KR0156286B1 - Data reproduction apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing apparatus for sequentially reproducing recorded information recorded by dividing the information consisting of at least audio, still images, and sentences into a plurality of article files by a user's operation. In the main information divided into a plurality of files, index information for classifying a plurality of files into a first information group and a plurality of second information groups, and route information defining a reproduction path including branches of the first information group. 2nd information group reproduction point information and 2nd information group reproduction point which designate the 2nd information group reproduction point which pauses reproduction progress of 1st information group, and performs reproduction | regeneration of 2nd information group between reproduction paths of a 1st information group. A recording medium for recording the information group designation information for specifying the second information group to be reproduced at the second time and the selection condition information for defining a screening method for the file to be reproduced at the reproduction point of the second information group, and the main information of the recording medium. Wow The second information group to be reproduced and outputted in accordance with the branch designation input from the unit and to be reproduced from the information group designation information is determined when the reproduction reaches the reproduction point of the second information group determined by the second information group reproduction point information. Among them, a file which is not being reproduced yet is selected according to the selection condition information and reproduced.

Description

Information playback device

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a front view of the display apparatus accompanying the output means of the first embodiment.

6 is a reproduction progress diagram of element information used for explaining the operation of the information reproducing apparatus according to the prior art.

7 is a data configuration diagram of recording information in the recording means 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the regeneration control means 6 of the first embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a playback progress diagram of element information for explaining the operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a data configuration diagram of recording information of the recording means 21 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the regeneration control means 26 of the second embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a data configuration diagram of recording information of the information reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the reproducing control means 36 of the information reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a data configuration diagram of recording information recorded in the recording means 41 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the regeneration control means 49 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a playback progress diagram of element information for explaining the operation according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1,21,31,41: recording means 2,22,32,44: information reading means

3,23,33,43: reproducing means 4,24,34,44: output means

5,25,35,45: input means 6,26,36,49: playback control means

6a, 26a, 36a: first information group playback control section 6b, 26b, 36b: second information group playback control section

6c: Regeneration history company 6,26d, 36d: Index information storage

26e: Information group designated information storage 36c: Screening condition information storage

46: means for detecting the regeneration state 47: means for calculating the evaluation value

48: second information group reproduction determining means 71: output means

72: image display portion 73a, 73b, 73d of output means: image display area

The present invention relates to an information reproducing apparatus which sequentially reproduces record information obtained by dividing and recording information consisting of at least audio, still images, and sentences into a plurality of scene files by user's operation.

As an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing digital data composed of audio, still images and sentences by a user's operation, there is an electronic publishing player that uses a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) as an information recording medium.

Recently, CD-ROMs have been used as recording media of a wide range of media such as audio, still images, texts, and program data. Applications have been devised that integrate a wide range of media. These are collectively referred to as multi-media applications, and are produced in numerous fields in the fields of entertainment, presentation, and electronic publishing. Among them, an electronic publishing application is an application for electronically expressing a book, and an article or a table of contents for referencing an article has a logical data structure similar to a book. It is different from a music application in which only one playback path exists and the record information is continuously reproduced. In an electronic publishing application, a story is a minimum unit of a reproduction metabolism, and there are a plurality of playback paths for article playback. These plurality of reproduction paths are determined by the user at the changeable point of the reproduction paths, for example, a table of contents, and the like, and the reproduction paths are changed accordingly. The electronic publishing player is a player for playing these electronic publishing applications.

An example of the reproduction progress of the electronic publishing player will be described with reference to FIG.

6 is an explanatory diagram of an article's reproduction progress as an example.

When the reproduction progress operation is started, the article file Y1 is firstly reproduced first, and then the article file Y2 is reproduced first. The article file Y2 has branches of reproduction progress with respect to the article files Y3, Y7, and Y10. The electronic publishing player waits for the separation decision from the user, branches to the designated branch line, and resumes playback. For example, when the article file Y7 is designated as the branch line, the electronic publishing player sequentially plays back the article file Y7, the article file Y8, the article file Y5, and the article file Y6.

In recent years, the demand for displaying sub-information that is not directly related to the main information is increasing during the reproduction of the article file as the main information in these electronic publishing players. Such sub information includes, for example, advertisement information. As a means for displaying advertisement information in a conventional information reproducing apparatus, there is a means for displaying as part of element information. For example, in the conventional example, in the reproduction progress explanation, the article file Y4 or the article file Y8 is created in advance as an advertisement, and they are displayed when the progress of reproduction reaches these article files created as the advertisement. .

However, in the means for displaying as part of the element information, since there are a plurality of reproduction paths of the electronic publishing application, which is the main information, there are locations where playback is repeatedly performed and locations where it is not. Since there are fluctuations as desired, there is a problem in that advertisement information, which is a plurality of sub information, cannot be displayed by equal appearance opportunity during reproduction of main information.

For example, in the case where the electronic publication creator has set the advertisement information in the article file Y4 and the article file Y8 in Fig. 6, the user can select the article file Y3 as the branch line from the article file Y2 which is the branch point. If the probability of selection is 1/7, the probability of selecting the article file (Y7) is 2/7, and the probability of selecting the article file (Y10) is 4/7, the probability of appearance of the article file (Y4) is 1/7. The probability of appearance of the article file (Y8) is 2/7, and therefore, it is impossible to guarantee an equal appearance opportunity of the sub information.

In general, there are a number of advertisements in magazines on paper. For these advertisements, the advertisement fee is set according to the placement of the advertisement. If the paper medium is a book, the pages with many opportunities to see and pages with little to see vary slightly depending on the user's wishes, but the pages are read from the top in order, so that publishers and advertisers are especially interested in pages with many reading opportunities. Easy to decide For this reason, the content of a page with a lot of opportunities for a user such as the first page is high, and the advertisement charge of a page with a limited opportunity for a user, such as a page near the middle, is set relatively inexpensively. . However, in the case of the electronic publishing application, since there are a plurality of reproduction paths as described above, it is not possible to specifically specify a page having many opportunities for the publisher to view. For this reason, it is difficult for a publisher to determine the publication rate of an advertisement, and it is difficult to place an advertisement in an electronic publishing application. For this reason, there has been a problem that it is difficult for a publisher to obtain advertising revenue in an electronic publishing application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing apparatus which displays a plurality of sub-information with equal appearance opportunities during reproduction of main information having a plurality of reproduction paths.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing apparatus capable of specifying the type of sub information to be appeared for each occurrence point during reproduction of main information having a plurality of reproduction paths.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing apparatus which can limit the number of sub information appearing continuously at the same time during reproduction of main information having a plurality of reproduction paths.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an information reproducing apparatus which can change the frequency of appearance of sub information according to the reproduction situation during reproduction of main information having a plurality of reproduction paths.

In order to solve the above problems, the information reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of element information which is main information, and the element information as first information group and second information group as management information of the main information. A second path corresponding to a predetermined path section of the reproduction path represented by the index information classified into the second path, the reproduction path including the branch of the element information classified into the first information group, and the reproduction path represented by the path information; Storage means for storing second information group reproduction point information indicating a reproduction point of the element information classified into the information group; Input operation means for receiving a selection instruction of a progress line of a reproduction path indicated by said path information; Information reading means for reading the management information from the storage means and reading the element information in accordance with a predetermined reading instruction; Management information storage means for storing the management information read by the information reading means; According to the route information stored in the management information storage means and the selection instruction received by the input operation means, the element information of the first group of information to be reproduced is determined and the determined element information is read. First information reproduction control means for giving an instruction to said information reading means; Reproducing output means for converting the read element information into reproducing information and outputting the reproducing information; Second information group output determining means for determining whether the reproduction progress by the first information reproduction control means has reached the reproduction point of the second information group with reference to the path information and the second information group reproduction point information; and; If it is determined that the reproduction point is the second information group, the second information group reproduction control means for giving the information reading means an instruction to read the element information classified into the second information group by the index information. Characterized in that provided.

The information reproducing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of element information as main information, index information for classifying the element information into a first information group and a second information group as management information of the main information, Path information indicating a playback path including a branch of the element information classified into the first information group, and the element corresponding to a predetermined path section of the playback path represented by the path information and classified into the second information group. A storage device for storing second information group reproduction point information indicating a reproduction point of the information; Information extracting means for extracting the management information from the storage device and for extracting the element information in accordance with a predetermined drawing instruction; Input operation means for receiving a selection instruction of a progress line of a reproduction path indicated by said path information; Management information storage means for storing the management information drawn out by the information extraction means; According to the route information stored in the management information storage means and the selection instruction received by the input operation means, the element information of the first group of information to be reproduced is determined and the determined element information is withdrawn. First information group reproduction control means for giving an instruction to said information extracting means; Reproducing output means for changing and outputting the extracted element information into reproducing information; A second information group output determination for determining whether or not the reproduction progress by the first information group reproduction control means has reached the reproduction point of the second information group with reference to the path information and the second information group reproduction point information; Means; If it is determined that the second information group is a reproduction point, the second information group reproduction control means for giving the information extracting means an instruction to pull out the element information classified into the second information group by the index information. Characterized in that provided.

The information reproducing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the information reproducing apparatus records the element information by the element information identifier for identifying the element information classified into the second information group output by the reproducing output means. A second information group reproduction history information recording means is added; The second information group reproduction control means includes: second information selection for preferentially selecting element information other than element information identified by the element information identifier recorded in the second information group reproduction history information description means; And a reading instruction output section for outputting a reading instruction of the element information selected by the second information group selecting section to the reading means.

An information reproducing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the index information includes an element information identifier for identifying element information and an address value for indicating a storage position of a storage means corresponding to the element information identifier; The route information; Reproduction order information in which the reproduction order and the element information identifier correspond to each other, and reproduction order identifiers identifying these reproduction order information; The first information group reproduction control means includes: an address extraction unit for extracting an address value corresponding to the element information identifier of the index information corresponding to the element information identifier corresponding to the reproduction order indicated in the reproduction order information, and the address value; And an address indicating section for outputting the address value extracted by the extracting section to the information reading means.

In the information reproducing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the case where the instruction content of the reproduction path received by the input operation means is specified by position coordinates, and the reproduction order of the reproduction sequence information is final, When it is the branch point of the reproduction path to be reproduced next, branch determination information is added to the element information identifier of the reproduction sequence information; The branch determination information has screen area information consisting of a reproduction order identifier and position coordinates indicating the presence positions of a plurality of video display areas corresponding to the reproduction order identifiers; The first information group reproducing control means includes: a branch line deciding unit for determining in which screen area information the position coordinates received by the input operation means exist; And a reproduction path determining unit for determining the reproduction path according to the reproduction sequence information identified by the reproduction sequence identifier corresponding to the screen area information determined by the branch line determination unit.

According to the above-described configuration, the information reproducing apparatus of the present invention groups a plurality of information elements for dividing main information into two types, a first information group having a reproduction path and a second information group having no reproduction path. The first information group is reproduced according to the reproduction path and the user's branch designation. When the progress of the reproduction path of the first information group reaches the reproduction point of the second information group, the reproduction of the first information group is paused. It stops and selects and reproduces the unreproduced element information from the second information group.

Therefore, the element information belonging to the second information group can be given a chance of appearance uniformly without depending on the reproduction path or branch line of the first information group. For this reason, by setting the article of the electronic publishing information as the first information group and the advertisement information as the second information group, an opportunity of appearance can be equally given to all advertisement information without depending on the reproduction path of the article. . Also, the reproduction point of the second information group can be arbitrarily designated between the reproduction paths of the first information group, and the electronic publication creator can arrange the reproduction point of the advertisement information at a location where the reading of the user is not interrupted.

Further, according to the above configuration, the information reproducing apparatus of the present invention groups a plurality of pieces of element information for dividing main information into a first information group having a reproduction path and a plurality of second information groups having no reproduction path. The first information group is reproduced according to the reproduction path and the user's branch designation. When the progress of the reproduction path of the first information group reaches the reproduction point of the second information group, the reproduction of the first information group is performed. It pauses and selects and reproduces element information from the 2nd information group specified for every reproduction point. Therefore, the element information of the second information group to be reproduced can be specified by a certain classification for each reproduction path.

Further, the information reproducing apparatus of the present invention groups a plurality of pieces of element information for dividing the main information into the above-described configuration into two types, a first information group having a reproduction path and a second information group having no reproduction path. And reproducing the first information group in accordance with the reproduction path and the branch designation by the user. When the progress of the reproduction path of the first information group reaches the reproduction point of the second information group, playback of the first information group is paused. It stops and selects and reproduces element information from a 2nd information group according to the number of appearance numbers specified for every reproduction point. Therefore, the appearance condition of the element information of the second information group to be reproduced can be changed for each reproduction path.

Further, the information reproducing apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of pieces of element information for dividing the main information, according to the above-described configuration, into two types, a first information group having a reproduction path and a second information group having no reproduction path. Grouping and storing, reproducing the first information group in accordance with the reproduction path and the branch designation by the user, and evaluating the element information of the first information group reproduced by the evaluation function corresponding to the element information and the reproduction output status of the element information. The second information group is reproduced when the value is obtained and the sum of the evaluation values exceeds the threshold. Therefore, the reproduction frequency of the second information group can be controlled in accordance with the reproduction state of the first information group reproduction.

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A shows the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

(1) is a recording means composed of a CD-ROM which is an information recording medium and its driving apparatus. In the CD-ROM of the recording means 1, an article file composed of audio information, still picture information, and sentence information as element information for dividing main information into a plurality of pieces is recorded on a CD-ROM. In addition, index information for classifying element information into a first information group and a second information group as management information of the main information, path information composed of a plurality of reproduction paths of the first information group, and a reproduction point of the second information group are defined. Second information group reproduction point information specified between reproduction paths of one information group is recorded on the CD-ROM.

(2) is information reading means for reading element information, main information, path information, index information, and second information group reproduction point information, which are main information, in accordance with the control information and outputting them as digital data.

Reference numeral 3 denotes playback means for performing predetermined processing on the digital data of the element information to be input, converting the character information and the still image information into video digital data, and outputting the audio information into audio digital data.

(4) output means for converting video digital data into a video signal which is a video output signal, converting the audio digital data into a voice analog signal which is a voice output signal, and outputting video and audio output respectively from the display apparatus and the speaker apparatus. to be.

Reference numeral 5 denotes input means which is an operation device (hereinafter referred to as a mouse) for receiving input information of the screen area of the display apparatus by the user and outputting the input information.

Reference numeral 6 denotes playback control means composed of a microprocessor, a RAM, and a ROM that stores an operation program.

First, the data structure of the recording information recorded on the CD-ROM of the recording means 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Fig. 7A is a data structure diagram showing the structure of record information.

The record information is composed of index information, route information, second information group reproduction point information, and a plurality of element information.

7B is a data structure diagram showing the structure of index information.

In the index information, the first information group and the second information group are classified into codes, and each is composed of a plurality of entries.

Each entry is composed of an identifier of element information and an address value indicating a recording position of element information.

7C is a data structure diagram showing the structure of route information.

The route information is composed of a plurality of entries, and each entry is composed of a reproduction order identifier and reproduction order information. The reproduction order information is one section of the reproduction path of the first information group and is information indicating the reproduction order of the element information in the section, and the reproduction order identifier is a value for identifying one reproduction order information from the plurality of reproduction order information.

The first entry is an entry selected at the time of initialization of the information reproducing apparatus.

7 (c-2) is a data structure diagram showing the structure of the reproduction order information.

The reproduction order information is composed of a plurality of entries, and each entry is composed of a reproduction order and an element information identifier belonging to the first information group. The reproduction rank is a value indicating the reproduction rank of the element information identified by the element information identifier. For example, if five element information identifiers a1 to a5 are recorded in the playback section indicated by the reproduction order information, and the reproduction order of the element information identifier a2 is four, the element information identified by the element information identifier a2 is five The fourth one of the element information is played.

In addition, when the reproduction order information has a progressing branch point at the end of the reproduction section, the entry of the final rank has branch determination information for determining the reproduction order information of the user branch line in addition to the element information identifier.

7C is a data structure diagram showing the structure of branch decision information.

The branch decision information has as many entries as the number of branch lines. Each entry consists of a reproduction order information identifier and screen area information. The screen area information corresponds to an image display area of information such as a table of contents item that is output to the display apparatus in order to specify a branch line to the user.

FIG. 7D is a data structure diagram showing the structure of second information group reproduction point information.

The second information group reproduction point information is composed of a plurality of entries, and each entry is composed of a reproduction point identifier, a reproduction order information identifier, and position information. The reproduction point position information indicates the reproduction point of the second information group between the reproduction paths of the first information group. For example, when an entry is the reproduction information identifier a1 and the position information is 5, the reproduction order of the reproduction order information specified by the reproduction order information identifier a1 is performed by the reproduction of the fifth element information and the reproduction of the sixth element information. It is specified that there is a playback point of the second information group between playback paths.

Next, a detailed description of the reproduction control means 6 is made using FIG. 1 (b).

1B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the playback control means.

6a is a first information group playback control section, 6b is a second information group playback control section, 6c is a playback history storage section, and 6d is an index information storage section.

The first information group reproduction control section 6a performs the initialization operation, the reproduction progress operation, and the branch progress operation.

8A is a flowchart of the operation of the first information group reproduction control section 6a. A description with reference to FIG. 8 (a) is as follows.

In the initialization operation, the first information group reproduction control section 6a outputs control information for instructing the information reading means 2 to read the route information, the index information, and the second information group reproduction point information.

When the route information, the index information, and the second information group reproduction point information are input to the reproduction control means 6, the index information is stored in the index information storage portion 6d, and the first information group reproduction control portion 6a is in progress of reproduction. Start the operation.

In the reproduction progress operation, the first information group reproduction control section 6a obtains the reproduction order information as the information of the section to be reproduced from the route information, and determines the element information to be reproduced according to the reproduction order of the reproduction order information. In the initial reproducing progress operation, the reproducing sequence information for initialization is regarded as the first reproducing section.

The first information group reproducing controller 6a refers to the index information read from the index information storing means 6d, obtains a recording address value on the CD-ROM of the element information to be reproduced, and retrieves control information for reproducing control of the obtained address value. The reproducing means 3 and the information reading means 2 are output.

When the reproduction control of the element information is finished, the first information group reproduction control unit 6a determines whether or not it is a reproduction point of the second information group with reference to the second information group composition point information. The first information group reproduction control section 6a determines that the reproduction point of the second information group is if the current reproduction order information and the reproduction order are in the entry of the second information group reproduction point information.

The first information group reproduction control section 6a reproduces and controls the element information of the next reproduction rank in the same procedure and operation unless it is the reproduction point of the second information group, and if it is the reproduction point of the second information group, the second information group reproduction. The control unit 6b is started, waiting for the end of the operation of the second information group reproduction control unit 6b, and the element information of the next reproduction order is reproduced and controlled in the same procedure and operation.

When the first information group reproducing controller 6a reproduces the element information of the final rank of the reproducing control information, the first information group reproducing control section 6a performs branching operation to obtain reproducing sequence information of the next reproducing section.

In the branch advancing operation, the first government group control control section 6a determines the branch line based on the screen area information and the branch determination information designated by the input information. As shown in Fig. 7 (c-2), the reproduction order information has branch decision information, and the branch decision information stores a reproduction order information identifier corresponding to the screen area information. The first information group reproduction control section 6a obtains a reproduction sequence information identifier corresponding to the screen area information specified by the input information from the branch determination information, and obtains the corresponding reproduction sequence information from the route information. The first information group playback control section 6a reforms the playback progress operation for the playback section according to the newly obtained playback sequence information.

6b is a second information group reproduction control section which performs the second information group reproduction operation.

8B is a flowchart of the operation of the second information group reproduction control section 6b. A description with reference to FIG. 8 (b) is as follows.

The second information group reproduction control section 6b is activated by the first information group reproduction control section 6a to start the reproduction operation of the second information group.

The second information group reproduction control unit 6b reads the reproduction history information from the reproduction history storage unit 6c and the index information from the index information storage unit 6d, and the element information designated as being reproduced by the reproduction history information. One element information to be reproduced is randomly selected from the second information group except for. The second information reproduction control section 6b records element information that has been determined to be reproduced in the reproduction history information storage means 6c to update the reproduction history information. The second information group reproduction control section 6b refers to the index information, obtains a recording address value on the CD-ROM of the element information for which reproduction is determined, and reproduces the control information 3 and the information reading means for controlling the reproduction of the obtained address value. Output for (2).

The operation of the information reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

The reproduction control means 6 determines the element information to be reproduced and the path in accordance with the path information following the initialization operation and starts the operation of the reproduction progress. The reproduction control means 6 performs the branching operation when the reproduction progress reaches the progress branch point, and when the reproduction progress reaches the reproduction point of the second information group indicated by the second information group reproduction point information, 2 Information group reproduction operation is performed.

The details of each operation will be described below.

First, the initialization operation will be described.

The reproduction control means 6 outputs control information for instructing the information reading means 2 to read the route information, the index information, and the second information group reproduction correction information.

The information reading means 2 which receives the control information is read out from the recording means 1 and outputs digital data which is path information, index information and second information group reproduction point information. Digital data, which is path information, index information, and second information group reproduction point information, is input to the reproduction control means 6, and the reproduction control means 6 holds the path information, index information, and second information group reproduction point information. .

Next, the reproduction progress operation will be described.

The reproduction control means 6 sequentially selects element information to be reproduced in accordance with the reproduction order information of the route information, obtains a recording address of the element information from the index information, and obtains control information for instructing reproduction of this address value by the information determination means ( 2) and the reproducing means 3. In operation immediately after the initialization, the reproduction control means 6 acquires the reproduction sequence information for initialization from the route information.

The information reading means 2 and the reproduction means 3 which have received the input of the control information read the article file of the element information corresponding to the designated address value, and separate the audio information, the still image information, and the character information of the element information, Predetermined processing is performed while buffering, respectively, and output. The character information is developed into a font, is subjected to a rendering process together with the still picture information, converted into image digital data, and output to the output means 4. The voice information is subjected to linear quantization conversion, converted to voice digital data, and output to the output means 4. The output means 4 converts the video digital data into a video signal as a video output signal and outputs the video from the attached display device. The audio digital data is converted into a digital analog signal as a voice output signal. Sound is output from the speaker unit.

In the reproduction progress operation, element information is reproduced according to the path information, and since the route information defines a reproduction path of element information belonging to the first information group, only the element information belonging to the first information group is reproduced in the reproduction progress operation. Is output.

Next, the operation of branch progress will be described.

During the reproduction progress operation, the reproduction control means 6 ends the reproduction of the element information of the final order of the reproduction order information. In addition, if the branch determination information is the reproduction order information, the branch progress operation is performed.

Next, the operation of the branch progress will be described using FIG.

5 shows a video display of element information when the final rank of the reproduction order information is the progress branch point of reproduction. Reference numeral 71 denotes an output means, 72 denotes an image display portion of the output means, and 73a, 73b, and 73c denote an image display area.

When the reproduction control means 6 advances and arrives at the final order of the read order information, the element information of the final order has video information for recognizing the branch of the reproduction progression to the user as shown in FIG. An image is displayed on the display device of (4). By viewing this video display, the user can recognize that the branch point has been reached, and which of the video display areas 73a, 73b, 73c is determined by the mouse of the input means 5 by determining the branch line. Or by specifying it.

The input means 5 outputs screen area information corresponding to the image display area designated by the user as the input information to the reproduction control means 6 as input information. The reproduction control means 6 obtains reproduction order information corresponding to the screen area information specified by the input information from the branch determination information, and returns to the operation of reproduction progress in accordance with the obtained reproduction order information.

Next, the reproduction operation of the second information group will be described.

During the reproduction progress operation, if the reproduction order of the element information which has finished reproduction and the reproduction sequence information at that time match the reproduction point of the second information group designated by the second information group reproduction point information, the reproduction control means 6 Performs a second information reproducing operation.

In the reproduction operation of the second information, the reproduction control means 6 randomly selects one unreproduced element information belonging to the second information group from the reproduction history information and the index information, and reads the reproduction control of the selected element information. The means 2 and the regeneration means 3 are performed. The information reading means 2 and the reproducing means 3, into which the control information is input, read and reproduce the element information designated by the control information in the same processing and procedure described during the reproducing progress operation, and outputs the audio and audio data from the output means 4. , To output the image. In addition, the reproduction control means 6 adds the reproduced element information to the reproduction history information. When the reproduction of the element information of the second information group ends, the reproduction control operation is started.

In addition, the reproduction progress of the element information will be described using FIG. 9 as an example of the progress. 9A is an example of the reproduction progress of element information, FIG. 9B is a diagram showing route information data, FIG. 9C is a diagram showing insertion position information data, 9 (d) shows index information data.

When the initial operation is completed and the reproduction progress operation is started, the reproduction control means 6 selects the reproduction sequence information S21 as the reproduction sequence information for initialization and belongs to the first information group according to the reproduction sequence information S21. The element information Y21 and the element information Y22 are reproduced sequentially. When the reproduction progress reaches the element information Y22, the element information Y22 is the final rank of the reproduction order information S21, and the element information Y22 is a branch of the element information Y23, Y27, and Y210. In order to have it, the branch advancing operation is performed in accordance with the branch decision information B21. The element information Y22, which is the last ranking, performs the screen display shown in FIG. 5, and the outline of the reproduction contents of the reproduction order information S22, the reproduction order information S23, and the reproduction order information S24 of the branch line is shown in the table of contents. It is displayed as an item and provides the guide information of the branch line to the user.

The input means 5 outputs the screen area information designated by the user as the input information to the reproduction control means 6, and the reproduction control means 6 identifies the reproduction order identifier corresponding to the screen area information specified by the input information. The playback progress is resumed in accordance with the playback order information obtained from the branch decision information B21 and obtained from the playback order identifier.

For example, when the reproduction order information S23 is selected as the branch line, the reproduction control means 6 causes the element information Y27 to be ranked first and the element information (second order) to be ranked according to the reproduction order information S23. Y28) is played sequentially. After the reproduction of the element information Y28, the reproduction control means 6 specifies that element information whose reproduction order is second in reproduction order information S23 is designated as the reproduction point of the second information group by the second information group reproduction information. Therefore, the reproduction operation of the second information group is performed. In the reproduction operation of the second information group, the reproduction control means 6 randomly selects one unreproduced element information belonging to the second information group of the index information. For example, if the element information K21 is selected, the reproduction control means 6 reproduces the element information K21, and the reproduction completion of the element information K21 is recorded in the reproduction history information. When the appearance operation of the second information group is completed, the reproduction control means 6 reproduces the element information Y25 having the third highest playback order and the element information Y26 having the fourth highest playback order according to the reproduction order information S23. Proceed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the main information divided into the plurality of element information, the index information for classifying the plurality of element information into the first information group and the second information group, and the plurality of reproduction paths of the first information group Recording means for recording second information group reproduction point information which designates between the route information constituted by the second information group and the reproduction point of the second information group; If the reproduction of element information belonging to the first information group is reproduced in accordance with the control path of the route information and the branch designation by the user, and the progress of the control is reached at the reproduction point of the second information group designated by the second information group reproduction point information. And the reproduction control means 6 which stops the reproduction progress of the first information group, reproduces the unreproduced element information belonging to the second information group, and resumes reproduction of the first information group after the reproduction. Element information belonging to the information group can be given a chance of appearance uniformly without depending on the reproduction path or branch line of the first information group.

For this reason, by making the electronic publishing information the first information group and the advertising information the second information group, the appearance opportunity can be equally given to all the advertising information.

In addition, since the reproduction point of the second information group can be installed at any point in the reproduction path of the first information group, the creator of the electronic publication can arrange the appearance point of the advertisement information at the point where the user's reading is not interrupted. Can be.

A comparison of the probability of appearance of advertisement information with the conventional example will be described below.

In the conventional example, it has already been explained in the prior art that the probability of appearance of sub information such as advertisement depends on the probability of selection of the branch by the user at the branch point of the main information.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, a description will be given of the probability of appearance of advertisement information of this embodiment.

From the element information Y22, which is the branch point in FIG. 9 (a), the ratio of the user to the element information Y23 is 1/7, and the ratio of the element information Y27 is 2/7. The rate of progression to element information Y210 is 4/7. Since element information belonging to the second set of information is reproduced at random from the reproduction point, the appearance is not fixed at a specific location on the path.

For this reason, the appearance probability of the element information does not depend on the appearance probability for each reproduction point, but on the appearance probability of the whole reproduction. In the case of this embodiment, the probability of appearance of the reproduction point of the second information group is

2/7 + 4/7 = 6/7

to be. Further, since the probability that individual element information is randomly selected from the set of second information is five cases of element information and is 1/5, the probability of occurrence of element information belonging to the second information group is

6/7 x 1/5 = 6/35

It can be seen that the opportunities for appearance are equal.

The information reproducing apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

2 shows the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 21 denotes recording means composed of a CD-ROM which is an information recording medium and its driving apparatus. In addition to the main information, the route information, and the second information group reproduction point, which are the recording information of the first embodiment, the CD-ROM of the recording means 21 adds a plurality of pieces of element information of the main information to the first information group and the plurality of second information. Index information classified into information groups and information group designation information specifying one second information group from a plurality of second information groups for each reproduction point of the second information group are recorded on the CD-ROM.

In accordance with the control information, 22 reads the element information, the main information, the route information, the index information, the second information group reproduction point information, and the information group designation information, from the recording means 21, and outputs them as digital data. Information reading means.

Reference numeral 23 denotes reproduction means for performing predetermined processing on the digital data of the element information to be input, converting the character information and the still image information into video digital data, and outputting the converted audio information to audio digital data.

(24) Output means for converting video digital data into a video signal which is a video output signal, converting audio digital data into a voice analog signal of the audio output signal, and outputting video and audio output respectively from the display apparatus and the speaker apparatus. to be.

Reference numeral 25 denotes an input means which is a manipulation device (hereinafter referred to as a mouse) for the user to designate a screen area of the display device.

Reference numeral 26 denotes playback control means composed of a microprocessor, a RAM, and a ROM that stores an operation program.

First, the recording means 21 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 for the data structure of the recording information recorded on the CD-ROM.

Fig. 10A is a data structure diagram showing the structure of record information. The record information is composed of index information, path information, second information group reproduction point information, information group designation information, and a plurality of element information. Since the path information and the second information reproduction information of the record information have the same data structure as the path information and the second information group reproduction point information of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

10 (b) is a data structure diagram showing the structure of index information. Index information is classified into a first information group and a second information group, and each includes a plurality of entries. An entry of the first information group is composed of a first information group code, an element information identifier, and an address value. The first information group code is the same value in all entries, the element information identifier is a value identifying one element information from a plurality of element information, and the address value is a recording address on the CD-ROM of element information identified by the element information identifier. .

The entry of the second information group consists of the second information group identifier, the element information identifier, and the address value. The second information group identifier is a value for identifying one second information group from the plurality of second information groups, the element information identifier is a value for identifying one element information from the plurality of element information, and the address value is assigned to the element information identifier. This is a recording address on the CD-ROM of element information identified by.

10C is a data structure diagram showing the structure of information group designation information. The information group designation information is composed of a plurality of entries, each entry consisting of a reproduction point identifier and a second information group identifier. The reproduction point identifier is a value for identifying one reproduction point of the second information group stored in the second information group reproduction point information.

Next, the detailed description of the reproduction control means 26 will be made using FIG. 2 (b). FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the playback control means.

Reference numeral 26a denotes a first information group reproduction control unit, 26b denotes a second information group reproduction control unit, 26d denotes an index information storage unit, and 26e denotes an information group designated information storage unit.

The first information group reproduction control section 26a performs an initialization operation, a reproduction progress operation, and a branch progress operation. In the initialization control operation, the first information group reproduction control section 26a outputs control information for instructing the information reading means 22 to read the route information, the index information, the second information group reproduction point information, and the information group designation information. do. When the path information, the second information group reproduction point information, the index information, and the information group designation information are input to the reproduction means 26, the first information group reproduction control unit 26a starts the reproduction progress operation.

The reproduction progress operation is substantially the same as the reproduction progress operation of the first information group reproduction control section 6a according to the first embodiment, and only the other operations are described, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. The first information group reproduction control section 6a of the first embodiment refers to the second information group reproduction point information, determines whether the current reproduction order information and the reproduction order are the reproduction points of the second information group, and determines the second information group. When the second information reproduction control section 26b is started, when it is determined that the reproduction point is a reproduction point, the first information group reproduction control section 26a of the present embodiment starts not only when it is determined that it is reproduction of the second information group. An operation of outputting a reproduction point identifier for identifying the reproduction point to the second information group reproduction control unit 26b is performed.

Since the branch advancing operation is the same as the branch advancing operation of the first information group reproduction control section 6a of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

Numeral 28b is a second information group reproduction control section which performs a reproduction operation of the second information group.

11 is a flowchart of the operation of the second information group reproduction control section 26b. A description with reference to FIG. 11 is as follows.

When the reproduction point identifier is input from the first information group reproduction control unit 26a, the second information group reproduction control unit 26b starts the reproduction operation of the second information group.

The second information group reproduction control section 26b reads the reproduction history information from the reproduction history storage section 26c, reads the index information from the index information storage section 26b, and from the information group designation information storage section 26e. Read information group designation information.

The second information group reproduction control unit 26b obtains a second information group identifier corresponding to the reproduction point identifier from the information group specification information.

The second information group reproducing controller 26b acquires a plurality of element information identifiers classified by the obtained second information group identifier from the index information.

The second information group reproduction control unit 26b randomly selects one element information identifier from the obtained plurality of element information identifiers.

The second information group reproduction control section 26b refers to the index information, obtains a recording address value on the CD-ROM of the element information identified by the element information identifier, and performs control information for controlling reproduction of the element information recorded at the obtained address value. Is output to the reproducing means 23 and the information reading means 22.

The operation of the information reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

The reproduction control means 26 performs a reproduction progress operation of sequentially reproducing element information in accordance with the path information following the initialization operation. The reproduction control means 26 performs the branching operation when the reproduction progress reaches the progress branch point, and when the reproduction progress reaches the reproduction point of the second information group indicated by the second information group reproduction point information, The playback operation is performed.

The reproduction progress operation and the branch progress operation are the same as the reproduction progress operation and the branch progress operation according to the first embodiment. Therefore, explanation is omitted here and only the second information group reproduction operation with different operations will be described.

The reproducing operation of the second information group will be described below.

During the reproduction progress operation, the reproduction control means 26 is a reproduction point of the second information group designated by the reproduction point information of the second information group as the reproduction order of the element information which has finished reproduction and the reproduction sequence information at that time. If judged, the reproduction control means 6 performs the reproduction operation of the second information group.

In the appearance operation of the second information, the reproduction control means 26 obtains the second information group reproduced at the current reproduction point from the information group designation information according to the reproduction point identifier.

The reproduction control means 26 randomly selects one element information from the second information group corresponding to the reproduction point from the index information, and transmits the reproduction control of the selected element information to the information reading means 22 and the reproduction means 23. It is done. The information reading means 22 and the reproducing means 23 into which the control information is inputted read and reproduce the specified element information from the control information according to the same processing procedure described during the reproduction progress operation, and outputs the audio from the output means 24. And output the video. The reproduction control means 26 starts the reproduction progress operation when the reproduction of the element information of the second information group ends.

As described above, according to the effect of the second embodiment, the main information divided into the plurality of element information, the index information for classifying the plurality of element information into the first information group and the second information group, and the first information group Route information consisting of a plurality of reproduction paths, second information group reproduction point information for specifying a reproduction point of the second information group between reproduction paths of the first information group, and second information reproduced at the reproduction points of the second information group Recording means 21 for recording designation information of the information group specifying the group, and element information belonging to the first information group is reproduced from the recording means 21 in accordance with the route information and the branch designation by the user, and the second information. Playback control means for obtaining a second information group corresponding to the playback point from the specified information of the information group, and performing playback control for selecting and reproducing element information from a plurality of element information belonging to the obtained second information group. The second information to be reproduced by forming 26 The elements of information for each reproduction path can be specified by a predetermined classification.

For example, the first information group is a variety of article information, one second information group is composed of a plurality of advertisement information about tobacco, and one second information group is a plurality of advertisement information about a toy. It is a group of information. In the regeneration path where the article information for adults is reproduced, the regeneration point of the advertisement information group about cigarettes is arranged, and in the regeneration path where the article information about the children is reproduced, the regeneration point of the advertisement information group about toys is arranged. In the reproduction path of the article can only reproduce the advertisement information about the cigarette, in the reproduction path of the article for children can reproduce only the advertisement information about the toy, it is possible to prevent the advertisement of the cigarette and the toy to be reproduced in an inappropriate position.

Hereinafter, an information reproducing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

3 shows the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 31 denotes recording means composed of a CD-ROM which is an information recording medium and its driving apparatus. In the CD-ROM of the recording means 31, main information, route information, index information, and second information group reproduction point information, which is the first embodiment, are added, and the reproduction information of the second information group is determined from the second information group for each reproduction point of the second information group. Selection condition information specifying the number of element information to be sorted is recorded on the CD-ROM.

In 32, element information, main information, path information, index information, second information group reproduction point information, and selection condition information, which are main information, are read from the recording means 31, and output as digital data. Information reading means.

Reference numeral 33 denotes playback means for performing predetermined processing on the digital data of the element information to be input, converting the character information and the still image information into video digital data, and outputting the audio information into audio digital data.

Reference numeral 34 is an output means for converting video digital data into a video signal which is a video output signal, and converting audio digital data into a voice analog signal that is a voice output signal and outputting video and audio from a display device and a speaker device, respectively. .

Reference numeral 35 denotes input means which is an operation device (hereinafter referred to as a mouse) for receiving designation information of the screen area of the display device by the user and outputting the input information.

Reference numeral 36 denotes playback control means composed of a microprocessor, a RAM, and a ROM that stores an operation program.

First, the data structure of the recording information recorded on the CD-ROM of the recording means 31 will be described with reference to the twelfth.

Fig. 12A is a data structure diagram showing the structure of record information.

The record information is composed of index information, route information, second information group reproduction point information, selection condition information, and a plurality of element information. Since the index information, the route information, and the second information reproduction point information, which are record information, have the same data structure as the index information, the route information, and the second information group reproduction point information of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. Only the selection condition information will be described.

12B is a data structure diagram showing the configuration of the selection condition information.

The selection condition information consists of a plurality of entries, and each entry consists of a reproduction point identifier and the number of appearances. The reproduction point identifier is a value for identifying one reproduction point of the second information group stored in the second information group reproduction point information, and the number of occurrences is the number of element information selected from the second information group. For example, when the number of occurrences is three, three element information is selected and reproduced from the second information group at the reproduction point of the second information group identified by the reproduction point identifier a1.

Next, a detailed description of the reproduction control means 36 is made using FIG. 3 (b).

3B is a block showing the configuration of the regeneration control means.

36a, a first information group reproduction control unit. Reference numeral 36b denotes a second information group reproduction control unit, 36c denotes a selection condition information storage unit, and 36d denotes an index information storage unit.

The first information group reproduction control section 36a performs an initialization operation, a reproduction progress operation, and a branch progress operation. In the initialization operation, the first information group reproduction control section 36a outputs control information for instructing the information reading means 32 to read the route information, the index information, the second information group reproduction point information, and the selection condition information.

The reproduction point information of the route information and the second information group is input to the first information group reproduction control unit 36a, the index information is input and stored in the index information storage unit 36d, and the selection condition information is selected. It is input to 36c and stored. When the path information and the second information group reproduction point information are input to the first information group reproduction control unit 36a, the first information group reproduction control unit 36a starts the reproduction progress operation.

The reproducing progress operation is substantially the same as the reproducing progress operation of the first information group reproducing control section 6a in the first embodiment. Only the different operations are described, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. The first information group reproduction control section 6a of the first embodiment determines whether the current reproduction order information and the reproduction order are the reproduction points of the second information group with reference to the second information group reproduction point information, and then the second information. If it is determined that the group is a reproduction point, the second information group reproduction control unit 26b is started. However, when the first information group reproduction control unit 36b of the present embodiment determines that it is a reproduction point of the second information group, it starts. In addition, an operation of outputting a reproduction point identifier to the second information group reproduction control unit 36b is performed.

Since the branch advancing operation is the same as the branch advancing operation of the first information group reproduction control section 6a of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 36b is a second information group reproduction control unit which performs a reproduction operation of the second information group. 13 is a flowchart of the operation of the second information group reproduction control section 36b. A description with reference to FIG. 13 is as follows.

When the reproduction point identifier is input from the first information group reproduction control section 36a, the second information group reproduction control section 36b starts the reproduction operation of the second information group.

The second information group reproduction control section 36b reads out the index information from the index information storage section 36d and the designated information of the information group from the selection condition information storage section 36c.

The second information group reproduction control unit 36b obtains the number of appearances corresponding to the reproduction point identifier from the selection condition information.

The second information sphere reproduction control section 36b obtains, from the index information, identifiers of the plurality of element information classified by the identifiers of the second information group.

The second information group reproduction control section 36b selects a number of element information identifiers randomly designated by the number of occurrences from the obtained identifiers of the plurality of element informations.

The second information group reproduction control unit 36b refers to the index information, obtains a recording address on the CD-ROM of the element information identified by the identifier of the selected element information, and controls reproduction of the element information recorded at the obtained address value. The control information to be executed is output to the reproducing means 33 and the information reading means 32.

The operation of the information reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

The reproduction control means 36 performs a reproduction progress operation of sequentially reproducing element information in accordance with the path information following the initialization operation. The reproduction control means 36 performs a branching operation when the reproduction progress reaches the progress branch point, and when the reproduction progress reaches the reproduction point of the second information group indicated by the second information group reproduction point information, The reproduction operation of the information group is performed. The reproducing operation and the branch advancing operation are the same as the reproducing progressing operation and the branch advancing operation in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted, and only the second information group reproducing operation in which the operation is different is described.

Next, the reproduction operation of the second information group will be described.

In the reproducing operation of the second information group during the reproducing operation, the reproducing control means 36 reproduces the number of the number specified by the selection condition information from the second information group according to the index information and the selection condition information. Element information is randomly selected, and reproduction control of the selected element information is performed on the information reading means 32 and the reproduction means 33. FIG.

The information reading means 22 and the reproducing means 23 into which the control information is inputted read and reproduce the designated element information, and output the audio signal and the video signal from the output means 24. The reproduction control means 26 starts the reproduction progress operation when the reproduction of the element information of the second information group ends.

As described above, as an effect according to the third embodiment, main information divided into a plurality of element information, index information for classifying the plurality of element information into a first information group and a second information group, and Route information consisting of a plurality of reproduction paths, second information group reproduction point information for designating a reproduction point of the second information group between reproduction paths of the first information group, and a reproduction point of the second information group from the second information group. Recording means (31) for recording the selection condition information specifying the selection condition for selecting the element information; From the recording means 31, the element information belonging to the first information group is reproduced in accordance with the route information and the branch designation by the user, and at a reproduction point of the second information group, a plurality of elements belonging to the second information group according to the selection condition information By forming the regeneration control means 36 which performs regeneration control for selecting and regenerating element information from the element information, it is possible to change the appearance condition of the element information for each reproduction path of the second information group.

For example, if the first information group is various pieces of article information, the second information group is advertisement information, and the selection condition of the element information is the number of occurrences for each reproduction point, the reproduction is highly likely to reach progress. By setting the number of occurrences of the reproduction point of the route section sufficiently, the probability of appearance of the advertisement information can be improved.

An information reproducing apparatus of a twenty-fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

4 shows the configuration of the information reproducing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 41 is a recording means composed of a CD-ROM which is an information recording medium and its driving apparatus. In the CD-ROM of the recording means 41, main information, path information, and index information composed of a plurality of element information are recorded as recording information. In this record information, the route information and index information are the same information as the route information and index information in the first embodiment. The element information is a file of information consisting of voice, still picture, and text. The element information is the same as the element information in the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the evaluation function information for evaluating the element information is multiplied and recorded in the element information. do.

Reference numeral 42 is an information reading means for reading the evaluation function separated from the route information, index information, element information and element information from the recording means 41 according to the control information, and outputting it as digital data.

Reference numeral 43 is a reproducing means for performing predetermined processing on the digital data of the element information to be input, respectively, and the character information and the still image information are converted into image digital data, accumulated in the image memory, read out in units of one screen, and output. The voice information is converted into voice digital data and output.

Reference numeral 44 is an output means for converting and outputting video digital data into an image output signal, and converting and outputting audio digital data into an audio output signal. The video digital data is converted into a video signal that is an image output signal, and the attached display. The video is output from the device, and the audio digital data is converted into a voice analog signal which is a voice output signal and output from the attached speaker device.

Reference numeral 45 denotes an input means composed of an operation button and an operation device (hereinafter referred to as a mouse) for designating a screen area of the display device, and instructs a user to specify a screen area, a pause command for playback progress, or a resume command for playback progress. And output as input information, respectively.

The reproducing state detects the reproducing output state of the element information by the reproducing means 43 and the output means 44, and outputs the elapsed time from the start of the element information until completion of output as the reproducing state information. Detection means. If the elapsed time is supplemented with explanation, the elapsed time is added by determining that the output of the element information continues until the new element information is reproduced and outputted even when the element information is reproduced.

As an example in which the element information is output until the reproduction of the new element information is started after the reproduction is completed, a pause instruction for the reproduction progress is issued by the user, and the video information stored in the image memory of the reproduction means 43 is element information. There is an example that is continuously output after the playback is completed.

Reference numeral 47 denotes evaluation value calculating means for calculating evaluation value of the element information by calculating the evaluation function information of the element information to be reproduced according to the reproduction state information.

Reference numeral 48 denotes second information group reproduction determining means for adding the evaluation value input from the evaluation value calculating means 47 and outputting the reproduction request information of the second information group when the total value exceeds the threshold.

Reference numeral 49 is a reproducing control means composed of a microprocessor, a RAM, and a ROM which stores an operation program, and reproduces element information of the first information group in accordance with the index information, path information, and input information. If the reproduction request information is input, the reproduction control for reproducing the element information of the second information group is performed on the information determination means 42 and the reproduction means 43.

Next, the data structure of the recording information recorded on the CD-ROM of the recording means 41 will be described with reference to FIG.

Fig. 14A is a data structure diagram showing the structure of record information.

The record information is composed of index information, path information, and element information. In the element information, evaluation function information is multiplexed and recorded. Since the route information and index information in the record information have the same data structure as the route information and index information of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Fig. 14B is a data structure diagram showing the structure of element information.

Element information is composed of evaluation function information and data portion. The data portion is composed of voice information, still picture information, and text information. The evaluation function information is a function for evaluating element information with time to calculate an evaluation value.

14C is an explanatory diagram of evaluation function information. In the present embodiment, the equal plus value type, the convergence plus value type, the equal minus value type, and the convergence plus value type Four types of evaluation functions are available. In the evaluation function, α and β are constant and positive integers. t is the time in seconds as a variable, and y is the estimate. The variable t sets the elapsed time from the start of output of the element information corresponding to the evaluation function to the end of output. For example, if the equal plus element information is output for 10 seconds, the evaluation value t becomes 10 alpha + beta.

The characteristic of the uniform plus tooth evaluation function is that the evaluation value increases in direct proportion to the elapsed time. The characteristic of the procedure plus tooth type is that the increase in the evaluation value converges to a certain value after a certain time. Equal minus teeth type has the same characteristics of fluctuation of equal plus value and evaluation value, but decreases to negative value instead of increasing. Similarly, the negative value of the procedure is similar to the procedure plus type, but the evaluation value decreases to a negative value.

Next, the detailed operation of the reproduction control means 49 will be described.

15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the playback control means 49. FIG.

The reproduction control means 49 performs an initialization operation at the start of reproduction, and then performs a branching operation when the branching point of the reproduction path is reached during the reproduction reproduction operation of performing the reproduction progress operation of reproducing the first group of information according to the path information. If the reproduction request information of the second information group is input from the second information group reproduction determining means 48, the reproduction operation of the second information group is performed.

In the initialization operation, the reproduction control means 49 outputs the control information instructing the reading of the route information and the index information from the recording means 41 to the information reading means 42. When the route information and index information are input to the reproduction control means 46, the reproduction progress operation is then started.

In the reproduction progress operation, the reproduction control means 49 obtains the reproduction sequence information as the information of the section to be reproduced from the route information, and initializes the reproduction sequence information for initialization as the first reproduction section in the first reproduction progress operation.

The reproduction control means 49, which has obtained the reproduction order information, determines the element information to be reproduced according to the reproduction order of the reproduction order information, obtains the recording address value on the CD-ROM of the element information from the index information, and performs reproduction control of the obtained address value. The control information is output to the reproducing means 43 and the information reading means 42. The reproduction control means 49 reproduces and outputs the element information, and then, if there is input of the input information specifying the pause instruction for the reproduction progress by the input means 45, then the reproduction progress to the element information of the reproduction rank is next performed. Is paused, and the playback process is resumed when the instruction to resume playback progress is specified by the input information.

If there is no pause instruction of the reproduction progress or if the pause of the reproduction progress is canceled by the instruction of restarting the reproduction progress, the reproduction control means 49 waits for the end of the reproduction output of the element information to evaluate the evaluation value calculating means 47. The evaluation request information of the element information is output to.

The reproduction control means 49 determines that the reproduction information of the second information group is the reproduction point of the second information group if the reproduction request information of the second information group is inputted from the second information group reproduction determination means 48 after outputting the evaluation request information of the element information. By performing the reproducing operation of the second information group, the reset information is outputted to the second information group reproducing determining means 48.

The reproduction control means 49 performs the reproduction control in the same procedure and operation for the element information of the next reproduction rank when the reproduction request information of the second information group is not input or when the reproduction operation of the second information group is completed. The playback progress operation continues. The reproduction control means 49 reproduces the element information of the final rank of the reproduction control information, and performs branching operation so as to obtain the reproduction sequence information of the section to be reproduced next.

In the branch advancing operation, the reproduction control means 49 determines the branch line based on the screen area information and the branch determination information specified by the input information input from the input means 45. As shown in Fig. 9 (c-2), the reproduction order information has branch decision information, and the branch decision information stores information identifiers of the reproduction order corresponding to the screen area information. The reproduction control means 49 obtains, from branch decision information, an identifier of reproduction sequence information corresponding to the screen area information specified by the input information, and obtains corresponding reproduction sequence information from the route information. The playback control means 49 starts a playback progress operation for the playback section in accordance with the newly obtained playback sequence information.

In the second information group reproducing operation, the reproducing control means 49 randomly selects one element information belonging to the second information group from the index information, obtains a recording address on the CD-ROM of the selected element information, and obtains the obtained address value. Regeneration control for reproducing is performed for the information reading means 42 and the reproducing means 43.

The operation of the information reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

When playback is started, the playback control means 49 performs an initialization operation. By the initialization operation of the reproduction control means 49, the information reading means 42 reads out the indexing information and the route information from the recording means 41 and outputs it. The read index information and the route information are input to the reproduction control means 49.

When the index information and the path information are input, the playback control means 49 starts the playback progress operation. By the reproduction progress operation, the reproduction control means 49 sequentially selects element information to be reproduced in accordance with the reproduction order information of the route information, obtains a recording address of the element information from the index information, and instructs reproduction of this address value. Control information is output to the information reading means 2 and the reproducing means 3.

In operation immediately after the initialization, the playback control means 949 acquires the playback sequence information for initialization from the route information.

The information reading means 420 and the reproducing means 43 which receive the input of the control information read the article file of the element information corresponding to the designated address value from the recording means 41, and separate the evaluation function information from the element information to evaluate the evaluation value. It outputs to the calculating means 47, performs predetermined processing while outputting the data part of element information into audio information, still picture information, and text information, buffering it.

The character information is developed into fonts, converted into video digital data together with still image information, stored in image memory by rendering processing, read out in units of one screen, and output to the output means 44. The voice information is subjected to linear quantization conversion, converted to voice digital data, and output to the output means 44.

The output means 44 into which the video digital data and the audio digital data are input, converts the video digital data into a video signal which is a video output signal and outputs the video from the attached display device. The audio digital data is an audio output signal. D / A conversion is performed to the audio analog signal to output sound from the attached speaker device.

After the reproducing output of the element information, if the input information specifying the pause instruction for reproducing progress is input from the input means 45, the reproducing control means 49 pauses the progress of reproducing. The reproduction control means 49 releases the pause of the reproduction progress if there is input information specifying the instruction to resume the reproduction progress from the input means 45.

When the reproducing output of the element information is performed by the reproducing means 43 and the output means 44, the reproducing state detecting means 46 detects the reproducing output state of the element information by the reproducing means 43 and the output means 44. Then, the elapsed time from the start of the output of the element information to the completion of the output is output to the evaluation value calculating means 47 as the reproduction status information.

The reproduction control means 49 outputs the element information evaluation request information to the evaluation value calculating means 47 when the reproduction output of the read element information is completed.

When the element information evaluation request information is input, the evaluation value calculating means 47 calculates the evaluation value by calculating the evaluation function information inputted from the information reading means 42 by the reproduction state information inputted from the reproduction state detecting means 46. Output to the second information group reproduction determining means 48.

The second information group reproduction determining means 48, into which the evaluation value is input, adds the evaluation value to the previous value to find the evaluation total value.

The second information group reproduction determining means 48 outputs the second information group reproduction request information to the reproduction control means 49 when the evaluation total value exceeds the threshold.

When the reproduction request information of the second information group is input, the reproduction control means 49 performs the reproduction operation of the second information group, and outputs reset information to the second information group reproduction determining means 48. The second information group reproduction determining means 48, in which the reset information is input, resets the evaluation total value to the initial value.

The reproduction control means 49 performs the same processing and procedure for the element information of the next reproduction order of the reproduction order information when the group reproduction request information of the second information is not input or when the reproduction operation of the second information group is completed. The playback progress operation continues.

In the reproducing operation of the second information group, the reproducing control means 49 randomly obtains one element information belonging to the second information group from the index information, and acquires control information for reproducing control of the obtained element information from the information reading means ( 42) and the reproducing means 43. The information reading means 42 and the reproducing means 43, which have received the input of the control information, read and reproduce the element information in the same process and procedure, and perform video output and audio output from the output means 44.

During the reproducing progress operation, the reproducing control means 49 finishes reproducing element information, which is the last order of the reproducing procedure information, and additionally performs the branching operation if the branch determination information is in the reproducing procedure information. Since the operation of the branch progress is the same as the branch progress operation by the regeneration control means 6 in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

The reproduction progress of the element information will be described using FIG. 16, which is an example of the reproduction progress.

16A is an explanatory diagram of a reproduction path of element information as an example, and (Y41) to (Y410) mean an element degree belonging to the first information group. FIG. 16 (b) is a correspondence table of evaluation function information and element information of FIG. 16 (a). FIG. 16C is an explanatory diagram showing an evaluation trend in which the evaluation value and the evaluation total value in the reproduction procedure of one example used in the following description are displayed.

In this example, the threshold value of the second information group reproduction determining means 48 is set to 100, and the element information belonging to the second information group is set to (Z41) to (Z45). In the example of the playback procedure shown in Fig. 16C, the element information Y41 is first reproduced. When the element information Y41 is reproduced, the evaluation function information y = t + 10 of the element information Y41 is input to the evaluation value calculating means 47. When the elapsed time from the completion of the reproduction output of the element information Y41 to the start of the reproduction of the element information Y42 is 10 seconds, the elapsed time is detected by the reproduction state detection means 46, and the evaluation value calculation is performed as the reproduction state information. Input to the means 47. The evaluation value calculating means 47, into which the evaluation function information and the reproduction state information are input, calculates the elapsed time (= 10 seconds) designated by the reproduction state information as the evaluation function (y = t + 10). In this case, the evaluation value y becomes 20. The evaluation value y is added by the second information group reproduction determining means 48 to obtain the evaluation total value. If the initial value of the evaluation total value is 0, the evaluation value (= 20) is added and the evaluation total value is 20. When the element information Y41 is reproduced, the element information Y42 is reproduced. Similarly, the evaluation function information is input to the evaluation value calculating means 47 to obtain an evaluation value. If the elapsed time of the reproduction state information of the element information Y42 is 25 seconds, the evaluation value becomes (= 5). The evaluation value 5 is added to the evaluation total value by the second information group reproduction determining means 48 to become the evaluation total value (= 25).

After the execution of the element information Y42, when the branch line is selected as the element information Y47 by the user, the element information Y47 and the element information Y48 are sequentially reproduced, and the evaluation value is similarly calculated and added to the evaluation total value. . Since the evaluation function of the element information Y48 yields a negative evaluation value, the evaluation total value decreases from 70 to 47. In this example, since the evaluation function of the element information is similarly calculated and the evaluation total value is 102 at the time when the element information Y46 is executed, the second information group reproduction determining means 48 performs a second operation. The reproduction request information of the information group is output, and the reproduction control means 49 performs the reproduction operation of the second information group, and one element information from the element information Z41 to Z45 belonging to the second information group is selected. Is played. When the reproducing operation of the second information group is performed, the reset information is input to the second information group reproducing determining means 48, so that the evaluation total value 102 is reset to the initial value (= 0). After the execution of the element information Y46, the element information Y41 is reproduced again. At this time, the playback progress is paused by the user, and the elapsed time from the start of output of the element information Y41 to completion is 10 seconds last time, but this time is 50 seconds. As a result, the evaluation value of the last element information was calculated by the elapsed time of 10 seconds and was 20, but this time was calculated by the elapsed time of 50 seconds and became 60. The evaluation value (= 60) of the element information Y41 is added to the evaluation total value (= 0), and the evaluation total value is 60. Thereafter, the information is reproduced with the element information Y42, Y43, and Y44. In the step of reproducing the element information Y44, the evaluation total value again exceeds the threshold, and the element information belonging to the second information group is reproduced. .

As described above, as an effect according to the fourth embodiment, the main information divided into the plurality of element information, the evaluation function information corresponding to the element information, and the plurality of element information are classified into the first information group and the second information group. Recording means (41) for recording the index information and the route information consisting of a plurality of reproduction paths of the first information group; Reproducing state detecting means (46) for detecting elapsed time from the start of outputting the element information to the end of output and making the reproducing state information, and input means for receiving input of an instruction for controlling the reproducing progress and outputting the input information; Evaluation value calculating means (47) for calculating evaluation value of the element information by calculating evaluation function information of the element information to be reproduced according to the reproduction state information; Second information group reproduction determining means 48 for adding the evaluation value and outputting reproduction request information of the second information group if the total value exceeds the limit value; Playback control means for reproducing element information of the first information group according to the index information, path information, and input information, and performing reproduction control for reproducing element information of the second information group if reproduction element information of the second information group is input; By forming 49, the reproduction frequency of the second information group can be controlled in accordance with the reproduction state of the first information group reproduction.

For this purpose, for example, the first information group is used for various article information, and the second information group is used for advertisement information. In addition, the article information includes guide information including travel information such as Hawaii and the United States, gravure article information mainly on photographs, advertisement article information integrated with tourist information and advertisements, and table of contents article information for searching them. It shall be comprised. In addition, as an evaluation function for the article information, the guide article information corresponds to the evaluation function of the procedure plus tooth type in which the evaluation value is processed after a certain time, and the gravure article information is equally increased in proportion to the reproduction output time. It is assumed that the value evaluation function is matched, the advertisement article information is matched with an even minus value evaluation function that calculates a negative evaluation value, and the content function is always associated with an evaluation function that always calculates an evaluation value (= 0).

As a result, the frequency of reproduction of the advertisement information belonging to the second information can be reproduced even if the playback is performed slowly or repeatedly for the guide article information whose user's interest does not change even for a long time or for a short time. Can be equalized. Also, if the gravure article information is viewed for a long time, and the article information having a large user benefit is repeatedly played slowly and paused, the reproduction frequency of the advertisement belonging to the second information group may be increased more than if the reproduction is performed quickly. Can be. Moreover, with respect to the weather information integrated with the advertisement information and the tourist information, the reproduction frequency of the advertisement information belonging to the second information group can be lowered according to the time for viewing the article information.

Further, reproduction of the advertisement information can be suppressed in the operation of the user other than the purpose of acquiring the original information, such as when the article information is quickly reproduced for the purpose of retrieval or the reproduction of the table of contents article information.

Incidentally, in all the embodiments, the recording means is a CD-ROM and its driving apparatus. However, the article is not limited to this as long as the article information can be read by specifying an address. For example, the magneto-optical disk, its driving apparatus, and magnetic It goes without saying that the disk, its driving apparatus, magnetic tape and its driving apparatus may be used.

Incidentally, in all the embodiments, the information reading means directly accesses the recording means to read the record information. However, the method of obtaining the information by the information reading means is not limited to this, for example, a network such as an ISDN line is used. This may be achieved by access via or access to broadcast information. In the case of access to broadcast information, address designation is not designation of the recording address, but designation of the frequency at which the target information is broadcast.

In addition, in the third embodiment, the selection condition information is the number of element information selected from the second information group for each reproduction point, but the conditions in the selection of the second information group are not limited thereto. Of course, the information may be exclusively designated for each reproduction point, random selection for randomly selecting element information from the second information group, and sequential selection for sequentially selecting element information from the second information group in a predetermined order.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the reproduction state information of the reproduction state detection means 46 is the elapsed time from the start of the output of the element information to be reproduced to the completion, but is limited to this if the state of the reproduction of the element information is determined. Of course, for example, the number of times of reproduction of the same element information may be sufficient.

Claims (14)

A plurality of element information, which is main information, index information for classifying the element information into a first information group and a second information group as management information of the main information, and a branch of the element information classified into the first information group. A second information group reproduction jumbo for displaying reproduction points of the element information classified into the second information group and corresponding to the predetermined path section of the reproduction path indicated by the route information; Memory means for storing; Input operation means for receiving a selection instruction of a progress line of a reproduction path indicated by said path information; Information reading means for reading the management information from the storage means and reading the element information in accordance with a predetermined reading instruction; Management information storage means for storing the management information read by the information reading means; The element information of the first group of information to be reproduced is determined according to the route information stored in the management information storage means and the selection instruction received by the input operation step, and the determined element information is read. First information reproduction control means for giving an instruction to said information reading means; Reproducing output means for converting the read-out element information into reproduction information and outputting it; Second information group output determining means for determining whether the reproduction progress by the first information reproduction control means has reached the reproduction point of the second information group with reference to the path information and the second information group reproduction point information; and; If it is determined that the second information group is a reproduction point, the second information group reproduction control means for giving the information reading means the instruction to read the element information classified into the second information group by the index information. An information reproducing apparatus, comprising: A plurality of element information, which is main information, index information for classifying the element information into a first information group and a second information group as management information of the main information, and a branch of the element information classified into the first information group. A second information group reproduction corresponding to a route information indicating a reproduction route including a reproduction path and a reproduction point of the element information classified into the second information group, corresponding to a predetermined route section of the reproduction route indicated by the route information; A storage device for storing point information; Information extracting means for extracting the management information from the storage device and for extracting the element information in accordance with a predetermined drawing instruction; Input operation means for receiving a selection instruction of a progress line of a reproduction path indicated by said path information; Management information storage means for storing the management information drawn out by the information extraction means; According to the route information stored in the management information storage means and the selection instruction received by the input operation means, the element information of the first group of information to be reproduced is determined and the determined element information is withdrawn. First information group reproduction control means for giving an instruction to said information extracting means; Reproducing output means for converting the extracted element information into reproducing information and outputting the reproducing information; A second information group output determination for determining whether the reproduction progress by the first information group reproduction control means has reached the reproduction point of the second information group with reference to the path information and the second information group reproduction point information; Means; In the case where it is determined that the second information group is a reproduction point, the second information group reproduction control means for giving the information extracting means an instruction to pull out the element information classified into the second information group by the index information. An information reproducing apparatus, comprising: The second information group reproduction history information according to claim 1, wherein the information reproducing apparatus records the element information by an element information identifier for identifying element information classified into the second information group output by the reproduction output means. An additional recording means; The second information group reproducing control means includes: a second information selecting section which preferentially selects element information other than element information identified by the element information identifier recorded in the second information group reproduction history information recording means; And a reading instruction output section for outputting a reading instruction of the element information selected by the second information group selecting section to the reading means. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the index information has an element information identifier for identifying element information, and an address value for indicating a storage position of a storage means corresponding to the element information identifier; The route information includes reproduction order information in which the reproduction order and the element information identifier correspond to each other, and a reproduction order identifier identifying these reproduction order information; The first information group reproduction control means includes: an address value extracting unit for extracting an address value corresponding to the element information identifier of the index information corresponding to the element information identifier corresponding to the reproduction order indicated in the reproduction order information; And an address indicating section which outputs the address value extracted by the address value extracting section to the information reading means. The reproduction path of claim 10, wherein the instruction contents of the reproduction path received by the input operation means are specified by position coordinates, and when the reproduction order of the reproduction sequence information is final, the end portion of the reproduction section reproduces next. In the case of a branching point, branch determination information is added to the element information identifier of the reproduction order information, and the branch determination information is a position indicating the presence position of the reproduction order identifier and the plurality of video display areas corresponding to the reproduction order identifier. Having screen area information consisting of coordinates; The first information group reproducing control means includes: a branch line deciding unit for determining in which screen area information among the screen area information the position coordinates received by the input operation means are located; And a reproduction path determining unit for determining a reproduction path according to the reproduction sequence information identified by the reproduction sequence identifier corresponding to the screen area information determined by the branch line determination unit. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second information group play point information includes a play order identifier and position information of a play order; The index information has a code identifier identifying a first information group and a second information group; The second information output determining means has a reproduction order identifier and a reproduction order of the element information classified into the first information group outputted by the output means in accordance with the reproduction order identifier and the position information of the second information group reproduction point information. A first reproducing point determining unit which determines whether or not there is any one; When it is determined that the first reproducing point judging unit matches, the second information group reproducing instruction unit is provided to the second information group reproducing control means for outputting a reproducing instruction of the element information classified into the second information group. The second information group reproduction control means extracts the element information corresponding to the element information identifier recorded in the reproduction history information recording means corresponding to the element information identifier having the second information group code identifier of the index information. A reproduction information extracting unit; A random selection unit for randomly selecting one element information from the element information extracted by the unplayed information extraction unit; A second address group first address extracting unit for extracting an address value corresponding to the element information identifier of the element information selected by the random selection unit from the index information; And a second information group reading instructing unit which outputs the address value extracted by the second information group first address extraction unit to the information group reading unit. 2. The information storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores information group designation information which is management information for designating element information classified into a second information group reproduced at a reproduction point of the second information group as a predetermined classification; The management information storage means includes a second management information storage section for storing second information group reproduction point information and information group designation information stored in the storage means; The second information group output judging means, when the element information classified into the first information group outputted by the reproduction output means and the second information group reproduction point information stored in the second management information storage unit coincide with each other. A second judging unit, judged to be suitable for; The second information group reproducing control means reads the element information classified into the second information group stored in the storage means in accordance with the information group designation information when the second judging unit judges that it is appropriate. And a first reading instructing section outputting said information reading means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores the selection condition information, which is management information which designates the number of element information classified into the second information group reproduced at the reproduction point of the second information group; The management information storage means comprises a third management information storage section for storing second information group reproduction point information and selection condition information stored in the storage means; The second information group output judging means, when the element information classified into the first information group outputted by the reproduction output means and the second information group reproduction point information stored in the third management information storage unit coincide with each other. An information reproducing apparatus, comprising: a third judging unit judged to be suitable. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores evaluation function information corresponding to each element information classified into a first information group of said element information; The information reading means includes: evaluation function information storage means for storing evaluation function information read from the storage means; Reproducing state detecting means for detecting a reproducing time from an output start to an output completion for each element information classified into the first information group in the reproducing output means; Evaluation value calculation means for calculating an evaluation value by substituting the reproduction time detected by said reproduction state detection means into evaluation function information stored in said evaluation function information storage means; And an evaluation value adding means for adding an evaluation value calculated by said evaluation value calculating means and calculating a total value, wherein said second information group output determining means compares the total value calculated by said evaluation value adding means with a threshold value. And a fourth judging unit for determining that the total value exceeds the threshold when it is appropriate; Information provided with reset means for resetting the total value calculated by the evaluation value adding means to an initial value when the reproduction information of the element information classified into the second information group is output by the reproduction output means; Playback device. 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the information reproducing apparatus receives an operation of pausing the output of the reproduction information of the reproduction output means, outputs an output stop time to the reproduction output means, and releases the output stop of the reproduction information. Reproducing pause / recovery operation means for receiving an operation and outputting an output return instruction to said reproducing output means; And the reproduction state detecting means detects as the reproduction time even while the reproduction output means temporarily stops outputting the reproduction information by the operation of the reproduction pause and return operation means. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the index information has an element information identifier for identifying element information and an address value for indicating a storage position of a storage means corresponding to the element information identifier; The route information has reproduction order information in which the reproduction order and the element information identifier correspond, and a reproduction order identifier for identifying the reproduction order information thereof; The first information group reproduction control means includes: an address value extracting unit for extracting an address value corresponding to the element information identifier of the index information corresponding to the element information identifier corresponding to the reproduction order displayed in the reproduction order information; And an address indicating section which outputs the address value extracted by the address value extracting section to the information reading means. The reproduction path of claim 10, wherein the instruction contents of the reproduction path received by the input operation means are specified by position coordinates, and when the reproduction order of the reproduction sequence information is final, the end portion of the reproduction section reproduces next. In the case of a branching point, branch determination information is added to the element information identifier of the reproduction order information, and the branch determination information is a position indicating the presence position of the reproduction order identifier and the plurality of video display areas corresponding to the reproduction order identifier. Having double-sided area information composed of coordinates; The first information group reproducing control unit includes: a branch line determining unit which determines whether or not the position coordinates received by the input operation unit exist in the predetermined screen area information; And a reproduction path determining unit for determining a reproduction path according to the reproduction sequence information identified by the reproduction sequence identifier corresponding to the screen area information determined by the branch line determination unit. The evaluation function information according to claim 12, wherein the evaluation function information is one of an equal plus tooth type evaluation function, a procedure plus tooth type evaluation function, an even minus tooth type evaluation function, and a procedure minus tooth type evaluation function according to the content of corresponding element information. Information playback device characterized in that it has a. The electronic publication information article according to any one of claims 2 and 3 to 13, wherein element information stored in said storage means is classified into said first information group reproduced and output according to predetermined path information. And element information which is announcement information classified into the second information group which is reproduced and output during a reproduction path of the element information classified into the first information group.