JP2003141678A - Server for providing information, and method of providing information using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and surely guide a user to a destination without loading a burden onto a communication line. SOLUTION: This information-providing server provided with a communication means for allowing transmission and reception to/from a mobile terminal used by the user prepares guide information wherein at least one out of check point informations for guiding the user from a start point to the destination is specified based on at least start point information and destination information transmitted from the mobile terminal, and transmits the check point(s) to the mobile terminal in order, so as to guide the user from the start point to the destination.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing server and an information providing method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, since terminals having a function of accessing a network using a telecommunication line such as the Internet have become widespread, stores posted on advertising media such as information magazines and street signboards. It has become possible for users to easily obtain information such as. Such a terminal is made by extracting necessary information from a database or the like in which information on the advertising medium is stored in advance and transmitting the information to the user's terminal.
Here, the information of the advertising medium mainly includes information of the store itself and map information as position information of the store.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, at present, there is no service that effectively combines the information from the advertising medium and the information from the portable terminal to guide the user to the store. Specifically, as a form of the map information, although a peripheral map of the store is listed, it is possible that the map alone cannot reach all places smoothly without any problem. In other words, around a complicated station in the center of the city, a simple map is not enough to provide directions. Further, when a car navigation system or a map search system is used to provide store information, information on all regions is required, and thus enormous amount of data is required. All of that information may be needed to confirm the route to a particular store. Furthermore, when launching a new service, it is necessary to bear the burden of information maintenance for daily directions. In addition, it is necessary to transfer the information to the mobile terminal in order to provide the service, which may impose a burden on the communication, and the current mobile terminal and communication infrastructure are sufficiently satisfactory. In some cases, the turnaround time may not be reached.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and provides information capable of efficiently and reliably guiding a user to a destination without burdening a communication line. It is an object to provide a server and an information providing method using the server.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

An information providing server according to the first invention of the present application, which is provided for solving the above-mentioned problems, has a communication means capable of transmitting and receiving to and from a portable terminal used by a user, and at least the information transmitted from the portable terminal. Guide information creating means for creating guide information in which at least one piece of checkpoint information for guiding the user from the departure place to the destination is specified based on the departure place information and the destination information.

[0006] Such a configuration is characterized in that the route guidance information transmitted from the information providing server to the portable terminal is divided and transmitted from the origin to the destination at once. That is, regardless of whether the route guidance information transmitted is map information or text information, the user obtains the information between the check points sequentially in real time as the minimum required information, and thereby the user is made to reach the destination. It is a thing. Therefore, the information providing server according to the present invention is provided with guide information creating means for creating guide information in which checkpoints are set based on the departure point and the destination, and relates to each checkpoint extracted from the guide information. The information is transmitted to the user's mobile terminal. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the maintenance of the mobile terminal and the like without imposing a load on the communication environment (traffic or the like). The necessary information is only the information (image information and character information) at each checkpoint from the start point to the store, and only the information on the store of the advertising medium is enough. Therefore, there is no need for map information of unnecessary places, nor is there a need for a mechanism such as a car navigation system for displaying information on the current location of the user in real time.

An information providing server according to a second invention of the present application, which is provided for solving the above-mentioned problems, is the information providing server according to claim 1, comprising a map information database,
It is characterized by further comprising a search means for searching the starting point and the destination based on the map information database.

With such a configuration, the information provided from the information providing server to the mobile terminal is selected in the information providing server, and only necessary information, that is, information regarding each checkpoint is transmitted, so that the traffic is Can be expected to be more efficient.

The information providing server according to the third aspect of the present invention provided for solving the above-mentioned problems is the information providing server according to claim 1, wherein the guidance information is a set of individual information of each of the check points. It is characterized by being.

With this configuration, the information providing server transmits not the information about the entire route from the starting point to the destination but the information obtained by dividing the check points to the mobile terminal. As a result, the time required for communication and the load on the internal storage device built in the mobile terminal body can be reduced.

An information providing server according to a fourth aspect of the present invention which is provided to solve the above problem, is the information providing server according to claim 1, wherein the destination information is an identification number assigned to each destination. It is characterized by being information consisting of.

With this structure, the operability on the user side can be simplified.

An information providing method using an information providing server according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, which is provided for solving the above-mentioned problems, is an information providing method including communication means capable of transmitting / receiving to / from a portable terminal used by a user. The server creates guide information in which at least one piece of checkpoint information that guides the user from the origin to the destination is specified based on at least the origin information and the destination information transmitted from the mobile terminal, and the checkpoint is set. It is characterized in that the user is guided from the departure place to the destination by sequentially transmitting to the mobile terminal.

By adopting such a method, maintenance of the information providing server can be reduced. The necessary information is only the information (image information and character information) at each checkpoint from the start point to the store, and only the information on the store of the advertising medium is enough. Therefore, there is no need for map information of unnecessary places, nor is there a need for a mechanism such as a car navigation system for displaying information on the current location of the user in real time.

An information providing method using an information providing server according to a sixth aspect of the present invention which is provided to solve the above problems, is the information providing method according to claim 5, wherein the destination information is for each destination. It is characterized in that it is information consisting of the identification number assigned to.

By adopting such a method, the operability on the user side can be simplified.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A configuration of an information providing server and an information providing method using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an information providing server according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing server 1 according to the present invention includes a portable terminal 4 for inputting store information (destination information) desired by a user based on information of an advertising medium (signboard etc.) 5. The Internet network 2 is connected to the base station 3 which transmits and receives the destination information and the like transmitted from the mobile terminal 4.
It is configured to be connected via. Here, the advertising medium 5 includes information magazines, town information magazines, newspapers, and other papers that are distributed free of charge at convenience stores, stations, and the like, as well as billboards on street corners. The advertisement medium 5 describes information such as the location of the store, the telephone number, and the fact that the user wants to advertise in the store, but it is desirable that a predetermined identification number that is information for directions is described therein. . In addition, the mobile terminal 4 includes a mobile phone capable of receiving a wireless information providing service and a PD having a communication function.
A (Personal Digital Assistants), a laptop computer having a communication function, and the like are included.

On the other hand, the information providing server 1 connected to the Internet network 2 has a communication means 12 for substantially transmitting and receiving information from the portable terminal 4 and a guide information creating means 1.
1, a map database 13 and a search means 14. Here, the information created by the guide information creating means 11 is image data of a check point (for example, an intersection, an entrance of a building or an underground mall) and its accompanying character data, and character data representing a journey to the check point and a required time. Is. The information providing server 1 only needs to sequentially transmit the data to the mobile terminal 4 for each checkpoint. That is, it is necessary to recognize that the user has reached each checkpoint at any time. Therefore, the map database 13 storing a large amount of necessary map information is used only by the searching means 14 for searching checkpoints based on the departure place and the destination, and the map information is stored in each checkpoint. All that is required is relevant information. Further, since the information only needs to be stored in the advertisement medium 5 for the store, the maintenance cost of the information providing server 1 can be reduced. Regarding communication, data is only transferred at each checkpoint, so there is no need for a special mechanism that provides real-time location information of the user like a car navigation system. Since it is not necessary to transfer map information as data, connection time is short and network load is small.

An embodiment of an information providing server and an information providing method using the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the information providing server and the information providing method using the same according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, first, the user refers to an advertising medium such as an information magazine,
When the user is interested in a certain store and decides to eat at that store, the user confirms the identification number of the store displayed on the advertisement medium and transmits it as destination information to the information providing server (S1). The information providing server that has received the destination information transmits the confirmation (S2). That is, the information providing server transmits the information of the store corresponding to the access number to the mobile terminal, displays a confirmation message, and the user looks at the information of the store displayed on the mobile terminal and the user decides to go. Make sure there is no mistake at the store. In response to the confirmation, the user transmits the current position information from the mobile terminal (S3). The information providing server transmits the departure place candidate information based on the received current position information (S4). The departure place candidate information is information set to obtain the approximation because the current position information is not always included in the information accumulated in the map database of the information providing server. .. Moreover, it is desirable to set a public place or the like for the departure place candidate information so that the user can immediately know it.

Then, the departure point information is selected from the mobile terminal and transmitted to the information providing server (S5). On the other hand, the information providing server transmits image information for confirming the start direction and character information supplementing the image information to the mobile terminal, and subsequently displays the start confirmation message (S6). The image information capable of confirming the starting direction is, for example, an image of the west direction viewed from the place where the direction starting from a certain place in the underground mall is the west direction. Since it may be difficult to understand only with images, text information is attached as a supplement. As a result, the user can be made to understand the direction in which the vehicle will definitely proceed.

Next, the information providing server identifies some check points based on the departure point information and the destination information, and creates guide information composed of the set information of the check points (S7). The user confirms the start direction based on the image information of the start direction of the mobile terminal, inputs a start button or the like from the mobile terminal, and the information is transmitted from the mobile terminal to the information providing server. When the information providing server accepts the start from the mobile terminal, the information of the next checkpoint (image information of the checkpoint and character information supplementing it) is transmitted to the mobile terminal (S8).
In addition, the arrival confirmation message is displayed on the mobile terminal.
At this time, information (for example, a keyword) for providing an orienteering-like service as an additional service is also transmitted to the mobile terminal. That is, the user moves to the checkpoint according to the checkpoint information from the information providing server displayed on the mobile terminal.

In this way, when the user arrives at the checkpoint, he / she inputs the checkpoint arrival from the portable terminal (S9). Here, if there is keyword information or the like displayed on the mobile terminal, it is confirmed. After this, S7 to S9 are repeated, and the user sequentially follows the check points to the destination (store).

Then, depending on whether or not the user has passed all the check points (S10), if the check points have been passed, the information providing server transmits the destination information to the portable terminal (S11), and the destination information. When the user confirms, the mobile terminal transmits it as destination arrival information to the information providing server (S12), and the user arrives at the target store. Here, if there is keyword information or the like at the checkpoint and it has been confirmed, it is transmitted to the store and an additional service is received.

【The invention's effect】

As described above, the information providing server and the information providing method using the same according to the present invention have the following three effects. The first effect is that by linking an advertising medium such as an information magazine with a mobile terminal, it becomes possible to provide more user-friendly directions. Normally, only advertising on a flat map is provided in the advertising medium, but in the present invention, it is possible to smoothly use the checkpoint from the start point to the target store by sequentially passing through the checkpoints based on the information from the mobile terminal. It is possible to guide the person to the store.
It is very effective for users who do not have a sense of land, such as tourists, and is also effective for guiding tourist spots. In addition, this method can surely guide a store in a building with multiple floors (for example, the third floor of the XX building). The second effect is the ease of maintenance of the information providing server. The necessary information is only the information (image information and character information) at each checkpoint from the start point to the store, and only the information on the store of the advertising medium is enough. There is no need for map information of unnecessary places, and there is no need for a mechanism such as a car navigation system that displays information about the user's current location in real time. The third effect is that it is possible to increase the effect of attracting customers through services that use a "orienteering feeling." For example, by following a checkpoint and finding a keyword while coming to a store, you can give a discount or give a free gift to differentiate yourself from other stores. It is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration in an embodiment of an information providing server according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an information providing method using the information providing server according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Information provision server 2. Internet network 3. base station 4. Mobile device 5. Advertising medium 11. Guide information creation means 12. Communication means 13. Map database 14. Search method

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A communication means capable of transmitting and receiving to and from a mobile terminal used by a user, and a user from a departure place to a destination based on at least the departure point information and the destination information transmitted from the portable terminal. An information providing server, comprising: guide information creating means for creating guide information in which at least one piece of checkpoint information to be guided is created. 2. The information providing server according to claim 1, further comprising a map information database, and search means for searching the starting point and the destination based on the map information database. 3. The information providing server according to claim 1, wherein the guide information is a set of individual information of each of the check points. 4. The destination information is information consisting of an identification number given to each destination.
Information provision server described in. 5. An information providing server having a communication means capable of transmitting and receiving to and from a mobile terminal used by a user, wherein the information from the departure point is based on at least the departure point information and the destination information transmitted from the mobile terminal. It is characterized in that guide information is created in which one or more checkpoint information for guiding the user to the ground is created, and the checkpoint is sequentially transmitted to the mobile terminal to guide the user from the departure place to the destination. Information provision method. 6. The destination information is information consisting of an identification number assigned to each destination.
Information provision method described in.