JP2004069595A - Information providing device and program for providing information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a user with an information program matching a scheduled traveling time. <P>SOLUTION: This information providing device has a traveling time computing means 20 finding the scheduled traveling time from a present position of a vehicle and a destination and a program forming means 30 forming the information program within the found scheduled traveling time for providing the information program including a plurality of pieces of information to the user riding in the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an information providing device mounted on a vehicle and sequentially providing information or a program for controlling provision of information.
[0002]
[Background Art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is an information providing device that provides a user riding in a vehicle with music that matches the analyzed user's preference (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-114107). According to this information providing device, the user can receive provision of information according to his / her taste.
[0003]
However, if it is desired to receive a plurality of information within a predetermined traveling time, for example, if it is desired to receive the news in addition to the information music, if the information is provided in an order according to the degree of preference, There may be a situation where music or the like is provided with priority from the start of traveling, and the provision of news is delayed. In such a case, there is an inconvenience that the user arrives at the destination before the provision of the news or the like is completed and the news cannot be watched to the end. In particular, the meaning of news is transmitted only when all information is completely provided. Therefore, it is indispensable that information is completely provided in order to completely transmit information.
[0004]
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus that provides an information program created according to a scheduled travel time of a user.
[0005]
According to the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus for providing an information program including a plurality of pieces of information to a user boarding a vehicle, the travel time calculating means for obtaining a scheduled travel time from a current position and a destination of the vehicle; There is provided an information providing apparatus having a program creating means for creating an information program within the scheduled running time obtained by the time calculating means.
[0006]
Thus, an information program corresponding to the scheduled travel time of the user is provided, and an information providing device that provides the information desired by the user to the end can be provided.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the information providing apparatus of the present embodiment.
[0008]
The information providing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a server having a communication function of exchanging information with a navigation device 200 mounted on a vehicle via a network line such as the Internet.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing device 100 has an arithmetic device 1 and a storage device 5. The arithmetic device 1 includes a ROM in which an information providing program is stored, and a CPU that functions as the arithmetic device 1 by executing the program stored in the ROM. The storage device 5 includes a RAM that can be read by a CPU.
[0010]
The arithmetic unit 1 also has an information acquisition function 10 for acquiring travel information and the like relating to the travel of the vehicle from the navigation device 200 on the vehicle side, and a travel time for calculating a scheduled travel time for the user to travel the vehicle from the acquired travel information and the like. A computing means 20, a traveling purpose determining means 30 for determining a traveling purpose for the user to drive the vehicle from the acquired traveling information and the like, and a program for creating an information program according to the determined expected traveling time and / or traveling purpose. Creation means 40. The storage device 5 stores correspondence data 1 to 3 (51 to 53) and provided information data 54 which is a source of information to be provided. Further, the storage device 5 has an updating function of storing each information in advance and receiving and rewriting new information.
[0011]
Hereinafter, each configuration will be described.
The information acquisition function 10 has a travel information acquisition unit 11 that acquires travel information including a current position and a destination of the vehicle and travel information including a travel time at which the user travels the vehicle, and a user identification for identifying the user. A user identification information acquisition unit 12 for acquiring information, a user preference information acquisition unit 13 for acquiring information on user preference, and information stored in the provision information data 54 of the storage device 5 (information serving as a source of provision information) Provided from the outside. The information acquisition function 10 acquires various types of information using the communication function of the information providing apparatus 100. The acquired information is information detected by the information detecting means 210 of the navigation device 200 of the vehicle. For example, the current position and destination of the vehicle are obtained by the route guidance function of the navigation device 200, the travel time is obtained by the timer of the navigation device 200, and the user identification information is obtained from the unlock information of the key used by the user. , And the user preference information is acquired by a preference information receiving function (information input interface) of the navigation device 200 that receives an input from the user.
[0012]
The travel information calculation means 20 calculates a scheduled travel time during which the vehicle is scheduled to travel from the current position and the destination of the vehicle acquired by the travel information acquisition unit 11. The current position of the vehicle is information detected by the information detecting unit 210 using a GPS (Global Positioning System) function of the navigation device 200. The destination is information obtained by the information detection unit 210 detecting destination information input to the navigation device 200 by the user. The destination is referred to as the user's travel history 51 stored in the corresponding data 1 of the storage device 5 and the destination predicted from the route immediately after the start of the travel is referred to as the “destination” even if no input is made. It can also be detected as "ground information". In the case of commuting or the like, the user usually travels to the destination on the same route. Even when the destination is not input, the travel route immediately after the start of travel and the past travel history are compared to determine the destination to which the user travels. This is because it can be predicted. The travel time calculation unit 20 determines a route to the destination from the information on the current position and the destination, and calculates a scheduled travel time from the distance of the determined route and the average speed. At this time, the scheduled traveling time may be calculated from an average speed per hour (80 km on an expressway, 40 km on a general road, etc.) according to the road attribute of the route. In addition, it is also possible to obtain the empirical planned traveling time from the current position to the destination based on the past traveling history (actual traveling time) stored in the correspondence data 1.
[0013]
The traveling purpose determining means 30 determines the traveling purpose of the user from the traveling time at which the user travels the vehicle. This determination is made with reference to the correspondence data 1 (51) of “running information (running time) -running purpose” in which the past running time at which the user runs the vehicle and the running purpose at which the user runs the vehicle are associated. Done. The user may be allowed to run the vehicle at a predetermined time (6:00) for commuting, or to run the vehicle for shopping at a predetermined time (10:00) at a predetermined time. May act in. From such a viewpoint, the traveling purpose determination means 30 assumes that the user A has set the vehicle 6: 6 based on empirical information (corresponding data 1) that the user A drives the vehicle every morning from 6:00 to 7:00. When the information indicating the fact that the vehicle has run at 00 is acquired, it is determined that "user A has driven the vehicle for commuting", and the running purpose of user A is determined.
[0014]
The program creation means 40 creates an information program within the scheduled travel time obtained by the travel time calculation means 20, and creates an information program according to the travel purpose determined by the travel purpose determination means 30.
[0015]
Further, the program creating means 40 of the present embodiment has a template selecting function 41. The template selection function 41 reads out the corresponding data 2 (52), which stores the program templates of the plurality of information programs, which are stored in advance, according to the scheduled running time and / or running purpose, and refers to the corresponding data 2 (52). Then, a program template according to the calculated scheduled travel time or the determined travel purpose is selected. This program template is a program template that defines the entire time of the information program, the type of information (music, news, etc.) included in the information program, and the timing of providing each piece of information in the program. According to this program template, the configuration of an information program that provides three types of news and music in 30 minutes is determined, and the timing of providing each information is determined. In the present embodiment, an information program is created using a program template from the viewpoint of reducing the processing time for creating an information program. However, without using such a program template, the program creation data in the corresponding data 2 (52) is created. The information program may be created by determining the time of the information program, the type of information included, and the timing of providing each information.
[0016]
The program template selected in this manner defines the type of information included in the information program and the timing of provision, but does not define the content of the information. The user preference content selection function 42 of the program creation means 40 selects the content of the content not defined by the program template from the provided information data 54. The user preference content selection function 42 selects information (content) included in the information program according to the user's preference by referring to the correspondence data 3 (53) in which the content that is preferred for each user is associated.
[0017]
Specifically, the program creation means 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the program template stored in the corresponding data 2 of the storage device 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the identified plurality of program templates are associated with the running purpose as the target of the program, the age of the user as the target of the program, the occupation as the target of the program, and the time of the program. Since the information programs desired to be provided are considered to be different depending on the age, occupation, and situation (such as going to work) of the user, a large number of program templates corresponding to these are prepared in the present embodiment. Among the program templates, for example, No. The program template identified by 20001 is a program configured for a user who commutes, the age group of the target user is 25 to 37 years, the occupation of the target user is a company employee, and the information The program time is one hour. Note that the present invention is not limited to the example shown in FIG. Further, the correspondence data 2 (52) only needs to associate at least the scheduled traveling time or / and the traveling purpose with the program template.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the destination and the current position acquired by the traveling information acquiring unit 11 from the information detecting unit 210, and the calculated planned traveling time. The traveling information acquisition unit 11 acquires the vehicle identification number and user information such as user identification information in addition to the traveling information (destination, current position). The “scheduled travel time from the corresponding current position to the destination” shown in FIG. 3 is the time calculated by the travel time calculation means 20 of the calculation device 1. According to such information, the program creating unit 40 can identify a vehicle from a large number of vehicles to which the information is sent, identify a user, and obtain the scheduled travel time of the user.
[0019]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the acquired traveling time and the determined traveling purpose. In addition to the travel information (travel time), identification information for identifying the vehicle and the user, the user information, and the travel time (day of the week, time) of the specified user are acquired. The traveling time shown in FIG. 4 is the time acquired from the information detecting means 210, and the corresponding traveling purpose is determined by the traveling purpose determining means 30 of the arithmetic unit 1 with reference to the corresponding data 1 (51). . According to such information, the program creating means 40 specifies the vehicle and the user, and obtains information on the traveling purpose of the user. In addition, the program creating means 40 of the present embodiment can also estimate the estimated travel time from the determined travel purpose. By determining the traveling purpose, the destination of the user can be estimated, so that the estimated traveling time can be calculated from the current position and the destination. For example, when the traveling purpose of the user A is determined to be commuting, it can be estimated that the user A has the destination as the location of the commuting destination. The position of the office is estimated by referring to the traveling history of the corresponding data 1 (51).
[0020]
Based on these pieces of information, the program creating unit 40 creates an information program. In this embodiment, an information program is created using the above-described program template. Specifically, first, a program template is selected, and then the content of the content defined by the program template is determined.
[0021]
Here, first, the selection of the program template according to the scheduled running time will be described. The template selection function 41 of the program creation means 40, when the user A obtains information (FIG. 3) that the scheduled travel time for driving the vehicle is one hour, displays the program template (corresponding data 2 ( With reference to 52)), program templates 20001 and 20002 are selected.
[0022]
The template selection function 41 of the present embodiment further narrows down the program template selected based on the scheduled traveling time with reference to the traveling purpose determined by the traveling purpose determining means 30.
[0023]
First, the traveling purpose determination means 30 acquires the traveling time at which the user A actually traveled the vehicle. If the acquired traveling time is from 7:00 to 19:00, the traveling purpose of the user A is determined to be “return home” from the traveling time (see FIG. 4), and the result is transmitted to the program creating means 40. The template selection function 41 of the program creation unit 40 that has received the result refers to the program template (corresponding data 2 (52)) in FIG. 2 and selects the program template 20001 or 20002 previously selected according to the scheduled running time. From the program template 20002. It should be noted that which program template to select can be selected with reference to user information such as the age and occupation of the user.
[0024]
Next, a program template will be described with reference to FIG. The program template defines the entire time of the information program, the type of information (music, news, etc.) included in the information program, and the timing of providing each information in the program. Specifically, taking the example of the previously selected program template 20002 as an example, the program time of the program template 20002 is 1 hour, starting from music (content A), news (content B), information (1), Following the information (2), the process ends with the music (content C). When the provision of the music (content C) is completed, one hour has elapsed from the start of the provision of the information program, and the user has achieved the traveling purpose and arrives at his / her home (destination). Incidentally, the content of the information is not limited, but it is preferable that the user desires to provide traffic information, stock price information, weather information, sports information, shopping information, and the like.
[0025]
According to this program template, the configuration of an information program that provides one type of news, two types of information (information (1), information (2)) and two types of music information in one hour is determined. The timing of providing information is specified. With this program template, all the information that the user wants to provide can be provided within the user's running time (scheduled running time). In addition, by preparing a plurality of program templates corresponding to each scheduled traveling time and each traveling purpose, the time for creating an information program can be reduced, and the creation processing speed of the program creating means 40 can be increased.
[0026]
In addition, there is a desire to receive provision of stock price information and the like included in this example at a predetermined time. For example, there is a case where the user wants to confirm the closing price of a certain securities market quickly. When it is desired to acquire information disclosed at such a predetermined time, an information program that provides information at a timing close to the predetermined time may be created.
[0027]
Further, there is a desire to receive provision of information such as traffic information included in the present example at a predetermined position (timing). If the location or timing of the provision of the information is appropriate, it is possible to select a detour route while avoiding congestion, according to the content of the traffic information. For this purpose, traffic information must be provided to the user at a timing before the vehicle arrives at a crossroad where a detour route can be selected. This is because, even if traffic information of traffic congestion is acquired at a timing after passing through the crossroads, it is no longer possible to select a detour route. According to the information program of this example, the timing of providing traffic information can be adjusted. That is, by providing the traffic information after a predetermined time has elapsed since the user started running (the provision of the information program was started), it is possible to provide information at an optimal timing in each run of each user. .
[0028]
It is the user-preferred content selection function 42 of the program creation means 40 that selects the contents of specific information (content) included in the program template. The user preference content selection function 42 determines content suitable for each information specified in the program template according to the user's preference. Specifically, referring to the correspondence data 3 (53) in which the user of the storage device 5 is associated with the content that the user prefers, a content corresponding to the user's preference is selected, and the selected content is used as a program template. Insert to create an information program. Of course, the predetermined information may be provided without depending on the user's preference.
[0029]
FIG. 6 shows an example of correspondence data (53) between the user referred to by the user preference content selection function 42 and the preference content. As shown in FIG. 6, “music genres not desired to be provided”, “types of information desired to be provided”, “contents of music frequently listened to by the user”, etc. are associated with each user. The following describes an example of a program template 20002 provided when the user A commutes (returns home). As shown in FIG. 5, the program template 20002 sequentially provides music (content A), information (1), information (2), music (content B), and information. The order of the information, the length (time) of the information, and the timing of providing the information are specified by the program template, but the content of the information included in the information program is not specifically specified. The user preference content selection function 42 selects the content of the information according to the preference of the user A in the corresponding data 3 shown in FIG. More specifically, as the content of the music (content A), music other than J-pop, jazz, and classical music, such as rock, is selected. Next, the news of the content B is provided. The content of the news may be the same general news as other program templates. However, considering that the "information to be provided" is economic information, the news Is also good. Further, the content of the information (1) is stock price information which is "information desired to be provided", and the content of the information (2) is traffic information. As the music (content C), the contents 11 and the contents 23 are selected from the music contents frequently heard.
[0030]
As a result, according to the program template 20002, when the user A returns home, the program creating means 40 reads “music (rock)”, “news mainly on economic information”, “stock price information”, “traffic information”, “music (content 11 , Content 23) "is created.
[0031]
The information program created in this way is provided over the scheduled traveling time (1 hour) until the user A returns home, and the content of the provided information is in accordance with the user's wishes and the user's preferences.
[0032]
When the information included in the information program is updated, the provided information acquisition unit 14 acquires the latest information and updates the stored provided information data. Therefore, the information selected by the user preference content selection function 42 (or the program creation means 40) is always the latest information, and the information included in the information program provided to the user is updated information.
[0033]
Next, a control procedure of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 7, after the start (S100), the information providing apparatus 100 acquires the user identification information from the vehicle-side navigation device 200, and specifies the vehicle and the user.
[0035]
First, a control procedure for creating a program according to the scheduled running time will be described. The information acquisition function 10 of the arithmetic device 1 acquires the traveling information (including the current position, the destination, the traveling time, and other necessary information) detected by the information detecting means 210 (vehicle side) (S102). The traveling information acquisition unit 11 acquires information on the destination and the current position from the traveling information (S103). The travel time calculating means 20 calculates a travel route from the information on the destination and the current position, and further calculates a planned travel time from the current position to the destination (S104, see FIG. 3).
[0036]
The program creating means 40 starts creating an information program within the scheduled running time (S103). In the process of creating the information program, the template selection function 41 selects a program template (see FIG. 2) that can be provided within the scheduled travel time from the corresponding data 2 (52) (S106).
[0037]
Further, the processes of steps S113 and S114 are performed in parallel or independently of steps 103 and 104. The traveling information acquisition unit 11 acquires the traveling date and time and the traveling time included in the traveling information (S113). The traveling purpose determination means 30 determines the traveling purpose of the user from the acquired traveling time by referring to the corresponding data 2 (see FIG. 4). The template selection function 41 of the program creation means 40 selects a program template corresponding to the determined traveling purpose from the corresponding data 2 (52) (see FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, a program template corresponding to the traveling purpose is further narrowed down from a plurality of program templates selected according to the scheduled traveling time (S107).
[0038]
When one program template (see FIG. 5) is determined (S108), the user preference content selection function 42 reads the user preference information specified from the corresponding data 3 (53) (see FIG. 6) (S109). Referring to the user's preference information, the content (content) of the information included in the program template is selected and determined (S110). The user preference content selection function 42 inserts the determined content into the program template (see FIG. 5) (S112). As a result, an information program for providing predetermined information according to the user's preference at a predetermined timing within a predetermined time is created (S113). An output command for outputting this information program is transmitted to the specified vehicle-side navigation device 200 via the network. The arithmetic unit of the navigation device 200 that has obtained the output instruction provides information according to the information program via the output means 220 such as a speaker and a display (S114). Incidentally, the instruction for outputting the information program may include audio information, character information, or image information expressing the substance of the information included in the instruction, or may indicate the address where the information is stored, and It may include an instruction to read information, insert the read information into a program template, and output the program template. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the information to be provided may be provided information data 54 stored in the server-side information providing device 100 or a storage device (CD, MD, etc.) of the vehicle-side navigation device 200. (Including a readable portable storage medium).
[0039]
The information providing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is configured and functions as described above, and has the following effects.
[0040]
The program creation means 40 creates an information program within the scheduled travel time determined from the destination and the current position, and thus can provide the user with all information scheduled to be provided before the user arrives at the destination. . Thus, the user can completely view the information.
[0041]
In addition, since the program creating means 40 creates an information program according to the traveling purpose of the user obtained from the traveling time when the user actually drives the vehicle, it can provide information according to the traveling purpose. Further, a destination to which the user goes can be estimated from the traveling purpose, and a required time (scheduled traveling time) to the destination can be obtained. As described above, according to the created information program within the scheduled travel time, all information included in the information program can be provided until the user arrives at the destination.
[0042]
Furthermore, a route from the current position to the destination can be set based on the planned travel time and / or travel purpose, and the relationship between the position on the route and the scheduled time for the user to pass the position is determined. Therefore, it is possible to consider the timing of providing information according to the position where the vehicle travels. Specifically, an information program can be created so that traffic information can be provided before approaching a congested route.
[0043]
The program creating means 40 stores a program template of a plurality of information programs according to the scheduled running time and the running purpose, and creates an information program using the program template, thereby reducing the time required for the information program creating process. And an information providing device with a high processing speed can be provided.
[0044]
In addition, since the program creating unit 40 creates an information program including information corresponding to the user's preference with reference to the correspondence data that associates the user's preference with the information, the user's preference is reflected. Information programs can be provided.
[0045]
In addition, when the information included in the information program is updated, the program creating unit 40 can provide the user with the latest information to create an information program including the updated latest information.
[0046]
In the present embodiment, the information providing apparatus 100 has been described. However, a computer operated by the information providing program of the present invention operates in the same manner as the information providing apparatus 100 and has the same effect.
[0047]
The embodiments described above are described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information providing apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of program template information.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an acquired destination, a current position, and a calculated planned traveling time.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating acquired traveling times and determined traveling purposes.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a program template.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining user preference information regarding information.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
100 ... information providing device
1 ... arithmetic unit
11: Travel information acquisition unit
20: Running time calculation means
30 ... running purpose determination means
40 ... program creation means
41: Template selection function
42: User preference content selection function
5. Storage device
200 ... Car navigation system
210 ... information detecting means
220 output means (speaker, display)

Claims (14)

An information providing apparatus for providing an information program including a plurality of pieces of information to a user boarding a vehicle,
Travel time calculation means for determining a scheduled travel time from the current position and destination of the vehicle,
An information providing apparatus comprising: a program creating unit that creates an information program within the scheduled traveling time obtained by the traveling time calculating unit. The program creating means stores in advance a plurality of information program templates corresponding to the scheduled running time, and creates an information program by selecting a template according to the scheduled running time calculated by the running time calculating means. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein An information providing apparatus for providing an information program including a plurality of pieces of information to a user boarding a vehicle,
The travel time when the user actually travels the vehicle with reference to the correspondence data, in which correspondence data in which the travel time at which the user travels the vehicle and the travel purpose at which the user travels the vehicle are stored in advance. Travel purpose determination means for determining the travel purpose of the user who travels the vehicle from;
An information providing apparatus comprising: a program creating unit that creates an information program according to the traveling purpose of the user obtained by the traveling purpose determining unit. The program creating means stores in advance a plurality of information program templates corresponding to the traveling purpose, and creates an information program by selecting a template corresponding to the traveling purpose determined by the traveling purpose determining means. The information providing device according to claim 3. The travel time when the user actually travels the vehicle with reference to the correspondence data, in which correspondence data in which the travel time at which the user travels the vehicle and the travel purpose at which the user travels the vehicle are stored in advance. A travel purpose determining means for determining a travel purpose of a user who drives the vehicle from;
The program creating means, in advance, stores a plurality of information program templates corresponding to the travel purpose, creates an information program by selecting a template according to the travel purpose determined by the travel purpose determination means, The information providing device according to claim 1. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the provided information is updated, the program creating unit provides an information program including the updated information to a user. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program creating unit creates an information program including information corresponding to the user preference by referring to correspondence data in which the information is associated with the user preference. 8. Information providing device. On the computer mounted on the vehicle,
Obtaining a scheduled travel time from a current position and a destination of the vehicle;
Creating an information program including a plurality of pieces of information that can be provided within the determined scheduled travel time,
Providing the created information program to a user in a vehicle. The step of creating the information program includes:
Reading a template of a plurality of information programs stored in advance in association with the scheduled travel time;
Selecting a template according to the calculated scheduled travel time from the plurality of read templates;
Creating the information program by using the selected template. On the computer mounted on the vehicle,
The user who gets on the vehicle from the travel time when the user actually runs the vehicle with reference to the correspondence data that associates the travel time at which the user runs the vehicle and the travel purpose at which the user runs the vehicle Determining the traveling purpose of the vehicle;
Creating an information program including a plurality of pieces of information according to the determined traveling purpose. The step of creating the information program includes:
Reading a template of a plurality of information programs stored in advance in association with the traveling purpose;
Selecting a template according to the determined traveling purpose from the plurality of read templates;
Creating an information program using the selected template. The traveling time at which the user travels the vehicle and the traveling data at which the user travels the vehicle are referred to the corresponding data, and the traveling purpose of the user is determined from the traveling time at which the user actually travels the vehicle. Further comprising the step of determining
The step of creating the information program is a step of reading a plurality of information program templates stored in advance in association with the traveling purpose,
Selecting a template according to the determined traveling purpose from the plurality of read templates;
Creating the information program by using the selected template. The step of creating an information program including the plurality of pieces of information includes:
The information providing program according to claim 8, wherein when the information is updated, an information program including the updated information is provided to a user. The step of creating the information program includes:
The information providing program according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein an information program including information corresponding to the user's preference is created by referring to correspondence data in which the information is associated with the user's preference.

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