JP2003345908A - Information providing system and information providing server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system capable of providing the provision information transformed by connecting one provision information from various perspectives to a user. <P>SOLUTION: This information providing system is provided with a data base storing a plurality of provision information in two or more different expression forms, at least two or more different terminal groups by which a user receives the provision information in different expression forms and which are used for transmitting the variety of information from the user, and an information providing server for transmitting one of the provision information stored in the data base according to the demand from the user to one of the terminal groups of the user. The information providing server is provided with a registering table for registering the expression form that every terminal of the user uses to receive the provision information, a history table for storing the use history information of the provision information by every terminal of the user, a discriminating part for discriminating the expression form of the provision information transmitted based on the kind of the terminal, registering table and history table which are specified and the content of the provision information to be transmitted when the provision information specifying a destination terminal from the user is demanded, and a transmitting part for generating and transmitting transmission information based on the discriminating result of the discriminating part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a server which receives a request for information provision from a user terminal via a communication network, extracts the requested information from a database connected to the server, and outputs the requested information to the user. The present invention relates to an information providing system and an information providing server provided to a terminal.

[0002] An information providing system and an information providing server according to the present invention include, for example, an educational system for providing learning materials,
The present invention can be applied to various information providing services in which useful information is provided online by connecting to a communication network, such as a travel guide system that provides travel information and a dish information providing system that provides a cooking recipe.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art An information providing service in which a user receives a request for information provision from a user via a communication network and a server responds to the request to provide information has become widespread. Recently, this type of service is not limited to information provision services that assume that information is provided only at specific locations using stationary personal computers (desktop personal computers), as well as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones. It is expanding to provide information services for mobile communication terminals that can be used anywhere without being restricted by places such as personal computers.

[0004] For example, in an information providing service provided by opening a homepage on which information can be viewed,
The homepage provider (server side) can access the homepage irrespective of the type of terminal of the user who wants to obtain the homepage information. In addition, there is also provided a service capable of accessing a homepage using a mobile phone as a terminal model. Further, a service for providing a game in which a mobile phone plays a game between remote places via a server is also spreading.

[0005] Such an information providing service of a homepage uses a common protocol (for example, TCP / IP) for transmitting and receiving data, and uses a common description language (for example, Hyper) to describe the content of information. Text Marku
p Language), JAVA (registered trademark)
This is achieved by creating an application.

In order to provide information in accordance with the environment of the terminal device on the user side, when providing information, the application function provided on the receiving terminal on the user side must be confirmed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-125824 discloses an information providing method for providing information by converting the information into a form that can be processed by the application function of the receiving terminal.

[0007] With the development of such information providing technology and the development of network communication technology using mobile communication terminals, various information providing services have become feasible. Information exchange using terminals for portable communication such as portable information terminals and PHS has become widespread.

[0008] Further, an integrated information providing system for personal use as well as an information providing service for business purposes is becoming widespread. Typical fields for providing such an integrated system include finance and education.

[0009] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-276037 discloses that a problem or the like is transmitted at a pace of one subject per day to a terminal for portable communication such as a portable telephone, a PHS, and a portable information terminal via a communication network. There is disclosed an education system aiming at being able to continue taking a course without difficulty even if the student has no particularly strong intention.

For use in the field of education and the like, a method has been devised in which a learning material composed of a large number of learning material units is divided into individual learning material units and transmitted to a student.

[0011]

In the conventional information providing service, when a user receives information from an information providing server, the user must use one of terminals such as a personal computer, a portable information terminal, and a facsimile. Obtain information provided by the terminal. The information acquired at this time is limited content that can be acquired depending on the performance of the terminal. According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-125824, information corresponding to the performance of the terminal can only be obtained after all. Even if the function was prepared, it could not be obtained. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an information providing system and an information providing server that enable a user to effectively use a function prepared on the information providing server side.

There is also a transmission method such as an education system for transmitting learning materials one by one. in this case,
For terminals with a small display screen, such as mobile phones, when sending a certain amount of information, the information provided by the server is converted into a form that can be processed by the functions of the user terminal If the information is to be displayed by a method (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-125824), the transmission information is divided for each content and provided. As a result, the amount of information that can be displayed on the display screen at one time is small, and it is difficult for the user to use the image on the display screen while comparing it with the text.

[0013] For use in the educational field, a method has been devised in which learning materials constituted by a large number of teaching material units are divided into short learning material units one by one and transmitted to a student. This method is one of the effective methods to prevent students who do not have enough time or who have low motivation to learn so that they do not feel the feeling of being overwhelmed by a large amount of teaching materials. However, there is little effect on the case where the learner or the learner has a spare time or the case where the student wants to learn while using the waiting time. Further, in the method of transmitting the teaching material by dividing it little by little, it is possible to transmit the teaching material several times a day, but the transmission is not necessarily performed at a pace (desired) desired by the student.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is intended to solve the problem even when there is a condition or restriction due to the user terminal such as a small display screen area of the user terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information providing system capable of receiving optimum information provision according to a user's environment and an information providing server for such an information providing system. In addition, information in an expression format adapted to the conditions and restrictions of each terminal device on the user side is provided to each terminal device on the user side, and the user uses information using a plurality of terminals or different terminals. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information providing system and an information providing server capable of providing information.

It is another object of the present invention to allow a user to use information simultaneously using different terminals, thereby alleviating restrictions on provided information caused by terminal device conditions such as restrictions on display screens.

[0016] Also, regarding the reduction of the transmission speed caused by the problem of the communication environment, it is possible to use the information in the form of expression corresponding to the transmission speed, and to effectively use and control the transmission information according to the user's intention. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information providing system and an information providing server that can utilize the characteristics of each device possessed by the user side and use them in cooperation.

[0017]

An information providing system according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises: a database for storing a plurality of pieces of provided information having different contents in two or more different expression formats; At least two or more different types of terminals used by a user to receive provided information in different expression formats and to transmit various types of information from the user, and stored in a database in response to a request from the user And an information providing server for transmitting any of the provided information to any of a group of terminals of the user. The information providing server registers an expression format used by each terminal of the user for receiving the provided information. A registration table, a history table for storing usage history information of information provided by each terminal of the user, and a provision information specifying a destination terminal from the user. A determination unit that determines the expression format of the provided information to be transmitted and the content of the provided information to be transmitted based on the type of the specified terminal, the registration table, and the history table, and And a transmission unit for generating and transmitting transmission information.

In the present information providing system, the database is stored in various expression formats (multimedia format, text format, etc.) so that the user can receive information on various terminals, and even in the same terminal. Provided information is stored in an expression format suitable for receiving information at each terminal so that the information can be received in various combined expression formats (news format, quiz format, etc.). on the other hand,
The user has two or more types of different terminals to receive the provided information, and by using these terminals, the user can receive information provided in different expressions from different terminals. The information providing server has a registration table in which, for each terminal used by the user to receive the provided information, an expression format used by the terminal is registered. Further, the information providing server has a history table that stores history information that the user has used the provided information so far. When the information providing server receives a request for providing information from the user's terminal specifying the destination terminal, the information providing server refers to the registration table and determines the expression format assigned to the specified terminal. Further, the information providing server determines the provided information to be transmitted with reference to the history table. In this manner, the information to be transmitted and the expression format are determined, and the transmission unit searches the provided information stored in the database based on the determination result, and generates the transmission information.

In the history table, date information transmitted as usage history information, an expression format used for transmission, and transmission end position information indicating a range of transmitted provided information are stored in association with each other. The server determines the provided information of the next transmission from the contents of all provided information regardless of which expression format is used when the determination unit refers to the history table, or transmits the provided information in the same expression format An input interface for displaying on the terminal an input screen for setting whether to determine the next transmission information to be provided from the content of the provided information may be further provided. With this, when the user attempts to obtain the provision information from the terminal in the representation format used for the terminal, the provision information provided next to the provision information that has been acquired in the same representation format by the terminal so far is obtained. , Can be obtained in the same expression format, or if you have already obtained further provided information in another expression format by another terminal, skip the provided information, regardless of the expression format It is also possible to acquire the provided information given next to the most advanced provided information among the obtained provided information.

Further, the information providing server further includes an input interface for displaying an input screen on the terminal which allows a user to designate a plurality of terminals to be used for receiving the provided information, and the discriminating unit is provided by the input screen for receiving from the user. Based on the response information, the registration table, and the history table, the expression format of the provided information for each specified terminal and the content of the provided information to be transmitted for each specified terminal may be determined. This allows the user to use multiple terminals simultaneously or sequentially to
By obtaining two pieces of provided information in a diversified manner, it is possible to obtain organic information related to each other.

[0021] The information providing server further includes a correspondence condition table for assigning a correspondence relationship between the provided information and related provided information that is content-related to the provided information and has a different expression format. When transmission of the provided information is performed, the provided information and the related provided information may be transmitted in their respective expression formats based on the corresponding condition table. Thus, when the provided information includes the related provided information, the user can effectively obtain the provided information cooperating with each other by using the corresponding terminals.

[0022] The information providing server may further include a timer unit for managing time between the provided information to be transmitted to the user and the response information from the user. As a result, time management can be performed in connection with the provision of information. For example, a time limit can be provided when providing information in a quiz format.

[0023] The transmitting unit of the information providing server, when there is a terminal that is currently transmitting the providing information to the user, responds to the providing information currently provided by another terminal to which the same user can connect. Transmission information in an expression format corresponding to the other terminal may be simultaneously generated so that the provided information can be received. As a result, provided information in an expression format that cannot be obtained depending on the terminal currently being used can be obtained in cooperation with a terminal corresponding to the expression format, so that the provided information can be used in various ways. Can be.

[0024] The information providing server includes a transmission date and time management unit that manages the date and time when the provided information is transmitted to the user, and a date and time that associates the date and time with the expression format or content of the provided information to be transmitted preferentially to the date and time. The transmission unit may further include a provision information table, and the transmission unit may generate and transmit the transmission information with reference to the provision information table by date and time together with the determination result by the determination unit. As a result, the presentation format and the contents are preferentially changed according to the date and time at which the provided information is transmitted, and the provided information can be sent in a format necessary or easy for the user to use at that time. Here, the date and time may be only the date or only the time.

The determination unit of the information providing server changes the expression format of the information to be transmitted to the terminal according to the change in the communication environment of the terminal when receiving the response information notifying the change in the communication environment of the terminal from the user. You may make it. This allows
Provided information can be sent in an optimal expression format according to the user's current environment.

Each provided information stored in the database is:
Each related content is divided into a plurality of consecutive chapters, and each chapter is divided into a plurality of classes with different levels. The information providing server sends response information for checking the level of understanding sent from the user. Further comprising an understanding degree extraction unit that grasps the degree of understanding of the user based on the determination unit,
The level of the next chapter to be transmitted may be determined based on the user's level of understanding extracted by the level of understanding extraction unit, and the information provided at that level may be determined. Accordingly, the information providing server allows the understanding level extraction unit to confirm the user's level of understanding of the chapter based on the response information, determine the level of the provided information to be transmitted next based on the level of understanding, and determine the determination unit The information provided according to the user's understanding level is provided by determining the provided information at the determined level.

[0027] The information providing server is provided with an understanding degree extracting unit for grasping the degree of understanding of the user based on response information for checking the degree of understanding sent from the user, and the degree of understanding of the user and provided in the past. An additional information reorganizing unit that generates new additional information based on the additional information.
Accordingly, in the information providing server, the comprehension degree extraction unit grasps the user's comprehension level and re-edits and provides new provision information based on the past provision information that the user did not understand. , Can provide effective information.

The information provided by the information providing server may be a learning material. As a result, it is possible to provide a learning material according to the user's understanding level.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing server for use in each of the above systems.

[0030]

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

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a basic configuration of an information providing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1a is FA
X and 1b are mobile phones, 1c is a personal computer (desktop personal computer), and 1d is a portable information terminal. 1a to 1d constitute terminals capable of receiving information provided by a user of the system, and when these terminals are collectively referred to without specifying their types, they are referred to as terminals 1 (or each terminal 1). . 2 is a communication network such as the Internet, 3 is an information providing server (computer), and 4 is a database that stores information provided by the information providing server 3 to users.

The information providing server 3 is connected to a plurality of terminals 1 via the communication network 2 and can perform information communication between them. In this system, a plurality of terminals 1 can be connected and used regardless of whether they are the same type of terminal or different types of terminals. For example, connecting a plurality of desktop personal computers 1c, which are the same terminals,
It is possible to connect the FAX 1a and the mobile phone 1b which are different terminals. Further, a plurality of information providing servers 3 may exist. It is assumed that one user (user A) can connect at least two or more different types of terminals to the communication network. In the following example, it is assumed that the user has connected all four terminals.

The database 4 is built in the information providing server 3 as a secondary storage device (memory, disk, CD-ROM, etc.) as well as in a form attached to the information providing server 3 as shown in FIG. A configuration may be adopted, or the information providing server 3 may be managed as an independent configuration.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration example of the information providing server 3 and the database 4 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The database 4 stores various types of information useful for the user. The database 4 stores the information in a multimedia format, a word processor format, and a voice format so that the various types of information can be used on various terminals 1 on the user side. Information is stored in various expression formats such as formats. Further, each piece of provided information is also stored in an expression format of various editing methods according to the purpose of using the information, such as a news format and a quiz format.

The information providing server 3 includes a registration interface 5, an input interface 6, a provided information determining unit 7, and a transmitting unit 14. These are CPU, ROM, RAM,
Actual hardware is configured by the I / O interface device.

The registration interface 5 (see FIG. 4) stores identification information (OS type, CPU model, memory capacity, free area, transmission speed, model code, memory card type, FAX number) regarding each terminal 1 used by the user. The registration procedure is performed by displaying a registration screen for registering information such as the type of mobile phone) on the screen of the user's terminal and transmitting and receiving data.

The input interface 6 (see FIG. 12)
When the user starts using the service, the input procedure is performed by displaying an input screen on the terminal 1 used by the user and transmitting and receiving data.

[0038] The provided information judging section 7 is provided for each registered terminal 1.
When transmitting the provided information to the terminal 1, a representation format to be used for transmitting the provided information is determined based on the registered environment and identification information of each terminal 1. The expression format used here includes differences in data structures (file structures) such as text format, multimedia format, word processing format, and audio format, as well as information such as news format, quiz format, and game format. Is an expression format in a sense that also includes the difference in the editing format. More specifically, the information includes quiz-format information written in a text format and news-format information created in a voice format. However, it is not necessary to prepare all the editing formats for all the data structure formats, and it is sufficient that only those that can be used in any terminal 1 are prepared. Further, when the information providing server 3 transmits information, the provided information determining unit 7 determines the content of the provided information to be transmitted based on the history information of the provided information transmitted by the information providing server 3 so far.

The transmitting unit 14 searches the database 4 for the provided information having the content determined by the provided information determining unit 7 and the expression format determined by the provided information determining unit 7, and generates transmission information. Each of these units constituting the information providing server 3 functions when hardware such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM constituting a computer which is actually the information providing server 3 executes a program for the information providing server. .

The provided information judging unit 7 constituting the main part of the information providing server 3 includes a registration unit 8, a rank registration unit 9, a discrimination unit 10, a registration table 11, and a rank table 1.
2, a history table 13 is included.

The registration section 8 registers identification information about each terminal 1 input via the registration interface 5 in the registration table 11 (see FIG. 6). The rank registration unit 9 refers to the “expression rank” information, which stores the expression format usable in each terminal 1 stored in the rank table 12 described later, and registers the expression format usable for each terminal 1 in the registration table. Register at 11.

The registration table 11 stores the identification information (the type of OS,
This is a table in which CPU types, memory capacities, free areas, transmission speeds, and the like are registered. Further, an expression format corresponding to the identification information of each terminal 1 is registered based on the rank information together with the identification information of each terminal 1. I have.

The rank table 12 stores, for each piece of identification information of each terminal 1, the position of the expression form at the time of sending information as an expression rank, and is referred to when the expression form is registered in the registration table 11. . That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the expression forms usable in each terminal 1 are classified as ranks for each expression form, and the OS type, CPU type, The minimum necessary identification information condition regarding the memory capacity, the free area, and the transmission speed is stored in a table format in association with the expression format. The “representation rank” is defined in advance as minimum identification information conditions such as the type of the OS, the CPU type, the memory capacity, the free area, and the transmission speed in order to determine the representation format corresponding to each terminal 1. Things.

The history table 13 stores history information of a user who has used the database 4 in the past. Discriminator 10
Refers to the registration table 11 and the history table 13 and provides the terminal 1 with a corresponding expression format in accordance with the request content of the provision information input through the input interface 6 (including designation of the receiving terminal). The provided information (content) to be provided is determined.

In this embodiment, as an example of the expression rank,
An expression format a, an expression format b, an expression format c, an expression format d, and an expression format e as shown in the rank table 12 of FIG. 3 are prepared in advance.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a registration screen displayed by the registration interface 5. The registration interface 5 is an interface for the user to register the identification information of the terminal 1 to be used when using the information providing service,
By displaying the registration screen on the terminal 1, the user is prompted to input registration information, and the user can transmit necessary information to the information providing server 3 via the registration screen.

In this registration work, for example, when a user applies for an information providing service online from a personal computer (PC), a button “Registration of terminal information” is provided in a service application entry column (not shown). The registration interface 5 can be displayed by clicking a button.

In the example of FIG. 4, first, a screen shown in FIG. 4A for prompting the user to register the terminal 1 is displayed. In addition,
Even after the user once registers the identification information of the terminal 1, the user can perform overwriting registration to execute the procedure described later again,
The registered contents can be updated. The overwriting registration work to add or change the terminal 1 used by the user,
A “register terminal information” button may be provided on an input screen (see FIG. 12) of the input interface 6 described later, or the overwriting registration work may be performed by another method.

When the user presses the "next" button in FIG. 4A, a screen as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. FIG. 4B shows items for selecting the type and model of the terminal 1 to be used. In this example, any one of the four models of “personal computer”, “portable information terminal”, “FAX”, and “mobile phone” is displayed. You can choose. When a user uses a service using a plurality of terminals 1, a plurality of services can be selected.

For example, when the user uses the service using four types of personal computer, portable information terminal, FAX, and mobile phone, all four items are selected (FIG. 4 (b) )). When "FAX" is selected, it is necessary to enter a FAX number in the text area.
When "mobile phone" is selected, it is necessary to select a mobile phone model. In addition, when selecting the model of “mobile phone”, the model selection location is shown as a pull-down menu. Select the applicable model from the mobile phone model selection items prepared in advance as shown in FIG. 5 (i). I do. In FIG. 4 (b), F
"123-456-7890" is set as the AX number,
Indicates that "CP_e" is selected as the model of "mobile phone".

The registration of the "personal computer" is shown in FIG.
(c), registration of the "portable information terminal" is performed from the screen of the registration interface 5 of FIG. 4 (d). When the “next” button in FIG. 4B is pressed, the screen in FIG. 4C is displayed. FIG. 4C shows a registration screen of the “personal computer”. Here, “OS”, “CPU”, “memory”, “free space”, and “transmission speed” of the personal computer are registered. 5 (a), 5 (b), 5 (c), 5 (d), 5
A corresponding item is selected from the selection items such as the pull-down menu format illustrated in (e). Fig. 4 (c) shows "OS"
Indicates that "OS_a", "CPU" is "CPU_a or more", "Memory" is "64MB or more", "Free space" is "50MB or more", and "Transmission speed" is "1.5Mbps or more". ing. When the selection of each item is completed and the “next” button is pressed, a screen as shown in FIG. 4D for registering the “mobile information terminal” is displayed.

In the registration screen of FIG. 4D, "model" and "memory card" of the portable information terminal, "free area" and "transmission speed" of the memory card are registered. The user can use the same method as in the case of registering the "personal computer" in FIG.
5 (g), FIG. 5 (h), and FIG. 5 (e), the corresponding item is selected from the pull-down menu format selection items. In FIG. 4D, the “model” is set to “PDA” by the user.
_c ”,“ memory card ”is“ CF card 128 MB ”,“ free space ”of the memory card is“ 16 MB or more ”, and“ transmission speed ”is“ 14400 bps or more ”. When the selection of each item on each screen is completed and the “registration” button in FIG. 4D is pressed, the registration information is transmitted, and the information of each terminal 1 is registered in the registration table 11.

As described above, each data except the expression format column at the bottom of FIG. 6 is stored in the registration table 11.
Next, the optimal expression rank (expression form) for each terminal 1
a, the expression format b ...) will be described.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the expression formats (expression a, expression b included in the expression rank) assigned to each terminal 1.
..) In the registration table 11
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of a process by. Rank registration part 9
Is a registration table 11 in which identification information of each terminal 1 is registered.
(However, the expression format column is blank at this time) and the registration format is registered in the registration table 11 using the previously prepared rank table 12. That is, the rank registration unit 9 determines the identification information (“OS / model”, “CPU / FAX number”) of each terminal 1 stored in the registration table 11 illustrated in FIG.
"Memory / Memory card""Freespace""Transmissionspeed")
Is determined from the rank table 12 in FIG. 3 and the expression format names (expression a, expression b,...) Included in the expression rank are registered in the registration table 11 in FIG. I do.

In the operation process described below, an array operation using the registration table 11 and the rank table 12 is performed. In this example, the Tab array expressing the registration table 11 includes 7 rows 5 of the user A. It is assumed that the column values are stored (FIG. 6), and the rank array expressing the rank table 12 stores the values of 6 rows and 6 columns of the expression rank (FIG. 3).

When the “registration” button (FIG. 4D) of the registration interface 5 is pressed, the provided information judgment unit 7 registers the information selected by the registration interface 5 in the registration table 11 shown in FIG. By this registration procedure, the value in the upper part of the transmission speed column in the sixth row of the registration table 11 is set. Then, the rank registration unit 9 is called.

The rank registration section 9 first registers the registration table 1
J representing the column index of the Tab array of 1 is set to 0 (S1),
A representing the row index of the two tables of the registration table 11 and the rank table 12 is set to 1 (S2), and i representing the column index of the Rank array of the rank table 12 is set to 0 (S
2) and initialize.

Thereafter, 1 is added to the column index j of the registration table 11 (adding 1 to the index, such as j ++, is referred to as "++. The same applies hereinafter) (S3). Then, a determination is made for the first value of Tab [0, j].

The first time is Tab [0, j] (Tab [0,1])
Stands for "personal computer" as seen in FIG.
Therefore, neither "FAX" nor "mobile phone" is indicated (S4). Therefore, the determination process S4 becomes false, and the process proceeds to process S11 (B in the figure).

In S11, the expression ranking process in the case of "personal computer" or "portable information terminal" is executed. However, in FIG. 7, it is shown as a black box for convenience of explanation, and the detailed flow chart executed in S11 Are shown separately in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of the rank registration unit 9 when it is determined in step S4 of FIG. 7 that the personal computer or the portable information terminal is used.
For convenience, S1 to S4 are also described in FIG. 8, but show the same processing as S1 to S4 in FIG.

Since Tab [0, j] (Tab [0,1]) is a “personal computer”, S4 becomes false and S12 in FIG.
Proceed to. In S12, 1 is added to the column index i of the rank table 12 (i ++), and 1 is set to the row index a. Then, the process proceeds to S13.

At S13, it is determined whether or not the column index i of the rank table 12 is less than 4. Here, the reason why the column index i of the rank table 12 is set to less than 4 is that the columns of the rank table 12 storing the expression ranks of the personal computer 1c and the portable information terminal 1d are 4
This is because it is up to the column.

Steps S12 to S14 mean that, for one column of the Tab array, determination is repeatedly made from the second column (column index i is 1) to the fourth column (column index i is 3) of the Rank array. are doing. Being false in S13 (that is, when the column index i is 4 or more) indicates that the comparison of each row of each column of the rank table 12 has been completed for each row of one column of the Tab array. When S13 becomes false and the process moves to S2, the column index j is increased by 1 in the subsequent S3, which indicates that the column determined in the Tab array (that is, the registration table 11) moves to the right by one column.

Now, the Rank array (ie, rank table 1)
Since the column index i in 2) is 1, Rank [1,
1] (OS_a) and the value stored in Tab [1,1] (OS_a) are true (14), and the process proceeds to S15. If the determination in S14 is false, the process proceeds to S12, and the column index i of the rank table is set to 1
Only increase. With this, the Rank array (rank table 1)
Row 2) moves to the right by one row. Then, the determination of S12 to S14 is repeated.

At S15, 1 is added to the row index a (a
++), the value of a becomes 2, and the determination is made in S16. A in S16
Is not 6, S16 becomes false, and the process proceeds to S17. In S17, as a result of comparing Rank [2,1] (CPU_a) with the value stored in Tab [2,1] (CPU_a), the result is true, and the process proceeds to S15. The value of a becomes 3 by adding 1 to the row index a.

Similarly, the determination (S17) is repeated for each row of the Rank array and the Tab array of the first column of the index (i and j are 1), and when the row index a becomes 6 in S16, the repetition is repeated. finish.

When it is determined to be false in S17, the process returns to S12 and i is increased by 1 (the Rank array is shifted right by one column), and the same determination is repeated.

If it is determined in step S16 that a has become 6, the repetition ends and the flow advances to step S18. In S18, the expression format name of the expression rank corresponding to the identification information of the registered terminal is registered in the registration table 11 (Tab [6, j]). Rank table 1
The first row (a is 0) of each column of the Rank array of No. 2 indicates an expression format name (expression format a, expression format b, ...). In the first flow of this example, “expression form a” is registered in the bottom row (“expression form” row) of the “personal computer” column of the registration table 11.

Subsequently, the process returns from S18 to S12, and the “personal computer” is placed in the rank table 12 by the same procedure.
Is determined to also correspond to the “expression form b” which is the expression rank when the column index i of the expression 2 is 2, the expression form b is also added to Tab [6, 1] in S18.

Returning from S18 to S12 again, the same procedure is repeated for "expression form c", which is the expression rank when i is 3, but this time is not applicable, so it is added to Tab [6,1]. Never. Then, the process returns to S12, and when i becomes 4, since it is determined to be false in S13 in the future, the process exits from S11 and returns to S2.

Subsequently, the same procedure from S2 is repeated,
In S3, the column index j of the registration table 11 is increased by 1 to 2 and the expression rank is determined by the same procedure for the “portable information terminal” column, and the expression format c is registered in Tab [6,2]. .

Next, the fourth column of the registration table (column index
The case where j is FAX 1a in 3) will be described. FAX1
In the case of a, since the result is true in S4 shown in FIG. 7, the process proceeds to S5. In S5, 4 is stored in the column index i of the rank table 12, and the process proceeds to S6. In S6, since the column index j of the registration table 11 is now 3, “F
“Expression form d” stored in Rank [0, 4] is registered in the “AX”-“expression form” column (Tab [6, 3]).

In this example, when the terminal is the FAX 1a, if the terminal is determined to be “FAX”, it is unambiguously expressed in the “expression form”.
The expression form of the expression rank is associated with “d”. This is because only one expression format is prepared for the FAX 1a, and there is no setting for determining the expression rank other than the information “FAX”. Therefore, as soon as "FAX" is recognized, "expression form d" is registered. The FAX number is omitted because it is not a determination factor when determining the expression format d. Note that when actually transmitting information to the FAX 1a, it is necessary to confirm the FAX number or display the setting screen again.

The same applies to the case of the mobile phone 1b. If it is recognized as “mobile phone” in S4, the rank table 12 is obtained in S8.
Is stored in the column index i, and the process proceeds to S9. In S9,
Now, the column index j of the registration table 11 is 4. In the case of the mobile phone 1b, it is necessary to determine the “model” of the mobile phone 1b in addition to the information of “mobile phone”. If the type is registered in the rank table 12 by the determination in S9, The expression form of the expression rank corresponding to the model is registered (S7), and if false, it is registered as being outside the expression rank (S10). According to the above procedure, the expression format name of the expression rank is registered in the registration table 11 in association with the expression rank. Thus, the assignment of the expression format for each terminal to the registration table 11 is completed.

Next, the acquisition of the history information of the information providing service will be described. Here, an information providing service of learning materials will be described as an example. The learning materials in the present embodiment are unitized for each chapter and are made into a series, and when the learning of the previous unit ends, the learning of the next unit starts. Therefore, when the learning of a certain unit is completed, the end position is registered as history information, and the service start position is determined based on the end position when receiving the service of the next unit.

The end position of the learning is obtained by using the end event of the application that operates the information providing service. It is assumed that the time when the user closes the window of the application is the end time of using the service, and the terminal 1 acquires the chapter / section of the last displayed page.

Then, at the same time when the window is closed, the terminal 1 displays a confirmation dialog. The confirmation dialog has an announcement of “the contents up to section XX have been completed”, a “change” button, a “send” button, and a “cancel” button. The end content can be changed by a “change” button. When the user ends the learning in the middle of the section, the user can pass an arbitrary end position to the information providing server 3 using the “change” button.

When transmitting the end position to the information providing server 3, click the “Send” button. When not transmitting the end position, click the “Cancel” button. The service is terminated.

When the end content is transmitted from the terminal 1, the information providing server 3 receives the end position,
The date, expression format, and end position are registered in the history table 13 as shown in FIG. If the transmission of the end position is canceled, the process ends without registering anything in the history table 13.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining an example of the history table 13. The history table 13 is created for each user,
The date of use, the expression format at that time (that is, the type of terminal used), and the data of the end position at that time are stored in association with each other. In this example, the history information indicates that there was use on January 1 by the personal computer 1c using the expression format a and use on January 2 by the portable information terminal 1d using the expression format c. Is stored in the history table 13.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described using an e-learning service (electronic learning service) as an example. As described above, in this learning material, a plurality of units are grouped for each chapter, and the learning of the next unit starts when the learning of the previous unit ends.

FIG. 10 shows an example of provided learning materials. The database 4 stores learning materials composed of a plurality of chapters from chapters 1 to 5 (each chapter is further composed of a plurality of sections) in a plurality of expression formats. That is, learning materials are prepared in a plurality of different expression formats, such as a multimedia format of the expression format a, a text + image format of the expression format b, and a text format of the expression format c.

The terminal 1 used by the user of the e-learning service can access the information providing server 3 via the communication network 2 as shown in FIG. The terminal 1 used by the user may simultaneously use the service on a plurality of terminals. Accessing using a plurality of different terminals 1 enables effective use as described later.

When the same user uses a plurality of different terminals 1, the same purpose can be learned even if the expression format of the learning teaching material provided according to the type of the terminal 1 used is different. For example, when the expression format of the learning material for the purpose of learning English “grammar” is prepared as a multimedia format, a text format, and a quiz format, when the terminal 1 is the personal computer 1c, the multimedia format learning material is used. In the portable information terminal 1d, quiz format teaching materials, F
In AX1a, learning is performed using text-form teaching materials, but learning for the same purpose of "grammar" can be performed.

Next, a description will be given of a flow when a transmission request for a learning material is made in the present embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for briefly explaining a procedure from a request for providing teaching materials from a user A to a search of a database 4. In this embodiment, the user A has already registered the terminal 1 to be used in the information providing server 3, has the registration table 11 shown in FIG. 6, and has already received the information twice and shown in FIG. It is assumed that a history table 13 is provided.

First, the input interface 6 of the information providing server 3 displays the login screen 6a shown in FIG. 12 on the terminal 1 of the user A as an input screen. This login screen 6
a itself is created in an expression format (specifically, a text format) that can be displayed on any type of terminal 1 such as a personal computer, a portable information terminal, and a mobile phone.

When the user A logs in from, for example, the personal computer 1c, the user inputs "user A" in the account input area and "personal computer" in the model name used. The column for inputting the model name to be used is "Personal computer""Mobile information terminal""Mobilephone""FA"
"X" may be provided as a selection item. Details of the item of “skip / do / do not do” on the login screen 6a will be described later.

The input interface 6 acquires the input data values of the account name and the model name used from the login screen 6a on which the user has completed the input, and passes the data values to the provided information judging section 7. Upon receiving the data value (user “A” or “personal computer”), the provided information determination unit 7
The determination unit 10 in the provided information determination unit 7 is a registration table 11
Search for "Personal Computer" of "User A"
It is determined from the registered identification information about that the expression format used for the information providing service corresponds to “expression format a”.

Further, from the history table 13 (FIG. 9), the learned material of the current user A is “Chapter 2 of the expression form c”,
It can be seen that it is “Chapter 1 of expression form a”. In the personal computer 1c, since it has already been determined that the teaching material of the expression format a can be used, "Chapter 1 of the expression format a" is determined here.

When the discrimination processing is completed, the discrimination unit 10 sends “Chapter 1 of expression format a completed” to the transmission unit 14. The transmission unit 14 searches the database 4 for the continuation of the teaching material of “Chapter 1 of the expression format a”, and makes it the information to be transmitted to the personal computer 1c.

When a plurality of expressions are recognized as in the case of the personal computer 1c, the expression having the higher priority is selected. Here, it is assumed that the priorities are set as the expression format a, the expression format b, the expression format c, and the expression format d in descending order.

As described above, according to the present information providing system, even when information is provided by a plurality of different terminals 1, each terminal 1 learns in parallel using the teaching material in each expression form. It is possible.

Next, skip learning in which learning is performed by skipping the range learned by another terminal 1 when learning is performed using a plurality of terminals 1 will be described. Here, the skip learning with the learning material composed of a plurality of chapters shown in FIG. 10 will be described. Similarly to the procedure described above, the history table 13
Contains the date when user A completed the study, the expression format of the teaching materials,
The end position is stored. Here, the history table 1 in FIG.
As shown in 3, user A is currently in "Chapter 2 of Expression Form c",
It is assumed that “Chapter 1 of expression form a” has been learned.

First, the input interface 6 of the information providing server 3 displays a login screen 6a as shown in FIG. A button for selecting whether to perform skip learning is provided on the screen. When the user A desires to perform skip learning, the user selects “Yes” in the “Skip / Yes / No” item as shown in FIG.

The input interface 6 acquires the input data values of the account name, the model name used, and the skip information from the log-in screen 6a on which the user A has completed the input, and passes the data values to the provided information determination unit 7. The provided information determination unit 7
When the data value of “Skip” is received, data relating to the latest end position in all expression formats is acquired from the history table 13 regardless of the expression format. And
As the expression format of the personal computer 1c, the "expression format a" determined by the determination unit 10 is passed to the transmission unit 14, and the "chapter 2", which is the most advanced end position, is passed to the transmission unit 14.

The transmission unit 14 searches the database 4 for teaching materials of the third and subsequent chapters in the expression format a and provides them to the user. In this way, the learning end position of the user A in the actual expression format a is “Chapter 1”, but since the user A has learned up to two chapters using the other expression format c, the user A A
Was able to skip two chapters in expression form a.

By referring to the history table 13,
It is possible to perform parallel learning or skip learning for each terminal 1 and also to search from the history table 13 for chapters that have not been used by skip learning, so that those chapters will be used at a later date. Can also.

As an application example, the history table 13 contains
The transmission position as well as the end position may be recorded so that the user can recognize whether the provided information has been received once. By storing the transmission position together with the end position, the following application becomes possible.
For example, when the information to be provided is in a quiz format, the information providing server 3 provides a timer unit 20 provided in another embodiment to be described later (see FIG. 14) and sets a time limit for answering the quiz in advance. Keep it.

The answer received by the information providing server 3 within the time limit is stored in the history table 13 as the end position of the quiz, and the answer provided by the information providing server 3 is not received within the time limit. Is not determined to be the information use end position. for that reason,
The end position is not acquired as history. In this case, the transmission position is stored in the history table 13 instead of the end position as needed.

By allowing the user to refer to the transmission position and the end position, it is possible to freely determine the information to be used. For example, when providing 10 quizzes, the information providing server 3 displays the question numbers of quiz 1 to quiz 10 to the user in a table. If the quiz was provided from the information providing server 3 to the user, but the user did not receive an answer within the time limit, the user would mark the "sent" mark and obtain the answer within the time limit. Mark the “completed” mark for the question.

The user selects a quiz that has never been solved by referring to the table (judging based on the transmission position)
The quiz used previously can be used again (judging based on the end position). The quiz selection method is to provide a link function to each quiz question in the table, use a method of acquiring the quiz question by clicking the quiz number, a method of providing an interface where you can enter the quiz number, etc. Can be.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG.
4 is an information providing server 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows schematic structure of. The information providing server 3 shown in FIG. 14 includes a database 4, a registration interface 5, an input interface 6, a provided information judging unit 7, and a transmitting unit 14. These components are the same as those in FIG. The description is omitted by attaching the reference numerals. In the present embodiment, in addition to these, a timer unit 20, a collation interface 21, and a corresponding condition table 22 are provided.

The collation interface 21 is an interface (display screen) for inputting a request request again after logging in to the information providing server 3 through the input interface 6.

The timer unit 20 manages the time between the provision information to be transmitted to the user and the response information from the user. Specifically, for example, it is used to set a time limit and the like until the response information is received after transmitting the provided information and to measure the time.

Further, the correspondence condition table 22 provides a mutual correspondence between related provided information. That is, there is certain provided information X, related provided information Y which is related in content to the provided information X, and is stored in a different expression format from provided information X (related provided information Y is the same as provided information X). (Including information in which only the expression format differs in the content) with the corresponding condition table.
In the correspondence condition table 22, conditions corresponding to each information such as “practice exercise”, “answer column”, and “listening to ○” are set. This correspondence condition table is referred to when a plurality of pieces of information are used in a pair as described later.

[0107] A description will be given below of how a user uses an information providing service by using a plurality of terminals 1 at the same time. Here, a case where the learning material provided to the user is given in the form of “practice questions” will be described as an example.

When the user requests the provision of the service from the mobile phone 1b, the provided teaching material is transmitted to the mobile phone 1b in the embodiment shown in FIG. However, in the present embodiment, the provision of the collation interface 21 allows the same teaching material to be simultaneously provided in a different expression format by other types of terminals (1a, 1c, 1d) specified by the user in addition to the mobile phone 1b. be able to.

Upon receiving the service provision request, the information providing server 3 displays the screens 21a and 21b of the collation interface 21 on the terminal 1 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the information providing server 3 first displays a screen 21a as a first screen displayed on the mobile phone 1b which is a terminal used by the user for access.

[0110] The screen 21a will be described. In the upper part of the screen, "PDA: Chapter 3 End of Learning" is the last time the portable information terminal 1d (P
DA), the service has been used, and learning up to Chapter 3 has been completed. "Mobile: Chapter 3 exercise" in the middle of the screen indicates that the type of terminal accessed this time is the mobile phone 1b.
This indicates that the learning range this time is the exercises in Chapter 3. Here, the range to be learned can be changed. "Send Answer Box" indicates the teaching material to be actually sent to the mobile phone. This teaching material can also be changed to any teaching material. “Expression format x” at the bottom of the screen displays the expression format of the terminal (currently the mobile phone 1b) used for access. When there are a plurality of corresponding expression forms, a plurality of expression forms can be displayed. Here, the expression form having the highest performance is selected and displayed. This expression format can also be changed to any format.

Here, in the case of using the service using only one type of terminal 1, after confirming the screen 21a, clicking the "acquire" button and transmitting it, the teaching material is acquired by the terminal 1. Become like However, when the user learns using a plurality of terminals 1, the user clicks the "setting" button provided on the screen 21a to display the next screen, that is, the screen 21b of the collation interface, and performs other necessary operations. Settings can be configured.

The screen 21b will be described. The upper part, “Chapter 3, Sending Practice Questions” indicates a learning material that the user desires to receive at the designated terminal. This is a teaching material associated in advance by the correspondence condition table 22, and in a state where the "answer column" is selected on the screen 21a,
When the “SET” button is pressed, “practice questions” associated with “answer columns” in the corresponding condition table 22 are displayed on the screen 21b.

[0113] The "destination FAX" in the middle is a designated part of a destination other than the terminal used for access (in this case, the mobile phone 1b). The “destination number” at the bottom is used only when the destination terminal is the FAX 1a and it is desired to specify the destination number.

The information providing server 3 displays the screen 2 from the user.
After confirming the response information by 1a and 21b, the provided information (the desired teaching material) in the corresponding expression format is transmitted to each of the designated terminals 1. In the present example, the "answer field" is transmitted to the mobile phone 1b, and the "practice" is transmitted to the FAX 1a.
In this way, each terminal 1
The effective information is learned by transmitting the related information with the content corresponding to the information.

Next, the use of the timer unit 20 will be described. The timer section 20 counts the time limit when the answer time limit is set according to the level and content of the exercise. The answer time limit is set in advance by either the teaching material creator or the teaching material user. For example, it is assumed that the time limit for answering the practice problem has already been set to 60 minutes by the teaching material maker. After the user receives the practice questions on the FAX 1a and receives the answer field on the mobile phone 1b, the user must answer the practice questions on the FAX 1a within 60 minutes from the mobile phone 1b and send it to the information providing server 3. There is.

When the information providing server 3 receives the answer from the user, it calls the timer unit 20. The timer unit 20
The elapsed time is compared with the answer limit time (set time). If the elapsed time is within the time limit, the exercise is ended, and the end position (in this case, how many exercises have been completed) is recorded in the history table 13.

If the elapsed time is outside the time limit, a notice of the retest is transmitted to the user, and the end position is not recorded. When the transmission position is recorded in the history table 13 together with the end position (an application example of the first embodiment), the transmitted exercise must be stored in the history table 13.

Next, an application example of the embodiment of FIG. 14 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of language learning using audio teaching materials. For example, the e-learning learning material is English learning, and there are a text material that can be received by the FAX 1a and a voice material for listening corresponding to the text material, and the voice material is a portable information terminal 1d (P
DA) corresponding condition table 2 so that it can be used by
2 is registered.

Upon receiving a request for an information providing service from a user, the information providing server 3 first transmits a text teaching material to the FAX 1a. The user proceeds with learning using the received textbooks. Eventually, the user begins to work on the part where the audio teaching material for listening is prepared. At this time, a transmission request for the audio teaching material can be made from the portable information terminal 1d to the information providing server 3.
The user can receive the voice learning material related to the currently used learning material (the learning material received by the facsimile 1a) at the portable information terminal 1d and use it.

When the user accesses the information providing server 3 from the portable information terminal 1d, the information providing server 3
Is displayed on the screen 21c. Since the user wants to obtain the same audio teaching material as the teaching material sent to FAX1a,
"Chapter 2 Listening" is input into an input field (middle section of FIG. 17) for inputting information of a teaching material requested by the user.
In the lower part, two expression formats “expression format y” and “expression format z” are registered as expression ranks. Here, even if the initial state is the text expression format y, the user can change the expression format to the audio format expression format z.

After checking the screen 21c on which the user has completed the input, the information providing server 3 transmits to the portable information terminal 1d the corresponding audio learning material from the teaching materials of Chapter 2, which are the learning materials currently used by the user. I do. In this way, it is possible to acquire the teaching materials utilizing the features of the FAX 1a and the portable information terminal 1d in association with each other.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG.
8 is an information providing server 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows schematic structure of. The information providing server 3 shown in FIG. 18 includes a database 4, a registration interface 5, an input interface 6, a provided information determination unit 7, a transmission unit 14, a collation interface 21, and a correspondence condition table 22. 14 and FIG. 14, and the description thereof will be omitted by retaining the same reference numerals. And
The information providing server 3 of the present embodiment further includes a transmission date / time management unit 23 and a date / time information table 29.

The transmission date and time management section 23 has a clock function,
It manages the time when the provided information is transmitted to the user (and the date and time when the date is also required). The date-specific information table 29
As shown in FIG. 19, this is a table in which the priority of information to be transmitted to a terminal (for example, the mobile phone 1b) is registered according to the service use start time (or the service use start date and time). In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, a range of the use start time for transmitting the priority information is set in advance, and the transmission date and time management unit 23 monitors the use start time. If the access time from the user is within the set use start time, the transmission date / time management unit 23 transmits the date / time information to the mobile phone 1b in advance instead of performing transmission in the expression format registered as a default in the transmission unit 14. The user is prompted to provide the priority information registered in the table 29 in the registered expression format. On the other hand, if the access time is out of the range of the use start time set, the transmission unit 14 provides the default provision information, that is, the registration table 1 determined by the determination unit 10.
The user is prompted to transmit in the expression format registered in 1.

FIG. 20 shows an example of the date-and-time information table 29. When the terminal (mobile phone 1b) requests information provision from the terminal (mobile phone 1b) to the information provision server 3 between 7:00 am and 10:00 am, the time-based information table 29 of FIG. Registered to provide.
In response to a request for information provision after 10:00 am, it is indicated that the terminal (mobile phone 1b) is to be provided with a teaching material in an expression format ("default format") determined by the determination unit 10. In this example, only the expression format to be transmitted as the priority information is set, and the information itself is not specified, so that the provision information determined by the provision information determination unit 7 is transmitted in the priority expression format. If the information to be transmitted as priority information is specified in the date / time information table 29 together with the expression format, the specified priority information is replaced by the specified priority information in place of the information determined by the provided information determination unit 7. Sent by

In the above description, the information providing system relating to the learning teaching material has been described as an example. However, another useful application example according to the present embodiment will be further described using a travel guide system for providing travel information.

In the case of the travel guidance system, the information providing server 3 stores the travel schedule (date, period, travel destination, etc.) of the user.
By obtaining the information in advance and creating the date-and-time information table 29 based on this information, it is possible to provide useful services for each use start date and time of the information providing service. The date and the period need not be the information as long as the information providing server 3 can determine whether the user is currently traveling.

The information providing server 3 includes a date-and-time information table 29 created based on information on a travel date and a period input by the user in advance, and a date and time at which a request for providing information from the user is received. The transmission date and time management unit 23
Determines whether the user is currently traveling, and provides a service suitable for the situation at that time (that is, information registered as priority information in the date / time information table).

For example, when a user requests sightseeing spot information, the current usage is determined according to regular holidays of the sightseeing spot, use time (opening time, closing time, etc.), user access time (use start time), and date. Provide users with information on possible sightseeing spots. As described above, in addition to the learning teaching material information providing system, applications in various fields such as a travel guidance system can be considered.

The user can receive the provided information at a plurality of terminals 1 through the collation interface 21.
For example, an image such as a photograph can be received by the portable information terminal 1d, and text information can be received by the mobile phone 1b.

Further, the present system can be optimized according to the communication environment of the user. For example, when the service is provided by the present system using the personal computer 1c or the like, even if the registration is performed in an environment where the transmission speed is sufficient, the environment other than the already registered environment such as the case of using on the go is used. The service can be used even in an environment where the transmission speed is not sufficient.

Now, it is assumed that the user is indoors and has a sufficient communication environment, and uses the e-learning service from a notebook computer using multimedia teaching materials. Even if the user tries to obtain multimedia teaching materials on the same laptop using a communication device such as a PHS on the go, the transmission speed is greatly reduced, so it becomes difficult to obtain multimedia teaching materials that are commonly used . For this reason, the information providing server 3 obtains a request for temporarily changing the transmission speed, and can provide a teaching material in an expression format suitable for the transmission speed.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a display screen of the collation interface 21 for making a request to change the transmission speed. The information providing server 3 provides the user with a screen 21d of the collation interface 21 as shown in FIG. "PC: Chapter 1 Learning Completed" on the screen 21d indicates the progress of the user, and "PC: Chapter 2 All Section Transmission" is the confirmation of the teaching material requested this time. This message indicates that the user has requested all two sections. Below that, a rank column is provided, and a display format extracted from already registered data is displayed.

When the user requests a temporary change of the communication environment, the user clicks the "communication" button to display the screen 21e and change the communication settings. The “temporary change” and “registration” items on the screen 21e are designation buttons for selecting whether to temporarily change the communication environment or to overwrite the changed contents. In the "transmission speed" field, enter the transmission speed to be temporarily changed. The input portion is like a pull-down menu, and can be selected from a list of transmission speed selection items as shown in FIG. The information providing server 3
When a temporary change in transmission speed or registration change is accepted,
The setting is changed to a corresponding expression format, and for example, in the case of a learning material information providing system, the learning material is transmitted in a new expression format.

Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described here relates to an information providing service of learning materials, but may be applied to an information providing service in another field.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information providing server 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The information providing server 3 shown in FIG. 22 includes a database 4, a registration interface 5, an input interface 6, a provided information determination unit 7, a transmission unit 14, a timer unit 20, and a collation interface 2.
1, a correspondence condition table 22, a transmission date and time management unit 23, and a date and time information table 29, which are the same as those shown in FIGS. 2, 14, and 18, are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. .

In addition, the information providing server 3 of the present embodiment additionally includes an understanding level extraction unit 33 for extracting the user's level of understanding of the provided information based on response information from the user regarding the provided information, An understanding level table 34 for storing the extracted understanding levels and a provided information reorganizing section 35 for editing provided information to be transmitted next according to the understanding level are provided.

A more specific description will be given by taking the service of providing learning materials as an example. The learning material is provided to the user as provided information, and the exercise for checking the degree of understanding of the learning material is provided to the user as appropriate. The user provides the information providing server 3 with the result of the exercise as response information.
Send to In this case, the answer to the practice problem may be sent and scored on the information providing server 3 side, or the user may score and send only the score result.

In the information providing server 3, upon receiving the response information from the user, the understanding level extraction unit 33 analyzes the response information and grasps the user's level of understanding of the provided learning material. The understanding level of each provided learning material is stored in the understanding level table 34. Then, based on the extracted degree of understanding, the provided information reorganizing unit re-edits provided information of contents corresponding to the user from information provided in the past to the user, and sets it as provided information for the next transmission.

[0139] Further, by preparing in the database 4 learning materials in which the learning contents as shown in FIG. It also extracts learning comprehension levels of users and provides learning materials that match the comprehension levels. As described above, the user's comprehension is such that the information providing server 3 grasps the results of the exercises and the test materials in the learning materials, and the learning comprehension is extracted from these results.

Hereinafter, the extraction operation of the understanding level extraction unit 33 will be described in detail. The comprehension degree extraction unit 33, when learning each chapter, a pass reference point of a test for ending the chapter and proceeding to the next chapter, and a level up (level The down) reference point is preset by the learning material creator. The pass reference point and the level-up reference point may be set separately,
The learning comprehension may be set to be related so that the learning comprehension becomes 80% “passing comprehension” at the passing reference point. Here, the latter is defined, and the level of understanding required for level-up is 95% or more.

For example, if the passing reference point of the 100-point test is 70 points, and the user's test result is 70 points,
The user's comprehension level is 80% (pass base point comprehension level). In this case, the user's comprehension is higher than the pass criteria comprehension, but the user's level is maintained because the user has not reached the level-up comprehension (95%). The passing reference point for each question differs depending on the difficulty of each question.

The comprehension degree extraction unit 33 calculates the calculation method differently depending on whether the score obtained by the user exceeds the reference point (passing reference point) or when the score obtained by the user falls below the reference point (passing reference point). Is used to extract the user's level of understanding.

First, an explanation will be given of the comprehension degree extraction section 33 when the score obtained by the user exceeds the learning reference point. For example, the total score of the test is totalPoints, the point scored by the user is getPoints, and the reference point of the test is clearPoin.
ts, the understanding level at that time is 80 (%), and the calculated understanding level is rikaid
In the case of o, the understanding level extraction unit 33 calculates the understanding level using the following equation. First, the percentage of points exceeding the passing reference point is 20% as calculated by the formula (1), 100 (%) − 80 (%) = 20 (%). rikaido (%) = 80 (%) + 20 (%) / (totalPoints-clearPoints) * (getPoints-clear rPoints) (2) This equation uses only the points exceeding the passing reference point, that is, This is a method of calculating an understanding level using the remaining understanding level of 20%. When the passing reference point is set to 70 points and the user who obtains a score of 75 during the test with a perfect score of 100, the user's degree of understanding is calculated as follows using the above formula. TotalPoints = 100 ClearPoints = 70 GetPoints = 75 rikaido = 80 (%) + 20 (%) / (100-70) * (75-70) = 83.4 (%) (3)

Next, a description will be given of the degree of understanding extraction unit 33 in the case where the test result of the user falls below the passing reference point. In this case, a minimum reference point is determined in advance separately from the pass reference point. In other words, when the test score is 0, the level of understanding is 0%
If the user's score is less than or equal to the minimum reference point, the level of understanding is set to 0%. The minimum reference point for each question differs from the passing reference point depending on the difficulty of each question.

For example, a method of calculating the degree of understanding when the minimum reference point is 30 will be described. Clea the passing reference point of the test
When rPoints, the points obtained by the user are getPoints, the lowest reference point is deadPoints, the understanding level at the time of the passing reference point is 80%, and the understanding level to be calculated is rikaido, the understanding level extraction unit 33
Calculates the degree of understanding by the following equation. rikaido = 80 (%) / (clearPoints-deadPoints) * (getPoints-deadPoints) Formula (4)

When the passing reference point is set to 70 points, the score obtained by the user is set to 55 points, and the minimum reference point is set to 30 points, the user's comprehension degree is calculated as follows using the above equation. . clearPoints = 70 getPoints = 55 deadPoints = 30 rikaido = 80 (%) / (70-30) * (55-30) = 50 (%) Equation (5)

As described above, the degree of understanding of each question is extracted based on the passing reference point, and the average degree of understanding is calculated for each chapter. The calculated understanding level is recorded in the understanding level table 34. Then, based on the degree of understanding extracted by the degree of understanding extraction unit 33, the level of the learning material to be provided for each chapter is determined.

Hereinafter, the database 4 stores the first, second,
A description will be given of the provision of learning materials in a case where learning materials of three levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced are prepared for each chapter of Chapter 3. The thresholds for each level are set at 95% or higher for the advanced level, 60% or higher for the intermediate level, and less than 60% for the beginner level. The threshold for the passability comprehension of each teaching material
All beginners are 65%, and their level of understanding is 95%.

First, an understanding level (understanding level 1) is extracted from a test prepared for determining the initial ability level of the user. For example, if the level of understanding is 1, the user's level of understanding is 80%
First, provide intermediate level learning materials to users. The information providing server 3 calculates the average of the learning comprehension degree of the first chapter based on the exercise problem results such as the exercise, the drill, and the end-of-chapter problem in the first chapter after completing the learning of the first chapter. . Then, the provided teaching materials for the two chapters are determined based on a threshold value of the degree of understanding of each chapter set in advance. For example, if it is determined that the intermediate learning material is provided when the threshold value is 65% or more, the level of the provided learning material is reduced to the elementary level when the user's level of understanding is less than 65%.

In the example shown in FIG. 23, the user has exceeded the threshold value of the pass criterion comprehension level by the comprehension level check (understanding level 2) when learning the first chapter. In the comprehension check when the chapter was learned (understanding 3), the level of the learning material dropped to the elementary level because it was below the threshold, and in the comprehension check when the chapter 3 was learned (understanding 4), it was again intermediate. Indicates that you have returned to the level.

It should be noted that the final understanding level check (understanding level 4)
As shown by the dashed line, even if the user has reached the level of understanding that can raise the level to intermediate level, use the level of the elementary level or use the intermediate level teaching materials. The user may be able to make a selection from the collation interface 21 to inquire about the user's intention. In the above explanation, learning materials were provided for each "chapter", but not necessarily for "chapter".
It is not necessary that the learning materials be provided for each unit.

Next, a system for providing learning materials to which the system of the present embodiment is further applied will be described. The following example is a system for creating an effective review question using information on the user's learning understanding level and information on past used teaching materials.

First, the learning comprehension degree of the practice problem for each section constituting the chapter is extracted. Specifically, the practice questions prepared for each section may be analyzed, and the performance of each section may be grasped by the comprehension extraction unit 33. You may analyze the quality of learning comprehension.

Using this analysis result, a review question is created by making the practice questions of the section with a low level of learning comprehension new main contents, and the exercises of the section selected at random as necessary are also prepared. Create and provide review materials in combination.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the learning comprehension level for each chapter and each section is graphed. Understanding degree extraction unit 33
Extracts the degree of understanding for each section of the first, second, and third chapters and calculates the degree of understanding of each section of each chapter as shown in FIG.
Record to 4.

[0156] Then, when there is a request from the user to provide review materials, the provided information reorganizing unit 35 searches for sections whose understanding level is equal to or less than the preset threshold value, and creates review materials from those sections. I do. When the number of clauses that are less than the threshold is small, a review material is created by combining the questions of the other clauses.

For example, when the number of sections used for the combination of the review questions is set to 6 in advance, the provided information reorganizing section 35 sets the review material mainly for the sections below the threshold as shown in FIG. Create In this example, the number of verses below the threshold is 4 (Chapters 1: 2, 1: 3, 2: 1, 3-1)
Therefore, for the remaining two verses, two verses are selected at random from the eight verses above the threshold, and a review material is created by combining each verse.

The expression format of the provided review material does not necessarily need to be the same as the expression format actually used by the user in the past. When the user makes a request to provide a review teaching material, by specifying an expression format, the review teaching material may be created using the teaching material expressed in the expression format.

[0159]

According to the information providing system and the information providing server of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
The user can use the information provision service from various terminals using various terminals, and can receive the information under optimal conditions based on the characteristics of each terminal. In addition, services can be used from different communication environments, and information subsequent to the previously used information can be used automatically or with a small effort.

[0160] Also, a service using a plurality of different terminals can be used, and information can be provided in such a way that the advantages of each terminal are integrated and cooperated. In particular, by simultaneously using the service at a plurality of terminals, one piece of information can be used from a plurality of terminals in a diversified manner. By simultaneously using information of the same purpose in different forms, as in the case of the learning teaching material providing service, it is possible to receive high-quality information that could not be obtained with only one terminal.

Further, even if the terminal has a limitation on the display size, the image and the text can be compared at the same time. For example, in the case of a travel guidance system, a map or a photo image is output to an information portable terminal, and text information is output on a mobile phone. be able to.

Further, by providing the timer unit, time management can be performed, and therefore, a learning test with a time limit can be performed.

Further, by managing the time (date and time) of the use start time using the information table for each date and time, the user can preferentially provide information considered necessary at that time (date and time). For example, in a learning service, information can be provided in a relatively easy format such as a review, a quiz format, or a game format in the morning commuting time. For example, in the case of the cooking recipe providing service, a menu for breakfast in the morning, lunch for lunch, snack in the afternoon, and dinner for the evening can be provided. In this way, it is possible to provide services according to the time zone and environment used.

Further, by providing an understanding level extraction unit for extracting the level of understanding of the information provided by the user, it is possible to provide information according to the level of understanding of the user. For example,
In the case of learning services, the level of comprehension of each learner can be improved by lowering the level in areas where the user is not good at providing learning materials in that area, and raising the level in areas where the user is good and providing learning materials in that area. Service with information content suitable for the customer.

Further, by providing a provided information reorganizing unit for editing the next provided information based on the individual understanding of the provided information learned in the past, an effective information providing service can be provided. By applying this to the learning material providing service, it is possible to create a review problem according to the user, and effective learning becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a rank table.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a screen of a registration interface.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a pull-down menu as each selection item in a registration interface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a registration table.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a ranking process performed by a rank registration unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a ranking process performed by a rank registration unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a history table.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of learning teaching material data stored in a database.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the information providing server according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of an input interface.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of an input interface.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing server according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen of a collation interface.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the information providing server according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a view showing an example of a screen of a collation interface.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing server according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining an example of the operation of the information providing server according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a date-and-time information table.

FIG. 21 is a view for explaining an example of a screen of a collation interface.

FIG. 22 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating level-based learning materials stored in the database.

FIG. 24 is a view for explaining graph data as an example of an understanding level table.

FIG. 25 is a view for explaining provided information reedited by a provided information reorganizing unit;

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Terminal 1a: FAX 1b: Mobile phone 1c: Personal computer 1d: Mobile information terminal 2: Network 3: Information server 4: Database 5: Registration interface 6: Input interface 7: Provided information judgment unit 8: Registration department 9: Rank registration section 10: discriminator 11: Registration table 12: Rank table 13: History table 14: Transmission unit 20: Timer section 21: Collation interface 22: Correspondence condition table 23: Transmission date and time management unit 29: Information table by date 33: Comprehension extraction unit 34: Understanding level table 35: Provided Information Reorganization Department

Continuation of front page    F term (reference) 2C028 AA00 AA03 BA02 BB04 BB06                       BC01 BC02 BD02 CA13                 5B085 BA06 BG02 BG03 BG04 BG07

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A database for storing a plurality of pieces of provided information having different contents in two or more different expression formats,
At least two or more different types of terminals used by one user to receive provided information in different expressions and to transmit various types of information from the user, and a database according to a request from the user. And an information providing server for transmitting any of the provided information stored in the terminal to any of the terminal groups of the user. The information providing server defines an expression format used by each terminal of the user for receiving the provided information. A registration table for registering, a history table for storing use history information of the information provided by each terminal of the user, and a request for the provided information designating the destination terminal from the user. A determining unit that determines the expression format of the provided information to be transmitted and the content of the provided information to be transmitted based on the type, the registration table, and the history table; Information providing system characterized by comprising a transmitter which generates and transmits transmission information. 2. A history table in which date information transmitted as usage history information, an expression format used for transmission, and transmission end position information indicating a range of transmitted provided information are stored in association with each other. The providing server determines whether to provide the next transmission information from the content of all the transmission information transmitted regardless of the expression format when the determination unit refers to the history table, or transmits the information in the same expression format. The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising an input interface for displaying an input screen for setting whether to determine the next transmission information to be provided from the content of the provided information on the terminal. 3. The information providing server further comprises an input interface for displaying on the terminal an input screen which allows the user to designate a plurality of terminals used for receiving the provided information, and wherein the determination unit receives the input screen from the user. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an expression format of the provided information for each specified terminal and a content of the provided information to be transmitted for each specified terminal are determined based on the response information, the registration table, and the history table. Information system. 4. The information providing server further includes a correspondence condition table for assigning a correspondence relationship between the provided information and related provided information which is content-related to the provided information and has a different expression format. 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein, when transmitting the provided information having a relationship, the provided information and the related provided information can be transmitted in respective expression formats based on the correspondence condition table. . 5. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing server further includes a timer unit for managing time between the provided information to be transmitted to the user and the response information from the user. . 6. A transmitting unit, wherein, when there is a terminal currently transmitting the providing information to the user, the providing information corresponding to the providing information currently provided by another terminal to which the same user can connect. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein transmission information in an expression format corresponding to the other terminal is simultaneously generated so that the terminal can receive the information. 7. The information providing server associates a transmission date and time management unit that manages the date and time at which the provided information is transmitted to the user with the date and time and the expression format or content of the provided information to be transmitted preferentially at the date and time. And a provided information table by date and time,
2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit generates and transmits the transmission information by referring to the provided information table by date and time together with the determination result by the determination unit. 8. A determination unit, when receiving response information notifying a change in the communication environment of a terminal from a user, changing a representation format of information to be transmitted to the terminal according to the change in the communication environment of the terminal. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein: 9. The provided information stored in the database is divided into a plurality of continuous chapters for each related content, and each chapter is divided into a plurality of classes having different levels. A comprehension extracting unit for grasping the comprehension level of the user based on response information for checking the comprehension level sent from the user; 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein a level of a chapter to be transmitted next is determined based on the degree of understanding, and provided information of the level is determined. 10. An information providing server, comprising: a comprehension extractor for grasping the user's comprehension based on response information for checking comprehension sent from the user; The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a provided information reorganizing unit configured to generate new provided information based on the provided provided information. 11. The information providing system according to claim 9, wherein the information provided by the information providing server is a learning teaching material. 12. A plurality of provided information having different contents are connected to a database which stores each of the provided information in two or more different expression formats, and one user receives the provided information in different expression formats and receives the information from the user. For at least two or more different types of terminals used to transmit various types of information, one of the provided information stored in the database in response to a request from the user to one of the terminals of the user. A registration table for registering an expression format used by each terminal of the user to receive the provided information, a history table for storing use history information of the provided information by each terminal of the user; In the case where the user requests provided information specifying a destination terminal, the transmission is performed based on the type of the specified terminal, the registration table, and the history table. A determining unit that determines the expression format of the provided information to be transmitted and the content of the provided information to be transmitted; a transmitting unit that generates and transmits the transmitted information based on the determination result of the determining unit;
An information providing server comprising: 13. The history table stores date information transmitted as usage history information, an expression format used for transmission, and transmission end position information indicating the range of transmitted provided information in association with each other. When referring to the history table, the unit determines the next transmission information from the contents of all information transmitted regardless of the expression format, or the contents of the information transmitted in the same expression format 13. The information providing server according to claim 12, further comprising an input interface for displaying an input screen for setting whether to provide information to be transmitted next from the terminal on the terminal. 14. An input interface for displaying, on a terminal, an input screen that allows a user to specify a plurality of terminals used for receiving provided information, wherein the determination unit includes response information from the user on the input screen and a registration table. 13. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein the information providing server determines an expression format of the provided information for each of the designated terminals and a content of the provided information to be transmitted for each of the designated terminals based on the history table. 15. A correspondence condition table for assigning a correspondence relationship between provided information and related provided information that is content-related to the provided information and has a different expression format, wherein the transmitting unit includes:
When transmitting information provided that has a corresponding relationship,
13. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein the provided information and the related provided information can be transmitted in respective expression formats based on the correspondence condition table. 16. The information providing server according to claim 12, further comprising a timer unit that manages time between provided information transmitted to the user and response information from the user. 17. When there is a terminal currently transmitting the provision information to the user, the transmission unit provides the provision information corresponding to the provision information currently provided by another terminal to which the same user can connect. 13. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein transmission information in an expression format corresponding to the other terminal is simultaneously generated so that the terminal can receive the information. 18. A transmission date / time management unit that manages the date / time at which provided information is transmitted to a user, and a provided information table for each date and time that associates the date and time with the expression format or content of the provided information to be transmitted preferentially to the date and time 13. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein the transmitting unit generates and transmits transmission information with reference to the provided information table by date and time together with the determination result by the determining unit. 19. A determination unit, when receiving response information notifying a change in the communication environment of a terminal from a user, changing an expression format of information transmitted to the terminal in accordance with the change in the communication environment of the terminal. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein: 20. Each piece of provided information stored in the database is divided into a plurality of continuous chapters for each related content, and each chapter is divided into a plurality of classes having different levels. A comprehension extracting unit for grasping the user's comprehension based on the response information for checking the comprehension to be obtained, wherein the discriminating unit is configured based on the user's comprehension extracted by the comprehension extracting unit. The information providing server according to claim 12, wherein a level of a chapter to be transmitted next is determined, and provided information of the level is determined. 21. A comprehension extractor for grasping the comprehension of the user based on response information for checking comprehension sent from the user, and a comprehension extractor for comprehending the comprehension of the user and provided information provided in the past. The information providing server according to claim 12, further comprising: a provided information reorganizing unit that generates new provided information based on the information. 22. The information providing server according to claim 20, wherein the information provided by the information providing server is a learning material.