HK1054651B - Information distribution system, information distribution method, and information center - Google Patents

Description

Information distribution system, information distribution method, and information center

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information distribution method and system for distributing information to a mobile terminal using the internet, and an information center constructing the information distribution system.

Background

In recent years, various information services that can be provided using the internet have been proposed. One of them is a location information service that can provide information of a current location and a surrounding map. In such a location information service, the mobile terminal is equipped with a function (positioning function) of measuring its present location. An information center formed by WWW (world Wide Web) servers provides mobile terminal map information for the mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal acquires the map information according to the current position.

The mobile terminals capable of acquiring their positions include a terminal having a GPS (global positioning system) function, which is a well-known function applied to a car navigation system or the like, and a terminal that specifies the current position (longitude and latitude) where it is located based on position information of a base station wirelessly connected with the terminal. In general, PHS (personal handyphone system) terminals and cellular phones are known as the latter type of terminals. The positioning accuracy of a cellular phone is worse than that of PHS.

Recently, an information distribution system has been proposed which not only provides such a location information service but also simultaneously provides information related to a provided map, for example, city information such as tourism, housing facilities and restaurants or traffic information such as recent train stations and bus stops. Fig. 9 shows a conventional information distribution system.

The information distribution system shown in fig. 9 is constituted by: a mobile terminal 101 having a wireless communication function, a base station 102 communicating with the mobile terminal by radio, and an information center 104 connected to the base station 102 through the internet 103. The base station 102 is installed in each predetermined area. The location (longitude and latitude) of the installation is known in advance.

The mobile terminal 101 has a basic configuration (not shown) including a display section formed of an LCD (liquid crystal display), an input section (operation key board), a control section, and a storage section. The mobile terminal 101 further has a positioning section 101a which corrects the longitude and latitude obtained by the GPS receiving function based on the obtained longitude and latitude of the base station, and a browser 101b having known browsing software. The positioning section 101a has a GPS receiving function and a function of obtaining longitude and latitude information of the base station 102 by way of radio communication with the base station 102. The storage section stores various programs for performing known data processing such as data communication, window display (display of a menu window or a reception window (data)), and data input using an operation keyboard (including selection/input by moving a cursor). These programs are read and executed by the control section. The positioning portion 101a may also be implemented by programming.

The mobile terminal 101 may be connected to the internet 103 through an ISP (internet service provider) server which previously establishes a contract with the user. When the control section executes the browser 101b installed in advance in the storage section, the user can browse a desired information accessed in the internet 103. Examples of such a mobile terminal 101 are a terminal called a browser phone and a PDA (personal digital assistant) compatible with PHS and having a browsing function.

The information center 104 is an ASP (application service provider) server. This server has a database 104a containing contents such as map information, city information and traffic information provided on the internet by other pre-signed ASP servers (content servers) which have records for each area. These areas are defined in such a way that the whole city is divided into zones. At least one base station is installed in one area. The information center 104 has an area specifying section 104b that receives the mobile terminal position information obtained from the mobile terminal 101 by the positioning section 101a and then obtains an area corresponding to the current position of the mobile terminal from the received mobile terminal position information, and a WEB page distribution section 104c that reads out contents (WEB pages) associated with the obtained area, such as map data (WEB pages), or related information (city information or traffic information), from the database 104a and distributes the contents to the mobile terminal 101.

The operation of the conventional information distribution system having the above-described structure will be described with reference to fig. 10. When the user opens his/her mobile terminal 101, a predetermined menu window is displayed on the display section. The menu window contains items related to the location information service. The user performs an input operation by moving a cursor on an item using the operation keys.

When an input operation is performed, the positioning portion 101a of the mobile terminal 101 is activated. The positioning section 101a obtains the approximate position (latitude and longitude) where it is located by the GPS function and obtains position information from the base station 102 (step S31). In accordance with the received position information request from the mobile terminal 101, the base station 102 transmits its position information (latitude and longitude) to the mobile terminal 101 (step S32). Based on the base station position information thus obtained, the positioning section 101a corrects approximate position information (latitude and longitude) where it was obtained by the GPS function at an early stage. Thereby calculating its precise location information (mobile terminal location information). The mobile terminal 101 transmits the mobile terminal position information obtained by the positioning section 101a to the information center 104, and requests content distribution (step S33).

In response to the received content distribution request, the information center 104 requests the mobile terminal 101 to transmit a user ID and a password, both of which are registered in advance, in order to confirm the authenticity of the mobile terminal user (S34).

When the user of the mobile terminal 101 has completed use registration in the information distribution system, the user ID and the password are registered. The user ID may be registered according to a procedure similar to the following. First, a user enters a WEB page that can be registered on the internet 103 through the information center 104 using his/her mobile terminal. The user inputs necessary information (such as a mail address) on the WEB page and requests issuance of an ID. The information center 104 first sends an e-mail to the user for confirmation in response to the request for issuance of the ID, for example, "registration information has been sent from the user, and if he/she wishes to register himself/herself, he/she must access a URL (uniform resource locator) for registration". The user accesses the registration URL received from the information center 104 using the mobile terminal 101, and registers the user ID and the password therein.

The mobile terminal 101 transmits the user ID and the password input by the user to the information center 104 in response to the transmission request of the user ID and the password (step S35). The information center 104 checks whether the user ID and the password received from the mobile terminal 101 are registered in the authentication database established when the user ID and the password are registered. The information center 104 performs content distribution only when they are registered (to be described later). If the user ID and the password are not registered, the information center 104 transmits information indicating that he/she is not registered to the mobile terminal 101. The information center 104 may send information to the mobile terminal 101 to remind the user to register an Identifier (ID) and a password.

When it is determined that the user is a valid user, the area specifying section 104b in the information center 104 obtains an area corresponding to the current position of the mobile terminal 101 based on the mobile terminal position information received from the mobile terminal 101. In addition, the WEB page distribution section 104c transmits list information of contents (including URL information of the contents) such as map data (WEB page), city information, and traffic information relating to the obtained area to the mobile terminal 101 (S36).

When the mobile terminal 101 receives the content list information from the information center 104, the browser 101b is activated to display the received content list information on the display portion. When the user moves the cursor on a desired item of the content list information by using the operation key, the browser 101b accesses the URL where the selected content is input by the cursor. With this access, a content request will be sent from the mobile terminal 101 to the information center 104 via the internet 103 (step S37).

In accordance with the reception of the content request from the mobile terminal 101, the web page distribution section 104c in the information center 104 reads the web page of the requested content from the database 104a and transmits the web page to the mobile terminal 101 (S38). At the mobile terminal 101, the content (web page) received from the information center 104 is displayed on the display section.

By repeating the methods of steps S37 and S38, the user can browse various contents (web pages).

According to the above-described conventional information distribution system, an area is automatically narrowed down according to the current location information of the mobile terminal 101, and map data and city information related to the area are provided. For this reason, operability in receiving the location information service is increased, and a user can easily obtain a large amount of information.

However, the conventional information distribution system described above has the following problems.

The map data provided to the mobile terminal 101 is generally simple and does not display detailed contents. For this reason, if the route to the destination is complicated, it is difficult to find the route to the destination only by the map data provided to the mobile terminal 101. Furthermore, when the user has managed to reach the destination according to this complex route, he/she may want to obtain a comment about the complex route so that he/she can make the next access with reference to the map data and the comment. As for city information, a user may want to obtain his/her comments on information evaluations, such as hotels, related to city information. However, the conventional information distribution system does not have a function of storing such annotations in the system. Therefore, the user must record by writing on the notebook (notebook), which is inconvenient.

Japanese patent laid-open No.2001-160063 (reference 1) proposes a system for storing comments having correlation with provided information (own web page or URL), which are stored in a storage section of a mobile terminal. The moving map display device proposed in reference 1 can store one comment by using one electronic address function set in the device in advance. However, since the mobile terminal must be simple in structure and inexpensive, it is not suitable for selecting a large storage capacity. Therefore, there is a contradiction between storing the annotations in the mobile terminal side and the need to reduce the size and cost of the mobile terminal.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution system, an information distribution method, and an information center capable of conveniently storing personal information such as comments and images related to provided contents.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution system, an information distribution method, and an information center that do not hinder reduction in size and cost of a mobile phone.

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an information distribution system including an information center, in which a plurality of contents are registered in advance, and a mobile terminal connected to an information center through a network, the information center distributes the requested content to the mobile terminal in response to a content distribution request from the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal transmits personal information of the user to the information center together with designation information designating the distributed content, the user personal information is to be input in conjunction with the content distributed from the information center, the information center registers the received personal information and designation information in association with each other, verifies whether the personal information on the requested distributed content is registered or not according to the designation information in accordance with the content distribution request received from the mobile terminal, if the user information is registered, the personal information is distributed to the mobile terminal together with the requested content.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an information distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram of one example of a registration in the database shown in FIG. 1.

Fig. 2B is a view of one example of registration in the subscriber database shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram explaining an operation procedure of the information distribution system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart explaining the annotation reference operation by the information center shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view showing an example of a display window of content distributed by the information center shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view showing an example of another content display window distributed by the information center shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of narrowing down the overall distance to a destination by using the information distribution system in fig. 1.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of an information distribution system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a conventional information distribution system.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the flow of operation of the conventional information distribution system shown in fig. 9.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an information distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The information distribution system of this embodiment is constituted by: a plurality of mobile terminals 1 each having a radio communication function, a base station 2 communicating with the mobile terminals in a radio manner, and an information center 4 connected to the base station 2 through the internet 3.

Each mobile terminal 1 has a positioning section 11 that corrects the longitude and latitude obtained by the GPS reception function according to the longitude and latitude of the base station 2 and specifies the position of the mobile terminal 1, and a browser 12 having well-known browsing software. A plurality of base stations 2 are installed per predetermined service area. The longitude and latitude of each device region are known in advance.

The basic configuration of the mobile terminal 1 includes, in addition to the positioning section 11 and the browser 12, a display section 13 of an LCD, an input section (operation keys) 14, a storage section 15 in which various programs including the browser 12 are stored in advance, and a control section 16. The positioning section 11 has a GPS receiving section 17 that can receive GPS signals from GPS satellites (not shown) and output position information, and a radio communication section 18 that acquires latitude and longitude information of the base station 2 in such a manner as to communicate with the base station 2 by radio. The storage section 15 stores programs for performing well-known data processing operations such as data communication, window display (display of a menu window or a reception window (data)), and data input using operation keys (including moving a cursor to make a selection/input). These programs are read and executed by the control section 16. The function of the positioning portion 11 may also be realized by a program.

The mobile terminal 1 may be connected to the internet 3 through an ISP (network service provider) server which has previously established a contract with the user. When the control section 16 executes the browser 12 installed in advance in the storage section 15, the user can enter the internet 3 to browse desired information.

The information center 4 has a database 41, an area specifying section 42, a web page distributing section 43, a user database 44, and a personal information registering section 45. In the database 41, contents provided on the internet 3, such as map information, city information, and traffic information, which are agreed in advance by other ASP service providers (content service providers), are registered in each area. The area specifying part 42 receives the mobile terminal position information obtained by the positioning part 11 of the mobile terminal 1 and then obtains area information corresponding to the current position of the mobile terminal 1 from the received mobile terminal position information. The web page distribution section 43 reads contents (web pages) related to the obtained area, such as map data or related information (city information or traffic information) from the database 41, and distributes these contents to the mobile terminal 1.

In the user database 44, each user registers various personal information such as a user's comment (sound information or character information) or image information. The personal information registration section 45 registers the personal information transmitted from the mobile terminal 1 in the user database 44. Personal information related to the content (web page) registered in the database 41 corresponding to each area is registered in the user database 44.

As shown in fig. 2A, map data (web page) and related information (web page) corresponding to each area are registered in the database 41. In the user database 44, an item corresponding to each of the related information registered in the database 41 may be set for each user ID, as shown in fig. 2B. Personal information (comments or map data) may be registered as each setting item.

The user ID is issued when the user of the mobile terminal 1 has completed the use registration in the information distribution system. In order to connect the user terminal to the information distribution system, the user must input a user ID on the mobile terminal 1 using an operation key. The user ID is registered in the information distribution system in accordance with the same operation procedure as in the conventional system. Typically, the password is also registered simultaneously with the user ID registration.

Next, the operation of the information distribution system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to fig. 3. When the user turns on the power of his/her mobile terminal 1, a preset menu window is displayed on the display section 13. The menu window contains items related to the location information service. The user performs an input operation by moving a cursor on an item using the operation keys 14.

The positioning section 11 of the mobile terminal 1 is activated by an input operation of the user. The GPS receiving section 17 acquires the approximate position (longitude and latitude) where it is located. At the same time, the mobile terminal 1 acquires the position information from the base station 2 through the radio communication section 18 (step S1). Upon receiving the location information request from the mobile terminal 1, the base station 2 transmits its location information (intensity and latitude) to the mobile terminal 1 (step S2). Based on the base station position information thus acquired, the positioning section 11 corrects its approximate position (longitude and latitude) acquired earlier by the GPS receiving section 17, thereby calculating accurate position information (mobile terminal position information) at which it is located. The mobile terminal 101 transmits the mobile terminal position information obtained by the position location section 11 to the information center 4, and requests content distribution (step S3).

In accordance with the received content distribution request, the information center 4 requests the mobile terminal 1 to transmit a user ID and a password to confirm whether the user of the mobile terminal is valid, and these ID and password are registered in advance (S4).

The user inputs the user ID and the password registered in advance from the input window in response to the transmission request of the user ID and the password, thereby transmitting them to the information center 4 (S5). The information center 4 verifies whether the user ID and the password received from the mobile terminal 1 are registered in the authentication database. The information center 4 performs content transmission (to be described later) only when they are registered. If the user ID and the password are not registered, the information center 4 transmits information indicating that the user is not registered to the mobile terminal 1. The information center 4 may transmit information prompting the user to register the user ID and the password to the mobile terminal 1.

When it is confirmed that the user is a valid user, the area specifying section 42 in the information center 4 obtains area information corresponding to the position where the mobile terminal 1 is currently located, based on the mobile terminal position information received from the mobile terminal 1. Further, the web page distribution section 43 transmits list information of the contents related to the acquired area (including URL information of the contents), such as map information (web page), city information, traffic information, and the like, to the mobile terminal 1 (step S6).

When the mobile terminal 1 receives the content list information transmitted from the information center 4, the browser 12 is activated to display the received content list information on the display section 13. When the user performs an input operation by moving the cursor to desired content list information using the operation keys 14, the browser 12 accesses the URL of the content selected by the cursor. With this access, a content request is sent from the mobile terminal 1 to the information center 4 via the internet 3 (step S7).

In accordance with the reception of the content request from the mobile terminal 1, the web page distribution section 43 in the information center 4 reads the web page of the requested content from the database 41 and transmits the web page to the mobile terminal 1 (step S8). The content (web page) received from the information center 4 is displayed on the display section 13 of the mobile terminal 1.

The above processing is almost the same as in the conventional system described above. In the system of this embodiment, personal information about displayed content (web page), such as a user's comment or image information, can be registered in the information center 4. This personal information can be referred to the next time the same content (web page) is accessed.

Next, a process of registering the comment in the information center 4 will be described. In order to store the comment on the content (web page) or the image information displayed on the display section 13 of the mobile terminal 1, the user inputs an instruction. Generally, an instruction input button is prepared on a portion of the displayed content (web page). When the moving cursor performs an input operation on the button, the window is shifted to the comment input window. On the input window where the comment is displayed, the user writes the comment on the content (web page) displayed on the preceding window with the operation key 14 (step S9).

The mobile terminal 1 has a function of editing an input comment. The user can freely edit the inputted comment. In order to input image data as personal information, the mobile terminal 1 only needs to have one CCD camera and one storage section that stores image data (still or moving image) that can be read out by the CCD camera. In this case, the user can photograph a desired image using the CCD. On the other hand, in order to input the comment in the form of sound data, the mobile terminal 1 must separately have one microphone and one storage section that stores the sound data input by the microphone. In this case, the user can freely input the voice note through the microphone.

After inputting the comment (or image), the user inputs an instruction on the mobile terminal 1 to transmit the input comment (or image) to the information center 4. Then, the mobile terminal 1 transmits information (e.g., URL) specifying the displayed content (web page) and the input comment (or image) to the information center 4 (step S10). Generally, an instruction input button is prepared on a portion of the comment input window. When a cursor is moved on a button to perform an input operation, a comment is sent.

When the information center 4 receives the content (web page) of the specification information and the input comment from the mobile terminal 1, the personal information registration section 45 registers the received content (web page) of the specification information and the input comment together with the location information of the mobile terminal in the user database 44 associated with the received user ID, as shown in fig. 2B. If this is the first registration of the user ID, the user information registration section 45 prepares a user ID field in the user database 44, and registers the content (web page) of the received specified information and the input comment in the set user ID field.

On the other hand, if the user ID field in which the content (web page) of other specified information and the input comment have been registered has been set, and the content (web page) of the received specified information has not been registered, the content (web page) of the received specified information and the input comment are registered in the set field. When any other comment associated with the received content (web page) of the specified information has been registered, the received input comment is additionally registered. When the comment registration is ended, the information center 4 transmits a notification indicating the end of the registration to the mobile terminal 1 (step S11)

Next, a procedure of accessing the comment registered in the information center 4 will be described with reference to fig. 4. After steps S1 to S7 in fig. 3 described above, the information center 4 receives the request for the content K from the user terminal 1 (step S21). The web page distribution section 43 reads the requested content K (web page) from the database 41 and verifies whether or not the user database 44 has an annotation on the read content K (web page) based on the specification information (step S22 in fig. 4).

If the result of step S22 is no, the web page distribution section 43 transmits only the content K (web page) to the mobile terminal 1. In order to register a comment about the transmitted content K (web page), the steps of S9 to S11 in fig. 3 will be performed.

If the result of step S22 is yes, the web page distribution section 43 reads out the comment from the user database 44 and transmits it to the mobile terminal 1 together with the content K (web page). The content K (web page) and the comment received from the information center 4 are displayed on the display section of the mobile terminal 1 as shown in fig. 5 or 6.

In the example shown in fig. 5, the bus stop information of the M zone containing the bus stop a is displayed as the content K, and the appendix to the M zone bus stop is displayed as the comment. As information of the M-zone bus stop, buildings "1" to "5" are displayed in a block manner. The target bus stop a is displayed near the building "3". The notation in the annex of the M-zone bus stop is: the "bus stop in the M zone" is located between the supermarket 2 (blue) and the bank 3 (white). This is very suitable for waiting for cars in banks in summer. "the user can easily find the bus stop a with reference to the displayed comments, and wait for the bus in the bank (building" 3 ").

In the example shown in fig. 6, store information of N areas is displayed as the content K, and hotel information of N areas is displayed as the comment. As store information for N blocks, buildings "1" to "6" are displayed in a block manner with descriptions: "1: 14 layers of tea room XX, "," 2: 3 layers french ZZ, 10 layers italian QQ "," 3: 5-floor family restaurant TT "," 4: b1 tier steak restaurant MM ", and" 5: 3-floor restaurant YY ". Hotel information for N-zone has comments: "Dry curry rice in the 14 th tea room XX of 1 block is delicious and valuable. Hotels YY at level 3 of 5 blocks are not well known and are not well known. And then no longer there. "the user who is going to eat in the N area can find a hotel suitable for his/her taste with reference to the displayed comment.

To register a new comment about the content K (web page) displayed in the above-described manner, the operations of steps S9 through S11 described in fig. 3 are performed. At this time, the already registered comments may be edited by adding, correcting, or deleting them.

According to this embodiment, when the user gets out of direction at an intersection or the like, he/she can attach an image or an annotation on the position to the map data (content) displayable in the mobile terminal 1 so that he/she does not get into trouble again. Therefore, the user can easily find the destination and the total distance to the destination is greatly shortened.

Next, a method of greatly shortening the total distance to the destination by using the above-described system will be described with reference to fig. 7. Fig. 7 schematically shows a route pattern network having two intersections of three routes, which includes a route from point D to point E, a route from point E to point F, a route from point E to point H, a route from point H to point G, and a route from point H to point I. Assuming that all roads have the same length N (N > 0), the user does not know whether the traveled route is correct until he walks a distance M (M > 0) from the intersection. The total distance from point D to point I will be analyzed below.

When the user walks from point D to point I, he/she can obtain the shortest route by selecting the road from point E to point H and the road from point H to point I. The total distance is 3N. This shortest route is chosen with a probability of 1/4(═ 1/2 × 1/2). Assume that the user mistakenly selects a road from point E to point F, walks and returns a distance M, and then correctly selects a road from point H to point I. In this case, since the user selects an incorrect route once, the total distance is (3N + 2M). Further, assume that the user correctly selects a road from point E to point H, erroneously selects a road from point H to point G, and then walks and returns by the distance M. The total distance in this case is also (3N + 2M).

Further, assume that the user erroneously selects a road from point E to point F, walks and returns the distance M, and also erroneously selects a road from point H to point G, and then walks and returns the distance M. In this case, since the user selects the wrong route twice, the total distance is (3N +4M) (the longest route), i.e., a route longer than any of the above.

In the information distribution system of this embodiment, the shortest route can be selected in accordance with the comment in the map data (content) in addition to the first access to the destination. Thus, the total distance to the destination is 3N. If there is no annotation, the user calculates the average distance walked by: {3N + (3N +2M) × 2+ (3N +4M) }/4 ═ 3N + 2M. If N ═ M, the distance change is 40% ((5N-3N)/5N) × 100%).

Further, according to the embodiment, by referring to the city information (contents) in the mobile terminal 1, the user can access again a suitable hotel or avoid accessing a bad hotel by referring to the comment. R (R > 2) is set to the number of stores in a given area, and S (S > 1) is set to the number of stores that meet the user' S requirements. When a user adds annotations that satisfy his/her store (e.g., a suitable hotel) for the first time, the probability of use for the store that has satisfied the user is "1". On the other hand, when no annotation is added, the probability of use is S/R.

Further, T (T > 1) is set to the number of stores that have disappointed the user. When the user adds the annotation for the first time, the probability that the user uses the store that has disappointed him/her is (T-1)/(R-1). On the other hand, when no annotation is added, the probability of use is T/R. When adding annotations, the user selects the store that has disappointed him/her with a lower probability, because ((T-1)/(R-1)) < (T/R).

In the information distribution system according to the above-described embodiment, the positioning section 11 of the mobile terminal 1 specifies the accurate current position of the mobile terminal 1 by correcting the longitude and latitude obtained by the GPS receiving section 17 based on the base station information (longitude and latitude) from the base station 2 such as differential GPS (dgps). However, since the information center 4 provides one content for each area, it is not necessary to know the exact current position (longitude and latitude) of the mobile terminal 1. Only the area where the mobile terminal 1 is located needs to be specified. Therefore, the positioning section 11 of the mobile terminal 1 does not always have to have the GPS receiving section 17.

In this case, the radio communication section 18 acquires base station position information from the base station 2. The acquired base station position information is transmitted to the information center 4 through the radio communication section 18 as mobile terminal position information. The information center 4 specifies an area based on the received base station position information. Alternatively, the mobile terminal 1 may transmit the longitude and latitude obtained by the GPS receiving section 17 of the position locating section 11 to the information center 4, and the information center 4 may specify an area according to the received longitude and latitude.

It would be desirable to provide an advanced security system for processing personal information of a user. Generally, a security system using a password is employed. To realize a more advanced security system, an authentication system using biometrics (biometric information) is employed. Authentication systems using biometric measurements include systems using fingerprints, voiceprints, red films, personal facial information. A system employing fingerprint authentication will be described below.

Fig. 8 shows an information distribution system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 1 shown in fig. 1 further comprises a fingerprint sensor for inputting a fingerprint of the user. In addition, the information center 4 shown in fig. 1 has a fingerprint database 46 in which fingerprints of users are registered in advance. The fingerprint information is preferably registered in a fingerprint database 46 where a user ID registration is also possible. As for use, the mobile terminal 1 requests the user to input his/her fingerprint, and transmits the user fingerprint data input from the fingerprint sensor 19 to the information center 4. The information center 4 verifies whether the fingerprint data received from the mobile terminal 1 matches the fingerprint information registered in the fingerprint database 46, thereby performing an authentication operation.

In the information distribution system shown in fig. 1 or 8, the mobile terminal 1 and the information center 4 are constituted by computer systems each including a storage device for storing programs and other contents, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, a display device such as a CRT or an LCD, a communication device such as a modem for communicating with external devices, an output device such as a printer, and a control device which receives input from the input device and controls the operations of the control device, the output device, and the display device. All of the above-described processing operations, including an operation of inputting/registering personal information such as a comment or an image and an authentication operation, can be easily implemented by a program.

In the information distribution system according to the first embodiment, the contents registered in the database 41 of the information center 4 are all information that is permitted to be accessed on the internet 3 by the content server of the content service provider. The content provider can update (e.g. introduce a new merchandise item) or move (change the URL of the home page) the information in its content server at will. When the information has been updated or moved, the information center 4 preferably notifies the user of the mobile terminal 1 of: the content has been updated or moved.

The process of notifying the user that the content has been updated or moved will be described below as a third embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the system is the same as that used in fig. 1. Only the operation will be described below.

When the content provider has updated information for accessing the internet 3, he/she sends a notification of the content update from his/her content server to the information center 4. The information center 4 updates the corresponding content information registered in the database 41 according to the content update information received from the content server.

When the mobile terminal 1 requests content distribution in an area in which update information is registered, the information center 4 transmits update information relating to the update content to the mobile terminal 1 together with a content list registered for the area. The content list and the update information received from the information center 4 are displayed in the mobile terminal 1. For example, when the previously added annotated content list includes a content related to N-zone store information (fig. 6), and the content has been updated, the content update information related to the N-zone store information is displayed next to the item display of the content list. The user of the mobile terminal 1 can know from the displayed content update information that the content has been updated.

The content update information is displayed together with the content list. When a plurality of contents in the content list have been updated, a plurality of pieces of content update information relating to the plurality of updated contents are displayed simultaneously. In this case, the pieces of content update information are hardly recognizable. Accordingly, the content update information may be displayed when the corresponding content item is selected and input. The user can manually switch the manner of hierarchical display (first-type display) or the manner of simultaneous display (second-type display) of the update information on the window of the content list on the mobile terminal 1. More specifically, a button for switching between the first type display and the second type display may be provided on a portion of the display window. The user selects the display manner of the first or second category by using the display switching button.

When the content service provider has updated the information (home page) URL of the access internet 3, he/she transmits an update notification (URL movement information) from his/her content server to the information center 4. The information center 4 updates the corresponding content information registered in the database 41 based on the URL movement information received from the content server.

When the mobile terminal 1 requests content distribution in an area registered with the moved URL content, the information center 4 transmits URL movement information about the content with the moved URL to the mobile terminal 1 together with a list of contents registered in the area. The content list and the URL movement information received from the information center 4 are displayed in the mobile terminal 1. The user of the mobile terminal 1 can know from the displayed URL movement information that the URL of the corresponding content has been moved.

The URL movement information may be displayed in the same manner as the content update information, that is, in a hierarchical display manner (first-type display) and a simultaneous display manner (second-type display) that can be switched on the content list window.

According to the above-described display of the URL movement information, the information center 4 can move or delete the personal information (comment or image) related to the corresponding content in the following manner. First, when the user selects and inputs an item corresponding to the displayed URL movement information from the content list of the mobile terminal 1, the mobile terminal 1 requests the information center 4 to distribute the selected and input content (step S7 in fig. 3).

According to the received content distribution request, the information center 4 verifies whether or not the mobile terminal 1 having transmitted the content distribution request in the transmitted content list adds an annotation to the content with the moved URL. More specifically, when it has requested the content, the information center 4 verifies specific information with personal information concerning the user ID in the user database 44 based on the user ID acquired from the mobile terminal 1. Then, the information center 4 verifies whether the checked specific information contains information related to the URL previously with the moved URL content. In this process, the information center 4 confirms whether or not the comment with the moved URL content, which has been moved, exists.

If there is a comment about the content with the moved URL, the information center transmits a message indicating that personal information previously added to the content exists before the URL is moved, together with the requested content, to the mobile terminal 1. When no annotations exist, only the requested content is distributed.

The content received from the information center 4 and information indicating the presence of personal information are displayed in the mobile terminal 1. At this time, a button for moving or deleting the personal information is displayed on the window portion. When the user selects and inputs a displayed button in the window, the window is shifted to a window for personal information movement or deletion. In the displayed window, the user can move the personal information to the content with the mobile URL or input necessary information to delete the personal information.

When an instruction to move personal information to the content with the moved URL is input, the mobile terminal 1 transmits a request to perform the operation to the information center 4. The information center 4 rewrites the specific information of the corresponding personal information in the database 41 into the moved URL. On the other hand, when an instruction to delete personal information is input, the mobile terminal 1 transmits a request to perform the operation to the information center 4. The information center 4 deletes the corresponding personal information and information related thereto from the database 41 in response to the request.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can freely add personal information such as comments (sound information or character information) or image information to information content (web page) such as map data or city information) provided by the information center on the mobile terminal 1. Since the personal information is stored and held on the information center (server) side, there is no need to increase the storage capacity of the mobile terminal, unlike the conventional system. When the user requests the same content again, the personal information stored and held on the information center (server) side will be provided together with the requested content. Therefore, for example, even if the route from the destination is complicated, in the case where it is difficult to find the route to the destination only from the provided map data, the user can easily find the route to the destination by referring to the personal information.

Claims (16)

1. An information distribution system comprising:

an information center (4) in which a plurality of contents are registered in advance;

a mobile terminal (1) connected to said information center via a network (3);

the information center distributes the requested content to the mobile terminal in response to a content distribution request from the mobile terminal;

the method is characterized in that:

the mobile terminal transmits user personal information input in connection with the content distributed from the information center to the information center together with designation information designating the distributed content,

the information center registers the received personal information and the specification information associated with each other, verifies whether or not the personal information on the requested distribution content has been registered on the basis of the specification information upon receiving a content distribution request from the mobile terminal, and distributes the personal information to the mobile terminal together with the requested content if the personal information has been registered;

the mobile terminal includes:

position information acquisition means (17) for acquiring a current position, and

a radio communication device (18) that transmits the current position information obtained by the position information obtaining device to the information center and transmits a content distribution request;

the information center includes:

a first database in which a plurality of contents are registered for each of a plurality of areas defined by dividing a predetermined region,

area specifying means (42) for specifying an area where the mobile terminal is currently located from a plurality of areas based on current location information provided by the mobile terminal,

content distribution means (43) for reading a content list related to the area specified by the area specifying means from the first database and transmitting the list to the mobile terminal, and reading a content requested from the user in the transmitted content list from the first database and distributing the content to the mobile terminal,

a second database (44) in which personal information is registered, and

personal information registration means (45) for registering personal information related to the specified information received from the mobile terminal in the second database,

upon receiving a content distribution request from the mobile terminal, the content distribution apparatus verifies whether personal information on the requested content has been registered in the second database according to the specification information, and distributes the personal information to the mobile terminal together with the requested content if the personal information has been registered.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the personal information is a message selected from the group consisting of voice messages, character messages, image messages, and a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile phone

The position information acquiring means includes GPS receiving means for receiving GPS signals from GPS satellites to thereby acquire longitude and latitude information, an

The area specifying means specifies an area based on the latitude and longitude information output from the GPS receiving means.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile phone

The system further comprises a base station (2) communicating with the mobile terminal in a radio manner, the installation location of which including longitude and latitude is known in advance,

said position information acquiring means acquires latitude and longitude information from said base station via said radio communication means, an

The area specifying means specifies an area based on the longitude and latitude information of the base station output from the position information acquiring means.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile phone

The system further comprises a base station (2) communicating with the mobile terminal in a radio manner, the installation location of which including longitude and latitude is known in advance,

the position information acquiring means includes GPS receiving means for receiving a GPS signal indicating longitude and latitude information from a GPS satellite and correcting the received longitude and latitude information based on the longitude and latitude information of the base station acquired by the radio communication means,

the information center specifies an area based on the corrected longitude and latitude information output from the GPS receiving device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile phone

The information center includes a third database (46) in which authentication information for authenticating the mobile terminal user is registered in advance,

the mobile terminal includes authentication data input means (19) for inputting authentication data of a user in transmitting a content distribution request to the information center,

the information center verifies whether the authentication data output from the authentication data input means matches the authentication information registered in the third database, and distributes the requested content to the mobile terminal only when the authentication data matches the authentication information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mobile phone

When the content information registered in the first database has been changed, the content distribution means appends information indicating the change of the information to at least one content list relating to the area specified by the area specifying means and the content requested by the user from the content list, both of which are read from the first database, and transmits the information to the mobile terminal.

8. An information distribution method for distributing information between an information center (4) in which a plurality of contents are registered in advance and a mobile terminal (1) connected to the information center through a network (3), characterized by comprising:

a first step of causing the mobile terminal to transmit a content distribution request to an information center;

a second step of causing the information center to distribute the requested content to the mobile terminal in response to the information distribution request;

a third step of causing the mobile terminal to transmit personal information of the user, which is input in conjunction with the content distributed from the information center, to the information center together with designation information that designates the distributed content;

a fourth step of causing the information center to register the received personal information and the specified information in association with each other;

wherein the second step includes a fifth step of causing the information center to distribute personal information to the mobile terminal together with the requested content when the content distribution request is received from the mobile terminal and when personal information related to the requested content has been registered;

a step of causing the mobile terminal to transmit a content distribution request added with the obtained current position information of the mobile terminal to the information center, and

a step of causing the information center to transmit a content list relating to a designated area of a first database (41) in which a plurality of contents having different information are registered in each of a plurality of areas defined by dividing a predetermined area, to the mobile terminal, based on the transmitted information of the current position of the mobile terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of removing the metal layer comprises removing the metal layer from the metal layer

The first step includes causing the mobile terminal to request the information center to distribute the content specified by the user from the transmitted content list,

the second step includes having the information center read the requested content from the first database, and distribute the content to the mobile terminal,

the third step includes causing the mobile terminal to transmit personal information, which is input in relation to the distribution content, to the information center together with the specification information specifying the distribution content,

the fourth step includes causing the information center to register the transmitted personal information and the designation information in the second database (44) in association with each other,

the fifth step includes, upon receiving the content distribution request, causing the information center to verify whether or not personal information on the requested content has been registered in the second database based on the specified information,

if the personal information has been registered, the information center is caused to distribute the personal information to the mobile terminal together with the requested content.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

when the content information registered in the first database has been changed, information indicating the change of the information is attached to at least one content list associated with the specified area and to the content requested by the user from the content list, both of which are read from the first database.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the personal information is an information selected from the group consisting of voice information, character information, image information, and a combination thereof.

12. An information center in which a plurality of contents are registered in advance, which distributes requested contents to a mobile terminal (1) via a network (3) in response to a content distribution request from the mobile terminal, characterized by comprising:

registration means (45) for registering, in response to a content distribution request received from a mobile terminal, user personal information relating to content distributed from the information center and designation information designating distribution content in association with each other;

distribution means (43) for distributing the requested content to the mobile terminal together with the personal information when a content distribution request is received from the mobile terminal and the personal information on the requested distribution content has been registered in the database;

a first database in which a plurality of contents are registered for each of a plurality of areas defined by dividing a predetermined region,

area specifying means (42) for specifying an area where the mobile terminal is currently located from the plurality of areas based on current location information provided by the mobile terminal,

a second database (44) in which personal information is registered,

the distribution means includes content distribution means for reading a content list related to the area specified by the area specifying means from the first database and transmitting the list to the mobile terminal, and reading content requested by the user from the transmitted content list from the first database and distributing the content to the mobile terminal,

said registration means includes personal information registration means (45) for registering the personal information received from the mobile terminal in said second database in association with the designation information,

upon receiving a content distribution request from a mobile terminal, the content distribution apparatus verifies whether personal information on the requested content has been registered in a second database according to the specification information, and distributes the personal information to the mobile terminal together with the requested content if the personal information has been registered.

13. The center according to claim 12, wherein when the information of the content registered in the first database has been changed, the content distribution means appends information indicating the change of the information to a content list relating to the area specified by the area specifying means and to the content requested by the user from the content list, both of which are read from the first database; and transmits the information.

14. A method of information distribution for distributing requested content to a mobile terminal (1) via a network (3) in response to a content distribution request from the mobile terminal in an information center in which a plurality of contents are registered in advance, characterized by comprising the steps of:

a first step of registering, in response to a content distribution request received from a mobile terminal, user personal information on content distributed from an information center and specification information specifying the distributed content in association with each other;

a second step of distributing the requested content to the mobile terminal together with the personal information when a content distribution request is received from the mobile terminal and the personal information on the requested distribution content has been registered in the database, and

and a third step of designating an area where the mobile terminal is currently located from the plurality of areas according to the current location information provided from the mobile terminal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the first step includes a personal information registration step: the personal information and the specified information received from the mobile terminal are correlatively registered in a second database,

the second step includes a content distribution step: reading a content list related to the designated area from a first database (41) in which a plurality of contents are registered in each of a plurality of areas defined by dividing a predetermined area and transmitting the list to the mobile terminal, and reading a content requested by a user from the transmitted content list from the first database and distributing the content to the mobile terminal,

the content distribution step includes the steps of:

upon receiving a content distribution request from the mobile terminal, verifying whether personal information on the requested content has been registered in the second database according to the specification information, and

if the personal information is registered, the personal information is distributed to the mobile terminal together with the requested content.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the content distribution step comprises the steps of: when the content information registered in the first database has been changed, information indicating the change of the information is attached to at least one content list associated with the specified area and to the content requested by the user from the content list, both of which are read from the first database.