JP2008299860A - Information selection system, server device, and program storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information selection system capable of sharing information accumulated in a server and information accumulated in each client, and capable of providing client equipment with properly selected information as desired by a user. <P>SOLUTION: This information selection system is provided with the server, and the plurality of clients connected to the server, and provides selectingly the information to the clients, based on control by the server. The server retrieves the information accumulated in the server and the information accumulated in each client connected to the server, in order to exhibit the information requested by the client. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an information selection system. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information selection system for sharing information stored in a server and information stored in each client and selecting and presenting information to a client device based on control by the server.
Moreover, this invention relates to the server apparatus which can comprise such an information selection system.
The present invention also relates to a program storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the function of such a server device.

Due to the increase in capacity of storage devices and the development of infrastructure and communication technologies, general users' servers, client devices, and networks are overflowing with a lot of information (contents, etc.) such as images, music, and moving images. For this reason, it is necessary for the user to search for information he / she wants from such a lot of information. However, since there are various data formats and types of information, it is very difficult for the user himself to select user-preferred information or information that can actually be used.
JP 2001-94631 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-272574

Therefore, in Patent Document 1 ( Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-94631 ) , a distribution device managed by a distributor or the like adds attribute information related to information, converts the data format, distributes the information, and receives it by the communication device. A technique has been proposed in which only information that matches an extraction condition set in advance is extracted, stored, and a data format is determined and transmitted to an appropriate recording / reproducing apparatus. According to this technology, it is possible to achieve a certain degree of convenience for the user to select information using attribute information. However, for example, even a single user often has different tastes for music, preferences for moving images, preferences for images, preferences for text information, and the like. The above technique has a problem that the preference according to the type of information is not reflected in the selection of information.

Patent Document 2 ( Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-272574 ) discloses, based on information about registered user status and client device status, mainly about browser functions, for content displayed by a browser. A technique for selecting a display state and display of content to be displayed is described. However, in this technique, once set registration information is used as it is unless it is updated. For this reason, when a user's preference changes with time, there exists a problem that the content which a user desires is not selected easily.

  Furthermore, when AV devices and home appliances are connected to the network, and each device often has specialized functions, there is a bias in the data format of information used by each client device and the data format that can be used. That is expected. For this reason, it is necessary to present information in consideration of a data format that can be used by each client device and a frequently used data format.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information selection system that can share information stored in a server and information stored in each client and appropriately select and present information desired by a user to a client device. is there.
Moreover, the subject of this invention is providing the server apparatus which can comprise such an information selection system.
Moreover, the subject of this invention is providing the program storage medium which memorize | stored the program which makes a computer perform the function of such a server apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, an information selection system according to the present invention is an information selection system including a server and a plurality of clients connected to the server, and selecting and presenting information to the client based on control by the server. The server searches the information stored in the server and the information stored in each client connected to the server in order to present the requested information to the client. .
According to the information selection system of the present invention, information desired by the user can be appropriately selected and presented to the client device.
In the information selection system of one embodiment, the server and each client determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats are accumulated, and a data format that can be reproduced by converting the data format is determined. It is characterized by deleting the information it has.
According to the information selection system of this embodiment, the amount of information accumulated as a whole system can be reduced.
The server device of the present invention is a server device to which a plurality of clients are connected and presents the accumulated information in response to a client information request, the information stored in the server device and each of the servers connected to the server device It is characterized by searching information stored in the client.
According to the server device of the present invention, information desired by the user can be appropriately selected and presented to the client device.
In the server device according to an embodiment, the server device and each client determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats are accumulated, and a data format that can be reproduced by converting the data format is determined. It is characterized by deleting the information it has.
According to the server device of this embodiment, the amount of information accumulated as a whole system can be reduced.
The program storage medium of the present invention is a program storage medium storing a program for controlling a computer so as to search information stored in a server device and information stored in each client connected to the server device. .
If the computer stores the program stored in the program storage medium of the present invention, the computer can execute the functions of the server device. Thereby, the information selection system of the said invention can be comprised.
In the program storage medium of one embodiment, the program further determines whether or not the server device and each client store a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats, and converts the data formats. The computer is controlled so as to delete information having a reproducible data format.
If the program storage medium of this embodiment is read by a computer, the amount of information stored in the entire system can be reduced by the computer that executes the function of the server device.
In another aspect, an information selection system according to the present invention is an information selection system that includes a server and one or more clients connected to the server, and selects and presents information to the client based on control by the server. Then, the server performs control for selecting information content and data format based on preference information corresponding to the usage status of information by the client.

  Note that the “information” requested by the client may be content such as an image, music, video, text, or information indicating the location of such content. As such “information”, information stored in the server or client, or information stored in other devices connected to these via a network is targeted.

  Further, “presenting” information includes a case where information is provided.

  The “data format” means a format such as MPEG1 or MPEG2.

  In the information selection system according to the present invention, the server performs control to select the content and data format of the information based on the preference information corresponding to the usage status of the information by the client. Therefore, information desired by the user using the client can be appropriately selected and presented to the client device. For example, if the user selects and presents information that the user wants to use, the user can reduce the labor of selecting his / her favorite information from the information. Further, it is possible to present only information having a data format that can be used by the client that has made an information request, or to present available information with priority. In such a case, the effort for the user to select information is further reduced.

  The information selection system according to an embodiment is characterized in that the preference information is updated every time the information is used by the client so as to represent a change in the preference of the user who uses the corresponding client.

  In the information selection system of this embodiment, the preference information is updated every time the information is used by the client so as to represent a change in the preference of the user who uses the corresponding client. Therefore, the preference information is the latest information corresponding to the change in the preference of the user who uses the corresponding client. As a result, when there is an information request from a certain client, the information presented to the client is in accordance with the latest preference of the user.

  In the information selection system according to an embodiment, the preference information includes data format information indicating a data format of information used by a corresponding client, and the server converts the client based on the data format information. The information having the specified data format is presented, or the information is presented clearly indicating that the data format can be converted.

  In the information selection system of this embodiment, the preference information includes data format information indicating the data format of information used by the corresponding client. Then, the server presents information having the converted data format to the client based on the data format information, or presents the information clearly indicating that the data format can be converted. Therefore, when there is an information request from a certain client, the server can present information in a data format that can be used by the client or in a data format that is frequently used. As a result, user convenience increases.

  In the information selection system according to an embodiment, the information requested by the client from the server includes additional information indicating a keyword that characterizes the information or a genre to which the information belongs, and the preference information includes information of information by a corresponding client. It is characterized in that it is updated based on the additional information every time it is used.

  In the information selection system of this embodiment, the preference information is updated based on the additional information every time the information is used by the corresponding client. Therefore, the preference information is the latest according to the keyword that characterizes the information used by the corresponding client or the genre to which the information belongs. As a result, when there is an information request from a certain client, the information presented to the client is in accordance with the latest preference of the user.

  In the information selection system according to an embodiment, the preference information stores a data format of the information for each genre of information used by the corresponding client, and the server sends the preference information to the client based on the preference information. The information to be presented is converted in data format for each genre.

  In the information selection system of this embodiment, since the data format is converted for each genre, control of data conversion becomes easy.

  In the information selection system according to an embodiment, in addition to the preference information, the server performs control for selecting the content and data format of the information, and device information that represents the performance and status of each client connected to the server. It is performed based on.

  In the information selection system of this one embodiment, the server is a device that represents the performance and status of each client connected to the server, in addition to the preference information, the control for selecting the content and data format of the information. Based on information. Therefore, information to be presented to the client can be selected based on, for example, the data format (format) of information that can be used by each client, the free capacity of each client, the type / status of the communication means between the client and the server, and the like. As a result, information desired by the user can be selected more appropriately.

  Since the preference information and the device information are set for each corresponding client, information that accurately reflects user preferences can be presented for each client.

  An information selection system according to an embodiment includes a data format conversion table in which possible data format conversion is described, and when the information requested by the client has a data format that cannot be used by the client. Referring to the data format conversion table, it is determined whether the data can be converted into a data format usable by the client.

  In the information selection system according to this embodiment, when the information requested by the client has a data format that cannot be used by the client, the server uses the client by referring to the data format conversion table. It is determined whether or not conversion to a possible data format is possible. Therefore, if the information requested by the client can be converted into a data format usable by the client, the information can be converted into a data format usable by the client and presented. As a result, user convenience increases.

  In an information selection system according to an embodiment, in order for the server to present the requested information to the client, the information stored in the server and the information stored in each client connected to the server are stored. It is characterized by searching.

  In the information selection system according to this embodiment, the server stores information stored in the server and information stored in each client connected to the server in order to present the requested information to the client. Search for. Therefore, information can be searched from a wide range.

  In one embodiment, the information selection system determines whether the server and the client have accumulated a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats, and has information having a data format that can be reproduced by converting the data format. It is characterized by deleting.

In the information selection system of this embodiment, the server and the client have a data format that can be reproduced by converting the data format by determining whether or not a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats are accumulated. Delete information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of information accumulated as a whole system.
In another aspect, the server device of the present invention is a server device to which a plurality of clients are connected and presents the accumulated information by a client information request,
Storage means for storing preference information according to information usage by the client;
Selection means for selecting the content and data format of the information provided to the client based on the preference information stored in the storage means;
Information presenting means for converting the content of the information selected by the selecting means into a selected data format and outputting the data to the client.
According to the server apparatus of this invention, the information selection system of the said invention can be comprised.
In another aspect, the program storage medium of the present invention provides:
Store preference information according to the usage status of a plurality of connected clients in the storage means,
Based on the preference information stored in the storage means, select the content and data format of the information provided to the client,
A program for controlling the computer so as to convert the content of the selected information into a selected data format and output it to the client is stored.
If the computer stores the program stored in the program storage medium of the present invention, the computer can execute the functions of the server device. Thereby, the information selection system of the said invention can be comprised.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network 3 to which the information selection system of the present invention is applied. In this example, a server 1 and a plurality of clients 2A, 2B,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as “client 2”) are connected to the network 3. The server 1 includes information communication equipment such as a personal computer (PC) having communication means, information processing means, information storage means, and the like. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the client 2 is composed of an information communication device 2-1 such as a personal computer (PC) having communication means, information processing means, information storage means, etc. The client 2 may be a dedicated device that uses music or video information, such as the music terminal 2-2, the video municipal terminal 2-3, or the portable terminal 2-4.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A, the server 1 stores information and communication means 10 for transmitting and receiving information (contents, etc.) to and from a client 2 and a device (not shown) on the network 3. Information storage device 11, information selection processing unit 12 that selects information to be presented to client 2 based on preference information 23 and device information 25 transmitted at the time of an information request from client 2, and a control unit that performs various controls 13, a data format conversion table 14 in which possible data format conversion is described, a data format conversion means 15 for converting the data format of information stored in another device such as the information storage device 11 or the client 2, And connected device information 16 in which information relating to devices connected to or connectable to the server 1 is stored. The information selection processing unit 12 and the data format conversion means 15 may be realized by an application program recorded on some recording medium.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the client 2 includes a communication unit 20 for transmitting and receiving information (contents and the like) to and from the server 1 and devices (including other clients) on the network 3. The information storage device 21 for storing information received from the server 1 and the like, the preference information control means 22 for creating and updating the preference information 23 representing the user's preference based on the information use history and the like, and the preference information control means 22 A storage unit that stores the created or updated preference information 23, a device information control unit 24 that creates and updates device information 25 that represents the performance and state of the client (device), and a device information control unit 24 that creates or updates the preference information 23. A storage unit for storing the device information 25, a control unit 26 for controlling each process, and a keyboard for the user to input various commands and requests. An input means 27, typically a mouse, and an output means 28 for transmitting to the display or external display device the output of information and status, or the server 1 client 2 (not shown).

  The information storage device 11 of the server 1 stores information such as content received from the network 3, content received from the client 2, content acquired from a CD (compact disc), DVD (digital video disc), or other recording media. Is accumulated. There are no particular limitations on the type of content, and various types of content such as music, images, moving images, and text can be considered. Further, the information storage device 11 may store information indicating the location of content existing on the network 3 or the client 2 even if the content itself is not stored.

  Further, the server 1 can request the information stored in the information storage device 21 from the client 2 based on the connected device information 16 and obtain a list of information held by each client 2. In addition, information stored in the client 2 can be presented together with information held by the server 1 itself.

  The preference information 23 held by the client 2 is created and updated by the preference information control unit 22 based on the information usage history in the client 2. Therefore, the created preference information 23 depends on the device for each client 2. The preference information 23 is updated every time the client 2 uses the information. Therefore, it accurately represents the user's preference and usage tendency at that time. A specific configuration of the preference information 23 will be described later in detail.

  The device information 25 held by the client 2 can be used by the device 2 (device ID) for identifying the client (device), the free capacity of the information storage device 21, the communication means 20 and the communication state with the server 1, and the client 2. This information is related to the data format and the like, and is created and updated by the device information control means 24. Similarly to the preference information 23, the device information 25 is also updated as needed according to the state of the device at that time. For example, it is changed with respect to a change in free space, a change in the communication means 23, a use state, and the like. It is also changed when the data format that can be used by the device is increased / decreased / changed due to updates or application additions. The specific configuration of the device information 25 will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic flow of processing by the present system when a user makes a request for information presentation to a server 1 from a certain client 2A.

  i) First, the user requests the server 1 to present information using the input means 27 of a client 2A (S201). Then, the server 1 requested to present the information requests the connected clients 2A, 2B,... To transmit the respective device information 25 based on the connected device information 16. In response to this, each client 2A, 2B,... Transmits device information 25 to the server 1. Further, the server 1 requests the client 2A that has made the information request to transmit the preference information 23. In response to this, the client 2 </ b> A transmits the preference information 23 to the server 1. Further, the server 1 requests each client 2A, 2B,... To transmit a list of information stored in the information storage device 21. In response, each client 2A, 2B,... Transmits an information list to the server 1. The server 1 acquires and holds these various pieces of information as the connected device information 16 (S202).

  ii) Next, the server 1 uses the preference information 23 of the client 2A that made the information request, the device information 25 of each client 2A, 2B,. Decision to convert information and selection of information to be presented are made (S203).

  This data format conversion is a conversion to a data format that can be used by the client 2A that requested the information, and is used for the free capacity of the information storage device 21 of the client 2A, the type of communication means 20, and the communication status. It means conversion of a data format for enabling the data, and further conversion to a data format often used by the client 2A. On the other hand, the selection of information to be presented is determined by using the device information 25 to decide not to present information determined to be unusable by the information selection processing unit 12, and by selecting information using the preference information 23. This means that only the information determined to be presented by the processing unit 12 is presented, or the information judged to be presented is preferentially presented.

  iii) Next, the server 1 presents the selected information to the client 2A that has requested the information (S204). These are displayed on the output means 28 of the client 2A represented by a display or the like. The user selects information to be used from the information displayed on the output means 28 of the client 2A by the input means 27 (S205).

  iv) Then, the server 1 performs control to transmit the selected information to the client 2A (S206). That is, for the information determined to convert the data format in step S204, the data format of the information is converted by the data format conversion means 15. Further, if the selected information is information held by another client (for example, 2B), the selected information is temporarily transmitted from the client 2B to the server 1, and an information request is made from the server 1. The information may be transmitted to the client 2A, or the selected information may be transmitted directly from the client 2B to the client 2A that made the information request.

  v) Thereafter, the transmitted information is used by the client 2A. In response to the use of this information, the client 2 </ b> A updates the preference information 23 using the preference information processing means 22. Further, since there is a change in the free capacity, the client 2A updates the device information 25 by the device information control means 24 (S207).

  For example, the client 2A is a music recording / playback dedicated device, and the user's preference is stored in the preference information 23 from the music information that the user often listens to on the device. ) Is recorded in the device information 25. In this case, according to this system, the server 1 presents only music files that match the user's preference and can be used by the client 2A based on the preference information 23 and the device information 25 of the music recording / playback dedicated device. Alternatively, such a music file can be presented with priority, or the data format can be converted and presented. Therefore, the information desired by the user can be appropriately selected and presented to the client 2A.

  The preference information 23 is created based on the characteristics of the information when the client 2 uses the information (browsing an image, watching a video, listening to music, browsing a text, etc.). For example, if the client 2 is a music recording / playback device, the genre of music that is often listened to, the name of the artist that is often listened to, the data format (format) of frequently used music data, and the like are stored as the preference information 23. Thus, when the client 2 requests the server 1 to present information, information having a music genre that is often listened to, a name of an artist that is often listened to, and a data format of frequently used music data is presented. Therefore, the user can easily select desired information. In particular, when there is a service in which music data is distributed from the network 3 to the server 1 in a push type (information distribution method in which information is unilaterally transmitted), the information presented to the client 2 is the user. Therefore, the user can easily select only favorite music data. Therefore, convenience for the user is increased.

  FIG. 4 illustrates a specific configuration of the above-described preference information 23. In this example, the preference information includes three types of keywords 301, a genre 302, and a data format 303. In the keyword 301, “No.”, “KeyWord”, “Count”, “Limit”, and “Flag” are registered. In the genre 302, “No.”, “Genre”, “Count”, “Limit”, and “Flag” are registered. In the data format 303, “No.”, “Format”, “Count”, “Limit”, and “Flag” are registered.

  “No.” represents an identification number. “KeyWord”, “Genre”, and “Format” represent the contents of keywords, genres, and data formats registered as preference information 23, respectively. The contents of these keywords, genres, and data formats are, for example, information added to information to be used when information such as listening to music data is used (this is referred to as “additional information”, which will be described in detail later). Is taken from. “Count” (count) represents the number of times the corresponding “No.” keyword, genre, and data format were included in the additional information. In other words, it can be said that the larger the number of counts, the more likely the user is interested. “Limit” (limit) represents the expiration date of the corresponding keyword, genre, and data format. If the corresponding keyword, genre, and data format are not included in the additional information, the limit of the corresponding keyword, genre, and data format is decreased. Then, the registration of the keyword, genre, and data format whose Limit is 0 is deleted from the preference information 23. “Flag” (flag) indicates whether or not the additional information added to the currently used information includes the corresponding keyword, genre, and data format (appearance / non-occurrence). Limit and Count are maintained or changed based on the flag.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a specific configuration of additional information 400 added to information to be used (music data in this example). The additional information 400 includes “creation date and time”, “information title”, “genre”, “data format”, and one or more (three in this example) “keywords” related to information to be used. It is.

  6 to 7 show a flow of processing relating to the preference information 23. In this example, only the change of the keyword portion 301 of the preference information 23 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. The preference information 23 already includes keywords K1 to KM, genres G1 to GP, and data formats F1 to FQ, and the additional information 400 added to the information to be used currently includes keywords I1 to IN. It shall be.

  FIG. 6 shows a flow for adding the keyword included in the preference information 23 based on the keyword included in the additional information 400. Further, the flow of FIG. 6 is also a flow as a pre-process of the process of deleting the keyword included in the preference information 23 in FIG. 7 described later.

  First, when using information (S501), Flags of all keywords K1 to KM are set to 0 (S502). Also, the parameters n and m are set to 1 (S503, S504). Then, while increasing by one until the parameter m reaches (M + 1) (S507, S508), the keyword In ((I1 at first) included in the additional information 400 exists in the keywords K1 to KM included in the preference information 23. If the keyword In already exists as a keyword of the preference information 23 (YES in S505), the count of the keyword is increased by 1, and the flag is set to 1 and the limit is set to 10 (initial value). On the other hand, if the keyword In is not included in the keywords K1 to KM of the preference information 23 (NO in S505), the keyword is added to the preference information as a new (M + 1) th internal keyword (S510). (At this time, Flag is 1, Count is 1, Limit is 10.) While it increased by one until the meter n is (N + 1) (S511, S512), and repeats the same processing (S504~S510).

  In this way, keywords included in the preference information 23 can be added. Here, in the case of M = 0, that is, when no keyword exists in the preference information 23, the preference information 23 is not used according to the flow of FIG. 6 but all keywords included in the additional information 400 are set as new keywords. Add to

  FIG. 7 shows a flow for registering and deleting a keyword whose expiration date is 0 from the preference information 23.

  First, the parameter m is set to 1 (S521). Next, regarding the keyword Km (initially K1), it is determined whether or not the corresponding Flag is 0 (S522). Here, if the corresponding Flag is 0, the keyword Km is not included in the additional information 400, so the corresponding Limit is reduced by 1 (S523). As a result, when the corresponding Limit is 0 (S524), the keyword Km is registered and deleted from the preference information 23, and the subsequent keyword No. (Shift to the direction of decreasing one by one) (S525). However, when the parameter m is M, the process of moving up is not performed. Further, the number of registered keywords M is set to (M-1) (S526).

  On the other hand, for the keyword Km, if the corresponding Flag is 1 in step S522, or if the corresponding Limit is not 0 in step S524, the parameter Km is increased by 1 until the parameter m becomes (M + 1). (S527, S528), the same processing is repeated.

  For example, when the keyword K10 = “summer”, K11 = “starry sky”, and K12 = “nostalgia”, when the limit corresponding to the keyword K10 = “summer” is 0 (S524), K10 = “ “Summer” is deregistered, and then K10 = “starry sky” and K11 = “nostalgic”.

  Thereafter, when an information request is made to the server 1, the server 1 presents only information including a keyword whose Count is equal to or greater than a certain threshold based on the preference information 23 in the additional information 400, Information including a keyword that is a certain threshold or more in the additional information 400 can be presented with priority.

  Further, regarding the genre and the data format, the processing related to the preference information 23 is performed in the same manner as the processing of FIGS. Information can be presented based on the preference information 23 after such processing. In this case, the user can easily obtain and use desired information.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a specific configuration of the device information 25 held in the client 2. As described above, the device information 25 includes “device ID”, “free capacity” of the information storage device 21, “communication means” and “communication state” with the server 1, and information available on the client 2. Information regarding the data format (“available data format”) and data format conversion (“convertible data format”) that can be performed by the client 2 is registered. In this example, the device ID is “SH-00000-100000”, the device has a free capacity of 1.5 GB, and the communication means with the server 1 is wireless communication according to the IEEE802.11b standard, which is currently 5 Mbps. Communication is in progress. Available data formats are Fmt1, Fmt2, and Fmt3. The client 2 can perform data format conversion from Fmt2 to Fmt3 and data format conversion from Fmt3 to Fmt2.

  If there is a change regarding the registered item, the device information 25 is updated as needed. That is, the free space is updated whenever there is a change. The communication means and status are updated whenever there is a change. Note that there may be a plurality of pieces of information in one client 2 for the free capacity, the communication means, and the state. In addition, the available data format is updated every time the available data format is changed. For example, it is updated when the device or the application program installed in the device is upgraded and the data format that can be used increases, or when the application program is installed in the device and the data format that can be used increases. Similarly, the data format that can be converted is updated whenever there is a change. Such updating of the device information 25 is not necessarily performed automatically, and may be manually performed by the user.

  FIG. 9 illustrates a specific configuration of the data format conversion table 14 held in the server 1. Data format conversion can be performed by the server 1 or can be performed using the function of the client 2. In this example, conversion numbers (No.) T1, T2,... Of possible data formats are described in the data format conversion table 14, and for each number, a data format of “conversion source”, “post-conversion” ", And information on devices that can be converted (" convertible devices ") are registered. Here, “convertible device” indicates which device can convert from the conversion source to the converted data format. The conversion in which “convertible device” is described as “server” can be performed by the server 1 itself. The conversion in which “convertible device” is not “server” but other device IDs (for example, SH-00000-100000) can be performed by the device specified by the device ID. When the server 1 receives the device information 25 from the client 2, the server 1 updates the data format conversion table 14 from the “convertible data format” information described in the device information 25. At the same time, when the data format conversion that can be performed by the server 1 itself is increased / decreased / changed, the information in the data format conversion table 14 held by itself is updated.

  FIG. 10 shows a detailed flow of processing (S203 in FIG. 3) in which the server 1 converts the data format using the preference information 23, the device information 25, and the information in the data format conversion table 14, and selects the information to be presented. Show.

  i) First, based on the information of the “data format” described in the preference information 23 of the client 2A that made the information request among the information stored in the server 1 itself and the information stored in each client 2 Thus, it is stored that the data format is frequently used (S801). For example, when the preference information 23 of the client 2A that made the information request is the one shown in FIG. 4, it can be seen that the usage frequency is higher in the order of Fmt2, Fmt3, and Fmt1. Therefore, the conversion to the data format Fmt2 is stored. Further, if the data format conversion table 14 held in the server 1 is as shown in FIG. 9, the data formats that can be converted to Fmt 2 that can be used most frequently are Fmt 1 and Fmt 5. I understand. Therefore, it is stored that information (contents and the like) whose data formats are Fmt1 and Fmt5 is converted into the data format Fmt2. For information (contents, etc.) that cannot be converted to Fmt2 other than Fmt2, the data format that can be converted to Fmt3 and Fmt1, which are the next most frequently used, is recognized. Then, the information (content etc.) having the recognized data format is converted into the data formats Fmt3 and Fmt1.

  ii) Next, it is stored that information that cannot be used is converted into a usable data format based on the information regarding the free capacity, the communication means, and the communication state in the device information 25 of the client 2A that has requested information (S802). . For example, if certain information remains in the data format Fmt2 but cannot be transmitted to the client 2A requesting information due to insufficient free space or the state of communication means, but can be transmitted (utilized) after conversion to Fmt1, 1 stores the conversion from Fmt2 to Fmt1 described in the data format conversion table 14 held by the user.

  iii) Next, only information (content etc.) that can be used by the above processing is selected (S803). In other words, in this example, information other than information that can be converted into Fmt1, Fmt2, and Fmt3 is excluded from the information presented to the client 2A, whether the data format is Fmt1, Fmt2, Fmt3. Further, even if the data format is Fmt1, Fmt2, Fmt3, or information that can be converted to Fmt1, Fmt2, Fmt3, information that cannot be used depending on the free capacity of the client 2A or the state of the communication means is information presented to the client 2A. Excluded from.

  iv) Further, information to be presented to the client 2A is selected from the available information based on the preference information 23 (S804). In this example, only the information (contents etc.) included in the additional information for the keywords and genres described in the preference information 23 of FIG.

  v) Finally, only the information selected by the above process is presented to the client 2A, or the selected information is presented with priority (S805).

  In the above-described processing, the conversion of the data format is stored based on the preference information 23 and the device information 25, and the information to be presented to the client 2A is selected. However, various other data format conversion methods and presentation information selection methods are adopted. May be.

  For example, in the above example, the data format of the preference information 23 and the genre are considered independently, but the data format used for each genre is stored as the preference information 23 'shown in FIG. You may control the format conversion.

  When the user selects information desired to be used (acquired) from the information presented to the client 2, the following processing is performed.

  First, the user selects desired information from the information presented by the output means 28 of the client 2 by the input means 27 of the client 2. If the selected information is stored when the data format is converted, the server 1 converts the data format by the data format conversion means 15. However, if the convertible device described in the data format conversion table 14 is something other than “sever”, for example, “SH-00000-200000”, the data format is converted by that device. When data format conversion is performed using the client 2 in this way, the data format is considered in consideration of the communication means 10 and 20 between the client 2 and the server 1, the communication status, and the free capacity status of the client 2. Must be stored, and processing for selecting information to be presented (801 to 805 in FIG. 10) must be performed. Finally, the server 1 transmits the selected information to the client 2.

  Here, when the client 2 receives and uses the information, the preference information 23 is updated, and the device information 25 is updated if a change occurs in the free capacity or the state of the communication means 20 due to the reception. .

  As described above, in this system, when there is an information request from the client 2 to the server 1, information having a data format that can be used by the client 2 or information that can be converted into a usable data format is often used. Select a data format that suits the user's preference. Then, only the selected information is presented or such information is presented with priority. Therefore, the user can select information very easily when using each client 2.

  FIG. 12 shows a flow of processing for reducing the information to be stored in order to avoid the capacity of the information storage device 11 being compressed when there is a lot of information in the server 1. This process is not performed while an information request is received from the client 2 and a process related to information presentation is being performed.

  Generally speaking, in this process, if the server 1 has the same contents and information of different data formats, it has the data format that can be used by any of the connected clients 2 and has the largest amount of information. Delete information with other data formats, leaving only the information. However, when deleting information, it is preferable that the data format having a large amount of information can be converted to a data format having a small amount of information. For example, when there is moving image information having the MPEG1 format with a large amount of information and moving image information having the MPEG4 format with a small amount of information, the information having the MPEG4 format is deleted while leaving only the information having the MPEG1 format. At this time, the data can be converted from the MPEG1 format to the MPEG4 format, so that the deleted information can be reproduced.

  Specifically, first, it is checked whether or not there is a plurality of pieces of information having the same content regarding the information stored in the server (S1001). If it exists, the information is sorted in descending order of the information amount (S1002). As shown in the figure, the sorted information is referred to as Data1 to DataM in descending order of information amount. The parameter i is set to 1 (S1003). Next, the parameter m is set to (i + 1) (S1004). Then, with reference to the data format conversion table 14, it is checked whether or not conversion from the Data data format to the Data data format is possible (S1005). If conversion is possible, the information Data is deleted (S1006). When the Data is deleted, the subsequent data having a smaller information amount is moved up (shifted in the direction of decreasing one by one) (S1007). However, when the parameter m is M, the process of moving up is not performed. Further, the number M of a plurality of pieces of information having the same content is reduced by 1 to (M-1) (S1008). On the other hand, if the conversion is impossible, it is left in the information storage device 11 of the server 1 as it is. This process is performed for all pieces of information having the same contents (S1009 to S1012). If there are a plurality of sets of information having the same content, the processing of FIG. 12 is similarly performed on all the information (S1001 to S1012).

  By this processing, the amount of information stored in the server 1 can be reduced. At this time, information that can be used by each client 2 does not change.

  Note that when the information stored in the server 1 and the information stored in each client 2 are shared, the processes of S1001 to S1012 are performed on all of these information. As a result, the amount of information stored in the entire system can be reduced.

  As is clear from the above, according to the information selection system of the present invention, the information desired by the user can be appropriately selected and presented to the client device.

It is a figure which shows the schematic block structure of the information selection system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the server and client which comprise the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the schematic flow of the process by the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the specific structure of the preference information used for the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the specific structure of the additional information used for the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the flow which adds or deletes the keyword contained in the said preference information based on the keyword contained in the said additional information. It is a figure which shows the flow which carries out registration deletion of the keyword from which the expiration date became zero from preference information. It is a figure which shows the specific structure of the apparatus information used for the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the specific structure of the data format conversion table used for the said information selection system. It is a figure which shows the detailed flow of the process (S203 in FIG. 3) which the said server converts a data format and selects the information to show. It is a figure which shows the example (modification) of the preference information managed for every genre. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process which reduces the information accumulate | stored in the server.

Explanation of symbols

1 Server 2, 2A, 2B Client 3 Network

Claims (6)

An information selection system comprising a server and a plurality of clients connected to the server, and selecting and presenting information to the client based on control by the server,
The server selects the information stored in the server and the information stored in each client connected to the server in order to present the requested information to the client. system. In the information selection system according to claim 1,
The server and each client determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats are stored, and delete information having a reproducible data format by converting the data format Information selection system. A server device to which a plurality of clients are connected and presents accumulated information by client information requests,
A server device characterized by searching for information stored in the server device and information stored in each client connected to the server device. The server device according to claim 3,
The server device and each client determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats are accumulated, and deleting information having a reproducible data format by converting the data format Server device. A program storage medium storing a program for controlling a computer to retrieve information stored in a server device and information stored in each client connected to the server device. The program storage medium according to claim 5,
The program further determines whether or not the server device and each client store a plurality of pieces of information having the same contents and different data formats, and has information having a data format that can be reproduced by converting the data format. A program storage medium for controlling the computer to delete the program.