Information providing device

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to an information providing device, and in particular, extracts representative works (parts) from a group of multimedia works composed of an unspecified number of works such as images, animations, moving images, music, and texts via the Internet or the like. The present invention relates to an information providing device that summarizes and provides the summary result to the user.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, with the development of information infrastructure, the number of multimedia contents created on the Internet by an unspecified number of authors has become enormous. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to browse all the contents.

【0003】

Therefore, for information service providers who display multimedia contents created by an unspecified number of authors, when considering the convenience of services, representative works are extracted from a huge group of multimedia works. The method of providing the summary created in the above is essential.

【0004】

However, if the number of works grows too large, the summaries alone will be enormous. For this reason, the user requires a great deal of effort to view only the summary.

【0005】

As one proposal for solving this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-250944 discloses an information providing method in which only a part of interest by a user is selected and provided from multimedia information.

【0006】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, as described above, even if the user selects and provides only the part of interest from the multimedia information, if the multimedia information is too large, the provided result is also the multimedia information. The number of can still be enormous. In particular, for users who browse multimedia information on mobile phones, it is necessary to minimize the number of multimedia information in the provided results.

【0007】

In addition, an effective expression method that can understand the importance of multimedia information at a glance is required for the display result of the summary.

【0008】

Furthermore, when trying to provide the summary result to many users, it is necessary to unify the amount of information in the summary as much as possible and discard the excessive amount of information.

【0009】

Furthermore, when new multimedia information is added, it needs to be distributed to a plurality of interested users all at once.

【0010】

In addition, in order for the service provider to continue the service and earn income, it is necessary to add advertisements, which are sources of revenue, and guidance to commercial activities to the summary result.

【0011】

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow a user to efficiently browse a representative work from a huge amount of multimedia works and to notify a new work. Is to provide an information providing device capable of providing information.

【0012】

[Means for solving problems]

The information providing device according to a certain aspect of the present invention is connected to an access log aggregation unit that aggregates the number of accesses to the multimedia work in a predetermined period and an access log aggregation unit, and responds to the number of accesses to the multimedia work. Then, a representative multimedia work is extracted from a set of multimedia works, and a summary creation unit that creates a summary expressing the extracted multimedia work in an expression method according to the number of accesses is connected to the summary creation unit. Includes a summary provider that provides summaries.

【0013】

A representative work (part) is extracted from a huge amount of multimedia works, a summary is created, and it is distributed. At that time, the expression method in the summary can be changed according to the popularity of the work. Further, it is possible to provide data having different summarization methods and expression methods depending on individual preference data.

【0014】

Preferably, the information providing device further includes a user preference information analysis unit that analyzes the user's preference for viewing the multimedia work, and the summary creation unit is connected to the user preference information analysis unit and is based on the user's preference. , Change the way multimedia works are expressed in summaries.

【0015】

Furthermore, personal preference data can be used to change the way the work is expressed in the abstract.

【0016】

More preferably, the summarization unit changes the expression method of the multimedia work in the summarization according to the attribute information of the multimedia work.

【0017】

More preferably, the summary creation department creates a summary including the advertisement and changes the expression method of the advertisement according to the importance determined by the contract with the advertisement provider.

【0018】

When an advertisement is placed in a summary, the expression method of the advertisement in the summary can be changed according to the importance determined by the contract with the contractor, and the convenience of participation of other businesses can be improved.

【0019】

More preferably, the summarization unit determines the placement position, reduction ratio and area of the image representing the multimedia work according to the number of accesses.

【0020】

More preferably, the multimedia work contained in the abstract is linked to a reference to the multimedia work.

【0021】

More preferably, the summary created by the summary preparation unit can be changed by the summary provider.

【0022】

More preferably, the abstract created by the abstract creator can be modified by the exhibitor of the multimedia work.

【0023】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1, the multimedia content service system according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and enables viewing of a huge amount of multimedia works. A Web server (information providing device) 1 that provides content services, a PC (Personal Computer) terminal 2 that is also connected to a LAN and can use multimedia content services using a Web browser, and a LAN via a telephone network. Includes a communication terminal device 3 that is connected and can use multimedia content services.

【0024】

The multimedia content service system provided on the Web server 1 receives the connection part 10 which is the connection part with the network such as LAN and the request from the client, and starts each processing part specified in response to the request. At the same time, the control unit 11 that sends the processing results of each processing unit to the client, and the content service unit that is connected to the control unit 11 and is the core part of the multimedia content service and realizes the browsing service of multimedia works in the database. 14 and the user authentication unit 15 that is connected to the content service unit 14 and identifies the user who uses the multimedia content service, and the control unit 11 that is connected to the registration process and deletion process of the advertisement to be posted in the summary content described below. , And an advertisement management unit 16 that manages the placement order of advertisements, and a database 20 that is connected to the content service unit 14, the user authentication unit 15, and the advertisement management unit 16 and stores various information.

【0025】

The database 20 includes a multimedia work storage unit 1a that stores the content provided by the multimedia content service and attribute information of the content, a user information storage unit 1b that stores the browsing history of the user's content as preference information, and the content. It includes an advertisement storage unit 1c that stores the advertisement to be posted and an access log storage unit 1d that stores the access log from the client.

【0026】

The multimedia content service system is further connected to the access log storage unit 1d, and is connected to the access log storage unit 13 and the access log storage unit 1d, which write when and what kind of request was made from the client to the access log storage unit 1d. Access log aggregation unit 18 that connects and aggregates access logs saved in access log storage unit 1d, user preference information analysis unit 19 that connects to database 20 and analyzes user preference data, and access log aggregation unit 18, a huge amount of multimedia stored in the multimedia work storage unit 1a based on the output of the access log aggregation unit 18 and the user preference information analysis unit 19 connected to the user preference information analysis unit 19 and the database 20. It is connected to the summary creation unit 17 that extracts representative works from the works and creates the summary content, and the summary creation unit 17 and the connection unit 10, and delivers the summary created by the summary creation unit 17 as an e-mail. Includes mail delivery unit 12.

【0027】

The processing result transmitted from the control unit 11 is represented in a format that can be displayed by the client browser, such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language).

【0028】

The access log saved in the access log storage unit 1d is used for extracting popular works.

【0029】

Figure 2 shows an example of an access log. Here, the access date and time and the request are recorded as the attributes of the access log. The request "/servlet/hogehoge.ShowImage" shown in FIG. 2 is a request for displaying a multimedia work, and the subsequent "? C_id = 10" is a parameter for specifying the work. Therefore, the access log on the first line of Fig. 2 shows the work with the work ID of 10 at "26 / Nov / 2000: 00: 00: 00: 01" (November 26, 2000, 0:00:01). Indicates that there was a request to request. In this way, by examining the access log, the number of display requests for each work can be totaled. In addition, by combining the number of display requests for each work and the access date and time, it is possible to obtain information such as which work has received the most requests during a certain period. The access log aggregation unit 18 aggregates such access logs.

【0030】

When the user browses the multimedia work, the content service unit 14 identifies the user by using the user authentication unit 15, and stores the user's browsing history in the user information storage unit 1b as the user's preference information. .. Figure 3 shows an example of user preference information. The attributes of the user information include personal information such as "user ID", "user name", "email address", "password", and "address". The user information further includes a user's work browsing history.

【0031】

The works stored in the multimedia work storage unit 1a are categorized by genre, and when the user browses the work, it is checked which genre the work is included in, and the user browses the work. The genre is recorded in the user's preference information. For example, the user "special" in Fig. 3 has viewed genre A works 5 times, genre B works 10 times, and genre C works 20 times. As a result, it can be determined that the user "special" is interested in the work of genre C.

【0032】

The multimedia work storage unit 1a is a storage location for the content provided by the multimedia content service and the attribute information of the content. Figure 4 shows an example of attribute information for multimedia works. The attribute information of the multimedia work includes "work ID", "work name", "creator ID", "creation date and time" and the like.

【0033】

Moreover, in FIG. 4, there is an attribute called "number of votes". This represents the number of votes obtained by the work in the "voting service" provided by the content service department 14. Here, the "voting service" means that when a user browses each work and finds a work that he / she likes, he / she can make an email or HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) request (for example, click the "favorite" button next to the work. By clicking), it is possible to notify the content service department 14. The content service department 14 records the number of notifications in the attribute information "number of votes" of the multimedia work. Therefore, the value of this "number of votes" is one index showing the popularity of each work.

【0034】

Next, the summary content created by the summary creation unit 17 will be described. The summary creation unit 17 is based on the aggregation / analysis results of the access log aggregation unit 18 and the user preference information analysis unit 19, and is based on the popularity of the work and the user preference information from a huge amount of multimedia. And reduce each image to create a list.

【0035】

First, the summary creation unit 17 requests the access log aggregation unit 18 for a list of works. The access log aggregation unit 18 returns a list of works in order of popularity as shown in FIG. 5 (A). At this point, the ranking in the list of popular works only reflects the number of visits and voting results.

【0036】

After that, the summary creation unit 17 specifies the user (here, the user "special") who wants to send the summary to the user preference information analysis unit 19. The user preference information analysis unit 19 examines the user information storage unit 1b in which the preference of the user "special" is stored.

【0037】

As described above, the user information storage unit 1b records which genre of work the user has viewed. Here, the user "special" records the work of genre A 10 times and the work of genre B. Suppose you have viewed genre C works 25 times 15 times. The preference data is obtained by displaying the number of views of each genre as a percentage of the total number of views. For example, in the above example, the preference data is "genre C: 50%, genre B: 30%, genre A: 20%". The user preference information analysis unit 19 returns the preference data to the summary creation unit 17.

【0038】

When selecting, for example, 10 works from the list of works in order of popularity obtained from the access log aggregation unit 18, the summary creation unit 17 selects 10 works while maintaining the ratio of preference data. To do. That is, select 5 popular works of genre C from the top, 3 popular works of genre B from the top, and 2 popular works of genre A from the top to create summary content. The summary content created in this way is shown in Fig. 5 (B).

【0039】

FIG. 6 (A) shows an example of displaying the created summary content. The summary creation unit 17 extracts nine works (works A to I), reduces each work (image), and arranges three works vertically and three horizontally. In addition to this, there are innumerable combinations of works, such as a 5x5 list (Fig. 6 (B)) and a 6x3 list (Fig. 6 (C)). With just one parameter, you can easily create a list of any combination. In addition, if the profile (display area, etc.) of the terminal (PC terminal 2 or communication terminal device 3) used by each user is stored in the user information storage unit 1b, the terminal used by each user based on this. The size of one work and the combination of the number of works are determined according to the display area of, and a list is created.

【0040】

You can also change the order in which the works are arranged in the summary content list. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the works may be arranged in order of popularity from the top left to the bottom right. As shown in Fig. 7 (B), the works may be arranged and arranged by genre. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 (C) to 7 (E), a list may be created by providing a difference in the display area per work. In this way, it is possible to arrange the works to be emphasized in a place where the user can easily see them, or to arrange and arrange the works so that the user can easily view them. Therefore, in the summary content, it is possible to change the degree of attention of the user to the work by changing the arrangement position and the display area of the work.

【0041】

In the examples shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (A) to 7 (D), the overall shape of the list is square, but other shapes may be taken. If the numerical ratio of popularity is reflected in the area ratio as it is as shown in Fig. 7 (E), the list of summary contents may not fit in the square, and either allow a blank part inside the list itself or the whole. There is a way to make the shape other than square.

【0042】

What has been said so far is also effective when placing an advertisement in the summary content.

【0043】

By placing the advertisement in a layout and size that attracts the user's interest, the user's attention to the advertisement can be increased and effective advertising activities can be performed. When placing an advertisement, it is possible to set a difference in the advertisement fee depending on the placement position and the display area, and to collect a higher advertisement fee as the conditions are better.

【0044】

In addition, each work in the list of summary content has a link to enlarge it. Therefore, the user who browses the summary content can enlarge and browse the work of interest by clicking, for example, the mouse.

【0045】

At that time, the history of the enlarged and viewed work is accumulated in the user information storage unit 1b. For example, when the user enlarges and displays the work at the bottom in the list of summary contents shown in FIG. 7B, browsing the work of genre D is accumulated as the user's preference information. Then, these pieces of information can be used as user preference data. In the above summary content, an image is assumed as a work, but if the work is text, the font size of the text, the line thickness of the text, the number of lines to display the text, etc. are not changed in area. By changing it, the work can be displayed in a differentiated manner.

【0046】

The procedure for creating summary content will be described with reference to FIG. Here, based on the access log saved in the access log storage unit 1d, it is assumed that the works that have been frequently viewed are extracted and the summary content is created.

【0047】

The creator determines the "list size" as shown in FIG. 6 and the "placement position and display area" as shown in FIG. 7 for the summary content to be created (S101). The "list size" can be entered by the creator depending on the person to whom this summary content is sent. For example, for summary content for a particular mobile phone model, you can enter the size as "128x98" or you can automatically specify the size by entering the device model name.

【0048】

The "arrangement position and display area" are basically specified by specifying the ID number attached to the template prepared in advance. For example, if "56" is entered as the ID number, the arrangement shown in FIG. 7 (D) may be called. A parameter for customizing the area and arrangement of each image is added to the called template, and the arrangement position can be changed by changing the parameters, and a new template can be registered. This template also includes a display method in which the area is directly proportional to the popularity. In general, the higher the popularity value, the smaller the reduction ratio and the larger the area.

【0049】

When these parameters are passed to the summary creation unit 17, the summary creation unit 17 starts creating the summary content. The summary creation unit 17 makes an inquiry to the advertisement management unit 16 through the control unit 11 and confirms whether or not there is an advertisement to be posted (S102).

【0050】

If there is an advertisement to be posted (YES in S102), the summary creation department 17 receives the advertisement to be posted and its posting condition from the advertisement management department 16, and considers the posting condition, list size, placement position and display. Redetermine the area (S103). In addition, the size and location of the advertising space on the list is determined by the importance determined by the contract from the vendor.

【0051】

The advertisement insertion method is mainly a method of occupying a part of the page as in a general site, but optionally, the importance of the advertisement can be made equivalent to the importance of the summary content. For example, an ad of severity may have the same area as the first-ranked summary content. After the advertisement is placed, the size of the screen to be displayed is automatically calculated, and the screen display after the advertisement is inserted, the position of the content, the list size and the display area of the content are all displayed numerically.

【0052】

If there is no advertisement to be posted (NO in S102) or after processing in S103, the access log aggregation unit 18 requests aggregation of the access ranking (S104). This request is, for example, a command that starts a program that aggregates access logs in the access log aggregation unit 18, or a command that retrieves a value that is already stored in the access log aggregation unit 18. The return value of these commands is a numerical value indicating the content ID of each content and its popularity. At this time, it is possible to specify the aggregation of access rankings in a certain period, the aggregation of access rankings in a certain genre, and the like.

【0053】

From the aggregated results of the access ranking, for example, the number of works required for creating summary content is extracted in order from the top of the ranking (S105). Here, the editor (multimedia content service provider) can check the extracted work once (S106). When confirming (YES in S106), the editor can replace the extracted work with another work. In addition, it is possible to determine the arrangement order of works in the summary content (S107). If a template is selected in which the size of the summary content is directly proportional to the popularity value, the final arrangement may not always fit in the square as shown in Fig. 7 (E). In this case, the editor may devise the arrangement and perform editing to fit in a square.

【0054】

When the work to be published in the summary content is decided (NO in S106 or after S107), the work is reduced (S108). Here, the reduction ratio is calculated from the size of the original content and the display area of the reduced content, and the reduction work determined for each content is performed. If the content is an image, it is reduced by thinning out. For example, if the size of the original image is 128x96 and the size of the reduced content (image) is 32x24, the reduction ratio is 1/4.

【0055】

The summary creation unit 17 creates a list (summary content) by combining the reduced works (S109). When the created summary content is delivered by e-mail (YES in S109), the mail delivery unit 12 delivers the summary content to each user (S110). When posting summary content on a multimedia content service website (YES in S111), an HTML page containing the created summary content is created (S112).

【0056】

Here, the procedure for creating the summary content based on the aggregated result of the access ranking has been described, but there are other methods for extracting the works to be posted in the summary content as follows. (1) Extract from the latest works. (2) Extract works of the genre that the user is interested in (create summary content for each user). (3) Extract from the works with the most votes in the "voting service".

【0057】

[Modification example of multimedia content service system] Next, a mechanism for providing the right to create the content of the summary content to an external business operator will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the Web server 100 is used instead of the Web server 1 in FIG. In the Web server 100, an interface 102 is provided between the control unit 11 and the summary creation unit 17 for an external business operator to access the Web server 100 from a PC terminal 101 or the like.

【0058】

The Web server 100 is further connected to the summary creation unit 17, to record the work history by the external business operator and to charge the work to the billing recording unit 103, and to charge the external business operator after the processing work. The billing processing unit 104 is provided.

【0059】

The external operator can use the summary creation unit 17 via the interface 102. For other parts, the use of external businesses is restricted by setting passwords in advance. By using the summary creation unit 17, the external business operator performs additional upload processing of multimedia works, browsing processing of access log information, additional upload processing of advertisements to the advertisement storage unit 1c, and the like. The procedure for creating a summary is the same as that described above, but if necessary, uploading additional multimedia works and confirming the summary content automatically created in advance by the above procedure are performed. Editing work including adoption of multimedia works related to the business operator and addition of advertisements is performed, and then summary content is distributed to users of a service provider (multimedia content service provider). At the time of these operations, the charge recording unit 103 records the history of the work used by the external business operator and charges. The billing processing unit 104 charges the external business operator for the cost after the processing work by the external business operator is completed.

【0060】

Next, a mechanism for providing the content exhibitor himself with the right to create the content of the summary content will be described. The content exhibitor uses the Web server 100 shown in FIG. The exhibitor uses the summary creation unit 17 of the Web server 100 from the PC terminal 101 or the like via the interface 102. For other parts, the use of exhibitors will be restricted by setting passwords in advance. Exhibitors use the summary creation unit 17 to perform additional upload processing of multimedia works, browsing processing of access log information, and the like. The procedure for creating the abstract is the same as described above, but only the exhibitor's own work is used and the abstract is created. In addition, if necessary, additional multimedia works are uploaded and the summary content automatically created in advance by the above procedure is confirmed. Exhibitors perform reduction work including addition or deletion of new multimedia works, and then distribute summary contents to users of service providers (multimedia content service providers). At the time of these operations, the billing recording unit 103 records the history of the work used by the exhibitor and charges the exhibitor. The billing processing unit 104 charges the exhibitor for the cost after the processing work by the exhibitor is completed.

【0061】

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a service provider that provides a huge amount of multimedia works for a mobile phone does not require a user to browse a huge amount of content. That is, it becomes possible to allow the user to efficiently browse representative works and notify new works.

【0062】

In addition, summary content is created by taking into account not only the information that the user is interested in but also the popularity of the content. Therefore, the amount of information in the summary content can be suppressed. For example, for less important content, the display area is reduced to enable efficient browsing.

【0063】

Further, with the limited information as described above, it is possible to easily notify the user of the updated summary content all at once. Therefore, the user's interest in the information can be attracted. Further, since the summary content can be created so that the importance of the content and the attention of the content match, the convenience can be further increased.

【0064】

In addition, when an advertisement or a summary of commercial content is posted in the summary content, the expression method in the summary content is changed according to the importance specified by the contract from the business operator, which is convenient for the participation of other businesses. You can aim for sex.

【0065】

Furthermore, the right to create the content of the summary content can be provided to an external business operator, and compensation can be obtained. For example, when inserting into summary content, a numerical value indicating the popularity is automatically calculated, and the popularity can be reflected in the display area. For this reason, for example, it becomes possible to display a large advertisement in conjunction with popular content.

【0066】

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the above description, and it is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

【0067】

[Effect of the invention]

From a huge amount of multimedia works, it will be possible for users to efficiently browse representative works and notify new works.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structure of the multimedia content service system by this invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a figure which shows an example of an access log.

[Fig. 3]

It is a figure which shows an example of the user's preference information.

[Fig. 4]

It is a figure which shows an example of the attribute information of a multimedia work.

[Fig. 5]

It is a figure for demonstrating the method of creating a summary content.

[Fig. 6]

It is a figure which shows an example of the display of the summary content.

[Fig. 7]

It is a figure for demonstrating the arrangement position of the summary content, and the differentiation of a display area.

[Fig. 8]

It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of making a summary content.

[Fig. 9]

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware configuration of the content service system which made it possible to provide the summary content creation function to an external business operator.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,100 Web server, 1a multimedia work storage unit, 1b user information storage unit, 1c advertisement storage unit, 1d access log storage unit, 2,101 PC terminal, 3 communication terminal device, 10 connection unit, 11 control unit, 12 mail distribution unit, 13 Access log recording department, 14 Content service department, 15 User authentication department, 16 Advertising management department, 17 Summary creation department, 18 Access log aggregation department, 19 User preference information analysis department, 20 Database, 102 interface, 103 Billing recording department, 104 Billing processing unit.