JP2007257270A - Information retrieving device, updating data providing device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation system of simple configuration capable of performing information retrieval based on the latest information even during a drive. <P>SOLUTION: An on-vehicle information retrieving device 10 is provided with a database 5a with retrieval target information recorded therein and performs information retrieval based on the database, and the on-vehicle information retrieving device has: a retrieval key specifying means 4 for specifying a retrieval key corresponding to information to be an updating target in the retrieval target information in the database on the basis of prescribed history information 5b regarding information retrieval; a recording means 8 for recording the retrieval key specified by the retrieval key specifying means in an mounted detachable recording medium; a reading means 8 for reading updating data regarding retrieval target information corresponding to the specified retrieval key from the remounted recording medium; and the updating means for updating the retrieval target information corresponding to the specified retrieval key in the database on the basis of the updating data read by the reading means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle information search device that performs information search based on a database owned by itself, an update data providing device that provides update data for the database offline, and a program that causes a computer to function as these devices. .

  In general, a car navigation apparatus has an information search function. This function is a function for deriving the location of the facility, for example, using the leisure facility name and the genre of the facility such as an amusement park or aquarium as a keyword when it is desired to set the leisure facility as the destination.

  In this case, since the database data necessary for information retrieval is linked to the map data, the data is usually recorded on a hard disk or DVD medium in which the map data is stored. Further, in car navigation having a communication function by connection with a mobile phone or the like, there is a method in which information search is performed in an external server, and a search result of a location or the like is acquired from the server. Also, remove the hard disk of the car navigation device, connect it to a personal computer at home, search for information via the Internet using a personal computer, register the desired location based on the results, or create a drive plan in advance. There is also a way to go.

  Furthermore, Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which a first device and a second device are linked through a portable memory. Specifically, this technology generates predetermined waypoint information and stores it in a card-type semiconductor storage medium on the basis of information about an input destination in a personal computer. The waypoint information stored in the medium is read, and the travel route information is output based on the waypoint information.

JP 2001-289655 A

  However, as described above, when data necessary for information retrieval is stored in a hard disk or the like, there is a problem that data necessary for information retrieval becomes obsolete over time and cannot be used. This trend is particularly noticeable, especially in ramen stores.

  Therefore, it is necessary to update the search information, and as a method of updating, a method of updating the map data including the map body, that is, a method of upgrading the version can be considered. However, the frequency of version upgrades is every year or the like, and is not frequently performed. In addition, according to this method, in general, all of the nationwide information is often updated. Therefore, for example, it is often necessary to update all data such as Kyushu which is unnecessary for a user living in Tokyo. Further, in many cases, genre information unnecessary for the user must be updated as well.

  On the other hand, according to the method for searching for information via the external server described above, the communication infrastructure is not always sufficient, and it is difficult to obtain a sufficient communication environment anytime and anywhere. Even in an environment where communication is possible, there are problems such as a high communication fee and a low communication speed.

  On the other hand, according to the method of creating a drive plan etc. in advance on a personal computer etc. and reflecting it to the in-vehicle navigation device, it is good if the destination is decided in advance, but the destination is decided during the drive or the stop is added It is not possible to cope with the case. Also, when taking out the hard disk, it is necessary to make a special design mechanically. In that case, since the map database itself has a copyright, a mechanism is required to prevent unauthorized copying of map data on a personal computer at home.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device having a simple configuration capable of performing information retrieval based on the latest information even during driving in view of the problems of the conventional technology.

  An information search apparatus according to a first invention for achieving the above object relates to an in-vehicle information search apparatus that includes a database in which search target information is recorded and performs information search based on the database. The apparatus includes a search key specifying means for specifying a search key corresponding to an update target of search target information in the database based on predetermined history information about the information search, and the search key specifying Recording means for recording the search key specified by the means on the attached removable recording medium, and update data for search target information corresponding to the specified search key from the reattached recording medium Read means, and update means for updating search target information corresponding to the specified search key in the database based on update data read by the read means.

  Here, as an information search device, for example, a device incorporated in a car navigation device is applicable. The search target information corresponds to, for example, information on a facility or a store that can be set as a destination or a stopover point in a car navigation device. The history information corresponds to, for example, information that records the date and time of the search, each keyword constituting the search key used for the search, the name of the searched facility or store, and the like. The search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes, for example, those composed of keywords “meal”, “ramen store”, and “Tokyo”. In this case, a search that hits with this search key The store name of the ramen store that is the target information is to be updated. For example, a memory card corresponds to the removable recording medium. The update data for the search target information corresponding to the specified search key corresponds to, for example, all of the latest possible search target information corresponding to the search key or the search key in the database held by the device. This applies to the data to be added to and deleted from the search target information.

  In this configuration, at a predetermined timing such as immediately after the information search is performed, the search key specifying means searches based on the information search history information and corresponds to the search target information in the database to be updated. Identify the key. The specified search key is recorded on a removable recording medium by the recording means. Thereafter, the user removes the recording medium and inserts it into the update data providing device at home, thereby recording the update data for the search target information corresponding to the specified search key on the recording medium. Can be made. Thereafter, when the user inserts the recording medium into the information search apparatus again, the reading means reads update data for the search target information corresponding to the specified search key from the reattached recording medium. it can. Then, the update means can update the search target information corresponding to the specified search key in the database based on the read update data.

  The second invention relates to an in-vehicle information search apparatus that includes a database that records search target information and performs information search based on the database. The information search apparatus includes: a recording unit that records predetermined history information about the information search on a mounted removable recording medium; and the information to be searched in the database from the mounted recording medium again. A search key corresponding to the update target, a read means for reading update data for the search target information to be updated, and the database based on the search key and the update data read by the read means Update means for updating search target information corresponding to the search key.

  An update data providing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a predetermined data holding information corresponding to a search key recorded in a detachable recording medium attached to the information search apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. According to the present invention, there is provided recording means for recording update data for search target information corresponding to the search key on the recording medium based on information from a server.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the update data providing apparatus based on predetermined history information on information retrieval recorded in a removable recording medium in the information retrieval apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention. A search key specifying means for specifying a search key corresponding to search target information to be updated in a database held by the search device; and a predetermined key for holding search target information corresponding to the search key specified by the search key specifying means Recording means for recording, on the recording medium, update data for search target information corresponding to the specified search key together with the specified search key, based on information from a server. To do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or fourth aspect of the invention, the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated is used as a search key used in a past search. The keyword is included.

  In the device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, fourth, or fifth aspect of the present invention, the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes a keyword that specifies a region where the home is located. It is included.

  A program according to a seventh invention causes a computer to function as each means in the device according to any one of the first to sixth inventions.

  According to the present invention, among search target information in a database, for search target information corresponding to a search key specified based on search history information, update data is acquired via a removable recording medium, and updated. Thus, only the information necessary for the search can be updated without having to update the entire database. In addition, the information search apparatus itself can perform a search based on the latest search target information without having to communicate with the outside. Therefore, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle device having a simple configuration capable of performing information retrieval based on the latest information even in a drive where the communication environment is not necessarily sufficient.

  In addition, since the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes the keyword used in the search key used in the past search, it is really necessary to be used in the past search. The search target information is always kept up-to-date and can be used for searching in the drive.

  In addition, since the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes a keyword for specifying the region where the home is located, the search target information about the vicinity of the home that is likely to be searched is always included. It can be kept up to date and used for searching in the drive.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This apparatus includes a navigation unit 1 having a navigation function and an in-vehicle agent 10 connected to the navigation unit 1. The navigation unit 1 displays a navigation map, a current position on the map, etc., and provides a voice guide to a set destination, or displays a searched facility or store position or name. Can be.

  The in-vehicle agent 10 includes an input device 2 that converts a voice uttered by a user into an audio signal, a language analysis unit 3 that outputs word data to be described later based on an audio signal from the input device 2, and word data from the language analysis unit 3. Based on the agent processing unit 4 that performs a corresponding information search, a storage device 5 that stores information necessary for the information search, and synthesizing speech based on sentence data as a response to the user from the agent processing unit 4 The speech synthesis processing unit 6 that outputs a digital speech signal, the output device 7 that performs speech output based on the speech signal from the speech synthesis processing unit 6, and the agent processing unit 4 are connected to a predetermined removable storage medium. A reader / writer 8 for reading and writing data, an agent processing unit 4 and a communication unit 9 for communicating between the navigation unit 1 are provided.

  The input device 2 is used for inputting a keyword necessary for information retrieval. The language analysis unit 3 performs speech recognition processing on the speech signal input after A / D conversion from the input device 2 with reference to the word database 4a of the agent processing unit 4, thereby expressing the speech signal. A candidate word that may be present and the likelihood (score) of this candidate are identified. Words with score values below a predetermined value are not candidates. The method of speech recognition is arbitrary, and a plurality of words may be specified as candidates. The language analysis unit 3 generates data indicating the identified candidate and its score (hereinafter referred to as “word data”) and supplies it to the agent processing unit 4.

  The agent processing unit 4 has a function of assisting user operations. That is, it has a function of realizing a voice interactive interface for facilitating operations by a user who is not good at operating electronic devices. The output device 7 includes an audio output unit 7a that D / A converts the digital audio signal from the agent processing unit 4 and outputs the signal as audio from a speaker. In the storage device 5, a database 5a necessary for information retrieval linked with the processing in the navigation unit 1 is recorded. The database 5a is managed by the agent processing unit 4. The database 5a also stores a search history 5b used for the purpose of grasping the user's preferences, and home / preference information 5c regarding the user's home and preferences. The agent processing unit 4 acquires the current position from the navigation unit 1 via the communication unit 9 and passes a search result related to the current position to the navigation unit 1.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the contents of the information search database 5 a in the storage device 5. As shown in the figure, the information search database 5a stores the name of each store that can be searched, its latitude and longitude. Each store is classified into a large genre such as “meal” and “play”. In addition, “meal”, which is one of the large genres, is classified into medium genres such as “Japanese food”, “Ramen shop”, and “Italian”. Furthermore, “Ramen shop”, which is one of the medium genres, is classified by prefecture such as “Hokkaido”, “Tokyo”, “Kanagawa”, and the like. Therefore, a search key can be constituted by an arbitrary keyword corresponding to the classification of large genre, medium genre, prefecture, etc., and a store name can be searched.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the contents of the search history 5 b in the storage device 5. As shown in the figure, every time the information search database 5a is searched, the search date and time, the searched store name, and the large genre and medium genre to which the store name belongs are recorded. In the figure, the fact that the ramen store “AAA store” was searched on March 3, 2006 is recorded as search history information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of home / preference information 5 c in the storage device 5. As shown in the figure, as the home / preference information 5c, the prefecture where the user's home exists, and the latitude and longitude are recorded. Information about user preferences is also recorded. The agent unit 4 records information related to user preferences based on the search history 5b. For example, when the number of searches for the “ramen store” exceeds a predetermined number, information “I like ramen” is added as preference information. The home / preference information 5c can be referred to as a proposal material when the vehicle-mounted agent 10 makes a proposal to the user.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a conversation between the user and the vehicle-mounted agent 10. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing search processing in the navigation apparatus corresponding to this conversation. When the user makes an utterance 51 saying “I want to go to a meal”, the agent processing unit 4 starts the search process of FIG. 6 in response to this, and in step 61, inquires the details for the purpose of narrowing down the search target. Then, the following audio output is performed.

  That is, first, an inquiry 52 “What do you want to eat?” Is output. On the other hand, when the user makes an utterance 53 “I want to eat ramen”, the agent processing unit 4 outputs an inquiry 54 “Is it OK in order of closeness?” To further narrow down the search target. On the other hand, when the user makes an utterance 55 “OK”, the navigation unit 4 outputs a response 56 “Please wait ... display the search result, select on the touch panel”. .

  Next, in step 62, the agent processing unit 4 acquires the current position from the navigation unit 1. Next, in step 63, information search is performed based on “ramen” and “close order” further narrowed down from “meal” and the acquired current position. That is, a store name whose distance from the current position is a predetermined distance or less is extracted based on the latitude / longitude information of each store from among the store names corresponding to the search key constituted by the keywords “meal” and “ramen store”. . Next, in step 64, the agent processing unit 4 sends information such as the store name and latitude / longitude regarding the extracted ramen store to the navigation unit 1 as a search result.

  Upon receiving this search result, the navigation unit 1 displays the name of each searched store, the distance to the store, etc. on the display in step 65. As shown by 57 in FIG. Accept the choice. Next, in step 66, the navigation unit 1 searches for a route to the selected ramen shop. Then, the agent unit 4 is notified that the route search has been performed.

  In step 67, the agent processing unit 4 receives this notification, and outputs a voice 58 indicating that the route search is completed and guidance is started, “I set this as the destination and start guidance”. . Further, in step 68, a search history as shown in FIG. 3 for the selected ramen store is added in the storage device 5. In step 69, the search target information to be updated and the corresponding search key are copied to the recording medium attached to the external storage medium reader / writer 8 as data related to the search history. This completes the search process.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a conversation performed between the user and the vehicle-mounted agent 10 in the process of step 69. When the processing of Step 69 is started, the agent processing unit 4 proposes to obtain the latest information on the genre and the like, that is, to update the search target information, based on the searched store genre and the home / preference information in FIG. . For example, if a ramen shop is searched, the user's preference is “Ramen lovers”, and the user's home is Tokyo, as shown in FIG. 7, first, “Would you like to check the latest information on ramen shops?” 71 is output by voice.

  On the other hand, when the user recognizes that the consent 72 is “Yes”, a question 73 “Are you a ramen shop in Tokyo?” Is output based on the fact that the user's home is Tokyo. To do. On the other hand, when recognizing that the user showed the consent 74 “Yes, please”, he / she notes that “Mr. XX (home agent) will check it, so be sure to bring the memory card home!”. Prompt. Here, “Mr. XX” means a home agent described later.

  Thereafter, the agent processing unit 4 stores each store name corresponding to a search key including the keywords “large meal”, “middle genre” “middle genre”, and “Tokyo” as the prefecture, and its latitude / longitude. Are extracted from the information search database 5a and recorded in a memory card attached to the external storage medium reader / writer 8. Thereby, the process of step 69 is completed. Thereafter, the memory card is extracted by the user and inserted into the home agent.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the home agent. The input device 92, the language analysis unit 93, the speech synthesis processing unit 96, the output device 97, and the external storage medium reader / writer 98 are respectively the input device 2, the language analysis unit 3, the speech synthesis processing unit 6, and the output device 7 in FIG. And the same function as the external storage medium reader / writer 8. The agent processing unit 94 has a function of accessing a predetermined server via the Internet communication unit 99 in addition to functions such as dialogue processing of the agent processing unit 4 of FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of a conversation between a home agent and a user. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a memory card update process in the home agent corresponding to this conversation. When the memory card storing the search history or the like is inserted into the external storage medium reader / writer 98 in step 69 in FIG. 6, the agent processing unit 94 accordingly confirms the update contents with the user in step 111. Do.

  That is, the search history analysis unit 94b of the agent processing unit 94 recognizes the user's preference based on the search history recorded in the memory card, and makes a suggestion about the update contents. For example, a proposal “Would you like to collect the latest ramen shop information?” Is output by voice. In the example of FIG. 10, if the contents of the memory card are as shown in FIG. 8, it can be seen that the ramen store has been searched. First, the question “Did you go to a ramen shop today?” 101 is performed. In response to an affirmative response 102 of “Yes” by the user, an inquiry 103 for confirming the update contents is made, “Would you like to update the latest information of the ramen shop?” By obtaining a response 104 indicating that the user has approved the update content “Yes,” the user is approved to update the search target information about the ramen store.

  When the user's approval is obtained for the update contents, the agent processing unit 94 connects to a server that provides information on the ramen shop via the Internet by the Internet communication unit 99 in step 112. This server corresponds to a home agent and has data consistency with the home agent.

  Next, in step 113, the difference between the ramen store information recorded on the memory card and the ramen store information held by the server is detected, and the memory card information is updated with the latest information of the server. For example, in a memory card, as shown in FIG. 8, keywords such as “meal” as a large genre, “ramen store” as a medium genre, and “Tokyo” as a prefecture are recorded. It is assumed that data as shown in the column of “memory card data” in the table of 12 is recorded. Then, in the server, information search is performed using a search key composed of “meal”, “ramen store”, and “Tokyo” to obtain ramen store data as shown in the “latest data” column in the table. If possible, the “BBD store” in the memory card is closed, and the “ZZY store” is newly opened. Therefore, in this case, in the information of the memory card, as shown in FIG. 13, the data relating to “BBD store” is deleted and the data relating to “ZZY store” is added.

  Next, in step 114, the update content is notified to the user. For example, if an update as shown in FIG. 13 is performed, “BBD store” is closed and “ZZY store” is newly opened, and as shown in FIG. The message 105 indicating that the update of the memory card has been completed is output. Thereby, the memory card update process is terminated.

  The updated information in the memory card is reflected in the information search database 5a when the user inserts the memory card into the external storage medium reader / writer 8 of the vehicle-mounted agent. That is, when the memory card is inserted into the external storage medium reader / writer 8, for example, if the content of the information search database 5 a is as shown in FIG. Among the ramen stores whose middle genre is “ramen store” and the prefecture is “Tokyo”, data related to “BBD store” is deleted, and data related to “ZZY store” is added. As a result, the contents of the information search database 5a are as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15 shows the information flow in the above-described processing of the in-vehicle agent and the home agent. That is, the vehicle-mounted agent 151 uses the search information (store name, latitude) related to the search history of the day as shown in FIG. 8 based on the search history of the processing day as shown in FIG. Read out longitude from the storage device 5 and write it to the memory card 153 together with the keywords (“meal”, “ramen store”, “Tokyo”) that constitute the corresponding search key.

  When the user returns home and removes the memory card 153 from the in-vehicle agent 151 and inserts it into the home agent 154, the home agent 154 reads information related to the search history recorded in the memory card 153 and updates the memory card. By processing 154, as shown in FIG. 13, the search target information related to the search history is updated, and the recorded content of the memory card 154 is rewritten with the updated latest information.

  When the user subsequently inserts the rewritten memory card 153 into the in-vehicle agent 151, the in-vehicle agent 151 reads the recorded contents of the memory card 153 and starts the update process 155 to the storage device 5. Then, based on the search target information related to the read latest search history, the information search database 5a in the storage device 5 is updated as shown in FIG. 14, and the memory card 153 is cleared.

  According to the present embodiment, the user can obtain the latest information from the home agent via the memory card, and the information search database 5a can always be updated. Therefore, it is possible to determine a destination during driving and add a stop-by place based on the latest information.

  At that time, the in-vehicle agent refers to the search history 5b and the home / preference information 5c, and proposes the genre and the prefecture in the information search database 5a to be updated, so the user only approves the proposal. Only a necessary range of information can be updated without requiring a special operation. In addition, since information is transmitted between the in-vehicle agent and the home agent via the memory card, it is possible to save the user's trouble of removing the hard disk or the in-vehicle device and carrying it in the home.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications. For example, in the above description, the search key of the search target information to be updated by the in-vehicle agent is specified and written in the memory card. Instead, the in-vehicle agent stores information such as the search history in the memory. The home agent may specify the search key of the search target information to be updated based on the search history in the memory card and the home / preference information that the home agent has only by writing to the card. In this case, the search key specified by the home agent is recorded on the memory card together with the update data, and is passed to the in-vehicle agent.

  Further, in the above description, when updating the database, the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated is specified using the information on the day of the update as the search history information. Alternatively, in addition to this, a search key corresponding to search target information to be updated may be specified in consideration of an earlier search history.

  In the above description, the keyword (Tokyo) indicating the area where the home is located is included in the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated, but instead or in addition to this, the road that has passed And keywords indicating the area are collected from the navigation device and stored as a history, and keywords (National Route 16 and Hachioji) indicating frequently passing roads and areas are included in the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated. You may do it.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the information search database in the memory | storage device of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the search history in the memory | storage device of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the home and preference information in the memory | storage device of the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversation between the user and the vehicle-mounted agent of the apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the search process in the apparatus of FIG. 1 corresponding to the conversation of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversation performed between a user and the vehicle-mounted agent in the process of step 69 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the memory card recorded by the apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the agent for homes corresponding to the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversation between the home agent of FIG. 9, and a user. It is a flowchart which shows the memory card update process in the agent for home corresponding to the conversation of FIG. It is a figure which shows the mode of the update about the update object information in the memory card performed by the home agent of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the memory card updated by the agent for homes of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the information search database in the apparatus of FIG. 1 updated. It is a figure which shows the flow of the information between a vehicle-mounted agent and a home agent.

Explanation of symbols

2, 92: input device, 3, 93: language analysis unit, 4, 94: agent processing unit, 4a, 94a: word database, 4b, 94b: information search unit, 5: storage device, 5a: information search database, 5b : Search history, 5c: Home / preference information, 7a: Voice output unit, 6: Speech synthesizer, 7, 97a: Output device, 8, 98: External storage medium reader / writer, 9: Navigation communication unit, 10: In-vehicle use Agent: 99: Internet communication unit, 151: In-vehicle agent, 152: Information retrieval, 153: Memory card, 154: Home agent, 154: Difference investigation update work, 155: Update work to storage device.

Claims (7)

An in-vehicle information search device that includes a database that records search target information and performs information search based on the database,
Search key specifying means for specifying a search key corresponding to an update target of search target information in the database based on predetermined history information about the information search;
Recording means for recording the search key specified by the search key specifying means on the attached removable recording medium;
Read means for reading update data for search target information corresponding to the specified search key from the re-attached recording medium;
An information search apparatus comprising: update means for updating search target information corresponding to the specified search key in the database based on update data read by the read means. An in-vehicle information search device that includes a database that records search target information and performs information search based on the database,
Recording means for recording predetermined history information about the information search on a mounted removable recording medium;
Reading means for reading out a search key corresponding to an update target of the search target information in the database, and update data for the update target information from the reattached recording medium;
An information search apparatus comprising: update means for updating search target information corresponding to the search key in the database based on the search key and update data read by the reading means.   The search is performed on the recording medium based on information from a predetermined server having search target information corresponding to a search key recorded on a removable recording medium in the information retrieval apparatus according to claim 1 attached. An update data providing apparatus comprising recording means for recording update data for search target information corresponding to a key. The search target information to be updated in the database held by the information search device based on the predetermined history information about the information search recorded on the removable recording medium in the information search device of claim 2 attached. A search key specifying means for specifying a corresponding search key;
Updating the search target information corresponding to the specified search key with respect to the recording medium based on information from a predetermined server having search target information corresponding to the search key specified by the search key specifying means An update data providing apparatus comprising: recording means for recording data for use together with the specified search key.   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes a keyword used for a search key used in a past search.   The apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 4 or 5, wherein a search key corresponding to the search target information to be updated includes a keyword for specifying a region where the home is located. A program for causing a computer to function as each means in the apparatus according to claim 1.

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