JP5702970B2 - Program recording system, terminal device, and program recording method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to reserved recording of a broadcast program, a program recording system used for reserved recording, a terminal device, and a program recording method, and in particular, to share reservation information of a broadcast program with a viewer who resides in a remote place. The present invention relates to a program recording system, a terminal device, and a program recording method.

  In general, in order to share topics with acquaintances such as friends and colleagues, or to activate conversations, record a TV broadcast program that is common with the acquaintance or record a common radio broadcast program. Then, you may watch the program. On the other hand, by knowing what broadcast programs are recorded and recorded by other people who have the same preferences as the viewers, it is possible to know the broadcast programs that the viewers have previously missed. In some cases.

  At that time, how to share information necessary for recording or recording a common broadcast program (for example, information such as broadcast date and time, broadcast station, program name, etc.) with an acquaintance, The problem is how to accurately obtain broadcast program reservation information related to recording / recording of other people with the same preference (hereinafter referred to as “acquaintances”).

  In order to solve this problem, broadcast program reservation information stored in a program recording device such as an acquaintance is acquired (shared) using a communication network such as the Internet, and a broadcast program is based on the acquired reservation information. A technique for recording is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this way, it is possible to easily and accurately record and record a broadcast program common to acquaintances etc. (hereinafter referred to as “recording etc.”) and to view the common broadcast program. it can.

  On the other hand, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, even if reservation information of a broadcast program obtained from an acquaintance or the like residing in the broadcast area (for example, Hokuriku area) of the same broadcast station can be used, different broadcast stations Broadcast program reservation information obtained from acquaintances or the like residing in the broadcasting area (for example, the Kanto area relative to the Hokuriku area) may not be available. In other words, if the broadcast area is different, even if it is the same broadcast program, there are many cases where the broadcast date and time, the broadcasting station, etc. are different, so even if it is based on the same reservation information, the same broadcast program cannot be recorded. is there.

  In order to solve this problem, in a device for recording a viewer, etc., reservation information of a broadcast program obtained from an acquaintance, etc., and an electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide, hereinafter referred to as “EPG”) about the area where the viewer resides In contrast, the broadcast program information obtained from the EPG is compared, and when the same broadcast program exists, a technique for recording or the like based on the broadcast program information obtained from the EPG has been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). By doing in this way, a common broadcast program can be recorded etc. between acquaintances etc. who live in an area with a different broadcast area.

JP 2006-295571 A JP 2006-295572 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 2 described above, for each device that performs recording or the like of a viewer, program information obtained from an EPG related to the area where the viewer resides is obtained by acquiring reservation information of a broadcast program such as an acquaintance. Contrast with information. Furthermore, even for the same broadcast program, if the broadcast areas are different, the broadcast program names may not be completely matched due to reasons such as omitting (shortening) the broadcast program names on the EPG.

  In general, when the types of devices that perform the above-described recording and the like are different, especially when the manufacturers of the devices are different, the method for comparing the broadcast program name in the reservation information and the broadcast program name in the EPG often differs. Then, even if a viewer who lives in the same broadcast area records a broadcast program based on the reservation information of the same broadcast program, recording of a different broadcast program is performed if the type of the device that performs the recording is different. There is a fear that recording or the like is performed in one device, and recording or the like is not performed in the other device.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and is a program recording system, a terminal device, and a program recording system capable of sharing broadcast program reservation information among viewers residing in remote locations. An object is to provide a program recording method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The program recording system according to the first aspect of the present invention is information used for recording a broadcast program created by using broadcast information used for selecting the broadcast program as well as showing a broadcast schedule of a broadcast program that varies depending on a region. Primary reservation information indicating which broadcast program recording has been reserved via a predetermined communication network, and provided from other terminal devices in response to a request from one terminal device. And a server that provides the primary reservation information to one terminal device via a predetermined communication network.

Then, the server uses at least a broadcast station that broadcasts a broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information using broadcast information belonging to an area different from the primary reservation information and the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information, and a broadcast time zone. at least collected secondary opinions of non-overlapping information among one of the multiple reserved information obtained by converting the information identifying the primary identifying the area where the broadcast information belongs, which is used in the primary opinions Stores regional information and secondary regional information that identifies the region to which the broadcast information used to convert the secondary reservation information belongs, as well as primary reservation information, secondary reservation information, primary regional information, and secondary regional information. Can be sent and received.

  On the other hand, the terminal device can transmit and receive primary reservation information, primary area information, secondary reservation information, and secondary area information from the server, and broadcast information acquired by the terminal device and used by the terminal device. Terminal area information for specifying the area to which the broadcast information belongs, and primary reservation information, primary area information, secondary reservation information, and secondary area information acquired through the terminal communication unit can be stored. Further, when the terminal area information matches the primary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the terminal device uses the primary reservation information for recording the broadcast program and stores the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit. If it matches, secondary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program.

  According to the program recording system of the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal device compares the primary area information and the secondary area information stored in the server with the primary area information and the secondary reservation information. Of the information, reservation information that can be used by the terminal device for recording a program can be selected. That is, when the terminal area information matches the primary area information, the terminal device can record the broadcast program using the primary reservation information. On the other hand, when the terminal area information matches the secondary area information, the terminal device can record the broadcast program using the secondary reservation information. More specifically, the secondary reservation information includes a broadcast station and a broadcast time for broadcasting a broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information using broadcast information belonging to an area different from the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information. Since the information specifying at least one of the bands is converted, the terminal device records the broadcast program using the secondary reservation information when the area specified by the terminal area information matches the different area described above. It can be performed.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, when the terminal area information matches the primary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit is further broadcast. It is desirable to check the information consistency by comparing the information of the broadcasting station and the broadcasting time zone with the broadcasting information stored in the terminal storage unit.

  In the first aspect of the invention, when the terminal area information matches the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit is further displayed. The broadcast station and broadcast time zone information to be broadcast is compared with the corresponding information in the broadcast information stored in the terminal storage unit. If the broadcast station and broadcast time zone information overlaps, the secondary reservation information is It is desirable to use it for recording broadcast programs.

  When the secondary reservation information is used for recording a broadcast program, information on a broadcasting station and a broadcast time zone that broadcast the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit is stored in the terminal storage unit. It is desirable to check the consistency with the broadcast information stored in the.

  In this way, a desired broadcast program can be recorded more reliably. For example, if the broadcast schedule of a program is changed for some reason after the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information is created, the desired broadcast program cannot be recorded if the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information is used as it is. . Even in such a case, the inconvenience that the broadcast program is not recorded can be avoided by confirming the match between the broadcast information and the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information.

On the other hand, the terminal area information matches the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, and further, the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal device and the broadcast time zone If the information does not overlap with the corresponding information in the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device , the information specifying the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone that broadcast the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit Is generated using the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device, and the terminal area information is set as new secondary area information for specifying the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information. Thereafter, the new secondary reservation information and the new secondary area information are preferably stored in the server as secondary reservation information and secondary area information, respectively.

  In the first aspect of the invention, when the terminal area information does not match the primary area information and the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit Is used to create new secondary reservation information obtained by converting the information specifying the broadcasting station and broadcast time zone using the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device, and further changing the terminal area information to the new secondary reservation information. New secondary area information that identifies the corresponding area. After that, it is desirable to store new secondary reservation information and new secondary area information in the server as secondary reservation information and secondary area information, respectively.

  By doing in this way, even if the primary reservation information stored in the server and the secondary reservation information cannot be directly used for recording a broadcast program, the terminal device can generate new secondary reservation information converted from the primary reservation information. Next reservation information can be created and a broadcast program can be recorded using the new secondary reservation information. Furthermore, new secondary reservation information and new secondary area information that identifies the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information are stored in the server as secondary reservation information and secondary area information, thereby burdening the server. It is possible to increase the number of secondary reservation information that can be used by the terminal device without applying. In other words, it is possible to increase the number of areas where broadcast programs can be directly recorded using the secondary reservation information stored in the server.

  In the first aspect of the invention, the server assigns specific information for identifying the primary reservation information to the primary reservation information provided from the terminal device, and for the secondary reservation information provided from the terminal device, It is desirable to associate the specific information assigned to the primary reservation information used for the conversion of the secondary reservation information and store the specific information.

  In this way, when the specific information is designated, the primary reservation information to which the specific information is assigned and the secondary reservation information associated with the specific information are selected. For example, by designating specific information corresponding to a desired broadcast program, all primary reservation information and secondary reservation information that can be used for recording the desired broadcast program can be acquired.

  Furthermore, the server creates new secondary reservation information obtained by converting the information specifying the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information using the broadcast information acquired by the server, and the server acquires the information. The area information that identifies the area to which the broadcast information belongs becomes the new secondary area information that identifies the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information, and the new secondary reservation information and the new secondary area information are each secondary It is desirable to store as reservation information and secondary area information.

  In this way, new secondary reservation information and new secondary area information are created not only in the terminal device but also in the server. Then, the number of secondary reservation information that can be used for recording a desired broadcast program can be increased quickly. In other words, it is possible to quickly increase the number of areas where a desired broadcast program can be directly recorded using the secondary reservation information. Further, even if the terminal device does not have a function for creating new secondary reservation information, the secondary reservation information can be easily used for recording.

  The terminal device according to the second aspect of the present invention is information used to record a broadcast program created using broadcast information used to select a broadcast program while indicating a broadcast schedule of a broadcast program that varies depending on the region. It is possible to provide primary reservation information indicating which broadcast program has been reserved for recording via a predetermined communication network.

Furthermore, the terminal device is used to create broadcast information acquired from the outside, terminal region information for specifying the region to which the acquired broadcast information belongs, primary reservation information acquired through a communication network, and primary reservation information. The primary area information that identifies the area to which the broadcast information used belongs, the information that specifies at least one of the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information and the broadcast time zone were used to create the primary reservation information broadcast information secondary opinions gathered at least information that is not duplicated among the reservation information of the number of double converted using the broadcast information belonging to different regions and, and are used to convert the secondary opinions A terminal storage unit capable of storing secondary region information for specifying the region to which the broadcast information belongs, and primary region information stored in the terminal storage unit. Terminal processing that uses the primary reservation information for recording the broadcast program if they match, and uses the secondary reservation information for recording the broadcast program if they match the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit A part.

  The program recording method according to the third aspect of the present invention is information used for recording a broadcast program created using broadcast information used for selecting a broadcast program while indicating the broadcast schedule of a broadcast program that differs depending on the region. In a terminal device that can provide primary reservation information indicating which broadcast program recording has been reserved via a predetermined communication network, primary reservation information provided by another terminal device via the predetermined communication network is provided. This is a program recording method which is acquired by one terminal device and makes primary reservation information available for recording a broadcast program in the one terminal device.

Further, the program recording method includes a broadcast information acquisition step for acquiring broadcast information from the outside, primary reservation information, primary area information for specifying an area to which broadcast information used for creating the primary reservation information belongs, and primary reservation double the information identifying at least one of a broadcasting station and broadcasting time zone for broadcasting broadcast programs indicated, it was transformed using the broadcast information belonging to different regions and broadcasting information used to create the primary reservation information in information secondary area information broadcast information used to non-overlapping information in the conversion of at least collected secondary reservation information specifying the areas belonging among the number of reserved information, area information obtained via the communications network The acquisition step and the acquired primary area information and secondary area information match the terminal area information that identifies the area to which the broadcast information used by the one terminal device belongs. A region information comparison step for comparing whether or not the terminal region information matches the primary region information acquired in the region information acquisition step, primary reservation information is used for recording a broadcast program, and the region A reservation information processing step of using the secondary reservation information for recording a broadcast program when the information matches the secondary area information acquired in the information acquisition step;

  According to the terminal device of the second aspect of the present invention or the program recording method of the third aspect, at least the same operational effects as the program recording system of the first aspect of the present invention are exhibited.

  According to the program recording system, the terminal device, and the program recording method of the present invention, among the primary reservation information and the secondary reservation information that are information used for recording a desired broadcast program and that can be used in different regions, the terminal device In this case, the reservation information that can be used for recording the broadcast program is selected by the terminal device, so that it is possible to share the reservation information of the broadcast program among viewers residing in a remote place.

It is a block diagram explaining the outline of the program recording system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the primary reservation information and secondary reservation information utilized in the program recording system of FIG. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the reservation information ID memorize | stored in the database of FIG. 1, primary area information, and related information. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the secondary reservation information list 1 to the secondary reservation information list 3 linked | related with the relevant information of FIG. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the search object broadcast list | wrist 4 from the search object broadcast station list 1 linked | related with the relevant information of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the selection method of the primary reservation information or secondary reservation information used for the recording reservation of the broadcast program in a client, and the creation method of secondary reservation information. It is a flowchart explaining the selection method of the primary reservation information or secondary reservation information used for the recording reservation of the broadcast program in a client, and the creation method of secondary reservation information. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary of the process in a server. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary of the process at the time of performing the instruction | indication with respect to a server. It is a flowchart explaining the outline | summary of the process which registers secondary reservation information and related information. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the automatic total process of a search object broadcast station list. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the automatic totalization process of a secondary reservation information list. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the related information of another format.

[overall structure]
A program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a program recording system according to the present embodiment.

  The program recording system 1 according to the present embodiment makes it possible to share reservation information used for recording reservation of a broadcast program created by a viewer with a viewer who resides in a remote place. Specifically, for the purpose of sharing topics with acquaintances such as friends and colleagues, and encouraging conversations, we can record TV broadcast programs common with the acquaintances, It is used when recording and viewing the program afterwards. On the other hand, by knowing what broadcast programs are recorded and recorded by other people and celebrities who have the same taste as the viewer, the broadcast program that the viewer has overlooked is known. It is also used for things.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the program recording system 1 includes a server 10 that provides reservation information, and a plurality of clients (terminal devices) 20 that can communicate with the server 10 via a communication network 5 such as the Internet. Are mainly provided.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the structure of primary reservation information and secondary reservation information used in the program recording system of FIG.
Here, the reservation information is information for specifying a broadcast program to be recorded, and includes information for specifying at least a broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program, a broadcast date and time, a broadcast start time, a broadcast end time, and the like. . As shown in FIG. 2, the reservation information includes primary reservation information created by the viewer obtaining information for specifying a desired broadcast program from broadcast information such as EPG data, and the primary information as shown in FIG. Secondary information obtained by converting information specifying at least one of a broadcast station and a broadcast time zone that broadcast a broadcast program indicated by primary reservation information using broadcast information that belongs to an area different from the broadcast information used to create reservation information Reservation information.
[Server configuration]
The server 10 receives and stores primary reservation information and secondary reservation information from at least a plurality of clients 20 and provides the primary and secondary reservation information stored in response to a request from the client 20.

  The server 10 includes a database (server storage unit) 11 that stores various information to be provided to the client 20, a server communication unit 12 that executes communication with the client 20 via the communication network 5 according to a predetermined protocol, A control unit 13 that executes various processes using the database 11 and the server communication unit 12 is mainly provided.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the structure of reservation information ID, primary area information, and related information stored in the database of FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the structure of the secondary reservation information list associated with the related information in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 illustrates the structure of the search target broadcast station list associated with the related information in FIG. FIG.

  The database 11 is composed of a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory, for example. In the database 11, in addition to the primary and secondary reservation information described above, as shown in FIG. 3, reservation information that is assigned to the primary reservation information and associated with the secondary reservation information created from the primary reservation information. ID (specific information), primary area information for identifying the area to which the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information belongs, and a secondary reservation information list that is a collection of secondary reservation information associated with the reservation information ID At least an area for storing related information as a list is secured. The related information includes secondary area information that identifies the area to which the broadcast information used to create the secondary reservation information list belongs, and a search target period that indicates the period of the broadcast information used to create the secondary reservation information list And a search target broadcast station list that is a collection of broadcast stations searched at the time of creating the secondary reservation information list, and the created secondary reservation information list.

  In this embodiment, the reservation information ID “ID0000010” is assigned to the primary reservation information (see FIG. 2) whose primary area information for recording recording of the broadcast program with the program name “Soreike Multi-kun!” Is “Saitama”. ing. Further, by the related information, the secondary reservation information list whose secondary area information is “Ishikawa”, “Toyama”, and “Fukui” is associated with the reservation information ID “ID0000010”.

  FIG. 4 shows the secondary reservation information list 1 to the secondary reservation information list 3 associated with the reservation information ID “ID0000010” by the related information of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the secondary reservation information list 1 is a collection of three pieces of secondary reservation information from the secondary reservation information 11 to the secondary reservation information 13. The secondary reservation information list 2 is composed of secondary reservation information 21, and the secondary reservation information list 3 is a collection of five secondary reservation information from the secondary reservation information 31 to the secondary reservation information 35. Is. The secondary reservation information list 1 and the secondary reservation information list 3 both have “Ishikawa” as the secondary area information, but have different periods for recording reservations for broadcast programs. In the secondary reservation information list 1, recording reservations are made for episodes 1 to 3 of “Soreike Multi-kun!”, Whereas in the secondary reservation information list 3, recording reservations are made for episodes 3 to 7. On the other hand, in the secondary reservation information list 2, the secondary reservation information whose secondary area information is “Toyama” and the secondary area information is “Fukui” is not included in the related information.

  FIG. 5 shows the search target broadcast station list 1 to the search target broadcast station list 4 associated with the reservation information ID “ID0000010” by the related information of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the search target broadcast station list 1 is a collection of information specifying broadcast stations (broadcast stations) that can receive broadcasts in the “Ishikawa” region, and creates the secondary reservation information list 1. This is a collection of broadcast stations (10 stations) that were subject to search. Similarly to the search target broadcast station list 1, the search target broadcast station list 4 is a collection of broadcast stations (7 stations) in the “Ishikawa” area that were searched when the secondary reservation information list 3 was created. is there. Thus, even in the same “Ishikawa” region, the number of broadcast stations that the client 20 can receive may be different. The search target broadcast station list 2 is a collection of broadcast stations (eight stations) in the “Toyama” area that was searched when the secondary reservation information list 2 was created. This is a collection of broadcast stations (eight stations) searched when creating the secondary reservation information list in the “Fukui” area.

  In the present embodiment, since the broadcast program “Soreike Multi-kun!” Indicated by the primary reservation information is not broadcast in the “Fukui” area, as shown in FIG. Even if the station list exists, the secondary reservation information list does not exist.

The control unit 13 is configured as a known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and executes predetermined processing based on a program stored in the ROM, a program loaded in the RAM, and parameters. is there. The processing executed by the control unit 13 includes information generation processing for generating information to be stored in the database 11 based on information acquired from the client 20 via the server communication unit 12 (and thus the communication network 5), and from the client 20 The information providing process for providing the information stored in the database 11 to the client 20 in accordance with the request is included. For example, it controls the writing of the primary reservation information and the secondary reservation information provided from the client 20 to the database 11. Furthermore, the control unit 13 performs processing for eliminating the overlap between the primary reservation information and secondary reservation information already stored in the database 11 at the time of writing and the primary reservation information and secondary reservation information to be written from now on. It is also something to do. A detailed description of deduplication will be given later.
[Client Configuration]
The client 20 is a device having at least a function of receiving digital broadcasting and a communication function via the communication network 5, and specifically includes a television receiver, a recorder, a personal computer (PC), an in-vehicle navigation device, and a mobile phone. And so on. As shown in FIG. 1, the client 20 includes a processing unit (terminal processing unit) 21, a client communication unit (terminal communication unit) 22, a storage unit (terminal storage unit) 23, an operation unit 24, and a display unit. 25 and the broadcast receiving unit 26 are mainly provided.

  The configuration of the client 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a configuration common to various existing clients 20, and each client 20 has an original function to be performed by the client 20 in addition to the configuration described in FIG. It has a configuration for realizing. However, since the configuration is not the main part of the invention, the illustration is omitted here.

  Similar to the control unit 13 in the server 10, the processing unit 21 is configured as a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The processing unit 21 stores a program stored in the ROM, a program loaded in the RAM, and parameters. Based on this, predetermined processing is executed. Specifically, the processing unit 21 provides, as primary reservation information, the broadcast program reserved for recording specified by the recording reservation operation in the operation unit 24 to the server 10 via the client communication unit 22 (and thus the communication network 5). Primary reservation information provision processing, secondary reservation information creation processing for creating secondary reservation information by converting a part of broadcast program information indicated by the primary reservation information created in the other client 20 acquired from the server 10 and creation At least secondary reservation information provision processing for providing the secondary reservation information to the server 10 via the client communication unit 22 is executed.

The client communication unit 22 executes communication with the server 10 via the communication network 5 according to a predetermined protocol.
The storage unit 23 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory, for example, similarly to the database 11 of the server 10. In addition, the storage unit 23 includes broadcast information acquired by the client 20, terminal region information for specifying a region to which the broadcast information used by the client 20 belongs, and primary reservation information acquired through the client communication unit 22, At least an area for storing primary area information, secondary reservation information, and secondary area information is secured. Here, the broadcast information acquired by the client 20 is any means such as the broadcast information acquired by the client communication unit 22 via the Internet via the communication network 5 or the broadcast information provided by the broadcast station acquired by the broadcast receiving unit 26. This means broadcast information acquired by the client 20 using.

  The operation unit 24 is used to input various commands to the client 20, and is configured as a user interface that receives operations from a user such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a remote controller. The operation unit 24 uses the broadcast receiving unit 26 to perform an operation for selecting a program to be viewed, or when the client 20 is a recorder that records a broadcast program, or when the recorder is connected to the client 20. If it is, the operation for making a recording reservation is at least possible.

The display unit 25 is for performing various displays based on commands input via the operation unit 24 in addition to videos such as broadcast programs received by the broadcast receiving unit 26.
The broadcast receiving unit 26 receives digital broadcasts, and is connected to an antenna that receives digital broadcast signals, a CA broadcast network that supplies digital broadcast signals, and the like. Further, the broadcast receiving unit 26 uses a known tuner having a function of extracting a desired program signal from the digital broadcast signal according to an operation of the operation unit 24 and a function of extracting broadcast information such as EPG data from the digital broadcast signal. I have.
[Broadcast program recording method]
Next, a broadcast program recording method using primary reservation information and secondary reservation information in the program recording system 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts for explaining a selection method of primary reservation information or secondary reservation information used for recording reservation of a broadcast program in a client, and a method of creating secondary reservation information.

  In the client 20 of the program recording system 1, when making a recording reservation for a broadcast program using either the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information stored in the server 10, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. A reservation confirmation process is performed to determine whether primary or secondary reservation information available in the client 20 is stored in the server 10.

  Specifically, a search target period, which is a period during which the operator of the client 20 inputs information for specifying a desired broadcast program reserved for recording via the operation unit 24, such as a broadcast program name, and performs a search. When is entered, reservation confirmation processing is performed.

  First, as shown in FIG. 6, the processing unit 21 of the client 20 executes a process of acquiring broadcast information such as EPG data, and performs a process of writing and storing the acquired broadcast information in a storage area secured in the storage unit 23. Execute (broadcast information acquisition step; S1). The broadcast information may be provided from a broadcast station via a broadcast wave and acquired by the broadcast receiving unit 26, or may be provided from a broadcast station or the like via a communication network 5 such as the Internet, and the client communication unit 22 may be acquired.

  Thereafter, the processing unit 21 searches for reservation information to check whether primary reservation information or secondary reservation information that can be used for recording reservation of a desired broadcast program is stored in the server 10 (region information acquisition step; S2). ). Specifically, a desired broadcast program that the operator of the client 20 wants to watch (for example, a broadcast program or a program list reserved by a user (viewer) who likes “XX (person name)”, “XX (appearance) When a broadcast program or program list in which a person) appears), “a broadcast program or program list whose sponsor is xx” or the like is designated via the operation unit 24, information for specifying the designated broadcast program, for example, broadcast The program name and the like are transmitted to the server 10 and processing for acquiring primary reservation information and related information corresponding to the broadcast program designated from the server 10 is executed.

  The server 10 specifies the reservation information ID corresponding to the broadcast program from the information specifying the transmitted broadcast program, the primary reservation information to which the reservation information ID is assigned, and the related information associated with the reservation information ID. Provided to the client 20. Thereafter, the processing unit 21 executes a process of extracting primary area information and secondary area information from the acquired primary reservation information and related information.

  The processing unit 21 reads the terminal area information stored in the storage unit 23 and determines whether the extracted primary area information matches the terminal area information, in other words, the same as the terminal area information. A process for determining whether or not primary area information exists is performed (area information comparison step; S3). When the terminal area information matches the primary area information as a result of the process, the processing unit 21 performs a process of confirming whether the broadcast program information indicated by the primary reservation information is consistent with the information of the broadcast program in the broadcast information. Perform (S4). Specifically, a process for confirming whether or not the information is consistent is performed based on whether or not the information about the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information can be extracted from the broadcast information stored in the storage unit 23. Here, the information about the broadcast program includes at least information that specifies the broadcast start time and end time of the broadcast program and a broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program.

  When it is confirmed that the information of the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information is consistent, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is terminated, and the recording reservation of the broadcast program is performed using the primary reservation information (reservation information) Processing steps). At this time, the processing unit 21 causes the display unit 25 to display (notify) the broadcast program name of the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information, the broadcast start time and end time, the broadcast station name, and the like. The operator of the client 20 confirms whether to make a recording reservation. When the recording reservation is confirmed, the recording reservation of the broadcast program is performed using the primary reservation information.

  Alternatively, the processing unit 21 may notify the operator of the client 20 of the broadcast program information indicated by the primary reservation information, and then reserve the recording of the broadcast program as it is without checking the operator. As described above, when the primary reservation information can be used for recording reservation of a broadcast program without changing, the primary reservation information used for recording reservation to the server 10 is not transmitted.

  On the other hand, if the consistency in the broadcast program information indicated by the primary reservation information cannot be confirmed, the processing unit 21 stores the program name of the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information as the main key. A process of searching for a broadcast program included in the broadcast information is performed (S5).

  Here, a search method performed by the processing unit 21 will be described. The processing unit 21 performs a search process using a character string from the beginning of the broadcast program name to the first blank character as a keyword. By doing in this way, even if the back side of a broadcast program name is abbreviate | omitted, the fall of a search applicable rate can be suppressed. In particular, since broadcast program names such as EPG data may omit broadcast program names depending on the area where they are provided, searching by the above-described method can suppress a decrease in the search hit rate.

  In addition to the above search method, a character string from a blank character to a blank character of a broadcast program name or a character string from a blank character to the last character can be used as a keyword. In these search methods, the search hit rate varies greatly depending on the method of omitting the broadcast program name. Therefore, it is desirable to adopt an appropriate search method that increases the search hit rate according to the omission method used in the broadcast information to be used.

  In addition, in the case of a name or the like in which two or more words are connected, a method of omitting several characters from the beginning of the word is generally omitted for each word. For example, two letters are extracted from the first two words and omitted to four letters (family restaurant is abbreviated as family restaurant). For this reason, for each word constituting the broadcast program name, a character string obtained by extracting several characters from the beginning of the word may be used as a keyword.

  In this process, when a broadcast program having a program name that matches the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information is found from the broadcast information, the processing unit 21 converts the broadcast program information found from the broadcast information into the reservation information. Conversion processing for converting to a format, in other words, secondary reservation information creation processing is performed (S6). Specifically, the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information, the broadcast start and end times of the broadcast program, and the information related to the broadcast program name are converted into the format shown in FIG.

  When the secondary reservation information is created, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is finished, and the recording reservation of the broadcast program is performed using the secondary reservation information. When making a recording reservation, similarly to the above case, the processing unit 21 may confirm the reservation of recording with the operator of the client 20 or may make a recording reservation without confirming it. Good.

  In the process of searching for the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information from the broadcast information (S5), when a broadcast program having a program name matching the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information cannot be found from the broadcast information, the processing unit 21 Notifies the operator that there is no broadcast program input by the operator via the display unit 25 (S7). When the notification to the operator is made, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 ends. In this case, since the broadcast program input by the operator is not broadcasted in the area to which the client 20 belongs, no recording reservation is made for the broadcast program.

  As described above, if the consistency of the primary reservation information cannot be confirmed, the client 20 may have failed to acquire broadcast information such as EPG data. No information is sent.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, in the determination process (S3) of whether the primary area information and the terminal area information match, if the primary area information and the terminal area information do not match, the processing unit 21 Then, a process of determining whether or not the terminal area information matches the secondary area information is performed (area information comparison step; S8).

  In this process, when the terminal area information matches the secondary area information, the processing unit 21 performs a process of acquiring secondary reservation information corresponding to the secondary area information that matches the terminal area information from the server 10 and acquires it. A process of determining whether or not the broadcast program information indicated by the secondary reservation information overlaps with the information included in the broadcast information and the search target broadcast station list used by the client 20 (S9). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the broadcast start time and end time of the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information are included in the search target period input by the operator (overlapping), and secondary It is determined whether or not the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the reservation information is included (duplicated) in the search target broadcast station list used by the client 20.

  Here, the search target broadcast station list used by the client 20 is a list in which information specifying broadcast stations that can be received by the broadcast receiving unit 26 of the client 20 is collected. If the broadcast program is broadcast from a broadcast station included in this list, the client 20 can make a recording reservation. On the other hand, if it is a broadcast program broadcast from a broadcasting station not included in this list, the client 20 cannot make a recording reservation.

  In this process, when it is determined that the broadcast start time and end time of the broadcast program overlap and the broadcast station also overlaps, the processing unit 21 determines that the information of the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information is in the broadcast information. A process of confirming whether or not the information matches the broadcast program information is performed (S4). When it is confirmed that the information of the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information is consistent, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is terminated, and the recording reservation of the broadcast program is performed using the secondary reservation information.

  On the other hand, if consistency in the broadcast program information indicated by the secondary reservation information cannot be confirmed, the processing unit 21 uses the program name of the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information as a main key to broadcast included in the broadcast information. A process of searching for a program is performed (S5). In this process, when a broadcast program having a program name matching the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information is found from the broadcast information, the processing unit 21 uses the broadcast information found from the broadcast information as reservation information. Conversion processing for converting to the above format, in other words, processing for creating new secondary reservation information is performed (S6). When the new secondary reservation information is created, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is finished, and a broadcast program recording reservation is performed using the new secondary reservation information.

  In the process of searching for a broadcast program from the broadcast information (S5), when a broadcast program having a program name that matches the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information cannot be found from the broadcast information, the processing unit 21 displays the display unit 25. The operator is notified that there is no broadcast program input from the operator (S7), and the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is completed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when it is determined in the determination (S8) whether the terminal area information matches the secondary area information, the terminal area information does not match the secondary area information, or In the determination (S9), whether the broadcast program information indicated by the acquired secondary reservation information all overlaps with the information included in the broadcast information and the search target broadcast station list used by the client 20 (S9). 7 is not duplicated, the processing unit 21 broadcast information stored in the storage unit 23 with the program name of the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information as a main key, as shown in FIG. A process of searching for a broadcast program included in is performed (S10). The search method performed by the processing unit 21 performed here is the same as the search method performed in S5 described above.

  In this process, when a broadcast program having a program name matching the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information is found from the broadcast information, the processing unit 21 uses the broadcast information found from the broadcast information as reservation information. Conversion processing for converting to the above format, in other words, processing for creating new secondary reservation information is performed (S11). Specifically, as in S6 described above, the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information, the broadcast start and end times of the broadcast program, and the information related to the broadcast program name are in the format shown in FIG. Converted.

  When new secondary reservation information is created, the processing unit 21 performs processing for transmitting the new secondary reservation information to the server 10 as secondary reservation information (S12). Specifically, the processing unit 21 specifies the area to which the new secondary reservation information belongs, which is terminal area information that specifies the area to which the broadcast information used to create the new secondary reservation information belongs. The related information (see FIG. 3) that summarizes the information, the search target period, and the search target broadcast station list is transmitted to the server 10 together with the new secondary reservation information.

  Here, when the reservation information ID is stored in the storage unit 23 of the client 20, a process of associating the reservation information ID stored in the related information and transmitting the reservation information ID to the server 10 is performed. May be.

When the transmission process is performed, the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 is completed, and the recording reservation of the broadcast program is performed using the new secondary reservation information.
In the process of searching for the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information from the broadcast information described above (S10), the process is performed when a broadcast program having a program name matching the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information cannot be found from the broadcast information. The unit 21 includes information other than the secondary reservation information, that is, secondary area information that is terminal information for specifying an area to which broadcast information used for searching for a broadcast program belongs, a search target period, a search target broadcast station list, A process of creating empty related information (see FIG. 3) that summarizes the reservation information (none) is executed (S13). Further, similarly to S3 described above, the operator is notified through the display unit 25 that there is no broadcast program input from the operator. The processing unit 21 performs a process of transmitting the created empty related information to the server 10 (S12), and the reservation confirmation process in the processing unit 21 ends.

  In the server 10, processing described below is executed. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an outline of processing in the server, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an outline of processing when an instruction to the server is executed. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an overview of processing for registering secondary reservation information and related information.

  When the server 10 is powered on and activated, the control unit 13 repeatedly determines whether or not a command for requesting various processing is input from the client 20, as shown in FIG. S21). In other words, the control unit 13 waits for a processing request command.

When a processing request command is input from the client 20, the control unit 13 performs execution processing of the input command (S22). Instruction execution processing will be described in detail later.
When the execution process of the input command is completed, the control unit 13 determines whether or not to end the execution of various processes in the server 10 (S23). If not, the process returns to S21 described above, and the same processing is repeatedly performed by the control unit 13. On the other hand, in the case of ending, the server process ends.

  Next, instruction execution processing in the control unit 13 will be described. When the instruction execution process is started, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the input instruction is an instruction for requesting registration of primary reservation information in the database 11 of the server 10 as shown in FIG. (S31). When the input command is a command for requesting registration of primary reservation information, the control unit 13 receives primary reservation information to be registered from the client 20 and performs a process of assigning a reservation information ID to the primary reservation information. Thereafter, the control unit 13 performs primary reservation information to which the reservation information ID is assigned and a writing process for storing the reservation information ID in the database 11 (S32).

  If the input command is not a command for requesting registration of primary reservation information, the control unit 13 determines whether the command is a command for requesting registration of second reservation information and related information in the database 11 of the server 10. Processing is performed (S33). When the input command is a command for requesting registration of secondary reservation information and related information, the control unit 13 receives the secondary reservation information and related information to be registered from the client 20, and corresponds to the secondary reservation information. A process of associating the reservation information ID assigned to the primary reservation information with the received secondary reservation information is performed. Further, the control unit 13 performs a writing process for storing the received secondary reservation information and related information in the database 11 (S34).

  Furthermore, when performing the process of storing the secondary reservation information and the related information in the database 11, the control unit 13 performs the process of preventing duplicate registration of the secondary reservation information and the related information described below. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 13 indicates that the secondary area information corresponding to the received secondary reservation information is related information associated with the same reservation information ID as the secondary reservation information, and has already been A process of determining whether or not the secondary area information included in the related information stored in the database 11 overlaps is performed (S41). When it is determined that there is no duplication in the secondary area information, the control unit 13 performs a writing process for storing (storing) the received secondary reservation information and related information in the database 11 (S42). Thereby, the secondary reservation information registration process in the processing unit 21 ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is duplication in the secondary area information, the control unit 13 has the same reservation information ID as the secondary reservation information, in which the information specifying the broadcast station corresponding to the received secondary reservation information is the same. The process determines whether or not the information is related to the search target broadcast station list included in the related information already stored in the database 11 (S43). When it is determined that there is no duplication in the information specifying the broadcasting station, the control unit 13 performs a writing process for storing the secondary reservation information and the related information that are determined not to be duplicated in the database 11 (S44). Thereby, the secondary reservation information registration process in the processing unit 21 ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is duplication in the information specifying the broadcast station, the control unit 13 may search for other periods in which the search target period corresponding to the received related information is associated with the same reservation information ID as the related information. The process determines whether it overlaps with the search target period included in the related information already stored in the database 11 (S45). When it is determined that there is no duplication in the search target period, the control unit 13 performs a writing process for storing in the database 11 the secondary reservation information and the related information that are determined not to overlap (S46). Thereby, the secondary reservation information registration process in the processing unit 21 ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is duplication in the search target period, the control unit 13 uses the other related information in which the received secondary reservation information and related information are associated with the same reservation information ID as the related information. Then, a process of determining whether or not the secondary reservation information and the related information already stored in the database 11 are duplicated (S47).

  When it is determined that there is no duplication in the received secondary reservation information and related information, the control unit 13 performs a writing process for storing the secondary reservation information and the related information determined to be non-overlapping in the database 11 ( S48). Thereby, the secondary reservation information registration process in the processing unit 21 ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is duplication in the received secondary reservation information and related information, the control unit 13 stores the received secondary reservation information and related information in the database 11 without storing the secondary reservation information and related information. The registration process ends.

  In addition, as described above, it is not necessary to perform processing for writing information for specifying a broadcasting station or related information having a duplication in a search target period into the database 11, or only a portion without duplication from the related information with duplication. May be extracted, and related information is created from the extracted information and written into the database 11.

  If it is determined in S33 that the input command is not a command for requesting registration of secondary reservation information or the like, the control unit 13 determines that the input command receives primary reservation information from the client 20, as shown in FIG. Processing for determining whether or not the command is a request is performed (S35). When the input command is a command requesting primary reservation information, the control unit 13 uses the primary reservation information stored in the database 11 as the primary reservation information to which the reservation information ID included in the command is assigned. Prepare to read from. Further, when related information associated with the reservation information ID included in the command is stored in the database 11, the control unit 13 adds the related information to the primary reservation information and transmits the information to the client 20. Process. In addition, when the relevant information added to primary reservation information is not memorize | stored in the database 11, the control part 13 performs the process which makes the relevant information empty and transmits primary reservation information to the database 11 (S36).

  When the related information is added to the primary reservation information and transmitted, the control unit 13 has the same secondary area as the area information (for example, the terminal area information of the client 20) included in the command among the information included in the related information. A process of selecting (filtering) only information corresponding to information may be performed. By doing so, it is possible to transmit to the client 20 related information that excludes secondary reservation information related to other areas unnecessary for the client 20.

  Or the control part 13 may perform the process which transmits related information to the client 20 as it is, without selecting the secondary reservation information contained in related information. By doing in this way, it is possible to know whether or not the same broadcast program is aired nationwide (at least in other regions).

  On the other hand, when the input command is not a command for requesting primary reservation information, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the input command is a command for requesting secondary reservation information from the client 20. Perform (S37). When the input command is a command for requesting secondary reservation information, the control unit 13 is secondary reservation information associated with the reservation information ID included in the command and stored in the database 11. Is prepared from the database 11. Further, the control unit 13 performs processing for selecting only the secondary reservation information corresponding to the same secondary area information as the terminal area information of the client 20 included in the command, and selects the selected secondary reservation information as the client 20. (S38).

  According to the program recording system 1 having the above-described configuration, the client 20 compares the terminal area information with the primary area information and the secondary area information stored in the server 10 to obtain the primary reservation information and the secondary reservation information. Among them, reservation information that can be used by the client 20 for recording a broadcast program can be selected. That is, when the terminal area information matches the primary area information, the client 20 can record the broadcast program using the primary reservation information. On the other hand, if the terminal area information matches the secondary area information, the client 20 can record the broadcast program using the secondary reservation information. More specifically, the secondary reservation information includes a broadcast station and a broadcast time for broadcasting a broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information using broadcast information belonging to an area different from the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information. Since the information specifying at least one of the bands is converted, the client 20 records the broadcast program using the secondary reservation information when the area specified by the terminal area information matches the different area described above. It can be performed.

  On the other hand, the client 20 can record the desired broadcast program more reliably by comparing the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information with the broadcast information and confirming the matching of the information. For example, when the broadcast schedule of a program is changed for some reason after the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information is created, if the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information is used as it is, the client 20 uses the desired broadcast program. Cannot record. Even in such a case, the inconvenience that the broadcast program is not recorded can be avoided by confirming the match between the broadcast information and the primary reservation information or the secondary reservation information.

  When the terminal area information is different from the primary area information or the secondary area information, the primary reservation information and the secondary reservation information stored in the server 10 cannot be directly used for recording the broadcast program by the client 20. In addition, the client 20 can create new secondary reservation information obtained by converting the primary reservation information, and record the broadcast program using the new secondary reservation information. Further, the server 10 stores the new secondary reservation information and the new secondary area information for specifying the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information in the server 10 as the secondary reservation information and the secondary area information. The number of secondary reservation information that can be used by the client 20 can be increased without imposing a burden on the client 20. In other words, it is possible to increase the number of regions where broadcast programs can be recorded directly using the secondary reservation information stored in the server 10.

  By assigning the reservation information ID to the primary reservation information and associating the reservation information ID with the secondary reservation information, and specifying the reservation information ID, the primary reservation information to which the reservation information ID is assigned and the reservation information ID are associated. The selected secondary reservation information can be selected. For example, by specifying a reservation information ID corresponding to a desired broadcast program, the client 20 can acquire all the primary reservation information and secondary reservation information that can be used for recording the desired broadcast program from the server 10.

  Note that, as in the above-described embodiment, only the client 20 may convert the partial information of the primary reservation information using the broadcast information to newly create the secondary reservation information. Similarly, the secondary reservation information may be newly created, and new secondary area information indicating an area where the secondary reservation information can be used may be created.

  In this way, new secondary reservation information and new secondary area information are created not only in the client 20 but also in the server 10. Then, regardless of whether the desired broadcast program is popular, the number of secondary reservation information that can be used for recording the desired broadcast program can be increased early. In other words, it is possible to quickly increase the number of areas where a desired broadcast program can be directly recorded using the secondary reservation information. Furthermore, even if the client 20 does not have a function for creating new secondary reservation information, the secondary reservation information can be easily used for recording.

  Further, as in the above-described embodiment, the secondary reservation information stored in the database 11 and the like in the secondary reservation information for registering the secondary reservation information and the process for preventing the duplicate registration of related information (S34, etc.) The secondary reservation information including overlapping portions may be processed not to be stored in the database 11 or may be stored in the database 11 by performing an automatic counting process as described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Processing may be performed. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining automatic tabulation processing of a search target broadcast station list. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the automatic aggregation processing of the secondary reservation information list.

  First, automatic counting processing when search target broadcast stations overlap will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 11, an example will be described in the case where the search target broadcast station list 1 is information stored in the database 11 and the search target broadcast station list 4 is information newly stored.

  When the search target broadcast station list 1 and the search target broadcast station list 4 are compared, “Ishikawa broadcast station 011”, “Ishikawa broadcast station 012”, “Ishikawa broadcast station 041”, “Ishikawa broadcast station 051”, “Ishikawa broadcast station” It can be seen that “061” and “Ishikawa Broadcasting Station 081” overlap. On the other hand, in the search target broadcast station list 1, “Ishikawa broadcast station 031”, “Ishikawa broadcast station 032”, “Ishikawa broadcast station 033”, and “Ishikawa broadcast station 071” do not overlap, and the search target broadcast station list 4 that “Ishikawa broadcasting station 021” does not overlap. Therefore, the control unit 13 collects these overlapping broadcast stations and the non-overlapping broadcast stations in the search target broadcast station list 1 and the search target broadcast station list 4 to create a new search target broadcast station list (the left end of FIG. 11). And a search process for storing the search target broadcast station list in the database 11 is performed.

  Next, automatic counting processing when the secondary reservation information list is duplicated will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, an example will be described where the secondary reservation information list 1 is information stored in the database 11 and the secondary reservation information list 3 is information to be newly stored.

  Comparing the secondary reservation information list 1 and the secondary reservation information list 3, it can be seen that “secondary reservation information 13” and “secondary reservation information 31” overlap. On the other hand, in the secondary reservation information list 1, “secondary reservation information 11” and “secondary reservation information 12” do not overlap, and in the secondary reservation information list 3, “secondary reservation information 32” to “secondary reservation information 32”. It can be seen that the next reservation information 35 "is not duplicated. Therefore, the control unit 13 collects the overlapping secondary reservation information and the non-overlapping secondary reservation information in the secondary reservation information list 1 and the secondary reservation information list 3 to create a new secondary reservation information list ( 12 is created, and the secondary reservation information list is stored in the database 11 for writing processing.

  By performing automatic tabulation as described above, the user (viewer) who transmitted the search target broadcast station list 1 obtains information on the broadcast station list that is not in the search target broadcast station list 1 from the search target broadcast station list 4. You can get information about programs that you have missed. The user can view the missed program by taking the following consumption behavior in response to the desire to see the missed program. That is, in the same broadcast area, except for difficult viewing areas, it should be possible to receive programs broadcast from all broadcast stations listed in the same broadcast station list corresponding to the broadcast area. If there is a broadcasting station that cannot receive a program, there may be a problem in the user's viewing environment (viewing devices such as an antenna and an amplifier). At that time, when the user takes consumption behavior such as antenna modification or addition of an amplifier, the user can watch a program broadcast from a broadcasting station that cannot receive the program (for example, a broadcasting station that is not in the search target broadcasting station list 1). It becomes possible.

  As a result, the user can watch the program that has been missed, so that the desire to view the missed program can be satisfied. Furthermore, there is a merit of giving the user a chance to take the above consumption behavior.

  On the other hand, when the information obtained by simply duplicating the secondary reservation information list 1 and the secondary reservation information list 3 is presented to the user as it is, many of the users are bothered because the same information is described in duplicate. I tend to feel it. Therefore, the above-mentioned troublesomeness felt by the user can be removed at the same time by removing duplicate information (same information) included in the secondary reservation information list 1 and the secondary reservation information list 3 when automatically counting. Can do.

Furthermore, after performing the above-described automatic counting process, the format of the related information may be related information in the format shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the structure of related information in another format.
In the related information having the structure shown in FIG. 13, the reservation information ID assigned to the primary reservation information used when creating the secondary reservation information constituting the related information is associated, and further, the primary reservation information Associated with primary area information. Further, the related information includes secondary area information of the secondary reservation information, presence / absence of the secondary reservation information, and information indicating whether or not broadcast program information is included in the secondary reservation information. .

  In the above-described embodiment, when the client 20 of the program recording system 1 acquires the secondary reservation information created by the other client 20 from the server 10, it confirms the consistency of the secondary reservation information. Broadcast program information that is not included in the secondary reservation information is not searched from the broadcast information. Therefore, the client 20 of the program recording system 1 may search broadcast information for broadcast programs that are not included in the acquired secondary reservation information. For example, when information on a broadcast program that was not found at the time of creating the acquired secondary reservation information is discovered due to the passage of time, the client 20 of the program recording system 1 further sets the server 10 The other client 20 may be notified of the fact that new broadcast program information has been found. In this way, it is possible to avoid omissions in reservations for broadcast programs.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Program recording system, 10 ... Server, 5 ... Communication network, 20 ... Client (terminal device), 11 ... Database (server memory | storage part), 12 ... Server communication part, 21 ... Processing unit (terminal processing unit), 22 ... Client communication unit (terminal communication unit), 23 ... Storage unit (terminal storage unit), S1 ... Broadcast information acquisition step, S2 ... Regional information acquisition step, S3 ... Regional information comparison step

Claims (10)

Information used for recording the broadcast program created by using broadcast information used for selecting the broadcast program and showing the broadcast schedule of the broadcast program that differs depending on the region, and which broadcast program recording is reserved A terminal device capable of providing the primary reservation information shown via a predetermined communication network;
A server that provides the primary reservation information provided from another terminal device to the one terminal device via the predetermined communication network in response to a request from the one terminal device;
A program recording system comprising:
The server
Information specifying at least one of the primary reservation information, the broadcast station that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information, and the broadcast time zone is different from the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information. at least collected secondary reservation information information not duplicated among the multiple reserved information converted by using the broadcast information belonging to, the area where the broadcast information belongs, which is used in the primary opinions A server storage unit that stores primary area information to be identified, and secondary area information to identify an area to which the broadcast information used for conversion of the secondary reservation information belongs;
A server communication unit capable of transmitting and receiving the primary reservation information, the secondary reservation information, the primary area information and the secondary area information;
With
The terminal device
A terminal communication unit capable of transmitting and receiving the primary reservation information, the primary region information, the secondary reservation information, and the secondary region information to and from the server communication unit;
The broadcast information acquired by the terminal device, terminal region information for specifying a region to which the broadcast information used by the terminal device belongs, the primary reservation information acquired through the terminal communication unit, the primary region A terminal storage unit capable of storing information, the secondary reservation information, and the secondary area information;
When the terminal area information matches the primary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the primary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program, and the secondary information stored in the terminal storage unit is used. If it matches the regional information, a terminal processing unit that uses the secondary reservation information for recording the broadcast program;
A program recording system comprising: The terminal processing unit
When the terminal area information matches the primary area information stored in the terminal storage unit,
Further, the broadcast station broadcasting the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit and the broadcast time zone information are compared with the broadcast information stored in the terminal storage unit. The program recording system according to claim 1 to be confirmed. The terminal processing unit
When the terminal area information matches the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit is further broadcast. In contrast to the information on the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone and the corresponding information in the broadcast information stored in the terminal storage unit,
3. The program recording system according to claim 1, wherein when the broadcast station and broadcast time zone information overlap, the secondary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program. The terminal processing unit
When the secondary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program, information on a broadcasting station and a broadcast time zone that broadcast the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit is further included. 4. The program recording system according to claim 3, wherein matching is confirmed in comparison with the broadcast information stored in the terminal storage unit. The terminal processing unit
Broadcast station and broadcast for broadcasting the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal device, wherein the terminal area information matches the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit When the time zone information does not overlap with the corresponding information in the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device ,
New information obtained by converting the information specifying the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the secondary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit using the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device Create secondary reservation information, and use the terminal area information as new secondary area information that identifies the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information,
The program recording system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the server storage unit stores the new secondary reservation information and the new secondary area information as the secondary reservation information and the secondary area information, respectively. The terminal processing unit
When the terminal area information does not match the primary area information and the secondary area information stored in the terminal storage unit,
New two-dimensional information obtained by converting the information specifying the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone for broadcasting the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information stored in the terminal storage unit using the broadcast information acquired by the terminal device. Next reservation information is created, and the terminal area information is set as new secondary area information for specifying an area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information,
The said server memory | storage part stores the said new secondary reservation information and the said new secondary area information as said secondary reservation information and said secondary area information, respectively. Program recording system. The server
Assigning specific information for identifying the primary reservation information to the primary reservation information provided from the terminal device,
A server processing unit is provided for associating the specific information allocated to the primary reservation information used for the conversion of the secondary reservation information with respect to the secondary reservation information provided from the terminal device,
The program recording system according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is stored in the server storage unit. The server processing unit
Further, the information specifying the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone that broadcasts the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information is created using the broadcast information acquired by the server to create new secondary reservation information, 8. The program recording system according to claim 7, wherein the area information specifying the area to which the broadcast information acquired by the server belongs is set as new secondary area information specifying the area corresponding to the new secondary reservation information. Information used for recording the broadcast program created by using broadcast information used for selecting the broadcast program and showing the broadcast schedule of the broadcast program that differs depending on the region, and which broadcast program recording is reserved A terminal device capable of providing primary reservation information shown via a predetermined communication network,
Used to create the broadcast information acquired from the outside, the terminal area information that identifies the area to which the acquired broadcast information belongs, the primary reservation information acquired via the communication network, and the primary reservation information Primary area information identifying the area to which the broadcast information belongs,
Broadcast information belonging to an area different from the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information is information specifying at least one of a broadcast station and a broadcast time zone that broadcast the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information. at least collected secondary opinions of non-overlapping information among the converted multiple reservation information using, and identifying the area where the broadcast information belongs, which is used for the conversion of the secondary opinions A terminal storage unit capable of storing secondary area information;
When the terminal area information matches the primary area information stored in the terminal storage unit, the primary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program, and the secondary information stored in the terminal storage unit is used. If it matches the regional information, a terminal processing unit that uses the secondary reservation information for recording the broadcast program;
A terminal device comprising: Information used for recording the broadcast program created by using broadcast information used for selecting the broadcast program and showing the broadcast schedule of the broadcast program that differs depending on the region, and which broadcast program recording is reserved In the terminal device that can provide the primary reservation information shown via a predetermined communication network,
A program in which one terminal device acquires primary reservation information provided by another terminal device via the predetermined communication network, and the primary reservation information can be used for recording the broadcast program in the one terminal device. A recording method,
A broadcast information acquisition step of acquiring the broadcast information from outside;
The primary reservation information, the primary area information for specifying the area to which the broadcast information used to create the primary reservation information belongs, and the broadcast station and the broadcast time zone for broadcasting the broadcast program indicated by the primary reservation information information specifying at least one, the information which is not duplicated among the primary opinions on multiple reservation information converted by using the broadcast information belonging to different regions from the broadcast information used to create Area information acquisition step for acquiring secondary area information for specifying an area to which the broadcast information used for conversion in at least collected secondary reservation information belongs, via the communication network;
An area information comparison step for comparing whether the acquired primary area information and the secondary area information match terminal area information that identifies an area to which the broadcast information used by the one terminal device belongs;
When the terminal area information matches the primary area information acquired in the area information acquisition step, the primary reservation information is used for recording the broadcast program, and the secondary information acquired in the area information acquisition step is used. If the local information matches, a reservation information processing step of using the secondary reservation information for recording the broadcast program;
A program recording method comprising:

Images