Information providing apparatus, terminal apparatus, information providing system and information providing method

• US 7,558,800 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Morita, Naoki, Wada, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tim T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morrison; Jay A
• Application Number:
  US11/216,821
• Publication Number:
  US 20060059519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/5, 707/100, 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/278 Content descriptor database or directory service for end-user access details of content or meta data based information retrieval of video data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An information providing apparatus includes, a communication section configured to transmit and receive to and from the terminal apparatus, a command analysis section configured to specify a command from the terminal apparatus, a user specifying section configured to specify a user transmitting the command, a keyword system providing section configured to transmit all or part of the keyword system to the terminal apparatus when a specified command is a keyword list request command, a content preview select section configured to specify at least one content based on the keyword, the user personal information and the history information when a specified command is a content preview request command, and select the preview data and content specifying data, and a content preview providing section configured to transmit the content preview data and the content specifying data to the terminal apparatus.

Claims

1. An information providing system having terminal apparatuses connected to a network, and an information providing apparatus connected to the network and providing information including sound, still image, or video contents to the terminal apparatus, the information providing apparatus comprising:

a communication section configured to communicate with each terminal apparatus via the network;

a content database configured to store the contents and preview data of each of the contents;

a keyword database configured to store a predetermined keyword group composed of keywords given to each content for selection;

a command analysis section configured to specify a command from one of the terminal apparatuses received by the communication section;

a user specifying section configured to specify a user transmitting the command;

a keyword group providing section configured to transmit at least a part of the keyword group stored in the keyword database to the terminal apparatus via the communication section when a command specified by the command analysis section is a keyword request command;

a management database configured to store personal information of users of the terminal apparatuses and an information providing history which is data indicative of contents that the information providing apparatus has previously transmitted to the terminal apparatuses;

a content preview select section configured to specify at least one content from the contents stored in the content database based on the keyword, the personal information and the information providing history stored in the management database when a command specified by the command analysis section is a content preview request command including a keyword of the keyword group, and select the preview data of the specified content and content specifying data for specifying the content;

a content preview providing section configured to transmit the content preview data and the content specifying data selected by the content preview select section to the terminal apparatus;

a content providing section configured to transmit a content stored in the content database specified by the content specifying data to the one of the terminal apparatuses when a command specified by the command analysis section is a content request command including the content specifying data;

the terminal apparatuses comprising;

a second communication section configured to communicate with the information providing apparatus via the network;

an image storage section configured to store at least one image;

an image select section configured to select an image stored in the image storage section;

a keyword group request section to transmit a keyword group request command to the information providing apparatus via the second communication section;

a keyword select section configured to select a keyword from a keyword group received via the second communication section;

a content preview request section configured to transmit a content preview request command including the selected keyword to the information providing apparatus;

a content select section configured to select a content from several content preview data received via the second communication section;

a content request section configured to transmit a content request command including a content specifying information for specifying the selected content;

an associating section configured to associate a content received in accordance with the content request command via the second communication section with an image selected in the image select section;

a content reproducing section configured to reproduce the content associated by the associating section when the image selected by the image select section is displayed on an image display section; and

a personal information providing section transmitting user personal information of the terminal apparatus to the information providing apparatus via the second communication section.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the content preview select section of the information providing apparatus includes:

a content sort section configured to give a rank to several contents to which the keyword is given based on the content providing information stored in the management database by the information providing history registration section;

and a higher-rank content select section configured to select a predetermined number of the contents in an order of the contents ranked by a content sort section, highest first.

3. An information providing method used for an information providing system having terminal apparatuses connected to a network, and an information providing apparatus connected to the network and providing sound, still image, or video contents to the terminal apparatuses, comprising:

storing the contents and preview data of each of the contents in a content database in the information providing apparatus;

storing a keyword group composed of keywords given to each of the contents for selection in a keyword database in the information providing apparatus;

transmitting, with the one of the terminal apparatuses, user personal information of one of the terminal apparatuses to the information providing apparatus;

storing the user personal information of the terminal apparatus in a managing database in the information providing apparatus;

selecting, with the one of the terminal apparatuses, an image stored in the image storage section;

transmitting, with the one of the terminal apparatuses, a keyword group request command to the information providing apparatus;

receiving, by the information providing apparatus, the keyword group request command from the one of the terminal apparatuses;

transmitting, by the information providing apparatus, at least a part of the keyword group stored in the keyword database to the terminal apparatus as a second keyword group in the information providing apparatus;

storing keyword providing information which includes at least keyword specifying data of the second keyword group and a user specifying data as an information providing history in the managing database;

selecting, with the terminal apparatus, a keyword from the received second keyword group, and transmitting a content preview request command including the selected keyword to the information providing apparatus;

receiving by the information providing apparatus, the content preview request command including the selected keyword;

specifying by the information providing apparatus, at least one content from several contents stor6d in the content database based on the keyword, the user personal information and the information providing history stored in the management database, and selecting the preview data of the specified content and content specifying data for specifying the content;

transmitting by the information providing apparatus, the content preview data and the content specifying data to the terminal apparatus;

selecting, with the one of the terminal apparatuses, a content from the received content preview data, and transmitting a content request command including content specifying information for specifying the selected content;

receiving, by the information providing apparatus, the content request command including the content specifying data;

transmitting, by the information providing apparatus, a content specified by the content specifying data stored in the content database to the terminal apparatus

storing content providing information including at least the contents specifying data and user specifying data as the information providing history in the managing database;

associating, by the information providing apparatus, the content specifying data corresponding to the transmitted content with the keyword and information specifying a user of the one of the terminal apparatuses, and storing them in the management database as a content providing information;

associating the received content with the image by the one of the terminal apparatuses; and

reproducing the associated content when the image is displayed on an image display section in the one of the terminal apparatuses.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein when selecting the content preview, the information providing apparatus gives a rank to several contents to which the keyword is given based on the content providing information stored in the management database, and selects a predetermined number of contents in the order of the contents ranked by a content sort section, highest first.