JP4037176B2 - Information distribution system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information distribution system that distributes information by using an automatic ticket gate that can exchange data between at least information for identifying a user and a recording medium on which boarding possibility determination information is recorded.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the increase in storage capacity of portable recording media such as IC cards, information distribution systems that provide information such as articles in newspapers and magazines as electronic data have been proposed. For example, the system (prior art 1) described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-333156 discloses an article such as a magazine desired to be purchased by inserting an IC card into an information vending machine installed in a store or bookstore in a station. The electronic data is recorded on the IC card. A user who purchases electronic data inserts an IC card into a portable playback device for browsing.
[0003]
In addition, the system (prior art 2) described in JP-A-8-18523 discloses an IC card (commuter pass) in an input / output device (for example, an automatic ticket gate) provided at the entrance of a special area such as a ticket gate of a station. The desired information is recorded. The information to be recorded is recorded in advance on the IC card as contract data, and the input / output device reads the contract data and records information based on the contract. Information browsing is performed by inserting an IC card into the portable information terminal device and displaying the contents of the recorded information.
[0004]
According to these systems, necessary information can be acquired and used as electronic data, but selection of information to be acquired is not easy. In Prior Art 1, it is necessary to select an information vending machine by operating it, and the desired information cannot always be selected if there is no time allowance. Further, in the prior art 2, it is necessary to determine a field and the like in advance by a contract, and basically information on fields outside the contract cannot be acquired.
[0005]
In addition, since all of the above prior arts write the electronic data of the information main body from the information vending device or the ticket gate device to the IC card, the information cannot be distributed in a short time. In particular, when it is also used as a ticket gate device at a station, the passenger flow is stagnated, which is a serious problem.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution system capable of efficiently distributing information necessary for individual users.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The information distribution system of the present invention includes:
An information distribution system that distributes information using an automatic ticket gate that can exchange data between at least information that identifies a user and a recording medium that records information on whether or not the vehicle can be boarded. It includes an information delivery management apparatus for managing the distribution support information including the access data to the digest data and the information, the automatic ticket gate apparatus, when the recording medium passes through the automatic ticket gate apparatus, recorded on the recording medium The received information distribution contract information is received, and the necessary distribution support information is recorded on the recording medium according to the content of the received information distribution contract information . According to such a system, it is possible to easily know what kind of information can be distributed, and also to quickly access the main text data. Can be delivered efficiently.
[0008]
The recording medium in the information distribution system of the present invention can exchange information with an information reproduction terminal device, and at least the distribution support information is recorded so as to be readable by the information reproduction terminal device. Therefore, the digest data included in the distribution support information acquired from the automatic ticket gate can be reproduced and the necessary text data can be easily selected. When using a portable information playback terminal device, it can be played back while on the vehicle, and if it has a communication function or can be connected to a communication terminal, it will promptly receive the necessary text data. be able to.
[0009]
The access data in the information distribution system of the present invention includes an information distribution server that distributes the information and URL information that specifies the information. Therefore, after confirming information that can be distributed by digest data, if it is desired to further acquire body data, the information distribution server that distributes the information is easily accessed and received by the attached URL information. be able to.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an information distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows information distribution using an automatic ticket gate device 2 installed at a ticket gate. The automatic ticket gate device 2 is connected to an information distribution management device 1, and the information distribution management device 1 uses a network 7. It is possible to exchange information with the information distribution servers 81 to 84 via the network. The PDA 4 can be connected to the network 7 via the mobile phone 5, and the personal computer 6 can also be connected to the network 7.
[0011]
The automatic ticket gate device 2 exchanges information with the IC card 3 held by the passenger, determines whether or not the passenger can pass through the ticket gate, and records distribution support information described later on the IC card. Is. The IC card 3 has at least information for identifying a user and boarding availability determination information for determining boarding availability, and further has a recording area in which distribution support information can be recorded. The boarding availability determination information may be commuter pass information including information for specifying the boarding section and boarding period, stored fair information including available money amount information, or both. Good. In addition, information distribution contract information such as whether distribution support information can be recorded and the field of distribution support information to be recorded is also recorded.
[0012]
The IC card 3 can exchange information not only with the automatic ticket gate 2 but also with a portable terminal such as a PDA 4 or a personal computer 6. Therefore, information recorded by the PDA 4 or the personal computer 6 (hereinafter, these terminals may be collectively referred to as “information reproduction terminals”) can be reproduced. Information exchange may be performed in a contact manner or in a non-contact manner by radio, electromagnetic induction, or the like. However, even in the case of a non-contact type, it is preferable to exchange information by holding it in the information reproduction terminal.
[0013]
The information distribution management device 1 can be connected to the information distribution servers 81 to 84 via the network 7 and periodically receives distribution support information from the information distribution servers 81 to 84. The distribution support information includes digest data of information that can be distributed by each of the information distribution servers 81 to 84 and access data to the information, and these are associated with each other. The access data includes an information distribution server that distributes information and URL information that specifies the information. The access data may include a password that can be identified by the information distribution server. This password cannot be identified from the owner of the recording medium, and is preferably automatically transmitted when accessing the information distribution server. Furthermore, the distribution support information may include information that serves as a reference for distribution, such as a distribution fee and a data amount of distribution information.
[0014]
The digest data is information for introducing the contents of articles distributed by the information distribution servers 81 to 84, and is created by the information distribution servers 81 to 84, respectively. For example, when the information distribution server 81 of the newspaper person A distributes information on newspaper articles, digest data can be obtained by adding heading information of main articles and some abstracts as necessary. In addition, when the information distribution server 83 of the publisher C distributes an article of a weekly magazine, the digest data can be obtained by adding the table of contents information of the magazine and a slight abstract if necessary.
[0015]
The information distribution apparatus 1 holds distribution support information periodically received from the information distribution servers 81 to 84, and transmits and records the distribution support information to the IC card 3 passing through the automatic ticket gate apparatus 2. At that time, it is preferable to receive the information distribution contract information of the IC card 3 and transmit only necessary distribution support information. In addition, if only undelivered distribution support information is transmitted for each IC card, the amount of information transmitted can be reduced, and the stagnation of users near the automatic ticket gate 2 can be avoided. Transmission of only unsupported distribution support information can be performed by checking the latest transmission date and time for each IC card. The latest transmission date and time may be the one managed on the management device side or the one stored in the IC card.
[0016]
The information distribution management device 1 is configured using a computer that operates according to a predetermined program. Although only one information distribution management device 1 is shown in FIG. 1, the number is not limited to one. One parent management device may be provided for each railway company, and a child management device that manages the automatic ticket gate device 2 for each station may be provided below the parent management device. In addition, the connection between the information distribution apparatus 1 and the information distribution servers 81 to 84 is connected via the network 7 that is also used for information distribution to the user, but may be connected using another dedicated line.
[0017]
The information distribution servers 81 to 84 are installed at publishers, newspaper companies, etc., store information to be distributed (electronic data of articles such as newspapers and magazines), and from information reproduction terminals such as the PDA 4 and the personal computer 6. When the information distribution request is received, the requested information is distributed. When information to be distributed is updated, distribution support information including digest data of the updated information and access data to the information is transmitted to the information distribution management device 1.
[0018]
The PDA 4 and the personal computer 6 are used for reproducing the distribution support information recorded on the IC card 3. When the insertion of the IC card 3 is detected, the PDA 4 and the personal computer 6 automatically reproduce the distribution support information in the IC card. It is preferable to set the software to start. In addition, when these terminals can be connected to a network such as the Internet, a predetermined icon is displayed corresponding to each digest data when the distribution support information is reproduced, and the network is connected and added by the icon. It is preferable to make an information distribution request to the information distribution server based on the URL.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, when the PDA 4 is connectable to the network 7 via the mobile phone 5, if it is desired to distribute specific information, the PDA 4 is connected to the mobile phone 5 and the distribution support information is displayed. The corresponding information distribution servers 81 to 84 are accessed using the included URL. Since the URL specifies information desired to be distributed, the URL is distributed by instructing the distribution of the information or automatically after access. The distributed information is stored in a storage device (not shown) of the PDA 4 and can be reproduced. For example, if you want to play the digest data (table of contents information) of a weekly magazine and see the text of a specific article, use the icon displayed in association with the article and use the corresponding URL to Can be reproduced by the PDA 4. If the PDA 4 cannot be connected to the network, a mark may be added to the desired article and distribution may be received via the personal computer 6.
[0020]
Information distribution can also be managed with a password. In that case, it is preferable to use the method of adding to the distribution support information, the user information or the individual identification information of the IC card 1 as a password. When such management is performed, information can be distributed only when accessed using an IC card held by a regular contractor without imposing a burden on the user.
[0021]
Next, a schematic operation of the information distribution system in FIG. 1 will be described. When a user who has an IC card 3 that records commuter pass information or stored fair information passes through the automatic ticket gate 2, distribution support information including digest data of distributable information and access data to the information is recorded. Is done. The user can reproduce the digest data by connecting the IC card 3 to the PDA 4. If it is desired to acquire detailed information, the PDA 4 can be connected to the mobile phone 5 and the information distribution servers 81 to 84 can be accessed using the access data to the information to receive information distribution.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic operation flow of the automatic ticket gate apparatus 2 at that time. When the automatic ticket gate 2 detects the passage of the IC card 3, it acquires the information recorded on the IC card 3 for determining whether the boarding is possible and the information related to the information distribution, and determines whether the boarding is possible in step 201. To do. Since the IC card 3 wants to record commuter pass information including information specifying the boarding section and boarding period and stored fair information including available money amount information, it is determined whether or not boarding is possible. If it is determined that boarding is not possible, the gate of the ticket gate apparatus is closed in step 202 and the process is terminated.
[0023]
If it is possible to board, it is determined in step 203 whether or not there is an information distribution contract. If there is no contract, the process ends. If there is a contract, it is determined whether there is untransmitted distribution support information for the IC card (step 204). If there is no untransmitted distribution support information, the process ends. If there is untransmitted distribution support information, the distribution support information is transmitted in step 205, and the transmission date and time information is updated in step 206. The update date / time information of the distribution support information may be managed by the information distribution management device 1 or may be stored in each IC card 3.
[0024]
Note that the processing for transmitting the information distribution support information is performed under the control of the information distribution management device 1. If each automatic ticket checker can store a large amount of information and has a large processing capacity, it transmits data to and from the information distribution management device 1 by transmitting necessary information to the automatic ticket checker 2 in advance. The processing speed can be improved.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic operation flow of the information distribution server when there is an information distribution request from the information reproduction terminal. When the information distribution request is received, it is determined whether or not the URL accessed in step 301 is a URL designating information currently being distributed. If the distribution period has ended, a message to that effect is sent in step 302 and the process ends. If the URL is being distributed, it is determined in step 303 whether the access is using a valid IC card. This step is for determining whether the request is a regular distribution request, and is determined using user information stored in the IC card or identification information of the IC card itself. If the access is not legitimate, in step 304, a message indicating that the IC card is invalid is transmitted and the process ends.
[0026]
If the IC card is valid, the requested information is transmitted (step 305), and the distribution history for each user is updated (step 306). The distribution history is used for billing for information distribution.
[0027]
It should be noted that any information distribution contract information and billing may be used, and any method that has already been implemented or proposed can be appropriately selected and adopted, and thus description thereof is omitted.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information distribution system capable of efficiently distributing necessary information to individual users.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic operation flow of an automatic ticket gate. FIG. 3 is an information delivery server when an information delivery request is made. Diagram showing general operation flow [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information distribution management apparatus 2 ... Automatic ticket gate apparatus 3 ... IC card 4 ... PDA
5 ... mobile phone 6 ... personal computer 7 ... network 81 ... information distribution server (newspaper company A)
82 ... Information distribution server (newspaper company B)
83 ... Information distribution server (Publisher C)
84 ... Information distribution server (Publisher D)

Claims (3)

An information distribution system that distributes information using an automatic ticket gate capable of transferring data between at least information for identifying a user and a recording medium on which boarding determination information is recorded,
An information distribution management device for managing distribution support information including digest data of distributable information and access data to the information;
The automatic ticket gate receives the information distribution contract information recorded on the recording medium when the recording medium passes through the automatic ticket gate , and the necessary distribution according to the content of the received information distribution contract information. An information distribution system for recording support information on the recording medium. The information distribution system according to claim 1,
An information distribution system in which the recording medium can exchange information with an information reproduction terminal device, and at least the distribution support information is recorded so as to be readable by the information reproduction terminal device. The information distribution system according to claim 1 or 2,
The access data includes an information distribution server that distributes the information and URL information that specifies the information.

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