JP2006339947A - Device and method for processing information and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely and simply extract and use a more proper information as a keyword information used for an automatic picture recording. <P>SOLUTION: The candidate of a keyword information for a broadcasting program during a viewing is extracted by the function of a keyword seek 401 from a program relevant information such as an acquired EPG information. When there is no candidate of the extracted keyword information in a candidate memory 145, the candidate of the keyword information is added together with the number of an occurrence, or the number of the occurrence of the candidate of the keyword information is updated. A user is informed of the candidate of the keyword information stored in the candidate memory 156 as a candidate list by the function of a candidate-list forming section 402, and the candidate of the keyword information is confirmed while the candidate of the keyword information registered in a registration memory 146 can be selected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, an apparatus for recording various types of television broadcast signals, a method and a program for creating a keyword database used for automatic recording in the apparatus.

  A hard disk recorder having a tuner function (reception channel selection function) for television broadcasting and a large-capacity hard disk having a storage capacity of several hundreds of gigabytes has been widely used. Also, personal computers equipped with a TV broadcast tuner function (reception channel selection function) and a large-capacity hard disk have been widely used.

  In these devices, since the hard disk for recording (recording) a television broadcast program has a large capacity, not only the designated television broadcast program is recorded, but also a predetermined number of days, for example, on a weekly basis. Television broadcasts that record all of the television broadcast programs provided through the channel or refer to EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information based on keyword information registered in advance by the user and have the same information as the registered keyword information Some programs can use a so-called automatic recording function for recording the entire program.

  For example, Patent Document 1 described later uses classification information and key information (keyword information) in order to automatically record only the contents that meet the user's needs and effectively save the capacity of the recording means. Thus, a technology relating to a system and a recording apparatus that enable recording of content provided by television broadcasting or the like is disclosed.

In addition, said patent document 1 is as follows.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-128779

  By the way, registration of keyword information used for automatic recording is performed by selecting characters assigned to limited operation keys provided on the remote controller using a remote commander (hereinafter abbreviated as a remote controller) of a hard disk recorder. This is done by inputting directly or by selecting a character string to be registered as a keyword from text information indicating program contents provided as EPG information.

  When entering the keyword information used for automatic recording directly through the remote control, for example, you will enter a character string in the same way as creating an e-mail on a portable information terminal, but it takes time before you get used to it There is. When a target character string is selected from text data included in EPG information and used as a keyword, the beginning and end of the target character string included in the text data must be specified. , It may take time.

  For example, as text data included in the EPG information, there is information indicating the program content such as “Broadcast as early as the Academy Award winning work. The world's tremendous suspense masterpiece.” The character string part “suspense” from this text data May be extracted as keyword information. In such a case, on the text data displayed on the display screen, first position and confirm the cursor at the “sus” position of “Suspense”, then move the cursor to the “su” position of “Suspense”. Since it is necessary to specify a range of keyword information from where to where, such as positioning and fixing, the operation becomes complicated.

  In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to reliably and easily extract and use appropriate keyword information used for automatic recording.

In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided.
An acquisition means for acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
Extraction means for extracting candidate keyword information from the program related information acquired through the acquisition means for the broadcast program being used;
Candidate storage means for storing and holding the keyword information candidates extracted by the extraction means together with the number of appearances thereof;
The keyword information candidates extracted by the extracting means are added to the candidate storage means with an appearance count as an initial value if there is none, and update means for updating the appearance count if there is. And

  According to the information processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, for example, program-related information that is information related to a broadcast program such as EPG is acquired by the acquisition means. A character string that can be used as keyword information for automatic recording is extracted from the acquired program-related information as keyword information candidates by the extraction means. The extracted keyword information candidates are updated to the candidate storage unit together with the number of appearances.

  For example, in the case of a keyword candidate that is not recorded in the candidate storage unit, the keyword information candidate and the number of appearances that are set as the initial value are additionally recorded in association with each other, and are already recorded in the candidate storage unit In this case, for example, the value 1 is added to the number of appearances to be updated. And the candidate of the keyword information memorize | stored in the candidate memory | storage means is notified to a user by a notification means in order with the frequency | count of appearance.

  As a result, the keyword information about the target broadcast program is automatically extracted without bothering the user, and the keyword information candidates with high appearance frequency can be clearly notified. Then, it is possible to confirm a highly effective candidate keyword information used for automatic recording.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably and easily extract and use appropriate keyword information used for automatic recording without bothering the user. In addition, it is possible to prevent misregistration of keyword information and to manage keyword information with awareness of the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the apparatus, method, and program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, a case where the apparatus, method and program of the present invention are applied to a hard disk recorder (hereinafter referred to as a hard disk apparatus) will be described as an example.

[About hard disk drive]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a hard disk device to which an embodiment of the device, method and program according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a control unit 140 controls the entire hard disk device of this embodiment, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 141, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 142, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 143, and an EEPROM. (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 144, a candidate memory 145, a registration memory 146, a dictionary data memory 147, a remote control signal light receiving unit 148, and a clock circuit 149 are connected to each other via a CPU bus. .

  The CPU 141 executes various programs, generates control signals, and supplies them to the necessary units, thereby controlling these units and is the main subject of control. The ROM 142 stores and holds programs and data necessary for processing. The RAM 143 is mainly used as a work area (work area) in various processes. The EEPROM 144 is a so-called nonvolatile memory, and stores and holds data and parameters that should be held when the power of the hard disk device is turned off.

  The candidate memory 146 stores and holds keyword information candidates used for automatic recording, as will be described in detail later. The registration memory stores and holds keyword information actually used for automatic recording. To do. The candidate memory 145 and the registration memory 146 are both nonvolatile memories such as an EEPROM and a flash memory.

  The dictionary data memory 147 stores and holds various dictionary data, and is used, for example, for checking the accuracy of keyword information when extracting keyword information.

  The light receiving unit 148 can receive an infrared remote control signal from the remote controller 150, convert it into an electrical signal, and supply the electric signal to the control unit 140. As a result, the control unit 140 controls each unit so as to perform processing according to an instruction from the user supplied through the remote controller 150, performs various settings on the EEPROM 144, for example, as will be described later. You can register keyword information. The clock circuit 149 provides the current date, the current day of the week, and the current time, and is used in necessary processing such as the current time, for example, when a recording reservation function is used.

  The hard disk device of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a digital broadcast wave tuner 101 and a digital input / output terminal 102 as digital input ends, and a terrestrial tuner 104 as an analog input end. And an analog audio input terminal 105 and an analog video input terminal 106. The digital tuner 101 has a reception channel selection function for terrestrial digital television broadcasting started in recent years in addition to digital BS (Broadcasting Satellite) / CS (Communications Satellite) broadcasting.

  In addition, the hard disk device of this embodiment is configured such that the digital input / output terminal 102 is used as a digital output terminal, and includes an analog audio output terminal 122 and an analog video output terminal 127 as analog output terminals. Yes. Furthermore, a communication connection terminal 130 is provided so that various kinds of data can be transmitted and received through a communication network such as the Internet.

  The hard disk device shown in FIG. 1 records the digital video signal and digital audio signal received through the digital input terminal described above on the hard disk 118, outputs them through the digital output terminal, and converts them into analog signals. It can be converted and output.

  Further, the hard disk device shown in FIG. 1 outputs the analog audio signal and the analog video signal received through the analog input terminal described above to the analog output terminal or converts them to a digital signal and records them on the hard disk 118. Or can be output through a digital output end.

  In addition, the data received through the communication connection terminal 130 described above is recorded on the hard disk 118, digitally output, and when the received data is video data or audio data, these are converted into analog signals. Thus, it can also be output through an analog output end.

[Use of digital input]
The operation of the hard disk device of this embodiment when receiving information through each of the input terminals described above will be described. First, an operation when a digital broadcast signal is received through the digital broadcast wave tuner 101 and recorded on the hard disk 118 or analog output will be described.

  Although not shown, the digital broadcast wave tuner 101 is connected to an antenna for receiving a digital broadcast signal. The digital broadcast wave tuner 101 receives and selects a target digital broadcast signal based on a channel selection control signal in response to a channel selection instruction from the user supplied from the control unit 140, and receives and selects this digital broadcast signal. The broadcast digital broadcast signal is supplied to the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116.

  The digital broadcast signal, together with various control data such as channel selection information called PSI (Program Specific Information) and EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data for forming an electronic program guide table, for each channel as a program transmission path, Image data (video data), audio data (audio data), and other various data constituting a broadcast program are packetized, multiplexed and transmitted, and the so-called TS (Transport Stream) signal format It has been done.

  An identifier (ID) is added to each packet, so that PSI data and EPG data can be extracted, and image packets and audio packets constituting the same program can be extracted by using this identifier. Has been.

  The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 extracts PSI and EPG data from the TS signal from the digital broadcast wave tuner 101 and supplies the PSI and EPG data to the control unit 140 to enable selection of a program and to form an electronic program guide table. Then, this is output so as to be displayed in accordance with an instruction from the user, and program selection and recording reservation can be made through the electronic program guide table.

  When the recording of the selected program is instructed, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 receives the video packet and audio packet of the target program selected by the user from the TS signal from the digital broadcast wave tuner 101. And a new TS signal composed of these and necessary control data is formed, and this is recorded in the hard disk 118 through the buffer control circuit 117.

  At the same time, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit unit 116 forms a video ES (Elementary Stream) from the video packet of the target program extracted from the TS signal from the digital broadcast wave tuner 101, and converts this into an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). An audio ES (Elementary Stream) is formed from the audio packet and supplied to the MPEG audio decoder 119.

  The MPEG audio decoder 119 decodes the audio ES supplied thereto, obtains baseband audio data, and supplies this to the post audio signal processing circuit 120. The MPEG video decoder 123 decodes the video ES supplied thereto to obtain baseband video data, and supplies this to the post video signal processing circuit 124.

  The post video signal processing circuit 124 performs switching between video data from the MPEG video decoder 123 and video data from the pre video signal processing circuit 114 (to be described later), screen synthesis, filter processing, and the like. The image is supplied to the image composition processing circuit 125.

  The image composition processing circuit 125 generates graphics and character data for screen display based on information from the control unit 140, and converts the video data supplied to the image composition processing circuit 125 through the post video signal processing circuit 124. On the other hand, the generated graphics and character data are subjected to processing such as overlapping or partially displaying, and the processed video data is supplied to the NTSC encoder 126.

  The NTSC encoder 126 converts the video data (component digital signal) input thereto into a YC signal, and then performs D / A conversion to generate an analog composite video signal C and a separate video signal S. Are output through an output terminal 127 for an analog video signal.

  On the other hand, the post audio signal processing circuit 120 performs switching between audio data from the MPEG audio decoder 119 and audio data from the pre audio signal processing circuit 109, filter processing, fade processing, speech speed conversion processing, and the like. The later audio data is supplied to the audio D / A converter 121. The audio D / A converter 121 converts the audio data supplied thereto into an analog audio signal, and outputs the analog audio signal through the analog audio signal output terminal 122.

  Note that a display device (display device) such as a television receiver is connected to the subsequent stage of the analog audio output terminal 122 and the analog video output terminal 127, and corresponds to the analog audio signal output through the analog audio output terminal 122. The sound is emitted from the speaker of the display device, and an image corresponding to the analog video signal output through the analog video output terminal 127 is displayed on the display screen of the display device.

  As described above, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the video data and audio data of the target program are extracted from the digital broadcast signal received and selected through the digital broadcast wave tuner 101 and recorded on the hard disk 118. At the same time, an analog video signal and an analog audio signal can be formed and output. That is, the target program provided as a digital broadcast signal can be viewed while being recorded on the hard disk 118.

  Further, as described above, the TS signal newly formed in the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 is supplied to the external device such as another recording apparatus or personal computer through the digital interface circuit 103 and the digital input / output terminal 102. You can also do that. In this case, the digital interface circuit 103 converts the digital signal supplied thereto into a digital signal having a format suitable for an external device, and outputs the digital signal.

  Conversely, for example, a digital signal supplied from an external device or the like via a digital interface such as IEEE 1394 is received through the digital input / output terminal 102 and recorded on the hard disk 118, or an analog video signal, analog An audio signal can be formed and output.

  That is, the digital signal supplied through the digital input / output terminal 102 is supplied to the digital interface circuit 103. The digital interface circuit 103 performs processing such as format conversion on the digital signal supplied thereto so as to be compatible with the method used by the hard disk device of this embodiment, generates a TS signal, and multiplexes this / Supply to separation circuit 116.

  The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 further analyzes and generates a control signal and the like, forms a TS signal to be recorded on the hard disk 118, and records it on the hard disk 118 through the buffer control circuit 117 as described above. To be able to.

  The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 forms a video ES and an audio ES from the TS signal supplied from the digital interface circuit 103, and supplies the video ES and the audio ES to the MPEG video decoder 123 and the MPEG audio decoder 119. Video signals and analog audio signals can be formed and output.

[Use of analog input]
Next, an operation when an analog signal is received through the terrestrial tuner 104, the analog audio input terminal 105, and the analog video input terminal 106 and recorded on the hard disk 118 or analog output will be described.

  The terrestrial tuner 104 receives, selects and demodulates a terrestrial analog broadcast signal, obtains an analog video signal (composite signal) and an analog audio signal, and supplies them to the input switching circuit 107. Similarly, an external composite video signal C and audio signal are also supplied to the input switching circuit 107.

  The input switching circuit 107 selects and outputs a target signal according to the control signal from the control unit 140. That is, the input switching circuit 107 outputs an analog video signal and an analog audio signal from the terrestrial tuner 104, or outputs an analog audio signal and an analog video signal from the analog audio input terminal 105 and the analog video input terminal 106. It is a switch to do.

  Of the signals output from the input switching circuit 107, analog audio signals are supplied to the A / D converter 108, and analog video signals (composite signals) are supplied to the YC separation circuit 111. The YC separation circuit 111 separates the analog video signal supplied thereto into YC separation, that is, separates the luminance signal Y and the color difference signal C, and supplies them to the input switching circuit 112. The input switching circuit 112 is also supplied with a separate video signal S from the outside.

  The input switching circuit 112 selects one of the separate video signal S from the outside and the video signal from the YC separation circuit 111 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 140, and selects the selected video signal as an NTSC (National Television System Committee). ) It is supplied to the decoder circuit 113.

  The NTSC decoder circuit 113 performs processing such as A / D conversion and chroma decoding on the analog video signal input thereto, and converts the analog video signal into digital component video data (video data). 114. Also, the NTSC decoder 113 supplies a clock generated based on the horizontal synchronization signal of the input video signal, and a horizontal synchronization signal, a vertical synchronization signal, and a field determination signal obtained by synchronization separation to the synchronization control circuit 128.

  The synchronization control circuit 128 generates a clock signal and a synchronization signal for providing a necessary timing in each circuit block with each signal supplied thereto as a reference, and supplies this to each circuit block.

  The pre-video signal processing circuit 114 performs various video signal processing such as pre-filtering on the input video data and supplies the video data to the MPEG video encoder 115 and the post video signal processing circuit 124.

  The MPEG video encoder 115 performs an encoding process such as block DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) on the image data from the pre-video signal processing circuit 114, generates a video ES, and supplies it to the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116. .

  On the other hand, the audio signal selected by the input switching circuit 107 is converted into a digital audio signal (audio data) by the A / D converter 108 and then supplied to the pre-audio signal processing circuit 109. The pre-audio signal processing circuit 109 performs a filtering process on the audio data supplied thereto, and supplies this to the MPEG audio encoder 110.

  The MPEG audio encoder 110 compresses the audio data supplied thereto in accordance with the MPEG format, generates an audio ES, and supplies the audio ES to the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 as in the case of video data.

  The multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 multiplexes the video ES from the MPEG video encoder 115, the audio ES from the MPEG audio encoder 110, and various control signals at the time of recording. In other words, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 at the time of recording combines the MPEG video ES and the MPEG audio ES input thereto with various control signals, performs a multiplexing process, and generates, for example, a TS signal of the MPEG system. The TS signal generated here is recorded on the recording medium 118 through the buffer control circuit 117.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the audio data from the pre-audio signal processing circuit 109 is supplied to the MPEG audio encoder 110 and also to the post-audio signal processing circuit 120, and the pre-video signal processing circuit 114. Is supplied to the MPEG video encoder 115 and also to the post video signal processing circuit 124.

  Then, an analog audio signal is formed and output by the functions of the post audio signal processing circuit 120 and the D / A converter 121, and at the same time, by the functions of the post video signal processing circuit 124, the OSD circuit 125, and the NTSC encoder 126, An analog video signal can be formed and output.

  That is, in parallel with the process of converting the analog signal supplied through the terrestrial tuner 104, the analog audio input terminal 105, and the analog video input terminal 106 into a digital signal and recording it on the hard disk 118, the video data to be recorded is recorded. And audio data can be played back and output.

  Of course, the signals from the terrestrial tuner 104, the analog audio input terminal 105, and the analog video input terminal 106 converted into digital signals can be supplied to an external device or the like through the digital interface 103 and the digital input / output terminal 102. To be done.

[Reproduction from the hard disk 118]
Next, the operation of the hard disk device of this embodiment when reproducing the video signal and the audio signal recorded on the hard disk 118 as described above will be described. Under the control of the control unit 140, the target TS signal to be reproduced is read from the hard disk 118 and supplied to the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 through the buffer control circuit 117.

  At the time of reproduction, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 performs separation processing of the video ES and audio ES from the TS signal read from the hard disk 118, supplies the separated audio ES to the MPEG audio decoder 119, and converts the video ES to MPEG. This is supplied to the video decoder 123.

  The processing of each circuit unit after the MPEG audio decoder 119 and the processing of each circuit unit after the MPEG video decoder 123 are as described in the case of using digital input. That is, an analog audio signal is formed and output from the audio ES supplied to the MPEG audio decoder 119, and an analog video signal is formed and output from the video ES supplied to the MPEG video decoder 123.

  As a result, video data read from the hard disk 118 and images and audio corresponding to the audio data are output through a display device such as a television receiver connected to the subsequent stage of the analog audio output terminal 122 and the analog video output terminal 127. And you will be able to watch it.

  Of course, the digital video signal and digital audio signal read from the hard disk 118 can be supplied to an external device or the like through the digital interface 103 and the digital input / output terminal 102.

[Use of communication connection terminal and communication interface (communication I / F)]
Further, as described above, the hard disk device of this embodiment includes the communication I / F 129 and the communication connection terminal 130, and is connected to a network such as the Internet via a telephone line, for example, and through the network. Various types of data can be acquired and various types of data can be sent to the network.

  Here, as various data that can be transmitted and received, various programs and text data can be transmitted and received in addition to video data and audio data. Video data or audio data can be recorded on the hard disk 118 through the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116.

  Also, an audio signal reproduction system comprising a multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116, an MPEG audio decoder 119, a post audio signal processing circuit 120, a D / A converter 121, and an audio output terminal 122, an MPEG video decoder 123, a post video signal processing. By using a video signal playback system comprising the circuit 124, the image composition processing circuit 125, the NTSC encoder 126, and the video output terminal 127, video data and audio data acquired through a communication network can be played back and used. To be done.

  Also, video data and audio data acquired through the communication I / F 129 and the communication connection terminal 130 can be supplied to the TV sets 4B to 4D in other rooms through the digital interface 103 and the digital input / output terminal 102. Has been.

  Furthermore, provision of programs and control data used in the hard disk device of this embodiment is received through the network, and this is recorded and held in the EEPROM 143 and used as necessary. it can.

  For example, the functions of the hard disk device of this embodiment can be improved through a communication network, EPG data or the like can be obtained in advance, and an electronic program guide table can be created in advance. Is done.

  In this embodiment, the video data and the audio data are compressed by the MPEG method, but other compression methods can be used, and the data is not compressed. It is also possible to process without compression.

  When a control signal addressed to itself is received through the digital input / output terminal 102 and the digital interface 103, it is supplied from the digital interface 103 to the control unit 140 for use. Conversely, a signal such as a request from the control unit 140 of the hard disk device of this embodiment can be transmitted to an external device or the like through the digital interface 103 and the digital input / output terminal 102.

[About automatic recording function]
As described above, the hard disk device of this embodiment can receive and select digital TV broadcast signals and analog TV broadcast signals, and the hard disk 118 has a large storage capacity of several hundred gigabytes. Therefore, it has an automatic recording function based on keyword information. The automatic recording function based on keyword information refers to program-related information such as EPG information (EPG data) based on keyword information registered in advance by a user, and selects a TV broadcast program having the same information as the registered keyword information. Recording is performed on the hard disk 118. The destination where the keyword information is registered in advance is the registration memory 146 provided in the control unit 140 as shown in FIG.

  In the case of digital broadcasting, program-related information such as EPG information is provided by being broadcast together with broadcast program information as described above. Also in analog broadcasting, a service is provided that provides program-related information for a predetermined period corresponding to EPG information by broadcasting at a predetermined timing on a predetermined channel. Therefore, as described above, the program-related information such as EPG information is acquired from the broadcast signal received and selected by the functions of the digital broadcast wave tuner 101, the terrestrial tuner 104, and the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116. Can do.

  In addition, electronic program guide information of programs provided by digital broadcasting or analog broadcasting is also provided through a network such as the Internet. Therefore, program related information such as EPG can be acquired through the communication I / F 129 and the communication connection terminal 130. Further, program related information recorded and distributed on various recording media such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and a memory card is received from an external device through the digital input / output terminal 102. It is also possible.

  In this way, program-related information such as EPG can be variously provided by broadcasting or other than broadcasting, for example, through a wide area network or a local area network, or read from a recording medium through an external device. It is made to provide in the aspect of. The hard disk device of this embodiment includes the digital broadcast wave tuner 101, the terrestrial tuner 104, and the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116, or the digital input / output terminal 102, the digital interface 103, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116, or the communication. Using the I / F 129, the communication connection terminal 130, and the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 as program-related information acquisition means, program-related information can be acquired, recorded in, for example, an EEPROM or the like of the control unit 140, and used. I am doing so.

  In the hard disk device of this embodiment, keyword information candidates are extracted from program-related information such as EPG information acquired as described above, and provided in the control unit 140 as shown in FIG. Recorded in the candidate memory 145 and registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information that is frequently used as keyword information candidates or obtained as keyword information candidates for the broadcast program being viewed. This can be directly registered in the registration memory 146.

  For this reason, as will be described below, the control unit 140 of the hard disk device of this embodiment acquires (1) keyword information candidates and accumulates the history thereof, and is frequently raised as keyword information candidates. A function for registering a thing in the registration memory 146, and (2) a function for confirming keyword information candidates for a broadcast program being viewed and registering the keyword information candidates in the registration memory even if the user determines that they are necessary. And realized. In this specification, the function (1) described above is referred to as “upper keyword confirmation registration function”, and the function (2) described above is referred to as “viewing program keyword confirmation registration function”.

[Details of control unit functions]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the control unit 140 for realizing the above-described (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) viewing program keyword confirmation registration function. A block indicated by a double line in FIG. 2 indicates a functional unit realized by the control unit 140 by a program executed in the control unit 140, and the other is a memory or a clock circuit actually provided in the control unit 140.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 140 implements the functions of a keyword seek unit 401, a candidate list forming unit 402, a registration processing unit 403, a confirmation list forming unit 404, a direct registration processing unit 405, and an automatic recording control unit 406. Have been to.

  A candidate memory 145 is interposed between the keyword seek unit 401 and the candidate list forming unit 402, and a RAM 143 as a work memory is interposed between the keyword seek unit 401 and the confirmation list forming unit 404. Yes. Further, a registration processing unit 403 is interposed between the candidate memory 145 and the registration memory 146, and a direct registration processing unit 405 is interposed between the work memory 143 and the registration memory 146.

  The keyword seek unit 401, the candidate list forming unit 402, the registration processing unit 403, the candidate memory 145, and the registration memory 146 realize the above-described (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function. The unit 401, the confirmation list forming unit 404, the direct registration processing unit 405, the work memory 143, and the registration memory 146 realize the above-described (2) watching program keyword confirmation / registration function.

  Keywords used in the automatic recording function are accumulated in the registration memory 146 by one or both of (1) the upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function. A broadcast program having keyword information registered (accumulated) in the registration memory 146 by the function of the automatic recording control unit 406 is a program such as EPG information stored in the EEPROM 144 having a function as a program related information holding unit. The program is specified based on the related information, and the specified program can be automatically recorded on the hard disk 118.

  The dictionary data memory 147 is used when keyword information is extracted by the keyword seek unit 401, and the clock circuit 149 is used, for example, when the automatic recording control unit 406 needs to know the current time.

  Next, regarding the processing in the control unit 140 in the case of realizing the (1) upper keyword confirmation / registration function and (2) the viewing program keyword confirmation / registration function, the relationship between each functional unit and memory shown in FIG. 2 is clarified. While explaining. First, (1) processing in the control unit 140 when realizing the upper keyword confirmation registration function will be described.

  As described above, program-related information such as EPG information is provided by broadcasting or through a route different from so-called broadcasting such as the Internet, and is acquired and stored in the EEPROM 144 as a program-related information holding unit. Is done. Then, the program related information of the broadcast program that the user operates to receive and select the remote control 150, the program related information stored in the EEPROM 144 or the program related information stored in the EEPROM is the keyword. Supplied to the seek unit 401.

  The keyword seek unit 401 analyzes words in the text data portion of the program-related information supplied thereto, and extracts keyword information candidates that can be used as keyword information. In this case, the keyword seek unit 401 refers to the dictionary data memory 147 so as not to extract meaningless words as words, and extracts meaningful words as words from program related information. For example, “news”, “sports”, “drama”, “movie”, “baseball”, “soccer”, “ramen”, “Italian”, and other actor names that are generally meaningful It is extracted as a candidate.

  Then, referring to the keyword seek unit 401, it is confirmed whether or not the extracted keyword information candidates are already stored in the candidate memory 145, and if not, the keyword information candidates and initial values are stored. And the number of appearances of the relevant keyword information is associated (associated) and additionally recorded in the candidate memory 145. In this example, the initial value of the appearance count is, for example, value 1. It should be noted that the initial value of the number of appearances may be determined to be 0 (zero), and other values can of course be used as initial values.

  In addition, when the extracted keyword candidates are already stored in the candidate memory 145, the keyword seek unit 401 sets a value for the number of appearances associated with the already stored keyword information candidates. Add one. That is, in this case, only the number of appearances of the corresponding keyword information candidate is counted up by one.

  In this way, keyword information candidates are accumulated in the candidate memory 145, and the number of times the keyword information is made a candidate is counted up as the number of appearances. The keywords are rearranged in the descending order of the candidates for keyword information as character strings (in order of increasing character string size) and managed.

  Then, when a list display of keyword information candidates is instructed through the remote controller 150, the candidate list forming unit 402 of the control unit 140 starts from the candidate memory 145 in the descending order of the number of appearances and in ascending order of the character string size. The keyword information candidates are read from the candidate memory 145 to form a list, which is supplied to the image composition processing unit 125 shown in FIG. 1 and output as a video on a display screen of a monitor receiver such as a television receiver. Display it.

  From the list of keyword information candidates displayed in this way, a selection input of what is actually used as target keyword information is received through the remote controller 150. When the selection input is made, the registration processing unit 403 The candidate of the selected keyword information is registered in the registration memory 146 and deleted from the candidate memory 145. In this case, the keyword information candidates registered in the registration memory 146 may be left in the candidate memory 145.

  However, the keyword information already registered in the registration memory 146 is not registered in the candidate memory 146 even if it is extracted as a keyword information candidate. It is possible to prevent waste of managing the same information as the keyword information candidates.

  It is also possible to display a list of candidate keyword information and confirm it. If there is nothing to register as keyword information, it is possible to delete the list display without registering anything. is there. That is, after confirming keyword information candidates that are automatically extracted, only necessary information can be registered in the registration memory as keyword information.

  In this way, it is possible to register only the keyword information candidates, which are frequently used as keyword information candidates, in the registration memory 146 as the keyword information to be actually used, and to obtain the keyword information used for the automatic recording function. In addition, only keyword information candidates that the user has decided to actually use as keyword information can be registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information, that is, only keyword information determined by the user's intention is registered. Since it can be registered in the memory 146, unnecessary keyword information can be prevented from being registered.

  Here, a case has been described in which only keyword information candidates selected by the user are registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information, but the present invention is not limited to this. Since the keyword information candidates are extracted from the program related information of the broadcast program that is actually received and selected, the number of appearances of the keyword information candidates registered in the candidate memory exceeds a certain number. The keyword information candidates can be automatically sent from the candidate memory 145 to the registration memory 146.

  Next, (2) the process in the control unit 140 when realizing the viewing program keyword confirmation / registration function will be described. Even in this case, the program related information of the broadcast program that is actually received and selected by the user operating the remote controller 150, and the program related information stored in the EEPROM 144 is stored in the EEPROM. The program related information is supplied to the keyword seek unit 401.

  As described above, the keyword seek unit 401 analyzes words in the text data portion of the program-related information requested for this, extracts keyword information candidates that can be used as keyword information, and stores them in the RAM 143 as a work memory. Memorize temporarily.

  Then, when the keyword information confirmation list display is instructed through the remote controller 150, the confirmation list forming unit 404 of the control unit 140 reads the keyword information candidates temporarily stored from the work memory 143, forms a confirmation list, This is supplied to the image composition processing unit 125 shown in FIG. 1 to output video and display it on a display screen of a monitor receiver such as a television receiver.

  When a confirmation input as to whether or not to register in the registration memory 146 is received and registration is instructed, the direct registration processing unit 405 functions and the keyword information candidates temporarily stored in the work memory 143 Is registered in the registration memory 146.

  As described above, the above-described (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function accumulates keyword information candidates for broadcast programs that have been selected for reception for a certain period of time, and actually uses the keyword information candidates that are frequently listed as candidates. While it can be registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information, this (2) viewing program keyword confirmation registration function is useful for keyword information candidates for broadcast programs being received and selected for viewing. When it is confirmed that the password is confirmed, it can be immediately registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information. Therefore, necessary keyword information can be surely registered in the registration memory 146.

  Even in the case of the (2) viewing program keyword confirmation / registration function, if it is not necessary to confirm the keyword information, the confirmation list display can be deleted without registering it. Further, what is notified as a keyword information candidate may be automatically registered in the registration memory 146 even if there is no user instruction.

  As described above, (1) the upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) the watched program keyword confirmation registration function are required to automatically extract keyword information candidates and show them to the user in any case. Can be registered in the registration memory 146 as keyword information used in the automatic recording function. Moreover, since keyword information candidates are automatically extracted, the keyword information should be registered accurately and quickly without requiring the user to perform complicated operations and inputting the keyword information. Can do.

  Even if the user wants to input keyword information in the same way as before, it is possible to notify keyword candidates so that any keyword information can be input and registered. Since it is possible to know whether the video is recorded by the automatic recording function, it can be said that the effect is great even if only the keyword candidate is notified.

  Thus, the keyword information registered in the registration memory 146 is used, and the automatic recording control unit 406 shown in FIG. A broadcast program that is referred to and has the same information as the keyword information registered in the registration memory 146 is specified. Then, when it is detected through the clock circuit 149 that the broadcast time of the specified broadcast program is reached, the automatic recording control unit 406 controls each related unit to receive and select the specified broadcast program. Thus, recording on the hard disk 118 is enabled.

[Operation and user interface]
Next, specific examples of the user operation and the user interface when using the (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function in the hard disk device of this embodiment will be shown. explain.

  First, a user operation when using the (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function in the hard disk device of this embodiment will be described. In the hard disk device of this embodiment, all of (1) the upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function can be performed through the remote controller 150.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the appearance of the remote controller 150 of the hard disk device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the remote controller 150 of this example has a power on / off key 151, a numeric key group 152, a volume up / down key 153, a channel up / down key 154, and a cursor movement key 155 on the operation surface. An arrow key 155U, a down arrow key 155D, a left arrow key 155L, a right arrow key 155R, a keyword editing key 156 and a registration key 157 are provided in the function key group.

  The remote controller 150 is provided with various functions such as a play key, a recording key, a fast-forward key, a fast-return key, and a stop key in the function key group. Only the main components related to the present invention are shown, and the others are omitted.

  When the hard disk device of this embodiment is turned on by depressing the power on / off key 151, the control unit 140 of the hard disk device of this embodiment receives the keyword information of the broadcast program selected for reception. Extraction of candidates, update to candidate memory, and temporary storage to work memory are performed. Also, when the numeric key group 152 or the channel up / down key 154 is pressed to select and receive the target broadcast program, the keyword information of the broadcast program selected for reception is also received. Candidate extraction, update to the candidate memory, and temporary storage in the work memory can be performed.

  When the keyword editing key 156 is pressed, the keyword editing menu is displayed on the display screen of a monitor receiver such as a television receiver to which the hard disk device is connected by using the function of the image composition processing circuit 125. .

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the keyword editing menu MN displayed by the hard disk device of this embodiment. The keyword editing menu MN in this example displays the title display TTL of the menu, and the upper keyword confirmation registration M1, the viewing program keyword confirmation registration M2, and the registered keyword confirmation M3 as selectable items. .

  A target selectable item is selected by moving the cursor using the up arrow key 155U and the down arrow key 155D, and a registration key 157 is pressed to operate a function corresponding to the selected selectable item. It is executed in the control unit 140. The registration key 157 is also used for confirmation input for selecting candidate keyword information, confirmation input for registration, and the like.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a user interface when using the (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function. As described above, when the keyword edit key 156 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 5A, the keyword edit menu MN shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on a display device such as a television receiver connected to the hard disk device of this embodiment. 200 is displayed on the display screen G.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cursor is positioned on the upper keyword confirmation selection item M1 among the selectable items. In FIG. 5A, the upper keyword confirmation registration item M1 where the cursor is positioned is displayed in reverse video, for example, so that the user can clearly recognize the item where the cursor is positioned.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the registration key 157 is pressed when the cursor is positioned on the upper keyword confirmation registration item M1, the control unit 140 accepts this when the registration key 157 is pressed. The forming unit 402 is caused to function to form a keyword information candidate list LST, which is displayed on the display screen G of the display device 200 as shown in FIG. 5B.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 5B, the keyword information candidates of “sports” with the appearance count of 3 times, “baseball” with the appearance count of 3 times, and [news] with the appearance count of 2 are at the top. Is shown. In other cases, all the keyword information candidates can be provided to the user by so-called scroll display. Then, the user depresses the cursor CSL with the up arrow key 155U and the down arrow key 155D, and positions the cursor CSL as a target keyword information candidate.

  Thereafter, when the registration key 157 is pressed while the cursor CSL is positioned on the target keyword information candidate, as shown in FIG. 5C, the control unit 140 stores the selected keyword information candidate in the registration memory. A confirmation message MSG1 as to whether to register in 146 is displayed on the display screen G of the display device 200, and a confirmation input is requested.

  When the registration key is pressed, the control unit 140 causes the registration processing unit 403 to function and shifts the selected keyword candidate from the candidate memory 145 to the registration memory 146. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5D, the control unit 140 displays a confirmation message MSG2 indicating that the registration of the keyword information is completed, and (1) terminates the upper keyword confirmation registration function.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 5, an example is shown in which a candidate for keyword information “baseball” that appears three times is selected and registered in the registration memory 146. Further, in the state shown in FIG. 5C, when an end operation of pressing a predetermined operation key is performed, registration processing of keyword information candidates to the registration memory 146 is not performed (1 ) The upper keyword confirmation registration function is terminated.

  In this way, the user can register the desired keyword information by operating the predetermined operation keys, that is, the keyword editing key 156, the registration key 157, the up arrow key 155U, and the down arrow key 155D. It can be registered in the memory 146.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a user interface when using the (2) watched program keyword confirmation / registration function. As described above, when the keyword editing key 156 is pressed, the keyword editing menu MN shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display screen G of the display device 200 as shown in FIG. 6A.

  In this example, a baseball broadcast program is selected and received for viewing. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the cursor is positioned on the currently viewed program keyword confirmation selection item M2 among the selectable items. Also in FIG. 6A, the watched program keyword confirmation registration item M2 where the cursor is positioned is displayed in reverse video, for example, so that the user can clearly recognize the item where the cursor is positioned.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the registration key 157 is pressed when the cursor is positioned on the program keyword confirmation registration item M2 being viewed, the control unit 140 accepts this and presses the registration key 157. The confirmation list forming unit 403 functions to form a message display MSG3 including a confirmation list for notifying candidate keyword information stored in the work memory 143 extracted from the program related information of the currently viewed broadcast program, This is displayed on the display screen G of the display device 200 as shown in FIG. 6B. Then, the control unit 140 displays a confirmation message MSG3 on the display screen 200 of the display device 200 as to whether or not to register the displayed candidate keyword information in the registration memory 146, and requests confirmation input.

  In the case of the example in FIG. 6, as described above, it is a case where a baseball broadcast program is received and selected for viewing, and as shown in FIG. , “Baseball” is automatically extracted, and this indicates a case where the user is notified in the confirmation list.

  When the registration key is pressed, the control unit 140 causes the direct registration processing unit 406 to function, and extracts information extracted as a keyword candidate for the currently viewed broadcast program from the work memory 143 to the registration memory 146. Transition. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6C, the control unit 140 displays a confirmation message MSG4 indicating that the registration of the keyword information has ended, and (2) ends the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6B, when an end operation of pressing a predetermined operation key is performed, the process of registering the keyword information candidates in the registration memory is not performed (2) The program keyword confirmation / registration function being viewed is terminated.

  As described above, the user can register the target keyword information in the registration memory 146 by only operating the predetermined operation keys, that is, the keyword editing key 156 and the registration key 157 by the user. I am doing so.

[Details of hard disk drive operation]
Next, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, keyword editing that can be used for the keyword information candidate extraction and update processing, the upper keyword confirmation registration function, the viewing program keyword confirmation registration function, etc., performed as described above. The processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[Keyword information candidate extraction and update processing]
First, a process for updating candidate information in the candidate memory 145 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining extraction and update processing of candidate keyword information. As described above, the processing shown in FIG. 7 is performed when the hard disk device according to this embodiment is turned on to receive and select a broadcast program, or when the broadcast channel is changed. In addition, when the broadcast program broadcast on the broadcast channel selected for reception is changed (when the previous broadcast program is finished and the next broadcast program is started), etc., it is mainly executed by the control unit 140. Process.

  That is, in the processing shown in FIG. 7, while the hard disk device is turned on and the broadcast program is selected for reception, the broadcast program to be selected for reception is selected by the user's operation or , A process that is executed each time it changes over time.

  First, the control unit 140 supplies the program-related information of the broadcast program selected for reception to the keyword seek unit 401, and the keyword seek unit 401 extracts keyword information candidates for the broadcast program ( Step S101). Then, the keyword seek unit 401 confirms whether or not the keyword information candidate extracted this time exists in the candidate memory 145, and if it is determined that the keyword information candidate exists, the keyword seek candidate that has already been registered appears. The count value which is the number of times is incremented by 1 (step S103), the count value and the keyword information are sorted (sorted), and the processing shown in FIG. 7 ends.

  If it is determined in the confirmation process in step S102 that the keyword information candidate extracted this time does not exist in the candidate memory 145, it is determined whether or not the storage capacity of the candidate memory 145 is sufficient (step S105). If it is determined that the number is sufficient, the number of appearances of the keyword information candidate is initialized, and the keyword information candidate is added to the candidate memory 145 (step S106). Then, the rearrangement process of step S104 is executed, and the process of FIG.

  If it is determined in step S105 that the storage capacity of the candidate memory 145 is not sufficient, the lowest number, that is, the highest number of appearances among the keyword information candidates already registered in the candidate memory 145. A small amount of keyword information is deleted (step S107), and the processing from step S106 is performed.

  In this way, when a broadcast program is received and selected, candidates for keyword information of the broadcast program being received and selected are extracted and updated to the candidate memory 145.

  When the process shown in FIG. 7 is performed, for example, when the user watches a sports variety program A that provides topics about various sports, a baseball game relay program B, and a news program C. The keyword information candidates are extracted from the program related information of each broadcast program.

  For example, for program A, names of various sports that have been taken up are extracted as keyword information candidates, such as “sports”, “judo”, “tennis”, “golf”, “baseball”, etc. Assume that keyword information candidates such as “sports”, “baseball”, “XX (team name)”, and “□□ (team name)” are extracted. For program C, it is assumed that keyword information candidates such as “news”, “economics”, “sports”, “baseball”, “soccer”, “weather forecast” and the like are extracted.

If these keyword information candidates are updated in the candidate memory 145, “sport 3 times”, “judo 1 time”, “tennis 1 time”, “golf 1 time”, “baseball 3 times”, “○ ○ (Team name) once, “□□ (team name) once”, “News once”, “Economy once”, “Soccer once”, “Weather forecast once” It is stored and managed in the memory 145. In this case, it can be seen that the keyword information candidates “sports” and “baseball” appear most frequently as three times. The hard disk device of this embodiment uses the extracted keyword information candidates as described above. The data is also temporarily stored in the RAM 143 as a memory, and as described later, it can be used in the above-described (2) watched program keyword confirmation / registration function.

[Keyword editing process]
Next, processing in the case of executing a keyword editing function that can be used, such as (1) an upper keyword confirmation registration function and (2) a viewing program keyword confirmation registration function will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the keyword editing function available in the hard disk device of this embodiment is used.

  The processing shown in FIG. 8 is such that an operation input through the remote controller 150 can be accepted at all times while the hard disk device of this embodiment is turned on. This process is mainly executed by the control unit 140 when the control is received.

  When the process shown in FIG. 8 is executed, the control unit 140 determines whether or not the operated key is the keyword editing key 156 (step S201). When determining in step S201 that the keyword editing key 156 has been pressed, the control unit 140 creates the keyword editing menu described with reference to FIG. 4 and uses the function of the image composition processing circuit 125. Then, a process of displaying on the display screen of the display device connected to the hard disk device is performed (step S202).

  And the control part 140 receives selection input of the menu items M1-M3 from a user (step S203), and judges whether the selected menu item is a high-order keyword confirmation registration (step S204). When it is determined in step S204 that the selected menu item is upper keyword confirmation registration, the upper keyword confirmation registration process described later with reference to FIG. 9 is executed in detail (step S205). The process shown in FIG. 4 is exited, and the operation through the remote controller 150 is again waited.

  If it is determined in step S204 that the selected menu item is not higher keyword confirmation registration, control unit 110 determines whether or not the selected menu item is a viewing program confirmation registration ( Step S206). When it is determined in step S206 that the selected menu item is viewing program confirmation registration, a viewing program keyword confirmation registration process described later with reference to FIG. 10 is executed in detail (step S207). The processing shown in FIG. 8 is exited and the operation through the remote controller 150 is again waited.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the selected menu item is not a viewing program keyword confirmation registration, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the selected menu item is a confirmation of a registered keyword. (Step S208). If it is determined in step S208 that the selected menu item is confirmation of a registered keyword, a registered keyword confirmation process, which will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 11, is executed (step S209). The process shown in FIG. 4 is exited, and the operation through the remote controller 150 is again waited.

  If it is determined in step S208 that the selected menu item is not a confirmation of a registered keyword, the control unit 110 displays, for example, an operation guidance message and performs the processing from step S203 again. Other processing such as the above is performed (step S210). Of course, when the ending operation is performed, the processing shown in FIG. 8 is skipped, and another processing such as waiting for the operation through the remote controller 150 is performed again. Become.

  If it is determined in step S201 that the keyword editing key 156 has not been pressed, other processes corresponding to the operated operation key, such as channel selection channel adjustment, volume adjustment, and recording, are performed. Other processing such as use of the broadcast program is performed (step S211).

  Also, in the process of step S203, when nothing is selected within a predetermined time or when a predetermined end operation is performed, the process shown in FIG. 8 is exited and the operation through the remote controller 150 is again waited. And so on.

  As described above, the user of the hard disk device according to the present embodiment can use the keyword editing menu MN to (1) a high-order keyword confirmation / registration function, (2) a viewing program keyword confirmation / registration function, and a registered keyword confirmation function. Can be executed and used.

[Upper keyword confirmation registration process]
Next, the upper keyword confirmation registration process will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the upper keyword confirmation registration process. The process shown in FIG. 9 is mainly executed by the control unit 140 in step S205 of the process shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 140 causes the candidate list forming unit 402 to function, reads out keyword candidates in descending order of the count value (number of appearances) from the candidate memory 145, forms a candidate list, and this is shown in FIG. 5B. As described above, it is displayed on the display screen of the display device connected to the hard disk device of this embodiment (step S301).

  Then, the control unit 140 accepts selection input or confirmation input of keyword information candidates through the remote controller 150 (step S302), and determines whether or not a decision input, that is, the registration key 157 has been pressed (step S302). Step S303). If it is determined in step S303 that the registration key 157 has been pressed, the control unit 140 causes the candidate list formation unit 402 to function, and registers the selected keyword information candidates as shown in FIG. 5C. A confirmation message as to whether or not to register is displayed (step S304), and a confirmation input is received to determine whether or not a confirmation input has been made, that is, whether or not the registration key 157 has been pressed (step S304). S305).

  When it is determined in step S305 that the registration key 157 has been pressed, the control unit 140 causes the registration processing unit 403 to function and registers the selected keyword information candidates in the registration memory 146 (step S305). In step S306, as shown in FIG. 5D, a registration completion notification message is displayed (step S307), the process shown in FIG. 9 is terminated, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  Further, in the confirmation processing in step S303 and step S305, when it is determined that the registration key 157 has not been pressed, it is determined whether a predetermined end operation has been received (step S308), and it has been determined that the end operation has been received. Sometimes, the control unit 140 deletes the display related to the keyword information (step S309), exits the process shown in FIG. 9, and returns to the process in FIG.

  When determining in step S308 that the end operation has not been accepted, the control unit 140 repeats the processing from step S302.

  As described above, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the above-described (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function is realized through the processing shown in FIG. 7 and the processing shown in FIG.

[Viewing program keyword confirmation registration process]
Next, the viewing / listening program keyword confirmation registration process will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the viewing keyword confirmation registration process. The process shown in FIG. 10 is mainly executed by the control unit 140 in step S207 of the process shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 140 causes the confirmation list forming unit 404 to function, and as described above, the keyword information candidates for the currently viewed broadcast program temporarily stored in the RAM 143 as the work memory are stored in the registration memory 146. A confirmation list for registration is formed and displayed on the display screen of the display device connected to the hard disk device of this embodiment as shown in FIG. 6B (step S401).

  Then, the control unit 140 receives a confirmation input or the like through the remote controller 150 (step S402), and determines whether or not a registration confirmation input, that is, the registration key 157 has been pressed (step S403). If it is determined in step S403 that the registration key 157 has been pressed, the control unit 140 causes the direct registration processing unit 405 to function and registers the displayed keyword information candidates in the registration memory 146 (step S404). 6C, a registration completion notification message is displayed (step S405), the process shown in FIG. 10 is exited, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  Further, in the confirmation processing in step S403, when it is determined that the registration key 157 has not been pressed, it is determined whether or not a predetermined end operation has been accepted (step S406), and when it is determined that the end operation has been accepted, control is performed. The unit 140 deletes the display related to the keyword information (step S407), exits the process shown in FIG. 10, and returns to the process in FIG.

  When determining in step S406 that the end operation has not been accepted, the control unit 140 repeats the processing from step S402.

  As described above, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the above-described (2) viewing program keyword is performed through the process of temporarily storing the keyword candidates of the broadcast program being viewed in the RAM 143 and the process shown in FIG. The confirmation registration function is realized.

[Registered keyword confirmation process]
Next, the registered keyword confirmation process will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the registered keyword confirmation process. The process shown in FIG. 11 is mainly executed by the control unit 140 in step S209 of the process shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 140 reads the already registered keyword information from the registration memory 146, and forms a list of already registered keyword information like the candidate list shown in FIG. This is displayed on the display screen of the display device connected to the hard disk device of this embodiment (step S501).

  Then, the control unit 140 accepts a selection input of target keyword information or a processing instruction input for the selected keyword information through the remote controller 150 (step S502). Then, it is determined whether the received instruction input from the user is a deletion instruction for the selected keyword (step S503). If it is determined that the instruction is a deletion instruction, the selected keyword information is stored in the registration memory 146. (Step S504), the process shown in FIG. 11 is exited, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  If it is determined in step S503 that the received instruction input from the user is not a deletion instruction, the control unit 140 determines whether the received instruction input is a keyword addition process or a change instruction for the selected keyword. When it is determined (step S505) and it is determined that the instruction is an addition instruction or a change instruction, an input of a new keyword is accepted through the remote controller 150, or an input of change information of the selected keyword is accepted through the remote controller 150. The process to perform is performed (step S506). In this case, the keyword information can be changed by connecting another word to the already registered keyword or deleting a part of the already registered keyword.

  Then, a confirmation input for using the information received in step S506, that is, whether or not the registration key 157 has been pressed is determined (step S507). When it is determined that the registration key 157 has been pressed, in step S506 The keyword information is added or changed based on the input information (step S508). Then, the process shown in FIG. 11 is exited and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  If it is determined in the determination process of step S505 that the received instruction input from the user is not a keyword addition or change instruction, the control unit 140 determines whether a predetermined end operation has been received (step S509). When it is determined that the end operation has been received, the control unit 140 deletes the display related to the keyword information (step S510), exits the process shown in FIG. 11, and returns to the process in FIG. .

  If it is determined in step S410 that the end operation has not been accepted, control unit 140 repeats the process from step S402.

  As described above, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the maintenance of the keyword information already registered in the registration memory 146 can be performed at an appropriate timing.

[Summary]
In the hard disk device of the above-described embodiment, keyword information candidates are automatically extracted from program-related information such as EPG information of broadcast programs (broadcast contents) viewed by the user. The number of appearances is managed using the candidate memory 145.

  Assuming that the keyword information candidate with a large number of appearances is the keyword information related to the broadcast program that the user is interested in, this is notified to the user, and the keyword information candidate recognized by the user is registered in the registration memory. 146, the keyword information used in the automatic recording function can be used.

  Further, as described above, the candidate memory 145 can be used to manage keyword information candidates and the number of appearances thereof, and those whose number of appearances exceeds a certain value can be automatically registered in the registration memory 146. To be done. In such a case, the keyword information can be registered and used in the registration memory 146 without any trouble of the user.

  Further, every time the user receives and selects a broadcast program, the higher one of the keyword information candidates is replaced with the keyword information registered in the registration memory 146, or the registration memory 146 is replaced. Of course, it is possible to replace the registered keyword information with the specified keyword information.

  Also, if the user likes the broadcast program while receiving and selecting the broadcast program and viewing it, the apparatus can automatically record the same broadcast program thereafter. Convenient. For this reason, the user can confirm what keywords are present in the content currently being auditioned, and after confirmation, the candidate information of the broadcast program being viewed is extracted and confirmed by the user's selection. And can register directly with the registration memory 146 when necessary.

  It is of course possible to continue displaying keyword information candidates for broadcast programs that are currently being auditioned so that keyword information candidates for broadcast programs that are always selected for reception can be watched (monitored).

  In addition, it is assumed that keyword information candidates for broadcast programs manually recorded by the user (including manually reserved recordings) are themes that the user is interested in, and are registered in the registration memory 146. It is also possible. In this case, the extracted keyword information candidates may be updated in the candidate memory 145, and notification and registration may be performed using the above-described (1) upper keyword confirmation registration function, or automatically. It is also possible to register in the registration memory 146.

  In this way, the user receives notification of keyword information candidates that are automatically extracted without having to input keyword information used in the automatic recording function one by one, and stores only necessary information in the registration memory 146. It can be registered and used as keyword information used in the automatic registration function.

  Even if there is no instruction from the user, keyword information candidates whose number of appearances is greater than or equal to a predetermined number of times are registered in the registration memory 146, or keyword information candidates of the currently viewed broadcast program are registered in the registration memory 146. You can also.

  Therefore, even if the user does not perform complicated operations to input the keyword information one by one, appropriate keyword information candidates are extracted, and only the keyword information candidates designated by the user are registered in the registration memory 146, and the keyword information Can be used as

[Others]
As can be seen from the above description, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit 116 and the connection end portion to the outside such as a digital or analog tuner unit or communication I / F are provided in the EPG. A function as an acquisition means for acquiring program-related information such as information is realized.

  In the hard disk device of this embodiment, the keyword seek unit 401 realized by the control unit 140 functions as an extraction unit for extracting keyword information candidates, and candidate storage unit based on the extracted keyword information candidates. A function as an updating means for updating the information of the candidate memory is realized.

  Further, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the candidate list forming unit 402 realized by the control unit 140 realizes a function as a notification unit that notifies keyword information candidates. In the hard disk device of this embodiment, the control unit 140 to which the remote controller 150 and the light receiving unit 148 are connected realizes a function as an accepting unit, and the registration processing unit 403 realized by the control unit 140 is a candidate. A function as registration means for registering the keyword information candidates stored in the memory 145 in the registration memory 146 is realized.

  Further, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, automatic registration means for automatically registering, in the registration memory, the keyword information candidates stored in the candidate memory by the control unit 140 whose appearance count is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. It is also possible to realize the function as.

  Further, in the hard disk device of this embodiment, the confirmation list forming unit 404 realized by the control unit 140 realizes a function as a notification means for notifying keyword information candidates of a broadcast program currently being viewed, The remote controller 150 realizes a function as a registration receiving unit, and a direct registration processing unit 405 realized by the control unit 140 functions as a registering unit that registers keyword information candidates of a broadcast program being viewed in the registration memory 146. Is to be realized.

  In the above-described embodiment, the keyword seek unit 401 realizes a function as an extraction unit that extracts keyword information candidates and a candidate as a candidate storage unit based on the extracted keyword information candidates. It is of course possible to separate the function as the updating means for updating the memory information as separate means.

  It is also possible to configure a list forming unit that combines the functions of the candidate list forming unit 402 and the confirmation list forming unit 404, and a registration process that combines the functions of the registration processing unit 403 and the direct registration processing unit 405. It is also possible to configure the part.

  In the above-described embodiment, when a broadcast program to be used for viewing or the like is changed by changing a broadcast channel to be received and received by a user operation, the program related information of the broadcast program is changed. It was described as extracting keyword information candidates. However, in practice, the user may frequently change the broadcast channel to be selected for searching for a favorite broadcast program.

  For this reason, keyword information candidates are extracted when viewing of a broadcast program continues for a certain period of time, or keyword information is used using program related information of a broadcast program used for extraction of keyword information candidates. It is also possible not to extract candidates. In the latter case, it can be realized relatively easily by holding and managing the program ID of the program related information already used for extracting keyword information candidates.

  Further, the number of keyword information candidates to be extracted is not limited to one, and a plurality of candidates may be extracted. As described above, even when a plurality of keyword information candidates are extracted for one broadcast program, all are displayed in the candidate list, and what is registered in the registration memory 146 and what is not registered are provided. Of course it is also possible.

  In the hard disk device of the above-described embodiment, the keyword seek unit 401, candidate list forming unit 402, registration processing unit 403, confirmation list forming unit 404, and direct registration processing unit 405 described with reference to FIG. Although described as being realized by a program executed in the control unit 140, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, the functions of each of the keyword seek unit 401, candidate list forming unit 402, registration processing unit 403, confirmation list forming unit 404, and direct registration processing unit 405 can be configured as a circuit portion including a separate CPU. is there.

  In the above-described embodiment, information extracted from program-related information of a broadcast program that has been selected and received by a user is used as a keyword information candidate. It is not intended for broadcast programs only. For example, for a broadcast program that is manually recorded by the user, similarly, a keyword information candidate is extracted from the program related information and used as updated in the candidate memory 145 as described above. It is of course possible to register directly in the registration memory 146. That is, as described above, keyword information candidates can be extracted and used as a target for all broadcast programs that have been received and selected according to the user's intention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a hard disk device has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a recording device or a recording / reproducing device capable of recording a broadcast program on various large-capacity recording media such as a personal computer, a VTR (Video Tape Recorder), a DVD recorder, etc., having a broadcast signal reception channel selection function The present invention can be applied to the information processing apparatus. The present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus such as a recording apparatus and a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of receiving a broadcast signal and recording the broadcast program on a large capacity of various recording media.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the frequency of appearance of keyword information is grasped by counting up the number of times of appearance of keyword information. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when the number of appearances of keyword information becomes a certain value or more, the value of the number of appearances of each keyword information may be reduced at a constant ratio.

  For example, when the counting process is advanced as “soccer: 40001 times”, “baseball: 440 times”, “sumo: 44 times”, and “hockey: 3 times”, only soccer exceeds 40000 times. If this is the case, the number of appearances of the keyword information “soccer” may overflow. Therefore, in such a case, the number of appearances of all keyword information is set to, for example, 1/4 (1/4).

  Therefore, in the above case, “soccer: 10000 times”, “baseball: 110 times”, “sumo: 11 times”, and “hockey: 1 time”. In this case, when the keyword information is “hockey”, if the third time is reduced to ¼, the value becomes less than one time, and the number of appearances does not make sense. Therefore, in such a case, a so-called carry-up calculation such as rounding up once may be performed.

  In this way, when the number of appearances of all keyword information is reduced by a predetermined ratio, the ratio of the number of appearances among all the keyword information (the composition ratio) is not affected, and each keyword information Appearance frequency can be grasped, and inconvenience such as overflow can be prevented. It should be noted that the upper limit of the number of appearances and the ratio (ratio) for reducing the number of appearances of all keyword information when the upper limit is exceeded may be determined according to the number of digits of the counter used.

  Further, as a concept, a constant value is assigned as an appearance point to all keyword information, and each time keyword information appears, a constant value, for example, a value “1” is assigned from the appearance point assigned to the keyword information. Subtraction (countdown) may be performed so that the smaller the number of appearance points, the greater the number of appearances.

  Thus, in this specification, the process of updating the number of appearances is a process that can include a countdown, an increase process at a certain ratio, a decrease process, and the like in addition to the count up. However, in order to actually notify the appearance frequency of the keyword information in an easy-to-understand manner, it is preferable to notify in order of increasing appearance value.

  Therefore, when using the method of subtracting the appearance count from the initial value (countdown), not the value after the subtraction but the total of the values used for the subtraction (the total of the subtraction numbers) is notified or used for the subtraction. Various conversions such as notification of the ratio of the total value (total number of subtracted values) to the initial value may be performed.

  In addition, when using the method of subtracting the appearance count from the initial value (countdown), the smaller the value after subtraction, the higher the appearance frequency is reported and the notification is given, and the appearance count itself or the appearance It is also possible not to notify the value obtained by converting the number of times. Of course, even when the number of appearances is counted up, it is possible to notify them by ranking in descending order of the number of appearances and not to notify the value of the number of appearances itself.

It is a block diagram for explaining a hard disk device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the control part 140 for implement | achieving a high-order keyword confirmation registration function and a viewing-and-listening program keyword confirmation registration function. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the external appearance of the remote control 150 of the hard-disk apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the keyword edit menu MN made to display with the hard disk apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the user interface in the case of utilizing a high-order keyword confirmation registration function. It is a figure for demonstrating the user interface in the case of utilizing a viewing-and-listening program keyword confirmation registration function. It is a flowchart for demonstrating extraction and update processing of candidate keyword information. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process in the case of utilizing a keyword edit function. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a high-order keyword confirmation registration process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the keyword confirmation registration process during viewing. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the registered keyword confirmation process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Digital broadcast wave tuner, 102 ... Digital input / output terminal, 103 ... Digital interface, 104 ... Terrestrial tuner, 116 ... Multiplexing / demultiplexing circuit, 129 ... Communication interface, 130 ... Communication connection terminal, 140 ... Control part, 145 ... Candidate memory, 146 ... Registration memory, 147 ... Dictionary data memory, 148 ... Remote control signal light receiving part, 149 ... Clock circuit, 150 ... Remote control, 401 ... Keyword seek part, 402 ... Candidate list forming part, 403 ... Registration process 404, confirmation list forming unit, 405 ... direct registration processing unit, 406 ... automatic recording control unit

Claims (10)

An acquisition means for acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
Extraction means for extracting candidate keyword information from the program-related information acquired through the acquisition means for the broadcast program being used;
Candidate storage means for storing and holding the keyword information candidates extracted by the extraction means together with the number of appearances thereof;
The keyword information candidates extracted by the extraction means are added to the candidate storage means with the number of appearances as an initial value if there is none, and update means for updating the number of appearances if there is,
An information processing apparatus comprising: notification means for notifying the keyword information candidates stored in the candidate storage means in descending order of the number of appearances. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Registration storage means for storing and holding keyword information used for automatic recording;
A receiving unit for receiving an instruction to select keyword information to be registered in the registration storage unit from the keyword information candidates notified by the notification unit;
An information processing apparatus comprising: registration means for registering the keyword information selected through the reception means in the registration storage means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Registration storage means for storing and holding keyword information used for automatic recording;
An information processing apparatus comprising: automatic registration means for automatically registering, in the registration storage means, the keyword information candidates stored in the candidate storage means whose appearance count is a predetermined value or more. An acquisition means for acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
Extraction means for extracting keyword information from the program related information acquired through the acquisition means for the broadcast program being used;
A receiving means for receiving a keyword information notification instruction for a broadcast program being used;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a notification unit configured to notify the keyword information extracted by the extraction unit when the notification instruction is received through the reception unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
Registration storage means for storing and holding keyword information used for automatic recording;
A registration instruction receiving means for receiving a registration instruction to the registration storage means for the keyword information notified by the notification means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a registration unit configured to register the keyword information notified by the notification unit in the registration storage unit when the registration instruction is received through the registration instruction reception unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
Registration storage means for storing and holding keyword information used for automatic recording;
An information processing apparatus comprising: registration means for registering the keyword information notified by the notification means in the registration storage means. An acquisition step of acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
An extraction step of extracting keyword information candidates from the program related information acquired in the acquisition step of the broadcast program being used;
If there is no keyword information candidate extracted by the extraction means and stored together with the number of appearances, the candidate storage unit adds the number of appearances as an initial value, and updates the number of appearances if there is any Steps,
A notification step of notifying the keyword information candidates stored in the candidate storage unit in descending order of the number of appearances. An acquisition step of acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
An extraction step of extracting keyword information from the program related information acquired in the acquisition step of the broadcast program being used;
A reception step for receiving a keyword information notification instruction input for the broadcast program being used;
An information processing method comprising: a notification step of notifying the keyword information extracted in the extraction step when the notification instruction input is received in the reception step. In the computer of the information processing device for using the broadcast program,
An acquisition step of acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
An extraction step of extracting keyword information candidates from the program related information acquired in the acquisition step of the broadcast program being used;
If there is no keyword information candidate extracted by the extracting means and stored together with the number of appearances, the candidate information is added with the number of appearances as an initial value, and if there is, the number of appearances is updated. An update step;
And a notification step of notifying the keyword information candidates stored in the candidate storage unit in descending order of the number of appearances. In the computer of the information processing device for using the broadcast program,
An acquisition step of acquiring program-related information about each broadcast program provided by a broadcast or a route different from the broadcast;
An extraction step of extracting keyword information from the program related information acquired in the acquisition step of the broadcast program being used;
A reception step for receiving a keyword information notification instruction input for the broadcast program being used;
An information processing program that executes a notification step of notifying the keyword information extracted in the extraction step when the notification instruction input is received in the reception step.

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