JP2014056548A - Information providing system and information management server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily provide user with effective information on the basis of a history of the user's location information.SOLUTION: An information management server which manages location information of a radio terminal and contents to be provided for a user of the radio terminal, comprises: storage means which stores a history of location information of the radio terminal and location information of a store; and content selection means which selects the content on the basis of the history of location information of the radio terminal and location information of the store.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system and an information management server.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for displaying advertisement banners on websites, a recommendation system that displays advertisements regarding products and the like that match the user's preferences based on products and services that the user has searched for and purchased in the past has been used. In the recommendation system, an inference method called collaborative filtering is used. For example, when there are a plurality of users who access the same site, the users are defined as having similarity. If there is a history that some users have purchased “a certain product”, it is assumed that other similar users are also interested in “a certain product”, and advertisements related to “a certain product” Display to the user. Therefore, displaying an advertisement at random to the user is inefficient as an advertising effect, but the advertisement can be efficiently displayed to the user by using the recommendation system.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for distributing content to users based on the processing history of a communication terminal and the like, taking into account both the current behavior state and past content usage results.

  However, in the conventional technology, the advertisement displayed to the user is based on a history of behavior (site access, electronic commerce, etc.) in a virtual space on the Internet, and the behavior accompanied by physical movement of the user. Cannot be reflected.

  In addition, the technology described in Patent Document 1 distributes content in which various situations that can be considered as the purpose of visiting the location are distributed when the content is distributed at a current location. There is a problem that content cannot be distributed after determining the relationship between the past or present position and place (for example, a store).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to easily provide a user with effective information based on a history of position information.

  In order to solve the above problems, the information management server is an information management server that manages position information of a wireless terminal and content provided to a user of the wireless terminal, and includes a history of position information of the wireless terminal and a store position. Storage means for storing information, and content selection means for selecting the content based on a history of location information of the wireless terminal and location information of the store.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, effective information based on the history of position information can be easily provided to the user.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the information provision system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the radio | wireless terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the communication apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware block diagram of the gateway apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the information provision system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the signal format in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the positional information storage means of the communication apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the positional information storage means of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the delivery location memory | storage means of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the positional information history memory | storage means of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the shop information storage means of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. In embodiment of this invention, it is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the method of designating the area | region of a shop with position information. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the content information storage means of the information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the content provided in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of content selection processing executed by the content providing unit of the information management server in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of operation | movement of the information provision system in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows an example of the procedure of the selection process of the content which the content provision means of an information management server performs in the 1st modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the content provided in the 1st modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the information provision system in the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the display apparatus in the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows an example of the procedure of the selection process of the content which the content provision means of an information management server performs in the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information providing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system 1 includes a wireless terminal 10, communication devices 20 a, 20 b,... 20 n (referred to as “communication device 20” when not distinguished from each other), and a gateway device 30. And an information management server 40. The wireless terminal 10, the communication device 20, and the gateway device 30 are communicably connected via a wireless network 97 such as PAN (Personal Area Network) based on IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark). The gateway device 30 and the information management server 40 are communicably connected via a network 98 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. The wireless terminal 10 and the information management server 40 are communicably connected via a network 99 such as a wireless LAN that complies with the IEEE 802.11 communication standard via an access point 90. Note that the communication methods of the wireless network 97, the network 98, and the network 99 are not limited to the above, and the LAN is not limited to wired or wireless, and if communication between each device is possible, for example, a cellular phone communication network Or IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth (registered trademark)) of near field communication standard.

  In the information providing system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention, the information management server 40 that manages the location information of the wireless terminal 10 selects content based on the location information history of the wireless terminal 10 and the location information of the store, In this system, the selected content is provided to the wireless terminal 10. Here, the position information in the embodiment of the present invention is information including latitude, longitude, building ridge, building floor number, and the like. The history of the position information of the wireless terminal 10 is time-series data of the position information of the wireless terminal 10 at the present time and the past. Further, the store location information is location information indicating a store area. In addition, the content is, for example, an electronic still image or moving image including information that advertises a store and products handled in the store, and information that indicates a place to rest (a store or bench such as a restaurant suitable for a break). Etc. The information providing system 1 is, for example, in a scene where the user of the wireless terminal 10 performs shopping, based on information on stores that the user of the wireless terminal 10 managed by the information management server 40 has visited in the past, Or the information regarding the product handled at the store is provided to the user of the wireless terminal 10. Note that the information providing system 1 may be a screen, a display, or the like installed in the vicinity of the wireless terminal 10 such as a digital signage, instead of the wireless terminal 10 in which the user holds the information display target. In addition, the information provision system 1 is not limited to the application of a shopping scene, but can be applied to, for example, a seminar using a plurality of venues (locations).

  The wireless terminal 10 is a smartphone having an information display function, an input function, or the like, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PC (Personal Computer), or the like. Further, the wireless terminal 10 has a communication function for receiving data via the network 99. Further, the wireless terminal 10 receives a positioning signal conforming to the ground complementary signal IMES (Indoor Messaging System) standard transmitted from the communication device 20, for example, via the wireless network 97, and acquires position information. Then, the wireless terminal 10 transmits the received position information to the information management server 40 via short-range wireless communication such as IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) via the wireless network 97. Note that the wireless terminal 10 may have a feature of an active tag that actively transmits radio waves, for example.

  The communication device 20 is fixed to, for example, a ceiling of a room and transmits position information related to the fixed position continuously or intermittently. Each of the communication devices 20 has an independent casing and operates by being supplied with power from a previously installed power source, or is incorporated in a lighting fixture such as an LED fluorescent tube and operates with power supplied from the lighting fixture. The communication device 20 transmits the position information held by itself to a predetermined range using a radio signal. The predetermined range is determined by the signal strength of the radio signal used and the directivity of the transmission antenna. The communication device 20 is arranged so as to cover an area that is a position management target, and is configured so that the respective areas do not overlap. Or even if it is a case where it overlaps, in the side which receives a positional information, it is comprised so that any one communication apparatus 20 can be determined based on the intensity | strength of a received radio wave. In the example of FIG. 1, a conical dotted line shown below the communication device 20 represents a predetermined range. As a communication method for transmitting position information, for example, a ground complementary signal IMES can be used. Further, the communication device 20 can transmit / receive data other than the position information to / from the wireless terminal 10 or the gateway device 30.

  The operation when the wireless terminal 10 receives the position information from the communication device 20 is as follows. When the wireless terminal 10 receives the position information, the wireless terminal 10 transmits information including identification information for uniquely identifying a device such as a device ID and a MAC address to the communication device 20 together with the received position information. In the embodiment of the present invention, an IEEE 802.15.4 abbreviated address or an IEEE extended (MAC) address can be used as identification information of the wireless terminal 10. The identification information and position information transmitted from the wireless terminal 10 to the communication device 20 are then transmitted to the gateway device 30 via the adjacent communication device 20. Note that the position information transmission / reception operation in the wireless terminal 10 is a predetermined period (for example, a period of one minute) in the wireless terminal 10 or, when the wireless terminal 10 includes an acceleration sensor, a timing at which a change in acceleration is detected. Done in

  The gateway device 30 connects the wireless network 97 and the network 98 to each other, and bridges data transmitted from one network to the other network. The gateway device 30 is installed, for example, for each floor of a building or for each room partitioned by walls. When the wireless network 97 is a PAN (Personal Area Network) based on IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark), and the network 98 is a LAN conforming to the IEEE802.3 standard, the communication method between them is converted. Do. If the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 is represented by an IEEE 802.15.4 abbreviated address, it is converted into an IEEE extended address based on the information at the time of PAN configuration and transmitted to the information management server 40.

  The information management server 40 has a position information management function for managing the position information of the wireless terminal 10, an information communication function for distributing contents and the like to the wireless terminal 10, and the like. The information management server 40 also stores a location information database that updates the latest location information as needed, and location information that stores time-series data of current and past location information for each identification information (for example, MAC address) of the wireless terminal 10. It has a history database, a store information database that stores location information, store names, and store categories, and a content information database that stores content to be provided to the user of the wireless terminal 10. The information management server 40 selects content to be provided to the user of the wireless terminal 10 based on the information in these databases, and distributes the selected content to the wireless terminal 10.

  In the case where the wireless network 97 is a PAN configured to connect the wireless terminal 10, the communication device 20, and the gateway device 30 as described above, for example, according to IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards, The wireless terminal 10 has an end device function defined by the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard, the communication device 20 has a router function, and the gateway device 30 has a coordinator function. Then, the wireless terminal 10 and the communication device 20 enter the management of the gateway device 30 at the time of activation, configure the PAN, and determine the minimum path to the gateway device 30.

  As described above, in the information providing system 1, the wireless terminal 10 can transmit data to the information management server 40 using power sufficient to communicate with the nearest communication device 20. In addition, it is not necessary to lay new infrastructure for installing the communication device 20, and the introduction cost can be reduced.

  Note that the location information of the communication device 20 may be provided via a wireless LAN compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard. This eliminates the need for a transmission means for transmitting, for example, position information using IMES.

  In addition, the wireless terminal 10 may transmit data such as position information to the gateway device 30 when the gateway device 30 exists in the vicinity of the communication device 20 that transmitted the position information. Thereby, identification information and position information can be transmitted to the information management server 40 by the shortest path.

  Further, the function of the gateway device 30 may be integrated into the information management server 40. Thereby, installation of the gateway apparatus 30 becomes unnecessary.

  Further, in addition to the above-described position information, information for specifying a finer position, such as information representing a section in the room, may be included. As a result, finer location management is possible.

  Further, the wireless network 97 may be configured by using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) LE, ANT, Z-Wave, or the like. Thereby, it becomes possible to manage position information of various wireless terminals 10.

  The network 98 may include a plurality of types of networks such as the Internet. As a result, the position information of the wireless terminal device 10 can be managed regardless of the physical distance between the wireless network 97 and the information management server 40.

[System operation overview]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the operation overview of the information providing system 1 from when the content is selected based on the current and past location information history of the wireless terminal 10 until the content is distributed from the information management server 40 to the wireless terminal 10 is described. An example will be described.

  (1) When the wireless terminal 10 receives the position information transmitted from the communication device 20 periodically (for example, every one minute), the wireless terminal 10 transmits the received position information to the information management server 40 via the wireless network 97. The information management server 40 updates the position information database based on the received position information of the wireless terminal 10. Then, every time the position information is updated, the information management server 40 associates the update time with the position information for each piece of identification information of the wireless terminal 10 and stores it in the position information history database. In other words, the location information history database can acquire the current and past locations and travel routes of the wireless terminal 10. Specifically, for example, information (content) related to a store where the user of the wireless terminal 10 has visited in the past can be acquired.

  Note that the process (1) operates independently and is repeatedly executed continuously.

  (2) The user of the wireless terminal 10 enters a building (for example, a commercial facility such as a shopping center) and updates the position information at a predetermined position. Here, the predetermined position is a place where predetermined content is distributed from the information management server 40 to the wireless terminal 10 (hereinafter referred to as “distribution place”). That is, when the wireless terminal 10 updates the position information at the distribution location, the information management server 40 executes content selection processing.

  (3) Upon receiving the position information corresponding to the delivery location from the wireless terminal 10, the information management server 40 uses the position information history database and the store information database, and the user of the wireless terminal 10 has previously received a predetermined number of times or more. Search for information about the stores you've visited most in the past. Then, the user of the wireless terminal 10 selects information (contents) related to the store or store category where the user has visited a predetermined number of times in the past.

  (4) The information management server 40 distributes the selected content to the wireless terminal 10 via the network 99.

  (5) The wireless terminal 10 displays the received content on its own screen.

  Through the operations (1) to (5) described above, the information providing system 1 displays effective content on the wireless terminal 10 based on the position information history of the wireless terminal 10 and the position information indicating the store area. Can do.

[Hardware configuration]
2, 3, 4, and 5 are diagrams illustrating examples of hardware configurations of the wireless terminal 10, the communication device 20, the gateway device 30, and the information management server 40, respectively.

<Wireless terminal>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the wireless terminal 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The wireless terminal 10 includes a CPU 121, a RAM 122, a ROM 123, an HDD 124, a short-range wireless communication unit 125, a positioning signal reception unit 126, a wireless LAN communication unit 127, a display unit 128, an input unit 129, a bus 130, and the like.

  The CPU 121 executes a program that controls the operation of the wireless terminal 10. The RAM 122 constitutes a work area for the CPU 121 and the like. The ROM 123 stores a program executed by the CPU 121 and data necessary for executing the program. The HDD 124 is a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or an optical disk, and stores content to be displayed on the wireless terminal 10. The short-range wireless communication unit 125 is a device for communicating with an external device. For example, the short-range wireless communication unit 125 is a device that performs communication according to a short-range wireless communication method such as ZigBee (registered trademark). The positioning signal receiving unit 126 is a device for receiving a positioning signal transmitted from the communication device 20, and receives, for example, a positioning signal in a frame format defined by the IMES standard. The wireless LAN communication unit 127 is a device for communicating with an external device via a network 99 (access point 90) by a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard. Note that the interface device is not limited to the wireless LAN communication unit 127, and may be an interface device that enables communication via a mobile phone communication network, for example. The display unit 128 is a device that displays content distributed from the information management server 40, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The input unit 129 is a device that accepts user input, and is, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like integrated with the display unit 128. A bus 130 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the wireless terminal 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires position information from the positioning signal transmitted from the communication device 20, and this position information is transmitted to the information management server 40 using the short-range wireless communication unit 125. Can be sent. The wireless terminal 10 can receive content transmitted from the information management server 40 using the wireless LAN communication unit 127 and display the content on the display unit 128.

  Note that the short-range wireless communication unit 125 and the positioning signal receiving unit 126 that transmit and receive position information may be provided outside the casing of the wireless terminal 10.

  Of the elements constituting the wireless terminal 10 shown in FIG. 2, the short-range wireless communication unit 125 and the positioning signal receiving unit 126 are provided outside the casing of the wireless terminal 10 and are different hardware from the wireless terminal 10 main body. It may be implemented as a device.

<Communication device>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the communication device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 20 includes a CPU 221, a RAM 222, a ROM 223, a short-range wireless communication unit 224, a positioning signal transmission unit 225, a bus 226, and the like.

  The CPU 221 executes a program that controls the operation of the communication device 20. The RAM 222 constitutes a work area of the CPU 221 and the like. The ROM 223 stores a program executed by the CPU 221 and data necessary for executing the program. The short-range wireless communication unit 224 is a device for communicating with an external device. For example, the short-range wireless communication unit 224 is a device capable of wireless communication according to a short-range wireless communication method such as ZigBee (registered trademark). The positioning signal transmission unit 225 is a device that transmits a positioning signal used by the wireless terminal 10 to acquire the current position. For example, the positioning signal transmission unit 225 transmits a positioning signal in a frame format defined by the IMES standard. Specifically, the positioning signal transmission unit 508 generates a signal by modulating a carrier wave of 1.5754 GHz using data having a frame structure defined by the IMES standard, and transmits the signal from the antenna. A bus 226 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the communication device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention can transmit a positioning signal necessary for the wireless terminal 10 to perform positioning. In addition, communication between the wireless terminal 10 and the information management server 40 can be relayed.

<Gateway device>
FIG. 4 shows a hardware configuration of the gateway device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The gateway device 30 includes a CPU 321, a RAM 322, a ROM 323, a short-range wireless communication unit 324, a wired LAN communication unit 325, a bus 326, and the like.

  The CPU 321 executes a program that controls the operation of the gateway device 30. The RAM 322 constitutes a work area of the CPU 321 and the like. The ROM 323 stores a program executed by the CPU 321 and data necessary for executing the program. The short-range wireless communication unit 324 is a device for communicating with an external device. For example, the short-range wireless communication unit 324 is a device capable of wireless communication according to a short-range wireless communication method such as ZigBee (registered trademark). The wired LAN communication unit 325 is a device for communicating with an external device. For example, the wired LAN communication unit 325 is a device including an interface for connecting to a LAN based on the IEEE 802.3 standard. A bus 326 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the gateway device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention can configure the wireless network 97 that is a short-range wireless communication network. Further, the gateway device 30 can connect the wireless network 97 and the network 98 to each other.

<Information management server>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information management server 40 in the embodiment of the present invention. The information management server 40 includes a CPU 421, a RAM 422, a ROM 423, an HDD 424, a wired LAN communication unit 425, a wireless LAN communication unit 426, a display unit 427, an input unit 428, a bus 429, and the like.

  The CPU 421 executes a program that controls the operation of the information management server 40. The RAM 422 constitutes a work area for the CPU 421 and the like. The ROM 423 stores a program executed by the CPU 421 and data necessary for executing the program. The HDD 424 is a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or an optical disk, for example, and stores information such as contents to be provided to the user of the wireless terminal 10. The wired LAN communication unit 425 is a device that performs communication using, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard, and is an interface for communicating with the gateway device 30 via the network 98. The wireless LAN communication unit 426 is a device for communicating via a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard via the network 99 (access point 90). Note that the interface device is not limited to the wireless LAN communication unit 127, and may be an interface device that enables communication via a mobile phone communication network, for example. The wireless LAN communication unit 426 is an interface that transmits content to the wireless terminal 10 via the network 99 and receives data transmitted from the wireless terminal 10. The display unit 427 is a device that outputs information to the user, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The input unit 428 is a device that receives input from the user, such as a keyboard or a mouse. A bus 429 electrically connects the above devices.

  With the above configuration, the information management server 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention stores the history of the location information of the wireless terminal 10, the location information indicating the store area, the content, and the like, and transmits the content to be provided to the wireless terminal 10. Can do.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information providing system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Each function in the wireless terminal 10, the communication device 20, the gateway device 30, and the information management server 40 is realized by the CPU 121, the CPU 221, the CPU 321, and the CPU 421 executing programs and cooperating with hardware.

<Wireless terminal>
In the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless terminal 10 includes a location information communication I / F unit 101, a location information reception / update request unit 102, a storage unit 103, a communication I / F unit 104, a content reception unit 105, a display unit 106, and the like. Have.

  The location information communication I / F unit 101 receives the location information transmitted from the communication device 20 via the wireless network 97 for short-range wireless communication, and receives the received location information and identification information of the wireless terminal 10 in the communication device 20. Send to. FIG. 7 is an example of a format of a signal including position information transmitted from the wireless terminal 10 to the information management server 40 via the communication device 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the floor, latitude, longitude, building number, and identification information fields are represented by 9 bits, 21 bits, 21 bits, 8 bits, and 48 bits, respectively. The corresponding field is connected. The expression format of the floor, latitude, longitude, and building number fields conforms to the IMES standard. The identification information is, for example, a MAC address. The identification information is not limited to the MAC address, and may be a device ID or the like. As a communication method, for example, IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark) standards are used.

  When the position information reception / update request unit 102 receives a position information notification signal via the position information communication I / F unit 101, the position information reception / update request unit 102 stores the received position information in the storage unit 103. Next, a location information update request including the received location information and identification information is transmitted to the information management server 40 via the communication device 20. It should be noted that the position information reception / update request unit 102 can arbitrarily trigger transmission of the position information to the information management server 40. The transmission trigger is, for example, when a position information notification is received from the communication device 20, when the wireless terminal 10 is turned on, at regular intervals, or the like.

  The storage unit 103 uses the RAM 122, the ROM 123, the HDD 124, and the like shown in FIG. 2. The identification information of the wireless terminal 10, the position information included in the position information notification transmitted from the communication device 20, and the content transmitted from the information management server 40 are used. Are stored.

  The communication I / F unit 104 controls the wireless LAN communication unit 127, and transmits and receives data via the network 99, which is a wireless LAN compliant with, for example, the IEEE 802.11 standard. In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication I / F unit 104 functions as an interface for receiving content transmitted from the information management server 40. Note that the communication standard used by the communication I / F unit 104 is not limited to the IEEE 802.11 communication standard, and for example, data communication may be performed by Ethernet (registered trademark) based on the IEEE 802.3 standard.

  When the content receiving unit 105 receives the content transmitted from the information management server 40 via the communication I / F unit 104, the content receiving unit 105 stores the received content in the storage unit 103 and displays the address where the content is stored. 106 is notified.

  The display means 106 displays and outputs information for the user on the user interface screen which is the display unit 128 of FIG. In the embodiment of the present invention, the display unit 106 displays the content on the display unit 128 based on the address at which the content notified from the content receiving unit 105 is stored.

<Communication device>
In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication device 20 includes a location information storage unit 201, a location information notification unit 202, a location information communication I / F unit 203, and the like.

  The position information storage unit 201 stores position information indicating the position where the communication device 20 is installed. The position information includes, for example, information indicating latitude, longitude, floor number (floor), and building ridge number. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the position information storage unit 201 of the communication device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the location information storage unit 201 includes items such as “latitude”, “longitude”, “floor number”, and “building number”. “Latitude” and “longitude” represent the latitude and longitude of the position where the communication device 20 is located. “Number of floors” represents the number of floors of the building in which the communication device 20 is installed. “Building number” represents the building number or name of the building in which the communication device 20 is installed. In the example of FIG. 8, the communication device 20 is located on the “4” floor of the “Y” building, where the latitude is “35.5041” and the longitude is “139.6201”. This position information is set in advance by an administrator of the information providing system 1 or the like. Note that the position information may include additional information such as information representing a section in the room. Thereby, more detailed position management becomes possible.

  The position information notification unit 202 generates a position information notification signal based on the position information stored in the position information storage unit 201 and transmits the position information notification signal to the wireless terminal 10. The position information notification signal has a frame structure defined by the IMES standard, for example. Moreover, although the transmission trigger of a positional information notification is arbitrary, it transmits with a fixed period (for example, 1 minute interval).

  The position information communication I / F unit 203 transmits a position information notification signal to the wireless terminal 10 and transfers data including the position information and identification information transmitted from the wireless terminal 10 to the gateway device 30. When the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard is used for the wireless network 97, data transfer is performed using routing information held by the communication device 20. Note that the location information communication I / F unit 202 can also transfer data other than location information.

<Gateway device>
In the embodiment of the present invention, the gateway device 30 includes a position information communication I / F unit 301, a communication conversion unit 302, and the like.

  When receiving the data from the communication device 20, the location information communication I / F unit 301 transfers the data to the information management server 40 based on the address information (for example, IP address) of the information management server 40 held by the gateway device 30. Note that the communication of the route transmitted from the information management server 40 to the communication device 20 is also possible.

  The communication conversion unit 302 converts data received from the wireless terminals 10 belonging to the wireless network 97 into a format suitable for the network 98 which is a different network.

<Information management server>
In the embodiment of the present invention, the information management server 40 includes a location information communication I / F unit 401, a location information reception / management unit 402, a location information storage unit 403, a delivery location storage unit 404, a location information history storage unit 405, a store An information storage unit 406, a content information storage unit 407, a content selection unit 408, a content distribution unit 409, a communication I / F unit 410, and the like are included.

  The location information communication I / F unit 401 transmits / receives data to / from the gateway device 30 by, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard. In the embodiment of the present invention, when the location information update request from the wireless terminal 10 transmitted from the gateway device 30 is received, the location information reception / management unit 402 is notified. Note that the communication standard used by the location information communication I / F unit 401 is not limited to the IEEE 802.3 standard, and for example, a wireless LAN complying with the IEEE 802.11 standard may be used.

  The location information reception / management unit 402 associates the location information with the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 based on the location information update request received via the location information communication I / F unit 401, and the location information storage unit 403 and the location information Store in the history storage means 405. In addition, when the location information of the wireless terminal 10 included in the location information update request is included in the location information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404 described later, that is, the region where the wireless terminal 10 delivers content (point The content selection unit 408 is requested to execute content selection processing.

  The position information storage unit 403 stores the position information in association with the identification information, and is updated (overwritten) each time the information management server 40 receives the position information. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the position information storage unit 403 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the position information storage unit 403 stores “identification information”, “latitude”, “longitude”, “floor”, “building”, “reception date”, and the like. “Identification information” is identification information for uniquely identifying the wireless terminal 10 and is, for example, a MAC address. “Latitude”, “longitude”, “floor”, and “building” are information included in the position information transmitted from the wireless terminal 10. “Reception date and time” is the date and time when the location information reception / management unit 402 received the identification information and the location information.

  The delivery location storage unit 404 stores position information corresponding to a delivery location that is an area (including a point) where content is delivered to the wireless terminal 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404 in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the delivery location storage unit 404 includes items such as “delivery location ID”, “latitude”, “longitude”, “floor”, and “building”. The “delivery location ID” is a number for identifying the delivery location, and is a number uniquely assigned in the delivery location storage unit 404. The information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404 is set in advance by the administrator of the information providing system 1 and the delivery location can be added, deleted, and changed at any time.

  The position information history storage unit 405 stores the current and past position information of the wireless terminal 10 in time series for each identification information of the wireless terminal 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the position information history storage unit 405 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11A is a configuration example of the location information history of the user A of the wireless terminal 10. The location information history storage unit 405 stores “identification information”, “history ID”, “latitude”, “longitude”, Items such as “number of floors”, “building” and “reception date” are included. FIG. 11B is a configuration example of the location information history of the user B of the wireless terminal 10. In the example of FIG. 11, the position information history table of the user A and the user B is stored, but the table stored in the position information history storage unit 405 is not limited to those of these two users. The position information history storage unit 405 stores position information for each user of the wireless terminal 10 that transmits the position information to the information management server 40. The user of the wireless terminal 10 is identified by “identification information” of the wireless terminal 10, for example, a MAC address. The “reception date / time” is the date / time when the location information reception / management unit 402 received the identification information and the location information, similarly to the “reception date / time” stored in the location information storage unit 403 (see FIG. 9). The “history ID” is a number for uniquely identifying the history in the position information history storage unit 405 for each “reception date”. The information stored in the location information history storage unit 405 is added each time a request for updating location information from the wireless terminal 10 is received by the location information reception / management unit 402. The number of histories stored in the location information history storage unit 405 is limited to a certain number or less according to the storage capacity and processing load of the information management server 40.

Store information storage means 406 stores position information indicating a store area. The store area is a range indicating a store site surrounded by three or more line segments represented by latitude and longitude, and is also expressed by the number of buildings (commercial facilities, etc.) and the number of floors. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the store information storage unit 406 in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the store information storage means 406 includes “store ID”, “store name”, “building”, “floor”, “east end”, “west end”, “south end”, “north end”, and Items such as “store attribute” are included. “Store ID” is a number for identifying a store and is a number uniquely assigned in the store information storage unit 406. “Store name” is the name of the store and can be set arbitrarily. The “store attribute” is a category classified by the type of business to which the store belongs or the products and services handled by the store. The “store attribute” is, for example, “clothing”, “restaurant”, “bookstore”, “groceries”, “movie theater”, “decoration”, “shoes”, “glasses”, and the like. The classification of “store attribute” is arbitrary, and for example, it may be further classified according to factors such as the price range of the product, the sex and age of the product. Thereby, the content to be distributed to the wireless terminal 10 can be selected according to the attributes (gender, age, etc.) of the user of the wireless terminal 10. “East end” and “West end” represent the boundary line between the east side and the west side of the store area in longitude (east longitude). The “south end” and “north end” are the latitude (north latitude) of the boundary line between the south side and the north side of the store area. That is, the store area is defined by a rectangle. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for designating a store area based on position information in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the area of the store whose store name is “Yokohama A store”
East end: 139.6210
West end: 139.6200
Southern end: 35.5040
Northern end: 35.5045
It is a range surrounded by four line segments. Note that, as shown in FIG. 13, a store area may be displayed using points specified by coordinates (longitude, latitude). In the embodiment of the present invention, the store area is defined as an area surrounded by four line segments or four points by latitude and longitude. However, the present invention is not limited to this definition method. The area of the store may be defined by a polygon surrounded by three or more line segments. Note that a position not included in the store area on the floor corresponding to a building / floor of a building may be defined as a passage. Thereby, it is possible to specify whether the wireless terminal 10 is located in the store area or in the passage using the information stored in the location information history storage unit 405 and the store information storage unit 406.

  The content information storage unit 407 stores content provided to the wireless terminal 10 in association with store attributes. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the content information storage unit 407 in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the content information storage unit 407 includes items such as “store attribute” and “content”. As described above, the “store attribute” is a category classified according to the type of business to which the store belongs or the products and services handled by the store. “Content” is information provided to the wireless terminal 10. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of content provided to the wireless terminal 10 in the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 15, the content is the content when the store attribute is “bookstore”, and the latest information of the book is posted. The contents are related to, for example, a specific store, product, service, and the like, and can be set by the administrator of the information providing system 1 as needed. The content is described in, for example, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) format. However, the content format is not limited to HTML, but is, for example, a text format consisting of only character codes, still images (JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), etc.), moving images (MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group-4), etc.), etc. ). The classification of the “store attribute” corresponding to the content is arbitrary, and for example, it may be further classified according to factors such as the price range of the product, the sex and age of the product. As a result, it is possible to provide content reflecting in detail the attributes of the user of the wireless terminal 10.

  When the content selection unit 408 is requested by the location information reception / management unit 402 to execute the content selection process, the content selection unit 408 uses the location information history storage unit 405, the store information storage unit 406, and the content information storage unit 407. Read the content provided to. Next, the content selection unit 408 requests the content distribution unit 409 to distribute the read content. Details of the content selection process executed by the content selection unit 408 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Upon receiving the content distribution processing request from the content selection unit 408, the content distribution unit 409 distributes the content read to the wireless terminal 10 via the communication I / F unit 410.

  The communication I / F unit 410 performs data communication with the wireless terminal 10 by a wireless LAN compliant with, for example, the IEEE 802.11 standard. In the embodiment of the present invention, the communication I / F unit 410 transmits content to the wireless terminal 10. Note that the communication standard used by the communication I / F unit 410 is not limited to the IEEE 802.11 standard, and may be Ethernet (registered trademark) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 standard, for example.

[Processing procedure (content selection process)]
In the embodiment of the present invention, a processing procedure until content to be provided is selected and distributed to the wireless terminal 10 based on the location information history of the wireless terminal 10 in the information management server 40 will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure in which content is selected by the content selection unit 408 in the embodiment of the present invention.

  S11: The location information reception / management unit 402 of the information management server 40 receives the location information including the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 transmitted from the wireless terminal 10 via the location information communication I / F unit 401.

  S12: The location information reception / management unit 402 updates (overwrites) the location information corresponding to the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 received in the location information storage unit 403. Further, the position information reception / management unit 402 adds position information corresponding to the received identification information of the wireless terminal 10 in the position information history storage unit 405.

  S13: The location information reception / management unit 402 determines whether the received location information of the wireless terminal 10 is included in the location information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404. If the received location information of the wireless terminal 10 is not included in the location information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404 (NO in S13), the process ends. On the other hand, if the received location information of the wireless terminal 10 is included in the location information stored in the delivery location storage unit 404 (YES in S13), the location information reception is accepted because the wireless terminal 10 is located at the content delivery location. The management unit 402 requests the content selection unit 408 to execute a content providing process. The delivery location is set in consideration of the flow of the user, such as the entrance of a building (shopping center, etc.) or the entrance of each store.

  S14: The content selection unit 408 refers to the history data corresponding to the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 from the information stored in the location information history storage unit 405. Next, when the location information stored in the location information history storage unit 405 is included in the store area defined by the location information stored in the store information storage unit 406, the store name is temporarily stored in the RAM 422 or the like. To remember. When a predetermined number (for example, 10) of store names acquired in this way are extracted, the next processing step S15 is executed. In addition, the predetermined number which acquires a shop name is arbitrary, for example, it is a parameter changed according to the number of the history memorize | stored in the processing load of the information processing server 40, or the positional information history memory | storage means 405. In the embodiment of the present invention, the history goes back from the present to the past, and the latest information is referred to. However, the period for which the history is to be set can be arbitrarily set.

  S15: The content selection unit 408 extracts store attributes corresponding to a predetermined number of store names extracted from the store information storage unit 407. Next, the content selection unit 408 specifies the most shop attribute among the extracted shop attributes. The specification of the store attribute is not limited to the method of specifying the largest number, and for example, the store attribute detected for a predetermined number of times or more may be specified. Moreover, when specifying a store attribute, for example, when a store attribute is detected a plurality of times on the same day, the store attribute may be counted as one time. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to appropriately reflect the number of times the user of the wireless terminal 10 has actually visited the store without depending on the update period (trigger) of the position information.

  S16: The content selection unit 408 selects content corresponding to the specified store attribute from the information stored in the content information storage unit 407. Next, the content selection unit 408 requests the content distribution unit 409 to distribute the selected content.

  S17: The content distribution unit 409 distributes the read content to the wireless terminal 10 that has transmitted the position information at the distribution location via the communication I / F unit 401 (network 99). If the network 99 is a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard, the content is transmitted with the IP address of the wireless terminal 10 as the destination address. When acquiring the IP address of the wireless terminal 10, for example, the information management server 40 requests the wireless terminal 10 to connect to the information management server 40 via the network 99 via the network 98 and the wireless network 97. Alternatively, the IP address of the wireless terminal 10 may be set and transmitted in the position information update request transmitted from the wireless terminal 10. Alternatively, the e-mail address of the wireless terminal 10 may be acquired in advance and the content may be transmitted to the e-mail address.

  Through the processing in steps S <b> 11 to S <b> 17 described above, the information management server 40 can distribute effective content to the wireless terminal 10 based on the location information history of the wireless terminal 10.

[Operation procedure]
An operation procedure of the information providing system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 17 is an example of a sequence diagram showing an operation procedure of the information providing system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  S101: The location information notification unit 202 of the communication device 20 transmits the location information acquired from the location information storage unit 201 continuously or intermittently by the IMES or the like via the location information communication I / F unit 203.

  S102: The location information reception / update request means 102 of the wireless terminal 10 receives the location information transmitted from the communication device 20 by the location information communication I / F by the location information reception process performed periodically (for example, every 1 minute). Receive via means 101. If the wireless terminal 10 includes an acceleration sensor, the position information may be received upon detection of a change in acceleration.

  S 103: The position information reception / update request unit 102 stores the received position information in the storage unit 103.

  S104: The location information reception / update request unit 102 uses the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 stored in the storage unit 103 and the received location information as the destination address of the information management server 40 via the location information communication I / F unit 101. Send to.

  S105: The location information communication I / F means 203 of the communication device 20 transfers the data to the gateway device 30 based on the destination address of the data and the routing table held by the own device.

  S106: When the location information communication I / F unit 301 receives data from the communication device 20, the communication conversion unit 302 of the gateway device 30 receives the data of the communication method (protocol) of the wireless network 97 transferred from the communication device 20. The system is converted to a system suitable for the network 98.

  S107: The location information communication I / F unit 301 of the gateway device 30 uses the information management server to convert the data converted by the communication conversion unit 301 based on the address information (for example, IP address) of the information management server 40 held by the own device. 40.

  S108: The location information reception / management unit 402 of the information management server 40 stores the location information and identification information of the wireless terminal 10 received via the location information communication I / F unit 401 in association with each other in the location information storage unit 403. (See FIG. 9). In addition, the position information reception / management unit 402 stores the position information and the reception date / time of the position information in association with the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 in the position information history storage unit 405 (see FIG. 11).

  The information management server 40 can acquire the position information of the wireless terminal 10 and manage the current and past position information by the procedure of steps S101 to S108 described above. Note that the procedures of steps S101 to S108 are repeatedly executed, and the latest position information of the wireless terminal 10 is constantly updated.

  S109: The location information reception / management unit 402 determines whether or not the location information of the wireless terminal 10 received in step S108 matches the location information stored in the arrangement location storage unit 404. As a result of the determination, if they do not match, the processes after step S110 are not executed. As a result of the determination, if they match, the processing after step S110 is executed.

  S110: The content selection unit 408 refers to the position information of the history corresponding to the identification information of the wireless terminal 10 from the information stored in the position information history storage unit 405. Next, the store name is extracted from the store information storage unit 406 based on the position information of the history. This store name extraction process is executed until a predetermined number (for example, 10) of store names are extracted.

  S111: The content selection unit 408 extracts store attributes corresponding to the predetermined number of store names extracted in step S110. Next, the largest number of store attributes are specified from the extracted predetermined number of store attributes.

  S112: When the content selection unit 408 selects content corresponding to the specified store attribute from the information stored in the content information storage unit 407, the content selection unit 408 requests the content distribution unit 409 to distribute the selected content. .

  S113: The content distribution unit 409 distributes the read content to the wireless terminal 10 that has transmitted the position information at the distribution location via the communication I / F unit 401.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, content that reflects the past behavior (movement) of the user of the wireless terminal 10 can be wirelessly analyzed by statistically analyzing the history of position information of the wireless terminal 10. It can be provided to the terminal 10. Specifically, for example, based on the tendency of the store or the like that the user has visited in the past, information that effectively reflects the user's physical movement characteristics, hobbies, and preferences can be easily provided to the user.
[First modification]
The information providing system 1 according to the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention is based on the history of the location information of the wireless terminal 10, and the user of the wireless terminal 10 who is likely to need a break or not take a break, Provide break information (contents) that shows the location of the break.

  The system configuration of the information providing system 1 in the first modification, the hardware configuration and the functional configuration of each device are the same as the configuration in the embodiment of the present invention (see FIGS. 1 to 6).

  Below, the process sequence of the 1st modification of embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

[Processing procedure (content selection processing) (first modification)]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in which content is selected by the content selection unit 408 in the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention. The same step numbers are assigned to the same processes as those in the flowchart of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

  The information management server 40 receives the position information from the wireless terminal 10 (S11), and stores the received position information in the position information storage unit 403 and the position information history storage unit 404 (S12).

  S21: The content selection unit 408 of the information management server 40 searches for position information by a search cycle (for example, a 30-minute cycle) for searching a history of predetermined position information or by an administrator of the information providing system 1 or the like. Accept the request.

  S22: The content selection unit 408 refers to the information stored in the location information history storage unit 405 of the wireless terminal 10. The processing after step S22 is executed for the wireless terminal 10 whose position information has been updated (received) within a predetermined time from the current time.

  S23: The content selection unit 408 extracts the current (latest) location information of the wireless terminal 10 from the information stored in the location information history storage unit 405. Next, the content selection unit 408 has “restaurant” whose store attribute corresponding to the store name corresponding to the current location information extracted from the information stored in the store information storage unit 406 is a resting place. It is determined whether or not there is. In other words, when providing break information to the wireless terminal 10, the wireless terminal 10 that is currently likely to be taking a break is excluded from the break information providing targets. If the store attribute for the current position information is “restaurant” (YES in S23), the process for providing break information ends. On the other hand, when the store attribute for the current position information is a predetermined place other than “restaurant” (NO in S23), the process for providing break information is continued, and the process of step S24 is executed. In the first modification, “restaurant” is given as an example of a break place, but the break place is not limited to “restaurant” and can be arbitrarily set.

  S24: The content selection unit 408 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the wireless terminal 10 entered the same building (such as a commercial facility) at the current position. That is, when providing break information to the wireless terminal 10, a user who continues to move or continues to stand is targeted for providing break information. As specific processing, first, the content selection unit 408 refers to data on the same day as the reception date of the current location information from the location information history storage unit 405. Next, in the data on the same day, the oldest reception date and time corresponding to the same position information (building) as the current position information (building) is extracted. Then, the content selection means 408 determines whether or not the difference between the reception date / time of the current position information and the extracted oldest reception date / time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time. Here, the predetermined time is, for example, one hour. However, the predetermined time is not limited to one hour and can be arbitrarily set. In addition, in the calculation process of the passage of a predetermined time, for example, when entering a certain building and staying at a resting place (for example, a restaurant), the reception date and time of the location information when moving from the resting place May be used as a base point for calculating a predetermined time. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in S24), the process for providing break information ends. On the other hand, when the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S24), the process for providing break information is continued, and the process of step S25 is executed.

  S25: The content selection unit 408 reads content indicating break information from the content information storage unit 407. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of content contents in the first modification example of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 19, the break information includes information regarding a store (for example, a restaurant) where a break is possible and a break place (for example, a place where a bench is installed).

  When the process of step S25 ends, the content distribution unit 409 transmits the content of the read break information to the wireless terminal 10 via the communication I / F unit 410 (S17).

As described above, according to the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention, the information providing system 1 is likely to require a break or not take a break based on the history of position information of the wireless terminal 10. It is possible to provide break information (contents) indicating a break place or the like to the user of the wireless terminal 10.
[Second modification]
A second modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the information providing system 1 according to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system 1 in the second modified example further includes display devices 50a, 50b,... 50n that can display content (referred to as “display device 50” if they are not distinguished from each other). The display device 50, the communication device 20, and the gateway device 30 are communicably connected via a wireless network 97 such as a PAN based on IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee (registered trademark). The display device 50 and the information management server 40 are communicably connected via an access point 90 via a network 99 such as a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 communication standard. Note that the communication method of the wireless network 97 and the network 99 is not limited to the above, and the LAN does not ask whether it is wired or wireless. For example, a mobile phone communication network or IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth (Registered trademark)) or the like. Further, the information management server 40 manages position information of the display device 50.

  In the information providing system 1 of the second modification, content is distributed from the information management server 40 to the display device 50. Specifically, when the wireless terminal 10 transmits position information to the information management server 40 at the distribution location, the information management server 40 transmits the content to the display device 50 installed at a location closest to the position of the wireless terminal 10. Accordingly, the wireless terminal 10 does not need a content display function, and the content can be browsed on a large screen provided in the display device 50.

  An example of the hardware configuration of the display device 50 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 21, the display device 50 includes a CPU 421, a RAM 522, a ROM 523, an HDD 524, a short-range wireless communication unit 525, a positioning signal reception unit 526, a wireless LAN communication unit 527, a display unit 528, a bus 529, and the like. Each hardware element is the same as the hardware element of the wireless terminal 10 shown in FIG. The display device 50 is, for example, a display such as a liquid crystal or an organic EL or a projector that displays a projected image.

  The processing procedure of the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[Processing procedure (content provision processing) (second modification)]
FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure for selecting content by the content selection unit 408 in the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention. The same step numbers are assigned to the same processes as those in the flowchart of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. In the initial state of FIG. 22, the position information storage unit 403 stores position information and identification information of the display device 50 in advance.

  In the processing procedure of the second modified example shown in FIG. 22, the processing of steps S11 to S16 is the same as the processing procedure of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, after the content is selected by the content selection unit 408 (S16), the display device 50 located at the location closest to the current position information of the wireless terminal 10 is extracted (S16a). Specifically, the content selection unit 408 causes the position information reception / management unit 402 to extract from the position information storage unit 403 the display device 50 having the position information of the location closest to the current position information of the wireless terminal 10. . However, the display device 50 to be extracted, for example, compares positional information (latitude, longitude, number of floors, and ridges) between the wireless terminal 10 and the display device 50, and when the position of the wireless terminal 10 is the center, a predetermined radius ( For example, the display device 50 installed within a radius of 3 meters) may be selected. As a result, the display can be limited to the display device 50 within the range that can be actually visually recognized by the user of the wireless terminal 10.

  Next, the content distribution unit 409 transmits the content selected by the content selection unit 408 to the display device 50 extracted in step S16a via the communication I / F unit 410.

As described above, according to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention, the information providing system 1 is displayed on the display device 50 that is closest (or located within a predetermined range) to the current position of the wireless terminal 10. , Can deliver content. Thereby, for example, even when the wireless terminal 10 is an active tag that does not have a display function and a communication function such as a wireless LAN, the content can be displayed on the display device 50.
[Other variations]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the information management server 40 includes the position information storage unit 403 that stores the position information of the wireless terminal 10 and the like, the position information history storage unit 405, and the content information storage unit 405. For example, it may be divided into a device that manages position information and a device that selects and manages content. In this case, the device (location information management server) that manages the location information includes at least the location information communication I / F unit 401, the location information reception / management unit 402, and the location information storage unit 403 among the functions of the information management server 40. Have And the apparatus (information provision server) which provides a content has a function other than that. With this configuration, the location information management server and the information providing server do not depend on the installation location, and for example, the location information management server can be configured to be flexible so that it is installed for each building.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation, It can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information provision system 10 Wireless terminal 20 Communication apparatus 30 Gateway apparatus 40 Information management server 50 Display apparatus 102 Location information reception / update request means 105 Content reception means 106 Display means 402 Position information reception / management means 403 Position information storage means 404 Distribution place Storage unit 405 Position information history storage unit 406 Store information storage unit 407 Content information storage unit 408 Content selection unit 409 Content distribution unit

JP 2009-169843

Claims (10)

An information management server that manages location information of a wireless terminal and content provided to a user of the wireless terminal,
Storage means for storing a history of location information of the wireless terminal and location information of the store;
An information management server comprising content selection means for selecting the content based on a history of location information of the wireless terminal and location information of the store.   The information management server according to claim 1, wherein the content selection unit selects content related to a store in which the wireless terminal is detected a predetermined number of times or more.   2. The information management server according to claim 1, wherein the content selection unit provides content including break information to the wireless terminal when the wireless terminal continuously passes at a predetermined location for a predetermined time.   The information management server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content selection unit selects the content when the location information of the wireless terminal is included in location information of a predetermined area. The information management server manages position information of a display device that displays the content;
The information management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the content providing unit distributes the content to the display device located at a location closest to the wireless terminal.   The information management according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the position information managed by the information management server is based on position information of a communication device that transmits the position information of a place where the device is installed within a predetermined range. server.   The information management server according to claim 6, wherein the communication device transmits the position information using a ground complementary signal. An information providing system comprising: a wireless terminal; and an information management server that manages location information of the wireless terminal and content provided to a user of the wireless terminal,
The wireless terminal is
Position information notification means for notifying the information management server of the position information of the wireless terminal,
The information management server
Position information receiving means for receiving the position information notified from the wireless terminal;
Storage means for storing a history of location information of the wireless terminal and location information of the store;
The information provision system which has a content selection means to select the said content based on the log | history of the positional information on the said wireless terminal, and the positional information on the said shop.   The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the content selection unit selects content related to a store in which the wireless terminal is detected a predetermined number of times or more.   9. The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the content selection means provides content including break information to the wireless terminal when the wireless terminal has continuously passed for a predetermined time at a predetermined location.

Images