Terminal device and animation providing system

Abstract

To provide a terminal device and an animation providing system with excellent usability. [Solution] The terminal device comprises a display control unit that displays an animation based on animation data provided from a server on a screen of the display device, a first reception unit that receives user instructions specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device, and a second reception unit that receives user instructions specifying the manner in which the animation is played for scenes in which the specific character appears.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal device and an animation providing system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, it has become possible to easily watch videos such as animations on terminal devices. In this environment where animations can be easily watched, there are users who want to watch videos focusing on their favorite characters that appear in the animations.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device that allows a user to easily know the position where a specific person appears in an animation. Specifically, the information processing device is capable of displaying video frames from the entire duration of an animation on a display unit, and discloses a technology that displays video frames from the entire duration in which a specific person appears in a different color. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-248070 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to know the location information of where a specific person appears. However, this technology does not fully meet the needs of users who want to watch animations while focusing on a specific character, and there is an issue of lack of usability.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to solve the problem of providing a terminal device and an animation providing system with excellent usability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a terminal device according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure includes a display control unit that displays an animation based on animation data provided from a server on a screen of a display device, a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device, and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying a playback mode of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears. The first reception unit receives a designation of the specific character included in the animation while the animation is being displayed on the display device. . A terminal device according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure comprises a display control unit that displays an animation based on animation data provided from a server on a screen of a display device; a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying the mode of playback of the animation for scenes in which the specific character appears, and the second reception unit receives an instruction to skip, fast forward, fast rewind, skip forward, skip back, or filter playback for scenes in which the specific character appears as the mode of playback. A terminal device according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure includes a display control unit that causes an animation based on animation data provided from a server to be displayed on a screen of a display device; a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying a playback mode of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears, and the display control unit causes the scene in which the specific character appears to be displayed on the screen in the playback mode specified by the user, and also displays an appearance scene display bar indicating a scene in which the specific character appears on the screen. .

[0008] An animation providing system according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure includes a terminal device and a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network, The terminal device The display device includes a display control unit that displays an animation based on animation data provided from a server on a screen of a display device, a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device, and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying a playback mode of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears. The first reception unit receives a designation of the specific character included in the animation while the animation is being displayed on the display device. . An animation providing system according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure comprises a terminal device and a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network, the terminal device comprising: a display control unit that displays an animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of a display device; a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying the mode of playback of the animation for scenes in which the specific character appears, and the second reception unit receives an instruction to skip, fast forward, fast rewind, skip forward, skip back, or filter playback for scenes in which the specific character appears as the mode of playback. An animation providing system according to a preferred aspect of the present disclosure comprises a terminal device and a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network, the terminal device comprising: a display control unit that causes an animation based on animation data provided from the server to be displayed on a screen of a display device; a first reception unit that receives a user's instruction specifying a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; and a second reception unit that receives the user's instruction specifying the playback mode of the animation for scenes in which the specific character appears, and the display control unit displays the scenes in which the specific character appears on the screen in the playback mode specified by the user, and also displays an appearance scene display bar on the screen indicating scenes in which the specific character appears. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a terminal device and an animation providing system that are excellent in usability in terms of wanting to watch an animation while focusing on a specific character. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an animation providing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an animation displayed on a screen of the display device of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first instruction for designating a character. [Figure 5] 3 is an example of an operation correspondence table shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to fast-forward the playback mode of the character. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to fast-rewind the playback mode of the character. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the mode of playback of the character to skip forward. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the mode of playback of the character to skip back. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the mode of character playback to filtered playback. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a playback mode request. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server in FIG. 1. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the animation data file shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a character appearance scene file shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of data of the character shown in FIG. 14. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation related to the mode of reproduction of a specific character. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation relating to a mode of reproduction of a specific character in the first modified example. [Figure 18]10 is an example of a tool for switching whether or not to accept a first instruction displayed on the screen. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation relating to a mode of reproduction of a specific character in the second modified example. [Figure 20] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance scene display bar displayed on the screen. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an animation after operating a playback point. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an automatic adjustment function of a playback point. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an automatic adjustment function of a playback point. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a fine adjustment instruction for a playback point. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a fine adjustment instruction for a playback point. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the second instruction. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the second instruction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present disclosure. Therefore, various technically preferable limitations are applied to the embodiments. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below unless otherwise specified in the following description to the effect that the present disclosure is limited.

[0012] 1. First embodiment 1-1. Overall system configuration Figure 1 is a diagram showing an animation providing system according to a first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the animation providing system 100 includes a server 10 and terminal devices 30-1, 30-2, ... 30-K, ... 30-N. N is an integer equal to or greater than 1. K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than N. The animation providing system 100 is a client-server system. The terminal device 30 corresponds to a client.

[0013] In this embodiment, the multiple terminal devices 30-1 to 30-N have the same configuration. However, terminal devices with different configurations may be included. Furthermore, the multiple terminal devices 30-1 to 30-N communicate with each other via the server 10 and a communication network 50 such as the Internet. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple terminal devices 30-1 to 30-N, they will be referred to as terminal devices 30. Furthermore, the owners of the terminal devices 30-1, 30-2, ... 30-K, ... 30-N will be referred to as users U1, U2, ... UK, ... UN. Furthermore, the owner of the terminal device 30 will be referred to as user U.

[0014] The server 10 provides animation to a plurality of terminal devices 30-1 to 30-N. In this embodiment, the user U watches the animation through streaming, in which the terminal device 30 receives data and simultaneously plays it back.

[0015] According to the animation providing system 100 of this embodiment, a user U can view animations via a terminal device 30. Furthermore, the user U can view the animations while focusing on a specific character from among multiple characters appearing in the animation. For example, the user can extract and view only scenes in which a specific character appears. Furthermore, by specifying and operating a specific character, the user can specify the playback mode of the specific character. The playback mode refers to how the animation is played back, and examples include fast-forward, fast-rewind, skip-forward, skip-back, and filtered playback. The playback modes will be described in more detail later. Furthermore, the term "character" refers to living creatures, objects, and fictional creatures, such as people, that appear in the animation.

[0016] 1-1a. Terminal device 30 Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 30 in Fig. 1. The terminal device 30 has a viewer function that displays animation. Examples of the terminal device 30 include smartphones, mobile information terminals such as tablets, personal computers, and wearable devices.

[0017] The terminal device 30 includes a processing device 31, a storage device 32, a communication device 33, a display device 34, and an input device 35. The elements included in the terminal device 30 are connected to each other using one or more buses for communicating information.

[0018] The processing device 31 is a processor that controls the entire terminal device 30. The processing device 31 is configured using, for example, one or more chips. The processing device 31 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) that includes an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. Note that some or all of the functions of the processing device 31 may be realized using hardware such as a DSP, ASIC, PLD, FPGA, etc. The processing device 31 executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

[0019] The storage device 32 is a recording medium that can be read from and written to by the processing device 31. The storage device 32 stores a plurality of programs executed by the processing device 31 and various data files. Specifically, the storage device 32 stores an execution program P1 and an operation correspondence table T1. When the processing device 31 executes the execution program P1, the processing device 31 performs each of the functions described below.

[0020] The action correspondence table T1 is a correspondence table that associates the type of touch operation by the user U on a specific character with the playback mode corresponding to the touch operation. A touch operation is an action performed by the user U by touching the screen of the display device 34. Note that the action correspondence table T1 may be a correspondence table that associates an operation using the input device 35, instead of a touch operation, with the playback mode corresponding to the operation.

[0021] The communication device 33 is hardware that serves as a transmitting / receiving device for communicating with the server 10. The communication device 33 is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 33 may include a connector for wired connection and an interface circuit corresponding to the connector. The communication device 33 may also include a wireless communication interface. Examples of the connector and interface circuit for wired connection include products that comply with wired LAN, IEEE1394, and USB. Examples of the wireless communication interface include products that comply with wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.

[0022] The display device 34 is a device that displays images and text information. The display device 34 displays various images under the control of the processing device 31. For example, various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel are suitably used as the display device 34.

[0023] The input device 35 receives operations from the user U. For example, the input device 35 includes a keyboard, a touchpad, a touch panel, or a pointing device such as a mouse.

[0024] In this embodiment, for example, the display device 34 includes a touch panel and also serves as the input device 35. For this reason, hereinafter, it may be stated that the display device 34 receives instructions from the user U.

[0025] The processing device 31 reads and executes the execution program P1 from the storage device 32. As a result, the processing device 31 functions as a display control unit 311, a determination unit 312, a reception unit 310, and a communication control unit 315. The reception unit 310 also includes a first reception unit 313 and a second reception unit 314.

[0026] The display control unit 311 controls the display of the display device 34. The display control unit 311 displays animation on the display device 34. The display control unit 311 starts an animation viewer. The animation viewer may be a browser viewer that allows animation to be viewed on a browser, or an app viewer that allows animation to be viewed on an app.

[0027] FIG. 3 is an example of animation A1 displayed on a screen SC of the display device 34 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the display device 34 has a screen SC on which various images are displayed. In FIG. 3, animation A1 is displayed on the screen SC. For example, characters C1 and C2 are displayed in animation A1 of FIG. 3. In this embodiment, an example of viewing focusing on character C1 will be described.

[0028] The determination unit 312 shown in Fig. 2 determines a specific character C1 designated by a user U and a playback mode for the specific character C1. For example, the specific character C1 designated by the user U is determined based on a first instruction received by a first receiving unit 313 (described later). The playback mode is determined based on a second instruction received by a second receiving unit 314 (described later) and an action correspondence table T1. The determination unit 312 also generates a playback mode request D5 shown in Fig. 11 (described later).

[0029] 2 receives instructions from a user U via the input device 35 or the display device 34 which also serves as the input device 35. The reception unit 310 includes the first reception unit 313 and the second reception unit 314, as described above.

[0030] The first receiving unit 313 receives a first instruction from the user U, which designates a specific character C1 appearing in the animation A1, via the input device 35 or the display device 34 which also functions as the input device 35.

[0031] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a first instruction for designating a character C1. Fig. 4 shows an example in which the first instruction is given via a display device 34 that also serves as an input device 35. For example, the first instruction by a user U is contact with the character C1 on the screen SC by the user U's finger Uf. The start of contact of the finger Uf with the character C1 is the first instruction.

[0032] The display device 34 detects the contact of the finger Uf with the screen SC and the contact position using a touch sensor. The first reception unit 313 receives the start of contact by the finger Uf, the contact start time, and the contact position of the finger Uf. The determination unit 312 identifies the character C1 based on the information received by the first reception unit 313, for example, by identifying the area or outline of the character C1 using computer vision technology, tee planning, or the like.

[0033] The character C1 may be specified by the server 10, rather than by the determination unit 312 of the terminal device 30, or by both the terminal device 30 and the server 10 in cooperation with each other.

[0034] The fingers Uf of the user U include the thumb. As long as the first instruction can be given, some member may be interposed between the finger Uf and the screen SC. The first instruction may be given by a part of the user U other than the finger Uf.

[0035] 2 receives a second instruction from a user U that specifies the mode of playback of animation A1 for a scene in which a specific character C1 appears. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the second instruction, the determination unit 312 determines the mode of playback based on the content received by the second receiving unit 314 and the action correspondence table T1.

[0036] The playback mode may be determined by the server 10, rather than by the determination unit 312 of the terminal device 30, or may be determined by both the terminal device 30 and the server 10 in cooperation with each other.

[0037] FIG. 5 is an example of the action correspondence table T1 shown in FIG. 2. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when the touch operation by the user U is a right swipe operation, that is, an operation of moving a finger Uf in a right direction while keeping it in contact with the screen SC, the correspondence is associated with fast-forwarding of the playback. Fast-forwarding means playing back in the forward direction at a speed faster than the normal speed. In the case of the input device 35, the right swipe operation can be replaced with, for example, a right drag operation.

[0038] When the touch operation by the user U is a left swipe operation, that is, an operation of moving a finger Uf to the left while keeping it in contact with the screen SC, the corresponding playback is associated with fast rewind. Fast rewind means playing in the reverse direction at a speed faster than the normal speed. In the case of the input device 35, the left swipe operation can be replaced with, for example, a left drag operation.

[0039] When the touch operation by the user U is an upward swipe operation, that is, an operation of moving the finger Uf upward while keeping it in contact with the screen SC, the playback is associated with skip forward. Skip forward means skipping to the next scene in which a specific character C1 appears. In the case of the input device 35, the upward swipe operation is replaced with, for example, an upward scroll operation.

[0040] When the touch operation by the user U is a downward swipe operation, that is, an operation of moving a finger Uf downward while keeping it in contact with the screen SC, the playback is associated with a skip back operation. The skip back operation means skipping to the previous scene in which a specific character C1 appears. In the case of the input device 35, the downward swipe operation is replaced with, for example, a downward scroll operation.

[0041] When the touch operation by the user U is a long press operation, that is, when the finger Uf is kept in contact with the same place on the screen SC for a certain period of time or more, the playback is associated with filtered playback. Filtered playback is a playback in which only scenes in which a specific character C1 appears are extracted and played back sequentially, and scenes in which the specific character C1 does not appear are skipped.

[0042] 5 is an example, and the relationship between the touch operation and the playback mode may be other than the example shown in FIG.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to fast-forward the playback mode of the character C1. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the user U issues a fast-forward instruction as the second instruction after the first instruction. The user U touches a specific character C1 with a finger Uf and then performs a right swipe operation. As shown in FIG. 6, the right swipe operation is an operation in which the finger Hf is moved in the direction of the arrow X1. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the right swipe operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the second instruction is to fast-forward based on the action correspondence table T1.

[0044] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to fast-rewind the playback mode of the character C1. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the user U issues a fast-rewind instruction as the second instruction after the first instruction. The user U touches a specific character C1 with a finger Uf and then performs a left swipe operation. As shown in FIG. 7, the left swipe operation is an operation in which the finger Hf is moved in the direction of the arrow X2. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the left swipe operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the second instruction is fast-rewind based on the action correspondence table T1.

[0045] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the playback mode of the character C1 to skip forward. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the user U issues a skip forward instruction as the second instruction after the first instruction. The user U touches a specific character C1 with a finger Uf and then performs an upward swipe operation. As shown in FIG. 8, the upward swipe operation is an operation in which the finger Hf is moved in the direction of the arrow X3. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the upward swipe operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the second instruction is skip forward based on the action correspondence table T1.

[0046] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the playback mode of the character C1 to skip back. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the user U issues a skip back instruction as the second instruction after the first instruction. The user U touches a specific character C1 with a finger Uf and then performs a downward swipe operation. As shown in FIG. 9, the downward swipe operation is an operation in which the finger Hf is moved in the direction of the arrow X4. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the downward swipe operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the second instruction is skip back based on the action correspondence table T1.

[0047] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the second instruction is an instruction to change the playback mode of the character C1 to filter playback. FIG. 10 shows an example in which the user U issues a filter playback instruction as the second instruction after the first instruction. The user U places his / her finger Uf in contact with a specific character C1 and then performs a long press operation. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the long press operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the second instruction is filter playback based on the action correspondence table T1.

[0048] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a playback mode request D5. As shown in FIG. 11, the playback mode request D5 includes a terminal ID, an animation ID, a character ID, a specified time, and a playback mode. The playback mode request D5 is generated by the determination unit 312 described above.

[0049] The terminal ID is an identifier for identifying the terminal device 30 on which the specific operation was performed. The terminal ID makes it possible to identify which user U owns the terminal device 30 the playback mode request D5 came from. The animation ID is an identifier for identifying the animation A1 being played when the character C1 was specified. The character ID is an identifier for identifying the character. The specified time is the time when the character C1 was specified. Therefore, the specified time is the time when the first instruction was received by the first receiving unit 313, and indicates the position of the animation data D10 when the first instruction was received. The playback mode is the playback mode determined by the determination unit 312 in response to the touch operation received by the second receiving unit 314.

[0050] The example in Fig. 11 shows that, for example, on the terminal device 30 with the terminal ID "30-1," at "382 seconds" during playback of the animation A1 with the animation ID "an0001," the character C1 with the character ID "c0001" is specified by the first instruction. Furthermore, in the example in Fig. 5, the second instruction indicates that the playback mode is "fast forward."

[0051] 2 causes the communication device 33 to transmit and receive various types of information. As a result, the various types of information are transmitted to the server 10. The terminal device 30 also receives various types of information from the server 10. For example, the communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to transmit a playback mode request D5. For example, the communication control unit 315 also causes the communication device 33 to receive animation data D10 provided by the server 10.

[0052] 1-1b. Server 10 Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 10 in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 12, the server 10 includes a processing device 11, a storage device 12, a communication device 13, a display device 14, and an input device 15. The elements of the server 10 are connected to each other using one or more buses for communicating information.

[0053] The processing device 11 is a processor that controls the entire server 10. The processing device 11 is configured using, for example, one or more chips. The processing device 11 is configured using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) including an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. Some or all of the functions of the processing device 11 may be realized using hardware such as a DSP, ASIC, PLD, and FPGA. The processing device 11 executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

[0054] The storage device 12 is a recording medium that can be read and written by the processing device 11. The storage device 12 also stores a plurality of programs executed by the processing device 11 and various data files. Specifically, the storage device 12 stores a control program P2, an animation data file F10, and a character appearance scene file F20. When the processing device 11 executes the control program P2, the processing device 11 performs the various functions described below.

[0055] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the animation data file F10 shown in Fig. 12. The animation data file F10 shown in Fig. 10 includes a plurality of animation data D10-1, D10-2, D10-3, ... D10-β. When there is no need to distinguish between the plurality of animation data D10-1 to D10-β, they will be referred to as animation data D10.

[0056] For example, if there are multiple episodes, the animation data D10 is provided for each episode, such as episode 1, episode 2, etc.

[0057] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the character appearance scene file F20 shown in Fig. 12. The character appearance scene file F20 in Fig. 14 is a collection of multiple data indicating appearance scenes for each character. In the example shown, the character appearance scene file F20 includes data D20-1 for character C1, data D20-2 for character C2, data D20-3 for character C3, ... and data D20-α for character Cα. Note that when there is no need to distinguish between the data D20-1 to D20-α for multiple characters, they will be referred to as character data D20.

[0058] For example, character data D20 is provided for each animation data D10. Therefore, for example, a character appearance scene file F20 exists for each animation data D10.

[0059] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of data D20-1 for character C1 shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 15 shows an example of data D20-1 for character C1, and is data relating to animation A1 with animation ID "an0001", for example.

[0060] In the example shown in Fig. 15, the data for character C1 includes multiple section data D21-1, D21-2, D21-3, ... D21-γ. When the multiple section data D21-1 to D21-γ are not distinguished, they are referred to as section data D21. Each section data D21 includes a section data ID, a character ID, an animation ID, an appearance start position, and an appearance end position. The character ID and animation ID may be omitted.

[0061] The section data ID is an identifier for the section data D21. The appearance start position and appearance end position indicate the scene section in which the character C1 appears. The appearance start position is the time when the character C1 begins to appear, and the appearance end position is the time when the character C1 finishes appearing.

[0062] In the example of FIG. 15, section data D21-1 indicates that character C1 corresponding to "c0001" appears in the section from appearance start position "352 seconds" to appearance end position "441 seconds." Section data D21-2 indicates that character C1 corresponding to "c0001" appears in the section from appearance start position "481 seconds" to appearance end position "551 seconds." Section data D21-3 indicates that character C1 corresponding to "c0001" appears in the section from appearance start position "588 seconds" to appearance end position "629 seconds." Section data D21-γ indicates that character C1 corresponding to "c0001" appears in the section from appearance start position "822 seconds" to appearance end position "928 seconds."

[0063] The communication device 13 shown in FIG. 12 is hardware serving as a transmitting / receiving device for communicating with the terminal device 30. The communication device 13 is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 13 may include a connector for wired connection and an interface circuit corresponding to the connector. The communication device 13 may also include a wireless communication interface. Examples of the connector and interface circuit for wired connection include products that comply with wired LAN, IEEE1394, and USB. Examples of the wireless communication interface include products that comply with wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.

[0064] The display device 14 is a device that displays images and text information. The display device 14 displays various images under the control of the processing device 11. For example, various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel are suitably used as the display device 14.

[0065] The input device 15 receives operations from an administrator of the server 10. For example, the input device 15 includes a keyboard, a touchpad, a touch panel, or a pointing device such as a mouse. If the display device 14 includes a touch panel, the display device 14 may also serve as the input device 15.

[0066] The processing device 11 reads and executes the control program P2 from the storage device 12. As a result, the processing device 11 functions as a management unit 111, a communication control unit 112, and a display control unit 113.

[0067] The management unit 111 stores various types of information in the storage device 12, identifies specific information from the various types of information stored in the storage device 12, and generates various types of data. For example, the management unit 111 segments the animation data D10 into specific sections so that streaming is possible on the terminal device 30. The management unit 111 also generates data by cutting out a portion of the animation data D10 in accordance with the above-mentioned section data D21.

[0068] The communication control unit 112 causes the communication device 13 to transmit and receive various types of information to and from the terminal device 30. For example, the communication control unit 112 causes the communication device 13 to receive a playback mode request D5. Also, for example, the communication control unit 112 causes the communication device 13 to transmit animation data D10.

[0069] The display control unit 113 controls the display of the display device 14. The display control unit 113 may also control the display of the screen SC of the terminal device 30.

[0070] 1-2. Actions related to the playback mode of a specific character FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation related to the reproduction mode of a specific character.

[0071] 16, the reception unit 310 receives an instruction from the user U to start viewing the animation A1 via the display device 34. At this time, the display control unit 311 launches an animation viewer. Before launching the animation viewer, the display control unit 311 may display a button on the screen SC that prompts the user U to select viewing in a browser or viewing in an app. For example, in response to the user U selecting the button, the display control unit 311 launches an animation viewer that corresponds to the selection.

[0072] In step S102, the communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to transmit a request to view the animation A1.

[0073] In step S103, the communication control unit 112 of the server 10 causes the communication device 13 to transmit the animation data D10 identified by the management unit 111 in response to the viewing request. The viewing request includes an animation ID, and the server 10 transmits the animation data D10 corresponding to the animation ID to the terminal device 30. The communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to receive the animation data D10. If streaming, the animation data D10 is segmented, and some of the segmented data is transmitted at any time.

[0074] In step S104, the display control unit 311 displays the animation A1 based on the animation data D10 on the display device 34. For example, the animation A1 shown in Fig. 3 is displayed on the screen SC.

[0075] In step S105, the first receiving unit 313 receives a first instruction from the user U that specifies a specific character C1 that appears in the animation A1. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the first receiving unit 313 detects an operation of touching the specific character C1 in the animation A1 with a finger Uf via the screen SC of the display device 34 while the animation A1 is being played. This operation causes the first receiving unit 313 to receive the first instruction.

[0076] In step S106, the second receiving unit 314 receives a second instruction from the user U that specifies the mode of playback of the animation A1 via the screen SC of the input device 35. For example, the second receiving unit 314 detects any one of the operations shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. That is, the second receiving unit 314 receives the second instruction by detecting any one of a right swipe operation, a left swipe operation, an up swipe operation, a down swipe operation, and a long press operation.

[0077] In step S107, the determination unit 312 determines a specific character C1 based on the first instruction. Furthermore, the determination unit 312 determines a playback mode based on the second instruction and the action correspondence table T1. Then, the determination unit 312 generates a playback mode request D5.

[0078] In step S108, the communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to transmit the playback mode request D5. When the server 10 receives the playback mode request D5, the management unit 111 determines a part of the animation A1 based on the section data D21 in accordance with the playback mode of the playback mode request D5.

[0079] In step S109, the communication control unit 112 causes the communication device 13 to transmit a part of the animation A1. The communication control unit 315 of the terminal device 30 receives the part of the animation A1.

[0080] In step S110, the display control unit 311 causes the display device 34 to display the animation A1 based on a part of the animation A1 in the playback mode specified by the user U.

[0081] As described above, in step S104, the display control unit 113 displays the animation A1 based on the animation data D10 provided from the server 10 on the screen SC of the display device 34. In step S105, the first reception unit 313 receives an instruction from the user U specifying a specific character C1 appearing in the animation A1 via the input device 35. In step S106, the second reception unit 314 receives an instruction from the user U specifying the mode of playback of the animation A1 for a scene in which the specific character C1 appears.

[0082] The terminal device 30 has the display control unit 311, the first reception unit 313, and the second reception unit 314, and as described above, for a specific character C1 designated by the user U, the user U can specify the playback mode of the scene in which the character C1 appears. Then, the display control unit 311 plays back the scene in which the character C1 appears in the specified playback mode. This allows the user U to view content with a focus on the specific character C1. Therefore, the terminal device 30 has excellent usability in terms of viewing content with a focus on the specific character C1.

[0083] In particular, the first receiving unit 313 receives the designation of a specific character C1 included in the animation A1 while the display control unit 311 is displaying the animation A1 on the display device 34, i.e., while the animation A1 is being played. This eliminates the need for the user U to stop the animation A1 and search for a scene in which the character C1 appears. Furthermore, this eliminates the need for the user U to search for a scene in which the character C1 appears by watching a preview of each chapter, for example. This provides excellent usability.

[0084] The first instruction and the second instruction may be given not only while the animation A1 is being played, but also while the animation A1 is stopped.

[0085] As described above, in step S105, the first reception unit 313 detects contact with the specific character C1 on the screen SC, thereby receiving the designation of the specific character C1. This allows the user U to designate the specific character C1 with the simple operation of contacting the specific character C1 on the screen SC. This is extremely convenient and does not require the user U to memorize any special operations.

[0086] In step S105, the first reception unit 313 may receive the designation of the specific character C1 by a click operation on the screen SC for the specific character C1 via the input device 35. Even in this case, the user U can designate the specific character C1 by a simple operation of clicking the specific character C1. Therefore, there is no need for the user U to memorize any special operation, which is very convenient.

[0087] In step S106, the second reception unit 314 also receives an instruction to fast-forward, fast-rewind, skip forward, skip back, or filter playback of scenes in which the specific character C1 appears as a playback mode. Since such playback modes can be specified, the user U can select from a variety of playback modes for playback of the specific character C1 according to his or her own desires. This allows the user U to watch while focusing on the specific character C1.

[0088] For example, in step S106, if the second receiving unit 314 receives a rightward swipe operation, it receives an instruction to fast-forward a scene in which a specific character C1 appears. A rightward swipe operation causes the current section in which the specific character C1 appears to be played back at fast-forward speed. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the rightward swipe operation, the determining unit 312 determines that the instruction is to fast-forward based on the action correspondence table T1. The server 10 provides a portion of the animation data D10 to the terminal device 30 at a speed corresponding to the fast-forward speed.

[0089] By fast-forwarding with such a simple operation of swiping to the right, the user U can view the character C1 at double speed. Also, the user U can easily recognize that swiping to the right means forward playback. Therefore, the fact that swiping to the right corresponds to an instruction to fast-forward in the forward direction is an easy operation for the user U to remember.

[0090] For example, when the second receiving unit 314 receives a drag operation in the right direction by the input device 35, it receives an instruction to fast forward scenes in which a specific character C1 appears, in the same manner as above.

[0091] For example, in step S106, if the second receiving unit 314 receives a left swipe operation, it receives an instruction to fast-rewind a scene in which a specific character C1 appears. A left swipe operation causes the current section in which the specific character C1 appears to be played back in fast-rewind. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the left swipe operation, the determination unit 312 determines that the instruction is to fast-rewind based on the action correspondence table T1. The server 10 provides a portion of the animation data D10 to the terminal device 30 at a speed corresponding to the fast-rewind. Note that if a portion of the animation data D10 corresponding to the fast-rewind period remains stored in the storage device 32 in the terminal device 30, steps S108 and S109 are omitted.

[0092] By fast-rewinding with such a simple operation of swiping left, the user U can rewatch the scene in which the character C1 appears. Also, the user U can easily recognize that swiping left means playing in the reverse direction. Therefore, the fact that swiping left corresponds to an instruction to fast-rewind in the forward direction is an easy operation for the user U to remember.

[0093] For example, when the second receiving unit 314 receives a drag operation in the left direction by the input device 35, it receives an instruction to fast-rewind a scene in which a specific character C1 appears, in the same manner as described above.

[0094] For example, in step S106, when the second receiving unit 314 receives an upward swipe operation, it receives an instruction to skip forward a scene in which a specific character C1 appears. The upward swipe operation skips from the current section in which the specific character C1 appears to the section in which the next character C1 appears. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the upward swipe operation, the determination unit 312 determines that the instruction is to skip forward based on the action correspondence table T1. The server 10 provides the terminal device 30 with a portion of the animation data D10 corresponding to the section in which the next character C1 appears.

[0095] By skipping forward with such a simple upward swipe, the user U can quickly view the next scene that the character C1 appears in. Since scenes in which a specific character C1 does not appear can be skipped, this offers excellent usability for users U who want to focus on a specific character C1 when viewing.

[0096] For example, when the second receiving unit 314 receives an upward scroll operation from the input device 35, it receives an instruction to skip forward to a scene in which a specific character C1 appears, in the same manner as described above.

[0097] For example, in step S106, when the second receiving unit 314 receives a downward swipe operation, it receives an instruction to skip back a scene in which a specific character C1 appears. The downward swipe operation skips from the current section in which the specific character C1 appears to the section in which the previous character C1 appears. When the second receiving unit 314 receives the downward swipe operation, the determination unit 312 determines that the instruction is to skip back based on the action correspondence table T1. The server 10 provides the terminal device 30 with a portion of the animation data D10 corresponding to the section in which the previous character C1 appears. Note that if the portion of the animation data D10 corresponding to the section in which the previous character C1 appears remains stored in the storage device 32 in the terminal device 30, steps S108 and S109 are omitted.

[0098] By being able to skip back with such a simple downward swipe operation, the user U can easily check what the scene was like before the character C1 appeared. Since scenes in which a specific character C1 does not appear can be skipped, this offers excellent usability for users U who want to focus on a specific character C1 when watching.

[0099] For example, when the second receiving unit 314 receives a downward scroll operation from the input device 35, it receives an instruction to skip back to a scene in which a specific character C1 appears, in the same manner as described above.

[0100] For example, in step S106, when the second reception unit 314 receives a long press operation on the screen SC, it performs filtered playback, extracting and sequentially displaying scenes in which a specific character C1 appears. That is, only scenes in which the specific character C1 appears are sequentially displayed, and scenes in which the specific character C1 does not appear are skipped. When the second reception unit 314 receives the long press operation, the determination unit 312 determines that this is an instruction to perform filtered playback based on the action correspondence table T1. The server 10 extracts portions of the animation data D10 corresponding to scenes in which the character C1 appears, and sequentially provides these to the terminal device 30.

[0101] This simple operation of long pressing allows users U to view only scenes featuring a specific character C1, which is extremely user-friendly for users U who want to focus on viewing only a specific user U.

[0102] The long press operation may be an operation in which the finger Uf continues to contact the screen SC for a certain period of time, or may be an operation performed via the input device 35.

[0103] As described above, since the terminal device 30 has the first reception unit 313 and the second reception unit 314, the user U can use the character C1 like a controller for specifying the playback mode of the character C1. Therefore, when viewing a video with a focus on a specific character C1, the terminal device 30 and the animation providing system 100 have excellent usability.

[0104] 2. Variations The preferred embodiment has been described above. The preferred embodiment can be modified in various ways. Specific examples of modifications that can be applied to the preferred embodiment described above are given below.

[0105] 2-1. First modified example This modification differs from the first embodiment in that a tool T2 shown in FIG. 18 is displayed for switching between acceptability and non-acceptability of the first instruction.

[0106] Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation related to the mode of reproduction of a specific character in the first modified example. Fig. 17 is a modified example of Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is an example of a tool T2 displayed on the screen SC for switching whether or not to accept a first instruction.

[0107] In step S111 of Fig. 17, the receiving unit 310 receives an instruction to display the tool T2 shown in Fig. 18. For example, the receiving unit 310 receives the instruction to display the tool T2 by detecting a tap operation in which a finger Uf lightly touches the screen SC. As a result, for example, the state of the screen SC shown in Fig. 3 changes to the state of the screen SC in which the tool T2 is displayed, as shown in Fig. 18. Note that the method of issuing the instruction to display the tool T2 may be an operation other than a tap operation in which a finger Uf lightly touches the screen SC.

[0108] In step S112, the display control unit 311 displays a tool T2 on the display device 34. The tool T2 shown in FIG. 18 is a button for switching between acceptability and non-acceptability of the first instruction. The position and shape of the tool T2 are not limited to the example shown in the figure and are arbitrary. The tool T2 may also be configured with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) other than a button. For example, even when the tool T2 is displayed, the animation A1 continues to play.

[0109] In step S113, the receiving unit 310 detects a press on the tool T2 and receives an instruction to switch from being unable to receiving the first instruction to being able to receive it. In step S114, for example, the display control unit 311 causes the display device 34 to display a character designation screen so that the first instruction can be given in the animation A1. The character designation screen is the same screen as the animation A1. The difference between the character designation screen and the character designation screen is whether the first instruction and the second instruction can be given. In addition, by pressing the tool T2 again, the instruction to start the first instruction is switched from being able to be received to being unable to be received.

[0110] If tool T2 is pressed and the first instruction is possible, in step S105 of Fig. 17, the first reception unit 313 receives the first instruction from the user U. Note that if the first instruction is not possible, even if the first reception unit 313 detects contact with a character, it does not determine this as a first designation. In other words, it does not receive an instruction to designate a specific character C1.

[0111] The existence of tool T2, which is a button for switching between whether or not the first instruction from user U can be accepted, makes it possible to prevent user U from accidentally specifying character C1 and even changing the playback mode.

[0112] 2-2. Second modified example Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation relating to the mode of playback of a specific character in Modified Example 2. Fig. 19 is a modified example of Fig. 16. Fig. 20 is an example of an appearance scene display bar T3 displayed on the screen SC.

[0113] In the second modified example, the user U can ascertain the position of a scene in which a specific character C1 appears by visually checking the appearance scene display bar T3. Also, in this modified example, a case will be described in which the second reception unit 314 receives a long press operation on the screen SC in step S106 of Fig. 19 and performs filtered playback, extracting and sequentially displaying scenes in which the specific character C1 appears. Note that playback modes other than filtered playback may also be used.

[0114] In step S106 of Figure 19, when the second receiving unit 314 receives a long press operation on the screen SC, in step S107, the determination unit 312 determines a specific character C1 based on the first instruction and determines that filter playback will be performed as the playback mode.

[0115] In step S108, the communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to transmit the playback mode request D5. In step S109, the server 10 extracts parts of the animation data D10 corresponding to scenes in which the character C1 appears and provides the parts to the terminal device 30 in sequence.

[0116] In step S110, the display control unit 311 displays the animation A1 corresponding to the next appearance scene of the character C1, and in step S111, displays the appearance scene display bar T3.

[0117] The appearance scene display bar T3 shown in FIG. 20 includes a bar body T30 indicating the time axis, a playback point T31, and appearance scene portions T32, T33, T34, and T35. The appearance scene display bar T3 is a seek bar indicating scenes in which a specific character C1, accepted by the first accepting unit 313, appears. The bar body T30 indicates the overall duration of the animation A1. The playback point T31 indicates the current playback position of the animation A1. The playback point T31 can be moved in the direction in which the bar body T30 extends, i.e., left and right in the figure, by the user U's operation. Moving the playback point T31 changes the playback position of the animation A1. The appearance scene portions T32, T33, T34, and T35 each indicate the position of a scene in the animation A1 in which a specific character C1 appears. In the example of FIG. 20, character C1 appears in four sections of the animation A1: appearance scene portions T32, T33, T34, and T35. In the example of FIG. 20, the current playback position of the animation A1 is within the appearance scene portion T33.

[0118] For example, playback point T31 is shown in black. Appearance scene portions T32, T33, and T34 are shown in white, for example. Portions of bar main body T30 other than appearance scene portions T32, T33, T34, and T35, which are scenes in which a specific character C1 appears, are shown in gray, for example. Therefore, by visually checking appearance scene display bar T3, user U can understand in which section of the entire animation A1 a specific character C1 appears.

[0119] In step S112, the reception unit 310 receives an operation by the user U on the playback point T31 of the appearance scene display bar T3.

[0120] FIG. 21 shows animation A1 after playback point T31 is operated. For example, FIG. 21 shows a case where playback point T31 is operated in step S112, and an instruction to skip from appearance scene portion T33 to appearance scene portion T35 is received. In this case, in step S113, the communication control unit 315 causes the communication device 33 to transmit a playback request corresponding to appearance scene portion T35 operated by playback point T31. In step S114, the server 10 provides a portion of animation data D10 corresponding to the playback request. In step S115, the display control unit 311 displays animation A1 corresponding to appearance scene portion T35.

[0121] By operating the playback point T31, it is possible to play back the section of the appearance scene designated by the user U. Thus, it is possible to arbitrarily skip the section of the appearance scene.

[0122] The terminal device 30 may also have an automatic adjustment function that automatically moves the position of the playback point T31 so that the position of the playback point T31 can be finely adjusted. For example, a case where the playback point T31 moves from the appearance scene part T33 to the appearance scene part T35 will be described as an example.

[0123] 22 and 23 are diagrams illustrating the automatic adjustment function of the playback point T31. When the user U moves the playback point T31 to a position close to the appearance scene portion T35 as shown in FIG. 22, the terminal device 30 moves the playback point T31 to the start point of the appearance scene portion T35 that is closest to the playback point T31, i.e., to the beginning, as shown in FIG. 23. The automatic adjustment function of the terminal device 30 automatically moves the playback point T31, allowing the user U to select the appearance scene portion T35 without having to precisely align the playback point T31 with the start point of the appearance scene portion T35. This improves the operability of the playback point T31 for the user U. The automatic adjustment function may move the playback point T31 to any position within the appearance scene portion T35 that is closest to the playback point T31, rather than to the start point.

[0124] Furthermore, for example, the gray section between any two adjacent appearance scene portions may be separated by any point. For example, consider a case where the gray section between two appearance scene portions T34 and T35 is separated into two regions by any point. In this case, depending on which of the two regions the playback point T31 is located in, it is determined whether the playback point T31 will be automatically moved to the earlier appearance scene portion T34 or the later appearance scene portion T35. For example, if the playback point T31 specified by the user U is in the region closer to the appearance scene portion T34, the playback point T31 will automatically move to the beginning of the appearance scene portion T34. If the playback point T31 specified by the user U is in the region closer to the appearance scene portion T35, the playback point T31 will automatically move to the beginning of the appearance scene portion T35.

[0125] Furthermore, for example, when playback point T31 is specified in a gray section between any two adjacent appearance scene portions, the location of the playback point T31 may be determined depending on whether the specification is made by an operation in the forward playback direction or the reverse playback direction. For example, consider a case where user U operates playback point T31 in the gray section between two appearance scene portions T34 and T35. In this case, when user U moves playback point T31 in the forward playback direction, playback point T31 moves to the beginning of appearance scene portion T35, which is a later scene. When user U moves playback point T31 in the reverse playback direction, playback point T31 moves to the beginning of appearance scene portion T34, which is an earlier scene.

[0126] The terminal device 30 may also have a function for finely adjusting the playback position. For example, the terminal device 30 performs fine adjustment of the playback position upon receiving an instruction from the user U in a direction different from the direction in which the bar main body T30 extends.

[0127] Specifically, the playback time for the amount of movement of the playback point T31 in a direction different from the direction in which the bar body T30 extends is shorter than the playback time for the amount of movement of the playback point T31 in the direction in which the bar body T30 extends. For example, moving the playback point T31 by 1 mm in the direction in which the bar body T30 extends corresponds to a playback time of 30 seconds, whereas moving the playback point T31 by 1 mm in a direction different from the direction in which the bar body T30 extends corresponds to a playback time of 5 seconds. Below, an example will be described in which the playback position is fine-tuned in response to an instruction to move the playback point T31 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the bar body T30 extends, i.e., in the up and down directions in the figure.

[0128] 24 and 25 are diagrams illustrating a fine-adjustment instruction for playback point T31. When user U wishes to fine-adjust the playback position in appearance scene portions T32, T33, T34, and T35 on terminal device 30, the user performs an operation to move playback point T31 up or down in the diagram, i.e., issues a fine-adjustment instruction. For example, FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate a case where fine-adjustment of the playback position within appearance scene portion T35 is performed.

[0129] For example, as shown in Fig. 24, if the user U gives an instruction to move the playback point T31 upward, i.e., in the direction of the arrow X7, the receiving unit 310 receives an instruction to move time forward in the playback direction in finer time increments than a movement to the right. Also, as shown in Fig. 25, if the user U gives an instruction to move the playback point T31 downward, i.e., in the direction of the arrow X8, the receiving unit 310 receives an instruction to move time backward in the reverse playback direction in finer time increments than a movement to the left.

[0130] In this way, when the user U wants to fine-tune the playback position, the user U can fine-tune the playback position within the appearance scene portion T32 by operating the playback point T31 in a direction different from the direction in which the bar main body T30 extends. By being able to perform such fine adjustments, the user U can accurately watch the scene he or she wants to watch without missing it. Furthermore, even if the terminal device 30 is small and operation on the screen SC is difficult, the user U can easily move the playback point T31 to the desired location.

[0131] 2-2.Other variations 26 and 27 are diagrams showing modified examples of the second instruction. The second instruction is not limited to a swipe operation in the left / right or up / down direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, the second instruction may be a right-handed rotation operation of the finger Uf in the direction of the arrow X5. Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 27, the second instruction may be a left-handed rotation operation of the finger Uf in the direction of the arrow X6.

[0132] Furthermore, the playback modes may include modes other than fast forward, fast rewind, skip forward, skip back, and filter playback. Also, for example, it may be possible to set a double speed for fast forward and fast rewind.

[0133] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the correspondence between operations by the user U and playback modes is determined in advance by the terminal device 30 or the server 10, and the terminal device 30 stores the above-described operation correspondence table T1. However, for example, the correspondence between operations by the user U and playback modes may be arbitrarily set by the user U via the terminal device 30. By setting the correspondence between the operations by the user U, the user U can easily remember the relationship between touch operations and playback modes, which makes it easier for the user U to perform touch operations.

[0134] In the above embodiment, the user U watches the animation A1 through streaming, in which the terminal device 30 receives and simultaneously plays back the data. However, the terminal device 30 may download the animation data D10 from the server 10 and play it back.

[0135] Even if an account used on one terminal device 30 is used on another terminal device 30, various information is linked to the account.

[0136] Furthermore, the first instruction and the second instruction are not limited to instructions given by the user U touching the screen SC, but may be instructions given by voice.

[0137] 3.Other (1) In the first embodiment and the modified example described above, ROM and RAM are given as examples of storage device 12 and storage device 32, but other suitable storage media may also be used, such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks (e.g., compact disks, digital versatile disks, Blu-ray (registered trademark) disks), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives), CD-ROMs (Compact Disc-ROMs), registers, removable disks, hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic strips, databases, servers, and other suitable storage media.

[0138] (2) In the first embodiment and its modifications described above, the described information, signals, etc. may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0139] (3) In the first embodiment and the modified examples described above, input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0140] (4) In the first embodiment and the variants described above, the determination may be made based on a value (0 or 1) represented using one bit, a Boolean value (true or false), or a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0141] (5) The order of the process procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. illustrated in the first embodiment and the modifications described above may be changed as long as it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0142] (6) Each function illustrated in Figures 2 and 12 is realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. A functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0143] (7) The programs exemplified in the first embodiment and the modifications described above should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., regardless of whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by other names.

[0144] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0145] (8) In the first embodiment and its modifications described above, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0146] (9) The information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or corresponding other information.

[0147] (10) In the first embodiment and the modified examples described above, the server 10 and the terminal devices 30-1 to 30-N may be mobile stations (MS). Those skilled in the art may refer to a mobile station as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term. In the present disclosure, terms such as "mobile station," "user terminal," "user equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0148] (11) In the first embodiment and the modified examples described above, the terms "connected" and "coupled," or any variations thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be a physical coupling or connection, a logical coupling or connection, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more electric wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0149] (12) In the first embodiment and the modified examples described above, unless otherwise specified, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on." In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0150] (13) As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0151] (14) In the first embodiment and its modifications described above, when "include," "including," and variations thereof are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or" used in this disclosure is not intended to mean an exclusive or.

[0152] (15) In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

[0153] (16) In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0154] (17) The first embodiment and the modified examples described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0155] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0156] It is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the first embodiment and the modified examples described in this specification. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is intended as an illustrative explanation and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. In addition, configurations selected from the first embodiment and the modified examples exemplified in this specification may be combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0157] 10...server, 11...processing device, 12...storage device, 13...communication device, 14...display device, 15...input device, 30...terminal device, 31...processing device, 32...storage device, 33...communication device, 34...display device, 35...input device, 50...communication network, 100...animation providing system, 111...management unit, 112...communication control unit, 113...display control unit, 310...reception unit, 311...display control unit, 312...determination unit, 313...first reception unit, 314...second reception unit, 315...communication control unit, A1...animation, C1...character, D10...animation data, D20...character data, D21...section data, D5...playback mode request, F10...animation data file, F20...character appearance scene file, Hf...finger, SC...screen, T1...action correspondence table, T2...tool, U...user, Uf...finger.

Claims

1. a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with the first accepting unit accepts designation of the specific character included in the animation while the animation is being displayed on the display device; A terminal device characterized by:

2. a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with the second reception unit receives, as the playback mode, an instruction to skip, fast-forward, fast-rewind, skip-forward, skip-back, or filter playback of a scene in which the specific character appears; A terminal device characterized by:

3. a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with The display control unit displays the specific character in the playback mode instructed by the user. and displaying a scene in which the specific character appears on the screen. an appearance scene display bar indicating the appearance scene is displayed on the screen; A terminal device characterized by:

4. the display device has a function of the input device, the first reception unit receives designation of the specific character by detecting contact with the screen for the specific character; The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the display control unit displays a scene in which the specific character appears on the screen in the playback mode instructed by the user. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. a reception unit that receives an instruction from the user via the input device on the screen, the display control unit causes the appearance scene display bar to display a playback point indicating a playback position currently displayed on the screen and at least one or more appearance scene portions indicating scenes in which the specific character appears; the reception unit receives an operation of the playback point by the user; The terminal device according to claim 3.

7. The terminal device described in claim 6, wherein when the reception unit receives an operation of the playback point by the user, the display control unit displays on the screen an appearance scene of the specific character corresponding to the appearance scene part closest to the playback point among the at least one or more appearance scene parts.

8. the receiving unit is capable of receiving a request to move the playback point in a direction in which the appearance scene display bar extends and a request to move the playback point in a direction different from the direction in which the appearance scene display bar extends, a playback time corresponding to a movement amount of the playback point in a direction different from the direction in which the appearance scene display bar extends is shorter than a playback time corresponding to a movement amount of the playback point in the direction in which the appearance scene display bar extends; The terminal device according to claim 6.

9. A terminal device; a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network; The terminal device a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with the first accepting unit accepts designation of the specific character included in the animation while the animation is being displayed on the display device; An animation providing system characterized by:

10. A terminal device; a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network; The terminal device a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with the second reception unit receives, as the playback mode, an instruction to skip, fast-forward, fast-rewind, skip-forward, skip-back, or filter playback of a scene in which the specific character appears; An animation providing system characterized by:

11. A terminal device; a server capable of communicating with the terminal device via a communication network; The terminal device a display control unit that displays animation based on animation data provided from the server on a screen of the display device; a first receiving unit that receives a user's instruction to specify a specific character appearing in the animation via an input device; a second receiving unit that receives an instruction from the user specifying a mode of playback of the animation for a scene in which the specific character appears; Equipped with The display control unit displays the specific character in the playback mode instructed by the user. and displaying a scene in which the specific character appears on the screen. an appearance scene display bar indicating the appearance scene is displayed on the screen; An animation providing system characterized by:

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