Information presenting device, information presenting method, information presenting program, and integrated circuit

• US 8,244,673 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2007
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Icho, Keiji, Horii, Noriaki, Saso, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANNAVAJJALA, SRIRAMA T
• Application Number:
  US12/373,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20100010986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• Field of Search: 707/609, 707602-603, 707/688, 707/705, 707/730, 707748-752, 707791-792, 707/797, 707802-805, 707821-829, 707/621, 707/796, 707913-916, 463/40, 463 42- 43, 463/1, 455/414.1, 4554143-4144, 455/418, 709/203, 709215-220, 725/9, 725/13, 725 34- 35, 725 45- 46
• US Class Current: 707/621
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor

Abstract

An information presenting device for narrowing down information for users and stimulating interest in users from various viewpoints, and presenting the information to users in an easily ascertainable manner. Specifically, a content recommending device displays an image, a commonality map image includes a title image, a Venn diagram image, and a details button image. The Venn diagram in the commonality map image relating to all content is narrowed down to a Venn diagram about a set containing, as elements, content IDs of content having an attribute value, for example, “Mayumi Hamada” for an attribute “artist”. In the content recommending device, a multiple profile acquiring unit acquires viewing/listening history tables including content IDs of content viewed/listened to in player terminals, and a profile common relationship ascertaining unit calculates an extent of a common portion of the acquired viewing/listening history tables. The commonality is expressed as a Venn diagram.

Claims

1. An information presenting device for presenting a relationship between pluralities of data pieces, each plurality of data pieces of the pluralities of data pieces being held by a respective one of a plurality of users, the information presenting device comprising:

an acquiring unit operable to acquire at least (i) a first information group including a first plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the first plurality of data pieces being held by a first user and having a first attribute and a second attribute attached thereto, and (ii) a second information group including a second plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the second plurality of data pieces being held by a second user and having the first attribute and the second attribute attached thereto;

a generating unit operable to, (i) with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extract data pieces, of the first plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the first information group so as to generate respective first subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the first information group and (ii), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extract data pieces, of the second plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the second information group so as to generate respective second subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the second information group;

a calculating unit operable to, with respect to each of one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups pertaining to a same attribute value of the first attribute from among all of the first and second subgroups generated by the generating unit, calculate a commonality between attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup, for each of different attribute values of the second attribute;

a determining unit operable to determine a presentation order in which to present all of the commonalities calculated by the calculating unit, the presentation order being determined based on how many data pieces are contained in each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups; and

a presenting unit operable to present the commonalities calculated by the calculating unit arranged in the presentation order determined by the determining unit.

2. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein the presenting unit includes:

a set selecting sub-unit operable to, with respect to each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups, select one of (a) a product set of the first subgroup and the second subgroup and (b) a difference set of (i) the first subgroup or the second subgroup and (ii) the product set; and

a display sub-unit operable to display the commonalities arranged in the determined presentation order and in a manner such that the selected one of the product set and the difference set is easily distinguishable from any other displayed set.

3. The information presenting device of claim 2, wherein the set selecting sub-unit selects the difference set when a ratio of a number of elements in the product set and a number of elements in a union is a predetermined value or higher.

4. The information presenting device of claim 2, wherein the set selecting sub-unit selects the product set when a ratio of a number of elements in the product set and a number of elements in a union is lower than a predetermined value.

5. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the presentation order as a descending order of a number of elements contained in each of a plurality of unions, each respective union of the plurality of unions being a union of the first and second subgroups of a pair of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups.

6. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the presentation order as a descending order of size of the commonalities of each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups.

7. The information presenting device of claim 1,

wherein the calculating unit further calculates, with respect to each different attribute value of the plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, a commonality between attribute values of the first attribute attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and attribute values of the first attribute attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup, and

wherein the presenting unit is further operable to illustrate, to a user, the calculated commonalities between attribute values of the first attribute in a visualized manner.

8. The information presenting device of claim 7, wherein the presenting unit is further operable to receive a switch instruction from the user to switch the presentation, and when the switch instruction is received, switch from the illustration of the commonality of the first attributes to an illustration of commonalities of the second attributes, the illustration of the commonalities of the second attributes being details of what is illustrated in the illustration of the commonality of the first attributes.

9. The information presenting device of claim 7, wherein the presenting unit is further operable to receive a switch instruction from the user to switch the presentation, and when the switch instruction is received, switch from the illustration of the commonality of the first attributes to an illustration of commonalities of the first attributes and the second attributes, the illustration of the commonalities of the first attributes and the second attributes being details of what is illustrated in the illustration of the commonality of the first attributes.

10. The information presenting device of claim 7,

wherein the presenting unit for each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups, when the commonality between the first attributes attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and the first attributes attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, selects a difference set of (a) the first information group or the second information group and (b) a product set of the first information group and the second information group, and

wherein the presenting unit displays the selected difference set in a manner that the selected difference set is easily distinguishable from any other displayed set.

11. The information presentation device of claim 7,

wherein the presenting unit for each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups, when the commonality between the first attributes attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and the first attributes attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup is less than a predetermined value, selects a product set of the first information group and the second information group, and

wherein the presenting unit displays the selected product set in a manner that the selected difference set is easily distinguishable from any other displayed set.

12. The information presenting device of claim 7, wherein the presenting unit displays the calculated commonality of the first attributes and calculated commonalities of the second attributes for each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups.

13. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein each respective first attribute of the first information group and the second information group is a grouping ID showing a grouping to which a respective data piece belongs, and each respective second attribute of the first information group and the second information group is a data ID that identifies the respective data piece.

14. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein each respective first attribute of the first information group and the second information group is a grouping ID showing a grouping to which a respective data piece belongs, and each respective second attribute of the first information group and the second information group is a different grouping ID than the respective first attribute.

15. The information presenting device of claim 1,

wherein the first and second attributes of the first information group and the second information group compose a tree structure in which the first attributes are on a top level and the second attributes are on a level below the top level, and

wherein possible values of the second attributes are predetermined in advance in correspondence with contents of the first attributes.

16. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein the presenting unit displays, for each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups, each commonality in a visualized manner by displaying a Venn diagram showing a relationship between the first subgroup and the second subgroup.

17. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein each data piece is digital content.

18. The information presenting device of claim 1, wherein each data piece is data history.

19. The information presenting device of claim 1, further comprising:

a commonality calculating unit operable to calculate a commonality relating to the acquired first information group and the acquired second information group;

a set selecting unit operable to, based on the commonality related to the acquired first information group and the acquired second information group, select one of (a) a common set consisting of common portions of the first information group and the second information group, and (b) a non-common set consisting of one of (i) a portion of the first information group, excluding the common portion of the first information group and (ii) a portion of the second information group, excluding the common portion of the second information group; and

an information selecting unit operable to select data information pieces included in the one of the common set and the non-common set selected by the set selecting unit.

20. The information presenting device of claim 19, wherein the set selecting unit selects the non-common set when the commonality related to the acquired first information group and the acquired second information group is a predetermined value or higher.

21. The information presenting device of claim 19, wherein the set selecting unit selects the common set when the commonality related to the acquired first information group and the acquired second information group is lower than a predetermined value.

22. The information presenting device of claim 19, wherein the commonality calculating unit (a) calculates a first number showing how many data information pieces are included in at least one of the first information group and the second information group, (b) calculates a second number showing how many data information pieces are included in the common set, and (c) calculates, as the commonality related to the acquired first information group and the acquired second information group, a ratio of the second number to the first number.

23. The information presentation device of claim 19,

wherein each data information piece includes a respective data ID identifying the respective data piece, and a respective grouping ID showing which grouping the data piece belongs to,

wherein the acquiring unit (a) acquires a third information group including a third plurality of data information pieces, and a fourth information group including of a fourth plurality of data information pieces, (b) with respect to each value of the respective grouping IDs included in the data information pieces of the third information group and the fourth information group, generates the first information group consisting of one or more data information pieces whose respective grouping ID has the value from among the data information pieces of the third information group, and generates the second information group consisting of one or more data information pieces whose respective grouping ID has the value from among the data information pieces of the fourth information group,

wherein the commonality calculating unit is further operable to calculate, with respect to each value of the respective grouping IDs, a commonality of the first information group and the second information group corresponding to the respective grouping ID,

wherein the set selecting unit is further operable to (a) select at least one of the respective grouping IDs in descending order of a size of the commonalities corresponding to values of the respective grouping IDs, and (b) based on the commonality corresponding to the selected at least one grouping ID, select one of (i) a common set consisting of common portions of the first and second information groups corresponding to a value of the selected at least one grouping ID, and (ii) a non-common set consisting portions from the first information group and the second information group corresponding to a value of the selected at least one grouping ID excluding the common portions, and

wherein the information selecting unit selects one or more data information pieces included in the one of the common set and the non-common set selected by the set selecting unit.

24. An information presenting method used in an information presenting device for presenting a relationship between pluralities of data pieces, each plurality of data pieces of the pluralities of data pieces being held by a respective one of a plurality of users, the information presenting method comprising:

an acquiring step of acquiring at least (i) a first information group including a first plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the first plurality of data pieces being held by a first user and having a first attribute and a second attribute attached thereto, and (ii) a second information group including a second plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the second plurality of data pieces being held by a second user and having the first attribute and the second attribute attached thereto;

a generating step of (i), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extracting data pieces, of the first plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the first information group so as to generate respective first subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the first information group and (ii), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extracting data pieces, of the second plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the second information group so as to generate respective second subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the second information group;

a calculating step of, with respect to each of one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups pertaining to a same attribute value of the first attribute from among all of the first and second subgroups generated by the generating step, calculating a commonality between attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup, for each of different attribute values of the second attribute;

a determining step of determining a presentation order in which to present all of the commonalities calculated by the calculating step, the presentation order being determined based on how many data pieces are contained in each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups; and

a presenting step of presenting the commonalities calculated by the calculating step arranged in the presentation order determined by the determining step.

25. An non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having an information presenting program recorded thereon, the information presenting program being used by an information presenting device for presenting a relationship between pluralities of data pieces, each plurality of data pieces of the pluralities of data pieces being held by a respective one of a plurality of users, and the information presenting program causing a computer to execute a method comprising:

an acquiring step of acquiring at least (i) a first information group including a first plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the first plurality of data pieces being held by a first user and having a first attribute and a second attribute attached thereto, and (ii) a second information group including a second plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the second plurality of data pieces being held by a second user and having the first attribute and the second attribute attached thereto;

a generating step of (i), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extracting data pieces, of the first plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the first information group so as to generate respective first subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the first information group and (ii), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extracting data pieces, of the second plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the second information group so as to generate respective second subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the second information group;

a calculating step of, with respect to each of one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups pertaining to a same attribute value of the first attribute from among all of the first and second subgroups generated by the generating step, calculating a commonality between attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup, for each of different attribute values of the second attribute;

a determining step of determining a presentation order in which to present all of the commonalities calculated by the calculating step, the presentation order being determined based on how many data pieces are contained in each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups; and

a presenting step of presenting the commonalities calculated by the calculating step arranged in the presentation order determined by the determining step.

26. An integrated circuit used in an information presenting device for presenting a relationship between pluralities of data pieces, each plurality of data pieces of the pluralities of data pieces being held by a respective one of a plurality of users, the integrated circuit comprising:

an acquiring unit operable to acquire at least (i) a first information group including a first plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the first plurality of data pieces being held by a first user and having a first attribute and a second attribute attached thereto, and (ii) a second information group including a second plurality of data pieces, each data piece of the second plurality of data pieces being held by a second user and having the first attribute and the second attribute attached thereto;

a generating unit operable to (i), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extract data pieces, of the first plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the first information group so as to generate respective first subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first attribute extracted from the first information group and (ii), with respect to each different attribute value of a plurality of different attribute values of the first attribute, extract data pieces, of the second plurality of data pieces, having a same attribute value of the first attribute from the second information group so as to generate respective second subgroups each consisting of the data pieces having the same attribute value of the first second attribute extracted from the second information group;

a calculating unit operable to, with respect to each of one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups pertaining a same attribute value of the first attribute from among all of the first and second subgroups generated by the generating unit, calculate a commonality between attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the first subgroup and attribute values of the second attribute attached to the data pieces of the second subgroup, for each of different attribute values of the second attribute;

a determining unit operable to determine a presentation order in which to present all of the commonalities calculated by the calculating unit, the presentation order being determined based on how many data pieces are contained in each of the one or more pairs of the generated first and second subgroups; and

a presenting unit operable to present the commonalities calculated by the calculating unit arranged in the presentation order determined by the determining unit.