System for processing program information

Abstract

To provide a system for processing program information in which the display structure of a program table can freely be changed in accordance with a requirement or a taste of an audience, the system for processing program information is constructed to include program information storage means 1 for storing program information, and program table display means 4 for two-dimensionally displaying a program table following two axes in accordance with two attributes 102 and 103 among attributes given to each piece of program information, to make the program table 101 for two-dimensionally displaying programs with two axes of free attributes. For the audience, program tables of various constructions can be displayed on the display means at will and in respective program retrieval operations, the program table easy to look for a program can be obtained. An objective program can be found in a short time by coming up with ideas for the extraction of the program or the like, and this is useful for making a broadcast view plan of himself.

1 - 35 . (canceled)  
   
   
       36 . A system for processing program information, comprising: 
 a program information storage means that is adapted to store program information relating to program attributes;    a program table display that is adapted to display a two-dimensional table of programs; and    an attribute selector that is adapted to select attributes for the two axes of the two-dimensional table,    wherein the attributes of the two axes of the two-dimensional table are attributes of said program.    
   
   
       37 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 36 , wherein the attribute selector has attribute input means through which attributes of the two axes of the two-dimensional table are adapted to be inputted, and a program table making means that is adapted to retrieve program information relating to program attributes stored in the program information storage means on the basis of the inputted attributes to make the two-dimensional program table, wherein said program table is adapted to display a program table made in the program table making means.  
   
   
       38 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , wherein the program table making means is adapted to retrieve program information related to program attributes stored in the program information storage means and is adapted to classify the program information.  
   
   
       39 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , wherein the attribute input means is adapted to select another program attribute as an attribute of an axis of the two-dimensional table to change the table.  
   
   
       40 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 program table omission means that is adapted to cull needless portion(s) of said table.    
   
   
       41 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 40 , further comprising: 
 an attribute storage means that is adapted to store program attribute information; and    restoration input means that is adapted to read out stored attribute information from the attribute storage means and is adapted to send stored attribute information to the program table making means whereby enabling an original program table to be made.    
   
   
       42 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 a program relation information storage means that is adapted to store information relative to the program; and    program relation information retrieval/classification means that is adapted to retrieve and classify information relative to the program and is further adapted to send the information relative to the program to the program table making means where it is adapted to be used as an attribute of an axis of the table.    
   
   
       43 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 an attribute structure storage means that is adapted to store data relative to a structure of program attributes; and    an attribute input means that is adapted to display attribute information.    
   
   
       44 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 an attribute structure storage means that is adapted to store data relative to a structure of program attributes; and    attribute structure establishment means that is adapted to enable a user to establish an attribute structure whereby attribute information registered by the user is adapted to be designated as an attribute of an axis of the table.    
   
   
       45 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 same time zone detecting means that is adapted to detect programs in the same time zone,    wherein, when programs in the same time zone relating to the same axis attribute are detected by the same time zone detecting means, program information relating to the programs is adapted to be displayed overlapping each other, and program information relating to each of the programs is adapted to be displayed at the front.    
   
   
       46 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 a three-dimensional program table display that is adapted to display a three-dimensional table.    
   
   
       47 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 44 , further comprising: 
 an attribute input means that is adapted to display attribute information;    attributive structure extraction means that is adapted to extract an attributive structure from the program information and an attribute input means display.    
   
   
       48 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 past program information preservation means that is adapted to preserve past information about a program that has been broadcast in the past;    a past program information storage means that is adapted to store the past information about the previously broadcast program;    a past program information selector which selects past program information; and    means adapted to acquire information about a past program and to send the past program information to the program table display whereby enabling that information to be displayed in a table.    
   
   
       49 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 time measurement means;    program confirmation means that is adapted to confirm whether a program is on air at present;    a program image selector; and    a program image display that is adapted to display the program if it is on air.    
   
   
       50 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 a program relation information storage means;    time measurement means; and    program relation information retrieval/classification means that is adapted to retrieve program relation information from the program relation information storage means according to a time measured by the time measurement means whereupon it is adapted to receive program information from the program table making means and to send the program relation information to the program table displaying means whereby the program relation information is adapted to be displayed.    
   
   
       51 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 transmission and reception means that are adapted to transmit and receive program information, program relation information, program information renewal information, information registered by a user, a program, a picture or a sound.    
   
   
       52 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 image sequence input means that is adapted to enable a user to input an image sequence; and    transmission and reception means that are adapted to transmit and receive a program image.    
   
   
       53 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 transmission and reception means that are adapted to transmit and receive program information; and    program image and selected program information calculation means that are adapted to calculate the number of people viewing the same program and an audience rating.    
   
   
       54 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 program video-recording means;    time measurement means; and    a program image display that is adapted to display the program image,    wherein a program to be recorded can be designated by a user or inputted from another system.    
   
   
       55 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 54 , further comprising: 
 program video-recording retrieval-classification means,    wherein programs recorded or reserved for recording are adapted to be displayed along a time axis of the program table.    
   
   
       56 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 a program image selector that is adapted to select a program image;    time measurement means; and    a viewed program information storage means that is adapted to store information about a viewed program,    wherein the program information that is about programs that had previously been viewed is adapted to be distinctly indicated in the two-dimensional table.    
   
   
       57 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 36 , further comprising: 
 fitting degree calculation means that is adapted to calculate a degree of fitting between program information and each piece of program classification information stored in said program classification information storage means; and    program classification means in which, as to one given piece of program classification information and a program information set, a degree of fitting of each piece of program information in the program information set to the program classification information is adapted to be calculated by using the degree of fitting calculation means to obtain classified program information,    wherein a subset of the program information set has a degree of fitting that is not less than a given threshold value, and the subset of the program information having said degree of fitting that is not less than the given threshold value is adapted to be displayed in the program table display.    
   
   
       58 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 36 , further comprising: 
 means for calculating a degree of fitting between program information and each piece of program classification information stored in a program classification information storage means; and    program classification means in which, as to one given piece of program classification information and a program information set, a degree of fitting of each piece of program information in the program information set to the program classification information is adapted to be calculated by using the degree of fitting calculation means to obtain classified program information,    wherein a subset of the program information has a degree of fitting that is not less than a given threshold value, and the program table display is adapted to display only a program classified into a program classification that has been predetermined or designated by a user so that it can be distinguished from another program in the program table without depending on the form of the program table.    
   
   
       59 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 36 , further comprising: 
 program information designation means that is adapted to designate a subset of a program information set that has been stored in the program information storage means;    relative key word extraction means that is adapted to extract a characteristic word set, characterizing the subset, from the subset program information that has been designated by the program information designation means; and    program information extracting means that is adapted to extract characteristic word information from the designated subset by using the relative key word extraction means and is adapted to extract program classification information for discriminating and classifying program information similar to program information in the subset.    
   
   
       60 . The system for processing program information as claimed in  claim 58 , wherein program classification information is adapted to be transmitted from a user side terminal to a server side terminal by transmission and reception means, program information is adapted to be classified by the program information classification means at the server side, and only program information classified into program classification information transmitted from the server side terminal is adapted to be transmitted to the user side terminal by said transmission and reception means.  
   
   
       61 . A television receiver including a system for processing program information, wherein the system comprises: 
 a program information storage means that is adapted to store program information relating to program attributes;    a program table display that is adapted to display a two-dimensional table of programs; and    an attribute selector that is adapted to select attributes for two axes of the two-dimensional table,    wherein the attributes of the two axes of the two-dimensional table are program attributes.