JP2002135671A - System for retrieving tv program web site, client device and server unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain URL information of a TV program, which is correctly synchronized with a TV program under viewing through the use of a client device, even if there is a change exists in the broadcasting schedule of the TV program in a TV program Web site retrieving system which is constituted of the client device for requesting URL information related to the TV program and a server unit for providing the URL information concerning the request. SOLUTION: By successively changing a TV program database constituted of categories of URL information related to the TV broadcasting program in the server unit, when the TV broadcasting is changed, the client device requests the URL information related to the TV broadcasting program being viewed at present to the server unit and obtains URL information which is synchronized correctly with the program being viewed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology relating to a system for retrieving Internet homepage information related to a television program, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus having a television tuner capable of accessing a network such as a personal computer and the homepage. The present invention relates to a system including an information processing device that provides information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by connecting to the Internet,
Browser browsing of homepages and use of e-mail have become common, and in such a situation, many homepages related to programs broadcast on television have been established.

Conventionally, as a method of introducing a URL (uniform resource locator) of a homepage related to such a television program to a viewer of the television program, a telop is broadcast on a movie release surface of the television program, or the URL is transmitted by voice.
A method such as reading aloud is used. However, the URL of the homepage is composed of a series of alphabets, and it is extremely complicated and troublesome to take notes on the television program viewer side. In addition, even if a homepage related to a television program exists, it is not always introduced, so that it cannot be said that a sufficient environment for a viewer to easily access the homepage is prepared.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-177532 discloses a method in which television program table data composed of URL information of home pages related to individual television programs is stored in a storage means such as a client computer in advance. The stored channel information is compared with the currently viewed channel information and the URL corresponding to the TV program is compared.
A technique for displaying the screen of the homepage indicated by a symbol simultaneously with the television screen has been disclosed.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, in order to search a homepage of a television program required by a viewer, television program table data composed of URLs related to individual television programs is searched. Since the content is previously stored in the storage means of the client computer, a problem occurs when the currently broadcast content does not match the content of the TV program table data captured in advance. In other words, if the time zone of the TV program is changed due to some influence, or if the broadcast frame of the TV program is switched, an incorrect homepage will be displayed without matching the TV program table data. The most familiar example is an example in which the broadcast of a professional baseball game is extended, and the subsequent programs are brought down. Such an example is occurring on a daily basis. Further, in such a case, when a homepage related to a television program is to be displayed, a URL is searched based on the contents of the TV program table data which has been pre-fetched, so that the homepage desired by the viewer may not be displayed. There is a problem that impairs.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a television program homepage search system according to the present invention is provided with a client device capable of receiving a television broadcast and viewing a television program, connected to the client device via a network, A server device having a database of URL information related to the television program, and the client device is configured to provide a URL related to the television program being viewed.
An information acquisition request is made to the server device, and the server device provides URL information related to a program being viewed by the client device in response to the URL information acquisition request of the client device based on the database. And the client device displays the URL information acquired from the server device on a display screen of a television program to be viewed.

Further, the client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention is a client device capable of receiving a television broadcast and viewing a television program, and sets a request condition for obtaining URL information related to the television program. Requesting means for making a request to acquire the URL information, and instructing means for making an acquisition request for the URL information, and acquiring the URL information relating to the currently viewed television program based on the acquisition request condition set by the condition setting means. A request is made to a server device having a database of URL information related to the television program via a network in accordance with an instruction of the instruction means, and the acquired URL information is displayed on a display screen of the television program for viewing. It is characterized by doing.

[0008] Further, the client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention has the instructing means for making a request for acquiring the URL information to the server device by one instruction operation. .

[0009] Further, the client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention selects the URL information related to the program of the television broadcast from a plurality of genres, whereby the URL of the genre selected for the server device is selected. It is characterized by having the request setting instruction means capable of making a setting for making an information acquisition request.

[0010] Further, the client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention includes the request setting means capable of setting the server device to make a request to acquire the URL information at predetermined time intervals. It is characterized by.

[0011] Further, the client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention is characterized in that the URL is transmitted to the server device every time the audio of the television broadcast changes.
It is characterized by having the request setting means capable of setting for making an information acquisition request.

[0012] Further, the server device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention is a server device for providing URL information related to a television broadcast television program, and the server listens to the television broadcast television program. A broadcast station database that identifies a television program being viewed in response to a request to obtain URL information related to the television program from a client device capable of receiving the information, and a program information database that retrieves URL information related to the television program. The TV program database is configured with URL information of a plurality of genres related to the TV program for each time zone, and when the TV broadcast program is changed, the contents of the program information database are sequentially updated. It is characterized by changing.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The television program homepage search system of the present invention is used in a form in which a client device such as a personal computer and a server device are connected via a network such as the Internet. FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a server device constituting a television program homepage search system of the present invention. The server device of the present invention includes:
CPU 100, ROM 101, RAM 102, storage device 103 such as a hard disk, display device 10
4. Keyboard 105 and mouse 10 as input devices
6. A modem 107 serving as a connection port of a network, a database 108 for specifying a broadcast station, and a database 109 for searching a program URL or the like. The CPU 100 controls the entire server device. The ROM 101 stores various programs and fixed data used in the server device,
Some of these are loaded into the RAM 102 and used.
Various programs and data are loaded into the RAM 102 and used. A storage device 103 such as a hard disk stores various programs and data.
Used to load. The display device 104 displays various information using a liquid crystal display or the like. The keyboard 105 and the mouse 106 are used as input devices for receiving key inputs, coordinate inputs, and the like. The modem 107 is used for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device such as a client device via a network. The broadcast station identification database 108 is used to identify a broadcast station by a region code or a channel. The program URL search database 109 is used to search for information such as a URL related to the television program being viewed by the client from the date and time after the broadcast station is specified.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a client device constituting the television program homepage search system of the present invention. The client device according to the present invention includes the CPU 200 and the RO
M201, RAM 202, storage device 203 such as hard disk, display device 204, keyboard 205 and mouse 206 as input device, modem 207, remote control light receiving unit 208, panel switch 209, tuner 2
10, display controller 211, frame buffer 21
2. It is composed of an audio decoder 213 and a speaker 214. The CPU 200 controls the entire client device. The ROM 201 stores various programs and fixed data used in the client device, and some of these are loaded into the RAM 202 and used. RAM 20
2 is used by loading various programs and data.
A storage device 203 such as a hard disk stores various programs and data, and is loaded into the RAM 202 and used. The display device 204 displays various information using a liquid crystal display or the like. Keyboard 205
The mouse 206 is used as an input device for receiving key input, coordinate input, and the like. The modem 207 is used for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device such as a server device via a network. Remote control light receiving unit 208 and panel switch 20
Reference numeral 9 denotes a user interface portion for operating the client device such as inputting an instruction for operating the tuner 210. The instruction input can be performed using the keyboard 205 or the mouse 206. Tuner 210 receives television waves via an antenna. The display controller 211 demodulates the video signal of the currently selected channel from the radio wave received by the tuner 210. The frame buffer 212 combines and generates a broadcast video demodulated by the display controller 211 and data obtained by converting a character string or the like generated in the client device of the present invention into video data. The audio decoder 213 demodulates audio data from the television wave received by the tuner 210. The speaker 214 outputs audio data.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the front surface of the display device 204 constituting the client device of the present invention. Service selection key 30 provided on the front of this display
1 is the UR of the homepage related to the TV program you are watching
This is an example of a key for activating the operation of the client device of the present invention that searches for L, and is also one of the panel switches 209 shown in FIG. The same operation can be started by using a remote controller.

With the above configuration, the URL of the home page in the TV program home page search system of the present invention
A method for acquiring information will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of acquiring URL information of a homepage related to a television program in the client device of the present invention. When the client apparatus of the present invention presses the service selection key 301 while displaying a TV broadcast program, an instruction for searching a URL of a homepage related to the TV program being viewed is issued (S401). According to this instruction, the client device creates a request command to the server device (S402). The request command includes the channel of the receiving broadcast station being viewed at the time the service selection key 301 is pressed, the area code indicating the viewing area, and the service content requested by the server device. The channel information of the broadcasting station being received is acquired from the tuner 21. In addition, the area codes are classified according to the viewable areas of television broadcasting stations nationwide, and the area codes for each client device are selected and set by the client device from a list previously set on the server device side. Shall be kept. Also, regarding the service contents, U
The genre of the RL information can be selected and set.
Here, the genre means, for example, on the request setting screen shown in FIG. 5, (1) URL acquisition of the homepage of the program itself in which the program is established, (2) sponsor (company, etc.) providing the program. URL acquisition of homepage,
(3) Acquisition of the URL of the homepage of the performer who is appearing in the program, (4) Acquisition of other information (e-mail address, etc.), etc., are considered. Is set, and the contents set when the service selection key 301 is pressed are reflected in the request command. Next, software for Internet connection is activated, and by connecting to a network, a request command, which is request information of a service for searching for URL information of a homepage related to a television program currently being viewed by the server apparatus of the present invention, is transmitted. The call is transmitted (S403).

On the other hand, the server apparatus of the present invention comprises a broadcast station specifying database 108 for specifying a broadcast station from the area code and channel shown in FIG. 7 and a television broadcast by each broadcast station shown in FIG. A program URL composed of various URL information of a homepage related to each program in the program table
And the like. When the broadcast schedule of each broadcasting station changes, the database 109 is changed, and maintenance is performed so that the broadcast contents that are currently in progress always match the database 109. Shall be.
Incidentally, as one of the methods for maintaining the database 109, when a broadcast schedule of a program is changed or a program is modified, each broadcasting station accesses the server device of the present invention and inputs a user name and a password. The authentication can be performed by correcting a portion related to the program of the own station in the database 109, but is not limited thereto.
Any method can be used as long as the database 109 can be modified according to a change in the broadcast schedule of the program or a change in the program.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of providing URL information of a homepage related to a television program in the server device of the present invention. Upon receiving a request command transmitted as a request for providing URL information of a homepage related to a television program from the client device (S601), the server device of the present invention receives a broadcast station identification database based on the channel and the region code included in the request command. By searching for the broadcast station 108, the broadcast station being viewed on the client device is specified (S60).
2). The area codes are classified in advance on the server device side according to the television broadcasting area, and the client device side sets an area code corresponding to the residence area. The area code used in the television may be used as the area code (the television has a function of automatically setting a channel corresponding to the area code by inserting the area code). For example, the area code of the client device is 61 (Osaka) and the channel is 4ch
If so, the server apparatus can specify the broadcast station being viewed on the client apparatus if the area code and the channel information are set in the request command. Next, the server device searches the database 109 for searching a program URL or the like constituted by various URL information of a homepage related to each program of the TV program table broadcasted by each broadcasting station having the contents shown in FIG. 8 based on the current date and time. ,
The URL information requested by the client device is specified (S603). Finally, the search result is transmitted to the client device as a response message (S604).
The response message includes the search result and the corresponding URL information.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the client device receives the response message transmitted from the server device (S404). Upon receiving the response message, the client device creates a character string such as a URL to be displayed on the display device 204 of the client device in the RAM 202 based on the response message (S4).
05). The character string created in the RAM 202 is combined with the image of the television broadcast being viewed in the frame buffer 212 as image data and displayed on the display device 204 (S406). After the character string such as the URL is displayed for a certain period of time, it is deleted and the display returns to the normal television broadcast image display. FIG. 9 is an example of the display content, but the display content is not limited to this, and any content that can be recognized by the viewer may be used.
Further, the acquired URL information may be stored in a storage device of the client device, and may be used when accessing a homepage separately. With the above procedure, the client device can acquire the URL of the homepage related to the television program being viewed from the server device, and can display the URL information. Further, a time for making a request for URL information to the server device can be set on the request setting screen shown in FIG. For example, if the time is set such as "every 60 minutes" or "start time is 12:00", the URL information of the URL information is automatically transmitted to the server device in the set time unit and time when watching the television program. Requests can be made. Alternatively, a VTR implements a commercial cut function by using switching of an audio signal between a television broadcast program and a commercial, but the client device of the present invention automatically switches to a server device when an audio signal is switched. Settings for requesting URL information can also be made. In this setting, the audio decoder 213 detects switching of the audio signal (monaural → stereo, monolingual → bilingual, etc.), automatically requests the server device for URL information, and acquires the URL information. You can also.

[0020]

As described above in detail, according to the television program homepage search system of the present invention, URL information of a homepage related to a television program requested in real time from the client device (for example, a homepage opened by the program, The server device always provides the latest URL information from the database for the URL information of the website of the sponsor and the performers, etc. by maintaining the database itself. It is possible to acquire URL information related to a television program that is always being watched without being affected by the schedule change.

Further, according to the client apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to select a URL information related to a television program with desired contents and to instruct a request to acquire the URL information. URL information can be obtained.

Further, according to the client device of the present invention, the user can easily instruct the acquisition of the URL information directly when necessary while viewing the television program, so that the user can operate the television screen without inconvenience. it can.

Further, according to the client apparatus of the present invention, the URL information is automatically acquired and displayed at set time intervals without instructing the URL information acquisition request, so that the user can watch the television screen. Without obstruction, it is possible to know the URL information of the homepage related to the television program being viewed.

Further, according to the client apparatus of the present invention, the URL information is automatically obtained and displayed at the time of switching the sound of the TV program without instructing the URL information obtaining request. The user can know the URL information of the homepage related to the television program being viewed without hindering the viewing.

Further, according to the server device of the present invention, the television program database composed of URL information related to the television program accompanying the broadcast change of the television program is maintained as needed, so that the client device can view the database. It is possible to provide accurate URL information corresponding to a television program.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a server device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the client device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a front surface of a display device of the client device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the client device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of a request setting screen of a URL information acquisition request in the client device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the server device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example of a logical configuration of a database for specifying a broadcast station from a region code and a frequency in the server device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a logical configuration example of a database in which a program guide broadcasted by each broadcast station and various URL information related to the program guide are incorporated in the server device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a display example of acquired URL information displayed on the display screen of the client device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 CPU 101 ROM 102 RAM 103 Storage device 104 Display device 105 Keyboard 106 Mouse 107 Modem 108 Broadcasting station specifying DB 109 DB for searching program URL etc.

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A client device capable of receiving a television broadcast and viewing a television program, and a UR connected to the client device via a network and associated with the television program.
In a television program homepage search system configured with a server device that provides L information, the server device has a database of URL information related to the television program, and the client device searches for the television program being viewed. A request for obtaining related URL information is made to the server device, and the server device sends the U
U related to the program being viewed by the client device in response to a request to acquire RL information
A television program homepage search system, wherein RL information is provided based on the database, and the client device displays the URL information acquired from the server device on a display screen of a television program to be viewed. 2. A client device capable of receiving a television broadcast and viewing a television program, wherein the client device has an associated UR of the television program.
Request setting means for setting an L information acquisition request condition;
Instruction means for making an acquisition request for RL information, wherein the instruction means acquires the URL information relating to the currently viewed television program based on the acquisition request condition set by the condition setting means, The method is performed on a server device having a database of URL information related to the television program via a network in accordance with the instruction, and displaying the acquired URL information on a display screen of the television program to be viewed. Client device. 3. The instruction means according to one instruction operation.
3. The client device according to claim 2, wherein the client device makes a request to acquire the URL information to the server device. 4. The request setting means selects the URL information related to a program of a television broadcast from a plurality of genres, so that the U
3. The client device according to claim 2, wherein a setting for making a request to acquire RL information can be made. 5. The client device according to claim 2, wherein the request setting unit can make a setting for requesting the server device to acquire the URL information at predetermined time intervals. 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the request setting unit is capable of making a setting for making a request to acquire the URL information to the server apparatus every time the audio broadcast of the television broadcast changes.
4. The client device according to 4, 5. 7. A UR related to a television program of a television broadcast.
A server device that provides L information, wherein the server is a server device that is associated with the television program from a client device that can view the television program of the television broadcast.
In response to an acquisition request for RL information, the television program has a broadcast station database for specifying a television program being viewed and a program information database for searching for URL information related to the television program. A server device comprising URL information of a plurality of genres related to a television program separately, and when the program of the television broadcast is changed, the contents of the program information database are sequentially changed.