Information providing method and apparatus, and information reception apparatus

• US 7,209,942 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirakawa, Hideki, Hori, Osamu, Sumita, Kazuo, Doi, Miwako
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIA, SYED
• Application Number:
  US09/472,068
• Time in Patent Office: 2,679 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 345/704, 345/723
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/437 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialisation, adaptation, distribution
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

By moving image analysis, acoustic/speech analysis, or text analysis for multimedia information in a database, feature data representing the type of information is acquired, and the feature data is stored into the database added to the multimedia information. A search engine extracts partial images of user'"'"'s interest from the multimedia information on the basis of the feature data and a user profile data. A link section associates the representative images (still images) of the partial images with multimedia images and displays the list of representative images and feature data. Thus, only a portion of the user'"'"'s concern is extracted from an enormous amount of multimedia information, and individual information is selectively provided in units of users.

Claims

1. An information providing method comprising:

forming a program database by dividing multimedia information into plural partial information formed of a frame or frames, and respectively adding program feature data representing respective contents of the plural partial information to the plural partial information to thereby respectively store the plural partial information with the added program feature data in the program database;

searching for the partial information which accords with user profile data from the program database based on matching between the user profile data and the program feature data; and

reading out the searched partial information from the database and providing the searched partial information to a user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each plural partial information includes representative images of a respective multimedia information.

3. An information describing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing the user profile data; and

updating the user profile data based on a result of a search by adding an item of information corresponding to the searched partial information to the user profile data.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

adding commercial feature data to commercial information to form a commercial database; and

providing, to the user, commercial information which accords with the user profile data based on matching between the user profile data and the commercial feature data when providing said searched partial information to the user.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein each plural partial information includes representative images of a respective multimedia information.

6. The information describing method according to claim 3, wherein said group of information items including data indicating taste of the user.

7. The information describing method according to claim 5, wherein said group of information items including data indicating personal profile of the user.

8. An information providing apparatus comprising:

a first database configured to store multimedia information;

an analyze section configured to analyze said multimedia information stored in said first database using at least one analysis method of moving image analysis, acoustic/speech analysis, and text analysis;

a second database configured to divide the multimedia information into plural partial information formed of a frame or frames, based on a result of the analysis by the analyze section and to add program feature data representing respective contents of the plural partial information which is obtained from a result of analysis made by the analyze section in units of the partial information or program feature data representing respective contents of the plural partial information which is externally inputted in units of the partial information to the plural partial information to thereby store the plural partial information with the added program feature data; and

a search engine configured to search for program feature data from said second database in accordance with user profile data to find program feature data which accords with the user profile, and read the partial information from said first database in accordance with the found searched program feature data.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each plural partial information includes representative images of a respective multimedia information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said user profile data includes information associated with the user'"'"'s taste.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a keyboard configured to input said program feature data to said second database.

12. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a third database configured to store said user profile data.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a fourth database configured to store commercial message information and a fifth database configured to store commercial feature data,

wherein said search engine searches for the commercial feature data from said fifth database in accordance with the user profile data, and searches for the commercial message information corresponding to a searched commercial feature data from said fourth database.

14. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a history recording section configured to record a viewing history data of a user.

15. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a display section configured to display the partial information selected by said search engine.

16. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a link section configured to obtain a representative image of said partial information, and construct a display image including said representative image and searched program feature data.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the user profile data include information representing one of a producer, title, character, and genre of the multimedia information.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said search engine searches for program feature data from said second database, and data which matches a thesaurus of the program feature data.

19. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a display section configured to display the partial information selected by said search engine and display the commercial message information selected by said search engine as a banner.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a display section configured to display the partial information selected by said search engine and display the commercial message information selected by said search engine as a subwindow.

21. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said viewing history data represents a user, start and end time of watch, and program feature data of information watched by the user.

22. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a third database configured to store said user profile data; and

a rewrite section configured to rewrite the user profile data stored in said third database in accordance with said viewing history data.

23. An information reception apparatus connected to an information providing server having an analyze section configured to analyze multimedia information using at least one analysis method of moving image analysis, acoustic/speech analysis, and text analysis, a database which divides multimedia information into partial information formed of a frame or frames based on a result of analysis by the analyze section, each partial information including representative images of a respective multimedia information, adds either (1) program feature data representing respective contents of the plural partial information which is obtained from a result of analysis made by the analysis section in units of the partial information or (2) program feature data representing respective contents of the plural partial information which is externally input in units of the partial information to the plural partial information to thereby store the partial information with the added program feature data the apparatus comprising:

a search engine configured to search for predetermined program feature data which accords with user profile data from said database and read the partial information from said database in accordance with searched program feature data.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein each plural partial information includes representative images of a respective multimedia information.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising:

a link section configured to obtain a representative image of said partial information, and construct a display image including said representative image and the searched program feature data.