JP2010039647A - Information processor, information processing method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more easily provide the result of the retrieval of information on a network performed by an information retrieval system by using a character string in a video than a conventional manner. <P>SOLUTION: An Internet television device 1 detects a character string by character recognition from the video of television broadcasting, and detects words from the detected character string, and determines a keyword for retrieving information on a network according to prescribed conditions from the detected words, and transmits the keyword to an information retrieval system which retrieves the information on the network, and acquires the retrieval result information by the system, and makes a display part display the retrieval result information. Thus, it is not necessary for a user to perform any complicate operation for inputting any character string in the video to the device, and it is possible to more easily provide the result of the retrieval of the information on the network to the information retrieval system by using the character string in the video than a conventional manner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program, and is suitable for application to an information processing apparatus having a video playback function and an Internet connection function, for example.

  In recent years, in television broadcasts, introduction of address information on the Internet of the home page has been introduced in program video and text broadcasting so that a user (viewer) can browse a specific home page related to the broadcast program. Has been done. The television broadcast is hereinafter also referred to as a television broadcast, and the address information on the Internet is hereinafter referred to as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

  However, in order for the user to browse the introduced home page, for example, the user writes down the URL, starts the software for Internet connection using a device such as a personal computer, and inputs the URL to the device. It was necessary to perform complicated work. The software for connecting to the Internet is hereinafter also referred to as a WWW (World Wide Web) browser.

Therefore, in order to facilitate the user's work, a television receiver that can perform character recognition on an image displayed on the screen to extract a URL and automatically access a homepage using the URL. A machine has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The television receiver is hereinafter also referred to as a television device.
Japanese Patent No. 3646437

  By the way, if a URL is entered incorrectly even with a single character, the URL cannot be used to access a target home page. Therefore, when the above-described television apparatus performs character recognition on a video image and extracts a URL, if even one character is mistakenly recognized, the target homepage cannot be accessed, which may confuse the user. There is.

  Recently, a method for providing information on the Internet related to the video by introducing a keyword for the user to search in the video and allowing the user to search for the keyword using a search site on the Internet. Is increasing.

  However, the above-described television apparatus can automatically access the home page using the URL only when the URL is included in the video. Therefore, when only a keyword for allowing the user to search in the video is introduced, after all, there is a problem that the user has to perform a cumbersome work of writing down the keyword and inputting the keyword to the device. there were.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an information processing apparatus and information that can easily provide a user with a result of having an information search system search information on a network using a character string in a video. The present invention intends to propose a processing method and an information processing program.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, a character detection unit for detecting a character string from video based on a video signal, and a keyword for searching information on the network from the character string detected by the character detection unit are determined. A keyword determination unit; a keyword transmission unit that transmits a keyword determined by the keyword determination unit to an information search system that searches information on the network; a search result reception unit that receives search result information from the information search system; and a search result And a display control unit for displaying the search result information received by the receiving unit on the display unit.

  In this way, the information retrieval system can be connected to the information retrieval system using the character string in the video without causing the user to perform a complicated operation such as taking a note of the character string in the video and inputting the character string to the device. The user can browse the result of searching for the information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can easily provide a user with a result of having an information search system search for information on a network using a character string in a video. Can do.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Circuit Configuration of Internet Television Device First, a first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of a television apparatus having an Internet connection function. Note that a television apparatus having an internet connection function is hereinafter also referred to as an internet television apparatus. The Internet TV apparatus 1 has a TV broadcast (including text broadcast) playback function and an Internet connection function.

  Each circuit unit of the Internet television apparatus 1 is controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2. The CPU 2 executes various processes according to programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 4 connected via the bus 3, and each circuit unit according to an operation signal input from the remote controller RM via the input unit 5. To control the operation. The remote controller RM is hereinafter also referred to as a remote controller RM.

  The Internet television apparatus 1 also includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) 6 that provides a temporary storage area and a work area necessary for the CPU 2 to execute a program, and an RTC that manages display time and display time. (Real Time Clock) 7 is provided.

  Specifically, the Internet television apparatus 1 inputs a broadcast signal received via the antenna 8 to the tuner unit 9 under the control of the CPU 2 in accordance with the operation of the remote controller RM.

  The tuner unit 9 extracts a broadcast signal of an arbitrary channel from the broadcast signal and inputs the broadcast signal to the demodulation unit 10. The demodulator 10 demodulates the input broadcast signal, generates a demodulated broadcast signal, and inputs the demodulated broadcast signal to the video signal generator 14 and the teletext decoder 11. The broadcast signal includes a program video signal and may include a text broadcast signal.

  When the broadcast signal includes a teletext signal, the teletext decoder unit 11 separates and decodes the teletext signal from the demodulated broadcast signal to generate teletext data. The teletext data is written in a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory) 12 and temporarily stored, then read from the VRAM 12 and input to the teletext display processing unit 13. Then, the teletext display processing unit 13 converts the teletext data into a teletext video signal and inputs it to the video signal generation unit 14.

  The video signal generation unit 14 then superimposes the program video signal in the broadcast signal input from the demodulation unit 10 and the text broadcast video signal input from the text broadcast display processing unit 13 to generate a video signal. The video signal generated by the video signal generation unit 14 is input to the display unit 16 via the display control unit 15. As a result, the display unit 16 outputs a video in which the program video and the text broadcast video are superimposed.

  When the broadcast signal does not include teletext, the video signal generation unit 14 generates a video signal from the program video signal in the broadcast signal input from the demodulation unit 10 and displays the video signal via the display control unit 15. Input to unit 16. As a result, a program video is output from the display unit 16.

  In this way, the Internet television apparatus 1 can reproduce television broadcasts (including text broadcasts).

  Further, the browser activation unit 21 as a functional unit included in the CPU 2 of the Internet television apparatus 1 activates the WWW browser by executing the WWW browser program in accordance with the operation of the remote controller RM. And the browser starting part 21 connects to the internet via the communication part 17 by a WWW browser, and accesses the homepage on the internet.

  Next, the browser activation unit 21 acquires the page information of the accessed home page via the communication unit 17, writes the page information in the VRAM 12, temporarily stores it, reads it from the VRAM 12, and sends it to the display control unit 15. input. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs it to the display unit 16. As a result, a page image of a predetermined homepage is output from the display unit 16 as a WWW browser image.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 is connected to the Internet, and allows the user to use the Internet via an operation of the remote controller RM.

  Furthermore, the Internet television apparatus 1 has an Internet search result acquisition function. The Internet search result acquisition function will be described below. The character detection unit 18 as a functional unit included in the CPU 2 detects a character string in the video by character recognition from the video signal generated by the video signal generation unit 14. The character string here refers to a set of characters composed of one or more characters. Then, the character detection unit 18 detects a word from the recognized character string using a natural language processing technique or the like.

  Next, the keyword determination unit 19 as a functional unit included in the CPU 2 determines the priority as a keyword for causing the search site to search information on the Internet according to a predetermined condition for the word detected by the character detection unit 18. And give a score indicating the high priority. A keyword for causing the search site to search for information on the Internet is hereinafter also referred to as a search keyword, and a score indicating a high priority as a search keyword is hereinafter also referred to as a priority score. . In the present embodiment, for example, whether or not the word is in the vicinity of a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet or whether the background color is a single color is a predetermined value for determining the priority as a search keyword. Use as a condition. Then, words satisfying a predetermined condition are regarded as words having high priority as search keywords, and those words are given higher priority scores than other words.

  And the keyword determination part 19 determines the word with the highest priority score as a keyword for a search among the detected words. By doing so, words that are highly likely to be introduced as search keywords in television broadcast video can be determined as search keywords used in the Internet television apparatus 1. Then, the keyword determination unit 19 writes and stores the search keyword in the RAM 6.

  Further, the search site selection unit 20 as a functional unit included in the CPU 2 calls URL information of a search site registered in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4 and selects a search site to be used using the URL information.

  Next, the browser activation unit 21 activates the WWW browser and accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. The browser activation unit 21 reads the search keyword stored in the RAM 6 and transmits the search keyword to the search site via the communication unit 17.

  And the browser starting part 21 acquires the page information of the result of having made the information search system of a search site search using the keyword for a search via the communication part 17. FIG. Then, the browser activation unit 21 writes the acquired search result page information into the VRAM 12, temporarily stores it, reads it from the VRAM 12, and inputs it to the display control unit 15. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs it to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the acquired search result is output from the display unit 16 as a WWW browser image.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 determines a search keyword from the character string in the video of the TV broadcast, acquires the search result on the search site on the Internet using the search keyword, and provides it to the user. can do.

  When the link destination desired by the user is selected from the link destinations displayed as the search results on the search result page by the user operation through the operation of the remote controller RM, the browser activation unit 21 selects the communication unit. The link destination page is accessed via the link 17.

  Next, the browser activation unit 21 acquires the page information of the accessed page via the communication unit 17, writes the page information in the VRAM 12, temporarily stores it, reads it from the VRAM 12, and sends it to the display control unit 15. input. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs it to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the link destination desired by the user is output from the display unit 16 as a WWW browser image.

  In this way, the Internet television apparatus 1 allows the user to select a desired link destination from the link destinations displayed as the search results and browse the page of the link destination. As a result, information on the Internet related to television broadcast video can be provided to the user.

(1-2) Internet Search Result Acquisition Processing Procedure Next, the Internet TV apparatus 1 acquires a search result on a search site on the Internet using a search keyword determined from a character string in a TV broadcast video. The processing procedure will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Hereinafter, this processing procedure is also referred to as an Internet search result acquisition processing procedure. This Internet search result acquisition processing procedure is a processing procedure executed by the CPU 2 of the Internet television apparatus 1 according to the program read from the nonvolatile memory 4.

  For example, when the power switch of the Internet TV apparatus 1 is turned on, the CPU 2 of the Internet TV apparatus 1 starts the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure RT1. In step SP1, the character detection unit 18 detects a character string from the video by character recognition, and proceeds to step SP2. A known character recognition technique can be used for character recognition. For example, the reference image of the character to be detected is previously stored as a dictionary, and the character is recognized by comparing it with the image of the inspection area.

  In step SP2, the character detection unit 18 detects a word from the recognized character string. A known natural language processing technique can be used for the word detection. For example, in morphological analysis, which is one of natural language processing techniques, a word to which information such as part of speech is added is previously stored as a dictionary for a language to be detected. Then, the character string to be detected is divided into morphemes which are the smallest units having meaning in the language, and the word is detected by discriminating each part of speech.

  When step SP2 is completed, in step SP3, the keyword determination unit 19 reads out words that prompt a search operation on the Internet set in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4, and whether or not these words are among the detected words. Is determined.

  Here, if a positive result is obtained in step SP3 because there is a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet among the detected words, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP4.

  In step SP4, the keyword determination unit 19 adds two priority scores to the words before and after the word that prompts the search work on the Internet, and proceeds to step SP5. Examples of words that prompt a search operation on the Internet include “search”, “search”, “click”, and “Search”. In recent years, for example, TV programs and commercial messages (CMs) that display “Search for“ ABC ”!” And introduce the search keyword “ABC” to users are increasing. Therefore, it is highly probable that words before and after a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet such as “search”, “search”, “click”, and “Search” are introduced as search keywords. Therefore, the priority as a search keyword can be increased by adding 2 to the priority score of those words.

  If the detected word does not contain a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet and if a negative result is obtained in step SP3, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP5.

  In step SP5, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether there is a word having a single background color among the detected words using a known image processing technique or the like.

  Here, if there is a word with a single background color among the detected words and an affirmative result is obtained in step SP5, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP6.

  In step SP6, the keyword determination unit 19 adds one point to the word priority score for a word having a single background color, and proceeds to step SP7. A word having a single background color is predicted to be a word emphasized in the video. For example, in a method in which “search for“ ABC ”!”, Which has been increasing in recent years, and introducing a search keyword “ABC” to the user, for example, the characters are black and the background color is unified to white There are many. Therefore, it is considered that a word whose background color is a single color has a high possibility of being introduced as a search keyword. Therefore, the priority as a search keyword is increased by adding one priority score. be able to.

  By the way, here, it is assumed that words that are before and after a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet are more likely to be introduced as search keywords than words that have a single background color. Accordingly, for the words before and after the word that prompts the search work on the Internet, the priority score is increased by one point over the word having a single background color. By this processing, it is considered that words that are highly likely to be introduced as search keywords can be detected more accurately.

  Further, if there is no word having a single background color among the detected words and if a negative result is obtained in step SP5, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP7.

  In step SP7, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether there are a plurality of words having the highest priority score.

  Here, if there is a plurality of words having the highest priority score, and a positive result is obtained in step SP7, this means that there are a plurality of words that are likely to be introduced as search keywords. At this time, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP8.

  In step SP8, the keyword determining unit 19 arbitrarily selects (for example, randomly) one word from the words having the highest priority score, determines it as a search keyword, and writes the search keyword in the RAM 6. Remember me.

  Also, if a negative result is obtained in step SP7 because there is only one word with the highest priority score, this is only one word that is likely to be introduced as a search keyword. It means that. At this time, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP9.

  In step SP9, the keyword determination unit 19 determines the word having the highest priority score as a search keyword, and writes the search keyword in the RAM 6 for storage.

  When step SP8 or step SP9 is completed, in step SP10, the search site selection unit 20 calls URL information of a search site registered in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4, and selects a search site to be used using the URL information. . At this time, the search site selected by the search site selection unit 20 can be set in advance by a user operation.

  When step SP10 is completed, in step SP11, the browser activation unit 21 activates the WWW browser, and proceeds to step SP12.

  In step SP12, the browser activation unit 21 accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. And the browser starting part 21 reads the keyword for a search memorize | stored in RAM6, transmits the keyword for a search to a search site via the communication part 17, and moves to step SP13.

  In step SP <b> 13, the browser activation unit 21 acquires page information of a search result by the search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 inputs the search result page information to the display control unit 15 via the VRAM 12. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs the image signal to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the acquired search result is output from the display unit 16.

  Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of the display screen 31 on the display unit 16 of the Internet television apparatus 1 when the page image of the search result is displayed at this time. The display screen 31 is a horizontally long rectangle. At this time, a television broadcast display area 32 is provided on the left side of the display screen 31, and the television broadcast that has been displayed on the entire screen is reduced and displayed in that area. . On the other hand, a WWW browser display area 33 is provided on the right side of the display screen 31, and a page image of the search result is displayed as a WWW browser image in that area. When there are page images that cannot be displayed, a scroll bar (not shown) is provided in the WWW browser display area 33, and page images that cannot be displayed can be displayed by operating the scroll bar. Further, a re-search button display area 34 is provided in the lower right part of the display screen 31, and a re-search button 35 is displayed in that area.

  As a result, the search site using the character string in the video can be searched without causing the user to perform a complicated operation such as writing down the character string in the video and inputting the character string to the device. The user can browse.

  Further, when the WWW browser is activated in step SP11, the target that the user can operate with the remote controller RM or the like is changed from the television broadcast display area 32 to the WWW browser display area 33. Therefore, the user can select the desired link destination from the link destinations displayed as the search results without causing the user to perform an operation for changing the target that can be operated, and the link destination page. Can be viewed.

  The user can change the object that can be operated by moving a focus frame (not shown) indicating the object that can be operated by operating the remote controller RM or the like. Note that, for example, a state in which the object that can be operated is the television broadcast display area 32 is also referred to as an operation of the television broadcast display area 32 being effective.

  Further, since the WWW browser display area 33 is provided side by side with the TV broadcast display area 32, the user can view the search results displayed in the WWW browser display area 33 while allowing the user to continue watching the TV broadcast that has been displayed so far. Can be made.

  In step SP14, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether or not the re-search button 35 is pressed. The re-search button 35 is pressed when the user operates the remote control RM and the re-search button 35 is selected by the focus frame, and the user presses a decision button (not shown) on the remote control RM. Is Rukoto. When the re-search button 35 is pressed, the Internet TV apparatus 1 acquires a result of searching a search site different from the previous search using the same search keyword as the previous search, and provides the result to the user. Perform search processing.

  If the keyword determination unit 19 obtains an affirmative result in step SP14 due to the re-search button 35 being pressed, this means that the re-search process is instructed by the user's operation. At this time, in step SP15, the search site selection unit 20 calls the URL information of the search site from the nonvolatile memory 4. Then, the search site selection unit 20 uses the URL information to select a search site different from the previously selected search site as a search site to be used.

  When step SP15 is completed, in step SP16, the browser activation unit 21 accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 reads the search keyword stored in the RAM 6, transmits the search keyword to the search site via the communication unit 17, and proceeds to step SP17.

  In step SP <b> 17, the browser activation unit 21 acquires page information of a search result by the search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 inputs the search result page information to the display control unit 15 via the VRAM 12. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs the image signal to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the acquired search result is output from the display unit 16.

  Therefore, the Internet television apparatus 1 causes the user to perform a simple operation of pressing the re-search button, and causes a search site different from the previous search to be searched using the same search keyword as the previous search. Can be viewed by the user.

  If the keyword determination unit 19 obtains a negative result in step SP14 because the re-search button 35 is not pressed by the user's operation on the remote controller RM, this indicates that the re-search process is instructed by the user's operation. Means no. When a negative result is obtained in step SP14 or when step SP17 is completed, in step SP18, the CPU 2 determines whether or not the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is valid.

  Here, if the CPU 2 obtains a negative result in step SP18 because the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is not valid, this means that the user is viewing a page image such as a search result. . At this time, in step SP14 again, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether or not the re-search button 35 has been pressed.

  If the CPU 2 obtains a positive result in step SP18 because the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is valid, this means that the user operates the television broadcast display area 32 via the operation of the remote controller RM. Means that is enabled. Therefore, it is predicted that the user has finished browsing the page image such as the search result and is watching the television broadcast. At this time, again in step SP1, the character detection unit 18 starts detecting a character string from the video by character recognition.

  In accordance with such an Internet search result acquisition processing procedure RT1, the Internet TV apparatus 1 determines a search keyword from a character string in a TV broadcast video, and acquires a search result using the search keyword. And provide it to the user.

(1-3) Operation and Effect According to First Embodiment In the above configuration, when the power switch of the Internet TV apparatus 1 is turned on, the CPU 2 of the Internet TV apparatus 1 A character string is detected from the video on which the video is superimposed, and a word is detected from the detected character string.

  Next, the CPU 2 determines the priority of the detected word as a search keyword based on a predetermined condition, and determines the word with the highest priority as the search keyword.

  Then, the CPU 2 activates a WWW browser, accesses a search site arbitrarily selected via the communication unit 17, transmits a search keyword to the search site, and acquires page information of the search result. Then, the CPU 2 inputs page information of the search result to the display unit 16 via the display control unit 15. As a result, a page image as a search result is output from the display unit 16.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 determines the search keyword from the character string in the TV broadcast video without causing the user to perform complicated work, and causes the search site to search using the search keyword. The result can be obtained and provided to the user.

  Further, the CPU 2 displays a page image of the acquired search result on the display screen 31 and also displays a re-search button 35. When the re-search button 35 is pressed by the user's operation, the CPU 2 obtains a search result on a search site different from the previous search using the same search keyword as the previous search, and displays the display screen 31. The page image of the search result is displayed.

  Therefore, the Internet television apparatus 1 causes the user to perform a simple operation of pressing the re-search button, and causes a search site different from the previous search to be searched using the same search keyword as the previous search. Can also be provided to the user.

  Further, the CPU 2 detects a character string from an image obtained by superimposing a television broadcast program image and a character broadcast image. Therefore, the Internet TV apparatus 1 does not detect the character string separately from each of the TV broadcast program video and the character broadcast, but only detects the character string from the above-mentioned video, and the character from both the program video and the character broadcast. A column can be detected.

  According to the above configuration, the Internet television apparatus 1 determines the search keyword from the character string in the video of the television broadcast. Then, the Internet television apparatus 1 obtains the search result on the search site on the Internet using the search keyword, and displays it on the display unit 16.

  This makes it possible to use the keyword determined from the character string in the video on the Internet without causing the user to perform a complicated operation such as writing down the character string in the video and inputting the character string to the device. It is possible to make the user browse the search results of the search site.

  Thus, the Internet television apparatus 1 can easily provide the user with the result of searching the search site on the Internet using the keyword determined from the character string in the video as compared with the conventional case.

(2) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, a search keyword is determined by a procedure different from that of the first embodiment described above, and a search result is obtained by using the search keyword. ing. Therefore, here, the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure will be mainly described. Note that parts other than this processing procedure (for example, the circuit configuration of the Internet television apparatus 1) are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the first embodiment is referred to.

(2-1) Internet Search Result Acquisition Processing Procedure The Internet search result acquisition processing procedure RT2 in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  For example, when the power switch of the Internet TV device 1 is turned on, the CPU 2 of the Internet TV device 1 starts the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure RT2. Steps SP1 to SP6 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the first embodiment is referred to. That is, in step SP1 to step SP6, the character detection unit 18 detects a character string from the video, and detects a word from the detected character string. Then, the keyword determination unit 19 assigns a priority score to the detected word according to a predetermined condition, and proceeds to step SP107.

  In step SP107, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether there are a plurality of words having the highest priority score.

  Here, when there are a plurality of words having the highest priority score, and a positive result is obtained in step SP107, this means that there are a plurality of words that are likely to be introduced as search keywords. To do. At this time, in step SP108, the display control unit 15 causes the display unit 16 to use the plurality of words as search keyword candidates in order to cause the user to select a desired word from a plurality of words having the highest priority score. Display. The plurality of words having the highest priority score displayed on the display unit 16 are hereinafter also referred to as search keyword candidate words.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the display screen 31 when the search keyword candidate word is displayed at this time. A television broadcast display area 32 is provided on the left side of the display screen 31, and the television broadcast that has been displayed on the entire screen is reduced and displayed in that area. In addition, a search keyword candidate display area 36 is provided on the right side of the display screen 31, and the search keyword candidate words are displayed in this area to allow the user to select a desired word. When there are words that cannot be displayed, the search keyword candidate display area 36 is provided with a scroll bar, and words that cannot be displayed can be displayed by operating the scroll bar.

  Furthermore, when the search keyword candidate word is displayed, the operation of the search keyword candidate display area 36 becomes effective. Therefore, the user can select a desired word as a search keyword by moving the focus frame by operating the remote controller RM, selecting a desired word, and pressing a determination button on the remote controller RM. .

  When step SP108 is completed, in step SP109, the keyword determination unit 19 waits until a word is selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words displayed in the search keyword candidate display area 36.

  Here, when a word is selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words, an affirmative result is obtained in step SP109, and the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP110.

  In step SP110, the keyword determination unit 19 determines a word selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words as a search keyword, and writes and stores the determined keyword in the RAM 6.

  When step SP110 is completed, in step SP111, the search site selection unit 20 calls URL information of a search site registered in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4, and uses the URL information to select a search site to be used. At this time, the search site selected by the search site selection unit 20 can be set in advance by a user operation.

  When step SP111 is completed, in step SP112, the browser activation unit 21 activates the WWW browser, and proceeds to step SP113.

  In step SP113, the browser activation unit 21 accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. And the browser starting part 21 reads the keyword for search memorize | stored in RAM6, transmits the keyword for search to a search site via the communication part 17, and moves to step SP114.

  In step SP114, the browser activation unit 21 acquires the page information of the search result by the search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 inputs the search result page information to the display control unit 15 via the VRAM 12. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs the image signal to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the acquired search result is output from the display unit 16.

  Here, FIG. 8 shows an example of the display screen 31 when the page image of the search result is displayed at this time. In the left part of the display screen 31, a television broadcast display area 32 is continuously provided, and the television broadcast that has been displayed so far is displayed in that area. Further, a WWW browser display area 33 is provided on the right side of the display screen 31, and a page image of the search result is displayed as a WWW browser image in that area. When there is a page image that cannot be displayed, a scroll bar is provided in the WWW browser display area 33, and a page image that cannot be displayed can be displayed by operating the scroll bar. Further, a search keyword candidate display area 36 is provided in the lower right portion of the display screen 31, and the search keyword candidate words that have been displayed so far are displayed in the area. When there are words that cannot be displayed, the search keyword candidate display area 36 is provided with a scroll bar 37, and words that cannot be displayed can be displayed by operating the scroll bar 37.

  As described above, when there are a plurality of search keyword candidate words detected from the television broadcast video, the Internet TV apparatus 1 allows the user to select a desired word from the plurality of words and uses the word. The user can browse the result of searching on the search site.

  Furthermore, when the WWW browser is activated in step SP112, the operation of the WWW browser display area 33 becomes valid. Therefore, for example, the user can select a desired link destination from the link destinations displayed in the search result without causing the user to perform an operation for changing the target that can be operated. You can browse the page.

  When step SP114 or step SP120 is completed, in step SP115, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether a word has been selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words displayed in the search keyword candidate display area 36. To do.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP115 by selecting a word by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words, the keyword determination unit 19 moves to step SP116.

  In step SP116, the keyword determination unit 19 determines a word selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words as a search keyword, and writes and stores the keyword in the RAM 6.

  When step SP116 is completed, in step SP117, the search site selection unit 20 calls the URL information of the search site from the nonvolatile memory 4, and uses the URL information to select the search site to be used.

  When step SP117 is completed, in step SP118, the browser activation unit 21 accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. And the browser starting part 21 reads the keyword for search memorize | stored in RAM6, transmits the keyword for search to a search site via the communication part 17, and moves to step SP119.

  In step SP119, the browser activation unit 21 acquires the page information of the search result by the search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 inputs the search result page information to the display control unit 15 via the VRAM 12. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs the image signal to the display unit 16. As a result, the page image of the acquired search result is output from the display unit 16.

  As described above, after the Internet TV apparatus 1 displays the search site search result using the word selected by the user operation from the plurality of search keyword candidate words detected from the TV broadcast video. In addition, the search candidate word is continuously displayed. Therefore, the Internet television apparatus 1 allows the user to select a desired word again from the search keyword candidate words without causing the user to perform complicated operations such as inputting the word into the apparatus. It is possible to browse the search results using the search site.

  If the keyword determination unit 19 obtains a negative result in step SP115 described above, this means that no word has been selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words. When a negative result is obtained in step SP115, or when step SP119 or step SP125 is completed, in step SP120, the CPU 2 determines whether or not the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is valid.

  Here, when a negative result is obtained in step SP120 because the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is not effective, this indicates that the object that can be operated by the user via the operation of the remote controller RM is changed. Means not. Therefore, it is predicted that the user is browsing a page image such as a search result. At this time, in step SP115 again, the keyword determination unit 19 determines whether or not a word has been selected by a user operation from the search keyword candidate words.

  In addition, if the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is valid and an affirmative result is obtained in step SP120, this means that the operation of the television broadcast display area 32 is effective by the user via the operation of the remote controller RM. Means that Therefore, it is predicted that the user has finished browsing the page image such as the search result and is watching the television broadcast. At this time, again in step SP1, the character detection unit 18 starts detecting a character string from the video by character recognition.

  Also, if a negative result is obtained in step SP107 because there is only one word with the highest priority score, this means that only one word is likely to be introduced as a search keyword. It means that there is. At this time, the keyword determination unit 19 proceeds to step SP121.

  In step SP121, the keyword determination unit 19 determines the detected word with the highest priority score as a search keyword, and writes the search keyword in the RAM 6 for storage.

  When step SP121 is completed, in step SP122, the search site selection unit 20 calls URL information of a search site registered in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4, and selects a search site to be used using the URL information.

  When step SP122 is completed, in step SP123, the browser activation unit 21 activates the WWW browser, and proceeds to step SP124.

  In step SP124, the browser activation unit 21 accesses the selected search site via the communication unit 17. And the browser starting part 21 reads the keyword for search memorize | stored in RAM6, transmits the keyword for search to a search site via the communication part 17, and moves to step SP125.

  In step SP125, the browser activation unit 21 acquires the page information of the search result by the search site via the communication unit 17. Then, the browser activation unit 21 inputs the search result page information to the display control unit 15 via the VRAM 12. The display control unit 15 converts the page information into an image signal and inputs the image signal to the display unit 16. As a result, the acquired search result page image is output from the display unit 16.

  In accordance with the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure RT2, the Internet TV apparatus 1 determines a search keyword from a character string in a TV broadcast video, and acquires a search result using the search keyword. And provide it to the user.

(2-2) Operation and effect according to the second embodiment In the above configuration, the CPU 2 of the Internet television apparatus 1 detects a character string from a television broadcast image, detects a word from the character string, and detects the detected word. On the other hand, the priority as a search keyword is determined according to a predetermined condition, and a priority score is assigned.

  Then, when there are a plurality of words having the highest priority score, the CPU 2 causes the display unit 16 to display the plurality of words as search keyword candidate words. Then, the CPU 2 determines, as a search keyword, a word selected by a user operation from among the plurality of displayed search keyword candidate words.

  Then, the CPU 2 acquires the page information as a result of searching the search site using the search keyword through the communication unit 17, and outputs the page information from the display unit 16 through the display control unit 15. To do.

  As described above, when there are a plurality of search keyword candidate words detected from the video of the television broadcast, the Internet TV apparatus 1 causes the user to select a desired word from the search keyword candidates, and uses the word as a search site. The search result can be acquired and provided to the user.

  Further, the CPU 2 displays a page image of the acquired search result on the display screen 31 and continuously displays a plurality of search keyword candidate words in the search keyword candidate display area 36. The CPU 2 determines a word selected by a user operation from the plurality of words as a search keyword, obtains a search result using the search keyword, and outputs the result from the display unit 16. .

  As described above, when there are a plurality of search keyword candidate words detected from the TV broadcast video, the Internet TV apparatus 1 again requests the user from the search keyword candidate words displayed. You can select a word. As a result, without causing the user to perform complicated work, the search site search result using the word selected by the user can be acquired and provided to the user.

  According to the above configuration, when there are a plurality of search keyword candidate words among the words detected from the television broadcast video, the Internet TV apparatus 1 selects a word desired by the user from the plurality of words. The word is determined as a search keyword. Then, the Internet TV apparatus 1 obtains the search result on the search site on the Internet using the search keyword, and displays the result on the display unit 16 so that the user can browse.

  By doing so, the Internet television apparatus 1 can provide the user with information on the Internet related to the words that the user is particularly interested in among the words in the TV broadcast video.

(3) Other embodiments (3-1) Other embodiments 1
In the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 determines the priority as a search keyword for a word detected from a video according to a predetermined condition, and gives a priority score. I made it. In the first and second embodiments described above, it is used as a condition whether or not the word is in the vicinity of a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet and whether or not the background color of the word is a single color. I made it.

  The present invention is not limited to this. For example, various conditions such as whether the character size is large or whether the order of the words in the sentence is fast may be used. And may be used in combination.

  For example, when using whether or not the character size is large as a condition, a priority score of one point is added to a word whose character size is a predetermined size or more among words detected from the character string in the video. To do.

  In this way, the Internet television apparatus 1 more accurately detects a word that is highly likely to be introduced as a search keyword from within the video, and uses the word to search the search site using the word. Can be provided.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, a priority score of 2 is added to a word in the vicinity of a word that prompts a search operation on the Internet, and a word whose background color is a single color is added. The priority score is increased by one point.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the priority score may be changed as appropriate. In addition, when a plurality of conditions are combined such as whether the character size is large, the priority score may be changed as appropriate.

(3-2) Other Embodiment 2
In the first and second embodiments described above, when there are a plurality of words having the highest priority score, the Internet television apparatus 1 always searches for one word from the plurality of words. It was decided as a keyword.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and all the words having the highest priority score are determined as search keywords, and the search unit 16 uses these search keywords to obtain search results on the Internet and obtain the display unit 16. You may make it display on. Alternatively, the number of words to be used as search keywords may be set in advance, and a preset number may be arbitrarily selected from a plurality of words having the highest priority score, and determined as search keywords.

  As described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 acquires the result of searching the search site using a plurality of words detected from the character string in the video, so that information on the Internet is more closely related to the video. Can be provided to the user.

  Also, not limited to this, the search sites on the Internet were searched using the words with the highest priority scores one by one, and all the results were acquired, of which the number of search results was the largest. You may make it display the search result about a keyword on the display part 16. FIG.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 gives the user the search result for the search keyword having the largest number of pages related to the search keyword from the search keywords determined from the character string in the video. Can be provided easily.

(3-3) Other Embodiment 3
Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 calls the URL information of the search site from the nonvolatile memory 4 and uses the search site set in advance by the user operation. Was selected as.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and a search site that is set to be displayed first when the WWW browser is activated may be selected or used from search sites registered in the bookmark of the WWW browser. A search site may be selected. Further, for example, a search site registered at the top of the bookmark of the WWW browser may be selected with priority.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 searches for a search keyword in a search site that is normally used when the user uses the Internet, without causing the user to set a search site in advance. Results can be provided.

(3-4) Other Embodiment 4
In the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 calls the URL information of a search site registered in advance from the nonvolatile memory 4 and selects only one search site to be used. I made it.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and is selected as a search site that uses a plurality of search sites, transmits search keywords to the plurality of search sites, acquires all search results, and has the largest number of search results. The search result of the search site may be displayed on the display unit 16.

  In this way, the Internet television apparatus 1 can provide the user with a greater number of search results searched by the search site using the search keyword determined from the character string in the video.

(3-5) Other Embodiment 5
Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, the WWW browser display area 33 for displaying the search result when displaying the search result on the search site using the search keyword determined from the character string in the video. Are provided together with the television broadcast display area 32.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and when displaying the search result, the WWW browser display area 33 may be provided on the entire screen without providing the television broadcast display area 32 on the display screen 31. Further, the arrangement of the display areas may be changed, the user may be allowed to set a preferred arrangement, and various other arrangements may be used.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, when the WWW browser display area 33 for displaying the search result is provided together with the TV broadcast display area 32, the TV broadcast display area 32 and the WWW browser display area 33 are provided side by side. did.

  The present invention is not limited to this. For example, the television broadcast display area 32 and the WWW browser display area 33 may be overlapped.

(3-6) Other Embodiment 6
Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 displays the page image of the acquired search result on the display screen 31 and also displays the re-search button 35. Then, when the user operates the remote controller RM, the re-search button 35 is pressed by pressing the enter button on the remote controller RM while the re-search button 35 is selected by the focus frame.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and a re-search button (not shown) for performing the same processing as when the re-search button 35 is pressed may be provided on the remote controller RM.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 allows the user to perform a simple operation of pressing the re-search button of the remote controller RM, and uses the same search keyword as the previous search. It is possible to provide the results of searching on different search sites.

(3-7) Other Embodiment 7
Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, when the search site search result is displayed using a word selected by a user operation from among a plurality of search keyword candidate words, it is displayed until then. All the search keyword candidate words were displayed.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the search keyword candidate display area 36 may display words of search keyword candidates other than the search keyword used in the previous search.

  In this way, the same word as the search keyword used in the previous search is prevented from being selected by a user operation, and the search site is searched using a word different from the search keyword used in the previous search. The result can be provided to the user.

(3-8) Other Embodiment 8
Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 automatically executes the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure when the power switch is turned on.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the user may be instructed to execute the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure.

  In this case, for example, a search start button (not shown) is provided on the remote controller RM. When the user presses the search start button, the Internet TV apparatus 1 starts the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure. Further, a search end button (not shown) is provided on the remote controller RM, and when the user presses the search end button, the Internet television apparatus 1 ends the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure.

  In this way, the Internet TV apparatus 1 determines a search keyword from a character string in a TV broadcast video, and provides a result of searching a search site on the Internet using the keyword. The user can be instructed freely.

(3-9) Other Embodiment 9
Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, a program for executing the Internet search result acquisition processing procedure is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 4 in advance.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the Internet TV apparatus 1 may be downloaded from a server on the network, for example, via the communication unit 17 and installed in the nonvolatile memory 4.

  The program is not limited to this, and the program may be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk, and the Internet television apparatus 1 may read the program from the recording medium and install it in the nonvolatile memory 4.

  In this case, it is assumed that the Internet television apparatus 1 is separately provided with a media drive that can read a program from a recording medium.

(3-10) Other Embodiment 10
Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television device 1 as an information processing device is provided with a character detection unit 18 as a character detection unit and a keyword determination unit 19 as a keyword determination unit. I made it. Furthermore, the Internet television apparatus 1 is provided with a keyword transmission unit, a communication unit 17 as a search result reception unit, a browser activation unit 21, and a display control unit 15 as a display control unit.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and may be replaced with other various hardware as long as they have similar functions. For example, each of the character detection unit, the keyword determination unit, the keyword transmission unit, the search result reception unit, and the display control unit may be realized by individual hardware or software.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet TV device 1 includes the RAM 6 as a keyword storage unit, the nonvolatile memory 4 as an information search system address information storage unit, and the information search system selection unit. The search site selection unit 20 is provided.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and may be replaced with other various hardware as long as they have similar functions.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the Internet television apparatus 1 includes the antenna 8 as a receiving unit, the tuner unit 9, the demodulating unit 10, and the character broadcast decoder unit 11 as a character broadcast separating unit. I made it. Further, the Internet television apparatus 1 is provided with a text broadcast display processing unit 13 as a text broadcast display processing unit and a video signal generation unit 14 as a video signal generation unit.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the same function is connected to the information processing apparatus that can realize the same processing as that of the first and second embodiments described above, and another apparatus that can operate integrally. It may be realized.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the Internet television device 1 as long as it is an information processing device that can realize the same processing as in the first and second embodiments described above, such as a personal computer having a video playback function. The present invention can be applied to various information processing apparatuses. In addition, the present invention is not limited to television broadcasting, and the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus that reproduces various other videos, such as videos recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disc, as long as the video can detect a character string. You may do it.

(3-11) Other Embodiment 11
Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above and the other embodiments 1 to 10 described so far. That is, the present invention is also applicable to a mode in which a part or all of the above-described embodiment and the other embodiments 1 to 10 described so far are arbitrarily combined, or a part of which is extracted.

  For example, a part of the first embodiment may be combined with the second embodiment. In this case, for example, when a search result is displayed on the Internet TV device 1, a re-search button 35 is displayed in the re-search button display area 34, and a search keyword candidate word is displayed in the search keyword candidate display area 36. Is displayed.

  Accordingly, at this time, when the user presses the re-search button 35 through the operation of the remote controller RM, the search site is different from the search site used in the previous search by using the same search keyword as the previous search. The result of the search can be provided to the user. At this time, the user is made to search the search site using the word by selecting the desired word from the words displayed in the search keyword candidate display area 36 through the operation of the remote controller RM. Results can also be provided to the user.

  In addition, for example, other embodiments 1 and 3 may be combined, and in addition to 1 and 3, another embodiment 5 may be combined.

  The present invention can be widely used, for example, in an information processing apparatus having a video playback function such as television broadcasting and an Internet connection function.

It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the internet television apparatus in 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the internet search result acquisition process procedure (1) in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the internet search result acquisition process procedure (2) in 1st Embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of the display screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the internet search result acquisition process procedure (1) in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the internet search result acquisition process procedure (2) in 2nd Embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of the display screen (1) in 2nd Embodiment. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of the display screen (2) in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Internet television apparatus, 2 ... CPU, 4 ... Non-volatile memory, 5 ... Input part, 6 ... RAM, 8 ... Antenna, 9 ... Tuner part, 10 ... Demodulation part, 11 ... Teletext broadcast decoder, 12 ... VRAM, 13 ... Text broadcast display processing unit, 14 ... Video signal generator, 15 ... Display control unit, 16 ... Display unit, 17 ... Communication unit, 18 ... Text Detection unit, 19 ... Keyword determination unit, 20 ... Search site selection unit, 21 ... Browser activation unit, 32 ... TV broadcast display region, 33 ... WWW browser display region, 34 ... Research button display region, 35... Re-search button, 36... Search keyword candidate display area.

Claims (11)

A character detection unit for detecting a character string from video based on a video signal;
A keyword determination unit for determining a keyword for searching for information on the network from the character string detected by the character detection unit;
A keyword transmission unit for transmitting the keyword determined by the keyword determination unit to an information search system for searching for information on a network;
A search result receiving unit for receiving search result information by the information search system;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit that causes the display unit to display the search result information received by the search result receiving unit. The character detection unit
A word is detected from the character string detected from the video based on the video signal,
The keyword determination unit
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a keyword for searching for information on a network is determined from the words detected by the character detection unit. The keyword determination unit
For each word detected by the character detection unit, a priority as a keyword for searching for information on the network is set, and a keyword for searching for information on the network is determined based on the priority. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The keyword determination unit
For each of the words detected by the character detection unit, the priority as a keyword for searching for information on the network is determined based on whether the word is in the vicinity of a word that prompts the search work on the network. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 to be set. The keyword determination unit
The priority as a keyword for searching for information on the network is set for each word detected by the character detection unit based on whether the background color of the word is a single color. The information processing apparatus described. The display control unit
When there are a plurality of words having the highest priority among the above-mentioned words set as priorities as keywords for searching for information on the network by the keyword determination unit, the plurality of words are displayed on the display unit Let
The keyword determination unit
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a word selected by a user operation from the plurality of words displayed on the display unit by the display control unit is determined as a keyword for searching for information on the network. A keyword storage unit for storing the keyword determined by the keyword determination unit;
An information retrieval system address information storage unit for storing address information on a network of a plurality of information retrieval systems;
An information search system selection unit for selecting address information of an information search system different from the previously used information search system from the address information stored in the information search system address information storage unit,
The keyword transmitter
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the keyword stored in the keyword storage unit is transmitted to an information search system based on the address information selected by the information search system selection unit. A receiver for receiving broadcast signals;
A teletext separator for separating teletext signals included in the broadcast signal received by the receiver;
A character broadcast display processing unit that converts the character broadcast signal separated by the character broadcast separation unit into a display signal;
A video signal generation unit that generates the video signal from the program video signal included in the broadcast signal received by the reception unit and the display signal converted from the text broadcast signal by the teletext display processing unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The display control unit
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search result information received by the search result receiving unit is displayed on a display unit together with a video based on the video signal. A character detection step for detecting a character string from video based on the video signal;
A keyword determination step for determining a keyword for searching for information on the network from the character string detected in the character detection step;
A keyword transmission step of transmitting the keyword determined in the keyword determination step to an information search system for searching for information on a network;
A search result receiving step for receiving search result information by the information search system;
An information processing method comprising: a display step of displaying the search result information received in the search result receiving step on a display unit. In the information processing device,
A character detection step for detecting a character string from video based on the video signal;
A keyword determination step for determining a keyword for searching for information on the network from the character string detected in the character detection step;
A keyword transmission step of transmitting the keyword determined in the keyword determination step to an information search system for searching for information on a network;
A search result receiving step for receiving search result information by the information search system;
An information processing program for executing the display step of displaying the search result information received in the search result receiving step on a display unit.

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