JP2008167391A - Network-connected television receiver and linked site display method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network-connected television receiver which enables a user to easily designate a linked site. <P>SOLUTION: A network-connected television receiver is constituted of a main body 2 and an operation unit 3. The operation unit 3 is a remote control transmitter, for example, and controls components of the main body 2 by remote control. The main body 2 is constituted of a network connection means 4, a link information acquiring means 5, a link information adjusting means 6, and a display means 7. A frequency table storage section 62 stores past access frequency of each linked site and on the basis of these data, a link information analysis section 61 sets and stores a linked site number of each linked site. Next, names and the numbers of the linked sites are outputted to an OSD (On-Screen Display) display position calculation section 63. A video display section 72 displays Web page image and television broadcast video, while simultaneously with the image or otherwise, and the numbers of the linked sites are also displayed on a screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network connection type television receiver capable of displaying image information obtained by connecting to a network such as the Internet. The present invention also relates to a link destination display method for a user to select a desired link destination from a plurality of link destinations on a display screen of a device connected to a network.

  In recent years, with the advancement of network technology, high-quality moving images have been distributed with high efficiency, and these can be obtained and viewed via a network. For this reason, network (Internet) connection type television receivers that connect to the Internet and display videos and Web pages obtained from the link destinations are widely used not only for viewing existing television broadcasts. Became. In the past, such video information was obtained on a personal computer and displayed on a personal computer display. On the other hand, the display screen of a television receiver is larger than the display of a personal computer. I was able to watch them with high image quality.

  In the personal computer, the user performs various operations by operating the keyboard. For example, when specifying a link destination (Web site), operate the mouse to move the cursor to operate the menu screen, and select the desired link destination (URL: Uniform Resource Locator). To select the desired web page. In contrast, network-connected television receivers often do not have the same keyboard and mouse as a personal computer, and are mainly operated only by a remote control transmitter at hand. Whereas the total number of keys on the keyboard is about 100, most remote control transmitters can be operated with one hand, so the number of keys is generally as small as about 20. For this reason, it was sufficient for the user to select a channel for television broadcasting, but compared with a personal computer, it was inconvenient for performing operations related to network connection.

  At this time, the link destination can generally be specified by a URL, but by making this correspond to a number (link destination number), the user can easily specify this. A technique for this is described in Patent Document 1, for example. In this technique, a link destination URL and a link destination number are stored in association with each other, and a plurality of link destination names and link destination numbers that are candidates for selection are displayed on a television receiver screen. The user can specify the link destination by operating the keys on the remote control transmitter and selecting the number of the link destination number. For example, when the “1” key of the remote control transmitter is operated, the link destination corresponding to the link destination number 1 is designated. That is, the link destination can be designated in the same manner as in the television broadcast tuning, and this operation can be easily performed.

JP 10-1111854 A

  However, in general, the number of television broadcasting stations that can be selected is at most about 10, whereas the number of link destinations can be freely set by the user, and is generally much larger than this. Internet-connected television receivers do not have a keyboard, and the number of keys on the remote control transmitter is limited. Key operation is required.

  For this reason, in the conventional network connection type television receiver, the user cannot simply designate the link destination.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide an invention that solves the above problems.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configurations.
The network-connected television receiver of the present invention is a network-connected television receiver having a function of receiving a television broadcast and a function of displaying image information obtained from a link destination via a network, the link destination From the link information acquisition means for acquiring link information consisting of the name and URL of the link destination, a plurality of the link information obtained from a plurality of link destinations, and each link destination for each link information Link information adjusting means for setting and storing a link destination number to be identified based on an access history of each link destination, and display means for displaying the link destination number and the name of the link destination in association with each other. And
In the network-connected television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjustment unit stores the number of accesses for each of the plurality of link destinations, and sets the link destination number from a small value to a large value in the descending order of the number of access times. It is characterized by making it correspond.
The network connection type television receiver of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjusting means, the access count is calculated and stored for each user.
The network connection type television receiver of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjusting means, the number of accesses is calculated and stored for each time zone in one day.
In the network-connected television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjustment means accesses an access frequency search site on the Web, obtains ranking information of each link destination, and in order from the top in the ranking information The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value for correspondence.
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjustment means stores an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order, and is currently selected in the access history table. The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the link destination close to the position when the link destination is selected in the past.
The network connection type television receiver of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment means, the access history table is created and stored for each user.
The network connection type television receiver of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment means, the access history table is created and stored for each time zone in one day.
In the network-connected television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjustment unit stores an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order, and URLs of the link destinations in the access history table The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in ascending order of the number of characters.
In the network-connected television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjustment unit stores an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order, and URLs of the link destinations in the access history table Is in a subordinate relationship with the currently selected link destination URL, the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing hierarchical difference in the subordinate relationship.
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the link information adjusting means displays an access history table in which names of a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged in accordance with an access order on the video display unit, and the access history table When the cursor is positioned at the link destination currently selected by the user, the link destination number is set to a smaller value in order of increasing distance on the screen between the names of the plurality of link destinations and the cursor. It is characterized by setting a large value from
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the link destination number is designated on the operation unit after the names of the plurality of link destinations and the link destination numbers are displayed on the video display unit, so that the link destinations are specified. It is characterized by accessing.
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the display means includes a main window for displaying names of link destinations in the plurality of link information stored in the link information adjustment means, and a plurality of information stored in the link information adjustment means. A link window for displaying a link destination name and the link destination number in the link information is simultaneously displayed.
In the network-connected television receiver of the present invention, the link destination displayed in the link window is included in the link destination displayed in the main window.
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the link destination displayed in the link window is not included in the link destination displayed in the main window.
In the network connection type television receiver of the present invention, the display means displays a plurality of the link windows simultaneously.
The link destination display method of the present invention is a display method of the plurality of link destinations on the display screen when a link destination to be connected is specified by a user's selection from a plurality of link destinations displayed on the display screen. A link information acquisition step of acquiring link information including a link destination name and URL from the link destination, and storing a plurality of link information obtained from a plurality of link destinations, and for each link information A link information adjustment step for setting and storing a link destination number for identifying each link destination based on the access history of each link destination, and a display step for displaying the link destination name and the link destination number in association with each other It is characterized by having.
In the link information display method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, the number of accesses for each of the plurality of link destinations is stored, and the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in descending order of the number of accesses. It is characterized by making it correspond.
The link destination display method of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment step, the number of accesses is calculated and stored for each user.
The link destination display method according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment step, the access count is calculated and stored for each time zone in one day.
In the link information adjustment method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, access to the access frequency search site on the Web, to obtain the ranking information of each link destination, in the order in which the ranking information was higher, The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value to correspond.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order is stored, and is currently selected in the access history table. The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the link destination close to the position when the existing link destination has been selected in the past.
The link destination display method of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment step, the access history table is created and stored for each user.
The link destination display method of the present invention is characterized in that, in the link information adjustment step, the access history table is created and stored for each time zone in one day.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order is stored, and the URL of each link destination in the access history table is stored. It is characterized in that the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the smallest number of characters.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order is stored, and the URL of each link destination in the access history table is When there is a dependency relationship with the currently selected URL of the link destination, the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing difference in hierarchy in the dependency relationship.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, in the link information adjustment step, an access history table in which names of a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to an access order is displayed on the video display unit, In the case where the cursor is positioned at the link destination currently selected by the user, the link destination numbers are set in ascending order of distance on the screen between the names of the plurality of link destinations and the cursor. It is characterized by setting it to a large value to correspond.
In the display step of the link destination according to the present invention, in the display step, a main window that displays the name of the link destination in the plurality of link information, and the name of the link destination and the link destination number in the plurality of link information are displayed. And a link window to be displayed simultaneously.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, the link destination displayed in the link window is included in the link destination displayed in the main window.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, the link destination displayed in the link window is not included in the link destination displayed in the main window.
In the link destination display method of the present invention, the link destination displayed in the link window is not included in the link destination displayed in the main window.
The link destination display method of the present invention is characterized in that, in the display step, a plurality of the link windows are displayed simultaneously.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to provide a network connection type television receiver that allows a user to easily specify a link destination.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network-connected television receiver 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The network connection type television receiver 1 includes a main body 2 and an operation unit 3. The operation unit 3 is, for example, a remote control transmitter, and controls each component of the main body 2 by remote operation. The main body 2 includes a network connection unit 4, a link information acquisition unit 5, a link information adjustment unit 6, a display unit 7, and a control unit 8. Since this network-connected television receiver 1 also receives television broadcasts, it also has a receiving circuit, a channel selection unit, etc., and displays television broadcast images on the display means 7, which are general television receivers. The description is omitted because it is similar to the machine and is not directly related to the present invention.

  The network connection type television receiver 1 is connected to a network line, for example, an Internet line, by the network connection unit 4, and obtains an HTML document from a desired Web site (link destination) through this line.

  The link information acquisition unit 5 includes a tag analysis unit 51 and a link information acquisition unit 52, and performs a link information acquisition process. The tag analysis unit 51 acquires link information (identification information such as a link destination name and link destination URL) and display data separately from the HTML document, and outputs the link information to the link information acquisition unit 52 for display. The data is output directly to the display means 7.

  The link information adjustment means 6 includes a link information analysis unit 61, a frequency table storage unit 62, and an OSD display position calculation unit 63, and performs a link information adjustment process. The link information analysis unit 61 stores link information of a plurality of link destinations selected in the past, sets and stores link destination numbers for the plurality of link information, and stores each link destination for each link information. Is set and stored based on the access history of each link destination. This link destination number is set so that it is easy for the user to specify the link destination. In particular, in the network-connected television receiver 1 according to the first embodiment, the frequency table storage unit 62 stores the past access frequency of each link destination, and the link information analysis unit 61 is based on this data. The link destination number of each link destination is set and stored. Next, the name of each link destination and each link destination number are output to an OSD (On Screen Display) display position calculation unit 63. Here, position calculation for displaying these pieces of information on the screen is performed.

  The display means 7 includes an OSD display generation circuit 71 and a video display unit 72, and performs a display process. The video display unit 72 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The OSD display generation circuit 71 creates a signal for causing the video display unit 72 to display the link destination name and the link destination number. Specifically, the link destination number and the link destination name are displayed at the respective display positions on the display signal of the screen originally displayed by the network-connected television receiver 1 (display data such as a TV program screen or a Web page). Create a signal to superimpose the video signal. The video display unit 72 displays the video of the Web page and the television broadcast video, whereby the link destination name and link destination number are also displayed on the screen simultaneously with or separately from these videos.

  The control unit 8 receives a remote operation signal using, for example, infrared rays from the operation unit 3 and controls each of the above-described components in the main body 2. The user controls the network-connected television receiver 1 by operating the keys of the operation unit 3. For example, the link destination number 1 is selected by the key operation of “1”, and the image of the corresponding Web page is displayed on the video display unit 72. In addition, a network-related operation and an operation for receiving a television broadcast can be switched, and in the latter case, for example, a broadcast corresponding to one channel is selected by a key operation of “1”.

  In the network connection type television receiver 1, the link destination name and the link destination number displayed on the video display unit 72 are adjusted so that the operation is simple for the user. This is mainly performed by the link information adjustment means 4. Hereinafter, the operation for this will be described in detail.

  The link information adjustment means 6 stores a plurality of link destination information. The link destination information stored here may be for all the network-connected television receivers 1 connected in the past, or the user can select from among them. For example, a link destination that has not been designated for a long period of time may be automatically deleted.

  In the link information adjusting means 6, a link destination is set by a user's operation, and each time link information is entered, the link information analysis unit 61 resets each stored link destination and link destination number. At this time, the frequency table stored in the frequency table storage unit 62 is referred to. The frequency table is data that stores the frequency, that is, the cumulative number of times that each link destination is accessed from the initial state in the network-connected television receiver 1. Therefore, each time a link destination is specified, the frequency of the link destination increases by one. The link information analysis unit 61 sets the link destination number from a small value to a large value in order of increasing frequency to correspond. That is, link destination number 1 is set for the link destination with the highest frequency, 2 is set for the link destination with the next highest frequency, and so on. Note that the frequency may be set to be reset to zero by a user operation.

  Accordingly, a plurality of link destination names and link destination numbers are displayed on the video display unit 72 in association with each other. This display example is shown in FIG. Here, each column corresponds to the name of each link destination. The names of the link destinations are arranged according to the arrows in the figure according to the order of access in the past. The top column corresponds to the currently selected link destination. For convenience, the frequency is described, but it is not necessary to actually display the frequency, and what is required is a link destination name and a link destination number. In this example, the link destination number of the highest link destination with the frequency 125 is set to 1, and the link destination number of the link destination with the second highest frequency is set to 2. The frequency of the link information that is currently designated and newly entered is 30 and its rank is 26th, so the corresponding link destination number is 26. Thus, each time the user designates a link destination and new link information is entered, the frequency table is updated, and the correspondence between the link destination and the link destination number is reviewed.

  The user can specify the link destination by looking at this screen and selecting the link destination number. At this time, this can be performed in the same manner as channel selection in television broadcasting by operating the keys of the operation unit 3. For example, when the key “1” is operated, the link destination having the link destination number 1 is designated. In this case, the user can specify the link destination with a single key operation. Generally, the channel selection key of the remote control transmitter is often 1 to 12, and the link destination having a high access frequency has a link destination number smaller than 12, so that the link destination can be operated by one operation of the channel selection key. Can be specified. As with conventional Internet-connected television receivers, the cursor is moved to the desired link destination in FIG. 2 by appropriately operating the up / down / left / right and four types of arrow keys of the up / down / left / right keys. Can also be selected.

  Further, a display method different from that in FIG. 2 can be used. An example of this is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3 (a), link destination names with link destination numbers 1 to 12 are displayed in order from the top, and the link destination number is displayed in parentheses after the link destination name (such as “S company HP”). ing. The first number is a link destination display number, which indicates the order displayed on this screen. In this case, it is the same as the link destination number.

  In the example of FIG. 3, for example, twelve items are displayed in order from the top with the smallest link number. In this case, the 12 link destination numbers (1 to 12), the names of the link destinations, and the display positions are output to the OSD display generation circuit 71. In addition, it can be set as the display of the link destination after this by scrolling. In this case, when a scroll signal is issued from the operation unit 3, the control unit 8 receives the scroll signal, and the link information analysis unit 6 receives the link destination number having link destination numbers 13 to 24, each link destination name, and each display position. Is output to the OSD display generation circuit 71. Similarly, when a scroll signal is issued again, the information of 25 to 36 is output, and so on.

  When it is desired to designate a link destination having a link destination number of 13 or later, the operation unit 3 issues a scroll signal by a user's key operation. As a result, the screen shown in FIG. Although the link destination numbers 13 to 24 are displayed here, the corresponding link destination display numbers are newly set to 1 to 12. Here, when the key “1” is operated, “XX store” whose link destination number is 13 is selected. In this case, the user can designate the link destination by two key operations of scrolling and number selection. Subsequent link destination numbers can be similarly selected by scrolling.

  In the display of FIG. 2, since many link destinations are displayed on the same screen, there is no need to scroll the screen, but there are cases where the amount of information displayed on the screen is too large to be understood. On the other hand, in the display of FIG. 3, since the amount of information displayed at one time is 12 corresponding to the number of keys, it is easy to select, but a link destination having a large link destination number (low access frequency) is designated. To do so, it is necessary to scroll the screen. For this reason, it is preferable that the user can select whether to display the link destination information in the form of FIG. 2 or FIG. For this purpose, for example, keys displayed as “display A” and “display B” are provided. When “display A” is operated, the display of FIG. 2 is displayed, and when “display B” is operated. The setting shown in FIG. 3 can be made.

  In this network connection type television receiver, since a small link destination number is set for a link destination having a high access frequency, it is particularly possible to easily designate these link destinations. Therefore, the user can easily specify the link destination.

  Various frequency tables can be set as the frequency table stored in the frequency table storage unit 62.

  For example, when there are a plurality of users of this network connection type television receiver, the user can set the user to use his / her login name every time it is used. In this case, a frequency table can be created and stored using the number of accesses calculated for each user (login name), and this frequency table can be referenced while each user is logged in. It is preferable to do. In this case, the optimum link destination is displayed for each user.

  It is also possible to set a plurality of time zones within one day and set the frequency table for each time zone. For example, there are three types of time zones: morning (AM5: 00 to AM 10:00), noon (AM 10: 00 to PM 5:00), and night (PM 5: 00 to AM 5:00). A frequency table may be created and stored using the number of accesses. In this case, in each time zone, it is preferable that the frequency table for each time zone is referred to. Thereby, for example, when the user uses the network-connected television receiver 1 for business use during the daytime and private use during the nighttime, the optimum link destination is displayed for each time zone.

(Second Embodiment)
The display order of the link destination information to be displayed can be determined and displayed by a method other than the above example. The network connection type television receiver according to the second embodiment can also be configured as shown in FIG. 1, except for the operations of the link information acquisition means 5 and the link information adjustment means 6. Here, the frequency table (frequency notation billion part 62) is not used.

  In the link destination display method in this embodiment, the link destination number is assigned from the top rank by accessing the access frequency search site (for example, page rank) as the information related to the access history. That is, the access frequency is not only from the network-connected television receiver but is more general. In this case, the link information adjustment unit 6 outputs a request to access the access frequency search site to the control unit 8. Thereafter, the control unit 8 issues a command to connect to this site to the network connection means 5, and from the HTML data obtained from this, the access frequency ranking data of each link destination is obtained in the same manner as in the first embodiment. To get. Thereby, instead of the frequency table used in the first embodiment, the link destination number of each link destination is set according to this ranking. Subsequent operations are the same as those in the first embodiment. A display example of a plurality of link destination names and link destination numbers displayed in this case is shown in FIG. PageRank obtained from the access frequency search site is ranked, for example, in 10 stages, with 10 being the highest access frequency. For this reason, the link destination number 1 is set as the link destination of PageRank 10, the link destination number 2 is set as the link destination of PageRank 9, and the like is stored.

  Moreover, it is also possible to set the user to select these settings as appropriate. This setting may be performed by key operation of the operation unit 3 or may be performed by a changeover switch of the network connection type television receiver main body. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operations (link information adjustment step and display step) of the link information acquisition means 5, link information adjustment means 6, and display means 7 in this case. As described in the first embodiment, the tag analysis (S2), link information acquisition (S3), OSD display position calculation (S4), OSD creation (S5), and display (S6) steps are acquired as described in the first embodiment. This is done by means 5, link information adjustment means 6 and display means 7. However, in this case, the link information adjustment means 4 directly refers to the frequency table (S11) or determines whether PageRank (PageRank) is accessed from the access frequency search site, depending on whether the access frequency search site (PageRank) is used (S10). Ranking information) (S21). In the former case, the operation of the first embodiment is performed. In the latter case, allocation of link destination numbers (S22), link destination information, and link destination numbers are stored (S23) based on PageRank, and the steps after OSD display position calculation (S4) are performed.

  In the first embodiment, the frequency table is rewritten every time a link destination is set, and the frequency table is referred to. On the other hand, the ranking information in the second embodiment may be obtained every time a link destination is set in the same manner, but it is not always necessary to perform it every time, for example, once / one day. Or can be set to be acquired at the same time as the power is turned on.

  Even if a method of setting a link destination number using such an access frequency search site is used, since a small link destination number is set for a link destination with a high access frequency, the user can easily specify the link destination. it can.

(Third embodiment)
In the first and second embodiments, the link information adjusting means sets the link destination number by paying attention to the access frequency. However, for the convenience of the user, the link destination from another viewpoint. You can also set a number. In the network connection type television receiver according to the third embodiment, the link destination number is set as the information related to the access history according to the access situation before and after the currently accessed link destination is accessed in the past. .

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which this display method is applied to the display contents similar to FIG. FIG. 6 is an access history table in which the names of link destinations are arranged according to the order of access in the past according to the arrows, as in FIG. Here, the hatched column (link destination) is the column where the cursor is currently located (the currently selected link destination). The order in which the user accesses each link destination is likely to be the same as the past history. Alternatively, since the user may review the link destination again, there is a high possibility of accessing in the reverse order of the past history. That is, the link destination that is most likely to be selected next to the currently selected link destination can be considered to be a link destination that is next (before and after) the current link destination in this access history table. Here, in consideration of these circumstances, the link destination number of the link destination selected immediately after the currently selected link destination was selected in the past is set to 1, and the link destination number of the link destination selected immediately before is selected. Is 2. Similarly, the link destination number of the link destination selected after two steps in the past is set to 3, and the link destination number of the link destination selected two steps before is set to 4. Thereafter, 5 and later are similarly set. Thus, in this embodiment, the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the link destination closest to the position when the link destination currently selected in the access history table was selected in the past. To respond.

  With this setting, a small link destination number is set to the link destination that is likely to be selected next by the user. Thereby, the user can select a link destination simply.

  In the above example, 1 is set for the link destination selected immediately after and 2 is set for the link destination selected immediately before. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be set freely. For example, the link destination selected immediately after may be 1, the link destination selected next is 2, the next may be 3, and so on. Also, the link destination selected immediately before, the link destination selected immediately after the first or second step is set as 2, the link destination selected after the second step is set as 3, and the link destination selected after the third step is set as 3. Is possible.

  In addition, this display method can be used in combination with the display method in the first embodiment or the display method in the second embodiment. For example, a link destination number 1 is set for a link destination with a high access frequency or a link destination with a high PageRank among the link destination selected immediately after and the link destination selected immediately after, and the same can be applied thereafter. .

  Note that various kinds of access history tables can be set as appropriate.

  For example, when there are a plurality of users of this network connection type television receiver, the user can set the user to use his / her login name every time it is used. In this case, this access history table can be created and stored for each user (login name), and it is preferable that the access history table be referred to while each user is logged in. In this case, the optimum link destination is displayed for each user.

  It is also possible to set a plurality of time zones within one day and set the access history table for each time zone. For example, there are three types of time zones: morning (AM5: 00 to AM 10:00), daytime (AM 10: 00 to PM 6:00), and night (PM 6: 0 to AM 5:00), and an access history table is displayed for each time zone. It may be created and stored. In this case, in each time zone, it is preferable that the access history table for each time zone is referred to. In this case, the optimum link destination is displayed for each time slot.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the network connection type television receiver according to the fourth embodiment, the link destination number is set based on the number of characters of the URL of each selected link destination in the past access history. Here, names of a plurality of link destinations are displayed, and the link destination numbers are set from a small value to a large value in order from the smallest number of characters in the URL of each link destination.

  In general, a URL with a smaller number of characters is more likely to correspond to the home page of each Web site, that is, the top page of a Web content. Therefore, if a small link number is set for these home pages, the user can easily select these numbers. An example in which this display method is applied is shown in FIG. Here, for the sake of simplification, the link destinations are displayed in a single column with a small number of links, but the access history table is the same as in FIG. In addition, although the URL of the link destination is displayed for explanation, it is not necessary to actually display the URL, and it is preferable for the identification of the user to display the link destination name.

  Thereby, the user can easily select the top page from the past access history. Therefore, it is possible to easily specify the link destination.

  Also in this display method, the display methods in the first to third embodiments can be used in combination. For example, for multiple links with URLs with the same number of characters, set a small link number for links with high access frequency, links with high PageRank, or links close to the access history table. Can be set.

(Fifth embodiment)
In the network connection type television set according to the fifth embodiment, in the past access history, when each link destination URL is dependent on the currently selected link destination URL, In order of increasing difference, the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value to correspond.

  In general, when a certain link destination (homepage) is selected, the user often selects a URL in a lower hierarchy next. In this case, it is often set that the URL in the lower hierarchy is selected by moving the cursor within the currently displayed home page and clicking. Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, focusing on this point, the user can easily select a link destination of a lower hierarchy.

  An example in which this display method is applied is shown in FIG. Here, for the sake of simplification, the link destinations are displayed in a single column with a small number of links, but the access history table is the same as in FIG. Each URL is an example. In this example, if the currently selected link destination URL is “http://abc.co.jp”, the URL that is in the subordinate relationship (subordinate) is “http://abc.co.” Link destination number 1 is set for the link destination “.jp / news /”, and the link destination is the link destination “URL: http://abc.co.jp/news/0610/” at the lower level. Number 2 is set, and so on. However, there are cases where there are many link destinations in the same hierarchy. In this case, as in the third embodiment, the link destinations are arranged in the order from the link destination currently selected in the access history table. It is possible to correspond by setting the number from a small value to a large value. That is, in FIG. 8, “http://abc.co.jp/news/0610/0001/” and “http://abc.co.jp/news/0610/0002/” are in the same hierarchy. The latter is closer to “http://abc.co.jp”, which is the currently selected link destination. Therefore, 3 is set for the latter and 4 is set for the former. If the link number 1 (“http://abc.co.jp/news/”) is set after this, “http://abc.co.jp/news” will appear on the subsequent screen. The link destination number 1 is newly set to / 0610 / ”.

  Thereby, a small link destination number is preferentially set to the link destination that is likely to be selected next by the user. Therefore, the user can easily specify the link destination.

  Also in this display method, the display methods in the first to fourth embodiments can be used in combination. In addition to the above-described case where the third embodiment is used together, for example, a plurality of link destinations in the same hierarchy have a link destination with a high access frequency, a link destination with a high PageRank, or a URL with a small number of characters. A small link destination number can be set for the link destination.

(Sixth embodiment)
In the network connection type television receiver according to the sixth embodiment, the link destination number is set according to the position of the cursor on the display screen (access history table) of the video display unit 72. Here, when the names of a plurality of link destinations are displayed on the video display unit 72 and the cursor is positioned at a link destination selected by the user among these link destinations, the cursor and each link destination are displayed. The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in ascending order of distance on the screen from the name.

  In general, in a personal computer, a user can move a cursor to a desired position on a screen by operating a mouse, but a network-connected television receiver often does not have a mouse. For this reason, the cursor is moved by pressing the up / down / left / right of the cross key provided on the remote control transmitter or by operating the four types of up / down / left / right arrow keys. For example, in this case, the cursor is set to move in units of frames, and in many cases, the cursor is set to move by one frame when the arrow key is operated once or the operation key is pressed for a certain time. . At this time, if the movement distance of the cursor on the screen is small, it can be moved with a small number of operations or a short operation time, but if the movement distance is large, a large number of operations or a long operation time is required. Become. The network-connected television receiver according to the sixth embodiment uses a display method that allows the user to easily specify the link destination, particularly by improving this point. For this reason, the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing distance on the screen between the current cursor position (the currently selected link destination) and the name of each link destination. The distance on the screen between the cursor position and the name of each link destination is determined by the OSD display position calculation unit 63.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which this display method is applied to the display contents similar to FIG. FIG. 9 is an access history table in which names of link destinations are arranged according to the order of access in the past according to arrows, as in FIG. Here, the hatched column (link destination) is the column where the cursor is currently located (the currently selected link destination). In this table, the link destination numbers after 1 are set in order from the currently selected link destination. As a result, a small link destination number is preferentially set when the movement distance of the cursor is long. Accordingly, when the moving distance of the cursor is long, the link destination number may be designated by the key operation of the operation unit 3, and the user can do this by one key operation. On the other hand, when the movement distance of the cursor is short, a large link destination number is set, so this cannot be specified by a single key operation. In this case, the cursor is moved using the cross key or the arrow key. Move it.

  As described above, in the network-connected television receiver according to the sixth embodiment, a small link destination number is set for a link destination that takes a long time to perform an operation for designation. Thereby, the user can do this with less operation time when specifying any link destination. Therefore, it is possible to easily specify the link destination.

  Also in this display method, the display methods in the first to fifth embodiments can be used in combination. For example, for multiple link destinations at the same distance from the cursor, link destinations with high access frequency, link destinations with high PageRank, link destinations close in the access history table, link destinations with URLs with a small number of characters, Alternatively, a small link destination number can be set for a link destination with a small difference in hierarchy in the dependency relationship.

(Seventh embodiment)
In the network-connected television receiver according to the seventh embodiment, the main window and the link window are simultaneously displayed on the video display unit, and the names of a plurality of link destinations are displayed on both. In particular, the same method as in the first to sixth embodiments is used as a method for displaying the link destination displayed in the link window. That is, the link destination number is set so that the link destination displayed in the link window can be easily selected.

  Here, as in the first to sixth embodiments, the name of each link destination is displayed in the main window. However, the link destination number is not displayed in the main window. The number of link destinations displayed here can be set to 20, for example. As the link destination to be displayed here, for example, as in the first embodiment, one having the first to 20th access frequency can be selected.

  In the link window, the names of some of the link destinations displayed in the main window are displayed together with the link destination number. The link destination displayed in the link window is selected from those displayed in the main window based on the access frequency, for example, as in the first embodiment. The number of link destinations displayed in the link window is preferably smaller than the number displayed in the main window. For example, the number can be seven. In this case, seven link destinations are displayed in descending order of access frequency from those displayed in the main window, and the link destination numbers 1 to 7 are assigned to the respective link destinations as in the first embodiment. Displayed in the link window. FIG. 10 shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit in this case.

  FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of the network connection type television receiver 101 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation thereof. The network connection type television receiver 101 includes a main body 102 and an operation unit 3. The operation unit 3 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is, for example, a remote control transmitter. The main body 102 includes a network connection unit 4, a link information acquisition unit 5, a link information adjustment unit 106, a display unit 107, and a control unit 8. The network-connected television receiver 101 also receives television broadcasts, but since these are the same as general television receivers, description thereof is omitted.

  The network connection means 4 and the link information acquisition means 5 in this network connection type television receiver 101 are the same as those in the first embodiment (television receiver 1). Accordingly, in the link information acquisition unit 5, the tag analysis unit 51 performs tag analysis (S102), and the link information acquisition unit 52 performs link information acquisition (S103).

  The link information adjustment unit 106 includes a link information analysis unit 161, a frequency table storage unit 62, and a link window display position calculation unit 163, and performs a link information adjustment process. In the link information adjustment step in this case, first, the selection of the link destination to be displayed in the main window and the selection of the link destination to be displayed particularly in the link window are performed. For the link destination displayed in the link window, the link destination number is set. When the access frequency is used as the selection criterion (S110), the control unit 8 causes the link information analysis unit 161 to read the frequency table from the frequency notation unit 62 and obtains the access frequency information (S121). Based on this, 20 link destinations to be displayed in the main window are selected. That is, 20 link destinations are selected in descending order of access frequency. Furthermore, among these, seven link destinations with high access frequency are selected to be displayed in the link window, and link destination numbers 1 to 7 are set for these seven link destinations (S122). Save (S123).

  Next, the name of each link destination and each link destination number are output to the link window display position calculation unit 163. Here, position calculation for displaying these pieces of information in the link window is performed (S124). That is, for example, in order to make the display in the link window as shown in FIG. 10, the displayed link destination number, the name of the link destination, and the display position of the link window are calculated. Although omitted in FIGS. 11 and 12, the display position of the name of each link destination in the main window is also calculated as in the first embodiment.

  Based on this, the link window creating unit 171 in the display unit 107 generates image information of the link window (S125). Similarly, image information of the main window is also generated (S126).

  The generated link window and main window image information is synthesized and output to the video display unit 72, and the image shown in FIG. 10 is displayed (S127).

  Data other than the access frequency can be used as a method for setting the link destination number (S110). In that case, an analysis method corresponding to that is appropriately used (S111), and the link destination displayed in the main window and the link window and the link destination number displayed in the link window are set. For example, as this data, PageRank in the second embodiment or access history in the third embodiment can be used. For example, when PageRank is used, the link destination with page rank 1 to 20 is displayed in the main window, and the link destination with positions 1 to 7 is further selected and displayed together with the link destination number in the link window. Also, the number of URL characters in the fourth embodiment, the difference in the URL hierarchy in the fifth embodiment, and the like can be used in the same manner.

  In the above example, the criteria for selecting the link destination displayed in the main window, the criteria for selecting the link destination displayed in the link window, and the criteria for setting the link destination number are the same (for example, access frequency). However, it is not limited to this. For example, the 1st to 20th link destinations with the highest access frequency are displayed in the main window, and the 1st to 7th link destination numbers with the least number of URL characters are set and displayed in the link window. Good. Similarly, the selection and setting criteria are arbitrary as long as the user can easily set the link destination.

  In the above example, a link destination selected in particular from the link destinations to be displayed in the main window is displayed in the link window. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the 1st to 20th link destinations may be displayed in the main window in the descending order of access frequency, the link destination numbers 1 to 7 may be set to the 21st to 27th link destinations, and displayed in the link window. In this case, the contents of the link window and the main window do not overlap. The user can select the link destination in the link window by the link destination number, and can select the link destination in the main window by moving the cursor using the cross key. In this case, the number of link destinations displayed in the main window is preferably 20 or less so that selection with the cross key is easy. On the other hand, the number of link destinations displayed in the link window is preferably equal to or less than the number of numeric keys in the operation unit 3, and is preferably equal to or less than 12.

  FIG. 12 shows an example in which there is one link window, but the number of link windows is arbitrary. For example, when a plurality of link destinations are displayed in a plurality of link windows, and one of the link windows is selected by the user, a link destination number is set to the link destination displayed in the link window. You can also set values to be displayed.

  Also in the seventh embodiment, even when the number of link destinations that can be selected is large, the user can easily make the selection.

  Note that the network connection type television receivers according to the third to seventh embodiments also differ from the first embodiment only in the operation of the link information adjustment unit 6 or the display unit 107. Therefore, as in the case of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, these functions can be switched and operated on the same network-connected television receiver. In particular, the user can select these appropriately.

  In the above example, the network connection type television receiver has been described. However, when a link destination to be connected is designated by a user's selection from a plurality of link destinations displayed on the display screen, The display method of the link destination can be similarly applied. In this case as well, it is obvious that the user can easily specify the link destination.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the network connection type television receiver used as the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link destination display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the first embodiment of the present invention. It is another example (a) (b) of the link destination display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure shown about the link information adjustment process and display process in the network connection type television receiver used as the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the link display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the display screen in the network connection type television receiver used as the 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the network connection type television receiver used as the 7th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure shown about the link information adjustment process and display process in the network connection type television receiver used as the 7th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 Network connection type television receiver 2,102 Main body 3 Operation part 4 Network connection means 5 Link information acquisition means 51 Tag analysis part 52 Link information acquisition part 6, 106 Link information adjustment means 61 Link information analysis part 62 Frequency table storage Unit 63 OSD display position calculation unit 7, 107 Display means 71 OSD display generation circuit 72 Video display unit 8 Control unit 163 Link window display position calculation unit 171 Link window creation unit

Claims (31)

A network-connected television receiver having a function of receiving a television broadcast and a function of displaying image information obtained from a link destination via a network,
From the link destination, link information acquisition means for acquiring link information consisting of the name and URL of the link destination,
Link information for storing a plurality of link information obtained from a plurality of link destinations, and setting and storing a link destination number for identifying each link destination for each link information based on an access history of each link destination Adjusting means;
A network-connected television receiver comprising display means for displaying the link destination number and the name of the link destination in association with each other. The link information adjusting means includes
Storing the number of accesses for each of the plurality of link destinations;
2. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing number of accesses. In the link information adjustment means,
3. The network-connected television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the access count is calculated and stored for each user. In the link information adjustment means,
4. The network-connected television receiver according to claim 2, wherein the access count is calculated and stored for each time zone in one day. The link information adjusting means includes
Go to the access frequency search site on the web, get the ranking information of each link,
2. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the top in the ranking information. The link information adjusting means includes
An access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is stored, and a link destination that is currently selected in the access history table is from a link destination that is close to the position when the link destination was selected in the past. 6. The network-connected television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the link destination number is set in order from a small value to a large value so as to correspond. In the link information adjustment means,
7. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 6, wherein the access history table is created and stored for each user. In the link information adjustment means,
8. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 6, wherein the access history table is created and stored for each time zone in one day. The link information adjusting means includes
Stores an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order, and sets the link destination number from a small value to a large value in ascending order of the number of characters in the URL of each link destination in the access history table. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the network connection type television receiver is configured to correspond to each other. The link information adjusting means includes
When an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is stored, and each link destination URL in the access history table is dependent on the currently selected link destination URL, 10. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in ascending order of the difference in the hierarchy in the relationship. The link information adjusting means includes
An access history table in which names of a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is displayed on the video display unit, and the cursor is positioned at the link destination currently selected by the user in the access history table. The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing distance on the screen between the names of the plurality of link destinations and the cursor. 11. The network connection type television receiver according to any one of 10 above.   2. The link destination is accessed by designating the link destination number in an operation unit after the names of the plurality of link destinations and the link destination number are displayed on a video display unit. The network connection type television receiver according to any one of claims 11 to 11. The display means includes
A main window for displaying names of link destinations in the plurality of link information stored by the link information adjusting means;
A link window that displays the name of the link destination and the link destination number in the plurality of link information stored by the link information adjustment means;
The network-connected television receiver according to claim 1, wherein the network connection type television receiver is displayed simultaneously.   14. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 13, wherein the link destination displayed in the link window is included in the link destination displayed in the main window.   14. The network connection type television receiver according to claim 13, wherein the link destination displayed in the link window is not included in the link destination displayed in the main window.   The network-connected television receiver according to claim 13, wherein the display unit displays a plurality of the link windows simultaneously. A method for displaying the plurality of link destinations on the display screen when a link destination to be connected is selected by a user's selection from a plurality of link destinations displayed on the display screen,
From the link destination, a link information acquisition step of acquiring link information consisting of the name and URL of the link destination,
Link information for storing a plurality of link information obtained from a plurality of link destinations, and setting and storing a link destination number for identifying each link destination for each link information based on an access history of each link destination Adjustment process;
A display method of a link destination, comprising: a display step of displaying the link destination name and the link destination number in association with each other. In the link information adjustment step,
Storing the number of accesses for each of the plurality of link destinations;
The link destination display method according to claim 17, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing number of accesses. In the link information adjustment step,
The link destination display method according to claim 18, wherein the access count is calculated and stored for each user. In the link information adjustment step,
The link destination display method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the access count is calculated and stored for each time slot in one day. In the link information adjustment step,
Go to the access frequency search site on the web, get the ranking information of each link,
18. The link destination display method according to claim 17, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order from the top in the ranking information. In the link information adjustment step,
An access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is stored, and a link destination that is currently selected in the access history table is from a link destination that is close to the position when the link destination was selected in the past. The link destination display method according to claim 17, wherein the link destination number is set in order from a small value to a large value in order. In the link information adjustment step,
The link destination display method according to claim 22, wherein the access history table is created and stored for each user. In the link information adjustment step,
The link destination display method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the access history table is created and stored for each time slot in one day. In the link information adjustment step,
Stores an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order, and sets the link destination number from a small value to a large value in ascending order of the number of characters in the URL of each link destination in the access history table. The link destination display method according to any one of claims 17 to 24, characterized in that: In the link information adjustment step,
When an access history table in which a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is stored, and each link destination URL in the access history table is dependent on the currently selected link destination URL, 26. The link destination display method according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in ascending order of the hierarchical difference in the relationship. In the link information adjustment step,
An access history table in which names of a plurality of link destinations accessed in the past are arranged according to the access order is displayed on the video display unit, and the cursor is positioned at the link destination currently selected by the user in the access history table. The link destination number is set from a small value to a large value in order of increasing distance on the screen between the names of the plurality of link destinations and the cursor. 26. The link destination display method according to any one of 26. In the display step,
A main window displaying the names of link destinations in the plurality of link information;
A link window for displaying a link destination name and the link destination number in a plurality of link information;
The link destination display method according to any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein:   The link destination display method according to claim 28, wherein the link destination displayed in the link window is included in the link destination displayed in the main window.   The link destination display method according to claim 28, wherein the link destination displayed in the link window is not included in the link destination displayed in the main window.   The link destination display method according to any one of claims 17 to 30, wherein in the display step, a plurality of the link windows are displayed simultaneously.

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