Information-processing apparatus, information-processing methods and programs

• US 7,707,268 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2005
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Mitsuhiro, Saito, Mari, Yamamoto, Noriyuki, Tateno, Kei
• Primary Examiner(s): DENNISON, JERRY B
• Application Number:
  US11/100,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,846 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 709/206, 709/217, 715727-729, 715/752, 715753-759, 715/865, 715/866, 715/978
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

An information-processing apparatus which can easily output an accessory content suitable for a user situation at a point of time in course of an operation to output a main content or before or after the operation is provided. The present invention includes a history-information generation section generates one or more pieces of correlation information each including at least one piece of information on the user utilizing the apparatus at a point of time the apparatus outputs an already used main content and in a time band including the point of time. A user-utilization accessory-content determination section determines an accessory content regarded as a content whose output operation in course of an operation to output a new main content or before or after the operation is considered to be suitable for the user on the basis of one or more pieces of correlation information stored in the correlation-information storage section and characteristics of one or more accessory contents stored in the accessory-content storage section, and outputs the determined accessory content. The present invention can be applied to an information-processing apparatus which can output a piece of music or a picture in course of operations to read and write a mail text.

Claims

1. A method for individually outputting a content of a first type and a content of a second type, for storing one or more contents of said second type, and for storing other information different from said contents of said second type, the method comprising:

generating history information, performed by an information-processing apparatus, the history information on a user utilizing said information-processing apparatus, said history information including a first characteristic vector representing a correlation between an already used content of said first type and an already used content of said second type, wherein the history information is generated at a point of time the already used content of said first type was output;

controlling an operation to store history information each time history information is generated in a process carried out at said step of generating history information;

acquiring meta information from a user-utilization content of said first type;

generating a second characteristic vector, based on said acquired meta information, representing at least one characteristic of the user-utilization content of said first type;

determining a degree of similarity based on;

(i) said first characteristic vector included in said history information; and

(ii) said second characteristic vector that was generated based on said acquired meta information; and

determining, performed by the information-processing apparatus, a second-type content regarded as a suitable content whose output operation is considered to be suitable for said user based on said determined degree of similarity based on said first characteristic vector and said second characteristic vector.

2. A removable media storing instructions structured to cause an information-processing apparatus to:

(a) generate history information including one or more pieces of information on a user utilizing said information-processing apparatus, said history information including a first characteristic vector representing a correlation between an already used content of said first type and an already used content of said second type, the history information being generated at a point of time the already used content of a first type was output;

(b) control an operation to store history information in a second storage means each time history information is generated in a process carried out at said step of generating history information;

(c) acquire meta information from a user-utilization content of said first type;

(e) generate a second characteristic vector, based on said acquired meta information, representing at least one characteristic of the user-utilization content of said first type;

(f) determine a degree of similarity based on;

(i) said first characteristic vector included in said history information; and

(ii) said second characteristic vector that was generated based on said acquired meta information; and

(g) determine a second-type content regarded as a suitable content whose output operation is considered to be suitable for said user based on said determined degree of similarity based on said first characteristic vector and said second characteristic vector.

3. An information-processing apparatus for outputting a content of a first type and a content of a second type, the information-processing apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a processor operatively coupled to the display device;

a memory device storing a plurality of instructions, which when the plurality of instructions are executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

(a) generate history information on a user utilizing said information-processing apparatus, said history information including a first characteristic vector representing a correlation between an already used content of said first type and an already used content of said second type, the history information being generated at a point of time the already used content of said first type was output;

(b) store the one or more pieces of generated history information;

(c) store one or more contents of said content of the second type;

(d) acquire meta information from a user-utilization content of said first type;

(e) generate a second characteristic vector, based on said acquired meta information, representing at least one characteristic of the user-utilization content of said first type;

(f) determine a degree of similarity based on;

(i) said first characteristic vector included in said history information; and

(ii) said second characteristic vector that was generated based on said acquired meta information; and

(g) determine whether at least one of the second-type-content is regarded as a suitable content whose output operation is considered to be suitable for said user based on said determined degree of similarity based on said first characteristic vector and said second characteristic vector.

4. The information-processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to:

generate history information including at least first characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used content of said first type and second characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used second-type content, which was output from said information-processing apparatus while said already used content of said first type was being output or before or after said already used content of said first type was output;

select one or more pieces of history information each including first characteristic information identical with or similar to characteristic information showing characteristics of a new content of said first type among one or more pieces of history information; and

determine a second-type content identified by second characteristic information included in each of said selected pieces of history information as a second-type content whose output operation in course of an operation to output a new content of said first type or before or after said operation to output a new content of said first type is considered to be suitable for said user.

5. The information-processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to:

generate first history information including at least first characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used content of said first type and first context information showing a user context at an output time of said already used content of said first type; and

generate second history information including at least second characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used content of said second type and second context information showing a user context at an output time of said already used content of said second type;

store said first history information and said second history information;

select one or more pieces of first history information each including first characteristic information identical with or similar to characteristic information showing characteristics of a new content of said first type among one or more pieces of first history information;

acquire first context information included in each of said selected pieces of first history information;

select one or more pieces of second history information each including second context information identical with or similar to said acquired first context information among one or more pieces of second history information; and

determine a second-type content identified by second characteristic information included in each of said selected pieces of second history information as a second-type content whose output operation in course of an operation to output a new content of said first type or before or after said operation to output a new content of said first type is considered to be suitable for said user.

6. The information-processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein when executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions cause the processor to:

receive a content of said first type and first context information added to said content of said first type as information showing a context of another user from another apparatus used by said other user;

generate first history information including at least first characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used content of said first type and second context information showing a user context at an output time of said already used content of said first type;

generate second history information including at least first characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used content of said first type and second characteristic information showing characteristics of an already used second-type content, which was output from said information-processing apparatus while said already used content of said first type was being output or before or after said already used content of said first type was output;

store said first history information and said second history information;

select one or more pieces of first history information each including second context information identical with or similar to first context information added to a new first-type content received by said data reception means said among one or more pieces of first history information;

acquire first characteristic information included in each of said selected pieces of first history information;

select one or more pieces of second history information each including second characteristic information identical with or similar to said acquired first characteristic information among one or more pieces of second history information; and

determine a second-type content identified by second characteristic information included in each of said selected pieces of second history information as a second-type content whose output operation in course of an operation to output a new content of said first type or before or after said operation to output a new content of said first type is considered to be suitable for said user.