JP2000270313A - Catv information service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To relieve a labor to select information which the user desires to view in a multi-channel CATV information service system. SOLUTION: A CATV station 11 stores a plurality of sets of information 12-14 (information A-C) with respect to one theme. Furthermore, the CATV station 11 stores user information 15 including an IP address of the like of each user. When the user requests information relating to this theme, an information selection means 16 of the CATV station 11 references the user information 15 to select information (such as information A) in matching with the user requesting the information and a user terminal 18 transmits the selected information to a connected transmission line 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a CATV-LAN.
The present invention relates to an information providing system using the information. Recently, CATV
Has been used not only as an original co-antenna television system or a cable television system but also as a transmission path for performing bidirectional communication by performing band conversion and band compression of various information. Such a network system is called a CATV-LAN.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art CATV is a community antenna television (Communication) that originally distributes a television broadcast received by a common antenna to each home through a transmission path of a coaxial cable.
munityAntenna Television). But,
Since CATV has been used for purposes other than mere broadcast retransmission, cable television (Cab
le Television).

[0003] In recent years, bidirectional CATVs have become popular in which communications can be performed in the reverse direction from each home to the center using a frequency band not used for television signals. As a result, it has become possible to use CATV for purposes other than television broadcasting, for example, a disaster prevention / crime prevention monitor system, an automatic meter reading system for electricity and gas, and the like.
With regard to television broadcasting, it has become possible to provide television programs that allow viewers to participate at home, and that viewers can produce and send programs to the center.

[0004] In addition, multi-channel transmission is possible with a coaxial cable, and the number of channels can be increased by using an optical fiber cable. Such a CA
With the increase in the number of TV channels, CATV
A large-scale program supply company has been established to link the two.

[0005]

In the above-described multi-channel CATV information providing system, it is not always easy for a user to select information (program) that the user wants to view. In general, the more channels you can select,
It takes more effort and time to find the channel you want to watch.

[0006] In particular, it is often a wasteful effort to find information that the user really wants to view from many information groups including information that the user does not care about or unnecessary information. There is no need for the user to waste time and perform complicated operations due to the presentation of such unnecessary information to the user.

Therefore, the present invention provides a multi-channel CAT
In a V information providing system, a main purpose is to reduce the labor required for a user to select information to view.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a CATV information providing system according to the present invention, when providing information to a specific user, identifies the information of the user and based on the identification result. And changing the content of the information provided to the user.

As a specific configuration, the CATV information providing system identifies a network to which a user who wants to receive information belongs, and based on the identification result, determines the content of the information to be provided to the user. change.

As another aspect, the characteristics of each user are registered in advance in a CATV station (server), and the characteristics of a user who is to be provided with information are referred to from the registered information of the CATV station, and the result of the reference is referred to. Based on the information, the content of the information to be provided to the user is changed.

As still another aspect, the characteristics of each user are registered in advance in each user terminal, the characteristics of the user who is to receive the provision of information are referred to from the user terminal, and based on the reference result, Change the content of the information provided to the user.

[0012] As a second configuration of the CATV information providing system according to the present invention, the characteristics of each user are registered in advance in each user terminal, and each user terminal can register a CATV station based on the characteristics of the registered user. May be configured to select and display the information provided from.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to select information related to the user or necessary information and provide the selected information to the user, so that the user's time and complicated operation required for channel selection can be reduced. User satisfaction can be improved.

In each of the above configurations and modes, it is preferable that the function of the user terminal is further changed based on the identification result of the user information.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a CATV information providing system according to the present invention. The CATV station 11 has a plurality of different pieces of information 12 to 14 for one theme.
(Information A to C) are stored. Further, the user information 15 including the IP address of the user terminal, for example, is stored in the CAT.
It is stored in the V station 11.

When a user requests information on this theme, the information selecting means 16 of the CATV station 11 refers to the user information 15 and selects information matching the user who has requested the information and sends it to the transmission path 17. I do. User terminal 18
Then, the communication device 19 receives the information A on the transmission path 17 and causes the monitor 20 to display it. In this way, the user can obtain only information relevant to the user.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described using some more specific embodiments. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a C according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram of an ATV information provision system. CATV station 2
1 is connected to transmission lines 22 to 24 of a plurality of networks, and a plurality of information 25 to 27 (information A to
C) is stored in the CATV station 21. For example, information A
Is weather forecast for southern Hyogo prefecture, information B is for northern Hyogo prefecture, and information C is for weather forecast for Osaka prefecture.

The information selection definition information 28 for selecting and providing information for each network is stored in the CATV station 21.
Is stored inside. The information selection definition information 28 includes, for example, a table of each network and the IP address of the user to which the network belongs, and a table of the regional division of the weather forecast and the corresponding network.

When a user requests information on weather forecast, the information selection means 29 of the CATV station 21 refers to the information selection definition information 28 and selects information matching the network to which the user who has requested the information belongs. . For example,
When the network to which the user belongs is located in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, the information A is selected and transmitted to the transmission line 24 of the network. In the user terminal 18, the communication device 1
9 receives the information A on the transmission path 24 and causes the monitor 20 to display it.

The network to which each user belongs is usually
It almost corresponds to the area or district to which the user belongs.
Therefore, with the above configuration, information related to the area or district can be provided on a network basis. In addition to weather forecasts, detailed information closely related to the area, such as railway timetables, festival and event information, etc. It is possible to provide a user with an information providing service.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The CATV station 31 has a plurality of pieces of information 3 related to shopping information.
2 to 34 (information A to information B) are stored. For example, information A is women's clothing, information B is computer equipment,
Information C is shopping information regarding the video game software. Further, characteristics such as gender, age, and occupation of the user registered when each user subscribed to CATV are stored in the CATV station 31 as user registration information 35. Each of the information 32 to 34 is provided with data for comparison with the user registration information 35. For example, information A is a female adult, information B is a male adult, and information C
Is provided with section data for those under 30 years old.

When this shopping information is requested from the user terminal 18 via the communication device 19 and the transmission path 36, the CAT
The information selecting means 37 of the V station 31 refers to the user registration information 35, compares the information with the data assigned to each of the information 32 to 34, and retrieves information having data matching the characteristics of the user who has requested the information. select. For example, when the user is a female adult, the information A is selected and transmitted to the transmission line 36. In the user terminal 18, the communication device 19 is connected to the transmission line 1
7 is received and displayed on the monitor 20.

The above-mentioned user registration information 35 is usually registered when a user subscribes to CATV. When starting a new information providing service, the CATV station 31 uses such user information that has been conventionally managed, and selects information required by each user without acquiring user information again. Can be supplied.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
The CATV station 41 stores a plurality of pieces of information 42 to 44 (information A to C) related to sporting events. For example, information A is baseball, information B is soccer, and information C is sports event information on golf. In the user terminal 47, user information 48 including user characteristics is registered in advance. The user information 48 can include information such as hobbies and preferences in addition to general items such as the sex, age, and occupation of the user. For example, a favorite sport of each user is registered in the user information 48.
The user information 48 is normally registered at the time of initial setting of the user terminal 47.

When a user requests information on a sporting event using the user terminal 47, the user terminal 47
Sends the user information 48 to the transmission line 46 with the request attached. The information selection means 45 of the CATV station 41 that has received the information request from the user and the user information selects information that matches the characteristics of the user who has requested the information. For example,
If the user's favorite sport is golf, information C is selected and transmitted to the transmission path 46. In the user terminal 47, the communication device 19 receives the information A on the transmission line 46 and displays the information A on the monitor 20.

(Embodiment 4) In the above-described embodiment, when a user requests information on a certain theme,
The CATV station selects a piece of information matching the user from a plurality of pieces of information based on the user information and the like, and transmits the selected piece of information to the transmission path. However, a configuration in which the user terminal makes this selection is also possible. FIG. 5 shows a C according to the fourth embodiment having such a configuration.
1 shows a configuration diagram of an ATV information providing system.

In FIG. 5, the CATV station 51 stores a plurality of pieces of information 52 to 54 (information A to C) relating to one theme as described in the above embodiment. User information 58 including the characteristics of the user is registered in the user terminal 57 in advance. Each of the information 52 to 54 is provided with data to be compared with the user information 58.

When there is a request for information on this theme from the user terminal 57 via the communication device 19 and the transmission path 56, the information synthesizing means 55 of the CATV station 51 sends a plurality of information 52 to 54 (information A .. C) and sends them out to the transmission path 56. Here, the combination means simply combining a plurality of pieces of information for simultaneous transmission to the same transmission line, and each piece of information is independent.

In the user terminal 57, the communication device 19 receives the information A to C on the transmission line 56,
Performs comparison between the data assigned to each of the information A and B and the user information 58. Then, information matching the user information 58 is selected and displayed on the monitor 20.

(Embodiment 5) In the embodiment described above,
The CATV station prepares a plurality of independent information A to C corresponding to the user for one theme. Of course, the contents of each of the information A to C do not necessarily have to be completely different, and may be similar information, or may be information that is only partially different, but they are independent of each other at least as information files.

However, in the case where only a part of the contents of the information A to C is different, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the same information part is redundantly given to each of the information A to C to avoid waste. That is, the same information portion is stored as common main information, and different information portions are stored as a plurality of sub-information. Then, a plurality of different pieces of information are generated by merging each of the plurality of pieces of sub-information with the main information. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a CATV information providing system according to the fifth embodiment having such a configuration.
Shown in

6, the CATV station 61 stores common main information 62 (information A) and a plurality of different sub-information 63 and 64 (information A ′, information A ″). Applying to the example of the information on the weather forecast shown in the form 1, the information A is the main screen of the whole weather forecast, the information A 'is the specific weather, temperature, and the specific information of the southern Hyogo prefecture, and the information A "is the northern Hyogo prefecture. This is display data such as humidity. Also,
The CATV station 61 stores user information 65 including a correspondence table between the IP address of each user and the network or region to which the user belongs.

When there is a request for information related to the weather forecast from the users 67 and 68, the information selecting / merging means 66 of the CATV station 61 refers to the user information 65 and selects sub-information matching the user who has requested the information. . For example, the information A ′ is selected for the user 67 located in the southern part of Hyogo prefecture, and the information A ″ is selected for the user 68 located in the northern part of Hyogo prefecture. The selected sub information A ′ or A ″ is selected. Main information A
And the obtained information A + A ′ or A + A ″ is transmitted to the transmission line 6 to which the user terminals of the respective users 67 and 68 are connected.
9, 70. In this way, on the monitor of the user terminal of the user 67, the display data of the weather, temperature, humidity, etc. of the southern part of Hyogo prefecture is displayed on the main screen of the whole weather forecast, and the monitor of the user terminal of the user 68 is displayed. On the main screen of the entire weather forecast, display data such as weather, temperature, humidity and the like in the northern part of Hyogo prefecture are displayed.

(Embodiment 6) FIG. 7 shows a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the information provided to the user is not limited to the information displayed on the monitor as in the above-described embodiment, and includes a special function provided to the user using a tool such as a displayed button. . In FIG. 7, the display CATV
The bureau 71 includes a plurality of pieces of information 72, 7 on one theme.
3 (information A and B) and a special function permission code 74 for permitting the user terminal to use the special function. Further, the user information 75 including the correspondence table between the IP address of the user terminal and the availability of the special function is CAT.
It is stored in the V station 71.

Specific examples of the special function include a recording function and a recording function (video capture function). Users registered in advance by contract can use this special function to create content (information, articles). Thus, a specific contracted user, as a so-called private reporter, can easily perform news gathering at home and the surroundings, production of contents, and upload to the CATV station 71.

When a user 77 who is permitted to use the special function by contract receives a request for information on the above-mentioned theme, the information selecting / merging means 76 of the CATV station 71
Refer to the user information 75. When it is determined that the user 77 who has requested the information is a user who is permitted to use the special function, the information 72 includes a special function permission code 74.
To the transmission path 79 to which the user terminal of the user 77 is connected.

User 77 receiving information from transmission line 79
The information A and the special function operation tool for using the special function are displayed on the monitor of the user terminal. By operating buttons and the like of this operation tool, the user 77 can use a special function.

On the other hand, when there is a request for information on the theme from a user 78 who is not permitted to use the special function, the information selecting / merging means 76 of the CATV station 71 refers to the user information 75 and requests the information. It is determined that the user 78 is not permitted to use the special function. In this case, the information selection / merge unit 76 merges the information 73 (information B) with the information 72 (information A) and sends the merged information to the transmission line 80 to which the user terminal of the user 78 is connected.

User 78 receiving information from transmission line 80
The information A and the information B are displayed on the monitor of the user terminal. That is, the information B is displayed instead of the special function operation tool displayed for the user 77 described above. Therefore, a general user who has not contracted to use the special function can enjoy a normal monitor display without discomfort.

[0040]

As described above, the CAT of the present invention
According to the V information providing system, only the information relevant to each user can be displayed on the monitor of the user terminal, so that the user can reduce the labor for selecting the information that he or she wants to view, and can satisfy the user. The degree improves.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a CATV information providing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a CATV information providing system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CATV station 12-14 information 15 user information 16 information selection means 17 transmission line 18 user terminal 19 communication device 20 monitor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 15/403 340A F-term (Reference) 5B075 PQ02 PQ12 5B089 GA11 GA21 HA06 HA20 JA33 JA36 JB04 JB05 KA01 KA04 KB06 KB13 KC23 KC44 KC53 LB13 LB14 LB18 5C064 BA01 BA02 BB04 BC16 BD02 BD03 BD05 BD08 BD09

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A CATV information providing system for providing information to a user using a CATV-LAN information communication network, wherein when providing information to a specific user, the information of the user is identified, and based on the identification result, A CATV information providing system for changing contents of information provided to the user. 2. A network to which a user who wishes to receive information is identified, and based on the identification result,
2. The CATV information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the information provided to the user is changed. 3. The characteristics of each user are registered in the CATV station in advance, and the characteristics of the user who is to be provided with information are referred to from the registered information of the CATV station. 2. The CATV information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the information to be provided is changed. 4. The characteristics of each user are registered in advance in each user terminal, the characteristics of the user who is to receive the provision of information are referenced from the user terminal, and provided to the user based on the reference result. 2. The CATV information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the information to be changed is changed. 5. A CATV information providing system for providing information to a user using a CATV-LAN information communication network, wherein characteristics of each user are registered in advance in each user terminal, and each user terminal is registered. A CATV information providing system for selecting and displaying information provided by a CATV station based on characteristics of a user who is present. 6. The CATV information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the content of the information provided to the user is partially changed. 7. Based on the identification result of the user information,
2. The CA according to claim 1, further comprising changing a function of the user terminal.
TV information providing system.