Method and apparatus for providing search service during program broadcasting

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a search service during program broadcasting, and more specifically, allows a viewer to use the search service while viewing an arbitrary broadcast program using an interactive broadcasting terminal. It relates to the method and the device.

Recently, interactive broadcasting services such as video on demand (VOD), data broadcasting, T-commerce, and IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision) have been actively developed while the boundary between broadcasting and data communication is breaking down. ..

Such two-way broadcasting goes beyond simply providing the same broadcast content to all users, and uses the return channel to reflect the viewer's demands and provide the content directly selected by the viewer. Services are also available.

On the other hand, while various services of the Internet are integrated with broadcasting, users can also receive the search service, which is one of the most important services of the Internet services, with the broadcasting receiving device. For example, IPTV provides broadcast content using an Internet IP-based network, while providing a variety of existing IP-based services in combination with broadcasting. In particular, there is still a great demand for content-related keyword search services that can immediately resolve viewers' doubts about broadcast content.

Recently, electronic program guide (EPG) services that provide various broadcast program information have been commercialized, and digital broadcast receivers such as Set Top Box (STB) have become available. After receiving the EPG information, the EPG information is output via the screen of an externally connected device such as a television so that the user can easily search for the desired broadcast program information.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a system for searching broadcast content-related supplementary information according to the prior art.

As the first prior art, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a radio listener or a television viewer receives supplementary information regarding a broadcast program received in real time.

The broadcast program system according to the prior art shown in FIG. 1 includes a broadcast receiver 10, a user terminal 20, a broadcasting station 30, a channel information server 40, and a web server 50.

The broadcast receiver 10 is, for example, a TV that receives broadcast content transmitted from the broadcast station 30.

The channel information server 40 provides URL information regarding supplementary information for each broadcast content broadcast from the broadcasting station 30. When the viewer wants to search for supplementary information regarding the content currently being broadcast, the user terminal 20 is used to request the channel information server 40 for URL information regarding the supplementary information.

The channel information server 40 transmits the subject-specific URL information of the channel and the broadcast program to the user terminal 20, and the user terminal 20 searches the web server 50 for supplementary information using the subject-specific URL information.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of a general IPTV broadcasting service system.

Referring to FIG. 2, a typical IPTV broadcasting service system includes a broadcasting company 60, an IPTV broadcasting system 70, and a user terminal 80.

The IPTV broadcasting system 70 distributes the broadcasting content to a storage server for storing the broadcasting content, a control server for transmitting the broadcasting content to the user terminal 80 and processing a user request signal input from the return channel, and the broadcasting content. Includes a distribution server for.

The IPTV broadcasting system 70 manages the program content received from the content provider (CP) or the broadcasting company 60, and distributes the program content to a place adjacent to the subscriber via a CDN (Content Delivery Network) or the like. And provide broadcasting / recording / playback services. At this time, the program content received from the content provider or the broadcaster 60 may include related additional information.

The user terminal 80 is a device for use in an Internet broadcasting service, and is generally composed of a TV 81, a set-top box 82, and a remote controller 83. The TV 81 outputs the broadcast content received from the IP TV broadcasting system 70, and transmits the user request signal input via the remote controller 83 to the IP TV broadcasting system 70 via the return channel of the set-top box 82.

On the other hand, as a second prior art, Patent Document 2 discloses an invention entitled "EPG-based data broadcasting system and method and a recording medium in which the program source thereof is stored".

Patent Document 2 relates to data broadcasting, and constructs a broadcasting program screening time, a profile of an entertainer, and product information in a database, and reconstructs and outputs the search results of each search module in a data broadcasting carousel. The provided data is entertainer information and product information selected by the viewer on the data channel.

As a third prior art, Patent Document 3 discloses an invention named "method and system for retrieving information on television programs".

Patent Document 3 provides a link to a website related to the program being viewed, and searches the website for at least one of text information, audio information, video information, and application information related to the program. Is disclosed. Here, the website link can use a method of selecting at least one of a tag, a search engine, and a website address from the electronic program guide (EPG) corresponding to the TV program being watched.

As a fourth prior art, Patent Document 4 discloses an invention entitled "Systems and Methods for Extending Broadcast or Recorded Programs Using Information on the World Wide Web."

Patent Document 4 is a program timing file by selecting a plurality of subjects related to a specific program and setting a hyperlink located on one of a plurality of servers accessible to a user terminal for the plurality of subjects. The configuration for storing the is disclosed. Here, the hyperlink defines a time interval in the program for each selected subject, and then stores the program timing file in association with the time interval, thereby connecting the user terminal to the network. Discloses that the destination address associated with the hyperlink can be searched.

Further, Patent Document 4 discloses that even in the case of a recorded program, it is possible to search for information related to the subject from the channel server that broadcasts the program recorded using the world standard time.

As described above, the technology for providing the search for additional information and the subject related to the program on the broadcasting terminal is disclosed in the first to fourth prior arts, but is being played in order to improve the convenience of the search. The technology for easily inputting various keywords related to the program of is not disclosed.

<p><patcit num="1"><text>Korean Published Patent No. 2004-0005946</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>Korean Published Patent No. 2002-0081767</text></patcit><patcit num="3"><text>Korean Published Patent No. 2004-0101235</text></patcit><patcit num="4"><text>Korean Publication Patent No. 2003-0096362</text></patcit></p>

<p> In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides recommended keywords and real-time popular search terms related to the content currently being broadcast in a automatically complemented state, like a remote controller. Provided are methods and devices for making it easy to search the Internet in an environment where input means are restricted.</p><p> The present invention also provides a method and a device for making it possible to utilize the search results of another person for a program currently being broadcast or a program of another channel currently being broadcast.</p>

<p> In order to achieve the above object, the method of providing the search service during program broadcasting on the interactive broadcasting terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention responds to the key input of the user input means and performs the interactive broadcasting. A search area for providing the search service is provided on the screen of the terminal, and a first search window in which a representative keyword is automatically entered as a search term based on the program ID being broadcast is provided in the search area. Then, the search area is provided with a second search window adjacent to the first search window and in which a complemented form of the search term related to the program being watched is automatically input. A third search window adjacent to at least one of the first search window and the second search window, in which the real-time hot-topic search word is automatically entered. The second search window and the third search window include, when the search window is selected, an extended pop-up containing variants of the search term displayed in the search window. A window is provided.</p><p> Further, in the search service providing method, when a search term automatically input to any one of the first search window, the second search window, and the third search window is selected, Further may include transmitting the selected search term to the search engine, receiving the search result from the search engine, and displaying the search result in the search area.</p><p> Further, the search term automatically entered in the second search window or the search term automatically entered in the third search window may be changed by a rolling method.</p><p> Further, the extended pop-up window may include a variant of the search term finally displayed in the second search window or the third search window.</p><p> Further, it is desirable that the search area can adjust the transparency on the screen of the two-way broadcasting terminal and adjust the position on the screen of the two-way broadcasting terminal.</p><p> To achieve the above objectives, record a computer program that can be executed through at least one computer component and includes a program command word for providing a search service to a two-way broadcasting terminal during program broadcasting. It is a computer-readable recording medium. The at least one computer component responds to a key input of the user input means, provides a search area for providing a search service on the screen of the two-way broadcasting terminal, and sets the program ID being broadcast in the search area. A first search window is provided in which a representative keyword is automatically entered as a search term based on the search term, and the search area is adjacent to the first search window and is in a complemented form associated with the program being watched. A second search window is provided in which search terms are automatically entered, and the search area is adjacent to at least one of the first search window and the second search window, and real-time soaring search terms are automatically entered. A third search window to be input is provided, and in the second search window and the third search window, when the corresponding search window is selected, a variant of the search term displayed in the search window is displayed. An extended pop-up window is provided that is included.</p><p> Search log data collected by a search engine in a search service providing device that provides a search service to a two-way broadcasting terminal that is broadcasting a program according to another embodiment of the present invention in order to achieve the above object. Based on the search log database that stores the search log database, the recommended search term extraction unit that generates keywords related to the program being broadcast based on the search log data, and variants of the keywords related to the program, and the search log data. The real-time search term extraction unit that generates the real-time soaring search term and the variant of the real-time soaring search term, and the generated program-related keyword and the real-time soaring when the search service request is received from the two-way broadcasting terminal. When the search window is selected, it is automatically input including a search area providing unit that provides the two-way broadcasting terminal with a search area including a plurality of search windows in which a search term is automatically input. An extended pop-up window containing the program-related keywords or variants of the real-time soaring search term is provided.</p><p> Further, the plurality of search windows are adjacent to the first search window in which the representative keyword of the program being broadcast is automatically input and the first search window, and the program-related keyword is automatically input. A second search window that is adjacent to at least one of the first search window and the second search window, and a third search window in which the real-time soaring search term is automatically entered. It is desirable to include it.</p><p> In addition, the search area providing unit may provide an extended pop-up window that provides a modified word including a text input to the first search window.</p><p> Further, it is desirable that the text input in the first search window includes the first voice of the search term.</p><p> Further, the search area providing unit may change the keyword automatically input to the second search window and the real-time soaring search word automatically input to the third search window by a rolling method. desirable.</p><p> Specific matters for achieving the above-mentioned objectives will be clarified by referring to each embodiment described in detail together with the accompanying drawings.</p><p> The present invention is not limited to each of the embodiments disclosed below, and can be configured in various forms different from each other, and the present embodiment is intended for those who have ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. On the other hand, it is provided for understanding the invention.</p>

<p> According to one of the problem-solving means of the method and the device for providing the search service during the program broadcasting of the present invention, the recommended keywords related to the program currently being broadcast are automatically complemented and provided. , You can easily search via the Internet in an environment where input means are restricted, such as a remote controller.</p><p> In addition, by providing the real-time soaring search term in a automatically complemented state, it is possible to utilize the search results of another person for the program currently being broadcast or the program of another channel currently being broadcast.</p><p> In this way, it is possible to provide both the recommended keyword generated before the broadcast and the real-time soaring search term generated at the time of broadcasting, and to provide the search term that matches the search intention of the user.</p><p> Further, by providing the recommended keyword and the modified word for the real-time rapid rise search word in a complemented state, it is possible to minimize the character input by the remote controller and provide the user with a comfortable search environment.</p>

<figref num="1">It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the system which searches the supplementary information related to the program content which concerns on the prior art.</figref><figref num="2">It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a general IPTV broadcasting service system.</figref><figref num="3">It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the structure of the system which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="4">It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="5">It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the recommended search term extraction unit which generates the recommended keyword for each program which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="6">It is a figure which shows the search area displayed on the TV screen through the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="7">It is a figure which shows the search area displayed on the TV screen through the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="8">It is a figure which shows the search area displayed on the TV screen through the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="9">It is a figure which shows the search area displayed on the TV screen through the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="10">It is a figure which shows the search area displayed on the TV screen through the apparatus which provides the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="11">It is a flowchart which shows the method of providing the search service during the program broadcasting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.</figref>

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

The present invention is feasible in a variety of forms and is not limited by the embodiments described herein.

Then, in the drawings, in order to clearly explain the present invention, parts unrelated to the description are omitted, and similar parts are designated by similar drawing reference numerals throughout the specification.

For reference, when one part is "concatenated" with another in the entire specification, this is not only when it is "directly or physically concatenated", but in the middle of the other. It also includes the case where it is "electrically connected" with the element of.

Also, when one part "contains" one component, it means that it may include other components further, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated otherwise. means.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For reference, in the embodiment of the present invention, IPTV (hereinafter referred to as TV) is used as the interactive broadcasting terminal, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and both used in the broadcasting system. Any terminal capable of forward communication must be understood as being included in the category of the two-way broadcasting terminal of the present invention.

In one embodiment of the present invention, search terms (representative keywords, program-related search terms) related to a program currently being broadcast and search terms related to a program currently being broadcast can be easily performed in an environment in which a restrictive input means such as a remote controller is used. Provides a search area on the TV screen that includes a search window in which real-time soaring search terms are automatically entered.

As a result, the user using the TV selects the search word related to the program currently being broadcast displayed on the screen and the real-time soaring search word which is the search result of another person by using a remote controller or the like. Can be inquired on TV.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a system that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A system that provides a search service while watching TV according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a broadcaster server 310, an IPTV broadcasting system 320, a user terminal 330, and a search service providing unit 340.

To explain the components of the system shown in FIG. 3 in more detail, first, the broadcaster server 310 provides various broadcast contents. The IPTV broadcasting system 320 includes a storage server for storing broadcast content, a return path server for processing user request signals (program recommendation request signal, additional information request signal, etc.) input from the return channel, and broadcast content. Includes a distribution server for distributing.

Here, the broadcast content includes a broadcast program provided by public wave broadcasting and a broadcast program provided by cable broadcasting based on a program organization plan, and a VOD service provided by a telecommunications company. Called "program".

The user terminal 330 is a device for using an Internet broadcasting service, and generally includes a TV 331, a set-top box 332, and a remote controller 333 as a user input means. The user terminal 330 reproduces the broadcast content received from the IPTV broadcasting system 320, and transmits the user request signal input via the remote controller 333 to the IPTV broadcasting system 320 via the return channel of the set-top box 332.

For reference, the user terminal 330 is a TV having a built-in IP set-top box, an IP set-top box connected to the user's TV, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, or a personal portable terminal. is there.

Here, the IP set-top box is a hardware composed of STB (Set-Top BOX) hardware such as a CPU, a media processor, a Flash RAM, and an Ethernet (registered trademark) (Ethernet (registered trademark)) module. A hardware hierarchy, a system software hierarchy that includes system software such as device drivers and operating systems, and Java Virtual Machines (Java® Virtual Machine: JVM®), Conditional Access System (CAS) modules. , Digital Rights Management (DRM) module, middleware hierarchy with Streaming Protocol (RTP, RTSP) and various codecs such as MPEG2, MPEG4, MPEG7, H.264, WMV-9 ( Electronic Program to support CODEC and select IPTV service channels It consists of an application hierarchy including Guide: EPG) and four layers including. At this time, an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address is assigned to the subscriber's IP set-top box.

The search service provider 340 provides an Internet portal site equipped with a search engine. When a large number of users connect to an Internet portal site to search for search terms related to TV programs, the search service provider 340 stores the search term log data searched by a large number of users in the search log database, and the search term is stored in the search log database. After collecting the search terms that generate a search term pool for each TV program based on the log data, the recommended search terms that are expected to be useful to the user in relation to the program that the user is currently watching from the search term pool ( Keywords) and variants (similar words) of recommended search terms are generated and provided.

Here, the recommended search term includes a representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast and a search term related to the program currently being broadcast.

In addition, the search service providing unit 340 provides a real-time soaring search term and a variant (similar word) of the real-time soaring search term. Real-time soaring search terms are related to or not related to TV programs, but in general, search terms related to the relevant program may soar before and after the program broadcast. There are many.

For reference, the real-time soaring search term is provided by the search engine included in the search service providing unit 340, or is provided by a separate search server 350 linked with the search service providing unit 340.

Further, the search service providing unit 340 responds to a key input of any one of the keys of the remote controller 333, which is a user input means, and provides the user terminal 330 with a search area for the search service during program broadcasting.

Here, the search area is adjacent to the first search window in which the representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast is automatically entered as a search term and the first search window, and the search related to the program currently being broadcast is performed. Adjacent to the second search window, which is automatically filled with words in a complementary form, and at least one of the first and second search windows, real-time soaring search terms are automatically populated. Includes a third search window.

For reference, the search term automatically entered in the form complemented by the second search window and the real-time soaring search term automatically entered in the third search window are changed by the rolling method. In addition, when the user selects the second search window and the third search window, the second search window and the third search window include variants (similar words) of the displayed search terms. An extended pop-up window is provided. Further, when the search area is displayed on the screen of the TV 331, the inconvenience of interrupting the program being viewed by the user may be prevented through the transparency adjustment and the position adjustment.

Therefore, if the user presses a predetermined key of an input means such as the remote controller 333 while watching a specific TV program, the search service providing unit 340 grasps the program currently being broadcast, and the representative keyword and the representative keyword related to the program are used. Provide recommended keywords. Then, by selecting a specific keyword from the keywords recommended in this way and performing a search, the user can search for information related to the program currently being broadcast even in an environment where the input means is restricted such as the remote controller 333. The search can be easily performed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the configuration of the device that provides the search service during the program broadcasting according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Devices that provide a search service during program broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present invention include a search log database 341 (hereinafter, the database is referred to as "DB"), a recommended search term extraction unit 342, a real-time search term extraction unit 343, and a search. Includes area provider 344 and search engine 345.

For reference, each component shown in FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention means a hardware component such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and has a predetermined role. I do.

However, "each component" is not limited to software or hardware, but is configured to be present in an addressable storage device or storage medium, or to be executed by one or more processors. It is also possible to do.

Therefore, as an example, a component is a component such as each software component, each object-oriented software component, each class component, each task component, etc., each process, each function, each attribute, each procedure, each. Includes subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays and variables.

Each component and the functionality provided within each applicable component may be combined with a smaller number of components or further separated into additional components.

First, the search log DB341 includes search log data sent from the search engine 345 and related search terms corresponding to the specific search terms (for example, other search terms searched by the user who searched for the specific TV program, and the specific TV program name. Store duplicate or consecutive search terms, etc.).

For reference, the search log DB341 contains not only related search terms corresponding to specific search terms, but also data directly input by broadcasters, program information collected in advance, and captions / subtitles transmitted at the same time as the relevant program. A search term pool may be constructed by integrating information and the like.

The recommended search word extraction unit 342 generates a recommended keyword for each program and a variant word (similar word) of the recommended keyword based on the search log DB341. Hereinafter, the configuration of the recommended search term extraction unit 342 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recommended search term extraction unit 342 that generates a recommended keyword for each program and a variant word (similar word) of the recommended keyword according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the recommended search term extraction unit 342 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a viewing prospect extraction unit 342a, a recommended keyword determination unit 342b, a TV program-keyword time synchronization unit 342c, and a seed keyword DB342d. Includes the expected viewer DB342e and the recommended keyword DB342f for each TV program.

The recommended search term extraction unit 342 may operate in conjunction with the normal search server 350 or the search engine 345. The recommended search term extraction unit 342 according to the embodiment of the present invention utilizes the information of the search log DB 341 that stores the log of the search query transmitted to the search server 350 or the search engine 345.

When a specific TV program is played on the user terminal 330, statistically, keyword searches related to the broadcast program occur intensively by the user terminal 330 before and after the broadcast time. The search query includes a search term, a search time, and a user identification number in the search log DB341.

The operation of the recommended search term extraction unit 342 will be described in detail below.

The expected viewer extraction unit 342a of the recommended search term extraction unit 342 operates in conjunction with the search engine 345 and the seed keyword DB 342d. The search engine 345 may be replaced by an external search server 350 that provides web search.

In the seed keyword DB342d, basic keywords related to a specific TV program, that is, seed keywords are stored in matching with the broadcast time zone. For example, the seed keyword is the name of the TV program or a variant thereof.

Seed keywords are divided into categories, and each category is given a different weighted value and stored. For example, in the drama category, the first category may include the title and cast name of a particular television program, and the second category may include the actor name and production team. Here, the first category with a higher search probability may have a higher weighted value than the second category.

The viewing predictor extraction unit 342a determines whether or not there is a seed keyword stored in the seed keyword DB342d among the search words received by the search server 350 or the search engine 345 within a predetermined time before and after the TV program broadcast time. Is investigated, and the identification number of the user who searched for the seed keyword is extracted.

For reference, the viewer corresponding to the extracted user identification number is classified as a viewer, but only the user who has searched for the seed keyword equal to or greater than the threshold number may be classified as a viewer.

In addition, when the auto-completion function is provided in the search window, the user who selects the search term generated by the auto-completion function is classified as a viewing prospect, but the keyword provided by the search server 350 or the search engine 345. Users who select and search (for example, popular search terms, recommended search terms, real-time soaring search terms) may be excluded from the expected viewing audience.

As described above, when the expected viewing person is extracted, the user identification number of the expected viewing person is stored in the expected viewing person DB342e. The user identification number is matched and stored in the expected viewing person DB342e with the specific broadcast program or the series or group of the specific broadcast program.

On the other hand, the recommended keyword determination unit 342b collects the search terms searched by the expected viewing person during the broadcast time zone of the corresponding TV program by referring to the expected viewing person DB342e. Further, when the collected search terms satisfy the predetermined conditions, the recommended keyword determination unit 342b determines the collected search terms as keywords and adds the collected search terms to the keyword set. The predetermined condition is that the degree of correlation with the corresponding TV program among the search terms of the prospective viewer is equal to or higher than the threshold value.

The recommended keyword determination unit 342b determines a keyword satisfying the above conditions as a recommended keyword for the corresponding TV program, and generates a keyword set for the corresponding TV program.

The TV program-keyword time synchronization unit 342c matches the keywords included in the keyword set according to the playback time zone of the TV program. For example, keywords with a large ratio are selected for each time zone based on the number of searches for keywords for each time zone at intervals of 60 seconds.

At this time, predetermined keywords that are not appropriate may be filtered. For example, keywords such as live broadcast, rebroadcast, viewing, organization, airing time, etc. may be removed as inappropriate keywords. For reference, the search log DB341 also stores the search time information for the keyword selected as the recommended keyword, so it is synchronized by matching the keywords included in the keyword set for each TV program broadcast time zone. May be good.

Finally, the keywords matched for each TV program are stored in the recommended keyword DB342f for each TV program. Therefore, when the subsequent broadcast content of the same TV program is broadcast, the recommended keyword of the corresponding program is provided in real time. The configuration and operation of the recommended search term extraction unit 342 as described above are merely examples, and recommended keywords for each TV program may be generated by various other algorithms.

On the other hand, the real-time search word extraction unit 343 extracts the real-time soaring search word and the real-time soaring search word related to the TV program, and generates a variant (similar word) of the real-time soaring search word.

At this time, the real-time soaring search term is extracted using a number of algorithms that are the same as or similar to the popular search term currently provided on Internet portal sites and the like. In addition, the soaring search terms related to TV programs are the program organization table data and program-related search terms provided by the broadcaster server 310 among the search terms processed by the search server 350 or the search engine 345. After classifying based on information or the like, popular search terms related to TV programs may be extracted based on the number of searches.

The real-time soaring search term is generated independently of the program being broadcast, but is generated by the search action of the viewer who watches the program currently being broadcast. Therefore, the real-time soaring search term is the above-mentioned program-related recommended keyword. Can complement real-time search trends that are not equipped with.

For reference, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the real-time search term extraction unit 343 provides the real-time soaring search term has been described, but the real-time soaring search is performed via a separate search server 350 linked with the search service providing unit 340. Words may be provided.

On the other hand, the search area providing unit 344 responds to the input of any one of the keys of the remote controller 333, which is the user input means, and provides the user terminal 330 with a search area for the search service during program broadcasting.

Here, the search area is adjacent to the first search window in which the representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast is automatically entered as a search term, and the keyword related to the program currently being broadcast. Includes a second search window, which is automatically filled in in a complemented form. The search area also includes a third search window that is adjacent to at least one of the first and second search windows and is automatically populated with real-time soaring search terms.

To explain the search area in more detail, the representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast (for example, the title of the program currently being broadcast) is automatically entered in the first search window, and the second search window is displayed. Is automatically entered in a form in which keywords related to the program currently being broadcast are complemented. The complemented form of keywords that are automatically entered in the second search window are the keywords collected in connection with the currently airing program in the search log collected by the external search server 350 or search engine 345. It was selected from.

In addition, the real-time soaring search term is automatically entered in the third search window, but as described above, the search service provider 340 is the real-time search result of the user who connected to the Internet portal site equipped with the search server. The real-time soaring search term is automatically entered in the third search window.

For reference, the search terms automatically entered in the second search window and the search terms automatically entered in the third search window are changed by the rolling method, and the first search term is changed by the user via the input means. When the search window, the second search window, and the third search window are selected, an extended pop-up window containing variants (similar words) of the finally displayed search term is provided.

At this time, the variant word (similar word) of the extended pop-up window may include a recommended keyword and another search word that shares a part of the text of the real-time soaring search word.

Hereinafter, the search area according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10, and the TV program currently being viewed is "Happy Sunday 1 night 2 days" broadcast on "KBS broadcasting station". Suppose there is.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a search area displayed on a TV screen via a device that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The search area 600 that provides the search service during the program broadcasting according to the embodiment of the present invention is the first in which the representative keyword (Happy Sunday) of the program currently being broadcast (KBS Happy Sunday 1 night 2 days) is input. Search window 610, a second search window 620 that is automatically filled with search terms related to the program currently being broadcast (1 night 2 days Lee Sung Ki), and real-time soaring search terms (US) Includes a third search window 630, which is automatically populated (Presidential Election).

In addition to this, the search area 600 further includes a character conversion key 640 for facilitating the input of search terms, and further includes a search result window 650 for displaying search results, recommended TV programs, and the like. May be good.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the search area 600 may be overlaid on the currently broadcasting program that occupies the entire TV screen and may be arranged in the form of a bar at the lower end of the TV screen. The transparency of the search area 600 may be adjusted to prevent the inconvenience of interrupting the program currently being broadcast.

For this purpose, a screen processing unit (not shown) that processes the search area 600 into a screen format that can be output by the user terminal 330 is additionally included in the search service providing unit 340. (Not shown) may be configured to exist in the user terminal 330.

For reference, FIG. 6 has described the case where the search area 600 is arranged at the lower end of the TV screen in the form of a bar, but the search area according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided by the screen processing unit (not shown). It may be arranged on any of the left side, the right side, and the upper side, which is not the lower end of the TV screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a search area displayed on a TV screen via a device that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, in addition to the search area 600 shown in FIG. 6, an icon window 710 that provides a predetermined service is added to the upper end of the first search window 610. The icon window 710 can be minimized in size to an icon form that is not a menu type, and when the user selects an icon, the service corresponding to each icon can be provided to the user.

For example, when the program guide icon 711 is selected in the icon window 710, the program guide screen is opened separately, or the content related to the program guide is displayed in the search result window 650 in the search area 600.

Further, when the first consonant is input to the first search window 610, an auto-completion function window 720 that automatically represents a search term related to the input first consonant may be provided.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a search area displayed on a TV screen via a device that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

The search area 600 shown in FIG. 8 is complemented when the search term to be searched is input to the first search window 610 after deleting the representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast entered in the first search window 610. Indicates that an extended pop-up window 810 is provided that contains variants of a particular search term in the above form.

When entering a search term in the first search window 610 "<img file="JP2010146570A_D0001.tif" />" Or "<img file="JP2010146570A_D0002.tif" />" If the first consonant or syllable and the first consonant are mixed and input as in, the extended pop-up window 810 provides an auto-completion function.

For reference, the extended pop-up window 810 that contains the variant of the search term does not deviate from the search area 600, and the number of variants of the complemented form of the search term displayed in the extended pop-up 810 window is , Limited to a predetermined number so that the user can easily recognize it. In FIG. 8, the number of variants of the search term displayed in the extended pop-up window 810 is limited to a maximum of 9, but is not limited to this.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a search area displayed on a TV screen via a device that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

In the second search window 620 of the search area 600 shown in FIG. 9, the search terms related to the program currently being broadcast are automatically entered in a complementary form, and the automatically entered search terms are entered. Is changed by the rolling method.

When the user uses the arrow keys on the remote control 333 to position the focus on the second search window 620 and presses the confirmation key on the remote control 333, the extended pop-up window 910 is displayed. Then, in the extended pop-up window 910, the focus is placed on the search term finally displayed in the second search window 620 among the search terms changed by the rolling method.

If the user uses the arrow keys on the remote control 333 to focus on the desired search term in the extended pop-up window 910 and then presses the confirmation key on the remote control 333, the search result page for the selected search term will be displayed separately. It is opened or displayed in the search result window 650 in the search area 600 as described in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a search area displayed on a TV screen via a device that provides a search service during program broadcasting according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

The third search window 630 of the search area 600 shown in FIG. 10 is automatically entered in a form in which the real-time soaring search term is complemented, and the automatically entered search term is changed by the rolling method. To.

When the user uses the arrow keys on the remote control 333 to position the focus on the third search window 630 and presses the confirmation key on the remote control 333, the extended pop-up window 1010 is displayed. Then, among the automatically entered search terms that are changed by the rolling method, the focus is placed on the search term that is finally displayed in the third search window 630.

If the user uses the arrow keys on the remote control 333 to focus on the desired search term in the extended popup 1010 and selects the desired search term on the remote control 333, the search result page for the selected search term will be displayed separately. It is opened or displayed in the search result window 650 in the search area 600 as described in FIGS. 6 and 7.

For reference, since the search windows 610, 620, and 630 included in the search area 600 are located adjacent to each other, keywords related to the program currently being broadcast and real-time soaring search terms can be grasped at a glance.

After all, through the device that provides the search service during the program broadcasting according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user wondered while watching TV, that is, the search term related to the program currently being broadcast. And real-time soaring search terms can be solved by immediately searching the Internet on TV without going through a PC or other media.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a method of providing a search service during program broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For convenience of explanation, the system configuration shown in FIG. 3 and the configuration of the device that provides the search service during the program broadcasting shown in FIG. 4 will be referred to, and the user terminal 330 will be the broadcaster server 310 and the broadcaster server 310. It is assumed that the program is received and broadcast via the IPTV broadcasting system 320.

First, the search area providing unit 344 responds to the key input of the user input means and provides the user terminal 330 with a search area for providing the search service (step S1101).

After step S1101, the search area providing unit 344 provides the first search window of the search area with a representative keyword of the program currently being broadcast extracted from the recommended search term extraction unit 342 (step S1102).

After step S1102, the search area provider 344 complements the second search window adjacent to the first search window in the search area with the currently broadcasting program extracted from the recommended search term extraction unit 342. Provide a form of search term (step S1103).

At this time, the search term automatically entered in the second search window is from the keywords collected in connection with the program currently being broadcast among the search log data selected by the search server 350 or the search engine 345. The selected search terms that are automatically entered in the second search window are changed and displayed in a rolling manner.

After step S1103, the search area provider 344 populates the third search window adjacent to one of the first search window and the second search window of the search area in real-time soaring extracted from the real-time search term extraction unit 343. Provide a search term (step S1104).

For reference, a second search window and a third search window may be selected by the user to provide an extended pop-up window containing variants of the selected search term, with the search area on the screen. The transparency and position of the window can be adjusted.

In addition, the search area providing unit 344 selects the selected search term when a specific search term displayed in any one of the first search window, the second search window, and the third search window is selected. After transmitting the word to the search engine 345, the search result may be received from the search engine 345 and displayed in the search area.

On the other hand, the search result may be provided by processing the search result of the search server that provides the web search service into a form suitable for IPTV.

Each embodiment of the present invention described above is realized in the form of a program instruction word executed via various computer components and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may be a program command word, a data file, a data structure, or the like alone or in combination. The program instruction words recorded on the recording medium are those specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or are known to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include hard disks, magnetic media such as floppy (registered trademark) disks and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magnetism such as floppy disks. Includes optical media and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program commands such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language code created by a compiler, but also high-level language code executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device is configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the processing according to the present invention, and vice versa.

The above description of the present invention is for illustration purposes only, and any person who has ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs can use other details as long as the technical idea and essential features of the present invention are not changed. It can be understood that it can be easily transformed into a specific form.

Therefore, it should be understood that each of the embodiments described above is exemplary in all respects and is not limiting.

For example, each component described as a single type can be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, each component described as distributed is also implemented in a combined form. It is possible.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of claims described later from the detailed description described above, and the meaning and scope of the claims and all modified or modified forms derived from the concept of equality thereof are defined. , Must be construed as included in the scope of the present invention.

341: Search log DB, 342: Recommended search term extractor, 343: Real-time search term extractor, 344: Search area provider, 345: Search engine