JP4736728B2 - Content processing apparatus, content processing program, and content processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content processing apparatus, a content processing program, and a content processing method.

  The network Web environment is evolving day by day, and the amount of information contained therein is increasing. On the other hand, the form of information is not only text, but multimedia such as still images, moving images, and voices is further advanced. In order for Web viewers to make effective use of such a large amount of information on the network, it is most desirable that the information according to the purpose of use can be efficiently searched. Therefore, in recent years, information can be efficiently searched by using various search engines.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 11, such a search engine basically only presents a list of a part of search results (several lines of text including keywords or image thumbnails near the keywords). To obtain more information, open each linked Web page one by one and check the contents. If you cannot obtain the desired information, return to the search result list screen again. Become.

  On the other hand, when searching for information using a keyword in a field that is not familiar, it is not always easy to come up with an appropriate keyword, and search results often contain information that the viewer does not expect (unnecessary). . In such a case, there is a method of narrowing down the search target while adding keywords by trial and error, but it takes time and effort to repeat the search many times. Therefore, when the search results are categorized and displayed, the viewer can easily grasp the entire contents of the target field, so that it is easy to find out only the information of the desired category. Such categorized display of search results is described in Non-Patent Document 1, for example.

Bill Kules and Ben Shneiderman, "Categorized graphical overviews for web search results: An exploratory study using US government agencies as a meaningful and stable structure," Proceedings of the Third Annual Workshop on HCI Research in MIS, Washington, DC, December 10-11 , 2004

  However, it is very cumbersome to repeat the process of opening each link destination from the search result list, and if the search result and the link destination are reciprocated many times in this way, the information browsing context is lost and the search is performed. There is a problem that efficiency decreases. On the other hand, when a lot of information is presented for each search result Web page, the overall listability is deteriorated, and the search efficiency is also lowered. In recent years, methods for reducing the display of linked Web pages in the list screen have also appeared. However, these can grasp the atmosphere of the entire link destination, but the details of text and images are detailed. There is a problem of not knowing.

  In addition, according to the technique for categorizing and displaying the search results described in Non-Patent Document 1, the list screen after selecting a category is an extracted text similar to the normal keyword search result screen of the search engine To get more information, you must open the linked page.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in the case where the display medium is text, the zoom operation / behavior description can be simplified, the trouble of the zoom operation / behavior description, and the zoom operation / behavior description. The purpose is to reduce the amount and improve the readability.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the content processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is a content search result reception for receiving a content group that is a result of searching for content composed of various objects according to a search request. And the content group of the search results received by the content search result receiving unit are ranked based on a predetermined priority order, then an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the same for each object A display code generation unit that generates and outputs a search result list of the content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in level of detail and display media transition in the screen, and the display code If the generation unit, the display media of the object is a text, said of It describes a zooming operation / behavior in association with the number of characters to be displayed on said object with respect to the zoom rate to-object.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the content processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the display code generation unit associates the number of characters from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the content processing device according to the first aspect, the display code generation unit associates the total number of characters before and after the central part of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content processing apparatus that receives a content group that is a result of searching for content composed of various objects according to a search request, and the content search result receiving unit receives the content group. After ranking the content groups of the search results based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the detail level change and display media transition within the same screen for each object are selected. A display code generation unit that generates and outputs a list of search results of the content by describing zoom operations / behaviors that are continuously realized, and the display code generation unit includes text as a display medium of the object in some cases, the O relative zoom factor for said object It describes a zooming operation / behavior in association with each number of character lines to be displayed in the object.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing device according to the fourth aspect, the display code generation unit associates the number of character lines from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing device according to the fourth aspect, the display code generation unit calculates the total number of character lines before and after the central portion of the text to be zoomed as a zoom rate. Associate with.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the content processing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the zoom operation / behavior is added to one or both of the content structure description and the style description.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, a content storage unit that stores content composed of various objects, a search request, and the content storage A content search control unit for searching for the content stored in the unit, wherein the content search result receiving unit receives the content group of the search results by the content search control unit.

The content processing program of the invention according to claim 9 is received by a content search result receiving function that receives a content group that is a result of searching for content composed of various objects according to a search request, and the content search result receiving function. After ranking the content groups of the search results based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the detail level change and display media transition within the same screen for each object are selected. A display code generation function for generating and outputting a list of search results of the content by describing zoom operations / behaviors that are continuously realized; and the display code generation unit is configured to display the object display medium. If There is a text, the object It describes a zooming operation / behavior in association with the number of characters to be displayed on said object with respect to the zoom ratio against.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing program according to the ninth aspect, the display code generation function associates the number of characters from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with a zoom rate.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the content processing program according to the ninth aspect, the display code generation function associates the total number of characters before and after the central portion of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate. .

A content processing program according to a twelfth aspect of the invention is received by a content search result reception function that receives a content group that is a result of searching for content configured from various objects according to a search request, and the content search result reception function. After ranking the content groups of the search results based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the detail level change and display media transition within the same screen for each object are selected. A display code generation function for generating and outputting a list of search results of the content by describing zoom operations / behaviors that are continuously realized; and the display code generation unit is configured to display the object display medium. If There is a text, the object It describes a zooming operation / behavior in association with each number of character lines to be displayed in said object for zoom factor against.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing program according to the twelfth aspect, the display code generation function associates the number of character lines from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing program according to the twelfth aspect, the display code generation function determines the total number of character lines before and after the central portion of the text to be zoomed as a zoom rate. Associate with.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the content processing program according to any one of the ninth to fourteenth aspects, a content storage function for storing content composed of various objects in the content storage unit and a search request are accepted. And a content search control function for searching for the content stored in the content storage unit. The content search result reception function receives the content group of the search result by the content search control function. .

In the content processing method according to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, after the content groups of the search results are ranked based on a predetermined priority, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the same screen for each object is selected. A content processing method in a content processing apparatus for generating and outputting a search result list of content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in detail level and a transition of display media in the content code, the display code When the display medium of the object is text, the generation unit describes the zoom operation / behavior by associating the number of characters to be displayed in the object with the zoom rate for the object .

In the content processing method according to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, after the content groups of the search results are ranked based on a predetermined priority, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and the same screen for each object is selected. A content processing method in a content processing apparatus for generating and outputting a search result list of content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in detail level and a transition of display media in the content code, the display code generating unit, when the display media of the object is a text, describing the zooming operation / behavior in association with each number of character lines to be displayed in said object for zoom factor for said object.

  According to the present invention, when the display medium is text, the zoom operation / behavior description can be simplified by associating the number of characters to be displayed with the zoom rate. The zoom operation / behavior description amount can be reduced, and the readability can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the display medium is text, the zoom operation / behavioral description can be simplified by associating the zoom rate with the number of character lines to be displayed. It is possible to reduce the trouble of the behavior description and the zoom operation / behavior description amount, and it is possible to improve the readability.

  Exemplary embodiments of a content processing apparatus, a content processing program, and a content processing method according to the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[1. Overview of screen transitions when browsing content in the Web environment]
First, an outline of screen transition in content browsing in a Web environment that is a premise of the present invention will be described.

  In the present embodiment, for the purpose of enhancing the content browsing effect in the Web environment, “zooming” that can realize not only the change in the detail level but also the transition of the display media using the zooming for the content in the Web environment.・ Cross media ”is applied.

  “Zooming cross media” is to position the zoom operation as a third operation for scrolling and anchor clicking. While scrolling moves the point of interest continuously within the same screen and anchor clicks fly to different screens, zooming / cross media continuously realizes changes in detail and display media transitions within the same screen. Display media transition refers to media objects that are related to each other, and according to the zoom operation, the display is continuously changed from one to the other, or the other is continuously displayed and the other is continuously enlarged. It is to make additional display while vice versa (or vice versa). For example, when subtitle text associated with a moving image is displayed, it is gradually changed from subtitle text display to subtitle text with a zooming operation.

Such zooming operation / behavior is modeled on the basis of three basic concepts of zoom target, zoom rate, and zoom propagation.
1. Zoom Target “Zoom Target” is a unit that is a target of zoom operation, and is composed of “media objects” of text, still images, moving images, and audio that constitute the content. A viewer designates a desired zoom target and performs a zoom operation.
2. Zoom rate “Zoom rate” is a value uniquely determined for a zoom target, and is a continuous value between 0.0 and 1.0 that represents the degree of zoom. Zooming in the direction of increasing the zoom rate is called zooming in and zooming out in the direction of decreasing the zoom rate. For each media object, the zoom rate is associated with specific attributes (font size, image size, moving image or audio playback section, etc.).
3. Zoom Propagation “Zoom Propagation” means that when a zoom target is zoomed, other zoom targets are also zoomed together. In zoom propagation, the zoom ratio of the propagation destination is calculated from the zoom ratio of the propagation source zoom object based on a predetermined “zoom ratio relationship”, and the display state of the propagation destination zoom object is controlled. The zoom rate relationship is the ratio of change in the zoom rate between the propagation source and the propagation destination.

  Here, an example of zoom propagation when the zoom ratio relationship is a positive value will be described. 1 to 3 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of screen transition in content browsing in a Web environment. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of content in a Web environment displayed on a display. The example shown in FIG. 1 is an example in which “business trip report” is applied as content in the Web environment. The content in the Web environment shown in FIG. 1 is mainly composed of text as an object.

  FIG. 2 shows the result of zooming in on the content object A in the Web environment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the zoom-in operation is performed on the object A of the content in the Web environment, the object B below the object A is newly displayed, and the new object C is the lower part of the object B. Is displayed. Here, the new object C is a still image of a moving image in which the discussion scene at the time when the discussion related to the object A was made.

  Further, FIG. 3 shows the result of performing a zoom-in operation on the content object A in the Web environment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, when the zoom-in operation is performed on the object A of the content in the Web environment, the font sizes of the objects A and B are enlarged. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when the zoom-in operation is performed on the object A of the content in the Web environment, the detail level of the still image that is the object C is increased (the image size is increased). Furthermore, when the object C is enlarged to a certain size, reproduction of a moving image (and sound) is started.

  The screen transition in content browsing in such a Web environment is described in the following display description (structure description and zooming description). The structure description and the zooming description are described in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based zooming description language (ZDL).

  Here, the zooming description will be described below with a simple example.

1. Designation of media object Each of text, still image, moving image, and audio is represented by tags of <text />, <img />, <video />, and <audio />. This tag specifies the specific text content or source file.
(Example 1)
<text id = text1> This is text. </ text>
<img id = img1 src = "img1.jpg"/>
<video id = video1 src = "video1.mpg"/>
<audio id = audio1 src = "audio1.wav"/>

2. Zoom rate range
In zoomFactor attribute in the <div /> tag, specify the maximum and minimum values of the zoom factor and represent the range of the zoom factor as a continuous parameter.
(Example 2)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5"/>

3. Display of media object Each text, still image, moving image, and audio is represented by <dispText>, <dispImg>, <dispVideo>, and <dispAudio> tags. It is always included in the <div /> tag, and represents the display state of each media object at the zoom ratio in the range specified by the <div /> tag.
(Example 3-1-1)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" fontSize = "10pt 14pt"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is displayed as 10pt when the zoom factor is 0.0 and 14pt when the zoom factor is 0.5, and the font size is as smooth as possible during that time. Is to change.
(Example 3-1-2-1)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" numOfChar = "30 90" center = "0"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is displayed with the first 30 characters when the zoom factor is 0.0, and with the first 90 characters when the zoom factor is 0.5. Is to change the number of characters as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-1-2-2)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" numOfChar = "30 90" center = "1"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is a total of 30 characters before and after the center of the text when the zoom factor is 0.0, and the center of the text when the zoom factor is 0.5 In total, 90 characters before and after are displayed, and the number of characters is changed as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-1-2-3)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" numOfLine = "1 5" center = "0"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is displayed in one line from the beginning when the zoom factor is 0.0, and five lines from the beginning when the zoom factor is 0.5. Is to change the number of lines as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-1-2-4)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" numOfLine = "1 5" center = "1"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is a total of one line before and after the center part of the text when the zoom factor is 0.0, and the center part of the text when the zoom factor is 0.5 The total number of lines before and after is displayed, and the number of lines is changed as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-1-2-5)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" start = "10pt 14pt"/>
</ div>
The above means that the text specified by text1 in the <text /> tag is displayed as 10pt when the zoom factor is 0.0 and 14pt when the zoom factor is 0.5, and the font size is as smooth as possible during that time. Is to change.
Note that (Example 3-1-1) and any one of (Example 3-1-2-1) to (Example 3-1-2-4) can coexist, but (Example 3) -2-1-1), (Example 3-1-2-2), (Example 3-1-2-3), and (Example 3-1-2-4) compete with each other. Coexistence is impossible.
(Example 3-2)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispImg id = "dispimg1" imgId = "img1" imgSize = "10% 50%"/>
</ div>
The above means that the still image specified by img1 in the <img /> tag is displayed at 10% of the maximum size when the zoom factor is 0.0, and 50% when the zoom factor is 0.5. Is to change the size as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-3)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispVideo id = "dispvideo1" videoId = "video1" start = "0" end = "300" videoSize = "10% 50%"/>
</ div>
The above means that the 0th to 300th frame of the video specified by video1 in the <video /> tag is 10% of the maximum size when the zoom ratio is 0.0, and when the zoom ratio is 0.5 Each is displayed at 50%, and the size is changed as smoothly as possible.
(Example 3-4)
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 0.5">
<dispAudio id = "dispaudio1" audioId = "audio1" start = "0s" end = "30s"/>
</ div>
The above meaning is that the first 30 seconds of the audio specified by audio1 in the <audio /> tag is reproduced during the zoom ratio of 0.0 to 0.5.

4). Zoom target Describe the zoom target with the <zoomObject /> tag. The initial zoom rate, the zoom target of the zoom propagation destination, and the zoom rate relationship are also described with attributes in the tag. Be sure to include either <div /> or other <zoomObject />.

The structure description and zooming description for the screen transition examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are shown below. In the following description, the structure description of the content and the zooming description regarding the zooming operation / behavior are described separately (onlyHierarchy = "on" indicates that the description is only for the structure).

(Content structure description)
<zoomObject id = "zoom1" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "text1"> 1. Improvements of new teaching materials </ text>
<text id = "text2"> Ask participants to give feedback on the content of the material. </ text>
<zoomObject id = "zoom2" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "text3"> How can I get new things out one after another,
How can I get it used over and over again (problem) </ text>
<zoomObject id = "zoom3" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "text4"> Development needs to be made in a slightly shorter span. </ text>
<text id = "text5"> I will update every 3 months. </ text>
.......
</ zoomObject>
<zoomObject id = "zoom4" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<video id = "video1" src = "meeting 11.mpg"/>
</ zoomObject>
</ zoomObject>
<zoomObject id = "zoom5" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "text10"> First time with interpreter memo in step 6 .... </ text>
.......
</ zoomObject>
.......
</ zoomObject>

(Zooming description for zooming operation / behavior)
<zoomObject id = "zoom1" initZoomFactor = "0.0" relatedTo = "children: 0.8">
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 1.0">
<dispText id = "disptext1" textId = "text1" textSize = "12pt 14pt"/>
<dispText id = "disptext2" textId = "text2" textSize = "12pt 14pt"/>
</ div>
</ zoomObject>

<zoomObject id = "zoom2" initZoomFactor = "0.0" relatedTo = "children: 0.8">
<div zoomFactor = "0.0 1.0">
<dispText id = "disptext5" textId = "text3" textSize = "11pt"/>
</ div>
</ zoomObject>

<zoomObject id = "zoom3" initZoomFactor = "0.0" relatedTo = "brother: -0.5">
<div zoomFactor = "0.1 1.0">
<dispText id = "disptext6" textId = "text4" textSize = "8pt 10pt"/>
<dispText id = "disptext7" textId = "text5" textSize = "8pt 10pt"/>
.......
</ div>
</ zoomObject>

<zoomObject id = "zoom4" initZoomFactor = "0.0" relatedTo = "brother: -0.5">
<div zoomFactor = "0.1 0.4">
<dispVideo id = "dispvideo1" videoId = "video1" start = "0" end = "0" videoSize = "20% 50%"/>
</ div>
<div zoomFactor = "0.4 1.0">
<dispVideo id = "dispvideo2" videoId = "video1" start = "0" end = "900" videoSize = "50% 100%"/>
</ div>
</ zoomObject>

  According to the structure description of this content, zoom1 is at the top, zoom2, zoom5, etc. are below it, and zoom3, zoom4 are further below zoom2. Zoom3 is composed of a plurality of texts (text4, text5, etc.), and zoom4 is composed of one moving image (video1).

  Also, according to the zooming description regarding zooming operation / behavior, zoom1, zoom2, zoom3, and zoom4 all have an initial zoom ratio of 0.0, but the first two display text (text1, text2, text3) from the beginning. On the other hand, nothing is displayed for the latter two (this corresponds to the initial state of FIG. 1).

  Here, when zoom2 is zoomed in, it propagates to the zoom target of the child hierarchy (relatedTo = "children: 0.8" indicates that the zoom propagates to all the child hierarchies with a zoom ratio of 0.8). When zoom2 zoom ratio increases, zoom3 and zoom4 zoom ratios increase by 0.8 (when zoom2 zoom ratio changes +0.5, zoom3 and zoom4 change +0.4, respectively) and reach 0.1 Then, text4, text5, etc. and video1 are displayed (see FIG. 2). This is an example of media expansion because moving image information is added to text information. However, for video1, only frame 0 is still displayed here.

  If zoom2 is zoomed in further from this state, the zoom rate of zoom3 and zoom4 will also increase, and the font size of text4, text5 and other will increase. At the same time, the display size of video1 is enlarged, and when zoom4 of zoom4 reaches 0.4, frames 0 to 900 of video1 are reproduced (FIG. 3, example of change in detail).

  If zoom2 is zoomed out in the state shown in FIG. 3, zoom3 and zoom4 are zoomed out together to the state shown in FIG. 2 contrary to the case of zooming in. When each zoom ratio becomes 0.1 or less, text4, text5, etc. And video1 disappear from the screen and return to the state of FIG. Alternatively, if the operation is forcibly returned to the initial state, the state shown in FIG. 1 is restored from any display state.

  Next, an example of zoom propagation when the zoom ratio relationship is a negative value will be described.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of screen transition in content browsing in the Web environment. FIG. 4 shows the result of zooming in on the content object B in the Web environment shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, when the zoom-in operation is performed on the object B of the content in the Web environment, the font size of the object B is enlarged, but the display size of the object C is reduced.

In the zooming description regarding the zooming operation / behavior described above, both zoom3 and zoom4
relatedTo = "brother: -0.5"
There is a description. This indicates that zoom propagation occurs between zoom targets having a common parent. A negative zoom ratio relationship indicates that zooming in on one zooms out the other. Therefore, if only zoom3 is selected from the state of FIG. 3 and zoomed in, zoom4 is zoomed out (text4, text5, etc. are further enlarged, and video1 is conversely reduced (see FIG. 4)).

  The above is the outline of the screen transition in content browsing in the Web environment. FIG. 5 shows such a relationship in a simple specific example. In the example of FIG. 5, A, B, and C are zoom targets, and the parentheses indicate the zoom ratio in the initial state. An arrow represents a zoom propagation relationship, and a value attached to the arrow indicates a zoom rate relationship. Since the zoom ratio relationship of AB is 0.5, when zooming in from A to B and zooming in A and changing the zoom ratio from 0.0 to 0.8, the zoom ratio of B changes from 0.0 to 0.4. B and C propagate in zoom with each other but the rate of change is negative (-1.0), so zooming in on one zooms out on the other. For example, in the initial state, only C (moving image) is displayed, and when B (text + sound) is zoomed in and enlarged, C (moving image) is gradually reduced. As in this example, the feature of this modeling is that transition of display media can be easily realized by introducing zoom propagation.

  According to the zooming description as described above, when one media object (text, still image, moving image, audio, etc.) is zoomed, other media objects (text, still image, moving image, audio, etc.) are linked with it. Since it is possible to describe zoom propagation between zooming objects to be zoomed, natural zooming from one zoom object to another zoom object can be performed.

  Here, the browsing operation in the Web environment, the behavior of the content, and the intention of the content creator are considered. With regard to the scroll operation, there is little opportunity or necessity for the content creator to reflect any intention, and the viewer performs scrolling mainly depending on the size of the viewer. On the other hand, regarding anchor clicks, the content creator describes the object to be clicked (anchor represented by a character string, an image, etc.) and the URL of the link destination with a clear intention. There is no need to describe.

  Next, consider the zoom operation. Regarding zoom operations, there is nothing to be specified by the creator as long as the entire content screen is simply zoomed in / out, but in order to achieve fine zoom operations, It is necessary for the content creator to explicitly describe how the level of detail and display media change according to the zoom operation. Here is the significance of describing the zoom operation / behavior on the content side.

  In other words, the creator describes the zoom operation / behavior that reflects the structure of the content on the content side, so that, unlike conventional ZUI (Zooming User Interfaces), a versatile zoom can be performed on various contents in the Web environment. The operation can be applied, and the viewer can finely control the selection of the zoom target and the control of the display state.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a new Web document model is proposed in which an operation / behavior description is added to the conventional content structure description and style description. As an example of the operation / behavior description, a zoom description language (ZDL) ) To associate continuous browsing operations. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the structure, style, and operation / behavior can be described independently by a combination of XML + XSL + ZDL.

  By introducing such a Web document model, it is possible to introduce a zoom operation including existing content, and to increase the applicability to a general-purpose Web document environment. Further, by appropriately replacing the zoom description language (ZDL), it is possible to display in accordance with the browsing situation and the viewer's preference.

[2. Description of content processing apparatus]
In this embodiment, a search result list of a Web page by a search engine (for example, a robot search engine) is applied as content in the Web environment, and the search result list of the Web page is output in a zooming description language (ZDL) format. The present invention is applied to a content processing apparatus that can

  The reason why zooming / cross-media is applied to information retrieval in this way is that the big utility of zooming / cross-media is to increase the degree of freedom of content browsing. The change in the level of detail and the transition of display media can be controlled according to the user's preference. That is, on the search result list screen of the Web page, the detailed level of information and the display medium necessary for determining whether the link destination Web page is the desired information without opening the link destination Web page This is because it is considered to vary depending on the knowledge of the person, the situation at the time of browsing, the form of information to be searched, and the like. For example, a viewer who is familiar with the field to be searched can be determined by the title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want image data in addition to a more detailed text description. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends. If the link destination is text-based, it is appropriate that the excerpt (or summary) is displayed on the result list screen, but if the link destination contains a lot of images, it is more convenient to display a few main images. There is also. It is not realistic to generate a plurality of fixed search result list screens assuming such various situations in advance. Here, the features of zooming / cross-media that can display a plurality of media in a mixed / transition manner and can flexibly control the level of detail and the display media according to the situation and preference of the viewer will come into play.

[2-1. Example of system construction including content processing apparatus]
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system construction example including a content processing apparatus. In this system, as shown in FIG. 7, a server computer (hereinafter referred to as a server) 1 that is a content processing apparatus 1 has a plurality of client computers (hereinafter referred to as client terminals) C that are terminal devices via a network N that is the Internet. A system connected to a stand is assumed. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the client-server system involving such network communication.

  The server 1 that is a content processing apparatus generally performs a Web page search based on a keyword for a general Web page on the network N that is the Internet, and stores the Web page in a zooming description language (ZDL) format. A list of search results is output.

  The client terminal C is a general personal computer or the like, and can transmit and receive data to and from the server 1 by using a Web browser. This client terminal C accepts a Web page keyword search request from a viewer and outputs it to the server 1, and at the same time, a search result list of Web pages for the viewer output in the zooming description language (ZDL) format on the server 1. Is interpreted and displayed. That is, the client terminal C is an input / output device for the server 1 that is a content processing apparatus.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 1. A server 1 which is a content processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is mainly composed of a personal computer, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2 for performing information processing, a ROM (Basic Input Output System) for storing a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and the like. Read Only Memory (3), RAM (Random Access Memory) 4 that temporarily stores information during processing, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 5 that is a storage unit that stores application programs, processing results, and the like. For connecting to a drive 6a of a removable medium 6 which is a storage medium for storing or distributing outside or obtaining information (application program etc.) from the outside, and a network N for communicating with other external electronic devices A network interface 8; a display 9 that is a display unit for displaying a process progress, a process result, and the like; It consists of an input unit such as a keyboard 10 and a mouse 11 for the author to input commands, information, etc. to the server 1 which is a content processing device. The bus controller 12 arbitrates the data communication between them and operates. Yes.

  The removable medium 6 includes a magnetic storage medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical storage medium such as an MO, a CD, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, Various storage media such as optical storage media such as DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, and semiconductor memory can be applied.

  In data transmission, the network interface 8 outputs a signal to the network N by sending data to the network interface 8 of the server 1 which is a content processing apparatus. Further, regarding the signal received by the network interface 8, it is determined whether or not it is necessary in the network interface 8, and processing such as fetching if necessary data and discarding if unnecessary is performed. That is, all data transmission / reception is performed via the network interface 8.

  In general, when the user turns on the power of the server 1 which is a content processing apparatus, the CPU 2 activates a program called a loader included in the BIOS in the ROM 3 and the hardware of the server 1 called the operating system (OS) from the HDD 5. And a program for managing software are read into the RAM 4. When the OS is activated, it supports activation of application programs, reading of information, storage, and the like according to user operations. As typical OS, Windows (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation), UNIX (registered trademark of X / Open, Inc.) and the like are known. Programs that run on these OSs are called application programs. The application program is not limited to one that runs on a predetermined OS, and may be one that causes the OS to execute some of the various processes described below, or constitutes predetermined application software, an OS, or the like. It may be included as part of a group of program files.

  In general, an application program installed in the HDD 5 of the server 1 that is a content processing apparatus is recorded in the removable medium 6, and the application program recorded in the removable medium 6 is installed in the HDD 5. For this reason, the removable medium 6 can also be a storage medium for storing application programs. Furthermore, the application program may be taken in from the outside via, for example, the network interface 8 and installed in the HDD 5.

  When an application program that runs on the OS is activated, the server 1 that is a content processing apparatus performs various arithmetic processes according to the application program, and centrally controls each unit.

[2-2. Processing in content processing apparatus]
Next, characteristic processing of the present embodiment that is executed according to a content processing program that is one of application programs among various arithmetic processing executed by the CPU 2 of the server 1 that is a content processing apparatus will be described below.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system including the server 1. As shown in FIG. 9, the server 1 that is a content processing apparatus has an index (index) for performing a full-text search of Web pages and Web pages that are contents in the Web environment by the CPU 2 controlling each unit according to the content processing program. ) That manages the database 21 that is a content storage unit that holds a database, and that is a DBMS (Data Base Management System) 22 that is a content search control unit that searches a Web page by keyword, and receives a database search result in the DBMS 22 (content search result reception unit) And a display code generation unit 23 that ranks the received search results based on a predetermined priority order and outputs a search result list of Web pages in a zooming description language (ZDL) format.

  Note that roughly two methods are used to extract a keyword to be put on the index from the Web page. One is a method of dividing a sentence into minimum word units such as “search / engine / use / use” using morphological analysis performed by natural language processing. The other method is a method called N-gram, in which any N-character string is forcibly cut out and used as a keyword. For example, if N = 3, it is cut out like “search engine / search engine / engine / engine / engineer / use engine / use”. If the keyword input by the user is searched from the index created in this way, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the Web page can be found, and the search result can be displayed in a short time.

  That is, with such a configuration, on the client terminal C side, when a viewer starts a keyword search on a Web browser, a ZDL viewer that interprets and displays a zoom description language (ZDL) is activated at the same time. The search request input at the client terminal C is transmitted to the server 1. On the server 1 side, which is a content processing apparatus, when a search request input at the client terminal C is received, a database search based on keywords is executed. The display code generation unit 23 ranks the Web page groups of the obtained search results based on a predetermined priority order, selects an object to be zoomed from each Web page, and displays a Web page search result list. It is generated in the zoom description language (ZDL) format. The generated search result list of the Web page in the zooming description language (ZDL) format is transmitted from the server 1 which is a content processing apparatus to the client terminal C and displayed on the ZDL viewer. The viewer appropriately performs a zooming operation on the displayed search result list of the Web page.

[3. Screen transition example]
Example 1
Here, as a result of searching the Web page by the DBMS 22, information of each Web page <web /> is arranged in the search result list <overview /> in the following structure.

<overview>
<web>
<url> http: //***.***.co.jp/ </ url>
<title> How to display search results </ title>
<text> For example, a viewer who is familiar with the field to be searched can be determined by title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want image data in addition to a more detailed text description. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends. </ text>
<image> webimage1.jpg </ image>
</ web>
<web>
......
</ web>
......
</ overview>

Where <url /> is the URL of the web page of the search result, <title /> is the title of the web page, <text /> is a part of the text extracted from the web page, and <image /> is the web page It is a screen capture image. The technique for retrieving these is basically the same as the technique of a well-known search engine.

In the following, a structure description and a zoom description for a screen transition example according to the first embodiment are shown. Here, an example is shown in which the number of characters from the beginning of the text to be zoomed is increased as the zoom rate increases.

(Zooming operation / behavior description)
<template name = "Overview" match = "/ overview" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<propagation destination = "Web" select = "web"/>
</ template>
</ template name = "Web" match = "/ overview / web" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<text select = "title">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
</ text>
<text select = "text">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfChar = "30" center = "0"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfChar = "150" center = "0"/>
</ text>
…………
</ template>

  Here, FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a zooming operation on the search result list of the Web page in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, in the first embodiment, only the title and one line of text, which are important parts of the Web page of the search result, are displayed on the ZDL viewer of the client terminal C as the initial search result. If you zoom in on the entire search result list, longer text appears for each result. Also, if you zoom in on the individual results in the search result list, longer text appears. It is also possible to zoom in on individual results from the beginning. When clicked from the beginning or in the middle, it will fly to the Web page by clicking on the anchor. That is, only the important part of the Web page of the search result is displayed on the initial screen, and the details are gradually refined with the zooming operation.

Explaining with the <text select = "title"/> and <text select = "text"/> parts of the above description, only the first 30 characters of title and text are displayed in the initial state (zoom rate 0.0) When the maximum zoom ratio reaches 1.0, text increases to 150 characters from the beginning (however, since the total number of characters of text is 150 or less, 138 characters corresponding to the maximum number of characters are displayed). That is, it is as follows.
Display content of search results in << Zoom Ratio 0.0 >> For example, a viewer familiar with the field to be searched is a display result of Search Results in << Zoom Ratio 1.0 >> even if only the title is, for example, a viewer familiar to the field of search target Can be determined by the title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want more detailed text description and image data. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends.

(Example 2)
The structure description and zooming description for the screen transition example that is Embodiment 2 are shown below. Note that the search result of the Web page has the same structure as that of the first embodiment. Here, an example is shown in which the total number of characters before and after the central portion of the text to be zoomed is increased as the zoom rate increases.

(Zooming operation / behavior description)
<template name = "Overview" match = "/ overview" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<propagation destination = "Web" select = "web"/>
</ template>
</ template name = "Web" match = "/ overview / web" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<text select = "title">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
</ text>
<text select = "text">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfChar = "30" center = "1"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfChar = "150" center = "1"/>
</ text>
…………
</ template>

The outline of the display transition is basically the same as that shown in FIG. Explaining in the text <text select = "title"/> and <text select = "text"/> in the above description, in the initial state (zoom rate 0.0), the total before and after the center of title and text When only 30 characters are displayed and the maximum zoom ratio reaches 1.0, the text increases to a total of 150 characters before and after the center portion (here, the total number of characters of text is 150 characters or less, so 138 characters corresponding to the maximum number of characters are Is displayed). That is, it is as follows.
Display contents of search results at << Zoom Ratio 0.0 >> Display data of search results at << Zoom Ratio 1.0 >> can be requested in addition to the text description For example, viewers familiar with the search target field Although it is possible to judge only by the title, an uninformed viewer may want image data in addition to a more detailed text description. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends.

(Example 3)
The structure description and zooming description of the screen transition example which is Embodiment 3 are shown below. The Web page search result is slightly different from that of the first embodiment, except that the line feed position of the text is determined in advance as follows.

<overview>
<web>
<url> http: //***.***.co.jp/ </ url>
<title> How to display search results </ title>
<text>
For example, a viewer who is familiar with the field to be searched can be determined by the title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want image data in addition to a more detailed text description. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends. </ text>
<image> webimage1.jpg </ image>
</ web>
<web>
......
</ web>
......
</ overview>

The third embodiment shows an example in which the number of lines from the beginning of the text to be zoomed is increased as the zoom rate increases. This is effective when the line feed position of the text is determined in advance as in the search result.

(Content structure description)
<zoomObject id = "zoom1" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<zoomObject id = "zoom2" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "title1"> How to display search results </ text>
<text id = "text1">
For example, a viewer who is familiar with the field to be searched can be determined by the title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want image data in addition to a more detailed text description. There are cases where there is room to open each link destination over time, and conversely, there is a case where it is desired to briefly list the overall trends. </ text>
…………
</ zoomObject>
<zoomObject id = "zoom3" onlyHierarchy = "on">
<text id = "title2"> Zooming search results </ text>
…………
</ zoomObject>
…………
</ zoomObject>

(Zooming operation / behavior description)
<template name = "Overview" match = "/ overview" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<propagation destination = "Web" select = "web"/>
</ template>
</ template name = "Web" match = "/ overview / web" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<text select = "title">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
</ text>
<text select = "text">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfLine = "1" center = "0"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfLine = "5" center = "0"/>
</ text>
…………
</ template>

The outline of the display transition is basically the same as that shown in FIG. Explaining in the above text <text select = "title"/> and <text select = "text"/>, only the first line of title and text is displayed in the initial state (zoom rate 0.0) Then, when the maximum zoom ratio reaches 1.0, the text increases from the top to 5 lines.
Display content of search results in << Zoom Ratio 0.0 >> For example, a viewer familiar with the field to be searched is a display result of Search Results in << Zoom Ratio 1.0 >> even if only the title is, for example, a viewer familiar to the field of search target Can be determined by the title alone, but an uninformed viewer may want more detailed text description and image data. Sometimes you can afford to open each link over time, and vice versa.

Example 4
The structure description and zooming description for the screen transition example that is Embodiment 4 are shown below. The search result of the Web page has the same structure as that of the third embodiment. Here, an example is shown in which the total number of lines before and after the center portion of the text to be zoomed is increased as the zoom rate increases. This is effective when the line feed position of the text is determined in advance as in the search result of the third embodiment.

(Zooming operation / behavior description)
<template name = "Overview" match = "/ overview" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<propagation destination = "Web" select = "web"/>
</ template>
</ template name = "Web" match = "/ overview / web" initZoomFactor = "0.0">
<text select = "title">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt"/>
</ text>
<text select = "text">
<dispText zoomFactor = "0.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfLine = "1" center = "1"/>
<dispText zoomFactor = "1.0" fontSize = "14pt" numOfLine = "5" center = "1"/>
</ text>
…………
</ template>

The outline of the display transition is basically the same as that shown in FIG. Explaining in the above text <text select = "title"/> and <text select = "text"/>, only the center line of title and text is displayed in the initial state (zoom rate 0.0) When the maximum zoom ratio reaches 1.0, it increases to a total of 5 lines before and after the central part of the text.
Display contents of search results for << Zoom Ratio 0.0 >> In addition to image data, it is possible to request image data. For example, a viewer who is familiar with the search target area can determine the title alone, but in the case of an uninformed viewer, in addition to a more detailed text description You may want image data. Sometimes you can afford to open each link over time, and vice versa.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, when the display medium is text, the zoom operation / behavioral description can be simplified by associating the number of characters and the number of character lines to be displayed with the zoom rate. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the trouble of zoom operation / behavior description and the amount of zoom operation / behavior description, and it is possible to improve the readability.

  In the present embodiment, the content storage unit 21 that stores content composed of various objects in the server 1 that is a content processing device, and the content that is received in the search request and stored in the content storage unit 21 And a content search control unit 22 that searches for a content group as a result of search by the content search control unit 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the server 1 which is a content processing apparatus does not include the content storage unit 21 and the content search control unit 22, but the search part is performed by another device, or a search result is obtained using a general-purpose search engine. It may be accepted.

  In this embodiment, a Web page search based on a keyword is performed for a general Web page on the network N which is the Internet, and a search result list of the Web page is output in a zooming description language (ZDL) format. However, the search is not limited to a general Web page on the network, and a search may be performed for a Web page having a fixed structure existing in a local database in the server.

It is a front view which shows an example of the multimedia content displayed on the display for demonstrating the outline | summary of the screen transition in the content browsing in the web environment used as the premise of this invention. It is a front view which shows the result of having performed zoom-in operation with respect to the object A of the multimedia content shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the result of having performed zoom-in operation with respect to the object A of the multimedia content shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the result of having performed zoom-in operation with respect to the object B of the multimedia content shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which expressed the outline | summary of the screen transition in the content browsing in a Web environment by a simple specific example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a Web document model typically. It is a schematic diagram which shows the system construction example containing the content processing apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server which is a content processing apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the system containing the server which is a content processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the zooming operation example with respect to the search result list of a web page. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of operation with respect to the search result list of the conventional web page.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content processing apparatus 21 Content storage part 22 Content search control part 23 Display code generation part

Claims (17)

A content search result reception unit that receives a content group that is a result of searching for content configured from various objects according to a search request;
After ranking the content groups of the search results received by the content search result receiving unit based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and within the same screen for each object A display code generation unit that generates and outputs a list of search results of the content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in level of detail and display media transition;
With
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of characters to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing apparatus. The display code generation unit associates the number of characters from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with a zoom rate,
The content processing apparatus according to claim 1. The display code generation unit associates the total number of characters before and after the central part of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate,
The content processing apparatus according to claim 1. A content search result reception unit that receives a content group that is a result of searching for content configured from various objects according to a search request;
After ranking the content groups of the search results received by the content search result receiving unit based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from each content, and within the same screen for each object A display code generation unit that generates and outputs a list of search results of the content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in level of detail and display media transition;
With
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of character lines to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing apparatus. The display code generation unit associates the number of character lines from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with a zoom rate,
The content processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The display code generation unit associates the total number of character lines before and after the central part of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate,
The content processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The zoom operation / behavior is added to one or both of the content structure description and style description.
7. The content processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein A content storage unit for storing content composed of various objects;
A content search control unit that receives a search request and searches for the content stored in the content storage unit;
Further comprising
The content search result receiving unit receives the content group of search results by the content search control unit.
The content processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content processing apparatus is a content processing apparatus. A content search result accepting function for accepting a content group that is a result of searching according to a search request for content composed of various objects;
After ranking the content groups of the search results received by the content search result reception function based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from the contents, and the object is selected in the same screen for each object. A display code generation function for generating and outputting a search result list of the content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in detail level and a transition of display media;
To the computer,
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of characters to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing program. The display code generation function associates the number of characters from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with a zoom rate.
The content processing program according to claim 9. The display code generation function associates the total number of characters before and after the central part of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate,
The content processing program according to claim 9. A content search result accepting function for accepting a content group that is a result of searching according to a search request for content composed of various objects;
After ranking the content groups of the search results received by the content search result reception function based on a predetermined priority order, an object to be zoomed is selected from the contents, and the object is selected in the same screen for each object. A display code generation function for generating and outputting a search result list of the content by describing a zoom operation / behavior that continuously realizes a change in detail level and a transition of display media;
To the computer,
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of character lines to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing program. The display code generation function associates the number of character lines from the beginning of the text to be zoomed with a zoom rate.
The content processing program according to claim 12. The display code generation function associates the total number of character lines before and after the central portion of the text to be zoomed with the zoom rate,
The content processing program according to claim 12. A content storage function for storing content composed of various objects in a content storage unit;
A content search control function for receiving a search request and searching for the content stored in the content storage unit;
Is further executed on the computer,
The content search result reception function receives the content group of search results by the content search control function.
15. The content processing program according to claim 9, wherein the content processing program is any one of claims 9 to 14. After ranking the content groups of the search results based on a predetermined priority, select the object to be zoomed from each content, and continuously change the detail level and display media transition for each object in the same screen A content processing method in a content processing apparatus that generates and outputs a list of content search results by describing a zoom operation / behavior to be realized,
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of characters to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing method characterized by the above. After ranking the content groups of the search results based on a predetermined priority, select the object to be zoomed from each content, and continuously change the detail level and display media transition for each object in the same screen A content processing method in a content processing apparatus that generates and outputs a list of content search results by describing a zoom operation / behavior to be realized,
The display code generation unit describes a zoom operation / behavior by associating the zoom rate for the object with the number of character lines to be displayed in the object when the display medium of the object is text.
A content processing method characterized by the above.