JP2007079745A - Network connection device, server device, terminal equipment, system, reception method, character input method, transmission method, program, and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for receiving television broadcasting, and for easily exchanging a message relating to a program which has been viewed with the other users. <P>SOLUTION: In a portable telephone 1, a service retrieving means 53 retrieves a service registration database on the basis of a keyword extracted by a keyword extracting means 52 from program information relating to a received program, and acquires the title and address of a message exchanging system associated with the keyword, and a select menu display means 54 displays the acquired titles in a list on a display 42. Since the service retrieving means 53 receives data for making the portable telephone 1 function as the message exchanging system selected by a user, the user immediately starts the use of the message exchanging system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network connection device, a server device, a terminal device, and a system constituting a network for playing back a distributed program and transmitting and receiving various types of information related to the program being played back, and information related to the program being played back by the user It is related with the method of transmitting / receiving.

  In recent years, mobile phone terminals have become widespread and their functionality has been increasing. Recently, mobile terminals that can receive and display TV broadcasts are becoming popular, as well as being able to connect to networks such as the Internet and use various services such as chat, blog, and e-mail. In such a cellular phone terminal, a new usage method is assumed that leaves the original purpose of calling and is related to television viewing. One example is that users who watch the same television program at the same time exchange opinions about the television program using a message exchange system such as chat, blog or email.

  On the other hand, in television broadcasting, with the practical application of terrestrial digital broadcasting, distribution of EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data, which is program information being broadcast or scheduled to be broadcast, has begun to spread. In digital television broadcasting, EPG data is distributed by being superimposed on a broadcast wave, and is used for generating and displaying a program guide in a stationary television or the like capable of receiving terrestrial digital broadcasting. EPG data can also be distributed from the EPG data distribution server via a network. Therefore, the mobile phone terminal described above can also acquire EPG data distributed via a network and use it for generating a program guide.

It is conceivable to utilize this EPG data in exchanging messages about a television program by a mobile phone terminal as described above. For example, in the electronic device described in Patent Document 1, a method of transmitting EPG data related to a program being viewed to a predetermined partner by e-mail is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus for extracting a keyword from character string information included in EPG data.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-184613 (published July 7, 2005) JP 2004-62639 A (published February 26, 2004)

  However, in a conventional mobile phone terminal, even if it is desired to exchange opinions with other users about a TV program being viewed using a message exchange system, many operations are required until a message about the program is transmitted. There was a problem that it was difficult to use the message exchange service. In addition, there is a problem that an operation for transmitting a message related to a program obstructs viewing of the television program itself.

  More specifically, the above problem is as follows.

  For example, when exchanging messages related to a TV program using a message exchange system such as chat or blog, first of all, exchange messages related to the TV program that you have been watching from among multiple message exchange services on the network. You have to find a service. For this purpose, a search using a database on the network is usually performed. However, in order to search for a message exchange system in a conventional mobile phone, the user has been forced to input a search condition.

  In addition, even if the use of a message exchange system related to a program that has been viewed until then can be started, there is a problem that the user is forced to input a character string to be transmitted as a message using an input means such as a keyboard. . As disclosed in Patent Document 1, if EPG data can be inserted into an e-mail, it is convenient in that program information can be sent to another user without repeatedly pressing the keyboard. However, EPG data is simply inserted into the e-mail body. However, there was no place to input messages created by users, such as impressions about programs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to receive a television broadcast and to easily exchange a message regarding a program that has been viewed so far with another user. To realize a network connection device.

  A network connection apparatus for connecting to a network and reproducing a program distributed to a plurality of users, comprising: program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to the program to be reproduced; and extracting one or more keywords from the program information The keyword extraction means for performing the processing and the title assigned to each message exchange system are stored in advance in association with the keyword together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. Search means for searching for and acquiring the title and address associated with the extracted keyword from the database connected to the network; and a display signal from the network connection device for the title of the acquired message exchange system. Sendable display And display means for displaying list, the search means may receive data that the address obtained with the title selected by the user from among the titles is the list instructs.

  In the above configuration, the message exchange system is a system constructed so that a user of the network connection device exchanges messages with other users using the network, for example, a system related to a chat room, a blog, etc. Can be mentioned. Further, a title is given to the message exchange system so that the user can grasp what the message exchange is the main purpose of. Therefore, the user searches for a message exchange system that enables a desired message exchange from the title, and accesses if a desired message exchange system is found.

  According to the above configuration, the search unit searches the database based on the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit from the program information related to the program to be reproduced, and acquires the title and address associated with the keyword. . The display means displays the acquired titles as a list on the display. Thus, the user can select a desired message exchange system based on the list-displayed titles. In addition, since the data for operating the network connection device as the terminal device of the selected message exchange system is received by the search means, the user can immediately start using the message exchange system. That is, according to the above configuration, the user can easily use the message exchange system regarding the program to be played with few operations.

  The program may be distributed as long as the program is distributed to a plurality of users, such as a TV program distribution by radio waves, a radio program distribution, or a program content distribution through a network. The form is not particularly limited.

  In order to solve the above problem, the search means of the network connection device according to the present invention stores the acquired data address in a predetermined storage unit together with the number of acquisitions, and the display means acquires the acquired The message exchange system titles are arranged and displayed on the display in descending order of the number of acquisition times stored in the storage unit.

  According to the above configuration, the titles of the message exchange system regarding the program to be played are arranged in the order of the number of times the message exchange system has been used and displayed as a list to the user. For this reason, the user can use the frequently used message exchange system more easily.

  A network connection apparatus according to the present invention is a network connection apparatus that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, and includes program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program to be reproduced, and at least one of the program information. The keyword extracting means for extracting the keyword, the display means for displaying the keyword in a list on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device, and the user inputting the keyword selected by the user from the displayed keywords Character input means for receiving the received character string is provided.

  According to the above configuration, the keywords extracted by the keyword extracting unit from the program information acquired by the program information acquiring unit are displayed in a list on the display by the display unit for the program to be reproduced. When the user selects one keyword from the keywords displayed in a list, the character input unit accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user. As a result, there is an effect that the user can easily input a keyword related to the reproduced program to the network connection apparatus with a small number of operations.

  A network connection apparatus according to the present invention is a network connection apparatus that connects to a network and reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, the program information acquisition means for acquiring program information regarding the program to be reproduced, and the program A keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from information; a dictionary database for recording a plurality of words in advance in association with a specific character string; and a user in the dictionary database when a user inputs a character string of one or more characters. The display unit displays a list of phrases associated with the character string input by the network connection device on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device, and the user inputs the phrase selected by the user from the displayed phrases Input character conversion means for accepting a character string, and the input character conversion means. The word to the dictionary database, characterized by recording in advance associated with the specific character string.

  According to the above configuration, when the user inputs a character string of one or more characters, words / phrases previously associated with the character string are read from the dictionary database by the display means and displayed as a list on the display as selection candidates. As the dictionary database, an existing predictive conversion dictionary, kana-kanji conversion dictionary, or the like can be used. Thereby, the user can select and input a word / phrase to be input from the words / phrases displayed in a list. Here, in the dictionary database, keywords extracted from program information relating to programs to be reproduced are recorded in association with specific character strings by the input character conversion means. Therefore, when the user inputs a certain character string, keywords related to the program being reproduced are also displayed as conversion candidates. For this reason, if a user selects a keyword as a conversion candidate from the words displayed in the list, the keyword is accepted as a character string input by the user by the input character conversion means. In this way, the user can easily input keywords related to the program being played with few operations.

  In order to solve the above problems, the dictionary database of the network connection apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of storage areas, and the input character conversion means stores the keywords in a specific storage area among the plurality of storage areas. It is characterized by doing.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to handle words and phrases extracted as keywords from program information of programs to be reproduced and stored in the dictionary database, and other words and phrases independently.

  The display means in the network connection apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the keywords stored in the specific area are arranged and displayed before words stored in other storage areas.

  According to the above configuration, the keywords extracted from the program information of the program to be reproduced are arranged before other words and displayed as selection candidates. For this reason, the user can easily select a keyword related to the program being reproduced.

  In the network connection device according to the present invention, the input character conversion means replaces the new keyword extracted from the program information related to the program being reproduced in the specific area with the already stored keyword. It is characterized by accumulating various keywords.

  According to the above configuration, only the keywords extracted from the program information related to the recently played program are stored in the specific area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a user who wants to input a keyword related to a recently played program from displaying a keyword related to a previously played program and to prevent selection of a phrase to be input.

  In the network connection apparatus according to the present invention, the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means is one or more character strings obtained by dividing a character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character. Features.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently extract a keyword related to a program to be reproduced from the program information according to a certain rule determined by how to determine the predetermined character.

  In the network connection apparatus according to the present invention, the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means is configured to constitute each character string obtained by dividing the character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character. It is a character string obtained by further dividing according to the type of character to be performed.

  In the above configuration, examples of the character type include kanji, hiragana, katakana, alphabet, and numbers, and the alphabet is further distinguished according to the language of each country. According to the above configuration, since the keyword related to the program to be played is divided based on a predetermined character and character type, a suitable length is used for searching or for input. Keywords can be extracted.

  In order to solve the above problems, a network connection apparatus according to the present invention includes a dictionary database that stores a plurality of words, and the keyword extraction unit converts a character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character. 2. The phrase having the largest number of characters among the phrases stored in the dictionary database that matches the character string included in the character string is extracted as a keyword from each character string obtained by dividing. The network connection device according to any one of 7 to 7.

  According to the said structure, the phrase previously registered into the dictionary database as a phrase can be extracted as a keyword from the character string contained in program information. For this reason, it becomes possible to extract a more suitable keyword for a character input by a user or a message exchange service search. That is, it is possible to improve the accuracy of keyword extraction using a dictionary database such as a kana-kanji conversion dictionary or a predictive conversion dictionary.

  In order to solve the above problems, a server device according to the present invention is connected to a terminal device that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users via a network, and a program that the terminal device reproduces from the terminal device. A program ID receiving means for receiving a program ID to be specified, a program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program specified by the program ID, and a title assigned to each message exchange system, a terminal of the message exchange system A title and address associated with the extracted keyword from the database connected to the network, which is stored in association with a keyword in advance, together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a device. Search means for searching and acquiring, and the message exchange acquired above The titles and addresses of the system characterized in that it comprises a data transmitting means for transmitting to the terminal device.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to transmit, to the terminal device that reproduces a program, the title and address assigned to the message exchange service that is associated in advance with the keywords related to the program that the terminal device reproduces. There is an effect.

  In order to solve the above problems, a terminal device according to the present invention is a terminal device that is connected to a network to which the server device is connected and that plays a program distributed to a plurality of users. A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying the message ID, data receiving means for receiving the title and address of the message exchange system transmitted from the server apparatus, and the received message exchange system title from the terminal apparatus. A display means for displaying a list on a display capable of transmitting a display signal; and a selection means for receiving data indicated by an address acquired together with a title selected by the user from the titles displayed in the list. To do.

  With the above-described configuration, the user can obtain the operational effect that the user can easily use the message exchange system regarding the program to be played with few operations, in the same manner as the operational effect achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. Can do. In addition, a system having the same function and effect can be constructed by the server device and the terminal device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a server device according to the present invention is connected to a terminal device that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users via a network, and a program that the terminal device reproduces from the terminal device. A program ID receiving means for receiving a program ID to be specified; a program information acquiring means for acquiring program information relating to a program specified by the program ID; a keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from the program information; And a data transmission means for transmitting the keyword to the terminal device.

  According to the said structure, there exists an effect that it becomes possible to transmit the keyword regarding the program which the said terminal device reproduces with respect to the said terminal device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a terminal device according to the present invention is a terminal device that is connected to a network to which the server device is connected and that plays a program distributed to a plurality of users. A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying the data, a data receiving means for receiving a keyword transmitted from the server device, and a list display of the received keyword on a display capable of transmitting a display signal from the terminal device And a character input means for receiving a keyword selected by the user from the keywords displayed in the list as a character string input by the user.

  With the above-described configuration, the user can easily input keywords related to the program to be played to the terminal device with a small number of operations, similarly to the operational effects achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. An effect can be obtained. In addition, a system having the same function and effect can be constructed by the server device and the terminal device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a terminal device according to the present invention is a terminal device that is connected to a network to which the server device is connected and that plays a program distributed to a plurality of users. A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying the data, a data receiving means for receiving a keyword transmitted from the server device, a dictionary database for recording a plurality of words in association with specific character strings in advance, and a user Display means for displaying a list of words / phrases associated with the character string input by the user in the dictionary database when the user inputs a character string of one or more characters on the display capable of transmitting a display signal from the terminal device, and the displayed word / phrase Input character conversion means for accepting a word selected by the user as a character string input by the user, and the input character Conversion means the keywords in the dictionary database, characterized by recording in advance associated with the specific character string.

  With the above-described configuration, the user can easily input a keyword related to a program to be played back to the terminal device with a small number of operations, in the same way as the operational effects achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. The effect that it becomes possible can be obtained. In addition, a system having the same function and effect can be constructed by the server device and the terminal device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a receiving method according to the present invention is a terminal for a message exchange system related to a program to be played back in a network connection device that is connected to a network and plays back a program distributed to a plurality of users. A receiving method for receiving data for causing the network connection device to function as a device, a program information acquiring process for acquiring program information relating to the program, and a keyword extracting process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information The title assigned to each message exchange system is stored in advance in association with a keyword together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. From the extracted database. A search process for searching for and acquiring a title and address associated with a node, a display process for displaying the acquired title on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device, and a list of the displayed titles. And a data receiving process for receiving data from an address acquired together with the title selected by the user.

  With the above-described configuration, a receiving method that allows a user to easily use a message exchange system related to a program to be played with a small number of operations is provided in the same manner as the operational effects achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. Can do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a character input method according to the present invention is a network connection device that is connected to a network and plays a program distributed to a plurality of users. The character input by the user is input to the network connection device. It is a character input method to be accepted, a program information acquisition process for acquiring program information relating to a program to be played, a keyword extraction process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information, and the keywords displayed from the network connection device It includes display processing for displaying a list on a display capable of transmitting signals, and character string input processing for receiving a keyword selected by the user from among the keywords displayed in the list as a character string input by the user.

  With the above-described configuration, the characters that allow the user to easily input a keyword related to a program to be played back to the network connection device with a small number of operations, in the same way as the operational effects achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. An input method can be provided.

  A character input method according to the present invention is a character input method for receiving characters input by a user to the network connection device in a network connection device connected to a network and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users. Program information acquisition processing for acquiring program information relating to a program to be recorded, keyword extraction processing for extracting one or more keywords from the program information, and a dictionary database that records a plurality of words in association with specific character strings in advance. A phrase storage process for recording the keyword in association with the specific phrase, and a list of one or more character strings input by the user and the phrase associated in the dictionary database on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device Conversion candidate phrase display processing to be displayed and user from the above character string Characterized in that it comprises an input character conversion process of receiving the selected text as a character string input by the user.

  With the above-described configuration, the character input method that allows the user to easily input keywords related to the program to be played with a small number of operations, in the same way as the operational effects achieved by the configuration of the network connection device of the present invention described above. Can be provided.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the transmission method according to the present invention provides a server device connected via a network to a terminal device that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users. A transmission method for transmitting a title and an address of an associated message exchange system to the terminal device,
For each message exchange system, a program ID receiving process for receiving a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced by the terminal apparatus from the terminal apparatus, a program information acquiring process for acquiring program information relating to the program specified by the program ID, and a message exchange system From the database connected to the network, storing the given title in association with a keyword in advance together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. It includes a search process for searching for and acquiring a title and an address associated with the extracted keyword, and a data transmission process for transmitting the acquired title and address of the message exchange system to the terminal device.

  According to said structure, the transmission method which becomes possible to transmit the title and address provided to the message exchange service previously linked | related with the keyword regarding the program which the said terminal device reproduces with respect to the said terminal device is provided. can do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the transmission method according to the present invention provides a keyword related to a program played by the terminal device in a server device connected via a network to a terminal device that plays a program distributed to a plurality of users. A program ID receiving process for receiving a program ID specifying a program to be reproduced by the terminal device from the terminal device, and program information relating to the program specified by the program ID. It includes program information acquisition processing to be acquired, keyword extraction processing for extracting one or more keywords from the program information, and data transmission processing for transmitting the keywords to the terminal device.

  According to the said structure, the transmission method which becomes possible [transmitting the keyword regarding the program which the said terminal device reproduces] to the said terminal device can be provided.

  The terminal device of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as each means included in the network connection device of the present invention, and a program for causing a computer to function as each means included in the server device of the present invention. Programs that function as each means provided, and computer-readable recording media that record these programs are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  The network connection device, terminal device or server device according to the present invention includes at least program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program reproduced by the network connection device or terminal device, and one or more keywords extracted from the program information The keyword extraction means for performing the processing and the title assigned to each message exchange system are stored in advance in association with the keyword together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. And a search means for searching and acquiring a title and an address associated with the extracted keyword from a database connected to the network.

  Therefore, it is possible to obtain the title and address of the message exchange system related to the program being reproduced based on the keywords extracted from the program information related to the program to be reproduced by the network connection device or the terminal device. .

  In addition, display means for displaying a list of the acquired message exchange system titles on a display capable of transmitting a display signal from the network connection device is provided, and the search means is selected by the user from the list-displayed titles. In the network connection device or terminal device configured to receive the data indicated by the address acquired together with the selected title, when the user selects a desired title, the network connection as the terminal device of the message exchange system having the title Since the data for operating the device is received, the user can immediately start using the message exchange system. Therefore, the user can easily use the message exchange system related to the program being played with few operations.

  The network connection device, terminal device, or server device according to the present invention includes at least program information acquisition means for acquiring program information related to a program to be played back on the network connection device or terminal device, and one or more keywords extracted from the program information And a keyword extracting means for performing the processing.

  Therefore, in the server device provided with the data transmission means for transmitting the extracted keyword to the terminal device, the keyword related to the program reproduced by the terminal device may be transmitted to the terminal device receiving the television broadcast. There is an effect that it becomes possible.

  Further, display means for displaying a list of the keywords on a display capable of transmitting a display signal from the network connection device, and character input means for receiving a keyword selected by the user from the displayed keywords as a character string input by the user In the network connection device or terminal device having the above, when the user selects one keyword from the keywords displayed in a list with respect to the program being played back, the character input means displays the selected keyword as the character input by the user. Since it is accepted as a sequence, the user can easily input keywords related to the program being played to the network connection device with a small number of operations.

  In addition, a dictionary database that records a plurality of words in association with a specific character string in advance, and a word or phrase that is associated with a character string that is input by the user in the dictionary database when the user inputs a character string of one or more characters, Display means for displaying a list on a display capable of sending display signals from the network connection device, and input character conversion means for accepting a word selected by the user among the displayed words as a character string input by the user, In the network connection device or terminal device configured to record the keyword in the dictionary database in association with the specific character string in advance, the input character conversion means can input a certain character string and the program being played The keywords related to are also displayed as selection candidates, so that the user is displayed in a list. Be selected as the conversion candidate a keyword from the word, the keyword, is accepted as a character string input by the user by the input character conversion unit. In this way, the user can easily input keywords related to the program being reproduced with few operations.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The mobile phone 1 (network connection device) according to the present embodiment can be used for viewing TV programs and data communication with other network devices, in addition to calls that are the original purpose of mobile phones. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 receives a television broadcast wave broadcast from the broadcast station 2 via the television transmission base station 3, and displays an image included in the television broadcast wave. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 performs wireless communication with the carrier network base stations 4 and 5 and performs data communication with other network connection devices connected to the carrier network networks 6 and 7. Communicate. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, data communication can be performed with a server device (not shown) installed in the message exchange service provider 8 and connected to the carrier network 6. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2, data communication can be performed with an EPG data distribution server device (not shown) installed in the EPG provider company 9 and connected to the carrier network 7. Thereby, the mobile phone 1 can acquire EPG data distributed by the EPG provider 9 via the carrier network 7. EPG data can also be distributed from the EPG provider 9 to the broadcasting station 2. As a result, the broadcast station 2 can broadcast the EPG data superimposed on the broadcast wave. Alternatively, the EPG data can be distributed from the EPG providing company 9 to an EPG analysis server (described later) provided in the message exchange service company 8, for example.

  By using the mobile phone 1, the user can use the message exchange service provided by the message exchange service provider 8. That is, the mobile phone 1 functions as a terminal device of a message exchange system such as chat or blog provided by the service provider 8. Here, the message exchange system is a system composed of a server device and a plurality of terminal devices connected to the server device via a network, and is a system that realizes message exchange between users holding the terminal device. is there.

  For example, chat and blog are well known as message exchange systems. Chat is a message exchange system in which users who have terminal devices can exchange messages almost in real time. A blog is a message exchange system that allows a user who holds a terminal device to write an article in a virtual diary and allows other users who hold another terminal device to view articles or write comments. It is. In the following description, the mobile phone 1 will be described using chat and blog as examples. However, the mobile phone 1 can be suitably used as a terminal device for other message exchange systems such as a bulletin board system, an instant message system, and a short message system.

  The cellular phone 1 receives the data stored in the server device of the message exchange service providing company 8 by the wireless data communication described above in order to use the message exchange system provided by the service providing company 8. Here, the received data may be data for causing the mobile phone 1 to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. For example, it may be a program code executable on the mobile phone 1 or an HTML document. It may be. Since a specific method for causing the mobile phone 1 to function as a terminal device of a message exchange system is well known, a description thereof will be omitted.

  In addition, the mobile phone 1 can create and send / receive electronic mail. That is, a user who has the mobile phone 1 can exchange messages with a user who has another network connection device connected to the carrier network networks 6 and 7 by electronic mail. Since the configuration that enables the mobile phone 1 to create and send / receive electronic mail is well known, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the configuration of the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 1 includes a wireless communication unit 20, a television broadcast receiving unit 30, an interface unit 40, a control unit 50, and a storage unit 60.

  The wireless communication unit 20 is configured to perform data communication with a carrier network. As shown in FIG. 3, the radio communication unit 20 includes a mobile phone antenna unit 21, a radio unit 22, a modulation unit 23, and a demodulation unit 24. The mobile phone antenna unit 21 receives electromagnetic waves transmitted from the carrier network base stations 5 and 6 and transmits electromagnetic waves to the carrier network base stations 5 and 6. A signal transmitted from the mobile phone antenna unit 21 is modulated by the modulation unit 23 and transmitted from the mobile phone antenna unit 21. The demodulator 24 demodulates the electromagnetic wave received by the mobile phone antenna unit 21 and sends the demodulated signal to the controller 50. Note that the wireless communication unit 20 is a configuration for the mobile phone 1 to perform wireless data communication with the carrier network, and the present invention is not limited to an apparatus including the wireless communication unit 20. That is, the network connection device according to the present invention does not require a wireless communication unit, for example, when connected to a network via a LAN cable or the like.

  The television broadcast receiving unit 30 is configured to receive a television broadcast wave. As shown in FIG. 3, the television broadcast unit 30 includes a television broadcast antenna unit 31, a reception unit 32, an image signal processing unit 33, and an audio signal processing unit 34. The television broadcast antenna unit 31 receives a television broadcast wave transmitted from the television transmission base station 3. The receiving unit 32 detects a broadcast wave corresponding to the channel selected by the user from the received television broadcast wave by a predetermined method, and separates it into a video signal and an audio signal. The video signal processing unit 33 and the audio signal processing unit 34 process the video signal and the audio signal separated by the receiving unit 32 and send them to the control unit 50.

  The interface unit 40 is configured to accept input from the user and output video and audio to the user. As shown in FIG. 3, the interface unit 40 includes a key operation unit 41, a display 42, and a speaker 43.

  The function of each component of the interface unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an external view of the mobile phone 1 and shows a configuration example of the interface unit 40.

  The key operation unit 41 shown in FIG. 4 includes a plurality of keys. When the user presses these keys, the key operation unit 41 transmits a predetermined signal to the control unit 50. As a result, the user can cause the mobile phone 1 to execute various processes. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, the key operation unit 41 includes a character input key group 41a, a cross key 41b, a chat activation button 41c, a blog activation button 41d, and a mail activation button 41e.

  The character input key group 41a is a set of a plurality of keys, and each key is associated with a predetermined numeral, kana character, alphabet, and symbol. By pressing a key included in the character input key group 41a, the user can input numbers, kana characters, alphabets, or symbols associated with the key to the mobile phone 1.

  The cross key 41b is a key formed in a cross shape. The user can input “up” to the mobile phone 1 by pressing the upper part of the cross key 41b. The same applies to “lower”, “left”, and “right”. Further, the user can input “OK” by pressing the center of the cross key 41. Here, “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, and “enter” are not input characters “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, but “up”, “down”, “ Instructing the mobile phone 1 to execute processing appropriately associated with “left”, “right”, and “decision”. Examples of processing appropriately associated with “upper”, “lower”, “left”, and “right” include moving the cursor up, down, left, and right in the display screen displayed on the display 42.

  In addition, below, the description regarding a user's input operation is simplified in the range which does not have a possibility of misunderstanding. That is, when the user repeatedly presses a key included in the character input key group 41a and continuously inputs a character associated with each key in advance, it is simply referred to as “input a character string”. “Selecting a character string” from among a plurality of character strings displayed on the display 42 means that the user operates the cross key 41 c so that the cursor on the display screen indicates a desired character string, and the desired character string is selected. The operation of depressing the center of the cross key 41b in the state in which the character string is designated is briefly described.

  The mobile phone 1 is suitable for use as a terminal of a message exchange system that involves character input such as chat and blog. The mobile phone 1 is suitable for exchanging messages by e-mail. Therefore, the mobile phone 1 is provided with a chat activation button 41c, a blog activation button 41d, and a mail activation button 41e. The user can use the corresponding service immediately by pressing these buttons.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the key operation unit 41, and the configuration of the key operation unit 41 is not limited to this. For example, the activation buttons 41c, 41d, and 41e are not necessarily necessary components for the mobile phone 1. That is, it may be configured such that when the user performs an operation of pressing the character input key group 41a or the cross key 41b in a predetermined combination, these services can be used.

  The display 42 displays a video signal included in the television broadcast as a video when receiving the television broadcast. The display 42 also displays an output screen of the application when the service or application is executed. The speaker 43 emits an audio signal included in the television broadcast as sound when receiving the television broadcast.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 1 further includes a control unit 50 and a storage unit 60. Each component of the mobile phone 1 is controlled by the controller 50. Details of the control unit 50 will be described later with reference to the drawings.

  The control unit 50 will be described as follows with reference to FIGS.

  The control unit 50 is configured to download a program code stored in another network device via a carrier network and execute an instruction of the program code. In addition, the control unit 50 can download an HTML document stored in another network device via the carrier network, and can format and display the HTML document. Thereby, the mobile phone 1 functions as a terminal of a message exchange system such as chat or blog. However, in a network connection device such as a mobile phone, a configuration for realizing these functions is well known, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 50 includes an EPG data acquisition means 51 (program information acquisition means), a keyword extraction means 52, a service search means 53 (search means), a select menu display means 54 (display means), characters Input auxiliary means 55 (character input means) and input character conversion means 56 are provided.

  First, the EPG data acquisition unit 51 will be described. The EPG data acquisition means 51 is a configuration for acquiring EPG data related to a program that is currently being received when a television broadcast is received. The process of acquiring EPG data related to the program currently received by the EPG data acquisition means 51 is, for example, as follows.

  The EPG data is data including character strings representing program attributes such as broadcasting stations, broadcasting dates, program titles, and the like. FIG. 5 shows a specific example of EPG data.

  First, the EPG data acquisition means 51 determines the channel of the currently received program. Next, the EPG data acquisition means 51 is installed in the EPG provider 9 (see FIG. 2) through the wireless communication unit 20 and the carrier network 7 together with the channel information of the program for which the EPG data acquisition request has been determined. Transmit to the EPG data distribution server. The EPG data distribution server determines a program that the mobile phone 1 is currently receiving from the current time and the received channel information, and returns EPG data including the program information of the program to the mobile phone 1. Then, the EPG data acquisition unit 51 receives EPG data including program information of a program being received via the carrier network 7 and the wireless communication unit 20.

  The EPG data acquisition means according to the present invention is sufficient as long as it can acquire EPG data related to the currently received program at the time of television broadcast reception, and the processing method is limited to the above example. It is not something. For example, the EPG data acquisition unit 51 extracts a program ID that identifies a currently received program from the received broadcast wave, transmits the program ID to the EPG data distribution server, and acquires EPG data corresponding to the program ID. It is also good. If the mobile phone 1 is a mobile phone capable of receiving a broadcast wave on which EPG data is superimposed, such as terrestrial digital broadcasting, the EPG data acquisition means provided in the mobile phone 1 extracts EPG data from the broadcast wave. Thus, the EPG data may be acquired.

  Next, the keyword extraction unit 52 will be described. The keyword extraction unit 52 acquires EPG data from the EPG data acquisition unit 51 and extracts keywords from the acquired EPG data. The keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means 52 is a character string obtained by dividing a character string included in EPG data. Hereinafter, character string division by the keyword extraction unit 52 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which the keyword extraction unit 52 extracts keywords from the EPG data. The keyword extraction process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 includes the following processes.

(Processing S1 for deleting a broadcast mark)
The broadcast mark is deleted from each character string included in the EPG data. Here, the broadcast mark is an identification symbol related to the type or attribute of the program in a comprehensive manner, and the predetermined character treated as the broadcast mark and the character are enclosed before and after the character. It is a character string consisting of two parenthesis symbols. FIG. 7A shows an example of a broadcast mark.

(Processing S2 for deleting the parentheses and dividing the character string)
In step S1, parentheses are deleted from each character string generated by deleting the broadcast mark. Here, the parenthesis is a predetermined parenthesis symbol. FIG. 7B shows an example of parenthesis symbols. Then, each character string is divided by using the place where the parenthesis is deleted as a delimiter to generate a plurality of character strings.

(Processing S3 for dividing a character string by deleting a symbol for separating / connecting sentences and words)
A symbol that separates / connects sentences and words is deleted from each character string generated by the process S2. Here, the symbol for separating / connecting sentences and words is a predetermined symbol used for separating or connecting sentences and words. FIG. 7C shows an example of symbols that separate / connect sentences and words.

(Process S4 for deleting spaces and dividing character strings)
The space “” is deleted from the character string generated by the process S3. Then, each character string is further divided by using a place where the space is deleted as a delimiter to generate a plurality of character strings.

(Processing S5 for deleting other symbols and saving character strings)
Other symbols are deleted from the character string generated by the process S4. Here, the other symbols are symbols other than predetermined symbols included in a character set describing EPG data, excluding symbols for separating / connecting the above sentence and words. Examples of other symbols are shown in FIG. Then, each character string is further divided using a place where other symbols are deleted as a delimiter to generate a plurality of character strings. Thus, the finally generated character string becomes a keyword.

  An application example of the keyword extraction process in the keyword extraction means 52 is shown in FIGS. FIGS. 8A and 8B sequentially show the character strings obtained by performing the series of processes S1 to S5 on the character string extracted from the EPG data. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, “/” indicates a delimiter between a character string and a character string. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the symbols corresponding to the processes S1 to S5 are not included in the character strings to be processed, the character strings to be processed are not changed, and Sent to the process.

  The keyword extraction process described above is an example of the keyword extraction process performed by the keyword extraction unit 52. That is, the keyword extracting means 52 is sufficient if it extracts a keyword from a character string included in EPG data.

  For example, it is possible to divide a character string before and after a predetermined character without deleting each character deleted in each process. As described above, if the character string of the EPG data is divided while leaving the characters used for the division, keyword extraction according to the purpose can be performed using these character strings. For example, in the process of extracting a keyword to be input as a title of a blog or email, the broadcast symbol is left without being deleted, and “out” (broadcast mark indicating a performer), “ge” (guest is selected) The keyword immediately after the broadcast mark representing the performer, such as “Broadcast mark” or “Tsu” (broadcast mark representing the host), can be extracted in particular, and characters that are particularly useful as titles can be selectively extracted.

  When generating a keyword to be used for searching the message exchange system, it is preferable that the keyword extracting means 52 further performs a character type cutting process following the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. Here, the character type cutting process is a process of further dividing a keyword having a predetermined number of characters or more in accordance with the character type (kanji, hiragana, katakana, alphabet, number) constituting the keyword.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the character type cutting process performed subsequent to the series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. A series of processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 will be described as follows.

(Process S6 for dividing the character string at the change of character type)
Each keyword extracted by the above-described keyword extraction process is divided by dividing the character type change. Here, the transition between character types is between characters and characters of different character types, such as between kanji and hiragana, between kanji and katakana, and between kanji and alphabet.

(Processing S7 for combining a kanji character string and a katakana character string)
In the string of character strings obtained in the process S6, the kanji character string consisting only of kanji and the subsequent katakana character string consisting of only katakana are combined.

(S8 for combining the katakana character string and the kanji character string)
In the string of character strings obtained in the process S7, a katakana character string consisting only of katakana and a succeeding kanji character string consisting of only kanji are combined.

(Process S9 for deleting a predetermined character string)
A predetermined character string is deleted from the character string sequence obtained in step S8. Here, the predetermined character string is a character string composed of one kanji character, a character string composed of one katakana character, a hiragana character string composed of only hiragana, a character string composed of only numbers, and four characters or less composed of only alphabets. It is a character string.

  An application example of the character type cutting process is shown in FIGS. FIGS. 10A to 10C show, in order, character strings obtained by performing the series of processes S6 to S9 on the keywords extracted by the keyword extraction process shown in FIG. In the character type cut process shown in FIG. 10, the character type cut process is applied to a keyword of nine characters or more. As described above, it is preferable to extract the short sentence less than the predetermined number of characters as a keyword without performing the processes of S6 to S9. In FIGS. 10A to 10C, “/” indicates a delimiter between a character string and a character string. Further, when the symbol corresponding to each of the processes S6 to S9 is not included in the character string to be processed, the character string to be processed is sent to the next process without being changed.

  Further, when generating a keyword as a candidate word / phrase for character input, it is preferable that the keyword extracting means 52 performs another character type cutting process following the series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of the character type cutting process performed subsequent to the series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. A series of processes shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 will be described as follows.

(Process S10 for dividing a character string at the transition between kanji and hiragana)
When the number of keywords extracted by the above-described keyword extraction process exceeds a predetermined number of characters N, the keyword is divided into two parts with the transition between kanji and hiragana as a break. Here, the transition between kanji and hiragana is between the kanji and the hiragana following the kanji, and between the hiragana and the kanji following the hiragana. If there are a plurality of transitions between kanji and hiragana in the above keywords, the portion to be divided may be determined so that the initial character string obtained by the two division is maximized within a range not exceeding N.

(Process S11 for dividing a character string at the transition between Katakana and Hiragana)
When each character string obtained by the process S10 exceeds a predetermined number N of characters, the character string is divided into two parts with the transition between Katakana and Hiragana as a break. Here, the transition between katakana and hiragana is between katakana and hiragana following the katakana, and between hiragana and katakana following the hiragana. If there are a plurality of transitions between kanji and hiragana in the above keywords, the portion to be divided may be determined so that the initial character string obtained by the two division is maximized within a range not exceeding N.

  If the predetermined number of characters is still exceeded by the processes S10 and S11, the dividing process is repeated until all the divided character strings are equal to or smaller than the predetermined number of characters.

  An application example of the character type cutting process is shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b). 12 (a) and 12 (b) show, in order, the character strings obtained by applying the series of processes S10 to S11 to the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction process shown in FIG. is there. In the character type cut process shown in FIG. 12, the character type cut process is applied to a keyword of 16 characters or more. In FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, “/” indicates a delimiter between the character string and the character string. In these examples, N is set to 16.

  In the above description, the process 11 is described as being performed following the process 10. However, for example, either the process 10 or the process 11 may be appropriately selected and executed.

  Further, the keyword extraction unit 52 continues from the series of processes S1 to S5 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 from the character strings generated in the process S6, and includes the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 (dictionary database) included in the character string. The phrase that matches the character string and that has the largest number of characters among the phrases stored in () may be extracted as a keyword.

  For example, when focusing on “conversion” included in the character string “magic that does not convert to yellow”, “conversion” “convert” “not convert” “converted” “converter” “convert” “convert” “ Assuming that “converted”, “cannot be converted”, “not converted”, etc. are stored in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57, they match the character string included in “magic not to be converted to yellow”. In addition, “no conversion” having the largest number of characters is extracted as a keyword.

  In addition, the character type cutting process is performed on the remaining part of each character string generated in process S6 from which the words and phrases extracted by the process are deleted, and other keywords are detected. Also good.

  Thus, by extracting the words stored in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 as keywords from the character strings generated by the processes S1 to S6, the accuracy of keyword extraction is improved, and the user inputs a character string. Alternatively, a more suitable keyword can be extracted for use in searching for a message exchange service.

  Next, the service search means 53 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The service search means 53 is a structure for searching for a message exchange service related to a program that the user has watched so far. The service search means 53 acquires the keyword extracted from the EPG data by the keyword extraction means 52 executing the series of processes as described above. Then, the acquired keyword is transmitted to a predetermined message exchange service registration database connected to the carrier network 6 and the address and title associated with the keyword are acquired. That is, using the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means 52, the message exchange system associated with this keyword is searched. The service search means 53 can directly receive the keyword from the keyword extraction means 52, or can read and acquire the keyword stored in the storage unit 60 (FIG. 3) by the keyword extraction means 52.

  The service registration database is a database connected to the carrier network, and an address for instructing the location of data for causing the mobile phone 1 to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system, and the title of the message exchange system. Is sufficient if it is stored in advance in association with keywords.

  More specifically, the service registration database is a database provided by the message exchange service providing company 8 shown in FIG. 2, and the mobile phone 1 stored in the server device of the message exchange service providing company 8 is chatted ( Alternatively, it is possible to use a database in which an address indicating the location of data for functioning as a blog terminal device and a chat (or blog) title are stored in association with keywords in advance.

  Further, as the above-described service registration database, URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers) for instructing the location of data stored in a network connection device connected to the Internet and the title of the data are stored in association with keywords in advance. A search engine may be used.

  Further, the service search means 53 sends the acquired title to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 controls the display 42 so that the service titles received from the service search means 53 are arranged and displayed as a list. As a result, the user can view a list of services related to the program that has been viewed so far, and can select a desired service from these services.

  For example, when the user presses the chat activation button 41c (FIG. 4), the service search means 53 transmits a keyword to a chat registration database provided by a predetermined chat service providing company, and a plurality of services provided by the chat service providing company are provided. The chat title and the address associated with the transmitted keyword are acquired in the chat. The select menu display means 54 displays a list of the acquired chat titles on the display 42. FIG. 13 illustrates a display screen displayed on the display 42 that displays a list of acquired chat titles.

  Depending on the processing capability of the mobile phone 1 and the chat registration database, or the communication speed between these devices, the select menu display means 54 completes the display of the chat title list after the user presses the chat activation button 41c. It may take a certain amount of time to complete. In this case, a display screen as shown in FIG. 14 may be displayed on the display 42 so as to notify the user that the above-described search processing is being performed.

  Further, for example, when the user presses the blog activation button 41d (FIG. 4), the service search means 53 transmits a keyword to the blog registration database provided by a predetermined blog service provider, which is provided by the blog service provider. Among a plurality of blogs, the title and address of the blog related to the transmitted keyword are acquired. Then, the select menu display means 54 displays a list of the acquired blog titles on the display 42. FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of a display screen displayed on the display 42 that displays a list of acquired blog titles.

  Thus, when the user selects one title from the titles displayed on the display 42 as a result of searching from the registration database based on the keywords extracted from the EPG data, the service search means 53 Data indicated by the address corresponding to the title selected by the user is acquired via the network. As a result, the user can easily find a message exchange system related to the program that has been viewed so far, and can use a particularly preferable message exchange system immediately.

  The service search unit 54 may store the acquired data address in a predetermined storage unit together with the number of acquisitions. At the same time, the select menu display means 54 may display and arrange the message exchange system titles on the display 42 in descending order of the number of acquisitions stored in the storage unit. With this configuration, it is possible to arrange the titles of the message exchange systems with priorities so that the more frequently used message exchange systems are given priority. For this reason, it becomes easy for the user to visually recognize the message exchange system that is frequently used, and the selection of the title is further facilitated.

  Next, the character input auxiliary means 55 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The character input assisting means 55 is configured to allow a user to easily input a message related to a program that the user has watched so far.

  When a predetermined process for accepting a character input by the user occurs in a series of processes instructed by the user to start while the television program is displayed, the control unit 50 moves the process to the character input auxiliary means 55. For example, in a series of processing that is started when the user presses the chat activation button 41c while a TV program is displayed, when processing for accepting a message input by the user occurs, the character input assisting means 55 starts processing. Also, in a series of processes started when the user presses the blog activation button 41d during TV program display, the user inputs the article title, the article body, the comment title, and the comment body. When the process to accept occurs, the character string input auxiliary means 55 starts the process. Furthermore, in a series of processes started when the user presses the mail activation button 41e (FIG. 4) while the TV program is displayed, if a process for accepting input of the mail title and body text by the user occurs, character string input assistance is performed. The means 55 starts processing.

  Processing performed by the character input auxiliary means 55 will be described. The character input auxiliary means 55 acquires a keyword from the keyword extraction means 52 and sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. Then, the select menu display means 54 controls the display 42 so that the received keywords are arranged and displayed in an input character string candidate display area 71 (FIG. 16) to be described later. The character input assisting means 55 can directly receive the keyword from the keyword extracting means 52, or can read and acquire the keyword stored in the storage unit 60 by the keyword extracting means 52.

  FIG. 16 illustrates a display screen displayed in a process of accepting input of an article title by the user in a series of processes started when the user presses the blog activation button 41d. As shown in FIG. 16, the input character string candidate display area 71 described above may be displayed in the vicinity of the article title display area 72, which is a display area for displaying the input article title. Thereby, the user can understand at a glance that the character string displayed in the input character string candidate display area 71 is displayed as an article title candidate. A similar display screen may be displayed in the process of accepting the input of the comment title by the user.

  FIG. 17 illustrates a display screen displayed in a process of accepting input of an article text by the user in a series of processes started when the user presses the blog activation button 41d. In this case, as shown in FIG. 17, the input character string candidate display area 71 is preferably displayed in the vicinity of the article text display area 73, which is a display area for displaying the input article text. Thereby, the user can understand at a glance that the character string displayed in the input character string candidate display area 71 is displayed as a candidate for the article text. A similar display screen may be displayed in the process of accepting input of the comment text by the user.

  FIG. 18 illustrates a display screen displayed in a process of accepting an input of a mail title by the user in a series of processes started when the user presses the mail activation button 41e. As shown in FIG. 18, the input character string candidate display area 71 is preferably displayed in the vicinity of the mail title display area 74 which is a display area for displaying the input mail title. Thereby, the user can understand at a glance that the character string displayed in the input character string candidate display area 71 is displayed as a candidate for the mail title.

  FIG. 19 illustrates a display screen displayed in a process of accepting input of a mail text by the user in a series of processes started when the user presses the mail activation button 41e. As shown in FIG. 19, the input character string candidate display area 71 is preferably displayed in the vicinity of the mail text display area 75 which is a display area for displaying the input mail text. Thereby, the user can understand at a glance that the character string displayed in the input character string candidate display area 71 is displayed as a candidate for the mail text.

  As described above, when the user selects one keyword from the keywords extracted from the EPG data by the keyword extracting unit 52 and displayed in the input character string candidate display area 71, the character input assisting unit 55 is selected. Accept keywords as input by the user. Thus, the user can easily input a character string related to the program that has been viewed so far without repeatedly pressing the character input key group 41a.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 19, the select menu display means 54 may display a predetermined character string such as “character input” together with a keyword in the input character string candidate display area 71. And when a user selects this predetermined character string, it is good for the control part 50 to be the structure which stops the process of the character input auxiliary means 55. FIG. Thereby, even when the user does not include a desired character string in the input character string candidate word / phrase display area, the user can input a desired character string by repeatedly pressing the character input key group 41a. Become.

  Further, the character input assisting means 55 does not limit the user's subsequent editing of the character string input by the above method. Therefore, the above-described character input assisting means 55 does not limit the degree of freedom of character input by the user, although it may facilitate the user's character input.

  Next, the input character conversion means 56 and the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 (dictionary database) shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The input character conversion unit 56 is configured to cooperate with the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 to convert a character string input by the user into a character string previously associated with the character string and input the character string. When a character string is input by the user, the input character conversion unit 56 transmits the input character string to the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57.

  The predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 is a database that stores a plurality of words in association with the hiragana notation of the words. When the hiragana character string is received from the input character conversion means 56, the received hiragana character string and the hiragana notation are forwarded. The matching phrase is returned to the input character conversion means 56.

  The input character conversion means 56 transmits a hiragana character string of one or more characters input by the user to the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57, so that a plurality of conversion candidate words starting with the hiragana character can be converted to the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57. Get from. For example, when the user inputs the character string “CHI”, the input character conversion unit 56 transmits the character string “CHI” to the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57, and “a little” “Machi” as conversion candidate words from the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57. Acquire a plurality of words that start with “Ch” in hiragana notation, such as “cancel”, “tone”.

  Subsequently, the input character conversion means 56 sends the acquired conversion candidate word / phrase group to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 controls the display 42 so that the obtained conversion candidate word / phrase groups are arranged and displayed in a list in the following conversion candidate word / phrase display area 76. This allows the user to select a phrase to be input from the list of conversion candidate phrases. FIG. 20 illustrates a display screen on which the conversion candidate word / phrase display area 76 is displayed. According to the display screen shown in FIG. 20, the user can easily select a desired phrase from the conversion candidate phrase display area 76 displayed by inputting “Chi”.

  When the user performs a predetermined operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects one desired word / phrase from the conversion candidate words / phrases, the control unit 50 accepts the selected word / phrase as input by the user. That is, the input character conversion means 56 realizes a function widely used in a mobile phone or the like such as a so-called “kana / kanji conversion function” or “predictive conversion function”.

  Note that as an important process for the present invention, the input character conversion means 56 provided in the mobile phone 1 adds each keyword acquired from the keyword extraction means 52 to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 in addition to the above process. It is characterized in that processing is performed in association with a column. The input character conversion unit 56 adds each keyword to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 by executing the following processing.

  (1) Cut out a character string of a predetermined number of characters from the beginning of the keyword.

  (2) The extracted character string is collated with a word / phrase stored in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57.

  (3) If the extracted character string is stored as a phrase in the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57, the keyword is registered in the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57 in association with the hiragana notation of the phrase. If the character string cut out from the keyword is not registered in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57, the last character is further deleted from the character string, and the process returns to the process (2).

  There may be a plurality of hiragana notations to be related by the above processing. For example, when “false” is cut out for the keyword “false brand” by the above processing, a plurality of hiragana expressions such as “gi”, “false”, and “whenwa” are associated with the keyword “false brand”. In this case, when the user inputs “gi”, “ni”, “i”, etc., the keyword “false brand” is displayed as a conversion candidate word / phrase.

  If the keyword includes the word / phrase stored in the predictive conversion dictionary 57 at the head, the above processing (1) to (3) is repeated until the registration in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 is completed, so that the keyword Can be added to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 in association with the hiragana notation of the head portion of. If the keyword starts with a hiragana character string, the hiragana character string portion is cut out from the beginning of the keyword and stored in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 in association with the hiragana portion.

  The input character conversion unit 56 performs a process of adding a keyword to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57, so that the user can easily input a message regarding the program that has been viewed.

  FIG. 21 shows that the input character conversion unit 55 stores the keyword generated by the processing shown in FIG. 10C in the prediction conversion dictionary unit 57 and then receives the input of “CHI” by the user to select menu display unit. 54 illustrates the conversion candidate word / phrase display area 76 displayed. In this way, by adding the keyword extracted from the EPG data of the program that has been viewed up to now to the conversion candidate word / phrase display area 76, the user can easily input a message regarding the program that has been viewed until now. It has become.

  Note that the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 may include a plurality of storage areas and can register or delete words independently for each storage area. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 22, the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 may include a maker setting dictionary area 57a, a user dictionary area 57b, and an EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c (specific dictionary area).

  Here, the maker setting dictionary area 57a is a storage area for storing words and phrases stored as initial data at the shipping stage. The user dictionary area 57b is an area for the user of the mobile phone 1 to freely add words and store them. The EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c is a storage area independent of the above-described two dictionary areas, and words can be added or deleted without interfering with other storage areas.

  In the cellular phone 1, the input character conversion means 56 preferably stores the keyword acquired from the keyword extraction means 52 in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c. This makes it possible to independently handle the keywords stored in the EPG data dedicated dictionary area 57c and the words and phrases stored in the other storage areas (maker setting dictionary area 57a and user dictionary area 57b). . In addition, in a normal text input operation that is not related to viewing of a television program, it is possible to avoid a reduction in input efficiency due to keywords related to the television program becoming conversion candidate words.

  Further, the select menu display means 54 arranges the keywords stored in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c before the words and phrases stored in the other storage areas (maker setting dictionary area 57a and user dictionary area 57b). It is good to display. This makes it easier for the user to find a keyword related to the program that has been viewed. For this reason, it becomes easier for the user to input a message related to a program that has been viewed.

  The input character conversion means 56 deletes the keyword stored in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c once from the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c, and then newly accumulates the keyword acquired from the keyword extracting means 52 in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c. good. That is, the input character conversion means 56 may store the keyword in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c by overwriting. With such a configuration, the extracted keywords are stored in the EPG dedicated dictionary area 57c from one to the next, and the keywords related to the previously viewed program, which are not related to the previously viewed program, The message input related to the program that has been viewed is not obstructed.

  In the above description, the input character conversion means 56 transmits the hiragana character string input by the user to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57. If the hiragana notation is used, a plurality of conversion candidate words starting with the hiragana character are displayed in the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an alphabet character string input by the user may be transmitted to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57, and English words starting from the alphabet may be acquired from the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57. In this case, the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 stores English words in association with the first alphabet of the English words.

  The processing performed by combining the above means will be described in detail as follows regarding the case of using chat, blog, and mail.

  First, the case of using chat will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of preferable processing from when the user performs an operation to start chatting while watching TV until the user performs an operation to end chatting.

  When the chat activation button 41c is pressed by the user during the television broadcast reception, the EPG data acquisition unit 51 acquires EPG data of the program being received (process P1: program information acquisition process).

  The EPG data acquisition unit 51 that has acquired the EPG data transmits the acquired EPG data to the keyword extraction unit 52 and simultaneously stores the EPG data in the storage unit 60. The keyword extraction unit 52 that has acquired the EPG data extracts a keyword for searching for a chat from the acquired EPG data (process P2: keyword extraction process).

  Subsequently, the keyword extraction unit 52 transmits the extracted keyword to the service search unit 53. The service search means 53 transmits the acquired keyword to the chat system registration database via the carrier network, and acquires the chat address and title associated with the transmitted keyword (process P3: search process).

  The service search unit 53 that has acquired the chat address and title transmits the acquired title to the select menu display unit 54. At the same time, the acquired address is stored in the storage 60. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired titles and displays a list on the display 42 (process P4: title candidate display process).

  When the process P4 ends, the service search means 53 waits for the user to select one title from the list-displayed titles (process P5).

  When the user selects one of the displayed titles, the service search means 53 reads the address of the selected title from the storage unit 60 and downloads the data indicated by the read address via the carrier network. (Data reception processing). Then, the downloaded program code is executed to start chatting (process P6).

  Note that the program code downloaded in the process P6 implements control necessary for the mobile phone 1 to function as a terminal device of the chat system in the control unit 50. For this reason, in the following process, in addition to the process by each component of the control part 50 shown in FIG. 1, each process by the control part 50 which the said program code implement | achieves is added.

  When the chat is started, according to an instruction from the service search means 53, the control unit 50 displays a display screen including an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to participate in chat?” The system waits for selection of whether or not to participate in the chat (process P7). Each means 51-56 which comprises the control part 50 complete | finishes a series of processes, when a user performs specific operation to the key operation part 41 and selects not participating in a chat (process P17).

  In the process P7, when the user selects to participate in the chat, the character input auxiliary means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to input about the program?” On the display 42, and the EPG data sent by the user. The system waits for the selection of whether or not to input the keyword extracted from (Process P8). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects not to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the control unit 50 enters a state of waiting for a character input by a normal operation of the user (processing P13). .

  In the process P8, when the user selects to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the keyword extracting unit 52 reads the EPG data from the storage unit 60 and extracts a character input keyword. Then, the keyword extraction unit 52 sends the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary unit 55 (process P9: keyword extraction process). Here, as will be described later, the extracted keyword is used for the user to input a message in the chat. Since the content included in the user's message is assumed to be related to the program content, in the keyword extraction process of process P9, it is preferable to extract a keyword from a character string describing the program content in the EPG data.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges and displays the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 of the display 42 (process P10: display process).

  When the process P10 is completed, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword. When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing). The control unit 50 displays the characters input by the user in an appropriate message input area provided on the display screen (processing P11).

  When the display of the keyword selected by the user in the message input area is completed, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the message?” On the display 42 and the message input given by the user. The system waits for selection of whether or not to further edit the character string input to the area (process P12). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects not to modify the message, the process proceeds to process P14 described later.

  In the process P12, when the user selects to modify the message by performing a specific operation on the key operation unit 41, the control unit 50 receives a character input by the user's normal operation via the key operation unit 41. to go into. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the message input area (process P13).

  When the user completes the desired character input and performs a specific operation for instructing the completion of the character input on the key operation unit 41, the character input assisting means 55 makes an appropriate character string such as "Do you want to continue the input?" Is displayed on the display 42, and the selection menu display means 54 is instructed to wait for selection of whether or not to continue character input to the message input area given by the user (process P14). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to continue character input, the control unit 50 repeats the process from process P9.

  When the user selects not to continue the character input in process P14, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to send?” On the display 42 and inputs it in the message input area given by the user. It waits for selection of whether or not to transmit the character string as a message (process P15). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects not to send a message, the process proceeds to process P17 described later. Conversely, when the user selects to transmit a message, the control unit 50 transmits the character string input in the message input area to the server device via the wireless communication unit 20 (process P16).

  In the process P17, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to end?” On the display 42 and waits for a selection as to whether or not to end the chat performed by the user. When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to end the chat, each means 51 to 56 configuring the control unit 50 ends the series of processes. Conversely, when the user selects not to end the chat, the process returns to process P9 and the above-described process is repeated.

  Next, a case where a blog is used will be described. According to the configuration of the mobile phone 1, the user can easily select a blog related to a program that has been viewed so far, and can easily post a comment regarding the program to the selected blog. Moreover, according to the said structure of the mobile telephone 1, the user can contribute easily the article regarding the program which he / she watched until now on the blog which he is the owner of.

  In the mobile phone 1, it is possible to post a comment on a blog where another user is the owner and to post a new article on the blog where the user is the owner. Therefore, when the user presses the blog activation button 41d in order to start using the blog, the control unit 50 displays the display screen shown in FIG. The display screen shown in FIG. 24 displays character strings such as “post new article” and “view article”, and the user posts a new article related to the program that has been viewed so far. You can choose to browse or browse blogs related to the program you were watching.

  Based on the display screen shown in FIG. 24, a process when the user selects to browse a blog related to a program that has been viewed so far will be described based on FIG. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a specific example of processing that starts in response to the user selecting to browse a blog.

  When the user selects to browse an article relating to a program that has been viewed so far, the EPG data acquisition means 51 acquires EPG data of the program being received (process Q1: program information acquisition process).

  The EPG data acquisition unit 51 that has acquired the EPG data transmits the acquired EPG data to the keyword extraction unit, and simultaneously stores the EPG data in the storage unit 60. The keyword extraction unit 52 that has acquired the EPG data extracts a keyword for searching for a blog from the acquired EPG data (process Q2: keyword extraction process).

  The keyword extraction unit 52 transmits the extracted keyword to the service search unit 53. The service search means 53 transmits the acquired keyword to the blog system registration database via the carrier network, and acquires the address and title of the blog associated with the transmitted keyword (process Q3: search process).

  The service search means 53 that has acquired the blog address and title transmits the acquired title to the select menu display means 54. At the same time, the acquired address is stored in the storage 60. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired titles and displays a list on the display 42 (process Q4: display process).

  When the process Q4 ends, the service search means 53 waits for the user to select one title from the list-displayed titles (process Q5).

  When the user selects one of the displayed titles, the service search unit 53 reads the address of the selected title from the storage unit 60, and the HTML data indicated by the read address is transmitted via the carrier network. Download (data reception process). And the control part 50 shapes the downloaded HTML data, and displays a blog screen (process Q6).

  It should be noted that the HTML data downloaded in process Q6 realizes control necessary for causing the mobile phone 1 to function as a terminal device of the blog system in the control unit 50. For this reason, in the following process, in addition to the process by each component of the control part 50 shown in FIG. 1, each process by the control part 50 which the said HTML data or another program code implement | achieves is added.

  When the blog screen is displayed, according to an instruction from the service search means 53, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate display screen such as “Do you want to comment?” On the display 42 and whether or not to post a comment made by the user. (Q7). Each means 51-56 which comprises the control part 50 complete | finishes a series of processes, when a user selects specific operation to the key operation part 41 and it does not comment (process Q17).

  When the user performs the predetermined operation to post a comment, the character input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to input about the program?” The system waits for selection of whether or not to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data (process Q8). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects not to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the control unit 50 enters a state of waiting for a character input by a normal operation of the user (Q13).

  In process Q8, when the user selects to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the keyword extracting means 52 reads the EPG data from the storage unit 60 and extracts a character input keyword (process Q9: keyword extraction). processing). Then, the keyword extraction unit sends the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary unit 55. Here, the extracted keyword is used for a user to input a comment in a blog, as will be described later. Since the content included in the user's comment is assumed to be related to the program content, in the keyword extraction process of process Q9, it is preferable to extract a keyword from a character string describing the program content in the EPG data.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 and displays them on the display 42 (process Q10: display process).

  When the process Q9 ends, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword. When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing). The control unit 50 displays the characters input by the user in an appropriate comment input area provided on the display screen (processing Q11).

  When the display of the selected keyword in the comment input area is completed, the input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the comment?” On the display 42, and the comment input area is given by the user. The system waits for a selection of whether or not to further edit the character string input to (step Q12). When the user performs a specific operation and selects not to modify the comment, the process proceeds to process Q14 described later.

  In process Q12, when the user selects to modify the comment by performing a specific operation, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting character input by the user's normal operation. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the comment input area (processing Q13).

  When the user completes the desired character input and performs a specific operation for instructing the end of the character input on the key operation unit 41, the input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as "Do you want to continue the input?" It is displayed on the display 42 and waits for selection of whether or not to continue character input to the comment input area given by the user (processing Q14). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to continue character input, the control unit 50 repeats the processing from processing Q9.

  When the user selects not to continue the character input in process Q14, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to post?” On the display 42 and inputs it in the comment input area given by the user. It waits for selection of whether or not to send the character string as a comment (process Q15). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects not to send a comment, the process proceeds to a process Q17 described later. Conversely, when the user selects to send a comment, the control unit 50 sends the character string input in the comment input area to the server device (processing Q16).

  In process Q17, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to end?” On the display 42 and waits for a selection as to whether or not to end the blog submitted by the user. When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to end the blog, the control unit 50 ends the series of processes. Conversely, when the user selects not to end the blog, the process returns to process Q19 and the above-described process is repeated.

  Based on the display screen shown in FIG. 24, processing when the user selects to post a new article related to a program that has been viewed so far will be described based on FIG.

  When the user selects to post a new article regarding the program that the user has watched so far, based on the display screen shown in FIG. 24, the control unit 50 stores the URI of the blog that the user is the owner in the storage unit 60 ( Read from FIG. 3) and download HTML data. Based on the downloaded HTML data, the control unit 50 displays an article input screen for allowing the user to input an article on the display 42. In the following processing, in addition to the processing performed by each component of the control unit 50 shown in FIG. 1, each processing by the control unit 50 executed based on the HTML data is performed.

  When the user selects to post a new article regarding the program that has been viewed, the EPG data acquisition unit 51 acquires EPG data of the program being received (R1: program information acquisition process).

  The EPG data acquisition unit 51 that has acquired the EPG data transmits the acquired EPG data to the keyword extraction unit 52 and simultaneously stores the EPG data in the storage unit 60. The keyword extraction unit 52 that has acquired the EPG data extracts a keyword for character string input from the acquired EPG data (process R2: keyword extraction process). The keyword extraction unit 52 transmits the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary unit 55. The keywords extracted here are keywords used as article title candidates.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 and displays them on the display 42 (display process: process R3).

  When the process R3 is completed, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword (process R4). When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing).

  The control unit 50 displays the character string input by the user in the title input area provided on the display screen (process R5).

  When the display of the selected keyword in the title input area is completed, the character string input auxiliary means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the title?” On the display 42 and is input to the title input area. The user waits for selection of whether or not to further edit the character string (process R6). When the user selects not to modify the title, the process proceeds to process R8 described later.

  In process R6, when the user selects to perform a specific operation to correct the title, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting a character input by the user's normal operation. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the title input area (process R7).

  When the user finishes inputting desired text and then selects the text input area to start inputting the text of the article, the character string input assisting means 55 selects an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to input about the program?” This is displayed on the display 42. Then, the character string input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select whether or not to input the keyword extracted from the EPG data (process R8). If it is selected not to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data by a user's specific operation, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting character input by the user's normal operation.

  In R8, when the user selects to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the keyword extracting means 52 reads the EPG data from the storage unit 60 and extracts a keyword for character input (processing R9: keyword extracting process). ). Then, the keyword extraction unit 52 sends the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary unit 55. Here, as will be described later, the extracted keyword is used for a user to input an article in a blog. Since the content included in the user's comment is assumed to be related to the program content, in the keyword extraction process of process R9, it is preferable to extract a keyword from a character string describing the program content in the EPG data.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 and displays them on the display 42 (process R10: display process).

  When the process R9 is completed, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword. When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing). The control unit 50 displays the character input by the user in the text input area (processing R11).

  When the display of the selected keyword in the text input area is completed, the character string input auxiliary means displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the comment?” On the display 42, and the text input given by the user The selection of whether or not to further edit the character string input to the area is awaited (processing R12). When the user performs a specific operation and selects not to modify the comment, the process proceeds to process R14 described later.

  In process R12, when the user selects to modify the comment by performing a specific operation, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting character input by the user's normal operation. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the text input area (process R13).

  When the user completes the desired character input and performs a specific operation for instructing that the character input has been completed on the key operation unit 41, the character string input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate character such as "Do you want to continue the input?" The column is displayed on the display 42, and the selection of whether or not to continue the character input to the text input area made by the user is awaited (process R14). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to continue character input, the control unit 50 repeats the process from the process R9.

  When the user selects not to continue the character input in the process R14, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to post?” On the display 42, and inputs it in the text input area that is given by the user. Waiting for the selection of whether or not to transmit the character string as the article body (process R15). When the user performs a specific operation and selects not to send a comment, the process proceeds to process R17 described later. Conversely, when the user selects to send a comment, the control unit 50 transmits the character strings input in the title input area and the text input area to the server device (process R16), and ends the process.

  In process R17, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to end?” On the display 42, and waits for selection of whether or not to end the blog submitted by the user. When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to end the blog, the control unit 50 ends the series of processes. Conversely, when the user selects not to end the blog, the process returns to process R19 and the above-described process is repeated.

  Finally, the case of using mail will be described with reference to FIG.

  According to the mobile phone 1, the user can easily create a message related to the program that has been viewed. When the user presses the mail activation button 41e to start using a new mail, a program for realizing the mail function in the mobile phone 1 is loaded. The control unit 50 executes an instruction of the loaded program and displays a mail input screen for allowing the user to input a mail on the display 42. Also in the following processing, in addition to the processing performed by each component of the control unit 50 shown in FIG. 1, each processing by the control unit 50 executed by an instruction of this program is performed.

  The mail input screen includes a title input area and a text input area. The title input area is a display area for displaying a character string input as a mail title by the user. The text input area is a display area for displaying characters input by the user as the mail text.

  A specific example of preferable processing performed following the display of the mail input screen will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the user selects to create an e-mail regarding a program that has been viewed so far, the EPG data acquisition means 51 acquires EPG data of the program being received (process T1: program information acquisition process).

  The EPG data acquisition unit 51 that has acquired the EPG data transmits the acquired EPG data to the keyword extraction unit 52 and simultaneously stores the EPG data in the storage unit 60. The keyword extraction unit 52 that has acquired the EPG data extracts a keyword for character string input from the acquired EPG data (process T2: keyword extraction process). The keyword extraction unit 52 transmits the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary unit 55. The keywords extracted here are keywords used as e-mail title candidates.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 and displays them on the display 42 (process T3: display process).

  When the process T3 is completed, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword (process T4). When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing).

  The control unit 50 displays the characters input by the user in the title input area provided on the display screen (process T5).

  When the display of the selected keyword in the title input area is completed, the character input auxiliary means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the title?” On the display 42, and the character input in the title input area The user waits for selection of whether or not to further edit the column (process T6). When the user selects not to modify the title, the process proceeds to process T8 described later.

  At T6, when the user selects to correct the title by performing a specific operation, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting character input by the user's normal operation. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the title input area (process T7).

  When the user finishes inputting desired text and then selects the text input area in order to start inputting the mail text, the text input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate text string such as “Do you want to input about the program?” 42. Then, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user's selection as to whether or not to input the keyword extracted from the EPG data (process T8). If it is selected not to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data by a user's specific operation, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting character input by the user's normal operation.

  In process T8, when the user selects to input a keyword extracted from the EPG data, the keyword extracting means 52 reads the EPG data from the storage unit 60 and extracts a character input keyword. Then, the keyword extracting means sends the extracted keyword to the character input auxiliary means 55 (process T9: keyword extracting process). Here, as will be described later, the extracted keyword is used for the user to input the mail text. Since the content included in the mail text is assumed to be related to the program content, in the keyword extraction process of process T9, it is preferable to extract a keyword from a character string describing the program content in the EPG data.

  The character input auxiliary means 55 sends the acquired keyword to the select menu display means 54. The select menu display means 54 arranges the acquired keywords in the input character string candidate display area 71 and displays them on the display 42 (process T10: display process).

  When the process T9 ends, the character input auxiliary means 55 waits for the user to select a keyword. When the user selects one keyword, the character input assisting means 55 accepts the selected keyword as a character string input by the user (character string input processing). The control unit 50 displays the character input by the user in the text input area (process T11).

  When the display of the selected keyword in the text input area is completed, the character input assisting means 55 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to correct the text?” On the display 42, and the text input given by the user It waits for the selection of whether or not to further edit the character string input to the area (process T12). When the user performs a specific operation and selects not to modify the mail, the process proceeds to process T14 described later.

  In process T12, when the user performs a specific operation and selects to correct the mail, the control unit 50 enters a state of accepting a character input by the user's normal operation. In this state, the user can freely edit the character string input in the text input area (process T13).

  When the user completes the desired character input and performs a specific operation for instructing the completion of the character input on the key operation unit 41, the character input assisting means 55 makes an appropriate character string such as "Do you want to continue the input?" Is displayed on the display 42, and the selection of whether or not to continue character input to the text input area given by the user is awaited (process T14). When the user performs a specific operation on the key operation unit 41 and selects to continue character input, the control unit 50 repeats the process from process T9.

  When the user selects not to continue the character input in process T14, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to send?” On the display 42 and inputs it in the text input area that is given by the user. It waits for the selection of whether or not to transmit the character string as a mail text (process T15). When the user performs a specific operation and selects not to send the mail, the process proceeds to process T17 described later. Conversely, when the user selects to send an email, the control unit 50 sends an email having a character string input in the title input area and the text input area as a title and text respectively to a predetermined address (processing T16). ), The process is terminated.

  In process T17, the control unit 50 displays an appropriate character string such as “Do you want to end?” On the display 42 and waits for a selection as to whether or not to end the mail sent by the user. When the user selects to end a specific operation by performing a specific operation on the key operation unit 41, the control unit 50 ends the series of processes. Conversely, when the user selects not to end, the process returns to process T19 and the above-described process is repeated.

  In the above description, the cellular phone 1 is taken as an example of the network connection device, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention can be applied to a device that can transmit and receive data through a network, such as a mobile phone, a video phone, a mobile broadcast terminal, an Internet TV, a cable TV, and a personal computer.

  In the above description, the cellular phone 1 is taken as an example of the network connection device, and thus the mobile phone 1 is provided with a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device. However, the network connection apparatus according to the present invention does not necessarily include a display. That is, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which a display signal is transmitted to a display device provided outside, such as a desktop personal computer.

  In the above description, the mobile phone 1 has been described as performing data communication with another network connection device via the carrier network, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention relates to other terminal devices via the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. The present invention can be applied to a network connection device that performs data communication.

  In the above description, the mobile phone 1 which is a network terminal device has been described as playing a program broadcast by terrestrial broadcast, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention is applied to a network connection apparatus capable of reproducing programs distributed in all distribution forms such as satellite broadcast, digital terrestrial broadcast, digital sanitary broadcast, CATV, Internet broadcast, and content distribution via a carrier communication network. Applicable.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

  The main difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that processing for extracting a keyword from EPG data is performed by the EPG analysis server 100 (server device), and the mobile phone 200 (terminal device) is the EPG analysis server. To get keywords from. The EPG analysis server 100 and the mobile phone 1 are connected by a carrier network, and data communication is possible between the two.

  The characteristic point of the EPG analysis server 100 is in its control unit. The only difference between the mobile phone 200 and the mobile phone 1 is the configuration of the control unit. Therefore, the control unit between the EPG analysis server 100 and the mobile phone 200 will be described.

  First, the control unit 150 provided in the EPG analysis server 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 150 includes an EPG data acquisition unit 151 (program information acquisition unit), a keyword extraction unit 152, a service search unit 153 (search unit), a program ID reception unit 154, and a data transmission unit 155.

  The program ID receiving unit 154 receives a program ID from the mobile phone 200 via the carrier network. Here, the program ID is information unique to each program allocated to each program, and is, for example, a numerical value. The mobile phone 200 can extract the program ID of the program being received from the received broadcast wave. Then, as will be described later, the mobile phone 200 transmits a keyword acquisition request or a search result acquisition request to the EPG analysis server 100 together with the program ID. Thereby, the EPG analysis server 100 can uniquely specify the program received by the mobile phone 200. Here, the program identification information for identifying the program being received by the mobile phone 200 is taken as an example of the program ID. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the program ID receiving means 154 includes: Other program specifying information, for example, information such as a channel of a program received by the mobile phone 200 may be acquired.

  The EPG data acquisition unit 151 is configured to acquire EPG data related to a program received by the mobile phone 200. Specifically, the EPG data acquisition unit 151 transmits the acquired program ID to the EPG data distribution server via the carrier network, and acquires EPG data related to the program specified by the program ID. The EPG data acquisition unit 151 is sufficient if it can acquire EPG data related to the program received by the mobile phone 200.

  The keyword extracting unit 152 is a configuration for acquiring EPG data from the EPG data acquiring unit 151 and extracting a keyword from the acquired EPG data. The keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit 152 is a character string obtained by dividing a character string included in EPG data. The process of extracting keywords by the keyword extracting unit 152 is the same as the keyword extracting unit 52 provided in the mobile phone 1, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Note that the EPG data used by the keyword extraction unit 152 to extract keywords is EPG data related to a program received by the mobile phone 200. Therefore, the keyword related to the program being received by the mobile phone 200 is obtained in the EPG analysis server 100.

  The service search means 153 is a configuration for searching for a message exchange service related to a program received by the mobile phone 200. The service search unit 153 acquires the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit 151. Then, the acquired keyword is transmitted to a predetermined service registration database connected to the carrier network, and the address and title associated with the keyword are acquired. That is, a message exchange system associated with the keyword is searched using the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit 152. The service search unit 153 can receive a keyword directly from the keyword extraction unit 152 or can read out a keyword stored in the storage unit 160 by the keyword extraction unit 152.

  The service registration database is a database connected to the carrier network, and an address for instructing the location of data for causing the mobile phone 200 to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system, and the title of the message exchange system. Is sufficient if it is stored in advance in association with keywords. In FIG. 28, the service registration database is described as being outside the EPG analysis server 100. However, the EPG analysis server 100 may be configured to include the service registration database.

  The data transmission unit 155 is configured to transmit the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit and the title and address of the message exchange system acquired by the service search unit to the mobile phone 200. When the acquisition request received from the mobile phone 200 is a keyword acquisition request, the data transmission unit 155 transmits the keyword extracted by the keyword extraction unit to the mobile phone 200. On the other hand, when the acquisition request received from the mobile phone 200 is a search result acquisition request, the data transmission unit 155 transmits the title and address of the message exchange system acquired by the service search unit 153 to the mobile phone 200.

  Next, the mobile phone 200 will be described. The cellular phone 200 has the same configuration as the cellular phone 1 except for the control unit 50 in the configuration of the cellular phone 1 shown in FIG. A control unit 250 included in the mobile phone 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 250. The control unit 250 is also similar to the mobile phone 1 in that the control unit 250 has a configuration for downloading a program code stored in another network device via a carrier network and executing an instruction of the program code. Also, the control unit 250 can download an HTML document stored in another network device via a carrier network, and can format and display the HTML document as in the mobile phone 1. Thereby, the mobile phone 200 functions as a terminal of a message exchange system such as chat or blog. However, in a network connection device such as a mobile phone, since the configuration for realizing these functions is well known, the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 29, the control unit 250 includes a program ID transmission unit 251, a data reception unit 252, a service selection unit 253 (selection unit), a select menu display unit 254 (display unit), a character input auxiliary unit 255 (characters). Input means) and input character conversion means 256.

  The program ID transmission unit 251 is configured to transmit a keyword acquisition request or a search result acquisition request to the EPG analysis server 100 together with the program ID of the received program. The program ID transmission means 251 extracts the program ID of the program being received superimposed on the broadcast wave, and transmits this to the EPG analysis server 100. Further, the data receiving means 252 makes a search result acquisition request in response to a data income request from the service selection means 253, and responds to a data acquisition request from the character input auxiliary means 255 and the input character conversion means 256. Then, a keyword acquisition request is transmitted to the EPG analysis server 100.

  The program ID transmitted by the program ID transmission means 251 is sufficient if it is information that can identify the program being received by the mobile phone 200. For example, the program ID may be a reception channel, regional information, or EPG data itself. good.

  The data receiving unit 252 is configured to receive data transmitted from the EPG analysis server 100. The data receiving unit 252 can send the data acquired from the EPG analysis server 100 back to the service selection unit 253, the character input auxiliary unit 255, and the input character conversion unit 256 that have issued the data acquisition request. Moreover, the data acquired from the EPG analysis server can be stored in a specific storage unit (not shown).

  Next, the service selection unit 253 will be described. The service selection means 253 is a configuration for selecting a message exchange service related to a program that the user has watched so far. The service selection unit 253 sends a data acquisition request to the program ID transmission unit 251 when the user instructs to start using the message exchange service by a predetermined operation. Receiving this, the program ID transmission means 251 transmits the search result acquisition request to the EPG analysis server 100 together with the program ID of the program being received. The EPG analysis server 100 refers to the received program ID, extracts a keyword related to the program from EPG data related to the program being received by the mobile phone 200, and searches for a message exchange service using the extracted keyword. Then, the EPG analysis server 100 transmits the search result by the data transmission unit 155.

  The transmitted search result is received by the service selection unit 253 via the data reception unit 252. Here, the received search result is the title and address of the message exchange system related to the program received so far. The service selection unit 253 sends the title to the select menu display unit 254 and stores the address in a storage unit (not shown).

  The select menu display unit 254 controls a predetermined display (not shown) so that the service titles received from the service selection unit 253 are arranged and displayed as a list. As a result, the user can view a list of services related to the program that has been viewed so far, and can select a desired service from these services.

  Next, the character input auxiliary means 255 will be described. The character input assisting means 255 is configured to allow a user to easily input a message related to a program that the user has watched so far.

  When a predetermined process for accepting a character input by the user occurs in a series of processes instructed by the user to start while the TV program is displayed, the control unit 250 moves the process to the character input auxiliary unit 255.

  First, the character input auxiliary unit 255 sends a data acquisition request to the program ID transmission unit 251. Receiving this, the program ID transmission means 251 transmits the keyword acquisition request to the EPG analysis server 100 together with the program ID of the program being received. The EPG analysis server 100 refers to the received program ID, extracts a keyword related to the program from EPG data related to the program being received by the mobile phone 200, and transmits the extracted keyword using the data transmission unit 155.

  The transmitted keyword is received by the character input auxiliary means 255 via the data receiving means 252. Here, the received keyword is a keyword related to the program that has been received. The character input auxiliary means 255 sends the title to the select menu display means 254.

  The select menu display unit 254 controls a predetermined display so that the received keywords are arranged and displayed as a list. When the user selects one keyword from the keywords displayed on the predetermined display, the character input auxiliary means 255 accepts the selected keyword as input by the user. Thus, the user can easily input a character string related to the program that has been viewed.

  Next, the input character conversion unit 256 will be described. The input character conversion unit 256 is configured to cooperate with the predictive conversion dictionary unit 257 to convert a character string input by the user into a character string associated with the character string in advance and input the character string. The basic functions of the input character conversion unit 256 and the predictive conversion dictionary unit 257 are the same as those of the input character conversion unit 56 and the predictive conversion dictionary unit 57 provided in the mobile phone 1 described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Similar to the input character conversion unit 56 provided in the mobile phone 1, the input character conversion unit 256 cooperates with the prediction conversion dictionary unit 257 to realize prediction conversion or kana-kanji conversion and obtain it from the data reception unit 252. It is characterized in that a process of adding each keyword to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 257 is performed. The details of the process of adding a keyword to the dictionary are the same as those of the input character conversion means 56 provided in the mobile phone 1, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, the input character conversion unit 256 performs a process of adding a keyword to the predictive conversion dictionary unit 257, so that the user can easily input a message related to the program that the user has watched so far even on the mobile phone 200. It becomes possible.

  By connecting the above-described EPG analysis server 100 and the mobile phone 200 via a network, the mobile phone 200 can easily find a message exchange service related to a program that has been viewed so far. When using these message exchange systems, it is possible to configure a network system that makes it easy to input messages.

  Each block included in the mobile phone 1, the EPG analysis server 100, and the mobile phone 200 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  That is, each of the devices includes a CPU that executes a command of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the control program, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the control program into an executable format. ), And a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the control program and various data.

  With this configuration, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a predetermined recording medium. The recording medium only needs to record the program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of the control program of the input character conversion apparatus 1 which is software that realizes the above-described functions so that it can be read by a computer. The input character conversion device 1 supplies this recording medium. Thus, the input character conversion device 1 (or CPU or MPU) as a computer may read and execute the program code recorded on the supplied recording medium.

  The recording medium for supplying the program code to each device is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. A disk system, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM can be used.

  Further, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if each of the above devices is configured to be connectable to a communication network. In this case, the program code is supplied to each device via a communication network. This communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply a program code to the input character conversion apparatus 1. For example, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a LAN, an ISDN, a VAN, a CATV communication network, a virtual private network, a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a satellite communication network, or the like may be used.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, in the case of wired communication such as IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802. 11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, etc. can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Such embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used for a network connection device that can receive a television broadcast such as a mobile phone with a television.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the mobile telephone as a network connection apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the system of this invention typically. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone as a network connection apparatus of this invention. It is a front view which shows the external appearance of the said mobile telephone. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of EPG data. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in which a keyword extraction means extracts a keyword from EPG data. (A)-(e) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the character or symbol deleted from each character string contained in EPG data. (A) (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the example of application of the keyword extraction process in a keyword extraction means. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for character type cutting processing performed subsequent to the series of processing illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 6. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the example of application of a character type cutting process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a procedure for character type cutting performed following the series of processes illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 6. (A)-(b) is explanatory drawing which shows the example of application of the said character type cutting process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen of the display which displayed the title of the acquired chat as a list. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display screen which notifies a user that the search process is performed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen of the display which displayed the title of the acquired blog as a list. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen displayed in the process which receives the input of the article title by a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen displayed in the process which receives the input of the article text by a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen displayed in the process which receives the input of the mail title by a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen displayed in the process which receives the input of the mail text by a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen as which the conversion candidate word / phrase display area was displayed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the conversion candidate word / phrase display area which a selection menu display means displays in response to the input of the character by a user. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the dictionary area | region with which the prediction conversion dictionary part was equipped. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence after the user performs operation which starts chatting during television viewing until it performs operation which ends chat. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display screen when a user presses down a blog starting button in order to start use of a blog. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence when searching the blog regarding the program which the user watched so far, and posting a comment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence when a user posts the new article regarding the program which he / she watched. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence when a user starts utilization of the new mail regarding the program which he watched. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part with which the EPG analysis server was equipped. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part with which the other mobile telephone of this invention is provided.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (network connection device, terminal device)
6 network 7 network 20 wireless communication unit (data receiving means)
42 Display 51 EPG data acquisition means (program information acquisition means)
52 keyword extraction means 53 service search means (search means)
54 Select menu display means (display means)
55 Character input auxiliary means (character input means)
56 Input character conversion means 57 Predictive conversion dictionary (dictionary database)
57c EPG dedicated dictionary area (specific storage area)
100 EPG analysis server (server device)
151 EPG data acquisition means (program information acquisition means)
154 Program ID reception means 155 Data transmission means 253 Service selection means (selection means)
254 Select menu display means (display means)
255 Character input auxiliary means (character input means)
256 Input character conversion means

Claims (27)

A network connection device for connecting to a network and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program to be reproduced;
Keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A title assigned to each message exchange system is stored in advance in association with a keyword and stored together with an address instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. Search means for searching and acquiring the title and address associated with the extracted keyword from the database,
Display means for displaying a list of the obtained message exchange system titles on a display capable of transmitting a display signal from the network connection device;
The network connection device, wherein the search means receives data indicated by an address acquired together with a title selected by the user from the list-displayed titles. The search means stores the acquired data address together with the number of acquisition times in a predetermined storage unit,
2. The network according to claim 1, wherein the display means arranges and displays the titles of the acquired message exchange system in order from the most frequently acquired titles stored in the storage unit. Connected device. A network connection device for connecting to a network and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program to be reproduced;
Keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
Display means for displaying a list of the keywords on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device;
A network connection device comprising character input means for receiving a keyword selected by a user from the keywords displayed in the list as a character string input by the user. A network connection device for connecting to a network and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information relating to a program to be reproduced;
Keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A dictionary database that records a plurality of words in advance in association with a specific character string;
Display means for displaying a list of words / phrases associated with the character string input by the user in the dictionary database when the user inputs a character string of one or more characters on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device;
An input character conversion unit that accepts a word selected by the user among the displayed words as a character string input by the user;
The network connection device, wherein the input character conversion means records the keyword in the dictionary database in association with the specific character string in advance.   5. The network connection device according to claim 4, wherein the dictionary database includes a plurality of storage areas, and the input character conversion means accumulates the keywords in a specific storage area among the plurality of storage areas.   6. The network connection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display means arranges and displays the keywords stored in the specific area prior to the words and phrases stored in other storage areas.   The input character conversion means is characterized in that, when a new keyword extracted from program information relating to a program to be reproduced is stored in the specific area, the new keyword is stored in place of the already stored keyword. The network connection device according to claim 5 or 6.   8. The keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means is one or more character strings obtained by dividing a character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character. The network connection apparatus as described in any one of them.   The keyword extracted by the keyword extracting means further divides each character string obtained by dividing the character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character according to the type of characters constituting the character string. The network connection device according to claim 8, wherein the network connection device is a character string obtained as described above. It has a dictionary database that stores multiple words,
The keyword extracting means stores each character string obtained by dividing the character string included in the program information before and after a predetermined character in the dictionary database that matches the character string included in the character string. 9. The network connection device according to claim 8, wherein a phrase having the largest number of characters is extracted as a keyword from the phrases. Connect to a terminal device that plays a program distributed to multiple users via a network,
A program ID receiving means for receiving, from the terminal device, a program ID for specifying a program reproduced by the terminal device;
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information related to the program specified by the program ID;
A title assigned to each message exchange system is stored in advance in association with a keyword and stored together with an address instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. Search means for searching and acquiring the title and address associated with the extracted keyword from the database,
A server device comprising: data transmission means for transmitting the acquired title and address of the message exchange system to the terminal device. A terminal device connected to a network to which the server device according to claim 11 is connected and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced;
Data receiving means for receiving the title and address of the message exchange system transmitted from the server device;
Display means for displaying a list of the received message exchange system titles on a display capable of transmitting a display signal from the terminal device;
A terminal device comprising: selection means for receiving data indicated by an address acquired together with a title selected by the user from the titles displayed in the list.   A system comprising the server device according to claim 11 and the terminal device according to claim 12. Connect to a terminal device that plays a program distributed to multiple users via a network,
A program ID receiving means for receiving, from the terminal device, a program ID for specifying a program reproduced by the terminal device;
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information related to the program specified by the program ID;
Keyword extracting means for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A server device comprising: data transmission means for transmitting the keyword to the terminal device. A terminal device connected to a network to which the server device according to claim 14 is connected and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced;
Data receiving means for receiving a keyword transmitted from the server device;
Display means for displaying a list of the received keywords on a display capable of sending a display signal from the terminal device;
A terminal device comprising: a character input unit that receives a keyword selected by the user from the keywords displayed in the list as a character string input by the user.   A system comprising the server device according to claim 14 and the terminal device according to claim 15. A terminal device connected to a network to which the server device according to claim 15 is connected and playing a program distributed to a plurality of users,
A program ID transmitting means for transmitting a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced;
Data receiving means for receiving a keyword transmitted from the server device;
A dictionary database that records a plurality of words in advance in association with a specific character string;
Display means for displaying a list of words and phrases associated with the character string input by the user in the dictionary database when the user inputs a character string of one or more characters on a display capable of sending a display signal from the terminal device;
An input character conversion unit that accepts a word selected by the user among the displayed words as a character string input by the user;
The terminal device characterized in that the input character conversion means records the keyword in the dictionary database in association with the specific character string in advance.   A system comprising the server device according to claim 14 and the terminal device according to claim 17. Receiving method for receiving data for causing network connection device to function as a terminal device of a message exchange system related to a reproduced program in a network connection device connected to a network and reproducing a program distributed to a plurality of users Because
A program information acquisition process for acquiring program information related to the program;
A keyword extraction process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
The title assigned to each message exchange system is stored in association with a keyword in advance, together with an address for instructing the location of data for causing the network device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. A search process for searching for and acquiring the title and address associated with the extracted keyword from the database;
Display processing for displaying the obtained titles in a list on a display capable of sending display signals from the network connection device;
And a data receiving process for receiving data from an address acquired together with the title selected by the user from the displayed titles. In a network connection apparatus that connects to a network and reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, a character input method that accepts characters input by the user to the network connection apparatus,
A program information acquisition process for acquiring program information relating to a program to be played;
A keyword extraction process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A display process for displaying a list of the keywords on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device;
A character input method comprising: a character string input process for receiving a keyword selected by the user from the keywords displayed in the list as a character string input by the user. In a network connection device that connects to a network and reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, a character input method that accepts characters input by the user to the network connection device,
A program information acquisition process for acquiring program information relating to a program to be played;
A keyword extraction process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A dictionary database that records a plurality of words in association with a specific character string in advance, and a word storage process that records the keyword in association with the specific word;
Conversion candidate word / phrase display processing for displaying a list of words / phrases associated with one or more character strings input by the user in the dictionary database on a display capable of sending a display signal from the network connection device;
A character input method comprising: an input character conversion process for receiving a character string selected by the user from the character strings as a character string input by the user. In a server device connected via a network to a terminal device that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, the message exchange system title and address associated in advance with the program reproduced by the terminal device are transmitted to the terminal device. A transmission method,
A program ID receiving process for receiving from the terminal device a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced by the terminal device;
A program information acquisition process for acquiring program information related to the program specified by the program ID;
A title assigned to each message exchange system is stored in advance in association with a keyword and stored together with an address instructing the location of data for causing the network connection device to function as a terminal device of the message exchange system. A search process for searching for and acquiring a title and address associated with the extracted keyword from a database, and a data transmission process for transmitting the acquired message exchange system title and address to the terminal device. A transmission method characterized by the above. In a server device connected via a network to a terminal device that reproduces a program distributed to a plurality of users, a transmission method for transmitting a keyword related to a program reproduced by the terminal device to the terminal device,
A program ID receiving process for receiving from the terminal device a program ID for specifying a program to be reproduced by the terminal device;
A program information acquisition process for acquiring program information related to the program specified by the program ID;
A keyword extraction process for extracting one or more keywords from the program information;
A data transmission process for transmitting the keyword to the terminal device. A program for causing a computer to operate as the network connection device according to claim 1,
The program for functioning a computer as said each means with which the said network connection apparatus was equipped. A program for causing a computer to operate as the server device according to claim 11 or 14,
The program for functioning a computer as said each means with which the said server apparatus was equipped. A program for causing a computer to operate as the terminal device according to claim 12, 15, or 17,
The program for functioning a computer as said each means with which the said terminal device was equipped.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to any one of claims 24 to 26 is recorded.

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