JPH11265344A - Service providing system using computer network - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a system by realizing a service coordination function as if a plurality of related service providing processes are executed by a single service server. In a service providing system constructed on the Internet, a client 2 for making a service request, a plurality of service servers 3A and 3B having a service providing function, the client 2 and each service server 3A,
The system includes a service mediation server 1 that mediates between 3B and a data sharing device 4 that provides a function of sharing user profile information between the mediation server 1 and a plurality of service servers 3A and 3B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a service providing system using a computer network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a system for realizing a cooperative function of a plurality of services.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, on the Internet consisting of computer networks, in particular, WWW (World)
Various service providing systems using an information service providing function called d Wide Web) have been proposed or realized. In a system using WWW, a homepage (WWW) having a link function (hyperlink) is provided.
By transmitting and receiving an information screen called an “eb page”, various services (information providing services) can be provided via the homepage.

[0003] Specifically, in a client (a personal computer operated by a user who makes a service request) connected to the Internet, for example, an information screen (service) for making an overseas travel reservation displayed on a display screen is displayed. Data items necessary for the reservation are input to the processing screen). On the other hand, on the Internet, a service server (computer system providing service) connected to the client receives a service request (overseas travel reservation) from the client and performs a service process according to the service request. Execute. Here, the service server determines service contents such as a travel schedule in accordance with the overseas travel reservation contents, and transmits an information screen indicating the service contents to the client.

With such a service providing system,
For example, the user can request a desired service such as overseas travel reservation only by operating a personal computer at home. Further, the service contents such as the reception of the service request and the overseas travel schedule according to the reservation contents can be confirmed on the display screen.

[0005]

As described above, by utilizing the conventional information service providing function such as WWW on the Internet, various service requests from a service server connected to the Internet to a client can be made. Can be provided. As the service provision, not only the above-mentioned overseas travel reservation, but also various service contents such as a stock price information service are assumed.

By the way, if a service processing function includes a function of providing a plurality of related services to a user (referred to as a service coordination function), various and high value-added services can be provided. As a specific example, in the case of the above-described overseas travel reservation service, information indicating a travel schedule is transmitted to the client according to the reservation content. In connection with this travel schedule, for example, if an information service for providing a weather forecast tailored to the travel itinerary is included, the service is useful for the user. However,
Conventionally, a client connects to a service server that provides the above-mentioned weather forecast information service separately from the service server of the travel reservation service, and makes a desired service request. That is, since it is necessary to individually request a plurality of types of services from the corresponding service servers, the number of troublesome operations for the user increases, and the benefit of receiving the plurality of types of services is reduced by half.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a variety of high value-added services by realizing a service coordination function as if a plurality of related service providing processes are executed by a single service server. It is to provide a system.

[0008]

The present invention relates to a service providing system using a computer network connected on the Internet, in particular, a client for making a service request, a plurality of service servers having a service providing function, and a client. And a service server that mediates between each service server and a data sharing unit that provides a function of sharing information between the mediation server and a plurality of service servers.

In the data sharing means, for example, the mediation server stores the service contents of the service server in response to the service request from the client to a data storage device included in the client computer system, and retrieves the service contents. Has a function for Upon receiving the first service request from the client, the mediation server connects to the first service server having the corresponding service providing function and mediates the service.

[0010] The mediation server mediates the service content from the first service server to the client and stores it in the data sharing means. Further, the mediation server sets a second service request related to the service content received by the client based on the sharing information (user profile information including the service content received by the client) extracted from the data sharing unit. Then, it connects to the second service server having the corresponding service providing function and mediates the service.

In such a service providing system, the client sends service contents (travel schedule and the like) corresponding to the first service request (specifically, overseas travel reservation) from the first service server (travel service server). Can receive. Further, the service coordination function using the user profile information stored in the data sharing means makes it possible to send a second service request (providing weather information according to the travel schedule) related to the received service content (such as a travel schedule). 2 to the service server. Thus, the client can collectively receive another service content (weather forecast according to the travel schedule) related to the provided service content (travel schedule).

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of a service providing system according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram when the system according to the embodiment is applied to a specific example, and FIG. 3 is a system shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a specific example of a screen image related to the system shown in FIG. (Basic Configuration of Service Providing System) The system of this embodiment is composed of a plurality of computer systems connected to the Internet, and
A service providing system having an information service providing function called e Web) is assumed. In the present system, a service mediation server (hereinafter abbreviated as mediation server) mediating between a client (referred to as a user if necessary) 2 on the service request side and a plurality of service servers 3A and 3B.
1 is provided.

Each of the plurality of service servers 3A and 3B has a unique service providing function (service A and service B). Upon receiving the service request from the client 2, the mediation server 1 converts the service request into the corresponding service server 3A or service server 3B.
And sends the contents of the service request. Here, the present embodiment assumes service servers 3A and 3B corresponding to two types of services A and B for convenience, but naturally applies to a system having each service server corresponding to three or more types of services. it can.

Further, the present system has a shared data storage device 4 for realizing a service coordination function described later. The shared data storage device 4 corresponds to a type of file server for realizing a function of sharing information between the mediation server 1 and each of the service servers 3A and 3B. here,
The service coordination function is a function in which the mediation server 1 uses the user profile information stored in the shared data storage device 4 to provide a plurality of related services (a collective service in which different services are linked). Function). The user profile information is shared information on the contents of the service request of the client 2 and the provided service contents.

Upon receiving a service request (corresponding to service A) from the client 2, the mediation server 1 connects to the service server 3A having the service A function and transmits the service request. The service server 3A executes the process of the service A and transmits the service content (A) to the client 2 via the mediation server 1. In this case, the service content (A) may be transmitted to each of the client 2 and the mediation server 1.

The mediation server 1 stores the service content A (including the content of the service request) from the service server 3A in the data sharing device 4 as user profile information. Next, when the mediation server 1 receives a related service request (corresponding to the service B) from the client 2,
The user profile information is extracted from the data sharing device 4. The mediation server 1 sets the contents of the service request using the user profile information, and connects to the service server 3B to transmit. The service server 3B executes the process of the service B and transmits the service content (B) to the client 2 via the mediation server 1.

Thus, the client 2 does not make a service request to each of the service servers 3A and 3B, but only requests the mediation server 1 to provide a desired service. (A, B). On the other hand, the service servers 3A and 3B can provide their services A and B in cooperation with the client 2 and collectively provide them without contacting each other. In other words, the service coordination function allows the user to use the service servers 3A, 3A.
A plurality of desired services (A, B) can be received by a simple operation without being aware of the existence of B. Further, by sharing the user profile information, the service servers 3A and 3B can provide mutually complementary services when a plurality of types of services are bundled without receiving a request from the user directly. Becomes (Service Providing System Applied to Specific Example) Hereinafter, a case where the service providing system of the present embodiment is applied to a specific case will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this example, a service providing system is assumed in which an overseas travel reservation service and a weather forecast service are linked to provide a service. The service server 3A
It is assumed that the server executes the service processing of overseas travel reservation. The service server 3B is assumed to be a server that executes a service process for providing weather information.

As the data sharing device 4 for storing the user profile information, a data sharing device 20 (data sharing means) using a magnetic disk device (HDD) built in the personal computer of the client 2 is assumed. . The shared data device 20 is not limited to a hardware HDD, and may be, for example, a cookie.
Software that implements a function that can share data between servers. Here, the cookie is HTT
P (HyperText TransportProt)
ocol) (Internet)
In the above, it is software that realizes the function of storing information on the client side and extracting the information on the client side. In this specific example, the mediation server 1 and each of the service servers 3A and 3B access the data sharing device 20 having the cookie function and share the user profile information.

The specific operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in the client 2, the user inputs a desired overseas travel reservation (corresponding to the service request A) on the information screen displayed on the display (step S1). Here, for example, in a screen image as shown in FIG.
(HyperText Markup Language)
In the document form (e) in e), the user inputs reservation contents including necessary items. The client 2 transmits the input reservation content to the service server 3A via the mediation server 1 (Step S2).

The service server 3A is, for example, a CGI (C
The travel reservation service processing module 30 is called by an ommmon gateway interface (function) to execute a predetermined service processing (steps S3 and S3).
4). At this time, the reservation contents are passed to the processing module 30 using the environment variables. The service server 3A transmits the service processing result (such as a travel schedule) to the client 2 via the mediation server 1 in an HTML document form (step S5). On the client 2 side, the processing result (corresponding to the service content A) from the service server 3A is stored in the data sharing device 20 as user profile information (step S6).

Next, it is assumed that a user inputs a weather forecast service request (corresponding to service content B) from the client 2 and inputs a date accompanying the service request (YES in step S7). ). As a specific example, for example, in a screen image (HTML document form) as shown in FIG. 4B, a date (for example, 10
Month 3).

At the time of inputting this weather forecast service request,
The user profile information is transmitted from the data sharing device 20 to the mediation server 1 (step S8). That is, the mediation server 1 extracts the user profile information from the data sharing device 20. The mediation server 1 uses the CG
The function I calls the weather information insertion processing module 10 to execute a predetermined service mediation process (step S).
9, S10).

Here, the date (October 3) is passed to the weather information insertion processing module 10 using the environment variables. Further, the user profile information (in this case, reservation contents such as a travel schedule or service contents) obtained from the data sharing device 20 is passed to the processing module 10. By the execution of the processing module 10, the mediation server 1 transmits a weather information request for requesting a weather forecast of a corresponding travel date and a region to the service server 3B based on the date and the reservation content (travel schedule) (step). S10).

When the service server 3B receives the weather information request (service request), the service server 3B calls the weather information service processing module 40 by the CGI function and executes a predetermined service process (step S10). At this time, the area name corresponding to the weather information is passed to the processing module 40 by the environment variable. The service server 3B acquires the weather information corresponding to the given area name by executing the processing module 40, and transmits the output result to the mediation server 1 by HTTP (step S12).

The mediation server 1 generates an HTML document form in which the received weather information from the service server 3B is inserted, and transmits it to the client 2 by HTTP (step S13). Thereby, as shown in FIG.
The weather information (weather forecast) of an area (here, Salt Lake City) corresponding to the travel schedule on the date (October 3) input by the user is displayed and output on the screen of the display of the client 2.

As described above, according to the present example, the user:
Overseas travel reservations can be made using the Internet, and a weather forecast service related to the travel reservation service can be received in cooperation. That is,
The user does not individually request the weather forecast service by designating the area name from the travel schedule obtained by applying for the overseas travel reservation, but, for example, only inputs the date and the weather forecast of the area corresponding to the travel itinerary. Service can be obtained. In short, the individual service servers 3A and 3B having different service functions seemingly function as an integrated system, and the user collectively manages the travel reservation and weather forecast services from the service servers 3A and 3B. Will be provided. (Other Cases Applying the Present Embodiment) The present embodiment can be applied not only to the above-described case of providing the overseas travel service and the weather forecast service collectively, but also to the following other cases. For example, in an educational service system (CAI system) using a computer network (not only the Internet but also a LAN), when a user attends a mathematics curriculum, for example, the curriculum contents and learning progress contents are used as user profile information. It is stored in the shared data storage device 4.
The education management server (corresponding to the mediation server 1), when the same user requests a science curriculum,
The user profile information is extracted from the data sharing device 4 and the curriculum contents and learning progress contents related to mathematics are stored in a science education service server (service server 3A).
Or 3B). Thereby, the science training service server can execute the science education service in consideration of the curriculum contents and the learning progress contents concerning the mathematics of the user.

In short, using the service coordination function of the present invention, the user does not simply receive, for example, mathematics and science education services individually, but the mathematics and science education services are linked to each other. It is possible to receive high value-added educational services that match the user's state (curriculum contents and learning progress contents).

As still another example, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a stock price information service system. In this system, a service server of a securities company is assumed as the service server 3A of the present embodiment, and a service server of a news agency is assumed as the service server 3B. For example, when the user receives a stock purchase service from a service server of a securities company, the content of the purchase service is notified to the service server of the news communication company as user profile information. The service server of the news service provides the user with stock price information and the like regarding the stock purchased by the user based on the notified user profile information. Therefore, the user can collectively receive the stock purchase service and the stock related information service. (Modification of this Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 are views showing Modifications 1 and 2 of this embodiment. Modification 1 is a system in which only the mediation server 1 and the service server 3A can access the data sharing device 4 as shown in FIG. That is, the user profile information is shared between the mediation server 1 and the service server 3A, and the service server 3B
A predetermined service process is executed in response to a service request from.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the second modification is a system in which there is no server corresponding to the mediation server 1 and only the service servers 3A and 3B can access the shared data storage device 4. That is, the user profile information is shared between the service servers 3A and 3B without involving the mediation server 1, and each service server 3A and 3B performs a predetermined process based on the user profile information (including the content of the service request from the client 2). Execute the service process of

In each of the systems of the embodiment and the first and second modifications, the client 2 is connected to the data sharing device 4.
, And share user profile information. (Service Providing System with Data Format Conversion Function) FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a third modification of the present embodiment. The third modification is a service providing system in which a schema conversion device 5 is added to the system shown in FIG.

In the service providing system of the present embodiment, a data format to be used (a processing format of information indicating service contents) is generally different in providing each service by a plurality of types of service servers 3A and 3B. Therefore,
The third modification is a schema conversion device 5 having a data format conversion function of converting (or reverse conversion) shared data into a data format usable by each service in order to absorb such a difference in data format. Is added.

The schema conversion device 5 holds information defining the data format (description format) used in each service in advance (this is called schema information), and performs a data format conversion process based on the schema information. Execute

Specifically, it is assumed that the client 2 outputs a service request A (a request to the service server 3A) to the mediation server 1. Mediation server 1
Acquires various environments (data items for determining service contents) related to the service server 3A from the data sharing device 4. Further, the mediation server 1 activates the schema conversion device 5, creates a service request (including shared data) converted into a data format usable by the service server 3A, and transmits the service request to the service server 3A. In this case, the schema conversion device 5 holds the data format notified from the service server 3A as schema information.

The service server 3A executes a service process in response to a service request from the mediation server 1 and transmits service contents as a processing result to the mediation server 1. The mediation server 1 activates the schema conversion device 5 to convert the service content into a predetermined data format and transmits the data to the client 2.

According to such a modification, the mediation server 1 can use the schema conversion device 5 to convert the data into a data format related to the service provision notified from each of the service servers 3A and 3B. . Accordingly, regarding the service provision from the service server 3A, for example, “19”
It is possible to perform a conversion process in which the data format of “XX / XX / 98” is converted to the data format of “XX / XX / 1998” and transmitted to the client.

[0037]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in a service providing system using a computer network on the Internet, for example, a plurality of related service providing processes can be performed collectively. A service coordination function can be realized. Therefore, it is possible to provide various high value-added services to the user side, and it is possible to construct a useful service providing system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of a service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram when the system of the embodiment is applied to a specific example.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a specific example of a screen image related to the system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a service providing system according to a first modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a service providing system according to a second modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a service providing system according to a third modification of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Service mediation server 2 ... Client 3A, 3B ... Service server 4 ... Data sharing device (data sharing means) 5 ... Schema conversion device (data format conversion means)

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A service providing system comprising a plurality of computer systems connected to a computer network and comprising a service server for executing a service providing process including predetermined service contents in response to a service request from a client. A function for storing information for each client relating to service contents obtained by a service providing process of the service server in response to a service request from the client, and providing a function capable of sharing the information among a plurality of servers. A data sharing unit, receiving a first service request from the client, connecting to a first service server having a service providing function corresponding to the first service request, and providing service contents from the first service server To the client and Connected to a second service server having the service providing function according to the second service request associated with the service content obtained by chromatography data sharing means,
A service providing system comprising: a mediation server means for mediating service contents from the second service server to the client. 2. The intermediary server means according to an input of predetermined item data related to the second service request from the client, transmits information on service contents from the first service server from the data sharing means. Obtaining and transmitting the second service request set based on the item data and the information to the second service server, and providing the service content from the second service server in accordance with the second service request 2. The service providing system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing the client to the client. 3. A service request from the client,
Each of the service content from the first service server, the information for providing the service content from the second service server to the client, and the information for storing in the data sharing means is a document having a link function. 2. The service request according to claim 1, wherein the client is configured to specify a content of the service request based on various data input to a data input area of the document form. Service delivery system. 4. The computer network according to claim 1, wherein:
4. The service providing system according to claim 3, wherein the service providing system has a W service function, and the information including the document form is document information including an HTML form. 5. The data sharing device according to claim 1, wherein the mediation server device has a function of storing or retrieving information with respect to a data storage device included in a computer system constituting the client. 1. The service providing system according to 1. 6. A service server comprising a plurality of computer systems connected to a computer network and executing a service providing process including predetermined service contents in response to a service request from a client, and the client and the service A service providing method applied to a service providing system having a mediation server mediating information with a server, wherein the mediation server has a function of storing and retrieving information that can be shared between a plurality of servers. Means for receiving a first service request from the client, connecting to a first service server having a service providing function corresponding to the first service request, and transmitting the first service request. And the service content from the first service server is Intermediating with the client and storing the service content in the data sharing means; extracting information about the service content from the data sharing means and setting a second service request related to the service content; Connecting to a second service server having a service providing function according to the second service request set in the step, and transmitting the second service request; and service contents from the second service server. And a step of mediating the request to the client. 7. A service providing system comprising a plurality of computer systems connected to a computer network and including a service server for executing a service providing process including predetermined service contents in response to a service request from a client. A function for storing information for each client relating to service contents obtained by a service providing process of the service server in response to a service request from the client, and providing a function capable of sharing the information among a plurality of servers. A data sharing unit, receiving a first service request from the client, connecting to a first service server having a service providing function corresponding to the first service request, and providing service contents from the first service server To the client and Connected to a second service server having the service providing function according to the second service request associated with the service content obtained by chromatography data sharing means,
Mediation server means for mediating service contents from the second service server to the client; and a data format controlled by the mediation server means, which is adapted to a service providing process by the first and second service servers. A service providing system, comprising: 8. The data format conversion means holds information defining a data format used in a service providing process by each of the service servers based on a notification from the first and second service servers. 8. The service providing system according to claim 7, further comprising means for converting information on service contents designated by said mediation server means or information obtained from said data sharing means to a specified data format based on the information. . 9. The data sharing means according to claim 1, wherein said data sharing means provides a function of sharing information only between said mediation server and said first or second service server. Service delivery system. 10. A service providing system comprising a plurality of computer systems connected to a computer network and comprising a plurality of service servers for executing a service providing process including predetermined service contents in response to a service request from a client. A system, comprising: a data sharing unit for providing a function capable of sharing information stored among the plurality of service servers, wherein each of the plurality of service servers responds to a service request from the client, Characterized in that it is configured to execute a predetermined service providing process using user profile information for determining the content of the service providing process defined for each client obtained from the data sharing means. Service providing system.