Agent interface device

• US 20020059180A1
• Filed: 07/19/2001
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Keshi, Ikuo, Nakagawa, Junko, Inui, Kenichi, Aoki, Tsuguhiro, Kuromusha, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,107,271 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An agent interface device for providing information suited for user preferences on the basis of the user usage history.

The agent interface device comprises an agent display control means for controlling the display and action of the agent, a voice output means for generating the agent'"'"'s voice, an input means for inputting information from the user, an action script execution engine for driving the agent interface into action according to an action script, a retrieval engine for retrieving an adapted action script from an action script database DB and transferring it to the action script execution engine, an application program interface for controlling an application program, an EPG information acquiring means for obtaining an electronic broadcast program guide, a user preference database DB for analyzing user preferences from information provided by the EPG information acquiring means and the application program interface and storing analysis results therein, an information providing engine for providing information to the user according to information in the preference database, and a timer for setting a time for providing information to the user by the information providing engine.

Claims

1. An agent interface device for displaying an artificial agent for providing information by the agent'"'"'s action and speech, comprising:

an agent interface having an agent display control means for controlling the display and action of the agent, a voice output means for generating a speech of the agent, and an input means for input by a user,

an action script execution engine for driving the agent interface into actual action according to an action script describing means to control the agent interface,

a retrieval engine for retrieving an adapted action script from an action script database and transferring the action script to the action script executing engine,

an application program interface for controlling an application program,

an electronic program guide information acquiring means for acquiring an electronic broadcast program guide,

a preference database for analyzing user preferences from information provided by the electronic program guide information acquiring means and the application program interface and storing analysis results therein,

an information providing engine for providing information to a user according to information stored in the preference database, and

a timer for setting a time for providing information to the user by the information providing engine.

2. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein it is further provided with means capable of deciding a user preferred television program from a user usage history of a television application controllable by the application program interface according to information from the electronic program guide information acquiring means and information from the preference database, of displaying the agent at a specified time (n minute) before a start time of the user preferred TV program and, of causing the agent to have a conversation with the user about the user preferred TV program by a speech output through the voice outputting means.

3. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein it is further provided with means capable of deciding a user preferred genre from a user usage history of a television application controllable by the application program interface according to information from the electronic program guide information acquiring means and information from the preference database, of displaying the agent at a specified time (n minutes) before a start time of the user preferred genre TV program, and of causing the agent to have a conversation with the user about the user preferred genre by a speech through the voice outputting means.

4. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein it is further provided with means capable of displaying the agent immediately after the end of a TV program of a television application controllable by the application program interface and of causing the agent to have a conversation with the user about the just viewed program.

5. An agent interface device as defined in claim 4, wherein the agent is displayed immediately after ending a television application controllable by the application program interface and an internet retrieval means for retrieving information on the Internet is provided to retrieve information from a web site relevant to the just viewed program.

6. An agent interface device as defined in claim 4, wherein it is further provided with means capable of displaying the agent immediately after ending a video recording device controllable by the application program interface and of making conversation with the user about a just viewed video program.

7. An agent interface device as defined in claim 5, wherein the agent is displayed immediately after ending a video recording device controllable by the application program interface and an internet retrieval means for retrieving information on the Internet is further provided to retrieve information from a web site relevant to a just viewed video program.

8. An agent interface device as a defined in claim 4, wherein it is provided with means capable of displaying the agent immediately after ending an internet browser application program controllable by the application program interface and of causing the agent to make conversation with the user about a just browsed web site.

9. An agent interface device as defined in claim 5, wherein the agent is displayed immediately after ending an internet browser application program controllable by the application program interface and an internet retrieval means for retrieving information from a web site on an internet is provided to browse a web site relevant to a just browsed site.

10. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein it is capable of changing a theme of a conversation in accordance with a keyword of a program displayed by a television application controllable by the application program interface.

11. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein it is capable of changing a theme of a conversation according to time interval information obtainable from a usage history of a television application controllable by the application program interface.

12. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein a table of frequently watched genre programs is prepared on the basis of a usage history of a television application controllable by the application program interface and displayed when driving a television application controllable by the application program interface.

13. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein the agent is capable of informing the user of a communication line still connected to the Internet when n minutes elapsed after driving an internet browser application program controllable by the application program interface.

14. An agent interface device as defined in claim 1, wherein the agent is capable of informing the user of shortage of a system resource when a resource of the system runs short (it becomes n%).