JP2002007029A - Information recording medium, information display device and information providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording medium, an information display device and an information providing device for widely diseminating a new icon picture with which an information providing source is easily accessed and information is easily retrieved and arranged in the case of mutually transmitting the information through a communication means such as a telephone line, a dedicated line, radio waves and optical communication. SOLUTION: A new second management area 50a is prepared in the area other than the first management area 10a on a display screen 30a, whether or not an icon movement instruction to the effect that primary icon pictures 100 to 105 to be displayed in the area 10a should be moved to the area 50a is inputted is decided, and relevant information 307 that is not displayed in the first management area 10a in spite of being related to the primary icon picture is extracted when an icon movement instruction is made. Next, the primary icon picture 103 to which the icon movement instruction is made or a secondary icon picture 103a related to the primary icon picture is displayed in the area 50a. In the case of a prescribed condition, the relevant information 307 is displayed while related to the icon picture displayed in the second management area. The relevant information 307 has a transmission mail preparation menu.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention widely spreads a new icon image which is easy to access an information supply source, search and organize information when mutually transmitting information via communication means. Recording medium, information display device and information providing device for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the spread of the Internet, the number of servers accessible from terminals connected to the Internet has become enormous. Various information is recorded on each server based on the intention of the operator.
The terminal operator can obtain necessary information by accessing each server from the terminal.
In general, in order to access information on the Internet, an operator can realize this by inputting a character string called a URL from a terminal.

Here, it is known that a terminal operator generally has a strong tendency to access specific information on a limited specific server. For this reason, a function called a so-called bookmark is known so that such information can be accessed with a small operation procedure. With the bookmark function, the specification of the information is represented by one character string or one image (icon), and the operator uses the character string or the like as a clue and selects and specifies the information.
The specified information can be accessed. According to this function, the URL is used to specify information.
Such information can be accessed more quickly than by inputting a character string such as

[0004] The above-described technology is not only implemented in a so-called personal computer, but is also widely applied to home electric appliances. In particular, an information terminal called a digital television is not only receiving a broadcast but also being connected to a network and is able to access specified information.

[0005]

However, the function of the bookmark is that one character string simply indicates the location of the information. For this reason, the processing performed via this bookmark is limited to access to the specified place, and other operations cannot be caused. Further, even if the information supplier wants to bookmark a plurality of network addresses, the viewer cannot manage the network addresses collectively.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has been described in connection with the case where information is transmitted to each other via a communication means such as a telephone line, a dedicated line, a radio wave, or an optical communication. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information recording medium, an information display device, and an information providing device for widely disseminating a new icon image in which information can be easily searched and arranged.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the information recording medium according to the present invention creates a new second management area on a display screen in addition to the first management area. Determining whether or not an icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area has been input; Extracting the primary related information related to the primary icon image, and relating the primary icon image to which the icon movement command has been issued, or relating to the primary icon image. Displaying a secondary icon image in the second management area;
Displaying next related information in association with the first icon image or the second icon image displayed in the second management area; and displaying at least one of the displayed first related information. When one is selected, causing the computer to perform a predetermined process, or, when related information relating to mail transmission is selected, the step of starting the mail program.
It is characterized in that a management area program is stored.
In the present invention, the mail program means not only a mail sending program but also a mail editing program for editing mail sending contents.

[0008] At least one of the predetermined processes includes:
It is preferable that the method further includes a step of creating a sample of the transmitted mail including the mail icon image corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area.

[0009] At least one of the predetermined processes includes:
It is further preferable that the method further includes a step of creating a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program via communication means. It is preferable that the transmission mail sample is automatically generated by a mail program, but may be generated by another program.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, an information display device according to the present invention comprises: a first management area creating means for displaying a first management area on a display screen; A second management area creating means for displaying another second management area on a display screen, and an icon moving instruction to move a primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area Determining means for determining whether or not the first icon image has been input, and extracting primary related information related to the primary icon image but not displayed in the first management area when the icon movement command is issued. Extracting means for displaying, in the second management area, the primary icon image for which the icon movement command has been issued, or a secondary icon image related to the primary icon image, Condition In case,
A first related information display unit that displays the first related information in association with the first icon image or the second icon image displayed in the second management area; Processing means for causing a computer to perform predetermined processing when at least one of the primary related information is selected, or for starting a mail program when related information related to mail transmission is selected. .

[0011] At least one of the predetermined processes processed by the processing means includes the step of displaying the mail icon image corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area. Preferably, it is to create a sample of the outgoing mail containing.

[0012] At least one of the predetermined processes processed by the processing means includes the second management area creation means, the judgment means, the extraction means, the icon display means, and the primary related information display means on computer hardware. It is more preferable to create a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program for realizing the above via a communication unit.

First Information Providing Apparatus In order to achieve the above object, a first information providing apparatus according to the present invention is provided on a display screen, in addition to a first management area, a new second information providing area.
Creating a management area; determining whether an icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area has been input; Extracting an icon associated with the primary icon image but not displayed in the first management area when the icon movement command is issued; Displaying a primary icon image, or a secondary icon image related to the primary icon image, in the second management area; Displaying the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the management area in association with at least one of the displayed primary related information is selected; If, and a step to perform a predetermined process on a computer, the second management area program to be executed by a computer, in a predetermined case conditions, via the communication means, and providing to the user.

The predetermined condition is not particularly limited, but is, for example, when a request signal is input from the client terminal to the information providing device via the communication means.

In the second management area program, at least one of the predetermined processes may include a mail icon corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area. Preferably, the method includes the step of creating a sample of the outgoing mail including the image.

In the second management area program, at least one of the predetermined processes generates a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program via communication means. More preferably, the method includes the step of:

Second Information Providing Apparatus In order to achieve the above object, a second information providing apparatus according to the present invention transmits primary data containing primary icon image information containing primary related information to a predetermined area. Primary data providing means for providing to the client terminal via the communication means according to the condition, and selection of primary related information included in the primary icon image information is performed at the client terminal. Secondary data providing means for providing, when receiving the selection signal, more detailed secondary related information of the selected primary related information to the client-side terminal via the communication means, Having.

An icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area on the display screen of the client terminal to the second management area on the display screen of the client terminal is issued by the client. When the movement command signal is input to the terminal and the information providing device is input to the information providing device via the communication unit, the secondary icon image related to the primary icon image but different from the primary icon image is transmitted to the client terminal. It is preferable to further include another icon providing means for providing the icon via the communication means.

Common Items In the present invention, it is preferable that the image information for displaying the primary icon image or the secondary icon image includes at least the primary related information.

In the present invention, the mail icon image is the same as the primary icon image or the secondary icon image or another tertiary icon image related to the icon image, and is included in the image information. At least the first
It is preferable to include the following related information.

In the image information of these icon images, the first
The means for including the next related information is not particularly limited. When the image information is a JPEG file, a GIF file, or the like, the information that does not affect the display of an image based on such a data structure is an image. It can be described in the annotation part of the information. Also, other image formats can be described in a format having a region of information that does not affect the display of an image, if the format has an information region. Also, the first related information can be added to the image information by a digital watermark (watermark) technique.

[0022] The second management area program may further include a step of loading the secondary icon image from a source of the primary icon image via a communication unit when the icon movement command is issued. You may have. In addition, the information display device of the present invention further comprises, when the icon movement command is issued, another icon requesting unit that fetches the secondary icon image from a source of the primary icon image via a communication unit. May be further provided. The secondary icon image is not particularly limited as long as it is a different image from the primary icon image. For example, it may be a fine image having the same outline as the primary icon image.

[0023] The second management area program may be configured so that at least one of the predetermined processes includes secondary related information that is related in more detail to the selected primary related information.
The method may further include a step of capturing the icon image from a providing source via a communication unit and displaying the icon image in association with the primary related information. Further, the information display device captures secondary related information related to the selected primary related information in more detail from a source of the icon image via a communication unit, and acquires the first related information. The apparatus may further include a detailed related information request unit for displaying the related related information in association with the next related information.

Similarly, more detailed tertiary and subsequent related information related to the secondary related information may be displayed in the same manner. Further, the secondary and subsequent related information may be included in the icon image information in advance together with the primary related information. In the present invention, the secondary and subsequent related information may be displayed near the primary related information in the second management area, or may be displayed inside the first management area.

The second management area program detects whether or not the program has already been installed on the computer, and if the second management area program has already been installed on the computer, the second management area program has already been installed. And executing the second management area program.

In the present invention, the communication means is not particularly limited, and includes all communication means such as a telephone line, a dedicated line, radio waves, and optical communication.

In the present invention, as the icon image,
It is not particularly limited, and may be a still image or a moving image. In the present invention, the icon image may be a part of the entire image.

In the present invention, the related information is not particularly limited. For example, the related information is basic information when a viewer wants to perform a specific operation using the icon image information as a clue. May be included. That is, the related information is information associated with the icon image. For example, when the viewer wants to refer to information on a specific server, the information (URL or IP address) specifying the information is Hit. If you want to run a specific program,
The program name or the program itself may be used. Further, the related information does not necessarily have to be plural, and may be single. In the case where the related information of the icon image is single, the process corresponding to the single related information may be automatically performed immediately after the icon image is moved to the second management area.

In the present invention, specific examples of the information recording medium are not particularly limited, and include a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a DVD, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a semiconductor disk (such as a RAM disk), Examples include an IC card memory and a magnetic tape.

In the present invention, the information display device includes:
There is no particular limitation, and personal computers, general-purpose computers, digital televisions, PDAs (Personal)
For example, a mobile terminal (including a mobile phone) such as Data Assistance is exemplified.

[0031]

In the information recording medium, the information display device, and the information providing device according to the present invention, the image information for displaying the icon image is not displayed in the first management area, but is displayed in the second management area under a predetermined condition. The first that can be
The following related information is associated. Therefore, the user can see the icon image displayed in the first management area, and at a glance, grasp the contents of the information indicated by the icon image. When the user wants to know detailed information related to the icon image or wants to purchase a product corresponding to the icon image, the icon image is moved to the second management area, and the icon image related to the icon image is moved. The first related information can be viewed, for example, in a menu format.

By selecting one of the primary related information displayed in the menu format, a process related to the icon image, for example, a home page on the Internet related to the icon image is displayed in the first management area. Or
The user can purchase a product or enjoy a service corresponding to the icon image. According to the present invention, basically, information can be searched and access to an information source can be performed based on an icon image, so that information search and access to an information source are extremely easy. In addition, by storing icon images that allow the type of information to be understood at a glance, for example, in a directory format, a tree format, or a tag format, information can be easily arranged and the information can be easily used.

In particular, in the present invention, at least one of the primary related information displayed in association with an icon image is a process of automatically creating a sample of an outgoing mail including a mail icon image corresponding to the icon image. In this case, the icon image can be easily transmitted to a friend or the like by selecting the information. If the friend's terminal receiving the mail including the icon image has the second management area program recorded on the information recording medium of the present invention, the related information is immediately read from the icon image. The above-mentioned convenient usage can be performed. The same applies to the case where a friend's terminal is the information display device according to the present invention.

In some cases, the terminal of the person who has received the mail does not have the second management area program recorded on the information recording medium of the present invention. In consideration of such a case, it is preferable that the sample of the outgoing mail automatically include a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program via the communication unit. . By transmitting such an e-mail, the second management area program can widely disseminate new icon images that are widely distributed, easy to access information supply sources, and easy to search and organize information.

[0035]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. 1. Overall Description of System As shown in FIG.
It has a plurality of client terminals 2 and 3 and a plurality of information providing servers 4 and 5, which are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network 6. In the present invention, the communication means for the network 6 is not particularly limited, and may be a telephone line, a dedicated line, radio waves, optical communication, or a combination thereof. explain.

The client-side terminals 2 and 4 are not particularly limited in the present invention, and may be a digital television, a PDA, or the like. In the present embodiment, the client terminals 2 and 4 will be described as being personal computers. The servers 4 and 5 are composed of, for example, general-purpose computers. The computer includes at least a CPU or MPU, a memory such as a RAM or a ROM, a storage device such as a hard disk, a communication interface such as a modem or a terminal adapter, a display device such as a CRT or LCD, and an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. And

The storage device and / or the memory of the client-side computer have at least an operating system (OS), HTTP browsing software (Web browser, etc.), mail transmission / reception software, etc. in order to enable communication via the network 6. The program is stored. The storage device and / or the memory of the server-side computer store at least an OS and a program such as HTTP server software so that the network 6 can provide and communicate content information.

In the present embodiment, the information providing server 4 is a server that mainly provides information relating to the first management area of the present invention, and the information providing server 5 is a second management area program (hereinafter referred to as an IP3W program) of the present invention. Server). In the present invention, these servers 4 and 5 may be completely different servers, or may be the same server.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing server 4 and the icon image information providing server 4 have a primary data providing means 4a, a secondary data providing means 4b, and another icon providing means 4c. Primary data providing means 4
“a” is for providing direct mail information such as that displayed in the first management area 16a of the screen 30a of the client-side display device shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the direct mail information provided from the primary data providing means 4a of the information providing server 4 includes at least one or more primary icon images 1 as shown in FIG.
00 to 105, character information 110, and a D / L button 120 for downloading an IP3W program.

The primary icon images 100 to 105 are the same as the secondary and subsequent icon images to be described later, but are images showing the contents of information to be provided, so that the contents of the information can be grasped at a glance. Has become. In the example shown in FIG. 6, six types of used car photo images are displayed as icon images 100 to 105 as icon images. Moreover, in the present embodiment, these primary icon images 100 to 105
The same applies to the second and subsequent icon images described later, but the related information is included in the image information. However,
In the first management area 16a shown in FIG. 6, the related information is not displayed, and only the icon image in the image information is displayed.

The method for including the related information in the image information is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment,
For example, this is performed as follows. FIG. 3 shows an example of a format of image information in which related information is embedded. here,
The image information exemplifies a GIF format image. The format does not have to be the GIF format, but may be the JPG format or the PCX format.

As shown in FIG. 3, the start section 301 is a field provided for identifying that this information is GIF format image information, and is assigned a character string “GIF” and its version. It is a thing.

The color arrangement table image data 303 is image data in which pixels are arranged in order from left to right and from top to bottom. Here, in the case of GIF, encoding is performed using the LZW algorithm of a variable length code.

The comment extension unit 305 includes text information that does not become graphic information in the GIF data stream. This can include graphics, annotations relating to the names of producers and descriptions, or anything else that is not control or graphic data.

The end unit 306 indicates that this data stream has ended, and means that other parameter information or the like does not follow.

The start part 301 and the color scheme table image data 303
The information 302 other than the above information is included in the area 302 and the area 304 between the color scheme table image data 303 and the annotation extension unit 305. As an example, information including parameters defining a region of the display device necessary for an image to be drawn, such as a screen width, a screen height, and a color resolution, is assigned.

The related information 307 is stored in the comment extension unit 305.
Are arranged as they are or after being subjected to a process such as encryption, and are combined as one piece of image information.

As a result, as a result, the image information as a data stream can include related information therein.

Although all of the description has been made in the GIF format, an image format of another format may be recorded in an area separated from the image information.

Next, an embedding format in image information according to another example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows another format example of image information in which related information is embedded. Here, the image information is an image in the GIF format as an example. Also in this example, the format does not have to be the GIF format, but may be the JPG format or the PCX format.

The start section 401 is a field provided for identifying that this information is GIF format image information, as described above, and is assigned a character string “GIF” and its version. is there.

In the coloration table type image data 403, pixels are arranged image data arranged in order from left to right and from top to bottom. Here, the image information 407 and the related information 408 are formed in a watermark format. In this way, the related information is visually invisible as it is, and the image information is mixed 409 so that it can be visually recognized as it is. Here, the information thus mixed 409 is encoded using the LZW algorithm of a variable length code.

The comment extension unit 405 includes text information that does not become graphic information in the GIF data stream. Although this field is not particularly required in this example, the information provider can freely use it if necessary.

The end section 406 indicates that this data stream has ended, and means that other parameter information or the like does not follow. In addition,
The middle portions 402 and 404 in the data stream shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the middle portions 302 and 304 shown in FIG.

In this example of the image, the image processing is all performed in the GIF format. However, the image format of another format may be recorded in the area separated from the image information.

As described above, the icon image information includes related information, and a direct mail including a plurality of the image information is transmitted from the primary data providing means 4a of the information providing server 4 shown in FIG. It is assumed that the data is transmitted to the terminal device 2. Since the terminal 2 has an e-mail transmission / reception program, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of icon images 10
0 to 105 are displayed. In this example, the first management area 16a is a reception window displayed by the mail transmission / reception program. The ordinary mail transmission / reception program is the same as the ordinary browser, but does not have a function of displaying related information included in each of the icon images 100 to 105 shown in FIG.

There is no problem if the client terminal 2 that has received the direct mail has a program for opening the related information included in each of the icon images 100 to 105, but it is generally considered not to have one. Can be Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The direct mail sent from the information providing server 4 includes a D / L button (display unit for download) 120 for downloading an IP3W program, in addition to the icon images 100 to 105. By pointing the D / L button 120 in the direct mail with input means such as a mouse and left-clicking, a program for downloading the IP3W program is executed. IP3
The program for downloading the W program is
It includes at least an address for accessing the server 5 shown in FIG. 1 and is transmitted with the direct mail.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 5, the timing at which a direct mail is transmitted is denoted by reference numeral 200, and the timing at which a signal corresponding to D / L is transmitted to information providing server 5 is denoted by reference numeral 202. The timing at which the IP3W program is transmitted from the information providing server 5 to the client terminal 2 is indicated by reference numeral 204. If the client terminal 2 already has an IP3W program, or has a logic circuit corresponding to the IP3W program, transmission and reception indicated by reference numerals 202 and 204 can be omitted.

Although the presence of a mail server is omitted in FIGS. 1 and 5, a mail server is actually required for sending and receiving mail, and clients A and / or B , And exchange mail via the mail server.

Information providing server 5, client terminal
2, 3 and IP3W The programs for downloading the IP3W program include URLs, URIs, IP addresses and the like for connecting via the network 6 to the information providing server 5 shown in FIG. Is included at least. The information providing server 5 may manage customer information of clients who want to download the IP3W program.

As shown in FIG. 6, the IP3W program includes a second management area (“IP3W”) on the screen 30a of the client computer in addition to the first management area 16a such as a mail transmission / reception window and a Web browser window.
This is a program for displaying 50a) and performing predetermined processing in relation to the area 50a.

Next, the client computer after downloading the IP3W program, or the client computer after installing the IP3 program from an information recording medium such as a distributed CD-ROM, or a dedicated computer corresponding to the IP3 program. The configuration of the client-side computer having the logic circuit will be described mainly with reference to FIG. Details of the IP3 program will be apparent from the configuration shown in FIG. 2 and the following description, and it will be understood that the program can be executed on a computer regardless of the type of the OS or other software and hardware. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the client terminal 2 includes a first management area control means 10, a second management area control means 50, a communication interface 20, a display interface 30, and an input interface 40. Have. The first management area control means 10 and the second management area control means 50 include a memory and a storage device storing various programs (including an OS) and the like, and a processing device such as a CPU and an MPU for executing the programs. It consists of.

The communication interface 20 is composed of, for example, a modem or a terminal adapter, and the first management area control means 10 and / or the second management area control means 50
And the network 6 shown in FIG. When the terminal device 2 is configured by a PDA or the like, the communication interface 20 may be configured by an antenna or the like.

The display interface 30 includes the first management area control means 10 and / or the second management area control means 5
0 and a connection unit for connecting a display device such as a CRT or an LCD. This connecting portion may be a contact type connecting portion for connecting electric wiring, optical fiber, etc.,
A non-contact type connection unit that transmits and receives signals via electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and infrared rays may be used. FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen of the display device.

The input interface 40 includes the first management area control means 10 and / or the second management area control means 5
0 is a connection unit for connecting an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a dial, a handle, a stick, and a touch panel. This connecting portion may be a contact type connecting portion for connecting electric wiring, optical fiber, etc.,
A non-contact type connection unit that transmits and receives signals via electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and infrared rays may be used.

The first management area control means 10 includes information communication control means (including the first management area creation means of the present invention) 12 and
It has at least a mail transmission / reception control unit (including the first management area creation unit of the present invention) 14, a content information storage unit 15, a received mail storage unit 16, and a transmitted mail storage unit 18.

The information communication control means 12 includes a program for performing Internet communication via the network 6 shown in FIG. 1, such as an Internet Explorer or a Netscape Navigator, and a memory and / or a storage in which the program is stored. It includes a device and a CPU or MPU that executes the program. The mail transmission / reception control means 14 includes a program for transmitting / receiving mail via the network 6 shown in FIG. 1, a memory and / or a storage device storing the program, and a CPU or MPU for executing the program. And

The content information storage section 15 is a section capable of storing content information obtained by the information communication control means (Web browser or the like) 12 via the communication interface 20 and the network 6, and includes a memory and / or a storage device. It consists of. In this embodiment,
In the content stored in the content information storage unit 15, the icon images 100 to 10 shown in FIG.
5 and the D / L button 120 may be included.

The received mail storage section 16 is a section capable of storing mail information obtained via the communication interface 20 and the network 6 by the mail transmission / reception control means 14, and is constituted by a memory and / or a storage device. An example in which one of the information stored in the received mail storage unit 16 is displayed on the screen of the display device is shown in FIG.
This is shown as direct mail in the management area 16a. FIG.
Is transmitted from the information providing server 4 shown in FIG.

The outgoing mail storage section 18 is a section capable of storing mail information to be transmitted via the communication interface 20 and the network 6 by the mail transmission / reception control means 14, and is constituted by a memory and / or a storage device. An example in which one of the information stored in the outgoing mail storage unit 18 is displayed on the screen of the display device is shown as a planned outgoing mail in the first management area 16a shown in FIG. FIG.
Is an e-mail to be transmitted from the client terminal 2 shown in FIG. 1 to the mail address of another client terminal 3 via the network 6, for example.

Detailed Configuration of IP3W As described above, the second management area control unit 50 shown in FIG.
May not exist before the IP3W program is supplied to the client terminal 2.
In such a case, the IP3W program may be installed on the client terminal 2. As a method for this, there is a method of installing from a program stored in a removable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and a D / L button in a direct mail displayed in the first management area 16a shown in FIG. There is a method in which the user downloads 120 by left-clicking on the input device such as a mouse.

The download of the IP3W program is performed from the information providing server 5 shown in FIG. Details of the IP3W program will be apparent from the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 and the following description. In the following description, it is assumed that the IP3W program has already been installed in the computer of the client terminal 2.

The second management area control means 50 comprises a storage device and / or memory capable of storing the IP3W program and other information, and a CPU and / or an MPU for executing the IP3W program. In the present embodiment, the second management area control unit 50 has an IP3W program detection unit 52.

The IP3W program detecting means 52 detects whether an IP3W program or a logic circuit corresponding to the IP3W program already exists in a storage device and / or a memory of a computer to be installed or downloaded. Also, this means 52 is used for IP3
If the W program is already installed on the computer, the user is notified that the program has been installed. At the same time or separately, the process moves to the second management area creation means (IP3W creation means) 54, executes the existing IP3W program, and displays at least the second management area 50a shown in FIG. 6 on the screen 30a. I do. This means 52 may determine whether the IP3W program already existing in the computer is the latest version.

The IP3W creating means 54 shown in FIG.
In order to display the second management area 50a shown on the screen 30a on the screen 30a, a control signal is sent to the image display control means 72 to control the display of the screen 30a via the display interface 30.

The icon movement determining means 56 shown in FIG.
At least one of the icon images 100 to 105 shown in FIG. 6 is changed from the first management area 16a to the second management area 50a.
It has a function of determining whether or not an icon move instruction to move to the icon has been input. The determination as to whether or not the icon movement command has been made is made by, for example, using the pointer 130 corresponding to the mouse on the screen 30a to move any of the icon images 103 from the first management area 16a to the second management area 50.
The determination is made based on whether or not the drag-and-drop operation has been performed on a.

From the first management area 16a to the second management area 50
When an icon move command to move the selected icon image 103 is issued to a, the first management area 1
An icon image that is exactly the same as the icon image 103 displayed inside 6a may be displayed inside the second management area 50a.
03a may be displayed.

The secondary icon image 103a is transmitted to the information communication control unit 12 based on another icon request unit 58 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the detection unit 56 shown in FIG.
Or directly controls the communication interface 20 to fetch the secondary icon image 103a from another icon providing means 4c of the information providing server 4 via the network 6 shown in FIG. The secondary icon image 10
The configuration of the image information of 3a is the primary icon image 103
Similarly, the related information is included. However, the image display of the secondary icon image 103a is different from the image display of the primary icon image 103. For example, the image display of the secondary icon image 103a may be a larger image or a finer image than the primary icon image 103.

Any one of the icon images 103 in the first management area is moved from the first management area 16a to the second management area 50a.
The operation of moving to is when the user of the client-side terminal wants to know more detailed related information related to the selected icon image 103. The timing of this operation is indicated by reference numeral 206 in FIG.

[0101] The icon related to the selected icon image 103
In order to know more detailed related information only by the management control of the first management area 16a, conventionally, for example, it is necessary to carefully read a long sentence (including unnecessary information) in a direct mail. It took time to search for and retrieve information to do. Alternatively, conventionally, a button for jumping to a homepage of the content related to the icon image 103 may be pressed or an address may be input.
However, even in this case, in order to search for information related only to the icon image 103 after moving to the target homepage, a large number of sentences must be read, and searching for the information to be obtained is complicated. Met.

In the present embodiment, only the selected icon image 103 shown in FIG. 6 is moved from the first management area 16a to the second management area 50a. Is very easy.

As shown in FIG. 2, the related information extracting means 60 which performs processing based on the data from the icon movement detecting means 56 is an icon image selected and displayed inside the second management area 50a shown in FIG. The related information included in the image information of 103 or the secondary icon image 103a is extracted. The extraction of the related information is performed, for example, by analyzing the format of the data stream of the target icon image, and
Related information 307 or 408 contained in the format shown in
Is extracted from the image data stream.

The related information extracted by the extracting means 60 is stored in the related information storage means 62 shown in FIG. 2, and the contents are displayed on the screen under a predetermined condition. On the other hand, the icon image information detected by the movement detecting means 56 is stored in the icon image storing means 64 based on an input signal from the detecting means 56 or the extracting means 60. The icon image stored in the storage unit 64 is displayed inside the second management area 50a on the screen 30a shown in FIG. 6 based on the functions of the image display control unit 72 and the display interface 30.

Icon image 103 or 103a selectively displayed inside second management area 50a on screen 30a
(Hereinafter, “103a”) related information 307 (40
7, the same applies to the following), as shown in FIG. 7, the pointer 130 of the mouse 40a is positioned at any position of the icon image 103a, and the mouse 4a is displayed.
A right click on 0a may be performed. The related information 307 is displayed by the image display control means 72 shown in FIG. 2 detecting the right click of the mouse, reading out the related information from the related information storage means 62, controlling the display interface 30, and transmitting the data to the display device. It is done by sending.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the related information 307 is displayed in a menu format. Related information 3
The menu 07 is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, a product purchase process, a process of requesting more detailed secondary related information, and the like. In the present embodiment, a menu for transmission to a friend is included. By moving the pointer 130 shown in FIG. 7, the left click process of the mouse 40a is performed,
When the next related information request processing menu is selected,
The related information specifying detecting means 66 shown in FIG. 2 operates the detailed related information requesting means 68.

The detailed related information requesting means 68 controls the communication interface 20 via the information communication control means 12 or directly, and controls the communication interface 20 via the network 6 shown in FIG.
More detailed secondary related information is acquired from the secondary data providing means 4b of the information providing server 4. The acquired detailed secondary related information is stored in the related information storage unit 62 and is displayed near the corresponding menu in the related information 307 by an operation such as right-clicking the mouse 40a shown in FIG. Is done.

Although the detailed secondary related information is not particularly limited, the menu selected from the primary related information 307 is, for example, a “list of accessories of goods” corresponding to the icon image 103a. In this case, a list of accessories of the product is stored as secondary related information in the related information storage unit 62 shown in FIG. 2 and displayed on the screen in the same manner as described above. If it is desired to obtain more detailed tertiary and subsequent related information relating to a specific menu in the secondary related information, the processing may be performed in the same manner as when the secondary related information is obtained. When a certain menu in the related information menu is selected, another icon requesting unit 58 may be activated, another icon image may be acquired in the same manner as described above, and displayed in the second management area 50a. . The timings of these processes are indicated by reference numerals 208 and 210 in FIG.

When the data amount of the second and subsequent related information is small, the related information is provided to the information providing server 4 shown in FIG. 1 by direct mail without requesting the related information each time. Icon image 103 or 103
a may be included by the method shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. In this case, the operation of the detailed related information requesting means 68 shown in FIG. 2 becomes unnecessary, and the timing 2 shown in FIG.
The operations at 08 and 210 are also unnecessary.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the menu of the related information 307 includes a transmission menu. Therefore, when the menu is selected, the related information specifying detecting means shown in FIG. 66 detects the selection and sends a control signal to the outgoing mail sample creation means 70 to operate it. The sample creation unit 70 acts on the mail transmission / reception control unit 14 of the first management area control unit 10 to activate the e-mail transmission / reception program if it is not activated, and stores the IP3W transmission mail in the transmission mail storage unit 18. If there is no template, create the template. The timing is indicated by reference numeral 212 in FIG.

[0091] IP3W transmission mail template 18
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a part 160 for inputting the destination of the e-mail, a part 150 for writing a message to the destination, and a part selected in the second management area 50a shown in FIG. A portion in which a mail icon image 103b corresponding to the icon image 103a is embedded, and a portion 140 in which a D / L button 120a for downloading an IP3W program from the information providing server 5 shown in FIG. At least. The mail icon image 103b may be the same as the primary icon image 103 or the secondary icon image 103a, or may be different. For example, the mail icon image 103b does not need to be as fine as the icon image 103a displayed in the second management area 50a.

The mail icon image 103b is replaced with the primary icon image 103 or the secondary icon image 103a.
For example, the outgoing mail sample creating means 70 shown in FIG. 2 operates the different icon requesting means 58 to access the server 4 shown in FIG. To get. To obtain a transmission icon image, the client terminal 2
User A accesses the server 4, the mail including the icon image is actually transmitted to the user B, for example, and the user B can confirm the access to the server 4 based on the icon image. In this case, the server 4 may perform a process including some point addition for the user A.

The template for IP3W 18a shown in FIG.
Is already stored in the outgoing mail storage unit 18 shown in FIG. 2, the sample creation unit 70 shown in FIG.
Only needs to call the already existing template 18a and update only the area where the icon image is to be embedded to the latest mail icon image 103b.

An outgoing mail is created using the outgoing mail template 18a, and a target mail address (for example, the mail address of the client B shown in FIG. 1) is selected to perform a transmitting process. The transmission process can be performed by a normal operation using the mail transmission / reception control means 14 inside the first management area 10 shown in FIG. The transmission timing is indicated by reference numeral 214 in FIG.

The client B operates the terminal 3, and
Retrieve the e-mail addressed to you from your e-mail address. An example of a received mail corresponding to the transmitted mail in FIG.
This is indicated by the received mail 16b shown in FIG. The terminal 3 of the client B has the same configuration as the terminal 2 of the client A, and the configuration is shown in FIG.

The received mail 16b shown in FIG. 9 includes a portion 170 in which a sender is described, a portion 150a in which a message from the sender is described, an icon image 103b selected by the sender, and a D / L button 120a. And a note 140 thereof. The received mail 16b shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the mail reception storage unit 16 shown in FIG. 2 and displayed on the screen of the computer.

Similarly to the terminal A of the client A, when the terminal 3 of the client B does not have the IP3W program, the D / L button 120a shown in FIG.
Is indicated by a pointer such as a mouse and left-clicked. Thereby, as in the case described above, the IP3W
The program can be downloaded from the server 5 shown in FIG. 1, and the second management area 50b is formed in the same manner as described above. The timing is represented by reference numerals 216 and 2 shown in FIG.
Indicated at 18.

At client B, the subsequent processing
For example, processes such as specifying the icon 220, requesting the related information 222 and providing the related information 224 shown in FIG.
The timing 206, 20
8 and 210, and the other processes are the same as those described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the icon image can be easily transmitted to a friend or the like in this manner. If the friend's terminal that has received the mail including the icon image has the IP3W program, the related information can be immediately read from the icon image and the above-described convenient usage can be performed.

[0100] The terminal of the person who received the e-mail
In some cases, they do not have a 3W program. However, in the present embodiment, in consideration of such a case, the display unit 1 with the D / L button 120a for obtaining the IP3W program via the network 6 is included in the outgoing mail.
40 are automatically included. By sending such an e-mail, the IP3W program can widely spread new icon images that are widely distributed, accessible to information supply sources, and easy to search and organize information.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, FIG.
Although the description has been made with the mind that the client-side terminals 2 and 3 shown in FIG. 1 are mainly computers such as personal computers, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is realized even when these terminals are PDAs or digital televisions. It is possible to implement the present invention. In that case, an input device other than a mouse may be employed.

Further, in the present invention, it is not necessary to have all the components shown in FIG. 2, but it is sufficient to have the components shown in FIG. 2 corresponding to the components described in each claim.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client-side terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of embedding related information in image information.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of embedding related information in image information.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of processing in the system shown in FIG. 1 in chronological order.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of the client terminal.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of operating a mouse in a second management area illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a sample of an outgoing mail.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a received mail corresponding to the transmitted mail of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 3 ... Client-side terminal 4, 5 ... Information providing server 4a ... Primary data providing means 4b ... Secondary data providing means 4c ... Different icon providing means 6 ... Network (communication means) 10 ... First management area Control means 12 Information communication control means (including first management area creation means) 14 Mail transmission / reception control means (including first management area creation means) 16 Mail reception storage unit 16a First management area 18 Transmission mail storage unit 20 Communication Interface 30 Display Interface 30a Display Screen 40 Input Interface 50 Second Management Area Control Means 50a Second Management Area 54 Second Management Area Creation Means 56 Icon Movement Judgment Means 58 Different Icon Request Means 60 ... related information extracting means 62 ... related information storage means (part of related information display means 64) Icon image storage means (constituting a part of the icon displaying means) 66 ... Related information specifying detecting means (constituting a part of the processing means) 68 ... Detailed related information requesting means (part of the processing means) 70) Outgoing mail sample creation means (part of processing means) 72 ... Image display control means (part of icon display means and related information display means) 307, 407 related information

Continued on the front page F term (reference)

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A step of creating a new second management area other than the first management area on a display screen, and a step of transferring a primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area. Judging whether or not an icon move instruction to move is input; and when the icon move instruction is issued, the icon related to the primary icon image is not displayed in the first management area. Extracting primary related information; displaying the primary icon image for which the icon movement command has been issued, or the secondary icon image related to the primary icon image in the second management area. And displaying the primary related information in association with the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area under a predetermined condition. When at least one of the displayed said first primary-related information is selected, to perform the predetermined processing on a computer,
Alternatively, a step of activating a mail program when related information relating to mail transmission is selected is stored in a second management area program for causing a computer to execute. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes is performed on an outgoing mail including a mail icon image corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area. The information recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a step of creating a sample. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes includes a step of preparing a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program via communication means. The information recording medium according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information for displaying the primary icon image or the secondary icon image includes at least the primary related information. An information recording medium according to any of the above. 5. The mail icon image according to claim 1, wherein:
It is the same as the next icon image or the secondary icon image, or another tertiary icon image related to these icon images, wherein the image information includes at least the first related information. The information recording medium according to claim 2. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of taking in said secondary icon image from a source of said primary icon image via a communication means when said icon moving command is issued. An information recording medium according to any one of the above. 7. A source of the icon image via communication means, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes provides secondary related information related to the selected primary related information in more detail. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of taking in the information and displaying it in association with the primary related information.
7. The information recording medium according to any one of items 6 to 6. 8. A step of detecting whether or not the second management area program has already been installed on a computer, and, if the second management area program has already been installed on the computer, having installed the second management area program. Or executing the second management area program. 8. The information recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising: 9. A first management area creation means for displaying a first management area on a display screen, and a second management area creation means for displaying a second management area different from the first management area on a display screen. Means for judging whether or not an icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area has been input; and Extracting means for extracting primary related information that is related to the primary icon image but not displayed in the first management area when the primary icon image has been generated; An icon display means for displaying an image or a secondary icon image related to the primary icon image in the second management area; and, under a predetermined condition, displaying the primary related information in the second management area. Before displayed in Primary related information display means for displaying in association with the primary icon image or the secondary icon image; and a predetermined process when at least one of the displayed primary related information is selected. To the computer,
Or, an information display device having processing means for activating a mail program when related information relating to mail transmission is selected. 10. A mail icon corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes processed by the processing means is 10. The information display device according to claim 9, wherein a sample of an outgoing mail including an image is created. 11. At least one of the predetermined processes processed by the processing unit includes the second management area creation unit, the determination unit, the extraction unit, the icon display unit, and the primary related information display unit. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program for realizing on a software through communication means is created. Information display device. 12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image information for displaying the primary icon image or the secondary icon image includes at least the primary related information. The information display device according to any one of the above. 13. The mail icon image is the same as the primary icon image or the secondary icon image,
11. The information display device according to claim 10, further comprising another tertiary icon image related to the icon images, wherein the image information includes at least the first related information. 14. An additional icon requesting unit for receiving the secondary icon image from a source of the primary icon image via a communication unit when the icon moving command is issued. 14. The information display device according to any one of 9 to 13. 15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: fetching secondary related information related to the selected primary related information in more detail from a source of the icon image via communication means; The information display device according to any one of claims 9 to 14, further comprising a detailed related information requesting unit for displaying the related information. 16. On the display screen, besides the first management area,
Creating a new second management area; and determining whether an icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area to the second management area has been input. Extracting the primary related information that is related to the primary icon image but is not displayed in the first management area when the icon move command is issued; Displaying, in the second management area, the primary icon image or the secondary icon image related to the primary icon image. Displaying in association with the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area; and at least one of the displayed primary related information. An information providing device that provides a user with a second management area program for causing a computer to execute a predetermined process when a predetermined condition is selected; . 17. The information providing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined condition is a case where a request signal is input from the client terminal to the information providing apparatus via the communication unit. 18. The method according to claim 18, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes is performed on an outgoing mail including a mail icon image corresponding to the primary icon image or the secondary icon image displayed in the second management area. 18. The information providing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a step of creating a sample. 19. At least one of the predetermined processes includes a step of creating a sample of an outgoing mail including a download display unit for obtaining the second management area program via communication means. 19. The information providing device according to claim 18, wherein 20. The image processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the image information for displaying the primary icon image or the secondary icon image includes at least the primary related information. The information providing device according to any one of the above. 21. The mail icon image is the same as the primary icon image or the secondary icon image,
19. The information providing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising another tertiary icon image related to the icon images, wherein the image information includes at least the first related information. 22. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of taking in said secondary icon image from a source of said primary icon image via a communication means when said icon movement command is issued. The information providing device according to any one of the above. 23. A source of the icon image, wherein at least one of the predetermined processes supplies secondary related information related in more detail to the selected primary related information via communication means. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: loading the information from the computer and displaying the information in association with the primary related information.
23. The information providing device according to any one of 6 to 22. 24. A step of detecting whether or not the second management area program has already been installed on a computer; and, if the second management area program has already been installed on the computer, it has been installed. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 23, further comprising a step of notifying the user or executing the second management area program. 25. A primary data providing means for providing primary data including primary icon image information including primary related information to a client terminal via a communication means in accordance with a predetermined condition. In the client-side terminal, selection of primary related information included in the primary icon image information is performed, and when the selection signal is received, the selected first
An information providing apparatus comprising: a secondary data providing unit that provides more detailed secondary related information of the next related information to the client terminal via the communication unit. 26. An icon move command to move the primary icon image displayed in the first management area on the display screen of the client terminal to the second management area on the display screen of the client terminal. When the movement command signal is input to the client-side terminal and input to the information providing device via the communication means, a secondary icon image related to the primary icon image but different from the primary icon image is transmitted to the client terminal. 26. The information providing apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising another icon providing means provided to the side terminal via the communication means.