JPH118808A - Program information retrieval device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily retrieve the program information by retrieving the information on the program selected by a user out of a program information holding means based on the link information presented by a presentation means and presenting the selected program information via the presentation means. SOLUTION: A link information holding part 12b holds the link information generated by a link information generation part 12a, and a link information selection part 12c selects the link information out of those held by the part 12b based on the specific program attribute value and sends the selected information to a presentation part 13. The part 13 presents the program attribute for every program retrieved by a retrieval part 14 and also the link destination program identifier and the program name which are included in the link information selected by the part 12c. Then the part 14 retrieves the information on the program selected by a user out of a program information holding part 11 based on the link destination program identifier that is presented by the part 13 and presents the retrieved information via the part 13. Thus, the user selects the relative programs based on the presented link information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program information retrieving apparatus for retrieving and presenting program information representing the contents of a program in program units and a recording medium storing a program information retrieving program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of satellite broadcasting and cable television broadcasting, the number of programs such as televisions and radios that can be viewed by users has been steadily increasing. However, despite the increase in the number of programs, at present, there has not been much improvement in the method of searching for program information of programs that viewers want to view. The audience is newspaper TV
I am working on searching for program information for a program I want to watch from a large number of program information on "paper" media such as radio program columns and specialized information magazines, and confirming the broadcast date and channel etc. . Alternatively, a program information search device may be used. A program information search apparatus for searching broadcast program information with words for classifying the field of a program, determining the field of each program, and displaying the program information for each field is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7 (1994) -207.
-297796.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, it is necessary to search all information every time even program information searched in the past is searched.
It is not easy to search for program information of a related program based on a specific rule. Furthermore, when searching for a program, a search is performed based on a search history, such as what word the search was based on, or the program information of the program from which the search was performed. Can not do.

In view of the above problems, the first object of the present invention is that the search for all information is not required every time a search is performed, and the second object is related based on a specific rule. A third object of the present invention is to provide a program information search device or the like which makes it easy to search for program information of a program and can perform a search based on a search history.

[0005]

A program information retrieval apparatus according to the present invention is a program information retrieval apparatus for retrieving and presenting program information representing the contents of a program in program units. Program information holding means for holding program information, and link information for generating and managing link information for associating one program with another program by referring to program information of each program held in the program information holding means A management unit, a presentation unit for presenting program information for each program and link information managed by the link information management unit, and a user from the program information holding unit based on the link information presented by the presentation unit. A search unit for searching for program information of the selected program and presenting the program information to the presenting unit.

The link information management means refers to program information of each program held in the program information holding means and generates link information for associating one program with another program, Link information holding means for holding link information generated by the link information generation means; link information selection means for selecting link information associated with specific program information from the link information held by the link information holding means; Wherein the presenting means presents the program information for each program searched by the searching means and the link information selected by the link information selecting means.

The program information held in the program information holding means includes a plurality of program attribute groups classified by program, and the program attribute group includes a plurality of program attribute values classified by program attribute items. The link information generating means includes a program attribute group including the program attribute value for each program attribute value of a specific program attribute item held in the program information holding means, a program attribute value, and a preset rule. Link information for associating with another program attribute group including a program attribute value having the link information, the link information selecting means converts the link information held by the link information holding means to the program attribute value presented by the presentation means. The link information associated with the program attribute value is selected based on the program attribute value.

According to the present invention, before use, link information for associating a certain program attribute group with another program attribute group is generated, retained, and presented based on a program attribute value having a preset rule. Based on the program attribute value, link information associated with the program attribute value is selected. Thereby, by simply selecting the generated link information, the link information related to the program attribute value to be presented can be presented together with this program attribute value, and the related program can be displayed using the presented link information. The user can easily select. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the selected link information.
Further, rules for generating link information can be set in advance.

Further, a program information search device according to the present invention comprises:
A search history holding unit that holds a search history searched by the search unit; and a search condition selection unit that selects a program attribute value based on the search history held by the search history holding unit, wherein the link information The selecting means selects link information associated with the program attribute value selected by the search condition selecting means from the link information held by the link information holding means.

[0010] With this, when a search for a certain program is performed, a search history such as what word the search is based on, or what kind of program information of the program from which the search was performed was found. The search can be performed based on.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of Embodiment 1 of a program information search device according to the present invention.

This apparatus comprises a program information holding unit 11, a link information management unit 12, a presentation unit 13, a search unit 14, and an input unit 15.
It is composed of The program information holding unit 11 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk, and holds program information. Here, the program information characterizes the content of the program for each program, and is superimposed on the broadcast by a television broadcast receiver, an information network subscriber terminal using a telephone line, a storage medium reading device, or the like. It is assumed that the program information is obtained in advance by at least one of receiving program information, acquiring program information via a communication line, and inputting program information supplied on a recording medium. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of the program information. For example, it holds program information as shown in FIG.

The program information is composed of a plurality of program attribute groups classified for each program, and the program attribute group is composed of a plurality of program attribute values classified for each program attribute item. here,
The program attribute value refers to each piece of detailed information characterizing the content of the program, such as "Chiemi Hara" shown in FIG. 2, and the program attribute items are "program identifier" shown in FIG.
Items that indicate the types of program attribute values such as “channel”, “broadcast start date and time”, “broadcast end date and time”, “program name”, “genre”, “contents”, “performers” and “series” Say The program attribute group refers to a group of program attribute values characterizing the contents of the same program as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the “program identifier” refers to an identifier (ID) that can uniquely specify a program.

The program information is merely an example, and may include other program attribute items, or may exclude some of these program attribute items. Furthermore, in this example, only the program information of the same day is targeted, but the program information of an arbitrary period may be targeted. The link information management unit 12 includes the program information holding unit 11
, And generates and manages link information for associating one program with another program.

The link information management unit 12 is divided into a link information generation unit 12a, a link information holding unit 12b, and a link information selection unit 12c. The link information generating unit 12a, for each program attribute value of a specific program attribute item held in the program information holding unit 11, based on a link information item set in advance, a program attribute group including this program attribute value And link information for associating the program attribute value with another program attribute group including a program attribute value having a preset rule. Here, the link information item refers to a rule for generating link information. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing link information. For example, for each program attribute group, the link information item “same cast” is based on each program attribute value of the program attribute item “caster” and the program identifiers and program names of all the program attribute groups having the program attribute value. To generate link information as shown in FIG. The detailed operation of generating the link information will be described later.

The link information holding section 12b holds the link information generated by the link information generating section 12a in a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. For example, it holds link information as shown in FIG.
The link information selecting unit 12c selects link information based on a specific program attribute value from the link information held by the link information holding unit 12b, and passes the link information to the presentation unit 13. For example, the program identifier “298-007” as shown in FIG.
Is selected and passed to the presentation unit 13 with the program attribute value “Chiemi Hara” of the program of “No.

The presentation unit 13 is a CRT (not shown).
And the like, and presents the program attribute value of each program searched by the search unit 14, the link destination program identifier and the program name in the link information selected by the link information selection unit 12c. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing program information, link destination program identifiers, and program names. For example, the program information, the link destination program identifier, and the program name of the “pilot story” as shown in FIG. 4A are presented on a CRT or the like.

The search unit 14 searches the program information holding unit 11 for program information of the program selected by the user based on the link destination program identifier presented by the presentation unit 13,
The presentation unit 13 is presented. For example, as indicated by reference numeral 41 in FIG. 4A, when the user selects the presented linked program name “Utapon”, the linked program identifier “2” is displayed.
Based on “04-010”, the program information shown in FIG.

The input unit 15 includes an infrared remote controller or the like, and is used by a user to make an input for searching for program information. For example, when a user presses a button or the like of the infrared remote controller, an input for searching program information such as selection of a program attribute value or a link destination program name is performed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating link information. Here, the operation of link information generation by the link information generation unit 12a will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, a case where link information is generated based on the link information item "same performer" will be described as an example. First, the program information shown in FIG. 2 is obtained in advance,
It is assumed that the program information is stored in the program information storage unit 11. Next, for the program attribute group of all programs in the program information holding unit 11,
It is determined whether or not a process of generating link information has been performed.
If it is, the operation is continued, and if Yes, the operation is ended (step S501).

If there is an unprocessed program attribute group, one program attribute group is selected from the program information held in the program information holding unit 11 (step S502). For example, a program attribute group as shown at 21 in FIG. 2 is selected. Next, it is determined whether link information generation processing has been performed for all program attribute values classified into program attribute items related to a preset rule in the selected program attribute group,
If No, the operation is continued, and if Yes, the processing of the selected program attribute group ends, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute group (step S503).

If there is an unprocessed program attribute value, one unprocessed program attribute value is selected (step S50).
4). For example, a performer “Chiemi Hara” as shown at 24 in FIG. 2 is selected. Next, an unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule is set to a program attribute item related to the preset rule in another program attribute group of the program information holding unit 11. Determine if it is inside. If Yes, the process is continued; if No, the process for the selected program attribute value is terminated and the process proceeds to the next program attribute value (step S505). Here, since there is the same performer "Chiemi Hara" as the selected performer as shown at 25 in FIG. 2, the process for the program attribute group 22 including this performer is continued.

If there is a program attribute value having a preset rule, a program identifier and a program name of a program attribute group including the program attribute value are extracted (step S506). Here, the program attribute group 22 including the same performer “Chiemi Hara”
Program identifier "204-010" and program name "Utapan"
Is extracted. Next, link information is created based on the extracted program identifier and program name, and is held in the link information holding unit 12b (step S507). Here, FIG.
Create link information as shown in. In FIG. 3A, 31 is a link source program identifier, 32 is a link information item, 33 is a program attribute value, and 34 is a link destination program identifier and program name.

Next, the unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and the preset rule is still related to the preset rule in another program attribute group of the program information holding unit 11. It is determined whether it is in the program attribute item. If Yes, the process is continued. If No, the process for the selected program attribute value ends, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute value (step S508). Here, as shown at 26 in FIG. 2, there is the same performer "Chiemi Hara" as the selected performer, so that the processing for the program attribute group 23 including this performer is continued.

If there is still a program attribute value having a preset rule, a program identifier and a program name of a program attribute group including the program attribute value are extracted (step S509).
Here, the program identifier “223-110” and the program name “The Wide Show” of the program attribute group 23 including the same performer “Chiemi Hara” are extracted. Next, the link information created in step S507 is updated based on the extracted program identifier and program name, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute value having a predetermined rule (step S510). here,
The link information as shown in FIG. 3A is updated to the link information as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, the unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and the preset rule is still related to the preset rule in another program attribute group of the program information holding unit 11. It is determined whether the item is in the program attribute item (step S508). Here, since there is no more unprocessed identical performer "Chiemi Hara", the process of the selected performer is terminated and the process proceeds to the next performer.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the process of generating link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to a preset rule in the selected program attribute group (see FIG. 4). Step S503). Here, the description of the processing of other performers is omitted. When all the processes have been performed, the process proceeds to the process of the next program attribute group. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a process of generating link information has been performed for the program attribute groups of all programs in the program information holding unit 11 (step S501). Here, description of the processing of the program attribute group of other programs is omitted. When all processes have been performed, the operation ends. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the link information generated here.

When link information is added, a rule may be set and the added link information may be reduced or added. For example, only programs starting after the start time of the selected program or only programs of the same genre are added. Applying this to the above example, in the former case, only "utapan" is selected, and in the latter case, no program is added. FIG. 7 shows a link relationship between programs when the program information of FIG. 2 is generated based on the class information item “same performer” and only the program that starts after the start time of the selected program is generated. FIG. The head of the arrow indicates the link source program, and the end of the arrow indicates the link destination program.

Although the class information item "same performer" has been described in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the class information item is applicable not only to "same performer" but also to all combinations of attributes. For example, in the class information item “same broadcast start date and time”, it is possible to have class information between program attribute groups having the same broadcast start date and time. For example,
The “Kobe Psycho TV” shown at 27 in FIG.
Because the broadcast start date and time is the same as "Utapon" shown in
The link information as shown in FIG. 3C is created.

In the above example, link information is generated by associating a single program attribute group with the same program attribute value. However, linking is performed by associating a plurality of program attribute groups with the same program attribute value. Information may be generated. For example, in the link information item “same broadcast date and time”, link information is generated by associating program attribute groups having the same program attribute value in both the program attribute items “broadcast start date and time” and “broadcast end date and time”.

In the above example, link information is generated by associating program attribute groups having the same program attribute value. However, a program attribute group including a program attribute value and a program attribute value having a preset rule is set. As long as link information is generated by associating them, they need not be the same. For example, in the link information item “post-program”, the program attribute value of the program attribute item “broadcast end date and time” of a certain program is compared with that of another program, and if the latter is later in time, the link information is Generated.

In the above example, the link information includes the program identifier, the link information item, the program attribute value, the linked program identifier and the program name, but the link information item, the program attribute value and the linked program name are not necessarily required. Instead, only the program identifier and the linked program identifier, or a combination of the program identifier, the linked program identifier, and the like may be used.

Further, the link information item is "same performer"
When it is not necessary to distinguish between the link source and the link destination, such as “Same broadcast date and time”, only the program attribute value and the program identifier of the program attribute group including the program attribute value, or the program attribute value and the program attribute It may be a combination with a program identifier of a program attribute group including a value and others. The above-described program information search device is realized by a general computer and a program information search processing program, and the program is stored in a storage medium and provided.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of Embodiment 2 of the program information search device according to the present invention. This apparatus includes a program information holding unit 11, a link information management unit 12, a presentation unit 13, a search unit 14, an input unit 15, an acquisition unit 81, and a program information update unit 82.

Since there are many portions similar to the configuration of the first embodiment, only the differences will be described. The obtaining unit 81 is a television broadcast receiver, an information network subscriber terminal using a telephone line, a storage medium reading device, or the like, and receives a program attribute group superimposed on a broadcast or receives a program attribute group via a communication line. At least one of acquiring a group or inputting a program attribute group supplied on a recording medium is performed.

The program information updating unit 82 compares the program attribute group obtained by the obtaining unit 81 with the one obtained immediately before, extracts only the different parts, and updates the program information held by the program information holding unit 11. . The link information management unit 12 updates the link information related to the program attribute value based on the program attribute value updated by the program information update unit 82.

When the link information management unit 12 is subdivided, the link information extraction unit 12d and the link information update unit 12e
It is composed of When the program attribute updating unit 82 updates the program attribute value, the link information extracting unit 12d
The link information related to the program attribute value is extracted from the link information held by the link information holding unit 12b.

The link information updating unit 12e updates the link information extracted by the link information extracting unit 12d based on the program attribute value updated by the program information updating unit 82,
The link information is stored in the link information storage unit 12b. Update of link information will be described in detail below. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for updating link information.

Here, a case where link information is added based on the link information item "same cast" will be described as an example. Note that the link information shown in FIG.
2b. First, for all the program attribute groups updated by the program information updating unit 82, it is determined whether or not the process of updating the link information has been performed. If No, the operation is continued, and if Yes, the operation is ended (step S901). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing program information. For example, here, it is assumed that the program information as shown in FIG. 10 has been updated.

If there is an unprocessed program attribute group, one program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 is selected (step S902). For example, a program attribute group as indicated by 101 in FIG. 10 is selected. Next, it is determined whether or not the process of updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to the preset rule in the selected program attribute group. Is continued, and if Yes, the processing of the selected program attribute group ends, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute group (step S90)
3).

If there is an unprocessed program attribute value, one unprocessed program attribute value is selected (step S90).
4). For example, a performer “Katsumi Hatanaka” as shown by 102 in FIG. 10 is selected. Next, it is determined whether an unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule exists in the link information of the link information holding unit 12b. If Yes, the process is continued, and if No, it is determined whether or not the program attribute item related to a preset rule in another program attribute group updated by the program information update unit 82 exists. (Step S905). Here, FIG.
Since there is a performer "Katsumi Hatanaka" which is the same as the selected performer as shown at 61, processing of link information including this performer is continued.

If there is a program attribute value having a preset rule, link information including the program attribute value is extracted (step S906). Here, link information including the same performer “Katsumi Hatanaka” as indicated by 62 in FIG. 6 is extracted. Next, link information is created based on the extracted link information, and stored in the link information storage unit 12b (step S907). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing link information. Here, link information as shown in FIG. 11A is created.

Next, the extracted link information is updated (step S908). Here, the link information shown as 62 in FIG. 6 is updated to the link information shown in FIG. Next, it is determined whether an unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule is still included in the link information of the link information holding unit 12b. Ye
If s, the process is continued; if No, the process for the selected program attribute value is terminated and the process for the next program attribute value is performed (step S
909). Here, as shown at 63 in FIG. 6, there is a performer "Katsumi Hatanaka" which is the same as the selected performer, so that the processing for the program attribute group including this performer is continued.

If there is still a program attribute value having a preset rule, link information including the program attribute value is extracted (step S910). Here, 64 in FIG.
The link information including the same performer “Katsumi Hatanaka” as shown in FIG. Next, the link information created in step S907 is updated based on the extracted link information (step S911). Here, the link information as shown in FIG. 11A is updated to the link information as shown in FIG. 11C.

Next, the extracted link information is updated, and the process goes to processing of the next program attribute value having a preset rule (step S912). Here, the link information shown as 64 in FIG. 6 is updated to the link information as shown in FIG. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not unprocessed link information having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule exists in the link information holding unit 12b (step S9).
09). Here, the same unprocessed performer "Katsumi Hatanaka"
Since there are no more characters, the processing for the selected performer ends, and the process proceeds to the next performer.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the processing for updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to the preset rule in the selected program attribute group. If No, the operation is continued and Ye
If s, the processing of the selected program attribute group is terminated, and the process proceeds to the processing of the next program attribute group (step S903). If there is an unprocessed program attribute value, one unprocessed program attribute value is selected (step S904). For example, 103 in FIG.
Performer "Andy Baku" is selected as shown in the figure.

Next, it is determined whether an unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule is included in the link information of the link information holding unit 12b. Ye
If s, the process is continued, and if No, it is determined whether or not the program attribute item related to a preset rule in another program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 exists. (Step S905). Here, as shown in FIG. 6, there is no performer “Andy Baku” that is the same as the selected performer, so that a rule set in advance in another program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 Go to determine whether it is in the related program attribute item.

If there is no unprocessed program attribute value having a preset rule in the link information of the link information holding unit 12b, the preset program attribute in the other program attribute group updated by the program information update unit 82 It is determined whether the program attribute item is included in the program attribute item related to the rule. If Yes, the process is continued. If No, the process of the selected program attribute value is terminated, and the process of the next program attribute value is performed (step S913). ).

When an unprocessed program attribute value having a preset rule is included in a program attribute item related to the preset rule in another program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 , Creates link information without a link destination serving as a link information source, and stores the link information in the link information holding unit 1
2b (step S914). Here, link information as shown in FIG. 11E is created.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the processing for updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to the preset rule in the selected program attribute group, If No, the operation is continued and Ye
If s, the processing of the selected program attribute group is terminated, and the process proceeds to the processing of the next program attribute group (step S903). Here, since all processes have been performed, the process proceeds to the next program attribute group process.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the process of updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute groups updated by the program information updating unit 82. If No, the operation is continued.
If es, the operation ends (step S901). If there is an unprocessed program attribute group, one program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 is selected (step S90).
2). For example, a program attribute group as shown by 104 in FIG. 10 is selected.

Next, it is determined whether or not the process of updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to the preset rule in the selected program attribute group. If No, continue operation, Yes
If it is, the processing of the selected program attribute group ends, and the process proceeds to the processing of the next program attribute group (step S903). If there is an unprocessed program attribute value, one unprocessed program attribute value is selected (step S904). For example, a performer “Andy Baku” as shown at 105 in FIG. 10 is selected.

Next, it is determined whether or not an unprocessed program attribute value having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule exists in the link information of the link information holding unit 12b. Ye
If s, the process is continued, and if No, it is determined whether or not the program attribute item related to a preset rule in another program attribute group updated by the program information updating unit 82 exists. (Step S905). Here, FIG.
Since there is the same performer "Andy Baku" as the performer selected as shown at 111, processing of link information including the performer is continued.

If there is a program attribute value having a preset rule, link information including the program attribute value is extracted (step S906). Here, as shown in FIG. 11E, link information including the same performer “Andy Baku” is extracted. Next, link information is created based on the extracted link information, and stored in the link information storage unit 12b (step S907). Here, FIG.
Create link information as shown in (f).

Next, the extracted link information is updated (step S908). Here, the link information as shown in FIG. 11E is updated to the link information as shown in FIG. Next, it is determined whether or not unprocessed link information having the selected program attribute value and a preset rule exists in the link information holding unit 12b (step S90).
9). Here, the same unprocessed performer "Andy
Since there are no more tapirs, the process for the selected performer is terminated and the process proceeds to the next performer.

Next, it is determined whether or not the process of updating the link information has been performed for all the program attribute values classified into the program attribute items related to the preset rule in the selected program attribute group (see FIG. 4). Step S903). Here, since there is no unprocessed performer, the processing of the selected program attribute group is terminated and the process proceeds to the processing of the next program attribute group. Subsequently, for all the program attribute groups updated by the program information updating unit 82, It is determined whether the processing for updating the link information has been performed (step S901). Here, the operation is terminated because there is no unprocessed program attribute group. In the above example, the operation of adding the link information when the program information is added has been described. Even when there is an update such as a change, the link information can be updated similarly.

The above-described program information search apparatus is realized by a normal computer and a program information search processing program, and the program is stored in a storage medium and provided. (Third Embodiment) FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the program information search device according to the present invention.

This apparatus comprises a program information holding unit 11, a link information management unit 12, a presentation unit 13, a search unit 14, an input unit 15,
End program information extraction section 121 and end program information storage section 12
2 is comprised. Since there are many parts similar to the configuration of the first embodiment, only the differences will be described. The end program information extraction unit 121 holds the current date and time, and compares the current date and time with the date and time indicated by the program attribute value of the program attribute item “broadcast end date and time” held in the program information holding unit 11 at regular intervals, If the date and time indicated by this program attribute value is later than the current date and time, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including this program attribute value has not ended, and nothing is done. In the earlier case, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including the program attribute value has ended, and the program attribute group of the program including the program attribute value is extracted from the program information holding unit 11.

The end program information storage unit 122 holds the program attribute group extracted by the end program information extraction unit 121. The extraction and storage of the end program information will be described in detail below. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for extracting and storing end program information.

Here, as an example, the current date and time are set to “1/2”.
5 14:00 ”. It is assumed that the program information shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether the process of extracting the end program information has been performed for all the program attribute groups held in the program information holding unit 11, and if No, the operation is continued; if Yes, the operation is ended (step S1301). .

If there is an unprocessed program attribute group, one program attribute group is selected (step S1302). For example, it is assumed here that a program attribute group as shown at 28 in FIG. 2 is selected. Next, the date and time indicated by the program attribute value of the program attribute item “broadcast end date and time” of the selected program attribute group is compared with the current date and time. If the date and time indicated by this program attribute value is later than the current date and time, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including this program attribute value has not ended, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute group without doing anything. If the date and time indicated by the program attribute value is earlier than the current date and time, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including the program attribute value has ended, and the program information group of the program including the program attribute value is stored in the program information holding unit 11. Go to extraction (step S130)
3). Here, the date and time “1/25” indicated by this program attribute value
13:15 ”is the current date and time“ 1/25 14:00 ”
Since it is farther ahead, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including the program attribute value has ended, and the program information group of the program including the program attribute value is extracted from the program information holding unit 11.

If the date and time indicated by the program attribute value is earlier than the current date and time, the program information group of the program including the program attribute value is extracted from the program information holding unit 11 (step S130).
4). Here, a program information group as shown at 28 in FIG. 2 is extracted. Next, the end program information storage unit 122 stores the extracted program information group, and proceeds to the processing of the next program attribute group (step S1305).

Subsequently, processing of the next program attribute group is performed. First, it is determined whether the process of extracting the end program information has been performed for all the program attribute groups held in the program information holding unit 11, and if No, the operation is continued; if Yes, the operation is ended (step S1301). . If there is an unprocessed program attribute group, one program attribute group is selected (step S130).
2). For example, it is assumed here that a program attribute group as indicated by 21 in FIG. 2 is selected.

Next, the date and time indicated by the program attribute value of the program attribute item “broadcast end date and time” of the selected program attribute group is compared with the current date and time. If the date and time indicated by this program attribute value is later than the current date and time, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including this program attribute value has not ended, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute group without doing anything. If the date and time indicated by the program attribute value is earlier than the current date and time, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including the program attribute value has ended, and the program information group of the program including the program attribute value is stored in the program information holding unit 11. Go to extraction (step S130)
3). Here, the date and time “1/25” indicated by this program attribute value
20:55 ”is the current date and time“ 1/25 14:00 ”
Since it is later, it is determined that the broadcast of the program including the program attribute value has not ended, and the process proceeds to the next program attribute group without doing anything.

Subsequently, processing of the program attribute group is performed one after another.
Performs all processing and ends. Instead of storing all program information, only program information that meets certain conditions may be stored. A storage attribute indicating whether or not the program attribute group is stored for each program attribute group held in the program information holding unit 11 is stored. For example, the storage attribute of the program attribute group that the user wants to store is set in advance to the program attribute group. Is specified to be saved. Then, the end program information storage unit 1
This can be realized by providing a prohibition unit that prohibits the storage of the program attribute group only when the storage attribute 22 indicates that the program attribute group is not stored.

The above-described program information search apparatus is realized by a normal computer and a program information search processing program, and the program is stored in a storage medium and provided. (Embodiment 4) FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of Embodiment 4 of the program information search device according to the present invention.

This apparatus comprises a program information holding unit 11, a link information management unit 12, a presentation unit 13, a search unit 14, an input unit 15,
It comprises a search history holding unit 141 and a search condition selection unit 142. Since there are many parts similar to the configuration of the first embodiment, only the differences will be described. The search history holding unit 141 holds a search history searched by the search unit 14. For example, it is assumed that the user has searched for program information of a program having a link relationship as shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the user has performed a search using the link information item “same performer” and searched for “the pilot story” from “Chiemi Hara” of “the wide show” using some user interface. FIG. 15 shows a search history. At this time, the search history holding unit 141 adds a search history as indicated by 151 in FIG.

The search condition selecting section 142 selects a program attribute value based on the search history held by the search history holding section 141. For example, based on the search history held by the search history holding unit 141 as shown in FIG. 15, the program attribute value or link information item used immediately before or the program attribute value or link information item used frequently is selected. Here, the program attribute value “Chiemi Hara” used immediately before is selected.

The link information selecting section 12c selects link information associated with the program attribute value selected by the search condition selecting section 142 from the link information held by the link information holding section 12b. For example, the link information associated with the program attribute value “Chiemi Hara” selected by the search condition selection unit 142 is selected. Embodiment 1
Similarly to the above, the presentation unit 13 presents the program attribute value of each program searched by the search unit 14 and the link destination program identifier and the program name in the link information selected by the link information selection unit 12c. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing program information, link destination program identifiers, and program names. For example, here, as shown in FIG. 16, the program information of the "pilot story" and the program identifier and the program name of "Utapan" are presented on a CRT or the like.

In the above example, only the link information item "same cast" has been described, but other link information items may be used. For example, the link information item "same date and time"
And the link information item "same link". Further, the selection by the search condition selection unit 142 is not limited to a single program attribute value, and a plurality of program attribute values may be selected. Further, the link information selection unit 12c may also select a plurality of link information.

The above-described program information search apparatus is realized by a normal computer and a program information search processing program, and the program is stored in a storage medium and provided.

[0072]

As is apparent from the above description, the program information search device according to the present invention is a program information search device for searching and presenting program information representing the contents of a program in program units. Program information holding means for holding program information characterizing the contents of the program, and link information for associating one program with another program by referring to the program information of each program held in the program information holding means. Link information managing means for managing the program information, presenting means for presenting program information in units of programs and link information managed by the link information managing means, and holding the program information based on the link information presented by the presenting means. Search means for searching program information of a program selected by the user from the means and presenting the program information to the presenting means.

The present invention refers to the program information of each program before use and generates and manages link information for associating a certain program with another program. Thereby, based on the generated link information, the link information related to the program information to be presented can be presented together with the program information.
The user can easily select a related program using the presented link information. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the generated link information.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all information every time a search is performed. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on program information of a program selected by a user. Further, the link information management means refers to program information of each program held in the program information holding means and generates link information for associating one program with another program, and the link information generation means; Link information holding means for holding the link information generated by the generating means, and link information selecting means for selecting link information associated with specific program information from the link information held by the link information holding means, The presenting means presents the program information for each program searched by the searching means and the link information selected by the link information selecting means.

According to the present invention, link information for associating a certain program with another program is generated and held by referring to the program information of each program before being used, and a link associated with specific program information at the time of use is generated. Select information. by this,
By simply selecting the generated link information, the link information related to the program information to be presented can be presented together with the program information, and the user can easily select the related program using the presented link information. can do. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the selected link information.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all the information every time the search is performed, and the program information of the selected program can be easily searched. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on program information of a program selected by a user. The program information held in the program information holding means is composed of a plurality of program attribute groups classified by program, and the program attribute group is composed of a plurality of program attribute values classified by program attribute items. The generating means includes a program attribute group including the program attribute value for every program attribute value of the specific program attribute item held in the program information holding means, and a program attribute having the program attribute value and a preset rule. Link information for associating with another program attribute group including a value, the link information selecting means based on the program attribute value presented by the presenting means from the link information held by the link information holding means. The link information associated with the program attribute value is selected.

According to the present invention, link information for associating a certain program attribute group with another program attribute group is generated and held based on a program attribute value having a rule set before use, and presented at the time of use. Then, the link information associated with the program attribute value is selected based on the program attribute value to be executed.
This allows you to simply select the link information you generated,
Link information related to the program attribute value to be presented can be presented together with the program attribute value, and the user can easily select a related program using the presented link information. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the selected link information. Further, rules for generating link information can be set in advance.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all information every time a search is performed, and the program information of the selected program can be easily searched. Further, it facilitates searching for program information of a related program based on a specific rule. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on a program identifier or the like of a program selected by a user.

Further, the program information search device according to the present invention
Obtaining means for performing at least one of receiving program information superimposed on a broadcast, obtaining program information via a communication line, and inputting program information supplied on a recording medium; A program information updating unit that extracts only a different part by comparing the program information obtained by the program information obtained immediately before and updates a program attribute value held by the program information holding unit, and the link information management unit includes: The link information relating to the program attribute value is updated based on the program attribute value updated by the program information updating means.

According to the present invention, when program information is newly obtained,
Only the difference from the previous program information is extracted, and the program attribute value and the link information are updated. As a result, even when program information is added, link information can be easily updated only by adding a different part. Also, in the case where program information is deleted or changed instead of being added, the link information can be similarly easily updated.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all the program information every time the program information is updated. Further, when the program attribute value is updated by the program information updating means, the link information managing means further extracts link information relating to the program attribute value from the link information held by the link information holding means. Link information extracting means for updating the link information extracted by the link information extracting means based on the program attribute value updated by the program information updating means, and causing the link information holding means to hold the link information. It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, when program information is newly obtained,
Only the difference from the previous program information is extracted and the program attribute value is updated. Further, only the link information related to the updated program attribute value is extracted, updated, and held. Thus, even when the program information is updated, the link information can be easily updated only by extracting, updating, and holding only the link information relating to the different part.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all the program information every time the program information is updated. Further, the program information search device according to the present invention further comprises: a ending program information extracting means for extracting a program attribute group of a program whose broadcasting has ended from the program information holding means; and a program extracted by the ending program information extracting means. It is characterized by comprising end program information holding means for holding an attribute group.

As a result, the program attribute group of the program whose broadcasting has ended can be automatically saved. Therefore, the user can search for the program information of the desired program based on the program attribute group of the desired program whose broadcasting has ended. Further, the program information holding unit further holds a storage attribute indicating whether or not the program attribute group is to be stored, and the end program information storage unit further includes that the storage attribute does not store the program attribute group. It is characterized by including a prohibition means for prohibiting storage of the program attribute group only when indicated.

Thus, the user can save only the program attribute group desired to be saved. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the storage device and the like and to effectively use the storage device. Further, the program information search device according to the present invention further includes: a search history holding unit that holds a search history searched by the search unit; and a program attribute value based on the search history held by the search history holding unit. A search condition selection unit for selecting, from the link information held by the link information holding unit, a link information item associated with the program attribute value selected by the search condition selection unit. It is characterized by.

Thus, a search history can be held, a program attribute value can be selected based on the search history, and link information associated with the program attribute value can be selected and presented. Therefore, a search can be performed based on the search history, and the program information of a desired program can be easily reached.

A computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention is for causing a computer to execute a step of searching and presenting, from a program information holding device, program information characterizing the contents of a program for each program in units of programs. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program information search processing program is recorded, wherein the computer refers to program information of each program held in the program information holding means and associates one program with another program by link information. A link information managing step of generating and managing a program, a presenting step of presenting program information in units of programs and link information managed by the link information managing step, and the program based on the link information presented by the presenting step. Searching the program information of the program selected by the user from the information holding device and presenting the program information; The program information retrieval process program for executing a search step of presenting and recording.

According to the present invention, link information for associating a certain program with another program is generated and managed by referring to the program information of each program before being used. Thereby, based on the generated link information, the link information related to the program information to be presented can be presented together with the program information.
The user can easily select a related program using the presented link information. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the generated link information.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all information every time a search is performed. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on program information of a program selected by a user. The link information management step includes a link information generation step of generating link information for associating one program with another program by referring to program information of each program held in the program information holding means; A link information holding step of holding the link information generated by the generating step, and a link information selecting step of selecting link information associated with specific program information from the link information held by the link information holding step, The presenting step is characterized by presenting the program information for each program searched in the searching step and the link information selected in the link information selecting step.

According to the present invention, link information for associating a certain program with another program is generated and held by referring to the program information of each program before use, and the link associated with specific program information at the time of use is generated. Select information. by this,
By simply selecting the generated link information, the link information related to the program information to be presented can be presented together with the program information, and the user can easily select the related program using the presented link information. can do. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the selected link information.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all information every time a search is performed, and the program information of the selected program can be easily searched. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on program information of a program selected by a user. Further, the program information held in the program information holding device includes a plurality of program attribute groups classified by program, and the program attribute group includes a plurality of program attribute values classified by program attribute items. The generating step includes, for each program attribute value of a specific program attribute item held in the program information holding device, a program attribute group including the program attribute value, and a program attribute having the program attribute value and a preset rule. Link information for associating with another program attribute group including a value, the link information selecting step includes determining the link information based on the program attribute value presented by the presentation step from the link information retained by the link information retaining step. The link information associated with the program attribute value is selected.

According to the present invention, link information for associating a certain program attribute group with another program attribute group is generated and held based on a program attribute value having a rule set before use, and presented at the time of use. Then, the link information associated with the program attribute value is selected based on the program attribute value to be executed.
This allows you to simply select the link information you generated,
Link information related to the program attribute value to be presented can be presented together with the program attribute value, and the user can easily select a related program using the presented link information. Furthermore, the program information of the selected program can be easily searched using the selected link information. Further, rules for generating link information can be set in advance.

Therefore, it is not necessary to search all the information every time the search is performed, and the program information of the selected program can be easily searched. Further, it facilitates searching for program information of a related program based on a specific rule. Further, it is possible to easily search for program information of a desired program based on a program identifier or the like of a program selected by a user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first embodiment of a program information search device according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of program information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing link information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing program information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for generating link information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing link information generated in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relation between links between programs in a case where the program information of FIG. 2 is generated based on the class information item “same cast” and only the programs starting after the start time of the selected program are generated. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a second embodiment of the program information search device according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for updating link information according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing program information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing link information.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the program information search device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a basic algorithm for extracting and saving end program information.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of a program information search device according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a search history.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing program information.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 program information holding unit 12 link information management unit 12a link information generation unit 12b link information holding unit 12c link information selection unit 12d link information extraction unit 12e link information update unit 13 presentation unit 14 search unit 15 input unit 81 acquisition unit 82 program information Update unit 121 Ended program information extraction unit 122 Ended program information storage unit 141 Search history storage unit 142 Search condition selection unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Chihiro Kawahara 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A program information retrieval apparatus for retrieving and presenting program information representing the contents of a program in units of programs, the program information retaining means retaining program information characterizing the contents of the program for each program, Link information management means for generating and managing link information for associating one program with another program by referring to the program information of each program held in the program information holding means; and program information for each program and the link information Presenting means for presenting link information managed by the managing means; and, based on the link information presented by the presenting means,
A program information search device, comprising: a search unit that searches for program information of a program selected by a user from the program information holding unit and causes the presenting unit to present the program information. 2. The link information management means includes: link information generation means for generating link information for associating one program with another program by referring to program information of each program held in the program information holding means; Link information holding means for holding link information generated by the link information generation means; and link information selection for selecting link information associated with specific program information from link information held by the link information holding means. 2. The program information according to claim 1, wherein said presentation means presents the program information of each program searched by said search means and the link information selected by said link information selection means. Search device. 3. The program information held in the program information holding means includes a plurality of program attribute groups classified by program, and the program attribute group includes a plurality of program attribute values classified by program attribute items. The link information generating means, for every program attribute value of a specific program attribute item held in the program information holding means,
Link information for associating a program attribute group including the program attribute value with another program attribute group including the program attribute value and a program attribute value having a preset rule; 3. The program according to claim 2, wherein from the link information held by the link information holding means, link information associated with the program attribute value is selected based on the program attribute value presented by the presentation means. Information retrieval device. 4. The program information search device according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving program information superimposed on a broadcast, acquiring program information via a communication line, or inputting program information supplied from a recording medium. Obtaining means for performing at least one of the following; and comparing the program information obtained by the obtaining means with that obtained immediately before to extract only the different parts and updating the program attribute value held by the program information holding means. The program according to claim 3, further comprising program information updating means, wherein the link information management means updates link information relating to the program attribute value based on the program attribute value updated by the program information updating means. Information retrieval device. 5. When the program attribute value is updated by the program information updating means, the link information managing means further relates to the program attribute value from the link information held by the link information holding means. Link information extracting means for extracting link information; and a link for updating the link information extracted by the link information extracting means based on the program attribute value updated by the program information updating means, and holding the link information in the link information holding means. 5. The program information search device according to claim 4, further comprising information updating means. 6. The program information search device further comprises: an end program information extraction unit for extracting a program attribute group of a program whose broadcasting has ended from the program information holding unit; and a program extracted by the end program information extraction unit. 4. The program information search device according to claim 3, further comprising an end program information holding unit that holds an attribute group. 7. The program information holding unit further holds a storage attribute indicating whether or not a program attribute group is stored, and the end program information storage unit further stores the program attribute group having the storage attribute. 7. The program information search device according to claim 6, further comprising a prohibition unit for prohibiting the storage of the program attribute group only when it indicates that the program attribute group is not stored. 8. The program information search device further includes: a search history holding unit that holds a search history searched by the search unit; and a program attribute value based on the search history held by the search history holding unit. A search condition selection unit for selecting, the link information selection unit selects, from the link information held by the link information holding unit, link information associated with the program attribute value selected by the search condition selection unit; 4. The program information search device according to claim 3, wherein: 9. A program information retrieving program for causing a computer to execute a step of retrieving and presenting program information characterizing the content of each program from a program information holding device in units of programs is recorded. A computer-readable recording medium, wherein the computer refers to program information of each program held in the program information holding means, and generates and manages link information for associating one program with another program. A management step, a presentation step of presenting program information for each program and link information managed by the link information management step, and a user from the program information holding device based on the link information presented by the presentation step. Searching for program information of the selected program, and causing the presenting step to present the program information. Because of the program information retrieval process program and computer readable recording medium. 10. The link information managing step includes: a link information generating step of generating link information for associating one program with another program by referring to program information of each program held in the program information holding means. A link information holding step of holding the link information generated by the link information generating step; and link information selection of selecting link information associated with specific program information from the link information held by the link information holding step. 10. The program information according to claim 9, wherein the presenting step presents the program information for each program searched in the searching step and the link information selected in the link information selecting step. A computer-readable recording medium recording a search processing program. 11. The program information held in the program information holding device includes a plurality of program attribute groups classified by programs, and the program attribute group includes a plurality of program attribute values classified by program attribute items. The link information generating step includes, for each program attribute value of a specific program attribute item held in the program information holding device, a program attribute group including the program attribute value, and the program attribute value set in advance. Link information for associating with another program attribute group including a program attribute value having a specified rule, wherein the link information selecting step is presented by the presenting step from the link information held by the link information holding step 11. The program information search processing method according to claim 10, wherein link information associated with the program attribute value is selected based on the program attribute value. A computer-readable recording medium that records a program.