JP4479145B2 - Information providing method and information providing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, information associated with a television broadcast program being viewed is retrieved and acquired based on information obtained in the home. Information providing method and information providing system About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the development and popularization of network technology, many proposals have been made in which network technology is applied to household appliances used in each home. For example, home appliances such as a television receiver, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, and a security system used in the home are connected via a home network and exchange information with each other. Furthermore, it is also considered that a home network is connected to an external WAN (Wide Area Network) such as the Internet, and the home appliance connected from the outside is accessed remotely from the outside.
[0003]
FIG. 6 schematically shows the configuration of an example of such a home network, and information provision using the home network according to the prior art will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example in which recipe information corresponding to the contents of the refrigerator 106 can be acquired via the WAN in the refrigerator 106 having a network connection function. For example, a home LAN (Local Area Network) 105 using Ethernet (registered trademark) is provided in the general home 103. A refrigerator 106, which is a home appliance corresponding to the network, is connected to the home LAN 105.
[0004]
The refrigerator 106 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, a communication unit, and the like, and can communicate with the outside via the home LAN 105. In addition, an information display operation panel 109 made up of a touch panel with a display function, for example, capable of accepting information display and user operations is provided on the front surface of the refrigerator 106. A communication means 110 for communicating with 107 is provided.
[0005]
The home LAN 105 is connected to an external WAN 102 such as the Internet via a network connection device 104 such as a router or a modem. A server 100 is connected to the WAN 102. Household appliances such as the refrigerator 106 connected to the home LAN 105 can access the server 100 via the WAN 102.
[0006]
On the other hand, an article purchased by a user is attached with a wireless tag 107 in which unique information is stored in advance in the article, a package of the article, or the like. Information stored in the wireless tag 107 is read from an article (foodstuff) stored in the refrigerator 106 by a sensor 110 provided in the refrigerator 106. The read information is stored in a memory included in the refrigerator 106 and can be displayed on the information display operation panel 109. For example, information such as “product name: potato, number: 4” is read from the wireless tag 107 attached to the potato food tray 108. In the refrigerator 106, for example, a list of ingredients stored in the refrigerator 106 can be displayed on the information display operation panel 109 based on the information thus read.
[0007]
Information is supplied from the information provider 101 to the server 100 and stored as a database. Information stored in the database can be searched based on keywords. For example, product information such as ingredients, recipe information of dishes using the ingredients, and the like are supplied from an information provider 101 that is a food manufacturer. The supplied information is stored in a database for each food manufacturer. Recipe information can be output by searching the database using the names of ingredients as keywords.
[0008]
By configuring such a system, the user can obtain menu information based on ingredients stored in the refrigerator 106 by operating the display operation panel 109 of the refrigerator 106. That is, the information display operation panel 109 is operated by the user, and an information search instruction is issued. Based on this instruction, the menu search request based on the information of the food stored in the refrigerator 106 stored in the memory by the refrigerator 106 is supplied to the network connection device 104 through the home LAN 105, and is sent to the server 100 via the WAN 102. Sent to.
[0009]
Based on this menu search request, the server 100 searches the database using the name of the ingredient as a keyword to obtain menu information. The obtained menu information is transmitted to the network connection device 104 via the WAN 102 and supplied to the refrigerator 106 via the home LAN 105. In the refrigerator 106, as shown in FIG. 7, the supplied menu information is displayed on the information display operation panel 109. In the example of FIG. 7, it is displayed on the information display operation panel 109 that the ingredients “milk”, “carrot”, and “potato” are stored in the refrigerator 106, and the server 100 is based on these ingredients information. Several types of curry dish information obtained as a result of searching for the menu information is displayed.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the information providing method using the home network according to the prior art, if the server 100 side attempts to cover various kinds of original information provided for each manufacturer, the proposal contents are too diverse and the user is confused when selecting. There was a problem that the usability might be deteriorated.
[0011]
In addition, there is a problem for manufacturers that provide information, because it is difficult for the user to accept proposals from a wide range of options with equal opportunities, making it difficult to obtain an effect according to the information provision cost. It was.
[0012]
For example, consider a proposal for a dinner menu based on information that potatoes and carrots are stored in the refrigerator 106. Menus using potatoes and carrots, such as curry, meat potatoes and boiled chikuzen, are diverse. Furthermore, it is possible that various proposals are made according to the speculation of each information provider such as the food manufacturer, the meat industry, and the frozen food manufacturer. Also, even with one curry recipe, considering the situation in which each manufacturer that handles curry powder sells various types of curry powder, the number of options for the user is immeasurable. The information providing side can also obtain proposals only as a part of a wide variety of options, and the information providing effect may be diminished.
[0013]
Furthermore, if the information provided is only text information, it will be difficult to convey the image of the proposal. For this reason, it is difficult for the information provider's originality regarding various proposals to be issued, and there is a concern that the provided information will be increasingly buried in a wide variety of options.
[0014]
One way to overcome this is to make a product proposal using moving image data or audio data. However, in this case, a configuration for reproducing moving image data and audio data is required on the refrigerator 106 side, leading to an increase in cost of the refrigerator 106 itself.
[0015]
In addition, when moving image data or audio data is transferred via a network, a wider bandwidth is required for the network. Therefore, there is a problem that additional cost for that is required on the user side and the burden on the user side is increased. For example, when providing information using moving image data or audio data, the user is forced to subscribe to a broadband network service for data transmission such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and FTTH (Fiber To The Home). It will be.
[0016]
In addition, when providing information by moving image data or audio data, the network transmission capability and database storage capability on the server 100 side are also required accordingly, which increases the investment amount on the server 100 side. It was.
[0017]
As described above, in the information provision using the home network according to the conventional technology, the information provider is concerned about the cost-effectiveness in providing the information, the user is troublesome to select and the additional cost burden, the equipment manufacturer side However, there was a problem that the cost of equipment would increase.
[0018]
In addition, since it is difficult to propose information other than food for devices that handle food such as refrigerators, it is difficult to expand the range of information provision services. For example, it is considered nonsense to provide display means and communication means in a microwave oven and propose information from an automobile manufacturer using it as an information medium.
[0019]
On the other hand, it is also conceivable to provide information via a more neutral device such as a personal computer. That is, in the example of the refrigerator 106 described above, a proposal based on the food material information stored in the refrigerator 106 is provided as information that can be acquired by a personal computer. However, in order to do so, the user is forced to activate the personal computer to perform an operation for acquiring information, and annoyance still remains.
[0020]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide information based on the user's personal information more efficiently. Information providing method and information providing system Is to provide.
[0021]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention An information providing method in an information providing system including a terminal device that receives a television broadcast and an information providing device that communicates with the terminal device, wherein the received information acquisition unit of the terminal device displays the currently displayed television broadcast. Based on the reception information acquired in the reception information acquisition step, information corresponding to the contents of the television broadcast is stored by the reception information acquisition step of acquiring the received reception information and the keyword type specifying means of the information providing device Identify at least one from one or more databases based on received information by a keyword type specifying step for specifying a keyword type indicating the type of keyword when searching one or a plurality of databases and a database specifying unit of the information providing device Database identification step and terminal device information collection means Therefore, the information collection step for collecting home information, which is information indicating an article owned by the user, that matches the keyword type associated with the received information in the keyword type specifying step, and the search means of the information providing device A search step for searching the database specified in the database specification step using the home information collected in the information collection step as a keyword, and information based on the search result in the search step by the information display means of the terminal device. Information providing method comprising: displaying information to be displayed It is.
[0026]
In addition, this invention An information providing system including a terminal device that receives television broadcasting and an information providing device that communicates with the terminal device, the information providing device including One or more databases in which information corresponding to the contents of the television broadcast is stored; The terminal device has Reception information acquisition means for acquiring reception information indicating the currently displayed television broadcast; The information providing device has, Based on the received information acquired by the received information acquiring means, a keyword type specifying means for specifying a keyword type indicating a keyword type when searching the database; The information providing device has, Database identifying means for identifying at least one from one or more databases based on received information; The terminal device has Matches the keyword type associated with the received information by the keyword type identification means , Which is information indicating an article owned by the user Information collection means for collecting household information; The information providing device has, Search means for searching the database specified by the database specifying means using the home information collected by the information collecting means as a keyword; The terminal device has Information provision having information display means for displaying information based on search results by search means system It is.
[0027]
As mentioned above, this The invention provides a keyword type indicating a keyword type when searching one or a plurality of databases in which information corresponding to the content of the television broadcast is stored based on the reception information indicating the television broadcast received by the terminal device. The keyword type identified based on the received information indicating the television broadcast received by the terminal device and transmitted from the terminal device is transmitted to the terminal device, and the database identified based on the received information is Since the terminal device is used to search using the keyword collected based on the keyword type and is transmitted from the terminal device in response to transmission, information based on the search result is transmitted to the terminal device. Information related to the content of the broadcast can be transmitted in accordance with the situation of each user.
[0028]
Also, this The invention acquires reception information indicating the currently displayed television broadcast and transmits it to the server, collects in-home information that matches the keyword type transmitted from the server according to the transmitted reception information, and transmits it to the server Since the information transmitted from the server is displayed in response to the transmission of the home information, information related to the content of the television broadcast being viewed can be obtained in accordance with the individual situation of the user. it can.
[0029]
Also, this The invention specifies a keyword type indicating a keyword type when searching one or a plurality of databases in which information corresponding to the contents of the television broadcast is stored based on reception information indicating the currently displayed television broadcast. Because the home information collected to match the keyword type associated with the received information is used as a keyword, the database specified based on the received information is searched, and the information based on the search result is displayed. Information related to the contents of the television broadcast being viewed can be transmitted in accordance with the situation of each user.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. According to the present invention, for example, a user's personal information is collected according to the contents of the television broadcast by a home appliance (hereinafter abbreviated as home appliance) connected to a home network, and a television based on the user's personal information is collected. Additional information of the John broadcasting is provided to the user by using a television receiver having a network communication function as an interface.
[0031]
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The server 1 and a general household 4 are connected via a WAN (Wide Area Network) 3. The WAN 3 is, for example, the Internet.
[0032]
In the general home 4, a network is provided in the home as the home LAN 6. The home LAN 6 is connected to the WAN 3 via the network connection device 5. The network connection device 5 is, for example, an ADSL modem, and the home LAN 6 and the WAN 3 are connected by, for example, a public telephone line, and communication is performed by ADSL. A household electrical appliance having a network connection function is connected to the home LAN 6. In the example of FIG. 1, the refrigerator 7 and the television receiver 10 each have a network connection function and are connected to the home LAN 6. Of course, the devices connected to the home LAN 6 are not limited to these.
[0033]
The television receiver 10 is configured to receive and project a program broadcast by a broadcast station (not shown) and to display received information using a network communication function. In addition, the television receiver 10 is configured to divide the display area of the screen and display a different screen in each of the divided areas, whereby information received using these broadcast programs and the network communication function can be displayed. Can be simultaneously displayed on one screen. The remote control commander 11 can control the television receiver 10 by modulating a predetermined command with, for example, an infrared signal and transmitting it to the television receiver 10.
[0034]
Although not shown, the refrigerator 7 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, communication means corresponding to the home LAN 6, and the like. Further, the refrigerator 7 has communication means corresponding to the wireless tag 8, and when the wireless tag 8 is attached to the item 9 stored in the warehouse, the refrigerator 7 communicates with the wireless tag 8 using this communication means. Information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 can be acquired. The wireless tag 8 is a very small chip that has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, a communication circuit, and an antenna, and is operated by supplying its own power by electromagnetic induction of the antenna by received radio waves. .
[0035]
The information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 includes at least the type and name of the item to which the wireless tag 8 is attached. Furthermore, information such as the number of contents of the item 9 can be stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8. For example, when the item 9 is a food package in which four potatoes are packed, information such as “type: food, item name: potato, number: 4” is stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8.
[0036]
In the notation of information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8, the left side of “: (colon)” indicates an item, and the right side indicates the content of the information for the corresponding item. The same applies to the following similar descriptions.
[0037]
When the item 9 with the wireless tag 8 attached is stored in the refrigerator 7, communication is automatically started between the wireless tag 8 and the communication means provided in the refrigerator 7. Information stored in the memory in the tag 8 is read. The read information is stored in a storage unit such as a memory included in the refrigerator 7, for example.
[0038]
The refrigerator 7 further has a communication means capable of communicating with the home LAN 6, and the refrigerator 7 and the television receiver 10 can communicate with each other through the home LAN 6. The television receiver 10 can collect information from home appliances connected to the home LAN 6 via the home LAN 6. Hereinafter, information collected by the television receiver 10 in the general home 4 is referred to as home information. The television receiver 10 can access the server 1 via the network connection device 5 and the WAN 3.
[0039]
The refrigerator 7 has a function of outputting information according to the keyword type notified via the home LAN 6. For example, when the keyword type “food” is notified from the television receiver 10 to the refrigerator 7 via the home LAN 6, the type is “food” from the information stored in the memory of the refrigerator 7. Information is extracted. The extracted information is transmitted as in-home information from the refrigerator 7 to the television receiver 10 that is the keyword type notification source via the in-home LAN 6.
[0040]
When a plurality of home appliances having a communication function are connected to the home LAN 6, for example, the notification as described above transmitted from the television receiver 10 is sent to the home appliance connected to the home LAN 6. Received on each. Then, in each of the received home appliances, information is extracted corresponding to the keyword type “food” and transmitted to the television receiver 10 as home information. For example, type information indicating a keyword type may be set in advance for each household electrical appliance connected to the home LAN 6 and having a communication function. In this case, each home appliance can be configured not to extract information when the notified keyword type is different from the type information set for itself.
[0041]
On the other hand, the server 1 has a function as a database server and provides a service using one or a plurality of databases. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, one or more product information databases 20 </ b> A, 20 </ b> B,..., 20 n and a program database 21 are connected to the server 1. These product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n may be directly connected to one server 1 and managed centrally by the server 1, or distributed on the network. May be.
[0042]
In the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, information provided from the information provider 2 to the server 1 is stored. The information provider 2 is, for example, a company that sponsors a program broadcast on a broadcast station (not shown), or a company that manufactures and sells products used in the program. The product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n are configured for each information provider 2, for example. For example, the manufacturer A includes a product information database 20A, and the manufacturer B includes a product information database 20B. Of course, it can also be configured as a single product information database 20 in which information provided from all information providers 2 is managed in a lump.
[0043]
Information stored in the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n can be searched and retrieved by keywords. The product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n also store keyword type information for specifying the keyword type. For example, when information on a plurality of different fields is registered in the product information database 20A, the keyword type A, the keyword type B, the keyword type C,. By specifying the keyword type A for the merchandise information database 20A, it is possible to search only information in a field corresponding to the keyword type A.
[0044]
That is, when searching the product information database of the server 1, first, the product information database to be used by specifying the information provider 2 is specified, and the search is performed by specifying the keyword type for the product information database. Specify the type of keyword you want. Then, the merchandise information database is searched using a keyword applicable to the identified keyword type.
[0045]
As an example, if the information provider 2 is a food manufacturer, the menu recipe information provided from a certain food manufacturer and the word “food” as a keyword type are registered in the product information database for each food manufacturer. The menu recipe information includes, for example, the names of ingredients used in the menu and the number of ingredients. Information to be registered may include still image data, moving image data, and audio data. When searching for the product information database, by specifying “food” as the keyword type and specifying an arbitrary food name, one or more product information databases registered with “food” as the keyword type are specified, A search is performed for the specified product information database using the specified ingredient name. As a result of the search, menu recipe information corresponding to the specified ingredient name is output.
[0046]
The merchandise information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n may have any configuration as long as predetermined information can be searched with a keyword applicable to a certain keyword type. For example, in addition to character information, various forms of data such as still image data, moving image data, and audio data can be associated with the keyword. Further, the length and content of the character information associated with the keyword need not be particularly limited. Furthermore, the information associated with a keyword need not be fixed. For example, it is possible to obtain different search results from the same keyword by time zone, date, season, and the like. Similarly, the search results of the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n may be changed based on the search results of the program database 21 described later.
[0047]
The program database 21 stores information indicating the correspondence between channel numbers of television broadcasts and broadcast time zones. Based on the program database 21, the server 1 can specify which database or keyword type is used among the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n according to the channel number and the time zone.
[0048]
The program database 21 stores, for example, information indicating a correspondence relationship between a combination of a television broadcast channel number and a broadcast time zone and a broadcast program. Further, related information of the program such as a sponsor name of the program and a keyword type applicable to the program is stored in association with information indicating the program to be broadcast. The sponsor name can correspond to the information provider 2, and in this case, the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n described above can be specified using the sponsor name.
[0049]
When searching the program database 21, first, a channel number and a broadcast time zone are designated. Time information may be specified instead of the broadcast time zone, and a broadcast time zone including the time indicated in the time information may be obtained. By specifying a channel number and a broadcast time zone, a program broadcast in the channel number and the broadcast time zone is specified, and information related to the program such as the type of the program and the sponsor name can be acquired. Based on the information regarding the program, the product information database and the keyword type to be used can be specified. For example, if the type of program is “cooking program”, “food” is specified as the keyword type, and the product information database to be used is specified based on the sponsor name.
[0050]
In addition, without providing the program database 21, it is possible to make an inquiry to the broadcasting station corresponding to the channel number each time to acquire the above information.
[0051]
In the information providing system configured as described above, in the general home 4, the user collects home information based on the program or commercial currently being viewed by the television receiver 10, and information related to the collected home information. In the first embodiment of the present invention, when a user gives a predetermined instruction to the television receiver 10 by direct operation or the remote control commander 11 or the like, necessary information is obtained. The image is projected on the television receiver 10.
[0052]
FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of processing performed in the server 1 and the television receiver 10 for realizing the above-described operation in the information providing system. Here, a case will be described as an example where the user wants to make a dish introduced in the program while viewing the dish program with the television receiver 10. At this time, it is assumed that the cooking program being viewed by the user is a program provided by food manufacturer A.
[0053]
It is assumed that food manufacturer A provides information to server 1 as information provider 2, and the provided information is registered in advance in product information database 20A. In this example, the information provided by the food manufacturer A is menu recipe information using products sold by the food manufacturer A, and for example, “food” is associated as a keyword type. By specifying the keyword type “foodstuff” for the merchandise information database 20A, the menu recipe information can be searched using an arbitrary foodstuff name.
[0054]
While the program is being viewed, for example, the remote control commander 11 is operated in a predetermined manner by the user, whereby an instruction is transmitted to the television receiver 10 so as to acquire information regarding the program being viewed. When this instruction is received by the television receiver 10, time information indicating the current time and channel information indicating the channel currently being viewed are transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1 via the home LAN 6, network It is transmitted via the connection device 5 and the WAN 3 (SEQ10).
[0055]
In the server 1, based on the received time information and channel information, the program database 21 is searched for a program broadcast on the channel indicated by the channel information at the time indicated by the time information. Based on the program obtained as a result of the search, the keyword type corresponding to the program is specified (SEQ11). In this example in which the program being viewed by the user is “cooking program”, the keyword type is specified as “food”, for example. The identified keyword type is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 (SEQ12).
[0056]
In the program database 21, the sponsor name for the program can be acquired based on the program information.
[0057]
The keyword type transmitted from the server 1 is received by the television receiver 10. The television receiver 10 searches for in-home information regarding home appliances connected to the home LAN 6 based on the received keyword type. The search result is transmitted from each home appliance to the television receiver 10 (SEQ13).
[0058]
For example, in the television receiver 10, in order to collect home data corresponding to the received keyword type “food” from home appliances connected to the home LAN 6, the television receiver 10 is connected to the home LAN 6. The keyword type “food” is transmitted to the other home appliances via the home LAN 6.
[0059]
In this example, among the home appliances connected to the home LAN 6, the refrigerator 7 has information with the keyword type “foodstuff”. When the keyword type “food” is received by the refrigerator 7, data having the keyword type “food” is read from the memory of the refrigerator 7. For example, when “potato” and “carrot” are stored in the refrigerator 7 as items to which the wireless tag 8 is attached, “type: food, product name: potato, number: 4”, “type: Information such as “foodstuff, product name: carrot, number: 2” is read out. The read information is transmitted to the television receiver 10 through the home LAN 6 as home information.
[0060]
In-home information received by the television receiver 10 via the home LAN 6 from the home appliance connected to the home LAN 6 is transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1 via the WAN 3 (SEQ14). This in-home information is received by the server 1 and processed into a predetermined form (SEQ15). The processed data obtained by processing the home information is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 via the WAN 3 (SEQ16). This processed data is received by the television receiver 10 and is displayed on the television receiver 10 as predetermined information as additional information of the program being viewed.
[0061]
An example of information processing in SEQ15 will be described. In the server 1, the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n are searched based on the received home information and the search result of the program database 21 described above. First, one of the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n is specified based on the search result of the program database 21. In this example, as described above, since the sponsor of the program that the user is currently viewing is known, the product information database 20A corresponding to the sponsor is specified. Menu recipe information corresponding to the dish introduced in the program is searched from the product information database 20A.
[0062]
Then, the searched menu recipe information is compared with the “item name” item and the “number” item representing the ingredient name in the received home data, and for the ingredient name and quantity indicated in the menu recipe information It is determined whether there are any missing ingredients. When there is a missing food, information indicating the name and number of the food is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 via the WAN 3.
[0063]
The information transmitted from the server 1 is received by the television receiver 10 and displayed on the same screen as the program currently being viewed. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 described above, a screen based on the original television broadcast is displayed in one area where the screen of the television receiver 10 is divided, and characters based on the received information are displayed in the other area. An image is displayed. The character image can be generated by the television receiver 10 based on the received information using, for example, a character generator. If the received information includes still image data, moving image data, and audio data, it can be displayed at the same time.
[0064]
The reproduction of the still image data, the moving image data, and the audio data can be realized by using a function that the television receiver 10 originally has.
[0065]
In the example of FIG. 1, the dish introduced in the cooking program that the user is currently viewing is curry, and the food manufacturer A who is the sponsor of the program has curry menu recipe information using curry powder in the sales campaign. Is displayed. At the same time, the names of ingredients and their amounts that are not enough in the general household 4 (not stored in the refrigerator 7) are shown for the menu recipe information.
[0066]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, information is requested from the server 1 based on information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 acquired from the wireless tag 8 attached to the article in the general household 4.
[0067]
FIG. 4 schematically shows a configuration of an example of an information providing system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0068]
As an example of the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n according to the second embodiment, there are various cases where the information provider 2 is a music production that produces and sells music CDs (Compact Discs). Product information such as artist concert information and fan privilege information, and keyword types are stored in the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n for each music production. For example, “artist name” or “album name” is used as the keyword type. By specifying the keyword types “artist name” and “album name” for the merchandise information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, a search can be performed using any artist name or album name.
[0069]
On the other hand, in the general home 4, home appliances having a communication function are connected to the home LAN 6 (not shown), and a television receiver 10 ′ is connected. The television receiver 10 ′ is connected to the WAN 3 via the home LAN 6 and the network communication device 5, and can communicate with the server 1 via the WAN 3.
[0070]
An article purchased by the user, for example, a music CD 12, has a wireless tag 8 attached in advance. In this case, information unique to the article to which the wireless tag 8 is attached is stored in advance in the memory of the wireless tag 8. In this example, the memory of the wireless tag 8 stores the artist name, album title, and purchase store related to the music CD 12 such as “type: (artist name), product name: (album name), sales information: (purchase store name)” Information and the like are stored in advance. The above-described television receiver 10 ′ has a communication function (not shown) for performing communication with the wireless tag 8, and performs communication between the wireless tag 8 and the television receiver 10 ′. As a result, the information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 can be read out.
[0071]
In the above description, the radio tag 8 attached to the music CD 12 and the television receiver 10 have been described as communicating directly, but this is not limited to this example. In this example in which the article is a music CD 12, for example, a CD rack for storing a music CD is provided with a communication function for communicating with the wireless tag 8, and the communication function provided in the CD rack and the television receiver 10 are provided. You may make it connect with a cable etc. If the music CD 12 to which the wireless tag 8 is attached is stored in this CD rack, it communicates with the wireless tag 8 in response to a request from the television receiver 10 and is stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8. Can be read out reliably.
[0072]
In the information providing system configured as described above, the information stored in the wireless tag 8 attached to the article based on the program or commercial that the user is currently viewing on the television receiver 10 is collected in the general home 4, In the second embodiment of the present invention, when the user wants to acquire information from the server 1 based on the collected home information, the user can directly operate the television receiver 10 by using a direct operation or the remote control commander 11 or the like. By giving an instruction, necessary information is displayed on the television receiver 10.
[0073]
This is realized in the same manner as the processing described with reference to FIG. This will be described using a more specific example. For example, consider that a commercial of a concert by a specific artist was broadcast while the user was watching a television broadcast by the television receiver 10. When a predetermined operation is performed on the television receiver 10 by using the remote control commander 11 or the like while the commercial is being broadcast by the user, the current time information indicating the time when the operation is performed and the current viewing information Channel information indicating the channel is transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1 via the WAN 3.
[0074]
In the server 1, based on the time information and channel information transmitted from the television receiver 10, the program database 21 is searched for the program broadcast on the channel indicated by the channel information at the time indicated by the time information. Of the information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, 1 (product information database 20A) and the keyword type are specified. In this example, the keyword type is specified as “artist name” for the searched program (concert commercial by a specific artist). This keyword type is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 via the WAN 3.
[0075]
The television receiver 10 collects home information corresponding to the keyword type “artist name” transmitted from the server 1. In this example, information on the music CD 12 as “type: (artist name), product name: (album name), sales information: (purchasing store name)” is stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 attached to the music CD 12 as described above. Is stored in advance, and the information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 attached to the music CD 12 corresponds to the keyword type “artist name”. This information is read from the memory of the wireless tag 8 and collected by the television receiver 10. The collected information is transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1 via the WAN 3.
[0076]
In the server 1, information related to the searched program is selected from the information transmitted from the television receiver 10 based on the time information and the channel information transmitted from the television receiver 10 described above. Then, based on the selected information, the product information database 20A is searched, and the search result is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 1 via the WAN 3. The television receiver 10 receives this search result and displays it on a predetermined screen.
[0077]
As an example, it is assumed that the program that the user is viewing is a commercial of a concert of a specific artist being advertised, and the product information database 20A is a concert information database of music production to which the artist belongs. In this case, the home information corresponding to the keyword type “artist name” collected by the television receiver 10 and transmitted to the server 1 includes information on the new music of the specific artist. If it is indicated that the new music is included, information on the preferential sale of the concert ticket of the specific artist is obtained as a search result of the product information database 20A. Further, if the user does not have the new music of the specific artist based on the in-house information, information that the privilege of preferential sale of the concert is obtained as a search result of the merchandise information database 20A is obtained as a search result of the product information database 20A. can get. The search result of this merchandise information database 20A is processed into a predetermined one if necessary, transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10, and displayed on the television receiver 10.
[0078]
As another example, it is assumed that a channel is currently being viewed by the user through the television receiver 10 and the program is a music program sponsored by a specific record shop. Further, it is assumed that present information for members of the record shop is stored in the product information database 20B corresponding to the record shop. As a result, if the information stored in the memory of the wireless tag 8 attached to the CD 12 owned by the user contains information indicating that the user is a member of the record shop, the present is given only to the member. It is possible to provide a member service such as presenting information to the user.
[0079]
Next explained is the third embodiment of the invention. In the third embodiment, information is requested from the server 1 based on information directly input by a user using a predetermined input means.
[0080]
FIG. 5 schematically shows a configuration of an example of an information providing system according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 5, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0081]
As an example of the product information database 20A, 20B,..., 20n according to the third embodiment, when the information provider 2 is an automobile manufacturer, trade-in information and sales promotion of various vehicle types provided by the automobile manufacturer Campaign information and the like are stored in the product information databases 20A, 20B,. For example, “car” is used as the keyword type. By specifying the keyword type “car” for the merchandise information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, a search can be performed using any car model name as a keyword.
[0082]
On the other hand, in the general household 4, a home appliance having a communication function is connected to the home LAN 6 and a television receiver 10 ″ is connected. The television receiver 10 ″ is connected to the home LAN 6 and network communication. It is connected to the WAN 3 via the device 5 and can communicate with the server 1 via the WAN 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the television receiver 10 may be directly connected to the WAN 3 via a modem or the like.
[0083]
In the third embodiment, an input unit that allows a user to directly input information is provided to the television receiver 10 ″. In the following, the input unit is referred to as a keyboard 13. In the example of Fig. 5, the keyboard 13 has a communication means using an infrared signal, and the keyboard 13 and the television receiver 10 "can communicate with each other using the infrared signal. Yes. For example, the keyboard 13 transmits an infrared signal modulated in response to a key input to the television receiver 10 ″. The television receiver 10 ″ demodulates the received infrared signal and transmits it to the keyboard 13. Character data corresponding to the key input made is obtained. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the keyboard 13 and the television receiver 10 ″ may be connected by wire.
[0084]
The television receiver 10 ″ has nonvolatile storage means such as a hard disk drive and nonvolatile memory. Information input from input means such as the keyboard 13 is stored in the nonvolatile storage means.
[0085]
In the information providing system configured as described above, information is input in advance by the user using the keyboard 13 in the general home 4. The information includes, for example, keyword types, product names, and other attribute information. The input information may be any kind of information, but is preferably information that is difficult to manage with the wireless tag 8, such as information on a private car owned by the user. The input information is stored in the nonvolatile storage means of the television receiver 10 ″ as home information.
[0086]
In the third embodiment of the present invention, the program or commercial that the user is currently viewing on the television receiver 10 "is input from the keyboard 13 and stored in the non-volatile storage means of the television receiver 10". Information can be acquired from the server 1 based on home information. While the user is watching a program or a commercial, the television receiver 10 "is directly operated or given a predetermined instruction by the remote control commander 11 or the like, so that information acquired from the server 1 is displayed on the television receiver 10". To be projected.
[0087]
This is realized in the same manner as the processing described with reference to FIG. As a more specific example, the case where the in-home information is information on a private car owned by the user will be described in correspondence with the example in which the information provider 2 is an automobile manufacturer. Information on the private car is input in advance by the user using input means such as the keyboard 13. The input information is, for example, “type: car, product name: (model name), year: (year of use), distance: (travel distance)”. This inputted information is stored in the storage means of the television receiver 10 ″.
[0088]
In this way, after the information on the automobile owned by the user is stored in the storage means of the television receiver 10 ″, the user can watch the television broadcast on the television receiver 10 ″ and can be obtained by a specific automobile manufacturer. Consider a commercial for the promotion of a new car. When a predetermined operation is performed on the television receiver 10 ″ by using the remote control commander 11 or the like while the commercial is being broadcast by the user, current time information indicating the time when the operation is performed and viewing Channel information indicating these channels is transmitted from the television receiver 10 ″ to the server 1 via the WAN 3.
[0089]
In the server 1, based on the time information and channel information transmitted from the television receiver 10 ″, the program database 21 is searched for the program broadcast on the channel indicated by the channel information at the time indicated by the time information. Of the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, 1 (referred to as the product information database 20A) and the keyword type are specified, in this example, indicated by the channel information at the time indicated by the time information. In the channel, a search is made that a commercial of a new car by a specific automobile manufacturer has been broadcast, and the keyword type is specified as “car” for the searched commercial (program). This keyword type is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 ″ via the WAN 3.
[0090]
The television receiver 10 ″ collects in-home information corresponding to the keyword type “car” transmitted from the server 1. In this example, as described above, in the nonvolatile storage means of the television receiver 10 ″, “type: car, product name: (model name), year: (year of use), distance: (travel distance)” Information relating to a private car owned by the user is stored in advance, and this corresponds to the keyword type “car” transmitted from the server 1. This information is read from the non-volatile storage means of the television receiver 10 ″ and transmitted from the television receiver 10 ″ to the server 1 via the WAN 3.
[0091]
In the server 1, the product name (vehicle type) of the information transmitted from the television receiver 10 ″ with respect to the product information database 20A specified based on the time information and the channel information transmitted from the television receiver 10 ″ described above. Name) as a keyword. The search result is transmitted from the server 1 to the television receiver 10 ″ via the WAN 3 and displayed on the television receiver 10 ″.
[0092]
For example, the server 1 side determines the trade-in assessment price of the car owned by the user based on the search result of the product information database 20A and the information transmitted from the user side (model name, years of use, mileage, etc.) The actual payment price obtained by subtracting the trade-in assessment price from the new car price can be presented. On the screen of the television receiver 10 ″, for example, information on automobiles owned by the user, trade-in assessment price, new car price, and actual payment price are displayed including calculation formulas. If the manufacturer is different from the commercial automobile manufacturer viewed by the user, the transfer campaign information can be presented.
[0093]
In the above description, the information providing systems according to the first, second, and third embodiments of the present invention have been described as independent systems, but this is not limited to this example. That is, an information providing system in which the first, second, and third embodiments described above are arbitrarily combined can be configured. Even in this case, since the home information is collected based on the keyword type, the television receiver 10 can efficiently acquire necessary information.
[0094]
In the above description, the television receiver 10 exchanges information with the server 1 and collects home information, but this is not limited to this example. That is, other terminal devices can be used as long as they can receive television broadcasts and display the received broadcasts on the display means and can communicate with the server 1 via the WAN 3. For example, an STB (Set Top Box) used for receiving a digital broadcast can be applied to the present invention.
[0095]
Furthermore, regarding the association between the product information databases 20A, 20B,..., 20n, the channel information and the time zone, if the association is possible, for example, by agreement between the information provider 2 and the server 1 side, A specific product information database can be associated with a specific channel number and / or a specific time zone. Further, association by channel number and time zone may be performed using program organization information such as EPG (Electric Program Guide).
[0096]
Furthermore, in the above description, information finally obtained from the server 1 is displayed on the screen of the television receiver 10 in response to a user's direct operation on the remote control commander 11 or the television receiver 10. However, this is not limited to this example.
[0097]
For example, once the operation mode of the television receiver 10 is set to the additional information display mode for displaying the additional information supplied from the server 1, the server is then used until the additional information display mode is canceled. Acquisition of additional information from 1 and display of the acquired additional information can be automatically performed.
[0098]
Further, for example, in the above-described additional information display mode, the additional information is automatically acquired from the server 1, and the additional information itself is not displayed on the screen of the television receiver 10, and the information indicating the presence or absence of the additional information is displayed. May be displayed. In this case, when there is additional information based on the displayed information, the user gives an instruction to the television receiver 10 so that the additional information itself is displayed on the television receiver 10.
[0099]
In the case of these two examples, when the television receiver 10 is set to the additional information display mode, channel information indicating the channel currently being viewed is transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1. On the server 1 side, the program database 21 is searched based on this channel information sent from the television receiver 10, and at a specific time, the keyword type and product information databases 20A, 20B,. Is identified. Here, the specific time is a time designated by the information provider 2 such as a time when the program is switched, a time when the commercial broadcast is switched, or a specific time within a certain program.
[0100]
Accordingly, in the case of these two examples, the additional information acquired and displayed from the server 1 is automatically switched as the program or commercial changes.
[0101]
In these two examples, since the current time can be known on the server 1 side, if the channel information indicating the channel that the user is viewing is known on the server 1 side, this channel information and the current time are indicated. A keyword type can be specified by searching for a program from the program database 21 based on the time information. Therefore, in the above two examples, it is only necessary to transmit channel information indicating the channel currently being viewed from the television receiver 10 to the server 1.
[0102]
When the channel to be viewed is switched by the user, channel information indicating the switched channel is transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1 again.
[0103]
Furthermore, in the above description, a broadcast program is viewed in real time, and time information and channel information are transmitted from the television receiver 10 to the server 1, but this is not limited to this example. For example, when a program being broadcast is recorded on a storage medium such as a hard disk drive and the recorded medium is played back later to view the recorded program, or while recording the program on a hard disk drive or the like, the program is already recorded. The present invention can also be applied to so-called time-shifted reproduction in which a little past content is reproduced.
[0104]
In this case, time information indicating the time when the program was actually broadcast, that is, time information indicating the time when the program was recorded on the storage medium, and channel information indicating the channel where the program was broadcast, At the same time, it is recorded on storage media. The time information can be recorded along the time axis by, for example, a time code. When an instruction to acquire information on the program being viewed is given while viewing the program reproduced from the storage medium, the time information and the channel information stored together with the program on the storage medium are transmitted to the server 1. Is done. By doing in this way, the user can acquire additional information related to the program stored in the storage medium.
[0105]
As described above, according to the present invention, the information provider 2 can provide information based on the in-home information of the user according to the contents of the television broadcast. Therefore, the information provided by the information provider 2 is improved in value as an information source. That is, according to the present invention, since the original information according to the situation of each user is added to a highly public information medium such as television broadcasting, the effect as an information source can be improved. For example, during a commercial broadcast, it becomes possible to make a more familiar proposal in accordance with the situation of each user.
[0106]
Moreover, according to this invention, the time zone, the frequency | count, cost, etc. which provide information can be determined based on the information provider 2's own strategy. For example, consider adding specific data to a program or commercial sponsored by the information provider 2. With respect to these programs and commercials, it is possible to determine the time zone to be broadcast and the content of the program to be tied up based on the business strategy of the information provider 2 side. Therefore, it is possible to solve the dilution of information due to always equal opportunities, which has been a problem in the past, and to make the information provider 2 unique differentiation.
[0107]
Furthermore, since the time period, frequency, and cost of providing information can be determined based on the information provider 2's own strategy, such as campaigns for specific products and services, enclosure of users using TV programs, etc. Various sales promotion activities can be selected based on the judgment of the information provider 2 itself. For example, consider adding specific data to a program sponsored by the information provider 2. At this time, a certain degree of advertising effect can be expected by broadcasting the program. According to the present invention, in addition to the advertisement effect, information such as benefits and services only for members in addition to the program body that anyone can view can be obtained without any special operation by the user. Therefore, for example, effects such as increase in the number of members and fixation can be expected.
[0108]
In addition, according to the present invention, a service based on the user's in-home information is provided by utilizing the characteristics of a general-purpose information medium called television broadcasting, and information is provided to the user via the television receiver. is doing. Therefore, the information providing system according to the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of products and services. Therefore, the user can enjoy various additional information in an integrated manner on the screen of the television receiver without being caught by a specific product or service category depending on the characteristics of the specific home appliance. , Improve convenience.
[0109]
Furthermore, since users can receive proposals linked to TV programs one after another without making efforts to obtain and select information actively, there is no need for trouble and troublesome information acquisition such as information retrieval. Absent. In recent years, with the advent of digital broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and the like, television broadcasting has become multi-channel, and a wide variety of programs are provided to meet the needs of various users. Inevitably, the user selects and views a program in accordance with individual preferences, and therefore there is a high possibility that a product or service proposal related to the program is in accordance with the user's preference. That is, the user can obtain additional information according to his / her preference without any special operation.
[0110]
Furthermore, in the present invention, since information is provided based on the television broadcast being viewed by the user, there is no need to prepare a database including video and audio in the server 1 and transmit it to each user. Can be suppressed. In addition, since the network transmission bandwidth can be reduced accordingly, it is possible to reduce the investment amount of the user in the network environment.
[0111]
For example, suppose that during a commercial broadcast, the information sponsor 2 as a commercial sponsor provides the user with optimal information in accordance with each user's situation. In this case, the commercial itself has a high level of presentation ability due to the ingenuity of the commercial sponsor. Therefore, it can be said that it is not necessary to apply a special production cost to the information itself provided from the server 1. Moreover, since the part proposed to each user may be supplemented with information obtained from commercials, for example, only a small amount of character information can be sufficiently effective.
[0112]
Furthermore, since the video / audio playback function can use the function that the television receiver 10 originally has, it is not necessary to provide a separate video / audio playback function. Therefore, the interface on the user side of the information providing system according to the present invention is realized at a lower cost compared to the conventional method, for example, when a home appliance other than a television receiver must be provided with a video and audio playback function. Is possible.
[0113]
As a result, by using the present invention, the user can obtain various information providing services at low cost without complicated operations.
[0114]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in-home information in the user's home is collected based on the content of the television broadcast being viewed by the user, and is related to and collected from the content of the television broadcast being viewed. Information corresponding to the in-home information can be acquired. Since information suitable for each user is added to an information medium with high publicity such as television broadcasting, there is an effect that the value as an information source of television broadcasting can be improved.
[0115]
For example, in commercial broadcasting, there is an effect that proposals closer to the user can be made in accordance with the situation of each user.
[0116]
Moreover, according to this invention, the time zone, the frequency | count, cost, etc. which provide information can be determined based on the information provider 2's own strategy. For example, when specific data is added to a program or commercial sponsored by the information provider 2, the program or commercial indicates the time zone to be broadcast or the content of the tie-up program, etc. Can be determined based on the side's business strategy. Therefore, there is an effect that the information provider 2 can be uniquely differentiated.
[0117]
This also has the effect of solving the dilution of information due to the fact that the information acquisition opportunities are always uniform on the user side, which has been a conventional problem.
[0118]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the time zone, the number of times, the cost, etc. for providing information can be determined based on the strategy of the information provider 2 itself. It is possible to select various sales promotion activities based on the judgment of the information provider 2 such as enclosing the user. For example, in the case where specific data is added to a program sponsored by the information provider 2, in addition to the advertising effect that can be expected by broadcasting the program, in addition to the program itself that anyone can view, the member Thus, there is an effect that information such as only benefits and services can be obtained without any special operation by the user. Therefore, for example, there is an effect that the effect of increasing the number of members and fixing can be expected.
[0119]
In addition, according to the present invention, a service based on the user's in-home information is provided by utilizing the characteristics of a general-purpose information medium called television broadcasting, and information is provided to the user via the television receiver. is doing. Therefore, the information providing system according to the present invention has an effect that it can be applied to products and services of a wide range of genres.
[0120]
Therefore, the user can enjoy various additional information in an integrated manner on the screen of the television receiver without being caught by a specific product or service category depending on the characteristics of the specific home appliance. This has the effect of improving convenience.
[0121]
Furthermore, since users can receive proposals linked to TV programs one after another without making efforts to obtain and select information actively, there is no need for trouble and troublesome information acquisition such as information retrieval. There is no effect.
[0122]
In recent years, with the advent of digital broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and the like, television broadcasting has become multi-channel, and a wide variety of programs are provided to meet the needs of various users. Inevitably, the user selects and views a program in accordance with individual preferences, and therefore there is a high possibility that a product or service proposal related to the program is in accordance with the user's preference. In other words, there is an effect that the user can obtain additional information according to his / her preference without any special operation.
[0123]
Furthermore, in the present invention, since information is provided based on the television broadcast being viewed by the user, there is no need to prepare a database including video and audio in the server 1 and transmit it to each user. There is an effect that can be suppressed.
[0124]
In addition, the network transmission bandwidth can be reduced accordingly, so that it is possible to reduce the investment amount of the user in the network environment.
[0125]
For example, when a commercial sponsor who is the information provider 2 provides the user with the most suitable information according to each user's situation during the airing of the commercial, the commercial itself is advanced due to the creative ingenuity of the commercial sponsor. Has presentation ability. In the present invention, since it is possible to provide information according to each user's situation using such commercial broadcasting, it is not necessary to apply special production costs to the information itself provided from the server 1 to the user. There is.
[0126]
Moreover, since the part proposed to each user may be supplemented with information obtained from commercials, for example, there is an effect that a sufficient effect can be expected even with a small amount of character information.
[0127]
Furthermore, since the video / audio playback function can use the function that the television receiver 10 originally has, it is not necessary to provide a separate video / audio playback function. Therefore, the interface on the user side of the information providing system according to the present invention is realized at a lower cost compared to the conventional method, for example, when a video and audio playback function must be provided in a home appliance other than a television receiver. There is an effect that it is possible to do.
[0128]
As a result, by using the present invention, there is an effect that the user can obtain various information providing services at low cost without complicated operations.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an example of an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a server as a database server;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating an example of processing performed in the server and the television receiver by the information providing system.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an example of an information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an example of an information providing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a configuration of an example of a home network according to the prior art.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining display of an example of home information according to a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server, 2 ... Information provider, 3 ... WAN, 6 ... Home LAN, 7 ... Refrigerator, 8 ... Wireless tag, 10, 10 ', 10 "... -Television receiver, 11 ... Remote control commander, 12 ... Music CD, 13 ... Keyboard, 20A-20n ... Product information database, 21 ... Program database

Claims (8)

An information providing method in an information providing system having a terminal device for receiving television broadcasting and an information providing device for communicating with the terminal device,
A reception information acquisition step of acquiring reception information indicating a currently displayed television broadcast by the reception information acquisition means of the terminal device ;
When searching for one or a plurality of databases storing information corresponding to the contents of the television broadcast based on the received information acquired in the received information acquiring step by the keyword type specifying means of the information providing apparatus . A keyword type specifying step for specifying a keyword type indicating a keyword type,
A database specifying step of specifying at least one from the one or more databases based on the received information by the database specifying means of the information providing device ;
Information collecting means for collecting in-home information, which is information indicating an article owned by the user, that matches the keyword type associated with the received information in the keyword type specifying step by the information collecting means of the terminal device Steps,
A search step of searching the database specified in the database specifying step using the home information collected in the information collecting step as a keyword by the search means of the information providing device ;
The information display means of the terminal apparatus, information providing method comprising the steps of information display that displays information based on the search result of the step of the search. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The received information is information providing method is a channel information indicating the broadcast channel of the television broadcast. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The received information, and channel information indicating the broadcast channel of the television broadcasting, information providing method comprising the time information indicating the time when the television broadcast is received. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The home information, information providing method which the user is attached to an article owned. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The communication means of the terminal device can communicate with other devices connected to the network to which the terminal device is connected,
A local communication step of communicating with the other device by the communication means of the terminal device ;
The information collection step, information providing method for collecting the home information from the another device by the above steps local communication. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The terminal device further includes an article information communication unit that is directly attached to the article itself, stores information on the article, and communicates with an information transmission unit capable of transmitting the stored information .
Steps of the information collection, information providing method and the article information communication means and the information transmission means the information of the article obtained by performing the communication, collected as the home information. In the information provision method of Claim 1 ,
The terminal device includes input means for directly inputting the home information, and storage means for storing the home information input by the input means,
An input step of directly inputting the home information by the input means of the terminal device ;
A storage step of storing the home information input in the input step in the storage means of the terminal device ;
The information collection step, information providing method for collecting the home information stored in the storage means in steps of the storage. An information providing system having a terminal device for receiving television broadcasting and an information providing device for communicating with the terminal device,
One or a plurality of databases in which information according to the contents of the television broadcast provided in the information providing apparatus is stored;
Receiving information acquisition means for acquiring reception information indicating the currently displayed television broadcast provided in the terminal device ;
A keyword type specifying unit for specifying a keyword type indicating a type of a keyword when searching the database based on the received information acquired by the received information acquiring unit , the information providing apparatus ;
A database specifying means for specifying at least one from the one or a plurality of databases based on the received information provided in the information providing apparatus ;
An information collecting unit that collects in-home information, which is information indicating an article owned by a user, that matches the keyword type associated with the received information by the keyword type specifying unit provided in the terminal device ;
Search means for searching the database specified by the database specifying means with the home information collected by the information collecting means as a keyword provided in the terminal device ;
Included in the information display means, information providing system and an information display means for displaying information based on the search result by the search means.

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