JPH0962687A - Information processor and information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To acquire desired information without requiring any frequent complicated operation by a user and to reduce that information as desired by providing prescribed information from accepted information based on information acquisition conditions contained in a generated template and displaying that provided information. SOLUTION: A template generating/changing part 202 generates the template having the information acquisition conditions showing the conditions for providing the desired information from the various information of images, sound and characters or the like. Based on the information acquisition conditions contained in the template generated by the template generating/changing part 202, an information data possessing part 201 acquires the prescribed information from the information accepted from information providing service organization. The information provided by the information data acquiring part 201 is displayed on a display device 107. Therefore, the user of information processor can always acquire the desired information from the information providing service organization by generating the template.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for handling multimedia information including images including moving images and still images, voices, texts, and the like. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of obtaining information as desired from an information providing service organization and reproducing the information as desired.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a broadband ISDN network has been used to
It is known that multimedia information from moving images to texts can be handled in an integrated manner based on TM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode).
Currently, research on how to handle this multimedia information is under way, and it is expected that handling conventional video will significantly change the conventional broadcasting system.

In connection with such research, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-5
As described in Japanese Patent No. 4646, "multi-media interactive broadcasting system" provided with means for performing high-performance processing of advertisement and easy access to desired program, or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3
No. 167666, No. 167666, which provides a means for promptly searching and providing only the information required by the user at the time of the user's request based on the contents of the information DB which changes from moment to moment. "Providing method" is proposed.

In addition, a network environment is rapidly established in which information processing apparatuses in the office or between the information processing apparatus and a portable terminal outside the office are connected and information can be transmitted between them. Nowadays, users of information processing devices or mobile terminals can easily access various databases and obtain necessary information using public lines.

[0005]

However, when the above-mentioned technique is used, in addition to the multimedia information provided by a newspaper company, a broadcasting station, an information providing service institution, etc., information stored in various databases can be used. , The amount of information available to each of the users is very large. For this reason, the user needs to search the enormous information that can be used by him / herself, for example, by operating the information processing apparatus, and obtain the desired information from these. Generally, the operation for this search is complicated, and there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to obtain desired information.

There is also a problem that the user cannot obtain a desired image when the image related to the acquired information is reproduced on the display device provided in the information processing device.

According to the present invention, desired information can be obtained without requiring complicated operations by the user.
An object is to provide an information processing device capable of reproducing the acquired information as desired.

[0008]

The object of the present invention is to provide an image,
An information processing apparatus that receives various information from an information providing service organization that provides information including at least one of voice and characters via a communication line, and reproduces the received information, from the various information described above, A template generation unit that generates a template having an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining desired information, and a predetermined number from the received information based on the information acquisition condition included in the template generated by the template generation unit. This is achieved by an information processing apparatus including information acquisition means for obtaining information and display means for displaying the information obtained by the information acquisition means.

[0009] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the template includes a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the information obtained by the information acquisition means, and the template generation means generates the reproduction procedure. And a data generating means for generating reproducing data including the information obtained by the information acquiring means and the reproducing procedure, and the displaying means based on the reproducing data generated by the data generating means. And a reproducing means for generating image data to be given to.

In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, there is further provided selection means for selecting a predetermined template from a plurality of templates each of which is composed of a set of the information acquisition condition and the reproduction procedure.

In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the template includes a screen specification data table indicating a pattern of a screen format to be displayed on the display means, and the template generating means stores the screen specification data table. The data generating means is configured to generate the reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquiring means, the reproduction procedure, and the screen specification data table, and the reproducing means. Is configured to generate image data based on the format of the screen included in the screen specification data table.

[0012] In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the information acquisition condition includes an information acquisition procedure indicating a procedure for obtaining desired information from the various information, and the information acquisition means includes the information acquisition procedure. According to the method, the predetermined information is obtained from the received information.

In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the information acquisition condition further includes first data indicating whether or not the information to be acquired includes a video, and second data indicating whether or not the information includes audio. Third that indicates whether data or text is included
Of at least one of the data, and the information acquisition means is configured to obtain the information according to any of the first data to the third data.

[0014] In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the template further includes a keyword table having at least one keyword used by the information acquisition unit to obtain information.

In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the information acquisition means has a link information table creation means for creating a link information table for associating the various information, and the information acquisition means has the link information table. Is configured to obtain information by referring to.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a video,
An information providing device that has a database that stores information including at least one of voice and characters and that provides information in the database, and an information processing device that is connected to the information providing device by a communication line are provided. And between the information providing device and the information processing device via the communication line,
In an information providing system configured to transmit information, the information processing apparatus creates a template having information acquisition conditions indicating conditions for obtaining predetermined information from various information provided by the information providing apparatus. A template generating unit for generating, an information acquiring unit for acquiring predetermined information from the given information based on an information acquiring condition included in the template generated by the template generating unit, and information acquired by the information acquiring unit. And display means for displaying.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention,
An information providing device that has a database storing information including at least one of video, audio, and characters, and is connected to the information providing device by a communication line and the information in the database. Is provided to the first information processing apparatus that functions as a server, has a display unit, and is connected to the first information processing apparatus via a communication line. In an information providing system including a second information processing device functioning as a server, which is configured to give data related to given information, the first information processing device is configured by the information providing device. It has an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining predetermined information from a variety of given information, and a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the obtained information. A template generating means for generating a plate, according to the information acquisition condition included in the template generated by the template generating means,
The second information includes an information acquisition unit that obtains predetermined information from the given information, and a data generation unit that generates reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquisition unit and the reproduction procedure. The processing device has reproduction means for receiving the reproduction data and for generating image data to be given to the display means based on a reproduction procedure included in the reproduction data.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information providing device having a database storing information including at least one of video, audio and characters, and providing information in the database. In an information providing system including a display unit and an information processing apparatus which is connected to the information providing apparatus by a communication line and is provided with information in the database, the information providing apparatus is stored in the database. Template generating means for generating a template having an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining predetermined information and a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the obtained information, and the template. Predetermined information from the given information according to the information acquisition condition included in the template generated by the generation means. And a data generating unit for generating reproducing data including the information obtained by the information acquiring unit and the reproducing procedure, wherein the information processing device receives the reproducing data and reproduces the reproducing data. It has reproducing means for generating image data to be given to the display means based on a reproducing procedure included in the use data.

[0019]

According to the present invention, predetermined information can be obtained in accordance with the information acquisition condition included in the template.
By creating the template, it becomes possible to always obtain desired information from the information from the information providing service organization.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined image is obtained from the obtained information according to the reproduction procedure included in the template. By creating a template including the above, it is possible to always obtain a desired image from the information from the information providing service organization.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the selection means for selecting a predetermined template from a plurality of templates is provided, the user selects desired template to obtain desired information. You can see it in the image.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this information providing system connects a plurality of information processing devices 12, 14, 16 and information processing devices 12 to 16 to each other, and makes it possible to transmit and receive data between them. Local Area Network) 18. Further, in this information providing system, a modem 20 is connected to each of the information processing devices 12, 14, 16 and an information providing device (not shown) provided in the broadcasting station 24 via the network 22, Alternatively, it is possible to send and receive data to and from an information providing device (not shown) provided in another information providing service organization 26.
In FIG. 1, only the modem 20 connected to the information processing device 16 is shown.

The information processing unit 16 is a central processing unit (CP).
U) 101, main memory (MM) 102, video memory (VRAM) 103, keyboard (KB) 104, mouse (MS) 105, communication control unit (CDRV) 10
6, a display device (CRT) 107, a hard disk device (HDD) 108, and a bus 109 interconnecting these devices.

A central processing unit (CPU) 101 executes various programs stored in a main memory (MM) 102 and controls peripheral devices 102 to 108.
Further, under the control of the CPU 101, the video memory (VR
An image corresponding to the data temporarily stored on the (AM) 103 is displayed on the screen of the display device (CRT) 107.

The keyboard (KB) 104 and the mouse (MS) 105 give predetermined data to the central processing unit 101 according to the input by the user.

The communication control unit (CDRV) 106 is
Data is transmitted / received to / from other information processing devices 12 and 14 via the LAN 110.

The hard disk device (HDD) 108 is
The communication control unit 106 stores the data given via the LAN 110, the data given to the modem 20 via the network 22, and the like. Each of the components 102 to 108 included in the information processing apparatus 16 and C
Data transfer with the PU 101 is performed via the bus 109.

The broadcasting station 24 is an information providing service institution that provides news and various information to users at all times or at predetermined times. That is, an information providing device (not shown) provided in the broadcasting station 24 transmits predetermined data to the information processing devices 14 and 16 via the network 22 and the connected modems, respectively. Note that the modem 20
May send and receive data instead of the broadcasting station 24, or further, with an information providing device (not shown) such as a newspaper company.

The information providing service organization 26 is equipped with an information providing device (not shown) for transmitting various information in response to a user's request and the like, a personal computer network, BBS, N.
It is an organization that provides information and communication services such as IFTY.
The information providing service organization is not limited to this, and may be a company or a predetermined group. In this case, the information providing device has an information transmitting / receiving device and a local database provided in the company or in a predetermined group.

The network 22 is a line (for example, a line for transmitting data provided from the information providing device provided in the broadcasting station 24 or the information service 26 to the modem 20).
ISDN, telephone line, etc.). The network is not limited to a wired line, but may be a wireless line, or may be a unique line that is not a public line (for example,
It may be a private line within the company).

The other information processing devices 12 and 14 also have the same configuration as the above-described information processing device 16.

Next, C of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment
Functions of the PU 101 and components related to the PU 101 will be described. This function is realized by the CPU 101 reading the software stored in the hard disk device (HDD) 108 in the information processing apparatus and then read and stored in the predetermined area of the main memory (MM) 102. . Here, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a CPU and its related components for obtaining desired information from given information and recording it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 101 is given from the information providing devices of the broadcasting station 24 and the information providing service organization 26 via the network 22 and stored in the hard disk device (HDD) 108, or the network 22. Information data acquisition unit 201 that reads out various data related to multimedia information such as video, text, and audio given to the modem 20 via the information data acquisition unit 201 and the information data acquisition unit 201 The template data 210 including an information acquisition procedure for extracting a data set desired by the operator of the information processing device and a reproduction procedure for reproducing the data set acquired by the operator in a desired format are provided. Templates that generate or change the contents of these template data 210 The instruction given from the composition / modification unit 202 and the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 is accepted and given to the template generation / modification unit 202, and the image data related to the instruction is displayed on the display device 107 via the video memory 103. Substantial data 22 for obtaining a desired image on the screen of the display device 107 based on the set of the display operation processing unit 203 to be output and the data acquired by the information data acquisition unit 201.
It has a substantive data generation unit 204 for generating 0 and a recording unit 205 for recording substantive data generated by the substantive data generation unit 205 in the hard disk device 108.

The substantive data 220 includes, for example, data indicating the format of an image to be displayed on the screen of the display device 107, which will be described in detail later.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a CPU for reading out the substantive data 220 stored in the hard disk device and giving it to the display device 107 and the components related thereto. As shown in FIG. 3, the CPU 101 first reads the substance data 220 generated by the substance data generation unit 204 and stored in the hard disk device 108, and outputs it to the substance data interpretation unit 302 described later. At the same time, based on the reproduction control unit 301 that generates image data based on the data given from the substantive data interpretation unit 302 and transmits this to the information output unit 303, and the substantive data 220 given from the reproduction control unit 301, An entity interpreting unit 302 for generating the data of the above and giving it to the reproduction control unit 301, and an information output unit 303 for outputting the image data given by the reproduction control unit 301 to the display device 107 via the video memory 103. have.

Next, the template creation / modification unit 2 shown in FIG.
The template generated by 02 will be described in more detail. Here, FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining the template data 210.

The template data 210 includes an information management table 400. In the information management table 400, reproduction procedure ID data 411 for specifying a reproduction procedure indicating how to reproduce the obtained information and whether or not the image data to be reproduced includes a still image. Still image containing data 412 indicating, the moving image containing data 413 indicating whether the image data to be reproduced includes a moving image, audio addition data 414 indicating whether audio should be added to the image to be reproduced, and should be reproduced. Text additional data 41 indicating whether text should be added to the image
5, additional information data 416 indicating whether or not there is information to be further added to the image to be reproduced, information acquisition procedure ID data 4 for specifying an information acquisition procedure indicating a procedure for acquiring information
17. Keyword I for specifying a keyword table that stores keywords included in the data to be acquired
D data 418 and screen specification ID data 419 for specifying a screen specification table indicating the configuration and format of the screen when reproducing the obtained information are included. In the present embodiment, these information management table 40
Of the data included in 0, still image containing data 412,
Moving image containing data 413, audio additional data 414, text additional data 415, information acquisition procedure ID data 417,
The keyword ID data constitutes the information acquisition condition data, and the information obtained by the information data acquisition unit 201 is determined by these data.

In FIG. 4, the information management table 4
Still image containing data 412 and moving image containing data 41 in 00
A circle (circle) such as 3 indicates that a still image or a moving image is included in the information to be acquired, while an x (cross) indicates that the information is not included in the information to be acquired. There is.

The template data 210 includes a plurality of reproduction procedures 420-1 to 420-m, one of which is specified by the reproduction procedure ID data 411. Each of the reproduction steps 420-1 to 420-m is program data that describes a procedure for actually reproducing the data acquired by the information data acquisition unit 201 in FIG. 2 on the screen of the display device 107. is there.
The reproduction procedures 420-1 to 420-m can be generated or changed as desired by the user operating the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 and operating the template creation / modification unit 202.

The template data 210 also includes a plurality of information acquisition procedures 430-1 to 430-n, one of which is specified by the information acquisition procedure ID data 417. This information acquisition procedure 430-1 to 430-
n is a broadcasting station 24 via the network 22.
Of the data provided by the information providing service institution 26 or the information providing service institution 26 to obtain predetermined data, and obtain the substantive data 2
20 is program data describing a procedure for generating 20. This information acquisition procedure 430-1 to 430-
The n can also be generated or changed as desired by the user operating the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 and operating the template creation / modification unit 202.

Further, the template data 210 includes at least one or more keyword data tables 440-1 to 440-p, one of which is specified by the keyword ID data 418. Each of the keyword data tables 440-1 to 440-p has a set of data including one or more keywords. The keyword data tables 440-1 to 440-p can also be generated or changed as desired by operating the template creating / changing unit 202.

The template data 210 also includes screen specification data tables 450-1 to 450-q, one of which is specified by the screen specification ID data 419. Each of the screen specification data tables 450-1 to 450-q includes a pattern in the form of one or more images displayed on the screen of the display device 107 according to the reproduction procedure 420. Here, depending on the format of the image, for example, in which part of the screen the character corresponding to the text data should be displayed, or in which part the moving image or the still image should be displayed.

The template data including these data is stored in a predetermined area of the hard disk, read out as needed, and temporarily stored in the main memory 102.

One reproduction procedure 420-i (1≤i≤ is specified by such reproduction procedure ID data 411.
m), still image containing data 412, moving image containing data 41
3, voice additional data 414, text additional data 41
5, additional information data 416, acquisition information procedure ID data 4
One information acquisition procedure 430-j specified by 17
(1 ≦ j ≦ n), the keyword data table 440-r (1 ≦ r ≦ which is specified by the keyword ID data.
p) and one screen specification table 450-s (1 ≦ s ≦ q) specified by the screen specification ID data 419.
One template is composed of. That is,
By determining the reproduction procedure ID data 411, one corresponding reproduction procedure 420-i and still image containing data 41
2, moving image containing data 413, audio additional data 414, text additional data 415, additional information data 416, one information acquisition procedure 430-j specified by acquisition information procedure ID data 417, keyword data specified by keyword ID data Table 440-r, and
One screen specification table 450-s specified by the screen specification ID data 419 is determined.

Further, the user can operate the keyboard 104 and the mouse 105 to operate the template creating / changing unit 202 to create a template including a desired combination of the reproduction procedure and the information acquisition procedure. is there.

Next, the information data acquisition unit 201 shown in FIG.
The link information table included in the substantive data obtained based on the data obtained by will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

The link information table 460 is generated to correlate the data acquired by the information data acquisition unit 201. As shown in FIG. 4B, the link information table 460 includes the time data 461 indicating the time when the data is acquired, the provider data 462 indicating the data provider, and the hard disk device 108 in which the acquired data is stored. Content data pointer 46 indicating an area
3 and a related data pointer 464 indicating an area in the hard disk device 108 in which data related to the data is stored.

The structure of the substantive data generated by the substantive data generation unit 204 using the template described above will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the entity data.

As shown in FIG. 5, the entity data 220 is
User interface data 510 including screen specification data 511 indicating a screen pattern for displaying the data acquired by the information data acquisition unit 201 on the screen of the display device 107, and reproduction procedure data 5 indicating a reproduction procedure.
20 and acquisition information data 530 that is data acquired by the information data acquisition unit 201.
Here, the screen specification data 511 is the screen specification table 4
Playback procedure data 5 corresponding to the data constituting 50-s
20 corresponds to the data that constitutes the reproduction procedure 420-i. The acquisition information data 530 corresponds to the data included in the link information table 460 shown in FIG.

The operation of the information providing system provided with the information processing apparatus thus configured will be described below. First, with reference to FIG. 6, images, sounds, which can be obtained from the broadcasting station 24, the information providing service organization 26, and the like,
Multimedia data including text etc. will be described.

The information providing source, that is, the information provided by the broadcasting station 24, the information providing service organization 26, etc., includes:
One-way information 610 and two-way information 620 are included.

The one-way information 610 is provided by the provider in real time or at a predetermined time to the contracted user. This one-way information 610 includes real-time news 61 such as extra news in an electronic newspaper or emergency news included in a television program.
1, or a pack news 61 including a morning program, an evening edition, a weekly and monthly publication in an electronic newspaper provided every predetermined time, or a news program provided every predetermined time
2 is included.

On the other hand, as the interactive information 620, the user uses a personal computer network, an information communication service such as BBS, NIFTY, etc., and a user uses a database (DB) related to these information communication services, for example, political information D.
B, the economic information DB, the technical information DB, the scientific information DB, the library DB, the music information DB, etc. are searched and the necessary information is obtained.

In the present embodiment, this one-way information 61
It is configured such that 0 is acquired first, and then bidirectional information 620 related to this one-way information is acquired. The acquisition of such information will be described below.

FIG. 7 shows the CPU 101 of the information processing device 16.
Information data acquisition unit 201 and entity data generation unit 20
4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating data according to No. 4. First, the user selects the keyboard 104 and the mouse 10.
A desired template is selected from the template data 210 by operating 5 and giving a predetermined instruction. The selection of this template is realized by determining one of the reproduction procedure IDs. Based on the template thus determined, the related reproduction procedure, information acquisition procedure, etc. are read (step 701). FIG.
Is a flow chart showing the process of reading this template.

As shown in FIG. 8, step 701 of FIG.
In the process of (1), first, the information management table 400 included in the template data 210 is read (step 801). Image data corresponding to this information management table is generated by the display / operation processing unit 203, and this is given to the display device 107 via the video memory 103. As a result, an image corresponding to the information management table is displayed on the screen of the display device 107.

Next, the user operates the display device 10
Referring to the image displayed on the screen of No. 7, keyboard 1
04 and the mouse 105, the information management table 400 included in the template data 210 according to the instruction given to the display / operation processing unit 203.
The middle reproduction procedure ID data 411 is selected (step 802). As a result, this reproduction procedure ID data 411
The information acquisition procedure is determined based on the information acquisition procedure ID data 417 included in the template to which the item belongs (step 803). Further, in this step, information acquisition conditions other than the information acquisition procedure ID data 417, such as still image containing data 412, are also determined.

Similarly, the screen specification ID data 419 and the keyword ID data 41 included in this template.
A predetermined screen specification data table and a keyword data table are selected based on each of 8 (step 804). Then, the read reproduction procedure 420-
i, the screen specification data table 450-s, etc. are given to the recording unit 205, and the given various data are stored in a predetermined area of the hard disk device 108 (step 805).

When step 701 of FIG. 7 is executed, the information data acquisition unit 201 then determines whether new data included in the one-way information has been received (step 702). In this step, new data is further added based on the information acquisition condition data such as the still image containing data, the moving image containing data, the audio additional data, the text additional data, and the additional information data determined in step 701. It is also determined whether or not the information acquisition conditions determined by these data are met. For example, while the new data includes moving image data and still image data, the moving image containing data in the acquisition condition data indicates that it does not include a moving image, and the still image containing data indicates a still image. When indicating inclusion
Only still image data can be extracted from new data.

In step 702, when the information data acquisition section 201 has not received new data, it waits for reception.

In step 702, when new data is given to the information data acquisition unit 201, the related information related to the contents of the given data is provided in the information providing device of the information providing service organization 26. From the stored database, the modem 20 or the communication control unit 10
6, the entity data generation unit 204 generates entity data 220 based on the template 400 obtained in step 701 (step 703).

The process of step 703 will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, according to the information acquisition procedure obtained in step 701, the content of the obtained one-way information is compared with the keyword included in the keyword data table, and the keyword related to the given one-way information is determined. A selection is made (step 901).

Next, the database provided in the information providing device of the information providing service organization 26 is accessed through the modem 20 or the communication control unit 106 (step 902), and the keyword selected in step 901 is used. Relevant data in the database is searched, the searched data is accepted via the network 22 or the LAN 18 (step 903), and the recording unit 205 stores these in a predetermined area of the hard disk device 108. As a result, the time data 461, the providing source data 462, the content data pointer 463, the related data pointer 474, etc. in the link information table 460 are obtained.

After such processing, it is judged whether or not the data required for reproduction is prepared (step 9).
05), if yes, end the process, while returning to step 902 if no data has been prepared.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the user interface data 510 consisting of the predetermined screen specification data table 450-s, the reproduction procedure 420-i, and the acquisition information data 530 consisting of the link information table 460 are obtained. Included substantive data 220 can be obtained. For example, in FIG. 5, the reproduction procedure 420-i includes
(1) To give a screen of a format corresponding to the initial screen data included in the screen specification data table to the display device, and (2) read out necessary information when a predetermined button in the screen is selected, and The information obtained is
This includes executing a process for displaying on the screen of the format corresponding to the screen data to be displayed subsequently to the initial screen included in the screen specification table.

When step 703 is completed in this way,
It is determined whether to continue to acquire the related information (step 7
04), if it is determined that the process should be continued, step 7
Returning to step 03, the necessary processing is repeated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing is not continued, the processing ends.

A process for obtaining a desired image on the screen of the display device based on the substantive data thus obtained will be described below. Figure 10 shows the result of this process.
In accordance with a predetermined reproduction procedure, the display device 107
It is a figure which shows an example of the image displayed on the screen of FIG.

First, the user operates the keyboard 104 and the mouse 105 to give a predetermined instruction,
The reproduction control unit 301 shown in FIG.
08 reads the substantive data stored in a predetermined area,
This is given to the entity data interpretation unit 302. Next, the substantive data interpretation unit 302 causes the screen specification data table 450-s and the reproduction procedure 4 included in the given substantive data.
20-i, initially, the display device 107
Determines the format of the image to be displayed on the screen, and provides the reproduction control unit 301 with data relating to this. Reproduction control unit 30
1 generates predetermined image data based on the given data, and outputs this to the information output unit 303. In this way, an image corresponding to the image data given from the information output unit 303 to the display device 107 is displayed as shown in FIG.
Shown in

In this example, the screen 1010 is provided with a keyword menu 1011 consisting of a plurality of keywords related to the information obtained by the processing shown in FIG. 7, a previous page button 1012 and a next page button 1013. . Here, the previous page button 1012 and the next page button 10
Reference numeral 13 is for instructing to switch the screen and display the remaining keywords when the number of keywords included in the keyword menu exceeds the number that can be contained in one screen.

When the user operates the keyboard 104 and the mouse 105 to select a predetermined keyword on the screen 1010, the substantive data interpretation unit 302
Selects a predetermined screen in the screen specification data table according to the reproduction procedure, refers to the information data pointer of the link information table in the acquisition information data 530 according to the selected keyword, and specifies a predetermined screen from the hard disk device 108. Data is read out and given to the reproduction control unit 301.

The reproduction control unit 301 generates image data based on the supplied data, and the image data is supplied to the display device 107 via the information output unit 303 and the video memory 103. FIG. 10B shows the image thus obtained. In this example, the information source corresponding to the selected keyword,
For example, the broadcasting station 24 or the information providing service organization 26
The content of the one-way information provided by the user is displayed on the screen 1020.

On this screen 1020, an area 1021 for displaying the contents of information, a button 1022 for selecting related information, a previous page button 1023, and a next page button 102.
4. A return button 1025 for returning to the original screen is provided.

As described with reference to FIG. 10 (a),
The previous page button 1023 or the next page button 1024 is used when the content of information extends over a plurality of screens.

When the user operates the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 to select the return button 1025, the initial screen 1010 shown in FIG. 10A is displayed.

Next, when the user operates the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 to select the button 1022,
The entity data interpretation unit 302 selects a predetermined screen in the screen data table according to the reproduction procedure, and
Referring to the related data pointer of the link information table, the predetermined data is read from the hard disk device 108,
These data are given to the reproduction control unit 301. In this example, the title of the related information stored in the link information table is displayed. The image thus obtained is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10C, a screen 1030 is displayed.
Above the menu area 1031 showing the title of the related information,
It is composed of a previous page button 1032, a next page button 1033, and a return button 1034.

Further, when the user operates the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105, the menu area 10
When a predetermined portion of 31 is selected, the entity data interpretation unit 302 refers to the selected related data pointer in the link information table, reads out the data stored in the hard disk device 108, and reproduces it. Follow the steps to select a given screen in the screen data table,
These are given to the reproduction control unit 301. In this way,
On the screen 1040 of the display device 107, FIG.
The image shown in (d) can be obtained. This screen 104
0 is an area 1041 for displaying the content of related information,
A previous page button 1042, a next page button 1043, and a return button 1044 are provided.

According to the present embodiment, the user can create a template for specifying the information acquisition procedure, the reproduction procedure, etc. as desired, and when data is given from the broadcasting station 22 or the like, Substantial data including only desired information is generated according to the information acquisition procedure included in the information acquisition condition, and a desired image can be obtained from the actual data according to the reproduction procedure. Therefore, regardless of the amount and type of information,
It becomes possible for the user himself / herself to easily acquire information as needed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and those modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that it is one.

In the above embodiment, the template creation / modification unit 202, the entity data generation unit 204, the entity data interpretation unit 302, etc. are used as the CPU 1 in the information processing apparatus.
01, but is not limited to this.
For example, of the information processing devices 12 to 16, the information processing device 16 is caused to function as a server, and the information processing devices 12 and 14 are caused to function as clients, so that the information processing device 16 has a configuration included in the CPU 101 shown in FIG. Information processing device 1 provided and functioning as a client
2, 14 may have only the configuration shown in FIG. In this case, the information processing device 16 functioning as a server
A user of the information processing device 12 or 14 functioning as a client uses the information processing device 12 or 14 to give an instruction to register a desired template to the information processing device 16 so that the predetermined information in the hard disk device can be obtained. The information processing apparatus 16 that has registered the template in the area of (1) generates the entity data based on the information provided from the information providing apparatus such as the broadcasting station 24 and the information providing service organization 26 according to the registered template. Further, when reproducing information on the display devices of the information processing devices 12 and 14, it is sufficient to communicate instructions or data between the information processing device 16 and the information processing devices 12 and 14.

In the above embodiment, the actual data 220 includes the user interface data, the reproduction procedure and the acquisition information data, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only the reproduction procedure and the acquisition information data. , And a desired screen may be selected with reference to a template stored in the information management table. Alternatively, in the above embodiment, the entity data 22
In the information acquisition data 530 of 0, the link information table 4
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may include data obtained from the link information table.

Further, in the above embodiment, the template is generated by the user operating the keyboard or the like in the information processing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the broadcasting station 24 or the information providing service organization 26 may be configured to generate a plurality of templates in advance and provide the templates via the network 22 to the information processing devices 14 and 16 used by the user. In this case, the components shown in FIG.
It is provided in the information providing device of the broadcasting station 24 or the information providing service organization 26. Furthermore, in this case, the user can pay a predetermined amount of money to the broadcasting station or the information providing service institution in accordance with the use of the template.

Further, in the above embodiment, the desired image is reproduced on the screen of the display device of the information processing device 14 or 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the information providing system according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 11, PHS (Pers
onal Handy phone System) via base station 1110
A portable information terminal 1120 capable of transmitting / receiving information to / from the information processing devices 12, 14, 16 has the configuration shown in FIG. Using this, the user of the portable information terminal 1120 gives an instruction to register a desired template to any of the information processing devices, and the information processing in which the template is registered in a predetermined area in the hard disk device. The device generates substantive data based on the information given from the information providing device such as the broadcasting station 24 and the information providing service organization 26 according to this template. Further, when reproducing information on the display device of the mobile terminal 1120, instructions or data may be communicated between the information processing device and the mobile terminal 1120. With this configuration, the user of the portable terminal 1120 can obtain the information obtained as desired by the desired image regardless of the place.

Further, in the above embodiment, the broadcasting station 2
After receiving the one-way information from the information providing device of 4,
It is configured to search for information of other information providing service institutions according to a predetermined keyword to obtain further information, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, only one-way information is accepted. It is obvious that predetermined information may be extracted from the obtained information according to the information acquisition condition, out of the moving image data, still image data, audio data, text data, and the like.

In the present specification, the term "means" does not necessarily mean physical means, but also includes the case where the functions of the respective means are realized by software.
Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

[0087]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus capable of acquiring desired information and reproducing the acquired information as desired without requiring a complicated operation by the user. It becomes possible to provide.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a CPU and components related thereto for obtaining desired information from given information and recording the desired information.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a CPU for reading out substantive data and giving it to a display device and components related thereto.

FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining template data according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining a link information table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of substantive data according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining multimedia data including images, sounds, texts, and the like.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a data generation procedure by the information data acquisition unit and the entity data generation unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a template reading process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process of acquiring related information.

FIG. 10 shows a reproduction procedure according to a predetermined procedure.
It is a figure which shows an example of the image displayed on the screen of a display apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12, 14, 16 Information processing device 18 LAN 20 Modem 22 Network 24 Broadcasting station 26 Information providing service organization 101 CPU 201 Information data acquisition unit 202 Template creation / change unit 203 Display / operation processing unit 205 Recording unit 204 Substantial data generation unit

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Yoshihiko Nozoe 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. Visual Media Research Laboratories

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus which receives various kinds of information from an information providing service organization which provides information including at least one of video, audio and characters via a communication line and reproduces the received information. A template generation unit that generates a template having an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining desired information from the various information, and based on the information acquisition condition included in the template generated by the template generation unit, An information processing apparatus comprising: an information acquisition unit for obtaining predetermined information from the received information; and a display unit for displaying the information obtained by the information acquisition unit. 2. The template includes a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the information obtained by the information acquisition means, and the template generation means is configured to generate the reproduction procedure, and Data generation means for generating reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquisition means and the reproduction procedure; and image data to be given to the display means based on the reproduction data generated by the data generation means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising selection means for selecting a predetermined template from a plurality of templates each including a set of the information acquisition condition and the reproduction procedure. . 4. The template includes a screen specification data table indicating a pattern of a screen format to be displayed on the display means, and the template generating means is configured to generate the screen specification data table. The data generation means is configured to generate reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquisition means, the reproduction procedure and the screen specification data table, and the reproduction means stores in the screen specification data table. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the information processing apparatus is configured to generate image data based on a format of a screen included therein. 5. The information acquisition condition includes an information acquisition procedure indicating a procedure for obtaining desired information from the various kinds of information, and the information acquisition means determines a predetermined value from the received information according to the information acquisition procedure. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is configured to obtain the information of. 6. The information acquisition condition further includes first data indicating whether or not the information to be acquired includes a video, second data indicating whether or not the information to be acquired, and text. Of at least one of the third data indicating that the information acquisition unit obtains predetermined information from the received information according to any of the first data to the third data. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information processing apparatus is configured. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the template further includes a keyword table having at least one keyword used by the information acquisition unit to obtain information. 8. The information acquisition means has a link information table creation means for creating a link information table for associating the various information, and the information acquisition means refers to the link information table to obtain information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is configured as described above. 9. An information providing device that has a database storing information including at least one of video, audio, and characters, and is connected to the information providing device by a communication line, and an information providing device that provides information in the database. An information providing system configured to transmit information between the information providing device and the information processing device via the communication line. The apparatus includes a template generation unit that generates a template having an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining predetermined information from various information given by the information providing apparatus, and a template generated by the template generation unit. Information obtaining means for obtaining predetermined information from the given information based on the information obtaining condition, and information obtained by the information obtaining means. Information providing system characterized in that a display means for displaying. 10. The template includes a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the information obtained by the information acquisition means, and the template generation means is configured to generate the reproduction procedure. Data generation means for generating reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquisition means and the reproduction procedure; and image data to be given to the display means based on the reproduction data generated by the data generation means. The information providing system according to claim 9, further comprising: 11. The information acquisition condition has an information acquisition procedure indicating a procedure for obtaining desired information from the various information, and the information acquisition means selects from the information received according to the information acquisition procedure. The information providing system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the information providing system is configured to obtain predetermined information. 12. The template further includes a keyword table having at least one keyword used by the information acquisition unit to obtain information, and the information acquisition unit is based on the keyword according to the information acquisition procedure. The information providing system according to claim 11, wherein the information providing apparatus is configured to search a database of the information providing apparatus and obtain predetermined information from the information stored in the database. 13. An information providing device which has a database storing information including at least one of video, audio and characters, and is connected to the information providing device by a communication line, the information providing device providing the information in the database. A first information processing device that functions as a server, to which information in the database is given, has a display unit, and is connected to the first information processing device through a communication line. An information providing system including a second information processing device that functions as a server and is configured to receive data related to the given information from a processing device, the first information processing device Is an information acquisition condition indicating a condition for obtaining predetermined information from various information provided by the information providing device, and a replay indicating a procedure for reproducing the obtained information. Template generating means for generating a template having a procedure; information acquiring means for obtaining predetermined information from the given information according to the information acquiring condition included in the template generated by the template generating means; and the information acquiring means And a data generation unit that generates reproduction data including the information obtained by the above and the reproduction procedure, wherein the second information processing apparatus receives the reproduction data and includes the reproduction procedure included in the reproduction data. An information providing system characterized by having a reproducing means for generating image data to be given to the display means based on the above. 14. A communication line having a database storing information including at least one of video, audio and characters, an information providing device for providing information in the database, and a display means. An information providing system including an information processing device connected to an information providing device by which information in the database is provided, wherein the information providing device is a predetermined information from various information stored in the database. Information acquisition conditions that indicate the conditions for obtaining information, and
Template generation means for generating a template having a reproduction procedure indicating a procedure for reproducing the obtained information, and a predetermined information from the given information according to the information acquisition condition included in the template generated by the template generation means And an information acquisition unit for obtaining information, and a data generation unit for generating reproduction data including the information obtained by the information acquisition unit and the reproduction procedure, wherein the information processing device receives the reproduction data. An information providing system comprising: a reproducing unit that generates image data to be given to the display unit based on a reproducing procedure included in the reproducing data.