JP3803189B2 - Program information organizing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a program information organizing apparatus that organizes program information based on user's preference, and a computer-readable recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “program information organizing apparatus”) that records such a program information organizing program. In particular, the present invention relates to a program information organizing apparatus that organizes program information in order of priority input by a user.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the spread of satellite broadcasting and cable television broadcasting, the number of programs such as television and radio that can be viewed by users has been increasing. However, in spite of the increase in the number of programs, the current situation is that the method of selecting a program that the viewer wants to watch has not been improved so much. Viewers select a program that they want to view from a large number of programs on “paper” media, such as newspaper TV / radio program columns and specialized information magazines, and confirm the broadcast date, time, and channel. Is doing. Alternatively, a program selection device may be used. JP-A-7-303216 discloses a program selection apparatus that has channel information and broadcast time information for each program, searches for a corresponding program when a viewer designates a keyword, and automatically performs a reservation operation such as program recording. It is disclosed in the publication.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described work has become extremely troublesome and difficult for viewers as the number of programs increases. Further, when using a conventional program selection device, the search function is based on a keyword determined in advance without considering the user's preference, so that a program suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently searched and Difficult to choose.
[0004]
Therefore, in view of such problems, the present invention provides a program information organizing apparatus and the like that organizes program information based on user preferences in order to efficiently present program information that matches user preferences. Objective.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A program information organizing apparatus or the like according to the present invention is an apparatus that organizes program information including program specifying information for specifying a program, broadcast time of the program, and contents of the program, and the program information about a plurality of programs Program information holding means for holding priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of priority conditions reflecting the contents of user preferences for programs and priority levels reflecting the degree of user preferences; For each piece of program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when the conditions are satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set in the program information. Priority giving means for giving in association with program specifying information, and program information holding means for referring to the program information, program specifying information of all programs in which all or part of the broadcast time of the programs overlap each other The priorities given to the program specific information extracted and extracted are extracted, the priority of the extracted program specific information is determined in descending order of the extracted priorities, and the programs held by the program information holding means in the determined priority order Extraction determination organization means for organizing information in units of programs.
[0006]
Thereby, since the program information can be organized based on the user's preference, the program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently presented.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
The first embodiment is a program information organizing apparatus that determines a priority order among programs broadcast in the same time period program as a specific program.
[0008]
FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention.
This apparatus includes a program information acquisition unit 101, a program information structuring unit 102, a program information holding unit 103, a priority information input unit 104, a priority information holding unit 105, a program information association unit 106, a personal program information generation unit 107, a personal program An information holding unit 108, a program information organization unit 109, and a presentation unit 110 are included.
[0009]
FIG.1 (b) is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of Embodiment 1 of the program information organization part 109 based on this invention.
The program information organization unit 109 includes an extraction unit 109a, a priority order determination unit 109b, and a personal program guide generation unit 109c.
The program information acquisition unit 101 receives program information superimposed on a broadcast by a television broadcast receiver, an information network subscriber terminal using a telephone line, a storage medium reader, or the like, or program information via a communication line. The program information is acquired by at least one of acquiring the program information supplied by the recording medium.
[0010]
Here, the program information characterizes the content of each program, and is, for example, character string information such as a program ID, program name, channel number, broadcast time, Jeanne, and performer.
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a part of program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit 101.
[0011]
The program information structuring unit 102 converts the acquired program information into structured information in units of programs.
FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a part of the program information structured by the program information structuring unit 102. Here, the left side of the table is the item name, and the right side is the content. For example, in the program information shown in FIG. 2B, the item “program ID” 201 indicating the identification information of the program has the content “0000001” 202. “NVOD” 203 is an item indicating whether or not the program is a near video on demand (hereinafter referred to as “NVOD”) program. “Rebroadcast” 204 indicates whether the program is a rebroadcast program. This item indicates whether or not. “False” 205 indicates that it is not each, and “True” 206 indicates that it is each.
[0012]
Here, the program ID refers to program specifying information for specifying a program. NVOD is one of the services currently being implemented in digital CS broadcasting, etc., and broadcasts popular movies and the like continuously and repeatedly, for example, every 30 minutes. You can enjoy it when you want to watch the program you want to watch.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between NVOD broadcast time and channel (ch).
[0013]
The program information holding unit 103 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk, and holds program information. Here, for example, the structured information shown in FIG. 3 is held. The priority information input unit 104 is used by a user to input priority information, and includes, for example, a TV, an STB (set top box), and a remote controller. The remote control has up / down / left / right buttons. Select the item to be input with the up / down button and select the contents with the left / right button.
[0014]
Here, the priority information includes a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen for inputting priority information presented by the priority information input unit 104. In FIG. 4, the inverted item “priority is” 401 and contents “1” 402 are selected. Here, when the right button of the remote controller is pressed, the contents sequentially move from “2” to “3”.
[0015]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the priority information acquired by the priority information input unit 104.
The priority information holding unit 105 holds the priority information input by the priority information input unit 104. For example, the content input in the input screen example of FIG. 4 is held by the priority information holding unit 105 as the priority information 501 shown in FIG.
The program information associating unit 106 generates association information between programs, compares the start time and end time of the program information already held, associates them with programs broadcast in the same time zone, and It associates with genre programs, associates NVOD programs with the same title, and associates rebroadcast programs with the same title. The association information generated here is held together with the program information by the program information holding unit 103.
[0016]
FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing a portion related to the association of the program information associated by the program information association unit 106. Here, a box frame 601 having the same shape as 603 represents program information of each individual program.
For example, the content 602 of the item “same time zone program” included in the program information 601 shown in FIG. 6 represents the association with all programs broadcast in the same time zone as the program indicated by the program information 601. Since the relationship between programs broadcast in the same time zone is a binary relationship between two programs, the association is represented by a bidirectional link. On the other hand, associations between rebroadcast programs with the same title and NVOD programs with the same title are represented by a circulating list arranged in order of broadcast time. Here, each arrow indicates a corresponding relationship between related programs, and each black circle “●” indicated by each arrow holds the program ID of the related program.
[0017]
The personal program information generation unit 107 determines whether or not each program information satisfies the priority condition included in the priority information held by the priority information holding unit 105 for all the program information held by the program information holding unit 103, When the condition is satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is assigned in association with the program ID of the program information, and personal program information is generated. For example, it is determined that a part of the character string of each program information matches all or part of the character string included in the priority condition, and a correspondence table between the program ID and the priority is generated as personal program information.
[0018]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program information generated by the personal program information generation unit 107.
The personal program information holding unit 108 holds the personal program information generated by the personal program information generation unit 107. For example, the personal program information shown in FIG. 7 is held.
The program information organization unit 109 extracts the program IDs of all programs in which all or part of the broadcast time of the program overlaps each other by referring to the program information held by the program information holding unit 103 from the program information holding unit 103. The priority corresponding to each extracted program ID is extracted from the personal program information holding unit 108, the priority of the extracted program ID is determined in descending order of the extracted priority, and the program information holding unit in the determined priority order. The program information held by the program 103 is organized in units of programs.
[0019]
The extraction unit 109a refers to the association information of the “same time zone program” of the arbitrary program held by the program information holding unit 103, so that all or part of the broadcasting time of the arbitrary program is within the own broadcasting time. The program IDs of all the included programs and the program IDs of arbitrary programs are extracted from the program information holding unit 103, and the priority corresponding to each extracted program ID is extracted from the individual program information holding unit 108.
[0020]
The priority order determination unit 109b determines the priority order of the extracted program IDs in descending order of priority for each program ID extracted by the extraction unit 109a.
The personal program guide generation unit 109c organizes program information held by the program information holding unit 103 in order of priority determined by the priority order determination unit 109b, and generates a personal program guide.
[0021]
The presentation unit 110 presents a personal program guide.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program guide presented by the presentation unit 110.
Here, three stars “★” 801 indicate that the priority of this program is the number of stars “3”, and “2” 802 indicates that the priority of this program is “2”. The left arrow 803 indicates that there is a program with high priority, and the right arrow 804 indicates that there is a program with low priority.
[0022]
In addition, the personal program table is operated by, for example, a remote controller. When a number is pressed, program information of a program having the priority order of the number is presented, and when the left button of the remote control is pressed, program information of a program having a higher priority order is displayed. When the right button is pressed, program information of a program with a lower priority is presented.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for updating personal program information according to the first embodiment.
[0023]
Here, the operation of updating the personal program information will be described with reference to FIG.
1. Waiting for input of program information (step S1).
2. Waiting for input of priority information (step S2).
3. If the program information is input, the program information is obtained. Here, for example, the program information shown in FIG. 2 is obtained (step S3).
[0024]
4). The program information structuring unit 102 converts the obtained program information into structured information in units of programs. Here, for example, the information is converted into structured information shown in FIG. 3 (step S4).
5). It is determined whether the newly structured program information is new program information that is not held in the program information holding unit 103 or is held but is different in content. If it is not new program information and the contents are not different, the process is terminated and the process returns to the beginning. Whether or not the program information is new can be determined based on whether or not a program having the same “program ID” is held, and whether or not the contents are different depends on whether the program has the same “program ID”. A judgment can be made by comparing each item of the program information (step S5).
[0025]
6). If it is new program information or the contents are different, the program information holding unit 103 adds or updates newly structured program information (step S6).
7). The program information association unit 106 updates association information between programs (step S7). A method for generating association information between programs will be described later.
8). When the program information holding unit 103 adds or updates newly structured program information and the program information associating unit 106 updates association information between programs, the individual program information generating unit 107 displays the program information holding unit 103. New personal program information is generated based on the program information and association information held in the above and the priority information held in the priority information holding unit 105, and the contents of the personal program information holding unit 108 are updated (step S8). A method for generating personal program information will be described later.
[0026]
9. If priority information is input, the priority information is obtained. Here, for example, the priority information shown in FIG. 5 is obtained (step S9).
10. It is determined whether the newly obtained priority information is new priority information that is not held in the priority information holding unit 105 or is held but is different in content. If it is not new priority information and the contents are not different, the process is terminated and the process returns to the beginning. Whether or not the priority information is new can be determined based on whether or not the same priority information is held in the same “priority”. Whether or not the contents are different depends on whether or not the contents are different. It is possible to make a judgment by comparing each item (step S10).
[0027]
11. If it is new priority information or the contents are different, the priority information holding unit 105 adds or updates the newly held priority information (step S11).
12 When the priority information holding unit 105 adds or updates newly held priority information, program information is added in the same manner as when newly structured program information is added or updated and association information between programs is updated. Based on the program information and association information held by the holding unit 103 and the priority information held by the priority information holding unit 105, the personal program information generation unit 107 newly generates personal program information, and the personal program information holding unit The contents of 108 are updated (step S8).
[0028]
13. When the contents of the personal program information holding unit 108 are updated, the process returns to waiting for input of program information and priority information.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating association information between programs.
Here, an operation of generating association information between programs will be described with reference to FIG.
[0029]
1. The program information associating unit 106 compares the start time and the end time of the already held program information, and associates them with a program broadcast in the same time zone (step S21).
2. Similarly, the program is associated with a program of the same genre (step S22).
3. It is determined whether or not the program is an NVOD program (step S23).
[0030]
4). If it is an NVOD program, the NVOD programs having the same title are associated with each other, and the operation is terminated (step S24).
5). If it is not an NVOD program, it is determined whether or not the program is a rebroadcast program (step S25).
6). If it is a rebroadcast program, the rebroadcast programs with the same title are associated with each other, and the operation is terminated (step S26).
[0031]
7). If it is not a rebroadcast program, the operation is terminated.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating personal program information.
Here, the operation | movement which produces | generates personal program information is demonstrated using FIG.
1. It is determined whether there is an unprocessed program. If there is no unprocessed program, the process is terminated (step S31).
[0032]
2. If there is an unprocessed program, the program information of the unprocessed program is extracted for one program. For example, the program information shown in FIG. 3 is extracted (step S32).
3. As an initial value of priority, “1” is substituted into variable X indicating priority (step S33).
4). It is determined whether there is an unprocessed priority condition indicated by the variable X. If not, the process proceeds to the next priority process (step S34).
[0033]
5). When there is an unprocessed priority condition, an unprocessed priority condition is extracted from the priority conditions indicated by the variable X. For example, the priority conditions shown in FIG. 5 are extracted in order (step S35).
6). It is determined whether or not the program information extracted in step S32 satisfies the priority condition extracted in step S34. If it is determined that the condition is not satisfied, the process returns to the next priority condition process. For example, it is determined that the program information shown in FIG. 3 satisfies the priority condition 502 extracted when the variable X = 2. (Step S36).
[0034]
7). If it is determined that the condition is satisfied, the personal program information holding unit 108 holds the priority corresponding to the priority condition that matches the program ID of the program being processed as the personal program information, and returns to the processing of the next priority condition. . For example, the program ID 302 “0000001” shown in FIG. 3 and the priority 503 “2” corresponding to the matching priority condition 502 are held (step S37).
[0035]
8). For the next priority process, “1” is added to the variable X (step S38).
9. It is determined whether or not all priority processes have been completed. If not completed, the process returns to the next priority process, and if completed, the process returns to the next program. For example, when the variable X is larger than the priority 504 “N” shown in FIG. 5, it is determined that the processing has been completed (step S39).
[0036]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
Here, the operation of configuring the program information and presenting the personal program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
1. When one of the programs is selected based on user input, device settings, current time, and the like, association information of the “same time zone program” of the selected program is extracted from the program information holding unit 103 (step S41). ).
[0037]
2. Based on the extracted association information, the personal program information including the program ID and the priority of the program and the broadcast time overlapping is extracted from the personal program information holding unit 108 (step S42).
3. It is determined whether there are a plurality of the same priorities among all the extracted priorities (step S43).
[0038]
4). If there are a plurality of programs having the same priority in the same time zone, the contents of the item “rebroadcast” included in the program information of each corresponding program are referred to and it is determined whether or not the program is a rebroadcast program (step S44). .
5). In the case of a rebroadcast program, it is determined whether or not there is a rebroadcast of the corresponding program after the corresponding program by referring to the contents of the association information of the “rebroadcast program” of the corresponding program (step S45).
[0039]
6). If there is a rebroadcast,
The priority of the program with rebroadcast is set lower than the priority of the program without rebroadcast (step S46).
7). With reference to the content of the item “NVOD” included in the program information of the corresponding program, it is determined whether or not it is an NVOD program (step S47).
[0040]
8). In the case of an NVOD program, the content of the association information of the “NVOD program” of the corresponding program is referred to and it is determined whether there is a corresponding program broadcast after the corresponding program (step S48).
9. If there is a corresponding program broadcast, the priority of the program with the corresponding program broadcast is set lower than the priority of a program that is not an NVOD program or has no corresponding program broadcast (step S49).
[0041]
10. Priorities among the extracted program IDs are determined, program information is constructed based on the priorities, and a personal program guide is presented. For example, the personal program guide shown in FIG. 8 is presented (step S50).
In this way, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention generates personal program information based on the priority information input by the user and the acquired program information, and program information in the order of priority in the selected program. Organize. In addition, a personal program guide is presented based on program information organized in order of priority.
[0042]
(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment is a program information organization apparatus that determines the priority order for each time.
Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the portions unique to the present embodiment will be described.
The extraction unit 109a refers to the program information held by the program information holding unit 103, and extracts and extracts the program IDs of all programs including arbitrary times within the broadcast time for each program from the program information holding unit 103. The priority corresponding to each program ID is extracted from the personal program information holding unit 108.
[0043]
Since the operation for updating the personal program information, the operation for generating the association information, and the operation for generating the personal program information are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
Here, the operation of configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
[0044]
1. The time is selected based on user input, device settings, and the current time (step S51).
2. Based on the selected time and the broadcast times of all the programs held by the program information holding unit 103, the extraction unit 109a includes all the programs that are simultaneously broadcast at that time, including the selected time within the broadcast time. Search is performed (step S52).
[0045]
3. The program IDs of all the searched programs are extracted from the program information held by the program information holding unit 103 (step S53).
4). The priority for each extracted program ID is extracted from the personal program information holding unit 108 (step S54).
5). The subsequent steps are the same as steps S43 to S50 shown in FIG. 12 of the first embodiment.
[0046]
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in the second embodiment.
Here, time 1401 indicates the selected time.
Here, after selecting the time, only the program information at that time is configured. However, the program information at all times may be configured in advance and held as individual program information.
[0047]
In this way, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention generates personal program information based on the priority information input by the user and the acquired program information, and the priority order at the selected time or at all times. Program information is organized in order. In addition, a personal program guide is presented based on program information organized in order of priority.
(Embodiment 3)
Embodiment 3 is a program information organizing apparatus that determines a priority order for each unit time.
[0048]
Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the portions unique to the present embodiment will be described.
The extraction unit 109a refers to the program information held by the program information holding unit 103, so that the program information holding unit includes the program IDs of all programs that include all or part of an arbitrary unit time within the broadcast time for each program. The priority corresponding to each extracted program ID is extracted from the individual program information holding unit 108.
[0049]
Since the operation for updating the personal program information, the operation for generating the association information, and the operation for generating the personal program information are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
Here, the operation of configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
[0050]
1. The time is selected based on user input, device settings, and the current time (step S61).
2. Based on the selected time and the broadcast times of all the programs held by the program information holding unit 103, the extraction unit 109a includes all or part of the selected time within the broadcast time, and broadcasts simultaneously at that time. All programs to be searched are searched (step S62).
[0051]
3-4. This is the same as step S53 to step S54 shown in FIG. 13 of the second embodiment.
5). The subsequent steps are the same as steps S43 to S50 shown in FIG. 12 of the first embodiment.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in the third embodiment.
[0052]
Here, time 1601 indicates the selected time.
Here, after selecting the time, only the program information at that time is configured, but the program information may be configured in advance for each unit time and held as individual program information. In this case, for example, program information is configured in advance for each unit time such as one hour unit, 30 minute unit, or 10 minute unit, and held as personal program information.
[0053]
In this way, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention generates personal program information based on the priority information input by the user and the acquired program information, and gives priority for each selected time or unit time. Program information is organized in order of priority. In addition, a personal program guide is presented based on program information organized in order of priority.
(Embodiment 4)
The fourth embodiment is a program information organizing apparatus that determines the priority of a program that starts broadcasting at the same time as a certain program based on the broadcast start time.
[0054]
Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the portions unique to the present embodiment will be described.
The extraction unit 109a refers to the program information held by the program information holding unit 103 so that the broadcast start time of an arbitrary program and the broadcast start time of the same program match or are within a predetermined time. The ID is extracted from the program information holding unit 103, and the priority corresponding to each extracted program ID is extracted from the individual program information holding unit.
[0055]
Since the operation for updating the personal program information, the operation for generating the association information, and the operation for generating the personal program information are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
Here, the operation of configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
[0056]
1. A program is selected based on user input, device settings, and the current time (step S71).
2. Based on the broadcast start times of all the programs held by the program information holding unit 103, the extraction unit 109a makes sure that the broadcast start time of the selected program matches its own broadcast start time or is within a certain time. A program is searched (step S72).
[0057]
3-4. This is the same as step S53 to step S54 shown in FIG. 13 of the second embodiment.
5). The subsequent steps are the same as steps S43 to S50 shown in FIG. 12 of the first embodiment.
In Embodiment 4, the figure which shows a part of personal program guide which the presentation part 110 shows is the same as that of FIG. 8 of Embodiment 1. FIG.
[0058]
Here, after selecting a program, only the program information for the program is configured. However, program information for all programs may be configured in advance and held as individual program information.
In this way, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention generates personal program information based on the priority information input by the user and the acquired program information, and starts broadcasting the selected program or all programs. Program information is organized in order of priority at around the time. In addition, a personal program guide is presented based on program information organized in order of priority.
[0059]
(Embodiment 5)
Embodiment 5 is a program information organizing apparatus that determines the priority order of a program that starts broadcasting around the end of the broadcast of a certain program based on the broadcast start time and the broadcast end time.
Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the portions unique to the present embodiment will be described.
[0060]
The extraction unit 109a refers to the program information held by the program information holding unit 103 so that the broadcast end time of an arbitrary program and the own broadcast start time match or are within a certain period of time. The ID is extracted from the program information holding unit 103, and the priority corresponding to each extracted program ID is extracted from the individual program information holding unit.
Since the operation for updating the personal program information, the operation for generating the association information, and the operation for generating the personal program information are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
[0061]
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
Here, the operation of configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide will be described with reference to FIG.
1. A program is selected based on user input, device settings, and the current time (step S81).
[0062]
2. Based on the broadcast end time of the selected program held by the program information holding unit 103 and the broadcast start times of all the programs, the extraction unit 109a determines the broadcast end time of the selected program and its own broadcast start time. All programs that match or are within a certain time are searched (step S82).
3-4. This is the same as step S53 to step S54 shown in FIG. 13 of the second embodiment.
[0063]
5). The subsequent steps are the same as steps S43 to S50 shown in FIG. 12 of the first embodiment.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in the fifth embodiment.
Here, a down arrow 1901 indicates that programs whose broadcasting starts around the end of broadcasting of this program are arranged in order of priority.
[0064]
Similarly to the first embodiment, when the lower button on the remote controller is pressed, programs that will start broadcasting around the end of the broadcast of the program are presented in order of priority.
Here, after selecting a program, only the program information for the program is configured. However, program information for all programs may be configured in advance and held as individual program information.
[0065]
In this way, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention generates personal program information based on the priority information input by the user and the acquired program information, and ends the broadcast of the selected program or all programs. Program information is organized in order of priority at around the time. In addition, a personal program guide is presented based on program information organized in order of priority.
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of an outline of personal program information when the personal program information is generated in advance in the fourth and fifth embodiments. Here, each arrow indicates a correspondence between program information, each black circle “●” indicated by each arrow is a program ID, and program IDs at both ends of the same arrow are the same. “Next candidate” indicates a program whose priority determined in the fourth embodiment is one lower than that of itself, and “next program” indicates a program having the highest priority determined in the fifth embodiment. .
[0066]
Here, “start time” and “end time” are included in the personal program information. When the personal program information holding unit 108 holds the personal program information including the start time and the end time in this way, the extraction unit 109a directly extracts the program without extracting the program ID from the program information holding unit 103. The priority for each ID can be extracted from the personal program information holding unit 108.
[0067]
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program table presented by the presentation unit 110 when personal program information is generated in advance in each of the above embodiments.
Here, blank 2101 and blank 2102 are times when there is no program to be selected, and are blacked out.
In each of the embodiments described above, the program information acquisition unit 101 may be excluded when the program information is not stored and updated in the program information storage unit 103 in advance.
[0068]
Further, in the case of obtaining pre-structured program information, it is not necessary to structure the program information, and further, the operation of each of the above embodiments without converting the program information into structured information in units of programs. Since the program information structuring unit 102 is excluded, the program information structuring unit 102 may be excluded.
Further, when priority information is held in the priority information holding unit 105 in advance and is not updated, the priority information input unit 104 may be excluded.
[0069]
In addition, the association information is effective when searching for related program information, but is originally generated based only on the program information. Therefore, the association information is not generated even if the association information is not generated. Since there is no hindrance to the operation, the program information association unit 106 can be excluded.
Further, the program information holding unit 103 and the personal program information holding unit 108 hold the program information and the personal program information separately, respectively, but one holding unit holds the program information and the personal program information collectively. It may be a thing. Rather, this is more natural when there is only one user, but when there are multiple users, each program can be shared by each user, and only individual program information for each user is retained. The configuration of each of the above embodiments is effective. Further, the personal program information may be generated based on the program information and the priority information whenever necessary, so it is not always necessary to retain the personal program information. In this case, the personal program information holding unit 108 is excluded. You can also.
[0070]
In addition to presenting the individual program guide according to the priority order determined by the program information organizing unit 109, it is also possible to make a program viewing reservation or recording reservation.
[0071]
【The invention's effect】
(A) As is clear from the above description, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for organizing program information including program specifying information for specifying a program, broadcast time of the program, and contents of the program. A program information holding means for holding the program information for a plurality of programs, and a pair of priority conditions reflecting the contents of user's preference for the programs and priority levels reflecting the degree of user's preference. Priority information holding means for holding priority information, and for all program information held by the program information holding means, whether or not each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information is determined and satisfied. Priority assigning means for assigning priority corresponding to the condition in association with program specifying information of the program information, and all numbers in which all or part of the broadcast time of the program overlap with each other by referring to the program information. The priority given to each program specific information extracted by extracting the program specific information from the program information holding means, and determining the priority of the program specific information extracted in descending order of priority extracted and determined Extraction determination organization means for organizing program information held by the program information holding means in units of programs in order.
[0072]
Thereby, since the program information can be organized based on the user's preference, the program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently presented.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(B) Further, in the program information organizing apparatus according to (A), the priority information is a character string, and the program information includes a character string indicating a program content, and the priority information The degree giving means may be characterized in that it is determined that a part of a character string of each program information is satisfied when all or a part of the character string included in one of the priority conditions is satisfied.
[0073]
As a result, when a part of the contents of the program matches, it is determined that the priority condition is satisfied. Therefore, a plurality of program contents can be combined and set as the priority condition.
Therefore, it is possible to cope with finer user preferences.
(C) Further, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the extraction determination organizing unit refers to the program information, and broadcast time of one program. The priority given to each program specifying information extracted by extracting the program specifying information of all programs and the program specifying information of one program including all or a part of the program within the broadcasting time by the program information holding means Extracting means for extracting the program information, determining means for determining the priority order of the program identification information extracted in descending order of priority, and organizing program information held by the program information holding means in order of the determined priority order Means.
[0074]
As a result, the program information of all programs broadcast in the same time zone as that of one program can be organized in order of priority, so that program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently presented in units of programs. It becomes like this.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(D) Further, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the extraction determination organizing unit refers to the program information and sets an arbitrary time for each program. Extracting means for extracting the priority given to each program specifying information extracted by extracting the program specifying information of all programs included in the broadcast time of the program information from the program information holding means, and extracting in order of the extracted priority It can also be characterized in that it includes a determining means for determining the priority order of the program specific information, and an organizing means for organizing the program information held by the program information holding means in the order of the determined priority.
[0075]
As a result, the program information of all programs broadcast simultaneously at any time or every time can be organized in order of priority, so that program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently presented at each time. become.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(E) Further, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the extraction determination organizing means refers to the program information, so that the entire unit time can be determined. Or extracting means for extracting the priority given to each program specifying information extracted by extracting the program specifying information of all programs including a part within the broadcast time for each program from the program information holding means, and the extracted priority And determining means for determining the priority order of the program specific information extracted in descending order, and organizing means for organizing program information held by the program information holding means in program order in the determined priority order. You can also.
[0076]
As a result, the program information of all programs broadcast simultaneously at an arbitrary unit time or every unit time can be organized in order of priority, so that program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently obtained for each unit time. Can be presented.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(F) The program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the broadcast time includes a broadcast start time, and the extraction determination organizing means includes the program information By referring to the program identification information extracted and extracted from the program information holding means, the program identification information of all the programs whose broadcast start time and one's own broadcast start time coincide with each other or within a certain period of time are referred to. Extraction means for extracting the given priority, determination means for determining the priority of the program identification information extracted in descending order of priority, and program information held by the program information holding means in the determined priority order It can also be characterized in that it includes knitting means for knitting in units of programs.
[0077]
This makes it possible to organize the program information of all programs that start broadcasting around the start time of broadcasting for each arbitrary program or line program in order of priority. It becomes possible to present efficiently at each time.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(G) The program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the broadcast time includes broadcast start time and broadcast end time or information specifying the broadcast end time. The extraction determination organization means refers to the program information, and the program specifying information of all the programs whose broadcast end time of one program coincides with or is within a predetermined time by referring to the program information An extraction means for extracting the priority given to each program specific information extracted and extracted by the information holding means, a determination means for determining the priority of the program specific information extracted in descending order of the extracted priorities, and It can also be characterized in that it includes knitting means for knitting program information held by the program information holding means in order of priority in units of programs.
[0078]
As a result, it is possible to organize program information of an arbitrary program or all programs to be broadcast around the end of broadcasting of all programs in order of priority, so that program information suitable for the user's preference is broadcast end time It becomes possible to present efficiently every time.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
(H) Further, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to any one of (C) to (G), wherein the program information organizing apparatus further stores program information organized by the organizing means. It can also be characterized by providing a presentation means for presenting.
[0079]
This makes it possible to efficiently present program information that matches the user's preference.
(J) Further, the program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the program information further includes rebroadcast information indicating whether or not it is a rebroadcast program. The extraction determination organization means further includes lowering the priority of the program indicating that the rebroadcast information is a rebroadcast program lower than the priority of the program indicating that the rebroadcast information is not a rebroadcast program. It can also be.
[0080]
As a result, the priority of the rebroadcast program can be lowered, so that the program without rebroadcast can be prioritized and the selection of the rebroadcast program can be made at another time.
(K) The program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention is the program information organizing apparatus according to (A) or (B), wherein the program information further determines whether or not the program information is continuously and repeatedly broadcasted. The extraction determination organizing unit further includes a program in which the continuous broadcast information is continuously broadcast with the priority of the program indicating that the continuous broadcast information is a program that is continuously broadcast repeatedly. It can also be characterized in that it is lower than the priority order of the program indicating that it is not.
[0081]
This makes it possible to lower the priority of programs that are continuously broadcast repeatedly, such as near video on demand, etc., so programs that are not continuously broadcast repeatedly are given priority, and programs that are continuously broadcast repeatedly Can be selected at other times.
(L) A computer-readable recording medium on which a program information organization program according to the present invention is recorded comprises the steps of organizing program information including program identification information for identifying a program, program broadcast time, and program content. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed, the program information holding step for holding the program information for a plurality of programs in the computer, and priority reflecting the contents of user's preference for the programs A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a condition and a priority that reflects the degree of preference of the user, and each program information for all the program information held by the program information holding step is the priority information. When it is determined whether or not one of the included priority conditions is satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is indicated in the program information The priority assigning step for assigning in association with the program specifying information, and the program specifying information for all the programs in which all or part of the broadcast time of the program overlap each other by referring to the program information is held by the program information holding step The priority given to each program identification information extracted and extracted from the program information extracted, the priority of the extracted program identification information determined in descending order of priority, and the program information holding step in the determined priority order A program for executing an extraction determination organization step for organizing retained program information in units of programs is recorded.
[0082]
Thereby, since the program information can be organized based on the user's preference, the program information suitable for the user's preference can be efficiently presented.
Therefore, it is possible to support the search and selection of programs by the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a program information organizing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a part of program information obtained by a program information obtaining unit 101. FIG.
FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a part of the program information structured by the program information structuring unit 102.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between NVOD broadcast time and channel (ch).
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen for inputting priority information presented by a priority information input unit 104;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a part of priority information acquired by a priority information input unit 104;
FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing a portion related to association in the program information associated by the program information association unit 106;
7 is a diagram showing a part of personal program information generated by a personal program information generating unit 107. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a part of a personal program guide presented by a presentation unit 110;
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for updating personal program information according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating association information between programs.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating personal program information.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
14 is a diagram showing a part of an individual program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
16 is a diagram showing a part of a personal program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in Embodiment 3. FIG.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for configuring program information and presenting a personal program guide.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a part of an individual program guide presented by the presentation unit 110 in the fifth embodiment.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an outline of personal program information when the personal program information is generated in advance in the fourth and fifth embodiments.
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a part of the personal program table presented by the presentation unit 110 when personal program information is generated in advance in each of the embodiments.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Program information acquisition department
102 Program information structuring section
103 Program information holding unit
104 Priority information input section
105 Priority information holding unit
106 Program information association unit
107 Personal program information generator
108 Personal program information holding unit
109 Program information organization
109a Extractor
109b Priority determining unit
109c Personal program guide generator
110 presentation

Claims (12)

Program information holding means for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
Priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is Priority assigning means for assigning in association with program specifying information of the program information;
An extraction determination organization means for assigning priorities to programs and organizing program information in program units in order of priorities;
The extraction determination organization means includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding means includes the program specifying information of all the programs that include all or part of the broadcasting time of the one program within its own broadcasting time and the program specifying information of the one program. Extracting means for extracting the priority assigned to each extracted program specifying information;
A determining means for determining the priority order of the extracted program specifying information in descending order of the extracted priority;
A program information organizing apparatus, comprising: a program unit that organizes program information held by the program information holding unit in units of programs in the determined priority order. Program information holding means for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
Priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is Priority assigning means for assigning in association with program specifying information of the program information;
An extraction determination organization means for assigning priorities to programs and organizing program information in program units in order of priorities;
The extraction determination organization means includes:
By referring to the program information, the program specific information of all programs including any time within the broadcast time of each program is extracted from the program information holding means, and the priority given to each extracted program specific information Extracting means for extracting
A determining means for determining the priority order of the extracted program specifying information in descending order of the extracted priority;
A program information organizing apparatus, comprising: a program unit that organizes program information held by the program information holding unit in units of programs in the determined priority order. Program information holding means for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
Priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is Priority assigning means for assigning in association with program specifying information of the program information;
An extraction determination organization means for assigning priorities to programs and organizing program information in program units in order of priorities;
The extraction determination organization means includes:
By referring to the program information, program specific information of all programs including all or a part of an arbitrary unit time within the broadcast time for each program is extracted from the program information holding means, and the extracted program specific information Extraction means for extracting the given priority;
A determining means for determining the priority order of the extracted program specifying information in descending order of the extracted priority;
A program information organizing apparatus, comprising: a program unit that organizes program information held by the program information holding unit in units of programs in the determined priority order. Program information holding means for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
Priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is Priority assigning means for assigning in association with program specifying information of the program information;
An extraction determination organization means for assigning priorities to programs and organizing program information in program units in order of priorities;
The broadcast time includes a broadcast start time,
The extraction determination organization means includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding means extracts the program identification information of all the programs whose broadcast start time of one program matches the broadcast start time of one program or within a certain time, and extracted Extracting means for extracting the priority given to each program specifying information;
A determining means for determining the priority order of the extracted program specifying information in descending order of the extracted priority;
A program information organizing apparatus, comprising: a program unit that organizes program information held by the program information holding unit in units of programs in the determined priority order. Program information holding means for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
Priority information holding means for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding means, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and when satisfied, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is Priority assigning means for assigning in association with program specifying information of the program information;
An extraction determination organization means for assigning priorities to programs and organizing program information in program units in order of priorities;
The broadcast time includes a broadcast start time and information specifying a broadcast end time or a broadcast end time,
The extraction determination organization means includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding means extracts the program identification information of all the programs whose broadcast end time of one program matches the own broadcast start time or within a certain time, and extracted Extracting means for extracting the priority given to each program specifying information;
A determining means for determining the priority order of the extracted program specifying information in descending order of the extracted priority;
A program information organizing apparatus, comprising: a program unit that organizes program information held by the program information holding unit in units of programs in the determined priority order. The program information further includes rebroadcast information indicating whether it is a rebroadcast program,
The extraction determination organizing unit is further characterized in that the priority of a program indicating that the rebroadcast information is a rebroadcast program is set lower than the priority of a program indicating that the rebroadcast information is not a rebroadcast program. The program information organization device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The program information further includes continuous broadcast information indicating whether or not the program is continuously and repeatedly broadcast,
The extraction determination organization means further sets the priority of the program indicating that the continuous broadcast information is a program that is continuously broadcast repeatedly, and sets the priority of the program that indicates that the continuous broadcast information is not a program that is repeatedly broadcast continuously. The program information organizing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the program information organizing apparatus is lower than the priority order. On the computer,
A program information holding step for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding step, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and if so, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set. , A priority giving step that is given in association with the program identification information of the program information;
A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program information organization program for performing priority determination to a program and executing an extraction determination organization step of organizing program information in program units in order of priority,
The extraction determination organization step includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding step includes program specifying information of all programs including all or part of the broadcasting time of one program within its own broadcasting time, and program specifying information of one program. An extraction sub-step for extracting the priority given to each piece of program identification information extracted from the program information held by
A determination sub-step for determining the priority of the extracted program identification information in descending order of priority,
A computer-readable storage medium comprising: an organization sub-step for organizing program information held by the program information holding step in the determined priority order for each program. On the computer,
A program information holding step for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding step, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and if so, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set. , A priority giving step that is given in association with the program identification information of the program information;
A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program information organization program for performing priority determination to a program and executing an extraction determination organization step of organizing program information in program units in order of priority,
The extraction determination organization step includes:
By referring to the program information, program specific information of all programs including an arbitrary time within the broadcast time for each program is extracted from the program information held by the program information holding step, and the extracted program specific information An extraction sub-step for extracting the given priority;
A determination sub-step for determining the priority of the extracted program identification information in descending order of priority,
A computer-readable storage medium comprising: an organization sub-step for organizing program information held by the program information holding step in the determined priority order for each program. On the computer,
A program information holding step for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding step, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and if so, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set. , A priority giving step that is given in association with the program identification information of the program information;
A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program information organization program for performing priority determination to a program and executing an extraction determination organization step of organizing program information in program units in order of priority,
The extraction determination organization step includes:
By referring to the program information, program specific information of all programs including all or part of an arbitrary unit time within the broadcast time for each program is extracted from the program information held in the program information holding step, and extracted. An extraction sub-step for extracting the priority assigned to each piece of program specifying information;
A determination sub-step for determining the priority of the extracted program identification information in descending order of priority,
A computer-readable storage medium comprising: an organization sub-step for organizing program information held by the program information holding step in the determined priority order for each program. On the computer,
A program information holding step for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding step, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and if so, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set. , A priority giving step that is given in association with the program identification information of the program information;
A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program information organization program for performing priority determination to a program and executing an extraction determination organization step of organizing program information in program units in order of priority,
The broadcast time includes a broadcast start time,
The extraction determination organization step includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding step holds the program identification information of all the programs whose broadcast start time of one program matches its own broadcast start time or within a predetermined time. An extraction sub-step for extracting from the information, and extracting the priority assigned to each extracted program identification information;
A determination sub-step for determining the priority of the extracted program identification information in descending order of priority,
A computer-readable storage medium comprising: an organization sub-step for organizing program information held by the program information holding step in the determined priority order for each program. On the computer,
A program information holding step for holding program specifying information for specifying a program, program information including the broadcast time of the program, and the contents of the program;
A priority information holding step for holding priority information including a pair of a priority condition reflecting the content of the user's preference for the program and a priority reflecting the degree of the user's preference;
For all the program information held by the program information holding step, it is determined whether each program information satisfies one of the priority conditions included in the priority information, and if so, the priority corresponding to the priority condition is set. , A priority giving step that is given in association with the program identification information of the program information;
A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program information organization program for performing priority determination to a program and executing an extraction determination organization step of organizing program information in program units in order of priority,
The broadcast time includes a broadcast start time and information specifying a broadcast end time or a broadcast end time,
The extraction determination organization step includes:
By referring to the program information, the program information holding step holds the program specifying information of all the programs whose broadcast end time coincides with the own broadcast start time or within a predetermined time. An extraction sub-step for extracting from the information, and extracting the priority assigned to each extracted program identification information;
A determination sub-step for determining the priority of the extracted program identification information in descending order of priority,
A computer-readable storage medium comprising: an organization sub-step for organizing program information held by the program information holding step in the determined priority order for each program.

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