identification information of the content that is the acquisition request target, the information related to the reproduction time of the content, and the identification information of the own karaoke device is transmitted to the content relay device.

  On the other hand, the content relay device includes storage means, acquisition request list management means, selection means, acquisition means, and distribution means. The storage means stores an acquisition request list that is a list of acquisition request information transmitted from each karaoke apparatus. When the acquisition request list is received from the karaoke apparatus, the acquisition request list management means adds it to the acquisition request list. When the acquisition of the content from the host server is completed, the acquisition request list management means records the acquisition request information corresponding to the content. Delete from the acquisition request list. The selecting means selects the contents to be acquired from the host server in order from the contents that are registered in the acquisition request list stored in the storage means, in a predetermined condition with the early reproduction start time. The acquisition unit acquires the acquisition target content selected by the selection unit from the host server. The distribution means distributes the content acquired by the acquisition means to the corresponding karaoke apparatus based on the identification information of the karaoke apparatus in the corresponding acquisition request information.

  Further, when the karaoke device receives the content corresponding to the acquisition request information from the content relay device after transmitting the acquisition request information, the karaoke device holds the content of the retained information regarding the received content in the reservation table. A changing means for changing to the effect is provided.

  Note that the content playback time here is, for example, the playback order of the content registered in the reservation table (corresponding to the reservation order in the case of a system that sequentially plays back content in the reserved order), It is conceivable to use information that can estimate the time at which the content is played back, such as the time until the playback of the content starts. Further, the time until the reproduction of content can be estimated by adding the reproduction time length of each content in the order of reproduction.

  In addition, the selection unit of the content relay apparatus may be configured to select only one content with a predetermined condition with the earliest reproduction time as an acquisition target, or a plurality of contents as an acquisition target in order of early reproduction time. The configuration may be selected. In the latter case, it is conceivable to determine the number of contents to be selected simultaneously as acquisition targets based on the number of contents that can be downloaded simultaneously from the host server by the content relay apparatus.

  According to the karaoke network system of claim 1, the content relay device that has received the acquisition request from each karaoke device in the karaoke store is prioritized in order from the content of the predetermined condition that the playback time of the content is early among all the karaoke devices. Can be obtained from the host server and distributed to the requesting karaoke apparatus. Therefore, in the karaoke apparatus, it is possible to preferentially acquire content that has an early reproduction time, and to effectively reduce the waiting time until acquisition of the content to be reproduced is completed. Moreover, since each karaoke apparatus does not acquire content directly from the host server, communication load can be suppressed.

  By the way, when the reservation order indicating the order in which the reserved contents are reproduced is used as the predetermined condition for estimating whether the reproduction timing of the contents is early or late, it may be configured as described in claim 2. That is, in the karaoke apparatus, the reservation order indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is reproduced is recorded in the reservation table as information regarding the reproduction time of each content in the reservation table. The acquisition request means identifies one content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, and identifies the identification information of the acquisition request target content and the reservation order of the content. The acquisition request information including the information to be shown and the identification information of the own karaoke device is transmitted to the content relay device. On the other hand, in the content relay device, the selection unit selects the content to be acquired in descending order of reservation order.

  For example, when the reservation order of reserved content that the karaoke apparatus does not have is low, it can be determined that there is a lot of other reserved content that has a higher reservation order than that content, and the playback time of the content is relatively late. On the other hand, when the reservation order of the reservation content that the karaoke apparatus does not have is high, since there are few other reservation contents with a higher reservation order than that content, it can be determined that the playback time of the content is relatively early.

  Therefore, by performing the processing according to claim 2, the content relay device that has received an acquisition request from each karaoke device in the karaoke store has priority in order from the content with the highest content reservation order among all the karaoke devices. Can be obtained from the host server and distributed to the requesting karaoke apparatus. Therefore, in the karaoke apparatus, it is possible to preferentially acquire content that has a high reservation order, that is, the playback time is approaching, and it is possible to effectively reduce the waiting time until the acquisition of the content to be played back is completed.

  Alternatively, when a scheduled time until the content reproduction is started is used as the predetermined condition for estimating the early or late of the content reproduction time, the configuration may be configured as described in claim 3. That is, in the karaoke apparatus, as information related to the playback time of each content in the reservation table, a reservation rank indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played back, and information indicating the playback time length of each content. Record in the reservation table. The acquisition request means identifies one content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, the identification information of the acquisition request target content, and the reservation order higher than the content Acquisition request information including information indicating the scheduled playback time that is the sum of the playback time lengths of content with high content and identification information of the own karaoke device is transmitted to the content relay device. On the other hand, in the content relay device, the selection means selects the content to be acquired in order from the one with the shortest scheduled reproduction time.

  By doing in this way, the content relay apparatus which received the acquisition request from each karaoke apparatus in a karaoke store preferentially acquires from a host server in order from the shortest reproduction time of content among all those karaoke apparatuses. And can be distributed to the requesting karaoke device. Therefore, in the karaoke apparatus, content that is scheduled to be played back, that is, content that is about to be played can be preferentially acquired, and the waiting time until acquisition of the content to be played back is completed can be effectively reduced. Note that the priority of content acquisition can be determined more strictly by using the scheduled playback time calculated based on the playback time length of the reserved content.

  Alternatively, as described in claim 4, the content reservation order and the scheduled reproduction time may be used together as the predetermined condition for estimating the early or late of the reproduction time of the content. That is, in the karaoke apparatus, as information related to the playback time of each content in the reservation table, a reservation rank indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played back, and information indicating the playback time length of each content. Record in the reservation table. The acquisition request means identifies one content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, and identifies the identification information of the acquisition request target content and the reservation order of the content. The acquisition request information including the information to be shown, the information indicating the reproduction scheduled time that is the sum of the reproduction time lengths of the content having a higher reservation order than the content, and the identification information of the own karaoke device is transmitted to the content relay device. On the other hand, in the content relay device, the selection unit selects the content to be acquired in descending order of reservation order, and gives priority to the content with the shorter scheduled playback time for the content with the same reservation order. select.

  In this way, by combining the content reservation order and the scheduled playback time, the priority for content acquisition can be determined more precisely, and the waiting time until acquisition of the content to be played back is more effective. Can be reduced.

  Alternatively, when a plurality of acquisition request target contents have the same playback time, the content acquisition priority may be determined based on the number of users using the acquisition request source karaoke apparatus. Conceivable.

  Specifically, a configuration as described in claim 5 is preferable. That is, the karaoke apparatus further includes a user number specifying means for specifying the number of users currently using the karaoke apparatus. The acquisition request means includes identification information of the content to be acquired, information indicating the reservation order of the content, identification information of the own karaoke apparatus, and information indicating the number of users specified by the user number specifying means, Is sent to the content relay apparatus. On the other hand, in the content relay device, the selecting means selects the content to be acquired in descending order of the reservation order, and the contents having the same reservation order correspond to the karaoke device having the larger number of users. Select content first.

  Similarly, it may be configured as described in claim 6. That is, the karaoke apparatus further includes a user number specifying means for specifying the number of users currently using the karaoke apparatus. And the acquisition request means, the identification information of the content of the acquisition request target, information indicating the scheduled reproduction time that is the sum of the reproduction time length of the content having a higher reservation order than the content, identification information of the own karaoke device, Acquisition request information including information indicating the number of users specified by the user number specifying means is transmitted to the content relay apparatus. On the other hand, in the content relay device, the selecting means selects the content to be acquired in order from the one with the shortest scheduled playback time, and for the content with the same scheduled playback time, the karaoke device with the larger number of users. Select the corresponding content with priority.

  In addition, in order to specify the number of users who use the karaoke device, for example, a method of measuring the number of users logged in to the karaoke device, a method of directly inputting the number of users to the karaoke device, A method using a sensor or the like for detecting the number of users entering the karaoke room can be considered.

  According to the fifth and sixth aspects, when a plurality of acquisition request target contents have the same playback time, the contents requested by the karaoke apparatus having the larger number of users can be acquired preferentially. . In this way, by giving preferential treatment to a karaoke apparatus with many users, more users can enjoy a good service, and the quality of service at the entire karaoke store is improved.

  Next, the karaoke network system according to claim 7 has the following characteristics. That is, the karaoke apparatus is configured to be able to change the reservation order, which is the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is reproduced, based on an operation instruction from the user. Then, the acquisition request means transmits the acquisition request information to the content relay device, and then changes the reservation order in the reservation table in the acquisition request state where the reception of the content is not completed. When content with a higher reservation order than the content in the middle is generated, a notification for canceling the content acquisition request in the acquisition request is transmitted to the content relay device, and the newly generated reservation order Acquisition request information regarding high content is transmitted to the content relay device.

  On the other hand, in the content relay device, when the acquisition list management means receives a notification for canceling the content acquisition request from the karaoke device, the acquisition list management means deletes the record of the acquisition request information corresponding to this notification from the acquisition request list and The acquisition request information newly received from the device is added to the acquisition request list. Then, the selection unit again selects the content to be acquired based on the content of the acquisition request list that has been changed due to the cancellation of the content acquisition request. The acquisition unit acquires the content to be acquired selected by the selection unit from the host server, and when content other than the content to be acquired is being acquired at that time, the content of the content that is not the acquisition target Interrupt the acquisition.

  According to such a configuration, in the case where the priority of content acquisition varies as the user changes the reservation order in the reservation table, the content relay device changes the content to be acquired accordingly. Can do. Therefore, even if the user changes the reservation order, the content can be acquired in an optimal priority order corresponding to the reservation order, and convenience is improved.

  Next, the content relay device according to claim 8 functions as a content relay device constituting the karaoke network system according to claim 1. By applying the content relay device configured as described above to the karaoke network system, the above-described effects can be obtained.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a karaoke network system 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a content relay device 3 and a karaoke device 4. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the data which the content relay apparatus 3 and the karaoke apparatus 4 manage. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a reservation table confirmation process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a content reservation process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a content acquisition process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of an acquisition request list management process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of the method of selecting the content with a high acquisition priority. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of the method of selecting the content with a high acquisition priority. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of a response | compatibility when a reservation order is changed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Description of configuration of karaoke network system 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, in the karaoke network system 1, the karaoke devices 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d installed in each karaoke room in the karaoke store that provides karaoke services to the user and the content relay device 3 are connected to the LAN 100. The network in the store connected via the network is formed by being connected to the host server 2 via the WAN 200 which is a wide area network. 1 shows a configuration in which four karaoke devices are connected to the karaoke network system 1 in one karaoke store for convenience of explanation, but more karaoke devices 4 are connected in the same store. It may be. A plurality of in-store networks may be connected to the host server 2. In the following description, the karaoke devices 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are simply referred to as the karaoke device 4 unless otherwise distinguished.

  The host server 2 is a server device for karaoke service for distributing various contents such as karaoke music data, PV video, CM video, etc. to the content relay device 3 in the karaoke store. The host server 2 is composed of an information processing apparatus having an appropriate processing capability, and always holds all contents that can be provided as a karaoke service in a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 24 as an external storage device. Yes. The host server 2 is connected to the LAN 100 on the karaoke store side via the WAN 200 (for example, the Internet) and the content relay device 3 on the karaoke store side.

  The content relay device 3 is installed at a connection point between the WAN 200 as an external network and the LAN 100 as an internal network, acquires content from the host server 2 (primary distribution), and is connected via the LAN 100. It is a communication apparatus for delivering (secondary delivery) with respect to each karaoke apparatus 4 which is. When the content relay device 3 receives a content acquisition request transmitted from each karaoke device 4 from each karaoke device 4, the content relay device 3 registers the received acquisition request in an acquisition request list (details will be described later). Then, based on the acquisition request list, the contents are acquired from the host server 2 in descending order of the acquisition priority based on the predetermined condition, and the acquired contents are distributed to the requesting karaoke apparatus 4.

  The karaoke device 4 is a karaoke song requested by a user who uses the karaoke service, video content such as a movie, variety program, drama, CM, user-participated content such as an audition or quiz, purchase content such as ordering food and drink, etc. These are devices that hold various contents in their own HDDs 44 and play back the held contents. In the present embodiment, each karaoke device 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d has a serial number (for example, a production number) A, B, C, D, which is unique identification information.

  The karaoke apparatus 4 includes an HDD 44 that is a storage device for holding content to be reproduced. The storage capacity of the HDD 44 is smaller than that of the HDD 24 included in the host server 2 and has recently been increasing in capacity. It is difficult to have all the content in its own HDD 44. Therefore, the karaoke apparatus 4 does not necessarily have all the contents that can be distributed by the host server 2. However, the electronic quick sample (not shown) used by the user when requesting content from the karaoke apparatus 4 covers all the contents that can be distributed by the host server 2 and is not possessed by the karaoke apparatus 4. Even for content, it is possible to make a request reservation itself.

  Therefore, the contents reserved by the user are registered and managed in a reservation table (details will be described later) in the order of reservation. And when the content which the own karaoke apparatus 4 does not have is requested, the acquisition request information regarding the content that has not been acquired in the order from the reservation order in the reservation table (that is, the playback order of the content) is the content. Transmit to the relay device 3. Then, by acquiring the content distributed from the content relay device 3 according to the acquisition request information, it is possible to reproduce the content reserved by the user.

Next, FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams showing schematic configurations of the content relay device 3 and the karaoke device 4.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the content relay apparatus 3 includes a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, an HDD 34, a WAN communication unit 35, a LAN communication unit 36, and the like as hardware configurations.

  The CPU 31 is a device that executes control and various operations for each part of the content relay device 3 according to programs and data stored in the RAM 32 and the ROM 33, and various processes such as an acquisition list management process described later are executed by the CPU 31. The RAM 32 is a storage device used as a main memory that is directly accessed from the CPU 31. An acquisition request list described later is also stored here. The ROM 33 is a nonvolatile storage device, and stores BIOS, read-only data that is not normally updated, and the like. The HDD 34 is a storage device for storing various data such as content data and programs acquired from the host server 2.

  The WAN communication unit 35 is a communication interface for connecting the content relay apparatus 3 to the WAN 200 and communicating with the external host server 2. The LAN communication unit 36 is a communication interface for connecting the content relay device 3 to the LAN 100 and communicating with each karaoke device 4 connected to the LAN 100 in the same store.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the karaoke apparatus 4 includes a CPU 41, a RAM 42, a ROM 43, an HDD 44, an operation unit 45, a playback unit 46, an input unit 47, a LAN communication unit 48, and the like as hardware configurations.

  The CPU 41 is a device that executes control and various operations for each part of the karaoke device 4 according to programs and data stored in the RAM 42 and the ROM 43, and various processes such as a reservation table confirmation process, a content reservation process, and a content acquisition process, which will be described later, This is executed by the CPU 41. The RAM 42 is a storage device used as a main memory or the like that is directly accessed from the CPU 41. A reservation table described later is also stored here. The ROM 43 is a nonvolatile storage device, and stores BIOS, read-only data that is not normally updated, and the like. The HDD 44 is a device for storing various data such as content data such as karaoke music data and video data, and programs. The operation unit 45 is an input device for inputting various instructions from the user, and includes a plurality of key switches and the like.

  The playback unit 46 is a MIDI sound source that performs performance playback based on performance data, an audio control unit that outputs an audio signal generated from the MIDI sound source and an audio signal input from the input unit 47 to a speaker, and video playback based on image data A video playback unit for controlling the video, a monitor for displaying video, and the like. The input unit 47 is for converting a singer's singing voice into an audio signal by a microphone and inputting the voice signal to the reproduction unit 46. The LAN communication unit 48 is a communication interface for connecting the karaoke apparatus 4 to the LAN 100 to communicate with the outside.

[Description of Data Managed by Content Relay Device 3 and Karaoke Device 4]
Next, an outline of data managed by the content relay device 3 and the karaoke device 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Each karaoke device 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d (serial number: A, B, C, D) stores a reservation table and login user information in the RAM 42, respectively. In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, only an example of the detailed contents is shown only for the reservation table and login user information held by the karaoke apparatus 4a (serial number: A).

  The reservation table managed by the karaoke apparatus 4 is a list in which records of information related to reserved content for which a request from a user has been received are recorded in the order in which reservations are received (reservation order). Content playback is performed in the order of reservation. That is, the reserved content registered at the top of the reservation table is the content to be reproduced next. The record of the reproduced content is deleted from the reservation table, and the reservation order of other records in the reservation table is sequentially advanced. Further, when a new request is received from the user, a record relating to the content is registered at the bottom of the reservation table.

  In the record of each content registered in the reservation table, “reservation order” indicating the order in which reservations are accepted (that is, reproduction order), “content number” that is content identification information, and the content is stored in the own karaoke apparatus 4. Information such as “retention flag” indicating whether or not the content is stored in the HDD 44 and “reproduction time” indicating the time required for reproducing the content are recorded. Note that the possession flag is recorded as “present” for the content retained in the HDD 44, and the possession flag is recorded as “none” for the content not retained in the HDD 44. In addition, for a content for which a content acquisition request is notified to the content relay device 3, the possession flag is changed from “none” to “acquiring”. Further, the “playback time” can be read from the file data if the content is owned by the own karaoke device 4, and if it is content not owned by the own karaoke device 4, for example, an electronic quick sample May be acquired based on content information registered in advance.

  The logged-in user information stores the number of logged-in users who are currently using the karaoke apparatus 4 and a list of the users. The login to the karaoke apparatus 4 starts when a user having an account for using the karaoke network system 1 inputs a user ID and password registered in advance to the karaoke apparatus 4 and is authenticated. When the user logs in to the karaoke device 4, the user and the karaoke device 4 are associated, and the karaoke device 4 used by each user can be specified, and the number of users who are currently using the karaoke device 4. Can be identified.

  Each karaoke device 4 selects from the records registered in the reservation table the content with the highest reservation ranking among the content with the flag “None”, and sends the acquisition request information regarding the content to the content relay device 3. To send. The acquisition request information includes the serial number of the requesting karaoke apparatus 4, the reservation order of the content to be acquired, the content number, and the scheduled time until the playback order of the content (scheduled playback time) Information such as the number of users logged in to the requesting karaoke apparatus 4 is included. Note that the scheduled reproduction time is the total of the reproduction times of the content having a higher reservation order than the content to be acquired.

  The reservation table managed by the karaoke apparatus 4a (serial number: A) in FIG. 3 will be described as an example. Among the contents having the “none” flag in the reservation table, the reservation order is the highest in the order 3 Content number 300. Further, there are three login users at this time. In this case, the acquisition request information transmitted from the karaoke apparatus 4a (serial number: A) to the content relay apparatus 3 includes a serial number “A”, a reservation order “3”, a content number “300”, and a scheduled reproduction time “9”. 0:00 ”, the number of users“ 3 ”, and the like. Note that the scheduled playback time is the sum of the playback times (7:00, 2:00) of the contents of the reservation ranks 1 and 2 in the reservation table.

  The acquisition request information transmitted from each karaoke device 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d (serial number: A, B, C, D) is recorded as a list in the acquisition request list managed by the content relay device 3. In this acquisition request list, for each acquisition request record corresponding to each karaoke device 4, the serial number of the requesting karaoke device 4, the reservation order of the content subject to the acquisition request, the content number, and the reproduction schedule of the content Information such as the time and the number of logged-in users of the requesting karaoke apparatus 4 is included.

  The content relay device 3 selects content with a high acquisition priority based on a predetermined condition from the acquisition request list, and acquires the content from the host server 2 in the order of the acquisition priority. When the content acquisition is completed, the acquired content is distributed to the requesting karaoke apparatus 4 based on the serial number of the acquisition request information.

[Description of reservation table confirmation processing executed by karaoke device 4]
Next, detailed contents of the reservation table confirmation process executed by the CPU 41 of the karaoke apparatus 4 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. This process is a process that is always executed while the karaoke apparatus 4 is in operation.

  The CPU 41 of the karaoke apparatus 4 first determines whether or not a new content request reservation has been received from the user (S100). When the request reservation is not accepted (S100: NO), the process proceeds to S102. On the other hand, when the request reservation is accepted (S100: YES), the content reservation process is executed (S101), and the process proceeds to S102.

  Here, the detailed contents of the content reservation process executed in S101 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, the CPU 41 of the karaoke apparatus 4 determines whether or not the newly requested content is stored in the HDD 44 (S201). When the content is stored in the HDD 44 (S201: YES), the content holding flag is set to “present” (S202). On the other hand, if the content is not stored in the HDD 44 (S201: NO), the content holding flag is set to “none” (S203). After the possession flag is set, the record (content number, possession flag, playback time) relating to this content is registered at the bottom of the reservation table (see FIG. 3) (S204), and the content reservation process is terminated.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. Next, in S102, it is determined whether or not an instruction to change the reservation order of contents registered in the reservation table has been received from the user. When an instruction to change the content reservation order is received (S102: YES), the reservation order of the reservation table is changed, and a parameter indicating the change contents is notified to the process of content acquisition processing (described later) (S103). The process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, if an instruction to change the content reservation order has not been received (S102: NO), the process proceeds to S104.

  In S104, it is determined whether or not there is a record having a “none” flag in the reservation table. If there is no record with the possession flag “none” (S104: NO), the process returns to S100. On the other hand, when there is a record with the possession flag “none” (S104: YES), one record with the highest reservation order is selected from the records with the possession flag “none” (S105). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a record whose retention flag is “acquiring” in the reservation table (S106). If there is no record whose holding flag is “acquiring” (S106: NO), the holding flag of the record selected in S105 is set to “acquiring” (S107), and the content corresponding to that record is set as the target of the acquisition request. The content acquisition process (described later) to be started is started (S108). After the content acquisition process is started, the process returns to S100. Details of the content acquisition process will be described later.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S106 that there is a record whose holding flag is “acquiring” (S106: YES), the reservation order of the record selected in S105 and the reservation order of the record whose holding flag is “acquiring” In comparison, it is determined whether the former reservation order is earlier (whether it is higher rank) (S109). When the reservation order of the record selected in S105 is earlier (higher order) (S109: YES), a parameter with contents for interrupting the acquisition request for the content corresponding to the record whose holding flag is “acquiring” is set. The content acquisition process is notified (S110), and the process returns to S100. On the other hand, when the reservation order of the record whose holding flag is “acquiring” is earlier (higher order) (S109: NO), the process returns to S100.

  Here, the detailed content of the content acquisition process started in S108 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, the CPU 41 of the karaoke apparatus 4 transmits acquisition request information (see FIG. 3) regarding the content that is the target of the acquisition request to the content relay apparatus 3 (S300). This acquisition request information includes information such as the serial number of the own karaoke device 4, the reservation order of the content that is the target of the acquisition request, the content number, the scheduled reproduction time, and the number of logged-in users of the own karaoke device 4. Note that, after the acquisition request information is transmitted, the content relay apparatus 3 transmits the content from the content relay apparatus 3 as soon as content acquisition from the host server 2 is completed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the acquisition of the content corresponding to the acquired acquisition request information is completed (S301). If the content acquisition has not been completed (S301: NO), it is determined whether there is an instruction to interrupt the content acquisition request from the reservation table confirmation process (S303). Note that the instruction to interrupt the acquisition request is notified in S110 of the reservation table confirmation process (see FIG. 4). If there is no instruction to interrupt the content acquisition request in S303 (S303: NO), it is determined whether there is a notification that the reservation order has been changed from the reservation table confirmation process (S306). Note that the notification of changing the reservation order is notified in S103 of the reservation table confirmation process (see FIG. 4). If there is no notification of changing the reservation order in S306 (S306: NO), the process returns to S301.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S301 that the acquisition of the content corresponding to the acquisition request information is completed (S301: YES), the holding flag of the corresponding record is set to “present” in the reservation table (S302). The content acquisition process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S303 that there is an instruction to interrupt the content acquisition request (S303: YES), first, the retention flag of the record corresponding to the content being acquired in the reservation table is changed from “Acquiring” to “None”. The setting is changed (S304). And the notification which interrupts the acquisition request | requirement of applicable content is transmitted with respect to the content relay apparatus 3 (S305), and a content acquisition process is complete | finished.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S306 that there is a notification that the reservation order has been changed (S306: YES), the contents relay device 3 is notified of the change contents of the reservation table (S307), and the process returns to S301.

[Description of Acquisition Request List Management Process Performed by Content Relay Device 3]
Next, detailed contents of the acquisition request list management process executed by the CPU 31 of the content relay device 3 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. This process is a process that is always executed while the content relay device 3 is in operation.

  The CPU 31 of the content relay device 3 first determines whether or not acquisition request information has been received from the karaoke device 4 (S400). The acquisition request information is transmitted in S300 of the above-described content acquisition process (see FIG. 6). When the acquisition request information is received from the karaoke apparatus 4 (S400: YES), the received acquisition request information record is added to the acquisition request list (see FIG. 3) (S401), and the process proceeds to S402. On the other hand, when acquisition request information is not received from the karaoke apparatus 4 (S400: NO), it transfers to the process of S402.

  In S402, it is determined whether or not the content change of the reservation table is notified from the karaoke apparatus 4. Note that the content change of the reservation table is notified in S307 of the content acquisition process described above. When a change in the contents of the reservation table is notified (S402: YES), the contents of the change (reservation order, reproduction time, etc.) are reflected on the corresponding record in the acquisition request list (S403), and the process proceeds to S404. On the other hand, when the contents change of the reservation table is not notified from the karaoke apparatus 4 (S402: NO), the process proceeds to S404.

  In S404, it is determined whether a notification for interrupting the acquisition request has been received from the karaoke apparatus 4. The notification for interrupting the acquisition request is notified in S305 of the content acquisition process described above. When the notification for interrupting the acquisition request is received (S404: YES), the record corresponding to the notification is deleted from the acquisition request list (S406), and the process proceeds to S407. On the other hand, if the notification for interrupting the acquisition request has not been received from the karaoke apparatus 4 (S404: NO), whether or not there is content registered in the acquisition request list that has been downloaded from the host server 2. Is determined (S405). If there is content that has been downloaded (S405: YES), the record corresponding to the content that has been acquired is deleted from the acquisition request list (S406), and the process proceeds to S407. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no content that has been downloaded (S405: NO), the process proceeds to S407.

  In step S407, a record corresponding to the content having the highest acquisition priority based on a predetermined condition is selected from the records registered in the acquisition request list. Note that, here, the acquisition priority is set high from the content that is estimated to be early in reproduction time, but the degree of early or late reproduction time can be estimated from various viewpoints. Therefore, a selection method (selection methods 1 to 5) of five variations having different conditions for determining the acquisition priority will be described.

<Selection method 1: When priority is given to content with a high reservation order>
A specific example in which the acquisition priority is determined by the selection method 1 is shown in FIG. In the selection method 1, the acquisition priority is increased in descending order of the reservation order. Note that content registered at the top of the acquisition request list is given priority in terms of content having the same reservation order. Therefore, the acquisition priority in the example of FIG. 8A is the content number 300 (serial number: A) having the reservation order of 3 and the content number 600 (serial number) having the reservation order of 4 : C) is second, content number 700 (serial number: D), which is also ranked fourth, is third, content number 500 (serial number: B), whose ranking is fifth, is fourth. Become.

<Selection method 2: When giving priority to content with a scheduled playback time>
A specific example in which the acquisition priority is determined by the selection method 2 is shown in FIG. In the selection method 2, the acquisition priority is increased in order from the earliest scheduled reproduction time. Note that content registered at the top of the acquisition request list is given priority in terms of content with the same scheduled playback time. Accordingly, the acquisition priority in the example of FIG. 8B is the content number 500 whose content number 700 (serial number: D) with the scheduled playback time of 4:00 is first and whose content playback time is 5:00. Number (serial number: B) is second, content number 600 (serial number: C), which is also scheduled for playback at 5:00, third place, content number 300 (serial, scheduled for playback is at 9:00) Number: A) is fourth.

<Selection method 3: Priority is given to content that has a high reservation order and has a scheduled playback time>
A specific example in which the acquisition priority is determined by the selection method 3 is shown in FIG. In the selection method 3, the acquisition priority is increased in descending order of the reservation order, and the content with the same reservation order is given priority to the one with the earlier scheduled reproduction time. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 8C, the acquisition priority is the content number 300 (serial number: A), which has the reservation order No. 3, the first, the reservation order No. 4, and the scheduled reproduction time 4:00. A certain content number 700 (serial number: D) is 2nd, similarly, the reservation order is 4th, and the content number 600 (serial number: C) whose scheduled playback time is 5:00 is 3rd, and the reservation order is 5th Content number 500 (serial number: B) is the fourth place.

<Selection method 4: Priority is given to content with a high reservation order and a larger number of users>
A specific example in which the acquisition priority is determined by the selection method 4 is shown in FIG. In the selection method 4, the acquisition priority is increased in descending order of the reservation order, and the content with the same reservation order is given priority to the one with the larger number of logged-in users. Therefore, the acquisition priority in the example of FIG. 9D is the content number 300 (serial number: A) having the third reservation rank, the first rank, the fourth rank, and the number of logged-in users is five. Content number 700 (serial number: D) is second, similarly, the ranking is fourth, the number of logged-in users is four, content number 600 (serial number: C) is third, and the ranking is fifth. Content number 500 (serial number: B) is fourth.

<Selection method 5: Priority is given to content with a scheduled playback time and a larger number of users>
A specific example in which the acquisition priority is determined by the selection method 5 is shown in FIG. In the selection method 5, the acquisition priority is increased in order from the earliest scheduled playback time, and the content with the same number of logged-in users is prioritized among the content with the same scheduled playback time. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 9E, the acquisition priority is the content number 700 (serial number: D) with the scheduled playback time of 4:00, the first ranking, the scheduled playback time of 5:00, and the number of logged-in users. Content number 600 (serial number: C) with 4 people is 2nd, and similarly, content number 500 (serial number: B) with the scheduled playback time of 5:00 and 2 logged-in users is 3rd, scheduled to play Content number 300 (serial number: A) with a time of 9:00 is fourth.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. After selecting a record corresponding to the content with the highest acquisition priority in S407, it is determined whether the selected content is currently being downloaded from the host server 2 (S408). If the selected content is being downloaded (S408: YES), the process returns to S400. On the other hand, if the selected content is not being downloaded (S408: NO), it is determined whether other content is being downloaded from the host server 2 (S409). If it is determined that no other content is being downloaded (S409: NO), download for acquiring the content with the highest acquisition priority selected in S407 from the host server 2 is started (S411), and the process returns to S400.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S409 that other content is being downloaded from the host server 2 (S409: YES), the download of the other content is interrupted (S410), and the content with the highest acquisition priority selected in S407 is selected. Downloading acquired from the host server 2 is started (S411). After the download is started, the process returns to S400.

  Here, a specific example of correspondence when the reservation order of the contents registered in the acquisition request list is changed will be described with reference to FIG. In the case shown in FIG. 10, the content acquisition priority is set higher in the order of the reservation order in the acquisition request list (adopting the selection method 1 described above).

  In the acquisition request list shown in the upper part of FIG. 10 before the reservation order is changed, the acquisition priority of content number 700 (serial number: D) having the fourth reservation order is third. In this state, when the reservation order change information notifying that the reservation order of the 700th content has been changed to the first place is received from the karaoke apparatus 4d with the serial number D, according to the contents of the reservation order change information. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 10, the contents of the acquisition request list are modified. As a result, the 700th content (serial number: D), whose initial reservation rank is 4th and acquisition priority is 3rd, is changed to the 1st acquisition priority when the reservation rank is 1st. Accordingly, the acquisition priority of other contents is also changed sequentially. As a result, the content to be acquired from the host server 2 is changed from the 300th content to the 700th content.

  Next, the correspondence between the configuration of the karaoke network system 1 of the above embodiment and the configuration described in the claims will be described. The CPU 41 of the karaoke apparatus 4 in the embodiment corresponds to the retained information recording means, the acquisition request means, and the changing means in the claims. The RAM 32 of the content relay device 3 corresponds to a storage unit. The CPU 31 of the content relay apparatus 3 corresponds to an acquisition request list management unit and a selection unit. Further, the CPU 31 and the WAN communication unit 35 of the content relay device 3 correspond to an acquisition unit. Further, the CPU 31 and the LAN communication unit 36 of the content relay device 3 correspond to distribution means.

[effect]
According to the karaoke network system 1 of the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The content relay device 3 that has received the acquisition request information from each karaoke device 4 in the karaoke store acquires from the host server 2 with priority from the content with the highest acquisition priority based on the content playback time, Can be distributed to the karaoke apparatus 4. Therefore, the karaoke apparatus 4 can preferentially acquire the content with the early reproduction time, and can effectively reduce the waiting time until the acquisition of the content to be reproduced is completed. Further, since each individual karaoke device 4 does not directly acquire content from the host server 2, the communication load of the WAN 200 can be suppressed.

  (2) The reservation order in the reservation table can be used as a condition for specifying the acquisition priority based on the content reproduction time (the selection method 1). In this way, the karaoke apparatus 4 can preferentially acquire content that has a high reservation order, that is, the playback time is approaching, and effectively waits until the acquisition of the content to be played back is completed. Can be reduced.

  (3) As a condition for specifying the acquisition priority based on the playback time of the content, the scheduled playback time until the playback of the content can be used (the selection method 2). In this way, the karaoke apparatus 4 can preferentially acquire the content whose reproduction time is short, that is, the reproduction time is approaching, and effectively waits until the acquisition of the content to be reproduced is completed. Can be reduced. Note that the acquisition priority can be determined more strictly by using the scheduled reproduction time calculated based on the reproduction time length of the reserved content.

  (4) As a condition for specifying the acquisition priority based on the playback time of the content, the content reservation order and the scheduled playback time can be used together (the selection method 3). By doing in this way, the priority of content acquisition can be determined more precisely, and the waiting time until the acquisition of the content to be played back can be further effectively reduced.

  (5) As a condition for specifying the acquisition priority based on the playback time of the content, the content reservation order and the number of logged-in users can be used together (the selection method 4). Alternatively, the scheduled reproduction time of content and the number of logged-in users can be used together (the selection method 5). By doing in this way, when the order of reservation and the scheduled reproduction time are the same among a plurality of contents, the contents requested by the karaoke apparatus 4 with the larger number of logged-in users can be acquired preferentially. In this way, by giving preferential treatment to the karaoke apparatus 4 with many users, more users can enjoy a good service, and the quality of service in the entire karaoke store is improved.

  (6) When the content reservation order is changed in the karaoke apparatus 4, the content acquisition priority can be modified according to the changed content. By doing in this way, even if the acquisition priority fluctuates as a result of the user changing the reservation order in the reservation table, the content relay device 3 can change the acquisition target content accordingly. Therefore, even if the user changes the reservation order, the contents can be acquired in the optimum priority order corresponding to the reservation order, and convenience is improved.

[Modification]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment at all, It is possible to implement in various aspects.

  For example, the content relay device 3 of the above embodiment has a configuration in which only one content with the highest acquisition priority is selected at a time from the acquisition request list and the content is acquired from the host server 2. On the other hand, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of contents are selected at a time in descending order of acquisition priority and the plurality of contents are acquired from the host server 2 at the same time. In this case, it is conceivable to determine the number of contents to be selected simultaneously as acquisition targets based on the number of contents that can be downloaded simultaneously from the host server 2 by the content relay device 3. Moreover, the structure which enables it to change the number of the content downloaded simultaneously according to the communication load condition of a network may be sufficient.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Karaoke network system, 2 ... Host server, 3 ... Content relay apparatus, 4 ... Karaoke apparatus, 24, 34, 44 ... Hard disk drive (HDD) 31, 41 ... CPU, 32, 42 ... RAM, 33, 43 ... ROM, 35 ... WAN communication unit, 36, 48 ... LAN communication unit, 45 ... operation unit, 46 ... reproduction unit, 47 ... input unit.

Claims (8)

A plurality of karaoke devices that reproduce content including at least karaoke music, and one content relay device that receives content distribution from a content distribution host server and distributes the content to other karaoke devices are provided in the karaoke store. In a karaoke network system that is communicably connected via a network,
The karaoke device
Reservation of content to be played back is received from the user, and a reservation table including a list of the reserved content and including information regarding each content identification information and when each content is played back is managed,
A holding information recording means for determining whether or not the own karaoke apparatus holds content for which a reservation for reproduction has been received from a user, and recording the determination result as holding information in association with the record of the content in the reservation table; ,
Based on the reservation table in which the possession information of each content is recorded by the possession information recording means, the content of the predetermined condition with the earliest reproduction time among the contents not possessed by the own karaoke apparatus is specified as the acquisition request target. An acquisition request means for transmitting the acquisition request information including the identification information of the acquisition request target content, the information regarding the reproduction time of the content, and the identification information of the own karaoke device to the content relay device,
The content relay device
Storage means for storing an acquisition request list that is a list of the acquisition request information transmitted from each karaoke device;
When the acquisition request information is received from the karaoke device, it is added to the acquisition request list, and when the acquisition of content from the host server is completed, a record of the acquisition request information corresponding to the content is received in the acquisition request The acquisition request list management means for deleting from the list;
Selecting means for selecting the content to be acquired from the host server in order from a predetermined condition whose reproduction start time is early among the contents being registered in the acquisition request list stored in the storage means;
Acquisition means for acquiring content to be acquired selected by the selection means from a host server;
A distribution unit that distributes the content acquired by the acquisition unit to the corresponding karaoke device based on the identification information of the karaoke device in the corresponding acquisition request information;
Furthermore, the karaoke device
After the acquisition request information is transmitted, when the content corresponding to the acquisition request information is received from the content relay device, the content of the retained information related to the received content in the reservation table is changed to that the content is retained A karaoke network system characterized by comprising a changing means. The karaoke network system according to claim 1,
In the karaoke device,
As the predetermined condition relating to the playback time of each content in the reservation table, a reservation order indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played back is recorded in the reservation table,
The acquisition requesting unit specifies one content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, identification information of the content of the acquisition request target, and the reservation order of the content And the acquisition request information including the identification information of the own karaoke device is transmitted to the content relay device,
In the content relay device,
The karaoke network system characterized in that the selection means selects contents to be acquired in descending order of reservation order. The karaoke network system according to claim 1,
In the karaoke device,
As the predetermined condition relating to the playback timing of each content in the reservation table, a reservation order indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played back, and information indicating the playback time length of each content are set in the reservation. Record on the table,
The acquisition request means identifies the content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, and identifies the content of the acquisition request target content and reserves the content. Sending acquisition request information including information indicating the scheduled playback time that is the sum of the playback time lengths of the high-rank content and identification information of the own karaoke device to the content relay device,
In the content relay device,
The karaoke network system, wherein the selection means selects the content to be acquired in order from the shortest scheduled reproduction time. The karaoke network system according to claim 1,
In the karaoke device,
As the predetermined condition relating to the playback timing of each content in the reservation table, a reservation order indicating the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played back, and information indicating the playback time length of each content are set in the reservation. Record on the table,
The acquisition requesting unit specifies one content having the highest reservation order among the contents not owned by the own karaoke apparatus as an acquisition request target, identification information of the content of the acquisition request target, and the reservation order of the content And acquisition request information including information indicating the scheduled playback time that is the sum of the playback time lengths of the content having a higher reservation order than the content, and identification information of the own karaoke device, is transmitted to the content relay device. ,
In the content relay device,
The selection means selects the contents to be acquired in descending order of the reservation order, and, for contents having the same reservation order, preferentially selects the content with the shorter scheduled playback time. Karaoke network system. The karaoke network system according to claim 2,
In the karaoke device,
A user number specifying means for specifying the number of users who are currently using the own karaoke device;
The acquisition request unit includes identification information of content to be acquired, information indicating the reservation order of the content, identification information of the own karaoke apparatus, and information indicating the number of users specified by the user number specifying unit, To the content relay device, the acquisition request information including
In the content relay device,
The selection means selects content to be acquired in descending order of reservation order, and, for content having the same reservation order, preferentially selects content corresponding to the karaoke device having the larger number of users. A karaoke network system characterized by The karaoke network system according to claim 3,
In the karaoke device,
A user number specifying means for specifying the number of users who are currently using the own karaoke device;
The acquisition request unit includes identification information of content to be acquired, information indicating a reproduction time that is a total reproduction time length of content having a higher reservation order than the content, identification information of the own karaoke device, Transmitting acquisition request information including information indicating the number of users specified by the user number specifying means to the content relay device,
In the content relay device,
The selection means selects the content to be acquired in order from the shortest scheduled playback time, and prioritizes the content corresponding to the karaoke device with the larger number of users for the same scheduled playback time. A karaoke network system characterized by the selection. The karaoke network system according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
In the karaoke device,
The reservation order, which is the order in which each content registered in the reservation table is played, is configured to be changeable based on an operation instruction from the user,
After the acquisition request information is transmitted to the content relay device, the acquisition request means changes the reservation order in the reservation table in the acquisition request state in which reception of the content is incomplete. When content with a higher reservation order than the content for which acquisition is requested occurs, a notification for canceling the acquisition request for the content for which acquisition is requested is transmitted to the content relay device, and a new event is generated by changing the reservation order. Transmitting the acquisition request information related to the content having the higher reservation order to the content relay device;
In the content relay device,
When the acquisition list management means receives a notification for canceling the content acquisition request from the karaoke device, the acquisition list management means deletes the record of the acquisition request information corresponding to the notification from the acquisition request list and newly starts the karaoke device. Adding the received acquisition request information to the acquisition request list;
The selection means reselects the content to be acquired based on the content of the acquisition request list that has been changed due to cancellation of the content acquisition request,
The acquisition unit acquires the content to be acquired selected by the selection unit from the host server, and if content other than the content to be acquired is being acquired at that time, it is not the acquisition target Karaoke network system characterized by interrupting content acquisition. A content relay device that receives content distribution from a host server for content distribution and distributes the content to a plurality of karaoke devices that are communicably connected via a network in the karaoke store,
The content relay device
The acquisition request received from each karaoke device that transmits the acquisition request information including the identification information of the content to be acquired, the information regarding the playback time of the content, and the identification information of the karaoke device from which the content was requested to be acquired Storage means for storing an acquisition request list that is a list of information;
When the acquisition request information is received from the karaoke device, it is added to the acquisition request list, and when the acquisition of content from the host server is completed, a record of the acquisition request information corresponding to the content is received in the acquisition request The acquisition request list management means for deleting from the list;
Selecting means for selecting the content to be acquired from the host server in order from a predetermined condition whose reproduction start time is early among the contents being registered in the acquisition request list stored in the storage means;
Acquisition means for acquiring content to be acquired selected by the selection means from a host server;
A content relay apparatus comprising: distribution means for distributing content acquired by the acquisition means to the corresponding karaoke apparatus based on identification information of the karaoke apparatus in corresponding acquisition request information.

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