JP2009218760A - Device and method for displaying electronic program guide - Google Patents

Abstract

In an electronic program guide arranged two-dimensionally on a time axis and a channel axis, in order to search for a program desired by a user, it is necessary to switch screens or scroll, such as a television column in a newspaper, etc. Compared to the list.
A list of programs desired by a user is improved by rearranging channels so that channels including programs extracted by program search or the like are adjacent to each other. At that time, the time desired by the user can be designated by a user operation or the like, and the rearrangement is performed by paying attention only to the extracted programs including the designated time. Thereby, even if the number of channels that can be simultaneously displayed in the electronic program guide is small, it is possible to list more desired programs at the time of interest.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic program display apparatus and method for changing the display order of an electronic program guide (EPG) according to specific conditions.

There is an electronic program guide (EPG) as program information in television broadcasting. Particularly in recent digital television broadcasting, an electronic program guide is transmitted by the broadcast wave, and electronic program guide display on a television or a recording device has become a common function. An electronic program guide on a television or a recording device is generally in a two-dimensional display format with a time axis and a channel axis as shown in FIG. One of the problems in this electronic program guide display is its narrow display range. In other words, compared to the number of channels that can be displayed on the same page for newspapers and magazines, the number of programs that can be displayed at one time is small because there are restrictions on the display area and readable character size on televisions and recording devices. To display the date and time or channel, the screen needs to be switched or scrolled. In order to solve the above-described problem and make it possible to easily confirm a program desired by a viewer, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. It is also proposed to arrange them for each channel axis (the shaded area indicates programs that meet the conditions).
JP 2002-369093 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, for example, when a program that matches the search condition exists at 11 o'clock in channel F that is not displayed in FIG. 2A, in order to display the program, FIG. The corresponding program is not displayed unless the screen is switched or scrolled in the channel axis direction as in b).

  In order to solve the above problems, in the electronic program guide display device according to the present invention, program map display means for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis, and program information from among the program information A program extracted by the first specific program extracting means is distinguished from other programs among the programs in the program map displayed by the first specific program extracting means for extracting the specific program and the program map displaying means. The specific program distinction display means displayed in the program map, the specific time input means for inputting a specific time, and the specific time input by the specific time input means are included between the start time and the end time of the program. A specific program is extracted from the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means, a program map display means, and a program map displayed by the specific program distinction display means. The inner, all channels including the second program extracted by the specific program extracting means, characterized in that it comprises a channel unit moving means for performing rearrangement so as to be adjacent the channel units.

  Furthermore, a program map display means for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis, a first specific program extracting means for extracting a specific program from the program information, and a program Specific program distinction display means for distinguishing the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means from among the programs in the program map displayed by the map display means in the program map, and a specific time A specific time zone input means for inputting a band, and a program in which at least one of the start time and the end time of the program is included in the specific time zone input by the specific time zone input means In the program map displayed by the third specific program extracting means extracted from the program extracted by the extracting means and the program map display means and the specific program distinction display means, the third specific program number is displayed. All channels containing program extracted by the extraction means, characterized in that it comprises a channel unit moving means for performing rearrangement so as to be adjacent the channel units.

  According to the present invention, among the programs extracted by the first specific program extracting means, programs corresponding to the specific time or specific time zone input by the specific time input means or specific time zone input means are necessarily adjacent to each other. It is displayed and the list of extracted programs at a specific time is excellent.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an electronic program guide display device and method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The program information input by the program information input unit 301 is output to the first specific program extraction unit 302. Here, the program information means information of one or more programs including at least a channel on which the program is broadcast, a program start time, a program end time, or a broadcast time length.
In general, program information includes information such as a program title and a program description in addition to the above items.

  The first specific program extraction unit 302 extracts a program that meets a specific condition, and outputs the result as first specific program information. Here, the extraction by the first specific program extracting means 302 may be, for example, a search for a program including a keyword input by the user, or a user's search as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-253325. The recommended program may be extracted based on the operation history, and the method is not limited in the present invention.

  The first specific program information is input to the specific program distinction display unit 303. The specific program distinction display means 303 transmits, as the specific program distinction display information, an instruction for displaying the program included in the first specific program information in distinction from the other programs to the program map display means 304. . The program map display means 304 arranges and displays program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis so that a specific program can be distinguished from other programs as instructed by the specific program distinction display information. Display. Here, as a display method that can be distinguished from other programs, for example, a program frame of a specific program may be surrounded by a line of a specific color, or the program frame of a specific program is filled with a specific color. The method is not limited in the present invention.

  On the other hand, the specific time information input by the specific time input unit 305 is output to the second specific program extraction unit 306. Here, as a method for inputting the specific time in the specific time input unit 305, for example, a method specified by the user using a remote controller, a mouse, a keyboard, or the like may be used, or the method is displayed by the program map display unit 304. A method of automatically calculating the start time, the last time, or the intermediate time of the display area of the program map may be used, and the method is not limited in the present invention.

  The second specific program extracting unit 306 inputs the specific time information and the first specific program information output from the first specific program extracting unit 302, and the specific time indicated by the first specific time information is the program start time. A program included between the time and the program end time is extracted from the programs included in the first specific program information. The extracted program is output to the channel unit moving means 307 as second specific program information.

  Here, an example of the flow of processing in the second specific program extracting means 306 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 601, the first specific program information input to the second specific program extraction step 306 is P1 [i] (i = 1 to N1; N1 is the number of programs included in the first specific program information. ) And P1 [i]. ch, P1 [i]. st, P1 [i]. et and P1 [i]. Let pt be the channel information, start time information, end time information, and point information of the program P1 [i], respectively. The specific time information input in step 602 is T. In step 604, determination processing of (P1 [i] .st ≦ T) AND (T ≦ P1 [i] .et) is performed on all input program information P1 [i] (steps 603 to 606). . If this determination is true, in step 605, the corresponding P1 [i] is output as the second specific program information P2 [j].

  When the second specific program information is input, the channel unit moving unit 307 changes the channel display order in the program map in order to display adjacent channels including the specific program in the second specific program information. The unit movement information is output to the program map display means 304. Here, with respect to a method for determining the display order between adjacent channels, for example, the display order may be arranged in ascending order of the channel numbers, or each specific program extracted by the first specific program means 302 may be determined for extraction. Channels including programs with a higher score may be arranged so as to be arranged on the left side by using the used score, and the method is not limited in the present invention.

  A flow of an example of processing in the channel unit moving unit 307 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 701, the second specific program information input to the channel unit moving step 307 is P2 [j] (j = 1 to N2; N2 is the number of programs included in the second specific program information) P2 [j]. ch, P2 [j]. st, P2 [j]. et and P2 [j]. Let pt be the channel information, start time information, end time information, and point information of the program P2 [j], respectively. Here, the score information is information on the score used for the extraction determination for each specific program extracted in the first specific program step 302. In step 702, the input program information P2 [j] is converted into point information P2 [j]. Using pt, sorting is performed in descending order of the score. In step 703, the sorted program information P2 [j] is output to the program map display step 304 as channel unit movement information. Here, as information to be output as channel unit movement information, for example, channel information P2 [j]. You may take out only ch.

  The program map display means 304 changes and displays the display order of each channel according to the input channel unit movement information.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a program map display result according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A shows a state before a specific time is input by the specific time input means 305, which are arranged in the order of channel numbers. In FIG. 4, the program filled with diagonal lines indicates that the program is extracted by the first specific program extracting unit 302. From this state, the result of 9:15 being specified as the specific time by the specific time input means 305 (the position of the broken line) is shown in FIG. In this example, program A-9, program D-9, and program G-9 correspond to the second specific program extracted by the second specific program extraction means 306, and as a result, channel A, channel D, and channel G is displayed adjacent to the left side of the program guide. Further, FIG. 4C shows the result of specifying 11:15 as the specific time in the specific time input means 305. In FIG. 4C, program F-11 and program G-11 are the second specific program, and channel F and channel G are displayed adjacent to each other on the left side of the program table.

  As described above, in the electronic program guide display device according to the present invention, the user does not need to search for a desired program by switching the screen or scrolling the entire program guide, and automatically selects a desired program only by specifying a time. The containing channels are displayed next to each other.

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the electronic program guide display device and method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment of the present invention, a specific time is input by the specific time input means 305 in order to change the channel display order. In the second embodiment of the present invention, a specific time is used. A specific time zone is input by the band input means 501 and output as specific time zone information. Here, as a method of inputting a specific time zone in the specific time zone input means 501, a method in which a user designates a specific start time and a specific end time by using a remote controller, a mouse, a keyboard, or the like, or a program A method of automatically selecting all the time zones of the display area of the program map currently displayed by the map display means 304 may be used, and the method is not limited in the present invention.

  The third specific program extracting unit 502 inputs the specific time zone information and the first specific program information output from the first specific program extracting unit 302, and among the programs included in the first specific program information, A program is extracted in which at least a part of the broadcast time from the start time to the end time of the program is included in the specific time zone. The extracted program is output to the channel unit moving means 307 as third specific program information.

  Here, an example of the processing flow in the third specific program extracting unit 502 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 801, P1 [i] (i = 1 to N1; N1 is the number of programs included in the first specific program information input to the third specific program extraction step 502. ) And P1 [i]. ch, P1 [i]. st, P1 [i]. et and P1 [i]. Let pt be the channel information, start time information, end time information, and point information of the program P1 [i], respectively. Further, the start time and end time of the specific time zone information input in step 802 are respectively set to T.P. st, and T.W. Let it be et. In step 804, ((T.st ≦ P1 [i] .st) AND (P1 [i] .st <T.et)) OR ((T. st <P1 [i] .et) AND (P1 [i] .et ≦ T.et)) OR (P1 [i] .st ≦ T.st) AND (T.et ≦ P1 [i] .et)) Is performed (steps 803 to 806). The formula of this determination process is an example, and any method may be used as long as a program in which at least a part of the broadcast time from the start time to the end time of the program is included in the specific time zone can be extracted. If this determination is true, in step 805, the corresponding P1 [i] is output as the third specific program information P3 [j].

  When the third specific program information is input, the channel unit moving unit 307 changes the channel display order in the program map in order to display adjacent channels including the specific program in the third specific program information. The unit movement information is output to the program map display means 304. Here, the display order determination method between adjacent channels is not limited in the present invention, as in the case of the contents described in the first embodiment.

  The electronic program guide display device according to the present invention is used in the case where a program that matches a specific condition such as a program desired by the user or a program recommended by the system based on the use history of the user is confirmed in the electronic program guide. This is useful because the user can specify a specific time or time zone, for example, so that programs that meet a specific condition can be confirmed together among programs currently being broadcast.

Figure showing an example of a general electronic program guide The figure which shows the rearrangement example of the conventional program schedule in an electronic program schedule The block diagram which shows the structural example of the electronic program guide display apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the rearrangement example of the electronic program guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the structural example of the electronic program guide display apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the process example of the 2nd specific program extraction step of the electronic program guide display apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process example of the specific time slot | zone input step of the electronic program guide display apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process example of the 3rd specific program extraction step of the electronic program guide display apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

301 Program information input means 302 First specific program extraction means 303 Specific program distinction means 304 Program map display means 305 Specific time input means 306 Second specific program extraction means 307 Channel unit moving means 501 Specific time zone input means 502 Third Specific program extraction means

Claims (6)

Program map display means for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis;
First specific program extracting means for extracting a specific program from the program information;
Specific program distinction display means for distinguishing the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means from among the programs in the program map displayed by the program map display means and displaying them in the program map;
A specific time input means for inputting a specific time;
A second specification for extracting a program in which the specific time input by the specific time input means is included between the start time and the end time of the program from the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means Program extraction means;
Channel unit moving means for rearranging all the channels including the program extracted by the second specific program extracting means in the program map displayed by the specific program distinguishing display means so as to be adjacent to each other in channel units. An electronic program guide display device characterized by comprising: 2. The electronic program guide display device according to claim 1, wherein the specific time input means designates a specific time on a time axis in the program map displayed by the specific program distinction display means with a cursor. Program map display means for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis;
First specific program extracting means for extracting a specific program from the program information;
Specific program distinction display means for distinguishing the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means from among the programs in the program map displayed by the program map display means and displaying them in the program map;
A specific time zone input means for inputting a specific time zone;
A program in which at least one of the start time and the end time of the program is included in the specific time zone input by the specific time zone input means is extracted from the program extracted by the first specific program extraction means. Third specific program extracting means for
Channel unit moving means for rearranging all the channels including the program extracted by the third specific program extracting means in the program map displayed by the specific program distinguishing display means so as to be adjacent to each other in channel units. An electronic program guide display device characterized by comprising: 4. The electronic program guide display according to claim 3, wherein the specific time zone input means designates a specific time zone on the time axis in the program map displayed by the specific program distinction display means with a cursor. apparatus. A program map display step for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis;
A first specific program extracting step of extracting a specific program from the program information;
A specific program distinction display step of displaying the program extracted by the first specific program extraction step among the programs in the program map displayed in the program map display step in the program map in distinction from the others,
A specific time input step for inputting a specific time;
A second specification for extracting a program in which the specific time input in the specific time input step is included between the start time and the end time of the program from the program extracted in the first specific program extraction step A program extraction step;
A channel unit moving step for rearranging all the channels including the program extracted in the second specific program extracting step so that they are adjacent to each other in the program map displayed in the specific program distinguishing display step. An electronic program guide display method characterized by comprising: A program map display step for arranging and displaying program information on a two-dimensional map having a time axis and a channel axis;
A first specific program extracting step of extracting a specific program from the program information;
A specific program distinction display step of displaying the program extracted by the first specific program extraction step among the programs in the program map displayed in the program map display step in the program map in distinction from the others,
A specific time zone input step for inputting a specific time zone;
A program in which at least one of the start time and the end time of the program is included in the specific time zone input in the specific time zone input step is extracted from the program extracted in the first specific program extraction step. A third specific program extracting step to perform,
A channel unit moving step for rearranging all the channels including the program extracted in the third specific program extracting step so as to be adjacent to each other in the program map displayed in the specific program distinguishing display step. An electronic program guide display method characterized by comprising:

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