JP2003016306A - System, method, and program for information distribution service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user side to use information on an organization scale while increasing the value of information that an information providing source has. SOLUTION: An information mediation system 1 is equipped with a desire setting means 3 which previously set user desire information for providing information that the user desires in a combination and a style that the user desires and an information providing means 4 which obtain the information that the user desires from a plurality of information providing sources 2, etc., according to the settings of the desire setting means 3 and provides the obtained information for a user system 8 in the combination and style that the user desires; when information corresponding to the provided information is updated at the information providing source 2, an information providing means 4 obtains the information having been updated and provides the information for the user system 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing system, method and program for providing information possessed by an information provider to a user terminal or system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system, a method, and a program for interposing between an information provider and a user to add value added in distribution to information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various kinds of information on the Internet, some of which are very useful information about the work of a user and some of which are useless. Therefore, even if a user tries to retrieve information by himself,
In many cases, it is difficult or impossible to obtain the information that you want, or even if you can obtain it, it often takes time.

Therefore, conventionally, electronic mail systems and WW have been used.
Using the W (World Wide Web) system, information required by the user (also called content), for example, useful information related to the user's business (eg various news, corporate information, information related to publishing / newspaper distribution, etc.) ) Is provided. In the case of this information provision service,
The user can obtain information from information held by a specific information provider (also called a content provider) with whom a contract is made. On the other hand, when providing information, the information provider performs user registration, issues a user ID, and permits access by the user ID.
When information is provided, a fee is charged, and what information is used by which user, marketing information is obtained for each individual information or each field.

In the information providing service using the electronic mail system, an electronic mail in which news information including fields and keywords registered from the information provider to the user is described is delivered regularly or appropriately. .
If it is an information providing service using the WWW system,
When the user needs the information, the user accesses the information provider and browses the information of the information provider through a predetermined authentication process such as input of the user ID and password.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-132566 discloses that
Disclosed is a desired information processing device intended to provide an intermediary function technology for information distribution, which makes it easy for users to obtain information and for content providers to easily understand the needs of users who use various terminals. There is. This desired information processing apparatus manages content provided according to a classification format prepared in advance with respect to content attribute information provided by a content provider, and the management means reads the content attribute information and loads the content resource database. From the content resource database, using a content distribution device including a content resource database configuration unit that configures Cue information providing means for providing the user with clue information for searching and reaching the desired information, transmission means for transmitting the reached information to the user, data for needs search, data for providing clue information to the content provider To provide the means for providing It is.

[0006]

However, the conventional system for providing the information required by the user has the following problems.

That is, the information provider may handle general information, but if the information provider attempts to improve the quality of the information that is sent by the research / coverage / collection / preparation, the information provider handles it naturally. The specialty of information will increase, and the field of specialty will appear for each information provider. That is, higher quality information is
It is distributed to multiple information providers by various fields (for example, those related to technology and those related to economy). On the other hand, of course, the required information varies depending on the type of business to which the user belongs, and even the same user may have a wide variety of information necessary for business purposes, not necessarily limited to one field. For example, the type and form of information required in each phase of the user's business execution process, such as the stage of introducing a product / product to a customer, the stage of subsequent sales contract conclusion, and the like, are different.

Therefore, in the case of the information providing service using the WWW system, the user will access a plurality of information providing sources as necessary in order to obtain high quality information in various fields. In this case, it is necessary to input a plurality of user IDs and passwords for each of a plurality of information providers, which is complicated. In addition, even after accessing the information provider, it is necessary to retrieve the information required by the user from the large amount of information possessed by the information provider. However, the information provider is
Do not search for information after understanding all the circumstances and background for which information is needed for each user, but provide information that is in line with the general intention of the user based on the keywords entered by the user And Therefore, the search result presented by the information provider does not always match the intention of each user. Therefore, the user needs to select information from the search results presented by the information provider. Further, when the required information covers a plurality of fields, the search needs to be repeated for each of a plurality of information providers.

In the case of the information providing service using the electronic mail system, the electronic mail is not delivered at the time when the user needs the information. That is, the information is distributed at the information provider irrespective of the business activity of the user, either periodically or after a new article is created on the information provider side. Therefore, when the e-mail is delivered, if the user does not need it, the provided information will not be utilized, and after being read or not read, many other information providers will similarly deliver it. Will be buried in the email. Or it will be discarded. When the user feels that the information is needed, the email may no longer be missing.

Further, the information that the user needs for business is as follows:
It is information needed not only by users but also by organizations such as companies and organizations to which the users belong. However, in the conventional information providing service, since each user individually receives the information, it is unclear how the information provided by the information provider is utilized as an organization. That is,
What kind of information does each user who is an organization member need, what kind of information is obtained from the information provider, and how the information is utilized in the business is determined by the administrator of the organization. Understanding is impossible with the conventional mechanism of information providing service.

Similarly, the other party who provides information as seen from the information provider side is usually not the organizational unit but the individual user. For this reason, although valuable information provided by the information provider can be utilized systematically, in many cases, the charge for providing the information is made at the individual level. In some cases, although the information provider provides high-value information based on thorough coverage, research, and information gathering, for example, there is a case where the information is provided free of charge only by user registration. Therefore, there is a feeling that the information provider does not always collect sufficient consideration according to the value of the information provided, and the business is low in profitability. On the other hand,
Even if a fee is charged to the organization, the billing party does not always have to be the accounting department of the organization. Depending on the circumstances of the organization, a specific department may be designated as the billing destination depending on the type and content of the delivered information. In particular, a large-scale organization with a complicated organizational structure requires a flexible billing mechanism.

By the way, in the desired information processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-132566, how to distribute information when the information provided by the information provider is charged or when authentication is required at the time of access. It does not disclose whether to provide the intermediary function technology of. In addition, the target users of the system are at the individual level within the disclosed range, and are not in the viewpoint of utilizing information on an organizational scale. Therefore, the above problem in the present application has not been solved.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible for the information provider side to increase the value of the information it has, and for the user side, it is possible to utilize the information on an organizational scale. And an information distribution service method and an information distribution service program.

The present invention also provides an information distribution service system, an information distribution service method, and an information distribution service system capable of providing the user with the information desired by the user in an optimal combination and form in a timely, efficient, and effective manner. The purpose is to provide an information distribution service program.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has an information utilization means for utilizing information, and an information provider which owns information for providing to the information utilization means. And an information distribution service system including an information mediation system for providing information possessed by an information provider to the information utilization means through the information network, the information mediation system desires information desired by the user of the information utilization means. The desired setting means for setting the user's desired information to be provided in a combination or form in advance, and the information desired by the user is acquired from a plurality of information providers based on the setting of the desired setting means, and the acquired information is displayed. The information provider provides the information using means in the combination or form desired by the user, and the information provider responds to the provided information or the information to be provided. That information update to obtain the updated information in the event of, and to be able to provide the latest information to the information use device.

According to the invention of claim 21, an information utilization means for utilizing the information, an information provider owning the information for providing to the information utilization means, and an information provider via the information network. In an information distribution service method performed with an information mediation system that provides the information using means to the information utilizing means, the information mediating system is provided for providing information desired by the user of the information utilizing means in a desired combination or form. User desired information is set in advance, the information desired by the user is acquired from multiple information providers based on the setting of the desired information, and the acquired information is used as the information use means in the combination and form desired by the user. When the information provided by the information provider updates the information provided, the updated information is acquired and the latest information is obtained by the information user. It is to be provided to.

An information distribution service program according to a twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is an information utilization means for utilizing information.
In an information distribution service system including an information provider that owns information to be provided to the information utilization unit, and an information mediation system that provides the information utilization unit with information possessed by the information provider through an information network, Desired setting means for presetting user desired information for providing the computer constituting the information mediation system in a desired combination or form of information desired by the user of the information utilizing means, and setting of the desired information The information desired by the user from a plurality of information providers based on the above, and provides the acquired information to the information utilizing means in a combination or form desired by the user, and When the corresponding information is updated at the information provider, the updated information is acquired and provided to the information use means. Is intended to function as that the information providing means.

Therefore, the user can timely, efficiently, and update the useful and necessary information distributed among a plurality of information providers in a predetermined desired combination or form desired by the user. Will be available in the state.

The invention according to claim 2 is the information distribution service system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing means obtains information desired by the user from a plurality of information providers based on the setting of the desired setting means. It is provided with a user information database which can be referred to by the information utilizing means and which records the obtained information in a combination or form desired by the user. Therefore, it becomes possible to accumulate various information that has been conventionally only used personally, for example, as shared property of the organization and use it systematically.

The invention according to claim 3 is the information distribution service system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the user desired information includes the timing desired by the user who distributes the information to the information utilizing means. The information providing means delivers the information to be provided to the information using means based on the setting of the desired setting means. In this case, so-called push-type information can be provided according to the user's request.

[0021] In the invention according to claim 4, the information utilizing means for utilizing the information, the information providing source possessing the information for providing to the information utilizing means, and the information providing source via the information network are provided. In an information distribution service system including an information mediation system that provides information to the information utilization means, the information mediation system sets the flow of processing performed by the user of the information utilization means and the information required in each processing. The scenario setting means, the transition notification receiving means for receiving the process transition notification from the information using means, and the information notifying the user based on the setting of the scenario setting means, triggered by the transition notification, to retrieve the information required by the user from the information provider. An on-demand information providing unit that provides the information using unit is provided.

[0022] According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, there are provided an information utilizing means for utilizing the information, an information providing source owning the information for providing to the information utilizing means, and an information providing source via an information network. In the information distribution service method performed with the information mediation system that provides the information using means to the information utilizing means, the information mediating system is required in the flow of processing performed by the user of the information utilizing means and in each processing. Set information, accept process transition notification from user,
The transition notification is used as an opportunity to search the information provider for the information required by the user based on the setting and provide the information to the information utilization means.

An information distribution service program according to a twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is an information utilization means for utilizing information.
In an information distribution service system including an information provider that owns information to be provided to the information utilization unit, and an information mediation system that provides the information utilization unit with information possessed by the information provider through an information network, The computer which constitutes the information mediation system, the scenario setting means for setting the flow of processing performed by the user of the information using means and the information required in each processing, and the transition of the processing from the information using means. A transition notification receiving unit that receives a notification, and an on-demand that provides the information utilization unit with information that the user needs based on the setting by using the transition notification of the process as a trigger. It functions as an information providing means.

Therefore, the process flow and the transition of the business process, for example, the transition of the business process are used as a trigger to collect the flow of the process and the information required in each process according to the set predetermined scenario and use it at the optimum timing. Provided to the person. In this case, the user does not need to specify and request the information he or she needs.

The invention according to claim 5 is the information distribution service system according to claim 4, wherein the on-demand information providing means distributes the retrieved information to the information using means upon the transition notification. In this case, so-called push type information can be provided according to the user's request.

[0026] Further, the invention according to claim 6 has an information utilizing means for utilizing the information, an information transmitting means for transmitting the information, and an information provider owning the information for providing to the information utilizing means. And an information distribution service system including an information mediation system that provides information used by the information provider to the information utilization means via the information network, the information mediation system includes a reception means that receives transmission information from the information transmission means, Registration means for registering a desired user who wishes to receive the provision of outgoing information, and searching for information related to outgoing information from the information held by the information provider,
A transmission information providing means for adding related information to the transmission information and providing it to the information utilization means of the desired user based on the registration means is provided.

The invention according to claim 23 is an information providing means for using the information, an information transmitting means for transmitting the information, and an information provider owning the information for providing to the information utilizing means. And an information distribution service method performed between the information distribution source and the information mediation system that provides the information utilization means with the information owned by the information provider through the information network, the information mediation system provides the information transmitted from the information transmission means. Register the desired user who wants to receive the information, receive the information sent from the information sending means, search the information provided by the information provider for the related information related to the sent information, and send the related information to the sent information. The information is added and provided to the registered user's information utilization means.

An information distribution service program according to a thirtieth aspect of the invention is an information utilization means for utilizing information.
Information transmitting means for transmitting information, an information providing source that owns information for providing to the information using means, and information for providing the information using means with the information held by the information providing source via an information network In an information distribution service system including an intermediary system, a computer that constitutes the information intermediary system, a registration means for registering a desired user who desires to receive the information transmitted from the information transmission means, and the information. Receiving means for receiving outgoing information from the sending means, and searching for related information related to the outgoing information from information held by the information provider,
The related information is added to the transmission information to function as transmission information providing means for providing the information utilization means of the registered desired user.

Therefore, the information sender can send the outgoing information to the user who is also a prospect, and the related information is added to the outgoing information and is provided to the user, which is convenient if it can be referred to.

[0030] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the information distribution service system according to the sixth aspect, the information intermediary system records and manages information exchanged between the information transmitting means and the information utilizing means. The information exchange management means is provided. Therefore, it is possible to support the two-way communication that is triggered by the information transmission.

The invention according to claim 8 is the information distribution service system according to claim 7, wherein the information exchange management means records and manages the question information from the information utilizing means and the reply information from the information transmitting means. I am trying to do it. Therefore, after receiving the transmission information and the related information, the user can obtain more detailed information, that is, answer information to the individual specific question information.

[0032] According to the invention of claim 9, in the information distribution service system according to claim 7 or 8, the information exchange management means distributes the question information to the corresponding information transmitting means and transmits it. . Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of distributing the information on the side of the information sender, and to smoothly proceed the two-way communication that occurs when the information is sent.

The invention according to claim 10 is the same as claim 7
In the information distribution service system described in any one of 1 to 9, the information exchange management means is provided with a FAQ creating function for creating a collection of answers to frequently asked questions from the question information and the answer information recorded and managed. ing. Therefore, the information sender side can save the trouble of answering frequently asked questions, and can smoothly proceed the two-way communication that has occurred as a result of the information transmission.

The invention described in claim 11 is the same as claim 1.
In the information distribution service system according to any one of 1 to 10, the information mediation system manages the authentication information necessary for accessing the information provider for each user, and the user performs the authentication process once for the user. Is provided with an authentication information management means that enables access to a plurality of information providers. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the complexity of the user having to manage each ID and password with respect to a plurality of information providers and the complexity of having to input and confirm each one for access.

The invention according to claim 12 is the same as claim 1
In the information distribution service system according to any one of 1 to 11, the information utilization means or the information transmission means is configured by a plurality of information processing devices being systematically connected by an information network, and is configured to perform information processing for supporting organizational activities. It is assumed to be a user system that executes. In this case, the user can use the information acquired from the information mediation system for the computerized information processing of the organization by the user system.

The invention according to claim 13 is the same as claim 1.
In the information distribution service system according to any one of 1 to 12, the information mediation system provides ID information for identifying an organization member of the organization who is a user of the information utilization means or the information transmission means to the organization configuration. In addition, the user management means manages the information in a logically hierarchized position, and the user management means records and manages the history of information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information. .

The invention according to claim 24 is the same as claim 2
In the information distribution service method described in any one of 1 to 23, the information mediation system uses ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization who is a user of the information utilizing means or the information transmitting means as an organization configuration. Correspondingly, the information is managed in a logically hierarchical position, and the history of information used by the organization members is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information.

The invention of claim 31 is the same as claim 2
In the information distribution service program according to any one of 8 to 30, ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization that is a user of the information utilizing means or the information transmitting means is associated with the organization of the organization. A computer constituting the information intermediation system is provided with a user management unit that records the history of information used by the organization member in association with the corresponding ID information and manages the information in a logically hierarchical manner. It works.

Therefore, it is possible to manage the frequency of use of information of each organization member, the type of information used, etc. on an organizational scale. Further, even if the target organization has a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, it can be flexibly dealt with by logically hierarchizing the organizational structure. The organization members are grasped in what position they are in the logically hierarchized organization.

The invention according to claim 14 is the same as claim 1.
In the information distribution service system described in 3, the user management means records and manages the charging information corresponding to the information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information and manages the information logically according to the organization configuration. It is equipped with a billing management function that can set the billing destination in a hierarchical position.

The invention of claim 25 is the same as that of claim 2
In the information distribution service method described in No. 4, the information mediation system records and manages the charging information corresponding to the information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information and manages the information logically in hierarchical layers corresponding to the organization configuration. The billing address is set according to the changed status.

The invention according to claim 32 is the same as claim 3
In the information distribution service program described in 1, the charging information corresponding to the information used by the members of the organization is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information, and the position is logically hierarchized corresponding to the structure of the organization. It executes the billing management function that can set the billing destination.

Therefore, even if the organization has a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, and a complicated contract form or a complicated designation of a billing party is required, it is a logically hierarchical organization. You can flexibly set the billing destination of the consideration for information use.

The invention of claim 15 is the same as claim 1
In the information distribution service system described in 3 or 14, the user management means is provided with an information usage status reporting function for reporting to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the organization members. ing.

The invention according to claim 26 is the same as claim 2
In the information distribution service method described in 4 or 25,
The information mediation system reports to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the members of the organization.

The invention of claim 33 is the same as that of claim 3
In the information distribution service program described in 1 or 32, the information mediation system is configured to execute an information usage status reporting function for reporting the information usage status to the organization based on the history of information used by organization members. It makes the computer do more.

Therefore, for example, the manager of the organization needs what kind of information each member of the organization needs, obtains what kind of information from the information distribution service system, and how to utilize the information for business. It is possible to easily understand how much the cost is incurred.

The invention according to claim 16 is the same as claim 1.
In the information distribution service system described in any one of 3 to 15, the user management means reports the information provision status based on the history of information used by the user to the information provider. It has a reporting function.

The invention according to claim 27 is the same as claim 2
In the information distribution service method described in any one of 4 to 26, the information mediation system reports the information provision status to the vendor of the information provider based on the history of the information used by the user. .

The invention according to claim 34 is the same as claim 3
The information distribution service program according to any one of 1 to 33, further causing the information mediation system to execute a step of reporting the information provision status based on the history of information used by the user to the information provision source. Is.

Therefore, the information provider can grasp the needs and preferences of the user on an organizational scale. In addition, it is possible to grasp the degree of sales, etc. by providing the information.

According to another aspect of the information distribution service system of the present invention, an information utilizing means for utilizing the information, an information providing source possessing the information for providing the information utilizing means, and information via the information network. In an information distribution service system including an information mediation system that provides information possessed by a provider to an information utilization means, the information mediation system provides ID information for identifying an organizational member of an organization that is a user of the information utilization means. , A user management means for managing in a logically hierarchized position corresponding to the organization structure, and the user management means records the history of information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information. I try to manage it. In this case, the form of information provision is not particularly limited. Even in this case, it is possible to manage the frequency of use of information of each organization member, the type of information used, and the like on an organizational scale. Further, even if the target organization has a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, it can be flexibly dealt with by logically hierarchizing the organizational structure. The organization members are grasped in what position they are in the logically hierarchized organization.

The invention of claim 18 is the same as that of claim 1.
In the information distribution service system described in No. 7, the user management means records and manages the charging information corresponding to the information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information and manages them logically according to the organization configuration. It is equipped with a billing management function that can set the billing destination in a hierarchical position. Therefore, even if the target organization has, for example, a large-scale and complicated organizational structure and a complicated contract form or a complicated billing destination is required, it is logically hierarchized. You can flexibly set the billing destination within the organization.

The invention described in claim 19 is the same as claim 1.
In the information distribution service system described in 7 or 18, the user management means is provided with an information usage status reporting function for reporting to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the organization members. ing. Therefore, for example, the manager of an organization needs to know what information each member of the organization needs, what kind of information is obtained from the information distribution service system, and how the information is utilized in business. It is possible to easily understand whether or not a certain amount of cost is incurred.

The invention according to claim 20 is the same as claim 1
In the information distribution service system described in any one of 7 to 19, the user management means reports the information provision status based on the history of the information used by the user to the provider of the information provider. It has a reporting function. Therefore, the information provider can grasp the needs and preferences of the user on an organizational scale. In addition, it is possible to grasp the degree of sales, etc. by providing the information.

[0056]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The structure of the present invention will be described below in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 to 13 show a first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention. This information distribution service system is an information utilization means 8 for utilizing information.
And the information provider 2 who owns the information to be provided to the information utilization means 8 and the information provider 2 via the information network.
An information processing system including an information intermediation system 1 for providing information possessed by the information utilization means 8, wherein the information intermediation system 1 provides information desired by a user of the information utilization means 8 in a desired combination or form. The desired setting means 3 for setting the user's desired information in advance, and the information desired by the user are acquired from a plurality of information providers 2, ..., 2 based on the setting of the desired setting means 3 and acquired. When the information is provided to the information utilizing means 8 in a combination or form desired by the user, and the information corresponding to the provided information or the information to be provided is updated by the information providing source 2, the updated information is displayed. The latest information can be obtained and provided to the information utilizing means 8.

Further, for example, the information providing means 4 of this embodiment
Then, the information use means 8 which acquires the information desired by the user from the plurality of information providers 2 based on the setting of the desired setting means 3 and records the acquired information in the combination or form desired by the user is used. Information database for users 6 that can be referred to
To prepare for.

Further, for example, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the user desired information includes the timing desired by the user who distributes the information to the information using means 8, and the information providing means 4 sets the desired setting means 3. The information to be provided based on this can be distributed to the information utilizing means 8.

Further, for example, in the present embodiment, the information mediation system 1 manages the authentication information required for accessing the information provider 2 for each user and executes the authentication process once for each user. Is provided with an authentication information management means 9 that enables access to a plurality of information providers 2.

Here, the user in this embodiment is
It is the entity that needs and uses information. The users include, for example, individuals who personally use the information, organizational members such as employees who use the information in organizational activities such as companies, and
It includes an organization such as a company made up of organizational members. In the present specification, the term “user” includes any person who uses information, such as an individual, a member of an organization, and an organization. An individual user is specifically referred to as an individual user.

The information utilizing means 8 is a means for the user to utilize the information. The information utilization means includes, for example, general information processing devices (hardware) such as personal computers, workstations, servers, mainframes, portable information terminals, and information appliances, and application programs executed on the hardware, for example. ,
Programs (software) such as database programs are also included. Further, the information utilizing means 8 includes a form in which a plurality of information processing devices (hardware) are connected by an information network (for example, a client / server system), and is executed by a plurality of interconnected information processing devices. It also includes software such as groupware. For example, the individual user has an information processing terminal (hereinafter, referred to as a user terminal 5) for using the information provided by the information providing means 4 as the information using means 8. In addition, for example, an organization composed of a plurality of organization members is a user who is configured as the information use unit 8 by a plurality of information processing devices being systematically connected by an information network and executing information processing that supports organizational activities. Have a system. In the present embodiment, an example in which the user system 8 is used as the main information utilizing means 8 will be described.

Furthermore, the information mediation system 1 of this embodiment
Then, the user management means 10 is provided for managing the ID information for identifying the organization member of the organization that is the user of the user system 8 in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration, The user management means 10 records and manages the history of information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information.

Further, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment records and manages the billing information corresponding to the information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information and manages the corresponding organization information. A charging management function 11 capable of setting a billing destination in a logically hierarchical position is provided.

Further, for example, the user management means 10 in this embodiment is provided with an information usage status reporting function 12 for reporting the information usage status to the organization based on the history of information used by the organization members. I have to. Further, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment includes an information provision status reporting function 13 for reporting the information provision status based on the history of the information used by the user to the vendor of the information provider 2. I am trying.

The information mediation system 1 is located between the information provider 2 and the users who need the information that the information provider 2 has, and is positioned as a gateway in the information distribution route, so that the information is distributed. The added value of is added. Digital information (or the content of information) that is useful to the user is generally called content. In the present embodiment, the unit of information distributed from the information provider 2 to the information mediation system 1 and from the information mediation system 1 to the user side will be referred to as content hereinafter. The content is
It is digital data, and the type and form of documents, drawings, music, images, moving images, software, etc. are not particularly limited. To exemplify the contents handled in the present embodiment, assuming that members of an organization such as a company / organization are users of the information mediation system 1, for example, various news, company information, information related to publication / newspaper distribution, education, etc. Information related to (for example, e-Learning) is applicable. Also, as other contents, for example, the user terminal 5
And information (including software) necessary for information processing executed in the user system 8 is applicable.
The user can, for example, sell these contents in sales planning,
It can be used for new customer development plan, sales activity plan, sales activity management, employee training, progress management, etc.

For example, the information provider 2 of this embodiment is an information processing system owned by the original provider or seller of each content. Generally, a content provider is called a content provider. In this embodiment,
The information provider is called a content provider 2. Also, the original content that the content provider 2 has is called original content. The provider of the content provider 2 (that is, the original provider or seller) can use the information intermediation system 1 as a means for high-value-added distribution of the content owned by the provider. by the way,
The creator (originator) of the original content may distribute the original content by itself,
In some cases, the original content may be distributed via a third party. The providers of the content provider 2 of this embodiment include original content creators who distribute original content themselves, and third parties who distribute original content on behalf of the original content creator (originator). I shall. Note that, in the present embodiment, for example, it is assumed that a trader who provides application software via an information network can also use the information mediation system 1 as described below.
The application software as well as the contents can be provided to the user via the information mediation system 1. A vendor who provides application software via an information network is called an application service provider, but in the present embodiment, an information processing system owned by the vendor is called an application service provider 17 for convenience of description.

The information mediation system 1 of the present embodiment is in the form of a so-called B2B (Business to Business) system for realizing electronic data exchange / electronic commerce between companies. In other words, the unit of the user targeted by the information intermediation system 1 is mainly an organization such as a company or an organization having a plurality of organization members. That is,
In this embodiment, the information intermediation system 1 is mainly used on an organizational scale, and the unit of customers seen from the information intermediation system 1 is an organization. Hereinafter, an organization that uses the information mediation system 1 is referred to as a customer organization. The operator of the information intermediation system 1 uses the information intermediation system 1 to carry out a service for collectively acting as a content or application software use contract between companies / organizations and ordering / billing / collecting operations. Note that the individual users are not excluded from the target users of the information mediation system 1.

The information mediation system 1 is constructed using a computer. For example, the procedure to be executed by each unit constituting the information mediation system 1 is programmed and executed by a computer. The computer is not shown,
Known hardware resources such as a central processing unit, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, a communication interface for connecting to an information network, an input / output interface to which a display, a keyboard, etc. are connected, and these hardware resources are controlled. A known device with an operating system.

The information mediation system 1, the content provider 2, and the user system 8 are connected via an information network, which is an infrastructure that enables bidirectional data communication. For example, in this embodiment, the Internet is used as the information network. A technique for performing desired two-way data communication between the information mediation system 1 and the content provider 2 and a technique for performing intended two-way data communication between the information mediation system 1 and the user system 8 It is preferable because it is easy to use the WWW system and the electronic mail system which are known as Internet-related technologies.

The content provider 2 is a WWW as an information processing device for performing desired communication with the information mediation system 1.
It has a computer having a function as a server and has an original content database 14 in which original contents are recorded.

The customer organization has a user system 8 that executes information processing that supports the activities of the organization. The user system 8 includes, for example, a plurality of information processing terminals (hereinafter, referred to as user terminals 5) and a plurality of these user terminals 5 ,.
And an organization activity support means 7 for supporting the activity of the customer organization by executing information processing in cooperation with 5. Here, the customer organization is, for example, a company, and the activity of the customer organization in this case is a business performed by the company. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the organizational activity support means is referred to as the business support means 7. The members of the customer organization each have, for example, a user terminal 5. , 5 and the work support means 7 that constitute the user system 8 are connected to each other by, for example, the in-house network 15 to form an intranet or an extranet. The plurality of user terminals 5, ..., 5 are logically hierarchized and managed by a known network operating system in accordance with the organization configuration. Also,
The user system 8 includes a known information processing device such as a WWW server, an electronic mail server, or a proxy server for performing desired communication with the information mediation system 1. The individual user has a personal user terminal 5 for performing desired communication with the information mediation system 1.

The work support means 7 is a computer that executes application software for supporting the work of the organization. For example, CRM (Customer
Relationship Management) system and SFA (Sales
The Force Automation) system and other industry-specific systems are applicable. Hereinafter, application software (for example, software that realizes CRM, SFA, etc.) for supporting the work of the organization is referred to as a target application in this embodiment.

As the user terminal 5, a WW that can receive or browse the contents provided by the information mediation system 1
The form is not particularly limited as long as it is provided with W browser software, electronic mail software, and the like, and has a predetermined input / output device such as a screen display function and a menu selection function. For example, a known personal computer, a mobile information terminal, a mobile phone, an Internet TV or other home information appliances can be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the data communication between the information mediation system 1 and the content provider 2 based on the WWW system, and the information mediation system 1
As a page description language of a web page exchanged in data communication between the user and the user system 8 or the user terminal 5, for example, XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is used.
To use. By using XML,
It is possible to easily obtain necessary contents and management information by using the tags described in the web page as a clue, and to easily combine and edit desired contents.
In addition, the known XML function has the advantage of facilitating the cooperation between the WWW server and the database, and the advantage that the data format, document style, electronic device, etc. can be adjusted according to various distribution means. can get.
If the original content database 14 of the content provider 2 is not compatible with XML, for example, software that converts the original content of the content provider 2 into an XML file is used. However, data communication using XML is a preferred example of the present invention and is not necessarily limited to this.

For example, the desired setting means 3 of this embodiment is
Execute a program on a computer that sets user preference information that describes the type of content desired by the user, the combination of content types, and the method of providing the content, and manages the user preference information for each user. It is realized by doing.

Further, by allowing the user to set a desired content providing method, the content can be used in a form suitable for the environment of the intranet or extranet of the customer organization, for example. A specific method of providing the content will be described later. It should be noted that the type of content desired by the user, the combination of types of content, the method of providing the content, and the like are examples of the user-desired information, and may include other necessary information as appropriate.

In the present embodiment, for example, in the contracts with the providers of the plurality of content providers 2, ..., 2, the editable range of the original content in the information mediation system 1 and the original content on the user side The range of use and the like should be determined in advance. As a result, regarding the original content of the content provider 2,
In accordance with the usage environment of the customer organization's intranet, extranet, etc., on the premise of copyright protection,
It should be possible to edit and secondary use accompanying re-delivery.

The desired setting means 3 of this embodiment comprises a desired setting database 16 which stores and manages desired setting information. The method of setting the user desired information may be either online, that is, computer processing through an information network, or offline, which requires manual data input processing without an information network. . For example, the desired setting means 3 of this embodiment
Although not shown in the figure, a WWW server is provided and a WWW system can be used to set user-desired information via an information network. Hereinafter, an example of a method of setting and managing user desired information by the desired setting means 3 of this embodiment will be shown (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

The desired setting means 3 receives online or offline the data of the original content menu showing the types of original content that can be provided from each content provider 2 using the information mediation system 1 (S1), and the desired setting database. Register at 16. Then, the original content menu list data (hereinafter referred to as the content service menu in the present embodiment) in which the original content menus received from each content provider 2 are aggregated by the database operation is created (S2).

On the other hand, the user acquires the content service menu online or offline (S
3) Select the desired content type from the content service menu and specify the desired content type combination. That is, the content service provided by the information mediation system 1 is selected (S4). The preference setting means 3 receives the content of the content service selected by the user online or offline (S5) and records it in the preference setting database 16 (S6).

When the content desired by the user does not exist in the original content menu, the wish setting means 3 requests the keyword related to the content from the user as a request from the user. You may make it accept online or offline. Such a request from the user is fed back to, for example, the provider of the content provider 2, and if the content can be provided by the content provider 2, it is appropriately added to the original content menu. Further, for example, even if the content is related to a new field and is not currently stored in the content provider 2, as soon as the related original content is generated on the content provider 2 side or the related original content is acquired, It becomes possible to provide the user with content based on the original content.

Further, the user can specify a desired content providing method online or offline. For example, a content providing method executable by the information mediation system 1 may be presented in the content service menu so that the user can select a desired providing method. Further, if the menu does not present an appropriate content providing method desired by the user, the user may receive the desired content providing method online or offline. Any providing method that can be executed on the information mediation system 1 side can be appropriately added to the content service menu.

As described above, the type of content desired, the combination of the types of content, and the method of providing the content are designated by the user, and recorded as desired user information in the desired setting database 16 for each user. For example, in the present embodiment, the user desired information set in this way is called a custom menu as a content menu customized for each user.

However, the method of setting user desired information is not limited to the method of creating a custom menu and recording it in the desired setting database 16 as described above.
For example, in the present embodiment, in order to make the use of the information intermediation system 1 more convenient and smooth for users, for example, the combination of the types of contents that are considered to be frequently used and the customer organization have A content providing method assuming the user system 8 may be registered in advance in the desired setting database 16 as a template menu. When the template menu is used, it becomes a package-like content use service. For example, as a template menu, a package according to CRM function, a package according to industry, a package according to specialized field, or the like is planned. In this case, for example, the desired setting unit 3 presents a plurality of template menus to the user online or offline in addition to the content service menu (S3). The user can select a template menu according to his / her desire from the content service menu online or offline (S4). Further, for example, some parameters of the template menu may be easily editable according to the wishes of the user. In this case, the user can obtain a custom menu that meets his or her wishes based on the template menu.

The advantages of using the template menu are as follows. In other words, for the content provider 2 provider, since the service is a relatively standardized distribution service, there is an advantage that the operation cost can be kept low. Further, for the operator of the information intermediation system 1, the sales activity is packaged as a service, which has the advantage of facilitating the sales activity. Further, there is an advantage that the user (particularly, the customer organization) side can easily understand the characteristics of the service at the time of initial introduction and the introduction hurdle is reduced. In addition, by planning a package for each CRM function as a template menu, the CRM
The effect of facilitating cooperation with an SI (system integrator) company that sells such systems is also obtained. Further, since it is possible to easily deal with the custom-made contents desired by the customer organization, it is possible to easily add services and promote customer acquisition.

In the present invention, the setting of the user desired information by the desired setting means 3 is not limited to the contents described above. For example, a predetermined person in charge of the information mediation system 1 asks the user (for example, a customer organization) the contents of information requested by a meeting or the like, and selects the optimum content provider 2 that can provide the information requested by the user based on this. After finding out, for example, the user desired information that is most suitable for the user is defined under the agreement of the user and the contractor of the content provider 2 by a personal contract, and the defined user desired information is set in the desired setting database 16 You may register to.

Further, although the wish setting means 3 of this embodiment can manage the user desired information for each user,
User desired information can be managed not only by contracts with individual users or organization members, but also by collective contracts with customer organizations. In this case, for example, it is possible to manage the user desired information hierarchically according to the structure of the customer organization. For example, it is possible to perform management such that the template menu A is used for the entire organization, the template menu C is used for the department B of the customer organization, and the user E of the department D of the customer organization uses the custom menu F. is there. This function is linked to, for example, the user management means 10 described later in this embodiment.

Further, in this embodiment, in addition to the original content provided by the content provider 2, the application software provided by the application service provider 17 is added to the content service menu or an appropriate template menu. This allows the user or customer organization to select the required content and at the same time the required application software.

For example, the information providing means 4 of the present embodiment acquires the original content desired by the user from the plurality of content providers 2, ..., 2 based on the template menu or the custom menu recorded in the desired setting database 16. Then, the program is provided by being combined and provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 in a user's desired form by a computer.

In the present embodiment, when the content provider 2 side updates the corresponding original content once provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8, the information providing means 4 causes the relevant content to be updated. The updated content is acquired and the latest content is provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8.

Here, “providing the content to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8” is not limited to one specific form. For example, the user terminal 5 for an individual user or an organization member, the business support means 7 as a component of the user system 8 or a target application is provided (delivered) with content actively and actively. Alternatively, a so-called push type configuration may be used. In addition, for example, an individual user or an organization member can appropriately browse the content using the user terminal 5, or a work support means 7 that constitutes the user system 8.
Alternatively, it may be a so-called pull-type mode in which the target application can appropriately refer to the content. The content providing method desired by the user is recorded in the desired setting database 16, and the information providing means 4 provides the content according to the content providing method desired by the user. As a mode of providing the content to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 by the information providing means 4, for example, in the present embodiment, there are three types of modes which are roughly divided and described below.

First, a user information database 6 construction type will be described as a form of the first content providing method (see FIG. 5). For example, in the information providing means 4 of the present embodiment, based on the template menu or the custom menu recorded in the desired setting database 16, the content desired by the user is acquired from a plurality of content providers 2, ... A user information database 6 recorded in a form desired by the user is provided.

For example, the information providing means 4 issues a search request for content required by the user based on the template menu or the custom menu to the content provider 2
(S101). On the other hand, the content provider 2 executes the content search / extraction program to search and extract the corresponding original content. Then, the content provider 2 provides the information providing means 4 with the searched and extracted original content in a form that meets the predetermined interface specifications of the information mediation system 1.
(S102).

The information providing means 4 edits the original content distributed from a plurality of content providers 2, ... The information is recorded in the personal information database 6 (S103). In this case, the content search request and the original content transmitted and received between the information providing means 4 and the content provider 2 are XML.
By configuring it as a file, it is possible to easily extract / edit / combine the necessary items using the tags in the XML file as a clue (see FIG. 9).

User information database 6 constructed
Can be referred to from the user terminal 5 and the user system 8. For example, the user issues a reference request for the user information database 6 to the information providing means 4 using the user terminal 5 (S104). Information provision means 4
Distributes the requested predetermined content to the user terminal 5 after the predetermined authentication processing, for example (S105). At the time of distribution, the user management means 10 performs user management processing to record necessary management information (for example, content type, source, distribution destination, timing of provision, etc.) as a history (S106). The user management processing by the user management means 10 will be described later.

The user information database 6 can be referred to not only from the user terminal 5 but also from the user information database 6 to the content required by the target application, for example, by the user system 8. You may allow it. The physical arrangement of the user information database 6 is not particularly limited. For example, the user information database 6 is constructed in the internal network 15 of the customer organization (for example, the customer organization's intranet or extranet),
The user terminal 5 and the business support means 7 may be able to appropriately refer to the user information database 6 on the in-house network 15. The user uses the content provided in the intended form for business activities and the like, and the user system 8 uses the content provided in the intended form for predetermined processing (S107).

Further, when the content provider 2 side updates the corresponding original content in the user information database 6, the information providing means 4 can acquire the updated original content. For example, content provider 2
Side executes a predetermined program (S10
8). As the predetermined program for the information providing means 4 to acquire the updated original content, for example, the content provider 2 side determines whether or not the updated original content needs to be delivered at the timing of updating the original content. If necessary, a program for delivering the updated original content to the information providing means 4 may be executed. Further, for example, on the content provider 2 side, it is confirmed whether or not the original content for which update notification is required is regularly updated by performing a regular check process in a certain cycle. A program for extracting the original content and delivering it to the information providing means 4 may be executed.

The information providing means 4 acquires the updated original content and updates the user information database 6 (S109). As a result, the latest contents can be provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. When the updated original content acquired by the information providing unit 4 is recorded in the user information database 6, for example, the old content may be overwritten depending on the content, and the update history of the content may be grasped, for example. The new content may be added to the old content so that the old content can be added.

FIG. 8 shows the concept of constructing the user information database 6. Reference numeral 18 represents an image of the content service menu, reference numeral 19 represents an image of the template menu, and reference numeral 20 represents an image of the custom menu. That is, based on the template menu 19 or the custom menu 20 recorded in the desired setting database 16 by the information providing means 4, the original content desired by the user is acquired from a plurality of content providers 2, ... The user information database 6 recorded in the form desired by the user is constructed.

Next, the push type will be described as a form of the second content providing method (see FIG. 6). For example, the information providing means 4 of the present embodiment is capable of actively delivering the content to be provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. As a technique for actively distributing the content to be provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8, for example, R, which is a standard used in e-mail or the Internet, for example.
DF (Resource Description Framework) specifications can be used.

Here, an example of delivering to the target application of the user system 8 will be described.
For example, the information providing unit 4 acquires the original content from the content provider 2 (S201, 20).
2), based on the contents of the template menu or the custom menu, the delivery parameters (delivery data) to the target application target file.
Is generated and recorded in the user information database 6 (S203). Then, the data is distributed to the target application of the user system 8 at the optimum timing desired by the user (S204). The delivery timing desired by the user is reflected in, for example, the template menu or the custom menu. At the time of distribution, user management means 10 performs user management processing to record necessary management information (for example, content type, source, distribution destination, timing of provision, etc.) as history (S).
205). The user management processing by the user management means 10 will be described later. The target application of the user system 8 receives the content at the optimum timing, for example, after the end of the information processing in the previous stage of using the content (S206), and executes the information processing using the content (S207). The delivery timing is not limited to the time required by the target application as in this example, but may be delivered at the time when the original content is updated, for example (S208, S208).
209, 210). However, the timing of distribution is not limited to these, and can be flexibly set according to the characteristics of the content and the usage of the content of the user or customer organization. The timing of delivery desired by the user is reflected in, for example, the template menu or the custom menu.

In the push-type information distribution, the distribution of the original content on the content provider 2 side (S202, 208) and the timing of request generation on the user terminal 5 side or the user system 8 side are adjusted. Although the user information database 6 is used as the buffer, the user information database 6 may not necessarily be used. For example, the content provider 2 delivers the original content at the timing set by the desired setting means 3, and the information providing means 4 that has acquired the original content edits the original content into a predetermined content and directly uses the user terminal 5 or the user. It may be delivered to the person system 8.

Next, a pull type will be described as a form of the third content providing method (see FIG. 7). In this case, for example, the user accesses the information providing means 4 using the user terminal 5, calls the template menu or the custom menu, and designates and requests the desired content from the menu (S301). Further, for example, the user system 8 accesses the information providing unit 4 based on a template menu or a custom menu preset in the user system 8 to request the content (S).
301).

The information providing means 4 receives the request from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 and determines the content of the requested content and the content providing method based on the template menu or the custom menu. Then, the information providing means 4 issues a content search request to the content provider 2 (S302).

On the other hand, the content provider 2 executes the content search / extraction program to search for and extract the corresponding original content (S303). Then, the content provider 2 distributes the retrieved and extracted original content to the information providing means 4 in a form conforming to the predetermined interface specifications of the information mediation system 1.

The information providing means 4 edits the original content distributed from the plurality of content providers 2, ... Terminal 5 for workers
Alternatively, it is delivered to the user system 8 (S30
4). At the time of distribution, the user management means 10 performs a user management process to record necessary management information (for example, content type, source, distribution destination, timing of provision, etc.) as a history (S305). The user management processing by the user management means 10 will be described later. The user uses the content provided in the intended form for business activities and the like, and the user system 8 uses the content provided in the intended form for predetermined processing (S306).

Note that the contents distributed to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 may be simultaneously recorded in the storage device to construct the user information database 6. In the case of the pull-type content providing method described above, the information providing means 4 makes a request to the content provider 2 at the time when the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 makes a request, and the latest information obtained from the content provider 2 is obtained. Edit and process the content into a preset form,
It is provided to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. Therefore, it is not necessary to synchronize the original content database 14 of the content provider 2 and the user information database 6.

The information mediation system 1 of the present embodiment is provided with the user management means 10 for managing the organizational members in a logically hierarchical position within the organization. Then, the user management means 10 manages the history of the contents used by the organization members for each organization member.

Further, in the user management means 10 of this embodiment, the application software provided by the application service provider 17 is also managed in the same manner as the content provided by the content provider 2. The information intermediation system 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a management system adapted to the customer organization so that the software license usage status, purchase status, content usage status, etc. can be managed in organizational units.

For example, in this embodiment, the customer organization is managed in a five-layer structure (see FIG. 10). For example, the customer organization is managed in a five-layer structure including a company group layer 22, a company layer 23, a billing center layer 24, a customer layer 25, and a user layer 26 from the top. The company group layer 22 is a concept representing a level hierarchy of a corporate group including, for example, a parent company, a subsidiary, a group company, and the like. The company layer 23 is, for example, the company group layer 2
This is a concept that represents the level hierarchy of each company such as a parent company, a subsidiary, and a group company that belong to 2. Billing center layer 2
4 is a concept representing a level hierarchy of a billing destination belonging to the company layer 23, for example. What is the customer segment 25?
For example, it is a concept representing a level hierarchy of departments in an organization belonging to the billing center layer 24. And the user group 26
Is a concept representing a level hierarchy of each organization member belonging to the customer layer 25.

The matrix 31 shown in FIG. 11 shows the concept of the management mechanism by the user management means 10. The user management means 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a user management database 21 including, for example, a storage device and database management software, and for each customer organization (see reference numeral 32 in FIG. 11) hierarchized into the above five hierarchies, Contract information such as content usage contract and software license contract (Fig. 11
(See reference numeral 33), ID information for identifying users belonging to the customer organization (see reference numeral 37 in FIG. 11), usage history of contents of each organization member and application software (see reference numeral 35 in FIG. 11), contents Information for use of software and application software (Fig. 11
Medium reference numeral 36) and the like are managed by using, for example, a known relational database technology. Regarding the contract information such as the content use contract and the software license contract, for example, the desired setting database 1 described above is used.
Based on the user desired information recorded in 6, the contents 31 and the application software used by each organization member belonging to each hierarchy of each customer organization are reflected in the matrix 31 on the user management database 21. I will let you.

With the user management database 21, the user management means 10 charges what kind of contents and application software the organization members belonging to which tier of which customer organization uses and to what extent. Make sure that you can understand what you are doing and so on. It should be noted that information that contributes to purchase management, usage management, asset management, etc. of content and application software, such as content usage price, application software usage price, and contract form related to content usage and application software usage, should be set for each contract. It is good (see reference numeral 34 in FIG. 11). As a result, for example, with respect to a plurality of customer organizations, it is possible to constantly grasp the latest price or the like of the content or application software provided by the information mediation system 1 for each customer organization, and the same content can be provided to each customer organization as needed. You can also present it.

Further, the user management means 10 issues, for example, a user ID for each organization member, identifies the organization member based on the user ID, and thereafter determines all contents of each organization member. The logs or history of use are collected and managed in the matrix 31 on the user management database 21. For example, the user management means 10 of this embodiment executes the following user management processing. The user management unit 10 determines necessary management information (for example, the type of content, the source of acquisition) from the tag information in the XML file forming the content when the content is distributed to the user terminal 5 and the user system 8. , Delivery destination, timing of provision, etc.) (FIG. 9)
reference). If necessary, the delivery date and time, the time required for delivery, the amount of delivered data, and the like are added to the management information as appropriate. Then, the user management means 10 identifies the organization member based on the user ID, and sets the necessary management in a predetermined field of the usage history (see reference numeral 35 in FIG. 11) of the matrix 31 on the user management database 21. Information is recorded (S106 in FIG. 5, S205 in FIG. 6, S305 in FIG. 7).
Note that, for example, by issuing the user ID to a predetermined target application of the user system 8, the usage history of the content of the target application can also be managed by the user management means 10 like the organization member.

Further, the user management means 10 of this embodiment.
Has a billing management function 11 capable of hierarchically managing billing information for contents and application software used by the members of the organization according to the structure of the customer organization. The billing management function 11 generates billing information according to a predetermined billing rule (for example, pay-per-use, pay-per-hour, flat-rate, etc.) from the content usage history recorded in the user management database 21, for example. Functions as a metering system. In addition, the charge management function 11
Shows the generated billing information in a predetermined field (reference numeral 36 in FIG. 11) of the matrix 31 on the user management database 21.
See). That is, the billing information based on the content usage of the organization member is recorded on the hierarchy of the customer organization.

As described above, the user management means 1 for managing the organizational members in a logically hierarchical position within the organization.
According to 0, even if the customer organization is, for example, a large company having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, and a complicated contract form or a complicated billing destination is requested,
The billing destination can be flexibly set in a logically hierarchical organizational structure. That is, according to the user management means 10 of the present invention, content usage contract management, software license contract management, content usage status management, application usage status management, and contents are provided to a customer organization having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure. Billing management based on usage,
Billing management based on application usage can be easily performed on the user management database 21. In addition,
As a form of payment for the use of content,
For example, the operator of the information intermediation system 1 makes a collective payment of the content usage fee by the user to the provider of each content provider 2 based on the management content by the user management means 10. On the other hand, information mediation system 1
The operator of is based on the management contents of the user management means 10,
For example, the fee for using the information mediation system 1 is added to the fee for use of contents by each user, and the billing center (payee) is charged. Based on the user management means 10, the operator of the information intermediation system 1 is
We can provide a service that collectively handles content or application software use contracts between groups and order / billing / collection services.

Here, the software license and the content use contract in the information mediation system 1 are not limited to the customer organization unit. For example, a user who is a member of an organization may be able to make a personal contract for software licenses and use of contents as a benefit of being a member of the organization. in this case,
For example, an individual user ID is issued to an individual user in order to clearly distinguish the user as an individual from the user as an organization member. On the other hand, the user ID and the individual user ID are associated with each other on the user management database 21 so that the information mediation system 1 side can grasp which customer organization the individual belongs to (see reference numeral 37 in FIG. 11). Note that the management structure by the user management means 10 in this case is in addition to the five-layer structure of the company group layer 22, the company layer 23, the billing center layer 24, the customer layer 25, and the user layer 26 described above. This is a management structure in which an individual user layer 27 associated with the organizational members of the user layer 26 and an individual user billing center layer 28 as a billing destination for individual users are added (see FIG. 10). In the case of such a management structure, for example, even if an individual user logs on to the information intermediation system 1 with an individual user ID, the information intermediation system 1 must keep track of which customer organization belongs to which hierarchy. For example, by applying the contract conditions with the customer organization, the billing center for individual users (billing destination) can be billed for the content usage fee.

Further, the user management means 10 of this embodiment.
Equipped with the information usage status reporting function 12, automatically creates a content usage status report 29 based on the history of the content used by the organization members automatically, and creates the content usage status report 29 of the customer organization. A process of automatically sending to an administrator by e-mail or off-line mailing is executed (see FIGS. 3 and 9). The content usage status report 29 is realized, for example, by performing a database operation so as to extract desired information from the information recorded in the user management database 21. The format of the content usage status report 29 is not particularly limited, but for example, the current contents and application software that the administrator of the customer organization uses from the information intermediation system 1 in the customer organization are present. The contents of the contract shall clearly indicate the contract content, the usage status of how much the organization members use such contents and application software, and the amount charged and a detailed breakdown of the amount charged for the usage status.

Further, the user management means 10 of this embodiment.
Is provided with an information provision status reporting function 13, and performs database operation so as to extract desired information from the information recorded in the user management database 21 on a regular basis, for example, and records the history of contents used by the user. The content provision status report 30 is automatically created based on the above, and the content provision status report 30 is automatically transmitted to the manager of each content provider 2 by e-mail or is mailed offline. (Figs. 3 and 9
reference).

In the present embodiment, for example, the content provided by the information providing means 4 to the user includes access information to the content provider 2 and the application service provider 17 such as hyperlinks and URLs (Uniform Resource Locator). In some cases, the authentication information necessary for accessing the content provider 2 and the application service provider 17 is managed for each user, and the user is authenticated by a single time, and the user is authenticated by a plurality of content providers. 2, ..., 2
The authentication information managing means 9 is provided so as to be accessible to.

In the authentication information management means 9, a plurality of IDs (hereinafter referred to as provider IDs in this embodiment, respectively) given to the organizational members or individual users from the plurality of content providers 2, ... Call) is managed collectively. Then, a plurality of provider IDs belonging to one organization member or one individual user, and to each organization member or each individual user to authenticate each organization member or each individual user in the authentication information management means 9. I will be given one for each
D (hereinafter, referred to as a global ID in the present embodiment) can be mutually converted. As the global ID, for example, a user ID assigned and managed by the user management unit 10 or an ID already assigned by the user system 8 in the customer organization (hereinafter referred to as a local ID in the present embodiment). ) Etc., the user may be allowed to select one desired ID.

12 and 13, the authentication information management means 9 is shown.
An example of a process for authenticating a user will be described. The authentication information management unit 9 has, for example, an ID distribution processing unit 38 and an authentication proxy processing unit 39 for the content provider and the application service provider 17. For example, the user accesses the authentication information management means 9 using the user terminal 5, and inputs the global ID and password from the interface screen presented by the authentication information management means 9 to make a login request (S401). On the other hand, in the authentication information management means 9, the global I input by the user is input.
Performs primary authentication processing to confirm D and the password (S40
2). When the user is primarily authenticated, the ID distribution processing unit 38 identifies a plurality of provider IDs bundled with the global ID of the user, and the content provider 2 that corresponds to each of the identified plurality of provider IDs.
Or to the authentication proxy processing unit 39 of the application service provider 17 (S403). In the authentication proxy processing unit 39, as a proxy of the user, authentication means of a predetermined content provider 2 or application service provider 17 corresponding to the specified provider ID (for example, an authentication server function included in a known network operating system. , Provider authentication means) (S404, 40).
5). It should be noted that the authentication information management unit 9 and each predetermined provider authentication unit are linked to each other, and the authentication information management unit 9 performs authentication (S
The user who is 401) may be simultaneously authenticated by each predetermined provider authentication means, and may not be required to perform the authentication processing of S404 and 405. Also, at the same time when the user logs on to the user system 8 of the customer organization using the user terminal 5, the user is authenticated by the authentication information management means 9, and at the same time, is authenticated by the authentication means of the predetermined content provider 2 and application service provider 17. It may be done. As a technique for implementing such authentication information management means 9, for example, an authentication technique used in a network operating system or the like can be used.

The user authenticated by the authentication information management means 9 can access the predetermined content provider 2 and the application service provider 17 until the user logs out from the authentication information management means 9. As a result, it is possible to provide the user with a single logon environment in which once the user logs on to the information mediation system 1, he / she can access or be mapped to a predetermined content provider 2 or application service provider 17. That is, the user does not need to input the individual provider ID and password each time he or she accesses different content providers 2 and application service providers 17.

Note that maintenance information such as registration / change / addition / deletion of global ID / local ID / provider ID, or password change can be obtained, for example, by a predetermined administrator of the customer organization using the user terminal 5. The authentication information management means 9 may be accessed and uploaded. Alternatively, for example, each organization member uses the user terminal 5 to register / change / add / delete a global ID / local ID / provider ID in the user system 8.
Alternatively, the password can be changed, and the user system 8 and the authentication information management means 9 perform data communication regularly or appropriately so that the maintenance information is reflected in the authentication information management means 9. good.

Further, for example, the API of the authentication information management means 9
(Application Programming Interface) may be published so that a predetermined target application, workflow system, or the like can adopt the above single logon environment.

As described above, according to the information mediation system 1 of this embodiment, the user can efficiently obtain the necessary information in a timely and latest state. Further, the user information database 6 stores useful and useful contents required by each member of the customer organization and is kept up-to-date. It becomes possible to systematically use various contents as shared property of the organization.

Further, in the case where the customer organization is, for example, a large enterprise having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, the user management means 10 is required to specify a complicated contract form and a complicated billing destination. Even in such a case, the billing destination can be flexibly set within the logically hierarchical organization.

Further, for the provider of the content provider 2, by using the information mediation system 1, by providing the original content owned by the provider, it is possible to collect an appropriate price according to the value of the content.

In addition, by the information use status reporting function 12,
For example, the administrator of the customer organization needs to know what kind of information each member of the organization needs, what kind of information is obtained from the information intermediation system 1, and how the information is utilized for business. It is possible to easily understand whether or not the cost is generated. That is, the customer organization can centralize the conventionally complicated content use management by using the information intermediation system 1, and can perform appropriate cost management as well as individual content usage frequency and the like. It is also possible to understand the business activities of organizational members. By the way, B2B (Business to Busi) is a system that realizes electronic data exchange and electronic commerce between companies.
The information distribution service system according to the present embodiment, which is called “ness”, is so-called B2.
It can also be said to be B2e (Business to Business to end user) or B2B2E (Business to Business to Employee).

Further, since the authentication information management means 9 can provide the user with a single logon environment, the user can use a plurality of content providers 2, ..., 2.
And application service providers 17, ..., 17
And the complexity of managing each ID and password,
The complexity of entering and checking for access is eliminated.
Further, for example, the authentication information management means 9 can control the direct access to the original content of the user so that the user can directly refer to the original content as needed. Further, by systematically managing the correspondence between the global ID, the local ID, and the provider ID systematically, the actual condition of information distribution is compared with the information accumulated in the user management means 10 in a detailed unit of the customer hierarchy. It is also possible to grasp. Further, for example, the trader of the content provider 2 having no authentication means can position the authentication information management means 9 as the front end of its own information providing system, for example. In addition, content provider 2
For example, the single log-on service by the authentication information management means 9 may be provided as a service to such a company for a fee.

Next, FIGS. 14 to 19 show a second embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention. This information distribution service system has an information utilization means 8 for utilizing information, an information providing source 2 which owns information for providing to the information utilizing means 8, and information which the information providing source 2 has via an information network. An information processing system including an information mediation system 50 for providing the information using means 8 to
The information intermediation system 50 includes a scenario setting unit 51 that sets the flow of processing performed by the user of the information using unit 8 and information required in each process, and a transition that receives a process transition notification from the information using unit 8. The notification receiving unit 52 and the on-demand information providing unit 53 that searches the information providing source 2 for information required by the user based on the setting of the scenario setting unit 51 triggered by the transition notification and provides the information using unit 8 with the information.
And is equipped with.

Further, for example, the on-demand information providing means 53 of the present embodiment is arranged to be able to deliver the searched information to the information using means 8 triggered by the transition notification.

Further, the user and the information utilizing means 8 possessed by the user are synonymous with, for example, the first embodiment described above.

Further, for example, the information mediation system 50 of the present embodiment manages the authentication information necessary for accessing the information providing source 2 for each user and manages the user by performing the authentication process once for each user. The authentication information management means 9 is provided so that it can access a plurality of information providers 2. In addition,
The authentication information management means 9 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus a detailed description of this embodiment will be omitted.

Furthermore, the information mediation system 5 of this embodiment
0 is provided with a user management unit 10 that manages ID information for identifying the organization member of the organization that is the user in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration. Reference numeral 10 records and manages the history of information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information. Further, for example, the user management means 1 in this embodiment
0 is a billing method in which the billing information corresponding to the information used by the organization members is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information, and the billing destination can be set in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration. The management function 11 is provided. Furthermore, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment is provided with an information usage status reporting function 12 that reports to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the organization members. . Further, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment includes an information provision status reporting function 13 for reporting the information provision status based on the history of the information used by the user to the vendor of the information provider 2. I am trying. The user management means 10, the charge management function 11, the information use status report function 12, and the information provision status report function 13 are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and thus a detailed description of this embodiment will be given. Omit it.

The information intermediation system 50 is located between the information provider 2 and the user who needs the information owned by the information provider 2 and is positioned as a so-called gateway in the information distribution route. The added value of is added. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, a unit of information distributed from the information provider 2 to the information mediation system 50 and from the information mediation system 50 to the user side is referred to as content. The content is synonymous with, for example, the content of the first embodiment described above.

For example, the information provider 2 of this embodiment has the same meaning as the contents of the first embodiment described above, for example. Hereinafter, the information provider 2 will be referred to as the content provider 2.

The information mediation system 50 of the present embodiment takes the form of a so-called B2B (Business to Business) system for realizing electronic data exchange / electronic commerce between companies. In other words, the unit of users targeted by the information intermediation system 50 is supposed to be an organization such as a company or an organization mainly composed of a plurality of organization members. That is, in the present embodiment, the information mediation system 50 is mainly used on an organizational scale, and the unit of customers seen from the information mediation system 50 is an organization. Hereinafter, the information mediation system 50
An organization that uses is called a customer organization. Information mediation system 5
The operator of 0 uses the information intermediation system 50, for example, to run a service that collectively acts as a content or application software use contract between companies / organizations and order / billing / collection work. The information mediation system 50
Individual users are not excluded from the target users of.

The information mediation system 50 is constructed using a computer. For example, the procedure to be executed by each unit forming the information mediation system 50 is programmed and executed by a computer. Although not shown, the computer is a central processing unit, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, a communication interface for connecting to an information network,
It is a known device that includes known hardware resources such as an input / output interface to which a display and a keyboard are connected, and an operating system that controls these hardware resources.

The content provider 2 has an original content database 14 in which original content is recorded.

The customer organization comprises a plurality of user terminals 5, ...,
5, a user system 8 having a user's work, that is, work support means 7 for supporting the work of the organization.

The information mediation system 50, the content provider 2, and the user system 8 are connected via an information network which is an infrastructure that enables bidirectional data communication. For example, in this embodiment, the Internet is used as the information network. A technique for performing desired two-way data communication between the information mediation system 50 and the content provider 2 and a technique for performing intended two-way data communication between the information mediation system 50 and the user system 8 It is preferable because it is easy to use the WWW system and the electronic mail system which are known as Internet-related technologies.

In this embodiment, data communication between the information mediating system 50 and the content provider 2 based on the WWW system, and between the information mediating system 50 and the user system 8 or the user terminal 5 are performed. As a page description language for web pages exchanged in data communication, for example, XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is used.
ge) is used. By using XML, it is possible to easily obtain necessary contents and management information by using a tag described in the web page as a clue, and easily combine and edit desired contents. In addition, the known XML function has the advantage of facilitating the cooperation between the WWW server and the database, and the advantage that the data format, document style, electronic device, etc. can be adjusted according to various distribution means. can get. If the original content database 14 of the content provider 2 is not compatible with XML, for example, software that converts the original content of the content provider 2 into an XML file is used. However, data communication using XML is a preferred example of the present invention and is not necessarily limited to this.

The scenario setting means 51 of this embodiment sets, as a scenario 55, the information required in each phase of the work corresponding to the work performed by the user. The scenario 55 is, for example, in the present embodiment, creates a workflow 57 in which the tasks to be performed by the user are made into a flowchart, and for each business process (hereinafter, referred to as a business process 56 in the present embodiment) that constitutes the workflow 57. It is set by associating (linking) the types of original contents, keywords, and the like that are supposed to be necessary (see FIG. 17). For example, when the transition notification of the business process 56 is input, the scenario 55 confirms the business process 56 of the transition destination, and the business process 56
It is realized as a program that outputs the type of original content and keywords associated with the.

The scenario setting means 51 of this embodiment includes a scenario database 54 for storing and managing the scenario 55 set as described above as digital data. In addition, workflow 5 for setting the scenario 55
There is no particular limitation on the method of creating 7, and determining the type of original content, keywords, and the like that are assumed to be necessary for each business process 56 that constitutes the workflow 57. For example, it may be either online, that is, computer processing through an information network, or offline, that is, manually inputting data without an information network. The scenario setting means 51 of the present embodiment is provided with, for example, a WWW server (not shown) so that the scenario 55 can be set via the information network using a WWW system. Hereinafter, an example of a method of setting and managing the scenario 55 by the scenario setting unit 51 of the present embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 15 and 18).

For example, a plurality of general scenarios 55 (hereinafter referred to as template scenarios 55a) according to the type of business of the user are prepared and registered in the scenario database 54 (S501). Then, the plurality of template scenarios 55a can be presented to the user as the service menu 58 (S502), and the user can execute the template scenario 5 online or offline.
5a can be selected from the service menu 58 (S503, 504). The template scenario 55
The user who has selected a is registered in the scenario database 54 (S505). Further, the user can edit the template scenario 55a as necessary. For example, the user appropriately edits the access route to the original content in the template scenario 55a online (S506) and saves the edited template scenario 55a in the scenario database 54 (S507, 508). The edited template scenario 55a may be saved separately from the unedited template scenario 55a. In this case, the user uses the template scenario 55a to create a variation scenario 55 according to his / her business content.
You can set multiple.

The setting of the scenario 55 by the scenario setting means 51 is not limited to the one using the template scenario 55a. For example, RFP (Re
Quest For Proposal) Scenario 5 customized according to the wishes of the customer organization, for example, in cooperation with an appropriate content provider 2 vendor, based on the proposal request form.
5 (hereinafter referred to as a custom scenario 55b) may be set and registered in the scenario database 54.

The transition notification receiving means 52 of the present embodiment notifies the transition of the business from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 (hereinafter referred to as the business transition notification in the present embodiment).
Accept. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the transition notification receiving means is referred to as the business transition receiving means 52. The business transition notification is, for example, not only when the user voluntarily transmits to the business transition receiving means 52 using the user terminal 5, but also, for example, a target application of the user system 8 (installed in the business support means 7). (Including client software installed in the user terminal 5) in addition to the server software that is installed), when the transition of the business of the user is detected, it is automatically transmitted to the business transition receiving means 52. May be. For example, the target application such as groupware installed in the work support means 7 and the workflow 57 may be linked so that the work change notification is transmitted from the groupware or the like to the work change receiving means 52. For business transition notification,
For example, the originator of business transition notification, applicable scenario 5
5, information for identifying which business process 56 in the workflow 57 the user has transitioned to, and the like.

The on-demand information providing means 53 uses the business transition notification as a trigger to create a scenario 55 set for the user.
Information provider 2 based on the content required by users
And provides it to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. Here, "providing the content to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8" means, for example, a so-called push for actively (actively) providing (delivering) the content to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. Alternatively, for example, a so-called pull-type mode that allows the user to appropriately browse the content by using the user terminal 5 or allows the user system 8 to appropriately reference the content May be For example, the on-demand information providing unit 53 of the present exemplary embodiment uses the transition of the business process 56 on the user side as a trigger to search for recommended usage content corresponding to the transitioned business process 56, and uses the content for the user. Terminal 5
Alternatively, it takes the form of an event-activated push type that is distributed to the user system 8.

On-demand information providing means 5 of this embodiment
FIG. 19 shows an example of the processing of No. 3. A business transition notification is transmitted from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 (S50
9) When the business transition receiving means 52 receives the business transition notification from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 (S510), the on-demand information providing means 53 analyzes the content of the business transition notification, The corresponding scenario 55 is called from the scenario database 54 to grasp which business process 56 in the workflow 57 the user has transitioned to, and the type of necessary original content registered in advance in association with the corresponding business process 56, A keyword or the like is called to issue a search request for the relevant original content to the content provider 2 (S511). On the other hand, the content provider 2 executes the content search / extraction program,
Search and extract the corresponding original content. Then, the content provider 2 distributes the retrieved and extracted original content to the information providing means 4 in a form that meets the predetermined interface specifications of the information mediation system 50 (S512).

The on-demand information providing means 53 appropriately sets the items for which access is permitted to the original content distributed from the content provider 2 into a form desired by the user based on, for example, the setting of the scenario 55. Edited, user terminal 5 or user system 8
(S513). At the time of distribution, the user management means 10 performs a user management process to record necessary management information (for example, content type, source, distribution destination, timing of provision, etc.) as a history (S514). The user management processing by the user management means 10 and the processing related to charging by the charging management function 11 are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

The user can obtain the content necessary for the business he is currently facing at the optimum timing, and can utilize the content for business activities and the like (S515). Further, the information usage status reporting function 12 of the user management means 10 automatically creates a content usage status report 29 based on the history of the content used by the organization members, for example, regularly, and notifies the administrator of the customer organization. On the other hand, it is automatically transmitted by e-mail or mailed offline (see FIGS. 16 and 9). Further, the information provision status report function 13 of the user management means 10 automatically creates a content provision status report 30 based on the history of the content used by the user, for example, periodically, and the manager of each content provider 2 Is automatically sent by e-mail or mailed offline (see FIGS. 16 and 9).

Here, the scenario setting means 51 may self-improve the generation pattern of the contents to be provided to the user, that is, the scenario 55, based on the information of the user management means 10, for example. For example, regarding the types and keywords of the original content associated with the business process 56, those that are supposed to be necessary are added if new ones occur, and if some of the existing contents are supposed to be unnecessary, they are deleted. To

The on-demand information providing means 53 is
The contents distributed to the user may be recorded at the same time, and the user information database 6 may be constructed. In this case, the user can also use pull-type information provision as appropriate.

Further, custom scenarios 55b that are desired to be generalized may be added to the template menu in the first embodiment described above, for example, in collaboration with the content provider 2 trader. . Since the planning and production part of the custom scenario 55b and the like has high added value, the profit rate is increased. Therefore, it is possible to expect the profit of the gradual profit model by commercializing.
Further, the content provider 2 trader can absorb the detailed needs of the customer organization side by customization. On the other hand, the customer organization can build a business model that makes full use of information technology based on clear and original needs, and can receive services with clear cost-effectiveness.

As described above, according to the information mediation system 50 of the present embodiment, the user's request is used as a trigger to collect the necessary items in the original content according to the predetermined scenario 55 and set the optimum timing. Can be provided to users. In other words, it is possible to provide the user with the information necessary for each phase of the business execution process of the user, for example, the stage of introducing a product / product to the customer, the subsequent stage of concluding a sales contract, etc. Become. In addition, e-Learni to improve user literacy
It will also be possible to support atypical content distribution such as ng, regular surveys, and knowledge scenario creation.

In addition, when the customer organization is, for example, a large corporation having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, the user management means 10 is required to specify a complicated contract form and a complicated billing destination. Even in this case, the billing destination can be flexibly set within the logically hierarchical organization.

[0158] Further, for the trader of the contents provider 2, by using the information mediation system 50, the original contents possessed by the contents provider 2 can be provided to collect an appropriate price according to the value of the contents.

In addition, by the information use status reporting function 12,
For example, the administrator of the customer organization needs to know what kind of information each member of the organization needs, what kind of information is obtained from the information intermediation system 50, and how the information is utilized for business. It is possible to easily understand whether or not the cost is generated. That is, the customer organization can centralize the content usage management, which has been complicated in the past, by using the information intermediation system 50, and can appropriately manage costs, and further, from the frequency of content usage and the like, It is also possible to understand the business activities of organizational members. By the way, electronic data exchange between companies
The system that realizes electronic commerce is B2B (Business to
The information distribution service system according to the present embodiment, which is called “Business”, is used to identify and grasp organization members and individual users in the organization to which these persons belong, so to speak, B2B2e (Business to Business to enduser) or B2B2E (Business to Business to Employee)
It can be said that.

Further, since the authentication information management means 9 can provide the user with a single logon environment, the user is provided with a plurality of content providers 2 ,.
And the complexity of managing each ID and password,
The complexity of entering and checking for access is eliminated.
Further, for example, the authentication information management means 9 can control direct access to the original content of the user so that the user can directly refer to the original content as necessary (indicated by reference numeral 59 in FIG. 17). Shown). Also, global ID and local I
By systematically managing the correspondence between D and provider IDs systematically, it is possible to check the actual state of information distribution in detailed units of the customer hierarchy by matching it with the information stored in the user management means 10. Becomes Further, for example, the trader of the content provider 2 having no authentication means can position the authentication information management means 9 as the front end of its own information providing system, for example. Note that the single logon service by the authentication information management means 9 may be provided as a service to the provider of the content provider 2 for a fee.

Next, FIGS. 20 to 26 show a third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention. This information distribution service system includes an information utilizing means 8 for utilizing information and an information transmitting means 8'for transmitting information.
And the information provider 2 who owns the information to be provided to the information utilization means 8 and the information provider 2 via the information network.
An information processing system including an information intermediation system 70 for providing information possessed by the information utilization means 8, wherein the information intermediation system 70 includes a reception means 71 for receiving the transmission information from the information transmission means 8 ′ and a transmission information of the transmission information. Registration means 72 for registering a desired user who wishes to receive the provision, and related information related to the outgoing information is searched from the information held by the information providing source 2, and the related information is added to the outgoing information to register the means. A sending information providing means 73 for sending to the information using means 8 of the desired user based on 72 is provided.

Further, for example, the information mediation system 70 of the present embodiment is provided with the information exchange management means 74 which mediates, records and manages the information exchanged between the information transmitting means 8'and the information utilizing means 8. ing.

Further, for example, the information exchange management means 74 of this embodiment records and manages the question information from the information utilizing means 8 and the answer information from the information sender. Further, for example, the information exchange management means 74 of the present embodiment distributes the question information to the corresponding information transmission means 8'and transmits it.

Further, for example, the information exchange management means 74 of this embodiment is provided with an FAQ creating function 75 for creating an answer collection for frequently asked questions from the question information and the answer information recorded and managed. .

Further, for example, the information mediation system 70 of the present embodiment manages the authentication information necessary for accessing the information providing source 2 for each user, and executes the authentication processing for each user once by the authentication process. The authentication information management means 9 is provided so that it can access a plurality of information providers 2. In addition,
The authentication information management means 9 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and thus a detailed description of this embodiment will be omitted.

Furthermore, the information mediation system 7 of the present embodiment.
0 is provided with a user management unit 10 that manages ID information for identifying the organization member of the organization that is the user in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration. Reference numeral 10 records and manages the history of information used by the organization members in association with the corresponding ID information. Further, for example, the user management means 1 in this embodiment
0 is a billing method in which the billing information corresponding to the information used by the organization members is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information, and the billing destination can be set in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration. The management function 11 is provided. Furthermore, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment is provided with an information usage status reporting function 12 that reports to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the organization members. . Further, for example, the user management means 10 in the present embodiment includes an information provision status reporting function 13 for reporting the information provision status based on the history of the information used by the user to the vendor of the information provider 2. I am trying. User management means 10, charge management function 1
1, the information use status reporting function 12 and the information provision status reporting function 13 are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and thus a detailed description of this embodiment will be omitted. The information sender appearing in this embodiment is the information mediation system 70.
Users, and can be managed by the user management means 10.

The information intermediary system 70 includes an information sender and
Information that is generated when the information sender transmits information by interposing between the user who wants to receive the provided information and the information provider 2 that has information related to the sent information. It functions as a so-called gateway for distribution, and helps the information sender to transmit information more reliably and effectively.

The information provider 2 has the same meaning as the contents of the first embodiment described above, for example. Hereinafter, the information provider 2 will be referred to as the content provider 2.

User and information utilization means 8 possessed by the user
Is synonymous with, for example, the first embodiment described above.

The information sender is, for example, a subject having outgoing information that he / she desires to publicly send. For example,
In addition to individuals who want to send information personally, organizational members such as employees who want to send information in the organizational activities of companies, etc., and organizations such as companies that consist of organizational members Is included. In the present specification, the term “information sender” simply includes individuals, organization members, organizations, and any other entity that sends information. When referring to a personal information sender, it is called a personal information sender.

The information transmitting means 8'is means for the information transmitter to transmit information. For example, the personal information sender has a user terminal as the information sending means 8 '. Further, the information sender, which is an organization composed of a plurality of organization members, has a user system that executes information processing that supports the activities of the organization as the information sending means 8 '. For convenience of explanation, the user terminal of the information sender will be referred to as an information sender terminal 5 ', and the user system of the information sender will be referred to as an information sender system 8'.

The information sender is more effective in transmitting the outgoing information to the user who needs the information sent by himself or to the user who is interested in the outgoing information, that is, the prospective customer from the viewpoint of the information sender. The information mediation system 70 is used as a means for informing the user. In this respect, although it is in the position of providing the same information, it is in a different position from the content provider 2 that uses the information intermediation system 70 mainly for the purpose of selling content having distribution value.

The information mediation system 70 of the present embodiment is in the form of a so-called B2B (Business to Business) system for realizing electronic data exchange / electronic commerce between companies. In other words, the unit of the user and the information sender targeted by the information mediation system 70 is mainly an organization such as a company or an organization having a plurality of organization members. That is, in the present embodiment, the information mediation system 70 is mainly used on an organizational scale, and the unit of customers seen from the information mediation system 70 is an organization. Hereinafter, an organization as a user who uses the information mediation system 70 is referred to as a customer organization. Further, an organization as an information sender who uses the information mediation system 70 is called a business client in this embodiment. The business client uses the function of the information mediation system 70 as a part of the application for supporting its own organizational activity. The transmission information that the business client desires to transmit publicly corresponds to, for example, press release information such as a new product announcement.
It should be noted that the target users of the information mediation system 70 do not exclude individual users or personal information senders.

The information mediation system 70 is constructed using a computer. For example, the procedure to be executed by each unit forming the information mediation system 70 is programmed and executed by a computer. Although not shown, the computer is a central processing unit, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, a communication interface for connecting to an information network,
It is a known device that includes known hardware resources such as an input / output interface to which a display and a keyboard are connected, and an operating system that controls these hardware resources.

The content provider 2 includes an original content database 14 in which original content is recorded.

The customer organization comprises a plurality of user terminals 5, ...,
5, a user system 8 having a user's work, that is, work support means 7 for supporting the work of the organization. Similarly, the business client also has a plurality of information originator terminals 5 ',
, 5'and a work support means 7'for supporting the work of the information sender, that is, the work of the organization, provided with an information sender system 8 '.

The information intermediary system 70, the content provider 2, the user system 8 and the information originator system 8'are connected via an information network which is an information infrastructure capable of bidirectional data communication. It For example, in this embodiment, the Internet is used as the information network. A technique for performing desired bidirectional data communication between the information mediation system 70 and the content provider 2, and a desired bidirectional communication between the information mediation system 70 and the user system 8 and the information originator system 8 '. As a technique for performing data communication, use of a WWW system and use of an electronic mail system which are known as Internet-related techniques are easy and preferable.

In this embodiment, data communication between the information mediation system 70 and the content provider 2 based on the WWW system, and the information mediation system 70 and the user system 8 or the information originator system 8 '.
As a page description language of a web page exchanged in data communication between two devices, for example, XML (eXtensible Marku) is used.
p Language) is used. By using XML, it is possible to easily obtain necessary contents and management information by using a tag described in the web page as a clue, and easily combine and edit desired contents. In addition, the advantage of facilitating the cooperation between the WWW server and the database over the known XML function,
There is also an advantage that the data format, document style, electronic device, etc. can be adjusted according to various distribution means. If the original content database 14 of the content provider 2 is not compatible with XML, for example, software that converts the original content of the content provider 2 into an XML file is used. However, data communication using XML is a preferred example of the present invention,
It is not necessarily limited to this.

The accepting means 71 accepts outgoing information desired by the information sender. The form of the outgoing information received by the receiving unit 71 is determined in advance by a contract with a business client, for example. For example, as the form of the outgoing information received by the receiving unit 71, an electronic mail system, a WWW system, or an FTP (File
It is possible to use the transfer of XML files by the Transfer Protocol. If the transmission information has a data format other than the XML file (for example, a text file), it is converted to the XML file.

The registration means 72 registers a user who desires to receive the provision of outgoing information (hereinafter referred to as a desired user in the present embodiment). Further, for example, in the registration means 72 of the present embodiment, information that determines which type of outgoing information the desired user receives and in what form (hereinafter referred to as desired user information in the present embodiment). ) Can be registered in advance in association with each desired user. The registration means 72 of the present embodiment registers a desired user and desired user information and manages the desired user information database 76.
To prepare for. The desired user and the desired user information are registered, for example, online, that is, by computer processing through an information network, or offline, that is, by manual data input processing without an information network. It may be.
For example, although not shown, the registration means 72 of the present embodiment is provided with, for example, a WWW server so that the desired user can register the desired user information via the information network using the WWW system. Note that, for example, the type of information to be transmitted is investigated from the business client side, the registration means 72 presents the information to be transmitted as a menu, and the desired user makes an online transmission desired to be received from the menu. Information may be selectable.

22 to 24, the information mediation system 7 is shown.
An example of processing by 0 is shown. The information transmitter transmits the transmission information (for example, new product announcement information) to the reception means 71 using the information transmitter terminal 5 ′ or the information transmitter system 8 ′ (S601). When the reception means 71 receives the transmission information, it passes the contents of the transmission information to the transmission information providing means 73 (S
602). At this time, for example, if the outgoing information is a data format other than the XML file (for example, a text file), the outgoing information is converted to an XML file and then passed to the outgoing information providing means 73.

The outgoing information providing means 73 is related information (for example, the content related to the outgoing information among the original contents held by the content provider 2 according to the preset corresponding pattern, for example, from the contents of the received outgoing information. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, a search request for "related content" will be referred to as the content provider 2.
(S603). On the other hand, the content provider 2 executes the content search / extraction program to search and extract the corresponding original content. Then, the content provider 2 distributes the retrieved / extracted original content, that is, the related content, to the outgoing information providing means 73 in a form that meets the predetermined interface specifications of the information mediation system 70 (S604).

The outgoing information providing means 73 adds the related contents to the outgoing information. For example, when the transmission information is information related to a new product announcement, related company information, related article information, and the like are added as convenient information if they can be referred to at the same time. For example, with respect to the original content distributed from the content provider 2, the items permitted to be accessed are edited and combined with the outgoing information. At this time, for example, based on the contents of the desired user information database 76, it is appropriately edited so as to have a form desired by the user. By configuring the outgoing information and the original content as an XML file, the tags in the XML file can be used as clues to easily extract, edit, and combine the necessary items. Then, from the desired user information database 76, the user to whom the outgoing information is to be delivered is specified, and the outgoing information added with the related content is delivered to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 of the user. (S605).

At the time of distribution, the user management means 10 performs user management processing to record necessary management information (for example, content type, acquisition source, distribution destination, timing of provision, etc.) as a history (S606). ). The user management processing by the user management means 10 and the processing related to charging by the charging management function 11 are the same as those in the first embodiment described above. Since the information sender is also the user of the information mediation system 70, it can be similarly managed by the user management means 10.

The information exchange management means 74 has a function of interchanging information exchanged bidirectionally between the information sender and the user who has received the transmission information. By using the information exchange management means 74, for example, the information sender can hold an Internet information session on the sent information (for example, new product announcement) when the information is sent. As the information exchange management means 74 supporting the Internet information session, for example, a WWW system or an electronic mail system can be used. In this case, the information exchange management means 7
4 has a WWW server function and an e-mail server function. BBS (electronic bulletin board system) and IRC
(Internet Relay Chat), an electronic conference system, a video conference system, or a combination of these may be used to hold an Internet information session.

For example, the information originator composes the presentation material for the Internet briefing session, which contains more detailed information about the origination information, on the web page and uploads it to the information exchange management means 74 having the WWW server function (S607, 608). ), And can be provided to many users via the information exchange management means 74. In this case, for example, the outgoing information to be sent first includes information such as the date and time of holding the Internet information session. The user who has received the outgoing information, for example, in order to participate in the Internet explanatory meeting according to the date and time of the Internet explanatory meeting described in the outgoing information, for example, the user terminal 5 or the user system 8.
To access the information exchange management means 74 (S60
9). The users who participate in the Internet information session are, for example, a plurality of organization members in a plurality of customer organizations. Therefore, although two user terminals 5 and user systems 8 are displayed in FIG. 23, when more user terminals 5 or user systems 8 actually access the information exchange management means 74. Of course there is. These users can browse the presentation material as more detailed information on the outgoing information already received (S610). It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the use of the presentation materials composed of web pages, and it is also possible to hold an internet briefing session that progresses in real time by, for example, a video conference system or an electronic conference system.

[0187] If the user has a question about the outgoing information or the contents of the Internet information session, the information exchange management means 74 using the user terminal 5 as the question information describing the contents of the question in a predetermined format. Can be sent by e-mail or the like (S611). Further, for example, the information exchange management means 74 may prepare a web page for a questionnaire (hereinafter, referred to as an explanatory meeting questionnaire page in the present embodiment) having a question information input field. . The information exchange management means 74, for example,
After the presentation material for the internet briefing session has been displayed on the accessing user terminal 5, the questionnaire page for the briefing session is further displayed. As a result, the user can enter question information on the explanatory meeting questionnaire page using the user terminal 5 after participating in the Internet explanatory meeting. The information transmitted from the user side is not limited to question information. For example, on the questionnaire page for the briefing session, a comment entry field and an opinion entry field of the briefing session are provided, and the information exchange management means 74 collects the user's impressions and opinions about the held Internet briefing session. May be. Also, in order to investigate the degree of comprehension on the part of the users and the effect of the presentation at the internet briefing session, check boxes indicating the degree of comprehension are provided in several stages on the questionnaire page for the briefing session (for example, " You can have the user check it, "I understand well", "Normal", "I can't understand", etc.). The question information input on the questionnaire page for the explanatory meeting and the information such as the user's opinion, impression, and understanding level are transmitted to the information exchange management means 74 (S611).

Here, for example, in the present embodiment, the information exchanged bidirectionally at the Internet information session such as the question information from the user and the answer information from the information sender to the question information is, for example, an XML file. Try to configure. Note that, for example, if the question information distributed from the user terminal 5 or the answer information from the information sender terminal 5'is in a data format other than the XML file (for example, a text file), software for converting to an XML file To use.

The information exchange management means 74 of the present embodiment is provided with, for example, a QA (question / answer information etc.) database 77, and records the question information received from the user by dividing it into question contents (S612). . It should be noted that the information such as the user's opinion, impression, and understanding level input by the questionnaire page for the briefing session and received by the information exchange management means 74 is recorded in the QA database 77 separately from the question information. (S612). The information exchange management means 74 delivers the e-mail describing the question information to the predetermined information sender terminal 5'pre-registered in the reception means 71 as the user's window (S613). At this time, for example, the question content may be grasped from the tag information or the like in the XML file forming the question information, and the question information may be distributed to the predetermined information sender terminal 5 ′ for each question content and distributed. .

When the information sender receives the question information, he / she creates an answer in response to the question information and sends the answer information from the information sender terminal 5'or the information sender system 8'to the information exchange management means 74, for example, by e-mail. To send (S614). The information exchange management means 74 distributes the answer information to the user terminal 5 of the user who made the corresponding question, for example, by e-mail (S615), and associates the answer information with the corresponding question information of the QA database 77. Record (S6
16).

Then, for example, when a certain amount of question information and answer information is accumulated in the QA database 77 after a certain period of time, the FAQ creating function 75 performs statistical processing, for example, by a predetermined database operation, and frequently appears. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (Frequently Asked Quest)
ion) file 78 is created (S617). The created FAQ file 78 and the accumulated QA database 77 are provided to, for example, an information sender (see FIG. 21). The form of providing the FAQ file 78 and the QA database 77 is not particularly limited. For example, the information sender may use the information sender terminal 5 ′ and the information sender system 8 ′ to be able to refer to the QA database 77 and the FAQ file 78 through a predetermined authentication process (S617, 619). In addition, QA database 7
The physical arrangement of the 7 and the FAQ file 78 is not particularly limited. For example, the QA database 77 may be constructed on the business client internal network 15 '(for example, the business client intranet or extranet). , Internal network 1
On the 5 ', the information sender terminal 5'and the business support means 7'
The A database 77 and the FAQ file 78 may be appropriately referred to. Also for the user side, F
AQ file 78 and accumulated QA database 77
May be provided. For example, the user may refer to the QA database 77 or the FAQ file 78 from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 through a predetermined authentication process (S618, 619).

The information exchange processing between the information sender and the user via the information exchange management means 74 is not limited to the above example. For example, the exchange of question information and answer information is not limited to that using e-mail, and the information exchanged between the information sender and the user is also limited to questions and their answers. is not. Further, the user is, for example, a plurality of organization members in a plurality of customer organizations, and transactions that occur between the information exchange management unit 74 and the plurality of user terminals 5 or the user system 8 occur frequently at random. obtain. An example of other processing by the information exchange management means 74 in this case is shown in FIG.
5 and FIG.

For example, a user A may use the terminal 5 for the user or the user system 8 to send questions, opinions, impressions, etc. regarding the outgoing information or the contents of the Internet briefing session by e-mail or information exchange management means 74. Is delivered to the information exchange management means 74 by a predetermined web page presented by (S701). The information exchange management means 74 systematically divides the received questions, opinions, impressions, etc. by content and systematically Q.
The data is recorded in the A database 77 (S702). The information sender issues a reference request for the QA database 77 to the information exchange management means 74 periodically or appropriately using the information sender company terminal 5 ′ or the information sender system 8 ′, and the information sender receives the request. Know the contents of questions, opinions, impressions, etc. (S703, 705). The information sender creates an answer according to the question / opinion / impression, etc., or a supplementary explanation of the sent information or the answer already made, and uses the information sender terminal 5 ′ or the information sender system 8 ′ to send an e-mail. Alternatively, it is distributed to the information exchange management means 74 by a predetermined web page presented by the information exchange management means 74 (S706). The information exchange management means 74 systematically records the received answer and supplementary explanation in association with the corresponding question, opinion, impression, etc. (S
707). On the other hand, when a user B wants to refer to other users' questions, opinions, impressions, etc. regarding outgoing information,
The information exchange management means 7 requests the reference of the QA database 77.
It is possible to know the content of questions, opinions, impressions, etc. sent from the user by issuing it in No. 4 (S704, 705). Further, when the user B has questions, opinions, and impressions regarding outgoing information, the content is given by the e-mail or the information exchange management means 74 using the user terminal 5 or the user system 8. It can be delivered to the information exchange management means 74 by a web page (S70).
8). The information exchange management means 74 receives the received question / opinion /
The impressions and the like are classified according to content and systematically recorded in the QA database 77 (S709). Further, when the information sender, the user A or the user B, or another user issues a reference request for the QA database 77 to the information exchange management means 74 (S710), the information exchange management means 74. Provides questions, opinions, impressions, etc. received from users and answers, supplementary explanations, etc. by information senders (S71).
1).

As described above, the information exchanged between the information sender and the user is recorded and managed by the information exchange management means 74 as a so-called electronic minutes. Here, for example, for each piece of information exchanged between the information sender and the user, if the user ID of the person who has transmitted the information to the information exchange management means 74 is recorded and managed, By using the management means 10, it becomes possible to manage the information exchanged between the information sender and the user on a per organizational member basis.

[0195] Further, for example, with respect to information distribution that occurs when information is transmitted, a trend analysis is performed based on the information accumulated in the user management means 10, the QA database 77, or the FAQ file 78, and a report of the trend analysis is sent to the information sender. May be provided to. Further, the trend analysis may not be performed, and a report on information distribution generated by the information transmission may be provided to the information transmitter as reaction information. Further, for example, a report quantitatively showing the effect of the presentation at the Internet information session may be provided to the information sender as reaction information based on the information such as the degree of understanding of the user surveyed by the questionnaire page for the information session. .

Further, the information use status reporting function 12 of the user management means 10 periodically reports the content use status based on the history of the contents used by the organizational members of the customer organization or the organizational members of the business client, for example. A document 29 is automatically created and automatically transmitted by e-mail or mailed offline to the administrator of the customer organization or the administrator of the business client (see FIGS. 21 and 9).
In addition, the information provision status reporting function 13 of the user management means 10
As a result, for example, the content provision status report 30 is automatically created on a regular basis based on the history of the content used by the user, and is automatically transmitted by e-mail or mailed offline to the administrator of each content provider 2. (Fig. 2
1 and FIG. 9).

As described above, according to the information intermediation system 70 of the present embodiment, the transmission information such as the press release information of a new product or the like is bundled with useful information if it can be referred to, and further provided to the user. It is possible to provide a series of information distribution services that accompanies two-way communication that occurs when information is transmitted. As a result, the merits of the operator of the information mediation system 70, the provider of the content provider 2, the information sender (especially business client), and the user (especially customer organization) are maximized.

In other words, the information sender is the information mediation system 7
By using 0, the press release information and the like can be transmitted to the desired user who is also a prospective customer, and the access rate to the transmitted information can be increased and the effect of information transmission can be improved. In addition, we can expect profits such as finding new prospects, developing sales channels and purchasing routes, and developing collaborative partners. It can also capture and analyze market reactions. The business client is the information mediation system 70.
IR (Investor Relationship), CRM, WBT
As part of (Web Based Training), in other words, it can be used as a function of the information infrastructure.

Further, the contents provider 2 trader is
By using the information mediation system 70, the utilization rate of contents, that is, the sales amount can be increased.

Further, the user can receive the outgoing information and the related information related to the outgoing information by using the information intermediation system 70, and further advanced information (for example, presentation material and answer information to question information). Etc.) can be obtained. That is, the user can obtain the latest technical information / industry information, and use the obtained information to plan various businesses / sales etc. without missing a business opportunity and to sell You can cultivate purchasing routes and collaborate partners. Assumed aspects of information use are diverse, including other investment decisions.

Further, in the case where the customer organization is, for example, a large enterprise having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, the user management means 10 is required to specify a complicated contract form and a complicated billing destination. Even in this case, the billing destination can be flexibly set within the logically hierarchical organization.

Further, for the provider of the contents provider 2, by using the information mediation system 70, the original contents possessed by the contents provider 2 can be provided to collect an appropriate price according to the value of the contents.

Further, by the information use status reporting function 12,
For example, the administrator of the customer organization needs what kind of information each organization member belonging to the customer organization needs, obtains what kind of information from the information intermediation system 50, and how to use the information for business. It is possible to easily understand whether or not the cost is incurred. Similarly, the manager of a business client similarly transmits what kind of information each organization member belonging to the business client sends, and what kind of information is obtained from the information intermediation system 50 and how the information is processed. It is possible to easily understand what kind of costs are being used and how much the cost is incurred. That is, the customer organization and the business client can not only centralize the conventionally complicated content use management by using the information intermediation system 50 and perform appropriate cost management, but also, according to the content usage frequency and the like, individual organizations. It is also possible to grasp the business activities of the members. By the way, the system that realizes electronic data exchange and electronic commerce between companies is B2B (Business t
o Business), the information distribution service system of the present embodiment, which recognizes the organization members and individual users by positioning them in the organization to which these persons belong, is, so to speak, B2B2e (Business to Business to enduser). Or B2B2E (Business to Business to Employe
e) can also be said.

Further, since the authentication information management means 9 can provide the user with a single logon environment, the user has a plurality of content providers 2, ..., 2
And the complexity of managing each ID and password,
The complexity of entering and checking for access is eliminated.
In addition, direct access to the original content of the user can be controlled by, for example, the authentication information management unit 9 so that the user can directly reference the original content as needed. Further, by systematically managing the correspondence between the global ID, the local ID, and the provider ID systematically, the actual condition of information distribution is compared with the information accumulated in the user management means 10 in a detailed unit of the customer hierarchy. It is also possible to grasp. In addition, for example, the provider of the content provider 2 that does not have an authentication means, for example, the authentication information management means 9
Can be positioned as the front end of its own information provision system. Note that the single logon service by the authentication information management means 9 may be provided as a service to the provider of the content provider 2 for a fee.

[0205]

[Embodiment 1] Next, an embodiment in which a pull type is adopted as a content providing method in the above-described first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 38. The information mediation system 1 of the present embodiment mainly comprises an information distribution means 83, a content management means 84 and an account management means 85. In this embodiment, the function of the desired setting unit 3 of the above-described first embodiment is realized by the information distribution unit 83 and the account management unit 85, and the above-described first distribution unit 83 and the content management unit 84 are used. The functions of the information providing unit 4 of the embodiment are realized, and the functions of the user management unit 10 and the authentication information management unit 9 of the first embodiment described above are realized by the account management unit 85. The information mediation system 1 of the present embodiment is a computer, for example,
WWW server, SOAP (Simple Object Access Proto)
col) Router, database management system, and other software are installed, and the information distribution means 83, content management means 84, and account management means 85 are realized as components that operate on these software.

[0206] The information distribution means 83 serves as an interface layer for communicating with the user system 8 and the content provider 2 of the customer organization. Communication between the user system 8 and the content provider 2 and the information distribution means 83 is performed by, for example, HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Pro).
Communication is performed by placing a SOAP message on top of (tocol Security). Further, the mutual communication among the information distribution means 83, the content management means 84 and the account management means 85 is
For example, an XML message is placed on HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to perform communication.

[0207] In this embodiment, the service content of the content that can be provided to the user by the information mediation system 1 is called a content service. The contents of this embodiment are classified in advance by categories (for example, company information, government office information, school information, etc.), and each category is called a content type in this embodiment. One content type corresponds to each content service. One or more contents belong to each content type.

[0208] Also, the original content that the content provider 2 can provide to the information mediation system 1 and the service content of the original content that the information mediation system 1 has are called an original content service. The original content is also classified in advance into each category, and each category is called an original content type in this embodiment. Each original content service corresponds to one original content type. One or more original contents belong to each original content type.

[0209] The content service provided by the information mediation system 1 to the user is constructed from one or more original content services. The content and the original content are structured by XML tags, for example. In this embodiment, the XML tag in the content is called a provision item, and the XML tag in the original content is used.
The tag is called the original provision item. In this embodiment, provision items that can be used for each content type and original provision items that can be used for each original content type are defined in advance. FIG. 28
As shown in, each provision item of the content service corresponds to a specific original provision item of the original content service, and the content service may be constructed by combining a plurality of original provision items belonging to different original content services. It is possible. The content service is specified by the service ID. The original content service is specified by the original service ID.
In FIG. 28, reference numeral 86 indicates the concept of the provision item, reference numeral 87 indicates the concept of the original provision item, and reference numeral 88 indicates the service I.
The concept of D is shown, and the reference numeral 89 shows the concept of the original service ID.

The content service that can be provided to the user by the information mediation system 1 is predetermined by the vendor of the information mediation system 1. For example, a predetermined person in charge of the information intermediation system 1 asks the content of information requested by the customer organization at a meeting or the like, and based on this, selects or finds an optimum content provider 2 that can provide the information requested by the customer organization, and the content provider The optimal content service for the customer organization is set in advance under the agreement of the two companies.

In the content management means 84 of this embodiment,
By using a means for managing the tags of the XML file in association with each other (for example, BizTalk Server of Microsoft Corp.), it is possible to associate and manage the content service provision item and the original provision item of the original content service corresponding to the provision item. I have to. Further, in the content management means 84, as shown in FIG.
And the provision items belonging to the content service corresponding to the service ID are defined (held) in the XML file. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the XML file is
It is called a service list definition file 91. Further, in the content management means 84, as shown in FIG. 29B, the original service ID, the original provision item belonging to the original content service corresponding to the original service ID, and the original content corresponding to the original content service are displayed. The existing URL is defined (held) in the XML file. Hereinafter, the XML file is referred to as an original service list definition file 92 in this embodiment. Note that reference numeral 91a in FIG. 29 indicates the concept of an XML tag that describes a service ID, and reference numeral 91b indicates an XML that describes a service item.
The concept of the L tag is shown, reference numeral 92a shows the concept of the XML tag that describes the original service ID, reference numeral 92b shows the concept of the XML tag that describes the original service item, and reference numeral 92c describes the URL where the original content exists. XML
It shows the concept of tags. The content management means 84
For example, a pre-programmed COM (Component Object)
(Model) is called so that necessary information in the service list definition file 91 or the original service list definition file 92 can be searched.

As a mechanism for collecting the original contents in this embodiment, the original contents are taken out from the contents provider 2 on the Internet and the original contents are taken out from the user information database 6 provided in the information mediation system 1. There are times when you do it. When the original content exists in the user information database 6, the URL of the user information database 6 is associated with the original service ID and the like. Original content is content provider 2
UR of the original content database 14 if it exists in the original content database 14 of
L is associated with the original service ID and the like. However, the content provider 2 and the user information database 6
The original content may be taken out from another system other than the above (for example, the user system 8 of the customer organization). In this case, the URL where the original content exists in the other system is associated with the original service ID and the like.

The user in this embodiment is a member of the customer organization. In this embodiment, the organization members are managed in two hierarchies of "customers" who are managerial existences in the customer organization and "users" who belong to the "customers". Each user is identified by a global ID. As the global ID, for example, in this embodiment, a user's e-mail address that is unique to each normal user is used. The "customer" is specified by the customer ID. The "user" is specified by the user ID. In this embodiment, for example, the user ID is a customer ID owned by a “customer” to which the “user” who owns the user ID belongs, to which a 6-digit number is added. In the present embodiment, by managing the customer organization hierarchically, control of usage authority (setting of usable range of content service, control of application / approval of use of content service) is realized. .

The control of setting the usable range of the content service is realized by the following processing, for example. That is, the “customer” accesses the information distribution means 83 by using, for example, the user terminal 5, performs the authentication process with the customer ID and the password, and registers the “user” belonging to itself in the account management means 85, A content service that can be used by the “user” can be set in the account management means 85. The “user” registered by the “customer” is the information distribution means 8
3 to access only the content service set by the "customer".
The customer ID and password are registered in advance in the account management means 85 after the contract with the customer organization is confirmed, for example. The information distribution means 83 registers / updates / registers the “user” and the content service available to the “user” by the “customer” using the user terminal 5.
Provide a user interface (screen, eg web page) to delete. Account management means 85
Records and manages the contents determined on the user interface.

[0215] Also, the application for the use of the content service
The approval control is realized by the following processing, for example. That is, the “user” accesses the information distribution means 83 using, for example, the user terminal 5 and, after the authentication processing with the application ID and password, sends the content service that the user desires to the account management means 85. Be able to apply. Account management means 85
Recognizes the “user” as an application state and temporarily registers it. At the stage of provisional registration, the “user” is prevented from using the desired content service. Whether the "user" is registered (content service available) or provisionally registered (content service unavailable)
For example, a flag is used for identification. Then, the account management means 85 requests that the “customer” to which the “user” of the provisional registration has applied has a request to use the content service by, for example, an electronic mail, and the “user” of the provisional registration desires to use the content service. Notify the content service content The “customer” accesses the information distribution means 83 by using, for example, the user terminal 5, undergoes authentication processing using the customer ID and password, and then obtains part or all of the content service applied by the “user” belonging to the customer. The account management means 85 can be approved. The account management means 85 uses the “user”
Registers so that the “customer” can use the approved content service, and notifies the “user” of the content of the approved content service by, for example, electronic mail. The “user” who has received the notification can access the information distribution means 83 and use only the content service approved by the “customer”. Note that the application ID and password can be obtained in advance by the account management means 85 after the contract with the customer organization is confirmed.
Be sure to register with. The information distribution means 83 provides a user interface (screen, for example, a web page) for the “user” to apply for the content service that the “user” desires to use using the user terminal 5, and is also used by the “customer”. "User" using the terminal 5 for workers
User interface (screens, eg web pages) for authorizing content services that the user wishes to use
I will provide a. The account management means 85 records and manages the content determined on the user interface.

The account management means 85 uses the well-known relational database technology and uses the user management table 93 shown in FIG.
D and the user I of the "user" belonging to the "customer"
D, the global ID of the "user", and the service ID of the content service permitted to the "user"
And the password corresponding to the global ID (that is, the password in the information intermediation system 1) and the “user”
Source service ID corresponding to the content service permitted to the user and the provider I for accessing the content provider 2 in which the corresponding original content exists
D and the password corresponding to the provider ID,
They are managed in association with each other. In addition, user I of "customer"
D is the same as the customer ID. Reference numeral 93 in FIG.
a is a customer ID, reference numeral 93b is a user ID, reference numeral 93
c is a global ID, reference numeral 93d is a service ID, reference numeral 93e is a password in the information mediation system 1, reference numeral 93f is an original service ID, and reference numeral 93g is a provider I.
D and a reference numeral 93h indicate the concept of a field in which the password corresponding to the provider ID is described.

[0217] The contract made between the vendor of the information intermediation system 1 and the customer organization is made for each content service. Therefore, one content service is selected for one contract. A customer organization that desires multiple content services can have multiple contracts, and multiple contracts can exist for one customer. The contract is specified by the contract ID. Account management means 8
Reference numeral 5 indicates a contract management table 94 shown in FIG. 31 using a known relational database technology, a set of this contract ID, a global ID and a service ID, and a style applied when providing a content service to a user. Sheet (eg XSL (eXtensible Style Languag
The style ID that identifies e)), the billing party ID that identifies the payment billing party, and the calculation formula for charging are managed in association with each other. Incidentally, reference numeral 94a in FIG. 31 is a contract ID,
Reference numeral 94b is a global ID, reference numeral 94c is a service I.
D, reference numeral 93d is a style ID, reference numeral 93e is a billing destination I
Reference numeral D and reference numeral 93f indicate the concept of a field in which the calculation formula for charging is described.

The user management table 93 and the contract management table 94 are not limited to those shown in the figure, and it goes without saying that the shown table may be divided appropriately by normalization.

Further, the account management means 85 is shown in FIG.
The service ID and the price information are managed in association with each other by the price management table 95 shown in FIG. 33. Further, the usage status management table 96 shown in FIG. The “user” manages the date and time information when the content service corresponding to the service ID is used and the charge amount generated by the use of the content service in association with each other. Further, the content management means 84 manages the style ID and the URL where the style sheet exists in association with each other by the style sheet management table 97 shown in FIG. In FIG. 34, reference numeral 95a in FIG. 32 is a service ID, reference numeral 95b is price information, reference numeral 96a in FIG. 33 is a global ID, reference numeral 96b is a service ID, reference numeral 96c is date and time information, reference numeral 96d is a charge amount, and FIG. Code 97
Reference numeral 97b represents a concept of a field in which a style ID is described and reference numeral 97b is a URL in which a style sheet exists.

An example of pull-type search processing in the information mediation system 1 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. This pull-type search process includes the steps of receiving a content search request from a user (S801), performing user authentication (S802), specifying a style ID (S803), and specifying a style sheet. (S804), a step of performing content search, and (S8
05), a step of notifying the user of the search result (S80)
6) and the step of charging (S807). Details of each step will be described with reference to FIGS. 36 to 38.

In step 801, the user terminal 5 of the user system 8 notifies the information distribution means 83 of the search request message (S901 shown in FIG. 36). In the search request message, for example, a global ID, a password, a service ID, search conditions, etc. are described. The search condition is, for example, a provided item to be searched among the provided items of the content service (hereinafter referred to as a search item).
And a set of search data to be searched out of the data (that is, content data) included in the search item and a search evaluation formula (for example, targeting content that matches the search data). A search request message from the browser of the user terminal 5 activates the processing of, for example, an ASP (Active Server Page) of the information distribution means 83.
The information distribution means 83 uses the user terminal 5 as the processing result.
Is notified of the session ID that identifies the session between the information distribution unit 83 and the user terminal 5 (S902). The information distribution unit 83 can realize asynchronous management of the plurality of user terminals 5 by using the session ID.

In step 802, the information distribution means 83
Generates an authentication processing request message and sends this authentication processing request message to the account management means 85 (S
903). In this authentication processing request message, the global ID, password, service ID, etc. described in the search request message are described. The account management means 85 refers to the user management table 93, whether the global ID in the authentication processing request message exists, whether the password in the authentication processing request message is correct, or the service ID in the authentication processing request message is the management table. Service ID associated with the global ID in
To determine if Account management means 85
Notifies the information return means 83 of the resulting return code (S904). The return code is, for example, “0” if the authentication process ends normally, and is 1 or more depending on the content of the error if the authentication process ends abnormally.

In step 803, the information distribution means 83
Generates a style ID acquisition request message, and sends this style ID acquisition request message to the account management means 8
5 (S905). In the style ID acquisition request message, the global ID, service ID, etc. described in the search request message are described. The account management means 85 refers to the contract management table 94, identifies the contract ID corresponding to the global ID and the service ID described in the style ID acquisition request message, and determines the style ID associated with this contract ID. The style ID is specified and transmitted to the information distribution means 83 (S906).

In step 804, the information distribution means 83
Generates a style sheet acquisition request message and transmits this style sheet acquisition request message to the content management means 84 (S907 shown in FIG. 37). The style sheet acquisition request message describes the style ID and the like received by the information distribution unit 83 from the account management unit 85. The content management means 84 refers to the style sheet management table 97, identifies the style sheet corresponding to the style ID described in the style sheet acquisition request message, and the U in which this style sheet exists.
The RL is transmitted to the information distribution means 83 (S908).

In step 805, the information distribution means 83
Generates a content search request message and sends this content search request message to the content management means 84 (S909). In the content search request message, the global ID, service ID, search condition, etc. described in the search request message are described.

The content managing means 84 refers to the service list definition file to identify the provision item corresponding to the service ID, and uses the means (for example, BizTalk Server of Microsoft Corp.) for managing by associating the tags of the XML file. The original provision item of the original content service corresponding to the provision item is identified, the URL where the original content corresponding to the original provision item exists is identified by referring to the original service list definition file, and the original content is provided to the content provider 2. It is determined whether it exists or it exists in the user information database 6.
When the original content is present in the user information database 6, the content management means 84 searches the user information database 6 based on the search condition. By the search, the search result including the content of the corresponding original provision item (that is, the original content) is acquired.

On the other hand, when the original content exists in the content provider 2, the content management means 8
4 generates a sign-on information acquisition request message and transmits this sign-on information acquisition request message to the account management means 85 (S910). The sign-on information acquisition request message contains the global ID and the original service ID.
Etc. are described. The account management means 85 refers to the user management table 93, identifies a set of provider ID and its password (sign-on information) corresponding to the set of global ID and original service ID, and sets the corresponding provider ID and its password as contents. It transmits to the management means 84 (S911). The content management means 84 is an XM
A means for managing the tags of L files by associating them with each other (for example, Mi
BizTalk Server of crosoft) is used to convert the search item in the content search request message to the original provision item, and the converted content search request message is provided with the provider ID and its password acquired from the account management means 85, It transmits to the content provider 2 via the information distribution means 83 (S912, S913).
The content provider 2 performs the search process based on the search condition, and the search result including the content of the corresponding original provision item (that is, the original content) acquired by the search is obtained by the content managing means via the information distributing means 83. 84
(S914, S915). At this time, the content management means 84 may store the content received from the content provider 2 in the user information database 6.

The content management means 84 uses a means (for example, BizTalk Server of Microsoft Corp.) for managing the search result including the content of the corresponding original provision item (that is, the original content) in association with the tag of the XML file. Then, it is assembled as a content service and transmitted to the information distribution means 83 (S916). In step 806, the information distribution unit 83 converts the search result based on the corresponding style sheet, and transmits the converted search result to the user terminal 5 that has transmitted the search request message (S917).

[0229] In step 807, after the transmission of the search result to the user terminal 5 is normally completed, the information distribution means 83
Generates a billing process request message and sends this billing process request message to the account management means 85 (S
918). The billing process request message contains the global ID and service ID described in the search request message.
Etc. are described. The account management means 85 refers to the price management table 95 to identify the price information based on the service ID, refers to the contract management table 94 to identify the contract ID corresponding to the global ID and the service ID, and determines the contract. A billing formula associated with the ID is specified, a billing amount is calculated based on the formula and price information, and a global ID, a service ID, the calculated billing amount, and use date / time information (for a user It is recorded in the usage status management table 96 in association with the date / time data indicating that the transmission of the search result to the terminal 5 has been completed normally. After the above processing, the account management means 85 is operated by the information distribution means 83.
To the return code of the result (S919). The return code is, for example, "0" if the charging process ends normally, and is 1 or more depending on the content of the error if the charging process ends abnormally.

With the above processing, the user can take out the information without worrying about the type of the content provider 2 and the holding position of the content. The value-added service in the system 1 can be used. Further, by performing a database operation on the usage status management table 96 held by the account management means 85, the billing destination ID associated with the contract ID is based on the charge amount of the usage status management table 96.
The total payment amount corresponding to can be calculated appropriately or periodically (for example, monthly). Further, by performing a database operation on the usage status management table 96 held by the account management means 85, it becomes possible to create a content usage status report based on the history of the content used by the “user”. .

The above-described embodiment is an example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the communication and software mounting techniques adopted in the above-described embodiments and examples are preferable examples, and the present invention is not limited to those adopting these mounting techniques. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, SOAP is adopted in the communication between the user system 8 and the content provider 2 and the information distribution means 83.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, CGI (Common Gat
eway Interface) to define the processing procedure,
Data (messages, contents, etc.) may be exchanged over HTTPS communication according to the processing procedure.

Also, for example, the target application is not limited to the ones exemplified above.
For example, EIP (Enterprise Information P
ortal) system may be used as the target application. In this case, for example, it is possible to collect and display external content on a company portal site. Further, the target application may be general-purpose software such as a word processor or spreadsheet software. In this case, for example, when a user inputs a predefined specific phrase into a document such as a word processor or spreadsheet software, a processing menu is displayed, and the processing menu is displayed from the processing menu. The content request activation process may be selected. By selecting the start-up process, the information mediating system follows the information necessary for the document or material created by the user with the word processor or spreadsheet software (for example, company information or terminology) according to the predefined rules. It is possible to realize such things as collecting and displaying in the document or document.

Further, in the information mediation system 1 shown in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
0 and information management means may be provided. The information registration unit 80 is a creator of the original content (for example, an individual creator or a peer-to-peer community, etc .; hereinafter referred to as a creator) who does not have a storage management means of the content. It is a means for registering the created original content in the information management means. The information management means is means for storing and managing the original content registered in the information registration means, and for example, the user information database 6 may be used as the information management means.
The information registration unit 80 performs, for example, a process of registering the original content created by the creator in the content service menu, a process of recording the original content created by the creator in the information management unit, and a creator right confirmation support process. In the right confirmation support process, for example, a user interface (screen) is provided for performing online a procedure for determining the editable range of the original content and the use range of the original content on the user side, and the user interface (screen) is confirmed on the user interface. The content is recorded in the information management means in association with the corresponding original content. By providing the information registration means 80 and the information management means, not only the commercial contents of the professional traders but also useful original contents created by individuals who do not have the commercial means, virtual communities, etc.
It becomes possible to provide it to the user. Note that reference numeral 81 in FIG. 27 indicates an information processing apparatus (computer) owned by an individual content creator, and reference numeral 82 indicates a virtual community connected by peer-to-peer.

[0235] Further, for example, the information utilization means 8 for utilizing the information, the information provider 2 owning the information for providing to the information utilization means 8, and the information possessed by the information provider 2 via the information network. In an information distribution service system including an information mediation system that provides the information utilization means 8 with the information mediation system, the information mediation system provides ID information for identifying the organization member of the organization who is the user of the information utilization means 8 of the organization. It is assumed that the user management means 10 for managing in a logically hierarchized position corresponding to the structure is provided, and the user management means stores the history of information used by the organization members corresponding to the I
It may be recorded and managed in association with the D information.
In this case, the form or method of providing information to the information utilizing means 8 in the information mediation system is not particularly limited. Further, the user management means 10 records and manages the charging information corresponding to the information used by the members of the organization in association with the corresponding ID information and manages it, and also pays in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the structure of the organization. Billing management function that can set billing destination 1
1 is preferably provided. Further, in this case, it is preferable that the user management means 10 includes an information usage status reporting function 12 that reports to the organization the information usage status based on the history of information used by the organization members. Further, in this case, the user management means 10 may include an information provision status reporting function 13 that reports the information provision status based on the history of information used by the organization members to the vendor of the information provider 2. preferable. The user management means 10 and various functions 11 provided in the user management means 10 regardless of the form and method of providing information to the organizational members in the information mediation system,
Even if the customer organization is, for example, a large company having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure by 12 and 13, and a complicated contract form or a complicated billing destination is required, the logical The effect that the billing destination can be flexibly set in the hierarchically organized organization is obtained. Further, for the provider of the content provider 2, by using the information mediation system, by providing the original content that the content provider 2 has, it is possible to obtain an effect that an appropriate price according to the value of the content can be collected. In addition, for example, the administrator of the customer organization asks what kind of information each member of the organization needs, what kind of information is obtained from the information mediation system, and how the information is utilized in the work. It is possible to obtain an effect that it is possible to easily grasp whether or not a certain amount of cost is generated.

Further, the user management means 10 is not necessarily limited to the one provided in the information mediation system. For example, the user management means 1 in the user system 8 of the organization
You may make it provide 0. Alternatively, the information provider 2 may be provided with the user management means 10.

Furthermore, the physical installation position of the information mediation system of each of the above-mentioned embodiments is not particularly limited. For example, the above-described information mediation system may be incorporated into the information processing system of the specific content provider 2. In this case, the information provision management system at the information provider can be realized. Further, for example, the above-described information mediation system may be incorporated into the user system 8 of a specific customer organization. In this case, the information collection system in the customer organization can be realized.

Further, a part or all of each means constituting the above-described information mediation system may be configured to be linked with the information processing system owned by the information provider. For example, by combining the user management means 10 with an information processing system that constitutes the content provider 2 (for example, an existing download site), the conventional B2C (Business
The content provider 2 that has been in the form of a to customer) site can be used as a form of a B2B (Business to Business) site. In this case, the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 as an information utilizing means
And means for owning the information (for example, the original content database 14) and an authenticating means for authenticating the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 and providing information to the authenticated user terminal 5 or the user system 8. Means (for example, WWW server) as an information provider, and the information use means 8 registers, updates, and deletes authentication information for receiving information from the content provider 2 and stores the authentication information. Utilization of reflecting ID information in the authentication means of the content provider 2 and managing the ID information for identifying the organization member of the organization who is the user of the information utilization means 8 in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization configuration An information distribution service system including the person management means 10 is configured.

In this case, for example, the processing shown in FIG. 40 may be performed. That is, the user uses the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 to use the content provider 2
When there is a user registration / update / deletion request to the content provider (S1001 shown in FIG. 40), the content provider 2
Calls the user management means 10 (S1002), and in response to this, the user management means 10 uses the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 for user registration / update / deletion user interface (screen, eg, web page). Is transmitted (S1003) and communication is performed between the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 and the user management means 10 so that user registration / update / deletion processing can be performed (S100).
4). It should be noted that this user registration / update / deletion process can be repeated for as many users as desired to be registered, updated or deleted. The contents of user registration / update / deletion processing are
For example, it is recorded and managed in the user management database 21 described above. Also, the user management means 10 registers the user
The contents of the update / deletion process are transmitted to the content provider 2 (S1005). The content provider 2 reflects, for example, the contents of the user registration / update / deletion process in the authentication means of the content provider 2 (S1).
006). When the content of the user registration / update / deletion process is normally reflected, the content provider 2 sends a normal end notification to the user management means 10 (S100).
7). Upon receiving the notification, the user management means 10 notifies the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 of the completion message (S1008). Here, the user's confirmation action for the completion message is redirected to the content provider 2 as a request for a screen (for example, a web page) to the content provider 2. For example, a confirmation button is displayed in the completion message, and when the confirmation button is clicked, a request for a web page is transmitted from the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 to the content provider 2. Yes (S1009). In response to this, the content provider 2 operates the user terminal 5 or the user system 8
The web page is transmitted to (S1010). This causes the content provider 2 to take over the subsequent processing for the user terminal 5 or the user system 8.
Further, the user management means 10 calculates a charge (for example, a registration fee or a fixed usage fee depending on the number of IDs) according to the registered user information (S1010). The result of the charge calculation is, for example, the above-mentioned user management database 21.
Record and manage in. The user registered in the authentication means included in the content provider 2 can be provided with the content from the content provider 2 through the authentication processing by the authentication means included in the content provider 2. Through the above processing, the user can use the user terminal 5
Alternatively, the user system 8 can be used to access the site of the content provider 2 and seamlessly transit to the user management means 10 to perform user registration / update / deletion processing, and further the user registration / update / deletion. When the processing is completed, it is possible to return to the original content provider 2 site again. The user is the user management means 10
User registration / update / deletion processing can be performed without being aware of the existence of. Then, by hierarchically managing the users by the user management means 10, for example, as described in the above-described embodiment, the organization members are identified as “customers” who are manager-like existence in the customer organization and the “customers”. It is possible to realize control of usage authority (setting of usable range of service, control of application / approval of account acquisition) by managing in two layers with “user” belonging to “customer”. Further, even if the customer organization is, for example, a large company having a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, and a complicated contract form or a complicated billing destination is required to be specified, a logical hierarchy is used. The billing destination can be flexibly set in the simplified organization.

Further, the processing when the user management means 10 is combined with the information processing system which constitutes the content provider 2 (for example, the existing download site),
It is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 40, and the process shown in FIG. 41 may be performed, for example. In this case, the user makes a user registration / update / deletion request directly to the user management means 10 using the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 (S1101 shown in FIG. 41). In response to this, the user management means 10 transmits a user interface (screen, for example, web page) for user registration / update / deletion to the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 (S1102), and the user terminal 5 Alternatively, communication is performed between the user system 8 and the user management means 10 so that user registration / update / deletion processing can be performed (S1103). It should be noted that this user registration / update / deletion process can be repeated for as many users as desired to be registered, updated or deleted. The contents of the user registration / update / deletion process are recorded and managed in the above-mentioned user management database 21, for example. Further, the user management means 10 transmits the contents of the user registration / update / deletion process to the content provider 2 (S110).
4). The content provider 2 reflects, for example, the content of the user registration / update / deletion process on the authentication means included in the content provider 2 (S1105). When the content of the user registration / update / deletion process is normally reflected, the content provider 2 sends a normal end notification to the user management means 10 (S1106). Upon receiving the notification, the user management means 10 notifies the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 of the completion message (S11).
07). Further, the user management means 10 calculates a charge (for example, a registration fee or a fixed usage fee depending on the number of IDs) according to the registered user information (S110).
8). The result of the billing calculation is recorded and managed in the user management database 21 described above, for example. The user registered in the authentication means included in the content provider 2 can be provided with the content from the content provider 2 through the authentication processing by the authentication means included in the content provider 2. Through the above processing, the user accesses the user management means 10 using the user terminal 5 or the user system 8 and registers the necessary user information in the user management means 10, and the result is in the background. It is reflected in the authentication means of the content provider 2. The user can perform user registration / update / deletion processing without being aware of the existence of the content provider 2. Then, by hierarchically managing the users by the user management means 10, for example, as described in the above-described embodiment, the organization members are identified as “customers” who are manager-like existence in the customer organization and the “customers”. By controlling in two layers with "users" belonging to "customers", control of usage authority (setting of usable range of services, application for account acquisition,
Approval control) can be realized. Also,
Even if the customer organization is, for example, a large company with a large-scale and complex organizational structure, and even if complicated contract types or complicated billing destinations are required, logically hierarchical It is possible to flexibly set the billing destination within the organization.

[0241]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the information distribution service system of claim 1, the information distribution service method of claim 21, and the information distribution service program of claim 28, the user is , It becomes possible to obtain necessary information dispersed in a plurality of information providers in a desired combination and form in a timely, efficient and up-to-date manner.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of claim 2, useful / useful information required by each organization member belonging to the customer organization is accumulated in the user information database and is in the latest state. Therefore, it becomes possible to accumulate various kinds of information which have been limited to personal use in the past as a shared property of the organization and use it in an organized manner.

Furthermore, according to the information distribution service system of the third aspect, it is possible to positively distribute the necessary information to the user terminal as the user desires.

Further, according to the program for executing the information distribution service system according to claim 4, the information distribution service method according to claim 22 and the information distribution service according to claim 29 by a computer, the user needs There is no need to specify and request the information to be requested, and the transition of business processes that the user is performing is used as a trigger to collect the information that the user needs and provide it to the user at the optimum timing. To be done. That is, to provide the user with the information necessary for each phase of the business execution process of the user, for example, the stage of introducing a product / product to the customer, the subsequent stage of concluding a sales contract, etc. at the optimum timing required. Is possible.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of the fifth aspect, necessary information can be positively distributed to the user as the user desires.

Furthermore, according to the information distribution service system of claim 6, the information distribution service method of claim 23, and the information distribution service program of claim 30, the information distribution service system operator and information provider It is possible to increase the profits of each business operator, information sender, and user. That is, the information sender can send the sent information to the desired user who is also a prospective customer, and can increase the access rate to the sent information and improve the effect of sending the information. In addition, we can expect profits such as finding new prospects, developing sales channels and purchasing routes, and developing collaborative partners. It can also capture and analyze market reactions.
Further, the trader of the information provider can increase the utilization rate of the information, that is, the sales amount, when the related information is added. In addition, users can obtain the latest technical information / industry information, and use the obtained information to plan various businesses / sales etc. without losing business opportunities, and to You can cultivate purchasing routes and collaborate partners. Assumed aspects of information use are diverse, including other investment decisions.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of the seventh aspect, it is possible to support the two-way communication that has been triggered by the information transmission.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of the eighth aspect, the user, after receiving the outgoing information and the related information, obtains further stepped information, that is, answer information to the individual specific question information. be able to.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of claim 9, since the question information is distributed to the person in charge of the corresponding information sender and transmitted, it is possible to save the trouble of distributing the information on the information sender side. , It is possible to smoothly proceed the two-way communication that occurs when the information is transmitted.

Further, according to the information distribution service system of the tenth aspect, since it is provided with an FAQ creating function for creating a collection of answers to frequently asked questions, it is troublesome for the information sender side to answer frequently asked questions. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly carry out the two-way communication that occurs when the information is transmitted.

Furthermore, according to the information distribution service system of the eleventh aspect, since a single logon environment can be provided to the user, the user can provide each ID and password to a plurality of information providers. Eliminates the complexity of managing and the complexity of entering / checking for access. Also, by systematically managing the correspondence of IDs for authentication management, it is possible to grasp the actual state of information distribution in detailed units. Further, the information provider may position the authentication information management means as a front end of its own information providing system. Also,
It is also possible to provide a single logon service by the authentication information management means as a service to the information provider, for a fee.

Furthermore, according to the information distribution service system of the twelfth aspect, since the user system can also be the target of information provision, for example, the information necessary for the business processing of the organization executed by the computer can be timely provided. In addition, it is possible to efficiently and efficiently provide the latest information.
In addition, information can be efficiently and effectively provided to a large number of users of organizational scale.

Further, according to the information distribution service system according to claims 13 and 17, the information distribution service method according to claim 24, and the information distribution service program according to claim 31, each organization member at an organizational scale. It is possible to manage the frequency of use of the information, the type of information used, and the like. Further, even if the target organization has a large-scale and complicated organizational structure, it is possible to flexibly deal with this by logically hierarchizing and understanding the organizational structure.

Further, according to the information distribution service system according to claims 14 and 18, the information distribution service method according to claim 25, and the information distribution service program according to claim 32, a complicated contract form or Even if complicated designation of a billing party is required, the billing party can be flexibly set in a logically hierarchical organization. In addition, for the information provider, by using the system of the present invention, by providing the information that the information provider owns, it becomes possible to collect an appropriate consideration according to the value of the information.

Furthermore, according to the information distribution service system described in claims 15 and 19, the information distribution service method described in claim 26, and the information distribution service program described in claim 33, the manager of the organization is a member of the organization. It is easy to know what kind of information each person needs, what kind of information is obtained from the information distribution service system, how that information is used for business, how much cost is incurred, etc. Can be grasped. That is, an organization using the system of the present invention can centralize complicated information use management and can appropriately manage costs, and further grasp the business activities of individual members of the organization from the frequency of information use and the like. It is possible to do so.

Further, according to the information distribution service system according to claim 16 and claim 20, the information distribution service method according to claim 27 and the information distribution service program according to claim 34, the provider of the information provider is an organization. It is possible to grasp the needs and preferences of users on a dynamic scale. In addition, it is possible to grasp the degree of sales, etc. by providing the information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a first embodiment of an information distribution service system of the present invention, showing a stage of providing information owned by an information provider to a user.

FIG. 2 shows a step of setting desired information of a user by a desired setting means in the above information distribution service system.

FIG. 3 shows a step of executing an information provision status reporting function and an information provision status reporting function of a user management means in the information distribution service system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing how a user information database is constructed in the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a state of processing of an information providing unit and a user management unit in the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the organizational structure of a user of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a management mechanism by the user management means of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of processing by the authentication information management means of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a process by the authentication information management means of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a second embodiment of an information distribution service system of the present invention, showing a stage of providing information possessed by an information provider to a user.

FIG. 15 shows a step of setting a scenario by the scenario setting means of the information distribution service system.

FIG. 16 shows a step of executing an information provision status reporting function and an information provision status reporting function in the user management means of the information distribution service system.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a processing state of the second embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the second embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the second embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows a step of executing an information provision status reporting function and an information provision status reporting function by the user management means of the information distribution service system.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a process in the third embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention and showing a schematic sequence of the process.

FIG. 27 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the first embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

28 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of contents included in the information mediation system in FIG.

29 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of content management data included in the information mediation system in FIG.
(A) shows the concept of the data structure of the service list definition file, and (B) shows the concept of the data structure of the original service list definition file.

30 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of user management data included in the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

31 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of user management data included in the information mediation system in FIG. 27. FIG.

32 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of charging management data included in the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

33 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of usage status management data included in the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

34 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of style management data included in the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

FIG. 35 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a first half portion of a schematic sequence showing an example of a process performed by the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a middle portion of the schematic sequence showing an example of processing performed by the information mediation system in FIG. 27.

38 is a diagram showing the latter half of the schematic sequence showing an example of the process performed by the information mediation system in FIG. 27. FIG.

FIG. 39 is a schematic block diagram showing another embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a schematic sequence in another embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing a schematic sequence in another embodiment of the information distribution service system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,50,70 Information mediation system 2 Information providers 3 Desired setting means 4 Information provision means Terminal for 5 users (information utilization means) Information database for 6 users 7 Business support means (organizational activity support means) 8 user system (information utilization means) 8'Information sender system (information sending means) 9 Authentication information management means 10 User management means 11 Billing management function 12 Information usage status reporting function 13 Information provision status reporting function 51 Scenario setting means 52 Business transition receiving means (transition notification receiving means) 53 On-demand information provision means 71 Reception means 72 Registration means 73 Transmission information provision means 74 Information exchange management means 75 FAQ creation function

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Claims (34)

[Claims] 1. Information use means for using information,
In an information distribution service system including an information provider that owns information to be provided to the information utilization unit, and an information mediation system that provides the information utilization unit with information possessed by the information provider through an information network, The information mediation system, a desired setting means for presetting user desired information for providing information desired by a user of the information utilizing means in a desired combination or form,
Acquiring information desired by the user from a plurality of information providers based on the setting of the desired setting means, and providing the acquired information to the information using means in a combination or form desired by the user; Information providing means for obtaining the updated information and providing the latest information to the information using means when the corresponding information at the information providing source is updated with respect to the provided information or the information to be provided. An information distribution service system comprising: 2. The information providing means acquires information desired by the user from a plurality of information providers based on the setting of the desired setting means, and combines the acquired information with a combination desired by the user. The information distribution service system according to claim 1, further comprising: a user information database recorded in a form that can be referred to by the information using means. 3. The user request information includes a timing desired by the user to distribute information to the information using means, and the information providing means provides the information based on the setting of the desired setting means. The information distribution service system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information to be distributed is distributed to the information using means. 4. Information use means for using information,
In an information distribution service system including an information provider that owns information to be provided to the information utilization unit, and an information mediation system that provides the information utilization unit with information possessed by the information provider through an information network, The information mediation system includes a scenario setting means for setting a flow of processing performed by a user of the information using means and information required in each processing, and a transition for receiving a transition notification of the processing from the information using means. A notification receiving means, and an on-demand information providing means for searching the information providing source for information required by the user based on the setting of the scenario setting means triggered by the transition notification and providing the information to the information using means. An information distribution service system comprising: 5. The information distribution service system according to claim 4, wherein the on-demand information providing unit distributes the retrieved information to the information using unit in response to the transition notification. 6. An information utilizing means for utilizing information,
Information transmitting means for transmitting information, an information providing source that owns information for providing to the information using means, and information for providing the information using means with information held by the information providing source via an information network In the information distribution service system including an intermediation system, the information intermediation system includes a reception means for receiving transmission information from the information transmission means, and a registration means for registering a desired user who desires to receive the transmission information. And searching related information related to the outgoing information from the information held by the information provider, adding the related information to the outgoing information, and providing it to the information using means of the desired user based on the registration means. An information distribution service system, comprising: 7. The information mediation system comprises an information exchange management means for mediating, recording and managing information exchanged between the information transmitting means and the information using means. Information distribution service system. 8. The information distribution service system according to claim 7, wherein said information exchange management means records and manages question information from said information utilization means and reply information from said information transmission means. 9. The information distribution service system according to claim 7, wherein the information exchange management means distributes the question information to a corresponding information transmission means and transmits the question information. 10. The information exchange management means comprises an FAQ creating function for creating an answer collection for frequently asked questions from the question information and the answer information recorded and managed. The information distribution service system according to any one of 1 to 9. 11. The information mediation system manages authentication information required for accessing the information provider for each user, and provides the user with a plurality of the information by performing a single authentication process for each user. The information distribution service system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising an authentication information management unit that enables access to the source. 12. The information utilization means or the information transmission means is a user system configured to connect a plurality of information processing devices systematically through an information network and executing information processing for supporting organizational activities. The information distribution service system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that. 13. The information mediation system logically outputs ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization that is a user of the information utilizing means or the information transmitting means, in correspondence with the organization of the organization. A user management means for managing in a hierarchized position is provided, and the user management means records and manages a history of information used by the organization member in association with the corresponding ID information. The information distribution service system according to any one of Items 1 to 12. 14. The user management means applies the charging information corresponding to the information used by the organization member to the I
14. The information distribution service according to claim 13, further comprising a charging management function capable of recording and managing the information in association with the D information and setting a billing destination in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization of the organization. system. 15. The user management means comprises an information usage status reporting function for reporting to the organization an information usage status based on a history of information used by the organization members. The information distribution service system according to item 13 or 14. 16. The user management means has an information provision status reporting function for reporting the information provision status to the trader of the information provider based on the history of information used by the user. The information distribution service system according to any one of claims 13 to 15. 17. An information utilization means for utilizing information, an information providing source possessing information for providing to said information utilizing means, and information utilizing said information possessed by said information providing source through an information network. In the information distribution service system including the information mediation system provided to the means,
The information intermediation system manages ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization that is a user of the information utilizing means in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization of the organization. An information distribution service system comprising: means, wherein the user management means records and manages a history of information used by the organization member in association with the corresponding ID information. 18. The user management means applies the charging information corresponding to the information used by the organization member to the I
18. The information distribution service according to claim 17, further comprising a charging management function capable of recording and managing the information in association with the D information and setting a billing destination in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the structure of the organization. system. 19. The user management means comprises an information usage status reporting function for reporting to the organization an information usage status based on a history of information used by the organization members. The information distribution service system according to item 17 or 18. 20. The user management means has an information provision status reporting function for reporting the information provision status to the trader of the information provider based on the history of information used by the organization member. The information distribution service system according to any one of claims 17 to 19, which is characterized. 21. The information utilization means for utilizing information, the information provider that owns information for providing to said information utilization means, and the information possessed by said information provider through an information network. In the information distribution service method performed with the information intermediary system provided to the means, the information intermediary system requests the user to provide the information desired by the user of the information utilizing means in a desired combination or form. Information is set in advance, information desired by the user is acquired from a plurality of information providers based on the setting of the desired information, and the acquired information is used in the combination or form desired by the user. When the information provided by the information provider has been updated to the corresponding information at the information providing source, the updated information is acquired to obtain the latest information. An information distribution service method, characterized in that information is provided to the information utilizing means. 22. The information utilization means for utilizing information, the information providing source possessing the information for providing to said information utilizing means, and the information utilization of the information possessed by said information providing source via an information network. In the information distribution service method performed with the information mediation system provided to the means, the information mediation system sets the flow of processing performed by the user of the information utilization means and the information required in each processing. Then, the transition notification of the process is accepted from the user, and the transition notification is used as a trigger to search the information provider for information required by the user based on the setting,
An information distribution service method characterized by providing to the information utilization means. 23. An information utilizing means for utilizing the information, an information transmitting means for transmitting the information, and an information providing source which owns the information for providing to the information utilizing means,
In an information distribution service method performed with an information intermediation system that provides the information utilization means with information possessed by the information provider via an information network, the information intermediation system includes information transmitted from the information transmission means. Is registered, the transmission information from the information transmission means is received, the relevant information related to the transmission information is searched from the information held by the information provider, and Add the related information to the outgoing information,
An information distribution service method comprising providing the registered desired user with information using means. 24. The information mediation system logically outputs ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization that is a user of the information utilizing means or the information transmitting means, in correspondence with the organization of the organization. The information distribution according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the information is managed in a hierarchical position and the history of information used by the organization member is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information. Service method. 25. The information intermediary system records and manages billing information corresponding to information used by the member of the organization in association with the corresponding ID information and records the information in a logical hierarchy corresponding to the structure of the organization. 25. The information distribution service method according to claim 24, wherein the billing destination is set in a simplified position. 26. The information according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the information mediation system reports to the organization an information usage status based on a history of information used by the organization members. Distribution service method. 27. The information intermediation system reports an information provision status based on a history of information used by the user to the information provision source trader. The information distribution service method described in any of the above. 28. The information utilization means for utilizing the information, the information providing source possessing the information for providing to the information utilizing means, and the information possessed by the information providing source via the information network. In the information distribution service system including the information mediation system provided to the means,
Desired setting means for presetting user desired information for providing a computer constituting the information mediation system in a desired combination or form of information desired by a user of the information utilizing means, and setting of the desired information The information desired by the user from a plurality of information providers based on the above, and provides the acquired information to the information utilizing means in a combination or form desired by the user, and An information distribution service program for functioning as an information providing unit that acquires the updated information and provides it to the information using unit when the corresponding information is updated in the information providing source. 29. The information utilization means for utilizing the information, the information provider having the information for providing to the information utilization means, and the information possessed by the information provider through the information network. In the information distribution service system including the information mediation system provided to the means,
The computer which constitutes the information mediation system, the scenario setting means for setting the flow of processing performed by the user of the information using means and the information required in each processing, and the transition of the processing from the information using means. A transition notification receiving unit that receives a notification, and a transition notification of the process as a trigger,
An information distribution service program for functioning as an on-demand information providing unit that searches the information providing source for information required by the user based on the setting and provides the information using unit with the information. 30. An information utilizing means for utilizing information, an information transmitting means for transmitting information, and an information providing source which owns information for providing to the information utilizing means,
In an information distribution service system including an information mediation system for providing the information utilization means with information possessed by the information provider via an information network, a computer constituting the information mediation system is transmitted from the information transmission means. Registration means for registering a desired user who wishes to receive information provision, acceptance means for accepting transmission information from the information transmission means, and a relation related to the transmission information from among information held by the information provider An information distribution service program for searching information, adding the related information to the transmission information, and providing the information utilization means of the registered desired user to function as a transmission information providing means. 31. ID information for identifying an organization member of an organization that is a user of the information utilizing means or the information transmitting means is managed in a logically hierarchical position corresponding to the organization of the organization. 28. The computer for configuring the information intermediation system functions as a user management unit that records and manages a history of information used by the organization member in association with the corresponding ID information.
An information distribution service program according to any one of 1 to 30. 32. Billing information corresponding to information used by the organization member is recorded and managed in association with the corresponding ID information and billed in a logically hierarchized position corresponding to the organization configuration. 32. The information distribution service program according to claim 31, for executing a charging management function capable of setting a destination. 33. A computer constituting the information intermediation system for causing an information utilization status reporting function for reporting to the organization the information utilization status based on the history of information used by the organization member is further executed. The information distribution service program according to item 31 or 32. 34. The information mediating system is further caused to execute a step of reporting an information providing situation based on a history of information used by the user to the information providing source. The information distribution service program described in any one of.