JP2008135045A - Information associating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To acquire information (manufacturer name, price, or the like) relevant to video (for example, costume worn by a main actress of a drama program) displayed on a screen. <P>SOLUTION: An information registration device 102 displays medium information such as video of a TV broadcasting, specifies the position and range on the screen with a mouse or the like (for example, select skirt and click it), acquires information on the screen position/screen range, acquires identification information of the medium information such as the channel number or broadcasting time at that time from a TV tuner, inputs it from an input means, or searches for and acquires relevant information from a server 100, transmits the information to an information search device 109. The device 109 accumulates the information in a DB 111. An information browsing device 103 acquires the information on the screen position/screen range similarly to the case of the device 102 and identification information of the medium information, and transmits the acquired data to the device 109. The device 109 collates the data with data record in the DB 111, and transmits the relevant information in the matched data record to the device 103. The device 103 displays it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of associating a video such as a television with information related to the video, and an information browsing device, an information registration device, an information search device, and a charging method using the information association method.

On a computer network called the Internet, information registered in the network can be associated with each other (hereinafter referred to as a link) to be handled as one huge information database called WWW (World Wide Web).

  As a database construction method, information such as text, audio, and video is linked in a description language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) to form one information unit (homepage), and links to other homepages within the homepage A method of describing information in HTML is generally used.

  Individual users as well as corporate users can access the homepage using browsing software (hereinafter referred to as a browser) that runs on a PC (Personal Computer). In order to improve user convenience, a search service (hereinafter referred to as a directory service) is provided on the WWW so that a user can easily access information in a desired homepage by inputting a keyword or the like.

  In addition, in digital broadcasting using broadcasting satellites, description languages such as BML (Broadcast Markup Language), B-XML (Broadcast eXtensible Markup Language), and B-HTML (Broadcast HTML), which expand the HTML functions for broadcasting, are used. Can be used to link between a plurality of pieces of information or link between a television program and information on the Internet. Information described in these description languages is transmitted to the user using a standardized framework such as data broadcasting.

  When a user (viewer) watches a television program, for example, if he / she selects (clicks) a costume worn by the leading actress of a drama program with a pointing device such as a mouse, the manufacturer name and price of the costume, etc. It would be convenient if there was a function that could obtain information related to the video by selecting part or all of the video displayed on the television receiver, such as displaying related information on the screen. However, in order to realize this function, there are the following problems.

  A first problem is a method for associating a video with related information. In the conventional directory service described above, since the search is performed based on the keyword input, it is necessary to convert the video into the keyword. For example, in the example of the costume described above, the name of the costume to be the keyword and the manufacturer's name In general, it is often difficult to obtain a company name from a video. Therefore, there is a need to provide a new information association method that enables direct link between video and related information.

  The second problem is that an information registration apparatus for realizing the above-described new information association method, that is, a provider of information related to a video (hereinafter referred to as an information registrant) links the video and related information with an easy operation. It is the provision of a device that can do this.

  A third problem is to provide an information browsing apparatus for realizing the above-described new information association method, that is, an apparatus that allows an information viewer to browse related information by selecting a part or the whole of an image. It is.

  A fourth problem is that an information search apparatus for realizing the above-described new information association method, that is, information registered by the information registration apparatus is searched according to a search request from the above-described information browsing apparatus, and the information browsing apparatus An apparatus capable of transmitting a search result is provided.

  A fifth problem is to provide a new billing method for realizing a service business for associating the aforementioned video with related information.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide an information association method, an information browsing device, an information registration device, an information search device, and a billing method.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A method of associating mediation information and information related to the mediation information (hereinafter referred to as related information) using an information registration device, an information browsing device, an information search device, and a computer network,
The information registration device transmits a set of first identification information for identifying the mediation information and the related information to the information search device via a computer network, and the information search device receives the received first first information A set of identification information and the related information is registered in a database, and the information browsing device transmits second identification information for identifying the mediation information to the information search device via a computer network, and the information search device When the received second identification information and the first identification information registered in the database are collated and the two match, the related information forming a pair with the first identification information is transmitted via a computer network. Is sent to the information browsing device.

In the information association method,
The mediation information is information including an image, and the information registration device transmits first screen information indicating a part or the whole of the image together with the first identification information to the information search device via a computer network, The information search device registers the received set of the first identification information, the first screen information, and the related information in the database, and the information browsing device stores one of the images together with the second identification information. Second screen information indicating a part or the whole is transmitted to the information search apparatus via a computer network, and the information search apparatus receives the received second identification information and the first identification information registered in the database. When the received second screen information and the first screen information registered in the database are collated, and the two match, It is to be transmitted to the information browsing device information and the related information constituting the first screen information and set via the computer network.

In the information association method,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by a television broadcast, and the identification information includes a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time of the television broadcast, and the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) Includes the reception area.

In the information association method,
The related information includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating an Internet homepage.

The information browsing device associates the mediation information with the related information,
Means for acquiring the mediation information; means for acquiring identification information of the mediation information from the acquired mediation information; means for transmitting the identification information via a computer network; and means for receiving related information via the computer network; A means for outputting the received related information is provided.

In the information browsing device,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and the means for obtaining the identification information obtains a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time, and when the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) Is a means to acquire the reception area.

In the information browsing device,
Means for acquiring screen information indicating a part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast, and means for transmitting the screen information as information forming a pair with the identification information and related information via a computer network. I have to.

In the information browsing device,
Time shift means for recording and reproducing the mediation information is provided.

The information registration device associates the mediation information with the related information,
Means for obtaining the mediation information, means for obtaining the identification information of the mediation information, means for obtaining the relevant information paired with the identification information, and transmitting the set of the identification information and the relevant information via a computer network The means to do is provided.

In the information registration device,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and the means for obtaining the identification information obtains a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time, and when the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) Is a means to acquire the reception area.

In the information registration device,
Means for acquiring screen information indicating a part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast, and means for transmitting the screen information as information forming a pair with the identification information and related information via a computer network. I have to.

In the information registration device,
Time shift means for recording and reproducing the mediation information is provided.

Further, the information search device searches for related information associated with the mediation information,
Means for inputting a set of first identification information and related information via a computer network; recording means for recording the first identification information and related information in a database; and second identification via a computer network. A means for inputting information; a collating means for collating the first and second identification information; and if the collation results in a match, the related information forming a pair with the first identification information is the second information Means for transmitting to the sender of the identification information (hereinafter referred to as the viewer) via a computer network.

In the information retrieval apparatus,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and includes means for inputting first screen information indicating part or all of the image transmitted by television broadcasting via a computer network, and the recording The means records the first screen information, the first identification information, and the related information in a database as a set,
Means for inputting second screen information indicating part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast via a computer network;
The collation means collates the first and second screen information together with the collation of the first and second identification information.

In the information retrieval apparatus,
If the result of collating the first and second identification information is that they do not match, there is provided means for controlling to transmit information for notifying that matching information is not registered as a collation result I am doing so.

In the information retrieval apparatus,
If the second identification information sender (hereinafter referred to as the “viewer”) includes a means for recording and recording the viewer information, and if the first and second identification information are collated, the two match A means for transmitting the viewer information to the sender of the first identification information via a computer network is provided.

  By using the present invention, it is possible to select only a part or the whole of a video displayed on a television receiver when viewing a television program or the like without inputting characters for searching. You can search and obtain other information related to.

  In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to realize a service business that uses information registration fee and information retrieval fee as income.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the same mediation information (101) is input to both an information registration device (102) and an information browsing device (103) described later.

  This intermediary information (101) corresponds to the keyword of information registration and information browsing, and can be independently identified on both sides, such as television (TV) broadcast video and Internet homepage image (i.e. It can be anything that can be distinguished from other mediation information.

  As the identification information (105) of the media information (101), for example, in the case of television broadcasting, the broadcast channel number, broadcast time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second, frame number, etc.), reception area (local (In the case of broadcasting) (this information is obtained from the tuner of the television receiver), and in the case of an Internet homepage, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) may be used.

  Hereinafter, a case where television broadcasting is used as the mediation information (101) will be described.

  In the information registration device (102) shown in FIG. 1, the media information (101) is displayed, and a text document, an HTML document, etc. stored in the related information server (100) prepared in the same device or as an external device. The related information (104) is associated (linked) with the video reproduced from the mediating information (101).

  At this time, the position and range on the screen are designated using a coordinate pointing device (mouse, tablet, pen, remote controller, etc.) incorporated in the information registration apparatus (102).

  As an example, in the figure, the skirt portion displayed on the screen is selected and clicked to specify the screen position and the screen range.

  In the information registration device (102), the data including the identification information (105) of the mediation information (101), the information (106) indicating the screen position / screen range, and the related information (107) to be linked is transferred to the computer network ( 108) to the information retrieval device (109).

  Here, the related information (107) may be the same as the related information (104) stored in the related information server (100), but if this is an HTML document published as an Internet homepage, the storage location is The character string of the URL shown (http://www.???.co.jp/, etc.) may be used. The character string of the URL may be input by an input unit of the information registration apparatus (102). When the related information is a text document or the like, it may be input by the input unit.

  On the other hand, the information browsing apparatus (103) shown in FIG. 1 displays the mediation information (101) and uses the coordinate pointing device built in the information browsing apparatus (103) to determine the position and range on the screen. Specify and try to retrieve and output (display) related information (114) linked to it.

  At this time, as in the case of the information registration device (102), the information browsing device (103) includes identification information (112) of the mediation information (101) and information (113) indicating the screen position / screen range. Data is created, this data is transmitted to the information search device (109) via the computer network (108), and a search result from the information search device (109) is awaited.

  The information search device (109) shown in FIG. 1 comprises collation means (110) and a database (111). The identification information (105) of the mediation information transmitted from the information registration device (102) and the screen position / Data consisting of related information (107) to be linked to information (106) indicating the screen range is registered as a data record in the database (111), and the mediation information (101) transmitted from the information browsing device (103) is registered. The data consisting of the identification information (112) and the screen position / screen range information (113) is collated with the data record in the database (111), the two identification information (105) (112), and the two screen positions / When the information (106) (113) indicating the screen range is the same, the registered related information (107) is used as the related information (114) (collectively in the case of multiple), and the computer network ( 108) to the information browsing device (103).

  An example of the data record and the operation of the collation means (110) will be described later.

  Since a general database server can be used as the collating means (110) and the database (111), detailed illustration is omitted.

  The information browsing device (103) realizes a link between the mediation information (101) and the related information (114) by displaying the related information (114) transmitted from the information search device (109) on the screen. To do.

  An example of the related information (114) will be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration diagram of the information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103).

  The information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103) can be realized with substantially the same configuration, and based on an instruction from a program storage memory (211) that stores a software program having steps to be described later, the control unit (212) Controls the entire device.

  First, mediation information (101) input from an input unit (204) described later is encoded by an encoder (205) so that it can be handled as digital data by a control unit (212).

  In addition to the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) method and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method stipulated in the ISO / IEC standard, this encoding method includes PCM (Pulse) that is simply converted to a binary number. (Coded Modulation) method may be used, and a generally well-known method can be used, and the illustration is omitted.

  At this time, not only the video signal but also the audio signal may be similarly encoded.

  The encoded signal is decoded by the decoder (209) and displayed on the display unit (210).

  The decoder may not only decode the encoded video / audio signal but also interpret and visualize an HTML document or the like in order to display related information (114) described later.

  Further, the output of the encoder (205) may be temporarily stored in the time shift means (206), reproduced after a certain time interval, and output to the decoder (209).

  The time shift means (206) comprises a recording medium (208) and a drive (207) for driving the recording medium to record / reproduce data.

  As a recording medium (208), a disk-shaped medium (for example, CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), MO (Magneto-Optical), FDD (floppy (registered trademark) (registered trademark)) In addition to a disk or HDD (hard disk), a tape-like medium (video cassette tape or the like) or a solid-state memory (flash memory or the like) may be used.

  As the time shift means (206), since a general recording device can be used as it is, the illustration is omitted.

  A method of using the time shift means (206) will be described later.

  In addition, regarding the input unit (204) and the display unit (210), by diverting the function of another device (that is, an external configuration), the information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103) It may be removed from the configuration.

  In the mediation information identification means (203) shown in FIG. 2, information (channel, broadcast time, reception area, etc.) for identifying the mediation information (101) based on data set in the input unit (204) described later Get and hold.

  When the time shift means (206) is used, when recording a video / audio signal, this identification information is also recorded and stored in the mediation information identification means (203) from the time shift means (206) during reproduction. You may do it again.

  In the operation unit (201) shown in FIG. 2, based on data from a pointing device to be described later, the screen position designation ( (Specify horizontal and vertical pixel positions) and screen range (designate the radius that represents the range).

  In the case of the information registration device (102), the above-mentioned related information (104) (107) is specified (keyboard input, HTML document drag and drop operation, etc.).

  Subsequently, the screen position / screen range acquisition means (202) encodes and holds each information of the screen position / screen range specified by the operation unit (201).

  When the time shift means (206) is used, when the video / audio signal is reproduced, the screen position designation, the screen range designation, and the related information may be designated.

  The operation of the network interface (213) shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

  In the case of the information registration device (102), the identification information (105) of the mediation information held by the mediation information identification means (203), the screen position / screen range held by the screen position / screen range acquisition means (202) The screen range information (106) and the related information (104) (107) designated by the operation unit (201) are transmitted to the computer network (108).

  On the other hand, in the case of the information browsing device (103), the identification information (112) of the mediation information held in the mediation information identification means (203), the screen held in the screen position / screen range acquisition means (202) The position / screen range information (113) is transmitted to the computer network (108), the search result is waited for, and the search result returned from the computer network (108) is displayed on the display unit (210).

  In either case, the network interface (213) only provides functions such as sending and receiving commands and data to the computer network (108), and a general network interface board for PCs can be used. Therefore, illustration is omitted.

  FIG. 3 shows another configuration diagram of the information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103).

  This figure shows an example in which the configuration of the information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103) shown in FIG. 2 is realized in the form of a general PC. A monitor (301), a speaker (302-1) ) (302-2), computer (303), mouse (304), drive (308), recording medium (310), keyboard (309), video capture board (311), and network interface board (312).

  In contrast to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit (201) is connected to the mouse (304) and keyboard (309), and the input unit (204), encoder (205), and decoder (209) are connected to the video capture board (311). The display unit (210) is connected to the monitor (301) and speakers (302-1) and (302-2), the drive (207) is connected to the drive (308), the recording medium (208) is connected to the recording medium (310), and the network. The interface (213) corresponds to the network interface board (312).

  The screen position / screen range acquisition unit (202) and the mediation information identification unit (203) may hold the result calculated by the control unit (212) using the main memory built in the computer (303). .

  The cursor displayed on the monitor (301) is moved by moving the mouse (304), and the above-mentioned screen position designation is performed by pressing the left button (305), for example.

  The screen range can be specified by moving the wheel (307) forward (upward) to expand the range and moving backward (downward) to reduce the range.

  The right button (306) may be used for help display for explaining the operation.

  Since the video capture board (311) has a built-in television tuner function, it can operate the channel etc. by software control from the computer (303), so the identification information (105) (112) of the mediation information can be easily It can be acquired.

  In addition to the form shown in the figure, the function shown in FIG. 2 may be incorporated in a television receiver or the like.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a data record used for information retrieval according to the present invention.

  This is an example of a data record stored in the database (111) in the information search apparatus (109) shown in FIG.

  The data record is, for example, fixed-length data of a total of 512 bytes, identifier (401), channel (402), broadcast time (403), reception area (405), screen position (406), screen range (407), related information Each field has (409).

  Reserves (404) and (408) are reserved for future function expansion.

  The data size of each field and the total data size are for explanation of the operation shown below, and are not limited to the size shown in FIG. 4, and may be a variable length data field instead of a fixed length. .

  In FIG. 4, an identifier (401) is data for identifying that the content and format of each subsequent field is the content and format shown in FIG. 4, and is, for example, “00000000” (fixed value) in binary number. And If the contents and format of each field following the identifier (401) are different from those shown in FIG. 4, the identifier value is set to another value.

  The contents of the identification information (105) of the mediation information transmitted from the information registration apparatus (102) may be stored as they are in the channel (402), broadcast time (403), and reception area (405) fields.

  The screen position / screen range information (106) transmitted from the information registration device (102) may be stored in the fields of the screen position (406) and the screen range (407) as they are.

  In the related information (409) field, the related information (107) transmitted from the information registration device (102) may be stored as it is.

  Although not shown here, a field for storing an identification code or the like for identifying an information registrant may be provided.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation of the matching means (110) shown in FIG.

  In the verification means (110), the content of the data record stored in the database (111) in the form shown in FIG. 4, the identification information (112) of the mediation information transmitted from the information browsing device (103), and the screen The position / screen range information (113) is compared, and if both match, the related information (409) stored in the data record is transmitted to the information browsing device (103).

  At this time, the identification information of the mediation information may be determined to be “match” only when both the data are completely matched.

  On the other hand, for the comparison between the screen position and the screen range, for example, matching is determined by the method described below.

  First, assuming a virtual screen (501), the screen position (406) stored in the data record shown in FIG. 4 is set as the first screen position (502), and the two-dimensional coordinates are (x1, y1). ).

  Further, it is assumed that the screen range (407) stored in the data record is the first screen range (504), and the radius indicating this range is the first radius r1.

  Similarly, the screen position / screen range information (113) transmitted from the information browsing device (103) is set as the second screen position (505) and the second screen range (506), and the two-dimensional coordinates are (x2, y2). ), Assuming radius r2.

  At this time, if even a part of the virtual circle area drawn by both overlaps, it may be determined as “match”.

  Specifically, as shown in the example of coincidence determination (508) in the figure, the square of the value indicating the distance between the first and second screen positions (the left side of (508)), the first and second Compare the squares of the values that represent the sum of the radii (right side of (508)). If (left side ≤ right side), determine "match", if (left side> right side), "do not match" Can be determined.

  Since these determinations can be easily realized by a simple calculator and comparator, illustration is omitted.

Since the same registration information (101) and the information browsing device (103) may display different screen sizes, the two-dimensional coordinates (x _1, y ₁ ), (x _2, y ₂ ), radii r _{1, and} r ₂ , normalized by the screen size,
That is, a value obtained by dividing each value by the vertical and horizontal size of the screen may be used.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the information association operation in the present invention.

  This figure shows each operation of the information registration device (102), information retrieval device (109), and information browsing device (103) shown in FIG. 1 as a step (600) with the passage of time.

  First, in steps (601) and (602), the same mediation information (101) is input to the information registration device (102) and the information browsing device (103) at the same time.

  This does not mean that the mediation information (101) is input only for this moment, but in the process of continuously inputting the mediation information (101), the related information registration process for the video content displayed at this moment is performed. And browsing processing.

  At this time, the registration process and the browsing process of related information require a finite processing time.

  In particular, when recording and reproducing using the time shift means (206), the processing time may be as long as several days or more.

  Therefore, after the mediation information (101) is input to the information registration device (102) in step (601), the mediation information identification information (105) and the screen position / screen range information (106) are entered in step (605). The first delay time (603) until the related information (107) is transmitted, and after the mediation information (101) is input to the information browsing device (103) in step (602), the mediation is performed in step (606). Generally, there is a difference between the second delay time (604) until the information identification information (112) and the screen position / screen range information (113) are transmitted.

  The figure shows the operation when the first delay time (603) is shorter than the second delay time (604), that is, when the registration process is completed before the browsing process.

  In this case, the data sent in step (606) and the data in all data records stored in the database (111) of the information search device (109) are compared in step (607) with the matching method. If the matching data is registered, if the related information (114) in the data record is transmitted to the information browsing device (103), the related information (114) is obtained in step (608). Can be displayed.

  FIG. 7 shows another example of the information association operation in the present invention.

  The figure shows each operation of the information registration device (102), information search device (109), and information browsing device (103) shown in FIG. 1 as a step (700) with the passage of time. Contrary to the case of FIG. 6, after the mediation information (101) is input to the information registration device (102) in step (701), the mediation information identification information (105) and the screen position are displayed in step (710). The first delay time (703) until the screen range information (106) and related information (107) are transmitted, and the media information (101) is input to the information browsing device (103) in step (702). The first delay time (703) is compared with the second delay time (704) until transmission of the identification information (112) of the mediation information and the screen position / screen range information (113) in step (705). Is longer than the second delay time (704), that is, when the registration process is not completed before the browsing process.

In this case, the data transmitted in step (705) and the contents of all data records stored in the database (111) of the information search device (109) are collated in step (706). Since no matching registered data can be found, an unregistered knowledge (801) described later is transmitted to the information browsing device (103).

  At this time, the unregistered notification (801) may be transmitted using e-mail or the like.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of an unregistered notification (801) displayed on the information browsing device (103).

  In the figure, an unregistered notification (801) is a message (802) indicating that the data to be searched is not yet registered, and a notification condition for setting what kind of notification is desired when it is registered in the future (803).

  As this notification condition (803), for example, (a) notification is not required even if it is registered in the future, (b) notification is made as soon as it is registered, (c) verification every XX days or YY hours (where XX and YY are numbers) Select from “Notify the result” so that it can be entered in the answer field (804).

  The value in the answer field (804) is transmitted as the notification condition (803) from the information browsing device (103) to the information search device (109) in step (707) shown in FIG.

  When “(b) Notify as soon as registered” is set in the notification condition (803), the verification is performed each time a registration operation is performed from the information registration device (102) to the information retrieval device (109). If relevant data (114) in the data record is transmitted to the information browsing device (103) at the time when data matching the conditions is registered in step (710) shown in FIG. Related information (114) can be displayed.

  At this time, it is possible to notify that the related information (114) is registered using an electronic mail or the like, and at the same time, transmit the related information (114) as an attached file to the electronic mail.

  In addition, when “(c) periodically notify the verification result” is set in the notification condition (803), it is checked again with the contents of the database in step (708) shown in FIG. If no matching data is found, an unregistered notification (801) is sent again to the information browsing device (103), and the information browsing device (103) displays the unregistered notification (801), and step (709) The notification condition (803) is transmitted to the information search device (109).

  Steps (708) and (709) are repeated as many times as necessary until (a) notification is not required in the notification condition (803) or information registration is performed in step (710).

  When information registration is performed in step (710), registration data that matches the conditions can be found by the information search device (109), so that the related information (114) in the data record is displayed as the information browsing device. If transmitted to (103), the related information (114) can be displayed in step (712).

  FIG. 9 shows an example of related information (114) displayed on the information browsing apparatus (103) of the present invention.

  In the figure, the media information identification information (112), media information (101), and the specified screen position / screen range (901) are displayed to indicate to the viewer which media information has been searched. It is a display.

  At this time, a time scrolling means (902) may be provided, and if it is configured so that a scene (moving image) of several seconds before and after the specified point (time) can be displayed together, the search scene can be viewed more clearly. Can remind you.

  What is necessary is just to comprise so that the moving image at this time may be read from the time shift means (206) mentioned above.

  The related information (107-1) (107-2) (107-3) shown in FIG. 9 is the related information (107) registered in the information registration device (102).

  Assuming that multiple related information is displayed on the same screen at the same time as in this example, rather than displaying a text document etc. directly as related information (107), the HTML document (related information (104)) You can display more information at once by displaying only the stored URL and titles of several characters.

  When the related information (107) is a URL, the information browsing device (103) selects the URL and displays the HTML document pointed to by the URL.

  Since the selection of the URL and the display of the HTML document have the same functions as general PC browser software and the like, illustration is omitted.

  If the number of registered related information (107) is large and cannot be displayed on one page, page feed means (903) and page return means are provided to move to the previous / next display page. May be.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of post-processing of the information association operation in the present invention.

  In the figure, the related information (114) shown in FIG. 9 at step (608) or step (712) is obtained by the information association operation (step (600) or step (700)) shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. , Information (1001) indicating which related information (107) the viewer actually selected from the related information (107-1) (107-2) (107-3) The browser identification code (1002) to be transmitted is transmitted to the information search device (109) in step (1003).

  The information search device (109) transmits the viewer information (1004) in step (1005) to the information registration device (102) that has registered the selected related information (107).

  Here, the viewer information (1004) is data representing the characteristics of the viewer who has selected the related information (107), such as the viewer's address, name, age, telephone number, e-mail address, annual income, and hobbies.

  This post-processing has the effect of increasing the willingness of registering information by feeding back the characteristics of the viewer to the information registrant, thereby enhancing the advertising effect of the product.

  Therefore, the transmission of the viewer information (1004) in the step (1005) may be a paid service with payment from the information registrant.

  FIG. 11 shows a configuration diagram of an embodiment for realizing the post-processing shown in FIG.

  First, in the initial setting when the viewer uses the information browsing device (103) for the first time, the viewer information database (1101) provided in the information search device (109) is previously registered with the viewer information (1004). In this case, a viewer identification code (1002) is assigned from the information search device (109) to the information browsing device (103).

  After the related information (114) as shown in FIG. 9 is transmitted from the information search device (109) by the information association operation (step (600) or step (700)) shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. When selecting one piece of related information (e.g., (107-1)) on the browsing device (103), information (1001) indicating which related information (107) is selected from the related information (114), and The browser identification code (1002) is transmitted to the information search device (109), and the viewer information (1004) is searched from the viewer information database (1101) by the browser management means (1102) to register the information. By transmitting to (102), transmission of the viewer information (1004) shown in the step (1005) can be realized.

  Since the browsing management means (1102) and the browsing information database (1101) can be realized by a general database function, illustration is omitted.

  FIG. 12 shows another example of a data record used for information retrieval according to the present invention.

  The data record shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by replacing the broadcast time (403) of the data record shown in FIG. 4 with a start time (1203) and the reserved area (404) with an end time (1204). It is possible to link to the related information (409) from the point specified by the screen position (406) and the screen range (407) for the moving image frame having the time interval of.

  Accordingly, the identifier (1201) is changed from, for example, “00000000” to “00000001” in binary to indicate that the content of the data record has been changed.

  Here, the start time (1203) and end time (1204) both have year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and frame number information, and the broadcast start time to link to the related information (409). Each broadcast end time is shown.

  At this time, by setting the screen position (406) and the screen range (407) so as to indicate the entire range of the screen, the related information (409) can be selected regardless of which frame is selected from the start time to the end time of a program. It can be set to be linked to.

  The operation indicating the entire range of the screen may be defined by setting special values for the screen position (406) and the screen range (407) (for example, all bits are set to “1”).

  FIG. 13 shows another example of a data record used for information retrieval according to the present invention.

  The data record shown in the figure is obtained by replacing the reserved area (408) of the data record shown in FIG. 4 with one or more screen positions (1306) and a screen range (1307). Different first screen information (1301), second frame information (1302), etc., for different consecutive screen positions (1306-1) for a plurality of consecutive frames starting from the designated broadcast time (403). ) (1306-2) and screen range (1307-1) (1307-2) can be set.

  This makes it possible to follow the link to the related information (409) even when the display location of the subject moves in the moving image.

  The identifier (1301) describes a flag (for example, “00000010” in binary number) indicating the structure of the data record and the number of consecutive frames.

  In the figure, the number of consecutive frames is represented by a 5-bit binary number, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a larger number of bits may be assigned.

  Also, when the frame information (1301) (1302) increases and cannot fit into one record set, it may be divided into a plurality of record sets and stored in the database (111).

  FIG. 14 shows another example of a data record used for information retrieval according to the present invention.

  In the figure, it is assumed that when the related information (409) is registered, the information registrant side is charged, and when the related information (409) is browsed, the viewer side is charged. ) Is provided, and an identifier (1401) for identifying the field is provided.

  As the billing information (1408), for example, fields indicating an account number (1410), a registered amount (1411), a browsing amount (1412), and an expiration date (1413) are provided.

  The account number (1410) is an account number for depositing and withdrawing information to the information registrant who registered this data record. For example, a credit card number is encrypted and stored.

  The registration amount (1411) indicates the amount (ie, information registration fee) withdrawn from the account when registering this data record, and is used for calculating an information unit price (1601) to be described later.

  The viewing amount (1412) indicates the amount (that is, the information viewing fee) that the viewer deposits into the account when viewing the related information (409).

  The expiration date is a time limit indicating that this data record is valid, and indicates that this data record is deleted from the database (111) (that is, excluded from the search target) after the expiration of the time limit.

  A new business using the present invention can be carried out by paying the operator who operates the information search device (109) with all or part of the amount actually deposited and withdrawn.

  The billing information (1408) does not have to include all the fields (1410), (1411), (1412), and (1413), and may be selected according to the application.

  The configuration of the data records shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 12, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 is independent from each other, and each field is included in the data record as necessary, and the structure is represented by each bit of the identifier. What is necessary is just to identify by (flag) etc.

  FIG. 15 shows a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the information search apparatus (109) of the present invention.

  In the same figure, the related information output from the collating means (110) has the display form shown in FIG.

  In response to this output, the related information ranking means (1501) and the related information layout means (1502) are used to reshape the display form to obtain new related information (1701) (1901).

  Examples (1701) and (1901) of related information after shaping will be described later.

  In the related information ranking means (1501) shown in FIG. 15, the related information input according to the order read from the database (111) by the matching means (110) is (a) sorted in the order of registration, and (b) information unit price. (1601) Sort in descending order, (c) Sort in descending order of browsing count, and so on (order rearrangement) and output.

  By performing these sorts, related information that is considered significant for the viewer can be arranged near the top, and can be displayed with higher priority.

  Here, relevant information that seems significant to the viewer is related information that has been registered for a long time from early on, newly registered related information, related information that has been registered by paying a high information registration fee, and many people Related information that is being viewed.

  The sorting method (a) can be realized by storing the registration date and time in a data record using the reserved area (408) shown in FIG.

  The sorting method (b) will be described later (see FIG. 16 and its description).

  With regard to the sorting method (c), a counter indicating the number of times of browsing is configured using the reserved area (408) shown in FIG. 4 and the number of times of browsing is increased by one each time the number is viewed. And the number of times of browsing is input from the collating means (110) to the related information ranking means (1501) together with the related information.

  The related information layout means (1502) shown in FIG. 15 adjusts the character font (size, color, blinking, etc.) for display based on the order information obtained from the related information ranking means (1501). Or an icon (small pattern) to make it stand out.

  For example, the closer to the first line, the larger the font size (number of points), the red color will change to blinking, and an icon with the meaning of `` recommended '' will be added to the beginning of the line. Since it becomes conspicuous, it can be expected that the frequency of selection by the viewer increases.

  In other words, the effect that the information registrant pays a high information registration fee can be expected so that the registered related information is ranked higher in the hope that the frequency of selection by the viewer will increase.

  The related information ranking means (1501) and the related information layout means (1502) shown in FIG. 15 are configured in the information browsing device (103) instead of the information search device (109). The same may be configured to transmit related information (114) and information necessary for the ranking (registration order, information unit price, number of times of browsing, etc.) from the search device (109) to the information browsing device (103). It is clear that the effect can be obtained, and illustration of this configuration is omitted.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of the information unit price (1601) used in the charging method of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the mediation information (101) and the related information (107) can be associated with a plurality of consecutive frames.

  At this time, as shown in the figure, the size of the subject displayed in each frame (1602-1) (1602-2) (1602-3) (1602-4) (1602-5) of the mediation information (101) Accordingly, the first screen range (504) set by the information registration device (102) generally increases or decreases.

  Here, by defining information unit price (1601) = registered amount (1411) / (total area of the first screen range (504) of each frame), the registered amount per unit area can be calculated, The higher the information unit price (1601), the higher the value of the related information, and it can be expected that the information is significant for the viewer.

  The area referred to here may be replaced by the number of pixels included in the first screen range (504).

  FIG. 17 shows an example of related information (1701) output to the information browsing apparatus (103) of the present invention.

  This figure shows an example of the result of reshaping the related information (114) shown in FIG. 9 according to the ranking of the related information shown in FIG.

  In this example, the information is sorted in the order of related information (107-2), related information (107-1), and related information (107-3). Further, since the icon (1072) is added at the beginning of the line, it can be expected that the frequency of selection by the viewer corresponding to the ranking is increased.

  FIG. 18 shows a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, the information registration device (102) is replaced with another information registration device (1801) in the configuration diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the program broadcast start time (1203) and end time (1204) are specified as the contents of the data record, and the entire screen is pointed to as the screen position (406) and the screen range (407). 12 can be prepared before the mediation information (101) is actually broadcast, so the related information (107) is registered before broadcasting. Is possible.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, the identification information (105) of the mediation information, the screen position / screen range (106), and the related information (107) are prepared in advance in the form of the data record shown in FIG. The information may be registered in the information search device (109) via the computer network (108).

  FIG. 19 shows an example of related information (1901) output to the information browsing apparatus (103) of the present invention.

  The figure shows the result of displaying related information (107) classified into pre-registration information (1902), pay registration information (1903), and free registration information (1904) according to the ranking of the related information shown in FIG. It is an example.

  Pre-registration information (1902) indicates that related information (107-4) (107-3) was registered before the actual broadcast time, and the information registrant knew the program contents in advance Indicates a high possibility.

  Paid registration information (1903) indicates that the information registrant has paid the information registration fee and registered the related information (107-1).

  The free registration information (1904) indicates that the related information (107-5) is registered without paying the information registration fee.

  By classifying and displaying in this way, it is possible to determine the usefulness to some extent before the viewer selects the related information (107).

  It is expected that the information registrant will pay a high information registration fee so that the registered related information is ranked higher in the hope that the frequency of selection by the viewer will increase.

  As described above, the case of general television broadcasting using a transmission medium such as terrestrial / broadcast satellite / communication satellite / cable has been described as an example of the media information (101). It is not limited to, but moving and still images distributed over computer networks such as the Internet, general Internet homepages, moving image data and still image data with a clear storage location as mediator information identification information, etc. Various information (data) can be used as the mediation information (101).

  In addition, in order to simplify the description, the length of the radius of the circle is used in the screen range (407), but other than this, for example, the length of each side of the rectangle or the logical product operation of a plurality of figures ( A complex screen range may be digitized by AND or OR operation and used as the screen range (407).

It is a block diagram of the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram of the Example of the information registration apparatus (102) and information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention. It is a block diagram of the Example of the information registration apparatus (102) and information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data record used for the information search of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the collation means (110) used by this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information correlation operation | movement in this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the information correlation operation | movement in this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information displayed on the information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information displayed on the information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the post-process of the information correlation operation | movement in this invention. It is a block diagram of the Example which implement | achieves the post-process of the information correlation operation | movement in this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the data record used for the information search of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the data record used for the information search of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the data record used for the information search of this invention. It is a block diagram of the other Example of the information search device (109) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information unit price used for the charging method of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information displayed on the information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention. It is a block diagram of the other Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information displayed on the information browsing apparatus (103) of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Related information server 101 Mediated information 102, 1801 Information registration device 103 Information browsing device 104, 107, 114, 1701, 1901 Related information 105, 112 Mediated information identification information 106, 113 Screen position / screen range 108 Computer network 109 Information search Device 110 Collation unit 111, 1101 Database 201 Operation unit 202 Screen position / screen range acquisition unit 203 Media information identification unit 204 Input unit 205 Encoder 206 Time shift unit 207, 308 Drive 208, 310 Recording medium 209 Decoder 210 Display unit 211 Program storage Memory 212 Control unit 213 Network interface 301 Monitor 302 Speaker 303 Computer 304 Mouse 305 Left button 306 Right button 3 7 Wheel 309 Keyboard 311 Video capture board 312 Network interface board 501 Screen 801 Unregistered notification 1001 Information indicating which related information is selected 1002 Viewer identification code 1004 Viewer information 1102 Viewer management means 1501 Ordering means of related information 1502 Related information layout means

Claims (20)

A method of associating mediation information and information related to the mediation information (hereinafter referred to as related information) using an information registration device, an information browsing device, an information search device, and a computer network,
In the information registration device, a set of first identification information for identifying the mediation information and the related information is transmitted to the information search device via a computer network,
The information search apparatus registers the received set of the first identification information and the related information in a database,
In the information browsing device, second identification information for identifying the mediation information is transmitted to the information search device via a computer network,
In the information search device, when the received second identification information and the first identification information registered in the database are collated and the two match, the association with the first identification information is made An information association method comprising transmitting information to an information browsing apparatus via a computer network. The information association method according to claim 1,
The mediation information is information including an image, and the information registration device transmits first screen information indicating a part or the whole of the image together with the first identification information to the information search device via a computer network,
The information search device registers the received set of the first identification information, the first screen information, and the related information in the database,
The information browsing device transmits second screen information indicating a part or the whole of the image together with the second identification information to the information search device via a computer network,
In the information search apparatus, the received second identification information and the first identification information registered in the database, and the received second screen information and the first screen information registered in the database are used. When the two are matched, the related information forming a pair with the first identification information and the first screen information is transmitted to an information browsing device via a computer network. . In the information correlation method of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by a television broadcast, and the identification information includes a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time of the television broadcast, and the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) Includes a reception area. In the information correlation method of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The related information includes a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating an Internet homepage.   An information browsing apparatus for associating mediation information with related information, the means for obtaining the mediation information, the means for obtaining the identification information of the mediation information from the obtained mediation information, and transmitting the identification information via a computer network An information browsing apparatus, comprising: means for receiving the relevant information via a computer network; and means for outputting the received relevant information. The information browsing apparatus according to claim 5,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and the means for obtaining the identification information obtains a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time, and when the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) An information browsing device characterized in that it is means for acquiring a reception area. The information browsing apparatus according to claim 6,
Means for acquiring screen information indicating part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast, and means for transmitting the screen information as information forming a pair with the identification information and related information via a computer network. An information browsing apparatus characterized by that. In the information browsing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
An information browsing apparatus comprising time shift means for recording and reproducing the mediation information. An information registration apparatus for associating mediation information with related information, the means for obtaining the mediation information, the means for obtaining identification information of the mediation information,
An information registration apparatus comprising: means for acquiring related information that forms a set with the identification information; and means for transmitting the set of the identification information and related information via a computer network. The information registration device according to claim 9,
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and the means for obtaining the identification information obtains a broadcast channel number and a broadcast time, and when the television broadcast is a local broadcast (regional limited broadcast) An information registration device characterized in that it is means for acquiring a reception area. The information registration device according to claim 10,
Means for acquiring screen information indicating part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast, and means for transmitting the screen information as information forming a pair with the identification information and related information via a computer network. An information registration apparatus characterized by that. In the information registration device according to claim 9 or 10,
An information registration apparatus comprising time shift means for recording and reproducing the mediation information. An information retrieval device for retrieving related information associated with mediation information,
Means for inputting a set of first identification information and related information via a computer network; recording means for recording the first identification information and related information in a database; and second identification via a computer network. A means of entering information;
The collation means for collating the first and second identification information, and when the collation results in matching, the related information forming a pair with the first identification information is sent as the sender of the second identification information ( An information retrieval apparatus comprising means for transmitting to a viewer) via a computer network. The information search device according to claim 13, wherein
The mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and includes means for inputting first screen information indicating part or all of the image transmitted by television broadcasting via a computer network, and the recording The means records the first screen information, the first identification information, and the related information in a database as a set,
Means for inputting second screen information indicating part or all of an image transmitted by the television broadcast via a computer network;
The information collating unit performs collation of the first and second screen information together with the collation of the first and second identification information. In the information search device according to claim 13 or 14,
If the result of collating the first and second identification information is that they do not match, there is provided means for controlling to transmit information for notifying that matching information is not registered as a collation result An information retrieval apparatus characterized by that. In the information search device according to claim 13 or 14,
If the second identification information sender (hereinafter referred to as the “viewer”) includes a means for recording and recording the viewer information, and if the first and second identification information are collated, the two match An information retrieval apparatus comprising means for transmitting the viewer information to a sender of the first identification information via a computer network. A billing method for billing when performing link registration between mediation information and related information,
A charging method, wherein a charging fee is determined according to a link amount between the mediation information and the related information. The charging method according to claim 17, wherein
The billing method according to claim 1, wherein the mediation information is image information transmitted by television broadcasting, and the link amount is a total of screen ranges registered for link.   A procedure for inputting mediation information, a procedure for obtaining identification information of the mediation information, a procedure for obtaining related information related to the mediation information, and a procedure for transmitting the acquired identification information and related information via a computer network A program that causes a computer to execute. A procedure for inputting mediation information; a procedure for obtaining identification information of the mediation information; a procedure for transmitting the identification information via a computer network;
A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of receiving related information related to the identification information via a computer network and a procedure of outputting the received related information.

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