JP5093501B2 - Information processing apparatus, program, and display control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a browsing technique for browsing a document such as a Web, and in particular, browses target information intuitively and with a small number of operations while displaying a display reflecting the intention of the document creator. It relates to a browsing system that can.

  In the Internet, there are many websites that provide various services. For example, a portal site as an entrance when using the Internet and a website showing web page information of various services are typical. In order to use such a website, conventionally, an information processing device such as a personal computer having a communication function is connected to the Internet, and an input / output device such as a mouse or keyboard as a pointing device is used by a web browser. Was browsing the desired information.

  On the other hand, the devices that browse information were mainly personal computers equipped with a mouse, a keyboard, etc., but in recent years, they have been expanded to mobile terminals with small display screen sizes such as mobile phones and PDAs. . However, when the display screen size is small, the browsed document does not fit in the displayable horizontal width, and frequent scrolling operations in the horizontal direction are required during browsing. In view of this, a technique has been provided that enables even a portable terminal having a small display screen size to easily browse a document (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

  The technologies disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2 change the table width and image size when displaying an HTML document, disassemble the column layout as necessary, and By reconnecting everything vertically and reconstructing it, it fits in the displayable width. Thereby, since it becomes a vertically long layout, the scroll operation to the horizontal direction at the time of browsing can be avoided.

http://www.jp.opera.com/products/mobile/smallscreen/ http://www.access.co.jp/products/nf.html

  However, the conventional technique has the following problems.

  Conventional web browsers are premised on operating with a device capable of direct pointing, such as a mouse, and when a browsing operation is performed only with keys such as a keyboard, complicated key operations are required. In particular, it is assumed that browsing of information will continue to be performed in the future, even in home appliances such as a mobile phone that does not have a device that allows direct pointing like a mouse and has few operation keys, and a TV that is operated by a remote control. Then, it is clear that the browsing operation becomes more complicated than before in the conventional web browser.

  Further, the techniques disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2 are displayed with a layout configuration different from the intention of the document creator, and there is a possibility that the intention of the document creator is not transmitted. For example, if the HTML document prepared by the creator with a visual layout configuration such as a collection of links on the left, a text on the center, and an advertisement on the right is displayed using the above technique, the columns are connected in order from the left, It is reconfigured and displayed in a vertically long layout. For this reason, it is necessary to perform considerable vertical scrolling until the text is reached, and not only does it take a considerable amount of time to reach the target location, but there is also a problem that it is difficult to understand where the text is.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been invented in view of the above problems, and its purpose is a layout configuration that reflects the intention of the creator of the browsed document, and a browsing technique that can quickly move to the target search target information. It is to provide.

A first invention for solving the above-described problem is an information processing apparatus, in which a document to be browsed is subjected to layout analysis to be blocked, and an upward or downward instruction key is used without requiring horizontal scrolling for each block. The selectable overall information is displayed in the first display area of the display device, and each item of detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the overall information is moved upward or downward without requiring horizontal scrolling. in the selectable by the direction instruction key, and the first display mode to be displayed on the second display area of the display device, each item of detailed information of a selected block among the blocks of the whole information, horizontal scrolling the selectable by upward or downward direction indicating keys without requiring the display first displaying on the display area of the device, the display first displaying said displayed in the region more devices And a second display mode for displaying the entire information associated with the selected item among the information items in the second display area of the display device, the instruction key and the right direction instruction key of the left operation It has a display control means which controls to switch in response to.

According to a second invention for solving the above-described problem, in the first invention, the display control means is configured to display the right direction in a state where the second display area is active during display in the first display mode. When the instruction by the instruction key is received, the first display mode is changed to the second display mode, and when the display by the second display mode is performed, the first display area is active and the left display mode is activated. When an instruction by a direction instruction key is received, the second display mode is changed to the first display mode.

A third invention for solving the above-described problem is a program for an information processing apparatus, in which a document to be viewed is subjected to layout analysis to form a block, and an upward or downward direction instruction is not required for each block without requiring horizontal scrolling. The entire information selectable by the key is displayed in the first display area of the display device, and each item of the detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the entire information is moved upward without requiring horizontal scrolling. Alternatively , each item of the first display mode displayed in the second display area of the display device and the detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the entire information can be selected by an instruction key in the downward direction. , an instruction key for upward or downward the horizontal scroll without requiring to be selected, and displayed in the first display area of the display device, is displayed on the first display area of the display device Wherein a second display mode for displaying the second display area of the display device the entire information associated with the selected item among the items of detailed information are, in the left direction instruction key and the rightward The information processing apparatus is caused to execute display control processing for controlling to switch in response to operation of an instruction key .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem, in the third aspect , the display control processing is performed in the right direction while the second display area is active during display in the first display mode. When the instruction by the instruction key is received, the first display mode is changed to the second display mode, and when the display by the second display mode is performed, the first display area is active and the left display mode is activated. When an instruction by a direction instruction key is received, the second display mode is changed to the first display mode.

A fifth invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a browsing information display control method, in which a document to be browsed is subjected to layout analysis to be blocked, and an upward or downward direction is not required for each block without requiring horizontal scrolling. The entire information selectable by the instruction key is displayed in the first display area of the display device, and each item of the detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the entire information is displayed without the need for horizontal scrolling. Each item of the first display mode that can be selected by the direction or down direction key and displayed in the second display area of the display device, and the detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the overall information , was prepared selectable by upward or downward direction indicating keys of the horizontal scroll without the need to display in the first display area of the display device, it is displayed in the first display area of the display device Wherein the second display mode to be displayed on the second display area of the display device the entire information associated with the selected item among the items of the detailed information, the instruction key and the right direction of the left direction indicator that Switching is performed in response to a key operation.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in the fifth aspect , at the time of display in the first display mode, an instruction by the right direction instruction key is given while the second display area is active. When the display is received, a transition is made from the first display mode to the second display mode, and when the display is performed in the second display mode, an instruction by the left instruction key is made while the first display area is active. When receiving, a transition is made from the second display mode to the first display mode.

  The present invention provides an area for displaying the entire browsed document and an area for displaying the details of the browsed document, and by displaying these simultaneously, even if the device has a small screen size, It is possible to display the document reflecting the intention, and to obtain an excellent effect that the viewer can easily browse and search the document.

  The embodiment of the present invention displays a document to be viewed in the normal display mode shown in FIG. 2 and the zapping display mode shown in FIG. In the normal display mode, an entire display screen (first display area) on which the entire HTML document to be viewed is displayed and a detail display screen (second display) on which the details of the blocked HTML document are displayed. Display area) is displayed. In the zapping display mode, a detail screen (first display area) on which the details of the HTML document to be viewed are displayed, and a thumbnail display screen (first display) on which the thumbnail image linked to the selected information of the HTML document is displayed. 2 display area).

  Switching between modes and switching between active display areas in each mode is performed by instruction means that can visually distinguish the first display area and the second display area. For example, the second display area is associated with the direction in which the user moves to the target information, that is, the traveling direction in which the user search proceeds, and the right key is associated with the second display area. On the other hand, the first display area is associated with the direction in which the user returns to the original information again, that is, the return direction of the user search, and the left key is associated with the first display area.

  In this way, it is possible to smoothly shift from the entire display of the browsed document to the detailed display and from the detailed display to the entire display linked to the details by the two instruction means.

  Furthermore, selection of information in each display area in an active state can be performed by an instruction unit that instructs movement only in the vertical direction.

  Examples of the instruction means include up / down / left / right direction keys.

  In this way, an area for displaying the entire browsed document and an area for displaying the details of the browsed document are provided, and by displaying these simultaneously, even if the device has a small screen size, the creator of the browsed document It is possible to display the document reflecting the intention, and to obtain an excellent effect that the viewer can easily browse and search the document.

  Also, by consolidating browsing document search and selection of information in the browsing document into a small number of instruction means, it is not possible to equip direct pointing like a home appliance such as a TV or a mouse with a remote control operation with few keys. Even with devices, it has an excellent effect that it allows browsing and searching of documents with intuitive and few operations. As a result, it is possible to provide a browsing technique that allows a browsing operation with an intuitive and few operation without requiring a device capable of direct pointing like a mouse.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the first embodiment, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a set-top box connectable to a network such as the Internet, and a browsing operation is performed by a remote controller.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a set top box as an information processing device, 2 is a display device such as a television that displays video by inputting a video signal from the information processing device 1, and 3 is a set top box 1. A remote controller as an instruction means to be operated, 4 is a WWW server in which browsing documents are stored, and 5 is a network such as the Internet to which the set top box 1 and the WWW server 4 are connected.

  The set top box 1 includes an input information interpretation unit 10, a video signal generation unit 11, an output image generation unit 12, a reduced image generation unit 13, a layout analysis unit 14, a detailed image generation unit 15, and a zapping image generation. Unit 16, rendering engine unit 17, network communication unit 18, and cache data storage unit 19.

  The remote controller 3 is an instruction means for performing a document browsing operation on the set-top box 1, and in the present embodiment, the browsing operation can be performed by four direction keys on the remote controller.

  The input information interpretation unit 10 receives the operation signals of the four direction keys of the remote controller 3 up, down, left and right, detects which direction key is pressed, and outputs the detection result to the output image generation unit 12.

  The rendering engine unit 17 reads HTML data via the network 5 and re-expresses it in an appropriate form in accordance with conditions attached to the data and specific rules.

  The layout analysis unit 14 receives the output of the rendering engine unit 17, analyzes the layout, and blocks the document. Although it is a blocking method, it may be blocked for each predetermined number of rows, or another method may be used.

  The reduced image generation unit 13 generates a reduced image of the blocked document from the layout analysis unit 14.

  The detailed image generation unit 15 receives the output of the rendering engine unit 17 and matches the detailed information of the HTML document with the size of the screen on which the detailed image is displayed so that horizontal scrolling does not occur. The process is such that horizontal scrolling does not occur. For example, there is a folding process according to the screen size.

  The zapping image generation unit 16 captures the output of the rendering engine unit 17 and generates a thumbnail image. The generated zapping image is cached in the cache data storage unit 19 in order to increase the processing speed.

  The output image generation unit 12 is based on an instruction from the input information interpretation unit 10 based on the reduced image from the reduced image generation unit 13, the detailed information from the detailed image generation unit 15, and the thumbnail image from the zapping image generation unit 16. Among them, two images or information are arranged and output in two display areas.

  The video signal generation unit 11 receives the output of the output image generation unit 12, converts it into a signal suitable for display on the display device 2, and outputs it.

  Next, a display mode displayed on the display device 2 by the set top box 1 in the present embodiment will be described.

  2 and 3 are diagrams showing a display mode of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 shows a normal display mode, and FIG. 3 shows a zapping display mode.

  In the normal display mode shown in FIG. 2, an entire display screen (first display area) on which an entire blocked HTML document is displayed, and detailed information in a block selected from the HTML document are displayed. In this mode, a detail display screen (second display area) is displayed.

  Further, in the zapping display mode shown in FIG. 3, the details screen (first display area) on which the details of the HTML document to be viewed are displayed, and the thumbnail image to which the selected information in the HTML document is linked are displayed. In this mode, a thumbnail display screen (second display area) to be displayed is displayed.

  Switching of the active display area in each mode is performed by pressing the left and right direction keys of the remote controller 3. Specifically, the first display area and the left arrow key in each mode are associated with each other, and the second display area and the right arrow key are associated with each other. That is, the second display area is arranged in a direction in which the user follows the information toward the desired browsing information, and a right key is associated with the second display area. The first display area is arranged in a direction to return to the document viewed by the user, and the left direction key is associated with the first display area. The selection of information in the active display area is performed using the up / down direction keys. That is, in the active display area, by pressing the up direction key or the down direction key, the information to be selected is inverted, and the information in the area can be selected.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in the process of browsing information from the currently browsed information to the desired information, when moving from the currently browsed information to the information of (1), the target browse information is Proceed by pressing the right direction key associated with the direction to follow the information and proceed. Furthermore, when moving from information (1) to information (2), the process proceeds by pressing the right key. In addition, when the information of (2) is not the information that the user wants, by pressing the left and right direction keys associated with the return direction of the direction to follow the information toward the desired browsing information, You can return to the original information. Further, when proceeding from the information of (1) to the different information of (4), the information is selected from the next to the next by, for example, pressing the down key in the information browsing state of (1). The information of (4) corresponding to the selected information can be advanced by pressing the right arrow key, and the desired information can be reached by further pressing the right arrow key. As described above, the instruction means necessary for obtaining information toward the desired browsing information is collected.

  For example, when the viewer activates the browsing system, a portal site registered in advance is displayed. At this time, the top page of the portal site is analyzed and blocked by the layout analysis unit 14, and the blocked top page is displayed on the entire display screen (first display area). Also, on the detail display screen (second display area), the detailed information of the top block on the top page of the block is reconstructed and displayed in a layout that is easy to see and does not require horizontal scrolling. . At the beginning, the entire display screen (first display area) becomes an active screen, and the blocks in the entire display screen (first display area) can be selected by operating the up and down direction keys for selecting the blocks. .

  To switch from the active entire display screen (first display area) to the detail display screen (second display area), press the right arrow key associated with the detail display screen (second display area). Thus, the detail display screen (second display area) becomes active, and the information displayed on the detail display screen (second display area) can be selected.

  Further, in the detailed information displayed on the active detail display screen (second display area), when the search is to be further advanced, the right direction key which is the key for performing the search is pressed to 3 is switched to the zapping display mode shown in FIG. 3, and a detailed display screen on which detailed information is displayed is displayed in the first display area, and a thumbnail image of the entire browsing document linked to the selected information among the detailed information is zapped. The second display area generated by the image generation unit 16 and displayed in the second display area and displaying the thumbnail image becomes active.

  When the viewer returns to the original document browsed, the screen of the first display area can be activated by pressing the left arrow key. That is, in the normal display mode, when the detail display screen displayed in the second display area is active, the screen in the first display area can be activated by pressing the left arrow key. it can. In addition, when the thumbnail display screen is active in the zapping display mode, pressing the left arrow key switches to the normal display mode, and the detail screen is displayed in the second display area and the detailed display screen is displayed in the first display area. Displays the entire display screen.

  As described above, the present invention is characterized in that browsing can be performed with the four left, right, up and down direction keys.

  Such display operation will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the display operation.

  First, when the browsing system is activated (Step 100), a browsing document is acquired via the network 5 (Step 101).

  The acquired browsing document is expressed in an appropriate form by the rendering engine unit 17 in accordance with conditions attached to the data and specific rules (Step 102). Then, the layout analysis is performed to form a block (Step 103), and a reduced image and a detailed image are generated (Steps 104 and 105). Further, a thumbnail image is generated by capturing the output of the rendering engine unit 17 (Step 106). These images are input to the output image generation unit 12.

  Pressing of one of the four direction keys is detected by the input information interpretation unit 10 (Step 107). As a result of this detection, an image corresponding to the direction key is output from the output image generation unit 12 (Step 108). ). Then, the browsing document is displayed on the display device 2 in the first display area and the second display area (Step 109).

  Next, a specific operation will be described with reference to the transition diagram of FIG.

  First, in the state B-2, a portal site registered in advance is displayed, the top page of the portal site is analyzed and blocked by the layout analysis unit 14, and the blocked top page is displayed on the entire display screen ( In the first display area). Further, on the detail display screen (second display area), the detailed information of the second block on the top page that is blocked is displayed in a reconstructed layout that is easy to see and does not require horizontal scrolling. . The active screen is a detail display screen (second display area).

  By pressing the up key once in state B-2, it is possible to select detailed information that is one level higher than the current detailed information (state B-1). Then, from this state, pressing the down key once returns to the state B-2.

  Further, by pressing the down key once in state B-2, it is possible to select detailed information one level below the current detailed information (state B-3). In the present embodiment, detailed information is laid out so as not to cause horizontal scrolling, so the selected information is information next to the information selected in state B-2. From this state, the state returns to state B-2 by pressing the up key once.

  Next, in the state B-2, when the right arrow key is pressed once, the display mode is switched from the normal display mode to the zapping display mode, and the detailed information is displayed and selected by switching to the first display area. The thumbnail image to which the information is linked is displayed in the second display area (state C-2).

  In state C-2, by pressing the up key once, the thumbnail image linked to the information above the information selected on the detail display screen is displayed in the second display area (state C- 1). In state C-1, when the down key is pressed once, the state returns to state C-2.

  In state C-2, by pressing the down key once, the thumbnail image linked to the information below the information selected on the detail display screen is displayed in the second display area (state C- 3). In state C-3, pressing the up key once returns to state C-2.

  In state C-2, when the left arrow key is pressed once, the display mode is switched from the zapping display mode to the normal display mode, and the detailed information is displayed by switching to the second display area. Is displayed in the first display area. That is, it returns to the state B-2.

  Next, in the state B-2, the active screen (area) is switched from the detailed display screen (second display area) to the entire display screen (first display area) by pressing the left arrow key once. (State A-2). Thereby, each block of the whole display currently displayed on the whole display screen (1st display area) can be selected.

  In the state A-2, the upper block can be selected by pressing the up key once, and at the same time, the detailed information of the selected block is displayed on the detail display screen (second display area). (State A-1). In state A-1, pressing the down key once returns to state A-2.

  In state A-2, the lower block can be selected by pressing the down key once, and the detailed information of the selected block is displayed on the detailed display screen (second display area) at the same time. (State A-3). In state A-3, the user can return to state A-2 by pressing the up key once.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the browsing operation is collected into four left, right, up, and down direction keys, and these direction keys are associated with the area where the browsing information is displayed and the information selection direction. Therefore, operation and screen movement can be done intuitively and easily.

  In addition, the browsing document is divided into a plurality of blocks so that the browsing location can be selected in units of blocks, and detailed information of the selected block is displayed simultaneously with the entire display of the browsing document. The correct layout of the viewing document intended by the creator and the detailed information thereof can be viewed at the same time, and the detailed information can be browsed in an easy-to-view layout without horizontal scrolling.

  In the present embodiment, Web (HTML) is taken as an example of the browsing document. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an XML document that can be displayed by using an electronic book style sheet or DTD may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the four direction keys are exemplified by using the remote controller as the instruction means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, such as keyboard direction keys, buttons, and voice instructions by voice recognition. Any device that can specify four directions is acceptable.

  Further, the output image generation unit 12, the reduced image generation unit 13, the layout analysis unit 14, the detailed image generation unit 15, the zapping image generation unit 16, and the rendering engine unit 17 of the set top box are configured by a CPU. However, it can be configured to be operated by a program.

  A second embodiment will be described.

  In the second embodiment, a function capable of previously registering a plurality of top pages and the like displayed when the browsing system is activated is added to the first embodiment. In other words, a web browser favorite function is added.

  5 and 6 are diagrams showing examples of screen display of the browsing system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, in the normal display mode, a tab indicating the top page of the portal site registered in advance is attached to the left side of the entire display screen (first display area). As shown in FIG. 6, when the entire display screen (first display area) is in an active state, the tab is focused (active) by pressing the left arrow key. Selection becomes possible. Each tab is selected by selecting the desired tab with the up and down direction keys while the tab is focused (active). By selecting a desired tab, the top page of the portal site corresponding to that tab is displayed on the entire display screen (first display area), and detailed information on the block portion of the entire display is displayed on the detailed display screen (second display). Display area).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the tabs may be linked not only to the top page of the portal site but also to the set top box menu.

  In addition, as a method of adding a new tab, as shown in FIG. 8, in the zapping display mode, when the thumbnail display screen is active, the left arrow key is pressed, as shown in FIG. A context menu for adding a tab to the information focused on the detail display screen is displayed. By selecting "Open new tab", the information linked to that information, that is, the thumbnail display screen is displayed. Link destinations are added to the tab.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows the normal display mode. FIG. 3 shows the zapping display mode. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of the browsing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of the browsing system in the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen display of the browsing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of the browsing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen display of the browsing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the display operation.

Explanation of symbols

1 set top box 2 display device 3 remote control 4 WWW server 5 network

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus,
The document to be browsed is analyzed and divided into blocks, and the entire information that can be selected with the up or down direction key is displayed in the first display area of the display device without requiring horizontal scrolling for each block. In the second display of the display device, each item of detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the whole information can be selected by an upward or downward instruction key without requiring horizontal scrolling. A first display mode for displaying in the area;
Each item of detailed information of a selected block among the blocks of the whole information, and to be selected by upward or downward direction indicating keys of the horizontal scroll without requiring, first display of the display device Display in the area, and display in the second display area of the display device the overall information associated with the selected item among the items of the detailed information displayed in the first display area of the display device The second display mode,
An information processing apparatus comprising display control means for controlling to switch in response to an operation of a left direction key and a right direction key . The display control means includes
At the time of display in the first display mode, when the second display area is in an active state and an instruction by the right direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the first display mode to the second display mode. ,
At the time of display in the second display mode, when the first display area is active and an instruction from the left direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the second display mode to the first display mode. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. An information processing apparatus program,
The document to be browsed is analyzed and divided into blocks, and the entire information that can be selected with the up or down direction key is displayed in the first display area of the display device without requiring horizontal scrolling for each block. In the second display of the display device, each item of detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the whole information can be selected by an upward or downward instruction key without requiring horizontal scrolling. A first display mode for displaying in the area;
The first display area of the display device is configured such that each item of detailed information of a selected block among the blocks of the entire information can be selected by an upward or downward instruction key without requiring horizontal scrolling. displayed, the first display the entire information associated with the selected item among the items of the first said detailed information displayed is displayed in the area of the display device in the second display area of the display device 2 display modes,
A program for an information processing apparatus, which causes an information processing apparatus to execute display control processing for controlling switching in response to an operation of a left direction key and a right direction key . The display control process includes:
At the time of display in the first display mode, when the second display area is in an active state and an instruction by the right direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the first display mode to the second display mode. ,
At the time of display in the second display mode, when the first display area is active and an instruction from the left direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the second display mode to the first display mode. The information processing apparatus program according to claim 3 . A browsing information display control method,
The document to be browsed is analyzed and divided into blocks, and the entire information that can be selected with the up or down direction key is displayed in the first display area of the display device without requiring horizontal scrolling for each block. In the second display of the display device, each item of detailed information of the selected block among the blocks of the whole information can be selected by an upward or downward instruction key without requiring horizontal scrolling. A first display mode for displaying in the area;
The first display area of the display device is configured such that each item of detailed information of a selected block among the blocks of the entire information can be selected by an upward or downward instruction key without requiring horizontal scrolling. displayed, the first display the entire information associated with the selected item among the items of the first said detailed information displayed is displayed in the area of the display device in the second display area of the display device 2 display modes,
A browsing information display control method, wherein switching is performed in response to an operation of a left direction key and a right direction key . At the time of display in the first display mode, when the second display area is in an active state and an instruction by the right direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the first display mode to the second display mode. ,
At the time of display in the second display mode, when the first display area is active and an instruction from the left direction instruction key is received, the display mode is changed from the second display mode to the first display mode. The browsing information display control method according to claim 5 .

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