Information processing apparatus and information processing method

• US 8,606,797 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2010
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakanaka, Motoe, Sugiue, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US12/708,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20100238183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,391 Days
• Field of Search: 715705-713, 707/751
• US Class Current: 707/751
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a storage unit where function attribute information, user operation information, and recommendation degree information are recorded to be associated with one another, the attribute information indicating an attribute about a function of a predetermined device, the operation information indicating content of a predetermined user operation input to the device, and the degree information indicating a recommendation degree which serves as a reference for outputting, on a priority basis, display for recommending use of the function to a display apparatus, a recommendation degree information updating unit that updates, when a predetermined user operation is input, the degree information to increase the degree associated with function attribute information, and a recommended function determining unit that determines, based on the degree information recorded in the unit, a function with a highest degree as a recommended function.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

store function attribute information, user operation information, and recommendation degree information are recorded so as to be associated with one another, the function attribute information indicating an attribute about a function of a predetermined device, the user operation information indicating content of a predetermined user operation input to the predetermined device, and the recommendation degree information indicating a recommendation degree which serves as a reference for outputting, on a priority basis, display for recommending use of the function to a display apparatus;

update, when a user operation that matches the user operation information associated with a piece of function attribute information is input, the recommendation degree information to increase the recommendation degree associated with the piece of function attribute information;

determine, based on the pieces of recommendation degree information recorded, a function with a highest recommendation degree as a recommended function, from among functions whose respective pieces of function attribute information are stored;

cause the display apparatus to provide recommendation display for recommending use of the determined recommended function;

add up a number of executions of a recommended function which indicates a number of times a function in relation to the recommendation display is executed by a user operation within a predetermined period of time;

calculate a function usage rate which indicates a rate of a number of functions for which a usage history exists with respect to a number of all functions recorded; and

adjust a recommended function standard in accordance with fluctuations in the number of executions of a recommended function and the function usage rate, the recommended function standard defining a number of functions selectable as a recommended function.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

record trigger information so as to be associated with the function attribute information, the trigger information indicating content of a user operation which serves as a trigger to cause the display apparatus to provide recommendation display,

generate, when a user operation that matches a user operation associated with the trigger information is input, an instruction signal and outputs the instruction signal, the instruction signal being a signal for allowing control of the display apparatus, and

in response to the instruction signal, cause the display apparatus to provide the recommendation display.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to, when a user operation is input to execute the determined recommended function and the input user operation matches a user operation associated with the function attribute information, update the recommendation degree information to decrease the recommendation degree.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to record external information that is obtained from one or two or more external devices which are communicable through a network and that includes the function attribute information, the user operation information, and the recommendation degree information of the one or two or more external devices.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to newly obtain the function attribute information, the user operation information, and the recommendation degree information through a network or based on a user input and updates the function attribute information, the user operation information, and the recommendation degree information which are recorded.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to associate first function attribute information of a predetermined function with second function attribute information of a function used in association with the predetermined function, and when the predetermined function is executed, increase both a recommendation degree associated with the first function attribute information and a recommendation degree associated with the second function attribute information.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the function attribute information includes function manipulation explanation data which is data on a manipulation explanation of a function of the predetermined device, and

the circuitry is further configured to provide display by including function manipulation explanation display for the function manipulation explanation data is included in the recommendation display.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine a number of functions selectable as a recommended function, based on the recommended function standard.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the circuitry is further configured to adjust a recommendation timing standard in accordance with fluctuations in the number of executions of a recommended function and the function usage rate, the recommendation timing standard indicating timing at which the display apparatus provides the recommendation display.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine timing at which the recommendation display can be provided, based on the recommendation timing standard.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the circuitry is further configured to cause the display apparatus to provide recommendation display for the recommended function at predetermined timing based on the determination of the timing at which the recommendation display can be provided.

12. An information processing apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

store function attribute information, user operation information, and recommendation degree information are recorded so as to be associated with one another, the function attribute information indicating an attribute about a function of a predetermined device, the user operation information indicating content of a predetermined user operation input to the predetermined device, and the recommendation degree information indicating a recommendation degree which serves as a reference for outputting, on a priority basis, display for recommending use of the function to a display apparatus;

update, when a user operation that matches the user operation information associated with a piece of function attribute information is input, the recommendation degree information to increase the recommendation degree associated with the piece of function attribute information;

determine, based on the pieces of recommendation degree information recorded, a function with a highest recommendation degree as a recommended function, from among functions whose respective pieces of function attribute information are stored;

cause the display apparatus to provide recommendation display for recommending use of the determined recommended function;

add up a number of executions of a recommended function which indicates a number of times a function in relation to the recommendation display is executed by a user operation within a predetermined period of time;

calculate a function usage rate which indicates a rate of a number of functions for which a usage history exists with respect to a number of all functions recorded;

adjust a recommended function standard in accordance with fluctuations in the number of executions of a recommended function and the function usage rate, the recommended function standard defining a number of functions selectable as a recommended function;

determine a number of functions selectable as a recommended function, based on the recommended function standard; and

determine a function with a highest recommendation degree as a function to be recommended to a user, based on the determination of the number of functions selectable as the recommended function.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the circuitry is further configured to

adjust a recommendation timing standard in accordance with fluctuations in the number of executions of a recommended function and the function usage rate, the recommendation timing standard indicating timing to cause the display apparatus to provide the recommendation display,

determine timing at which the recommendation display can be provided, based on the recommendation timing standard, and

cause the display apparatus to provide recommendation display for the recommended function at predetermined timing based on the determination of the timing at which the recommendation display can be provided.

14. An information processing method, comprising the steps of:

based on function attribute information, user operation information, and recommendation degree information which are entered in advance, the function attribute information indicating an attribute about a function of a predetermined device, the user operation information indicating content of a predetermined user operation input to the predetermined device, and the recommendation degree information indicating a recommendation degree which serves as a reference for outputting, on a priority basis, display for recommending use of the function to a display apparatus,

updating, when a user operation that matches the user operation information associated with a piece of function attribute information is input, the recommendation degree information to increase the recommendation degree associated with the piece of function attribute information;

determining, based on the recommendation degree information, a function with a highest recommendation degree as a recommended function, from among functions whose respective pieces of function attribute information are entered;

causing the display apparatus to provide recommendation display for recommending use of the determined recommended function;

adding up a number of executions of a recommended function which indicates a number of times a function in relation to the recommendation display is executed by a user operation within a predetermined period of time;

calculating a function usage rate which indicates a rate of a number of functions for which a usage history exists with respect to a number of all functions recorded; and

adjusting a recommended function standard in accordance with fluctuations in the number of executions of a recommended function and the function usage rate, the recommended function standard defining a number of functions selectable as a recommended function.

15. A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions which, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method according to claim 14.