JP4891740B2 - Content search apparatus and content search method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content search apparatus and a content search method for searching for video content without being bound by a specific classification.

  In recent years, with the spread of digitization technology, the opportunity for users to touch digital video content has increased. In addition, a large-capacity recording medium can be obtained at a low cost, and a user can manage a huge amount of digital video content by using an information device such as a personal computer or a hard disk recorder equipped with a large-capacity hard disk.

  With the increase in storage media capacity, users can now save video content without worrying about capacity, but on the other hand, if the number of video content to be saved becomes enormous, they want to see it. Finding video content becomes difficult. For this reason, various search methods and user interfaces for searching are currently proposed.

  As an example, there is a method represented by a keyword search in which a user specifies a classification or a feature of video content and searches for video content corresponding to the specified condition.

  As another example, a video content search map is created by two-dimensionally arranging thumbnails representing an outline of video content for each video content classification, and a number of video content can be moved by moving on the map. There is also known a system that enables a target video content to be searched while viewing the above (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this video content search method, video content is searched using the search map described above, so that the search can be performed without narrowing the field of view as in the narrowed search. In addition, as a classification method for creating a search map, classification by video content genre is given as an example.
JP 2004-178384 A

  The search method that has been announced so far is a method represented by a keyword search in which a user designates a classification or a feature of video content and searches for video content corresponding to the condition, or disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this way, a distribution map based on the similarity of video contents is created based on the feature amount extracted by some method, and a search is performed based on the distribution map.

  By the way, in the case of the above keyword search, not only unnecessary information but also useful information may be leaked in the process of narrowing search, and there is no way for the user to know the leak. Similarly, it is impossible to know what information is in the vicinity of the search results, and in order to search for the target information without omission, a technology that understands the characteristics of the search engine and uses complex search formulas. It was necessary.

  Further, in the video content search method described in Patent Document 1, for example, if different classifications such as classification by performers are performed, the distance between thumbnails representing the similarity of each video content on the search map is different. become. In other words, if the user wants to narrow down by a classification different from the original classification, it is necessary to recreate the search map.

An object of the present invention is to provide a content search that solves such a problem, enables a search range to be narrowed down according to the characteristics of the video content, and prevents a search failure of the target video content even when such a narrowing is performed. An apparatus and a content search method are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, a first means of the present invention relates to a content search apparatus having an input means for inputting a user's operation by comparing characteristics of a plurality of video contents to be searched. Determining whether or not there is a part, creating link information between the video contents determined to be related, and drawing an image of the video content on a display screen of a display device; Content input means for connecting the images of the video content determined to be related to each other by link lines based on the created link information to form a link and drawing on the display screen, and the input The means inputs instruction information for selecting a drawn image or link line, and the content drawing means receives the instruction information in the input means. If it is a force, the image is selected, or an image associated images connected to the link line selected, and draw in the central portion of the display screen, the image drawn on said central portion, said display Drawing is performed in a drawable space on the screen, and when there is no drawable space for the related image on the display screen, processing for not drawing the related image is performed .

Second means, in the first means, the content rendering means, the link of the image of the determined video content and the associated you characterized thereby drawn to form a ring.

Third means, in the first means or the second means, the content rendering means, a different color that link lines for each of the links, thickness, type, and displays at least one gray, each link it characterized thereby distinguishably draw.

Fourth means, in the first means or the second means, the content rendering means, the link lines of the links including the image or the link line is selected, a link line of the other link is different color, thickness, type, and displays at least one gray, it characterized thereby rendered differently than the link lines of the other link.

The fifth means is any one of the first means to the fourth means, wherein the content rendering means is at least one of a preview of the video content of the selected image and an outline of the video content. One of them is displayed. The content search method of the sixth means compares the characteristics of a plurality of video contents to be searched by the link creating means to determine whether there is a related part, and links between the video contents determined to be related. A link creating step for creating information; and an image of the video content is rendered on a display screen of a display device by a content rendering unit, and the link is determined to be related based on the link information created by the link creating unit. A content drawing step of connecting the images of the video content with link lines to form a link and drawing on the display screen; and an input step of inputting a user operation by an input means, the input step Then, input the instruction information for selecting the image or link line drawn by the input means, and the content drawing In step, the image selected by the input step by the content rendering means, or related images connected to the link line selected, and draw in the central portion of the display screen, the image drawn in the central portion An image to be drawn is drawn in a drawable space on the display screen, and when there is no drawable space for the related image on the display screen, the related image is not drawn. To do.

According to the present invention, when the image of the video content is rendered on the display screen of the display device by the content rendering unit, the content rendering unit selects according to the input of the instruction information for selecting the rendered image or the link line by the input unit. The image related to the selected image or the image linked to the selected link line is drawn in the center part of the display screen, and the image related to the image drawn in the center part is drawn in the drawable space of the display screen, and related. When there is no space for drawing on the display screen, the related image is not drawn , so many video contents can be viewed at once without narrowing the field of view, and a specific classification Since the video content can be searched without being trapped by the user, it is easy for the user to see and the convenience of operation is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a content search device according to the present invention. 1 is a content search device of this embodiment, 2 is a display device, 3 is a character input device, 4 is a character string analyzer, 5 is an instruction input device, 6 is an instruction input unit, 7 is a control unit, 8 is a link creation processing unit, 9 is a link information database, 10 is a content reproduction unit, 11 is a content information drawing unit, 12 is a history information management unit, 13 is a display control unit, 14 is a content database, and 15 is a metadata database.

  In the figure, the content search device 1 of this embodiment includes a display device 2, a character input device 3, a character string analysis unit 4, an instruction input device 5, an instruction input unit 6, a control unit 7, a link creation processing unit 8, and a link. An information database 9, a content reproduction unit 10, a content information drawing unit 11, a history information management unit 12, and a display control unit 13 are provided, and a content database 14 in which video content is stored and metadata of the video content are stored. The metadata database 15 thus connected is connected.

  Under the control of the display control unit 13, the display device 2 displays a content search screen based on a content relation diagram for video content search output from the content information drawing unit 11 and is output from the content reproduction unit 10. The video content is reproduced, the history information output from the history information management unit 12 is displayed, and the visual information presented by the user's operation is displayed as necessary.

The character input device 3 is a hardware such as a keyboard or a software keyboard displayed on the screen of the display device 2 and used for inputting characters by a user operation. The character string input from the character input device 3 is analyzed by the character string analysis unit 4 and then supplied to the control unit 7 . Such a character string is supplied to the display device 2 via the content reproduction unit 10 or the content information drawing unit 11 and the display control unit 13 under the control of the control unit 7 and displayed on the display screen.

The instruction input device 5 is a mouse, a remote controller, a touch panel, or the like, and is used to input instruction information such as designating a position on the display screen of the display device 2 by a user's operation. After being processed by the input unit 6, it is supplied to the control unit 7 . The control unit 7 controls each unit based on this instruction information, and controls the position of the cursor displayed on the display screen of the display device 1.

The content database 14 stores video content such as a recorded program. The content playback unit 10 takes out the video content from the content database 14 according to an instruction from the control unit 7 and displays it on the display device 2 as a playback video or a preview. Let

The metadata database 15 includes metadata (channel number, channel name, program title, genre, broadcast date / time, performer, program) of the video content sent together with the video content (recorded program) stored in the content database 14. (Introductory text, etc.) are stored. When the content search device 1 is activated, the link creation processing unit 8 is activated, acquires metadata from the metadata database 15 under the control of the control unit 7 , and a link described later from the acquired metadata. Create a link table consisting of information. Based on this link table, the content information drawing unit 11 creates a later-described content relationship diagram showing the relationship of the video content stored in the content database 14 under the control of the control unit 7 and displays it on the display device 2. Let

  The link creation processing unit 8 sequentially reads the metadata of all the video contents stored in the metadata database 15 based on the link table creation instruction from the control unit 7, and every time the metadata is read, A content ID is assigned to the content, a program title is extracted from the captured metadata, and a keyword is extracted from the metadata characterizing the video content and stored in the link information database 9. Thus, a table in which program titles and keywords corresponding to each content ID are registered, that is, a link table is registered in the link information database 9. Further, the link creation processing unit 8 creates link information using a keyword or the like of this link table and registers it in correspondence with the content ID corresponding to this link table.

  The content ID corresponds to the metadata to which the content ID is assigned, and the metadata corresponds to one of the video contents stored in the content database 14, and is associated with the video content. It has been.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a link table created by the link creation processing unit 8, wherein 16 is a link table, 16a is a content ID column, 16b is a title column, 16c is a keyword column, 16d is a link information column, and 17a to 17e is video content, 18a to 18c are link information, and 19 is a link ID.

  In the figure, the link table 16 includes a content ID column 16a, a title column 16b, a keyword column 16c, and a link information column 16d, and is assigned to each video content (here, the video content 17a to 17e) in the content ID column 16a. The program title extracted from the metadata is registered in the title column 16b, and the keyword extracted from the metadata is registered in the keyword column 16c. The link creation processing unit 8 uses the link table 16 Link information (herein referred to as link information 18a to 18c) representing the relationship between the video contents 17a to 17e is created using the keywords registered in the keyword column 16c of the link information column 16d. Register with. A link ID 19 is added to each registered link information 18a to 18c.

  Here, the link information 18a to 18c registered in the link information column 16d joins (links) video contents having keywords common to metadata, and is composed of one or more keywords. . In the example shown in FIG. 2, the video contents 17a to 17c having the content IDs “001”, “002”, and “003” share the keywords “sports relay”, “soccer”, and “Z cup”. These video contents are made up of the keywords “sports relay”, “soccer”, and “Z cup”, and the link information 18a to which the unique link ID 19 of “003” is assigned.

  The video contents 17a to 17d having the content IDs “001” to “004” share the keyword “soccer”. Accordingly, the link ID “004” unique to the keyword “soccer” is assigned to the video contents 17a to 17d. Is assigned link information 18b.

  Further, the video contents 17d and 17e having the content IDs “004” and “005” share the keyword “movie”, and thus, the link ID “005” unique to the keyword “movie” is assigned to the video contents 17d and 17e. Is assigned link information 18c.

  The content information drawing unit 11 uses the link information 18a to 18c registered in the link information column 16d of the link table 16 and the thumbnails read from the content database 14 based on the command IDs of the video commands 17a to 17e. Content (thumbnail) having the same feature (keyword) is linked and associated, and a content search screen including a content relationship diagram including such a link is displayed on the display device 2.

Returning to FIG. 1, the history information management unit 12 stores the selected content information as a history in the process of selecting content information on the display screen of the display device 2 when the user searches for content information. The stored history information is displayed on the display device 2 based on an instruction from the control unit 7 .

As described above, the control unit 7 controls the character string analysis unit 4, the instruction input unit 6, the link creation processing unit 8, the content reproduction unit 10, the content information drawing unit 11, and the history information management unit 12. Exchange data between them.

Under the control of the control unit 7 , the display control unit 13 receives display information from the content reproduction unit 10, the content information drawing unit 11, and the history information management unit 12, and appropriately displays them on the display screen of the display device 2. Display in the correct display area.

  When the content search device 1 is activated, first, the video content of the broadcast program received at that time is displayed on the display screen of the display device 2. When the user operates the instruction input device 5 for a predetermined operation, a command accompanying this operation is displayed. A signal is supplied to the control unit 7 via the instruction input unit 6, and the control unit 7 controls a device (not shown) to display a function menu screen on the display screen of the display device 2. On this function menu screen, menus of various functions such as video content search are displayed.

  Therefore, when the user performs an operation of selecting video content search on the function menu screen with the instruction input device 5, first, under the control of the control unit 7, the link creation processing unit 8, the content reproduction unit 10, The content information drawing unit 11 and the history information management unit 12 are activated.

  The content playback unit 10 reads each video content stored therein from the content database 14 for each screen (one field or one frame) and supplies it as a thumbnail to the link creation processing unit 8. Further, the link creation processing unit 8 acquires the metadata of each video content stored in the content database 14 from the metadata database 15, creates the link table 16 using the link information database 9, and creates a link. The video contents 17a to 17e on the table 16 are associated with the thumbnails supplied from the content reproduction unit 10. The created link table 16 is stored in the link information database 9 and supplied to the content information drawing unit 11 to create a content relationship diagram for display on the display screen of the display device 2. This content relationship diagram is displayed in a content relationship diagram window opened at a position designated by the display control unit 13 on the display screen of the display device 2.

  At the same time, the content reproduction unit 10 reads out the video content (hereinafter referred to as the designated video content) for the thumbnail designated in the content relationship diagram from the content database 14. The designated video content is displayed as a preview (moving image information) in a preview window opened at a position designated by the display control unit 13 on the display screen of the display device 2. Further, the history information of the video content is output from the history information management unit 12 and displayed in a history information window opened at a position designated by the display control unit 13 on the display screen of the display device 2.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the content search screen displayed on the display screen of the display device 2 as described above. 20 is a content search screen, 21 is a content relationship diagram window, 22 is a preview window, 23 is a content information window, 24 is a link information window, 25 is a history information window, 26 is a thumbnail, 27 is a link, 28 is a selection frame, and 29 is a cursor.

  In the figure, on the content search screen 20, a preview window 22, a content information window 23, and a link information window 24 are arranged vertically in a vertically long area along the left side, and a history information window is displayed in a horizontally long area along the bottom side. 25 is arranged, and the content relationship diagram window 21 is arranged in the remaining area.

  The content relationship diagram window 21 is created based on the link information 18a to 18c of the link table 16 and the thumbnails associated with the video contents 17a to 17e as shown in FIG. A content relationship diagram showing the relationship between the video contents is displayed. This content relationship diagram represents a link in which thumbnails of video content having the same characteristics are sequentially linked in a circular manner for each video content characteristic (link information 18a to 18c of the link table 16). Hereinafter, a line connecting thumbnails in a link is referred to as a link line. For example, the thumbnails 26a to 26f form a single link 27a linked in a ring shape by a link line, and the video contents of these thumbnails 26a to 26f all have the same characteristics. The thumbnails 26b, 26f, and 26g to 26l also form a single link 27b linked in a ring shape with link lines, but the video contents of these thumbnails 26b, 26f, and 26g to 26l all have the same other characteristics. Will be.

  The thumbnails 26b and 26f are present on the link 27a and the link 27b, and this indicates that there is a common feature among the features that they have. If the video content of the thumbnails 26a to 26f and the video content of the thumbnails 26b, 26f, and 26g to 26l have no common feature, these links 27a and 27b are displayed completely independently without intersecting. . Here, all the link lines in each link are shown as solid lines, but in order to make it easy to distinguish each link, each link line has a different type, thickness, color, and shading line. It is represented by

  In the following, when an arbitrary thumbnail is indicated, it is simply referred to as a thumbnail 26, and when an arbitrary link is indicated, it is simply referred to as a link 27.

  In the content relationship diagram window 21, any one of the displayed thumbnails 26 is selected, for example, surrounded by a rectangular selection frame 28, and a link 27 including the selected thumbnail 26 is displayed as the content relationship. The content relation diagram is arranged and displayed so as to be displayed at the center of the figure window 21, and this link is different from other links, for example, the thickness of the line, the color of the line, or the type of the line It is displayed by the difference.

  Further, in the content relationship diagram window 21 shown in FIG. 3, the thumbnails 26 are all displayed in the same size, but the thumbnail 26 at the link 27 displayed on the content relationship diagram window 21 including the selected thumbnail 26 is displayed. May be displayed in a large size with the same size, and the thumbnail 26 at the link 27 away from the central link 27 may be displayed smaller so that the content relationship diagram has a depth and is rendered three-dimensionally. . Accordingly, it is possible to obtain an effect that the thumbnails of more video contents can be overviewed while maintaining the visibility of the selected video contents and the thumbnails of the video contents similar to the video contents.

  Alternatively, when displaying thumbnails of all video contents in the content relationship diagram window 21, the link 27 of the selected thumbnail 26 is not displayed in the center of the content relationship diagram window 21, but the color, thickness, and type. , By changing the shade, etc., it is only necessary to have different characteristics from other links. This eliminates the procedure of changing the arrangement of the thumbnail 26 and its link 27, and has the effect of reducing the load on the apparatus.

  An arrow-like cursor 29 is displayed in the content relationship diagram window 21, and its position can be changed on the content relationship diagram window 21 by operating the instruction input device 5. When the cursor 29 is moved by the instruction input device 5, the control unit 7 controls the content information drawing unit 11, so that the cursor 29 moves on the content relationship diagram window 21. When the decision input operation is performed with the instruction input device 5 so as to match the thumbnail 26 (the above operation is hereinafter referred to as selection), the selection frame 28 moves to the selected thumbnail 26 to indicate that it has been selected. At the same time, a link 27 including the selected thumbnail 26 is displayed at the center of the content relationship diagram window 21.

  The link 27 that is first displayed in the center of the content relationship diagram window 21 after the start may be a link 27 that includes the thumbnail 26 of the latest video content recorded last in the content database 14 or history information. The link 27 including the thumbnail 26 of the video content of the latest history information for which history information was last registered in the management unit 12 may be used, or the history information registered in the history information management unit 12 has the highest frequency. It may be a link 27 including a thumbnail 26 of content including link information, or may be a link 27 including a thumbnail 26 of content including a keyword input by operating the character input device 3 as the character input device 5. Link 2 including a thumbnail 26 of content specified based on a predetermined condition There are displayed in the central portion of the content relationship diagram window 21.

  Further, the link 27 can be selected by the cursor 29, and the selected link 27 is displayed in the center of the content relationship diagram window 21.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a content relationship diagram window 21 for displaying a content relationship diagram when the thumbnail 26g is selected in the display state shown in FIG. 3. As shown in the figure, this thumbnail 26g is selected in the selection frame 28. The link 27b including the selected thumbnail 26g is displayed at the center of the content relationship diagram window 21.

  As described above, when another thumbnail 26 is newly selected, the control unit 7 activates the link creation processing unit 8, and the link creation processing unit 8 displays the link including the selected thumbnail 26 in the content relationship diagram window. The link table 16 is read out from the link information database 9 so as to be displayed in the central portion 21, and is supplied to the content information drawing unit 11. As a result, the content information drawing unit 11 processes the content ID, the link information 18a to 18c, and the thumbnail of the link table 16, and the newly selected thumbnail 26 is displayed at the center of the content relationship diagram window 21. Create a content relationship diagram.

  Alternatively, the control unit 7 activates the link creation processing unit 8, and reads the metadata of each video content from the metadata database 15 with the metadata of the video content for the selected thumbnail 26 as the head, as described above. Based on these metadata, a keyword that is characteristic of each video content is read out, and a link table 16 as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed so that the selected thumbnail 26 is displayed in the center of the content relationship diagram window 21. (For example, a link including the thumbnail 26 of the content with the first content ID “001” in the link table 16 is displayed in the center of the content relationship diagram window 21), and the content information drawing unit 11 Together with the thumbnail 26 read from the content database 14 , The link 27 including the thumbnails 26 which is the newly selected content relationship diagram window 21 to appear in the center, the content relationship diagram is generated.

In this example, the thumbnail read from the content database 14 by the content reproduction unit 10 is supplied to the content information drawing unit 11 and used to create the content relationship diagram. However, the thumbnail read in this way is used. It may be supplied to the link formation processing unit 8 and incorporated into the corresponding video content in the link table 16 created by the link creation processing unit 8. The content information drawing unit 11 creates a content relationship diagram based on the link table 16 and thumbnails supplied from the link creation processing unit 8.

Further, the thumbnail of each video content may be stored in the metadata database 15 in association with the metadata. In this case, the link creation processing unit 8 may read a thumbnail corresponding to the metadata together with the metadata from the metadata database 15 and form the link table 16 by associating the thumbnails.

Incidentally, in the above, for each new thumbnail 26 by the cursor 29 in the content relationship diagram window 21 which is displayed on the display screen of the display device 2 Ru is selected or, alternatively, for each activation of the display of the content search screen 21, reading metadata of the video content from the meta data database 1 5, the metadata has been assumed that the newly created link table 16 on the basis of using all of the metadata stored in the metadata database 15 link When the table 16 is created and stored in the link information database 9, and the video content (program) is recorded in the content database 14 and the metadata is newly stored in the metadata database 15, the link creation process is performed. The unit 8 converts the newly stored metadata into metadata. The link table 16 that is read from the data database 15 and stored in the link information database 9 may be updated so that link information including the characteristics of the newly read metadata is formed. . In this case, even if another thumbnail 26 is newly selected in the content relationship diagram window 21, the link 27 including the newly selected thumbnail 26 is the center of the content relationship diagram window 21 from the link information database 9. The link table 16 may be read out and processed by the content information drawing unit 11 so as to be displayed on the screen.

  Returning to FIG. 3, in the preview window 22, a preview (moving image) of the video content for the thumbnail 26 selected in the content relationship diagram window 21 (in this case, the thumbnail 26 f) is reduced and displayed. In this preview, as described above, the video content for the selected thumbnail 26 f is sequentially read from the content database 14 to the content reproduction unit 10 and displayed on the preview window 22 by the display control unit 13. When the thumbnail 26 is selected, the control unit 7 controls the content reproduction unit 10 to read the video content for the selected thumbnail 26 from the content database 14, and the display control unit 13 causes the preview to be displayed. It is displayed on the window 22.

The content information window 23 displays video content information for the thumbnail 26 selected in the content relationship diagram window 21 (in this case, the thumbnail 26f), that is, a video content overview. The video content outline is desired data among the metadata stored in the metadata database 15, and for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a program (video content such as a program title 23 a and a broadcast date and time 23 b is displayed. ) Is displayed. Such video content overview, the thumbnail 26 is selected, the control unit 7 controls the link creation processing unit 8, of the metadata of the video content on the thumbnail 26 is selected from the metadata database 1 5, Predetermined metadata such as the program title and the broadcast date and time are read out, and after the processing for rendering is performed by the content information rendering unit 11, the metadata is displayed on the content information window 23 by the display control unit 13. Is.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the video content summary displayed in the content information window 23 may be composed of a selected thumbnail 23c and a program title 23a of the corresponding video content. Alternatively, an outline of video content described by a title and text, an icon set for each genre, or a combination of these may be used. If only the text is displayed, the load on the device can be reduced. If the icon indicating the outline of the content or the genre is added to the thumbnail, the amount of information that can be obtained at one time is increased and the convenience is improved.

  Returning to FIG. 3 again, the link information window 24 displays information (link related information) regarding each link 27 currently displayed in the content relationship diagram window 21. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the link information window 24 displays line types representing the link lines forming the links 27 currently displayed in the content relationship diagram window 21 and their characteristics. This feature is represented by a keyword used as a feature of metadata. Here, the link line of the link whose feature is represented by the keywords “sports relay” and “tennis” is represented by a thin dotted line, and the link line of the link whose feature is represented by “soccer” and “Brazil” is a thick dotted line The link lines of the links whose features are represented by the keywords “baseball” and “America” are represented by thick solid lines, and so on. Based on such link information, each link 27 displayed in the content relationship diagram window 21 can be determined, and a link having a desired feature can be easily found.

Such link related information is assigned to each link 27 formed by the control unit 7 when the link creation processing unit 8 forms the link 27, and is processed by the content information drawing unit 11 to be displayed. Is displayed on the link information window 24 displayed on the display screen of the display device 2.

  In the link information window 24, the link related information of the link 27 of the thumbnail 26 currently selected by the selection frame 28 in the content relationship diagram window 21 is in a state selected by the selection frame 30. Thereby, the feature of the currently selected link 27 can be easily confirmed, and the link 27 to be selected can be easily found in the content relationship diagram window 21. The selection frame 30 is created by the content information drawing unit 11 and combined with the link related information under the control of the control unit 7.

  The history information management unit 12 in FIG. 1 stores the information of the video content that has been selected and determined at least once in the content relationship diagram window 21 as history information. The comment search screen 21 shown in FIG. The history information window 25 displays such history information.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of the history information displayed in the history information window 25, in which 31a, 31b, 31c and 31d are history information, 32 is a link name, and 33 is a scroll bar.

  In the figure, in the history information window 25, the thumbnail 26 is selected and decided at least once in the content relationship diagram window 21, and the information of the video content is arranged in the horizontal direction as history information 31 in the order of the selection decision time. Displayed. Here, the history information 31 includes a thumbnail and a program title. The history information displayed on the right side of the history information window 25 (the history information 31d side in the illustrated display state) is the history information (older history information) of the video content selected earlier. The history information displayed on the left side (the history information 31a side in the illustrated display state) is the history information (newer history information) of the video content selected and displayed more recently.

  Further, when there is a link between the history information continuously arranged and displayed, these are linked and the link name 32 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 1, the history information 31a is the history information of the video content of the program title “tennis tournament”, the history information 31b is the history information of the video content of the program title “soccer z cup”, and the history information 31a is the program information. Assuming that the history information of the video content of the title “baseball” is registered in the history information management unit 12 (FIG. 1) in the order of the history information 31a, 31b, 31c, these are the content relationship diagram window 21. (FIG. 3) is linked by the feature “sports relay”, such history information 31a, 31b, 31c are linked in the order of arrangement, and a link name 32 is displayed for each history information. The

  Here, the link between the history information 31a and 31b and the link between the history information 31b and 31c are the same, but the link between the history information may be a link with a different name.

  By the way, in FIG. 1, when the video content (recorded program) in the content database 14 is selected and reproduced and displayed on the display device 2 in the history information management unit 12, the history information is registered. Even if it is reproduced and displayed on the display device 2, the history information is registered. When the history information of the video content is registered in this way, when the history information of the video content has already been recorded in the past, the history information management unit 12 deletes the already recorded history information and newly records it. New history information may be registered, or new history information may be registered while leaving the already recorded history information. However, in any case, the display order of newly registered history information is determined in the history information window 25 as shown in FIG. 7 according to the date and time of the registration timing in the history information management unit 12.

Next, the link creation processing in the link creation processing unit 8 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 9 and FIGS. 10 to 11. Here, FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing a series of flow of link creation processing of the link creation processing unit 8, and FIGS. 10 to 11 are diagrams showing changes in the link table accompanying the flow of link creation processing. Reference numerals 16 _{1 to} 16 ₆ denote link tables, and portions corresponding to those in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the link creation processing unit 8 reads the metadata of each video content stored in the metadata database 15 in a predetermined order, and for each read metadata, a keyword is extracted from the metadata that characterizes the video content. extracts, such keyword a content ID, in association with the program title stored in the link information database 9, the link table 16 ₁ shown in FIG. 10 (a) is created.

In the link table 16 _1, is registered content ID of the content 17a~17e the content ID column 16a, the title field 16b and keywords title and keyword and field 16c for each of these content 17a~17e have been registered . The link information 16d is not registered because the link information has not been created yet. Using the registration information of such link table 16 _1, the link information is created for each content 17 a - 17 e.

8, first, focusing on (here, the content 17a of the first content ID "001") one video content link table 16 ₁ was a target video content, one of the keywords of the target video content 17a (Step 100). Here, attention is paid to the first keyword “sports relay” of the target video content 17a, and this is set as the keyword of interest.

Then, the focused keyword and a search keyword "sports broadcasting", to search for video content in the link table 16 ₁ with this (step 101). The link table 16 _1, the content ID "002" has a video content 17b, 17c also search keyword "sports relay" of "003", the video content other than these do not have this search keyword "sports relay", Video contents 17b and 17c are searched.

  Next, link information is generated for the target video content 17a having the search keyword “sports relay” and the searched video content 17b and 17c (step 102). This link information is obtained by adding a link ID to the search keyword. In this case, the link information is the first link information. Therefore, the link information with the link ID “001” + the keyword “sports relay” is the video content 17a to 17c. Is generated against.

  If no target video content other than the target video content is searched in step 101, the process proceeds to step 107.

Registering the generated link information 18aa in the link information field 16d of the corresponding video content 17a~17c at the link table 16 ₁ (step 103). Thus, the link table 16 ₂ shown in FIG. 10 (b) is created.

Next, it is determined in the link table 16 _2, the target video content 17a whether heretofore not been focused keywords that are not focused there is still (step 104). If there is an unfocused keyword, the process proceeds to FIG. If there is no unfocused keyword, it is determined whether there is a next untargeted video content that has not been targeted so far (step 105). If all the video content is the target video content and there is no untargeted video content that did not become the target video content, the link creation process is terminated. If there is, the next untargeted video content, in this case Uses the video content 17b as the target video content (step 106), and performs the processing from step 100 on the new target video content 17b.

  In this case, since there are “soccer”, “Z cup”, and “Japan × Brazil” as non-focused keywords other than the focused keyword “sport relay” in the target video content 17a, the process returns to step 100, and the next “sport relay” The process from step 101 is performed using the unfocused keyword “soccer” as the focus keyword.

Such interest for the keywords "soccer", in the link table 16 _2, which video content 17b~17d Content ID "002" - "004" is retrieved (step 101), target video content 17a and these Link information is generated for the searched video contents 17b to 17d (step 102). This link information is obtained by adding a link ID to the search keyword “soccer”. In this case, the link information is the second generated link information. Therefore, link information with link ID “002” + keyword “soccer”. Is generated for the video contents 17a to 17c as the link information 18b (step 102). Similarly, for the keyword “Z cup”, video contents 17b to 17c with IDs “002” to “003” are searched (step 101), and the target video content 17a and the searched video contents 17b to 17c are searched. In response to this, link information ac of link ID “003” + keyword “Z cup” is generated (step 102). For the next keyword "Japan × Brazil", even if the search for video content that is not the subject in the link table 16 _2, because the video content does not exist for such a search keyword (step 101 "no"), Proceed to step 104. Then, since there is no other keyword in the target video content 17a (“None” in step 104), the process proceeds to FIG.

Thereby, the link table 16 ₃ shown in FIG. 10B is created.

In FIG. 9, in step 110, it is determined whether or not there are two or more keywords in the target video content. If there are no more than two keywords (“No” in step 110), the process proceeds to step 105 in FIG. 8, but the target video content 17a includes “sports broadcast”, “soccer”, “Z cup”, “Japan”. Since it has four keywords “X Brazil” (“Yes” in step 110), the process proceeds to step 111.

First, in step 111, the keywords “sports relay, soccer” are combined, and this combination is set as a search keyword. Then, the video content having this combination of search keywords is searched in the link table 16 ₃ (step 112). The link table 16 ₃ shown in FIG. 10 (c), the video content 17b, 17c takes search terms "sports broadcasting, soccer" because it has a, these video contents 17b, 17c is searched, a link ID "004" + Keyword Link information “sports relay, soccer” is generated for the video contents 17a to 17c as link information 18ad (step 113).

Next, it is determined whether or not there is link information overlapping with the generated link information 18ad in the link table 16 ₃ (step 114). Here, “overlapping link information” means that the video content to which the link information is assigned matches, and the keyword that forms the link information of the other is completely included in the keyword that forms the link information of the other. It means something.

Accordingly, since the link information 18aa of the video contents 17a to 17c registered in the link table 163 has the keyword “sports relay” with respect to the link information 18ad having the search keyword “sports relay, soccer”, the keyword “ Furthermore, the link ID “004” is registered in the link table 16 ₃ and the link information 18ad of the newly generated link ID “004” + keyword “sport relay, soccer”. + The link information 18aa of the keyword “sports relay” is link information for the same video content 17a to 17c, and there is overlapping link information.

Since there is overlapping link information in the link table 16 ₃ as described above, it is next determined whether or not the newly generated link information 18ad has a narrower limited range based on keywords (step 115). Here, “limited range by keyword” refers to a search range by keyword and is determined by the number of keywords constituting the link information. When the number is large, the limited range is narrow and small. Has a wide limited range. In this case, the link information 18ad of the newly generated link ID “004” + keyword “sports relay, soccer” is obtained from the already registered link ID “001” + link information 18aa of the keyword “sports relay”. However, since the number of keywords is large, the “limited range by keywords” is narrow.

  Therefore, the link information 18aa of the link ID “001” + keyword “sports relay” having a wide “limited range by keyword” is deleted from the link table 163 (step 116), and the newly generated link ID “004” + The link information 18ad of the keyword “sports relay, soccer” is registered as link information for the video contents 17a to 17c (step 117).

Thus the link table 16 ₄ shown in FIG. 11 (a) is formed.

Thereafter, the process returns to step 110 to determine whether another combination can be created. Then, the keyword “Z cup” is newly selected (step 111), and the processing from step 112 is repeated as a search keyword together with “sports relay”. Then, the same video contents 17b to 17c as described above are searched for the search keyword (step 112), and the link ID “005” + keyword “sport relay, Z cup” is searched for the video contents 17b to 17c. Link information ae is created (step 113). Furthermore, the link ID “003” + the link information 18ac of the keyword “Z cup” and the link ID “004” + the link information 18ae of the keyword “sports for sports, Z cup” registered in the link table 164 overlapping therewith “Limited range” is compared (step 115). As a result, the link information 18ae of the newly generated link ID “005” + keyword “sport relay, Z cup” is used as link information for the video contents 17a to 17c. This link ID which has been registered to "003" + keywords in place of the link information 18ac "Z Cup" will be registered in the link table 16 ₄ (step 117).

As a result, the link table 16 ₅ shown in FIG. 11B is obtained.

  Returning to step 110, if it is determined whether or not another combination can be made, the keyword “Japan × Brazil” is newly selected (step 111), and is used as a search keyword together with “sport relay”. However, since there is no video content for the search keyword (“None” in step 112), the video content is discarded and the process returns to step 110.

Next, the keyword “soccer, Z cup” is newly selected, and video content that is not the target video content is searched. The video contents 17b to 17c are also searched for the search keyword (step 112), and link information of link ID “006” + keyword “soccer, Z cup” is generated for the video content (step 112). Step 113). Furthermore, although there is a search for link information that overlaps with this, since there is no link information that overlaps such link information (“none” in step 114), this newly generated link ID “006” + keyword “soccer, link information Z Cup "is, as link information 18af for the video content 17a to 17c, is to be registered in the link table 16 ₅ (step 117).

As a result, a link table 16 ₆ shown in FIG. 11C is obtained.

  Returning to step 110, a search is then performed with a combination of “soccer, Japan × Brazil”, but since there is no video content that matches the search keyword, the process returns to step 110. Next, a search is performed using “Z cup, Japan × Brazil” as a search keyword. Similarly, there is no matching video content.

Returning to step 110, next, a search is performed with a combination of “sports broadcast, soccer, Z cup”. Then, the video contents 17b to 17c are searched for the search keyword (step 112), and link information of link ID “007” + keyword “sport relay, soccer, Z cup” is created for the video content. (Step 113). Further, the link ID “004” + link information 18ad of the keyword “Sports & Soccer” and the link ID “005” + link information 18ae of the keyword “Sports & Z Cup” registered in the link table 165 overlapped with this are linked. The “limited range” is compared with the link information 18af of the ID “006” + the keyword “soccer & Z cup” (step 115). As a result, the newly generated link ID “007” + the keyword “sport relay, soccer , Z cup "link information is link information 18a for video contents 17a-17c, link ID" 004 "+ link information 18ad of keyword" sports relay & soccer "and link ID" 005 "+ Link information 1 of keyword "sports broadcast & Z cup" 8ae link ID "006" + keywords in place of the link information 18af of "soccer & Z Cup" will be registered in the link table 16 ₆ (step 117).

As a result, the link table 16 ₇ shown in FIG. 12 (a) is obtained.

  Then, the processing from step 110 is repeated, and the remaining combinations of keywords “sports relay, soccer, Japan × Brazil”, “sports relay, Z cup, Japan × Brazil”, “soccer, Z cup, Japan × Brazil” are selected. A search is performed as a search keyword, but since there is no video content for the search keyword (“None” in step 112), any search keyword is discarded and the process returns to step 110. Since there is no more combination (“No” in step 110), the process proceeds to step 105 in FIG.

Then, it is determined whether or not there is an untargeted video content. If there is no untargeted video content, the link information creation process ends. If there is, the next untargeted content, that is, the link table 16 ₇ shown in FIG. Then, the video content 17b becomes the target video content (step 106), and the processing from step 100 is performed.

However, the keyword of the video content 17b is only the difference between the keyword of the previous video content 17a and “Japan × Brazil” and “France × Italy”, and these keywords “Japan × Brazil”, “France” × Italy "is, because it is not included in the video content of each, rather than additional link information, there is no change of the link table 16 _7. The same applies to the video content 17c.

Next, in FIG. 8, the link table 16 ₇ shown in FIG. 12 (a), when the target video content the video content 17d (step 105), the first keyword "movie" is selected to the target keyword ( step 100), the video content search in the link table 16 ₇ is performed so as a search keyword (step 101). As a result, the untargeted video content 17e having the content ID “005” is searched, and link information “link ID“ 005 ”+ keyword“ movie ”” is generated for the video content 17d and 17e (step 102). , as link information 18c for 17e, it is registered in the link table 16 ₇ (step 106).

Thus, the link table 16 ₈ shown in FIG. 12 (b) is obtained.

  Since the keyword “sports” of the target video content 17d does not exist in other video content, link information is not generated. For the keyword “soccer”, the link information 18b of the link ID “002” + the keyword “soccer” is included. It has already been created.

When the video content 17e with the content ID “005” is the target video content, for the keyword “movie”, the link information 18c of the link ID “008” + the keyword “movie” is already associated with this video content 17e. are registered Te, for the keyword "action", does not exist in the other video content, new never link information is registered in the link table 16 _8, by the end of the link information creation processing (step 105 "None" of), the link table 16 ₈ is determined.

Incidentally, the link table 16 ₈ is the same as the link table 16 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the link creation processing unit 8 in FIG. 1 creates the link table 16 based on the keywords extracted from the metadata fetched from the metadata database 15, stores it in the link information database 9, and manages it. To do.

  Next, the drawing process of the link in the content relationship diagram window 21 (FIG. 3) based on the information of the link table 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a series of the drawing process.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing processing in the link table 16 shown in FIG. 2 accompanying the drawing processing in FIG. 13. Reference numerals 34 and 35 denote drawn flags, and portions corresponding to FIG. 2 and FIG. Are given the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a link drawing process, in which 17A to 17E are thumbnails, and 18A to 18C are links.

The link table 16 shown in FIG. 15 is a link table created as described above with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11, and is the link table 16 shown in FIG. 2 or the link table shown in FIG. It is the same as 16 ₆ .

  In FIG. 13, in the link table 16 shown in FIG. 14 (a), attention is paid to an arbitrary video content, here, the video content 17a with the first content ID “001” (step 200), and the link of this video content 17a of interest. Attention is focused on one link information 18a in the information column 16d (step 201). Here, the link information of interest 18a is composed of the link ID [003] + the keyword “sport relay, soccer, Z cup”. Then, in the link table 16, the video content having the target link information 18a is searched (step 202). The searched video contents are the video contents 17b and 17c.

  The focused video content 17a and the searched video content 17b and 17c are video content corresponding to the focused link information 18a, and hereinafter, the video content corresponding to the focused link information is referred to as the corresponding video content.

  Next, it is determined whether one of the corresponding video contents is drawn in the content relationship diagram window 21 (FIG. 3) (step 203). “Yes”), when there is a space for drawing the corresponding video content in the content relationship diagram window 21 (“Yes” in step 204), the information of the corresponding video content, that is, a thumbnail is drawn in the content relationship diagram window 21. In step 205, the next corresponding video content (“Yes” in step 206) is determined, and the determination in step 203 is performed. If the video content has already been drawn in the content relationship diagram window 21 (“No” in step 203), the video content is not drawn and is further drawn for the next video content (“206” in step 206). YES ”), the determination in step 203 is performed.

  If such processing (steps 203 to 206) is performed on the corresponding video contents 17a to 17c and none of them is drawn in the content relationship diagram window 21, the corresponding video content is shown in FIG. 15 (a). The thumbnails 17A, 17B, and 17C of 17a, 17b, and 17c are drawn in the content relationship diagram window 21.

  As shown in FIG. 14A, the drawn flag 34 is set for the video contents 17a, 17b, and 17c on which the thumbnails 17A, 17B, and 17C are drawn. Therefore, whether or not the thumbnail of the video content has been drawn can be determined by whether or not the drawn flag 34 is set for the video content in the link table 16.

  When the drawing processing of all the corresponding video contents 17a, 17b, and 17c is completed ("None" in step 206), the drawing is performed as shown in FIG. 15A based on the link information 18a. A link is drawn between the thumbnails 17A, 17B, and 17C of the corresponding video contents 17a, 17b, and 17c to form an annular link 18A (step 207).

  As a result, a link 18A corresponding to one link information 18a corresponding to the corresponding video content 17a, 17b, 17c is formed and drawn. At the same time, this indicates that a link for the link information 18a is drawn. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14A, the drawn flag 35 is set in the link information 18a of the link table 16. The link information in which the drawn flag 35 is set is excluded from the drawing formation process.

  When the above processing is completed, it is determined whether or not other link information is set for the video content of interest 17a (step 208). In the link table 16 shown in FIG. 14 (a), link information 18b (= link ID “002” + keyword “soccer”) is further set, so this link information 18b is used as link information of interest (step 201). Video content including the link information 18b is searched in the link table 16 (step 202).

  In this case, the video contents 17b, 17c, and 17d are searched, and the searched video contents 17b, 17c, and 17d and the focused video content 17a are set as corresponding video contents in the content relationship diagram window 21. If there is a drawing space (step 204), information of the corresponding video contents 17a to 17d, that is, thumbnails are drawn on the content relationship diagram window 21. However, since the corresponding video contents 17a to 17c have the drawn flag 34 and the thumbnails 17A to 17C are already drawn, these drawing processes are not performed ("No" in step 203). As shown in FIG. 15B, the thumbnail 17D of the video content 17d is additionally drawn. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 14B, the drawn flag 34 is also set in the video content 17d.

  When the thumbnail 17D of the corresponding video content 17d is drawn and the processing of steps 203 to 206 for the corresponding video content 17a to 17d is completed, the processing shown in FIG. 15B is performed based on the link information 18b. As described above, a link indicated by a thick broken line is drawn between the thumbnails 17A, 17B, 17C, and 17D of the drawn video contents 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d to form an annular link 18B (step 207).

  As a result, a link 18B corresponding to one link information 18b for the corresponding video contents 17a to 17d is formed and drawn, but this also indicates that a link has been drawn for this link information 18b. In addition, as shown in FIG. 14B, the drawn flag 35 is also set in the link information 18b of the link table 16.

  Further, it is determined whether or not other link information is set for the above-mentioned video content of interest 17a. However, since there is no other link information (“None” in step 208), next drawing is performed so far. The link information set in the video content is drawn.

  First, it is determined whether there is a space that can be drawn (step 209), and attention is paid to one of the drawn contents (step 210). In the link table shown in FIG. 14B, attention is first focused on the video content 17b having the content ID “002”. It is determined whether or not there is link information that has not yet been drawn for such content, but there is no link information (“None” in Step 211). Similarly, there is no link information that has not been drawn yet.

  Returning to step 210, when it is determined whether there is link information that has not yet been drawn for the video content 17d with the content ID “004”, the link information 18c with the link ID “005” + the keyword “movie” is found. (“Yes” in step 211).

  Therefore, returning to step 201, when searching for video content including link information 18c of link ID “005” + keyword “movie”, video content 17e with content ID “005” is found, as shown in FIG. A thumbnail 17E for the video content 17e is drawn (step 205). Since there is no other content (“None” in step 206), the annular link 18c indicated by the thin broken line is drawn with the thumbnails 17D and 17E of the video content 17d and 17e (step 207).

  At the same time, as shown in FIG. 14C, a drawn flag 34 is set in the video content 17e, and a drawn flag 35 is set in the link information 18c.

  As a result, the drawn flag 35 is set in all the link information 18b and 18c of the video content 17d of interest at this time (step 208), so attention is paid to the drawn content 17e that has not yet been focused. There is no link information not drawn ("None" in step 211). In addition, since all the video contents are focused (“None” in step 212), the content information drawing process ends.

  As described above, the link shown in FIG. 15C, that is, the content relationship diagram is created and drawn on the link table 16 shown in FIG.

  If there is no space in the content relationship diagram window 21 that can be rendered for the content to be rendered in the course of the rendering process (“none” in step 209), the rendering process ends at that point, and the remaining Link information is not drawn.

  If the required keyword link is not displayed, the keyword may be specified by the character input device 3 and the instruction input device 5 (FIG. 1).

  Further, in FIG. 13, while several thumbnails of the corresponding content of the target link information are being drawn (step 205), there is no space for drawing the thumbnail of the next corresponding content in the content relationship diagram window 21 (step 205). 204 “None”), a link is drawn with the thumbnails drawn so far (Step 207). Instead, the link formation process is terminated by proceeding from “None” to “END” in Step 204. You may not make it draw about the link which cannot draw the thumbnail of all the related contents.

  Further, the processing based on the “limited range” in FIG. 8 may not be performed, and multiple links may be created by using all link information for each keyword. In the link creation process, a method may be considered in which determination is performed when drawing a content relationship diagram without determining whether or not the contents are multiplexed.

  Further, since the load on the apparatus can be reduced by omitting the process of discriminating link overlap, it is effective when the number of target contents is large and it takes time to create a link.

  Examples using keywords have been given so far, but the method of content comparison for creating links is not limited to this. For each content in the database, it is only necessary to be able to extract the features by a unique method. For example, the contents of the metadata of the content are subjected to semantic analysis, which is a well-known technique, and the result is used for the content. A comparison may be made. Also, using the characteristics of the video signal such as the entire video frame or subject color, texture, shape, movement, area, etc., the sound / audio signal features the sound signal such as silence, voice, timbre, sound effect, melody, etc. Based on the above, link information may be created using a pattern recognition technique that is a well-known technique.

  The content information drawing unit 11 (FIG. 1) draws an image (for example, a thumbnail) representing an outline of each content and a link connecting the images based on the link information created by the link creation processing unit 8 (FIG. 1). And displayed on the display device 2. Further, in response to a user operation, the content reproduction unit 10 is caused to reproduce the instructed content or to display a preview of the selected content.

  The “selected link” when the user selects an arbitrary video content and the “selected video content” when an arbitrary link is selected are determined as follows.

  When the user selects arbitrary video content, the link in the narrowest range constituted by more keywords is selected as the selected link among the links connecting the thumbnails of the video content.

  When the user selects an arbitrary link, one of the thumbnails of the video content connected to the link is determined at random as the selected thumbnail, and thus the video content.

  Selection of such video contents and links can be performed by keyword search. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a screen for selecting video contents and links by such keyword search. 36 is a keyword search window, 37 is a search target selection area, 38 is a keyword input area, 39 is a software keyboard, and 40 is In the search result display area, parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the figure, when a predetermined operation is performed with the instruction input device 5 (FIG. 1) while the content search screen 20 is displayed on the display device 2 (FIG. 1), the keyword search window overlaps with the content search screen 20. 36 is displayed. In the keyword search window 36, a search target selection area 37 in which “content search” and “link search” can be selected, a keyword input area 38 in which a keyword is input, and a keyword input in this keyword input area 38. A software keyboard 39 and a search result display area 40 in which search results are displayed are provided. In the keyword search window 36, a cursor that can be operated by the instruction input device 5 (FIG. 1) is also displayed, but this is not shown.

  When “content search” or “link search” is selected in the search target selection area 37 by the cursor operation by the instruction input device 5 and a desired keyword is input to the keyword input area 38 by the cursor operation of the software keyboard 39, this A search result based on the input keyword is displayed in the search result display area 40.

  If “link search” is selected in the search target selection area 37 and the keyword “tennis” is input in the keyword input area 38, the link table 16 stored in the link information database 9 (FIG. 1) is searched. In the search result display area 40, for example, a link “sports relay & tennis” and a link “movie & tennis” are displayed as the search results.

  Assuming that “content search” is selected in the search target selection area 37 and the keyword “tennis” is input in the keyword input area 38, a list of video contents having the keyword “tennis” in the metadata is displayed together with the title and the search results. When one of them is displayed in the display area 40, the selected video content is read from the content database 14 (FIG. 1) by the content reproduction unit 10 (FIG. 1), and is displayed on the display device 1 (FIG. 1). Displayed on the entire display screen.

  Note that both the content relationship diagram window 21 and the keyword search window 36 may be operable with a touch panel.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited only to this embodiment.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, a method that supports search based on the metadata of content stored in one content search device is used, but the content to be searched is in this device. It is not limited to. It suffices if the content database 14 is connected to the content reproduction unit 10 and the metadata database 15 is connected to the link creation processing unit 8. For example, these databases outside the apparatus may be taken in via the network. By connecting and using these databases outside the apparatus via a network, there is an effect that the content search apparatus according to the present invention can be installed regardless of the location.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the content search apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the link table produced by the link creation process part in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the content search screen displayed on the display screen of the display apparatus in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a content relationship diagram window for displaying a content relationship diagram when another thumbnail is selected in the display state shown in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in the preview window on the content search screen in FIG. 1, a content information window, and a link information window. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display in the preview window and content information window in the content search screen in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of history information displayed in a history information window in FIG. 3. It is a flowchart which shows a part of a series of flows of the link creation process of the link creation process part in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the part following the part shown in FIG. 8 of the series of flows of the link creation process of the link creation process part in FIG. It is a figure which shows a part of change of the link table with a series of flows of the link creation process shown to FIG. 8, FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a part following FIG. 10 of the change in the link table accompanying the series of flow of the link creation processing shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a part following FIG. 11 of the change of the link table accompanying the series of flow of the link creation processing shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It is a flowchart which shows a series of flows of the drawing process of the link in the content relationship diagram window based on the information of a link table. It is a figure which shows the process of the link table accompanying the drawing process of the link shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the drawing process of the link in a content relationship diagram window. It is a figure which shows the screen for the selection of the video content and link by keyword search.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content search device 2 Display apparatus 3 Character input device 4 Character string analysis part 5 Instruction input device 6 Instruction input part 7 Control part 8 Link creation process part 9 Link information database 10 Content reproduction part 11 Content information drawing part 12 History information management part 13 Display Controller 14 Content Database 15 Metadata Database 16, 16 _{1 to} 16 ₆ Link Table 17a to 17e Video Content 17A to 17E Thumbnail 18a to 18c Link Information 18A to 18C Link 19 Link ID
20 content search screen 21 content relationship diagram window 22 preview window 23 content information window 24 link information window 25 history information window 26 thumbnail 27 link 28 selection frame 29 cursor 30 selection frames 31a to 31d history information 32 link name 33 scroll bar 34, 35 Draw flag 36 Keyword search window 37 Search target selection area 38 Keyword input area 39 Software keyboard 40 Search result display area

Claims (6)

In a content search apparatus having an input means for inputting a user operation,
A link creating unit that compares the characteristics of a plurality of video contents to be searched to determine whether there is a related part and creates link information between the video contents determined to be related, and an image of the video content Is drawn on the display screen of the display device, and based on the link information created by the link creating means, the images of the video content determined to be related are connected by a link line to form a link, Content drawing means for drawing on the display screen,
The input unit inputs instruction information for selecting a drawn image or a link line, and the content drawing unit selects the image selected when the instruction information is input to the input unit , Alternatively , an image connected to the selected link line is drawn in a central portion of the display screen, an image related to the image drawn in the central portion is drawn in a drawable space of the display screen, and the related A content search apparatus that performs a process of not rendering a related image when there is no space on the display screen for rendering an image to be performed . The content search device according to claim 1,
The content search device, wherein the content drawing means forms a link of the image of the video content determined to be related in a ring shape and draws it. The content search device according to claim 1 or 2,
The content drawing unit displays the link line for each link in at least one of different colors, thicknesses, types, and shades, and draws each link in a distinguishable manner. The content search device according to claim 1 or 2,
The content drawing means displays the link line of the link including the selected image or the link line in at least one of a color, thickness, type, and shading different from the link line of the other link, A content search apparatus, characterized by being drawn differently from link lines of other links. The content search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The content drawing device displays at least one of a preview of video content of the selected image and an outline of the video content. A link creation step for comparing the characteristics of a plurality of video contents to be searched by the link creating means to determine whether there is a related part, and creating link information between the video contents determined to be related; An image of the video content is drawn on a display screen of a display device by a drawing unit, and based on the link information created by the link creation unit, the images of the video content determined to be related are linked by a link line. A content drawing step of connecting and forming a link and drawing on the display screen; and an input step of inputting a user operation by an input means;
In the input step inputs the instruction information to select an image or link lines drawn by the input means, in the content rendering step, the image selected by the input step by the content rendering means, or, is selected The image connected to the link line is drawn in the center portion of the display screen, the image related to the image drawn in the center portion is drawn in the drawable space of the display screen, and the drawing is performed on the related image. A content search method characterized by performing a process of not rendering a related image when there is no space available on the display screen .

Images