JP3513003B2 - Information providing apparatus and information providing method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention provides various information such as advertisements and event information to a personal computer or a personal digital assistant (PD).
A) Information providing device and information provided to a user who possesses
Regarding information provision method .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A user who has a personal computer, a portable information terminal or the like can sequentially access any of a huge number of information sources connected to it, for example, via the Internet. Generally, a user repeats various input operations by trial and error in order to find out and select a specific information source required by the user from a huge amount of information sources.

For example, an information source associated with a specific keyword is extracted by using a search system provided on the Internet, or a link included in the acquired information is sequentially searched for a desired information source. It will be. This type of information access method is called a pull technique. On the other hand, in the access method called push technology, by registering the categories of information required by the user in advance, only the latest information in the registered category is automatically selected and periodically. Delivered to users from sources.

In addition, WWW (World
Among the information providing services in the Wide Web) format, there are various information provided and map information associated with each other by position. That is, the location of information is displayed on the displayed map with a mark such as an icon. When the user clicks on one of the icons, the information associated with it is selected and provided to the user. The access method in this case belongs to the pull technology.

[0005]

When accessing the information source using the above-mentioned pull technique, active input operation by the user is indispensable. Moreover, there are many cases where the user cannot find the information source needed. That is, when the search system is used, an information source not registered in the system cannot be searched, and a target information source cannot be found even when the input keyword is inappropriate.

Further, when the number of information sources extracted by the search is too large, the user does not access all of the information sources unless there is time to spare.
It is possible to miss the best source of information. On the other hand, in the conventional push technology, only the information that matches the category or the like selected by the user in advance is selected and reaches the user. Therefore, if the necessary information is out of the registered category, the necessary information is Does not reach the user.

Also, if many categories are selected in advance, the amount of information that reaches the user will become huge, and the user will not be able to read all the information that has arrived. In addition, a large amount of useless information that the user does not need is delivered to the user, resulting in waste of communication cost and increase of traffic on the communication line. For example, when an advertisement or event information is delivered to a user, it is desirable to deliver the information only to a specific user who is closely related to the provided information. In addition, since the user who needs the information does not necessarily know the existence and location of the information, the necessary information reaches the user even if the user does not intentionally access the information. Is desirable.

According to the present invention, in the information providing system as described above, the input operation performed by the user to access the necessary information is reduced or eliminated, and the probability that the information required by the user will reach the user is obtained. It aims to improve and reduce the probability that information that the user does not need reaches the user.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an information providing apparatus for providing information to a user terminal via a predetermined information communication network , a map information table holds map information. The map information providing means provides specific map information to the user terminal based on the map information table in response to an input from the user terminal. The provided information table holds the provided information in association with range information indicating the provided range. The information extraction unit extracts specific provision information based on a comparison between the map information provided to the user terminal by the map information provision unit and the range information in the provision information table, and provides the specific provision information to the user terminal. According to a second aspect of the invention, in the information providing apparatus according to the first aspect, the date and time detecting means detects the current date and time. The provision information table holds the provision information in association with period information indicating the effective period. The information extracting means extracts the specific provision information based on the comparison between the detected current date and time and the period information in the provision information table. In the invention according to claim 3, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, the personal information table corresponds to the user ID.
Only the personal information retained showing the characteristics of the user. The provided information table holds the provided information in association with attribute information indicating attributes. Information extraction means acquires from the personal information table personal information of the user based on the user ID, the input of which is accepted, based on the results of comparison between the acquired personal information and attribute information of the advertisement table, Extract specific advertisements.

According to the invention described in claim 4, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, the information extracting means limits the provided information to the specified number when the specified number of extracting the provided information is exceeded. Send out. In the invention according to claim 5, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, the personal information table corresponds to the user ID.
Only the contact information that indicates the contact of the user to hold it. Information extracting unit obtains from the personal information table contact information of the user based on the user ID, the input of which is accepted,
For the said contact information, and sends the extracted specific advertisement was. In the invention according to claim 6, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 5, when the personal information table holds a plurality of contact information for the user ID acquired by the information extracting means, the information extracting means, Contact classification information indicating each classification of the contact information is provided to the user terminal together with the extracted specific provision information.

In the invention according to claim 7, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 6, a priority order is designated for a plurality of contact information, and the contact classification information is arranged in accordance with the priority order and displayed on the user terminal. indicate. In the invention according to claim 8, in the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, the information extracting means determines a specific position based on specific map information, and compares the specific position with the range information of the provided information table. Based on, the specific provision information is extracted and provided to the user terminal. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing apparatus according to the first aspect, the information extracting means or the map information providing means includes frame information including specific map information and a specific providing information.
The frame information including the information is combined and provided to the user terminal.

[0012] In the invention according to claim 10 , in the information providing apparatus according to claim 1, the map information providing means provides the user terminal with the specific map information and selection information capable of instructing the scale of the map information. According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, in the information providing apparatus according to the first aspect, the map information providing means provides the user terminal with the specific map information and selection information capable of instructing the display range of the map information.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, in the information providing apparatus according to the first aspect, the provided information is advertisement information or event information. In the invention according to claim 13 , in an information providing method for providing information to a user terminal via a predetermined information communication network, a specific map is stored from a map information table holding map information in response to an input from the user terminal. Extract information. Referring to the provided information table that holds the provided information in association with the range information indicating the provided range, based on the comparison between the specific map information and the range information of the provided information table,
Extract specific advertisements. The specific map information and the specific provision information are provided to the user terminal. In the invention according to claim 14 , in the information providing method according to claim 13 , when the provision information table further holds period information indicating a valid period in association with the provision information and extracting specific provision information. Further, the specific provision information is extracted based on the comparison between the current date and time and the period information.

According to the invention described in claim 15 , claim 13 is provided.
In the described information providing method, the provided information table holds attribute information indicating an attribute in association with the provided information. Further, the provided information table refers to the personal information table that holds the personal information indicating the characteristics of the user in association with the user ID when the specific provided information is extracted, and based on the user ID that receives the input. The personal information of the user is acquired, and specific provision information is extracted based on the result of comparison between the acquired personal information and the attribute information in the provision information table. In the invention according to claim 16 , in the information providing method according to claim 13 , when extracting the specific provision information, a predetermined number of extractions of the provision information is set, and if the predetermined number is exceeded, the provision information is provided. Is limited to the predetermined number and transmitted. In the invention according to claim 17 , in the information providing method according to claim 13 , when the specific providing information is extracted, the specific position is determined based on the specific map information, and the specific position and the range of the providing information table. Based on the comparison with the information, the specific provision information is extracted and provided to the user terminal.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, the thirteenth aspect is provided.
In the information providing method described, when providing specific information to be provided to the user terminal, frame information including specific map information
And frame information including specific provision information are combined and provided to the user terminal. In the invention according to claim 19 , in the information providing method according to claim 13 , when providing the specific provision information to the user terminal, the selection information that can indicate the scale or the display range of the map information together with the specific map information is provided. provide.

According to the invention of claim 20 , in claim 13
In the information providing method described, when providing specific provided information to the user terminal, the input is accepted by referring to the personal information table that holds a plurality of contact information indicating the contact information of the user in association with the user ID. A plurality of contact information of the user is acquired from the user ID, and contact division information indicating each division of the contact information is provided to the user terminal together with the extracted specific provision information. According to the invention of claim 21 , in the information providing method according to claim 13 , the provided information is advertisement information or event information.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The principle of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a first block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.
The first information providing device according to the present invention is a predetermined information communication device.
Connected to the user terminal 12 via the communication network 11.
A map that holds map information in an information provision system
Through the information table 21 and the information communication network 11.
Determined according to the input from the user terminal 12 connected by
Map information of a specific range to be displayed is the map information table 2
Map information provided to the user terminal 12 based on 1.
Supplying means 22 and providing information such as advertisement and event information
At least the position associated with each provided information
Providing information that holds a plurality of range information indicating the scope of provision
Table 23 and map provided to the user terminal 12
The specific position is determined based on the information, and the specific position and the
Ratio of range information of each provided information in the provided information table 23
Depending on the result of the comparison, a part of the provided information table 23
Information to be extracted and provided to the user terminal 12
The information extracting means 24 is provided. User
When the user terminal 12 is operated, the information communication network 1
1 and a map information table via the map information providing means 22
From 21 the map information of the specified range including any attention position
Taken out. At this time, the information extraction means 24 is removed.
From the map information displayed, for example, the center position of the map is specified
It decides as a place. In addition, this specific location and the information provided
Range information associated with each provided information on the bull 23
The information extraction means 24 compares the above and. And the result of the comparison is
User terminal by extracting only the provided information that satisfies a predetermined condition
Send to 12.

That is, for the user to retrieve the map information
When you perform the input operation of, not only the map information but also the local
Specific provided information associated with a given position within the range of the figure
Are automatically provided to the user. Must retrieve map information
Persons in need have specific attention within the map.
Considered to be extremely likely to be interested in location
available. Therefore, the stores near the point of interest
For information on advertising and events held in the vicinity, see the map
It is likely to be beneficial to the person who retrieved the information.
Therefore, according to the present invention, the map information is retrieved (see
The user's attention position
It will be automatically identified and will be
And useful information is automatically selected and
To the user.

FIG . 2 is a second block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.
It is a diagram. The second information providing device according to the present invention is
Position pipe required to acquire the position information of the user registered in advance
Holds physical information and contact information indicating the user's contact information
The user management information holding means 25 and the user management information storage
Each user is based on the position management information registered in the holding means 25.
Position recognition means 26 for acquiring the current position information of the user,
Notification information, event information, etc.
Indicates the coverage area for at least the position
Provided information table 23 for holding a plurality of range information,
The current position and the previous position of the user recognized by the position recognition means 26.
The range information of each provided information of the provided information table 23 and
According to the result of the comparison of
An information extracting means 27 for extracting a part of the provided information;
Contact information of the user from the user management information holding means 25
Information, and send the information to the destination according to the acquired contact information.
Information transmission for transmitting the provided information extracted by the information extraction means 27
And means 28 are provided. Position recognition means 2
6 is a position tube held by the user management information holding means 25.
Recognize the user's current position as needed based on physical information
To do. For example, for a user who has a PHS terminal device,
As for the service to detect the position of PHS terminal
By using it, the current position of the user can be grasped.
In that case, the PHS terminal device's power is used as the location management information.
You can use the story number.

The position recognizing means 26 is used as the information extracting means 27.
The current position of the recognized user and each of the provided information table 23
Depending on the result of comparison with the range information of each provided information,
A part of the provision information on the provision information table 23 is extracted.
The extracted providing information is used by the information transmitting means 28 for the use.
The contact information of the user held in the management information holding means 25
It is delivered to the information destination. For example, advertisements and events
When people who need information are walking or moving
In some cases, advertisements for stores near the person's current location
Information on events held in and near
Most likely there is. In other words, a feature close to the user's current position
Information on advertisements and events associated with fixed positions
Providing to The is very desirable.

According to the invention, the current of the recognized user
Select only information associated with a specific location that is close to the location
User terminal device (PDA, PDA
HS etc.). Moreover, the user is special
The user with the necessary information automatically without performing any
Delivered. A third information providing device according to the present invention is
In the above-mentioned first or second information providing device,
Providing date and time detection means 29 for detecting the date and time
In the meantime, the provision information table 23 stores each provision information.
Holds period information indicating the valid period associated with
The information extraction means 24 and 27 detect the date and time detection means 29.
Present date and time of delivery and the provided information table 23
Depending on the result of the comparison of each information provided above with the period information
Provided information extracted from the provided information table 23
Is limited. Advertisements and event information are special
It is often effective only for a fixed period. Already ineffective
Not to mention past information, but in the near future (for example, several days)
For information on events scheduled in the above)
Is often not needed. For example, except the day
For travelers who do not stay in the United States
The information about the event is meaningless.

According to the present invention, it is effective at the current date and time.
Only the information that is provided is automatically selected and provided to the user.
It Therefore, the information provided to the user should be
More likely to match the information provided. First related to the present invention
The fourth information providing device is the first or second information providing device described above.
A device that shows the characteristics of the user registered in advance in the equipment
With the provision of personal information holding means 30 for holding personal information
In addition, the provision information table 23 corresponds to each provision information.
Holds attribute information indicating the attributes of the provision target person
Then, the information extraction means 24, 27 are
The personal information of The is acquired from the personal information holding means 30.
On the provided information table 23
Depending on the result of comparing each provided information with the attribute information,
The provided information extracted from the provided information table 23 is limited.
It is characterized by doing. People have different interests
However, those types are, for example, age, sex, taste, occupation, etc.
Can be classified to some extent according to the characteristics (attributes) of the individual. Book
According to the invention, personal information registered in advance and the information provided for each are provided.
Comparing the attributes of the recipients associated with the information
Thus, the information provided to the user is automatically selected.
Therefore, the type of information provided to the user and the
Target of taste or type of information provided to the user
And the recipient who the information provider wants
The likelihood of hitting increases. Fifth information proposal related to the present invention
The providing device is the same as the above-mentioned first or second information providing device.
Then, the information extracting means 24, 27
Limiting the number of information provided from Bull 23
In addition, the number of provided information that meets the specified conditions exceeds the limit
In case of
And transmitting the provision information.

In general, many pieces of information are provided at the same time.
And it is difficult to find the most interesting information among them
become. In the present invention, the number of information provided to the user at the same time
Limit the number of information that satisfies a predetermined condition
If the number is exceeded, the number of information actually provided to the user
To limit.

The information provided to the user is automatically generated using random numbers.
Dynamically sorted. Therefore, many information belonging to the same kind
Information is provided to the user when information is available
Probability can be equalized. Sixth information provision related to the present invention
The device is the same as the above-mentioned first or second information providing device.
The contact information indicating the contact information of the user registered in advance.
If you have more than one, you can
The contact classification information indicating the minutes, the information extraction means 24, 2
Providing to the user along with the provision information extracted by 7
It is characterized by accepting selection input from.

The information provided to the user and the user's wishes
Do not always match. Therefore, first
The information provided should be only summary, not details.
However, the information provided to the user and the user's wishes are consistent.
If so, the user may ask for more detailed information.
Becomes When a user wants to provide detailed information
Must notify the information provider of the wishes from the user.
There is a point. The information provider also informs the user of this notification.
You must include the user's contact information when sending the report.
It

By the way, the notification is sent via the Internet or the like.
The phone number that is the actual contact when sending via
Send personal information such as issue number, address, and email address
And safety issues arise. That is, personal information
It may be leaked to a third party that is not directly related to
It In the present invention, the contact information of the user is registered in advance.
deep. And one of the contact information of the user registered in advance
To indicate each division of multiple contacts to specify
Contact classification information such as "phone number 1", "FAX"
Information of item names such as "1" and "address 1" is provided to the user,
Accept selection input from the user.

Therefore, personal information such as the actual telephone number and address
Information does not need to be sent via the internet, etc.
Safety against information leakage is secured. Related to the present invention
The seventh information providing device is the sixth information providing device described above.
In, contact information indicating the contact information of the user registered in advance
If you have more than one piece of information, you can have multiple contacts
Contact classification information indicating these classifications is given priority in advance.
The feature is that they are displayed side by side according to the ranking.

When the user selects contact classification information
Moreover, if there are many options, the input operation becomes troublesome. In the present invention
Are assigned multiple priority levels according to the priority specified (registered) in advance.
Contact classification information is displayed side by side for easy selection.
It If you want to use the highest priority contact, save the input operation.
Omitting is also possible. Eighth information providing device according to the present invention
Communicates with the user terminal via a predetermined information communication network.
Executed by the computer of the connected information providing system
A recording medium having a control program recorded thereon, the control comprising:
The program uses a specified map information table that holds the map information.
Bull through the procedure and information and communication network
A special feature that is determined according to the input from the connected user terminal.
Map information within a certain range based on the map information table
To provide to the user terminal, advertisement, event information
Information provided, such as news, and a small number that can be associated with each provided information
At least without the range information showing the range of provision regarding the position
Procedure for referring to the contents of the provided information table
Based on the map information provided to the user terminal.
The fixed position is determined, and the specific position and the provided information table
Depending on the result of comparison with the range information of each provided information,
Note that some of the provision information on the provision information table is extracted and
And a procedure of providing the user terminal.
It

A computer for an information providing apparatus according to the present invention
The recording medium recording the control program executed by the data
The control program is used for pre-registering the user's positional information.
Shows location management information and user contact information required for information acquisition
Refer to the user management information table that holds contact information
Means registered in the user management information table
The current location information of each user is acquired based on the location management information.
Procedures to obtain, information provided such as advertisement and event information, and each
At least the position associated with each provided information
Providing information that holds a plurality of range information indicating the scope of provision
Procedure to refer to table and current position of recognized user
And range information of each provided information in the provided information table,
Depending on the result of the comparison, part of the provided information table
Means for extracting information provided by the user, and the user management information table
Obtained the contact information of the user from the Bull
Send the extracted provision information to the destination according to the contact information
And means for doing so. An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. This form is the first
It corresponds to the Ishi eighth information providing device . FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire information providing system. Figure 4
It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of each server shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the contents of information providing processing at the time of map information search executed by the information providing system of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the contents of step S19 of FIG. FIG. 7 shows step S2 of FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the content of 0. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of the automatic information providing process executed by the information providing system of FIG. FIG. 9 is a map showing the contents of one display template file. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a layout of frame information D4 generated using the display template file of FIG. FIG. 11 is a map showing the contents of one display template file. 12
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a layout of frame information D4 generated using the display template file of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a map showing a part of the user information table. FIG. 14 is a map showing a part of the advertisement event information table. FIG. 15 is a map showing a part of the advertisement event information table. FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a layout of information displayed on the user side.

In this embodiment, the first information providing device described above is used.
The map information table, the provided information table and the information extracting means provided in the storage are respectively the map data file 14
2, advertisement event information file 162 and control unit 116
The map information providing means is embodied as the map data control unit 141, the RDBMS 151, and the RDBMS 161. In addition, the above-mentioned second information providing device
The user management information holding means, the position recognition means, and the provision information table provided in the storage are embodied as the user information file 132, the current location information acquisition management section 134, and the advertisement event information file 162, respectively, and the information extraction means and the information transmission means. Is embodied as the controller 116.

Further, the third information providing apparatus described above is provided.
The date and time detection means and the fourth information providing device described above.
Each of the provided personal information holding means is an internal clock 1
17 and the user information file 132. The information providing system shown in FIG. 3 includes an information providing server 110, a telephony server 120, a user management server 130, a map server 140, a store information server 150, and an advertisement event information server 160.

As shown in FIG. 3, the information providing server 11
0, telephony server 120, user management server 13
0, the map server 140, the store information server 150, and the advertisement event information server 160 are connected to each other via a LAN (local area network) 170. The information providing server 110 is also connected to the Internet 180. The telephony server 120 uses the communication line 2
It is connected to 50. The user management server 130 is connected to the position information providing service 190.

The position information providing service 190 used in this form is a service for detecting the existing position (latitude and longitude) of a PHS terminal based on a signal from the PHS (personal handy phone system) terminal. In this form, the user is a personal computer or personal digital assistant (PD).
From the user terminal 200 such as A) to the Internet 180
You can access this information system through. In addition, information can be automatically sent from the information providing system to a portable information terminal, a specific FAX, a pager, a mobile phone or the like owned by the user via the communication line 250.

The information providing server 110 provides the user management server 13 with specific information and the like required by the user from the enormous amount of information stored in the information providing system.
0, the map server 140, the store information server 150, and the advertisement event information server 160 in cooperation with the extraction. The extracted information is provided to the user terminal 200 via the Internet 180 or the communication line 250.

As shown in FIG. 4, the information providing server 110
Is a WWW server 118, a data synthesizer 114, a session management unit 115, a control unit 116, and an internal clock 117.
Is equipped with. The WWW server 118 includes a communication unit 111, a gateway 112, and a data management unit 113. The control unit 116 centrally controls the information providing server 110 and the telephony server 120, the user management server 130, the map server 140, the store information server 150, and the advertisement event information server 160 connected thereto.

Under the control of the control unit 116, information search in each server, filtering of search results, synthesis of extracted information, distribution of information to the user terminal 200, etc. are carried out. The WWW server 118 is the data management unit 11
HTML format data stored in 3 is stored on the Internet 1
80 and processes user input from the Internet 180.

The session management section 115 manages the user ID (user identification code) of the user who is connected to the information providing system and the map provided to the user. The internal clock 117 uses the control unit 11 to display information on the current time and date.
Output to 6.

The telephony server 120 includes a media conversion device 121, a line connection device 122, and a charge management unit 123.
And a modem pool 124. The telephony server 120, via the modem pool 124 connected to the communication line 250, uses various communication means, that is, a telephone and an FA.
Information can be distributed to X, pagers, PHS, mobile phones, etc.

The map server 140 includes the map data control unit 1
41, a map data file 142 and an icon data file 143. Map data file 142
Holds enormous map data of various scales. The icon data file 143 holds information such as various icons (pictograms), character strings, and figures. The map data control unit 141 outputs map data of a specific scale limited to a specific range according to an input from the user input via the information providing server 110 to the map data file 1.
Search from 42 and extract.

Further, the map data control unit 141 extracts a specific figure or character string from the icon data file 143 and combines it with the map data in order to display a place name or a typical target object on the extracted map. The combined data is output to the information providing server 110. The store information server 150 is R
DBMS (relational database management system)
151 and a store information file 152. The store information file 152 holds information such as names, addresses, business hours, charges, and coordinates on a map for various stores.

The search instruction from the user is the information providing server 1
When input via 10, the RDBMS 151 searches for the corresponding store and outputs detailed information about the store to the information providing server 110. The user management server 130 is R
A DBMS 131, a user information file 132, a log data file 133, and a current location information acquisition management unit 134 are provided. A user information table as shown in FIG. 13 is registered in the user information file 132.

As shown in FIG. 13, data items in this user information table are "user ID", "password", "name", "name read", "date of birth", "sex", and "electronic". "Email address", "address 1", "address 2", "phone number 1" to "phone number 5", "FAX 1", "FAX 2", "reception method order", "interested 1" to "interested 10" , “Annual income”, “Job type code”, “Occupation management code” and “Job management code” are included.

In the user information table of FIG. 13,
"E-mail address", "address 1", "address 2", "phone number 1" to "phone number 5", "FAX 1" and "FAX 2" indicate the contact information of the user. "Receiving method order" of data item is
Indicates the order of priority of contacts. In this example, "e-mail address", "address 1", "address 2", "phone number 1" to "phone number 5", "FAX 1" and "FAX 2" are alphabets "A" and "B", respectively. , "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H",
"I" and "J" are assigned.

In this user information table, personal information of various persons is registered in advance as their own data record. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the data record of “Ichiro Suzuki” is assigned to the user ID “3”.
Referring to the data record of "Ichiro Suzuki", "ABCHFED" is registered as the "reception method order" of the data item. This is because the order of priority of receiving methods is "E-mail address", "Address 1" in descending order of priority.
(Home), "address 2 (work)", "phone number 5 (pager)", "phone number 3 (mobile phone)", "phone number 2 (work)", "phone number 1 (home)" Is specified in this order.

The log data file 133 shown in FIG. 4 includes a record of the communication of each user and a user information file 132.
The data of the update record of is saved. The current location information acquisition management unit 134 regularly acquires and manages information on the current location of a registered user who can detect the location. For example, referring to the data record of “Hanako Yamada” shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the user has a PHS terminal.
For this reason, by using the location information providing service 190, the current location information acquisition management unit 134 will display “Hanako Yamada”.
You can obtain the location information of your PHS terminal as needed.

The RDBMS 131 is the information providing server 11
In response to the request from 0, the user information file 132, the log data file 133, and the current location information acquisition management unit 134
The personal information of the specific user is taken out from and passed to the control unit 116 of the information providing server 110. The control unit 116 performs selection of information and determination of contact information based on the personal information of the user.

As shown in FIG. 4, the advertisement event information server 160 has an RDBMS 161, an advertisement event information file 162, and a log information file 163. In the advertisement event information file 162, advertisement event information tables as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 are registered. Referring to FIG. 14, data items of this advertisement event information table include “advertisement event ID”, “name”,
"Name", "Address", "Postal Code", "Telephone Number", "Contact Name", "Contact Address", "Contact Postal Code", "Contact Phone Number", "Classification", " Start date and time, End date and time, Publication start date and time,
"Posting end date / time", "Posting latitude MIN", "Posting latitude MAX", "Posting longitude MIN", "Posting longitude MAX", "Catch phrase", "URL",
"Display template file", "Latitude", "Longitude", "Icon No.",
"Target user 1" to "Target user 5", "Target age MIN", "Target age MAX", "Target gender", "Target annual income MIN", "Target annual income MAX",
"Target occupation" and "target occupation" are included.

The symbol "MIN" added to each item name in FIG.
And “MAX” represent the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the numerical range, respectively. For example, in the “Advertising event ID” item, “4
Referring to the data record (Toyland Bargain) of FIG. 14 to which “325” is allocated, the advertiser's desired publication period for this advertising event information is from midnight on April 20, 1998 to May 1998. 2 of 25
It can be seen that it is until 0:00. Similarly, the desired position range is from 128400000 to 12845000.
The longitude is "503160000" to "503170000" up to "0".

Further, the tastes for identifying the target users to be posted (provided) are shown in the items "target user 1" to "target user 5". Similarly, the age range is 3 to 1
Limited to age 00, the range of annual income is "0" to "999999999
9 ”. Also, the gender, occupation, and occupation of the target user are specified. RDBMS1 shown in FIG.
In accordance with a request from the control unit 116 of the information providing server 110, the reference numeral 61 searches the content of the advertisement event information file 162 and passes the extracted advertisement event information data to the information providing server 110. In the log information file 163,
A record of updating the advertisement event information file 162 and a record of posting an advertisement are saved.

When the user accesses this information providing system from the user terminal 200 via the Internet 180, a map such as the map information display area shown on the upper side of FIG. 16 is displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 200. Information is displayed. Further, the scale and display range of the displayed map are switched according to the active input operation of the user. In this way, when the user conducts a map search,
This information providing system carries out the processing shown in FIG.

By the processing of FIG. 5, not only the map information is displayed in the upper map information display area of FIG. 16, but also special advertisement event information is displayed in the lower advertisement event information display area of FIG. It The information displayed in the advertising event information display area is not actively taken out by the user, but is automatically selected by the information providing system and provided to the user.

The processing of FIG. 5 is executed by the control unit 116. In step S13 shown in FIG. 5, the map image data D1 of the specific area is generated in response to the input from the user. That is, the map of the specific region is extracted using the map server 140.

In step S14, in response to the input from the user, the store information D2 that meets a specific condition is retrieved. That is, the specific store information D2 is extracted from the store information accumulated in the store information server 150. Step S
In 15, the map image data D extracted in step S13
1 and the store information D2 extracted in step S14 are combined to generate frame information D0. This frame information D0
It is displayed in the map information display area shown in FIG.

The generation of the frame information D0 in steps S13, S14 and S15 is basically the same as the processing for providing information carried out by the conventional system. In the next step S16, the coordinates of the center position of the map of the map image data D1 generated in step S13 are regarded as the user's attention position and acquired.

In step S17, the attribute and taste information of the user is acquired from the various user information registered in the user management server 130 based on the user ID. The user ID used here is information input by the user as an ID when the user connects to the information providing system. This user ID is acquired in step S11.

The attributes of the user acquired in step S17 include age, sex, annual income, occupation and occupation. The age information is obtained by calculation based on the date of birth. Further, the user's taste acquired in step S17 includes the data records of the respective items of "interested object 1" to "interested object 10" shown in the data items of FIG.

In step S18, the information providing server 11
Information on the current date and time is input from the internal clock 117 of 0. In step S19, the advertisement event information D3 is searched based on the attention position information acquired in step S16, the user attribute and taste information acquired in step S17, and the current date and time acquired in step S18. .

Details of step S19 are shown in FIG. In step S32 of FIG. 6, provided information (advertising event information) that meets all of the following nine conditions
Is searched from the advertisement event information file 162 of the advertisement event information server 160. 1. The longitude Cx of the position of interest is the “Posted longitude MIN” (Cxmin) of the data item (see FIG. 14) of the advertisement event information table.
And "Longitude MAX" (Cxmax).

2. The latitude Cy of the position of interest is within the range of "posted latitude MIN" (Cymin) and "posted latitude MAX" (Cymax) in the data items of the advertising event information table. 3. The current date and time is the "posting start date" (Tmin) and "posting end date" (Tmax) of the data items in the advertising event information table.
Be within the range of and. 4. User preferences Z1 to Z10 (corresponding to "interesting target 1" to "interesting target 10" in the data item in FIG. 13) and "target user 1" in the data item in the advertisement event information table,
At least one of "target user 2", "target user 3", "target user 4", and "target user 5" must match.

5. The user's gender Ps matches the "target gender" of the data item in the advertisement event information table.
When the “target sex” is “gender”, all users satisfy this condition. 6. The user's age Pa is within the range of "target age MIN" and "target age MAX" of the data items of the advertisement event information table.

7. The annual income Pg of the user is "target annual income MIN" and "target annual income M" of the data items of the advertisement event information table.
Be within the range of "AX". 8. The job type Pf of the user matches the “target job type” of the data item of the advertisement event information table.

9. The occupation Pp of the user matches the "target occupation" of the data item of the advertisement event information table. All the advertising event information that satisfies all the above conditions is extracted in step S32. In the next step S33, the number of the extracted advertisement event information is compared with a predetermined upper limit value. If the number of samples is larger than the upper limit,
The following step S34 is executed.

In step S34, information is selected using random numbers in order to reduce the number of information items to be output to the upper limit value in step S33. For example, if five pieces of information are extracted in step S32 when the upper limit is 1, step S32
At 34, a random number limited to an integer within the range of 1 to 5 is generated, and only the information of the number that matches this random number may be taken out.

In step S20 of FIG. 5, frame information D4 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, for example, is generated based on the advertisement event information D3 extracted in step S19 and the contents of the display template file. Step S2
Details of 0 are shown in FIG. In step S41 of FIG. 7, the data of the display template file of the advertisement event information is read from the advertisement event information file 162 of the advertisement event information server 160.

The display template file to be read in step S41 is specified in the advertisement event information D3 extracted in step S19 of FIG. For example, the data record of "Toyland Bargain" is used as the advertising event information D.
When extracted as 3, the "templ" specified in the "display template file" of the data item as shown in FIG.
ate1. "htm" is acquired from the advertisement event information file 162 as a display template file.

Display template file "template1.
9 shows the contents of "html", and the display template file "te"
plate2. The contents of "htm" are shown in FIG. These display template files are composed of HTML format data. In this mode, the candidates of the contact means to be used when the information provider side contacts the user are classified into two types in advance according to the speed of contact. Information for designating the speed of this contact is included in the item "#default type" in the display template file.

For example, the display template file "t" shown in FIG.
example1. line number L8-
Line number L in "#default type" shown in L11
In “11”, the “destination” is designated. Further, in the display template file “template2.htm” shown in FIG. 11, “contact” is designated by the line number L12 in the “#default type” shown by the line numbers L9 to L12.

If early contact is desirable, "#default type" and "contact" are designated, and if not, "destination" is designated. In step S42 of FIG. 7, it is identified whether "contact" or "destination" is specified in "#default type" in the referenced display template file. "# Default type"
If "Destination" is specified as, step S
In step S43, if "contact" is designated, step S44 follows.

In step S43, "address 1", "address 2", "FAX 1", "FAX" are selected as contact items.
2 ”and“ e-mail ”are selected, and the registration information of the users corresponding to these candidate items is displayed in the user information table (see FIG. 1).
3)). Similarly, in step S44,
"Telephone number 1" to "Telephone number 5", "FAX 1", "FA"
"X2" and "e-mail" are selected, and the registration information of the user corresponding to these candidate items is acquired from the user information table.

In step S45, priority order information regarding the contact item selected in step S43 or S44 is acquired. That is, only the priority order regarding the candidate items is extracted from the information indicated in the data item “reception information order” of the user information table. For example, in the case of contacting “Delivery Address” of “Ichiro Suzuki”,
As shown in, since the “reception method order” is “ABCHFED”, “ABC” is extracted from it. In this case, the priority order is "e-mail", "address 1", "address 2".

In step S46 of FIG. 7, step S4
The names (titles) of the contact candidate items are arranged according to the priority order of the contacts acquired in step 5. For example, "Ichiro Suzuki"
When contacting Mr.'s "Destination", "Email", "Address 1", and "Address 2" are arranged in order according to the above priority. In step S47, the frame information D4 is actually generated based on the designated display template file. Of the information in the display template files shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, the phrase starting with # is replaced with the content of the corresponding advertisement event information.

For example, the advertisement event information of "Toyland bargain" and the display template file "temp" shown in FIG.
late1. When the frame information D4 is generated from "htm", the contents of the "#start date and time" of the line number L4 of FIG. 9 is the same as the data record "1998/5/3 10:00" of the data item "start date and time" of FIG. Will be replaced with However, for the "#default candidate" in the information of the display template file, the type specified in "#default type" (destination /
The contact candidate is replaced by the contact candidate, that is, the name arranged in step S46.

Regarding the contact candidates, the contents of the data record are not output, but only the names of the candidates (“e-mail”, “address 1”, “address 2”) are output. As a result, personal information is prevented from leaking to the Internet, and safety is enhanced.

The display template file "templat" shown in FIG.
e1. 10 shows an example of the frame information D4 generated from "htm". In addition, the display template file “te
plate2. 12 shows an example of the frame information D4 generated from "htm". Referring to FIG. 10, in areas D4g and D4h of the frame information D4, "email", "mail (home)", and "mail (work)", which are candidates for the destination of the material, are designated in the order of priority. They are arranged side by side.

If the user does not change the selection of candidates,
"E-mail" with the maximum initial value of priority is automatically selected as the destination. In addition, when the user clicks the "desired delivery" displayed in the area D4i with a mouse or the like,
The information requesting to send the material is transferred to the provider of the advertising event information. When the process of FIG. 7 ends, the process returns to the process of FIG. 5 and step S21 is executed. In step S21,
The frame information D0 generated in step S15 and the frame information D4 generated in step S20 are combined,
The information page D6 is generated. This information page D6 includes both map information and automatically selected advertisement event information, as shown in FIG. 16, for example.

The information providing system shown in FIG. 3 is not limited to the case where the user searches the map information as described above,
Information is provided to the user terminal 200 even when the user is not connected to the Internet 180. This operation is realized by executing the automatic information providing process shown in FIG. The automatic information providing process of FIG. 7 is also executed by the control unit 116.

In step S51 of FIG. 8, the method of acquiring the positional information of the registered user is identified. That is, in FIG.
Referring to the user information table shown in FIG.
When the user has an HS terminal, the contents (PHS phone number) of the data record of the data item "phone number 4" are acquired. In step S52, based on the number acquired in step S51, the position information providing service 190 is used to acquire information (latitude, longitude) of the current position of the user. In this example, when the current position of the user acquired in step S52 changes, steps S53 to S5
Go to 4.

In step S54, the current position of the user detected in step S52 is determined as the coordinates of the position of interest. In steps S55, S56, S57 and S58, steps S17 and S1 of FIG.
8, the same processing as S19 and S20 is executed. That is,
The position of interest is replaced with the current position of the user, advertisement event information is searched for at that position, and frame information D4 is generated from the extracted information.

In step S59, the frame information D4 generated in step S58 is sent to the user terminal 200. When the user terminal 200 is connected to this information providing system via the Internet 180, advertisement event information is provided to the user terminal 200 via the Internet 180 in step S59.

When the user terminal 200 is not connected to the information providing system, it is connected to the user terminal 200 via the telephony server 120 and the communication line 250,
Provide users with advertising event information. The information transmission destination is automatically selected based on the contents of the user information table shown in FIG. In the above embodiment, the case where the user's position is detected using the PHS terminal has been described, but the user's position may be detected by another method, for example, radio waves from a GPS satellite.

In the above embodiment, the case where the user terminal 200 and the information providing system are connected via the Internet 180 when the user uses the information providing system has been described, but a communication network other than the Internet 180 is used. You may use it.

[0084]

According to the present invention , the user's attention position is automatically identified according to the user's operation for extracting the map information, and only the information useful for the person interested in the attention position is automatically detected. It is selectively sorted and delivered to the user together with the map information.

Further, according to the present invention , only the information associated with the specific position close to the recognized current position of the user is selectively extracted, and the terminal device (PD) possessed by the user is selected.
A, PHS, etc.). Moreover, the necessary information is automatically delivered to the user without any special operation by the user. Further, according to the present invention , only the provided information valid at the current date and time is automatically selected and provided to the user. Therefore, the possibility that the information provided to the user matches the information desired by the user increases.

Further, according to the present invention , the information to be provided to the user is automatically selected by comparing the personal information registered in advance with the attributes of the person to be provided associated with each piece of provided information. It Therefore, there is a high possibility that the type of information provided to the user and the target of the user's interest, or the type of information provided to the user and the intended recipient of the information provider will match. .

Further, according to the present invention , the information provided to the user is limited, and the selection is automatically performed by using the random number. Therefore, when there are many pieces of information that belong to the same type, the probability that each piece of information is provided to the user can be equalized. Further , according to the present invention, since it is possible to carry out the contact by using the contact information of the user registered in advance, it is not necessary to transmit the personal information such as the actual telephone number and the address, etc. via the Internet, etc. The safety against leakage is secured.

Furthermore, according to the present invention , a plurality of contact classification information items are displayed side by side in accordance with the priority order designated in advance, which facilitates selection. When using the highest priority contact information, the input operation can be omitted.

Further, according to the present invention , the user's attention position is automatically identified in accordance with the user's operation for extracting the map information, and only the information useful for the person interested in the attention position is automatically detected. It is selectively sorted and delivered to the user together with the map information. Further, according to the present invention , only the information associated with the specific position close to the recognized current position of the user is selectively extracted and delivered to the terminal device (PDA, PHS, etc.) owned by the user. You can Moreover, the necessary information is automatically delivered to the user without any special operation by the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a second block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the entire information providing system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of each server shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing the contents of information providing processing at the time of map information search executed by the information providing system of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of step S19 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of step S20 of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing the contents of an automatic information providing process executed by the information providing system of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a map showing the contents of one display template file.

10 is a plan view showing a layout of frame information D4 generated by using the display template file of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a map showing the contents of one display template file.

12 is a plan view showing a layout of frame information D4 generated by using the display template file of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a map showing a part of a user information table.

FIG. 14 is a map showing a part of an advertisement event information table.

FIG. 15 is a map showing a part of an advertisement event information table.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a layout of information displayed on the user side.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Information and communication network 12 user terminals 21 Map information table 22 Map information provision means 23 Provision information table 24,27 Information extraction means 25 User management information holding means 26 Position recognition means 28 Information transmission means 29 Date and time detection means 30 Personal information holding means 110 Information server 111 Communication unit 112 gateway 113 Data Management Department 114 Data synthesizer 115 Session Management Department 116 control unit 117 Internal clock 118 WWW server 120 telephony server 121 Media converter 122 Line connection device 123 Charge Management Department 124 Modem pool 130 user management server 131 RDBMS 132 User information file 133 log data file 134 Current location information acquisition management department 140 map server 141 Map data control unit 142 Map data file 143 Icon data file 150 store information server 151 RDBMS 152 store information file 160 Advertising event information server 161 RDBMS 162 Advertising event information file 163 log information file 170 LAN 180 Internet 190 Location information service 200 user terminals 250 communication line

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Jun Morishima 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujitsu Network Engineering Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Kimoto 4-chome, Ueda Nakagawa, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture 1-1 No. 1 within Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Motoe 4-1-1 Kamiodadanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Within Fujitsu Limited (56) Reference JP-A-8-123320 (JP, A) JP-A-9-330330 (JP, A) JP-A-8-249307 (JP, A) JP-A-9-101990 (JP, A) JP-A-8-153115 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 JISST file (JOIS)

Claims (21)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information providing apparatus for providing information to a user terminal via a predetermined information communication network, wherein a map information table holding map information and specific map information according to an input from the user terminal are provided. Map information providing means for providing to the user terminal based on the map information table, a providing information table for holding the range information indicating the providing target range in association with the providing information, and the map information providing means for providing information to the user terminal. An information providing device comprising: an information extraction unit that extracts specific provided information based on a comparison between the provided map information and the range information of the provided information table and provides the user terminal with the specific provided information. . 2. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising date and time detecting means for detecting a current date and time, wherein the provided information table further holds period information indicating a valid period in association with the provided information, The information providing device extracts the specific provision information based on a comparison between the detected current date and time and the period information of the provision information table. 3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a personal information table that holds personal information indicating a characteristic of the user in association with a user ID, wherein the provision information table further has an attribute in the provision information. The information extraction unit acquires the personal information of the user from the personal information table based on the user ID that has received the input, and holds the acquired personal information and the provided information table. An information providing apparatus which extracts specific provision information based on a result of comparison with the attribute information of. 4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information extracting unit sends the limited number of provided information when the number of provided information exceeds a predetermined number. Information providing device. 5. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a personal information table that holds contact information indicating a contact of the user in association with the user ID, and the information extracting unit receives an input. An information providing apparatus, wherein contact information of the user is acquired from the personal information table based on the user ID, and the extracted specific provision information is transmitted to the contact information. 6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the personal information table holds a plurality of contact information for the user ID acquired by the information extracting means,
The information providing device, wherein the information extraction means provides the user terminal with contact division information indicating each division of the contact information together with the extracted specific provision information. 7. The information providing device according to claim 6, wherein a priority is designated for the plurality of contact information,
An information providing device, characterized in that the contact classification information is arranged according to the priority and displayed on a user terminal. 8. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information extracting unit determines a specific position based on the specific map information, and compares the specific position with range information of the provided information table. An information providing apparatus which extracts specific provision information based on the extracted information and provides it to the user terminal. 9. An information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information extraction means or the map information providing means, before
Frame information including specific map information and the specific provision
An information providing apparatus, characterized in that it is combined with frame information including information and provided to the user terminal. 10. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the map information providing unit is configured to combine the specific map information with the map information.
The user terminal is provided with selection information that can indicate the scale of the map information.
An information providing device characterized by being provided at the end . 11. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the map information providing unit is configured to provide the map information together with the specific map information.
The user is provided with selection information that can indicate the display range of the map information.
An information providing device characterized by being provided to a terminal . 12. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the provided information is advertisement information or event information . 13. A predetermined information communication network is used.
In an information providing method for providing information to a user terminal, a location for holding map information according to an input from the user terminal
Specific map information is extracted from the diagram information table, and range information indicating the range of coverage is associated with the provided information and saved.
Refer to the provided information table and have the specific map information
And based on the comparison between the range information of the provided information table and
The specific provision information is extracted, and the specific map information and the specific provision information are
A method for providing information, which is provided to a user terminal. 14. The information providing method according to claim 13.
The provision information table is further associated with the provision information.
The period information indicating the valid period is retained , and when the specific provision information is extracted, the current date and time is further added.
Offer specific offers based on a comparison between
An information providing method characterized by: 15. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein the provided information table is further associated with provided information.
Personal information that holds attribute information indicating an attribute and that indicates the characteristics of the user in association with the user ID when the specific provided information is extracted
Accept the input by referring to the personal information table that holds
Acquire personal information of the user based on the user ID
However, the acquired personal information and the attribute information of the provided information table are
Extract specific advertisements based on the results of the
Information providing method characterized in that that. 16. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein when the specific providing information is extracted, the providing information is extracted.
If a specified number is set and the number exceeds the specified number, provided information
The information providing method is characterized in that the information is transmitted in a limited number . 17. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein the specific map information is extracted when the specific provided information is extracted.
The specific position is determined based on, and the specific position is compared with the range information in the provided information table.
Based on the extracted specific information to provide the user terminal
Information providing method characterized by providing a. 18. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein before providing the specific provided information to the user terminal,
Frame information including specific map information and the specific provision
The user terminal by combining with frame information including information
Information providing method characterized by providing a. 19. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein the specific providing information is provided to the user terminal.
The scale or table of the map information together with the specific map information
An information providing method characterized by providing selection information capable of indicating a display range . 20. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein when the specific provided information is provided to the user terminal,
Contact information indicating the contact information of the user in association with the user ID
Input the information by referring to the personal information table that holds multiple reports.
The user's multiple contact information can be obtained from the assigned user ID.
Contact classification information indicating the classification of each contact information
The information together with the extracted specific provision information
An information providing method characterized by providing the information to a terminal . 21. The information providing method according to claim 13 , wherein the provided information is advertisement information or event information .