JP2005332161A - Portable terminal, question processing program, server device, question processing system and question processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a question processing system executing question processing for a quiz, a questionnaire or the like, and allowing collection of area information together with an answer. <P>SOLUTION: In this question processing system, a cellphone 1 acquires question information of the quiz or the like from a server 2 interlocking with a television program, for example, and acquires position information of the cellphone 1 by use of a GPS function or the like. The cellphone 1 adds the position information to answer information to the server 2 to a question. The server device 2 transmits information necessary for the question processing, and receives the position information and the answer information. The server device 2 converts the position information into the area information, and totals the answer information by the area information. The cellphone 1 can acquire program interlocking processing schedule information, and execute the designated question processing according to the schedule information. By the system, the area information of a user can be automatically acquired when the user answers the question. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal, a question processing program, a server device, a question processing system, and a question processing method, and in particular, a portable terminal capable of performing question processing such as quizzes and questionnaires and collecting regional information, and question processing. The present invention relates to a program, a server device, a question processing system, and a question processing method.

Conventionally, various linked systems for broadcasting programs such as televisions and terminals connected to a network have been proposed. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a media-linked Internet content display system. In this system, for example, a user viewing an advertisement on a television operates a terminal to display a home page of the corresponding product.
JP 2002-312679 A

  The conventional broadcast-linked system described above has a function of simply displaying a homepage related to an advertisement, and the user has previously registered the area information as a user. Therefore, user registration is indispensable in order to acquire regional information, but it takes time to register, and users hate to input personal information, so it is difficult to acquire many users. There was a problem. Also, once a user has moved, there is no merit of changing the registered contents, so there is a high possibility that the user will not change, and the area where the user is currently watching TV may be different from the area where the user is registered. There was also a problem that there was.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, execute question processing such as quizzes and questionnaires, etc., a portable terminal capable of collecting regional information together with answers, a question processing program, a server device, a question processing system, and question processing It is to provide a method.

The portable terminal of the present invention is a portable terminal having an information processing function and a data communication function, a question information acquiring means for acquiring question information from a server device, a display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information, and a portable terminal The main features include position information acquisition means for acquiring terminal position information and answer means for adding the position information to answer information input by a user and transmitting the information to the server device.
Further, in the portable terminal, the position information acquisition means may be latitude / longitude information output means for outputting latitude information and longitude information using GPS.

  The question processing program of the present invention is a portable terminal computer having an information processing function and a data communication function, a question information acquiring means for acquiring question information from a server device, a display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information, The main feature is that it functions as position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile terminal, and answer means for adding the position information to answer information input by a user and transmitting it to the server device.

  The server device of the present invention is a server device capable of communicating with a portable terminal via a communication network, an information transmitting unit for transmitting question information necessary for question processing in response to a request from the portable terminal, and a portable terminal. The main features include receiving means for receiving transmitted answer information and position information, means for converting the position information into area information, and a counting means for counting the answer information by area information. .

  Further, the server device further identifies a communication network to which the portable terminal that transmitted the information belongs when there is no position information in the information received by the receiving unit, and the position of the portable terminal is determined from the communication network. You may provide the terminal location information acquisition means which acquires information. Furthermore, the mobile terminal may include schedule transmission means for transmitting time schedule information of question processing linked to a program.

  The question processing system of the present invention includes question information acquisition means for acquiring question information from a server device, display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information, and position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile terminal. A mobile terminal having an information processing function and a data communication function, and a response to a request from the mobile terminal, comprising response means for adding the position information to the reply information input by a user and transmitting it to the server device Information transmitting means for transmitting question information necessary for processing, receiving means for receiving answer information and position information transmitted from the portable terminal, means for converting the position information into area information, and the answer information The main feature is that it comprises a server device capable of communicating with the portable terminal via a communication network, which is provided with a summing means for summing up by area information.

  The question processing method of the present invention includes a step in which a portable terminal acquires information necessary for the question processing from a server device and executes the question processing, a step of acquiring position information of the portable terminal, and the portable terminal in the question processing Adding the location information to the reply information to the server device and transmitting it to the server device; converting the location information into regional information in the server device; and summing up the reply information by the regional information in the server device The main feature is to include a step to perform.

  The question processing method described above further includes a step for the mobile terminal to acquire and store time schedule information for processing linked to a program from the server device, and a step for starting the question processing in the mobile terminal according to the time schedule information. You may go out.

  The apparatus and method according to the present invention have the above-described characteristics, so that a user who owns a mobile phone can participate in a TV program or the like and answer a question, and can acquire user's regional information. Reflecting the contents of the program makes the contents of the program more interesting, and has the effect of increasing the audience rating of the program, the number of accesses to the server, and the number of uses of services provided by the server. In addition, there is no need for the user to register the area information, and the current area information is automatically collected, so that the operability and convenience are improved. Furthermore, since user responses to programs and advertisements can be collected directly in real time and by region, there is also an effect that it can be used as an effective tool for marketing research.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example in which a mobile phone is used as a terminal is disclosed. However, the present invention can be applied to any terminal that can connect to the Internet and browse the Web.

  First, the configuration of the entire system will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire system of an embodiment of the present invention. This system is configured such that a mobile phone 1, which is a type of mobile terminal, and a server 2 can be connected via a mobile phone network 5 and the Internet 4. The mobile phone network 5 includes a base station 9, a packet network 6 that manages packet switching, and a gateway server 7 connected to the Internet 4, and enables connection between the mobile phone 1 and the Internet 4. The mobile phone 1 is equipped with a web browser that enables web browsing by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), for example, and can download and store an application program according to the present invention.

  The server 2 includes a database 3 and has functions such as a Web server, a mail server, and an application server. The server 2 can communicate with a terminal such as the mobile phone 1 or a personal computer via the Internet 4 and the mobile phone network 5, and performs processing as described later according to access from the mobile phone 1. The database 3 is a database system connected to the server 2 and stores various data such as a download application, user-related data, and content data, and provides necessary data to the server 2 based on a request from the server 2.

  The TV broadcast station 10 has a broadcast function of a known television program, accesses the server 2 via the Internet 4, browses data such as questionnaire count results on the Web, and displays a program (broadcast screen) as necessary. ). However, the present invention can be implemented even if the TV broadcast station 10 is not configured to be accessible to the server 2. The television receiver 11 is a known television receiver owned by the user of the mobile phone 1. The system of the present invention allows a user to participate in a quiz using the mobile phone 1 while watching a quiz program, for example, by the television receiver 11.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment. The mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 20, a communication control unit 21, a display unit 23, an input unit 24, a voice / sound control unit, a clock unit 28, a GPS control unit 29, and a storage unit 30, and each circuit is connected by a bus 29. Has been.

  The control unit 20 that executes the information processing function includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls the entire mobile phone 1 according to various programs stored in the ROM and the storage unit 30. As the application program, for example, a web browser for controlling web browsing, a mailer program for controlling transmission / reception of mail, or a downloaded application relating to the present invention can be executed. The storage unit 30 includes, for example, a non-volatile memory, and stores the above-described various applications, data used by the applications, image data such as standby images, ringtone data, and telephone book data.

  The communication control unit 21 provided with the antenna 22 performs a data and voice communication function with the base station. For example, the display unit 23 including a liquid crystal display displays characters and images under the control of the control unit 20. The input unit 24 is a dial key for inputting a telephone number or characters, a select key for calling up a main menu, moving a cursor up / down / left / right with respect to selectable icons on the screen, A confirmation key for confirming an item selected by a dial key or a select key is provided.

  The voice / sound control unit 25 is connected to a speaker 26 and a microphone 27, and executes sound output such as ringing tone and incoming call melodies, voice output during a call, and voice input from the microphone 27. The clock unit 28 provides current time information to the control unit. The GPS control unit 29 outputs latitude and longitude information by receiving radio waves from a known GPS satellite. In addition, an infrared communication function, a short-range wireless communication function, an external device connection function, a camera function, a (digital) television or (digital) radio reception function, a memory card slot, and the like may be provided.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the server 2 according to the present embodiment. The server 2 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, a communication control unit 43, a database interface unit 44, a clock unit 45, and the like, and each circuit is connected by a bus 46. The control unit 41 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls the entire server by executing a well-known OS (Operating system), a server program, and an application program that implements the functions of the present invention.

  The storage unit 42 includes, for example, a hard disk device, and stores an OS, known or various application programs according to the present invention, data, and the like. The communication control unit 43 is connected to the Internet 4 via a router or a firewall server (not shown), and performs bidirectional communication with a mobile terminal or the like via the Internet 4. The clock unit 45 measures the current time and provides it to the control unit 41. The database interface unit 44 is connected to the database 3 and exchanges data with the database 2.

  The function and operation of the question process according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the question (quiz or questionnaire) process of the present invention. The vertical line indicates the passage of time, and the horizontal dotted line indicates the movement of information, data, and information (the same applies to other figures). This process is executed when, for example, a user viewing a quiz program wants to participate in this program.

  In S <b> 50, the user starts a mobile phone browser, accesses a predetermined server 2, and requests question data from the server 2. In S51, the server transmits the question data and answer number information. The question data may be, for example, a quiz or questionnaire question such as “What is this?”, And the answer number information is an answerable number such as “1, 2, 3” or “3”. Information or number information of options.

  In S52, the browser displays a question question sentence and an answer number icon. In S53, it is determined whether or not an answer operation has been performed. As for the answer, an icon of an answer number displayed on the screen may be selected and operated, or pressing of a dial key corresponding to the answer number may be detected.

  In S54, based on a program included in the screen data, the browser controls the GPS control unit 29 to acquire latitude and longitude information as position information. In S55, the browser transmits the answer information and position information input by the user to the server 2. In the case of a mobile phone not equipped with a GPS function, only answer information is transmitted without position information. In S56, it is determined whether the reply deadline has passed or the reply information has already been transmitted. If the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to S53, but if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to S57. In S57, the completion of the question process is displayed on the mobile phone.

  In S58, the server 2 receives the response information. In S59, it is determined whether or not position information (latitude / longitude information) is included in the received information. If the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to S60. In S60, for example, the communication network to which the terminal that has transmitted the response from the transmission URL belongs is identified, and if the position information can be acquired, approximate position information is acquired from the communication network. For example, there may be a case where area information where the terminal exists can be acquired from the area server, or a place name information where there is a base station close to the terminal.

  In S61, the position information is converted into, for example, regional information for each prefecture. When the position information is latitude / longitude information, the latitude / longitude information is converted into area information with reference to the latitude / longitude-area information conversion table. When the position information is area information or place name information, the area information is converted into area (prefecture) information with reference to the area-area information conversion table or the place name-area information conversion table.

  In S62, the answer information is tabulated by region. In S63, the intermediate results are published on the Web. Information on intermediate results and final results published on the Web can be viewed on the TV broadcast station 10, and the TV broadcast station 10 takes in the information on intermediate results and final results on a broadcast screen and broadcasts it as necessary. be able to.

In S64, it is determined whether or not the time limit for accepting answers has passed. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to S58. In S <b> 65, final results such as quiz correct answer, correct answer rate, questionnaire count result, etc. are disclosed on the Web, and the final results are transmitted to the terminal 1. In S66, based on the result information received by the application from the server, the correct answer, the correct answer rate, the questionnaire total result, and the like are displayed. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of questionnaire count results on the terminal.
With the configuration and operation as described above, the user of the mobile phone can easily participate in the question linked with the program, and the area information can be automatically acquired together with the answer information from the user.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. 2nd Example is an example which performs a more advanced cooperation process with a program using a dedicated application. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the question process according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the question process is not always performed, but only a specific program is serviced. However, it is also possible to always service the question process for all broadcast programs.

  In S10, the user first accesses the server 2 using the browser of the mobile phone 1 and performs user registration. Next, in S11, the mobile phone 1 downloads the application according to the present invention from the server 2 and stores it. In S12, the user accesses the server using the browser of the mobile phone 1 and registers participation in the program. In S13, the application of the mobile phone 1 is activated by mail transmission from the server at the start of the program. In S14, the application acquires the time schedule data of the program from the server. In S15, a question process as described later is performed by the application. As a form of participation, for example, there is a question process such as a questionnaire or a quiz described in the first embodiment, and the area information where the terminal exists is collected and aggregated together with the answer information of the user.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of the participation registration process in the question process of the second embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart corresponds to S12 of FIG. In S40, the server is accessed using the browser of the mobile phone terminal. If it is an official site (server) authorized by a carrier of the mobile phone network, the UID (user-specific identification information) of the accessed mobile phone can be obtained from the mobile phone network. Is possible. Moreover, you may authenticate with a user ID and a password.

  In S41, a list of programs that can be participated is transmitted from the server. In S42, the browser displays a list and transmits information on the program selected by the user to the server. In S43, the user's participation in the program is registered in the server. In S44, the completion of registration is displayed on the terminal.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the mobile phone terminal 1 and the server 2 in the question processing of the second embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart corresponds to S13 to S15 in FIG. In S20, the server waits until the start time of the program to be serviced. In S21, an e-mail for starting the application of the present invention downloaded in advance is transmitted to the terminal 1 registered in advance to participate in the program.

  In S22, the application is started directly or by a user operation based on the mail reception. The activation method is, for example, the URL for starting the application (Uniform Resource Locator) (= URI) is described in the email, and the user can open the email with the mailer and select the URL that is listed. In some cases, the application is started by saving the mail in a mail inbox dedicated to the application in the mailer and selecting the mail. Alternatively, there is a device that can directly activate an application by receiving an application activation mail at a terminal. Note that the user may perform an operation of starting the application by receiving the mail.

  In S23, time information is transmitted from the mobile phone terminal 1. In S24, the server receives time information from the terminal, and if there is an error of a predetermined time or more and correction is necessary, a correction instruction (error information or current time information) is transmitted. In S25, the time of the clock unit 28 is set in the mobile phone.

  In S <b> 26, the application requests the server 2 for schedule information for processing linked to the program. In S27, the server 2 receives the request and transmits to the terminal 1 time schedule information for processing linked to the program. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the time schedule information. As shown in the figure, the start and end times of various processes from the start to the end of the program and the processing contents are shown.

  In S <b> 28, the application receives the schedule information and stores it in the storage unit 30. In S29, the application displays an initial screen (program title, etc.) linked with the program. In S30, the application compares the schedule information with the current time to determine whether the time for updating the display has arrived. And when a determination result is affirmation (time arrival), it transfers to S31.

  In S31, the processing content is read from the schedule. As processing contents, for example, question processing such as quiz processing and questionnaire processing described in the first embodiment, program related detailed information display processing, present application processing, request processing, program related ringtone download processing, product purchase reservation processing, etc. There is.

  In S32 and S33, for example, processing similar to the question processing shown in FIG. 4 is executed by the application and the server. Note that the mobile phone side is not a browser, but the application of the present invention performs processing. The application acquires data necessary for display and the like from the server 2 and transmits answer information of quizzes and questionnaires to the server 2. At this time, if the position information can be acquired, it is acquired and added to the answer information. The server 2 transmits display information and receives and counts response (operation) information from the mobile phone. In S34, for example, it is determined whether or not the current time has reached the end time of the program linkage processing time schedule. If processing still remains, the process returns to S30.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, the following modifications may be considered in the present invention. In the embodiment, an example of question processing linked to a broadcast program has been disclosed. However, the question processing of the present invention can also be performed by a mobile phone alone. In the embodiment, the linkage with the program has been described, but it is also possible to link with the advertisements inserted into the program in the commercial broadcasting. In this case, as linked processing, processing such as a more detailed description of the product or service, provision of a URL of a home page related to the product, material request, purchase reservation, etc. may be performed.

  In the second embodiment, an example is disclosed in which position information is added for each answer. However, since it is highly possible that the position of the terminal does not change during the program broadcast, for example, the position of the terminal is only once at the start of the program. Information collection processing may be performed, the converted area information may be stored for each user, and the area information corresponding to the answer information may be added. Further, this process may be registered in the time schedule. In the second embodiment, the case has been described in which the activation mail is a function that merely activates the application, but program schedule information may be stored / attached to the activation mail. In this case, the mobile phone only needs to check and correct the time with the server when the application is activated.

  The present invention can be used in the industrial field of data communication systems and information processing systems including mobile terminals such as mobile phones, server devices, mobile phone networks, and the Internet.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire system of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the mobile telephone by this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the server by a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the question process of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the question process of 2nd Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the participation registration process in the question process of 2nd Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of a mobile telephone terminal and a server in the question process of 2nd Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the content of time schedule information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the questionnaire total result in a terminal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile telephone 2 ... Server 3 ... Database 4 ... Internet 5 ... Mobile telephone network 6 ... Packet network 7 ... Gateway server 9 ... Base station 10 ... TV broadcasting station 11 ... Television receiver

Claims (9)

In a portable terminal having an information processing function and a data communication function,
Question information acquisition means for acquiring question information from the server device;
Display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile terminal;
A portable terminal comprising: answering means for adding the position information to answer information input by a user and transmitting the answer information to the server device.   The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the position information acquisition means is latitude / longitude information output means for outputting latitude information and longitude information using GPS. A portable terminal computer having an information processing function and a data communication function,
Question information acquisition means for acquiring question information from the server device,
Display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information;
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile terminal;
A question processing program for functioning as answering means for adding the position information to answer information input by a user and transmitting it to the server device. In a server device capable of communicating with a mobile terminal via a communication network,
Information transmitting means for transmitting question information necessary for question processing in response to a request from the mobile terminal;
Receiving means for receiving answer information and position information transmitted from the mobile terminal;
Means for converting the location information into regional information;
A server device comprising: a totaling unit that totalizes the answer information by the area information.   5. The server apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising schedule transmission means for transmitting time schedule information of question processing linked to a program to the portable terminal.   Further, when there is no position information in the information received by the receiving means, a terminal position for identifying the communication network to which the portable terminal that transmitted the information belongs and acquiring the position information of the portable terminal from the communication network 6. The server device according to claim 5, further comprising information acquisition means. Question information acquisition means for acquiring question information from the server device, display means for displaying a question sentence included in the question information, position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the mobile terminal, and answer information input by the user A portable terminal having an information processing function and a data communication function, comprising answering means for adding the position information and transmitting it to the server device;
Information transmitting means for transmitting question information necessary for question processing in response to a request from the portable terminal, receiving means for receiving answer information and position information transmitted from the portable terminal, and the position information as regional information A server device capable of communicating with the portable terminal via a communication network, comprising: a means for converting; and a counting means for counting the answer information by the area information;
The question processing system characterized by comprising. A step in which the portable terminal acquires information necessary for the question processing from the server device and executes the question processing;
Obtaining location information of the mobile terminal;
A step in which the portable terminal adds the position information to reply information to the server device in a question process and transmits the information to the server device;
Converting the location information into area information in the server device;
The question processing method characterized by including the step which totals the said reply information according to the said area information in the said server apparatus. Furthermore, the portable terminal acquires and stores time schedule information of processing linked with a program from the server device,
The question processing method according to claim 8, further comprising: starting a question process according to the time schedule information in the portable terminal.

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