JP3195804U - Information distribution device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an information distribution apparatus capable of distributing information as a package like a conventional magazine or newspaper. An information distribution device is an information distribution device that distributes information to a subscriber terminal 4, a communication unit that communicates with the subscriber terminal 4 via a network 5, and a storage unit that stores information to be distributed. A communication unit and a control unit that controls the storage unit, the storage unit stores a distribution signal in which a distribution period is specified and an article including information to be distributed in association with each other, and the control unit includes a storage unit Then, the distribution signal corresponding to the current time and the article associated with the distribution signal are read out and distributed to the subscriber terminal 4 via the communication unit. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution apparatus for distributing information via a network such as the Internet.

  In recent years, due to the development of networks such as the Internet, information providers distribute various types of information via networks using information distribution devices such as server devices, and consumers use various types of mobile phones, smartphones, personal computers, and the like. An information distribution system has been realized in which information is received and browsed / subscribed by a terminal.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which an overview of rental properties, product introductions, and life information in a database are displayed in a form that can be displayed on the Internet, and new arrival information can always be confirmed on a mobile phone at hand. Has been.

JP 2006-155003 A

  In magazines and newspapers provided on conventional paper media, a large number of articles are included in a single issue, and the latest information can be obtained by obtaining the issue regularly (eg daily, weekly, etc.). Can be distributed as a package. On the other hand, in the information distribution via the network such as the Internet, the latest version of each article can be distributed individually, but the information cannot be distributed as a package like a conventional magazine or newspaper. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus capable of distributing information as a package like a conventional magazine or newspaper.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information distribution apparatus according to the present invention is an information distribution apparatus that distributes information to a subscriber terminal, and includes a communication unit that communicates with the subscriber terminal via a network, and information to be distributed. A storage unit for storing, and a control unit for controlling the communication unit and the storage unit, and the storage unit stores a distribution signal in which a distribution period is defined and an article including information to be distributed in association with each other, and controls The unit reads out a distribution signal corresponding to the current time and an article associated with the distribution signal from the storage unit, and performs control to distribute to the subscriber terminal via the communication unit. With such a configuration, a plurality of articles collected by distribution signals can be distributed as a package.

  In the present invention, the communication unit communicates with the contributor terminal via the network, and the control unit causes the contributor terminal to display an edit screen for editing the distribution signal and the article stored in the storage unit, and The distribution signal and the article edited according to the operation may be stored in the storage unit. At this time, the article is composed of one or a plurality of content items, and each content item is stored in the storage unit in association with the article formed by each content item, and the control unit causes the contributor terminal to display the content item. In the editing screen, the editing interface of one or a plurality of content items constituting the article is displayed side by side, and the arrangement order of the editing interface of the content items can be changed by a drag-and-drop operation. One or a plurality of content items may be read out, arranged in the same order as the order of arrangement of the content item editing interface on the editing screen, and articles may be configured to be distributed to the subscriber terminal via the communication unit. With such a configuration, it is possible to easily edit and lay out articles.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a regional information delivery system. It is a functional block of the server with which a regional information distribution system is provided. It is a functional block diagram of the poster terminal with which a regional information distribution system is provided. It is a functional block diagram of the subscriber terminal with which a regional information distribution system is provided. It is an example of the login screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the dashboard screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the media management screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the image uploader window displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the weekly issue management screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the weekly issue management screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the article management screen displayed on a contributor terminal. It is an example of the article management screen displayed on a contributor terminal. FIGS. 13A and 13B are examples of an edit dialog displayed on the contributor terminal. FIGS. 14A to 14D are examples of application screens displayed on the subscriber terminal.

Hereinafter, an area information distribution system 1 according to an embodiment to which an information distribution apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Configuration of regional information distribution system]

  As shown in FIG. 1, the regional information distribution system 1 is used for advertisements (flyers) of shops and companies in the region, intimate information in the region, tourism information, municipal administration information, event information, disaster information, and other regional administrations. This is a system that issues weekly magazines that summarize various types of information such as information to subscriber terminals 4 held by subscribers via a network 5 such as the Internet. The regional information distribution system 1 includes a server 2, a contributor terminal 3 used by a contributor who edits / publishes a weekly magazine, and a subscriber terminal used by a subscriber to subscribe to the weekly magazine distributed from the server 2. 4. The server 2, the contributor terminal 3, and the subscriber terminal 4 are connected to each other via a network 5 such as the Internet. As shown in FIG. 1, the regional information distribution system may include a plurality of subscriber terminals 4.

  The server 2 corresponds to the information distribution device in the present invention. The server 2 is, for example, a computer system, an input / output device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, a calculation unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (read only memory). And a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the server 2 includes at least a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, and a communication unit 203. The storage unit 201 stores a weekly issue, an article, a content item, an image used for the weekly issue and the article, and the like of the weekly magazine to be distributed. In the weekly magazine issued / distributed by the regional information distribution system 1, the week issue corresponds to a single issue unit (that is, issue) in a paper magazine or newspaper. The week issue consists of multiple articles. Articles contain text describing certain information, as in articles in paper magazines and newspapers, but the articles in the regional information distribution system 1 are not limited to such text, but images related to certain information, Web It is a collection of various content items such as page URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and mail address. The content item is, for example, an article sentence (text data), an image, a Web URL, an e-mail address, position information, and the like. One or more of these content items constitute one article. In the storage unit 201, the weekly issue, the article, and the content item are each stored as a database. In this database, the weekly issue is associated with the type of the weekly magazine, the article is associated with the weekly issue, and the content item is It has a relationship of being linked to an article.

  In addition, the storage unit 201 stores a login ID and a password associated with each other for authentication when a user who has the authority to issue / edit a weekly magazine accesses an editing screen (hereinafter referred to as “my page”). In addition, the storage unit 201 stores a list of subscriber terminals 4 to which the weekly magazines are distributed. When the server 2 distributes a plurality of types of weekly magazines, the above various information is stored and managed for each weekly magazine.

  The storage unit 201 is a program for editing a weekly issue of a weekly magazine to be distributed, an article, a content item in response to an instruction / request from the contributor terminal 3, and a weekly magazine in response to a request from the subscriber terminal 4. Stores various programs such as programs for providing weekly issues and articles, management programs for adding, deleting, and changing terminals included in the list of subscriber terminals 4 to which weekly magazines are distributed. The functions of the information distribution system 1 are realized. A program for editing a weekly issue, an article, a content item, etc. displays, for example, an editing screen on a web browser operating on the contributor terminal 3, and allows the user U1 of the contributor terminal 3 via the editing screen. It is recommended to execute editing work.

  The control unit 202 distributes weekly magazines and articles stored in the storage unit 201 in response to a request from the subscriber terminal 4 according to a program stored in the storage unit 201, or a contributor terminal. In response to a request from 3, a new weekly issue or article of a weekly magazine is recorded in the storage unit 201 or a recorded weekly issue or article is edited. In addition, the communication unit 203 communicates with the contributor terminal 3 and the subscriber terminal 4 via the network 5 to transmit / receive information on collections and articles, information on requests and instructions, and the like.

  The contributor terminal 3 is, for example, a terminal such as a personal computer, a tablet-type terminal, or a smartphone. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the input unit 301 such as a touch panel, a keyboard, and a mouse, an arithmetic control unit 302 such as a CPU, a RAM, A storage unit 303 such as a ROM and a hard disk, a display unit 304 such as an LCD, and a communication unit 305 that performs communication via a network 5 such as the Internet by wire or wireless. The contributor terminal 3 stores a web browser program for accessing a web page or the like provided on the network 5 using the communication unit 305 in the storage unit 303, and the web browser is stored by the calculation control unit 302. Run. The user U1 of the contributor terminal 3 (that is, the editor or contributor of the weekly magazine) uses a web browser to access the weekly magazine editing screen provided by the server 2 and create a new weekly issue or article. Or edit an existing weekly issue or article.

As shown in FIG. 4, the subscriber terminal 4 is, for example, a tablet terminal or a smartphone, and includes an input unit 401 such as a touch panel and operation buttons, a calculation control unit 402 such as a CPU, a storage unit 403 such as a RAM and a ROM, an LCD, and the like. And a display unit 404 such as a communication unit 405 that performs communication via a network 5 such as the Internet by wire or wireless. The subscriber terminal 4 stores a subscription program for receiving the weekly magazine distributed by the server 2 via the network 5 in the storage unit 403, and the calculation control unit 402 executes the subscription program. The user U2 of the subscriber terminal 4 (that is, a weekly magazine subscriber) downloads, browses and subscribes to the weekly magazine provided by the server 2 using a subscription program.
[Issuing and editing weekly magazines]

  Next, a weekly magazine issue / edit operation performed by accessing the server 2 from the contributor terminal 3 will be described.

The publication / editing work of the weekly magazine is performed by displaying the My Page on the browser of the contributor terminal 3 and operating the user interface in the My Page.
[Login to My Page]

In order to display my page, the user U1 accesses a predetermined URL defined for each weekly magazine. Then, a login screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the browser. The user U1 inputs a login ID (for example, an e-mail address) and a password registered in advance in the server 2 in the text boxes T1 and T2 on the login screen, and presses the login button BL. If the input login ID and password match the pair of login ID and password stored in association with the storage unit 201 of the server 2, a My Page is displayed on the browser of the contributor terminal 3. On the other hand, if the input login ID and password do not match the login ID and password pair stored in association with the storage unit 201 of the server 2, the server 2 refuses access to the My Page, An error is displayed on the browser of the contributor terminal 3 (for example, a message indicating that the login ID and the password do not match) is displayed.
[My Page Configuration]

FIG. 6 shows an example of my page displayed after login. My page is composed of a side bar R1 and a main area R2. The sidebar R1 on the left side of the screen has a link button B1 for accessing screens corresponding to various functions such as a dashboard, weekly issue management screen, article management screen, media management screen, contributor management screen, and browsing count screen. To B7 are arranged. In the main area R2 from the center of the screen to the right side, operation interfaces for various functions are displayed by pressing the link button of the side bar R1. When a link button is pressed, a submenu of functions corresponding to the link button is expanded and displayed in the sidebar R1, and an operation screen corresponding to the submenu can be directly accessed by pressing the submenu.
[Dashboard]

The dashboard screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the My Page immediately after login. The dashboard screen is also displayed when the link button B1 to the dashboard on the sidebar R1 is pressed. On the button dashboard screen, an overview of the weekly magazine to be published / edited is displayed. Specifically, for example, the dashboard includes a weekly magazine title, subtitle, summary description, creation date, public / private, target area, number of created weekly issues, number of articles, number of contributors The number of views of the current month is displayed.
[Manage image files]

  When the link button B4 to the media management screen of the sidebar R1 is pressed, the media management screen shown in FIG. 7 is displayed in the main area R2. The media management screen is a screen for realizing a media management function for uploading images to weekly magazines to the server 2 and deleting them from the server 2. At the top of the media management screen, a drop-down list L1 for selecting the type of image, an image addition button B8 for uploading an image, a reload button B9 for reloading the image being displayed, and the like are displayed. At the center of the screen, a list of thumbnail images of the type of image selected from the drop-down list L1 among the images stored in the storage unit 201 of the server 2 is displayed together with the URL of the image. In this example, it is assumed that three types of images, a cover photo, a flyer image, and an icon, can be used for the weekly magazine. By changing the selection of the drop-down list L1, a list of types of images corresponding to the selection is displayed. The image type is also displayed as a submenu of the sidebar R1, and when the submenu is pressed, the same screen as when the image type is selected from the drop-down list L1 is displayed.

  When the image addition button B8 is pressed, an image uploader window W1 for uploading the image file stored in the contributor terminal 3 to the server 2 is displayed as shown in FIG. In the image uploader window W1, a plurality of types of images selected when the image addition button B8 is pressed can be uploaded all at once.

  When the image file addition button B10 arranged in the image uploader window W1 is pressed, a file selection dialog is displayed, and an image file to be added to the upload target is selected in the dialog. The image file to be uploaded can also be added by directly dragging and dropping the icon of the image file stored in the contributor terminal 3 to the image uploader window W1.

  Depending on the type of image to be uploaded, there are restrictions on the image size (number of vertical and horizontal pixels) and the capacity of the image file, and the contents of the restriction are displayed in the image uploader window W1. Also, the image file to be added is checked, and if an attempt is made to add a file that violates the restriction, an error message is displayed to notify the user U1 that the file is inappropriate.

  In the image uploader window W1, a thumbnail image list of images added to the upload target is displayed. An upload button B11 is displayed below each of the images displayed in a list that has not yet been uploaded to the server 2. When the upload button B11 is pressed, the image file is transmitted to the server 2.

  After uploading all the image files to be uploaded, the server 2 performs necessary image processing on the uploaded image file by pressing the save button B12 arranged at the lower right of the image upload window W1. . When the processing at the server 2 is completed, the addition of the image is completed, and the browser display of the contributor terminal 3 returns to the media management screen. When the cancel button B13 of the image upload window W1 is pressed, all processes performed in the image upload window are canceled and the screen returns to the media management screen.

On the media management screen after uploading images, newly uploaded images are also displayed as thumbnails in the list. Various images managed on the media management screen ** are used in weekly issues and articles.
[Management of weekly issue]

  When the link button B2 to the weekly issue management screen of the sidebar R1 is pressed, the weekly issue for realizing the weekly issue management function for creating and editing the weekly issue of the weekly magazine in the main area R2. The management screen is displayed.

  Immediately after the link button B2 to the weekly issue management screen is pressed, the browser of the contributor terminal 3 displays the weekly issue list screen shown in FIG. The weekly issue list screen is also displayed when “list” in the submenu under the weekly issue developed in the sidebar R1 is pressed. On the weekly issue list screen, the ID for identifying the weekly issue, cover photo, weekly title title, subtitle, summary description, publication period, public / private setting status, creation date, link for operation Etc. are displayed in a table format. A week number creation button B14 is arranged at the top of the week number list screen.

  When the week number creation button B14 is pressed, the week number edition screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed with each item blank. In addition, even when “New” in the submenu under the week number in the sidebar R1 is pressed, the week number edit screen is displayed with each item blank.

  On the weekly issue editing screen, text boxes T3 to T5 for inputting a title, a subtitle, and an explanatory description of the summary as weekly issue information are provided. Weekly information may be entered every issue, or common titles, subtitles, and outlines of weekly journals are registered separately, so that common titles etc. are automatically entered when creating a new one The title or the like may be modified or changed according to the situation.

  In addition, on the weekly edition screen, a date selection box D1 for inputting a publication date as publication information and a pair of radio buttons RB1 for setting publication / non-publication are displayed. As the release date, it is possible to select a date in which the week number is not registered from the next five weeks. As a result, weekly magazines can be published without duplication.

  Also, the weekly edition screen displays a thumbnail image of the weekly cover photo and an image selection button B15 for selecting the cover photo. When the image selection button B15 is pressed, a list of thumbnail images of the uploaded cover photos is displayed on the server 2, and one to be used for the weekly cover photo is selected from the list.

  When the save button B16 provided at the lower left of the week number edit screen is pressed after inputting the necessary data, the input data is saved in the server 2 and the new creation of the week number is completed.

  The week issue editing screen is also used when editing a created week issue. In the weekly issue list screen, when the link of the edit operation is pressed for the weekly issue to be edited, the weekly issue edit screen is displayed with the information already stored in each item entered and displayed. By editing the items that need to be corrected / changed and then pressing the save button, the weekly issue that has been created can be edited.

Further, when a delete operation link is pressed for a week issue to be deleted on the week issue list screen, the data of the week issue is deleted from the server 2.
[Managing articles]

  When the link button B3 to the article management screen of the sidebar R1 is pressed, an article management screen for realizing an article management function for creating and editing a weekly journal article is displayed in the main area R2. Is done.

  Immediately after the link button B3 to the article management screen is pressed, the article list screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the browser of the contributor terminal 3. The article list screen is also displayed when “list” in the submenu under the articles developed in the sidebar R1 is pressed. On the article list screen, an ID for identifying an article, an icon, an article contributor, an article title, a category, a publication date, a creation date, an operation link, and the like are displayed in a table format. An article creation button B17 is arranged at the top of the article list screen.

  When the article creation button B17 is pressed, the article editing screen is displayed with each item blank. Also, when “New” in the submenu under the article in the sidebar R1 is pressed, the article editing screen is displayed with each item blank.

  The article edit screen is provided with text boxes T6 to T8 for inputting a contributor, a title, and a category as article information. The article editing screen may be displayed in a state where an initial value (for example, “secretariat”) preliminarily set as a contributor is input, and may be changed as necessary. The category may be selected from a previously registered category list instead of a text box.

  In addition, on the article editing screen, a publication date selection box D2 for selecting a week issue in which an article is to be published as public information is displayed. A plurality of week issues can be selected in one article, and articles can be published in a plurality of week issues.

  Also, on the article editing screen, a thumbnail image of an article icon and an image selection button B18 for selecting the icon are displayed. When the image selection button B18 is pressed, a list of thumbnail images of uploaded icons is displayed on the server 2, and an item to be used for the icon of the article is selected from the list.

  A content editing area is provided below the article information and the public information on the article editing screen. In the content editing area, new creation and editing of content items constituting the article, change of the arrangement order of the content items, and the like can be performed.

  At the top of the content editing area, a drop-down list L2 for selecting a type of content item to be newly created and a content addition button B19 for newly adding a content item of the selected type are arranged. In the drop-down list L2, content items (text with image, text without image, flyer image, WebURL, e-mail address, telephone number, location information, etc.) that can be used as components of articles of the weekly magazine can be selected. When the type of content item is selected from the drop-down list L2 and the content addition button B19 is pressed, an edit dialog corresponding to the selected content item is added to the content editing area.

  For example, when a Web URL is added, the Web URL editing dialog shown in FIG. 13A is added to the content editing area. Further, when the text with image is added, the text editing dialog with image shown in FIG. 13B is added to the content editing area. For other content items, an edit dialog in which necessary input forms and selection forms are arranged is prepared, and an edit dialog is added to the content edit area each time a new content item is added.

  When multiple content items are created for an article, the content items are initially arranged in the order in which they were created, but the order can be rearranged by dragging and dropping the content item editing dialog. When displaying the articles of the weekly magazine on the subscriber terminal 4, the content items are arranged and displayed according to the arrangement order of the content items determined in the content editing area.

  When the icon of the trash can icon displayed in the upper right of the edit dialog for each content item is pressed, the content item is deleted.

  A save button B20 is arranged at the bottom of the article editing screen. When the save button B20 is pressed after entering the necessary data, the entered data is saved in the server 2 and the new article creation is completed. That is, in the storage unit 201 of the server 2, articles are stored in association with weekly issues, and content items are stored in association with articles.

  The article editing screen is also used when editing a created article. When an edit operation link is pressed for an article to be edited on the article list screen, the article editing screen is displayed with information already stored in each item being input and displayed. You can edit a created article by pressing the Save button after correcting the items that need to be corrected / changed.

In addition, when the delete operation link is pressed for an article to be deleted on the article list screen, the data of the article is deleted from the server 2.
[Other functions in My Page]

In My Page, in addition to the functions described above, registration and deletion of contributors can be managed on the contributor management screen displayed by pressing the link button B5 to the contributor management screen of the sidebar R1. it can. Further, by pressing the link button B6 to the browsing number totaling screen, it is possible to display the browsing number totaling screen on which statistical information obtained by counting the number of viewers is posted. Various settings other than the above can be performed on the setting screen displayed by pressing the link button B7 to the setting screen.
[Subscribe]

  Next, an operation for subscribing and browsing the weekly magazine issued by the server 2 on the subscriber terminal 4 will be described.

  Weekly magazines are subscribed and viewed using the subscriber terminal 4 using dedicated software (hereinafter referred to as an application). The user U2 of the subscriber terminal 4 who uses subscription / viewing of the weekly magazine first activates the application. Then, a list of weekly magazines that can be subscribed to is displayed on the screen of the subscriber terminal 4. When a weekly magazine to be subscribed / viewed is touched and selected from the displayed list, this weekly issue of the selected weekly magazine (the current time is included in the distribution period) as shown in FIG. ) Cover photo is displayed. At this time, the title of the week may be displayed over the cover photo. Further, the cover photo of the previous week issue and the next week issue may be displayed by sliding the screen on which the cover photo of this week issue is displayed.

  When the displayed cover photo for this week's issue is touched, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), a list of icons and titles of articles associated with this weekly issue are displayed together with the title and subtitle of this week's issue. When the icon or title of the article displayed in the article list is touched, the title and icon of the content item of the article are displayed in a list as shown in FIG. If the content item contains image data (for example, text with an image), a reduced version of the image contained in the content item is displayed as an icon. If the content item does not contain image data, it is set as an article. It is recommended that the icon be displayed.

  When the title or icon displayed in the list of content items is touched, details of the content item are displayed. For example, when the content item is a text with an image, the text is displayed together with the image as shown in FIG. When the content item is text without an image, only the text is displayed, and when the content item is a flyer image, a flyer image is displayed. When the content item is a Web URL, the application functions as a browser and displays the site of the URL. If the content item is a mail address, the mail transmission software is activated so that the mail addressed to the mail address can be edited. Further, when the content item is a telephone number, if the subscriber terminal 4 has a telephone function, the telephone function is used to make a call to the telephone number, and if the subscriber terminal 4 does not have a telephone function, a call is made. Display the number on the screen. If the content item is position information, map display software is activated to display a map of the position corresponding to the position information.

  As an application setting, it is preferable that the category of the article to be displayed can be selected, and only the articles of the selected category in the weekly magazine to be subscribed are displayed.

  In addition, although this invention was demonstrated to the area information delivery system 1 which is one embodiment of this invention as an example, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, In the range which can achieve the objective of this invention. Such modifications and improvements are included in the present invention.

  As described above, the information distribution system of the present invention can distribute information as a package like a conventional magazine or newspaper.

1 Information distribution system 2 Server 3 Contributor terminal 4 Subscriber terminal 5 Network

Claims (3)

An information distribution device for distributing information to a subscriber terminal,
A communication unit communicating with the subscriber terminal via a network;
A storage unit for storing information to be distributed;
A control unit for controlling the communication unit and the storage unit,
The storage unit stores a distribution signal in which a distribution period is defined and an article including information to be distributed in association with each other,
The control unit reads a distribution signal according to a current time from the storage unit and an article associated with the distribution signal, and performs control to distribute to the subscriber terminal via the communication unit. Information distribution device. The communication unit communicates with a contributor terminal via the network,
The control unit displays an editing screen for editing a distribution signal and an article stored in the storage unit on the contributor terminal, and the distribution unit and the article edited according to an operation on the editing screen are displayed in the storage unit. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information distribution apparatus is stored in the information distribution apparatus. The article is composed of one or more content items,
Each content item is stored in the storage unit in association with an article formed by each content item,
The control unit displays the editing interface of one or more content items constituting the article side by side on the editing screen to be displayed on the contributor terminal, and drags and drops the order of the editing interface of the content items. Can be changed by
The control unit reads one or a plurality of content items from the storage unit, arranges articles in the same order as the arrangement order of the editing interface of the content items on the editing screen, and configures articles to the subscriber terminal via the communication unit. The information distribution apparatus according to claim 2, wherein distribution control is performed.

Images