Server management device, method and program

Abstract

To appropriately execute processing of causing an identifier of a receiver and an identifier of a terminal to cooperate with each other.SOLUTION: A server management device of an embodiment can perform transmission and reception with a plurality of server devices storing information in which an identifier of a broadcast receiver, an authentication code, an identifier of a content providing device, and a first token, are associated with each other. The server management device acquires, from a terminal device acquiring the authentication code, an authentication request including the authentication code, the identifier of the content providing device, and identifiers of the server devices, acquires a notification of a cooperation instruction from the terminal, acquires, after acquiring the notification of the cooperation instruction, a first token corresponding to the authentication code from a server device corresponding to the authentication request, acquires a second token corresponding to a user identifier of the terminal from the content providing device corresponding to the authentication request, acquires an identifier of the broadcast receiver corresponding to the first token, and acquires a user identifier of a terminal device corresponding to the second token from the content providing device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a server management device. , method and program Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a technology in which a receiver and a terminal cooperate to transmit and receive information. For example, a receiver transmits information received from a website to a terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5898431 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order for the receiver, terminal, and content providing device that provides content such as a website to work together to send and receive information as described above, it is necessary to link the terminal user's identifier with the receiver's identifier in advance, and it is desirable to perform the linking process appropriately.

[0005] Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a server management device that can appropriately execute a process for linking a receiver identifier with a terminal identifier. , method and program The purpose is to provide [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The server management device of the embodiment is a server management device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of server devices that stores information associating identifiers of broadcast receiving devices, authentication codes, identifiers of content providing devices, and first tokens, and includes an acquisition unit that receives a program guide information acquisition request from the broadcast receiving device via the server device in response to a program guide information acquisition request from the broadcast receiving device, and acquires program configuration information from the content providing device; an acquisition unit that acquires the identifiers of the broadcast receiving device and the identifiers of terminal devices of users of the content providing device; User the broadcast receiving device includes a memory unit that stores promotion information that promotes associating the broadcast receiving device with an identifier; and a transmission unit that transmits the program configuration information and the promotion information to the broadcast receiving device. The acquisition unit acquires an authentication request including the authentication code, an identifier of the content providing device, and an identifier of the server device from a terminal device that has acquired an authentication code sent by the server device to the broadcast receiving device in response to a request based on the promotion information from the broadcast receiving device, acquires from the terminal device a notification of an instruction to link the identifier of the broadcast receiving device with the user identifier of the terminal device, and after acquiring the notification of the instruction to link, acquires a first token corresponding to the authentication code from the server device corresponding to the authentication request, acquires a second token corresponding to the user identifier of the terminal device from the content providing device corresponding to the authentication request, acquires the identifier of the broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token from the server device, acquires the user identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the second token from the content providing device, and associates the identifier of the broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token acquired by the acquisition unit with the user identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the second token and registers them in the recording unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an example of the overall configuration of an information linkage system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the television device of the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of the television device of the first embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the push distribution server of the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of the push distribution server of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of data stored in the push distribution server of the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information link system of the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an example of the overall configuration of an information linkage system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a common reception server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the partial configuration of a common reception server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information link system of the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information link system of the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information link system of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of promotion information in the information link system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a display process of promotion information in the information link system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the linking process in the information linking system of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the link cancellation process in the information link system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for canceling cooperation via an operation of a user terminal in the information cooperation system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of information on a clickable advertisement in the information linking system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a linkage processing procedure in the information linkage system of the modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments (first and second embodiments) of a server device, a broadcast receiving device, a server management device, an information linkage system, and a program of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0009] (First embodiment) First, an example of the overall configuration of an information linkage system S according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an example of the overall configuration of the information linkage system S according to the first embodiment. The information linkage system S includes a smartphone 1 (terminal), a television device 2 (broadcast receiving device), a TV cloud 3 (server device), and a content providing server 4 which is a content providing device such as an EC (Electronic Commerce) site server. The TV cloud 3 is capable of communicating with the television device 2 and the content providing server 4 via a public communication line such as the Internet. Furthermore, the smartphone 1 is capable of wireless communication with the content providing server 4 and the TV cloud 3 via a base station.

[0010] The smartphone 1 is an example of an information terminal owned by a user of the television device 2. The smartphone 1 includes a communication I / F (Interface), an audio input unit (microphone), a group of sensors, a display unit, a graphic controller, a touch panel controller, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, a camera, a speaker, etc. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that a user uses the smartphone 1 to do internet shopping.

[0011] The TV cloud 3 is a server device, a so-called cloud server, that can transmit and receive data to and from the television device 2 via a network. The TV cloud 3 may be, for example, a server device operated by the manufacturer of the television device 2. Based on the results of collecting viewing-related information (viewing information) from the television device 2, the TV cloud 3 provides various services to the television device 2 via the network, such as recommended information for programs being viewed, scheduled programs, and product recommendation information based on the content of the programs being viewed.

[0012] The content providing server 4 is a computer device for operating an e-commerce site (online shop) on the Internet. The content providing server 4 is, for example, a server device of an e-commerce platform provider. The content providing server 4 is a platform for purchasing products and services via a network in response to operations of a terminal device (smartphone 1, etc.) by a user (consumer). The content providing server 4 may also be a video platform that provides content such as videos. For example, the content providing server 4 transmits product images to the smartphone 1 in response to operations on the smartphone 1. The content providing server 4 registers redirect_uri in advance in the TV cloud 3.

[0013] Hereinafter, each component of the information link system S will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2 and subsequent figures. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a television device 2 according to a first embodiment. The television device 2 executes display control for a video display unit 233 that is larger than the display unit included in the smartphone 1 (details will be described later).

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the television device 2 includes an input terminal 202, tuners 203a to 203g, a signal processing unit 207, a graphics processing unit 208, an audio processing unit 209, an OSD (On Screen Display) signal generating unit 210, and a video processing unit 211.

[0015] A terrestrial digital broadcast signal received by a terrestrial broadcast receiving antenna 213 is input to the input terminal 202. The terrestrial digital broadcast signal is supplied via the input terminal 202 to tuners 203a to 203g.

[0016] The tuners 203a to 203g are tuners for terrestrial digital broadcasting, and select, from the terrestrial digital broadcasting signals supplied from the input terminal 202, broadcasting signals of channels designated by the control unit 216, which will be described later.

[0017] However, the television device 2 may have an input terminal to which a satellite digital broadcast signal received by a BS / CS digital broadcast receiving antenna is input. The satellite digital broadcast signal is supplied to a satellite digital broadcast tuner via the input terminal.

[0018] Signal processing unit 207 demodulates the broadcast signals supplied from tuners 203a to 203g into broadcast signals including digital video signals and audio signals. Furthermore, signal processing unit 207 selectively performs predetermined digital signal processing on the video signals included in the digital broadcast signals, and outputs the result to graphics processing unit 208. Furthermore, signal processing unit 207 selectively performs desired digital signal processing on the audio signals included in the digital broadcast signals, and outputs the result to audio processing unit 209.

[0019] A plurality of external input terminals 214a to 214d are connected to the signal processing unit 207. These external input terminals 214a to 214d can receive analog video signals and audio signals from an external device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) recorder. The signal processing unit 207 digitizes the analog video signals and audio signals received from the external input terminals 214a to 214d. The signal processing unit 207 then performs predetermined digital signal processing on the digitized video signals and outputs the resulting signal to the graphics processing unit 208. The signal processing unit 207 also performs predetermined digital signal processing on the digitized audio signals and outputs the resulting signal to the audio processing unit 209.

[0020] The graphics processing unit 208 superimposes an OSD signal generated by the OSD signal generating unit 210 on the digital video signal supplied from the signal processing unit 207 and outputs the superimposed signal to the video processing unit 211. The graphics processing unit 208 can also output either the digital video signal supplied from the signal processing unit 207 or the OSD signal generated by the OSD signal generating unit 210 to the video processing unit 211.

[0021] Video processing unit 211 converts the digital video signal or OSD signal input from graphics processing unit 208 into an analog video signal or OSD signal in a format that can be displayed on the display screen of video display unit 233, and outputs it to video display unit 233. Video display unit 233 is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display.

[0022] The audio processing unit 209 converts the digital audio signal input from the signal processing unit 207 into an analog audio signal in a format that can be reproduced by the speaker 215 , and outputs the signal to the speaker 215 .

[0023] The television device 2 further includes a control unit 216, a card holder 217, various interfaces 218 to 221, and a brightness sensor 230. The control unit 216 includes a CPU 216a, a ROM 216b, a RAM 216c, and a nonvolatile memory 216d.

[0024] The control unit 216 comprehensively controls various operations of the television device 2, such as reception of broadcast signals, such as terrestrial digital broadcast signals and satellite digital broadcast signals. The control unit 216 also controls each unit of the television device 2 in accordance with operation information from the operation unit 222 or operation information input from the remote control 238 via the light receiving unit 223.

[0025] The CPU 216a controls the overall operation of the television device 2 by executing programs stored in the ROM 216b. The ROM 216b mainly stores programs executed by the CPU 216a. The RAM 216c provides a work area when the CPU 216a executes the programs. The non-volatile memory 216d stores various setting information, control information, etc. of the television device 2.

[0026] The control unit 216 is connected to a card holder 217 to which a memory card 234 can be attached and detached via a card I / F 225. This allows the control unit 216 to send and receive various information to and from the memory card 234 attached to the card holder 217 via the card I / F 225.

[0027] The control unit 216 is connected to the LAN terminal 226 via the communication I / F 218. This allows the control unit 216 to send and receive various information via the communication I / F 218 to and from external devices such as the relay device 400 and LAN-compatible HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) connected to the LAN terminal 226. However, the communication I / F 218 may be configured to be connectable wirelessly to external devices such as the relay device 400.

[0028] The control unit 216 is connected to an HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) terminal 227 via an HDMI I / F 221. This allows the control unit 216 to transmit and receive various information to and from an external device connected to the HDMI terminal 227 via the HDMI I / F 221.

[0029] The control unit 216 is connected to a USB terminal 228 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) I / F 219. This allows the control unit 216 to send and receive various information via the USB I / F 219 to and from a storage device 237 including a USB HDD or the like connected to the USB terminal 228.

[0030] The storage device 237 includes, for example, an HDD or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and is configured to record, as recording data, the digital signal received by the television device 2. However, the storage device 237 may be built into the television device 2.

[0031] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of the television device 2 according to the first embodiment. The television device 2 includes a storage unit 241 (the ROM 216b, RAM 216c, nonvolatile memory 216d, and storage device 237 in FIG. 2), and a transmission unit 242, an acquisition unit 243, and a display control unit 244 as functional modules generated as a result of the CPU 216a executing a program stored in the storage unit 241.

[0032] The transmitting unit 242 transmits various types of information to an external device. The acquiring unit 243 acquires various types of information from an external device and reads out various types of information stored in the storage unit 241.

[0033] The display control unit 244 executes a display process for displaying various types of information on the video display unit 233. For example, in response to an image display request from the smartphone 1, the display control unit 244 causes the video display unit 233 to display an image (details will be described later).

[0034] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the TV cloud 3 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the TV cloud 3 includes a communication I / F 301, an operation unit 302, a CPU 303, a memory 304, and a storage device 305.

[0035] The communication I / F 301 is an interface used for communication with an external device. The operation unit 302 has input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display device such as a display.

[0036] The storage device 305 includes, for example, an HDD, an SSD, etc., and stores various types of information. The CPU 303 executes various programs to control each component of the TV cloud 3. The memory 304 includes a ROM, a RAM, etc., and stores various programs and various types of data used in various arithmetic processing by the CPU 303.

[0037] 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of the TV cloud 3 according to the first embodiment. The TV cloud 3 includes a storage unit 311 (memory 304, storage device 305), and an acquisition unit 312, a transmission unit 313, and a generation unit 314 as functional modules generated as a result of a program stored in the storage unit 311 being executed by the CPU 303.

[0038] The storage unit 311 stores a program executed by the CPU 303 and a DB (DataBase). An example of the data configuration of the DB will now be described with reference to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the DB stores information including a TVID, an authentication code, an EC server ID, and a token. The DB may also store attribute information (such as the TV model) of the television device 2 corresponding to the TVID, along with the TVID.

[0039] The TVID is information for identifying the television device 2. The authentication code is a code required to acquire a token, which will be described later. The EC server ID is information for identifying the content providing server 4. That is, it is an ID of an EC site server or the like. The token is information used for authentication. Returning to FIG. 5, the acquisition unit 312 acquires various information from an external device. The transmission unit 313 transmits various information to the external device. The generation unit 314 performs an information generation operation for the DB.

[0040] Next, the processing flow of each component in the information linkage system S will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information linkage system S of the first embodiment. Here, the process starts when the user operates a remote control or the like of the television device 2 to specify an EC site that the user wants to link with the smartphone 1 on a so-called portal screen (a screen for linking with EC sites, etc.). Note that the processing of the smartphone 1 shown in FIG. 7 may be executed by an application program installed on the smartphone 1.

[0041] As described above, when an EC site is designated by the user, in step S1, the transmission unit 242 of the television device 2 transmits information about the EC site (for example, the EC site ID, the EC site URL, etc.) and a TVID that is an identifier of the television device 2 to the TV cloud 3. In this way, the transmission unit 242 transmits information about the content providing server 4 that is an image providing device that provides images in the EC site to the TV cloud 3.

[0042] The acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires information about the EC site and the TVID from the television device 2. The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 generates an authentication code and stores information including the TVID, an EC server ID that identifies the content providing server 4 of the EC site, and the authentication code in the DB of the storage unit 311. The generation unit 314 also generates a QR code (registered trademark), which is a two-dimensional code based on the authentication code and a URL that is an access destination of the EC site. Note that the QR code is just an example, and other display information may be used. In other words, display information in another format that can transmit the authentication code and access destination information of the EC site may be used. The authentication code may include a portion for identifying the manufacturer and a portion for identifying the television device 2.

[0043] In step S2, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the QR code to the requesting television device 2. In response to the request from the television device 2, the transmission unit 313 transmits a QR code including a URL to access the EC site and an authentication code.

[0044] The acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the QR code from the TV cloud 3. In this way, the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the QR code, which is access information based on the authentication code and the URL of the EC site to be accessed. The display control unit 244 of the television device 2 causes the QR code to be displayed on the video display unit 233. In this way, the display control unit 244 displays and outputs the QR code.

[0045] In step S3, the smartphone 1 uses a QR code reading function implemented by an imaging means or the like to read the QR code displayed on the video display unit 233. As a result, the smartphone 1 acquires the URL and authentication code of the EC site. In step S4, after acquiring the URL and authentication code of the EC site, the smartphone 1 accesses the content providing server 4 based on the URL and transmits the authentication code.

[0046] When the content providing server 4 acquires the authentication code from the smartphone 1, in step S5, it transmits the authentication code to the TV cloud 3 together with information for identifying the content providing server 4, and makes an authentication request. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the authentication code together with information for identifying the content providing server 4. In this way, the acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the authentication code transmitted from the content providing server 4.

[0047] The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 performs authentication by referring to the DB in the storage unit 311 and determining whether there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The generation unit 314 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311, and if there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312, generates a token using publicly known technology. The generation unit 314 also associates the token with information in the DB that includes the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The information that further associates the token with the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312 also includes the TVID of the television device 2 that made the request.

[0048] Therefore, the generation unit 314 generates association information that associates the television device 2 corresponding to the authentication code with the token based on the authentication code.

[0049] In step S6, the transmitting unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the token generated by the generating unit 314 to the content providing server 4. In this way, the transmitting unit 313 transmits the token based on the authentication code to the content providing server 4. The content providing server 4 stores information that associates the token with the user ID of the smartphone 1 that transmitted the authentication code.

[0050] In step S7, the smartphone 1 logs in to the content providing server 4 and accesses the EC site. As a result, the smartphone 1 displays the EC site screen. Here, the user of the smartphone 1 selects an instruction indicating a television display request for a specific link destination on the EC site screen. In step S8, in response to the selection, the smartphone 1 makes a television display request by sending the URL of the link destination to the content providing server 4. The content providing server 4 acquires the television display request and the URL of the image display target from the smartphone 1.

[0051] In step S9, the content providing server 4 transmits a token corresponding to the requesting smartphone 1 and the URL of the image to be displayed to the TV cloud 3, requesting display. The acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the token and URL transmitted by the content providing server 4. In this way, the acquisition unit 312 acquires the token transmitted by the content providing server 4 and the URL of the access destination of the image to be displayed based on the request from the smartphone 1.

[0052] In step S10, the TV cloud 3 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311 and identifies the TVID corresponding to the token acquired by the acquisition unit 312. Then, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the URL of the access destination of the image to be displayed to the television device 2 corresponding to the TVID.

[0053] The acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires a URL of an access destination of the image to be displayed. Furthermore, the transmission unit 242 of the television device 2 accesses the content providing server 4 based on the URL, and the acquisition unit 243 acquires an image based on the access destination of the image to be displayed from the content providing server 4. Then, the display control unit 244 of the television device 2 causes the image acquired by the acquisition unit 243 to be displayed on the video display unit 233.

[0054] The TV cloud 3 according to the first embodiment generates correspondence information that associates the television device 2 corresponding to the authentication code with a token based on the authentication code, and upon acquiring the token and the access destination of the image to be displayed based on the request from the smartphone 1 from the content providing server 4, notifies the television device 2 of the access destination of the image, thereby causing the television device 2 to display the image in response to the request from the smartphone 1. In this way, the TV cloud 3 can cause the television device 2, which can display an image larger than the screen of the smartphone 1, to display the image in response to the request from the smartphone 1.

[0055] Furthermore, the television device 2 outputs access information including an access destination for the content providing server 4 and an authentication code, acquires an access destination for the image to be displayed based on the request from the smartphone 1 from the TV cloud 3, and displays the image on the video display unit 233. In this way, the television device 2 can display the image based on the request from the smartphone 1 on the video display unit 233, which can display an image larger than the screen of the smartphone 1.

[0056] (Second embodiment) The information linking system S according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the TV cloud 3 differs for each manufacturer of the television device 2. That is, the information linking system S according to the second embodiment has a plurality of TV clouds 3.

[0057] Here, an example of the overall configuration of the information linkage system S of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of an example of the overall configuration of the information linkage system S of the second embodiment. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 8, the information linkage system S has multiple TV clouds 3 (TV clouds 3a, TV clouds 3b). The TV cloud 3b can be connected to a television device 2, which is a television (not shown) made by a manufacturer related to the TV cloud 3b.

[0058] 2 is television. Reference numeral 3 denotes a TV cloud, which is a so-called push distribution server. The TV cloud 3 is a server of a television manufacturer that manufactures the television device 2 and, based on the viewing information collected from the television device 2, provides various services to the television device 2 via a network, such as recommendations for programs to be viewed or reserved, and product recommendations based on the content of the programs viewed.

[0059] Also, reference numeral 5 denotes a television gateway, which is a common reception server. The television gateway 5 is a server at a common manufacturer site of television device manufacturers that integrates the TV clouds 3 of multiple television manufacturers and connects to e-commerce (EC). The information linkage system S has a television gateway 5 (server management device) that can send and receive information with the multiple TV clouds 3 via a network. The television gateway 5 can also send and receive information with a measurement server 6 that performs measurement processing to tally up the results of advertisement display via a network. This television gateway 5 is a cloud server that integrates each manufacturer. In other words, the television gateway 5 is a server that integrates the TV clouds 3 of multiple television manufacturers and connects them to the content providing server 4. The television gateway 5 issues client credentials (client_id, client_secret) to the content providing server 4.

[0060] Furthermore, a random secret to be set in the x-api-key is determined in advance between the TV cloud 3 and the TV gateway 5. The x-api-key transferred between the TV gateway 5 and the content providing server 4 becomes a pass-key.

[0061] Reference numeral 4 denotes a content providing server such as an EC site server. The content providing server 4 is a server of an EC platform provider. For users, i.e., consumers, the content providing server 4 is a server that serves as a platform for purchasing products and services. In addition, the content providing server 4 registers redirect_uri in the TV gateway 5 in advance.

[0062] Reference numeral 1050 denotes a user terminal. The user terminal 1050 is a terminal having an application program for connecting the television device 2 and the user terminal 1050, and an optical reading device such as a camera. An example of the user terminal 1050 is a smartphone 1. In the first embodiment, the user terminal 1050 is described as being the smartphone 1, but is not limited to a smartphone. The user terminal 1050 may be a PC, a tablet terminal, or the like, as long as it satisfies the conditions of the situation. Furthermore, these terminals can replace the smartphone described in the first embodiment.

[0063] 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the TV gateway 5 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the TV gateway 5 includes a communication I / F 501, an operation unit 502, a CPU 503, a memory 504, and a storage device 505.

[0064] The communication I / F 501 is an interface used for communication with an external device. The operation unit 502 has input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display device such as a display.

[0065] The storage device 505 includes, for example, an HDD, an SSD, etc., and stores various types of information. The CPU 503 executes various programs to control each component of the TV gateway 5. The memory 504 includes a ROM, a RAM, etc., and stores various programs and various types of data used in various arithmetic processing by the CPU 503.

[0066] 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a partial configuration of the TV gateway 5 according to the second embodiment. The TV gateway 5 includes a storage unit 511 (memory 504, storage device 505), and an acquisition unit 512, a transmission unit 513, and a generation unit 514 as functional modules generated as a result of the CPU 503 executing a program stored in the storage unit 511.

[0067] The storage unit 511 stores programs executed by the CPU 503 and a DB (DataBase).

[0068] The acquisition unit 512 acquires various information from an external device. The transmission unit 513 transmits various information to an external device. The generation unit 514 executes an operation of generating information for the DB.

[0069] Next, the processing flow of each component in the information linkage system S of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information linkage system S of the second embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 also starts when the user operates the remote control of the television device 2 or the like to specify, on a so-called portal screen, an EC site that the user wants to link with the smartphone 1. Note that the authentication code and token generated by the TV cloud 3 include information identifying the manufacturer. In other words, the TV cloud 3 includes information identifying its own device in the authentication code and token.

[0070] 11 is the same as step S1 in FIG. 7, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In step S22, a URL authentication code is sent from the TV cloud 3 to the television device 2. The URL authentication code 2010 is information including URL information for identifying the content providing server 4 and an authentication code for performing authentication between the content providing server 4 and the TV cloud 3. The authentication code may include a portion for identifying the manufacturer of the television device 2 and a portion for identifying the television device 2. The portion included in the authentication code for identifying the television device 2 is a random value. The TV cloud 3 may associate the time at which this value is sent to the television device 2 with the time as information in the DB of the storage unit 311.

[0071] An example of URL authentication code 2010 information is as follows: https: / / XXXXXXX YYYYYYYYY The X part contains the URL of the content providing server 4, and the Y part contains the OAuth2 authorization code. The authorization code part contains information that can identify the manufacturer and the television. Either one of the information that can identify the manufacturer or the television device 2 may be used. The URL authentication code 2010 may be sent in any format as long as it contains the above information.

[0072] When the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the URL authentication code 2010 from the TV cloud 3, the display control unit 244 optically displays and outputs the content of the URL authentication code 2010 as an image or video on the video display unit 233. The display form of the display control unit 244 may be a QR code, a barcode, text, or the like, as long as it can optically display and output the information included in the URL authentication code 2010 as an image or video. Also, although the first embodiment has been described using a QR code, it is not limited to the QR code as in the present embodiment.

[0073] 7, in step S23, the user terminal 1050 uses the URL authentication code reading function to read the URL authentication code 2011 optically displayed on the video display unit 233 from image information optically captured by the imaging means. As a result, the user terminal 1050 obtains the URL and authentication code of the EC site. The authentication code portion is a time-limited authentication code configured as follows: “code” :<authorization code> , “state” : <string> / / Random number

[0074] In step S24, upon acquiring the URL of the EC site and the authentication code, the user terminal 1050 accesses the content providing server 4 based on the URL and transmits the authentication code 2020.

[0075] Authentication code 2020 is the authentication code part of URL authentication code 2010 and URL authentication code 2011 (<authorization code> ) The authentication code 2021 is as follows: "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number The authentication code 2020 may also include the URL information of the content providing server 4 in addition to the above.

[0076] In step S25, upon receiving the authentication code 2020, the content providing server 4 transmits an authentication code 2021 to the television gateway 5 and makes an authentication request. The content providing server 4 sends information of the authentication request to, for example, the OAuth2 Token Endpoint of the television gateway 5. The information of the authentication code 2021 has the following configuration. Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(<client_id> + ":" +<client_secret> ) Content-type: application / x-www-form-urlencoded ·grant_type:"authorization_code" code:<authorization code> (Authentication code) redirect_uri: the entrance for returning to the EC site of the content providing server 4, which is pre-registered in the TV gateway 5. client_id: an identifier assigned to each EC site of the content providing server 4, which is pre-registered in the TV gateway 5. The client_secret is assigned by the TV gateway 5 based on the client_id for each site of the content providing server 4. The site of the TV gateway 5 checks the manufacturer extension of the code and performs redirection.

[0077] In step S26, the transmission unit 313 of the TV gateway 5 refers to the acquired authentication code 2021, and refers to the information for identifying the manufacturer included in the authentication code 2021, to identify the destination TV cloud 3. Specifically, the transmission unit 313 of the TV gateway 5 checks the authorization code, i.e., the authentication code, and determines which TV cloud 3 it is.

[0078] Then, in step S27, the transmission unit 313 of the TV gateway 5 makes an authentication request by transmitting an authentication request 2022 to the TV cloud 3 as the destination. In this way, the transmitting unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits the authentication request 2022 to the destination TV cloud 3 identified based on the Authorization_code (authentication code) of the authentication code 2021. The information of the authentication request 2022 transmitted by the transmitting unit 313 of the TV gateway 5 is the same as the information of the authentication code 2021 acquired from the content providing server 4. Other examples of the information of the authentication request 2022 include the following. GET https: / / each-maker.example.com / common / devices / id Authorization:"Bearer ”+<access_token> The acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the authentication code written in the URL authentication code 2010 together with the information for identifying the content providing server 4 .

[0079] The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 performs authentication by referring to the DB in the storage unit 311 and determining whether there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The generation unit 314 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311, and if there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312, generates a token 2030. The generation unit 314 also associates the token 2030 with information in the DB that has the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312.

[0080] In step S28, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the token 2030 generated by the generation unit 314 to the TV gateway 5.

[0081] Specifically, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 sends an OAuth2 Token Response to the TV gateway 5 as the token 2030. This response, the OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows: {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>} When the TV cloud 3 accesses the TV gateway 5, it attaches an access_token. expires_in is the validity period (seconds) of the access_token, and is stored when the access_token is received along with the time at which it becomes invalid, and the access_token is used repeatedly until then. The refresh_token is stored secretly by the content providing server 4. For security reasons, it is not good to simply store it in local storage. When each manufacturer issues an access_token or refresh_token, it is possible to identify the TV manufacturer by adding an identifier that identifies the TV manufacturer to the beginning.

[0082] The acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the token 2030. Then, in step S29, the TV gateway 5 transmits the token 2030 to the content providing server 4 as a token 2031, and the content providing server 4 acquires the token 2031. Note that the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 may transmit the token directly to the content providing server 4.

[0083] The content providing server 4 stores information associating the token 2031 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050 that transmitted the authentication code.

[0084] Then, in step S30, the content providing server 4 transmits the token 2031 and the user ID as a response, ie, the token+user ID 2040, to the television gateway 5. This enables the content providing server 4 to transmit the user ID of the user of the user terminal 1050 to the television gateway 5.

[0085] The configuration of the token+user ID 2040 information sent by the content providing server 4 is as follows: POST https: / / tv-common.example.com / common / users / id Authorization:"Basic"+Base64(<client_id> +":”+<client_secret> ) Content-type:application / x-www-form-urlencoded {grant_type:"access_token", access_token:<access token> (Information issued as the access token in step S28), client_id: An identifier assigned to each site of the content provider server 4. Pre-registered on the manufacturer's common site. user_id: User ID on the site of the content provider server 4, Preference:<Current user attributes (current user attributes: user's date of birth, gender, postal code, purchase history, etc.)>}

[0086] The acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the token+user ID 2040 from the content providing server 4. In step S31, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 identifies the destination TV cloud 3 from the token+user ID 2040, and transmits a device ID request 2041 (TVID) to the destination TV cloud 3. Note that the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 may transmit a token when transmitting the device ID request 2041.

[0087] The device ID request 2041 is a request for the TV gateway 5 to inquire about the device_id (TVID) of the TV from each manufacturer (TV cloud 3) using the access_token of OAuth2, and is, for example, as follows: GET https: / / each-maker.example.com / common / devices / id Authorization: "Bearer"+<access_token> x-api-key:<random secret determined by the manufacturer's common site and each manufacturer> ·Content-type:application / json client_id: Identifier assigned to each manufacturer's common site

[0088] The TV cloud 3 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311 and acquires the TVID corresponding to the acquired token. The TV cloud 3 may also acquire device information corresponding to the acquired TVID (attribute information of the television device 2 of the TVID). In step S32, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits information such as the TVID to the television gateway 5 as a device ID response 2050. Examples of the device ID response 2050 include the following: device_id: <id>(TVID assigned to television device 2 by TV cloud 3) "model":<model name> (Model of television device 2, i.e., display screen size, pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.)

[0089] In step S33, the generation unit 514 of the television gateway 5 registers information binding information that associates the acquired TVID (device ID), user ID, and model information (model) of the television device 2 in the storage unit 511 as DB information.

[0090] Furthermore, the generation unit 514 of the TV gateway 5 generates a pass key 2051. Furthermore, in step S34, the transmission unit 513 transmits the pass key to the content providing server 4. The pass key includes the following information: "pass_key":<pass_key> (This pass_key is used as an ID when the operation commands 2090 to 2093 are executed from step S44 onwards.) "expires_in":86400 (expires_in will return a grace period of 10 days or so even if the preference is not available on the first access.) "model":<model name> (Model information in the device ID response, such as the model of the television device 2, i.e., display screen size in inches and pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.)

[0091] In addition, in step S35, the generation unit 514 of the TV gateway 5 stores the generated pass key in the storage unit 511.

[0092] When the content providing server 4 acquires the passkey from the TV gateway 5, it stores the information included in the passkey. Specifically, the following information is stored for each user ID of the EC site: access_token refresh_token pass_key ·model / / Linked TV model information

[0093] In step S36, the user terminal 1050 starts the application to log in to the service provided by the content providing server 4. As a result, the smartphone 1 displays an EC site screen. The EC site screen output by the application also displays a button for connecting to the television device 2. In step S37, the content providing server 4 transmits device information 2070 to the user terminal 1050 in response to the login in step S36. The device information 2070 here refers to a combination of one, two, or three of the device ID, user ID, and model name included in the passkey 2051.

[0094] The user of the smartphone 1 selects a button for connecting to the television device 2 from the link destination on the EC site screen. In step S38, the user terminal 1050 transmits a television display request (TV display request 2071) by transmitting the URL of the link destination to the content providing server 4 in response to the selection.

[0095] When the content providing server 4 receives the TV display request 2071 from the user terminal 1050, in step S39, it sends a display request 2072 including the token, passkey, and URL of the link destination to the TV gateway 5, thereby making a display request to the TV device 2. The information configuration of the display request 2072 is as follows: POST https: / / tv-common.example.com / common / devices / control Authorization:"Bearer ”+<access_token> x-api-key:<pass_key> Content-type:application / jison {"command_type":"keycode" ”keycode”:"<common key code> ”} {"command_type":"webview", ”site”:"<Website URL> ", "Template”:"full”}

[0096] The acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives information about the display request 2072, which includes the token, pass key, and URL of the link destination, from the content providing server 4. Then, the acquisition unit 512 extracts pass_key from the header of x-api-key.

[0097] In step S40, the acquisition unit 512 determines the access destination and the access source using the pass key (pass_key) and the information stored in the storage unit 511. In step S41, the transmission unit 513 transmits information including the token URL to the TV cloud 3 based on the determination result, and requests display. In this way, the transmission unit 513 transmits the token and the access destination of the image to be displayed to the destination TV cloud 3. The TV gateway 5 measures the number of accesses by access source and manufacturer.

[0098] The display request 2073 that the sending unit 513 sends to the TV cloud 3 includes a token, a client ID, a URL, and a message. Examples of this information are as follows: POST https: / / each-maker.example.com / common / devices / control Authorization:"Bearer ”+<access_token> x-api-key:<random secret determined by the manufacturer's common site and each manufacturer> Content-type: application / json {"command_type":"keycode", "keycode”:<common key code> , "client_id":<client_id> , "messageid:<message ID>} {"command_type":"webview", "site”:<Website URL> (TV Website URL), "template”:"full”, "client_id":<client_id> , "messageid":<message ID>}

[0099] The acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 receives the display request 2073 from the television gateway 5. The acquisition unit 312 extracts the access_token from the Authorization header of the display request 2073 and identifies the television device 2. In step S42, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 outputs a display request 2074 to the television device 2 based on the identification result. Note that the display request may be replaced with a manufacturer-specific display request command. Furthermore, if necessary, the TV cloud 3 may also aggregate accesses for each client_id and send a request to the television.

[0100] In step S43, the television device 2 starts a browser in response to the display request, executes JavaScript (registered trademark) using an onLoad or onClick event, and displays and outputs the image at the URL destination to be displayed. The television device 2 also notifies the measurement server 6 of a display operation result notification 2080 that identifies the servicer, user, TV manufacturer, and the displayed advertisement. The measurement server 6 tally up the results of the advertisements displayed by the TV cloud 3 on multiple television devices 2. Based on the tally up results, the manufacturer, the television gateway 5, or the owner of the measurement server 6 requests advertising and promotional expenses from the e-commerce platform that owns the content providing server 4.

[0101] The application of the user terminal 1050 can operate the screen of the television device 2 based on the operation command 2090 in step S44. The operation command 2090 is sent to the content providing server 4 in response to an operation from the user terminal 1050.

[0102] In step S45, the content providing server 4 transmits an operation command 2091 including a common key code to the television gateway 5 based on the operation command 2090 transmitted in step S44. The common key code is a command configured to correspond to the operation buttons on the television remote control. There are numbers, a cross cursor, volume / channel / power, color keys, function keys, media control, and manufacturer-specific commands. These manufacturer-specific commands are commands for operating in a manner unique to each manufacturer. In other words, manufacturer-specific commands are manufacturer-specific operation commands set by each manufacturer. The common key code is a key code for performing operations common to all manufacturers, excluding manufacturer-specific commands.

[0103] The numeric commands are "11", "12", "0", "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", and ".".

[0104] The crosshair cursor commands are "up", "down", "left", "right", "page up", "page down", "page left", "page right", "enter", "exit", and "back".

[0105] The volume / channel / power commands are "power", "power off", "power on", "volume up", "volume down", "channel up", and "channel down".

[0106] The color key is "blue", "red", "green", and "yellow".

[0107] The function key commands are "electronic program guide," "initial configuration," "select broadcast type," "input select," "display information," "mute," "contents menu," and "closed caption."

[0108] The media control commands are "play", "stop", "pause", "rewind", "forward", "backward", "skip forward", "skip backward", and "record".

[0109] Upon receiving the operation command 2091 in step S45, the TV gateway 5 sends an operation command 2092 to the TV cloud 3 in step S46. The operation command 2092 is the same command as the operation command 2091. In step S47, the television gateway 5 transmits a response message ID 2094 as a response message to the content providing server 4. The message ID has the following structure. {messageid:<message ID>}

[0110] Upon receiving the operation command 2092 from the television gateway 5, the TV cloud 3 transmits an operation command 2093 to the television device 2 in step S48. The operation command 2093 is the same as or equivalent information as the operation command 2092, and is a manufacturer-specific command for operating the display screen of the television device 2. The TV cloud 3 replaces the operation command 2092 with the operation command 2093, which is a company-specific key code for operating the television device 2. When the standardization of the operation commands for the television device 2 progresses, the operation command 2092 can be used as the operation command 2093 without conversion.

[0111] Based on the operation command 2093, the television device 2 operates the image displayed on the video display unit 233 of the television device 2. In addition, in step S49, the television device 2 notifies the measurement server 6 of an operation result notification 2081 that identifies the operation command.

[0112] The flowchart shown in Fig. 11 explains the process of integrating multiple manufacturers to access the platform provider's content providing server 4, but a manufacturer can also access the content providing server 4 independently, as in the TV cloud 3 of the first embodiment. In this case, the TV cloud 3 incorporates the operations of the TV gateway 5. In this case, the exchange of information between the TV cloud 3 and the TV gateway 5 is omitted.

[0113] The TV gateway 5 acquires an authentication code from the content providing server 4, transmits the authentication code to the destination TV cloud 3 specified based on the authentication code, acquires a token and an access destination of the image to be displayed from the content providing server 4, and transmits the token and the access destination of the image to be displayed to the destination TV cloud 3. This allows the content providing server 4 to process without having to determine which of the multiple TV clouds 3 to transmit to.

[0114] The programs executed by the devices (user terminal 1050, television device 2, TV cloud 3, content providing server 4, television gateway 5, measurement server 6) of this embodiment can be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable file format on a recording medium readable by a computer device, such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).The programs may also be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0115] (Third embodiment) The information linkage system S according to the third embodiment has the same overall configuration as the information linkage system S according to the second embodiment. In the information linkage system S according to the third embodiment, the television gateway 5 acquires tokens not only from the TV cloud 3 but also from the content providing server 4, and links the ID of the television device 2 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050 using these tokens.

[0116] Note that the structure of data stored in the TV cloud 3 shown in FIG. 6 is different. Specifically, the TV cloud 3 stores an HA-ID instead of the TVID shown in FIG. 6. Also, the TV cloud 3 stores a PF-ID instead of the EC site server ID shown in FIG. 6. The HA-ID is identification information including a TC-ID, which is the company ID of the television manufacturer, and a TV-ID, which is the device ID of the television device 2. The PF-ID is the company ID of the video platform. The TC-ID is an identifier that identifies the TV cloud 3. Also, the PF-ID is an identifier that identifies the content providing server 4.

[0117] Next, the processing flow of each component in the information linkage system S of the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the overall processing in the information linkage system S of the third embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 12 also starts when the user operates the remote control of the television device 2 or the like to specify, on a so-called portal screen, an e-commerce site (for example, a server that receives content) that the user wants to link with the smartphone 1. Note that the authentication code and token generated by the TV cloud 3 include information that identifies the manufacturer. In other words, the TV cloud 3 includes information that identifies its own device in the authentication code and token.

[0118] 12 is the same as step S1 in Fig. 7 and step S12 in Fig. 11. In step S61, the television device 2 transmits to the TV cloud 3 a PF-ID corresponding to the EC site (video platform) designated by the user.

[0119] In step S62, the TV cloud 3 sends a QR code including the URL of the TV gateway 5 and a URL authentication code as a response to the television device 2. The QR code includes the URL of the TV gateway 5 and the following time-limited authentication code.

[0120] {"code":<authorization code> (Authentication code), "state":HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid"; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information)}

[0121] The URL authentication code is information including URL information for identifying the television gateway 5, an authentication code for performing authentication between the content providing server 4 and the TV cloud 3, and state information. The authentication code may include a portion for identifying the manufacturer of the television device 2 and a portion for identifying the television device 2. The portion of the authentication code for identifying the television device 2 is a random value. The TV cloud 3 may associate the time at which this value is transmitted to the television device 2 as information in the DB of the storage unit 311. The state information may include information obtained by encoding the TC-ID of the manufacturer and the PF-ID of the video platform.

[0122] An example of URL authentication code information is as follows: https: / / XXXXXXX YYYYYYYYY The X part contains the URL of the television gateway 5, and the Y part contains the OAuth2 authorization code. The authorization code part contains information that can identify the manufacturer and the television. Either one of the information that can identify the manufacturer and the television device 2 can be used. The URL authentication code can be sent in any format as long as it contains the above information. Note that the Y part can also contain state information.

[0123] When the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the URL authentication code from the TV cloud 3, the display control unit 244 optically displays and outputs the content of the URL authentication code as an image or video on the video display unit 233. The display form of the display control unit 244 may be a QR code, a barcode, text, or the like, as long as it can optically display and output the information included in the URL authentication code as an image or video. Furthermore, although the first and second embodiments are described using a QR code, the present invention is not limited to a QR code, as in the present embodiment.

[0124] 7 and step S23 in FIG. 11, in step S63, the user terminal 1050 uses the URL authentication code reading function to read the URL authentication code information optically displayed on the video display unit 233 from the image information optically captured by the imaging means. As a result, the user terminal 1050 acquires the URL and authentication code of the TV gateway 5. The authentication code portion is a time-limited authentication code configured as follows: "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0125] In step S64, upon acquiring the URL, authentication code, and state information of the TV gateway 5, the user terminal 1050 accesses the TV gateway 5 based on the URL, and transmits the authentication code and state information to request authentication. Note that the state information includes the TC-ID and PF-ID, as described above.

[0126] The information to be sent at the time of authentication request is as follows. "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0127] In step S65, when the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the authentication code and state information, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits an HTML screen including a link button indicating a link instruction to the user terminal 1050. The HTML may include a URL and parameters for accessing the OAuth2 Authorization Endpoint of the PF-ID.

[0128] The user terminal 1050 acquires the above-mentioned HTML format screen. Then, when the user of the user terminal 1050 presses the link button (step S66), an authorization request is made to the content providing server 4, which is a video platform. The content providing server 4 receives the authorization request and transmits information in response to the request to the user terminal 1050 (step S67).

[0129] The information sent when making the authorization request has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(<client_id> + ":" +<client_secret> )Request { "response_type”:"code” "code”:<authorization code> (Authentication code) "redirect_uri”:<TGW Endpoint> (TV Gateway 5 endpoint) "client_id": <tg-id>(ID of the TV gateway 5) "scope”: <VPF provided> (Token authentication scope) "state”: HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid”; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information) }

[0130] If the user information is not registered in the content providing server 4, a user registration process is performed between the user terminal 1050 and the content providing server 4 (step S68). Here, the user registration process is a process of registering a user ID and password, which are information for logging in to the content providing server 4, and registering user attribute information.

[0131] Next, the user terminal 1050 makes a login request to the content providing server 4, and the content providing server 4 makes a response in response to the login request (step S69). As an example of the response, the following information (authorization code) is output. Response {"code":<authorization code> , "state” : <state>}

[0132] Upon receiving the response, the user terminal 1050 performs a redirection indicating a link instruction to the television gateway 5 (step S70). Note that the user terminal 1050 may transmit the authorization code to the television gateway 5.

[0133] When the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives a redirect indicating a link instruction, the TV gateway 5 identifies the manufacturer based on the TC-ID included in the state information acquired from the user terminal 1050. That is, the TV gateway 5 assigns a manufacturer (step S71).

[0134] Then, in step S72, the transmitting unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 requests a token by transmitting the authentication code to the TV cloud 3 as the destination (step S72).

[0135] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request Parameters { grant_type:"authorization_code", code :<authorization code> (Authentication Code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<redirect_uri> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0136] The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 performs authentication by referring to the DB in the storage unit 311 and determining whether there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 (for example, information included in the state information) and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The generation unit 314 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311, and if there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312, generates a token (first token). The generation unit 314 also associates the first token with information in the DB that has the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312.

[0137] In step S73, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the first token generated by the generation unit 314 to the TV gateway 5.

[0138] Specifically, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the TV gateway 5. This response, OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows. Response {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0139] When the TV cloud 3 accesses the TV gateway 5, it attaches an access_token. expires_in is the validity period (seconds) of the access_token, and is stored when the access_token is received along with the time it becomes invalid, and the access_token is used repeatedly until then. The refresh_token is stored secretly by the content providing server 4. For security reasons, it is not good to simply store it in local storage. When each manufacturer issues an access_token or refresh_token, it is possible to identify the TV manufacturer by adding an identifier that identifies the TV manufacturer to the beginning.

[0140] When the acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the first token, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits information including the authorization code and makes a token request to the content providing server 4 (step S74).

[0141] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request { grant_type:"authorization_code", code : <code>(authorization code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<TGW Endpoint> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0142] The content providing server 4 identifies the user ID corresponding to the authorization code based on the authorization code obtained from the television gateway 5. Then, the content providing server 4 generates a second token that is a token based on the user ID.

[0143] In step S75, the content providing server 4 transmits the generated second token to the television gateway 5. Note that the content providing server 4 may store the second token in association with the user ID and user attribute information.

[0144] Specifically, the content providing server 4 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the television gateway 5. This response, an OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows: {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0145] The acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the second token from the content providing server 4. Then, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits the second token to the content providing server 4 and requests user information from the content providing server 4 (step S76).

[0146] The information transmitted when the user information is requested has, for example, the following configuration. Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0147] The content providing server 4 searches for the user ID and user attribute information corresponding to the second token acquired from the television gateway 5, and transmits this information as a response to the television gateway 5 (step S77). As a result, the acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the user ID and user attribute information. The response information has the following configuration: Response {"user_id": <ur-id>(User ID on the site of content provider server 4), "Preference”: <Current user attributes> (user's date of birth, gender, zip code, purchase history, etc.)

[0148] In step S78, the content providing server 4 transmits the PF-ID and requests device information. The information transmitted when requesting device information has the following configuration, for example. Authorization: "Basic"+Base64(PF-ID + ":" +<client_secret> )

[0149] When the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the device information request from the content providing server 4, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits the first token corresponding to the second token transmitted in step S74 to the TV cloud 3, and also requests device information (step S79). The information transmitted when requesting device information has, for example, the following configuration: Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0150] When the acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the first token, it acquires the HA-ID corresponding to the first token and information about the device corresponding to the HA-ID (attribute information of the television device 2 corresponding to the HA-ID).

[0151] In step S80, the transmitting unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits information such as the HA-ID as a response to the TV gateway 5. The acquiring unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the HA-ID and information on the device corresponding to the HA-ID. Examples of the response include the following: Response { device_id: <ha-id>(HA-ID) "model":<model name> (Model of television device 2, i.e., display screen size, pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.) }

[0152] In step S81, the generation unit 514 of the television gateway 5 registers binding information that associates the acquired HA-ID, user ID, model information (model) that is attribute information of the television device 2, and PF-ID as DB information in the storage unit 511. Note that the generation unit 514 of the television gateway 5 may further include user attribute information as binding information.

[0153] Furthermore, the generation unit 514 of the TV gateway 5 generates a pass key. Furthermore, in step S82, the transmission unit 513 transmits the pass key to the content providing server 4. The pass key includes the following information: "pass_key":<pass_key> ,(This pass_key is used as ID when the operation command is executed) "expires_in":86400 (expires_in will return a grace period of 10 days or so even if the preference is not available on the first access.) "model":<model name> (Model information in the device ID response, such as the model of the television device 2, i.e., display screen size in inches and pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.)

[0154] Furthermore, the generation unit 514 of the TV gateway 5 stores the generated pass key in the storage unit 511 .

[0155] When the content providing server 4 acquires the pass key from the TV gateway 5, it stores the information included in the pass key. Specifically, the content providing server 4 stores the following information for each user ID of the EC site. access_token refresh_token pass_key ·model / / Linked TV model information

[0156] The TV gateway 5 acquires an authentication code from the user terminal 1050, transmits the authentication code to the destination TV cloud 3 identified based on the authentication code, acquires a first token from the TV cloud 3, and acquires a second token from the content providing server 4. The TV gateway 5 then transmits the second token to the content providing server 4 to acquire a user ID, and transmits the first token to the TV cloud 3 to acquire an ID (e.g., HA-ID) of the television device 2. In this way, the TV gateway 5 can associate the user ID with the ID of the television device 2 by acquiring the user ID from the content providing server 4 and the ID of the television device 2 from the TV cloud 3.

[0157] In this case, the television gateway 5 stores the user ID and the ID of the television device 2 in association with each other, so the TV cloud 3 does not need to manage the user ID, thereby reducing the information management burden on the TV cloud 3. Furthermore, because the television gateway 5 acquires the authentication code from the user terminal 1050, the content providing server 4 does not need to transmit the authentication code to the television gateway 5, which also reduces the processing burden on the content providing server 4. In other words, the television gateway 5 can appropriately execute processing to link the receiver identifier (the ID of the television device 2) and the terminal identifier (the user ID of the user terminal 1050).

[0158] (Fourth embodiment) The information linkage system S according to the fourth embodiment has the same overall configuration as the information linkage system S according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the case where the authentication code is also included in the QR code has been described, but in the information linkage system S according to the fourth embodiment, the authentication code is displayed as a separate PIN code.

[0159] Next, a description will be given of the processing flow of each component in the information link system S of the fourth embodiment. Step S21 in Fig. 13 is similar to step S21 in Fig. 11 and step S1 in Fig. 7, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0160] In step S91, the TV cloud 3 transmits a QR code including a URL to the television device 2. The TV cloud 3 also transmits a pin code corresponding to the authentication code to the television device 2.

[0161] An example of URL information included in a QR code is as follows: https: / / XXXXXXX The part X contains the URL of the content providing server 4. The QR code URL may be sent in any format as long as it contains the above information.

[0162] When the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the QR code and the PIN code from the TV cloud 3, the display control unit 244 optically displays and outputs the QR code as an image or video on the video display unit 233. The display control unit 244 also displays and outputs the PIN code.

[0163] In step S92, user terminal 1050 reads the URL information optically displayed on video display unit 233 using the reading function from the image information optically captured by the imaging means.

[0164] In step S93, the user terminal 1050 starts an application (app) and becomes ready to accept input of a pin code.

[0165] In step S94, when a PIN code is input by a user operation, the PIN code is acquired as an authentication code by the user terminal 1050. Steps S24 to S35 are the same as steps S24 to S35 in FIG.

[0166] The TV cloud 3 according to the fourth embodiment transmits a pin code corresponding to the authentication code to the television device 2, and the television device 2 displays the pin code. Then, the user of the user terminal 1050 performs an input operation based on the pin code, and the user terminal 1050 transmits the pin code to the content providing server 4 as an authentication code.

[0167] In this case, even if the authentication code cannot be included in the two-dimensional code together with the URL, the authentication code can be transmitted from the user terminal 1050 to the content providing server 4.

[0168] (Fifth embodiment) The information linkage system S according to the fifth embodiment has the same overall configuration as the information linkage system S according to the third embodiment. In the information linkage system S according to the fifth embodiment, the television gateway 5 transmits campaign information to the television device 2 as promotion information for prompting processing to link the ID of the television device 2 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050 in the information linkage system S according to the third embodiment. In the information linkage system S, when the television device 2 instructs processing to link the ID of the television device 2 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050 based on the promotion information, the information linkage system S executes processing to link the ID of the television device 2 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050.

[0169] In the information link system S, when the television device 2 makes a request to acquire program guide information, the television gateway 5 accepts the request to acquire program guide information via the TV cloud 3. The television gateway 5 acquires program guide configuration information from the content providing server 4 and transmits the program guide configuration information to the TV cloud 3. The TV cloud 3 acquires the program guide configuration information and transmits the acquired program guide configuration information to the television device 2. The program guide configuration information includes operator information, channel information, program information, commercial information, and VOD information.

[0170] The television gateway 5 stores campaign information, and transmits the campaign information in response to a request from the television device 2 when transmitting the program guide configuration information.

[0171] The contents of the campaign information will now be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of promotion information. The campaign information has a normal linked data portion 330 and a campaign linked data portion 340.

[0172] The normal linking data portion 330 includes information (idbind) indicating the object of the ID linking data, information (img_base_url) indicating the base URL of the URL where the image file is stored, information (explanation_img) indicating an image explaining the linking method, and information (explanation_img) indicating an image explaining the linking method.

[0173] The campaign linkage data portion 340 includes information indicating an array of campaign information objects (idbind_campaign), information indicating the TV manufacturer targeted by the campaign (tv), information indicating the base URL of the URL where the image file is stored (img_base_url), information indicating an image explaining the contents of the campaign (campaign_img), information indicating an image to be displayed if linkage has already been established (hasbound_img), information indicating an image explaining the linkage method (explanation_img), information indicating an image recommending allowing tracking by IFA-ID (recommend_tracking_img), information indicating the campaign start date and time (start), and information indicating the campaign end date and time (end).

[0174] The information indicating the image in the campaign linkage data portion 340 may be set differently for each TV manufacturer using a macro, etc. This makes it possible to assign different campaign images to each of a plurality of TV manufacturers with a simple configuration.

[0175] Next, the procedure for performing link processing based on campaign information will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the process for displaying campaign information.

[0176] In response to a user operation, the television device 2 requests the TV cloud 3 to acquire program guide configuration information (program guide) of an e-commerce site specified by the user. When the television device 2 requests to acquire program guide information, the television gateway 5 accepts the request to acquire program guide information via the TV cloud 3. The television gateway 5 acquires the program guide configuration information from the content providing server 4 and transmits the program guide configuration information to the TV cloud 3. The TV cloud 3 acquires the program guide configuration information and transmits the acquired program guide configuration information to the television device 2. The television device 2 displays the program guide configuration information (step S101). The program guide configuration information includes provider information, channel information, program information, commercial information, and VOD information.

[0177] The television device 2 requests the television gateway 5 to acquire campaign information. If the television device 2 does not acquire the campaign information from the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 (step S102: No), the television device 2 ends the process.

[0178] The television device 2 requests the television gateway 5 to acquire campaign information. When the television device 2 acquires the campaign information from the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 (step S102: Yes), if the television device 2 is not already linked with the content providing server 4 (step S103: Yes), the television device 2 displays the campaign information together with the program guide configuration information (step S104). One method for determining whether or not the television device 2 is already linked with the content providing server 4 is for the television device 2 to keep a log of whether or not there have been past linking processing requests, and to make a determination based on the log.

[0179] If a selection is made in the campaign information to apply for the campaign, the television device 2 displays questionnaire information (step S105). This questionnaire is a questionnaire that accepts input of user attributes (gender, address, etc.). This questionnaire information may also be displayed at other times.

[0180] After the questionnaire has been input, the television device 2 issues a cooperation instruction request (step S106).

[0181] Next, the linking process procedure will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing the linking process procedure. The authentication code and token generated by the TV cloud 3 include information identifying the manufacturer. That is, the TV cloud 3 includes information identifying its own device in the authentication code and token.

[0182] Before executing the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 15, the television device 2 generates an IFA-ID using random numbers and notifies the TV cloud 3 (step S111). This IFA-ID is a number having enough digits to ensure that it is unique. The television device 2 may also transmit the TV model name of the television device 2. Also, bearer authentication may be performed in steps S111 and S112.

[0183] The TV cloud 3 transmits the IFA-ID to the TV gateway 5 (step S112). Then, in step S113, the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 14 is executed. When a link instruction is issued in step S113, the television device 2 makes a QR code request (step S114).

[0184] 16 is similar to step S1 in Fig. 7, step S12 in Fig. 11, and step S61 in Fig. 12. In step S114, the television device 2 transmits to the TV cloud 3 a PF-ID corresponding to the EC site (video platform) designated by the user.

[0185] In step S115, the TV cloud 3 sends a QR code including the URL of the TV gateway 5 and a URL authentication code as a response to the television device 2. The QR code includes the URL of the TV gateway 5 and the following time-limited authentication code.

[0186] {"code":<authorization code> (Authentication code), "state":HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid"; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information)}

[0187] The URL authentication code is information including URL information for identifying the television gateway 5, an authentication code for performing authentication between the content providing server 4 and the TV cloud 3, and state information. The authentication code may include a portion for identifying the manufacturer of the television device 2 and a portion for identifying the television device 2. The portion of the authentication code for identifying the television device 2 is a random value. The TV cloud 3 may associate the time at which this value is transmitted to the television device 2 as information in the DB of the storage unit 311. The state information may include information obtained by encoding the TC-ID of the manufacturer and the PF-ID of the video platform.

[0188] An example of URL authentication code information is as follows: https: / / XXXXXXX YYYYYYYYY The X part contains the URL of the television gateway 5, and the Y part contains the OAuth2 authorization code. The authorization code part contains information that can identify the manufacturer and the television. Either one of the information that can identify the manufacturer and the television device 2 can be used. The URL authentication code can be sent in any format as long as it contains the above information. Note that the Y part can also contain state information.

[0189] When the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the URL authentication code from the TV cloud 3, the display control unit 244 optically displays and outputs the content of the URL authentication code as an image or video on the video display unit 233. The display form of the display control unit 244 may be a QR code, a barcode, text, or the like, as long as it can optically display and output the information included in the URL authentication code as an image or video. Furthermore, although the first and second embodiments are described using a QR code, the present invention is not limited to a QR code, as in the present embodiment.

[0190] 7, step S23 in FIG. 11, and step S63 in FIG. 12, in step S116, the user terminal 1050 uses the URL authentication code reading function to read the URL authentication code information optically displayed on the video display unit 233 from the image information optically captured by the imaging means. As a result, the user terminal 1050 acquires the URL and authentication code of the TV gateway 5. The authentication code portion is a time-limited authentication code configured as follows: "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0191] In step S117, upon acquiring the URL, authentication code, and state information of the TV gateway 5, the user terminal 1050 accesses the TV gateway 5 based on the URL, and transmits the authentication code and state information to request authentication. Note that the state information includes the TC-ID and PF-ID, as described above.

[0192] The information to be sent at the time of authentication request is as follows. "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0193] In step S118, when the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the authentication code and state information, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits an HTML screen including a link button indicating a link instruction to the user terminal 1050. The HTML may include a URL and parameters for accessing the OAuth2 Authorization Endpoint of the PF-ID.

[0194] The user terminal 1050 acquires the above HTML format screen. Then, when the user of the user terminal 1050 presses the link button (step S119), an authorization request is made to the content providing server 4, which is a video platform. The content providing server 4 receives the authorization request and transmits information in response to the request to the user terminal 1050 (step S120).

[0195] The information sent when making the authorization request has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(<client_id> + ":" +<client_secret> )Request { "response_type”:"code” "code”:<authorization code> (Authentication code) "redirect_uri”:<TGW Endpoint> (TV Gateway 5 endpoint) "client_id”: <tg-id>(ID of the TV gateway 5) "scope”: <VPF provided> (Token authentication scope) "state”: HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid”; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information) }

[0196] In addition, if the television device 2 requests confirmation of the collaboration status from the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 at step S119 (steps S151, S152), the television gateway 5 sends information to the television device 2 indicating that collaboration has not been completed (steps S153, S154).

[0197] If the user information is not registered in the content providing server 4, a user registration process is performed between the user terminal 1050 and the content providing server 4 (step S121). Here, the user registration process is a process of registering a user ID and password, which are information for logging in to the content providing server 4, and registering user attribute information.

[0198] Next, the user terminal 1050 makes a login request to the content providing server 4, and the content providing server 4 makes a response in response to the login request (step S122). As an example of the response, the following information (authorization code) is output. Response {"code":<authorization code> , "state” : <state>}

[0199] Upon receiving the response, the user terminal 1050 performs a redirection indicating a link instruction to the television gateway 5 (step S123). Note that the user terminal 1050 may transmit the authorization code to the television gateway 5.

[0200] When the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the redirect indicating the cooperation instruction, the TV gateway 5 identifies the manufacturer based on the TC-ID included in the state information acquired from the user terminal 1050. That is, the TV gateway 5 assigns a manufacturer (step S124).

[0201] Then, in step S125, the transmitting unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 requests a token by transmitting the authentication code to the TV cloud 3 as the destination (step S125).

[0202] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request Parameters { grant_type:"authorization_code", code :<authorization code> (Authentication Code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<redirect_uri> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0203] The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 performs authentication by referring to the DB in the storage unit 311 and determining whether there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 (for example, information included in the state information) and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The generation unit 314 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311, and if there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312, generates a token (first token). The generation unit 314 also associates the first token with information in the DB that has the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312.

[0204] In step S126, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the first token generated by the generation unit 314 to the TV gateway 5.

[0205] Specifically, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the TV gateway 5. This response, OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows. Response {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0206] When the TV cloud 3 accesses the TV gateway 5, it attaches an access_token. expires_in is the validity period (seconds) of the access_token, and is stored when the access_token is received along with the time it becomes invalid, and the access_token is used repeatedly until then. The refresh_token is stored secretly by the content providing server 4. For security reasons, it is not good to simply store it in local storage. When each manufacturer issues an access_token or refresh_token, it is possible to identify the TV manufacturer by adding an identifier that identifies the TV manufacturer to the beginning.

[0207] When the acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the first token, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits information including the authorization code and makes a token request to the content providing server 4 (step S127).

[0208] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request { grant_type:"authorization_code", code : <code>(authorization code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<TGW Endpoint> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0209] The content providing server 4 identifies the user ID corresponding to the authorization code based on the authorization code obtained from the television gateway 5. Then, the content providing server 4 generates a second token that is a token based on the user ID.

[0210] In step S128, the content providing server 4 transmits the generated second token to the television gateway 5. Note that the content providing server 4 may store the second token in association with the user ID and user attribute information.

[0211] Specifically, the content providing server 4 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the television gateway 5. This response, an OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows: {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0212] The acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the second token from the content providing server 4. Then, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits the second token to the content providing server 4 and requests user information from the content providing server 4 (step S129).

[0213] The information transmitted when the user information is requested has, for example, the following configuration. Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0214] The content providing server 4 searches for the user ID and user attribute information corresponding to the second token acquired from the television gateway 5, and transmits this information as a response to the television gateway 5 (step S130). As a result, the acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the user ID and user attribute information. The response information has the following configuration: Response {"user_id": <ur-id>(User ID on the site of content provider server 4), "Preference”: <Current user attributes> (user's date of birth, gender, zip code, purchase history, etc.)

[0215] In step S131, the content providing server 4 transmits the PF-ID and requests device information. The information transmitted when requesting device information has the following configuration, for example. Authorization: "Basic"+Base64(PF-ID + ":" +<client_secret> )

[0216] When the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the device information request from the content providing server 4, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits the first token corresponding to the second token transmitted in step S127 to the TV cloud 3, and also requests device information (step S132). The information transmitted when requesting device information has, for example, the following configuration: Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0217] When the acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the first token, it acquires the HA-ID corresponding to the first token and information about the device corresponding to the HA-ID (attribute information of the television device 2 corresponding to the HA-ID).

[0218] In step S133, the transmitting unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits information such as the HA-ID as a response to the TV gateway 5. The acquiring unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the HA-ID and information on the device corresponding to the HA-ID. Examples of the response include the following: Response { device_id: <ha-id>(HA-ID) "model":<model name> (Model of television device 2, i.e., display screen size, pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.) }

[0219] In step S134, the generation unit 514 of the television gateway 5 registers binding information that associates the acquired HA-ID, user ID, model information (model) that is attribute information of the television device 2, and PF-ID as DB information in the storage unit 511. Note that the generation unit 514 of the television gateway 5 may further include user attribute information as binding information.

[0220] In step S135, the TV gateway 5 responds to the user terminal 1050 with the authorization code (step S135).

[0221] After step S134, when the television device 2 requests the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 to confirm the cooperation status (steps S136 and S137), the television gateway 5 transmits information indicating that cooperation has been completed (information identifying the cooperation-established content providing server 4, etc.) to the television device 2 (steps S138 and S139). In addition, the television gateway 5 notifies the content providing server 4 of the IFA-ID (step S140).

[0222] Furthermore, when the IFA-ID is updated in the television device 2, the television device 2 notifies the TV cloud 3 of the updated IFA-ID (step S141). The TV cloud 3 transmits the updated IFA-ID to the television gateway 5. The television gateway 5 transmits the updated IFA-ID to the content providing server 4 (step S143).

[0223] Next, the link cancellation process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the link cancellation process. The television device 2 requests the TV cloud 3 to cancel linkage in response to a user operation (step S161). In response to the cancellation request from the television device 2, the TV cloud 3 requests the television gateway 5 to cancel linkage (step S162). Note that in steps S161 and S162, the television device 2 or the TV cloud 3 may transmit an IFA-ID together with the link cancellation request.

[0224] The TV gateway 5 notifies the content providing server 4 of a request to cancel cooperation (step S163). The content providing server 4 deletes the generated second token. The TV gateway 5 deletes the binding information and notifies the TV cloud 3 of the deletion (step S164). The TV cloud 3 notifies the television device 2 of the deletion of the binding information (step S165). The TV cloud 3 may also delete the first token. The content providing server 4 notifies the TV gateway 5 of the cancellation of cooperation (step S166), and the TV gateway 5 notifies the TV cloud 3 of the cancellation of cooperation (step S167).

[0225] Next, a processing procedure for canceling cooperation via an operation on the user terminal 1050 will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for canceling cooperation via an operation on the user terminal 1050.

[0226] The process starts when the user operates the remote control or the like of the television device 2 to specify, on a so-called portal screen, the content providing server 4 from which the user wishes to cancel cooperation with the smartphone 1.

[0227] Step S180 in Fig. 18 is the same as step S1 in Fig. 7 and step S12 in Fig. 11. Note that in step S180, the television device 2 transmits to the TV cloud 3 the PF-ID corresponding to the content providing server 4 designated by the user.

[0228] In step S181, the TV cloud 3 sends a QR code including the URL of the TV gateway 5 and a URL authentication code as a response to the television device 2. The QR code includes the URL of the TV gateway 5 and the following time-limited authentication code.

[0229] {"code":<authorization code> (Authentication code), "state":HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid"; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information)}

[0230] The URL authentication code is information including URL information for identifying the television gateway 5, an authentication code for performing authentication between the content providing server 4 and the TV cloud 3, and state information. The authentication code may include a portion for identifying the manufacturer of the television device 2 and a portion for identifying the television device 2. The portion of the authentication code for identifying the television device 2 is a random value. The TV cloud 3 may associate the time at which this value is transmitted to the television device 2 as information in the DB of the storage unit 311. The state information may include information obtained by encoding the TC-ID of the manufacturer and the PF-ID of the video platform.

[0231] An example of URL authentication code information is as follows: https: / / XXXXXXX YYYYYYYYY The X part contains the URL of the television gateway 5, and the Y part contains the OAuth2 authorization code. The authorization code part contains information that can identify the manufacturer and the television. Either one of the information that can identify the manufacturer and the television device 2 can be used. The URL authentication code can be sent in any format as long as it contains the above information. Note that the Y part can also contain state information.

[0232] When the acquisition unit 243 of the television device 2 acquires the URL authentication code from the TV cloud 3, the display control unit 244 optically displays and outputs the content of the URL authentication code as an image or video on the video display unit 233. The display form of the display control unit 244 may be a QR code, a barcode, text, or the like, as long as it can optically display and output the information included in the URL authentication code as an image or video. Furthermore, although the first and second embodiments are described using a QR code, the present invention is not limited to a QR code, as in the present embodiment.

[0233] 7 and step S23 in FIG. 11, in step S182, the user terminal 1050 uses the URL authentication code reading function to read the URL authentication code information optically displayed on the video display unit 233 from the image information optically captured by the imaging means. As a result, the user terminal 1050 acquires the URL and authentication code of the TV gateway 5. The authentication code portion is a time-limited authentication code configured as follows: "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0234] In step S183, upon acquiring the URL, authentication code, and state information of the TV gateway 5, the user terminal 1050 accesses the TV gateway 5 based on the URL, and transmits the authentication code and state information to request authentication. Note that the state information includes the TC-ID and PF-ID, as described above.

[0235] The information to be sent at the time of authentication request is as follows. "code” :<authorization code> , "state” : <string> / / Random number

[0236] In step S184, when the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 receives the authentication code and the state information, the transmission unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits an HTML screen including a link cancellation button indicating a link cancellation instruction to the user terminal 1050. The HTML may include a URL and parameters for accessing the OAuth2 Authorization Endpoint of the PF-ID.

[0237] The user terminal 1050 acquires the above HTML format screen. Then, when the user of the user terminal 1050 presses the link cancellation button (step S185), an authorization request is made to the content providing server 4, which is the video platform. The content providing server 4 receives the authorization request and transmits information responding to the request to the user terminal 1050 (step S186).

[0238] The information sent when making the authorization request has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(<client_id> + ":" +<client_secret> )Request { "response_type”:"code” "code”:<authorization code> (Authentication code) "redirect_uri”:<TGW Endpoint> (TV Gateway 5 endpoint) "client_id": <tg-id>(ID of the TV gateway 5) "scope”: <VPF provided> (Token authentication scope) "state”: HEX(JSON.stringify({"tcid”; <tc-id>"pfid"; <pf-id>,"salt";<random string>})+hash)(state information) }

[0239] In addition, if the television device 2 requests confirmation of the linkage status from the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 at step S185 (steps S251, S252), the television gateway 5 sends information to the television device 2 indicating that they are linked (steps S253, S254).

[0240] Next, the user terminal 1050 makes a login request to the content providing server 4, and the content providing server 4 makes a response in response to the login request (step S188). As an example of the response, the following information (authorization code) is output. Response {"code":<authorization code> , "state” : <state>}

[0241] Upon receiving the response, the user terminal 1050 performs a redirection indicating a link instruction to the television gateway 5 (step S189). Note that the user terminal 1050 may transmit the authorization code to the television gateway 5.

[0242] Then, in step S72, the transmitting unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 requests a token by transmitting the authentication code to the TV cloud 3 as the destination (step S190).

[0243] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request Parameters { grant_type:"authorization_code", code :<authorization code> (Authentication Code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<redirect_uri> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0244] The generation unit 314 of the TV cloud 3 performs authentication by referring to the DB in the storage unit 311 and determining whether or not there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 (for example, information included in the state information) and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312. The generation unit 314 refers to the DB in the storage unit 311, and if there is information corresponding to the information identifying the content providing server 4 and the authentication code acquired by the acquisition unit 312, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits the first token to the TV gateway 5 (step S191).

[0245] Specifically, the transmission unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the TV gateway 5. This response, OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows. Response {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0246] When the TV cloud 3 accesses the TV gateway 5, it attaches an access_token. expires_in is the validity period (seconds) of the access_token, and is stored when the access_token is received along with the time at which it becomes invalid, and the access_token is used repeatedly until then. The refresh_token is stored secretly by the content providing server 4. For security reasons, it is not good to simply store it in local storage. When each manufacturer issues an access_token or refresh_token, it is possible to identify the TV manufacturer by adding an identifier that identifies the TV manufacturer to the beginning.

[0247] When the acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the first token, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits information including the authorization code and makes a token request to the content providing server 4 (step S192).

[0248] The information transmitted when requesting a token has the following configuration, for example: Authorization: "Basic" + Base64(TG-ID + ":" +<client_secret> ) Request { grant_type:"authorization_code", code : <code>(authorization code), state : <string>(state information), redirect_uri:<TGW Endpoint> , client_id: <tg-id> }

[0249] In step S193, the content providing server 4 transmits the generated second token to the television gateway 5.

[0250] Specifically, the content providing server 4 sends an OAuth2 Token Response as a token to the television gateway 5. This response, an OAuth2 Access Token Response, is configured as follows: {"access_token":<access token> , "token_type”: "Bearer”, "expires_in”: 3600, "refresh_token”:<refresh token>}

[0251] The acquisition unit 512 of the television gateway 5 acquires the second token from the content providing server 4. Then, the transmission unit 513 of the television gateway 5 transmits the second token to the content providing server 4 and requests user information from the content providing server 4 (step S194).

[0252] The information transmitted when the user information is requested has, for example, the following configuration. Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0253] The content providing server 4 searches for the user ID and user attribute information corresponding to the second token acquired from the TV gateway 5, and transmits this information as a response to the TV gateway 5 (step S195). As a result, the acquisition unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the user ID and user attribute information. The response information has the following configuration: Response {"user_id": <ur-id>(User ID on the site of content provider server 4), "Preference”: <Current user attributes> (user's date of birth, gender, zip code, purchase history, etc.)

[0254] The transmitting unit 513 of the TV gateway 5 transmits the first token to the TV cloud 3 and requests device information (step S196). The information transmitted when requesting device information has the following configuration, for example. Authorization: "Bearer" +<access token> )

[0255] When the acquisition unit 312 of the TV cloud 3 acquires the first token, it acquires the HA-ID corresponding to the first token and information about the device corresponding to the HA-ID (attribute information of the television device 2 corresponding to the HA-ID).

[0256] In step S197, the transmitting unit 313 of the TV cloud 3 transmits information such as the HA-ID as a response to the TV gateway 5. The acquiring unit 512 of the TV gateway 5 acquires the HA-ID and information on the device corresponding to the HA-ID. Examples of the response include the following: Response { device_id: <ha-id>(HA-ID) "model":<model name> (Model of television device 2, i.e., display screen size, pixel count information such as 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.) }

[0257] The TV gateway 5 deletes the binding information and notifies the content providing server 4 of the deletion (step S198). Note that the TV gateway 5 may also notify the TV cloud 3 of the deletion of the binding information.

[0258] If the television device 2 requests confirmation of the linkage status from the television gateway 5 via the TV cloud 3 after step S198 (steps S199, S200), the television gateway 5 sends information to the television device 2 indicating that they are not linked (steps S201, S202).

[0259] In the above embodiment, the case where campaign information is displayed when the program guide is displayed is described, but campaign information may also be displayed when an advertisement is displayed on the screen at a specified timing during the broadcast of a program (a program of linearly distributed video content) via a network.

[0260] For example, campaign information may be displayed using a clickable advertisement as shown in Fig. 19. Fig. 19 is an example of clickable advertisement information. This advertisement information includes information (ad_list) indicating an array of advertisement information objects, information (ad_type) indicating the advertisement type, information (img_url) indicating the URL of the advertisement image, etc.

[0261] In the above embodiment, in the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 16 , the television gateway 5 requests user information from the content providing server 4 and acquires a UR-ID from the content providing server 4. However, this is not limited to this. For example, FIG. 20 shows a modified example of the flowchart of FIG. 16 . Description of the same parts of the processing as those described in FIG. 16 will be omitted. Instead of the content providing server 4 providing a UR-ID in step S128 or S130 shown in FIG. 20 , the television gateway 5 may issue a temporary UR-ID in step S118 and include the parameter in the value of “state” included in the HTML code. In this case, the user terminal 1050 transmits this value to the content providing server 4 in step S120. Furthermore, in the flowchart of FIG. 12 , the television gateway 5 may issue a temporary UR-ID as described above.

[0262] The television gateway 5 according to this embodiment stores campaign information and transmits the campaign information to the television device 2 at a predetermined timing, such as when the television device 2 displays a program guide.

[0263] Furthermore, the TV gateway 5 acquires an authentication code from the user terminal 1050, transmits the authentication code to the destination TV cloud 3 identified based on the authentication code, acquires a first token from the TV cloud 3, and acquires a second token from the content providing server 4. The TV gateway 5 then transmits the second token to the content providing server 4 to acquire a user ID, and transmits the first token to the TV cloud 3 to acquire an ID (e.g., HA-ID) of the television device 2. In this way, the TV gateway 5 can associate the user ID with the ID of the television device 2 by acquiring the user ID from the content providing server 4 and the ID of the television device 2 from the TV cloud 3.

[0264] In this case, the television gateway 5 stores the user ID and the ID of the television device 2 in association with each other, so the TV cloud 3 does not need to manage the user ID, thereby reducing the information management burden on the TV cloud 3. Furthermore, the television gateway 5 acquires the authentication code from the user terminal 1050, so the content providing server 4 does not need to transmit the authentication code to the television gateway 5, thereby reducing the processing burden on the content providing server 4. In other words, the television gateway 5 can appropriately execute processing to link the receiver identifier (the ID of the television device 2) and the terminal identifier (the user ID of the user terminal 1050). Furthermore, the television gateway 5 can promote processing to link the ID of the television device 2 and the user ID of the user terminal 1050 by outputting campaign information.

[0265] Furthermore, the television gateway 5 associates the ID of the television device 2 with the user ID of the user terminal 1050, and then transmits the IFA-ID to the content providing server 4. This allows the television gateway 5 to provide information that can identify the television device 2 without disclosing the ID of the television device 2 to the content providing server 4.

[0266] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. For example, the television device in the above embodiments may be an electronic device that does not have a display unit but has a receiving function that outputs a video signal to an external display device, such as a set-top box or a recorder. Furthermore, these novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. For example, among image icons displayed on a user terminal, an image icon that can be enlarged on a television device may have a button on or near the image icon that instructs the television device to enlarge the image, and the color, shape, or display format of the enlarged image icon may be changed so that it can be visually distinguished from other image icons that cannot be enlarged. Furthermore, when an instruction to enlarge the image on the television device is given from the user terminal, or during display processing on the television device, a voice notification may be made via the user terminal or the television device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0267] 1...smartphone, 2...television device, 3...TV cloud, 4...content providing server, 5...television gateway, 6...measurement server, S...information linkage system < / string> < / code> < / string> < / state> < / string> < / string> < / string> < / code> < / string> < / state> < / string> < / string> < / string> < / code> < / string> < / state> It should be noted that in the original text at line , there seems to be a syntax error in the expression "{"tcid”;". This might need to be corrected in the source text for a more accurate translation and proper understanding. < / string> < / string> < / id> < / string> < / string>

Claims

1. A server management device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of server devices, the server management device storing information associating an identifier of a broadcast receiving device, an authentication code, an identifier of a content providing device, and a first token, the server management device comprising: an acquisition unit that receives a request for program guide information from the broadcast receiving device via the server device and acquires program configuration information from the content providing device; a storage unit that stores promotion information that promotes associating the identifier of the broadcast receiving device with the user identifier of a terminal device of a user of the content providing device; a transmitting unit that transmits the program configuration information and the promotion information to the broadcast receiving device, The acquisition unit acquires, from the terminal device that has acquired the authentication code sent by the server device to the broadcast receiving device in response to a request based on the promotion information from the broadcast receiving device, an authentication request including the authentication code, an identifier of the content providing device, and an identifier of the server device; acquiring, from the terminal device, a notification of an instruction to link an identifier of the broadcast receiving device and a user identifier of the terminal device; After receiving the notification of the link instruction, obtain a first token corresponding to the authentication code from a server device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring a second token corresponding to a user identifier of the terminal device from a content providing device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring an identifier of a broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token from the server device; acquiring a user identifier of a terminal device corresponding to the second token from the content providing device; a generating unit that associates an identifier of the broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token acquired by the acquiring unit with a user identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the second token and registers the associated identifier in a recording unit; A server management device comprising:

2. The promotion information includes a normal linked data portion and a campaign linked data portion; The information indicating the image in the campaign linked data portion is set to be different for each manufacturer of the broadcast receiving device. The server management device according to claim 1 .

3. A method executed by a server management device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of server devices, the server management device storing information associating an identifier of a broadcast receiving device, an authentication code, an identifier of a content providing device, and a first token, the method comprising: an acquisition step of accepting a request for program guide information from the broadcast receiving device via the server device and acquiring program configuration information from the content providing device; a storage step of storing promotion information that promotes associating the identifier of the broadcast receiving device with the user identifier of a terminal device of the user of the content providing device; a transmitting step of transmitting the program configuration information and the promotion information to the broadcast receiving device, The obtaining step includes: acquires, from the terminal device that has acquired the authentication code sent by the server device to the broadcast receiving device in response to a request based on the promotion information from the broadcast receiving device, an authentication request including the authentication code, an identifier of the content providing device, and an identifier of the server device; acquiring, from the terminal device, a notification of an instruction to link an identifier of the broadcast receiving device and a user identifier of the terminal device; After receiving the notification of the link instruction, obtain a first token corresponding to the authentication code from a server device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring a second token corresponding to a user identifier of the terminal device from a content providing device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring an identifier of a broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token from the server device; acquiring a user identifier of a terminal device corresponding to the second token from the content providing device; a generating step of registering in a recording unit an identifier of the broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token acquired in the acquiring step and a user identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the second token in association with each other; A method comprising:

4. a computer serving as a server management device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from a plurality of server devices, the server management device storing information associating an identifier of a broadcast receiving device, an authentication code, an identifier of a content providing device, and a first token; an acquisition step of accepting a request for program guide information from the broadcast receiving device via the server device and acquiring program configuration information from the content providing device; a storage step of storing promotion information that promotes associating the identifier of the broadcast receiving device with the user identifier of a terminal device of the user of the content providing device; a transmitting step of transmitting the program configuration information and the promotion information to the broadcast receiving device, The obtaining step includes: acquires, from the terminal device that has acquired the authentication code sent by the server device to the broadcast receiving device in response to a request based on the promotion information from the broadcast receiving device, an authentication request including the authentication code, an identifier of the content providing device, and an identifier of the server device; acquiring, from the terminal device, a notification of an instruction to link an identifier of the broadcast receiving device and a user identifier of the terminal device; After receiving the notification of the link instruction, obtain a first token corresponding to the authentication code from a server device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring a second token corresponding to a user identifier of the terminal device from a content providing device corresponding to the authentication request; acquiring an identifier of a broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token from the server device; acquiring a user identifier of a terminal device corresponding to the second token from the content providing device; a generating step of registering in a recording unit an identifier of the broadcast receiving device corresponding to the first token acquired in the acquiring step and a user identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the second token in association with each other; A program to execute.

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