JP6389407B2 - Content sharing system and content sharing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content sharing system and a content sharing method that make it possible to share HTML content related to program content between receivers.

  With the spread of digital broadcasting, fusion of broadcasting and communication has been realized, and in recent years, a service called hybrid cast (registered trademark) has been provided. In the hybrid cast, it is possible to provide a service that satisfies both the broadcast property that is a feature of broadcasting and the individual correspondence that is a feature of communication.

  Specifically, in the hybrid cast, the TV program based on the broadcast signal and the hybrid cast HTML content related to the TV program are combined and displayed on a receiver such as a TV, for example, only the TV program. Then, individual information that is insufficient is supplemented with HTML content.

  By the way, in order to acquire the HTML content, the receiver needs to access the server via the Internet or the like. Usually, since a broadcast schedule is determined for a television program, there is a concern that access to a server will be concentrated when acquiring HTML content related to the television program in hybrid cast.

In this regard, Section 7.7.2 of Non-Patent Document 1 that defines hybrid cast specifications describes that access timing is distributed by controlling access using a probabilistic application delay descriptor.
Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for distributing access timing to a server for each user group by including a server access date and time for each user group in a broadcast signal.

IPTVFJ STD-0010 version 1.0 "IPTV regulations broadcast communication system specification"

JP2013-077785A

  The methods in Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1 focus on distributing the access timing to the server. However, the service performed over a wide range, such as hybrid cast, has an enormous number of users, and thus is effective. It is assumed that it is limited. In particular, considering commercial operation, it is naturally assumed that the server is operated with a small number (one) of servers. Therefore, if the access timing is distributed, access is concentrated on the server and the server load is reduced. I can't.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a content sharing system and a content sharing method that prevent concentration of access to a server and reduce the server load. .

  In the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing system for sharing content related to program content among a plurality of receivers, and the acquired receiver that has already acquired the content in association with the type of the content When receiving a request from a non-acquired receiver that has not acquired the content, a management table that stores information, a determination unit that determines the load status of the acquired receiver, and the non-acquired A specifying unit that specifies an acquired receiver that communicates with a receiver; and a notification unit that notifies the acquired receiver that has been specified to the non-acquired receiver, the receiver being notified A content sharing system including a content acquisition unit that acquires the content from the acquired receiver is provided.

  Further, the determination unit may determine the load status of the acquired receiver based on the number of times notified to the non-acquired receiver by the notification unit.

  In addition, the determination unit may determine the load status of the acquired receiver based on a capacity of content distributed by the acquired receiver to the non-acquired receiver.

  In addition, a monitoring unit that monitors the communication status of the receiver may be further provided, and the determination unit may determine the load status based on the communication status monitored by the monitoring unit.

  The determination unit may determine the load status based on a predicted status of the receiver at a predetermined timing predicted from a history of the communication status monitored by the monitoring unit.

  The identification unit further includes a relationship table that stores a relationship between the unacquired receiver identified by the identification unit and the acquired receiver, and the identification unit relates to the unacquired receiver in the relationship table. The attached receiver may be specified as a receiver that communicates with the unacquired receiver.

  Further, upon receiving the request from the non-acquisition receiver, the specifying unit associates the non-acquisition receiver with the non-acquisition receiver in the relationship table and acquires the unacquired receiver. It is good also as specifying as an already acquired receiver which communicates with a receiver.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing method for sharing content related to program content among a plurality of receivers, the acquired receiver having already acquired the content in association with the type of the content A management server having a management table for storing the step of determining the load status of the acquired receiver, and receiving a request from an unacquired receiver that has not acquired the content, based on the load status A step of identifying an acquired receiver that communicates with the unacquired receiver, a step of notifying the specified acquired receiver to the unacquired receiver, and a notification executed by the receiver And acquiring the content from the acquired receiver that has been acquired.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can prevent that an access concentrates on a server and can reduce a server load.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of a content sharing system. It is a figure which shows an example of the system aspect which implement | achieves a content sharing system. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the television receiver and management server of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a management table. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of a content sharing system. It is a figure which shows the operation example of a content sharing system. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a route notification process. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the television receiver and management server of 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the management server of 3rd Embodiment, and a figure which shows an example of the relationship table memorize | stored in the said management server.

[Outline of content sharing system S]
First, the outline of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the content sharing system S. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the content sharing system S includes a broadcasting station 1, a television receiver 2, a management server 3, and a content server 4.

  The broadcast station 1 transmits a broadcast signal including program content by an arbitrary method using the broadcast facility 1A. The broadcasting facility 1A is a broadcasting facility for digital broadcasting or cable television broadcasting, and superimposes a broadcast signal on a broadcast wave and transmits it via a broadcasting antenna or an optical cable. The broadcast station 1 may include a communication facility for VOD (Video On Demand) distribution in addition to the broadcast facility 1A.

Here, in addition to the program content, the broadcast signal includes various digital data for complementing the program content, information for starting the hybrid cast, and the like. The program content is content indicating the content of a broadcast program, and includes video and audio.
The information for starting the hybrid cast is, for example, an AIT (Application Information Table). In the AIT, a list of one or a plurality of applications (hereinafter referred to as “HTML content”) executed in cooperation with program content is described. In this list, various information such as an HTML content ID, an HTML content name, and location information indicating the location of the content server 4 that provides the HTML content are described.

  The television receiver 2 includes a set top box and a display device, analyzes a broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station 1, converts it into a signal such as video and audio, and displays it as program content. The television receiver 2 is communicably connected to an external device via the Internet N. In the present embodiment, the television receiver 2 is communicably connected to other television receivers 2 in addition to the management server 3 and the content server 4.

  The management server 3 manages the acquisition status of HTML content in the plurality of television receivers 2. More specifically, when there is a television receiver 2 from which HTML content has been acquired, the management server 3 manages location information indicating the location of the television receiver 2.

  The content server 4 is a content distribution server that distributes HTML content for hybrid casting, and is communicably connected to a plurality of television receivers 2 via the Internet N. The content server 4 manages the HTML content and distributes the HTML content in response to a request from the television receiver 2.

  In the content sharing system S configured as described above, the user of the television receiver 2 may desire to browse HTML content related to the program content while viewing the program content. In such a case, the television receiver 2 normally accesses the content server 4 based on the location information of the HTML content included in the AIT, and acquires the HTML content.

  On the other hand, in the content sharing system S of the present embodiment, the television receiver 2 accesses the management server 3 regardless of the location information of the AIT, and other televisions that have acquired the HTML content to be acquired. It is confirmed whether or not the receiver 2 exists. When there is another television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content, the television receiver 2 does not access the content server 4, and the so-called P2P (peer to peer) method is used from the other television receiver 2. HTML content is acquired by the above.

  Thereby, since the television receiver 2 does not access the content server 4, the load on the content server 4 can be reduced without concentration of access to the content server 4.

[System mode example of content sharing system S]
FIG. 2 shows a preferred system mode example of the content sharing system S as described above. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system aspect of the content sharing system S. As shown in FIG. 2, the content sharing system S of the present invention can be suitably used in a cable television system, for example.

In a cable TV system, a cable TV station and each user's house are connected by an optical cable, a coaxial cable, etc., and the cable TV station receives a broadcast wave transmitted from the broadcast station 1 and distributes it to each user's house. Watch content. In the present embodiment, a network formed by an optical cable connecting a cable television station and each user's house is called a cable network.
In the cable television system, generally, in addition to the television broadcast, a complex service including an Internet connection and a telephone is provided. The Internet connection in the cable television system is performed by accessing the Internet N through the cable network.

When the content sharing system S of the present invention is applied to such a cable television system, the content server 4 is a server on the Internet, and is therefore installed outside the cable network.
On the other hand, the management server 3 can be installed in an arbitrary place. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the management server 3 may be provided inside the cable network, or provided on the Internet like the content server 4. It is good. When provided inside the cable network, the control between the management server 3 and the television receiver 2 can be completed within the cable network, which is preferable.

  As described above, an example of the system aspect of the content sharing system S is shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and the content sharing system S of the present invention is a television system other than a cable television system, that is, a normal television broadcast that provides a broadcast program using radio waves, the Internet, or the like. The present invention can also be applied to a television system such as an IP broadcast that provides a broadcast program via N.

[First Embodiment]
Next, a first embodiment of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[Functional configuration of television receiver 2 and management server 3]
First, the functional configuration of the television receiver 2 and the management server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the television receiver 2, and FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the management server 3.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the television receiver 2 includes a storage unit 21, a display unit 22, a communication unit 23, and a control unit 24.
The storage unit 21 is configured by, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 21 stores various programs and various data for causing the television receiver 2 to function. In addition, the storage unit 21 stores location information (a management server 3 location information in this embodiment) of the management table 311 described later, and HTML content acquired from the content server 4 and the like.

  The display unit 22 includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and the like, and displays program content and HTML content based on the control of the control unit 24.

  The communication unit 23 is connected to an external device via a predetermined communication line, and performs predetermined communication with the external device. As an example, the communication unit 23 receives a broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station 1 (cable television station) via a broadcast network or a cable network. The communication unit 23 is communicably connected to the content server 4 via the Internet N, and receives HTML content from the content server 4.

  The communication unit 23 is communicably connected to another television receiver 2 and the management server 3 via a cable network or the Internet N. The television receiver 2 receives the location information of the other television receivers 2 for which the HTML content has been acquired from the management server 3 and transmits information regarding whether or not the HTML content has been acquired to the management server 3. The television receiver 2 transmits and receives HTML content to and from other television receivers 2.

The control unit 24 is configured by a CPU, for example. The control unit 24 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 21 so as to comprehensively control functions related to the television receiver 2 and functions as a connection destination acquisition unit 241 and a content acquisition unit 242.
In the television receiver 2 compatible with hybrid cast as in this embodiment, the control unit 24 analyzes the broadcast signal received via the communication unit 23, adds the broadcast signal to video data and audio data, and adds AIT and subtitles. Separated into various data such as data. Further, the control unit 24 appropriately decodes these various data and outputs the program content from the display unit 22. Note that the video data and audio data of the present embodiment correspond to data corresponding to the program content of the present invention.

The connection destination acquisition unit 241 receives a broadcast signal (more specifically, when the user selects the start of hybrid cast, or when the television receiver 2 is set to automatically start hybrid cast). When the broadcast signal is received automatically), the management table 311 is accessed, and information on the other television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content specified by the AIT included in the broadcast signal is acquired from the management table 311. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, since the management table 311 is provided in the management server 3, the connection destination acquisition unit 241 accesses the management table 311 of the management server 3 and is designated. Information about another television receiver 2 that has acquired HTML content is acquired.
The other television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content corresponds to the already acquired receiver of the present invention, and the TV receiver 2 that does not acquire the HTML content corresponds to the unacquired receiver of the present invention. .

  Normally, when acquiring HTML content in hybrid cast, the television receiver 2 accesses the content server 4 according to the location information described in the AIT. In this regard, in this embodiment, the television receiver 2 (connection destination acquisition unit 241) first accesses the management table 311 before accessing the content server 4 regardless of the description of the AIT, and loads the content server 4 To alleviate. The location information of the management table 311 is stored in the storage unit 21 in advance.

  When the connection destination acquisition unit 241 accesses the management table 311, based on various information such as the HTML content name to be acquired and the HTML content ID, the type and location information of other television receivers 2 that have acquired the HTML content. Are acquired from the management table 311.

  The content acquisition unit 242 acquires HTML content specified by the AIT included in the broadcast signal. Specifically, when there is another TV receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content to be acquired, the content acquisition unit 242 receives the HTML from the other TV receiver 2 specified by the connection destination acquisition unit 241. Get content. On the other hand, when there is no other television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content to be acquired, the content acquisition unit 242 accesses the content server 4 according to the location information specified by the AIT, and the content server 4 Get HTML content.

  Next, the configuration of the management server 3 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the management server 3 includes a storage unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a control unit 33.

The storage unit 31 is configured by, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 31 stores various programs and various data for causing the management server 3 to function. The storage unit 31 stores a management table 311.
Here, the management table 311 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the management table 311.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the management table 311 is associated with the type of HTML content, the storage expiration date of the HTML content, the television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content, and the location information of the television receiver 2. Etc. are stored. The location information of the television receiver 2 may be logical location information (IP address) or physical location information (ZIP code). Further, the management table 311 may store the capacity of the HTML content together with the type of HTML content.

Returning to FIG. 3B, the communication unit 32 is connected to an external device via a predetermined communication line, and performs predetermined communication with the external device. As an example, the communication unit 32 is communicably connected to the television receiver 2 via a cable network or the Internet N. The management server 3 notifies the television receiver 2 of the other television receivers 2 for which the HTML content has been acquired. When an event for the HTML content occurs in the television receiver 2, the television receiver 2 notifies the television receiver 2 of the fact. Get notified.
The event for the HTML content is a change in the storage state of the HTML content, such as acquisition of the HTML content, deletion of the HTML content, or the like. When the television receiver 2 acquires the HTML content, the television receiver 2 notifies the management server 3 of various types of information including the type of the acquired HTML content and the storage expiration date of the HTML content, for example. The management server 3 updates the management table 311 based on these pieces of information. Note that the storage expiration date of HTML content can be acquired by any method. As an example, the television receiver 2 may acquire the storage expiration date from the expiration date described in the AIT, or may acquire the storage expiration date from the expiration date set in the acquired HTML content. Good.

  The control part 33 is comprised by CPU, for example. The control unit 33 comprehensively controls the functions related to the management server 3 by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 31, as a determination unit 331, a specification unit 332, a notification unit 333, and an update unit 334. Function.

The determination unit 331 determines the load status (communication load status in this embodiment) of the television receiver 2 that has already acquired the HTML content stored in the management table 311. Specifically, the determination unit 331 determines the number of HTML contents being distributed by the already acquired television receiver 2, the capacity of the HTML content being distributed, the actual communication status of the already acquired television receiver 2, and the predicted communication. Whether or not the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2 exceeds a predetermined load based on at least one of the situation and the time from when the unacquired television receiver 2 requests HTML content until it is obtained Determine whether.
Note that the timing at which the determination unit 331 determines the communication load status is arbitrary, and the determination unit 331 determines the communication load status at a timing when a request is received from the television receiver 2 that has not acquired HTML content, for example. It is also possible to determine the communication load status at an arbitrary timing unrelated to the request.

<Communication load determination based on the number of HTML contents being distributed>
In the content sharing system S, the unacquired television receiver 2 acquires the HTML content from the acquired television receiver 2 to reduce the load on the content server 4. In this regard, when the already-acquired television receiver 2 has already distributed HTML content to many unacquired television receivers 2, the new unacquired television receiver 2 is connected to the already-acquired television receiver 2. Requesting HTML content from the receiver 2 increases the load on the acquired television receiver 2. Further, since the acquisition of HTML content is delayed even for an unacquired television receiver 2, it is desirable to avoid such an already-acquired television receiver 2.
Therefore, in the content sharing system S, the determination unit 331 counts the number of HTML contents being distributed based on the number of times the notification unit 333 has notified the unacquired television receiver 2 and receives the already-acquired television reception. The communication load status of the machine 2 is determined. That is, the determination unit 331 determines that the already acquired television receiver 2 with a large number of notifications by the notification unit 333 has a large number of HTML contents being distributed and an increase in communication load. Note that the determination unit 331 may determine the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2 based on the number of notifications in a predetermined period. Here, the predetermined period is, for example, an arbitrary period immediately before the timing when the unacquired television receiver 2 makes a request.

  As a result, the already acquired television receiver 2 does not communicate with many unacquired television receivers 2 at the same time, so the communication load can be reduced. In addition, since the television receiver 2 that has not been acquired does not communicate with another television receiver 2 with an increased load, the HTML content can be acquired at an early stage, which is preferable.

<Communication load determination based on the capacity of HTML content being distributed>
Similarly, when a large amount of HTML content is distributed from the already acquired television receiver 2, the new unacquired television receiver 2 requests the HTML content from the already acquired television receiver 2. As a result, the load on the television receiver 2 already acquired increases.
Therefore, in the content sharing system S, the determination unit 331 determines the acquired television receiver 2 based on the capacity of the HTML content distributed to the unacquired television receiver 2 by the acquired television receiver 2. The communication load status is determined. That is, the determination unit 331 determines that the already acquired television receiver 2 having a large capacity of the HTML content being distributed has an increased communication load.

  Thereby, the communication load of the already acquired television receiver 2 can be suppressed, and the unacquired television receiver 2 can acquire HTML content at an early stage, which is preferable.

<Communication load judgment based on actual communication status>
In addition, depending on the environment of the user's home where the already acquired television receiver 2 is provided, the communication load has already increased even though HTML content is not distributed to other television receivers 2 There is. For example, in a situation where an Internet video is being browsed at a user's home or an online game is being played, communication is possible even if the already acquired television receiver 2 in the user's home does not deliver HTML content. The load has increased. If the new unacquired television receiver 2 requests the HTML content from the already-acquired television receiver 2 provided in the user's home, the acquisition of the HTML content is delayed.
Therefore, in the content sharing system S, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the determination unit 331 performs communication of the acquired television receiver 2 (more specifically, the user's home where the television receiver 2 is provided). A monitoring unit 335 for monitoring the situation is provided, and the communication load status of the television receiver 2 already acquired is determined based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 335. As the communication status monitored by the monitoring unit 335, uplink / downlink throughput, traffic amount, and round trip time (RTT) of the already-received television receiver 2 can be used.

  Thereby, since the unacquired television receiver 2 does not obtain HTML content from the already obtained television receiver 2 having a high communication load, it is possible to obtain the HTML content at an early stage, which is preferable. Note that the determination unit 331 is based on the communication status of the acquired television receiver 2 within a predetermined period, that is, the communication status of an arbitrary period immediately before the timing when the unacquired television receiver 2 makes a request, It is preferable to determine the communication load status of the already acquired television receiver 2.

<Communication load determination based on predicted communication status>
Further, the communication status at the user's home may have a certain tendency. For example, in the first user's house, the communication load increases from 19:00 to 22:00 on Monday, and in the second user's house, the communication load tends to increase from 22:00 to 24:00 on Monday. In such a case, it is not preferable to acquire HTML content from the television receiver 2 at the first user's house between 19:00 and 22:00 on Monday, and similarly, the second user is between 22:00 and 24:00 on Monday. It is not preferable to acquire HTML content from the home television receiver 2.
Therefore, in the content sharing system S, the determination unit 331 determines the communication load status based on the communication load of the already acquired television receiver 2 at a predetermined timing, which is predicted from the communication status history monitored by the monitoring unit 335. judge. That is, the determination unit 331 determines that the communication load is increased for the already-acquired television receiver 2 from which the communication load is predicted to increase in the future from the history of past communication conditions, and determines the acquisition destination of the HTML content. Try to avoid doing.

  As a result, the unacquired television receiver 2 does not acquire HTML content from the already acquired television receiver 2 that is expected to increase the communication load. It is.

<Communication load determination based on the time required to acquire HTML content>
Further, when the communication load of the already acquired television receiver 2 is increasing, the time required for the unacquired television receiver 2 to acquire HTML content from the already acquired television receiver 2 becomes longer.
Therefore, the determination unit 331 determines whether or not the acquired television receiver 2 is communicating with the acquired television receiver 2 based on the time required from the time when the unacquired television receiver 2 requests the HTML content to actually acquire the HTML content. The communication load status of the receiver 2 may be determined. That is, the determination unit 331 determines that the already acquired television receiver 2 that has taken a long time to acquire the HTML content by the unacquired television receiver 2 has an increased communication load.

  When receiving the request from the television receiver 2 that has not acquired the HTML content, the specifying unit 332 determines the television receiver 2 that has not yet acquired the HTML content based on the communication load status of the other television receiver 2 that has already acquired the HTML content. The acquired television receiver 2 that communicates with the device is specified. Specifically, the specifying unit 332 avoids the already-acquired television receiver 2 determined by the determining unit 331 that the communication load situation is increasing, and acquires an already-acquired television receiver other than the television receiver 2. 2 is identified as the acquired television receiver 2 that communicates with the unacquired television receiver 2.

  The notification unit 333 notifies the requesting unacquired television receiver 2 of the location information of the already acquired other television receiver 2 identified by the identifying unit 332.

When receiving an event occurrence notification from the television receiver 2, the update unit 334 updates the management table 311 according to the content of the notification. As an example, upon receiving a notification that the HTML content has been acquired from the television receiver 2, the update unit 334 manages a record indicating that the television receiver 2 is the television receiver 2 from which the HTML content has been acquired. 311 is added. In addition, when receiving a notification that the HTML content has been deleted from the television receiver 2, the update unit 334 receives a record indicating that the television receiver 2 is the television receiver 2 from which the HTML content has been acquired from the management table 311. delete.
Further, the update unit 334 deletes the record from the management table 311 when the storage expiration date of the HTML content has passed.

[Operation of Content Sharing System S]
The configuration of the content sharing system S of the present invention has been described above. Next, the operation of the content sharing system S will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the content sharing system S, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation example of the content sharing system S.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the television receiver 2A and the television receiver 2B access the management server 3 and perform prior device authentication (step S1). Thereafter, hybrid cast broadcasting starts. As shown in FIG. 6A, the television receiver 2 analyzes the broadcast signal of the hybrid cast broadcast and extracts the AIT. This AIT describes “HTML content A” and “location information B” indicating its location (URL), and “cache information descriptor” indicating whether or not the content is storable content. Shall.

  When the user of the television receiver 2A wants to watch the hybrid cast broadcast (takes a user action necessary for receiving the hybrid cast broadcast) and the received AIT includes a “cache information descriptor”, in step S2 The television receiver 2A accesses the management table 311 of the management server 3 and inquires whether or not “HTML content A” has been acquired in the other television receivers 2. As shown in FIG. 6A, since there is no other television receiver 2 that has already acquired “HTML content A” at the time of step S2, the management server 3 receives the television reception in step S3. Notify the machine 2A. Note that if the “cache information descriptor” is not included in the AIT, the HTML content cannot be stored, so the television receiver 2A makes a content acquisition request to the content server 4 without accessing the management server 3. Do.

  When the notification from the management server 3 in step S3 is received, in step S4, the television receiver 2A refers to the “location information B” obtained from the AIT, accesses the content server 4, and selects “HTML content A”. Request. Upon receiving this request, the content server 4 distributes “HTML content A” to the television receiver 2A.

When the “HTML content A” is received from the content server 4, the television receiver 2A stores the acquired “HTML content A” in step S5. Subsequently, since an event about whether or not the HTML content is acquired has occurred, the television receiver 2A notifies the management server 3 of the fact in step S6.
As an example, the television receiver 2A notifies the management server 3 of the name (ID) of the television receiver 2A, the name (ID) of the acquired HTML content, the capacity of the HTML content, and the storage expiration date of the HTML content. . Further, the television receiver 2A notifies the management server 3 of information (IP address, port number, NAT type, etc.) necessary for communicating with the television receiver 2A by the P2P method.

  When the notification is received from the television receiver 2A, the management server 3 updates the management table 311 in step S7. Thus, the management server 3 manages that the television receiver 2A has already acquired “HTML content A”.

Thereafter, when the user of the television receiver 2B wants to watch the hybrid cast broadcast (takes a user action necessary for receiving the hybrid cast broadcast), and the received AIT includes a “cache information descriptor”, the step In S <b> 8, the television receiver 2 </ b> B accesses the management table 311 of the management server 3, and inquires whether “HTML content A” has been acquired in the other television receiver 2.
As shown in FIG. 6B, since the television receiver 2A has acquired “HTML content A” at the time of step S8, the management server 3 has already communicated with the television receiver 2B in step S9. The acquired television receiver 2 is specified and notified to the television receiver 2B. In other words, the management server 3 notifies the television receivers 2A and 2B of routing information (both IP addresses, port numbers, NAT type, etc.) in order to set a route to the television receiver 2A.
In this process, as described above, the management server 3 specifies the acquired television receiver 2 that communicates with the television receiver 2B based on the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

  When the route between the television receivers 2A and 2B is set based on the routing information notified from the management server 3, the television receiver 2B sends “HTML content A” to the television receiver 2A in step S10. Request. Upon receiving this request, in step S11, the television receiver 2A delivers “HTML content A” to the television receiver 2B. Thereby, the television receiver 2 </ b> B can acquire “HTML content A” without accessing the content server 4.

  When “HTML content A” is received from the television receiver 2A, the television receiver 2B stores the acquired “HTML content A” and notifies the management server 3 to that effect (step S12). In response to this notification, the management server 3 updates the management table 311 (step S13).

<Details of route notification processing>
Next, details of the route notification process in step S9 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a route notification process for notifying a route based on the communication load status of another already acquired television receiver 2.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, first, the determination unit 331 of the management server 3 determines whether or not the communication load status of the television receiver 2 that has already acquired HTML content exceeds a predetermined load (step S901). Subsequently, in step S902, the specifying unit 332 specifies a connection destination according to the communication load status. As an example, the specifying unit 332 specifies the connection destinations in order from the already acquired television receiver 2 having a low communication load. Subsequently, in step S903, the notification unit 333 notifies the unacquired television receiver 2 of the routing information to the television receiver 2 identified in step S902.

[Effect of the content sharing system S of the first embodiment]
In the content sharing system S of the present embodiment described above, when the HTML content is designated by the AIT included in the broadcast signal, the unacquired television receiver 2 accesses the content server 4 that manages the HTML content. Without accessing the other television receiver 2 that has already been acquired, the HTML content is acquired using the P2P method.
Thereby, it is possible to prevent the access from being concentrated on the content server 4 and to reduce the server load of the content server 4.

Specifically, the content sharing system S includes a management table 311 for storing the acquired television receiver 2, and the unacquired television receiver 2 first accesses the management table 311 regardless of the description of the AIT. . Thereby, it is possible to appropriately prevent the television receiver 2 from accessing the content server 4.
In particular, in a service that is operated over a wide range, such as television broadcasting, the number of television receivers 2 that have already acquired HTML content increases with time, so that access concentration to the content server 4 can be prevented more appropriately. Can do.

At this time, in the content sharing system S, the television receiver 2 accessed by the unacquired television receiver 2 is specified based on the communication load status of the already-acquired television receiver 2. Specifically, in the content sharing system S, the already acquired television receiver 2 having a low communication load is accessed by the unacquired television receiver 2 while avoiding the already acquired television receiver 2 having an increased communication load. The TV receiver 2 is specified.
As a result, the load on the acquired television receiver 2 can be reduced and the communication speed between the unacquired television receiver 2 and the acquired television receiver 2 is improved. HTML content can be acquired without delay.

  In the content sharing system S, the management table 311 is updated when an event about whether or not the HTML content is acquired occurs in the television receiver 2. As a result, when the number of already acquired television receivers 2 increases, the connection destinations can be dispersed, which is preferable. In addition, since no HTML content is requested from the unacquired television receiver 2, unnecessary communication can be suppressed.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described. In the content sharing system S of the first embodiment, the management table 311 is provided in the management server 3, and the television receiver 2 refers to the management table 311 by accessing the management server 3.
In this regard, in the content sharing system S of the second embodiment, each of the television receivers 2 is provided with the management table 311 to prevent not only concentration of access to the content server 4 but also concentration of access to the management server 3. .

[Functional configuration of television receiver 2 and management server 3]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating functional configurations of the television receiver 2 and the management server 3 of the content sharing system S according to the second embodiment. In addition, about the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the television receiver 2 of the second embodiment further includes a management table 211 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the management server 3 according to the second embodiment includes a distribution unit 336 instead of the specifying unit 332 and the notification unit 333.

The distribution unit 336 of the management server 3 distributes the management table 311 and the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2 determined by the determination unit 331 to each of the plurality of television receivers 2. The timing at which the management table 311 and the communication load status are distributed is arbitrary. For example, the management table 311 may be distributed every predetermined time, or may be distributed every time the management table 311 is updated. Distribution may be performed after a certain period of time has elapsed since the start, or distribution may be performed when the already acquired television receivers 2 reach a predetermined number. The distribution unit 336 may distribute all the records in the management table 311 to the television receiver 2, and distribute only the updated record in the management table 311 to the television receiver 2. It is good as well. Further, the distribution unit 336 may perform the distribution of the management table 311 and the communication load status at the same time, or may independently perform the distribution.
In addition, it is preferable that the connection between the television receivers 2 connects the nearby television receivers 2. Therefore, a plurality of television receivers 2 are grouped based on the position information, and the distribution unit 336 distributes only the records for the television receivers 2 in the same group to the television receivers 2 in the same group. It is good as well.

When acquiring the HTML content, the television receiver 2 accesses the management table 211 stored in its own storage unit 21 and acquires the connection destination. More specifically, when acquiring the HTML content, the television receiver 2 refers to the management table 211 to determine whether there is another television receiver 2 that has acquired the acquisition-target HTML content. If not, the content server 4 specified by the AIT is set as the connection destination.
On the other hand, when there is another television receiver 2 that has acquired the HTML content to be acquired, the television receiver 2 is based on the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2 acquired from the management server 3. The already acquired television receiver 2 that communicates with itself is specified. That is, the connection destination acquisition unit 241 of the second embodiment has the same function as the specifying unit 332 of the first embodiment.

  Thereafter, when the HTML content is acquired from the other television receiver 2 or the content server 4, the television receiver 2 notifies the management server 3 to that effect. Upon receiving this notification, the management server 3 updates the management table 311 and distributes the updated management table 311 to each of the plurality of television receivers 2.

  In the content sharing system S of the second embodiment described above, the television receiver 2 only needs to access the management table 211 included in the television receiver 2 when acquiring the connection destination, and does not need to access the management server 3. Therefore, not only the concentration of access to the content server 4 but also the concentration of access to the management server 3 can be prevented. Further, since the television receiver 2 can directly access the other television receiver 2 from the beginning, it is possible to expect early acquisition of HTML content, and as a result, an improvement in user experience can be expected.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described. In the content sharing system S of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the other television receiver 2 that communicates with the unacquired television receiver 2 based on the communication load status of the other obtained television receiver 2 is used. It is going to be specified. According to such a specifying method, the connection to a certain acquired television receiver 2 is limited to the unacquired television receiver 2 that has acquired HTML content from the previously acquired television receiver 2 in the past. Good communication can be expected between the two television receivers 2.
Therefore, in the content sharing system S of the third embodiment, other television receivers 2 that communicate with unacquired television receivers 2 are specified with reference to past communication histories.

[Functional configuration of management server 3]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the management server 3 of the content sharing system S according to the third embodiment. In addition, about the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the management server 3 of the third embodiment further includes a relationship table 312 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The relationship table 312 stores the relationship between the unacquired television receiver 2 identified by the identifying unit 332 and another already-acquired television receiver 2.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9B, the relationship table 312 stores the relationship of the television receiver 2 that has communicated with the P2P method in the past. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, it is stored that the receiver A and the receiver B communicated at the date and time A. Therefore, it can be seen that the receiver B is suitable as a communication destination of the receiver A.

  When receiving the request from the unacquired television receiver 2, the specifying unit 332 obtains the other unacquired television receiver 2 related to the unacquired television receiver 2 in the relationship table 312. The television receiver 2 that communicates with the other television receiver 2 is specified. For example, when receiving a request from the receiver A, the specifying unit 332 specifies the receiver B as the television receiver 2 that communicates with the receiver A.

When the notification about the identified television receiver 2 is received, the unacquired television receiver 2 accesses the other notified television receiver 2 and confirms whether the HTML content is obtained. As a result, when the other television receiver 2 has acquired HTML content, the unacquired television receiver 2 acquires HTML content from the other television receiver 2.
In addition, when the communication destination is specified from the past communication history, the other specified television receiver 2 may not acquire the HTML content. In such a case, the unacquired television receiver 2 accesses the management server 3 again to obtain another television receiver 2, or accesses the content server 4 and receives HTML content from the content server 4. To get.

It is also assumed that a plurality of other television receivers 2 are associated with the unacquired television receiver 2. In such a case, the specifying unit 332 may specify one television receiver 2 from among a plurality of other television receivers 2 based on a predetermined priority order.
The predetermined priority order may be a priority order based on the time taken to acquire HTML content during past communication (the shorter one has higher priority), and the HTML content is owned during past communication. The priority may be based on the probability of being set (the higher the probability, the higher the priority), and the priority based on the communication load status of the other television receiver 2 (the lower the load, the higher the priority). Higher), or a priority based on the positional relationship between the unacquired television receiver 2 and another television receiver 2 (the closer the higher the priority is).

  Thus, by re-specifying the other television receiver 2 identified as the communication destination in the past as the communication destination of the unacquired television receiver 2, the management server 3 reduces the burden of path construction processing in the P2P system. Therefore, it leads to the early acquisition of HTML content, and an improvement in user experience can be expected. Moreover, since the other television receiver 2 specified as a communication destination in the past is specified based on the communication load situation, it can suppress that the communication load of the already acquired television receiver 2 increases. .

  In the third embodiment, the other television receiver 2 identified as the communication destination in the past identifies the communication destination of the unacquired television receiver 2 regardless of whether or not the HTML content has been acquired. I am going to do that. In this regard, when the specifying unit 332 receives a request from the unacquired television receiver 2, the identifying unit 332 associates with the unacquired television receiver 2 in the relationship table 312 and the target HTML content in the management table 311. It is also possible to specify another already acquired television receiver 2 in which it is stored as a television receiver 2 that communicates with the unacquired television receiver 2.

  The relationship table 312 may be provided not only on the management server 3 but also on each television receiver 2 as in the second embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described. In the content sharing system S of the third embodiment, upon receiving a request from the unacquired television receiver 2, the television receiver 2 specified in the past as the communication destination of the unacquired television receiver 2 is The communication destination is specified. The content sharing system S of the fourth embodiment is common to the third embodiment in that the television receiver 2 specified as a past communication destination is again specified as the communication destination. This is different from the third embodiment in that it is not limited to the timing at which a request is received from the unacquired television receiver 2.
The configuration of the content sharing system S of the fourth embodiment is basically the same as that of the third embodiment.

In 4th Embodiment, the specific | specification part 332 of the management server 3 specifies each of the television receiver 2 which communicated by the P2P system with reference to a relationship table at arbitrary timing. And the notification part 333 notifies the location information of the television receiver 2 used as a communicating party with respect to each of the television receiver 2 which the specific | specification part 332 specified. Each of the television receivers 2 establishes a connection for performing communication between the television receivers 2 when receiving this notification.
Note that the arbitrary timing may be a regular timing such as 2 am every Tuesday, or may be a timing when the relationship table 313 is updated.

  As described above, in the content sharing system S of the fourth embodiment, a connection for using the P2P method is established in advance regardless of whether there is a request for HTML content. Thereafter, when the acquisition of HTML content is requested in any of the television receivers 2, the television receiver 2 accesses the counterpart television receiver 2 and requests the target HTML content. At this time, if the other party's television receiver 2 has already acquired the target HTML content, the HTML content is acquired by the P2P method using the established connection. On the other hand, when the other party's television receiver 2 has not acquired the target HTML content, the HTML content is acquired from the other television receiver 2 directly from the content server 4 or via the management server 3.

  Thereby, since the access from the television receiver 2 to the management server 3 is reduced, the load can be expected to be reduced, and the early acquisition of the HTML content can be expected, and the improvement of the user experience can be expected.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the content sharing system S of the present invention will be described. In the content sharing system S of the fifth embodiment, the communication protocol used when the unacquired television receiver 2 communicates with other television receivers 2 by the P2P method is the same as that of the unacquired television receiver 2. It differs from the other embodiments in that it varies according to the network quality with the television receiver 2.

  In P2P communication, it is conceivable to employ communication protocols such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol). Here, TCP is highly reliable because it has a retransmission function, but the communication speed tends to be low. On the other hand, UDP emphasizes the reduction of latency rather than reliability, and thus the communication speed is relatively high although the reliability is low.

  Therefore, the unacquired television receiver 2 obtains HTML content from the already obtained television receiver 2 using UDP when the network quality with the already obtained television receiver 2 is good. When the network quality with the acquired television receiver 2 is not good, the HTML content is acquired from the already acquired television receiver 2 using TCP.

  Specifically, the base communication protocol is set to UDP, and the unacquired television receiver 2 is connected to the already-acquired television receiver 2 in network quality (for example, PER, throughput value, round-trip delay time (RTT: The communication protocol is changed to TCP when the communication load status of the already acquired television receiver 2 falls below a certain threshold.

  Thereby, since the reliability and communication speed of the communication environment between the television receivers 2 can be ensured, the unacquired television receiver 2 can acquire HTML content at an early stage and improve the user experience. I can expect.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. In particular, the specific embodiments of the distribution / integration of the devices are not limited to those illustrated above, and all or a part thereof may be added in arbitrary units according to various additions or according to functional loads. It can be configured functionally or physically distributed and integrated.

  In the above embodiment, the acquired television receiver 2 that communicates with the unacquired television receiver 2 is specified based on the communication load status of the acquired television receiver 2. In this regard, the load status for specifying the communication destination is not limited to the communication load status, and the usage rate of the resources of the television receiver 2 such as the usage rate of the CPU and the memory of the acquired television receiver 2 is used. It is good. When the unacquired television receiver 2 requests HTML content from the already-acquired television receiver 2 having a high CPU usage rate, the performance of the already-acquired television receiver 2 is deteriorated, and the acquired The convenience of the user who uses the television receiver 2 is impaired. Therefore, avoiding the acquired television receiver 2 having a high resource usage rate and specifying the communication destination of the unacquired television receiver 2 in preference to the acquired television receiver 2 having a low resource usage rate. It is good.

  The management server 3 can use any method for acquiring the resource usage rate of the television receiver 2 that has already been acquired. As an example, an API that periodically measures the resource usage rate and transmits it to the management server 3 is used. Is installed in the television receiver 2, the resource usage rate of the television receiver 2 already acquired can be acquired in the management server 3.

  In the above embodiment, the television receiver 2 is adopted as an example of the receiver of the present invention. However, the present invention only needs to have a tuner function capable of receiving broadcast signals, for example, a tuner function. The present invention can be applied to any device such as a PC, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, and a car navigation device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Broadcasting station, 2 ... Television receiver, 21 ... Memory | storage part, 22 ... Display part, 23 ... Communication part, 24 ... Control part, 241 ... Connection destination acquisition Part 242 ... content acquisition part 3 ... management server 31 ... storage part 311 ... management table 32 ... communication part 33 ... control part 331 ... determination Part 332 ... identification part 333 ... notification part 334 ... update part 335 ... monitoring part 4 ... content server S ... content sharing system

Claims (8)

A content sharing system for sharing content related to program content in a plurality of receivers,
A management table that stores an acquired receiver that has already acquired the content in association with the type of the content;
A determination unit for determining a load status of the acquired receiver;
Upon receiving a request from an unacquired receiver that has not acquired the content, based on the load situation, a specifying unit that identifies an acquired receiver that communicates with the unacquired receiver;
A notification unit that notifies the unacquired receiver of the identified acquired receiver;
A relationship table in which the acquired receiver stores a history of transferring content to the unacquired receiver in the past, and
The receiver is a content acquisition unit that acquires the content from the already acquired receiver notified.
Equipped with a,
The identifying unit is configured to acquire an already acquired receiver in which a history of transferring contents to the unacquired receiver in the relationship table is stored among the already acquired receivers stored in the management table. Identify as an acquired receiver that communicates with the receiver,
Content sharing system.   In the case where a plurality of receivers are stored in the relationship table as receivers having a history of transferring content to the non-acquired receiver, the specifying unit determines the time required to acquire the content in the past. Identify the acquired receiver to which the unacquired receiver is connected by the priority based on
  The content sharing system according to claim 1. The determination unit determines the load status of the acquired receiver based on the number of times notified to the unacquired receiver by the notification unit.
The content sharing system according to claim 1 or 2 . The determination unit determines a load status of the acquired receiver based on a capacity of content distributed by the acquired receiver to the non-acquired receiver.
The content sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A monitoring unit for monitoring the communication status of the receiver;
The determination unit determines the load status based on the communication status monitored by the monitoring unit;
The content sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The determination unit determines the load status based on a prediction status of the receiver at a predetermined timing, which is predicted from a history of the communication status monitored by the monitoring unit.
The content sharing system according to claim 5 . Upon receipt of the request from the non-acquired receiver, the specifying unit associates the receiver that is associated with the non-acquired receiver in the relationship table and has acquired the content with the unacquired receiver. Identify as an acquired receiver that communicates with
The content sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . A content sharing method for sharing content related to program content in a plurality of receivers,
In association with the content type, a management server including a management table that stores the acquired receivers that have acquired the content executes.
Determining the load status of the acquired receiver;
Upon receiving a request from an unacquired receiver that has not acquired the content, based on the load status, identifying an acquired receiver that communicates with the unacquired receiver;
Notifying the unacquired receiver of the identified acquired receiver;
Storing the history that the acquired receiver has transferred content to the unacquired receiver in the past in a relationship table;
Acquiring the content from the notified acquired receiver notified by the receiver;
Only including,
In the specifying step, among acquired receivers stored in the management table, acquired receivers in which a history of transferring contents to the unacquired receivers in the relationship table is stored. Identify as an already acquired receiver that communicates with the acquiring receiver,
Content sharing method.

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