JP2002007524A - Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide an information processing system capable of acquiring information on a travel destination or the like that can be satisfied by each user. When a service provider (101) receives a service request (including user information related to a user's trip, etc.) from a user side (107 or 104) via a network (103), information provided by the request (tourism desired by the user) is received. Based on the information related to the destination such as a place), corresponding information is acquired in advance from a plurality of pieces of place information (information on various travel destinations, areas, etc.) in the storage means 102, and the acquired information is used by the user 107 or 104. To provide.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing apparatus used for, for example, an apparatus or a system for a user to receive a service of providing information on travel or the like via a network. The present invention relates to a storage medium in which processing steps for performing the processing are readable by a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of networks, a system configuration in which information processing apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and personal computers (hereinafter, simply referred to as "PCs") are connected via a network. It is increasingly used. As a result, the user can receive various services via the network using, for example, a personal computer, a copying machine installed in a hotel or a convenience store at a travel destination, and the like. Printing and the like can also be performed.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional system, it is difficult to obtain appropriate information desired by each user. In particular,
It has been very difficult for a user to obtain information on various travel destinations (travel destination information) such as a detailed map of the area, transportation means, and local services at a travel destination such as an individual trip. In addition, since such travel destination information varies depending on the travel situation of each user, the information that can be provided by the service provider is limited to general or limited information, and each user can be satisfied. It was very difficult to get destination information.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, and an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing system capable of acquiring information of a travel destination or the like that each user can satisfy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable storage medium storing an information processing method and processing steps for executing the method.

[0005]

For such a purpose,
A first invention is an information processing apparatus for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user by communicating with the user via a network, the information processing apparatus comprising: A storage unit for storing information, and a providing unit for obtaining information corresponding to a destination from the user from the storage unit and providing the information to the user.

According to a second aspect, in the first aspect,
A creating unit for creating at least information on movement to the destination based on the destination information from the user and information stored in the storage unit, wherein the providing unit stores the information obtained by the creating unit in the user It is characterized by providing to.

[0007] A third invention is the above-mentioned first invention, wherein:
The providing means may provide a service for outputting the provided information to the user based on a desired output location and a desired date and time indicated by the request from the user.

[0008] In a fourth aspect based on the first aspect,
The information processing apparatus further includes a management unit that manages information related to information provision by the providing unit.

A fifth invention is an information processing apparatus for receiving information on an arbitrary service from the service providing side through communication with the service providing side via a network, wherein the information on the arbitrary destination is stored in the information processing apparatus. Transmitting means for transmitting to the service providing side, and the destination location obtained from information about a plurality of locations managed by the service providing side, returned from the service providing side in response to the transmission information by the transmitting means And a receiving means for receiving information for.

In a sixth aspect based on the fifth aspect,
It is characterized by comprising output information for outputting information received by the receiving means.

In a seventh aspect based on the first or fifth aspect, the destination includes a travel destination.

An eighth invention is an information processing system in which a plurality of devices are communicably connected to each other via a network, wherein at least one device among the plurality of devices is one of the first to seventh inventions. It has a function of the information processing device according to any one of the above.

A ninth invention is an information processing method for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user by communicating with the user via a network, the information processing method comprising: And a providing step of obtaining information corresponding to a destination from the user from the storage means and providing the information to the user.

[0014] A tenth invention is an information processing method for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user by communicating with the user via a network. And a providing step of acquiring information on a destination indicated by a request from the user from the management information in the management step and providing the information to the user.

[0015] An eleventh invention according to the tenth invention comprises a creating step of creating a travel plan for the destination based on information on the destination indicated by the request from the user, and the providing step includes: A step of providing the travel plan information obtained by the creating step to the user.

In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, a management step for managing information of the travel plan obtained in the creation step, and a second travel plan based on the management information in the management step. And a second creating step of creating

In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the second travel plan obtained in the second creation step is converted into advertisement information by at least one of an electronic mail and a homepage. And a transmitting step of transmitting the data to the server.

A fourteenth invention is characterized in that, in the twelfth invention, a transmission step of transmitting the management information in the management step to a travel agency via a network is provided.

In a fifteenth aspect based on the tenth aspect, the providing step provides the user with a service for outputting information to a desired output location indicated by a request from the user.

In a sixteenth aspect based on the fifteenth aspect, the information output includes a printout.

According to a seventeenth aspect, in the tenth aspect, a management step of managing information related to information provision in the providing step is provided.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, a processing program for implementing the function of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the function of the information processing system according to claim 8 is provided.
It is a storage medium that is readable by a computer.

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is a storage medium in which the processing steps of the information processing method according to any one of claims 9 to 17 are readable by a computer.

More specifically, for example, when a service request (including user information relating to a user's trip, etc.) is received from a user via a network, the information indicated by the request (a user's desired destination such as a sightseeing spot, etc.) Based on the information, the corresponding information is acquired from a plurality of pieces of location information (information of various travel destinations, areas, etc.) stored in advance, and the acquired information is provided to the user. At this time, information relating to the movement of the user to the destination (moving plan information such as the order of the moving places and which transportation method to use) may be created from the acquired information and provided to the user. . Alternatively, information on the movement (movement plan information) may be managed, and new movement plan information (information for a travel planning service at a travel agency, etc.) may be created from the management information.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) The present invention provides, for example,
It is applied to an information processing system 100 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a user-side terminal device (hereinafter, simply referred to as “user side”) 107 and a service-providing terminal device (hereinafter, “user side”) that provides travel destination information and the like to the user. 101, a database 102, a charging server 105 for charging the service received by the user, a user information server 106 for managing information on the service received by the user, and a terminal device 104a. And copier 104
b and the copier 104 including the printer b in a communicable manner via a network 103 such as the Internet.

In FIG. 1, for simplicity of explanation, 1
Although a configuration in which one user side 107 and one copier side 104 are connected to the network 103 is shown, the number of connections is not limited to this.

The user side 107, the service providing side 101,
The billing server 105, the user information server side 106, and the copying machine side 104 each have, for example, the function of a computer 600 configured as shown in FIG.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the computer 600 includes a CPU 601, a ROM 602,
RAM 603, keyboard controller (KBC) 605 of keyboard (KB) 609, and C as a display unit
CRT controller (CRTC) 606 of RT display (CRT) 610 and hard disk (HD) 61
1 and floppy disk (FD) 612
The disk controller (DKC) 607 and the network interface card (NIC) 608 are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other via a system bus 604. Then, the system bus 604 is connected to the network 103 shown in FIG.

The CPU 601 executes the software supplied from the software stored in the HD 611 to control the components connected to the system bus 604 as a whole. That is, the CPU 601 stores a processing program according to a processing sequence described later in the ROM 60.
2, or by reading and executing from the HD 611 or the FD 612, the control for realizing the system operation in the present embodiment is performed.

The RAM 603 functions as a main memory or a work area of the CPU 601. KBC605
Controls an instruction input from the KB 609 or a pointing device (not shown). CRTC 606 uses C
The display of the RT 610 is controlled. The DKC 607 includes a boot program, various applications, editing files,
H for storing a user file, a network management program, and the above-described processing program in the present embodiment, etc.
The access to D611 and FD612 is controlled. NI
The C608 bidirectionally exchanges data with devices on the network 103.

With the functions of the computer 600 as described above, the following configuration and operation are implemented on the user side 107, the service providing side 101, the billing server 105, the user information server side 106, and the copying machine side 104, respectively. You.

The service providing side 101 is a side that provides services such as sightseeing and travel, and has management, responsibility and authority of the user of the user side 107 to which the service is provided. Specifically, the service providing side 101 has a database 102, which stores a plurality of pieces of travel information, regional information, and the like, which will be described later in detail. The service providing side 101 acquires corresponding travel information and local information (information suitable for a user's travel plan) from the database 102 based on the user information from the user side 107 or the copying machine side 104, and the like.
3 to the user side 107 or the copying machine side 104.

The copying machine 104 is installed in a travel destination hotel, convenience store, or the like.
4b has functions of color copy, color print, black copy (black and white copy), and black print (black and white print). Further, the copying machine 104b prints out or copies information transmitted from the service providing side 101 via the network 103, and transmits information such as the number of output copies and operation status to the billing server 105. ing. Further, the copier 104b can be operated from the terminal device 104a.
4a indicates transmission information from the service providing side 101,
Information (user information such as a user ID) input by a user is acquired and managed.

The accounting server 105 and the user information server 106 will be described later.

FIG. 3 shows an information input processing sequence for the user at the user side 107 to obtain information on a desired travel plan from the service providing side 101. Here, the user uses the copier 104 (terminal device 104a) installed in a hotel, a convenience store, or the like of a certain travel destination to obtain travel destination information including a map of the destination, information on transportation means, and the like. In order to obtain the information, various information inputs and confirmations are performed on a screen having input items provided from the service providing side 101 via the network 103.

Here, as an example, it is assumed that the user obtains the travel information using the copying machine side 104, but the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the copying machine side 104, the user side 107 ( Terminal device).

Steps S201 to S203: terminal device 1
04a includes, for example, a main screen 30 as shown in FIG.
0 is displayed. When the user receives the service from the service providing side 101 for the first time (in the case of a new service), the user inputs user name and contact information into the “name input” item on the main screen 300 (steps S201 to S203). As a result, the user is given a user ID from the service providing side 101, and the user can receive a service from the next time using the user ID.

On the other hand, if the user has not received the service from the service providing side 101 for the first time, the user enters the user ID given by the service providing side 101 at the time of new service.
The user inputs the “user ID” item on the main screen 300 (steps S201 and S204). Thus, the user
By providing only the information of the user ID, the service can be received from the service providing side 101, and the personal information of the user itself is protected.

Note that, on the service providing side 101, the user ID is different from the other user IDs so as not to overlap with other user IDs.
It is managed by D number. Also in the terminal device 104a, information input by the user in the following processing is managed by the user ID.

Step S205: The user operates the "Go to date and means input screen" button on the main screen 300 to display information such as travel destinations, lodging places, dates and transportation means on the screen 301 displayed. input.

Step S206: Next, the user outputs the information (from the service providing side 101) on the screen 302 displayed by operating the button of "enter desired output location input screen" on the main screen 300 (step S206). Desired output location). The desired output location is 10
The user can select a hotel where the user is staying, a convenience store near the user's travel destination, a convenience store near the user's home, and the like. Here, the copy machine side 10
It is assumed that the place where 4 is installed is input.

Step S207: The user inputs a method for receiving the result of outputting information from the service providing side 101 on the screen 303 displayed by operating the button of “to the receiving method input screen” on the main screen 300. (Step S207). For example, the user inputs travel information from an employee such as a hotel or a convenience store where the user is staying, or receives travel information by directly inputting a user ID by the user using the copier 104b. .

At this time, the service providing side 101 executes the following processing based on the input information of the receiving method. For example, in the case of a method of receiving travel information from an employee of a hotel in which a user is staying, it is determined from the information in the database 102 whether or not the copier 104 is installed at the hotel. As a result, if not installed, information on the convenience store or the like where the copier 104 near the hotel is installed is provided to the user. Thereby, the user inputs the receiving method again.

Steps SS208 to S210: The user inputs a fee payment method for the current service on the screen 304 displayed by operating the button of “to payment method input screen” on the main screen 300 (step S208). ). For example, it selects one of a credit card payment and a cash payment. At this time, if a credit card payment is desired (step S209), necessary items such as the card number are input (step S21).
0).

Step S211: The user inputs desired travel items (information such as a desired sightseeing place) in the "input desired travel items" on the main screen 300.

Steps S212 and S213: The user
It is confirmed whether or not all the information in steps S201 to S211 has been input (step S212). If there is any uninput information, the process returns to the corresponding input screen again to input the uninput information (step S213). .

Steps S214 and S215: Step S
When all the inputs are completed as a result of the confirmation at 212, the user confirms the contents of the information (step S21).
4) If a correction or the like is necessary, return to the corresponding input screen again and re-input information (step S215).

In step S 214, when it is confirmed that all information has been correctly input from the user, the input information is transmitted to the service providing side 101 via the network 103. At this time, if there is no input or erroneous input, the user may be notified of the fact from the screen, and may be re-input.

When the various information (user information) input by the user as described above is transmitted to the service providing side 101 via the network 103, the service providing side 101 executes the following processing. .

[0051] The service providing side 101, based on the user information (input information in step S205 of FIG. 3),
The corresponding information (information such as a map of a hotel or the like where the user stays or a map displaying a traffic route) is acquired from the database 102, and travel plan information is created from the acquired information. Although details will be described later, for example, the service provider 1
01 is road information when the user's transportation is a car,
Create travel plan information including information on time, fares, parking lots, detailed road maps, loopholes, road construction, etc. If the user's transportation is public transportation such as a train, timetable, transfer, time, fee Create travel plan information including information such as a detailed map from the nearest station.

Then, the service providing side 101 transmits the network 103 to the device (here, the copying machine 104b of the copying machine 104) indicated by the information of the desired output location included in the user information by using the travel plan information as a mail. To send through. As a result, in the copying machine 104b, the user can enter the travel plan information 400 as shown in FIG.
Can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for specifically explaining a configuration in which the service providing side 101 uses the information acquired from the database 102 based on the user information to create travel plan information suitable for the user. It is.

The service provider 101, based on the travel desired items included in the user information, obtains information (such as a detailed map of the surrounding area, a traffic route, a required time, and a local Event, etc.), and using the obtained information, create a travel plan with the user's accommodation place or desired output place as a starting point.

At this time, for example, depending on the travel desired items,
When the user desires to visit a plurality of sightseeing spots and places, the service providing side 101 performs the following processing.

Here, for simplicity of explanation, a plurality of sightseeing spots and places desired by the user are collectively referred to as "desired places", and the plurality of desired places are referred to as desired places 1 and 2 ,..., Desired location n. The desired place 1, the desired place 2,..., The desired place n are in the order of priority. That is, the desired place 1 is the place most desired by the user, and subsequently, the desired degree becomes lower.

The service providing side 101 has a database 1
02, information on the desired places 1 to n is obtained from the plurality of desired places 1 by using the obtained information.
.. N are added to desired places 1 to n. In particular, the service provider 101 selects the desired location 1
-N, traffic information, distance,
Depending on the transportation method used by the user and the information such as the schedule,
A route that can be moved in the shortest time is searched for and added to desired places 1 to n according to the route.

Therefore, on the service providing side 101,
With respect to the desired places 1 to n, the moving place 1 where the user moves first, the moving place 2 where the user moves next,..., And the moving place n where the user moves last are determined. Thus, the user can efficiently move to a desired sightseeing spot or place by moving each place according to the moving place 1, the moving place 2,..., The moving place n.

Further, the service providing side 101 further weights the moving place 1, the moving place 2,..., The moving place n determined as described above. Specifically, the service providing side 101 obtains detailed information of the desired places 1 to n and information of a local event from the database 102, and obtains the information, the traffic information input by the user, the distance, A coefficient based on information such as a means of transportation and a schedule is handled as a weight coefficient. For example, the desired place 1 is set to have the largest weighting coefficient, and weighted so that the desired place 1 becomes the moving place 1 within a possible range. In this way, the moving places 1 to n are determined.

FIG. 7 shows the desired locations 1 to n as described above.
5 shows a sequence of processing for determining the moving places 1 to n with respect to.

Steps S401 and S402: The service providing side 101 sets the desired place X (X: 1, 2,..., N) to be processed among the desired places 1 to n as the moving place 1 (step S401). It is determined whether or not the location X satisfies conditions such as a specialized regional event and business hours (step S402). As a result of this determination, if the desired place X satisfies the above condition, the service providing side 101
Is determined as the moving place 1 and a step S405 described later is performed.
Proceed to.

Step S403: If the result of the determination in step S402 indicates that the desired place X does not satisfy the above conditions, the service providing side 101 selects the desired place 1 excluding the desired place X.
To n, it is determined whether or not there is a place that can satisfy the conditions such as specialized regional events and business hours. As a result of this determination, if there is a desired place (desired place X ′) that can satisfy the above condition, the service providing side 1
In step 01, the process returns to step S401, and the process from step S401 is executed with the desired location X 'as the moving location 1.
At this time, the desired location X ′ that can satisfy the above condition
, The service providing side 101 selects a desired place X ′ (x) based on the priority from a plurality of desired places X ′ (1), X ′ (2),. Returning to step S401, the process from step S401 is executed with the desired location X '(x) as the moving location 1.

Step S404: As a result of the determination in step S404, among the desired places 1 to n excluding the desired place X,
When there is no place that can satisfy the conditions such as specialized regional events and business hours, that is, desired places 1 to n
Are not satisfied with the above conditions, in other words, if the moving places 1 to n cannot be determined, the service provider 101
Registers the moving places 1 to n as unmovable places, and ends this processing.

Steps S405 and S406: Step S
When the desired place X or X 'is determined as the moving place 1 by 401 to S404 (here, for example, it is assumed that the desired place 2 is determined as the moving place 1 for simplicity of explanation), the service provision The side 101 moves the desired place Y to be processed among the desired places 1, 3,..., N in order to determine the moving places 2 to n from the desired places 1, 3,. The location k (k: 2, 3,..., N) is set (step S405), and it is determined whether or not the desired location Y satisfies conditions such as a specialized local event and business hours (step S406). As a result of this determination, if the desired place Y satisfies the above condition, the service providing side 101 determines the desired place Y as the moving place k, and determines the next moving place (k +
In order to determine 1), the process returns to step S405, and the desired place Y ′ to be processed among the desired places 1, 3,..., N excluding the desired place Y is set as the moving place (k + 1), and the step S405 is performed.
The processing from 405 is executed. Such processing is repeatedly executed, and for all of the desired places 1, 3, ..., n,
When the moving places 2 to n are added, step S4 to be described later is performed.
The processing from step 10 is executed.

Step S407: If the result of the determination in step S406 indicates that the desired place Y does not satisfy the above conditions, the service providing side 101 selects a special place among the desired places 1, 3,. It is determined whether or not there is a place that can satisfy the conditions such as localized regional events and business hours. As a result of this determination, if there is a desired place (desired place Y ′) that can satisfy the above condition, the service providing side 101 returns to step S405, and the desired place Y
The process from step S405 is executed using 'as the moving location k.

Steps S408 and S409: Step S
As a result of the determination in 407, the desired location 1, excluding the desired location Y,
If there is no place among 3,..., N that can satisfy the conditions such as a specialized regional event or business hours, the service providing side 101 determines the moving places 1 to k,
The subsequent moving places (k + 1) to n are registered as immovable places, and then the process ends.

Steps S410 and S411: Step S
When the moving places 1 to n are determined by 401 to S409, the service providing side 101 determines again the moving places 1 to n so that the moving time between the moving places 1 to n is the shortest. From the moving place m to be processed in the moving places 1 to n to the moving place (m + 1) (m: 1, 2, ..., n-1)
It is determined whether or not the travel time during is the shortest (step S410). As a result of this determination, if the travel time from the travel location m to the travel location (m + 1) is the shortest, the service providing side 101 determines that the travel location m and the travel location (m + 1)
It is determined whether or not conditions such as specialized regional events and business hours are satisfied (step S411). As a result of this determination, when the moving place m and the moving place (m + 1) satisfy the above condition, the service providing side 101 sets “m = m +
As “1”, the processing from step S410 is executed for the next moving place m to the moving place (m + 1). In this way, for all the moving places 1 to n, step S
When the processing of 410 and S411 and the processing of steps S412 and S413 described below are completed, the processing of step S41 described below is completed.
4 are executed.

Step S412: If the result of determination in step S410 is that the travel time from the travel location m to the travel location (m + 1) is not the shortest, the service providing side 101 determines the order of the travel locations 1 to n according to an arbitrary condition. The process from step S410 is executed with the replacement locations as new locations 1 to n after the replacement.

Step S413: As a result of the discrimination in step S411, if the moving place m and the moving place (m + 1) do not satisfy the conditions such as a specialized local event or business hours, the service providing side 101 sets the moving place The order of 1 to n is changed according to an arbitrary condition, and the moved places after the exchange are set as new moved places 1 to n, and step S410 is performed.
Execute the process from.

Step S414: Steps S410 to S
When the moving places 1 to n are determined again in consideration of the moving time according to 413, the service providing side 101 sets the moving places 1 to n.
It is determined whether or not n is within the range of the schedule input by the user. As a result of this determination, when the travel locations 1 to n are within the schedule range, the service providing side 101 finally determines the travel locations 1 to n at this time as a travel plan, and ends this processing.

Step S415: As a result of the determination in step S414, if the moving places 1 to n are not within the schedule range, the service providing side 101 determines the schedule entered by the user, the priority of the desired places 1 to n, and the like. It is determined whether the schedule can be changed or extended. As a result of this determination, if the schedule can be changed or extended, the service provider 1
In step 01, the schedule is changed or extended as far as possible, and the process from step S401 is executed again in a new schedule.

Steps S416 and S417: Step S
As a result of the determination in 415, if it is not possible to change or extend the itinerary, the service providing side 101 determines, as the travel plan, a travel location that is within the range entered by the user in the travel locations 1 to n ( (Step S416), and other moving places are registered as moving additional places (step S417), and then the process is terminated.

When the moving places 1 to n are determined as described above, the service providing side 101 sends these moving places 1 to n.
About ~ n, event information, photo images, business hours,
Fees, service information, and the like are acquired from the database 102, and the acquired information is printed in a form of the copier 104b so that the user can easily view the information.
Create information for printout.

At this time, the service providing side 101 prints out not only the acquired information but also the information related to the moving places 1 to n, the surrounding information, and the information such as the traffic route. Create information for Further, the service providing side 101 creates printout information suitable for the user based on information related to the user's age group, the user's travel purpose, and the like.

Further, the service providing side 101 creates information such as traffic routes and detailed maps for the moving places 1 to n from the information in the database 102. At this time, when the transportation means is a car according to the user information, the service providing side 101 includes information such as required time, road information, toll information, parking lot, detailed road map information, a bypass, and road construction. If the means of transportation is public transportation such as a train according to the user information, the service providing side 101 will provide the required time, timetable, transfer, fare information, and a detailed map from the nearest station to the next travel location. Information. It is assumed that the map information here is detailed information including regional information of a moving place.

Then, the service providing side 101 converts the various information created as described above into a designated place (here, a copying machine) indicated by the user information as the travel plan information 400 as shown in FIG. Side 104) via the network 103 at the designated time. As a result, at the copying machine 104b of the copying machine 104, the information on the travel destination desired by the user is printed out as the travel plan information 400 in FIG. 5 at the time desired by the user.

The printout at the copying machine 104b can be performed by inputting a user ID at the terminal device 104a or the copying machine 104b, for example, as shown in FIG. For example, in the above-described “receiving method” of the output result (see step S207 in FIG. 3), when a method of “receiving from an employee of a hotel or a convenience store where the user is staying” is designated by the user, The employee prints out the travel plan information 400 by inputting a user ID or the like at the terminal device 104a or the copying machine 104b, and transfers the travel plan information 400 to the user when the user comes to the store. If the “directly received by user” method is specified, the user prints out the travel plan information 400 by inputting a user ID at the terminal device 104a or the copying machine 104b.

The travel plan information 4 in the copying machine 104b
00 is printed out, and when the user confirms and authenticates the printout, the printout information and information such as the number of prints, the number of prints, and the operation status of the copying machine 104b (hereinafter, referred to as “printout information”) are given together with the printout completion notification. "Print information") is transmitted to the terminal device 104.
a or from the copier 104b to the accounting server 105 via the network 103.

The billing server 105 bills the user for using the service based on the print information transmitted from the terminal device 104a or the copying machine 104b.
The result is transmitted to the copier 104 via the network 103 as print service fee information. The copying machine 104 displays the print service fee information from the accounting server 105 on the terminal device 104a or the display unit of the copying machine 104b.

The user confirms the fee for the current service using the print service fee information displayed on the copying machine 104, and checks the "payment method" described above (see steps S208 to S210 in FIG. 3). Pays the print service fee according to the method input in advance. For example, if the user has input "credit card payment", the payment is automatically made. Also,
If the user has entered "cash payment",
Pay the fee directly at the hotel or convenience store where the user is staying.

Further, the travel plan information 400 is printed out in the copying machine 104b, and after the printout is confirmed and authenticated by the user, information of the user who has used the service this time (information including the travel plan information 400) is It is managed by the user information server 106. Thus, for example, when the user uses the service again, the service of providing the travel plan information 400 can be easily performed.

Specifically, for example, the user information server 1
06 is a travel information ID for the travel plan information 400.
(Identification number) is added and managed, and the travel information ID at this time is notified to the user at the end of the printout or the like (transmitted to the terminal device 107 or the copying machine 104 via the network 103). With this, when the user wants to acquire the same travel information again, the user
D, desired output location, desired delivery method, payment method for print service fee, and travel information ID notified last time
As user information on the terminal device 107 or the copier 1
04 may be input. The service providing side 101 acquires travel plan information corresponding to the travel information ID included in the user information input by the user by communicating with the user information server 106, and provides a printout service of the travel plan information. , According to the user's desired output location and desired delivery method.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment,
In the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the configuration is such that a travel company side 110 is further added to the network 103. Travel agency 11
0 also has a computer function 600 as shown in FIG.
The following configuration and operation are performed.

The travel company side 110 has the user information server 1
The travel information of the user managed in 06 is used as information data of a travel service plan. For example, it is used as information data for planning a travel service for personal travel or the like.

More specifically, for example, at the travel company 110, the planner uses the terminal device 110a to acquire travel information of a plurality of users from the user information server 106 via the network 103, and obtains the acquired information. Is temporarily stored in the database 110b. After that, the planner examines various travel plans based on the information in the database 110b, and uses the terminal device 110a to advertise to users on the network 103 by e-mail or a homepage. .

Thus, the travel company 110 can receive detailed requests specialized for individual users, and can easily carry out advertisement of travel plans suitable for individual users. In addition, the user information server 106
Among the travel information of the managing user, valid travel information can be provided to the travel agency 110. At this time, the travel company 110 may be charged via the charging server 105 according to the quality and quantity of the provided travel information. In this case, the travel company 110 pays a fee for information provided from the user information server 106 according to a contract in advance.

An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the host and the terminal according to the first and second embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide the system or the apparatus. By reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the device,
Needless to say, this is achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium is the first and second program codes.
The functions of the embodiment are realized, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like. The functions of the first and second embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, and the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the present invention includes a case in which the functions of the first and second embodiments are realized by performing part or all of the actual processing. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in an extension function board inserted into the computer or a function extension unit connected to the computer, the function extension is performed based on the instruction of the program code. A CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and performs the first and second processing according to the processing.
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the embodiment is realized is also included.

[0088]

As described above, according to the present invention, information on a desired destination (information on a travel destination of a user, etc.) and information on a destination can be provided to a plurality of users in various situations. The information (travel plan, etc.) relating to the transfer to is surely provided. In addition, if a service for providing and outputting (printing out or the like) is provided based on a desired output location and a desired date and time of the user, information can be obtained very efficiently for the user. In addition, if the information to be provided to the user is configured to be managed, a new travel service planning for an individual travel can be easily performed, and information with a travel agency can be activated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a terminal device on the user side of the information processing system;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device on the service providing side, a billing server, a user information server, and a computer function of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an input process of information provided by a user in the information processing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen used in the input processing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of travel plan information printed out on the copying machine side based on input information in the input processing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining creation of travel plan information on the service providing side.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating the travel plan information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a printout process on the copying machine side.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information processing system according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 information processing system 101 service providing side 102 database 103 network 104 copying machine side 104a terminal device 104b copying machine 105 billing server 106 user information server 107 user side

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user through communication with the user via a network, the service information relating to a plurality of places. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a storage unit that stores information; and a providing unit that obtains information corresponding to a destination from the user from the storage unit and provides the information to the user. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: creating means for creating at least information on movement to the destination based on the destination information from the user and information stored in the storage means, wherein the providing means is obtained by the creating means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information provided is provided to the user. 3. The information according to claim 1, wherein the providing means provides the user with a service for outputting the provided information based on a desired output location and a desired date and time indicated by a request from the user. Processing equipment. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising management means for managing information related to information provision by said providing means. 5. An information processing apparatus for receiving information on an arbitrary service from the service providing side by communicating with the service providing side via a network, and transmitting information on an arbitrary destination to the service providing side. Transmitting means for transmitting, and receiving information on the destination obtained from information on a plurality of places managed by the service providing side, which is returned from the service providing side to information transmitted by the transmitting means. An information processing apparatus comprising: 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising output information for outputting information received by said receiving means. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the destination location includes a travel destination location. 8. An information processing system in which a plurality of devices are communicably connected to each other via a network, wherein at least one device among the plurality of devices is any one of claims 1 to 7. An information processing system having the function of an information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 9. An information processing method for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user side by communicating with the user side via a network, comprising: And a providing step of obtaining information corresponding to a destination from the user from the storage means and providing the information to the user. 10. An information processing method for providing service information to a user based on a request from the user through communication with the user via a network, comprising: And a providing step of obtaining information on the destination indicated by the request from the user from the management information in the managing step and providing the acquired information to the user. 11. A creating step of creating a travel plan for the destination based on information on the destination indicated by the request from the user, wherein the providing step includes the information of the travel plan obtained by the creating step. 11. The information processing method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of providing the information to the user. 12. A management step for managing information on the travel plan obtained in the creation step, and a second creation step for creating a second travel plan based on the management information in the management step. 12. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein: 13. A transmission step of transmitting the second travel plan obtained in the second creation step to the user as advertisement information by at least one of an e-mail and a homepage. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein 14. The information processing method according to claim 12, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting the management information in said management step to a travel agency via a network. 15. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein in the providing step, a service for outputting information to a desired output location indicated by a request from the user is provided to the user. 16. The information processing method according to claim 15, wherein said information output includes a printout. 17. The information processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a management step of managing information related to information provision in said providing step. 18. A computer readable storage of a processing program for implementing the function of the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or the function of the information processing system according to claim 8. A storage medium characterized by the above-mentioned. 19. A storage medium, wherein the processing steps of the information processing method according to claim 9 are readable by a computer.