JP2000341598A - Program information display device, program information receiver, program information transmission method, program relating method, program information display method and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retrieve a related program in a short time by displaying the all or one part of program information of the related program, when an instruction is issued with respected to a related keyword. SOLUTION: A program decode means 5 transforms program information in a horizontal blanking interval (VBI) or program information in MPEG2SI sent from a program information separating means 4 to the data of a text format and preserves them on a storage medium 6. A signal processing means 8 performs NTSC decoding in the case of analog broadcasting or extends MPEG2 data and in the case of digital broadcasting and outputs the result to a picture combining means 9. A link information preparing means 7 retrieves a predetermined keyword out of the text of program information of the preserved program. A program selecting means 10 reads the program information of the selected program from the storage medium 6 by a remote controller 14 and outputs it to a program information display means 11. The picture combining means 9 combines the video outputted from the signal processing means 8 and the image outputted from the program information display means 11 and displays 13 the result on a monitor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program information display device, a program information transmission device, a program information transmission method, a program association method, a program information display method, and a program recording medium for displaying program information in a television broadcast. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, viewers are informed of broadcast schedules of television programs by newspapers and magazines. by the way,
As an alternative to newspapers and magazines, EPG (Elect
The electronic program guide (electronic program guide) has been proposed, and its EPG has been proposed.
It is becoming common for viewers to be informed of a broadcast schedule of a television program by using the program. The EPG information is transmitted from a television broadcasting station or the like, and is data of a scheduled broadcast of a television program as described in current newspapers and magazines, and includes a scheduled broadcast date, a time zone, and a channel of the program. , A program name, performers, detailed information on the program, and the like are described for each program.

[0003] On the other hand, in digital multi-channel broadcasting, dozens to hundreds of channels are provided as programs, so that the number of viewers' options is increased, and at the same time, programs that are scheduled to be broadcast on conventional paper media such as newspapers and magazines are provided. The selection becomes extremely complicated. To support such multi-channel broadcasting, the EPG is considered as a basic service. Even in the case of analog broadcasting or digital broadcasting, even when the number of channels to be provided is not large, it is possible to obtain more diverse information by selecting a program using EPG information than by selecting a program on a paper medium. .

FIG. 2 shows an example of conventional EPG information. FIG.
Shows a part of the EPG of “XXX TV”.

[0005] Generally, EPG information as shown in FIG.
In many cases, channel numbers, channel names, program names, schedules, and the like are displayed on a television screen as a program table having a time axis and a channel axis by EPG software of a receiver. FIG. 13 shows an example of a program table having such a time axis and a channel axis.

[0006] The horizontal axis is the channel axis.
NHK education, Mainichi TV, ABC TV, Kansai TV,
Yomiuri TV is displayed in order. The vertical axis indicates programs in the time zone from 21:00 to 22:00. By scrolling the program guide in the time axis direction or the channel axis direction using a remote controller or the like, all the program guides can be looked down on.

[0007] Further, when displaying an EPG, it is also possible to search for a text portion of the EPG information by EPG software to find a program related to the keyword. For example. When the keyword “baseball” is input, “baseball” is added to the text portion of the EPG information.
A list of program names including the keyword is displayed.

[0008]

However, when a text portion of EPG information is searched using EPG software as shown in the prior art, the keyword is set to EPG each time.
Since the process of extracting from the text portion of the information is performed on the text portion of all the program information, it takes time to process the keyword extraction. As a result, there is a problem that it takes time to display the program information corresponding to the keyword.

[0009] Further, errors are likely to occur when extracting keywords, especially personal names, etc. from the text portion of the EPG information.
As a result, there is a problem that the search cannot be performed accurately.

In addition, when a search is simply performed using a keyword, a rebroadcast or a next broadcast in a continuous program may be performed.
Originally, the most relevant program cannot be distinguished from other programs containing the same keyword. Therefore, there is a problem that usability is poor for the viewer.

According to the present invention, when a program related to a program is searched by a keyword, it takes a long time to display the program information, or the search cannot be accurately performed, or the viewer is inconvenient. In view of the problem described above, when a related program is found by EPG information, the related program can be found in a short time, or can be accurately searched, or a program information display device and a program that are easy for a viewer to use. Information transmission device,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a program information transmission method, a program association method, a program information display method, and a program recording medium.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention (corresponding to claim 1) comprises: a storage medium for storing program information indicating broadcast contents of a program; A search is performed to determine whether a predetermined keyword is included in the program information. If the related keyword that is one of the predetermined keywords is included, the reference source stored in the storage medium is searched. From the program information of the programs other than the program, a related program including the same keyword as the related keyword is searched, and identification information for referencing the related program is added to the related keyword of the program information of the reference source program. When displaying program information including the related keyword having identification information of the related program and a program associating unit stored in the storage medium, when an instruction is given to the related keyword, A program information display apparatus characterized by comprising a EPG information display means for displaying all or part of the program the program information.

Further, a second aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 2)
Comprises tag information adding means for adding tag information to a keyword characterizing a program in program information representing broadcast contents of a program, and transmitting means for transmitting program information to which the tag information has been added. A program information transmitting apparatus characterized by the following.

A third aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 3)
Receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to the second invention, a storage medium for storing the received program information, and program information of a reference source program based on the tag information. And search for a related program including the same keyword as the detected keyword from the program information of the programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium. A program associating means for adding identification information for referring to the related program and storing the information in the storage medium, and displaying program information including a keyword to which tag information having identification information of the related program is added. When an instruction is given to a keyword to which tag information having identification information of the related program is added, all or a part of the program information of the related program is displayed. A program information display apparatus characterized by comprising a G information display means.

A fourth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 4)
A receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to the second invention, a program information representing broadcast contents of the program, and a reference program list including reference information to a plurality of programs. A keyword is detected from the storage medium to be stored and the program information of the reference source program based on the tag information, and the same as the detected keyword is detected from the program information of the programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium. Searching at least one or more related programs including a keyword, creating the reference program list including reference program identification information for referring to each related program, storing the list in the storage medium, A program associating unit for adding program list identification information for referring to the reference program list to the related keyword of the information and storing the program list identification information in the storage medium; When displaying the program information including the related keyword, when an instruction is given to the related keyword, the reference program list is displayed, and when one of the programs included in the reference program list is selected, EPG information display means for displaying all or part of program information of a program selected based on the reference program identification information.

A fifth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 5)
Is a storage medium for storing a list of reference programs including broadcast information of a program, reference information to a plurality of programs, and whether a predetermined keyword is included in the program information of the reference source program. And if a related keyword that is one of the predetermined keywords is included, the same keyword as the related keyword is searched for from program information of programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium. Searching at least one or more related programs including the related program, creating the reference program list including reference program identification information for referencing each related program, storing the list in the storage medium, Program associating means for adding program list identification information for referring to the reference program list to the related keyword and storing the program in the storage medium; and the related key having the program list identification information. When displaying program information including a word, when the instruction is given to the related keyword, the reference program list is displayed, and when one of the programs included in the reference program list is selected, the reference program is displayed. EPG information display means for displaying all or a part of program information of a program selected based on identification information.

The sixth invention (corresponding to claim 6)
Comprises link information adding means for adding link information to another program to a keyword included in the program information representing the broadcast content of the program, and transmitting means for transmitting the program information to which the link information has been added. A program information transmitting apparatus characterized by comprising:

The seventh invention (corresponding to claim 7)
Receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention; and displaying program information including the link information, for displaying the program information including the link information. When an instruction is given, E displays all or part of the program information of the program indicated by the link information.
A program information display device comprising PG information display means.

An eighth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 8)
Is characterized in that, when searching for the related program, among the plurality of programs including the same keyword, a program to be broadcast in the future that is closest to the broadcast start time from the reference source program is set as the related program. A first or third program information display device according to the present invention.

A ninth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 9)
Is used as identification information for specifying the related program or the linked program, based on a channel number on which the program is broadcast and a broadcast start time, and using a numerical value that uniquely determines the related program. The first, third, fourth,
A program information display device according to any one of the fifth and seventh aspects of the invention.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 10), a program ID uniquely assigned to each program is used as identification information for specifying the related program or a linked program. The first, third, fourth,
A program information display device according to any one of the fifth and seventh aspects of the invention.

The eleventh invention (corresponding to claim 11) is characterized in that the program information to which link information to another program is added is described in HTML. A program information display device according to the item (1).

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 12), the program information to which link information to another program is added is described in HTML. The program information transmitting device described in (1).

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 13), when the program information is stored in the storage medium, the program information is converted into HTML and stored in the storage medium. , The EPG information display means comprises an HTM
A program information display device according to any one of the first, third, fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, which displays program information described in L.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 14), the keyword to which the identification information of the related program is added or the keyword to which the link information is added is displayed in a different color from the other parts. The first feature is that
A program information display device according to any one of 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the present invention.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 15), the keyword to which the identification information of the related program is added or the keyword to which the link information is added is blinked and displayed. A program information display device according to any one of the first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh aspects of the present invention.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 16), the identification information for specifying a linked program is created based on the channel number on which the program is broadcast and the broadcast start time. A program information transmitting apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, wherein the program uses a numerical value uniquely determined.

A seventeenth invention (corresponding to claim 17) is characterized in that a program ID uniquely assigned to each program is used as identification information for specifying a linked program. A program information transmitting apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention.

An eighteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 18) is characterized in that tag information is added to a keyword characterizing a program in program information representing broadcast contents of the program, and the program is transmitted. This is a program information transmission method.

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 19) is to add tag information from program information including tag information sent by the program information transmitting method according to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention. A program associating method comprising: detecting a specified keyword; searching for another program that includes the same keyword in the program information; and searching for the related program corresponding to the keyword to which the tag information is added.

The twentieth aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 20) relates to a method of displaying program information including a keyword associated with another program by the program associating method according to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention. A program information display method is characterized in that when an instruction is given to a keyword having a program, all or part of the program information of the associated program is displayed.

Further, the twenty-first invention (corresponding to claim 21) provides a method of transmitting a keyword included in program information representing the broadcast content of a program by adding link information to another program. This is a featured program information transmission method.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 22), program information including link information to another program transmitted by the program information transmitting method according to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention is displayed. In this case, a program information display method is characterized in that when an instruction is given to a keyword having link information, all or part of the program information of the program indicated by the link information is displayed.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention (corresponding to claim 23), the program information display apparatus, the program information transmitting apparatus, the program information transmitting method, and the program associating method according to any one of the first to twenty-second aspects of the present invention. , A program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or a part of the functions of each means or each component or each step of the program information display method.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a display device (television) according to a first embodiment.

The display device (television) 1 includes a tuner 3, program information separating means 4, program information decoding means 5, storage medium 6, link information creating means 7, signal processing means 8, screen synthesizing means 9, and program selecting means 10. , A program information display means 11 and a remote control receiving means 12. The display device (television) 1 includes an antenna 2 and a remote controller 14.

The display device (television) 1 receives a broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcasting station, displays a received program, displays received EPG information, and selects a program using the EPG information. Means. Display device (TV) 1
Is an example of the program information display device of the present invention. Tuner 3
Is a means for receiving and demodulating broadcast waves. The program information separating means 4 is a means for separating program information. In the case of analog broadcasting, VBI (horizontal retrace period: Vertic) is used.
al Blanking Interval), and in the case of digital broadcasting, MPEG2 Tran
This is a means corresponding to a sport stream decoder. The program information decoding means 5 receives the received VB
I information and MPEG2 SI (Service Inf
means for decoding program information), that is, means for converting program information into a format usable by the display device (television) 1, for example, a text format, since the program information is normally encoded. It is. The storage medium 6 is a memory, an HDD (hard disk device), or the like, and is a unit for storing program information. The link information creating means 7 searches for a predetermined keyword (word) from the text of the program information, and if a keyword is found in the text of the program information, searches for the closest program having the same keyword. This is a means for storing the result in the storage medium 6. Here, the near program means, for example, a program that is closest to the broadcast start time and will be broadcast in the future, or a program on the same channel. The signal processing means 8 performs NTSC decoding (YC separation, etc.) for analog broadcasting, and MPEG2 Video for digital broadcasting.
This is a means corresponding to Decorder. The screen synthesizing means 9 is a means for synthesizing a video and an image sent from the program information display means 11 and outputting a screen. The program selection means 10 is a means for receiving an input from the remote control 14 from the remote control reception means 12 and outputting program information of the selected program to the program information display means 11. The program information display unit 11 is a unit that creates an image such as an icon or an image to be displayed as a sentence using characters from the data received from the program selection unit 10. Remote control receiving means 12
Is a means for receiving an input from the remote controller 14 and outputting it to the program selecting means 10.

The following are attached to the display device (television) 1. That is, the antenna 2
Is means for converting a broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station into an electric signal and outputting the electric signal to the tuner 3. Remote control 14
Is a means for inputting an operation command or the like for operating the display device (television) 1.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

A broadcast wave transmitted from a broadcast station is converted into an electric signal by an antenna 2 and received by a tuner 3.
The tuner 3 demodulates the broadcast wave and outputs the demodulated video signal to the program information separating means 4 in the case of analog broadcasting and the demodulated data in the case of digital broadcasting. The program information separating means 4 decodes VBI in the case of analog broadcasting, and MPEG2 Tra in the case of digital broadcasting.
The Nsport Stream is decoded, and the decoding result is output to the signal processing unit 8 and the program information decoding unit 5.

First, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information contained in the VBI and the program information contained in the MPEG2 SI sent from the program information separating means 4 into text format data and stores them. It is stored in the medium 6.

The program information 15 shown in FIG. 2 is an example of the program information stored in the storage medium 6 as text data in this manner, which was also referred to in the related art. As an example of the program information, a program whose program name 16 is “XXX TV” will be described. The broadcast date 17 of this program is 1
March 18, 999, broadcast start time 1 of this program
8 is 18:00, and the broadcast end time 19 of this program is
Is 19:00, the channel 20 of this program is 35 channels, the genre 21 of this program is non-fiction, and the detailed program information 22 is described after that. A program whose program name 23 is “Sunday Suspense Theater“ Winter XX ”” and a program whose program name 24 is “Lu Nisei / Ka ○○ Toro Castle” are also described.

In the present embodiment, a numerical value created from a broadcast start time and a channel number is used for identifying a program.
This numerical value may be created by any method as long as the numerical value is unique to each program.
In the program information 15 of FIG. 2, the broadcast start time of the program name 16 is a set of the broadcast date 17 and the broadcast start time 18, and the channel number is channel 20.

On the other hand, the signal processing means 8 receives the signal or data sent from the program information separating means 4, performs NTSC decoding (separation of YC, etc.) for analog broadcasting, and performs digital broadcasting for digital broadcasting. MPEG2 data is decompressed and output to the screen synthesizing means 9.

The link information creating means 7 searches for a predetermined keyword (word) from the text of the program information of the program stored in the storage medium 6. If this keyword is found in the program information of this program, a search is made for a program that has the same keyword in the program information and is scheduled to be broadcast in the near future at the nearest broadcast start time. Also, the search may be performed under the condition that the program is on the same channel as this program. A program that satisfies both of these two conditions may be searched. As a result of this search, program information having link information as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. The program information having the link information is stored in the storage medium 6.

In FIG. 3, program information 25 having link information
The link information to other programs includes link information 26, link information 27, and link information 28. Link information 26
Is "￥ <Pro baseball; ref =" CH23, 1999 /
03/18, 23:30 "￥>". This means that the keyword is "professional baseball" and the program linked to this keyword is a program whose channel number is 23 and starts broadcasting at 23:30 on March 18, 1999. are doing. Similarly, the link information 27 includes “￥ <suspense; ref =“ CH27, 1
999/03/26, 17:00 "￥ >>". The meaning is that the keyword is "Suspense"
The program linked to this keyword is 17:00 on March 26, 1999 with channel number 27.
This means that the program starts broadcasting every minute. Similarly, the link information 28 includes “￥ <animation; ref =” CH
56, 1999/03/26, 13:00 "￥ >>". This means that the keyword is “animation”, and the program linked to this keyword is a program whose channel number starts broadcasting at 13:00 on March 26, 1999 on channel 56. ing. "CH56 to specify a program, March 2, 1999"
For example, "6, 13:00" is displayed as a text character string, but the arrangement of bits in the text character string can be regarded as one numerical value. With such a view, a numerical value for uniquely specifying a program as described above can be obtained.

The remote controller 14 inputs an operation command or the like for operating the display device (television) 1. The input operation command is output to the remote control receiving unit 12. The remote control receiving means 12 receives the operation command, and
Output to The program selecting means 10 interprets the operation command, reads out the program information of the program selected by the remote controller 14 from the storage medium 6, and outputs the program information to the program information display means 11. The program information display means 11 creates an image such as an icon or an image to be displayed as a sentence using characters from the data of the program information, and outputs it to the screen synthesizing means 9.

The screen synthesizing means 9 synthesizes the video output from the signal processing means 8 and the image output from the program information display means 11 and displays the image 13 on a monitor (not shown). The synthesized screen is as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and this screen is displayed on the monitor. As described above, by operating the remote controller 14 while viewing the screen as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to select program information and a program.

This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a screen 29 displayed on the monitor. The screen 29 is configured as follows. The currently broadcast video 30 is a program being broadcast on the currently selected channel. The genre 31 is the genre of the program information of the selected program 35. The broadcast time 32 is a broadcast start time and a broadcast end time of the program information of the selected program 35. The program content 33 is program detailed information of the program information of the selected program 35. The program guide 34 is a program guide having a time axis on the vertical axis and a channel axis on the horizontal axis. The selected program 35 is a program selected by the remote controller 14. By selecting the program title column of the program table 34 with the remote controller 14, the EPG information of the selected program is displayed in the genre 31, the broadcast time 32, and the program content 33.

When the “selected program 35” is selected by the remote controller 14 while the screen 29 of FIG.
The program information is changed to the program information of the selected program, and the genre 31, the broadcast time 32, and the program contents 33 are as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

In FIG. 5, an icon 36 representing a genre or a channel represents the genre or the channel by an icon. The broadcast time 37 is a broadcast start time and an end time of the program. The broadcast start time of the program of the current program information is 18:00 and the broadcast end time is 19:00. The program title 38 is the program name of the current program information. The program content 39 is program detailed information of the current program information. The portion 40 having the link information is displayed blinking, changing color, or underlined.

The portion 40 having the link information in FIG. 5 corresponds to the link information 26 in FIG. When the cursor on the screen is moved by operating the remote controller 14 and the part 40 having the link information is selected, the display is changed to the linked program. That is, as shown in the link information 26 of FIG.
The program information of the program at 23:30 on August 8 is displayed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the link information is displayed in advance from the link source program information after the link information is created, the time required for switching the display is reduced. In the case of a keyword search, link information between programs can be created even if the program information on the transmission side is unchanged.

The display device (television) of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 1 denotes an example of the program information display device of the present invention, and the link information creating means 7 and the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment are examples of the program associating means of the present invention, and the program selecting means of the present embodiment. 10, program information display means, signal processing means 8, and screen synthesizing means 9 are examples of the EPG information display means of the present invention.

Further, in the present embodiment, a numerical value formed by the value of the channel number and the broadcast start time is used to identify the program. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the program ID assigned to the program, such as a G code, can be used. You can use it. When the program ID is used to identify the program, for example, the link information 26 shown in FIG.
"CH> of March 18, 99, 23:30"￥>"
23, 1999/03/18, 23:30 "is replaced with the program ID. By replacing the link information part used for identifying the program in the link information with the program ID, the program ID can be used for identifying the program.

Further, when the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment decodes the program information into text format data, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information into an HTML text format used for describing a web page on the Internet. Storage medium 6
You can save it to In this case, a description such as link information created by the link information creation means 7 or a tag for line feed is inserted, and the description is different from the program information 25 having the link information in FIG. Meaning does not change. If program information is described in HTML text, data in text format can be described more flexibly.

Further, in this embodiment, the keyword portion having the link information is displayed in a different color, blinking, or underlined, but is not limited to this.
In other words, it is only necessary that the keyword be displayed in such a manner that the keyword can be distinguished from other sentences.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a display device (television) according to the present embodiment.
41 shows a block diagram of FIG.

Link information creation means 7 of the first embodiment
Instead of this, in this embodiment, the link destination list creating means 4
2

The link destination list creating means 42 is a means for creating a link to the list instead of the link information to another program as described in the first embodiment. That is, when a keyword is found in the text of the program information, the search unit searches for a program having the same keyword and stores the search result in the storage medium 6.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The link destination list preparing means 42 reads out the program information stored in the storage medium 6, and when a keyword is found in the text of the program information, searches for a program having the same keyword and searches for the same keyword. The program including the list is listed, and link information to the list is created and stored.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the link information to the list created by the link destination list creating means 42. In the program information 43 having the link information, three pieces of link information to the list are created. That is, the link information 44 is
“￥ <Pro baseball; ref =” Table0001 ”￥
>". This means that the keyword is “professional baseball” and the list linked to this keyword is “Table0001”. The link information 45 includes “￥ <suspense; ref =”
Table0002 "￥>". This means that the keyword is “Suspense” and the list linked to this keyword is “Table0002”. The link information 46 is “￥ <animation; ref =“ Table0003 ”￥>”. The meaning is that the keyword is “anime”, and the list linked to this keyword is “Table”.
0003 ".

Next, the screen synthesizing means 9 synthesizes the screen of the program information created by the program information display means 11 and the video created by the signal processing means 8 and displays it on the monitor 13.

An example of display on the monitor is as shown in FIG. 4 as in the first embodiment.

When the user operates the remote controller 14 to select a keyword having link information to the list of the program contents 33, the program selection means 10 and the program information display means 11 display a list of programs as shown in FIG. .

In FIG. 8, a program list 47 displays a program name, a channel, and a broadcast time zone. Further, when any one of the programs in the program list 47 is selected using the remote controller 14, the program selecting means 1
0, the program information display means 11 displays the program information of the selected program again as shown in FIG.

For identification of the program information of each number in the program list 47, a numerical value formed by the values of the channel number and the broadcast start time can be used as in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the link information is displayed in advance from the link source program information after the link information is created, the time required to switch the display is reduced. In the case of a keyword search, link information between programs can be created even if the program information on the transmission side is unchanged.

The display device (television) of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 41 denotes an example of the program information display device of the present invention. The link destination list creating means 42 and the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment are examples of the program associating means of the present invention. The selection means 10, the program information display means, the signal processing means 8, and the screen synthesizing means 9 are examples of the EPG information display means of the present invention.

Further, in the present embodiment, the program list 47 uses the numerical value formed by the channel number and the value of the broadcast start time to identify the program. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The assigned program ID may be used.

Further, when the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment decodes the program information into text format data, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information into an HTML text format used for describing a web page on the Internet. Storage medium 6
You can save it to In this case, a description such as link information created by the link information creating means 7 or a tag for line feed is inserted, and the description is different from the program information 43 having the link information in FIG. Meaning does not change. If program information is described in HTML text, data in text format can be described more flexibly.

Further, in the present embodiment, the keyword portion having the link information is displayed in a different color, blinking, or underlined, but is not limited to this.
In other words, it is only necessary that the keyword be displayed in such a manner that the keyword can be distinguished from other sentences.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a program information transmitting apparatus 78 located on the broadcast station side. The program information transmitting device 78 includes a program information generating unit 79, a program information encoding unit 80, a signal switching unit 81,
Multiplexing means 82, modulation means 83, camera 84, VTR 8
5 is comprised. An antenna 86 is connected to the program information transmitting device 78.

The program information generating means generates program information,
In the generated program information text, tag information is added to a keyword serving as link information to another program, and the keyword information is output to the program information encoding unit 80. The program information encoding means 80 is means for encoding program information in text format. The signal switching means 81 includes a camera 84 and a VTR 8
5 or the like (actually, there are many cameras and VTRs). Multiplexing means 82
Is a means for multiplexing the program information encoded by the program information encoding means 80 into a video / audio signal, which corresponds to inserting data into the VBI in the case of analog broadcasting, and the Transport St in the case of using MPEG2 in digital broadcasting.
This is a means corresponding to the beam encoder. The modulation unit 83 is a unit that modulates the multiplexed signal of the program information into a carrier wave and outputs the carrier wave to the antenna 86. Camera 84
(Actually, there are many) are means for shooting a video. V
TR85 (actually, there are many) is means for reproducing the recorded video and audio data.

The configuration of the display device (television) is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, unlike the first embodiment, the link information creating means 7 is a means for extracting a keyword based on tag information added by a broadcasting station and creating link information.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

On the broadcast station side, the program information transmitting device 78 first generates program information in text format by the program information generating means 79, and in the text of the program information, a keyword serving as link information to another program is used. Tag information. The program information to which the tag information is added is, for example, as shown in FIG. The program information 48 having the tag information includes tag information of tag information 49 to 58. The tag information 49 is “￥ <Takahashi ◇◇ ￥>”, and the tag information 50 is “￥ <△
The tag information 51 is “￥ <Sunday Suspense Theater ￥>”. That is, "Takahashi ◇◇", "Hideki △△", and "Sunday Suspense Theater" can be keywords for creating link information to other programs.

The program information to which the tag information has been added is encoded by the program information encoding means 80 and output to the multiplexing means 82. .

On the other hand, the program information transmitting device 78
4 shoots video for live broadcast programs and
The video created in step 5 is reproduced. Such video information is output to the signal switching means 81. The signal switching means 81
The input of such video information is switched and the multiplexing means 82
Output to

The multiplexing means 82 multiplexes the program information generated in the video signal. That is, V for analog broadcasting
Insert program information into BI, and use MPEG
Transport Street when using 2
am Encoder. The signal obtained by multiplexing the program information thus obtained is modulated into a carrier by the modulation means 83 and transmitted from the antenna 86.

The display device (television) 1 receives the program information to which the tag information sent from the broadcasting station is added. The link information creating means 7 cuts out keywords based on the tag information added by the broadcasting station, and creates link information.

The other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, when performing a keyword search,
Since tag information is added to the program information, link information can be created efficiently, and even if it is difficult to extract keywords from ordinary sentences such as personal names,
Can be easily used as keywords.

The display device (television) of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 1 denotes an example of the program information display device of the present invention, and the link information creating means 7 and the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment are examples of the program associating means of the present invention, and the program selecting means of the present embodiment. 10, program information display means 11, signal processing means 8, and screen synthesizing means 9 are examples of the EPG information display means of the present invention, and the program information generating means 79 of the present embodiment is an example of the tag information adding means of the present invention. The multiplexing means 82 and the modulating means 83 of the present embodiment are examples of the transmitting means of the present invention.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a program number is used to identify a program, which is formed by a channel number and a broadcast start time. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You can use it. When the program ID is used to identify the program, for example, the link information 26 shown in FIG.
"CH> of March 18, 99, 23:30"￥>"
23, 1999/03/18, 23:30 "is replaced with the program ID. By replacing the link information part used for identifying the program in the link information with the program ID, the program ID can be used for identifying the program.

Further, when the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment decodes the program information into text format data, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information into an HTML text format used for describing a web page on the Internet. Storage medium 6
You can save it to In this case, a description such as link information created by the link information creation means 7 or a tag for line feed is inserted, and the description is different from the program information 25 having the link information in FIG. Meaning does not change. If program information is described in HTML text, data in text format can be described more flexibly.

Further, the transmission means of the present embodiment may transmit the program information described in HTML text.

Further, in the present embodiment, the keyword portion having the link information is displayed in a different color, blinked, or underlined, but is not limited to this.
In other words, it is only necessary that the keyword be displayed in such a manner that the keyword can be distinguished from other sentences.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the second embodiment.

Program information in which tag information is added to program information is transmitted from the program information transmitting device 78 in FIG.
The program information transmitting device 78 is the same as in the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the display device (television) 41
Has the same configuration as the second embodiment. However, the difference from the second embodiment is that the link destination list creating means 42 recognizes the word to which the tag information is added as the keyword from the program information to which the tag information is added, and identifies the same keyword. This is a means for searching for a program that the user has and storing the search result in the storage medium 6.

Next, the operation of such an embodiment will be described.

The program information transmitting apparatus at the broadcast station transmits the program information by adding tag information to the program information in the same manner as in the third embodiment.

On the other hand, the display device (television) 41 receives the program information to which the tag information has been added.

The link destination list preparing means 42 reads out the program information stored in the storage medium 6 to which the tag information is added, and finds a word to which the tag information is added in the text of the program information. This is recognized as a keyword, programs having the same keyword are searched, programs containing the same keyword are listed, and link information to the list is created and stored in the storage medium 6.

Otherwise, the same operation as in the second embodiment is performed.

As described above, when performing a keyword search,
Since tag information is added to the program information, link information can be created efficiently, and even if it is difficult to extract keywords from ordinary sentences such as personal names,
Can be easily used as keywords.

The display device (television) of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 41 denotes an example of the program information display device of the present invention. The link destination list creating means 42 and the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment are examples of the program associating means of the present invention. The selecting means 10, the program information displaying means, the signal processing means 8, and the screen synthesizing means 9 are examples of the EPG information displaying means of the present invention, and the program information generating means 79 of the present embodiment is the same as the tag information adding means of the present invention. This is an example, and the multiplexing unit 82 and the modulating unit 83 of the present embodiment are examples of the transmitting unit of the present invention.

Further, in the present embodiment, the program list 47 uses the numerical value formed by the channel number and the value of the broadcast start time to identify the program. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Similarly, a program ID assigned to a program, such as a G code, may be used.

Further, when the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment decodes the program information into text format data, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information into an HTML text format used for describing a web page on the Internet. Storage medium 6
You can save it to In this case, a description such as link information created by the link information creating means 7 or a tag for line feed is inserted, and the description is different from the program information 43 having the link information in FIG. Meaning does not change. If program information is described in HTML text, data in text format can be described more flexibly.

Further, the transmitting means of the present embodiment may transmit program information described in HTML text.

Further, in the present embodiment, the keyword portion having the link information is displayed in a different color, blinked, or underlined, but is not limited to this.
In other words, it is only necessary that the keyword be displayed in such a manner that the keyword can be distinguished from other sentences.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a program information transmitting apparatus on the broadcast station side. The difference from the program information transmitting apparatus 78 of the third embodiment is that the program information generating means 79 creates link information.

The display device (television) 59 is the same as that shown in FIG.
It is configured as follows. That is, the difference from the first embodiment is that the display device (television) 59 has no link information creating means.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

First, the program information transmitting device 78 on the broadcast station side
The program information generating means 79 adds link information to another program to the program information. FIG. 11 shows the program information to which the link information has been added.

That is, program information 6 having link information
Link information 61 to 71 is added to 0. The link information 61 is "￥ <XXX TV;
ref = “CH35, March 25, 1999, 18: 0
0 "￥>". Further, the link information 62 includes “￥
<△△ ○ child; ref = “CH43, 1999/04/0
1,22: 00 "￥>". The link information 63 includes “は <xx; ref =” CH30, 1999 /
03/26, 19:00 "￥>". The meaning of these pieces of link information is the same as in the first embodiment.

The program information transmitting device 78 transmits the program information to which such link information has been added.

On the other hand, the display device (television) 59 receives the program information to which the link information has been added. The program information decoding means 5 converts the program information to which the link information is added into a text format and stores the text information in the storage medium 6.

The rest is the same as the first embodiment.

In this way, it is possible to link programs including a broadcast station's intention, such as a program scheduled to be broadcast next time of a rebroadcast or a continuous program.

The display device (television) of the present embodiment
Reference numeral 59 denotes an example of the program information display device of the present invention. The tuner 3, the program information separating means 4, and the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment are examples of the receiving means of the present invention. The selecting means 10, the program information displaying means 11, the signal processing means 8, and the screen synthesizing means 9 are examples of the EPG information displaying means of the present invention, and the program information generating means 79 of the present embodiment is the link information adding means of the present invention. And the multiplexing unit 82 and the modulating unit 83 of the present embodiment are examples of the transmitting unit of the present invention.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a program number is used to identify a program, which is formed by a channel number and a broadcast start time. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You can use it. When the program ID is used to identify the program, for example, the link information 26 shown in FIG.
"CH> of March 18, 99, 23:30"￥>"
23, 1999/03/18, 23:30 "is replaced with the program ID. By replacing the link information part used for identifying the program in the link information with the program ID, the program ID can be used for identifying the program.

Further, when the program information decoding means 5 of the present embodiment decodes the program information into text format data, the program information decoding means 5 converts the program information into an HTML sentence format used for describing a web page on the Internet. Storage medium 6
You can save it to In this case, a description such as link information created by the link information creating means 7 and a tag for line feed are inserted, and the description is different from the program information 60 having the link information in FIG. Meaning does not change. If program information is described in HTML text, data in text format can be described more flexibly.

[0120] Further, the transmitting means of the present embodiment may be a means for transmitting program information described in HTML text.

Further, in the present embodiment, the keyword portion having the link information is displayed in a different color, blinking, or underlined, but is not limited to this.
In other words, it is only necessary that the keyword be displayed in such a manner that the keyword can be distinguished from other sentences.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, a sixth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, a keyword is selected by selecting a keyword displayed in the program contents 33 in FIG. 4. However, a keyword input field is provided separately from this, and A keyword is directly input, and a list 47 of programs corresponding to the keyword (FIG. 8)
Can be displayed.

In the present embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the keyword is directly input from the remote controller 14.
A keyboard for inputting a keyword may be provided separately from the remote controller 14. This keyboard may be connected to the main body of the display device (television) 41, or may be a virtual keyboard that displays a picture of the keyboard on a monitor and operates the keyboard while looking at the monitor with the remote controller 14. It does not matter.

Further, all or a part of the function of each means or each component constituting the program information display device and the program information transmission device of the present invention may be realized by software by a computer program. It may be realized by using dedicated hardware.

Further, according to the present invention, a program information display device, a program information transmitting device, a program information transmitting method, a program associating method,
The present invention also includes a program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or a part of the functions of any means or each component or each step of the program information display method. Belong.

[0127]

As is apparent from the above description, the time required for search or the like is shortened, or in the case of a keyword search, the program information transmitting side can associate programs between conventional programs. , Or when tag information is added to a keyword that characterizes the content of a program, it is possible to efficiently create association information between programs, or it is difficult to extract a keyword from a normal sentence A program information display device, a program information transmission device, and a program that can be easily used as a keyword even in a word, or enable association between programs including a broadcast station's intention, such as rebroadcasting or next broadcast of a continuous program. An information transmission method, a program association method, a program information display method, and a program recording medium can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device (television) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of program information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of program information having link information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device (television) according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of program information having link information to a list according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a program list according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of program information having tag information according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device (television) according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of program information having link information according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a program information transmitting apparatus according to the third to fifth embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional program table having a time axis and a channel axis.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus (television) 2 Antenna 3 Tuner 4 Program information separation means 5 Program information decoding means 6 Storage medium 7 Link information creation means 8 Signal processing means 9 Screen synthesis means 10 Program selection means 11 Program information display means 12 Remote control reception means 13 Display 14 Remote control 25 Program information with link information 26 to 28 Link information 41 Display device (television) 42 Link destination list creating means 43 Program information with link information 44 to 46 Link information 47 Program list 48 Tag information Program information 49 to 58 tag information 59 display device (television) 60 program information 61 to 71 link information 78 program information transmitting device 79 program information generating means 80 program information encoding means 81 signal switching means 82 Multiplexing means 83 Modulation means 84 Camera 85 VTR 6 antenna

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/03 H04N 7/08 A 7/035 (72) Inventor Yoshifumi Yanagawa 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. DD00 DD12 FF11 GG09 JJ07

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A storage medium for storing program information representing the broadcast contents of a program, and searching whether or not a predetermined keyword is included in the program information of a reference source program, and searching for one of the predetermined keywords If the related keyword is included, the program information of the programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium is searched for a related program including the same keyword as the related keyword. Program associating means for adding identification information for referencing the related program to the related keyword of the program information and storing the program in the storage medium; and program information including the related keyword having the identification information of the related program. At the time of displaying, when an instruction is given to the related keyword, an EPG information display means for displaying all or a part of program information of the related program is provided. Program information display device according to. 2. In program information representing the broadcast content of a program,
A program information transmitting apparatus, comprising: tag information adding means for adding tag information to a keyword characterizing a program; and transmitting means for transmitting the program information to which the tag information has been added. 3. A receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, a storage medium for storing the received program information, and a program information of a reference source program based on the tag information. Keyword, and from the program information of programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium, search for a related program including the same keyword as the detected keyword. A program associating means for adding identification information for referring to the related program and storing the information in the storage medium; and displaying program information including a keyword with tag information having identification information of the related program. When an instruction is given to a keyword to which tag information having identification information of the related program is added, all or a part of the program information of the related program is displayed. A program information display device comprising: an EPG information display unit. 4. A receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 2, a program information representing broadcast contents of the program, and a reference program list including reference information to a plurality of programs. A storage medium to be stored, a keyword is detected from the program information of the reference source program based on the tag information, and the same as the detected keyword is detected from the program information of programs other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium. Searching for at least one or more related programs including a keyword, creating the reference program list including reference program identification information for referencing each related program, storing the list in the storage medium, Program associating means for adding program list identification information for referring to the reference program list to the related keyword of information and storing the program in the storage medium; When displaying the program information including the related keyword having the information, when the instruction is given to the related keyword, the reference program list is displayed, and one of the programs included in the reference program list is selected. If
EPG information display means for displaying all or a part of program information of a program selected based on the reference program identification information. 5. A storage medium for storing program information indicating broadcast contents of a program, a reference program list including reference information for a plurality of programs, and a program information of a reference source program including a predetermined keyword. Whether or not the relevant keyword is one of the predetermined keywords is included, from the program information of the program other than the reference source program stored in the storage medium, the relevant keyword and Search for at least one or more related programs including the same keyword, create the reference program list including reference program identification information for referring to each related program, save the list in the storage medium, and Program association means for adding program list identification information for referring to the reference program list to the related keyword of the program information and storing the program information in the storage medium; and When displaying the program information including the serial related keywords when the related keyword to display the reference program list and instructions is performed on, a selected one of the programs included further in the reference program list,
EPG information display means for displaying all or a part of program information of a program selected based on the reference program identification information. 6. Link information adding means for adding link information to another program to a keyword included in program information representing broadcast contents of a program, and transmitting the program information to which the link information has been added. Means for transmitting program information. 7. A receiving means for receiving program information transmitted by the program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: when displaying program information including the link information, a keyword added to the link information is displayed. A program information display device, comprising: an EPG information display means for displaying all or a part of program information of a program indicated by link information when instructed. 8. When retrieving the related program, a program to be broadcast in the future with the closest broadcast start time from the reference source program among a plurality of programs including the same keyword is determined as the related program. The program information display device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein: 9. A numerical value which is created based on a channel number on which a program is broadcast and a broadcast start time, and which uniquely defines the relevant program, as identification information for identifying the relevant program or a linked program. The program information display device according to any one of claims 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7, wherein the device is used. 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein a program ID uniquely assigned to each program is used as identification information for specifying the related program or a linked program. 8. The program information display device according to any one of 7. 11. The program information display device according to claim 7, wherein the program information to which link information to another program is added is described in HTML. 12. The program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the program information to which link information to another program is added is described in HTML. 13. The program associating means converts program information into HTML and saves the program information in the storage medium when storing the program information in the storage medium, and the EPG information display means stores the program information described in HTML. The program information display device according to any one of claims 1, 3, 4, and 5, wherein information is displayed. 14. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the keyword to which the identification information of the related program is added or the keyword to which the link information is added is displayed in a different color from other parts. The program information display device according to any one of claims 5 and 7. 15. The keyword to which the identification information of the related program is added or the keyword to which link information is added is displayed by blinking.
The program information display device according to any one of 3, 4, 5, and 7. 16. A numerical value that is created based on a channel number on which a program is broadcast and a broadcast start time and that uniquely identifies the program is used as identification information for specifying a link destination program. 7. The program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: 17. The program information transmitting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a program ID uniquely assigned to each program is used as identification information for specifying a link destination program. 18. A program information transmission method characterized by adding tag information to a keyword characterizing a program in program information representing broadcast contents of the program and transmitting the program information. 19. A program to which a tag with tag information added is detected from program information including tag information transmitted by the program information transmission method according to claim 18, and another program including the same keyword in the program information. And searching for a related program corresponding to the keyword to which the tag information is added. 20. When displaying program information including a keyword associated with another program by the program association method according to claim 19, when an instruction is given to a keyword having an associated program, the associated program is displayed. A program information display method characterized by displaying all or a part of program information of a program. 21. A program information transmitting method, wherein a keyword included in program information representing broadcast contents of a program is added with link information to another program and transmitted. 22. When displaying program information including link information to another program sent by the program information transmission method according to claim 21, when an instruction is given to a keyword having link information, a link is issued. A program information display method characterized by displaying all or a part of program information of a program indicated by information. 23. A program information display device, a program information transmission device, a program information transmission method, a program association method, and a program information display method according to any one of claims 1 to 22. A program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute all or a part of the functions of each step.