JP2002262205A - Portable information terminal device, information processing method, program storage medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit information about a program reservation to a different PDA(personal digital assistant). SOLUTION: A user displays a menu in an initial image. The user selects an application tag 391 because the application tag 391 and an application tag 392 are displayed. A Palm OS of a PDA 1 receives a user operation input and displays a drop-down list box 393. The user displays an infrared communication image by selecting an 'infrared communication' item from the displayed drop- down list box 393, and transmits information to the different PDA 1 by a prescribed operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information terminal device, an information processing method, a program storage medium, and a program, and in particular, uses a portable information terminal device such as a PDA to reserve a desired program for recording. The present invention relates to a portable information terminal device and an information processing method, a program storage medium, and a program that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) as a conventional television program recording apparatus, for example, a user sets a program recording reservation using a G code (trademark of Gemstar Development). There is.
According to this technology, for example, a user inputs a G code associated with a program to be recorded using a remote commander, and outputs a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) as an infrared signal.
r). Upon receiving the infrared signal, the VTR decodes the G code, and broadcast date, broadcast station name, program name, start time,
Analyze the end time etc. and set the recording reservation.

[0003] Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, USP 533.
5079 or US Pat. No. 5,307,173.

[0004]

However, the recording reservation setting method using the G code disclosed in the above publication is, for example, associated with a desired program from a program table published in a newspaper or a magazine. It is necessary to manually input the maximum eight digits of the G code, and the operation is complicated.

[0005] Recently, a service of a system for making a recording reservation of a television program using a program reservation site on the Internet has been started. In this recording system, a user can input, for example, a PDA (Personal D
Digital Assistant) or a personal computer to access a program reservation site that provides a service of providing program information (so-called program guide), and search for a desired program while confirming the program information. . When a desired program is searched, the user can operate a reservation button to download program information in which a broadcast station name, a program name, a start time, an end time, and the like are described.

However, in the above-described recording reservation system, a user displays a so-called program table on a PDA or a personal computer, and accesses the program reservation site until the user searches for a desired program while checking the program table. The online search had a problem that it took time and increased communication costs.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and uses a portable information terminal device to acquire and record information in advance, and search for a desired program offline when the user desires. , A program recording reservation can be set.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal device comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring program information on a program;
Based on the program information acquired by the acquiring means, sets the reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program, and determines whether or not the storage means for storing the information can be connected to another portable information terminal device. When it is determined that the portable information terminal device can be connected to another portable information terminal device as a result of the determination by the determination unit and the determination unit, the reservation information stored in the storage unit is stored based on the operation performed by the user. A first generating unit for generating a corresponding first signal; and a first transmitting unit for transmitting the first signal generated by the first generating unit to another portable information terminal device. Features.

[0009] The first transmitting means can transmit an infrared ray obtained by modulating the first signal generated by the first generating means.

[0010] The first transmitting means can transmit a radio wave obtained by modulating the first signal generated by the first generating means.

[0011] Based on the input of the operation performed by the user,
A second generation unit that generates a second signal corresponding to the program information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a second signal that transmits the second signal generated by the second generation unit to another portable information terminal device. And two transmitting means.

[0012] The second signal can include advertising information, and the second transmitting means can transmit the advertising information first among the information included in the second signal.

[0013] The second transmitting means can transmit an infrared ray obtained by modulating the second signal generated by the second generating means.

[0014] The second transmitting means can transmit a radio wave obtained by modulating the second signal generated by the second generating means.

[0015] A receiving means for receiving a second signal corresponding to the reservation information stored in another portable information terminal device can be further provided.

[0016] The second signal may be infrared.

[0017] The second signal may be a radio wave.

[0018] A receiving means for receiving a second signal corresponding to the program information acquired by another portable information terminal device can be further provided.

[0019] The second signal may be infrared.

[0020] The second signal may be a radio wave.

According to the information processing method of the present invention, an acquisition step of acquiring program information relating to a program, and reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program are set based on the program information acquired by the processing of the acquisition step. Then, a storage control step of controlling storage, a determination step of determining whether or not connection with another portable information terminal device is possible, and a result of determination by the processing of the determination step, the other portable information terminal device If it is determined that connection is possible, a generation step of generating a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step based on an operation performed by the user, and a generation step of generating a signal by the processing of the generation step Transmitting the transmitted signal to another portable information terminal device.

The program stored in the program storage medium of the present invention performs an acquisition step of acquiring program information relating to a program, and reserves recording of a predetermined program based on the program information acquired by the processing of the acquisition step. Setting the reservation information for, a storage control step of controlling the storage, a determination step of determining whether or not it can be connected to another portable information terminal device, and a determination result by the processing of the determination step, another A generating step of generating a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step, based on the operation performed by the user, when it is determined that the mobile information terminal apparatus can be connected to the portable information terminal device; Transmitting a signal generated by the processing of the generating step to another portable information terminal device.

According to the program of the present invention, an acquisition step of acquiring program information on a program, and reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program are set based on the program information acquired by the processing of the acquisition step. A storage control step of controlling storage, a determination step of determining whether or not connection with another portable information terminal device is possible, and a result of the determination by the processing of the determination step, connection with another portable information terminal device possible When it is determined that the signal is generated based on the operation performed by the user, a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step, and a signal generated by the processing of the generation step And transmitting the signal to another portable information terminal device.

According to the portable information terminal device, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, program information relating to a program is acquired, and reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program based on the acquired program information. Is set and stored, and it is determined whether or not connection with another portable information terminal device is possible.If it is determined that connection with another portable information terminal device is possible, the operation performed by the user is performed. Based on this, a signal corresponding to the reservation information is generated, and the generated signal is transmitted to another portable information terminal device.

[0025]

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a program data acquisition system to which the present invention is applied.

PDA1-1 and PDA1-2 are Palm
This is a portable information terminal device equipped with an OS (trademark), and includes a digital mobile phone 2, a personal computer 9, a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) 13, and a wired,
Alternatively, it can be connected wirelessly. In FIG. 1, the PDA 1-1 is connected to the digital mobile phone 2 via a communication module (not shown) by wire, and
-2 is a personal computer 9 via the cradle 7
The PDA 1-1 and the PDA 1-2 are connected to each other by wire and connected to the VCR 13 wirelessly, and the PDA 1-1 and the PDA 1-2 are connected to any one of the digital mobile phone 2, the personal computer 9, and the VCR 13. It is needless to say that it is possible to connect to these and operate without connecting to them.

Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish PDA1-1 and PDA1-2 individually, they are simply referred to as PDA1.

The cradle 7 is an interface device for connecting the PDA 1 and the personal computer 9 and executing a process called a hot sink. Hot sync is the synchronization of files and data between two different computers.
It is possible to synchronize files and data between the PDA 1 equipped with S and the personal computer 9 irrespective of the model. Cradle 7 and PDA1
For example, RS-232C is used for the interface of the cradle 7, and a serial bus interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) is used for the interface between the cradle 7 and the personal computer 9.

The digital mobile phone 2 is connected to a public line network 4 via a base station 3 which is a fixed wireless terminal and is arranged in a cell obtained by dividing a communication service providing area into a desired area. I have. In addition, the public network 4
A personal computer 9 is connected.

The base station 3 converts the digital mobile phone 2 as a mobile radio terminal into, for example, W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Divi).
wireless communication by means of code division multiple access called “session multiple access”, and high-speed data communication with the digital mobile phone 2 at a data transfer rate of up to 2 Mbps using a 2 GHz frequency band.

The base station 3 is connected to a public network 4 via a wired line. The public line network 4 is connected to the Internet 8 via an access server 6 of an Internet service provider, and is also connected to a subscriber wired terminal device (not shown), a computer network, a corporate network, and the like.

The digital mobile phone 2 is composed of a base station 3 and a W-CD
Since large-capacity data can be communicated at high speed by the MA method, the PDA 1 can execute various kinds of data communications via the digital cellular phone 2 such as sending and receiving e-mail, browsing a simple homepage, and sending and receiving images. it can.

The PDA 1-1 is a digital mobile phone 2,
It is connected to a program information service provider 14 via a base station 3, a public line network 4, an access server 6, and the Internet 8 to browse a so-called program table,
Using the program guide, transmission of program information for reserving recording of a predetermined program of a predetermined television broadcast station can be requested. The personal computer 9 is a PDA
Similarly to 1-1, it is connected to the program information service provider 14 via the public line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 8, and browses a so-called program table, and uses the program table to execute a predetermined operation. Requesting transmission of program information for reserving recording of a predetermined program of a television broadcast station.

Although FIG. 1 shows that the PDA 1-1 can be connected to the public line network 4 via the digital mobile phone 2 and the base station 3, the PDA 1-1 is described.
Is, for example, PHS other than the digital mobile phone 2.
(Personal Handyphone System) or a data card type PHS, and a predetermined base station for providing these call services can be connected to the public network 4.

By the way, the PDA 1-1 connected to the digital cellular phone 2 communicates with the base station 3 using the simple transport protocol of 2 Mbps, and the program information service provider 14 and the base station 3 via the Internet 8 communicate with each other. Transmission control protocol / Internet (TCP / IP) to a WWW (World Wide Web) server not shown
Protocol).

The management control device 5 is connected to the subscriber's wired terminal device, personal computer 9,
Alternatively, it is connected to the digital mobile phone 2 and executes an authentication process, a billing process, and the like for the subscriber wired terminal device, the personal computer 9, or the digital mobile phone 2.

The personal computer 9 inputs a signal supplied from the antenna 8 which has received a radio wave transmitted from a predetermined television broadcasting station, and reproduces predetermined images and sounds (so-called program images and sounds). Record the image and sound. The personal computer 9 also receives the analog signal supplied from the VCR 10, or
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engin
eers) DVCR via network 12 such as 1394
(Digital Video Cassette Recorder) 11 reproduces an image and a sound corresponding to the digital data supplied thereto, and records the image and the sound.

Further, the personal computer 9 converts analog signals corresponding to the recorded sound and image into VC signals.
The digital data is supplied to the R10 or digital data corresponding to the recorded voice and image is supplied to the DVCR 11.
Further, the personal computer 9 receives program information transmitted from the program information service provider 14 via the Internet 8, and transmits the program information to the PDA 1-2.
Or a recording reservation of a predetermined program is executed based on the program information.

The program information service provider 14 provides a service for presenting a user with a so-called program table and detailed introduction for each program via the Internet 8. The program information service provider 14 stores an EPG (Electronic Pro
gram Guide) information (electronic program guide), program information for reserving recording of a predetermined program of a predetermined television broadcasting station, advertisement information distributed with the program information, and
The user information of the registered user is recorded.

The program information service provider 14 reserves recording of a predetermined program of a predetermined television broadcast station transmitted from the PDA 1-1 or the personal computer 9 connected to the digital mobile phone 2. Upon receiving a message requesting transmission of program information of a predetermined date, the Internet 8, the access server 6,
The program information is transmitted to the PDA 1-1 or the personal computer 9 connected to the digital mobile phone 2 via the public line network 4.

The program information service provider 14 provides program information as a pdb (Palm Database) file in response to requests from the personal computer 9 and the PDA 1. Web-based program information provided by a conventional program information service provider includes, for example, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and XML.
(EXtensible Markup Language) or Compact
It was written in a page description language such as HTML. However, program information described in a conventional page description language is
Although it is versatile, it has a large amount of data, and the hierarchical structure is expressed by tags, so it is a flexible format. On the other hand, it requires analysis work first to read data, so it can be viewed using PDA1. Not suitable to do.

On the other hand, the pdb format is a general-purpose DB format that can be handled by PalmOS, and can store binary data and text data in a mixed manner. The format depends on the Palm OS application. The data in pdb format is
Since the data is converted into the format specified by the converter, not only data analysis is unnecessary but also there is no extra tag information, so that the data amount can be minimized.

In the conventional terrestrial broadcasting, the number of channels of a broadcast program is limited. However, nowadays, with the spread of satellite broadcasting, cable television broadcasting, and the like, the number of broadcast channels has been increased. If the program information service provider 14 provides users with program information of all channels in response to multi-channel broadcasting services such as satellite broadcasting and cable television broadcasting, the data amount becomes enormous. It is very difficult to browse the program information using the PDA 1 having a small display screen and search for a desired program.

Therefore, the program information service provider 14
Is for receiving registration of a desired channel from a user in advance, and transmitting program information of a channel required by each user to a registered user for a registered user of the desired channel. And The program information service provider 14 issues a unique user ID to each user who has registered a desired channel.

When receiving a program information transmission request including a user ID from the personal computer 9 and the PDA 1-1, the program information service provider 14 determines whether or not the user is a registered user, and If the user is a registered user, the registered content is searched from the user ID, the program information of the channel based on the registered content is selected, and the selected program information is transmitted according to the specified date. Also, the program information service provider 14
When receiving a program information transmission request that does not include the user ID,
The most commonly used terrestrial program information with a relatively small amount of data is transmitted according to a specified date.

As a result, the program information service provider 14 provides a service such as satellite broadcasting or cable television broadcasting.
It is possible to provide program information desired by the user in response to a multi-channel broadcast service.

The Internet 8 is also connected to a personal computer 16 of a company 15 and a number of WWW servers (not shown). Here, only one personal computer 16 of the company 15 is shown, but it goes without saying that a plurality of personal computers 16 are connected. A WWW server (not shown) is accessed from the PDA 1-1 connected to the digital mobile phone 2, the personal computer 9, or the personal computer 16 of the company 15 according to the TCP / IP protocol.

The company 15 is an advertiser of an advertisement distributed along with the program information provided by the program information service provider 14. The company 15 is a personal computer 16
Is used to request the program information service provider 14 to insert an advertisement or receive a bill for advertisement costs.

The company 15 uses the personal computer 16 via the Internet 8 to request the program information service provider 14 to insert an advertisement, receive advertisement billing, mail, and other information. Using the method (ie, off-line), the program information service provider 14 may be requested to place an advertisement, or may be charged for advertisement.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining an example of the configuration of the external appearance of the PDA 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the PDA 1 when held by a user. FIG. 3 is a front view of the PDA 1.

The housing of the PDA 1 is formed in a size that can be gripped and operated with one hand. Above the PDA 1, a memory card 2 with a built-in semiconductor memory
Using the slot in which 1 is inserted, and infrared communication,
An infrared communication unit 22 for exchanging information with another device is provided. Furthermore, the PDA 1 has a wireless L (not shown).
An AN (Local Area Network) communication unit 64 (FIG. 5) is provided.

On the lower surface of the PDA 1, a modem (not shown) for connecting to the public network 4 and a USB port or an RS-232C port (not shown) for transmitting and receiving various data are provided. Here, PDA1 has R
It is assumed that an S-232C port is provided. The PDA 1 is provided with a display unit 31, keys 32, a jog dial 33, and the like.

The display unit 31 is constituted by a thin display device such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays images such as icons, thumbnails, and text. On the lower side of the display unit 31,
A touch pad 31a is provided. The user inputs predetermined data or an operation instruction to the PDA 1 by pressing the display unit 31 and the touch pad 31a with a finger or a pen.

The key 32 is a CPU (Central Processing).
The unit 41 is operated by the user when inputting various commands to the unit 41 (FIG. 4).

The jog dial 33 is, for example,
When the icon, thumbnail, text, or the like displayed in 1 is selected by the user, the user receives a rotation operation or a pressing operation on the main body. For example, in a state where a plurality of icons are displayed on the display unit 31, the jog dial 3
When 3 receives a rotation operation, from among a plurality of icons,
When a desired icon is selected and the jog dial 33 is pressed toward the main body, the selected icon is determined. If the determined icon corresponds to the application program, the application program is activated.

The operation of rotating the jog dial 33 while pressing the jog dial 33 toward the main body may correspond to a command different from a normal rotation operation. For example, when the jog dial 33 is rotated in a state where a program list of a predetermined channel is displayed on the display unit 31,
When a predetermined program name is selected from a plurality of program names and the jog dial 33 is rotated while being pressed against the main body, the channel of the program list displayed on the display unit 31 is changed.

The operation on the jog dial 33 and the contents of the command corresponding to the operation are not limited to this.

The PDA 1 is adapted to be mounted on the cradle 7. The PDA 1 and the cradle 7 are connected using, for example, an interface such as RS-232C, and the PDA 1 can determine whether or not the cradle 7 is connected. The cradle 7 has a hot sync button 35, and the PDA 1
When the hot sync button 35 is pressed in a state where is connected to the cradle 7, the PDA 1 and the personal computer 9 execute a hot sync process to synchronize files and data.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the PDA 1.

The CPU 41 synchronizes with a clock signal supplied from the oscillator 42 to synchronize with a Flash ROM (Read-only Memory).
y) 43 or EDO DRAM (Extended Data Out Dynamic R)
and various programs such as an operating system or an application program stored in the andom-Access Memory (44).

The flash ROM 43 is an EEPROM (Electrically
It is composed of flash memory, which is a type of Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
1 stores basically fixed data of the program used for operation and the parameters for operation. EDO DRAM 44
The program to be executed by the PU 41, data necessary for the execution of the program, or parameters that appropriately change in the execution are stored.

Memory card interface (I / F) 4
5 reads data from the memory card 21 mounted on the PDA 1 and writes data supplied from the CPU 41 to the memory card 21.

The memory card 21 is, for example, a type of flash memory card called a Memory Stick (trademark) developed by the present applicant. This memory card 21 is a nonvolatile (Electrically Era) EEPROM which is a nonvolatile memory which can be electrically rewritten and erased in a small and thin plastic case having a size of 21.5 × 50 × 2.8 [mm].
sable and Programmable Read Only Memory), which stores flash memory elements.
Various data such as images, sounds, and music can be written and read via pin terminals.

The Memory Stick employs a unique serial protocol that can ensure compatibility with the equipment to be used even when the specification of the built-in flash memory is changed due to an increase in capacity or the like. MB / S] and a maximum read speed of 2.45 [MB / S], and high reliability is secured by providing an erasure prevention switch.

Therefore, since the PDA 1 is configured so that such a memory card 21 can be mounted, data can be shared with other electronic devices via the memory card 21.

The USB interface (I / F) 46
In synchronization with a clock signal supplied from the oscillator 47, data or a program is input from a drive 61 which is a connected USB device, and data supplied from the CPU 41 is supplied to the drive 61.

The drive 61 includes a magnetic disk 71, an optical disk 72, and a magneto-optical disk 7 mounted as needed.
3 or the data or the program recorded in the semiconductor memory 124 is read out, and the data or the program is read out via the USB interface 46 through the CP.
Supply to U41 or EDO DRAM44. The drive 61 is mounted on the magnetic disk 71, the optical disk 72, the magneto-optical disk 73, or the semiconductor memory 124.
To record data or programs.

The Flash ROM 43, EDO DRAM 44, memory card interface 45, and USB interface 46 are connected via an address bus and a data bus.
It is connected to the CPU 41.

The display unit 31 is connected to the CP via the LCD bus.
The data is received from U41, and an image or a character corresponding to the received data is displayed. Touchpad controller 4
8, when the display unit 31 or the touch pad 31a is operated, data corresponding to the operation (for example, indicating the touched coordinates) is displayed on the display unit 31 or the touch pad 31a.
a, and supplies a signal corresponding to the received data to the CPU 41 via the serial bus.

EL (Electro luminescence) driver 49
Controls the brightness of the display of the display unit 31 by operating an electroluminescent element provided on the back side of the liquid crystal display unit of the display unit 31.

The infrared communication unit 22 has a UART (Universal as
CPU via an asynchronous receiver-transmitter)
The data received from 41 is transmitted as an infrared signal to another device (not shown), and the infrared signal transmitted from the other device is received and supplied to CPU 41. PDA
1 can also communicate with other devices via UART.

The wireless LAN 64 is used for wireless communication with another device (for example, a blue transmission method using a 2.4 GHz band, Blue
to perform wireless communication using a tooth)
The data received from U41 is converted into a radio wave by a predetermined method and transmitted to another device (not shown), and the radio wave transmitted from the other device is received and supplied to the CPU 41.

The audio reproducing section 51 is composed of a speaker, a decoding circuit for audio data, and the like, and decodes and reproduces audio data stored in advance or audio data received from another device. And output audio. For example, the audio reproducing unit 51 is configured to transmit
The audio data supplied from 41 is reproduced, and an audio corresponding to the data is output.

The power supply circuit 52 is connected to the attached battery 62 or a connected AC (Alternating curren
t) The power supply voltage supplied from the adapter 63 is converted, and the required power is supplied to the CPU 41 to the audio reproduction unit 51, respectively.

The communication section 53 is connected to the cradle 7, a communication module, and the like by an interface such as RS-232C. The communication unit 53 is connected to the Internet 8 via, for example, a communication module and the digital mobile phone 2, stores data (for example, e-mail, etc.) supplied from the CPU 41 in a packet of a predetermined format, and 8 to other devices. The communication unit 53 outputs data or a program stored in a packet received from another device to the CPU 41 via the Internet 8.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the PDA 1. The user can use the PDA 1 to perform basic functions such as an address book, a memo pad, an e-mail, and a calendar, as well as “Pa
Various applications called "lmware (palmware)" can be used. All the functions (programs) illustrated in FIG. 5 operate on the Palm OS.

The data communication program 81 is executed by the CPU 41
When the application (for example, the program recording setting program 83) executes information communication with another device via the communication unit 53, the infrared communication unit 22, or the wireless LAN communication unit 64, the communication is performed. This is the program to be controlled.

The input / output control program 82
1. Using the touch pad 31a or the key 32,
A signal indicating an operation or a command input by the user is supplied to the corresponding application, or predetermined data is transmitted to the audio reproducing unit 51 via the buffer 50 based on the processing of the application executed by the CPU 41. This is a program that controls the process of outputting and playing back audio, or outputting to the display unit 31 to display an image.

The program recording setting program 83 stores, on the basis of the user's operation, the date on which the program information is to be obtained in the setting information memory 93 together with the broadcast area of the program, the remote control mode, or the user information including the member ID. Are downloaded from the program information service provider 14 and stored in the program table memory 91. In addition, the program recording setting program 83 selects program information for performing recording reservation of a desired program from the program tables 101-1 and 101-2 stored in the program table memory 91 by a user operation. Then, the selected program information is set as the reservation information in the reservation table 92, the program table 101 stored in the program table memory 91, the reservation information set in the reservation table 92, or the setting information memory. The user information stored in 93 is displayed on the display unit 31. Further, the program recording setting program 83 executes a process of storing or setting new information in the program table memory 91 to the setting information memory 93 or updating the stored or set information based on a user operation. .

The schedule table program 84 is a program for schedule management, and is a program in which the user registers his / her own action schedule in the schedule table 94 together with its start time, end time, place, contents, and the like. The schedule table program 84 is a program that executes a process of registering new information in the schedule table 94 or updating the registered information based on a user operation. The schedule program 84 may also notify the user of the fact that the start time of the action schedule registered by the user is approaching, as necessary.
For example, an alarm can be set 5 minutes before or 10 minutes before the start time.

The e-mail program 85 is a software program for transmitting / receiving an e-mail to / from the access server 6.

The web browser 86 is a software program for browsing information on the WWW server on the client side. A predetermined communication protocol (HTTP protocol or HTM) between the WWW server and the WWW client
L), communication is performed, and furthermore, security functions, reproduction of multimedia data such as audio / video,
It supports an extended language (eg, Java) that enables program transfer between a WW server and a WWW client.

The moving image display program 87 is provided for the EDO DRAM 4
4. The moving image data recorded on the memory card 21 or any one of the magnetic disk 71 to the semiconductor memory 74 mounted on the drive 61 is transferred to the display unit 31 by the processing of the input / output control program 82. It is a program for converting data and executing image processing for display.

The memo pad 88 is a so-called text editor. When the user inputs text data using the touch pad 31a, the memo pad 88 receives a signal corresponding to the user's operation by the processing of the input / output control program 82,
A program for generating corresponding text data based on the signal and displaying the text data on the display unit 31 by the processing of the input / output management program 82.

[0086] These programs are operable on the Palm OS.

As shown in FIG. 6, the program table 101
It is composed of advertising data, a program guide, and program data. The advertisement data is data describing an advertisement requested by the company 15. The advertisement data includes, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource) of a web page managed by the company 15.
ce Locator), information such as an e-mail address for making an inquiry to the company 15, or information necessary for exchanging data with another protocol different from TCP / IP used in the so-called Internet. It may be included.

Since the advertisement data is transmitted to the user having the PDA 1, it is possible to specify the user layer to be advertised to some extent. Therefore, for example, Palm OS applications, new mobile computers, and introductions to personal computers can be transmitted very effectively.

The program table is a list of programs broadcast on a plurality of channels on a predetermined day. The program data is data in which performers of each program described in the program table, detailed descriptions of the contents of the program, and the like are described.

Advertisement data and program data are linked to the program table. That is, along with the program guide,
A plurality of advertisement data are displayed while being changed every predetermined period, and when a user selects a predetermined program name in a program table, the program data of the program is displayed. In addition, the advertisement data includes information indicating the display time continuously displayed on the PDA 1. The program recording setting program 83 refers to the display time information included in the advertisement data, and Switch the display.

However, if the display time information is very short or very long, the user may feel uncomfortable. If it is not within 7 seconds, the display time of the corresponding advertisement data may be controlled to be changed to 5 seconds.

Thus, for one piece of program information,
By attaching a plurality of pieces of advertisement data, the business operator operating the program information service provider 14 can obtain a large amount of advertisement revenue.

The advertisement data, the program guide, and the program data recorded in the program guide 101 include an expiration date, an update date and time of the data, and version information as necessary.

If the expiration date is described in the advertisement data, the program guide, and the program data recorded in the program guide 101, the program recording setting program 83 executes
Alternatively, at the time of executing a predetermined operation (for example, an operation of recording new data in the program table 101), it is determined whether or not the program table 101 has expired data. If so, try to update that data. Even if the updated data is the same data as before the update, the data in the program table 101 is simply overwritten and updated.

When the advertisement data, the program table, and the program data recorded in the program table 101 include the update date and time and version information of the data, the program recording setting program 83 adds a new When recording data, a data source (for example, a personal computer 9, another PDA 1, or a program information service provider 1,
4), it is determined whether or not the latest information is recorded. If there is the latest information (updated information), it is acquired again.

Which of the two methods is suitable depends on the data update frequency or data size. For example, if the cycle to be updated is constant, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of useless communication by describing the expiration date in each data of the program table 101, but it is not possible to know when to update. In this case, it is more suitable to describe the update date and time and the version information in each data of the program guide 101 because the latest information can be surely obtained.

When program information (program guide 101) is exchanged between the PDA 1-1 and the PDA 102 or the PDA 1-2 and the personal computer 9, the advertisement data, the program guide, and the Data is transmitted first. Further, when the advertisement data is deleted from the program table 101, or the program information not including the advertisement data is stored in the program table memory 91 as the program table 101.
, The program recording setting program 83 does not display the program table 101 of the corresponding date on the display unit 31. For example, the program recording setting program 83 may not display the program table of this day. Is displayed.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the personal computer 9.

The CPU 131 actually executes various application programs and a basic OS (operating system). The ROM 132 generally includes the CPU 13
1 stores basically fixed data of the program used for operation and the parameters for operation. RAM 133 is C
A program used in the execution of the PU 131 and parameters that change as appropriate in the execution are stored. These are interconnected by a host bus 134 composed of a CPU bus or a memory bus.

The host bus 134 is connected to a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / In) via a bridge 135.
(Terface) bus or the like.

The keyboard 138 is operated by the user when inputting various commands to the CPU 131. The mouse 139 is operated by the user when pointing or selecting a point on the screen of a CRT (cathode ray tube) 140. The CRT 140 displays various information as text or images. Hard disk drive (HDD) 1
A floppy disk drive (FDD) 41 and a floppy disk drive (FDD) 142 drive a hard disk or a floppy (registered trademark) disk, respectively, and record or reproduce a program or information to be executed by the CPU 131 on the hard disk or the floppy disk. The speaker 143 reproduces a predetermined sound. The keyboard 138 to the speaker 143 are connected to the interface 137.
The interface 137 is connected to the CPU 131 via the external bus 136, the bridge 135, and the host bus 134.

The image processing board 144 controls the signal supplied from the antenna 8 and the VCR 10 under the control of the CPU 131.
A predetermined image or audio data is generated on the basis of an image or audio analog signal supplied from the DVCR 11 or digital data of the image or audio supplied from the DVCR 11 via the network 12, and the external bus 136.
And output to the hard disk drive 141 via the interface 137.

The image processing board 144 inputs image or audio data recorded on the hard disk drive 141 via the external bus 136 and the interface 137, and outputs analog or analog data corresponding to the input image or audio data. A signal is generated and supplied to the VCR 10 or digital data corresponding to the input image or audio data is generated and supplied to the DVCR 11 via the network 12.

The image processing board 144 is connected to the external bus 13
6, the bridge 135, and the host bus 134 are connected to the CPU 131.

The communication board 145 is a device for connecting to the public network 4 or the cradle 7, and is specifically constituted by an Ethernet (registered trademark) board or the like, and includes an external bus 136, a bridge 135, and a host bus 134.
Is connected to the CPU 131 via the.

The infrared communication unit 146 is, for example, a PDA1
Receives the infrared signal transmitted from the external bus 136,
Via the bridge 135 and the host bus 134,
A signal output to the PU 131 or output from the CPU 131 is converted into an infrared signal and output to the outside.

The wireless LAN communication unit 147 includes, for example, a PD
The radio wave transmitted from A1 is received, the radio wave is converted into data recognizable by the CPU 131 by a predetermined method, and the external bus 136, the bridge 135, and the host bus 134
And converts the signal output from the CPU 131 into a radio wave and outputs the signal to the outside.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, image processing board 1
A detailed example of the configuration of 44 will be described.

The 1394 interface 151 is an IEEE1394
Is connected to the network 12 and based on a protocol corresponding to the IEEE 1394 standard,
DVCR of image or audio supplied from DVCR11
Format digital data is received and DV (Digita
l Video) to the data interface 152.

Further, the 1394 interface 151
The digital data of the image or audio DVCR format supplied from the V data interface 152 is
DVC based on the protocol corresponding to IEEE1394
Supply to R11.

[0111] The DV data interface 152
94 The image or sound digital data of the DVCR format supplied from the interface 151 or the image or sound digital data (for example, uncompressed digital data such as 4: 1: 1) supplied from the digital selector 157 is transmitted. The DV data compression / decompression circuit 153 outputs the digital data of the image or sound in the DVCR format supplied from the DV data compression / decompression circuit 153 to the 1394 interface 151.
The non-compressed image or audio digital data supplied from the V data compression / decompression circuit 153 is supplied to the digital selector 15.
7 is output.

The DV data compression / decompression circuit 153 decompresses the DVCR format image or audio digital data supplied from the DV data interface 152 into uncompressed image or audio digital data. Output or digital data of uncompressed image or audio supplied from the DV data interface 152,
The image data is compressed into DVCR format image or audio digital data and output to the DV data interface 152.

The tuner 154 receives an RF (radio frequency) signal supplied from the antenna 8 and outputs an image and audio analog signal of a predetermined channel to the analog selector 155. The analog selector 155 is
Tuner 154, VCR 10, or D / A (Digital /
Analog) Selects either the image or audio analog signal supplied from the conversion circuit 161 and performs A / D (Analog / D
digital) to the conversion circuit 156 or the VCR 10.

The A / D conversion circuit 156 converts the analog image and audio signals supplied from the analog selector 155 into digital data, and converts the digital data into digital data.
Output to The digital selector 157 includes a DV data interface 152, an A / D conversion circuit 156, or
The image and audio digital data output from the MPEG decoder 160 is input, and any of the image and audio digital data is selected.
52, MPEG encoder 158, or D / A conversion circuit 1
61 and to the bridge 159.

The MPEG encoder 158 compresses the image and audio digital data supplied from the digital selector 157 into MPEG digital data, and
59. In addition, the MPEG encoder 158 converts the scene switching image into a still image, and outputs the still image to the bridge 159.

The bridge 159 is connected to the digital selector 15.
The image and sound uncompressed digital data supplied from 7 is output to the CRT 140 via the external bus 136 and the interface 137 of the personal computer 9 on which the image processing board 144 is mounted. The bridge 159 receives the MP supplied from the MPEG encoder 158.
The EG-type digital image or audio data is output to the hard disk drive 141 or the CPU 131 via the external bus 136 of the personal computer 9 on which the image processing board 144 is mounted. Further, the bridge 159 sends an MP from the hard disk drive 141 of the personal computer 9 via the external bus 136.
Receives EG format image or audio digital data and
Output to EG decoder 160.

The MPEG decoder 160 expands the digital data of the MPEG image or sound supplied from the bridge 159 and outputs it to the digital selector 157 as uncompressed digital data of the image or sound.

The D / A conversion circuit 161 converts the image and audio digital data supplied from the digital selector 157 into analog signals, and converts them into analog signals.
Output to

The processing corresponding to the MPEG encoder 158 or the MPEG decoder 160 may be executed by the CPU 131 using a predetermined program.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the personal computer 9.

The input / output management program 171 uses the keyboard 138 or the mouse 139 to supply a signal indicating an operation or a command input by the user to a corresponding application, or to execute a predetermined operation based on processing of various applications. Is output to the infrared communication unit 146, and the corresponding infrared signal is transmitted to another device.
It outputs predetermined data to the wireless LAN communication unit 147 to output a corresponding radio wave, or outputs image data to the image processing board 144 to execute predetermined image processing.
The audio data is output to the speaker 143 to reproduce the audio, the image data is output to the CRT 140 to display the image, or the predetermined data is supplied to the hard disk drive (HDD) 141 and recorded there. This is a program that manages processing.

The hot sync manager 172 is a Palm O
A program for exchanging information with the PDA 1 on which the S is mounted, and for synchronizing files and data between two different computers.
PDA with S and personal computer 9
With this, files and data are synchronized regardless of the model.

When the Palm desktop 173 exchanges information with the PDA 1 on which the Palm OS is mounted by the processing of the hot sync manager 172, the Palm desktop 173 is a program necessary for sharing information between the PDA 1 and the personal computer 9. It is.

The reservation monitoring program 174 receives program information for receiving content data from the PDA 1 by the processing of the hot sync manager 172 described later with reference to FIG.
Is a program for monitoring the execution of recording reservation of a program based on the recording reservation information set by.

The AV content conversion program 175 is
A hot sync manager 172 described later with reference to FIG.
AV content (that is, recorded program data) recorded on the HDD 141 in a normal image format such as MPEG for transmission to the PDA 1 by the processing of
To a mobile terminal device having a low image processing capability (eg, a PDA)
1) is a program for converting into a predetermined format suitable for display.

AV content management search program 176
Receives a signal corresponding to a user operation or a signal corresponding to a command (command) transmitted from another device by the processing of the input / output management program 171, and based on the signal, generates a corresponding AV content. The program is searched from the hard disk drive 141 and output to the AV content conversion program 175 to request data conversion or output to the recording / playback program 177 to request playback.

The recording / playback program 177 is a program for playing back the AV content searched by the AV content management search program 176.

The recording reservation setting program 178 receives a signal corresponding to a user operation or a signal corresponding to a command (command) transmitted from another device by the processing of the input / output management program 171, and receives the signal. This is a program for setting a recording reservation of a predetermined program on a predetermined broadcast channel based on the program.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the program information service provider 14 of FIG. The program information server 191 converts the program 193 or the charge server 1 based on the information received via the Internet 8.
97, the program information database 192, pd
b-format program information database 194, user information database 195, or advertisement information database 196
Information, or retrieves and reads out predetermined information from the registered information.

The program information database 192 stores EPG information for searching for a desired program and program information used for reserving recording of a predetermined program of a predetermined television broadcasting station in a database format. Has been accumulated. The program information includes at least a broadcast channel, a broadcast date, a program name, a broadcast start time and a broadcast end time of the program,
Also, program detailed information related to the program is associated with the program. Further, the program detailed information includes a URL of a web page managed by a program production company of the program and an e-mail address for making an inquiry, as necessary.

Here, when the user wants to obtain more detailed related information, the user accesses a web page managed by the program production company of the program via the Internet, or makes an inquiry using e-mail. The URLs and e-mail addresses are described in the detailed program information, but TCP / IP used in the so-called Internet may be used for transmission and reception of such information. It is also possible to use a different protocol.

The advertisement information database 196 contains the company 1
The advertisement information on the advertisement acquired from No. 5 is stored in a database format. Your advertising information may include,
The URL of the web page managed by the advertiser (company 15) of the advertisement, an e-mail address for making an inquiry, and the like are included. In the advertisement information database 196, similarly to the program information database 192, a URL and an e-mail address are described in the advertisement information. For transmission and reception of such information, TCP / IP used in the so-called Internet is used. It may be used, or another protocol different from TCP / IP may be used.

The converter 193 is provided for the program information server 19.
Based on the control of No. 1, program information is read from the program information database 192, and at the same time, advertisement information is read from the advertisement information database 196 and converted into data in pdb format. The converted program information accompanied by the pdb format advertisement information is stored in the pdb format program information database 194.

The user information database 195 stores user information on the user such as a user ID and a registered channel. Channel information required by the user is associated with each user ID.

[0135] The accounting server 197 is a company 1 as an advertiser.
5 is performed.

The program information server 191 receives an input of a program information transmission request via the Internet 8. The program information server 191 determines that the transmission request of the received program information is
In the case of the program data acquisition system to which the present invention is applied, the program information desired by the user and the advertisement information transmitted along with the program information are transmitted in pdb format based on the information included in the transmission request of the program information. A process of selecting from the database 194 and transmitting to the corresponding user is executed.

When the user ID is included in the transmission request of the program information, the program information server 191 searches the user information database 195 for registration information of the corresponding user, and searches the registered information and program information. Based on the date information included in the information transmission request, the user selects program information desired by the user and advertisement information transmitted accompanying the user from the pdb format program information database 194,
Execute processing to transmit to the corresponding user.

If the received program information transmission request is, for example, a program information transmission request described in a page description language such as HTML, the program information server 191 requests the program information server 191 to transmit the program information transmission request. Is searched from the program information data recorded in the program information database 192 based on the information included in the program information, converted into predetermined data such as HTML, and transmitted to the corresponding user. May be executed.

That is, the program information service provider 1
4 may use a program information server 191 that provides a conventional web-based program information providing service to transmit program information in pdb format to a user, or convert the program information to pdb format. Only the provided program information may be provided.

Further, the program information server 191 is connected to the personal computer 16 of the company 15 via the Internet 8, receives an application for an advertisement, registers advertisement information in the advertisement information database 196, and stores a charge server 197. Receives the input of the result of the accounting process for the company 15 that has become the advertiser, and transmits the result to the personal computer 16 of the company 15 via the Internet 8.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an initial display screen when the power of the PDA 1 is turned on. FIG. 5 shows the display unit 31.
Are displayed, and the user can activate a desired program by selecting an icon using the pen 201.

For example, the program table 101 is stored in the program table memory 91.
When no program is recorded, the program recording setting program 8
3 is activated (when the user selects an icon indicating “program reservation” in the figure), the display unit 3
For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a window 211 in which a message prompting acquisition of program information is described is displayed. The user who has confirmed the window 211 is O
By selecting the K button 213, it is possible to proceed to an operation for acquiring program information.

There are two methods for the PDA 1 to acquire program information from the program information service provider 14.
One is a method of directly connecting to the program information service provider 14 via the digital mobile phone 2, the base station 3, the public line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 8 to acquire the program information, and the other is a method of acquiring the program information. , A personal computer 9 is connected via a cradle 7, and the personal computer 9 is connected to a program information service provider 14 via a public line network 4, an access server 6, and the Internet 8 to acquire program information, and
1 is a method of acquiring program information from the personal computer 9 via the cradle 7.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 13, PDA 1 is a digital mobile phone 2, a base station 3, a public line network 4, an access server 6, and an Internet 8
And the program information server 191 of the PDA 1-1 and the program information service provider 14 when connecting directly to the program information service provider 14 via the
Will be described.

In step S1, the C of the PDA 1-1 is
The Palm OS executed by the PU 41 detects that the power has been turned on, and causes the display unit 31 to display the initial screen described with reference to FIG.

In step S2, the Palm OS receives an input for instructing activation of the program recording setting program 83 (that is, in the state shown in FIG. 11, the user selects an icon described as program reservation in the figure). Then, the program recording setting program 83 is started.
Here, when no program guide is recorded in the program guide memory 91, the display screen described with reference to FIG. 12 is displayed.

In step S2, the program recording setting program 83 sets the setting information memory 9 based on the user operation input by the processing of the input / output control program 82.
In 3, register the scheduled date of program information acquisition. Hereinafter, FIG.
The setting process will be described with reference to FIGS.

For example, in the state shown in FIG.
When the OK button 212 is pressed, a program information management screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. On the program information management screen, a display area 221 for displaying the scheduled acquisition date of program information,
An OK button 222, a new registration button 223, a change button 224, a delete button 225, and a tag 226 selected when displaying a menu are displayed.

[0149] The OK button 222 is selected when the set contents are correct, and when the OK button 222 is selected, the display unit 31 displays the display screen immediately before the program information management screen is displayed. Is done. New registration button 223
Is selected when a new program acquisition date is to be registered. The change button 224 is selected when it is desired to change the set scheduled program information acquisition date. Delete button 225
Is selected when it is desired to delete the set scheduled program information acquisition date, and when the scheduled program information acquisition date is displayed in the display area 221, select any one of the selected information,
When the delete button 225 is selected, the corresponding program information acquisition date information is deleted.

When the tag button 226 is selected, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a program guide tag 231 and an option tag 232 are displayed. When the option tag 232 is selected, a drop-down list box 233 is displayed.

When the item “setting” is selected from the drop-down list box 233, a setting screen shown in FIG. 16 is displayed. The setting screen includes a region setting list box 241, a remote control mode setting box 24
2, check box 243, text box 24
4, a text box 245, an OK button 246, and a cancel button 247 are provided.

The area setting list box 241 is for setting an area where program information is to be obtained. The remote control mode setting box 242 is for setting a remote control mode. Check box 243 is
Schedule 9 set by the process of the schedule program 84
4 is for setting whether or not to reflect the reservation information. The text box 244 is used to set an insertion keyword for distinguishing another schedule from a program reservation schedule when the schedule information is reflected in the schedule table 94.

The text box 245 is for setting a member ID given to a user registered with the program information service provider 14 in advance. The OK button 246 is selected when the registered contents entered in the area setting list box 241 to the text box 245 are correct. Cancel button 247
This is selected when you want to cancel the registered contents.

When the item “CH setting” in the drop-down list box 233 is selected, a channel setting screen shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. On the channel setting screen, the correspondence between the display channel, the reception channel, and the channel name (broadcast station name) is displayed in a table format,
It is made possible to change the channel name and the like so as to correspond to the area. The channel setting screen further includes an OK button 248 that is selected when the channel setting is correct, and a cancel button 249 that is selected when the user wants to cancel the channel setting.

When the new registration button 224 is selected on the program information management screen shown in FIG. 14, a screen for setting a scheduled program acquisition date for new registration shown in FIG. 18 is displayed. The user selects a desired year and month from the display screen, displays a calendar of the desired month, and selects a day from which program information is desired to be acquired. If the user wants to select today's program information, by selecting the “today” button 252,
It is instructed that today is the day on which it is desired to acquire program information. To end the operation, press the Cancel button 25
1 is selected.

Here, if the user selects a date earlier than today, as shown in FIG. 19, for example, a window 255 in which a message "Past program information download cannot be reserved" is displayed. Is done.

On the scheduled program acquisition date setting screen of FIG. 18, the date selected by the user is displayed in the display area 221 as shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 20, only the scheduled program acquisition date is set, and the program information has not been acquired yet.

When the user wants to change the setting of the scheduled program acquisition date, the user selects a desired date from the scheduled program acquisition dates displayed in the display area 221 and presses the change button 22.
By selecting 4, a change window 261 shown in FIG. 21 is displayed.

The change window 261 includes a date setting box 261 for changing the scheduled acquisition date, a region setting list box 263 for changing the region setting, an OK button 264 selected when the change is correct, And a cancel button 265 that is selected when the user wants to cancel the changed content. When the user selects the OK button 262 of the change window 261, the date and the area are set in the setting information memory 93.

The user selects a date from which the program information is to be directly obtained from among the scheduled program information acquisition dates displayed on the program information management screen in FIG. 20 (a plurality of scheduled program acquisition dates can be set). It is possible to obtain program information on a desired date by connecting to the program information service provider 14 via the digital mobile phone 2, the base station 3, the public network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 8. it can.

Returning to the description of the flowchart of FIG. In step S4, the program recording setting program 8
3 receives a command to select a date for which program information is to be directly obtained and to obtain information, based on a user operation input by the processing of the input / output control program 82.

More specifically, when the user wants to acquire program information, the user selects a date from which the program information is to be directly acquired from the scheduled program information acquisition dates displayed on the program information management screen shown in FIG. . A plurality of scheduled program acquisition dates can be selected. Then, the user selects the tag 226 and selects the program guide tag 231 and the option tag 232.
Is displayed, and the program guide tag 231 is selected. The program recording setting program 83 that has been operated by the user causes a drop-down list box 268 shown in FIG. 22 to be displayed. Here, the user selects the item “acquire information” and connects to the program information service provider 14 via the digital mobile phone 2, the base station 3, the public network 4, the access server 6 and the Internet 8. By doing so, a case where program information on a desired date is obtained will be described.

In step S 5, the program recording setting program 83, based on the information input by the processing of the data communication program 81, uses the PDA 1-1 and the digital mobile phone 2 or a public line such as a PHS or a data card type PHS. It is determined whether or not a communication module for connecting a device for communicating with the network 4 is connected.

When it is determined in step S5 that the communication module is not connected, in step S6, the program recording setting program 83 generates an error message for notifying the user that the communication module is not connected. Then, it outputs to the input / output control program 82. The input / output control program 82 outputs the input error message to the display unit 31 for display, and the process returns to step S4, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

When it is determined in step S5 that the communication module is connected, in step S7, the program recording setting program 83 executes the data communication program 8 to start communication via the communication module.
1 and connects to the program information server 191 of the program information service provider 14 via the digital cellular phone 2, the base station 3, the public line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 8.

In step S8, the program recording setting program 83 receives the input program information acquisition request (region and date information of the program information to be acquired, or a user ID registered in advance with the program information service provider 14).
D and date information)
4 to the program information server 191.

At step S9, the program information server 1
91 receives a program information acquisition request from the PDA 1-1, and determines in step S10 whether or not the received program information acquisition request includes a user ID.

If it is determined in step S10 that the received program information acquisition request includes the user ID, in step S11 the program information server 191 is determined.
Reads the date information included in the received program acquisition request and the registered content corresponding to the user ID from the user information database 195.

If it is determined in step S10 that the received program information acquisition request does not include the user ID, or after the process in step S11 ends, the program information server 191 determines in step S12 that the pd
The program information corresponding to the input program information acquisition request (region and date information of the program information to be acquired, or user ID and date information registered in advance in the program information service provider 14) from the b-format program information database 194. In step S13, the searched program information is stored in the PDA1 that transmitted the program information acquisition request.
-1.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Is the data communication program 8 in step S14.
According to the process 1, the program information transmitted by the program information server 191 is received and recorded in the program guide memory 91 in step S13. In step S15, the connection with the Internet is disconnected, and the process is terminated.

By the processing described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13, program information on a day desired by the user is recorded in the program table memory 91 of the PDA 1-1. As shown in FIG. 23, among the scheduled program information acquisition dates displayed on the program information management screen described with reference to FIG.
An icon 271 indicating that the program information has been acquired is displayed.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 24, the PDA 1-2 connects to the personal computer 9 via the cradle 7, and the personal computer 9
The PDA 1-2 is connected to the program information service provider 14 via the public line network 4, the access server 6, and the Internet 8 to acquire program information, and the PDA 1-2 is used to acquire the program information from the personal computer 9.
-2, processing of the personal computer 9 and the program information server 191 of the program information service provider 14 will be described.

In steps S21 to S23, the same processing as in steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 13 is performed.

In step S24, the program recording setting program 83 receives a signal indicating that the hot sync button 35 has been pressed from the cradle 7 via the communication unit 53 by the processing of the data communication program 81, and In S25, via the cradle 7,
Communication with the personal computer 9 is started.

In step S26, the CPU 131 of the personal computer 9 activates the hot sync manager 172 to establish an interface for a Palm desktop. Then, in step S27, the hot sync manager 172 transmits information such as a program recording history to the PDA 1.

A hot sync is a method for synchronizing files and data between two different computers. A PDA equipped with a Palm OS and a personal computer can synchronize files and data regardless of the model. It is possible to do.

Program recording setting program 8 for PDA1-2
3 transmits a program information acquisition request to the personal computer 9 via the cradle 7 in step S28 and receives information such as program recording history from the personal computer 9, and in step S29, the personal computer 9 The program recording history and the like transmitted in S27 are recorded in the schedule 94.

In step S30, the hot sync manager 172 receives the program information acquisition request from the PDA 1-2 via the cradle 7, and in step S31, by the processing of the input / output management program 171 via the Internet 8. Is connected to the program information service provider 14, and in step S32, in step S3
0, the program information acquisition request received is transmitted to the program information service provider 14.

The program information server 191 of the program information service provider 14 receives the program information acquisition request from the personal computer 9 via the Internet 8 in step S33, and in step S34, It is determined whether a user ID is included.

The user ID means that the user of the PDA 1-2 has previously registered detailed information such as the channel of the program information to be obtained with the program information service provider 14 (that is, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 10). (When detailed information of program information acquired by the corresponding user is registered in the user information database 195), and is set on the setting screen described with reference to FIG.

If it is determined in step S34 that the user ID is included in the program information acquisition request, the program information server 191 reads the corresponding registered content from the user information database 195 in step S35.

In step S34, when it is determined that the user ID is not included in the program information acquisition request,
Alternatively, after the processing of step S35 is completed, step S3
In 6, the program information server 191 reads from the pdb program information database 194 program information specified by date, region, channel, or the like corresponding to the program information requested by the user described in the program information acquisition request. Search for.

At step S37, the program information server 191 transmits the program information retrieved at step S36 to the personal computer 9 via the Internet 8.

In step S38, the input / output management program 171 of the personal computer 9 receives program information from the program information service provider 14 via the Internet 8. Hot Sync Manager 172
Transmits the received program information to the input / output management program 17.
1 through the cradle 7 to the PDA 1-2
Send to

At step S39, the input / output management program 171 of the personal computer 9 disconnects the connection with the Internet 8.

In step S40, the program recording setting program 83 of the PAD1-2 receives the program information from the personal computer 9 via the cradle 7,
The program is recorded in the program guide memory 91, and the process ends.

According to the processing described with reference to FIG. 24, for example, even if the user does not have the digital mobile phone 2, it is possible to obtain program information using the personal computer 9 or to obtain program information between a predetermined time and a predetermined time. No matter how many hours you connect to a given phone number between 11 pm and 8 am
By connecting to the program information service provider 14 using the personal computer 9, program information can be acquired.

The program table 101 is recorded in the program table memory 91 of the PDA 1 by the processing described with reference to FIG. 13 or the processing described with reference to FIG. The initial screen of the program recording setting program 83 in a state where the program table 101 is recorded in the program table memory 91, that is, the user uses the pen 201 to change the icon indicating the program recording setting program 83 on the initial screen of FIG. FIG. 25 shows a program guide screen displayed on the display unit 31 when the user selects the menu.

[0189] The display unit 31 displays a program guide 281, an advertisement banner 283, and a tag 282. Program guide 28
1 includes channel 284, date 285, time 286
Is displayed. The display of the advertisement banner 283 is automatically changed according to, for example, display time information included in the advertisement data. The tag 282 displays the current time (21:22 in this case).

When the tag 282 is selected, the display unit 31
26, a program guide tag 291 and an option tag 292 are displayed as shown in FIG. By the user,
When the program guide tag 291 is selected, a drop-down list box 293 is displayed. When the item of “reservation table” is selected in the drop-down list box 293, a reservation table screen described later with reference to FIG. 38 is displayed. When an item of “information management screen” is selected in the drop-down list box 293, FIG.
3 is displayed, and the program table 2 is displayed.
When the item of “time zone program list” is selected after the start time of the desired program displayed in 81 is selected, a specified time zone program list described later with reference to FIG. 35 is displayed.

In addition, option tag 2
When 92 is selected, a drop-down list box 294 is displayed, as shown in FIG. In the drop down list box 294, select "Font"
When the item is selected, a setting screen for setting the font displayed on the display unit 31 is displayed. When the item of “setting” is selected, the setting screen described with reference to FIG. 16 is displayed.

When deletion of program information is selected in drop-down list box 294, window 295 containing a message confirming deletion of program information is displayed as shown in FIG. If the user does not want to delete the program information, a cancel button 296
Is selected to delete the program information, an OK button 297 is selected. By doing so, even if the operation is erroneous, it is possible to prevent data from being deleted by mistake.

When the item “version information” is selected in the drop-down list box 294, the version information of the program recording setting program 83 is displayed.

If the item “remote commander” is selected in the drop-down list box 294,
A remote commander display screen described later with reference to FIG. 48 is displayed on the display unit 31, and a remote control process described later with reference to FIGS. 47 to 50 is executed.

Program table 281 displayed on display unit 31
When the channel 284 is selected, a channel list 301 is displayed as shown in FIG. The user selects a channel to be displayed on the display unit 31 from the displayed channel list 301.

Program table 281 displayed on display unit 31
When the date 285 is selected, as shown in FIG. 30, the date list 31 in which the date list of the program table 101 currently recorded in the program table memory 91 is displayed.
1 is displayed. The user selects the displayed date list 311
The user selects a date on which the program guide is to be displayed on the display unit 31.

Program table 281 displayed on display unit 31
When the time 286 is selected, a list box 321 for setting the display start time of the program guide displayed on the display unit 31 is displayed as shown in FIG. The user selects from the list box 321 the one corresponding to the time at which the user wants to check the program.

As described above, the display of the advertisement banner 283 is automatically changed at a fixed time. When the user clicks on the advertisement banner 283, an advertisement details screen as shown in FIG. 32 is displayed. A link text 331 describing a URL or a mail-to-text 332 describing an e-mail address is displayed on the advertisement detail screen as necessary, and an OK button for returning to the previous display screen is displayed. 333 are provided.

When the link text 331 is selected by the user, as shown in FIG. 33, the web browser 86 is started, the data communication program 81 is started by the processing of the web browser 86, and the predetermined processing is performed. WWW (not shown) via the Internet 8
Connected to the server, a web page specified by the URL of the link text 331 is displayed.

When the user selects the mail-to-text 332, as shown in FIG. 34, the e-mail program 85 is started, and the mail to be transmitted to the address specified by the mail-to-text 332 is sent. The mail creation screen for composing is displayed. When transmission of the created e-mail is instructed, the data communication program 81 is started by the processing of the e-mail program 85, connected to a mail server (not shown) of the access server 6 by a predetermined processing, and An e-mail is sent to the specified destination.

When the user actually sets a recording reservation, he or she wants to know what programs are on other channels in the same time zone and select a program that best matches his / her preference. Think. In such a case, the user selects the start time of the desired program displayed in the program table of FIG. 25 and displays the drop-down list box 293 shown in FIG. Is selected, the designated time zone program list 335 shown in FIG. 35 is displayed.

The program recording setting program 83 receives the input of the start time of the desired program selected by the user by the processing of the input / output control program 82. Here, the user selects the start time of the program, but the program recording setting program 83 stores the start time and the end time of the corresponding program instead of the time selected by the user.
35, and retrieves all program information broadcast between the found start time and end time to generate a designated time zone program list 335 shown in FIG. Is displayed on the display unit 31 for display.

The program table 281 described with reference to FIG. 25 or the designated time zone program list 335 described with reference to FIG.
Of these, the user can select a desired program and set a recording reservation in the personal computer 9.

Next, a process for setting a recording reservation in the personal computer 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
In step S51, the input / output control program 8
In the process 2, a signal indicating the selection of a program desired by the user is received from the program table 281, and the process proceeds to step S 5
In 2, a program detail screen corresponding to the selected program shown in FIG. 37 is displayed.

More specifically, when the user selects an arbitrary program from the program table 281 (or as shown in FIG. 35).
37, the user selects an arbitrary program from the specified time zone program list 335 described above, and a program detail screen is displayed as shown in FIG.

[0207] On the program detail screen, detailed information of the corresponding program (detailed information included in the program data of the program table 101 described with reference to Fig. 6), the previous display screen (program table 281 or a list of programs in the specified time zone) are displayed. 335), and an "Add to reservation table" button 34, which is pressed to add this program to the reservation table 92.
2 is displayed. On the program detail screen, the URL of a web page managed by the corresponding broadcast station or the URL of a web page in which information on the corresponding program is described may be displayed.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Is the input / output control program 8 in step S53.
In step S54, the program table 101 of the corresponding program is searched from the program table memory 91, and the program data of the searched program table 101 is reserved in step S54. Copy to table 92.

In the program details screen described with reference to FIG. 37, the “Add to reservation table” button 342 is selected, and the data of the program corresponding to the reservation table 92 is copied, whereby the reservation table shown in FIG. The screen is displayed. On the reservation table screen, the broadcast date and time and title of the program data copied to the reservation table 92 are displayed. The program table button 351 for returning the display to the program table 281 and the past reservation data, A check box 352 for setting whether or not to display data that has not yet been deleted from is also provided.

If the user selects a desired program name on the reservation table screen, a detailed schedule screen shown in FIG. 39 is displayed. On the schedule detail screen, detailed information such as the scheduled broadcast date and time, channel, title, and comment of the selected program is displayed, and an OK button 361 for returning to the previous display screen of the reservation table screen of FIG. 38 is displayed. The delete button 362 selected when canceling the reservation of this program, and the recording instruction of the corresponding program, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 46, are transmitted to the personal computer 9 (or VCR1).
A transmission button 363 is provided to be selected when performing the process of transmitting to 3).

[0211] When the delete button 362 is selected, FIG.
For example, as shown at 0, a message “Delete this schedule” is displayed, and an OK button 366 pressed to delete the selected schedule and a cancel pressed to not delete the schedule are displayed. A confirmation window 365 having a button 367 is displayed.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Is the data communication program 8 in step S55.
In step S56, a signal indicating that the hot sync button 35 is pressed is received from the cradle 7 via the communication unit 53, and in step S56, the communication unit 53 and the cradle 7 are processed by the data communication program 81. , The communication with the personal computer 9 is started.

CPU 131 of personal computer 9
In step S57, the communication board 145, the external bus 136, the bridge 135, and the host bus 134
Via the cradle 7 to start communication, activates the hot sync manager 172 described with reference to FIG. 9, establishes an interface for the Palm desktop 173, and in step S58, since the last hot sync was performed. Information such as the history of program recording performed on
The data is transmitted to the PDA 1 via the communication board 145 and the cradle 7 by the processing of the input / output management program 171.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Is the data communication program 8 in step S59.
By the processing of 1, the registration contents of the reservation table 92 are transmitted to the personal computer 9 via the cradle 7, and information such as the program recording history (information transmitted by the personal computer 9 in step S58) is transmitted from the personal computer 9. Upon receipt, in step S60, the reservation table 92 is updated based on the received program recording history.

For example, of the program data currently recorded in the reservation table 92, the program recording history transmitted by the personal computer 9 in step S58 indicates the status of the reservation recording by the reservation monitoring program 174 of the personal computer 9. Information is included. The program recording setting program 83 makes a reservation table 92 based on the received information.
After that, when the user displays the reservation table screen, as shown in FIG. 41, an icon 371 indicating that recording has been completed, and an icon 372 indicating that recording reservation is being set. Alternatively, an icon 373 indicating that an error such as a double reservation has occurred is displayed based on the contents of the reservation table 92.
The user can use these icons to display the status of the scheduled recording being executed on the personal computer 9.
You can find out on PDA1.

In step S61, the hot sync manager 172 of the personal computer 9 sends the reservation table 9 from the PDA 1 via the cradle 7 and the communication board 145 by the processing of the input / output management program 171.
In step S62, new recording reservation information is registered in the reservation monitoring program 174.

At step S63, the reservation monitoring program 174 determines whether or not the time registered in the recording reservation has come. When it is determined in step S63 that the time registered in the recording reservation has not come, the processing in step S63 is repeated until it is determined that the time registered in the recording reservation has come.

If it is determined in step S63 that the time registered in the recording reservation has come, the process proceeds to step S63.
At 64, the reservation monitoring program 174 executes an automatic recording process, and the process ends.

By such processing, the information for recording reservation registered in the reservation table 92 in the PDA 1 is transmitted to the personal computer 9, and the personal computer 9 records a program desired by the user.

As described with reference to FIG. 5, the schedule table program 84 is installed in the PDA 1 and is in an executable state. The schedule table program 84 is a program for managing the schedule of the user.

For the user, the schedule of the recording reservation of the program may be an item that the user wants to incorporate into his / her schedule. In this case, the registered contents of the reservation table 92 may be reflected in the schedule table 94 by checking the check box 243 on the setting screen described with reference to FIG.

Next, the process of changing the schedule 94 of the PDA 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S71, the program recording setting program 83 of the PDA 1 reflects the reservation information of the reservation table 92 in the schedule 94 of the schedule program 84 based on the contents set in the setting information memory 93. Is determined, that is, whether the check box 243 is checked.

[0224] In step S71, the schedule 94
If it is determined that the setting is made to reflect the reservation information in the reservation table 92, in step S72, the program recording setting program 83 determines whether or not there is a newly reserved program in the reservation table 92. to decide. Step S71
If it is determined that the schedule table 94 has not been set to reflect the reservation information in the reservation table 92, the process ends.

If it is determined in step S72 that there is a program newly reserved for recording in the reservation table 92,
In step S73, the program recording setting program 83
Determines whether the new recording reservation is a recording reservation for a program that straddles 0:00 (that is, straddles the date). If it is determined in step S72 that there is no newly reserved program in the reservation table 92, the process proceeds to step S79.

If it is determined in step S73 that the new recording reservation is a recording reservation for a program that crosses 0:00, in step S74, the program recording setting program 83 executes the recording reflected in the schedule table 94. The end time is 23:59 on the same day as the reservation start.

If it is determined in step S73 that the new recording reservation is not a recording reservation for a program that extends over 0:00, or after the processing in step S74 is completed,
In step S75, the program recording setting program 83 creates a UID uniquely assigned to each program corresponding to the new recording reservation setting, and in step S76,
The corresponding data is copied from the reservation table 92, and the created UID and the schedule table 94 of the schedule program 84 are created.
Register with.

In step S77, the schedule table program 84 determines whether or not the alarm is set to sound a predetermined time earlier than the scheduled start time.

If it is determined in step S77 that an alarm has been set, in step S78, the schedule table program 84 sets an alarm based on the new recording reservation time. For example, if the alarm is set to sound 10 minutes before the start time of the event, the schedule program 84 sets the alarm 10 minutes before the start time of the new recording reservation.

[0230] In step S79, the program recording setting program 83 determines whether or not there is a program whose recording reservation has been deleted from the reservation table 92 after the previously executed change processing of the reservation table 92.

If it is determined in step S79 that there is a program whose recording reservation has been deleted from the reservation table 92, the program recording setting program 83 is determined in step S80.
Supplies the schedule table program 84 with the UID of the program whose recording reservation has been deleted. The schedule program 84 sets a corresponding program 94 based on the supplied program UID.
Remove from.

If it is determined in step S79 that there is no program whose recording reservation has been deleted from the reservation table 92, or after the processing of step S80 has been completed, the processing is terminated.

The data described in the appointment table 92 is reflected in the data recorded in the appointment table 94 by the processing described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 42. Therefore, in the initial screen described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 43, the schedule for recording reservation is described on the schedule table screen displayed when the icon for instructing the activation of the program 84 is selected.

At this time, on the schedule table screen, the name of the program reserved for recording follows the insertion keyword 244 described with reference to FIG. 16 in order to distinguish between another schedule and a program recording schedule. In addition to using the insertion keyword, for example, by changing the display color or the like, another schedule may be distinguished from the program recording schedule.

The data communication program 8 of the PDA 1
1 performs infrared communication with another device via the infrared communication unit 22 or performs wireless communication via the wireless LAN communication unit 64.

For example, PDA1-1 to PDA1-2
The operation for transmitting the information set by the processing of the program recording setting program 83 will be described.

The user displays the information management screen described with reference to FIG. 20, and selects the acquired program information or the date to which the setting contents of the recording reservation are to be transmitted. A plurality of dates can be selected. Then, the user displays the drop-down list box 268 described with reference to FIG. 22 and selects the item of “infrared communication of information”. The program recording setting program 83 acquires the acquired program information and advertisement information corresponding to the selected date,
The setting contents of the recording reservation are transmitted using infrared communication. At this time, the advertisement information is transmitted first so that the information excluding the advertisement information is not transmitted by, for example, interrupting the transmission process.

Alternatively, the user displays a menu on the initial screen described with reference to FIG. FIG.
As shown in (2), the application tag 391 and the option tag 392 are displayed, and the user selects the application tag 391.

The Palm OS of the PDA 1-1 displays a drop-down list box 393 in response to a user's operation input. The user can display the infrared communication screen shown in FIG. 45 by selecting the item of “infrared communication” from the displayed drop-down list box 393.

On the infrared communication screen, a list of applications of the PDA 1-1 is displayed, and an end button 401 for ending the infrared communication mode and an infrared communication button 402 for infrared communication of data of the selected application are displayed. Is provided.

The user selects program reservation from the list of applications, and selects the infrared communication button 402. The Palm OS of the PDA 1-1 receives a user's operation input and receives a device (here, PD
A1-2) is searched, and if a corresponding device is found, the information stored in the program recording setting program 83 (for example, the downloaded program table 101 recorded in the program table memory 91 or the reservation table 92) The described program reservation schedule, etc.) is transmitted using infrared communication. In this case as well, the advertisement information is transmitted first.

Here, a case has been described in which transmission is performed using infrared communication, such as a downloaded program table 101 recorded in the program table memory 91 or a program reservation schedule described in the reservation table 92. It goes without saying that information may be transmitted using wireless communication by the processing.

Program recording setting program 8 for PDA1-1
3, the setting of the program recording reservation recorded in the reservation table 92 is performed using the PDA 1 by using infrared communication or wireless communication.
, The user holding the PDA 1-1 downloads the program information on behalf of the user holding the PDA 1-2, and reserves the program recording for the user holding the PDA 1-2. You can create a reservation table. The user holding the PDA 1-1 transmits the created reservation table 92 to the PDA 1-2 using infrared communication, and the user of the PDA 1-2 uses the method described with reference to FIG.
13, a recording reservation setting can be performed.

Also, the program recording setting program 83
Using the infrared communication function of DA1, the recording command of the program set for reservation is transmitted to the personal computer 9 or V
It is also possible to transmit to the CR 13 by infrared communication. When the transmission button 363 displayed on the detail screen of the schedule described with reference to FIG. 39 is pressed by the user, the program recording setting program 83 generates a recording instruction of the program displayed at that time, and By the processing of the communication program 81, the data is transmitted via the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 64).

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The process of sending a recording command to the server will be described. Note that the same processing is basically performed when the recording command is transmitted to the VCR 13 instead of the personal computer 9, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0246] In step S91, the program recording setting program 83 executes the processing of the input / output control program 82 in accordance with the user's operation input from the touch pad control unit 48, the jog dial 33, or the key 32.
The schedule table screen described with reference to FIG. 38 is displayed on the display unit 31, and the processing of the input / output control program 82 indicates selection of a program desired by the user from the touchpad control unit 48, the jog dial 33, or the key 32. Receive input.

In step S92, the program recording setting program 83 generates the detailed screen of the schedule corresponding to the selected program described with reference to FIG. Output and display.

In step S 93, the program recording setting program 83 receives a signal indicating selection of the transmission button 363 from the touch pad control section 48 by the processing of the input / output control program 82.

[0249] In step S94, the program recording setting program 83 generates a recording command based on the program data of the program recorded in the reservation table 92 and supplies it to the data communication program 81. The recording instruction includes, for example, a channel of a program to be recorded, a broadcast start time, and a broadcast end time.

At step S95, the data communication program 81 transmits the recording command generated at step S94 to the personal computer 9 by using infrared communication.

In step S96, the recording reservation setting program 178 of the personal computer 9 executes the processing of the input / output
6 (or wireless LAN communication unit 147)
A recording command is received from DA1. Here, the recording reservation setting program 178 generates a reply command indicating that the recording command has been received to the PDA 1, and by the processing of the input / output management program 171, the infrared communication unit 146.
(Or via the wireless LAN communication unit 147)
A reply may be sent to A1.

In steps S97 to S99, the same processes as those in steps S62 to S64 in FIG. 36 are executed, and the process ends.

According to such processing, for example, the personal computer 9 or the VCR can be easily processed without performing a complicated operation such as inputting a G code number.
13 can be instructed to make a recording reservation.

Also, the program recording setting program 83
The keyboard 138 or the mouse 139 of the personal computer 9 is used for a program executed by the personal computer 9 using the infrared communication function of the DA 1.
Without using the PDA 1, it is possible to perform a process for performing operation input by remote control using the PDA 1.

Next, remote control processing for the recording reservation setting program 178 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Here, in the personal computer 9, the recording reservation setting program 1
A case will be described where 78 is activated and remote control is performed using the PDA 1.

In step S111, the program recording setting program 83 executes the processing of the input / output control program 82 to make the touch pad control section 48, the jog dial 33,
Alternatively, the remote commander display screen is displayed according to a user operation input from the key 32.

FIG. 48 shows a remote commander display screen. A key group 411 for inputting various commands and a tag 412 for displaying a menu are displayed on the remote commander display screen. When the tag 412 is selected, a drop-down list box (not shown) is displayed, and an end of the remote commander display screen can be instructed. In a drop-down list box (not shown), in addition to a menu for instructing termination, a plurality of commands such as a command for shifting to a setting screen for setting a display font setting screen are prepared.

In step S112, the CPU 131 of the personal computer 9 activates the recording reservation setting program 178 according to the operation of the user, and the processing of the input / output management program 171 causes the CRT 140 to
A recording reservation setting screen 415 shown in FIG. 49 is displayed.

At step S113, the program recording setting program 83 executes the processing of the input / output control program 82 to execute the touch pad control section 48, the jog dial 33,
Alternatively, a user operation input is received from the key 32.

At step S114, the recording reservation setting program 178 of the personal computer 9 executes the processing of the input / output
46 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 147),
A signal corresponding to a user operation is input from the PDA 1. Further, the recording reservation setting program 178 generates a reply command indicating that the recording command has been received, and the processing of the input / output management program 171 causes the infrared communication unit 1 to execute the processing.
46 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 147),
A reply may be sent to PDA1.

At step S115, the recording reservation setting program 178 of the personal computer 9 executes a process corresponding to the input signal. For example, when the user rotates the jog dial 33, step S
On the recording reservation setting screen displayed at 112, a signal corresponding to a user operation input from the PDA 1 such as changing the position of a selected menu bar tag or button, and the recording reservation setting Commands for the program 178 are supported.

[0262] In step S116, the program recording setting program 83 determines whether or not an instruction to end the operation has been received by the processing of the input / output control program 82. If it is determined in step S116 that the instruction to end the operation has not been received, the process returns to step S113.
Subsequent processing is repeated.

If it is determined in step S116 that the operation termination instruction has been received, in step S117, the program recording setting program 83 executes the remote commander display screen described with reference to FIG. The display screen that was displayed immediately before is displayed, and the process ends.

According to the processing described with reference to FIG. 47, even a user who is unfamiliar with the operation of the keyboard 138 and the mouse 139 can easily set the recording reservation executed by the personal computer 9 using the PDA 1.

As another example, the recording / playback program 177
A case will be described in which the content reproduction process is performed by the process (1) and the remote control is executed by the process of the PDA 1 while the display screen shown in FIG.

For example, a video recorder window 422 shown in FIG. 50 displays moving image data selected by a user's operation and a television program currently being broadcast. The user can select a content capsule selection window 423 in the video recorder window 422.
A desired content can be selected and reproduced from a plurality of program contents displayed in the above. When the user wants to reproduce the desired content, the user presses a cursor key indicating a predetermined direction in the key group 411 of FIG. 48 or rotates the jog dial 33 to select the desired content. be able to.

The input / output management program 171 of the personal computer 9 sets the content capsule selection window 423 on the basis of a signal indicating a user operation input via the infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 147). The display is controlled so that the highlighted text among the displayed content names is sequentially changed.

The input / output management program 171
The infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 14
48, a signal indicating that the playback key of the key group 411 in FIG. 48 has been pressed, or a signal indicating that the jog dial 33 has been pressed toward the main body. Is supplied to the recording / playback program 177. The recording / playback program 177 causes the selected content to be played back in accordance with the input signal.

In FIG. 50, the case where the recording / reproducing program 177 has been activated on the personal computer 9 has been described. However, the same applies to the case where other programs have been activated on the personal computer 9. The processing is executed. The correspondence between the operation of the jog dial 33 and the operation on the display screen of the personal computer 9 is not limited to this.

Also, the program recording setting program 83
By using the infrared communication function of DA1 and performing the same processing, it can also function as a remote controller of VCR13.

Furthermore, the program recording setting program 83
The personal computer 9 can receive the content data recorded in the HDD 141 and reproduce the content data by using the infrared communication function of the DA1.

The HDD 141 of the personal computer 9
Has a plurality of pieces of content data recorded therein. The content data is managed and searched by the processing of the AV content data management search program 176.

FIG. 51 shows an AV content management search screen 431 displayed on the CRT 140 by the processing of the AV content data management search program 176. On the AV content management search screen 431, a list of content data stored in the HDD 141 is displayed. Along with the content name, for example, the date of creation (recording), the content indicating whether the content has been reproduced or not reproduced, and the like are displayed. Status information, content length, channel name, recording mode, and the like are displayed.

The PDA 1 has a smaller data storage capacity and a lower moving image display performance than the personal computer 9.
The content conversion program 175 converts the content data into a predetermined format suitable for display by the PDA 1 with a small data capacity, and then processes the infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication) by the processing of the input / output management program 171. Unit 147) to the PDA1.

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Supplies the moving image data of the content data received from the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 64) to the moving image display program 87 by the processing of the data communication program 81, based on the operation of the user. ,
In addition to displaying on the display unit 31, the audio data of the content data is output to the audio reproducing unit 51 via the buffer 50, and the audio is reproduced.

Next, a process of transmitting content data recorded in the personal computer 9 to the PDA 1 using infrared communication and reproducing the content data on the PDA 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. .

Program recording setting program 83 for PDA1
Receives the input of the instruction to shift to the content data reception / reproduction mode, which is input from the touch pad control unit 48, the jog dial 33, or the key 32 by the processing of the input / output control program 82 in step S131, , A content data reception / reproduction screen as shown in FIG. 53 is displayed. In step S132, since a list of contents has not yet been received from the personal computer 9, FIG.
3 is not displayed on the content data reception / reproduction screen.

In the content data reception / reproduction screen shown in FIG. 53, a content data reception button 441 pressed when receiving desired content data from the personal computer 9 and a list of content data received from the personal computer 9 are displayed. A list receiving button 442 is provided.

[0279] In step S133, the program recording setting program 83 of the PDA 1 executes the data communication program 8
1, the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless L
The transmission request of the content data list is transmitted to the personal computer 9 via the AN communication unit 64).

In step S134, the AV content management / retrieval program 17 of the personal computer 9
6 is an infrared communication unit 146 (or a wireless LAN communication unit 147) by the processing of the input / output management program 171.
Request for transmission of a content data list via the PDA
1 to receive.

In step S135, the AV content management / search program 176 generates a content data list, and executes
The infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 14
7) to PDA1.

At step S136, the program recording setting program 83 of the PDA 1 executes the data communication program 8
1, the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless L
The content data list is received via the AN communication unit 64), display screen data corresponding to the content data list screen is generated, and output to the display unit 31 for display by the processing of the input / output control program 82.

By the processing in step S136, a list of content names stored inside personal computer 9 is displayed on the content data reception / reproduction screen, as shown in FIG.

[0284] The user selects desired content data from the content data displayed in the list, and presses the content data reception button 441. Step S1
At 37, the program recording setting program 83, by the processing of the input / output control program 82, selects the content name input from the touch pad control unit 48, the jog dial 33 or the key 32, and receives the selected content data. A signal indicating an instruction operation (ie, a signal indicating that the content data reception button 441 has been pressed) is input.

In step S138, the program recording setting program 83 generates a data conversion and transmission request for the corresponding content data, and
1, the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless L
The data is transmitted from the AN communication unit 64) to the personal computer 9.

In step S139, the input / output management program 171 of the personal computer 9 receives the data conversion and transmission request of the content data via the infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 147), and executes the AV content management. The search program 176 is supplied. AV content management search program 176
Retrieves the corresponding content data and supplies it to the AV content conversion program 175. The AV content conversion program 175 converts the supplied content data into a predetermined format suitable for being displayed on the display unit 31 by the processing of the moving image display program 87 of the PDA 1, and supplies the converted data to the input / output management program 171.

[0287] In step S140, the input / output management program 171 sends the converted content data to the infrared communication unit 146 (or the wireless LAN communication unit 14).
7) to PDA1.

At step S141, the program recording setting program 83 of the PDA 1 executes the data communication program 8
1, the infrared communication unit 22 (or the wireless L
The content data of the PDA 1 is received via the AN communication unit 64), an icon of the reproducible content data is generated, and the icon is output to the display unit 31 and displayed by the processing of the input / output control program 82.

FIG. 54 shows a reproduction instruction screen on which icons corresponding to reproducible content data are displayed. The playback instruction screen displays an icon group 451 corresponding to the playable content, and further includes a list display button 452 for returning to the content list display screen of FIG.

[0290] In step S142, the program recording setting program 83 executes the processing of the input / output control program 82 so that the touchpad control unit 48, the jog dial 33,
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not an icon has been selected based on a signal input from the key 32. Step S14
In step 2, if it is determined that no icon has been selected, the process of step S142 is repeated until it is determined that an icon has been selected.

If it is determined in step S142 that an icon has been selected, in step S143, the program recording setting program 83 executes step S142.
Is supplied to the moving image display program 87, and according to the processing of the input / output control program 82, the corresponding content data is output to the display unit 31 according to the operation of the user, and is played back. You.

Display Screen 3 Displaying Content Data
1 is shown in FIG. In addition to the display area 461 for displaying the moving image of the content, the display screen 31 may display a button group 462 that allows the user to easily operate.

By the processing described with reference to FIG. 52, the content stored in the personal computer 9 is transferred to the PD.
Since the content can be reproduced using A1, the recorded content can be reproduced and enjoyed, for example, even in a moving train.

The personal computer 9 has a PD
It is possible to activate the AV content conversion program 175 and convert the content data into a predetermined format without receiving an operation input from A1. For example, as shown in FIG. 56, when the AV content conversion program 175 is started while the AV content management search screen 431 described with reference to FIG. 51 is displayed, a content conversion window 471 is displayed.

When the user drops and drags an icon indicating a desired content from the AV content management search screen 431 to the content conversion window 471 or copies and pastes the icon, the AV content conversion program 175 selects the icon. In step S13, the content data corresponding to the icon
In the same manner as the processing executed in step 9, the data is converted into a predetermined format.

[0296] The AV data converted into a predetermined format is displayed as an icon 472 in the content conversion window 471.

Further, by providing a menu screen in the content conversion window 471, the content data whose format has been converted by the operation input to the personal computer 9 can be transferred to the personal computer 9.
May be transmitted to the PDA 1 by infrared communication or wireless communication.

The above-described series of processing can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software can execute various functions by installing a computer built into dedicated hardware or installing various programs. It is installed from a program storage medium to a possible general-purpose personal computer or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, a program storage medium for storing a program installed in a computer and made executable by the computer is as follows.
Magnetic disk 71 (including floppy disk), optical disk 72 (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memor
y), DVD (including Digital Versatile Disc), magneto-optical disk 73 (including MD (Mini-Disc)), or package media including semiconductor memory 124, or a program temporarily or permanently stored Fl
It is composed of an ash ROM 43, a hard disk, and the like. The storage of the program in the program storage medium is performed using a wired or wireless communication medium such as a public line network 4, a local area network, the Internet 8, or digital satellite broadcasting via an interface such as a router or a modem as necessary. Done.

[0300] In this specification, the steps of describing a program stored in a program storage medium may be performed not only in chronological order but also in chronological order according to the described order. , And also includes processes executed in parallel or individually.

[0301] In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0302]

According to the portable information terminal device, the information processing method, and the program of the present invention, program information relating to a program is acquired, and recording reservation of a predetermined program is performed based on the acquired program information. The reservation information is set and stored, and it is determined whether or not connection with another portable information terminal device is possible. If it is determined that connection with another portable information terminal device is possible, the user executes Based on the operation performed, a signal corresponding to the reservation information is generated, and the generated signal is transmitted to another portable information terminal device. Therefore, a desired signal set in the portable information terminal device such as a PDA is Reservation information for making a recording reservation for a program can be transmitted to another PDA using infrared communication.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a program data acquisition system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the PDA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the external appearance of the PDA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of the PDA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the PDA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data structure of a program table recorded in a program table memory of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the personal computer of FIG.

8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing board in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a program information service provider of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an initial display screen of the PDA.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a PDA.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a PDA acquires program information from a program information service provider.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for describing a program information management screen.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for describing menu display on a program information management screen.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for describing a setting screen.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for describing a channel setting screen.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for describing a scheduled program acquisition date setting screen.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a message window.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display example of a program information management screen.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a change window.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for describing menu display on a program information management screen.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for describing icons displayed after acquisition of program information.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a PDA acquires program information from a program information service provider via a personal computer.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a display example of a program guide screen.

FIG. 26 is a diagram for describing menu display on a program guide screen.

FIG. 27 is a diagram for describing menu display on a program guide screen.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a message window.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a channel list.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a display example of a date list.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a display example of a list box for setting a display start time of a program guide.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a display example of an advertisement details screen.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a web browser is activated.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when an e-mail program is activated.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a display example of a program list of a designated time zone.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating a recording reservation setting process.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a display example of a program detail screen.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a display example of a reservation table screen.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a display example of a schedule detail screen.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a display example of a message window.

FIG. 41 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an icon indicating a recording state.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart for explaining a schedule change process;

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a display example of a schedule table in which a program reservation schedule is reflected;

FIG. 44 is a diagram for describing display of a menu.

FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an infrared communication screen.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a PDA sends a recording command to a personal computer using infrared communication.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating a remote control process performed by the PDA.

FIG. 48 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a remote commander display screen.

FIG. 49 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a recording reservation setting screen displayed on the personal computer.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a display example of a video recorder window displayed on a personal computer.

FIG. 51 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an AV content management search screen displayed on a personal computer.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting content data from a personal computer to a PDA.

FIG. 53 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a content data reception / reproduction screen.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a display example of a reproduction instruction screen on which icons corresponding to reproducible content data are displayed.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing a display example of content.

FIG. 56 is a diagram for describing a case where a content conversion process is executed from the AV content management search screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 PDA, 2 digital mobile phone, 3 base station, 4 public line network, 7 cradle, 8 Internet, 9 personal computer, 13 V
CR, 14 Program information service provider, 15
Company, 16 personal computer, 31 display screen, 35 hot sync button, 41 CPU,
81 data communication program, 83 program recording setting program, 84 schedule table program, 91 program table memory, 92 reservation table, 94 schedule table, 101
Program guide, 131 CPU, 171 I / O management program, 172 Hot sync manager, 174
Reservation monitoring program, 175 AV contents conversion program, 176 AV contents search management program, 191 program information server, 193 converter, 194 pdb format program information database, 1
95 user database, 197 billing server

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Shimizu 6-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 5C052 AA01 CC11 DD10 5C053 FA23 FA30 FA30 GA11 GB37 KA01 KA24 LA05 LA06 LA11 LA14 5E501 AA02 AA04 AB03 AB06 AB15 AC12 AC18 AC42 CB02 CB03 CB06 CB08 CB09 CB11 CC02 CC17 EA05 EA10 EA11 EA33 EB05 FA03 FA04 FA05 FA06 FA07 FA10 FA23 FA25 FA46 FB28

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal device connected to another portable information terminal device, comprising: acquiring means for acquiring program information on a program; and a predetermined information based on the program information acquired by the acquiring means. Storage means for setting and storing reservation information for performing program recording reservation; determining means for determining whether connection with the other portable information terminal device is possible; and a result of determination by the determining means Generating a first signal corresponding to the reservation information stored in the storage unit, based on an operation performed by a user, when it is determined that the user can connect to the other portable information terminal device. Portable information comprising: a first generating unit; and a first transmitting unit that transmits the first signal generated by the first generating unit to the other portable information terminal device. Terminal device 2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first transmitting unit transmits an infrared ray obtained by modulating the first signal generated by the first generating unit. apparatus. 3. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first transmitting unit transmits a radio wave obtained by modulating the first signal generated by the first generating unit. apparatus. 4. A second generation unit that generates a second signal corresponding to the program information acquired by the acquisition unit, based on an input of an operation performed by the user, and the second generation unit. 2. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second transmission unit configured to transmit the second signal generated by the above to the another portable information terminal device. 3. 5. The advertisement information is included in the second signal, and the second transmission means transmits the advertisement information first among information included in the second signal. The program information providing device according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The portable information terminal according to claim 4, wherein the second transmitting unit transmits an infrared ray obtained by modulating the second signal generated by the second generating unit. apparatus. 7. The portable information terminal according to claim 4, wherein the second transmitting unit transmits a radio wave obtained by modulating the second signal generated by the second generating unit. apparatus. 8. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising receiving means for receiving a second signal corresponding to reservation information stored in said another portable information terminal device. apparatus. 9. The portable information terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the second signal is an infrared ray. 10. The portable information terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the second signal is a radio wave. 11. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising receiving means for receiving a second signal corresponding to program information acquired by said another portable information terminal device. . 12. The portable information terminal device according to claim 11, wherein the second signal is an infrared ray. 13. The portable information terminal device according to claim 11, wherein the second signal is a radio wave. 14. An information processing method for a portable information terminal connected to another portable information terminal, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring program information on a program; and the program information acquired by the processing of the acquiring step. Setting a reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program based on the storage control step of controlling storage, and a determining step of determining whether or not connection with the other portable information terminal device is possible. And, as a result of the determination by the processing of the determination step, when it is determined that the other portable information terminal device can be connected,
A generation step of generating a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step based on an operation performed by a user; and generating the signal generated by the processing of the generation step. Transmitting to the portable information terminal device. 15. A program for controlling a portable information terminal connected to another portable information terminal, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring program information relating to a program; and the program acquired by the processing of the acquisition step. Based on the program information, a reservation control step for setting reservation information for making a recording reservation of a predetermined program and controlling storage, and determining whether or not connection with the other portable information terminal device is possible. A determination step, and, as a result of the determination in the determination step, when it is determined that the other portable information terminal device can be connected,
A generation step of generating a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step based on an operation performed by a user; and generating the signal generated by the processing of the generation step. And a transmission step of transmitting the program to a portable information terminal device. 16. A computer connected to another portable information terminal device, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring program information on a program; and a predetermined program based on the program information acquired by the processing of the acquiring step. A storage control step of setting reservation information for performing a recording reservation and controlling storage; a determining step of determining whether or not connection with the other portable information terminal device is possible; and a processing of the determining step As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the other portable information terminal device can be connected,
A generation step of generating a signal corresponding to the reservation information whose storage is controlled by the processing of the storage control step based on an operation performed by a user; and generating the signal generated by the processing of the generation step. And transmitting step to the portable information terminal device.