JP2001249925A - Preference information collection device and preference information collection method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem information] Preference information that allows a user to acquire information that suits the user's preference without requiring much labor and time to search for a program to be selected even when using a preference acquisition instruction means. It is to provide a collecting device. SOLUTION: A preference information storage means 5 for storing preference information.
4 and preference acquisition instructing means 6 for acquiring user preference information
05, a user preference history storage unit 591 for storing the acquired user preference history, and a unit 5 for extracting preference information recommended by the user based on the user preference history information.
81, 582, 583, and in extracting the preference information,
Filtering command output means 601, 602, 603 for outputting a command for filtering the target preference information;
The filtering process is executed based on the output instruction, and as a result, only the desired preference information is output, and the display means 55 for displaying the same on the screen is realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention makes it possible to easily guess, select and display information desired by a user from a large number of information based on preference data input by the user. The present invention relates to a preference information collection device and a preference information collection method that enable a user to easily and quickly input his / her preference data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a great deal of information has come to exist as computerization has progressed. Accordingly, various studies have been conducted on how to guess, select, and display information that a user may seek. 2. Description of the Related Art With regard to electronic information media such as electronic news systems and televisions, technical development of a system that preferentially presents information such as articles or programs requested by individual users has been promoted.

[0003] For example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-164217 discloses a technique in which the digitization of broadcasting continues, and the number of channels that can be viewed by the user continues to increase enormously. Is a technology that solves the problem of not being able to find quickly. This is the channel selected by the user,
Using the current time and the TV program data, program information of the TV program is obtained, the user's TV program preference statistical data is created, and a list of TV programs that match the user's preference is displayed based on the preference statistical data. , To assist the user in selecting a television program.

[0004] However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-164217 has the following problems.

[0005] In creating preference statistical data of a user's television program, program information of the television program is obtained using a channel selected by the user. When a user watches a television program, Just zapping 2. Since the user simply keeps the television on and there is a state where the user is not watching the television, etc., simply creating the preference statistical data of the television program using the television program data of the channel selected by the user, Correct taste statistics data cannot be obtained. Therefore, it may not be possible to display a list of television programs that match the user's preference.

As a method for solving the above problems, for example, a method called "Mebius TV",
"Mebius S released by Tsuki Sharp Corporation
application software capable of displaying various program guides bundled with a "type" personal computer. A so-called program guide display device can be realized by installing and operating the bundled application software on the personal computer. The program guide display device can reliably acquire statistical data of a user's preference for a television program.

[0007] The method of acquiring the statistical data of the preference by the program guide display device using the "Mebius TV" includes a selection means (hereinafter, referred to as a preference acquisition instruction means) capable of acquiring a user's preference, and a television program guide. Is arranged on the same screen as the screen on which is displayed, the user selects his or her favorite program from the program guide, and the user selects this preference acquisition instructing means, thereby reliably acquiring the user's preference history, Based on the acquired preference history, a program that a user would like is estimated from a program table, selected, and displayed.

[0008] The following describes, with reference to the drawings, the mechanism of a method of acquiring statistical data of a preference using a program guide display device based on "Mebius TV".

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of a program guide display device based on "Mebius TV".

As shown, the components of the program guide display device include an antenna 30, a tuner unit 31, a program information extraction unit 32, a broadcast video extraction unit 33, and a program information storage unit 3.
4, display means 35 comprising a CRT or LCD (liquid crystal display), a speaker 36, a central processing unit (CPU
37, a first storage means 38 composed of a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a second storage means 39 composed of a semiconductor memory such as a RAM, and the input means 20. The first
The storage means (ROM) 38 has a program table display processing unit 38
1. Each program and data necessary to make the program guide display device such as the recommended program extracting unit 382 function are stored. The second storage means (RAM) 39 stores the user preference history storing unit 391 and FIG. A work area, such as a work area (not shown), stores data necessary for the function of the program guide display device, and is constituted by a work area for temporary use only. The input means 20 includes a first program guide display instruction means 201, a second program guide display instruction means 202,
Recommended program display instruction means 203, mouse cursor 20
4. Preference acquisition instructing means 205, and the instructing means other than the mouse cursor 204 are, for example, a button (may be an image such as an icon) or a keyboard displayed on the display screen of the display means. Button on a physical device of the present invention. The input means 20
In addition to the above, there are buttons for moving the cursor and power ON /
It is assumed that there are buttons necessary for operating a normal personal computer or the like, such as an OFF button.

The operation of each component of the program guide display device based on "Mebius TV" will be described below. still,
At the time of explanation, FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen on which a program table showing programs currently being broadcast is displayed, and FIG. 14 shows a program table showing programs broadcasted within one day. A diagram illustrating an example of a screen and a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a list screen displaying recommended programs in FIG. 15 are used.

The central processing unit 37 controls each component. The mouse cursor 204 is a unit for selecting various selection units displayed on the display unit 35. TV broadcast waves are received by the antenna 30,
The TV broadcast wave can extract a broadcast wave of a specific channel (frequency) by the function of the tuner unit 31. The received television broadcast wave is composed of a program broadcast image and program additional information (EPG: Electric) superimposed thereon.
(Program Guide), the program information extraction unit 32 extracts the program additional information, and the extracted program additional information is stored in the program information storage unit 34. The program broadcast video is extracted by the broadcast video extraction unit 33, the video is displayed on the display unit 35, and the audio is output from the speaker 36. Program guide display first instruction means 2
FIG. 13 shows that the user performs the selection process,
, That is, an instruction means capable of outputting an instruction to display a program table displaying only the program currently being broadcast. In the portion 352 where the program name is displayed in FIG. 13, the program name of the program currently being broadcast is displayed. The user can display the selected program on the television image display unit 351 in the center of FIG. 13 by selecting the number portion 353 displayed on the left side of the program name. The program guide display second instructing means 202 is a command for displaying a program guide displaying a program to be broadcast today such as a TV column of a newspaper by displaying a screen as shown in FIG. Is an instructing means that can output. The program and processing in the program guide display processing unit 381 are started when one of the first program guide display instructing means 201 and the second program guide display instructing means 202 is selected, and as shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. Display control processing for displaying a special program table. In addition, the preference acquisition instruction unit 205 displays the [Chec
k! ] Button.

In FIG. 13, a user selects his / her favorite program with a mouse cursor 204 from a program table showing only the program currently being broadcast displayed on the right side of the screen. Check!] Button), the user preference history storage 3
In 91, program information (title, broadcast time, channel, detailed program information, etc.) of the program selected by the user is stored.

In FIG. 14, the user selects his / her favorite program from the program table displayed at the top of the screen with the mouse cursor 204,
By selecting ([Check!] Button),
The user preference history storage unit 391 stores program information (title, broadcast time, channel, program detailed information, etc.) of the program selected by the user.

When the recommended program display instruction means 203 is selected by the user, the program and processing of the recommended program extraction section 382 are started, and the tendency of the program that the user would like is stored in the user preference history storage section 391. Guessing based on the program information, and selecting a program equal to the tendency from the programs stored in the program information storage unit 34,
It is displayed on the display means 35 as a recommended program. FIG. 15 shows a state in which a recommended program is displayed on the display means 35.

In the program guide display device based on "Mebius TV", the user selects his / her favorite program from the program guide and selects the preference acquisition instruction means 205 ([Check!] Button) to display the program. The title, broadcast time, channel, detailed program information, and the like are stored in the user preference history storage unit 391, and the recommended program extraction unit 391 displays the recommended programs based on the information stored here. . Therefore, the program information stored in the user preference history storage unit 391 is a program that the user prefers, and the program that the user likes is acquired as user preference statistical data, and the program Is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-164.
Compared to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 217, a program that can be presumed to be more preferred by the user can be recommended.
Has an effect.

[0017]

However, the program guide display device using the "Mebius TV" still has the following problems.

First, when a currently broadcast program table is displayed as shown in FIG. 12, the user selects his / her favorite program and presses the preference acquisition instruction means 205 ([Check!] Button). This is the process of selection, but in the case of broadcasting that has hundreds of channels, such as CS broadcasting using communication satellites, the user finds his favorite program from among these hundreds of channels and acquires his / her preference. Indicating means 2
05 ([Check!] Button) must be selected, so that it takes a very long time for the user to find his favorite program.

Secondly, in the program table shown in FIG. 13, since all the programs scheduled to be broadcast today are displayed like a TV column of a newspaper, the number of programs is very large. There is a problem in that it takes a very long time for the user to find his favorite program from among the numbers and select the preference acquisition instruction means 205 ([Check!] Button).

In any case, the user requires a great deal of labor and time to search for a program to be selected by the preference acquisition instructing means 205 ([Check!] Button).

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a user with a great deal of labor and effort to search for a program to be selected even by using a preference acquisition instruction means. An object of the present invention is to provide a preference information collection device and a preference information collection method that can acquire information that meets a user's preference without requiring time.

Specifically, the contents are as follows.

1) The preference acquisition instructing means is displayed on the same screen as the screen displaying the result of searching for a program by genre (movie, drama, variety, etc.) or keyword. This allows the user to first search for programs by genre or keyword and to filter the programs before selecting the preference acquisition instruction means. It becomes possible to select the acquisition instruction means. For example, a user who likes a movie very much searches for a program whose genre is a movie by a genre search, displays only TV programs related to the movie, and then selects a favorite program from among the programs to obtain a preference acquisition instruction. All you have to do is select the means.

2) The preference acquisition instructing means is a list of recommended programs (a program in which a user would like to be guessed based on the acquired user's program preference statistical data and a list of the results is displayed). ) Is displayed on the same screen as the screen displaying). This allows the user to
In particular, the user can find his / her favorite program from among the programs that have been presumed to be preferred, and thus can find his / her favorite program in a short time and can immediately select the preference acquisition instruction means.

With the above system, in the case of the conventional system, the user first searches for a movie program from the program guide displayed in FIG. Since it is necessary to determine whether or not there is a preference acquisition instruction means, it is possible to solve the problem that it took a long time.

[0026]

A preference information collecting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a preference information storage means for storing various pieces of preference information; a preference acquisition instruction means for acquiring user preference information from the preference information storage means; A user preference history storage unit for storing a user preference history acquired by the preference acquisition instruction unit; and a preference acquisition instruction for user preference information from the preference information storage unit based on information in the user preference history storage unit. Means for extracting preference information recommended by the user, means for extracting the preference information, filtering command output means for outputting a command for filtering desired preference information, and output by the filtering command output means. Based on the order
A filtering process is executed, and as a result, only desired taste information is output, and a display means for displaying the information on a screen is provided.

Further, the preference information collecting device according to the present invention is characterized in that the preference acquisition instruction means is displayed on the same screen as the display screen of the display means on which the result of the filtering process is displayed.

Further, in the preference information collecting apparatus according to the present invention, the filtering command output means has a genre-based search command instructing means for outputting a genre-based search command,
In the filtering process executed based on the command output by the genre-based search command instructing means, the genre is searched for whether or not the designated genre exists in the preference information storage means for storing various pieces of preference information. It is characterized by the following.

Further, in the preference information collecting apparatus according to the present invention, the filtering command output means has a keyword search command designating means for outputting a keyword search command,
The filtering process executed based on the command output by the keyword search command instructing unit determines whether or not the keyword exists in a preference information storage unit that stores various pieces of preference information using the input keyword. It is characterized by searching.

[0030] In the preference information collecting apparatus according to the present invention, the filtering command output means includes a recommended program display instruction means for outputting a recommended program display command,
The filtering process executed based on the command output by the recommended program display instruction means is based on history data in the user preference history storage means for storing the user's preference history, Information to be extracted.

Further, in the preference information collecting apparatus according to the present invention, the preference information targeted by the user is broadcast-related program information.

Further, the preference information collecting method according to the present invention is characterized in that a preference information storage means for storing various preference information for a user to extract preference information and to store history information thereof, and a user for storing a preference history. In a preference information collection device provided with a preference history storage unit, when extracting the desired preference information from the stored preference information, the user selects a method of filtering the desired preference information, Outputting a command for the selected filtering method, and, based on the command output in the step of outputting the filtering command, based on the information in the user preference history storage means for the preference information storage means. Performing a filtering process, and, as a result of the filtering process, Extracting, to the steps of screen display preference information the extracted, a step of storing the preference information the extracted as preference history of the user, characterized by comprising a.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a preference information collecting apparatus and a preference information collecting method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the following embodiment, a personal computer will be described as an example of a preference information collection device for the sake of simplicity. However, the preference information collection device to which the present invention is applied is, for example, another computer or word processor. Any electronic device may be used as long as it is an electronic device including a personal digital assistant, a personal digital assistant, a portable navigation terminal, a POS, an ECR, a game machine, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the preference information collecting device of the present invention.

As shown, the components of the preference information collecting device include an antenna 50, a tuner unit 51, a program information extracting unit 52, a broadcast video extracting unit 53, and a program information storing unit 5.
4, display means 55 including a CRT or an LCD (liquid crystal display), a speaker 56, a central processing unit (CPU
57, a first storage means 58 composed of a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a second storage means 59 composed of a semiconductor memory such as a RAM, and an input means 60. The first
The storage means (ROM) 58 includes a recommended program extracting unit 58
1. Each program and data required to operate the preference information collection device such as a genre-based search processing unit 582 and a keyword search processing unit 583 are stored. The second storage means (RAM) 59 stores Preference history storage unit 591
And a work area (not shown) necessary for operating the present preference information collecting device, or a work area for temporary use only. The input means 60 includes a genre-based search command instructing means 601, a keyword search command instructing means 602, a recommended program display instructing means 603, a mouse cursor 604, a preference acquisition instructing means 605, and a character input means 606. Cursor 604 and character input means 605
The instruction means other than the above may be, for example, a button (an image such as an icon) displayed on the display screen of the display means or a button on a physical device such as a keyboard. The character input unit 605 may also be a key on a physical device such as a character button (which may be an image such as an icon) displayed on the display screen of the display unit or a keyboard. It is assumed that the input means 20 has buttons other than those described above, such as a cursor moving button and a power ON / OFF button, which are necessary for operating a normal personal computer. Further, the antenna 50, the tuner unit 51, the program information extracting unit 5
2. Broadcast video extraction unit 53, program information storage unit 54, display unit 55, speaker 56, central processing unit 57, recommended program extraction unit 581 in first storage unit 58, and user preference history in second storage unit 59 Storage unit 591, input unit 60
The recommended program display instructing means 603, the mouse cursor 604, and the preference acquisition instructing means 605 in the antenna 30 shown in FIG.
Tuner section 31, program information extraction section 32, broadcast video extraction section 33, program information storage section 34, display means 35, speaker 3
6. Central processing unit 37; recommended program extraction section 382 in first storage means 38; user preference history storage section 391 in second storage means 39; recommended program display instruction means 203 in input means 20; And the preference acquisition instructing means 205 and have the same function and role.

The operation of each component of the preference information collecting device will be described below. Note that, in the description, a functional block diagram of the preference information collecting apparatus in FIG. 1, a diagram showing a data configuration (format) of the program additional information stored in the program information storage unit in FIG. 2, and a user preference history storage in FIG. A diagram showing a data configuration (format) in which a program preferred by the user is registered in a section is used.

The central processing unit 57 controls each component. The mouse cursor 604 is
This is a unit for selecting various selection units (buttons, image icons, or the like) displayed on the display unit 55. The television broadcast wave is received by the antenna 50, and the broadcast wave of the specific channel (frequency) can be extracted from the television broadcast wave by the function of the tuner unit 51. The received television broadcast wave is composed of a program broadcast image and program additional information (EPG: ElectricProg) superimposed thereon.
ram Guide), the program additional information is extracted by the program information extraction unit 52, and the extracted program additional information is stored in the program information storage unit 54 in a configuration as shown in FIG.

The data structure of FIG. 2 shows an example of storing the program additional information stored in the program information storage unit 54. Each program stored in the program information storage unit 54 54a, start time 54b, end time 54
c, channel 54d, title 54e, genre 54
f, a database composed of items of detailed information 54g. The program broadcast video is extracted by the broadcast video extraction unit 53, the video is displayed on the display unit 55, and the audio is output from the speaker 56. In addition, in the user preference history storage unit 591, programs that the user prefers are registered in a database as shown in FIG.

The data structure of FIG. 3 shows an example in which a program that a user likes is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591. Each program registered in the user preference history storage unit 591 is: Broadcast date and time 591a, start time 5
The database is composed of items 91b, end time 591c, channel 591d, title 591e, genre 591f, and detailed information 591g. It will be described later how the user registers a favorite program in the user preference history storage unit 591.

The roles and movements (functions) of each of the means constituting the first storage means 58 and the input means 60 will be described with reference to the flowcharts showing the processing and operation flow of the present apparatus. Will be described.

The following features of the present invention enable the user to obtain information suitable for the user's preference without using much effort and time to search for a program to be selected by using the preference acquisition instruction means. The preference information collection device and the preference information collection method will be specifically described, including the flow of processing.

The following two methods are conceivable for realizing this.

1) The preference acquisition instructing means is to be displayed on the same screen as the screen displaying the result of searching for a program by genre (movie, drama, variety, etc.) or keyword. This allows the user to first search for programs by genre or keyword and to filter the programs before selecting the preference acquisition instruction means. It becomes possible to select the acquisition instruction means. For example, a user who likes a movie very much searches for a program whose genre is a movie by a genre search, displays only TV programs related to the movie, and then selects a favorite program from among the programs to obtain a preference acquisition instruction. All you have to do is select the means.

2) A preference acquisition instructing means is used as a list of recommended programs (a program in which a user would like to be guessed based on the acquired user's program preference statistical data and their results are displayed in a list). Is displayed on the same screen as the screen on which is displayed. This allows the user to
In particular, the user can find his / her favorite program from among the programs that have been presumed to be preferred, and thus can find his / her favorite program in a short time and can immediately select the preference acquisition instruction means.

The above-described genre (movie, drama, variety, etc.) search processing, keyword search processing, and recommended program extraction processing will be described as Examples 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing at the time of genre-based search when the user selects the genre-based search command instructing means. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that prompts an input on a genre-based search screen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which search results in the genre-based search processing are displayed.

In step S101, the user selects the genre-based search command instructing means 601 and determines whether a genre-based search command has been output. If it has been output, the process proceeds to step S102, and if it has not been output, monitoring is continued as it is in step S101.

In step S102, since the genre-based search command has been output, the genre-based search processing unit 5
82 is started, and the genre-based search process starts. In the following processing, the genre-based search processing unit 582 is assumed to handle all processing and control.

In step S103, an initial screen for a genre search as shown in FIG. 5, that is, a screen for prompting the user to input a genre name is displayed. It is assumed that the user inputs a genre name in the genre name input field 111 using the character input means 606 or the like.

In step S104, it is determined whether or not a genre name has been input in the genre name input field 111. If it has been input, the process proceeds to step S105. If it has not been input, the monitoring is continued as it is until it is input in step S104.

In step S105, a genre-based search is executed based on the input genre name, and the search result is displayed. For example, if “movie” is input in the genre name input field 111 in step S104, the genre-specific search processing unit 582 refers to the program information storage unit 54 and searches the genre (the column of the genre 54f in FIG. 2). Is searched for, and the found information is displayed as a result. FIG. 6 shows a screen on which the search results are displayed. In the result display column 112 at the center of the screen, programs of the genre "movie" are displayed in a list.

The result display screen of the genre search shown in FIG. 6 includes a preference acquisition instruction means (a [Check!] Button (image corresponding to an icon)) 605, but the user is displayed as a result. By selecting a favorite program from the programs with the mouse cursor 604 and selecting a preference acquisition instruction means (corresponding to a [Check!] Button (image with an icon)) 605, the user's favorite history is stored in the user preference history storage unit 591. Can register favorite programs.

In step S106, a program is selected from the genre search result display screen shown in FIG. 6 with a mouse or the like, and the preference acquisition instruction means ([Check!] Button (image by icon)) displayed on the same screen is displayed.
It is determined whether or not 605 has been selected. If it has been selected, the process proceeds to step S107. If it has not been selected, monitoring is continued in step S106.

In step S107, information on the program selected by the user in step S106 is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591 as shown in FIG.

For example, in the case of FIG. 6, since the second information in the list is specified, in this state, the preference acquisition instruction means (a [Check!] Button (an icon image)) 605 is selected and designated. By doing so, the program designated as described above is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing at the time of keyword search when the user selects the keyword search instruction designating means. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for prompting an input on the keyword search screen. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a search result in the keyword search process is displayed.

In step S201, the user selects the keyword search command instructing means 602 and determines whether a keyword search command has been output. If it has been output, the process proceeds to step S202, and if it has not been output, monitoring is continued as it is in step S201.

In step S202, since the keyword search command has been output, the keyword search processing unit 5
83 is started, and the keyword search process starts. In the following processing, it is assumed that the keyword search processing unit 583 handles all processing and control.

In step S203, an initial screen for keyword search as shown in FIG. 8, that is, a screen for prompting entry of a keyword is displayed. It is assumed that the user inputs a keyword into the keyword input field 121 using the character input unit 606 or the like.

In step S204, it is determined whether a keyword has been entered in the keyword entry field 121. If it has been input, the process proceeds to step S205, and if it has not been input, monitoring is continued until input in step S204.

In step S205, a keyword search is executed based on the input keyword, and the search result is displayed. For example, if “cake” is input in the keyword input field 121 in step S204,
The keyword search processing unit 583 refers to the program information storage unit 54 and refers to the program title (data in the column of the title 54e in FIG. 2) and detailed information (data in the column of the detailed information 54g in FIG. 2) as "cake". Search for programs containing characters and display the found program information as a result. FIG. 9 is a screen displaying the search result. In the result display column 122 at the center of the screen, a character string "cake" contains a program title (data in the column of the title 54e in FIG. 2) and detailed information (details in FIG. 2). The programs included in the data of the column of information 54g) are displayed in a list.

The result display screen obtained by the keyword search shown in FIG. 9 includes a preference acquisition instruction means (corresponding to a [Check!] Button (icon image)) 605, but the user is displayed as a result. By selecting a favorite program from the programs with the mouse cursor 604 and selecting a preference acquisition instruction means (corresponding to a [Check!] Button (image with an icon)) 605, the user's favorite history is stored in the user preference history storage unit 591. Can register favorite programs.

In step S206, a program is selected with a mouse or the like from the result display screen by the keyword search shown in FIG. 9, and the preference acquisition instruction means ([Check!] Button (icon image)) displayed on the same screen is applicable. Yes) 605 is determined. If it has been selected, the process proceeds to step S207. If it has not been selected, monitoring is continued in step S206.

In step S207, information on the program selected by the user in step S206 is registered in the user preference history storage section 591 as shown in FIG.

For example, in the case of FIG. 9, since the second information in the list is specified, the preference acquisition instruction means (a [Check!] Button (an icon image)) 605 is selected and designated in this state. By doing so, the program designated as described above is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the recommended program display processing when the user selects the recommended program display instruction means. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which the result of the recommended program display process is displayed.

In step S301, the user selects the recommended program display instruction means 603, and determines whether a recommended program display instruction has been output. If it has been output, the process proceeds to step S302, and if it has not been output, monitoring is continued as it is in step S301.

In step S302, since the recommended program display instruction has been output, the recommended program extracting unit 5
81 is started, and the process of extracting and displaying the recommended program starts. The following processing is performed by the recommended program extracting unit 58
1 are all responsible for processing and control.

In step S303, the above-described step S3
02, the recommended program extraction unit 581 uses the information of the user preference history storage unit 591 in which information of programs preferred by the user is stored in a database, and stores the information in the program information storage unit 5.
A program that the user is likely to like is searched from the programs stored in No. 4 and the program is displayed as a recommended program in a list 132 on the screen as shown in FIG. Here, the method of searching for and displaying a program that the user is likely to like from the program information storage unit 54 using the information of the user preference history storage unit 591 is different from the gist of the present invention, and thus will not be described in detail. However, this method is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-1642.
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7, a keyword having a high frequency of occurrence is extracted from the program information stored in the user preference history storage unit 591, and a program including the keyword is searched from the program information storage unit 54. A method of displaying the program may be used.

Note that the result display screen of the recommended program extraction shown in FIG. 11 includes a preference acquisition instruction means (corresponding to a [Check!] Button (icon image)) 605, but the user is displayed as a result. The user's favorite program is selected with the mouse cursor 604 from the programs that the user has, and the preference acquisition instructing means (corresponding to the [Check!] Button (icon image)) 605 is selected. You can register your favorite programs.

In step S304, a program is selected with a mouse or the like from the result display screen of the recommended program extraction shown in FIG. 11, and the preference acquisition instruction means ([Check!] Button (icon image)) displayed on the same screen is displayed. It is determined whether (applicable) 605 has been selected. If it has been selected, the process proceeds to step S305. If it has not been selected, monitoring is continued in step S304.

In step S305, information on the program selected by the user in step S304 is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591 as shown in FIG.

For example, in the case of FIG. 11, since the second information in the list is specified, in this state, the preference acquisition instructing means (a [Check!] Button (an icon image)) 605 is selected and designated. By doing so, the program designated as described above is registered in the user preference history storage unit 591.

In each of the above embodiments, the filtering command output means for outputting a command for filtering a program is, in the first embodiment, a genre-based search command output means by selecting a genre-based search command designating means. Then, the genre-specific search processing section is activated, and the genre-specific search process is executed, so that the genre-specific search command instructing means for outputting the genre-specific search command corresponds to this. In the second embodiment, the keyword search command is output by selecting the keyword search command designating means, and the keyword search processing unit is activated to execute the keyword search process. The keyword search command instructing means corresponds to this. In the third embodiment, by selecting the recommended program display instruction means, a recommended program display instruction is output, the recommended program extracting unit is activated, and the process of extracting and displaying the recommended program is executed. A recommended program display instructing means for outputting a recommended program display instruction corresponds to this. Can be summarized.

In the embodiment, the search processing, keyword search processing, and recommended program extraction processing for each genre (movie, drama, variety, etc.) have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the target information is not limited to television programs, and can be applied to various fields including Internet-related distribution information such as recent music distribution, distribution of book information, distribution of navigation information, and the like. .

The contents of the above-described embodiments are not limited to the above description unless the gist of the present invention is changed.

[0078]

According to the preference information collecting apparatus and the preference information collecting method of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

In the present invention, a genre-based search result screen,
The preference acquisition instructing means is displayed on the keyword search result screen or on the same screen as the result of displaying the recommended program. As a result, from among a large number of programs,
After displaying only recommended programs or displaying search results by genre or keyword, the user can select the preference acquisition instruction means, so that users can find their favorite programs quickly and easily. Become.

In particular, this is realized by allowing the user to select the preference acquisition instruction means after filtering the number of programs to be displayed to some extent according to the user's preference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of a preference information collecting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data configuration (format) of program additional information stored in a program information storage unit of the preference information collecting device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data configuration (format) in which a program preferred by a user is registered in a user preference history storage unit of the preference information collection device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing at the time of a search by genre.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for prompting an input on a genre-based search screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a search result in a genre-based search process is displayed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing at the time of keyword search.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for prompting an input on a keyword search screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a search result in the keyword search process is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when a recommended program is displayed.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended program display screen.

FIG. 12 shows “Mebius TV” cited as a conventional example.
1 is a functional block diagram of a program guide display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a program guide showing programs currently being broadcast is displayed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a program guide showing programs broadcasted during one day is displayed.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a list screen displaying recommended programs.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20, 60 input means 201 first program table display instructing means 202 second program table display instructing means 203, 603 recommended program display instructing means 204, 604 mouse cursor 205, 605 preference acquisition instructing means 601 genre search instruction instructing means 602 keyword Search command instructing means 606 Character input means 30, 50 Antenna 31, 51 Tuner section 32, 52 Program information extracting section 33, 53 Broadcast video extracting section 34, 54 Program information storing section 35, 55 Display means 36, 56 Speaker 37, 57 Central processing unit 38, 58 First storage unit 381 Program table display processing unit 382, 581 Recommended program extraction unit 582 Genre-based search processing unit 583 Keyword search processing unit 39, 59 Second storage unit 391, 591 User preference history storage unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A preference information storage means for storing various preference information; a preference acquisition instruction means for acquiring user preference information from the preference information storage means; and a user preference history acquired by the preference acquisition instruction means. User preference history storage means to be stored; and user preference information obtained from the preference information storage means by preference acquisition instruction means based on information in the user preference history storage means, and preference information recommended by the user is extracted. Means for performing, when extracting the preference information, a filtering command output means for outputting a command for filtering the desired preference information, and a filtering process is executed based on the command output by the filtering command output means. Display means for outputting only the desired taste information and displaying the result on the screen. That preference information collection device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preference acquisition instruction unit is displayed on the same screen as a display screen of a display unit on which a result of the filtering process is displayed.
Described preference information collecting device. 3. The filtering command output means includes a genre-based search command instructing means for outputting a genre-based search command. The filtering process executed based on the command output by the genre-based search command instructing means is performed. 3. The preference information collection device according to claim 1, wherein a search is performed for each genre to determine whether the designated genre exists in a preference information storage unit that stores various pieces of preference information. 4. The filtering command output means has a keyword search command designating means for outputting a keyword search command, and the filtering processing executed based on the command output by the keyword search command designating means is inputted. The preference information collection device according to claim 1, wherein a search is performed in a preference information storage unit that stores various pieces of preference information using the keyword, to determine whether the keyword exists. 5. The filtering instruction output means includes a recommended program display instruction means for outputting a recommended program display instruction, and the filtering process executed based on the instruction output by the recommended program display instruction means includes: 3. The preference information collection device according to claim 1, wherein information to be a preference target of the user is extracted based on history data in a user preference history storage unit that stores a user preference history. . 6. The preference information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the preference information targeted by the user is broadcast-related program information. 7. A preference information storage means for storing various preference information for a user to extract preference information and store history information thereof, and a user preference history storage means for storing preference history. A preference information collection method in a preference information collection device, comprising: a step of selecting a method of filtering target preference information when a user extracts desired preference information from the stored preference information; Outputting a command for the filtering method, based on the command output in the step of outputting the filtering command, for the preference information storage means, based on the information of the user preference history storage means, Executing a filtering process; and extracting only the desired preference information of the user as a result of the filtering process. A step of displaying the extracted preference information on a screen, and a step of storing the extracted preference information as a user's preference history. Preference information collection method.