JP2005252519A - Information providing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing apparatus for enabling a user to satisfactorily view a desired content even in a long-time content, such as a movie whose reproduction time exceeds time required. <P>SOLUTION: The information providing apparatus comprises an input means capable of inputting the providing time of content information; a selection means for selecting desired content information; a content editing means for dividing the selected content information into prescribed units to edit the content information divided corresponding to the provided time; and an output means for outputting the content information edited by the content editing means, thus providing action/operation, where the content selected according to time required for arriving at a destination or time required for receiving the supply. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus such as a car audio system and a car navigation apparatus.

  As conventional in-vehicle information providing apparatuses, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known.

  The conventional in-vehicle information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 reproduces content information such as a DVD, and the content to be output during the movement of the mobile body until the destination arrives according to the input destination Select the information and output the selected content information while moving. Select the content information based on the degree of relevance of the keyword related to the input destination, or at the time to the destination. Accordingly, the content information is selected according to the selection of the content information according to the change in the movement of the moving body, and the content information suitable for the traveling state of the moving body is provided.

Further, the conventional device described in Patent Document 2 is a video reproduction device mounted on a mobile object, which calculates the time to the destination of the mobile object and calculates the time of each existing chapter in the video signal. Judgment and selection of chapters that can be played back by the time of arrival at the destination, and playback of selected chapters that can be played back so that the entire program is completed by the time of arrival. Even if there is a change in arrival time due to traffic jams etc., it is automatically calculated, and chapters that can be played sequentially are selected and played back.
JP 2002-365062 A JP 2002-344896 A

  However, in the in-vehicle information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in the case of a long-time content such as a movie, there are cases where the time required for reproduction does not fit within the required time to the destination. In this case, there is a problem that even if the content is provided by double speed reproduction or thinning reproduction, the user cannot comfortably view the desired content.

  Further, in the video playback apparatus described in Patent Document 2, since the video signal is selected and played back based on the predetermined time of each chapter of the video signal, the user cannot adjust the time so finely. There has been a problem that desired content cannot be received comfortably.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems. For example, content information can be stored in a unit of a predetermined scene regardless of whether it is long-time content information or short-time content information. An object is to provide an information providing apparatus that can be provided.

  The information providing apparatus according to the present invention divides the selected content information into predetermined units according to the provision time by inputting means for inputting the content information provision time, selection means for selecting desired content information, and the selected content information. Content editing means for editing the divided content information, and output means for outputting the content information edited by the content editing means.

  With this configuration, content information divided for each predetermined unit is provided within the provision time.

  Further, in the information providing apparatus of the present invention, the input unit inputs the destination of the moving body, and the moving body moves to the destination from the current position of the moving body and the input destination information. And calculating means for calculating the time required for.

  With this configuration, content information divided for each predetermined unit before the mobile body arrives at the destination is provided.

  Further, the information providing apparatus of the present invention is configured such that the content editing means divides the content according to the scene where the content changes.

  With this configuration, a scene in which reproduction is completed within the provision time is output.

  The information providing apparatus according to the present invention further includes a monitoring unit that monitors a difference between the time calculated by the calculating unit and the moving time during which the moving object actually moves, and the content editing unit includes the difference monitored by the monitoring unit. The content information is edited accordingly.

  With this configuration, it is possible to output a unit of reproducible content in accordance with a change in required time until arrival at the destination.

  Furthermore, the information providing apparatus of the present invention has storage means for storing a predetermined unit for which output of content information has been completed, and the content editing means has a predetermined unit next to the predetermined unit stored in the storage means. It is configured to provide information from the unit.

  With this configuration, for the content information that has not been completely played up to the end by the previous time, the unit that can be played back for the newly selected content is obtained in consideration of the continuation.

  Furthermore, in the information providing apparatus of the present invention, a waypoint through which the moving body passes to the final destination is input to the destination input means, and the calculation means moves from the current location of the moving body and the inputted waypoint information. It has a configuration that calculates the time it takes for the body to move to a transit point.

  With this configuration, it is possible to reproduce the selected content up to a reproducible unit in accordance with the required time between waypoints on the way to the final destination.

  The present invention provides an input unit that can input content information provision time, a selection unit that selects the desired content information, and the selected content information is divided into predetermined units and divided according to the provision time. Content editing means for editing the content information and output means for outputting the content information edited by the content editing means, the user can select the selected content information according to the required provision time. There is an effect that an appropriate unit can be comfortably and comfortably reproduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an input unit 101 can input a destination by specifying an address, a telephone number, or a specific name or point using a remote controller, a microphone, a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like. The selection unit 102 can select content information desired to be viewed while the moving body is moving, using a remote controller, a microphone, a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like. The calculation unit 103 is a time required from the current position of the moving body measured using a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a self-contained navigation positioning device, etc. to the latitude and longitude of the destination input by the input unit 101 Calculate Based on the required time from the current position to the destination calculated by the calculation unit 103, the output control unit 104 determines which scene of the content information selected by the selection unit 102 is to be output. Control. The output unit 105 outputs content information according to the control of the output control unit 104.

  The content editing unit 106 divides each piece of content information in advance as shown in FIG. 2 and stores it as a content information database 107. The content information selected by the selection unit 102 is called from the content information database 107, The data is sent to the output control unit 104. FIG. 2 shows a case where content A with a total playback time of 142 minutes is divided into n and a case where content B with a total playback time of 116 minutes is divided into n. Regarding the scene dividing method, methods described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 10-294923 and 9-214879 can be used.

  The storage unit 108 stores the position of the scene where the reproduction of the content information is completed when the destination arrives.

  In the present embodiment, since it is an in-vehicle information providing apparatus, the destination is input to the input unit 101 and the required time to the destination is calculated by the calculation unit 103. Alternatively, the user may directly input the time for receiving the content information. In this case, the output control unit 104 determines to which scene of the content information selected by the selection unit 102 and divided by the content editing unit 106 can be reproduced within the time directly input to the input unit 101.

  The on-vehicle information providing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, an arbitrary destination A is input from the user by the input unit 101 (S201). Next, the current position of the moving body is measured, and the calculation unit 103 calculates the time required for the moving body to move from the measured current position to the input destination (S202).

  Next, it is checked whether content information being reproduced is stored in the storage unit 108 until the previous time (S203). If content information in the middle of reproduction is stored in the storage unit 108, the content is automatically selected, and output control is performed with the scene next to the scene that has been reproduced up to the previous time as the reproduction start position. The data is output to the unit 104 (S204).

  Next, in the selection unit 102, the user specifies arbitrary content that the user wants to view while moving (S205). When the content A is selected and specified by the selection unit 102, the output control unit 104 compares the time required to move from the current position to the destination with the playback time of the selected content A, and the time required. It is calculated whether or not the reproduction of the content A is completed (S206), and it is determined whether or not the reproduction is completed (S207).

By the way, if the content information being reproduced is stored in the storage unit 108, and the content information is further selected by the selection unit 102, how far the two content information can be reproduced within the required time. Is detected. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 108
Assuming that no content information is stored, the description will be continued assuming that the content A is selected by the selection unit 102 as described above.

  Next, when the playback time of the content A is shorter than the required time to the destination, it is determined that the content A can be played back to the end before the mobile body arrives at the destination, and the content A is played back to the end. An instruction is sent to the output unit 105. The output unit 105 reproduces the content A to the end in accordance with the command from the output control unit 104 (S208).

  On the other hand, if the playback time of the content A is longer than the required time to the destination, it is determined that the content A cannot be played back until the moving body arrives at the destination, and the segmented scene of the content A It calculates how much of the image can be reproduced, and sends a command to the output unit 105 to reproduce the obtained scene (S209). Then, the output unit 105 reproduces up to the designated scene of the content A according to the command from the output control unit 104 (S210).

  For example, the calculation unit 103 calculates that the required time from the current position to the destination is 135 minutes, and the reproduction time of the content A selected by the selection unit 102 is 142 minutes as shown in FIG. It is determined that the content A cannot be reproduced until the end until the body arrives at the destination. Therefore, a command is sent to the output unit 105 to reproduce 133 minutes and 39 seconds up to scene n-1 among the scenes segmented in content A so that the reproduction is completed within the required time of 135 minutes.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to play back the selected content according to the time required to reach the destination by outputting up to the scene where the playback is completed within the time required to arrive at the destination. The content information that was being viewed when it arrived at the destination will not be stopped in the middle of a series of scenes, but the viewing of the content information will be interrupted at the breaks between scenes. Can do. In addition, if the scene is divided according to the user's preference, the reproduction can be interrupted between scenes that can be satisfied by the user.

  In this embodiment, a selection unit 102 is provided as means for enabling selection of content information desired to be viewed while the mobile object is moving, and is stored as means for storing a scene for which content information has been reproduced. When there is content information that has been reproduced partway through the previous time, the content is automatically selected and is reproduced from the scene next to the scene that has been reproduced up to the previous time. May be displayed to allow the user to select.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  4, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 4, the monitoring unit 109 periodically monitors how much the moving object has an error compared to the scheduled arrival time during the reproduction of the content information. Based on the arrival time error received from the monitoring unit 109, the output control unit 104 re-adjusts up to which scene of the content information being played back and controls the output unit 105.

  About the vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated using the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the same steps as those in FIG.

  First, after content is output by the output unit 105 in S208 or S210, it is determined whether or not a certain time has passed (S211). When the time has elapsed, the calculation unit 103 recalculates the required time to the destination and newly obtains the estimated arrival time (S212). In this embodiment, the predetermined time is assumed to be 15 minutes, and the estimated arrival time is recalculated every 15 minutes, and the monitoring unit 109 obtains an error from the estimated arrival time calculated 15 minutes ago (S213).

  Based on the error calculated by the monitoring unit 109, the output control unit 104 determines how many scenes can be reproduced in the content information being reproduced if it is earlier than the estimated arrival time 15 minutes ago. If it is later than the estimated arrival time 15 minutes ago, it is determined how many scenes can be reproduced in the content information being reproduced (S209).

  For example, as in the first embodiment, it is assumed that 133 minutes and 39 seconds up to the scene n-1 among the subdivided scenes of the content A are played during the required time of 135 minutes to the destination. When the estimated arrival time of the destination is calculated 15 minutes after the departure and an error of 8 minutes delay is calculated, the required time to the destination will be 143 minutes from the previously determined 135 minutes, and content A will be scene n In other words, it is determined that 142 minutes until the end can be reproduced within the required time.

  On the other hand, if an error of 10 minutes earlier is calculated, the required time to the destination will be 125 minutes from the previously obtained 135 minutes, and the content A is only within 112 minutes 17 seconds until the scene n-2. It is determined that it cannot be reproduced. In this way, every 15 minutes, an error from the predicted arrival time obtained one time before is calculated, and up to which scene of the selected content being played is recalculated.

  According to such a configuration, by changing the scene that can be output within the required time among the content information selected according to the error from the schedule, according to the change in the required time until arrival at the destination, It is possible to change the scene where the content can be reproduced, and even when the required time is distorted due to traffic jams or the like, the viewing of the content information can be interrupted at the position between the scenes when the destination arrives.

  In this embodiment, while the moving object is moving until it arrives at the destination, an error from the scheduled time is periodically detected. However, the user specifies the time interval for detecting the error. It may be possible to calculate the error from the scheduled arrival time when traffic congestion information is detected on the route to the destination, the scene of the content information being played is switched, and the conditions are combined. You may make it do.

(Embodiment 3)
Since the block diagram of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as FIG. 4 showing the second embodiment of the present invention, the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 4, in addition to the destination, the input unit 101 can input a waypoint through which the vehicle travels to the destination. The calculation unit 103 calculates the required time between waypoints in addition to the required time required to move to the destination. The output control unit 104 controls the output unit 105 so as to output a reproducible scene within the required time to the destination calculated by the calculation unit 103 and the required time between transit points. To do.

  The operation of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to the third embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the same steps as those in FIG.

  First, the route B is input in addition to the destination A by the input unit 101 (S201 '). Next, the calculation unit 103 measures the current position of the moving body, and calculates the required time from the current position where the moving body is positioned to the destination A and the required time to the waypoint B (S202 ′). ). Further, it is checked whether the content information being reproduced is stored in the storage unit 108 until the previous time (S203). Here, assuming that no content information is stored in the storage unit 108, it is assumed that the content A is selected by the selection unit 102 (S205).

  Here, the output control unit 104 calculates and compares the time required to move from the current position to the first waypoint and the playback time of the selected content A (S206 ′), and the content within the required time. It is determined whether the reproduction of A is completed (S207). If the playback time of the content A is shorter than the required time to the first waypoint, it is determined that the content A can be played to the end by the time the mobile body arrives at the first waypoint, and the content A is played to the end In this manner, an instruction is sent to the output unit 105. The output unit 105 reproduces the content A to the end in accordance with the command from the output control unit 104 (S208).

  On the other hand, if the playback time of the content A is longer than the required time to the first waypoint, it is determined that the content A cannot be played to the end by the time the mobile body arrives at the first waypoint. It calculates how much of the segmented scene of content A can be reproduced during the movement until it reaches the destination, and sends a command to the output unit 105 to reproduce the obtained scene (S209 ′). Then, the output unit 105 reproduces up to the designated scene of the content A according to the command from the output control unit 104 (S210).

  For example, the calculation unit 103 calculates that the required time from the current position to the first waypoint 1 is 30 minutes, and the playback time of the content A selected by the selection unit 102 is 142 minutes as shown in FIG. In this case, it is determined that the content A cannot be reproduced until the end before the mobile body arrives at the first waypoint 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, 22 scenes from scene 1 to scene 2 among the subdivided scenes of content A so that the reproduction is completed within 30 minutes, which is the required time to the first waypoint 1. The minute 39 seconds is reproduced, and then the 18 minutes 52 seconds of the scene 3 is reproduced during the required time of 20 minutes from the transit point 1 to the transit point 2. Similarly, as a result of obtaining a scene that can be replayed up to the waypoint n, if it is desired to play back to the scene n-2, the scene is required in the required time of 25 minutes from the last place n to the destination. Calculate to play n-1 21 minutes 22 seconds. The above command is sent to the output unit 105.

  According to such a configuration, the output unit 105 is controlled so as to output a reproducible scene within the required time between route points, so that it can be selected according to the required time between route points on the way to the destination. It is possible to replay the recorded content up to a reproducible scene, and the content information that was being viewed is not stopped in the middle of a series of scenes at the time of arrival at the stopover point, but at the position between the scenes. The viewing of information can be interrupted.

  In the present embodiment, one content is output during movement until arrival at the destination, but a plurality of content may be output.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the content information is divided into scenes to subdivide, but it is possible to subdivide in units other than the scene.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the content information has been described with respect to video information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to content information of audio information. When the content information is audio information, if it is divided, it can be divided into units such as a chorus part or a climax part of the music information, and the reproduction information that can be satisfied within the required time can be sold.

  The information providing apparatus according to the present invention has a function of reproducing the selected content up to an appropriate scene in accordance with the time required to reach the destination or the time required to receive the information. It is useful as an information providing apparatus such as an in-vehicle terminal or a portable terminal.

The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention Conceptual diagram showing content information used in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Conceptual diagram showing content information used in Embodiment 3 of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input part 102 Selection part 103 Calculation part 104 Output control part 105 Output part 106 Content edit part 107 Content information database 108 Storage part 109 Monitoring part

Claims (6)

An input unit that can input a provision time of content information, a selection unit that selects desired content information, and the selected content information is divided into predetermined units, and the divided content information is divided according to the provision time. An information providing apparatus comprising: content editing means for editing content information; and output means for outputting content information edited by the content editing means. The input means calculates a destination input means for inputting the destination of the mobile body, and a time required for the mobile body to move to the destination from the current position of the mobile body and the input destination information. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a calculating unit that performs the calculation. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content editing unit divides the content according to a scene in which the content changes. Monitoring means for monitoring a difference between a time calculated by the calculating means and a moving time during which the moving body actually moves, wherein the content editing means is configured to change the content information according to the difference monitored by the monitoring means. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information providing apparatus is edited. Storage means for storing the predetermined unit for which output of the content information has been completed, and the content editing means provides information from a predetermined unit next to the predetermined unit stored in the storage means The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information providing apparatus is characterized in that: A waypoint through which the mobile body passes to the final destination is input to the destination input means, and the calculation means uses the current position of the mobile body and the inputted waypoint information to move the mobile body to the destination. 4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a time required to move to the ground is calculated.

Images