JP2009065531A - Information processing system and method, information processing apparatus and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support specified users or unspecified users to easily communicate with one another. <P>SOLUTION: For example, a stationary recording and playback device 11 produces or acquires user preference information 22 on the basis of behavior (operation or the like) of a user to broadcast contents 21 and records the information in an incorporated predetermined memory. The recording and playback device 11 is capable of providing the preference information 22 to a portable type external device 12. Consequently, when the user goes out while carrying the external device 12 with him/her, matching processing using the preference information can be performed or various kinds of pieces of information can be exchanged with another user having a similar external device 12. The present invention is applicable to communication tools. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system and method, an information processing device and method, and a program, and more particularly, an information processing system and method, an information processing device and The present invention relates to a method and a program.

  With the spread of the Internet, techniques for exchanging information and communicating between unspecified users using the Internet are becoming widely recognized. For example, various information exchanges are performed on personal blogs and electronic bulletin boards. More specifically, for example, there are bulletin boards that talk about television programs. In addition, so-called television blogs have become widely known as blogs specialized in television programs.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method for supporting communication between viewers who have similar interest tendencies in scene units of video content.
JP 2003-87826 A

  However, in the conventional communication method using the Internet, communication between unspecified users, security problems therefor, a network environment required, finding communication topics between users It is hard to say that this is a method that anyone can easily use.

  In particular, it is considered difficult to look at clues for starting communication between users who have never met. In addition, it is conceivable that people who are acquainted, for example, acquaintances such as friends and acquaintances, cannot create a topic to start talking, or can not communicate smoothly.

  In addition, since the method of Patent Document 1 includes a communication support server device, the problem of security is slightly solved. However, conversely, a connection environment with the communication support server device is essential. Thus, the method of Patent Document 1 is exactly the same in that it is difficult to say that anyone can easily use it.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and supports so that communication between a specific user or an unspecified user can be performed easily.

  An information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing system including a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus used by a user, wherein the first information processing apparatus Information that can be extracted or generated due to a state or action, and that is generated or extracted by preference information extraction means for generating or extracting information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information, and the preference information extraction means A first holding unit for holding the preference information, and a providing unit for providing the preference information held by the first holding unit to the second information processing apparatus. The processing apparatus includes: a second holding unit that holds the user preference information provided from the first information processing apparatus; and a third information processing that is held by another user other than the user. A communication unit that communicates with a device and acquires the preference information of the other user; the user preference information held by the second holding unit; and the another user preference information acquired by the communication unit. An information processing system comprising: an evaluation unit that evaluates a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user.

  An information processing method of an information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention is a method corresponding to the information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention described above.

  In the information processing system and method according to one aspect of the present invention, the following processing is executed by the first information processing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus used by the user. That is, information that can be extracted or generated by the first information processing apparatus due to the state or behavior of the user, and information indicating one or more characteristics of the user is generated or extracted as preference information, Held and provided to the second information processing apparatus. The second information processing apparatus holds the user preference information provided from the first information processing apparatus, and communicates with the third information processing apparatus held by another user other than the user. The preference information of the different user is acquired, and the predetermined relationship between the user and the different user is evaluated based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user. Is done.

  A first information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus used by a user, and the user's information out of information provided from a first separate apparatus used by the user. Information that can be extracted or generated due to a state or action, and that holds information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information of the user, and the user is held by another user other than the user A communication unit that communicates with the second different device, and acquires the preference information of the other user, the user preference information held by the holding unit, and the other user acquired by the communication unit Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information.

  Presenting means for presenting the evaluation result by the evaluating means to the user is further provided.

  The communication means communicates with the second separate device when the second separate device is within a predetermined range.

  The communication means employs a communication method in which the communicable range is the predetermined range.

  In the communication means, when the communicable range is wider than the predetermined range and the received power intensity from the second separate device is equal to or greater than a threshold, the second separate device is present in the predetermined range. Judging and communicating with the second another device, if the received power intensity from the second another device is less than a threshold, it is determined that the second another device exists outside the predetermined range, A communication method for prohibiting communication with the second separate device is employed.

  A first information processing method and a first program according to one aspect of the present invention are a method and a program corresponding to the above-described first information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention.

  In the first information processing apparatus, the first information processing method, and the first program according to one aspect of the present invention, of the information provided from the first separate apparatus used by the user, the user's Information that can be extracted or generated due to a state or action and that indicates one or more characteristics of the user is held as the user preference information. Further, the user communicates with a second other device held by another user of another person, and the preference information of the other user is acquired. Then, based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the other user, a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user is evaluated.

  The second information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is information that can be extracted or generated due to a user's state or action, and generates or extracts information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information The preference information extracting means, the holding means for holding the preference information generated or extracted by the preference information extracting means, and the user communicates with another device held by another user of the other person, Based on the communication means for acquiring user preference information, the user preference information held by the holding means, and the preference information of the different user acquired by the communication means, the user and the different user predetermined And an evaluation means for evaluating the relationship.

  A second information processing method and a second program according to one aspect of the present invention are a method and a program corresponding to the above-described second information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention.

  In the second information processing apparatus, the second information processing method, and the second program according to one aspect of the present invention, information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user, Information indicating the above characteristics is generated or extracted as preference information and is retained. Further, the user communicates with another device held by another user of another person, and the preference information of the other user is acquired. Based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user, a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user is evaluated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, communication support is possible. In particular, it is possible to provide support that facilitates communication between specific users or unspecified users.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Correspondences between constituent features described in claims and specific examples in the specification or the drawings are exemplified as follows. This description is intended to confirm that specific examples supporting the invention described in the claims are described in the specification or the drawings. Accordingly, even if there are specific examples that are described in the specification or drawings but are not described here as corresponding to the configuration requirements, the specific examples are not included in the configuration requirements. It does not mean that it does not correspond to. On the contrary, even if a specific example is described here as corresponding to a configuration requirement, this means that the specific example does not correspond to a configuration requirement other than the configuration requirement. not.

  Further, this description does not mean that all the inventions corresponding to the specific examples described in the specification or the drawings are described in the claims. In other words, this description is an invention corresponding to a specific example described in the specification or drawings, and there is an invention that is not described in the claims of this application, that is, a divisional application may be made in the future. The existence of an invention added by amendment is not denied.

An information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention (for example, the information processing system of FIGS. 1 to 4)
In an information processing system comprising a first information processing device (for example, the recording / reproducing device 11 in FIG. 1) and a second information processing device (for example, the external device 12 in FIG. 1) used by a user,
The first information processing apparatus includes:
Preference information for generating or extracting information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information (for example, preference information 22 in FIG. 1 or the like) that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user. Extraction means (for example, preference information extraction unit 121 in FIG. 6);
First holding means (for example, the memory unit 122 in FIG. 6) that holds the preference information generated or extracted by the preference information extracting means;
Providing means for providing the preference information held by the first holding means to the second information processing apparatus (for example, the communication unit 105 and the drive 108 in FIG. 6);
The second information processing apparatus (for example, the external apparatus 12A shown in FIG. 2)
Second holding means (for example, the RAM 203 in FIG. 7) that holds the user's preference information (for example, the preference information 22A in FIG. 2) provided from the first information processing apparatus;
The user communicates with a third information processing device (for example, the external device 12B in FIG. 2) held by another user of another person, and the preference information of the other user (for example, the preference information 22B in FIG. 2). Communication means (for example, the communication unit 208 in FIG. 7) for acquiring
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the second holding means and the preference information of the different user acquired by the communication means. (For example, CPU 201 in FIG. 7).

The first information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention (for example, the external apparatus 12 (external apparatus 12A) in FIGS. 1 to 4)
An information processing device used by a user,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user among the information provided from the first separate device (for example, the recording / reproducing device 11 in FIG. 1) used by the user, Holding means (for example, the RAM 202 in FIG. 7) that stores information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as the user's preference information (for example, the preference information 22 in FIG. 1 and the like);
A communication means (for example, the communication unit 208 in FIG. 7) that communicates with a second another device held by another user of another person and acquires the preference information of the other user;
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the holding means and the preference information of the other user acquired by the communication means (for example, FIG. 7 CPU 201).

Presenting means for presenting the similarity calculated by the calculating means to the user (for example, the output unit 207 in FIG. 7)
Is further provided.

The second information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention (for example, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11A in FIG. 5)
Preference information extraction means for generating or extracting information that can be extracted or generated due to a user's state or action and that indicates one or more characteristics of the user as preference information (for example, preference information 22A in FIG. 5) (For example, the preference information extraction unit 121 in FIG. 6);
Holding means (for example, the memory unit 122 in FIG. 6) that holds the preference information generated or extracted by the preference information extraction means;
A communication means (for example, the communication unit 105 in FIG. 6) that communicates with another user possessed by another user of another person and acquires the preference information of the other user;
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the holding means and the preference information of the other user acquired by the communication means (for example, FIG. 6 system controllers 101).

  Next, an outline of a communication support technique (hereinafter referred to as the technique of the present invention) to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the following description (including the description of this embodiment), content may be included as a part of the processing target. Here, content is widely generated by human creative activities. For example, movies, music, theatre, literary arts, photographs, comics, animations, computer games and other characters, figures, colors, sounds, actions or videos, or combinations thereof, or information related thereto are provided via an electronic computer. Is a content example.

  Of such content, only the content 21 composed of a broadcast program, that is, the content 21 propagated by broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as broadcast content 21) is shown. This has no meaning more than the meaning for convenience of explanation. In other words, the following description will be made using the broadcast content 21, but it goes without saying that the description is applicable to other forms of content as well.

  It is assumed that a predetermined user can use the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 and the external apparatus 12 shown in FIG. However, the recording / reproducing device 11 and the external device 12 do not have to be user-specific devices.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus 11 can record or reproduce the broadcast content 21 based on a user operation. In other words, the user can perform various operations on the recording / playback apparatus 11, for example, an operation for reserving recording of the broadcast content 21 scheduled to be broadcast, an operation for instructing playback of the recorded broadcast content 21, and the like.

  For example, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 generates or acquires user preference information 22 based on the user's behavior (operation or the like) with respect to the broadcast content 21 and records the information in a built-in predetermined memory.

  Here, the user's preference information 22 is information that can be extracted or generated due to various states and various actions in the user's daily life, and not only the user's preference but also the user's propensity, the user And other information indicating one or more characteristics of the user.

  That is, the behavior of the user with respect to the broadcast content 21 is an example of the behavior of the user's daily life, and the information extracted or generated based on the behavior is only an example of the preference information 22 of the user. However, other examples of the preference information 22 will be described later. Therefore, in the meantime, the preference information 22 is assumed to be extracted or generated based on various operations performed on the broadcast content 21 by the user.

  Specific examples of the preference information 22 in this case include viewing information made up of viewing history of various broadcast contents 21 of the user, program reservation information made up of recording reservation history of the predetermined broadcast content 21, and the like.

  A specific example of a series of processing (hereinafter referred to as preference information acquisition processing) until the recording / playback apparatus 11 acquires the preference information 22 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Here, for example, it is assumed that the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 is a stationary apparatus and the external apparatus 12 is a portable apparatus. In this case, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 can provide the preference information 22 recorded in the built-in memory to the external apparatus 12. The external device 12 can record the provided preference information 22 in the internal predetermined memory.

  Here, the form of providing the preference information 22 from the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 to the external apparatus 12 is not particularly limited. For example, the preference information 22 may be provided to the external device 12 by communication. Alternatively, for example, the preference information 22 may be temporarily recorded on a recording medium and provided to the external device 12 via the recording medium.

  In any case, the user can only use the preference information 22 stored in the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 11, that is, the conventional recording / reproducing apparatus 11 only by holding the portable external apparatus 12 and going out. The preference information 22 can be taken out and used outside. In addition, the usage form of the preference information 22 is not particularly limited. That is, the description to be described later with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent drawings is only one of the usage forms of the preference information 22.

  In the following description, when the user to be used is a different person for each of the recording / playback device 11, the external device 12, the broadcast content 21, and the preference information 22, they are distinguished by adding an alphabet after the number. That is, devices or information having the same alphabet are used by the same user.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the external device 12A enters a predetermined operation mode while the user is out and holding the external device 12A in which the preference information 22A is recorded, Assume that the external device 12B is in a predetermined vicinity (within a predetermined communication range) and is in the same operation mode. In such a case, the external device 12A and the external device 12B can communicate with each other to exchange information between the user preference information 22A and another user preference information 22B.

  In this case, for example, the external device 12A performs a matching process between the preference information 22A and the preference information 22B, whereby a predetermined relationship between a user who owns the external device 12A and another user who owns the external device 12B is obtained. An evaluation can be performed and the evaluation result can be presented to the user. For example, the external device 12A can perform a compatibility diagnosis and display the result.

  A specific example of matching processing and a specific example of presentation of evaluation results will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  Here, for example, when the evaluation of the predetermined relationship with another user is good, specifically, for example, when it is evaluated that the compatibility is good, the user further operates the external device 12A to change the preference. Information exchange other than the information 22A can be performed with another user. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the external device 12A can also transmit the broadcast content 21A viewed by the user to the external device 12B. Alternatively, the external device 12A can receive the broadcast content 21B viewed by another user from the external device 12B.

  As described above, when another user who owns the external device 12B comes close to a predetermined vicinity, the user who owns the external device 12A can easily communicate with each other with various information exchanges. It will be possible to plan.

  The communication method between the external device 12A and the external device 12B is not particularly limited. However, when it is a condition that communication is performed only with another user existing in a predetermined vicinity, as shown in FIG. 4, the external device 12A communicates with an external device 12B existing in a predetermined vicinity. However, it is preferable to employ a communication method that cannot communicate with or prohibit communication with the external device 12C existing outside the predetermined vicinity.

  Specifically, for example, it is preferable to adopt optical communication such as infrared rays or a communication method using minute electromagnetic waves between ultrasonic waves and millimeter waves. That is, it is possible to employ a communication method in which the communicable range is as narrow as a predetermined vicinity due to its characteristics.

  Also, for example, the communicable range itself is wider than a predetermined neighborhood, but if the received radio wave intensity from the communication partner is less than or equal to the threshold, it is determined that the communication partner is outside the predetermined neighborhood and the communication You may employ | adopt the communication method of prohibiting communication with the other party.

  Also, the trigger condition for starting communication is not particularly limited. For example, when the mode is the predetermined mode, communication may always be attempted every predetermined period to search for an external device 12B or the like existing in a predetermined vicinity. Further, for example, communication may be attempted only when the user performs a predetermined operation.

  In the above example, since the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 is a stationary type, the preference information 22 is transferred to the external apparatus 12. However, in the case of the portable recording / reproducing apparatus 11, the user can go out with the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 in which the preference information 22 is recorded without providing the preference information 22 to the external device 12. In this case, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11A possessed by the user can communicate with the external apparatus 12B possessed by another user, as shown in FIG. 5, just like the external apparatus 12A. Furthermore, although not shown, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11A can communicate with the recording / reproducing apparatus 11B owned by another user. Therefore, if the user can go out with the recording / reproducing device 11, the communication with various types of information exchange with another user can be performed in the same manner as when the user goes out with the external device 12. Can be easily achieved.

  Furthermore, in this case, the user can record or reproduce the broadcast content 21 by operating the recording / reproducing apparatus 11A while going out. Therefore, the recording / playback apparatus 11A generates new preference information 22A based on the broadcast content 21A that is played back or recorded while the user is out, and uses it as an external apparatus 12B that is held by another user. Communication can also be performed.

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of such a recording / reproducing apparatus 11.

  The system controller 101 controls the overall operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus 11. When performing the control, the system controller 101 can execute various processes according to a program recorded in a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown) or the recording medium 103 as necessary. A program or data executed by the system controller 101 is appropriately stored in a memory unit 122 configured by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. For example, in the present embodiment, the above-described preference information 22 is stored in the memory unit 122. The preference information 22 may be stored in the recording medium 103 described later.

  In addition, the system controller 101 is provided with a preference information extraction unit 121 that generates or extracts the preference information 22.

  For example, when recording of the predetermined broadcast content 21 is reserved, or when reproduction of the broadcast content 103 already recorded on the recording medium 103 is reserved, the preference information extraction unit 121 sets the broadcast content 21 to be reserved. At least a part of EPG (Electronic Page Guide) information can be extracted as one of the preference information 22 and recorded in the memory unit 122.

  Further, for example, during a user operation by the operation unit 107 described later, for example, during playback of the broadcast content 21 recorded on the recording medium 103, a special playback operation such as an operation of playing a predetermined section or an operation of skipping the predetermined section is performed. In this case, the preference information extraction unit 121 can extract the information on the special reproduction operation as one of the preference information 22 and record it in the memory unit 122.

  In addition, various types of information such as the time viewed by the user, the length of time continuously viewed by the user, and information when the predetermined broadcast content 21 is copied to an external recording medium (removable medium 109, etc.) It can be adopted as one of the information 22.

  Note that various types of information that can be adopted as the preference information 22 described above are extracted as the preference information 22 without the user being aware of it. Therefore, for reasons such as security, these pieces of information may be recorded in the memory unit 122 as preference information 22 after being subjected to a predetermined encryption process.

  Based on the control of the system controller 101, the recording signal processing unit 102 converts the broadcast content 21 received by the antenna 110 in the form of a broadcast wave into a signal to be recorded in the recording medium 103, and stores it in the recording medium 103. Let me record.

  That is, the recording medium 103 is composed of a hard disk or the like, and can record the broadcast content 21 and various other information.

  Based on the control of the system controller 101, the reproduction signal processing unit 104 reads predetermined broadcast content 21 from the recording medium 103 and converts it into a reproduction signal in a form suitable for a reproduction destination (such as a television broadcast receiver). Output to the playback destination.

  The communication unit 105 controls communication with the outside based on the control of the system controller 101. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication unit 105 can transmit the preference information 22, the broadcast content 21, and the like to the external device 12. Although not shown, the communication unit 105 can also transmit the preference information 22 and the broadcast content 21 to another recording / reproducing apparatus 11 having the same configuration.

  An I / F 106 is also connected to the system controller 102. Connected to the I / F 106 are an operation unit 107 for performing various operations by a user and a drive 108.

  The drive 108 records various information such as the preference information 22 and the broadcast content 21 provided from the system controller 101 via the I / F 106 on the removable medium 109. Further, the drive 108 reads various information such as the preference information 22 and the broadcast content 21 recorded on the removable medium 109 and provides them to the system controller 101 via the I / F 106.

  Removable media 109 include magnetic disks (including flexible disks), optical disks (including CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), BD (Blu-ray Disc Founders)), magneto-optical disks. (Including MD (Mini Disc)), magnetic tape, or semiconductor memory.

  That is, the removable medium 109 can be attached to and detached from the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 and can also be attached to and detached from the external apparatus 12 as described later with reference to FIG. Therefore, the preference information 22 can be provided to the external device 12 by the communication process of the communication unit 105, or can be temporarily recorded on the removable medium 109 and provided to the external device 12 via the removable medium 109. it can.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the external device 12A. The reason why the external device 12A is described without describing the external device 12 is to indicate that communication with the external device 12B owned by another user is possible. In other words, the external device 12B and the like can have the same configuration as the external device 12A of FIG.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 executes various processes according to a program recorded in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 or a program loaded from a storage unit 208 to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203. The RAM 203 also appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 201 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 201, the ROM 202, and the RAM 203 are connected to each other via the bus 204. An input / output interface 205 is also connected to the bus 204.

  Connected to the input / output interface 205 are an input unit 206 including operation keys, an output unit 207 including a display, and a communication unit 209.

  The communication unit 208 controls communication with the outside. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the communication unit 205 can transmit and receive various types of information such as preference information 22 and broadcast content 21 transmitted from the recording / playback apparatus 11. Further, the communication unit 208 can transmit and receive the preference information 22 and the broadcast content 21 and the like with another external device 12B and the like existing within a predetermined range. Note that the preference information 22 received by the communication unit 208 is recorded in the RAM 203, for example.

  A drive 209 is also connected to the input / output interface 205 as necessary, and the above-described removable medium 109 is appropriately attached. The drive 209 reads various information from them, for example, the preference information 22, the broadcast content 21, and the computer program as appropriate.

  Next, a detailed example of the matching process among the processes executed by the external apparatus 12A having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it is assumed that the external device 12A acquires the preference information 22A of the user (hereinafter referred to as Mr. A) from the recording / playback device 11 and records it in the RAM 203. . Then, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 held by Mr. A who has gone out communicates with the external apparatus 12B held by another user (hereinafter referred to as Mr. B) who has approached the predetermined vicinity, and as a result, It is assumed that Mr. B's preference information 22B is acquired and recorded in the RAM 203.

  Further, it is assumed that the preference information 22A of Mr. A is composed of na + 1 (na is an integer value of 1 or more) pieces of preference data Da (n) (0 ≦ n ≦ na). On the other hand, it is assumed that Mr. B's preference information 22B includes Nb + 1 (Nb is an integer value of 1 or more) pieces of preference data Db (N) (0 ≦ N ≦ Nb).

  In step S1 of FIG. 8, the CPU 201 of the external device 12A performs initial setting. That is, it is assumed that n = 0, N = 0, and H = 0 are set. Note that H will be described together with the description of step S10.

  In step S2, the CPU 201 inputs Mr. A's preference data Da (n).

  In step S3, the CPU 201 inputs Mr. A's preference data Da (n) into the matching table (see FIG. 10 and the like). In step S4, the CPU 201 increments n by 1. That is, n = n + 1 is set.

  In step S5, the CPU 201 determines whether n> na.

  If n is less than or equal to na, it is determined as NO in step S5, the process returns to step S2, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  That is, by repeating the loop processing of steps S2 to S5, na + 1 preference data Da (0) to Da (na) are sequentially input and input to the matching table.

  Specifically, for example, the preference data Da (n) of Mr. A is both “large genre” and “medium genre” obtained from EPG information of the predetermined broadcast content 21A (predetermined one program) viewed by Mr. A. It is assumed that it consists of a set of Similarly, Mr. B's preference data Db (N) is a combination of “large genre” and “medium genre” obtained from the EPG information of the predetermined broadcast content 21B (predetermined one program) viewed by Mr. B. Assume that it is configured.

  A matching table as shown in FIG. 10 is held in advance in the ROM 202 or the like, and is expanded in the RAM 203 at the time of the processing in step S1.

  In the matching table of FIG. 10, the item “content A” corresponds to the broadcast content 21A viewed by Mr. A. The item “content B” corresponds to the broadcast content 21B viewed by Mr. B. The evaluation value Hn is an index value for calculating the degree of matching between Mr. A and Mr. B (hereinafter referred to as compatibility degree Ma). The compatibility value Ma is calculated to be higher as the evaluation value Hn is larger.

  In this case, when Mr. A's preference data Da (0) is (large genre, medium genre) = (sports, sumo), the first and second rows of the matching table in FIG. It is input to the item of “input of Mr. A's preference data Da (n)”.

  Hereinafter, the description of the item “input of Mr. A's preference data Da (n)” is omitted.

  Furthermore, in the table in which “all genres” is described in the “medium genre” item in the “content A” item, that is, the table on the seventh line in the example of FIG. 10, the large genre is sports. Preference data Da (n) for all broadcast contents 21A is input. Therefore, Mr. A's preference data Da (0) is input to the table in the seventh row.

  Similarly, when the preference data Da (1) of Mr. A is (large genre, medium genre) = (sports, tennis), the third and seventh rows in the matching table of FIG. Will be entered into the table.

  When Mr. A's preference data Da (2) is (large genre, medium genre) = (drama, trendy drama), it is input to the fourth row of the matching table of FIG. .

  When Mr. A's preference data Da (3) is (large genre, medium genre) = (drama, sports drama), it is input to the fifth row of the matching table of FIG. .

  When Mr. A's preference data Da (4) is (large genre, medium genre) = (news, normal news program), it is input to the sixth row of the matching table of FIG. Become.

  Hereafter, although not shown in FIG. 10, Mr. A's preference data Da (5) to Da (na) are sequentially input to the corresponding rows of the matching table of FIG.

  Thereby, it is determined as YES in step S5 in FIG. 8, and the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

  In step S6, the CPU 201 performs initial setting for detecting the number of matches. That is, in the process of step S8 described later, the number of tables detected as matching with the search condition (hereinafter referred to as the number of matches) is represented by K. As an initial setting of the coincidence number K, K = 0 is set. The coincidence number K is used when the statistical average Hav is calculated in the process of step S14.

  In step S7, the CPU 201 inputs Mr. B's preference data Db (N).

  In step S <b> 8, the CPU 201 searches the matching table for a table in which the A's preference data Da (n) is input among the tables that match the B's preference data Db (N).

  In step S9, the CPU 201 determines whether a table exists.

  The search condition in step S8, that is, the table that matches the search condition “the table in which Mr. A's preference data Da (n) is input among the tables that match Mr. B's preference data Db (N)” is detected. If not, it is determined as NO in the process of step S9, and the process proceeds to step S12. However, the processing after step S12 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when one or more tables that match the above search conditions are detected, it is determined as YES in the process of step S9, and the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S <b> 10, the CPU 201 adds the evaluation value Hn of a predetermined one of the detected one or more tables to H. That is, H = H + Hn is calculated. Thus, H indicates the total added value of evaluation values.

  In step S11, the CPU 201 increments the coincidence number K by one. That is, K = K + 1 is set.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S9, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  The reason why the process returns to step S9 is that, in the matching table, among the tables that match Mr. B's preference data Db (N), there is one table in which Mr. A's preference data Da (n) is input. This is because there are cases in which there are multiple cases. That is, a plurality of tables may be detected in the process of step S8.

  Specifically, for example, it is assumed that Nb = 1 and only the following Mr. B's preference data Db (0) and Db (1) are acquired. That is, B's preference data Db (0) is (large genre, medium genre) = (news, sports news), and B's preference data Db (1) is (large genre, medium genre). = (Sports, tennis)

  In this case, of the search conditions in step S8, the table that matches Mr. B's preference data Db (N) refers to a table in a row that matches the item “content B” in the matching table of FIG. That is, the tables that match the B's preference data Db (0) are two tables on the sixth and seventh rows. And the taste data Da (4) of Mr. A is inputted to the table on the sixth line, and the taste data Da (0) and Da (1) of Mr. A are inputted to the table on the seventh line. ing.

  Therefore, when Mr. B's preference data Db (0) is input in the process of step S7 immediately after the process of step S6, two tables in the sixth and seventh lines are detected in the process of step S8. It will be.

  Therefore, if it is determined as YES in the process of step S9 immediately after the process of step S8, the evaluation value Hn = 30 of the table in the sixth row is changed to the total addition value H = 0 in the next process of step S10. Is added. That is, the total addition value H = 30. Then, in the process of step S11, the number of matches K is set to 1, and the process returns to step S9.

  In the process of step S9, it is determined that the table of the seventh row still exists, that is, it is determined that the answer is YES, and the process proceeds to step S10. In the process of step S10, the evaluation value Hn = 30 in the table on the seventh row is added to the total addition value H = 30. That is, the total addition value H = 30 + 30 = 60. Then, in the process of step S11, the coincidence number K = 2 is set, and the process returns to step S9.

  This time, it is determined as NO in the process of step S9, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the CPU 201 increments N by 1. That is, N = N + 1 is set. In the process of step S12 following the above example, N = 0 + 1 = 1 is set.

  In step S13, the CPU 201 determines whether N> Nb.

  In the process of step S13 following the above example, Nb = 1 and N = 1. Therefore, it is determined as NO, the process returns to step S7, and the subsequent processes are repeated. .

  That is, when Mr. B's preference data Db (1) is input in the process of step S7, the process proceeds to step S8.

  Here, in the matching table of FIG. 10, Mr. B's preference data Db (1), that is, a table having an item “content B” that matches (large genre, medium genre) = (sports, tennis) is 1 It is the table of the line. In the table in the first row, the preference data Da (0) of Mr. A is input.

  Therefore, only one table in the first row is detected in the current processing in step S8.

  Therefore, if it is determined as YES in the process of step S9 immediately after the process of step S8, the evaluation value Hn = 50 in the table in the first row is changed to the total addition value H = 60 in the process of next step S10. Is added. That is, the total addition value H = 60 + 50 = 110. Then, in the process of step S11, the coincidence number K = 3 is set, and the process returns to step S9.

  In the process of step S9, it is determined as NO, and N = 1 + 1 = 2 is set in step S12. Therefore, since Nb = 1, it is determined YES in the process of step S13, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, the CPU 201 obtains the compatibility Ma of Mr. A and Mr. B based on the total average Hav (= H / K) of the evaluation values. For example, in the above-described example, since the total addition value H = 110 and the coincidence number K = 3, the total average Hav of the evaluation values is 110/3.

  Note that the method of calculating the compatibility Ma is not limited to the method of step S14. For example, the total addition value H of the evaluation values may be simply set as the compatibility Ma. However, when the number of preference data na and Nb of Mr. A and Mr. B is large, the total added value H inevitably increases, and the evaluation may not be performed with high accuracy. Therefore, in consideration of such a case, it is preferable to use the total average Hav of evaluation values as in the method of step S14.

  In step S15, the CPU 201 performs display according to the compatibility Ma.

  Specifically, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the CPU 201 can perform display in which the number of ☆ (stars) is increased as the compatibility Ma is higher. Such an asterisk is displayed on a display unit such as a display of the output unit 207, for example. Needless to say, the display method in step S15 is not limited to the example of FIG. Furthermore, the method of presenting the compatibility Ma to the user is not particularly required to be a display, and may be a voice output such as a message. That is, various presentation methods that are possible depending on the configuration of the output unit 207 in FIG. 7 can be adopted.

  In any case, Mr. A is presented with the degree of compatibility Ma with Mr. B. Therefore, Mr. A can effectively utilize the presented compatibility Ma for communication with Mr. B. That is, when the compatibility Ma is high, it can be assumed that Mr. A and Mr. B have good compatibility. Therefore, for Mr. A, Mr. B is considered to be a person who has a high possibility of common communication of topics, easy to start talking, and smooth communication. Therefore, for example, Mr. A starts exchanging information with Mr. B when the compatibility Ma is equal to or higher than the value set by himself (the number of display of the star mark is three, etc.). Can easily communicate with Mr. B, such as searching for another communication partner without exchanging information.

  The example of the matching process has been described above.

  Although the execution subject of the matching process is described as being performed by the external device 12A for the sake of simplicity, it is not limited to the external device 12A, and may be another external device 12B or the recording / reproducing device 11.

  Further, in the above example when the matching process is described, Mr. A's preference information 22A and Mr. B's preference information 22B are both based on an information group (hereinafter referred to as a program information group) based on the broadcast content 21A or 21B. It was assumed that it was configured.

  However, the information group which comprises Mr. A's preference information 22A and Mr. B's preference information 22B is not necessarily composed of program information groups. For example, an information group (hereinafter referred to as this information group) based on a book purchased or checked by Mr. A or Mr. B at a shop site on the Internet, specifically, for example, a bookstore site, is A's preference information. The case where it is contained in the preference information 22B of 22A or Mr. B can be easily assumed. That is, when the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 of FIG. 6 is connectable to the Internet, the preference information extracting unit 121 is based on the user's Internet operation history, purchase information provided from the shop site (bookstore site) side, or the like. This information group can be easily extracted as one of the preference information 22.

  Even in such a case, instead of the table of FIG. 10 or together with the table of FIG. 10, for example, a table as shown in FIG. it can.

  For example, when Mr. A's preference information 22A and Mr. B's preference information 22B are composed of a plurality of types of information groups, the average average Hav of the evaluation values is calculated for each information group of the same type. The compatibility Ma of Mr. A and Mr. B can be obtained based on the total average Hav of each type of information group. Specifically, for example, a simple total addition value of each total average Hav of each type of information group may be the compatibility Ma, and each total average Hav of each type of information group is weighted, The total added value of each weighted value may be used as the compatibility Ma.

  Next, a detailed example of the preference information acquisition process among the processes executed by the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 13, genre information (for example, large genre and medium genre among EPG information) of each program (broadcast content 21) that is reserved for playback or recording by the user, that is, the above-described program information group is included. It is assumed that the preference information 22 is acquired.

  Therefore, here, for example, when recording of nth + 1 programs is reserved, each program is managed with a number n (0 ≦ n ≦ nth), and EPG information of the recording reserved program n Is recorded on the recording medium 103. Similarly, when mth + 1 programs are reserved for reproduction, each program is managed with a number m (0 ≦ m ≦ mth) and is recorded as EPG information for the reproduction reserved program m. Suppose that it is recorded in 103.

  In step S21, the system controller 101 performs initial setting. That is, it is assumed that n = 0 and m = 0 are set.

  In step S22, the system controller 101 determines whether or not to play a compatibility game.

  When it determines with not playing a compatibility game, it determines with it being NO in step S22, and a process progresses to step S23. In step S23, the system controller 101 shifts to a predetermined operation mode. Thereby, the preference information acquisition process ends.

  On the other hand, when the user operates the operation unit 107 to instruct to play the compatibility game, it is determined as YES in Step S22, and the process proceeds to Step S24.

  Here, “playing a compatibility game” means that, in the above example, the user goes out holding the external device 12 or the like in which the preference information 22 is recorded, and performs the above-described matching processing or the like on the external device 12. It means to execute.

  In step S24, the system controller 101 determines whether there is a recording reservation.

  That is, if no program is reserved for recording, it is determined as NO in step S24, and the process proceeds to step S28. The processing after step S28 will be described later.

  On the other hand, when one or more programs are reserved for recording, it is determined as YES in step S24, and the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the preference information extraction unit 121 of the system controller 101 acquires the genre information (EPG information) of the scheduled recording program n from the recording medium 103 as the preference data Dr (n) and records it in the memory unit 122.

  In step S26, the system controller 101 increments n by 1. That is, n = n + 1 is set.

  In step S27, the CPU 201 determines whether n> nth.

  If n is equal to or less than nth, it is determined as NO in step S27, the process returns to step S25, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  In other words, by repeating the loop processing of steps S25 to S27, nth + 1 preference data Dr (0) to Dr (nth) are sequentially acquired and recorded in the memory unit 122.

  Then, since n becomes nth + 1, it is determined as YES in Step S27, and the process proceeds to Step S28.

  In step S28, the system controller 101 determines whether there is a playback reservation.

  That is, if no program is reserved for playback, it is determined as NO in step S28, and the preference information acquisition process ends.

  On the other hand, when one or more programs are reserved for reproduction, it is determined as YES in Step S28, and the process proceeds to Step S29.

  In step S29, the preference information extraction unit 121 of the system controller 101 acquires the genre information (EPG information) of the reproduction reserved program m from the recording medium 103 as preference data Dp (m) and records it in the memory unit 122.

  In step S30, the system controller 101 increments m by 1. That is, m = m + 1 is set.

  In step S31, the CPU 201 determines whether m> mth.

  If m is less than or equal to mth, it is determined as NO in step S31, the process returns to step S29, and the subsequent processes are repeated.

  That is, by repeating the loop process of steps S29 to S31, mth + 1 pieces of preference data Dp (0) to Dp (mth) are sequentially acquired and recorded in the memory unit 122.

  Then, since m becomes mth + 1, it is determined to be YES in step S31, and the preference information acquisition process ends.

  When such preference information acquisition processing ends, the system controller 101 determines that nth + 1 pieces of preference data Dr (0) to Dr (nth) and mth + 1 pieces of preference data Dp (0) to Dp (mth). Can be read out from the memory unit 122 as the preference information 22 and recorded in the removable medium 109 or transmitted to the external device 12.

  Heretofore, an example of the preference information acquisition process has been described.

  Although the execution subject of the preference information acquisition process has been described as being performed by the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 for the sake of simplicity, it is not limited to the recording / reproducing apparatus 11, and may be another apparatus such as the external apparatus 12. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, information closely related to a user's daily life is acquired as the user's preference information, and the preference information can be used for communication between the user and another user. . Therefore, the preference information is collected without the user performing an operation of explicitly inputting the preference or the like, that is, without the user being aware of it. As a result, the communication of the user is supported.

  In addition, by performing matching processing using the user preference information, it is possible to smoothly create a topic of talk and continue communication between specific users or unspecified users.

  However, the usage field of the user preference information is not limited to the matching process, and can be used in various fields.

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, it is assumed that the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 is configured as a home server including a medium-sized recording medium 103. The recording / reproducing apparatus 11 automatically stores all the receivable broadcast contents 21 or all the broadcast contents 21 from a specific broadcast station in the recording medium 103 without being aware of the user.

  In this case, a huge amount of broadcast content 21 is expected to be stored in the recording medium 103. Therefore, it is generally difficult for the user to find out the broadcast content 21 desired to be reproduced from among them.

  Therefore, for example, the user uses the external device 12 in which his / her preference information 22 is recorded, so that the broadcast close to the user's preference can be obtained from the enormous amount of broadcast content 21 recorded in the recording medium 103. Only the content 21 can be easily found. For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 14, it is possible to display how close the predetermined broadcast content 21 is to the user's preference with the number of stars (stars). In this case, the user can easily find out only the broadcast content 21 close to the user's preference by merely viewing the number of star marks.

  For example, in the above example, the preference information 22 is acquired on the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 side. However, when the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 is configured as a server, it may be difficult to acquire the preference information 22. In such a case, conversely, as shown in FIG. 15, the user can also transfer the preference information 22 recorded in the external device 12 to the recording / playback device 11 as a server. Thereby, for example, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 can automatically record only the broadcast content 21 close to the user preference information 22 based on the transferred preference information 22. For example, in the example of FIG. 15, a baseball program is automatically recorded.

  In this case, the recording / reproducing apparatus 11 does not perform the operation mode for recording all programs as described in FIG. Further, when the broadcast content 21 that matches the user's preference information 22 is originally stored in the recording medium 103 of FIG. 15, the recording / playback apparatus 11 is set to a predetermined state when the preference information 22 is transferred. The process of transmitting the response to the external device 12 can also be executed.

  By the way, the above-described series of processes (or a part of them) can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software.

  When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software executes various functions by installing a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs. For example, a general-purpose personal computer is installed from a network or a recording medium.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the recording medium including such a program is distributed to provide a program to the user separately from the apparatus main body, and is a magnetic disk (floppy disk) on which the program is recorded. Media), optical disks (including CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), DVDs (including digital versatile disks)), magneto-optical disks (including MD (mini-disk)), or semiconductor memory. (Package medium) 1109 not only in the ROM 202 in FIG. 7 or the system controller 101 in FIG. 6 in which the program is recorded, which is provided to the user in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance, is not shown. The recording medium 103 shown in FIG. 6 is configured as a ROM or a hard disk.

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order, either in parallel or individually. The process to be executed is also included.

  In addition, as described above, in this specification, the system represents the entire apparatus including a plurality of processing apparatuses and processing units.

It is a figure explaining the outline of the method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the method of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the recording / reproducing apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the external device to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the matching process which the external device of FIG. 7 performs. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the matching process which the external device of FIG. 7 performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the matching table utilized by the matching process of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the result of the matching process of FIG. FIG. 11 is an example of a matching table used in the matching process of FIG. 9, and shows an example different from FIG. 10. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of preference information acquisition processing executed by the recording / reproducing apparatus in FIG. 6. It is a figure explaining the outline of another method of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of another method of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  11 Recording / playback device 11, 12A, 12B, 12C External device 12, 21A, 21B Broadcast content 21, 22A, 22B Preference information, 101 System controller, 109 Removable media, 121 Preference information extraction unit, 122 Memory unit, 201 CPU, 202 ROM, 203 RAM, 208 storage unit

Claims (12)

In an information processing system composed of a first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus used by a user,
The first information processing apparatus includes:
Preference information extracting means for generating or extracting information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information, which is information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user;
First holding means for holding the preference information generated or extracted by the preference information extracting means;
Providing means for providing the preference information held by the first holding means to the second information processing apparatus;
The second information processing apparatus
Second holding means for holding the user's preference information provided from the first information processing apparatus;
A communication means for communicating with a third information processing apparatus owned by another user of another person and acquiring the preference information of the other user;
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the second holding means and the preference information of the different user acquired by the communication means. And an information processing system. In an information processing method of an information processing system including a first information processing device and a second information processing device used by a user,
As steps executed by the first information processing apparatus,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the user's state or behavior, and that generates or extracts information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information;
Holding the preference information generated or extracted;
Providing the stored preference information to the second information processing apparatus,
As the step executed by the second information processing apparatus,
Holding the user's preference information provided from the first information processing apparatus;
The user communicates with a third information processing apparatus held by another user of another person, and acquires the preference information of the other user,
An information processing system including a step of evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the other user. In an information processing device used by a user,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user among the information provided from the first separate device used by the user, and that indicates one or more characteristics of the user Holding means for holding the user's preference information;
The user communicates with a second other device held by another user of another person, and obtains preference information of the other user;
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the holding means and the preference information of the other user acquired by the communication means. Information processing equipment. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a presentation unit that presents the evaluation result by the evaluation unit to the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication unit communicates with the second separate apparatus when the second separate apparatus exists within a predetermined range. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the communication unit employs a communication technique in which a communicable range is the predetermined range. The communication means includes
The communicable range is wider than the predetermined range,
When the received power intensity from the second separate device is equal to or greater than a threshold, it is determined that the second separate device is within the predetermined range, and communication with the second separate device is performed.
A communication method for prohibiting communication with the second separate device by determining that the second separate device is outside the predetermined range when the received power intensity from the second separate device is less than a threshold; The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information processing apparatus is employed. In the information processing method of the information processing apparatus used by the user,
As the step executed by the information processing apparatus,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user among the information provided from the first separate device used by the user, and that indicates one or more characteristics of the user As the user's preference information,
The user communicates with a second device held by another user of another person, and acquires the preference information of the other user,
An information processing method including a step of evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user. On the computer,
Of the information provided by the first separate device used by the user, information that can be extracted or generated due to the state or behavior of the user, and that indicates one or more characteristics of the user , Hold as the user's preference information,
The user communicates with a second device held by another user of another person, and acquires the preference information of the other user,
A program for executing a step of evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user. Preference information extracting means for generating or extracting information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information, which can be extracted or generated due to a user's state or behavior;
Holding means for holding the preference information generated or extracted by the preference information extraction means;
A communication unit that communicates with another device held by another user of the other person and obtains preference information of the other user;
Evaluation means for evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the preference information of the user held by the holding means and the preference information of the other user acquired by the communication means. Information processing equipment. In the information processing method of the information processing apparatus used by the user,
As the step executed by the information processing apparatus,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the user's state or behavior, and that generates or extracts information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information;
Holding the preference information generated or extracted;
The user communicates with another device held by another user of another person, acquires the preference information of the other user,
An information processing method including a step of evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user. On the computer,
Information that can be extracted or generated due to the user's state or behavior, and that generates or extracts information indicating one or more characteristics of the user as preference information;
Holding the preference information generated or extracted;
The user communicates with another device held by another user of another person, acquires the preference information of the other user,
A program for executing a step of evaluating a predetermined relationship between the user and the different user based on the held preference information of the user and the acquired preference information of the different user.

Images