JP2002244900A - File management method and contents recording and reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents recorder that can maintain correct correspondence relation between a contents file(CF) and a metadata file when recording them separately. SOLUTION: A package management information recording part 131 prepares package management information to manage a package recorded on a recording medium 120, and records it on the recording medium. A CF recording part 132 records each CF of CF groups included in the package on the recording medium, and prepares CF group management information to manage the CF groups and records it on the recording medium. A contents-metadata correspondence information recording part 133 prepares information on correspondence between the CFs and metadata files in the package or correspondence between the package itself and the metadata files, and records it on the recording medium. When the CFs and the metadata files are recorded separately, their correspondence can be maintained continuously correctly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a file management method for managing a content file stored in a recording medium and its metadata file while maintaining a correspondence, and a content recording / reproducing apparatus for implementing the file management method. And a program for executing the file management method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for digital content distribution services using communication and broadcasting. For example, every morning, newspaper articles are downloaded to a mobile phone and recorded on a storage medium connected to the mobile phone, and the storage medium is connected to other devices such as a television, a portable display, and a portable electronic organizer at a desired time. Newspaper article distribution services, such as reading articles, are being considered. An electronic book service is also considered in which a novel is divided into chapters and billing / downloading is performed in units of this chapter.

[0003] As a specific example of a newspaper article distribution service, a newspaper article is described in an HTML format file, and a one-day HTML file and this HTML file are stored.
A method of distributing an image file and an audio file accompanying the L file as one package is considered. As described above, in a service in which related contents are distributed as one package, a directory is generally created for distributed contents and the recorded contents are recorded on a recording medium.

(Storage for Each Service) In addition, the capacity of recording media for downloading contents has been rapidly increasing, and it has become possible to receive many distribution services with one recording medium. In this case, distribution contents from a plurality of services coexist on a single recording medium. Generally, a directory is created for each service on the recording medium, and the distributed contents are stored in directories corresponding to the respective services. Recorded below.

[0005] In addition, in the content distribution service, in addition to the content, information generally called metadata, such as bibliographic items, management information, and attribute information, is also distributed and recorded on a recording medium. Is done. Play the content /
By using the metadata attached to the content, the display device can perform operations other than content reproduction / display, such as content search, classification, and organization.

[0006] (Recording method of metadata) When such metadata is recorded on a recording medium, the contents file is structured inside and the metadata is stored and recorded in the same file as a part of the contents file. Separately, a metadata file is created and recorded in separate files.

[0007]

[0005] Here, in a device that receives the distribution of the content, the file of the distributed content and the file of the metadata are arranged so that the recording and reproduction of the content can be efficiently performed by simple processing. May have its own file name.

[0008] Therefore, among the conventional metadata recording methods, in the method of recording content and metadata in separate files, the distributed content file and its metadata file are recorded on a recording medium of a receiving device. At this time, if a unique file name is given to those files on the receiving side, it becomes impossible to interpret the correspondence between them based on the file names at the time of distribution.

[0009] On the other hand, in the method of recording metadata as a part of a content file, the above problem does not occur. However, the metadata only corresponds to each content file, and the metadata relating to a set of a plurality of content files. It is difficult to flexibly describe various levels of metadata, such as metadata about the entire package and metadata about the entire service.

[0010] Even when processing such as search, classification, and list display is performed using only metadata, it is necessary to obtain the contents of each content file, so that problems in processing efficiency are likely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a file management method capable of always maintaining the correspondence between objects such as content files and the like when metadata and metadata files are separately recorded. And a program for executing the file management method.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, when a distributed object and a metadata file are recorded on a recording medium and managed, the identifier of the metadata file and the identifier of the object are stored in a metadata correspondence management file. The above-mentioned object is achieved by managing the correspondence of the above.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the invention.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This device mainly includes an input device 110, a recording medium 120, a content recording device 130, a content reproducing device 140, and a display device 150. The input device 110 inputs a content recording request from the user to the content recording device 130, and inputs a content reproduction request or a content search request from the user to the content reproduction device 140. The content recording device 130 records content, metadata, and file management information in package units on the recording medium 120. The content reproducing device 140 reproduces the content using the content and the metadata recorded on the recording medium 120, displays the content on the display device 150, and searches and classifies the content.

The content recording device 130 includes a package management information recording unit 131, a content file recording unit 132, and a content metadata correspondence information recording unit 1.
33. Package management information recording unit 131
Creates package management information for managing the package recorded on the recording medium 120 and records it on the recording medium 120. The content file recording unit 132 records each content file of the content file group included in the package on the recording medium 120, and creates content file group management information for managing the content file group and records the content file group management information on the recording medium 120. The content metadata correspondence information recording unit 133 creates information on the correspondence between the content file in the package and the metadata file or the correspondence between the package itself and the metadata file, and records the information on the recording medium 120.

The content reproducing apparatus 140 includes a content file obtaining unit 141 and a metadata file obtaining unit 1
42, and a metadata correspondence solution section 143. The content file acquisition unit 141 is configured to
In response to the content reproduction instruction from 0, the designated file is acquired from the recording medium 120. The metadata file acquisition unit 142 acquires a metadata file required for the search process from the recording medium 120. The metadata correspondence resolution unit 143 obtains a metadata file corresponding to the specified content file and obtains a content file corresponding to the specified metadata file.

Next, based on the file management method of this embodiment, a content recording process performed by this device,
For content search processing and content playback processing,
This will be described using a specific example.

<Content Recording Process> First, the input device 1
Through 10, the user receives a content recording instruction from the user. As an example, let us consider a case where there is an instruction to record the package shown in FIG. The package shown in FIG. 2 includes HTML files 201 and 202, metadata files 203 and 204 assigned to the HTML files, and a metadata file 205 relating to the entire package. FIG. 2 illustrates a part of a package, and it is assumed that many other such files exist in the package.

HTML files 201 and 202 at the time of distribution
Have the file names "12240025.htm" and "12240026.htm", respectively, and have the metadata file 203,
Reference numerals 204 and 205 denote “12240025.mdt” and “12240026.mdt” so that the correspondence with the HTML file becomes clear.
It has the file name "12240000.mdt". These file names are given based on the file management rules of the distribution side, and it is assumed that uniqueness is maintained in the subsequent package distribution service. In that case, these file names can be used as identifiers of each file.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the description contents of the metadata files "12240025.mdt", "12240026.mdt", and "12240000.mdt" in FIG. "12240025.mdt""12240026.md
In “t”, information such as “date”, “keyword”, “classification”, and “heading” of the corresponding newspaper article content files “12240025.htm” and “12240026.htm” is described as metadata. In addition, “12240000.mdt” describes, as metadata relating to the entire package, information relating to copyright indicating the creator, duplication, whether or not printing is possible, and the like. The items described as metadata are not limited to these, and many other items can be described.

FIG. 4 shows the recording medium 12 when the package shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a directory and file configuration at 0.

A directory is created and recorded for each package on the recording medium 120, and package management information is managed by a package management file 301. In the same layer as the package management file 301, "PKG0000
A directory 302 called "1" is created. Under the directory 302, a content file group management file 303 in which management information of the content file group and the metadata file group is described, and a content file, a package itself, and a metadata file. Content metadata correspondence management file 304 in which the correspondence is described
And the content files 201 and 202 and the metadata files 203 and 20 included in the package shown in FIG.
4 and 205 are stored.

The content files 201 and 202 and the metadata files 203, 204 and 205 included in the package shown in FIG.
`` 00001.htm '' `` 00002.htm '' `` 00003.
File names "mdt", "00004.mdt", and "00005.mdt" are recorded.

[0024] The content recording device 130 is the input device 1
Upon receiving a content recording instruction from 10, the package management information recording unit 131 first creates or updates the package management file 301.

FIG. 5 shows the package management file 3 at the stage when the package shown in FIG.
It is a figure showing an example of 01. Package management file 3
01 manages the correspondence between the package directory number corresponding to the package directory name and the package identifier for uniquely identifying the directory.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the directory name of the package directory corresponding to the package directory number is "PKGXXXXX (XXXXX
= Package directory number) ". However, any naming rule can be used as long as the directory name of the package directory can be uniquely derived from the package directory number.

In FIG. 5, a character string "ARTICLE001224" is used as a package identifier. However, this package identifier is not limited as long as it can uniquely identify a package directory existing in the recording medium 120. It can be a simple string, a number, or a symbol.

Next, the content file recording unit 132 records a content file and a metadata file and creates a content file group management file. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content file group management file 303 at the stage when the package shown in FIG. The content file group management file manages a correspondence between a file number corresponding to a file name when recorded on the recording medium 120 and a file identifier for uniquely identifying the content file or the metadata file. One is created for each package directory. File numbers shall be numbered in package units.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the file name corresponding to the file number is "XXXXX.
EXT (XXXXX = file number, EXT = extension of original file) ". However, any naming rule can be used as long as the file name on the recording medium 120 can be uniquely derived from the file number. In FIG. 6, a character string of a file name at a distribution source is used as a file identifier. This file identifier is used to identify a file existing under the package directory “PKG00001” in the recording medium 120. Any character string, number, or symbol may be used as long as it can be uniquely identified.

Finally, the content metadata correspondence information recording unit 133 creates a content metadata correspondence management file indicating the correspondence between the content file and the metadata file or the correspondence between the package itself and the metadata file. Do. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the content metadata correspondence management file 304 at the stage when the package shown in FIG. The content metadata correspondence management file is
It manages the correspondence between the identifier of the content file and the identifier of the metadata file, or the correspondence between the package identifier and the identifier of the metadata file, and is created for each package directory.

In the content metadata correspondence management file, the metadata file identifier "12240025.m
dt ”and“ 12240026.mdt ”, a one-to-one relationship that associates a file identifier of one content is recorded. However, a file identifier of one metadata and an identifier of a plurality of contents are recorded. One-to-many relationship, many-to-one relationship between multiple metadata file identifiers and one content identifier, or many-to-many relationship between multiple metadata file identifiers and multiple content identifiers Can be recorded and managed.

<Content Search / Reproduction Process> Input Device 1
It is assumed that a search request for the package shown in FIG. Here, two types of search requests are considered: a case in which the user makes a selection from a list of contents after the content list is displayed, and a case in which the user inputs a keyword and searches for content that matches the keyword.

First, a description will be given of a process in a case where a user makes a selection from a list of contents after the list is displayed.
FIG. 8 shows the metadata file “00003.md” in FIG.
t "and" 00004.mdt ". Information such as “date”, “keyword”, “classification”, and “headline” of the corresponding newspaper article content file is described as metadata.

The metadata file acquiring section 142 of the content reproducing apparatus 140 acquires all the metadata files recorded on the recording medium 120, and lists the "heading information" described in the metadata file as a list.
Display at 0. FIG. 9 shows an example of display contents of the display device 150 at that time. The user browses the list display of FIG. 9 and specifies a desired article. The content reproducing device 140 holds the correspondence between the headline information of the articles displayed in the list and the file number of the metadata file from which the information was acquired, and sends the file number to the metadata correspondence resolution unit 143. hand over.

Hereinafter, the processing in the metadata correspondence solution section 143 will be described assuming that the user has selected the headline display of "Year-end sales battle Takenaka" from the list display shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows a metadata correspondence relationship solving unit 143.
It is a figure which shows the processing flow in. Step 901: First, from the content file group management file 303, the file number “00003” of the metadata file corresponding to the heading “Year-end sales season”
Get the identifier of the file corresponding to. As shown in FIG. 6, the identifier “12240025.mdt” is obtained as a result.

Step 902: Next, an identifier corresponding to the metadata file identifier "12240025.mdt" is obtained from the content metadata correspondence management file 304. FIG.
As shown in the above, “12240025.htm” is obtained as a result. Step 903: Finally, a content file number corresponding to the file identifier “12240025.htm” is obtained from the content file group management file 303. As shown in FIG. 6, “00001” is obtained as a result. That is,
As a content file corresponding to the heading “Year-end sales battle”, a file number “00001”, that is, a file “00001.htm” in FIG. 4 is obtained as a final result.

Thereafter, the content file acquisition section 141
Acquires the contents of the file “00001.htm” and outputs it to the display device 150.

The processing of steps 901 to 903 is performed on all the metadata files before displaying the list of the heading information, and the relationship between the corresponding metadata file and the content file is secured on the main memory. While the list is displayed while the user makes a selection, the corresponding content file may be obtained using the correspondence in the main memory.

The above is a series of search processing from display of a list of contents to selection of a user and display of desired article contents.

Next, a description will be given of a process in which the user inputs a keyword, searches for and displays content that matches the keyword. Here, it is assumed that the user has input the keyword “Christmas”. The metadata file acquisition unit 142 acquires all metadata files recorded on the recording medium 120 and extracts all “keywords” described in the metadata file. At this time, a metadata file having a "keyword" item matching the keyword input by the user is determined while maintaining the correspondence between the extracted keyword and the file number of the metadata file in which the extracted keyword is described. I do. As shown in FIG. 8, a metadata file having a file number “00003” satisfies such a condition.

Hereinafter, the metadata correspondence solution section 143
From the metadata file with the file number “00003” to the corresponding content file number “0000
The processing for obtaining “1” is performed in steps 901 to 901 shown in FIG.
The processing is performed in exactly the same manner as the processing in step 903. Then, the content file obtaining unit 141 finally obtains the content of the file “00001.htm” in FIG. 4, which is the article that matches the search condition of the user, and outputs the content to the display device 150.

In the steps 901 to 903, the processing for obtaining the file number of the corresponding content file from the file number of the metadata file has been described. The process for obtaining the number can be realized in substantially the same manner.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the package management file for managing the correspondence between the package directory number and the package identifier for uniquely identifying the directory, the file number of the file name for recording and the content file Alternatively, a content file group management file that manages correspondence between file identifiers for uniquely identifying metadata files, and content metadata correspondence management that manages correspondence between file identifiers of content files and file identifiers of metadata files. And create a file. By using these management files, the correspondence between content files and metadata files can always be determined correctly, and processing such as search, classification, and organization of content using metadata can be performed correctly and efficiently. Can be performed.

The relationship between the content and the metadata is not only one-to-one, but also one-to-many, many-to-one,
Many-to-many correspondence is also possible, and it is possible to always associate and use metadata with a set of contents correctly.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. This device is an input device 1010
, Recording medium 1020, content recording device 1030
, Content reproduction device 1040, display device 1050
It is mainly composed of The input device 1010 transmits a content recording request by the user to the content recording device 10.
30 and inputs a content reproduction request or a content search request from the user to the content reproduction apparatus 1040. The content recording device 130 is a recording medium 102
0 stores the content, metadata, and file management information for each package. Content playback device 140
Uses the content and metadata recorded on the recording medium 1020 to reproduce the content and display it on the display device 1050 to search and classify the content.

The content recording device 1030 includes a service management information recording unit 1031, a package management information recording unit 1032, and a package metadata file recording unit 1030.
33 and a package metadata correspondence information recording unit 1034
, A content file recording unit 1035, and a content metadata correspondence information recording unit 1036.

The service management information recording unit 1031 creates service management information for managing the service recorded on the recording medium 1020 and records it on the recording medium 1020. The package management information recording unit 1032 stores the recording medium 1
The package management information for managing the package recorded in 020 is created and recorded on the recording medium 1020.
The package metadata file recording unit 1033 records the metadata file group relating to the package included in each service or the service itself on the recording medium 1020, and creates metadata file group management information for managing the file group. To record on the recording medium 1020. Package metadata correspondence information recording unit 103
Reference numeral 4 creates information on the correspondence between the package in the service and the metadata file or the correspondence between the service itself and the metadata file, and records the information on the recording medium 1020. The content file recording unit 1035 records each file of the content file group and the metadata file group included in each package on the recording medium 1020, and creates and records content file group management information for managing the files. It is recorded on the medium 1020. Content metadata correspondence information recording unit 1036
Creates information on the correspondence between the content file in the package and the metadata file or the correspondence between the package itself and the metadata file, and
Record at 20.

The content reproducing apparatus 1040 mainly comprises a content file obtaining unit 1041, a metadata file obtaining unit 1042, and a metadata correspondence solution unit 1043. Content file acquisition unit 10
41 receives a content reproduction instruction, a search instruction, and the like from the input device 1010, and acquires a specified content file from the recording medium 1020. The metadata file acquisition unit 1042 acquires a metadata file required for the search processing from the recording medium 1020. The metadata correspondence resolution unit 1043 obtains a metadata file corresponding to the specified content file and obtains a content file corresponding to the specified metadata file.

Next, based on the file management method of this embodiment, a content recording process performed by this device,
For content search processing and content playback processing,
This will be described using a specific example.

<Content Recording Process> First, the input device 1
Through 010, a content recording instruction is received from the user. As an example, let us consider a case where there is an instruction to record the metadata 1100 shown in FIG. Note that the metadata 110
0 is distributed in advance before the service starts.

The metadata 1100 shown in FIG. 12 is composed of packages 1121 to 1130 constituting report documents for one company, and metadata files 1101 to 1110 for the packages. For example, the file 1101 is a metadata file for the package 1121, and the package 1121 is “ACOMP01.htm”, “ACO
MP02.htm ". It is assumed that ten such reports are continuously distributed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the directory and file configuration on the recording medium 1020 after all the packages shown in FIG. 12 have been recorded by the content recording device 1030.

A service directory 1202 called “SVC00001” representing a service unit is created in the same hierarchy as the service management file 1201, and a package management file 1203, a metadata file group management file 1204, a package metadata A correspondence management file 1205 and metadata files 1101 to 1011 corresponding to the respective packages shown in FIG.
1110 is recorded. These are respectively "00002.md
t ”“ 00003.mdt ”“ 00004.mdt ”フ ァ イ ル“ 00011.mdt ”. Similarly, the metadata 1100 for the entire service is “00001.md
"t".

Also, metadata 1206, 1207, and 1208 corresponding to a plurality of packages are respectively "0001
2.mdt ”,“ 00013.mdt ”and“ 00014.mdt ”are created and recorded. The method of creating these files will be described later.

Further, subdirectories corresponding to each package are created under the service directory 1202, and files included in each package are recorded under each subdirectory. For example, a directory 1209 “PKG00001” is created for the package 1121 in FIG.
209, the content file group management file 12
10 and content metadata correspondence management file 121
1 and each file of the package 1121 are recorded.

Upon receiving a content recording instruction from input device 1010, content recording device 1030 first receives
The service management information recording unit 1031 creates or updates the service management file 1201.

As shown in FIG. 13, in this embodiment, the directory name of the service directory corresponding to the service directory number is “SVCXXXXX (XXXXX =
Service directory number) ". However, any naming rule can be used as long as the directory name of the service directory can be uniquely derived from the service directory number.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the service management file 1201 at the stage when the service shown in FIG. 12 is recorded on the recording medium 1020. The service management file 1201 manages a correspondence between a service directory number corresponding to a service directory name and a service identifier for uniquely identifying the directory.

In FIG. 14, the character string “COMPREPORT” is used as the service identifier. However, this service identifier is not limited as long as the service directory existing in the recording medium 1020 can be uniquely identified. It can be a simple string, a number, or a symbol.

Next, a package management information recording unit 1032
Creates or updates the package management file 1203, but this operation is the same as the operation described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the package metadata file recording unit 1033 records the metadata file relating to the package and stores the metadata file group management file 1
204 is created.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the metadata file group management file 1204 at the stage when the package group shown in FIG. 12 is recorded on the recording medium 1020. The metadata file group management file manages the correspondence between the file number corresponding to the metadata file name when recorded on the recording medium 1020 and the metadata file identifier for uniquely identifying the metadata file. , One for each service directory. It is assumed that the metadata file numbers are numbered in service units.

As shown in FIG. 13, in this embodiment, the file name corresponding to the metadata file number is “XXXXX.EXT (XXXXX = file number, EXT = extension of original file)”. The description will be made under the naming rule.
However, the recording medium 1020 is determined from the metadata file number.
If the file name above can be derived uniquely,
Anything is fine.

In FIG. 13, the character string of the file name at the distribution source is used as the metadata file identifier.
The service directory “SVC00” in the recording medium 1020
Any character string, number, or symbol may be used as long as it can uniquely identify files existing under "001".

Next, each package is recorded on the recording medium 1020. The contents file group management file and the contents metadata correspondence management file under each package directory are created and the contents file is recorded in the first embodiment. Since the operation is the same as described above, the description is omitted here.

Here, the metadata file number “0001”
Metadata files corresponding to “2” to “00014” are newly created from the distributed metadata. This creation operation will be described below. FIG. 16 shows a description example of metadata 1100 “CATEGORY.mdt” of the entire service to be distributed. The content is the classification information of the company that reports on the service, in which the classification names of the company are registered, from a large classification such as manufacturing / service / finance / construction to a small classification such as computer / heavy electric / consumer electronics. I have. FIG.
And metadata 11 corresponding to each package to be distributed.
Examples of contents of 01 to 1110 are shown. Here, the company name of each package, its classification, the date of the report, the performance trend (+/-), and the like are described.

Package metadata file recording unit 10
After recording the metadata corresponding to each package, the unit 33 creates new metadata 1206, 1207, and 1208 by integrating them. here,
As an example, it is assumed that a performance summary of a company belonging to each category is created as metadata. FIG. 18 shows a description example of the contents of the metadata 1206, 1207, and 1208.
Here, the metadata 1206 extracts and records a summary of a group of companies classified as home appliances. For example, the recent performance of a company classified here as home appliances indicates that + is 4 and-is 1. Similarly, metadata 1207
Extracts and records a summary of the group of companies classified as heavy electric. The metadata 1208 extracts and records a summary of a group of companies classified into computers.

<Content Search / Reproduction Process> Input Device 1
It is assumed that a display request for the company report shown in FIG. In some cases, the user directly displays the report by specifying the company name, etc.
First, a case will be considered in which a step-by-step display in which a selection menu is displayed from the device side and a detailed report is displayed by allowing the user to select an item from the selection menu is performed.

First, a metadata file acquisition unit 1042
Acquires the metadata file of the entire service. This is performed according to the following procedure. First, the metadata correspondence resolution unit 1043 refers to the package metadata correspondence management file 1205 and acquires the identifier of the metadata file of the service. FIG. 19 shows an example of the contents of the package metadata correspondence management file.

Here, a metadata file identifier “CATEGORY.mdt” corresponding to the service identifier “COMPREPORT” is obtained. Next, the metadata file group management file 120
4, the metadata file number “00001” corresponding to “CATEGORY.mdt” is obtained.

The metadata file acquiring unit 1042 acquires the contents of the metadata file “00001.mdt”, displays the company classification described therein on the display device 1050, and prompts the user to make a selection.

Here, it is assumed that the user has selected the company classification "computer". In this case, the metadata file acquisition unit 1042 determines the metadata files 1206, 1207, and 120 in which the report summary is described.
8 and a summary of the classification of “computer” is identified from among them. Here, the details of this processing are omitted. Since the metadata file 1208 records the summary of the group of companies classified as “computer”, the summary is displayed on the display device 1050.

Next, it is assumed that a user requests display of a report of a company belonging to the classification. The content reproduction device 1040 uses the currently displayed metadata file 1
A package corresponding to 208 is obtained as follows. First, the package metadata correspondence management file 12
05, the identifier of the package corresponding to the currently displayed metadata file is “BCOMPPACK00”, “BCOPPACK00”,
MPPACK01, ECOMPPACK00, FCOMPPACK00, GCOMPPAC
K00 ”.

Next, the package management file 1203 is referred to for the identifier of each package. FIG. 20 shows an example of the contents of the package management file 1203. For example, the package directory number corresponding to the package identifier “BCOMPPACK01” is “00005”. After that, the files in the package are displayed. The display of the files in this package is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

In the package metadata correspondence management file shown in FIG. 19, a one-to-one relationship in which one metadata file identifier corresponds to one package identifier,
And a one-to-many relationship in which one metadata file identifier corresponds to a plurality of package identifiers, but a many-to-one relationship in which a plurality of metadata file identifiers correspond to one package identifier Alternatively, a many-to-many relationship in which file identifiers of a plurality of metadata correspond to identifiers of a plurality of packages can be recorded and managed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the device receiving the content distribution has its own file in the directory for recording the file of the distributed content, the metadata file, the package, and the directory for recording the entire service. A service management file for managing the correspondence between the service directory number corresponding to the service directory name and the service identifier for uniquely identifying the directory, when assigning the package directory number corresponding to the package directory name and the A package management file that manages correspondence with a package identifier for uniquely identifying a directory. A metadata file that uniquely corresponds to a file name when a metadata file corresponding to each package is recorded on the recording medium 120. File group management file for managing the correspondence between the file number and the metadata file identifier for uniquely identifying the metadata file The correspondence between the file identifier of the metadata file and the package identifier of the corresponding package is managed Create a package metadata support management file.
And by using these management files,
Different levels of metadata, such as service metadata, package metadata, and content metadata, as well as service, package,
Correspondence with content can always be obtained correctly, and processing such as search, classification, and organization of content and packages using metadata can be executed correctly and efficiently.

Note that here, metadata files 1206, 1207, and 1208 corresponding to a plurality of packages are provided.
Is described in the content recording apparatus, but these files may be created and transmitted on the transmission side.

Here, in the first embodiment, the metadata file is located immediately below the package directory.
A case has been described in which the metadata for each metadata file is managed using the content metadata correspondence management file. Further, in the second embodiment, the case has been described where the metadata file is disposed immediately below the service directory, and the metadata for each item is managed using the package metadata correspondence management file.

However, the two types of correspondence management files may be files having the same format and the same name (hereinafter, both are collectively referred to as a “metadata correspondence management file”). Also, as described above, the recording medium 120
When the metadata correspondence management file is recorded in (1020), the content metadata correspondence information recording unit 133 and the package metadata correspondence information recording unit 1034 are collectively referred to as a metadata correspondence information recording unit.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the metadata correspondence management file. The metadata correspondence management file is
It manages the correspondence between the identifier of the metadata file and the identifier of the object (general name of service or package or content), and is created for each service directory or package directory. The record type in FIG. 21 indicates whether the metadata correspondence management file is located immediately below the service directory or the package directory, and the metadata file specified by the metadata file identifier of the record. Information for determining which type of object is metadata is described. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of the record type and the meaning of the value of each record type.

The metadata correspondence information recording unit creates a metadata correspondence management file for managing the correspondence between the identifier of the metadata file and the identifier of the object corresponding to the metadata file, and records the file on a recording medium.

In the metadata correspondence management file, when the record type value is “12” or “22”, the object corresponding to the metadata file is specified as one. A predetermined value such as Null may be stored as the value of the object identifier. 21 and 22, the record type values are "11", "12", "2".
Although 1 "and" 22 "have been described as examples, any number, character, or symbol may be used as long as the value uniquely specifies the four types of meanings shown in FIG.

[0083]

As is apparent from the above description, in the file management method of the present invention, in a service in which content and metadata are separately distributed and recorded on one recording medium, the content and the metadata are Can be maintained correctly, and various processes such as search, classification, and organization using metadata can be performed correctly and efficiently.

Further, when a plurality of services are realized on one recording medium and each service is distributed as a package including a plurality of contents, each service includes metadata such as service metadata, package metadata, and content metadata. Correspondence can be maintained correctly for each level of metadata.

Further, the correspondence between a metadata file and a package or a relationship between a metadata file and a content file can be managed in a one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many relationship, so that services can be managed. The degree of freedom of metadata that can be given and the degree of freedom of processing using metadata such as search, classification, and organization can be dramatically increased.

The effect described above is that the device that receives the content distribution has its own file name and directory name in the directory of the file of the distributed content, the file of the metadata, the directory for recording the package, and the directory for recording the entire service. The same effect can be achieved in devices that have relatively low processing capacity, such as portable devices, and need to simplify processing by assigning unique file names and directory names. I can give it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a package including a content file and a metadata file,

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating contents of metadata included in a package,

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a directory and file configuration on a recording medium according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a package management file according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a content file group management file according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a content data correspondence management file according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of description contents of a metadata file according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a list display screen according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a metadata correspondence solving unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 2.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a package and a metadata file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a directory and file configuration on a recording medium according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a service management file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a metadata file group management file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating contents of metadata for a service according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing contents of respective metadata according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a description example of contents of a metadata file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a package metadata correspondence management file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a package management file according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a diagram exemplifying the contents of a metadata correspondence management file;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating values and meanings of record types.

[Explanation of symbols]

110, 1010 Input device 120, 1020 Recording medium 130, 1030 Content recording device 131, 1032 Package management information recording portion 132, 1035 Content file recording portion 133, 1036 Content metadata correspondence information recording portion 140, 1040 Content reproduction device 141, 1041 Content file acquisition unit 142, 1042 Metadata file acquisition unit 143, 1043 Metadata correspondence resolution unit 150, 1050 Display device 201, 202, 1211 Content file 203 to 205 Metadata file 301, 1203 Package management file 302, 1203 Package directory 303, 1210 Content file group management file 304, 1211 Content metadata correspondence management file 10 31 Service management information recording unit 1033 Package metadata file recording unit 1034 Package metadata correspondence information recording unit 1100-1110 Metadata file 1206-1208 Metadata file 1201 Service management file 1202 Service directory 1204 Metadata file group management file 1205 Package meta Data correspondence management file

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Sato 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Terms (reference) 5B082 EA07 HA05 HA08

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A file management method for recording and managing a distributed object and a metadata file on a recording medium, wherein a correspondence relationship between an identifier of the metadata file and an identifier of an object corresponding to the metadata file is provided. File management method that manages files with metadata-enabled management files. 2. A file management method for managing the object and the metadata file on the recording medium by using a directory structure, wherein the metadata correspondence management file includes the metadata correspondence management file in the directory structure. 2. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein a record type indicating an arrangement position is provided. 3. A file management method for creating and managing a service directory for each service to which the object is distributed, wherein the record type is such that the metadata correspondence management file is arranged under the service directory. 3. The file management method according to claim 2, wherein: 4. A file management method for recording a package directory on the recording medium for each package file in which one or more contents are one package, wherein the record type is such that the metadata correspondence management file is the package directory. 4. The file management method according to claim 2, wherein the file management method indicates that the file is arranged below. 5. The file management method according to claim 4, wherein the record type indicates whether the metadata file described in the metadata correspondence management file is for a package or a service. 6. The file according to claim 4, wherein the record type indicates whether the metadata file described in the metadata correspondence management file is for a package file or for contents included in the package file. Management method. 7. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein the metadata correspondence management file is a file in which a one-to-one relationship between an identifier of one object and an identifier of one metadata file is associated. . 8. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein the metadata correspondence management file is a file in which a many-to-one relationship between identifiers of a plurality of objects and identifiers of one metadata file is associated. . 9. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein the metadata correspondence management file is a file in which a one-to-many relationship between an identifier of one object and identifiers of a plurality of metadata files is associated. . 10. The metadata correspondence management file includes:
7. The file management method according to claim 1, wherein the file is a file in which a many-to-many relationship between identifiers of a plurality of objects and identifiers of a plurality of metadata files is associated. 11. When the object is a package file, a directory is created for each package, and a content file included in the package and a metadata file corresponding to the content are recorded under the directory. The correspondence between the directory name and the package identifier attached to the package is managed by a package management file, and the file name and the identifier of the content and metadata when the content file and the metadata file are recorded on the recording medium 11. The metadata according to claim 1, wherein a correspondence relationship between the content file group management file and the identifier of the content file included in the package and the identifier of the metadata file corresponding to the content file are managed. File management method for managing the corresponding management file. 12. When a content is distributed in a package unit in which related contents are put together, a directory is created for each service, and a subdirectory is created for each package distributed from the service under the directory. And records a metadata file corresponding to the package, manages a correspondence relationship between a directory name of the subdirectory and a package identifier assigned to the package in a package management file, and, based on the subdirectory, The content file and the metadata file corresponding to the content are recorded, and the file name of the content file and the metadata file recorded on the recording medium and the file name of the content and the metadata are stored. Identifier and The correspondence relationship is managed by a content file group management file, the correspondence relationship between the directory name of the directory and the service identifier assigned to the service is managed by a service management file, and the metadata file is recorded on the recording medium. The correspondence between the file name and the identifier of the metadata is managed by a metadata file group management file, and the correspondence between the service identifier and the identifier of the metadata file corresponding to the service identifier and the identifier of the package and the corresponding A file which manages the correspondence between a metadata file identifier and the correspondence between the content file identifier and the corresponding metadata file identifier using the metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1. Management method. 13. A recording apparatus for recording a distributed object and a metadata file on a recording medium, wherein the object and the metadata file indicate a correspondence between the object and the metadata file. A content recording apparatus comprising: a metadata correspondence information recording unit that creates a metadata correspondence management file and records it on the recording medium. 14. When contents are distributed in a package unit in which related contents are put together, a directory corresponding to each service is created, and a correspondence relationship between a directory name of the directory and a service identifier assigned to the service is provided. A service management information recording unit that creates a service management file indicating the above and records the same on the recording medium; and a metadata file corresponding to the package or a metadata file corresponding to a service to which the package belongs, with a file name attached. Package metadata file recording means for recording on the recording medium, creating a metadata file group management file indicating the correspondence between the file name of the file and the file identifier, and recording the file on the recording medium. 14. The contents description according to claim 13. Apparatus. 15. A content reproducing apparatus for reproducing a content from a recording medium on which a distributed content file and file management information are recorded, wherein a correspondence between the identifier of the content file and the identifier of the corresponding metadata file is provided. 11. A content reproducing apparatus comprising: a metadata correspondence relationship solving unit for acquiring a metadata file corresponding to a content file using a metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1 as a file management information, the relationship being described. . 16. A system according to claim 1, wherein when contents are distributed in a package unit in which related contents are put together, a correspondence relationship between the identifier of the package and an identifier of a corresponding metadata file is described.
16. The content reproduction device according to claim 15, wherein a metadata file corresponding to the package is acquired using the metadata correspondence management file according to any one of claims 0 to 15. 17. When reproducing a content from a recording medium in which a file of content distributed from a plurality of services and file management information are recorded, correspondence between a directory name for each service and a service identifier assigned to the service. A service management file indicating a relationship, a metadata file group management file indicating a correspondence between a file name of a metadata file corresponding to the service and an identifier of the metadata, an identifier of the service and metadata corresponding thereto 11. The metadata correspondence management file according to claim 1, wherein a correspondence relationship between a file identifier and a correspondence relationship between a content file identifier and a corresponding metadata file identifier are described. Used as information, corresponding to content files Data data file, a content reproduction apparatus including a metadata correspondence solutions for each acquiring a metadata file corresponding to the service. 18. A system according to claim 1, wherein when contents are distributed in a package unit in which related contents are put together, a correspondence relationship between the identifier of the package and the identifier of a metadata file corresponding to the package is described.
18. The content reproduction device according to claim 17, wherein a metadata file corresponding to the package is obtained using the metadata correspondence management file according to any one of claims 0 to 10. 19. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the computer manages a correspondence between an identifier of the metadata file and an identifier of an object corresponding to the metadata file.
Metadata correspondence information recording means for creating a metadata correspondence management file according to any of the above and recording it on a recording medium,
Content recording program to function as