WO2003017160A1 - Center apparatus, terminal, and system for collecting area information - Google Patents

Abstract

A center apparatus, a terminal, and a system collecting area information enabling a user to know the congestion degree of the area the user wants to go. The system includes an area-related information database (1) storing area congestion information and the like, a traffic control center (3) controlling traffic information, a base station decision server (4) identifying an area where a terminal user is present, via a base station (5), communication means (6) for performing transmission/reception for collecting congestion information from a terminal user and providing the collected area congestion information to another terminal user, a charging server (7) for calculating a distance between position information of a communication mate and the area-related information provided so as to decide not to charge if the communication mate is within the area and to charge if the communication mate is out of the area, and a center server (2) for controlling the center apparatus.

Description

 Specification

Center device, terminal and system for collecting area information

 The present invention relates to a center device, a terminal, and a system for collecting area information. Background art

 A recent application for mobile phone services that distributes map data is known. However, they did not edit the distributed map data and upload it to the center.

 In addition, there is a service that distributes questionnaire contents for collecting traffic congestion information to users and provides area traffic congestion information in response to inquiries from other users based on the contents. Did not. Disclosure of the invention

 In view of the above, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a sensor device, a terminal, and a system for collecting area information capable of knowing in advance the congestion degree of an area to which one wants to go. Aim.

 It is another object of the present invention to provide a device, a terminal, and a system for collecting area information that allows the user to know in advance the congestion degree of an area he / she wants to visit and related information such as an event on the area.

The center device transmits to the terminal a questionnaire content for collecting area congestion information, and the terminal user who receives the information responds to the questionnaire and informs the device of the area congestion to the center device. Seki Update the ream information. When responding to the questionnaire from the terminal to the send / receive device, the communication fee is free to make it easier for the terminal user to reply to the questionnaire, and the send / receive device updates the area-related information. The use of area-related information by terminal users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an area information collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transmitter of FIG.

 FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal in FIG.

 Fig. 4 shows a display example of the information input screen displayed on the terminal. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an area information collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is composed of a center device 10 and a terminal 20. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the transmitting device 10 and the terminal 20 are connected by a solid line and are connected by wire, it is needless to say that a wireless connection may be used. Although a plurality of terminals 20 are shown, it is not always necessary to provide a plurality of terminals.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the center device of FIG. 1. The center device manages an area-related information database 1 storing congestion event information of an area, and traffic information on regulations and congestion. Traffic control center ₃ , a base station determination server 4 that specifies the area where the terminal user is located via the base station 5, and congestion information of the area collected from the terminal user, and the congestion information of the collected area is collected. Communication means for sending and receiving to provide to other terminal users 6 Calculates the distance between the location information of the communication partner and the provided area-related information, and does not charge when inside the area, but charges when outside the area, an area-related information database 1, traffic It consists of a traffic control server 3, a base station determination server 4, a communication means 6, and a charging server 2 connecting a billing server 7.

 Sending server 2 transmits questionnaire contents to terminal users whose areas are covered by base station 5 determined by base station determining server 4 via communication means 6 and collects congestion information of the area. I do. The questionnaire contents will be described later. The terminal will be described as a mobile phone including a PHS, but may be a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a car navigation device.

 The communication means 6 adopts any data communication method of wireless communication including W-CDMA, optical / radio wave beacon, and FM multiplex communication in order to transmit / receive data to / from the terminal 20. Enable data communication.

The center server 2 can collect the congestion information of the area by transmitting the questionnaire content via the communication means 6 and responding to the request by the terminal user. Send to database 1 to update data. The charging server 7 does not charge the terminal user for the bucket communication fee required for this response. Furthermore, for terminals that cooperated in collecting congestion information, the charging server 7 provides free area-related information outside the area for the number of times of cooperating. When the terminal user requests the sensing device to provide area-related information, the billing server 7 calculates the distance between the location information of the communication partner and the area-related information to be provided. No charge, but charge outside of area. On the center side, the location information of the communication partner can be grasped by utilizing the information included in the location registration completion signal transmitted by the base station. In addition, In addition to providing area-related information, it can also provide regulations and traffic information on traffic jams managed by Traffic Control Center 3. The event information included in the area-related information may be, for example, various events such as a fireworks display, a festival, and a Bon festival dance related to the area.

 FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal shown in FIG. 1. The terminal includes a stylus, a pointing device, a voice input unit, and the like, and has an input unit 21 for inputting information, and the above-described center device. Communication means 23 for sending and receiving data related to area overnight, interface means 24 for exchanging information with external devices, data storage means 25 for storing data, and control for various terminal controls Means 22.

 The control means 22 receives the questionnaire content from the sending / receiving device via the communication means 23, and creates a response in the select box included in the questionnaire content by the input means 21 and makes a response. At this time, text information or voice information may be used to respond.

 The communication means 23 employs any data communication method of wireless communication including W-CDMA, optical / radio wave beacon, and FM multiplex communication in order to transmit / receive data to / from the center device 10. Also enable data communication. If the terminal is a mobile phone including a PHS, it goes without saying that data communication is performed by wireless communication.

The interface means 24 is provided with a data communication function such as a blue tooth, IrDA, PDC (16 cores), USB, etc. These are external devices such as a personal computer, a car navigation device, and a portable information terminal ( It enables short-range communication with mobile phones, including PDA) and W-CDMA, and PHS to exchange data. By providing such an interface means 24, area-related information and various event information provided by the center device can be transmitted to an external device. Can be taken into the vessel.

 The data storage means 25 can take in the area-related information and various event information provided by the above-mentioned sensing device into the terminal, and can take in data created by an external device via the interface means 24.

 Fig. 4 shows an example of an information input screen displayed on the terminal so that the center device can collect area information. For example, traffic and congestion in the Yokohama area can be easily responded to the sensor. It is configured as follows. That is, in FIG. 4, the terminal user obtains the questionnaire content from the center device via the communication means 23 and displays it on the terminal screen. Since the acquired content is provided with a select box, the terminal user selects and inputs an answer using the input device 21 such as a stylus or a pointing device.

 The items showing the congestion degree of the area spot "Yokohama Station" in Fig. 4 will be described in order from the top. First, select and enter the corresponding area from the "congested" and "vacant" select boxes around the station.

 Next, select and enter the station front road from the “Congestion”, “Congestion”, and “Vacancy” select boxes.

 For other information, enter the information you noticed in the blank entry field. For example, if there is a speech in front of the station, enter “Speaking in front of the station”.

 For the parking lot in front of the station, select the appropriate one from the “Full” or “X waiting” select boxes, and if waiting, enter the number of vehicles using text information. It is also possible to apply to the waiting condition of the evening comb instead of the station parking area.

After all the items have been entered, click the send box in the content to send the spot area congestion information to the center unit. Send.

 In the above description, the case where the answer is made with the information of selecting the select box and the text information has been described. However, it is also possible to input the answer item by voice and answer by voice information.

 Also, the packet communication fee required for answering the questionnaire is not charged to the terminal user, and if the terminal user uses the area-related information, the packet communication fee is free if the user is in the area. When using area-related information in different areas, a bucket communication fee will be charged. However, if the terminal cooperated in collecting congestion information, the packet communication fee for providing area-related information outside the area will be free for the number of times the terminal cooperated. In this way, you can expect to answer the questionnaire. Industrial applicability

 As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to know in advance the degree of congestion in an area to which one wants to go, to prevent entry into a congested area, and to alleviate congestion.

 Furthermore, it is possible to know in advance the congestion degree of the area you want to visit and related information such as events related to the area, such as fireworks festivals, festivals, and Bon festival dance events. Use can be promoted.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. Area related information database for storing area related information, location specifying means for specifying the area where the terminal user is located, and communication means for transmitting and receiving to collect area related information from the terminal user And a control means for updating the area-related information database based on the area-related information collected by the communication means. 2. The charging server further comprising: a charging server that changes an information provision fee to the terminal user according to a distance between an area where the terminal user is located and an area where the terminal user provides area-related information. Sensor device as described. 3. The control means is configured to transmit a questionnaire content for collecting area congestion information to the terminal user, and to collect area congestion information from the terminal user. Sen Yu equipment. 4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to transmit the questionnaire content to the terminal user specified by the position specifying unit. 5. The sending / receiving device according to claim 1, wherein when collecting area congestion information from the terminal user, the charging server is configured not to charge a communication fee to the terminal. 6. For terminals that cooperated in collecting congestion information, the charging server 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the provision of area-related information outside the area is free for the number of times of cooperation. 7. When the terminal is a portable telephone and a personal digital assistant (PDC) including a PHS, the position specifying means specifies the vicinity of an area where the terminal user is located based on position information from a base station; 2. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to provide area-related information to the terminal user. 8. If the terminal is a car navigation device, the vicinity of the area where the terminal user is located is specified based on the position information from the position information detection means provided in the car navigation device, and the area from the control means to the car navigation device is specified. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to provide relevant information. 9. A traffic control center for managing regulation and congestion information is further provided, wherein the control means receives the regulation and congestion information from the traffic control center and provides the area-related information to a terminal user. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to provide the regulation and the traffic jam information together. 10. Input means for inputting information;  A communication means for transmitting and receiving data on area-related information to and from the center device;  An interface for exchanging information with an external device; a data storage for storing data; Control means for performing various controls of the terminal, wherein the control means A terminal configured to receive the content for an inquiry from the sending / receiving device via a means, send a reply to the content by the input means, and transmit the answer to the sending / receiving device. 1 1. An area information collection system consisting of a center device and terminals. The sensing device,  An area-related information database that stores area-related information; a position specifying unit that specifies an area where the terminal user is located; and a communication unit that performs transmission and reception for collecting area-related information from the terminal user. Control means for updating the area-related information database based on the area-related information collected by the communication means, The terminal power  Input means for inputting information;  Communication means for transmitting and receiving data on the area-related information to and from the center device;  An interface for exchanging information with an external device; a data storage for storing data; Control means for performing various controls of the terminal, wherein the control means receives questionnaire content from the center device via the communication means, and responds to the content by the input means, An area information collection system configured to send to the center device.