JP4944574B2 - Program selection device, content selection device, program selection program, and content selection program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program selection device, a content selection device, a program selection program, and a content selection program suitable for a viewer to select a program or content such as television or radio, and in particular, a program or content performer or party. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a program selection device, a content selection device, a program selection program, and a content selection program suitable for selecting a program or content from characters.

  When viewing a television program or making a recording reservation, the decision is often made by looking at a program guide column displayed on a newspaper, magazine, the Internet, or a recording device. In such a case, there are many cases where a program is selected based on not only the program name but also a performer or a person who appears. At this time, it is convenient to use a search function using keywords for program guides using EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data transmitted using broadcasting radio waves or the Internet.

Therefore, a program selection device has been proposed in which EPG data sent from the broadcasting station side is received and stored at a relatively short cycle, and for example, a program is searched for using the keyword “performer” (for example, a patent). Reference 1).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-285638 (paragraph 0057, FIG. 17)

  According to this proposal, when the name of the performer is known, the name can be searched for as a keyword and a desired program can be selected. However, this proposal has the following problems.

  First of all, if you don't know or forget the exact name of the performer, the character of the program, or the commenter of the news program (hereinafter referred to as the performer), search for the program. I can't do it. This is because keywords cannot be input. It is possible to display a list of similar names by inputting similar names as keywords. However, not only actors (including actresses) but also performers appearing on television programs are diverse, such as announcers, singers, comedians, writers, painters, critics, athletes, doctors, and university professors. The number of people is huge. Therefore, it is very difficult to identify the corresponding performer from similar names. Therefore, if a name is selected in an uncertain state, a wrong program is selected, and not only the recorded program is wasted, but there is a problem that it is impossible to record or view the program that the user wants to view.

  If the performer is a foreigner, the name of Japanese reading is input as a keyword. Therefore, there is often a case where a person name completely different from the Japanese name recognized by him / her is converted into data. In such a case, it is often difficult to specify a “performer” by inputting a person's name in Japanese. Furthermore, there is a problem that “foreign performers” cannot be input in Japanese for foreigners who cannot write Japanese.

  As described above, the selection of a television program has been described. However, a desired program or content (hereinafter referred to as “the performer” or “character”) of a similar content such as a radio program or a movie distributed on the Internet or cable television. A similar problem occurs when searching or selecting a program.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a program selection device, a content selection device, a program selection program, and a content that can grasp the performers or parties of the program or content and accurately select the content of the program or content without depending on the name. To provide a selection program.

In the present invention , (a) program information receiving means for receiving a plurality of predetermined program information representing a predetermined related item including the name of a performer regarding the program, and (b) a program performer. a face information storage means for storing face information representing individually a plurality of faces per people's association with the name, a plurality of received program information receiving means and using said program information described above (c) The program search means for searching for a desired program from among the programs, and (d) one face information that matches the name of the performer and the contents of the program for each of the programs obtained by the search of the program search means . a face information retrieval means for retrieving from the face information storage means, (e) display means for displaying in association with the obtained program by the search of the program search means to said retrieved face information by the face information retrieval means , (To) and program selecting means for selecting a desired program from the displayed program in the display unit program selection device comprises.

Further, in the present invention, a content information receiving means for receiving content information representing the number of relevant items for a plurality of contents including the names of the parties involved in this respect (a) content, and said (b) Content a face data storage means for a face of a person who can be a party in association with the name stores face information representing individually, the plurality of content received in the content information receiving means described above using the content information mentioned above (c) Content search means for searching for desired content from among the contents, and (d) one face out of a plurality of face information that matches the name of the party related to the content for each of the contents obtained by the search of the content search means a face information retrieval means for retrieving from the face information storage means for the according to the content of information content, E) display means for displaying in association with the obtained content by the search for content search means that said retrieved face information by the face information retrieval means, the desired content from the content displayed on (to) the display means The content selection device comprises a content selection means for selecting .

Further, in the present invention , as a program selection program, (a) a program information receiving process for receiving, for a plurality of programs, program information representing some predetermined related items including names of performers regarding the program; (B) a program search process for searching for a desired program from a plurality of programs received by the program information reception process using the program information; and (c) a program obtained by the search by the program search process. Facial information that stores face information that individually represents one face information that matches the name of the performer and the content of the program, and each face of the person who can be the performer of the program is associated with the name. A face information search process for searching from the storage means; and (d) the face information searched by the face information search process is associated with the program obtained by the search by the program search process described above. A display process of displaying Te, and executes a program selection process of selecting a desired program from the programs displayed on the display process (e).

Furthermore, in the present invention , as a content selection program , the computer receives (a) content information reception processing for receiving a plurality of related content items including the names of parties related to the content. (B) a content search process for searching for a desired content from a plurality of contents using the content information received by the content information reception process; and (c) each of the contents obtained by the search by the content search process. One face information among a plurality of face information that matches the name of the party related to the content is individually associated with the name of the face of the above-mentioned party who can be the party of the content according to the content content From the face information storage means for storing the represented face information (D) a display process for displaying the face information searched by the face information search process in association with the content obtained by the search of the content search process, and (e) the display process. And a content selection process for selecting a desired content from the content displayed by.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a desired program or content can be searched using program information related to the program or content information related to the content without knowing the names of the performers of the program or the parties of the content. The face information such as a face photograph or a portrait of the performer of the program or the party of the content is displayed in association with the candidate program or content obtained by the above. Therefore, even when the user does not know the person including the name at all, the user can read the human characteristics of the person from the face information, and can infer the contents of the program or the content. Also, when the name is a foreigner, it is easy to search even if the name itself is difficult to remember and difficult to search.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of the configuration of a program selection apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention. The program selection apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a main control unit 101. The main control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102 and a main control unit memory 103 in which a control program executed by the CPU 102 is stored. The main control unit 101 is connected to the following units in the program selection apparatus 100, and performs overall control of these units. However, at least a part of these parts can be realized by software by the control program described above.

  The EPG information receiving unit 105 receives EPG information through a television broadcasting station or the Internet. The received EPG information is stored in the EPG information storage unit 106. EPG information is sent in a relatively short cycle. Therefore, for example, even when a baseball broadcast is extended, the changed program information is stored in the EPG information storage unit 106 and replaced with the previous EPG information.

  The profile information database unit 107 is configured so that the program selection device 100 can search for a program performer's face photo as a program search target. This is a database of profile information. The EPG information storage unit 106 and the profile information database unit 107 can share a storage medium such as one hard disk (not shown), for example. Also, the main control unit memory 103 can be used in some cases.

  The operation data input unit 108 is a part where a user who operates the program selection device 100 inputs various data for operation and the like. The operation data input unit 108 can be configured by, for example, a keyboard (not shown) or a mouse as a pointing device. The display unit 109 is a part that displays visual data such as a program guide, and is configured as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display. Of course, a CRT (CathodeRay Tube) can also be used.

  The operation data input unit 108 and the display unit 109 are circuit parts that receive search conditions from the user and pass them to the profile information search unit 111 or present the EPG information with profile generated by the profile-added EPG information generation unit 112 to the user. The interface unit 113 is configured. In the present embodiment, information for selecting a program is generated by adding facial information such as a photograph of a performer's face or a portrait as part of the profile.

  The EPG information search unit 114 searches the EPG information stored in the EPG information storage unit 106 using the date / time, the time zone, the performer, or a plurality of these given from the face unit 113 as keys. The profile information search unit 111 creates a performer name list from the program information list given from the EPG information search unit 114, and includes profile information including face information stored in the profile information database unit 107 using the performer as a key. Search for. The EPG information with profile generating unit 112 generates EPG information with profile so that the user can select a program from the face information of the performer based on the program information list and profile information given from the profile information search unit 111. It is like that.

  FIG. 2 shows a part of the stored contents of the EPG information storage unit. The EPG information storage unit 106 stores all the EPG information received by the EPG information receiving unit 105 or EPG information of a program in a range reserved as a program that the user may watch in advance.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the EPG information storage unit 106 includes a first program (channel: 1ch, time: 12:00 to 1pm, performers: performer A, performer B, performer C), first 2 programs (channel: 3ch, time: 1 to 2pm, performers: performer A, performer D, performers E), 3rd program (channel: 4ch, time: 1pm to 2pm) , Performer: Performer B, Performer F, Performer G), 4th program (Channel: 6ch, Time: 2 to 3pm, Performer: Performer C, Performer H, Performer I) The fifth program (channel: 8ch, time: 3 to 4 pm, performer: performer J, performer K, performer L) is stored as the latest updated data.

  FIG. 3 shows a part of the contents of the profile information database section. In the profile information database unit 107, a profile for each person who may be displayed as a performer in the program selection device 100 shown in FIG. In this example, the profile is described by “name” divided into items of “face information”, “occupation” and “other profile”.

Specifically, for “name” A, “face information” is described as “PH _A ”, “profession” as “actor”, and “other profile” as “PF _A ”. Here, “PH _A ” of “face information” is a photograph of a person's own face or a portrait that the “name” A has licensed to the manufacturer of the program selection device 100, and the “name” A can be easily obtained by a general user. The condition is that it can be determined. Caricatures may be used as long as these conditions are met. Depending on the program, an animated character may appear as a moderator or assistant. In such a case, the “face information” is the face of the animation character itself or a characteristic overall image.

“Occupation” has almost the same meaning as the title and does not necessarily refer to a job that earns a living. In addition to “actors”, if there are multiple “occupations” known about the person, such as “insect collectors” or “writers”, these are also worth mentioning in the profile as keywords. As “PF _A ” as “other profile”, general profile information such as gender, height, age, and birthplace of “name” A is used. With respect to these other profiles, items that the person himself refrains from disclosure from the viewpoint of privacy are excluded from the items described in the profile information database unit 107. As for “face information”, for example, when “name” A refuses publication or provision, the information is not posted in the profile information database unit 107. For example, it is active as a voice actor, but the face itself is not disclosed. Also in this case, the fact that “face information” is not disclosed can be searched as a feature of the person.

Regarding “name” B, “face information” is described as “PH _B ”, “profession” is described as “singer”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _B ”. Regarding “name” C, “face information” is described as “PH _C ”, “occupation” is described as “announcer”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _C ”. Regarding “name” D, “face information” is described as “PH _D ”, “occupation” is described as “actor”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _D ”. Regarding “name” E, “face information” is described as “PH _E ”, “occupation” is described as “comedian”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _E ”. Regarding “name” F, “face information” is described as “PH _F ”, “profession” as “lawyer”, and “other profile” as “PF _F ”. Regarding “name” G, “face information” is described as “PH _G ”, “occupation” is described as “singer”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _G ”. For “Name” H, “Face Information” is described as “PH _H ”, “Occupation” as “Actor”, and “Other Profile” as “PF _H ”. Regarding “name” I, “face information” is described as “PH _I ”, “profession” is described as “singer”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _I ”. Regarding “name” J, “face information” is described as “PH _J ”, “occupation” is described as “sports player”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _J ”. Regarding “name” K, “face information” is described as “PH _K ”, “occupation” is described as “writer”, and “other profile” is described as “PF _K ”. Regarding “name” L, “face information” is described as “PH _L ”, “profession” as “actor”, and “other profile” as “PF _L ”.

  4 and 5 show the flow of processing for the user to display EPG information with face information on the display unit in the program selection apparatus of this embodiment. This process is realized by the CPU 102 in the main control unit 101 of the program selection apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 executing a control program (program selection program) stored in the main control unit memory 103.

  First, in a state where a search condition input screen for program search is displayed on the display unit 109 (step S201 in FIG. 4), the user operates the operation data input unit 108 to input program search conditions. The input search condition is stored in a work memory area (not shown) in the main control unit memory 103, and the contents are reflected on the search condition input screen of the display unit 109. When the input of the search conditions is completed, the user presses a search start button (not shown) of the operation data input unit 108 to instruct the start of the search (step S202: Y). Then, the search conditions stored at that time in the working memory area are supplied to the EPG information search unit 114 (step S203).

FIG. 6 illustrates the first stage of the search process. For example, it is assumed that the following content is input as the search condition 121 from the interface unit 113 (see FIG. 1).
(A) Broadcast time of program: 1 to 3 pm (b) Occupation of performer: Actor

  Returning to FIG. The time zone and the occupation of the performer as the search condition 121 input by the user are given to the EPG information search unit 114 (step S203).

  The EPG information search unit 114 checks whether or not EPG information corresponding to the date and time and time zone input as the search condition 121 is stored in the EPG information storage unit 106 (step S204). That is, the EPG information search unit 114 searches the EPG information storage unit 106 in a given broadcast time zone (1 pm to 3 pm), and sets “second” from 1 pm to 2 pm as corresponding EPG information. Information about “program”, “third program” from 1 to 2 pm, and “fourth program” from 2 to 3 pm is extracted. And based on these, the program information list 122 (FIG. 6) is created (FIG. 4, 6 step S205), and this is given to the profile information search part 111 (FIG. 6) (step S206). At this time, the “actor” as the occupation of the performer given from the interface unit 113 is also given to the profile information search unit 111.

  FIG. 7 illustrates the second stage of the search process. The profile information search unit 111 extracts the performer names from the program information list 122 given from the EPG information search unit 114 and creates the performer name list 123 (step S207 in FIGS. 4 and 7). Specifically, the profile information search unit 111 extracts the performer name from the information about the second program to the fourth program program given from the EPG information search unit 114, and performs the performer A as the performer name list 123. Performer name list 123 regarding performer B, performer C, performer D, performer E, performer F, performer G, performer H, performer I is created.

  Next, the profile information search unit 111 searches for profile information including a face photograph stored in the profile information database unit 107 using the “name” of the performer in the performer name list 123 as a key (step S208). That is, the content 124 of the “profession” in the profile information searched for is compared with the “actor” that is the profession of the performer given from the EPG information search unit 114, and all the matches are extracted, and the profile information list 125 is extracted. Is created (step S209 in FIG. 5). Specifically, profile information including the face photos of performers A, D, and H from the performer name list 123 is extracted with the content 124 of “profession” as “actor”, and the profile information list 125 is created.

  If there is no match, it is not shown in FIG. 5, but a search error with a message “There is no program in which the occupation appears in the specified time zone.” Display is performed. Even when there is no program in the corresponding time zone in step S204 (N), a similar error display is performed (step S210 in FIG. 4).

  When the profile information list 125 is created in step S209 in this way, it is given to the profile-attached EPG information generating unit 112 together with the program information list 122 (FIG. 5, FIG. 7 step S211). In this example, the profile information search unit 111 includes profile information including the face photos of the performers A, D, and H as the profile information list 125, and the program information list 122 given from the EPG information search unit 114. Information about the second program, the third program, and the fourth program is provided to the EPG information generating unit with profile 112.

  FIG. 8 illustrates the final stage as the third stage of the search process. In the program information list 122 sent to the profile-attached EPG information generation unit 112, there are a total of nine people as three performers for the second program, the third program, and the fourth program, respectively. The EPG information generating unit with profile 112 extracts profile information for each of the three performers A, D, and H described in the performer name list 123 out of these nine performers, and Generates EPG information 127 with a profile from which programs can be selected (step S212).

The EPG information with profile 127 includes face information PH _A , PH _D , and PH _{H of} performers A, performers D, and performers H. Therefore, the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 1 displays the profile-attached EPG information generation unit 112 on the display unit 109 of the interface unit 113 (step S213).

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which EPG information with profile is displayed on the display unit. Each actor's face photo and caricature are displayed along with the names of those performers in the “Actors” column. For example, you can see that two actors appear in a cooking program called “World Cuisine” from 1 pm to 2 pm. The user can identify the performers of the program without having to think of each actor's face. Intuitively, the atmosphere of each program can be inferred to be, for example, an interesting program or a program related to a criminal case. Therefore, the user can quickly select a desired program from the contents of the face information displayed on the display unit 109.

  Of course, in this embodiment, other information such as the name of the performer and the name of the program to appear is also displayed. Therefore, the user can make a viewing schedule or make a recording reservation while referring to other information.

<Deformability of invention>
In the embodiment described above, the present invention is used to select performers in a television program, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to radio programs, cable television, programs distributed using satellites, or various contents on the Internet.

  Furthermore, although the name is displayed together with the performer's face information in the embodiment, only the face information can be selected. Furthermore, face information obtained by the user through a unique route can be registered in the profile information database unit 107 and replaced therewith. For example, a user can purchase a face photo collection of celebrities and actresses via the Internet and use it to display face information. This makes the selection of program information more enjoyable. The names in the present invention are not limited to individual names such as person names, nicknames, and character names, or single names such as animals, but group names such as when a singer forms a group and uses a unified name. The name of the combination is also included.

  It is also possible to prepare a plurality of face information to be displayed for each performer according to emotions and ages and to select them on the apparatus side. For example, face information divided into emotions can be displayed separately depending on the contents of the program. Whether each program corresponds to emotions can be incorporated in the EPG data in advance, or a dedicated site can be set up to collect viewer ratings by program or content. In addition, the program selection device 100 may connect to the Internet when necessary to capture such information.

  Age-specific face information is valuable as information that tells you in what age the performers are performing and in what age they are playing when old movies, dramas, or documentaries are broadcast. is there. Age-specific face information can also be incorporated in EPG data in advance, and data indicating the age of performers for each movie, drama, or documentary can be imported from a dedicated site. In particular, for famous movies and dramas, the names of the performers identified and the names of these movies and dramas may be searched on the Internet together with age information, and estimated from the data obtained thereby. .

  Of course, when a photograph of the performer's face can be used from such a program such as a movie or drama, it is possible to perform a more realistic program search by extracting this and using it as face information. In such a case, the profile information database unit 107 does not need to be limitedly interpreted as storing fixed information, including the case of purchasing a face photo collection.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, EPG data is associated with face information such as a face photograph, but it is natural that the information is not limited to EPG data in a narrow sense as long as it is information that associates a program or content with its performer or party.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, the candidate performers are first extracted by “time zone” and then extracted by “actor” of occupation, but these are obtained by taking the logical product of “time zone” and “actor”. Of course, it is also possible to extract at once.

It is a block diagram showing the outline | summary of the structure of the program selection apparatus in one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing a part of memory content of an EPG information storage part in a present Example. It is explanatory drawing showing a part of content of the profile information database part of a present Example. It is the flowchart showing the first half of the process for a user to display EPG information with face information on the display part in the program selection apparatus of a present Example. It is the flowchart showing the second half of the process for a user to display the EPG information with face information on the display part in the program selection apparatus of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the 1st step of the search process in a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the 2nd step of the search process in a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the 3rd step of the search process in a present Example. It is the top view which showed an example by which the EPG information with a profile was displayed on the display part in the present Example.

Explanation of symbols

100 Program Selection Device 101 Main Control Unit 102 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 Main control part memory 105 EPG information receiving part 106 EPG information storage part 107 Profile information database part 108 Operation data input part 109 Display part 111 Profile information search part 112 EPG information generation part with profile 113 Interface part 114 EPG information search part 121 Search conditions 122 Program information list 123 Performer name list 124 Contents of “profession” 125 Profile information list 127 EPG information with profile

Claims (4)

Program information receiving means for receiving, for a plurality of programs, program information representing some predetermined related items including names of performers regarding the program;
Face information storage means for storing face information individually representing a plurality of faces per person who can be performers of the program in association with names;
Program search means for searching for a desired program from a plurality of programs received by the program information receiving means using the program information;
Face information search means for searching the face information storage means for one face information that matches the name of the performer and the content of the program for each of the programs obtained by the search of the program search means;
Display means for displaying the face information searched by the face information search means in association with the program obtained by the search of the program search means ;
A program selection device comprising: program selection means for selecting a desired program from the programs displayed on the display means . Content information receiving means for receiving, for a plurality of contents, content information representing several related items including the names of parties related to the contents;
Face information storage means for storing face information individually representing a face of a person who can be a party of the content in association with a name;
Content search means for searching for desired content from a plurality of contents received by the content information receiving means using the content information;
For each piece of content obtained by the search by the content search means, one face information is searched from the face information storage means according to the content contents from among a plurality of face information that matches the names of the parties related to the content . Face information search means;
Display means for displaying the face information searched by the face information search means in association with the content obtained by the search of the content search means ;
A content selection device comprising: content selection means for selecting desired content from the content displayed on the display means . Computer
A program information receiving process for receiving, for a plurality of programs, program information representing some predetermined related items including names of performers for the program;
A program search process for searching for a desired program from a plurality of programs received by the program information reception process using the program information;
For each of the programs obtained by the search by the program search process, one face information that matches the name of the performer and the contents of the program is associated with a plurality of faces per person who can be a performer of the program. Face information search processing for searching from face information storage means for storing face information individually represented by
A display process for displaying the face information searched by the face information search process in association with the program obtained by the search by the program search process;
Program selection processing for selecting a desired program from the programs displayed in the display processing
And a program selection program. Computer
A content information receiving process for receiving a plurality of pieces of content information representing several related items including names of parties related to the content;
A content search process for searching for a desired content from a plurality of contents using the content information received by the content information reception process;
For each piece of content obtained by the search by the content search process, one face information out of a plurality of face information that matches the name of the party related to the content can be the party of the content according to the content. Face information search processing for searching from face information storage means for storing face information individually representing a person's face in association with a name;
A display process for displaying the face information searched by the face information search process in association with the content obtained by the search of the content search process;
Content selection processing for selecting desired content from the content displayed by this display processing
And a content selection program .

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