Digital content distribution system

• US 20060224716A1
• Filed: 03/29/2006
• Published: 10/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nishimura, Yoshihide, Nakazawa, Hideo, Kitta, Haruhito, Kina, Sadayuki
• Application Number:
  US11/391,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20060224716A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications

Abstract

In the setting of distribution contents and distribution time of digital content, data processing efficiency is increased and operability are improved for users. Distribution processing is efficiently executed according to, for example, a position of a portable terminal, and excellent usability is realized for digital content and advertisements. To solve the problem, a system includes a distribution table storage section to store for each portable terminal user a distribution table in which distribution desired digital content identified by designation regarding distribution desired digital content is listed in time series, and a distribution processing section for distributing, when request information of distribution is received from a portable terminal, the distribution desired digital content listed in the distribution table to the portable terminal.

Claims

1. A digital content distribution system for distributing digital content to a portable terminal, comprising:

a distribution table storage section for storing a distribution table in a distribution table database for each portable terminal user, the distribution table including distribution desired digital content which is identified by designation regarding distribution desired digital content and which is listed in time series; and

a distribution processing section for distributing, when request information requesting distribution is received from the portable terminal, the distribution desired digital content listed in the distribution table to the portable terminal.

2. The digital content distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user IDentifier (ID) receiving section for receiving a portable terminal user ID as the request information, the portable terminal user ID being transmitted from a portable terminal including at least information of a distribution desired time of information of the distribution table at an associated time based on the information of the distribution desired time; and

a distribution content identifying section for retrieving, according to the portable terminal user ID, a distribution table related to the portable terminal user in the distribution table database and for identifying associated digital content set to the distribution desired time in the distribution table, wherein

the distribution processing section extracts the associated digital content thus identified from the digital content database and transmits the associated digital content to the portable terminal.

3. The digital content distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a desired time receiving section for receiving, from a portable terminal including at least information of a distribution desired time of information of the distribution table, the information of a distribution desired time being received as the request information; and

an actual distribution time calculating section for calculating an actual distribution time on the basis of the number or a reception sequence of request information items received for a time zone including the distribution desired time, the actual distribution time being apart by at least a predetermined period of time from distribution execution based on another request information item in the time zone, wherein

the distribution processing section extracts associated digital content based on the request information from the digital content database and transmits the associated digital content to the portable terminal at the actual distribution time.

4. The digital content distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising a position corresponding content distribution section for acquiring, from a portable terminal, current position information of the portable terminal;

identifying digital content linked with position information in the digital content database, on the basis of the current position information; and

transmitting the digital content to the portable terminal.

5. The digital content distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the position corresponding content distribution section extracts from a user database a registered address or a temporary position of a portable terminal user beforehand received from a portable terminal, identifies digital content in the digital content database on the basis of the registered address or the temporary position, and distributes the digital content to the portable terminal.

6. The digital content distribution system according to claim 5, wherein:

the position corresponding content distribution section distributes map data as digital content, and

the position corresponding content distribution section extracts advertisement information items of various facilities existing in an area indicated by the map data from an advertisement database having stored advertisement information items of the respective facilities, and distributes the map data with the advertisement information items displayed on the map data, to the portable terminal.

7. The digital content distribution system according to claim 6, wherein the position corresponding content distribution section distributes an icon related to an acquisition request command of the advertisement information to the portable terminal, the icon being displayed at a position of an associated facility in the map data.

8. The digital content distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the position corresponding content distribution section distributes, to the portable terminal to the portable terminal, one representative icon related to an acquisition request command of each of facilities collectively existing at positions in a predetermined range, the icon being displayed at the position in the map data.

9. The digital content distribution system according to claim 8, wherein the position corresponding content distribution section distributes the advertisement information to the portable terminal, the advertisement information including at least either one of vacant seat information and item/service bargain sale information of the facility beforehand received from a terminal of the facility.

10. The digital content distribution system according to claim 9, further comprising a selected advertisement distribution section for presenting an advertisement information list which is stored in the advertisement database and for which registration inspection is completed to the terminal of the facility, receiving from the terminal of the facility a selection event of distribution desired advertisement information to be selected from the advertisement information, extracting the distribution desired advertisement information from the advertisement database, and distributing the distribution desired advertisement information to the portable terminal.

11. The digital content distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the position corresponding content distribution section distributes map data including a program to the portable terminal,

the program receiving from the terminal a movement instruction of a cursor in a fixed direction for a fixed period of time on a portable terminal display and continuously moving a selection display item of each of a plurality of icons disposed on the map data in the fixed direction for the fixed period of time.

12. The digital content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the digital content stored in the digital content database comprises:

a program for scrolling the content at least at a speed such that an end of the content moves from a first end of the portable terminal display to a second end thereof within a predetermined period of time; and

a program for scrolling the content at most at a speed such that after the end of the content reaches the second end, another end of the content reaches the second end of the portable terminal display within at least a predetermined period of time.

13. The digital content distribution system according to claim 11, further comprising a spot advertisement distribution section for retrieving advertisement information including an attribute linked with an attribute of the distribution desired digital content in an advertisement database having stored advertisement information of each facility, and distributing the advertisement information as a spot advertisement in the distribution desired digital content.

14. A digital content distribution method of distributing digital content to a portable terminal by a computer, comprising the steps of:

storing a distribution table in a distribution table database for each portable terminal user, the distribution table including distribution desired digital content which is identified by designation regarding distribution desired digital content and which is listed in time series; and

distributing, when request information requesting distribution is received from the portable terminal, the distribution desired digital content listed in the distribution table to the portable terminal.

15. A portable terminal for receiving digital content from a digital content distribution system, comprising:

a distribution desired transmitting section for transmitting designation regarding distribution desired digital content and a distribution desired time to the digital content distribution system; and

a reception processing section for receiving the digital content desired to be distributed at the distribution desired time according to a distribution table, the distribution table being created by the digital content distribution system and including the distribution desired digital content listed in time series to be distributed within a predetermined period of time.

16. The portable terminal according to claim 15, further comprising a position information acquiring section for acquiring current position information from a current position information acquiring device and transmitting the current position information to the digital content distribution system.

17. The portable terminal according to claim 16, further comprising a selective movement processing section for receiving, if the digital content distributed from the digital content distribution system is map data in which icons related to an acquisition request command of advertisement information of various facilities are displayed at positions of the facilities, a movement instruction of a cursor in a fixed direction for a fixed period of time on a portable terminal display and continuously moving a selection display item of each of a plurality of icons disposed on the map data in the fixed direction for the fixed period of time.

18. The portable terminal according to claim 15, further comprising a scroll speed control section for scrolling the content distributed from the digital content distribution system, at least at a speed such that an end of the content moves from a first end of a portable terminal display to a second end thereof within a predetermined period of time and scrolling the content at most at a speed such that after the end of the content reaches the second end, another end of the content reaches the second end of the portable terminal display within at least a predetermined period of time.