JP2009099055A - Retrieval device, information providing request system and information providing requesting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retrieval device capable of retrieving a device with a high possibility of actually storing useful information about an occurring event, and an information providing request system and information providing requesting method which utilizes such a retrieval device. <P>SOLUTION: When an event occurs and an information providing request is received from a providing client, a portable terminal device 2e having a high possibility of actually recording data about the event is extracted from among a plurality of portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f, and the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 3d, 2e and 2f having a high possibility of storing useful information are extracted. A portable terminal device 2e having a high possibility of storing useful information can be narrowed down by previously extracting and retrieving the portable terminal devices 2e and 2f existing in an area A3 when the event occurred on the basis of position information of a place (area A3) where the event occurred and time information when the event occurred. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  When an event such as a fire, an incident, or an accident occurs, the present invention searches for a portable terminal device existing at the site at the time when the event occurred based on the location information and time information of the event that has occurred, and provides information The present invention relates to an information provision request system for transmitting a request mail. In particular, the present invention relates to a search device capable of searching for a device that is more likely to actually store useful information regarding an event that has occurred, an information provision request system and an information provision request method using the search device.

  Many portable terminal devices having a communication function such as a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) are widely used. Furthermore, due to the reduction in size and weight of storage devices, portable terminal devices are equipped with devices such as cameras and microphones (microphones), and image data such as still images and moving images captured by the cameras and sound collected by the microphones. Audio data can be stored.

  As described above, since data captured and collected by the camera and microphone can be stored in the portable terminal device, it is possible to carry data that captures unpredictable events or data that is useful to others. An information provision request service for requesting a user having a type terminal device is realized. An image taken by a general user in response to an information provision request with a camera of a mobile phone may be published in a newspaper or a publication, or may be broadcast on television.

  With conventional information provision request services, it is possible to provide information to an unspecified number of users or in advance in the event of a disaster such as a fire or earthquake, an accident such as a traffic accident, or the discovery of an unusual animal. The information provision request mail is transmitted to the portable terminal device possessed by the user who is registered. This may allow the user to recognize that data regarding the event is needed and provide useful information from the user who owns such data.

  However, in this case, since the information provision request mail is transmitted to many users, the amount of communication is large and the cost cannot be ignored. In addition, for the user who receives the information provision request mail, when the event is not related to the user, the reception of the information provision request mail may be felt troublesome.

  Therefore, it is desirable to narrow down the portable communication device to which the information provision request mail is transmitted to some extent. Therefore, by narrowing down to portable terminal devices that have a history that existed at the place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred, an information provision request mail is sent only to users who are likely to have more useful information It is possible to send.

  Narrowing down by location and time can be realized by acquiring location information corresponding to the portable terminal device.

  In Patent Document 1, when a portable terminal device performs short-range wireless communication, information on fixed and mobile communication devices existing in the vicinity is collected and a call to an emergency destination is executed. In addition, a technique for transmitting together collected information on peripheral communication devices is disclosed. As a result, when an event occurs, the location information of the event can be accurately determined from the location information of the fixed communication device that exists in the vicinity of the portable terminal device that is the reporting source, and the time when the event occurred It is possible to identify a witness or the like that is likely to be in the vicinity from the owner information of the mobile communication device that exists in the vicinity of the place where the event occurred.

Further, in Patent Document 2, when a desired area range is registered in advance by a user and an event occurs, the distance between the place where the event occurred and the area range registered in advance is calculated, and the distance is calculated. A technique for extracting a user who satisfies the above condition and transmitting an email about the event to the extracted user is disclosed. As a result, when an event occurs, it is possible to send information by e-mail only to a user who desires community-based information about the event.
JP 2003-289400 A JP 2006-59051 A

  By using the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it was present around the place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred from the correspondence with the time when the event occurred and the place where the event occurred. Portable terminal devices can be narrowed down, and an information provision request mail can be transmitted to a user who has a high possibility of having useful information.

  However, it is unclear whether the user who has the portable terminal device existing at the site and the time when the event actually has useful information. It is desirable to notify the information provision request to users who are more likely to have useful information. Further, even when there is no record that the event occurred and that it was present at the site, there is a possibility that useful information is stored.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is configured to search for an external device (portable terminal device) that actually records information related to an event based on information indicating the time and place where the event occurred. It is an object of the present invention to provide a search device that can search for an external device that is highly likely to store useful information, an information provision request system that uses the search device, and an information provision request method. To do.

  Another object of the present invention is to search only external devices that exist in the vicinity of the time when the event occurred and around the place where the event occurred, so that an external device that is likely to store useful information is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a search device that can search for a message.

  Another object of the present invention is to search for an external device that stores useful information, without having to acquire the actually stored information itself, so that the external device itself can search. An object of the present invention is to provide a search device that can reduce the load of search processing and search for an external device that actually stores useful information, and an information provision request system using the search device.

A search device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a communication means for performing data communication with a plurality of external devices;
Event acquisition means for receiving the occurrence of an event, and event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred when the event acquisition means received the occurrence of the event And a search means for searching for an external device storing the information.

  The search device according to the second invention is characterized in that the search means further has a function of searching only an external device existing at a place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred.

  An information provision request system according to a third aspect of the present invention is an information provision request system comprising a portable terminal device and a search device connected so as to be capable of data communication, wherein the portable terminal device stores information relating to an event. And the search device obtains event information including location information of the place where the event has occurred and time information of the time when the event has occurred, and information on the event based on the event information. Search means for searching for a stored portable terminal device, and notification means for notifying an information provision request to the portable terminal device searched by the search means.

  In the information provision request system according to a fourth aspect of the invention, the search device includes means for transmitting a search request together with the event information to the plurality of portable terminal devices, and the portable terminal device searches from the search device. Means for acquiring the event information by receiving a request; means for searching information corresponding to the acquired event information from its own storage medium; and means for transmitting a search result. And a means for receiving a search result from the portable terminal device, wherein the search means searches for a portable terminal device storing information on the event based on the received search result. Features.

  An information provision request method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is an information provision request method for notifying an information provision request to a portable terminal device searched by a retrieval device, wherein the retrieval device includes position information of a place where the event has occurred, Obtaining event information including time information of the time when the event occurred, searching for a portable terminal device storing information related to the event based on the event information, and the portable terminal searched by the search device An information provision request is notified to the apparatus.

  In the present invention, when an event occurs, an external device (portable terminal device) storing information related to the event is searched. When an information provision request for information about an event that has occurred is notified, the information is notified to the portable terminal device storing the information.

  In the present invention, only external devices that exist near the time when the event occurred and around the place where the event occurred are extracted, and whether or not information about the event is stored for the extracted external device. Thus, the external device is searched.

  In the present invention, when an event occurs and an external device storing information related to the event is searched, a search request is transmitted to the external device and the search is performed by the external device itself. The external device is extracted based on the above.

  According to the present invention, when an event occurs, an external device (portable terminal device) that actually stores information related to the event is searched, so that an external device that is more likely to store useful information. Can be searched.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, an information provision request can be notified only to a portable terminal device that is more likely to store useful information. As a result, the destinations for notifying the information provision request are narrowed down, and the communication amount when notifying the information provision request can be reduced. In addition, the user does not need to receive an information provision request notification regarding an event that is unlikely to provide useful information.

  According to the present invention, the external devices extracted as existing in the vicinity of the time when the event occurred and around the place where the event occurred are based on the condition whether or not the relevant information is actually stored, respectively. The device is searched. Even if there is no information about whether or not the event occurred in the vicinity of the time when the event occurred and the location where the event occurred, there is an external device that actually stores the information, but useful information is stored. It is possible to narrow the search to an external device that has a high possibility of being searched.

  According to the present invention, since the search device performs the information search process by the external device itself without acquiring the actually stored information itself, the load of the search process can be reduced. In addition, since most of the external devices are owned by individuals and the stored data is personal data, the search processing can be executed without collecting data unnecessarily by the search device.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. In the embodiment described below, there is provided an information provision request system that uses the search device according to the present invention to realize information provision requests only for users who are likely to have useful information. An example will be described.

<1. System overview>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the information provision request system in the present embodiment. The information provision request system includes a service center 1, portable terminal devices 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, 2 e, 2 f and an information provision request device 3. The service center 1 includes various server groups for realizing various communication business services including an information provision request service, and is managed by a communication carrier. The portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f are terminal devices having communication functions such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and are connected to the access points AP1, AP2, and AP3 in each area. By communicating, it is possible to communicate with the service center 1 via the network N1. The portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f are carried by a user who is an information provider. The information provision requesting device 3 is constituted by a PC (Personal Computer), and is connected to the service center 1 via a network N2 such as the Internet. The information provision requesting device 3 is managed by an information provision requester such as a newspaper company or a publisher that needs information provision from a user.

  The information provision request service captures events such as disasters, incidents, accidents, etc. personally collected by each user who has registered to participate in the service in advance as data such as still images, moving images, audio, documents, etc. In this case, it is a service that supports the provision of the information to the requester who needs it.

  For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, when a fire occurs in the area A3, a newspaper company or a publisher uses a photograph of the fire site. There are times when it is necessary to provide information from a user who has captured a still image or a moving image. At this time, rather than sending an information provision request mail to the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f of all the users who are registered to participate in the information provision request service in advance, they are actually portable. By sending the information provision request mail only to the user who took the picture with the terminal device 2e, the information provision requester and the user can not only be efficient but also reduce the amount of communication, and unnecessary information from an unspecified number of users Is less likely to be provided.

  Therefore, when an event occurs and a request for information provision is received by the service center 1 via the provision requesting device 3 from the information provision requester, the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, From 2e and 2f, the portable terminal device 2e in which data such as an image, sound, and document related to the event is actually recorded is extracted. In the present embodiment, the portable terminal devices 2e and 2f that are likely to exist around the site at the time when the event occurred based on the location information of the place where the event occurred and the time information at the time when the event occurred. Is extracted in advance, and the portable terminal device 2e in which data is actually stored is extracted from the extracted portable terminal devices 2e and 2f. Then, the information provision request mail is transmitted only to the portable terminal device 2e that has a high possibility of actually recording useful information. As a result, it is possible to realize an efficient and convenient system for both users who participate in the information provision request service and information provision requesters who need to provide information on events.

<2. System internal configuration>
Details of each component for realizing such an information provision request system will be described below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the service center 1 that constitutes the information provision request system in the present embodiment.

<2-1. Service Center>
The service center 1 is configured by a server device group for realizing various services including an information provision request service. The various server device groups manage event information including the content of the event for which provision of information is requested, the presence / absence of information provision, and the like, and the user's portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, corresponding to the information provision request The event information management apparatus 11 having a function of searching for 2d, 2e, and 2f is included. The various server device groups further include a location information management device 12 that manages the location information of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. In addition, a mail server device 13 that realizes transmission / reception of mail in the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f carried by the user, and portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f, and And a Web server device 14 that implements a Web service to the information provision requesting device 3.

  The event information management device 11 and the location information management device 12 are connected by a service bus 15. The event information management device 11 and the location information management device 12 are connected to a firewall (F / W) device 16 via a service bus 15, and the firewall device 16 includes a mail server device 13 and a Web server. A device 14 is also connected.

  Each device constituting the service center 1 performs processing according to each function, and not only constitutes an information provision request service system, but also constitutes various systems such as a charge management system and a location information provision system, respectively. It is designed for general use so as to operate as a server device, and is realized by a configuration called SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). By adopting such a configuration, for example, when it is necessary to increase the scale of a service, or when a new service is realized, for example, the service center 1 should be strengthened without being rebuilt. There is an advantage that a device that realizes a function and a device that realizes a new service can be added to share and process data processed by an existing device.

  The event information management apparatus 11 uses a control unit 110 that uses a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each component, and a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). A temporary storage area 111, a storage unit 112 that stores various types of information using a hard disk (HD), and a communication unit 113 that realizes communication with other devices constituting the service center 1 are provided.

  The control unit 110 of the event information management device 11 causes the server computer device to operate as the event information management device 11 by reading the control program 11P stored in the storage unit 112 into the temporary storage area 111 and executing it. In the temporary storage area 111, the control program 11P is read as described above, and various information generated by the processing of the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 is temporarily stored.

  In the storage unit 112, the content of an event when an information provision request is accepted, a table of event information including the content of information desired to be provided, and the user ID of a user registered to participate in the information provision request service, An event information DB 114 including a user information table in which the types and levels of events that can provide information are associated is stored. Further, the event information DB 114 includes a table of performance information including the presence / absence of information provision and the amount of consideration paid.

  The communication unit 113 implements communication within the service bus 15 that connects the devices constituting the service center 1. The control unit 110 can acquire the user information received by the mail server device 13 and the Web server device 14 by the communication unit 113. In addition, the control unit 110 can acquire the area information from the area information management apparatus 12 through the communication unit 113.

  The control unit 110 reads and writes event information, user information, and performance information stored in the event information DB 114 of the storage unit 112. Further, the control unit 110 stores the information corresponding to the information provision request based on the event information DB 114 in the storage unit 112 and the area information that can be acquired from the area information management device 12. , 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f.

  The area information management device 12 includes area information indicating areas A1, A2, and A3 where the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f exist, and areas A1, A2, and A3 that existed in the past. Is stored as a database. The location information may include position information obtained by measuring the positions of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f obtained at regular intervals by a GPS (Global Positioning System) function. The location information management device 12 is connected to the service bus 15, and each of the location information transmitted from the mobile terminal devices 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, 2 e, 2 f, access points AP 1, AP 2, AP 3, It is possible to acquire area information.

  The mail server device 13 has a mail server function that realizes transmission and reception of mail between the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. In addition, the mail server device 13 transmits mail automatically transmitted from other devices constituting the service center 1 to any one of the destination portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. Further, the mail server device 13 receives a user information registration mail including user information for registering participation in the information provision request service, and transmits it to the event information management device 11.

  The Web server device 14 has a Web server function for realizing a Web service as an interface of the service center 1. The web server device 14 creates a web page that accepts registration of user information for participating in the information provision request service, and a web page that accepts registration of the information provision request content by the information provision requester to create the portable terminal device 2a. , 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f or the information provision requesting device 3 can be input. In addition, the Web server device 14 stores the processing results in other devices constituting the service center 1, for example, the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that are likely to store useful information. The search result can be viewed from the information provision requesting apparatus 3 by the information provision requester.

  In the present embodiment, the user transmits a user information registration mail using the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f, respectively, or the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, The user information can be registered in the information provision request service by inputting various information to the Web page created by the Web server device 14 using 2e and 2f.

  Similarly, the information provision requester uses the information provision requesting device 3 to transmit a request content registration mail, or the information provision requesting device 3 uses the information provision requesting device 3 to display the event on the web page created by the web server device 14. By inputting event information including contents and event types, it is possible to register the contents of events that require information provision in the information provision request service.

<2-2. Portable terminal device>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the portable terminal device 2a constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment. Since the internal configuration of the portable terminal devices 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f is the same as the internal configuration of the portable terminal device 2a, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The portable terminal device 2a includes a control unit 20 using a CPU that controls each component shown below, a temporary storage area 21 using a volatile memory such as DRAM or SRAM, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). ) Etc., a storage unit 22 using a non-volatile memory, an operation unit 23 including numeric keys and cursor buttons, a display unit 24 using a liquid crystal panel, an imaging unit 25 including a lens group and an image sensor, and a microphone. A sound collection unit 26 including a (microphone), an antenna unit 27 that realizes wireless communication, and a GPS reception unit 28 that receives a signal from a GPS satellite.

  The control unit 20 of the portable terminal device 2a implements each function described below by reading the control program 2P stored in the storage unit 22 into the temporary storage area 21 and executing it.

  In the temporary storage area 21, the control program 2P is read as described above, and various information generated by the processing of the control unit 20 is temporarily stored.

  The storage unit 22 stores the control program 2P described above. The storage unit 22 stores still image, moving image, and audio data acquired by an imaging unit 25 and a sound collection unit 26 described later.

  The operation unit 23 is an interface that receives user operations, and includes numeric keys, cursor buttons, a determination button, and an application program start button. The control unit 20 can detect pressing of a numeric key, a cursor button, and an enter button included in the operation unit 23, and can recognize an input character string and various selected items. The user can use the operation unit 23 to perform camera shooting in an imaging unit 25 (to be described later) and input voice in a sound collection unit.

  The display unit 24 displays GUIs corresponding to various application programs by the processing of the control unit 20.

  The imaging unit 25 converts light incident on the imaging element through the lens group into image data. The imaging unit 25 performs an imaging process according to a control signal indicating a shooting instruction transmitted from the control unit 20 based on a user operation on the operation unit 23, converts the image into image data, and outputs the image data to the temporary storage area 21. To do. The control unit 20 stores still image data and moving image data captured by the imaging unit 25 and output to the temporary storage area 21 in the storage unit 22.

  The sound collection unit 26 performs sound collection processing according to a control signal indicating an instruction from the control unit 20, converts the sound into sound data, and outputs the sound data to the temporary storage area 21. The control unit 20 stores the audio data collected by the sound collection unit 26 and output to the temporary storage area 21 in the storage unit 22.

  The antenna unit 27 transmits and receives radio waves of a predetermined frequency used for communication by the portable terminal device 2a. The control unit 20 is capable of sending and receiving mails and accessing the Web server device 14, for example, by the antenna unit 27.

  The GPS receiver 28 receives time information from radio waves respectively transmitted from GPS satellites (not shown). The GPS receiving unit 28 has a function of calculating longitude and latitude as position information of the portable terminal device 2a from the received time information and outputting it to the control unit 20 every time a certain time elapses. The control unit 20 can acquire the position information (latitude and longitude) of the portable terminal device 2a from the signal output from the GPS receiving unit 28.

  When storing the still image data and the moving image data captured by the imaging unit 25 in the storage unit 22, the control unit 20 associates the captured date and time with the longitude and latitude calculated by the GPS receiving unit 28. Remember. Specifically, the file names of still image data and moving image data are names based on date, time, and longitude and latitude. For example, in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format taken at 15:30:43 on 11 September 2007 at a point of longitude 139 degrees 44 minutes 40.502 seconds and latitude 35 degrees 39 minutes 17.515 seconds The file name of the still image is assumed to be 20070911153043_1394440502_353917515.jpg. Similarly, when storing the voice data acquired by the sound collection unit 26 in the storage unit 22, the control unit 20 stores the collected date, time, and longitude and latitude in association with each other. Furthermore, when storing the generated document data in the storage unit 22, the control unit 20 may store the generated date, time, and longitude and latitude in association with each other.

  Not only the file name is a name based on the date, time and longitude, but also various information including date, time and longitude is added to the data such as still image data, moving image data, audio data, etc. It is good also as a structure which adds and memorize | stores as. For example, the configuration may be such that additional information is added to data according to the Exif (registered trademark) standard.

  In addition to the additional information to be associated, information regarding whether the location where the imaged or collected sound is indoors, outdoors, or underground is further associated and stored. Good. In this case, whether it is indoor, outdoor, or underground is determined by calculating the height by the GPS receiver 28. In addition, the control unit 20 may associate information indicating shooting conditions such as whether or not a still image captured by the imaging unit 25 is captured by macro photography. In addition, by configuring the portable terminal device 2 a to include an electronic compass, information on the direction of the shooting direction or the sound collection direction may be associated by the control unit 20.

<2-3. Information provision request device>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the information provision requesting apparatus 3 constituting the information provision requesting system in the present embodiment. The information provision requesting apparatus 3 includes a control unit 30 that uses a CPU that controls each component, a temporary storage area 31 that uses a volatile memory such as a DRAM or SRAM, a storage unit 32 that uses a hard disk, a mouse, An operation unit 33 including a keyboard and the like, a display unit 34 using a liquid crystal panel, and a communication unit 35 using a network card are provided. The information provision requesting device may be composed of not only a PC but also a portable terminal device.

  The control unit 30 reads an OS (Operating System) (not shown) stored in the storage unit 32 and a control program including various application programs into the temporary storage area 31 and executes the control program, thereby causing the information provision requesting device 3 to operate the personal computer device. To act as. For example, the control unit 30 reads and executes a control program, thereby realizing a mail function and a Web page browser function.

  In the temporary storage area 31, the control program is read as described above, and various information generated by the processing of the control unit 30 is temporarily stored.

  The operation unit 33 detects information input by the mouse and keyboard included in the operation unit 33 and notifies the control unit 30 of the information. The control unit 30 inputs information such as the name, type, and price condition of an event that requires information provision on an operation screen displayed on the display unit 34, a web browser screen, or the like by a user using a mouse, a keyboard, or the like. In this case, the operation unit 33 can detect this.

  The display unit 34 receives a control signal from the control unit 30, and displays an operation screen, a web browser screen, and the like that are output when the control unit 30 reads and executes the control program.

  The communication unit 35 realizes communication via the network N2. The control unit 30 can send and receive mails and access the Web server device 14 in the service center 1 through the communication unit 35.

<3. Processing>
In the information provision request system configured as described above, processing in each device for realizing the information provision request service will be described in stages as follows.

1. Registration of user information Registration of event information Search processing Information provision

<3-1. Registration of user information>
In the present embodiment, as described above, the user transmits a user information registration mail using the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f, or information via the Web server device 14. It is possible to register participation in the information provision request service by inputting. When receiving the user information registration mail addressed to the service center 1, the mail server apparatus 13 transmits the received user information registration mail to the event information management apparatus 11. In addition, when the registration of user information is accepted via the user information registration web page, the web server device 14 transmits the input user information to the event information management device 11.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in which the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 configuring the information provision request system according to the present embodiment receives user information.

  The control unit 110 receives the user information registration mail and reads the user information from the mail or receives the user information transmitted from the Web server device 14 to determine whether the user information is received (step S11). When it is determined that the user information is not received (S11: NO), the control unit 110 returns the process to step S11 and waits until it is determined that the user information is received.

  When determining that the user information has been received (S11: YES), the control unit 110 creates a user information table and stores it in the event information DB 114 (step S12), and ends the process of receiving the user information.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a content example of user information stored by the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment. As shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 6, the user information includes a user ID (Identification Data) for identifying the user, a mail address in the user's portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, It includes the type of event that may provide information and the level of the event. The user ID may be replaced with a mail address. In addition, it is stored as the type of event whether information can be provided only for an incident, whether information can be provided only for a disaster, or information can be provided for both. In addition, as for the level of events for which information can be provided, whether information can be provided for minor events, whether information can be provided for moderate events, information for important events can be provided, or It is stored whether information can be provided for all levels of events.

  In the content example shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 6, for the user with the user ID “00012345”, it is possible to provide information only for the minor level incidents, and for the user with the user ID “02345678”, the incidents of all levels It is shown that the user information DB 114 stores that it is possible to provide information about disasters.

  Thus, only when the user information is registered, the information provision request mail is transmitted to the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f owned by the user. That is, the data retrieval described later is performed only by the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f of the user who is aware that he / she is participating in the information provision request service. In the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f owned by the user who does not have the intention to provide information, the data stored in the storage unit 21 described later is not searched. Thus, each user's intention is respected by accepting registration of user information in advance.

<3-2. Registration of event information>
The information provision requester transmits the request content registration mail using the information provision requesting device 3 as described above, or inputs the information via the Web server device 14, that is, the event provision information. Can be registered. When the mail server apparatus 13 receives the request content registration mail addressed to the service center 1, the mail server apparatus 13 transmits the received request content registration mail to the event information management apparatus 1. In addition, when the event information registration is received via the request content registration Web page, the Web server device 14 transmits the input event information to the event information management device 11.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in which the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 configuring the information provision request system according to the present embodiment receives event information.

  The control unit 110 receives the request content registration mail and reads the event information from the mail, or determines whether the event information is received by receiving the event information transmitted from the Web server device 14 (step S21). If it is determined that event information has not been received (S21: NO), control unit 110 returns to step S21 and waits until it is determined that event information has been received.

  When determining that the event information has been received (S21: YES), the control unit 110 creates a table of event information and stores it in the event information DB 114 (step S22), and ends the process of receiving the event information.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of event information stored by the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment. As shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 8, the event information includes an event ID assigned to each event, an occurrence location where the event occurred, an occurrence date and time when the event occurred, a title indicating the content of the event, and an event type. And the event level, the deadline for providing information about the event, and a reference amount for consideration when the information about the event is provided. The event ID is identification information assigned when the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 acquires event information.

  It should be noted that the event information may further include detailed content as in the content example shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. The detailed contents are indicated by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). For example, when the user acquires the URL, it is possible to browse a Web page in which the detailed contents of the event are described based on the URL.

  The content example in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 8 indicates that a request for providing information about an incident that occurred at 15:30 on September 1, 2007 in A city, B city, C is registered by the information provider. Has been. In this case, “10001” is assigned as an event ID, and the information provision period is set to 30 days.

<3-3. Search process>
The control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 stores information about an event that requires information provision in response to an event information information request included in the event information DB 114 of the storage unit 112. One of 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f is searched. Whether or not information about an event is actually stored is determined based on a search result in the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that have received a search request from the event information management device 11. Judgment.

  In the present embodiment, the event information management device 11 first extracts the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that existed at the place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred. When and in which area the portable terminal devices 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, 2 e, 2 f exist are stored in a database in the area information DB 121 of the area information management device 12.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the location information stored in the service center 1 configuring the information provision request system in the present embodiment. The location information of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f is portable when the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f straddle the areas A1, A2, A3. Which of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f is turned on when the power of the terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f is turned on or when a predetermined time has elapsed Whether it exists in the area is transmitted from the access point. Then, as shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 9, in which area the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f exist is stored in the in-zone information DB 121 together with time information as a history. .

  The control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 requests the area information management apparatus 12 to read the contents of the area information DB 121 shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. It is possible to extract the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f having the history that existed at the place.

  FIG. 10 shows portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f in which the control unit 110 of the event information management device 11 constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment stores information related to events. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence which searches for.

  It is desirable that the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 performs the following processing after the event information receiving processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. Further, the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 stores the event information in the event information DB 114 by the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, and then the period until the time limit included in the event information expires, for example, 1 per day. It is good also as a structure which performs the process shown below with the frequency of times.

  The control unit 110 reads the occurrence location and the occurrence date / time included in the received event information (step S301). The control unit 110 sends the user IDs of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f having an area corresponding to the read out occurrence location and the occurrence date and time and the history of the date and time through the area information management device 12. Read from the location information DB 121 (step S302). At this time, when the user IDs of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f having the history of the area where the event occurred and the date corresponding to the occurrence are extracted, the occurrence location and the occurrence It is determined that an area and date / time within a predetermined allowable range correspond to any date / time. Moreover, it is desirable that the control unit 110 associates the occurrence location with any of the access points AP1, AP2, AP3 in advance.

  The control unit 110 reads a table of user information included in the event information DB 114 (step S303). The control unit 110 extracts a user ID that matches the user ID read from the location information DB 121 in step S302 and the user ID included in the user information read in step S303 (step S304). The portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f corresponding to the user ID extracted in step S304 was present around the place where the event occurred, near the time when the event occurred Devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f.

  The control unit 110 extracts, from the user ID extracted in step S304, a user ID whose event level included in the received event information is an event level that can provide information (step S305). The control unit 110 transmits a search request to the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f corresponding to the user ID extracted in step S305 (step S306).

  Note that the search request transmitted by the control unit 110 in step S306 includes the occurrence location and the occurrence date / time included in the event information. It is desirable that the place of occurrence is converted to longitude and latitude. In addition, the search request may include information on whether the place where the still image, the image, and the sound are captured or collected is indoors, outdoors, or underground. In addition, information indicating imaging conditions may be included.

  The control unit 110 determines whether a search result for the transmitted search request has been received (step S307). When determining that the search result has not been received (S307: NO), the control unit 110 returns the process to step S307 and waits until it is determined that the search result has been received. When the control unit 110 determines that the search result has been received (S307: YES), based on the presence or absence of matching data indicated in the search result, the mobile terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, which are the transmission source of the search result, It is determined whether 2d, 2e, and 2f store data related to the event (step S308). When the control unit 110 determines that the data related to the event is stored (S308: YES), the user ID corresponding to the mobile terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f as the transmission source is set as the event ID. The information is stored in association (step S309), and the process proceeds to step S310 described later.

  When it is determined that the data regarding the event is not stored in step S308 (S308: NO), control unit 110 proceeds to the next step S310 as it is.

  Control unit 110 determines whether or not all search results have been received (step S310). If it is determined that all search results have not been received (S310: NO), the process returns to step S307. If the control unit 110 determines that all search results have been received (S310: YES), the control unit 110 ends the process of searching for the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that store information related to the event. To do.

  Next, a process performed by each portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f with respect to the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 performed by the event information management apparatus 11 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure in which the control unit 20 of the portable terminal device 2a configuring the information provision request system according to the present embodiment searches for data related to an event in response to a search request. Since the processing procedures of the control units 20 of the other portable terminal devices 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f are the same as the processing procedures of the control unit 20 of the portable terminal device 2a, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The control unit 20 receives the search request from the antenna unit 27 (step S41), and reads additional information added to data such as a still image, a moving image, sound, and a document stored in the storage unit 21 (step S41). S42).

  Based on the read additional information, the control unit 20 determines whether or not there is data to which the date and time included in the search request is added with a date and time that matches within a predetermined allowable range (step S43). When the control unit 20 determines that there is data to which the date and time that matches the occurrence date and time included in the search request is present (S43: YES), the position that matches the occurrence location and the predetermined allowable range included in the search request It is determined whether there is data to which information is added (step S44). When the control unit 20 determines that there is data to which position information that matches the occurrence location included in the search request is present (S44: YES), when the search request includes other search conditions, It is determined whether there is data that matches the search condition (step S45). If other search conditions are not included in the search request, the process of step S45 is omitted.

  If the control unit 20 determines that there is data that matches the other search conditions (S45: YES), the antenna unit 27 transmits a search result indicating that there is matching data to the event information management apparatus 11 (step S45). S46), the search process is terminated.

  When the control unit 20 determines that there is no data to which date and time matching the date and time of occurrence included in the search request is added (S43: NO), it is determined that there is no data to which position information matching the location of occurrence is added. If it is determined (S44: NO), and if it is determined that there is no data matching the other search conditions (S45: NO), the search result indicating that there is no matching data is sent to the event information management apparatus 11 to the antenna unit 27. (S47), and the search process is terminated.

  When it is determined in step S44 whether or not there is data to which position information that matches the location of occurrence within a predetermined allowable range is present, if direction information is associated with the data, Whether there is still image data, moving image data, or audio data that has been shot or collected in the direction of the location of occurrence based on the longitude and latitude information acquired by the GPS receiver 28 based on You may make it judge.

  Thus, as a result of the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f corresponding to the user ID stored in association with the event ID are Search is made as portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that are highly likely to store data related to the event.

  The control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 transmits a search request to cause each of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f to execute a search process and receive the search result. The portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f storing information related to the event are searched. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 110 of the event information management device 11 is configured to store still image data and moving images stored in the storage unit 21 of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. A search process may be performed by reading additional information added to data such as image data, audio data, document data, etc., and determining the presence / absence of data that matches the search date, location, and other search conditions. However, since the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f are configured to execute search processing, there are a large number of portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. In addition, the processing load of the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 is reduced.

  In FIG. 12, the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment makes an information provision request to the searched portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence to notify.

  The control unit 110 reads the user ID stored in association with the event ID (step S51), and sets the e-mail address corresponding to the read user ID as the destination, and the portable terminal devices 2a and 2b corresponding to the user ID. , 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f (step S52), the process is terminated.

  When the control unit 110 transmits the information provision request mail, the event ID, the occurrence location, the date and time of occurrence, the title of the event, the detailed content of the event, the time limit, and the reference price included in the event information table of the event information DB 114 Is read out as the content of the information provision request mail.

  In addition, each portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f is not only triggered by a search request transmitted from the event information management device 11, but also the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d. , 2e, 2f may be linked to the news distribution service to retrieve location information and the like for the news when the news is received. In this case, an event ID, an event occurrence location, and an occurrence time may be added to the news distributed by the news distribution service, or the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f themselves May be configured to perform an inquiry process regarding the event ID, the occurrence location, and the occurrence date and time. In this case, the event information management device 11 receives the data retrieved by the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f, receives the event corresponding to the received data, and information from the information provision requester. The event that is required to be provided is associated with the event ID. As a result, the event information management device 11 can extract the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that store information about events that require information provision.

<3-4. Information>
When a user who has registered to participate in the information provision request service receives the information provision request mail, whether or not he / she really has information and agrees to the information provision, sends the information provision mail to the service center 1 Information is actually provided by the method of accessing the Web server device 14. At this time, the user carries data such as still image data, moving image data, and audio data stored in the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f actually owned by the user together with the event ID. Type terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. The user may transmit together document data in which the sighting information is documented.

  Information provided in response to the information provision request mail is transmitted to the event information management apparatus 11 via the mail server apparatus 13 or the Web server apparatus 14. The event information management apparatus 11 stores the provided information as a record, and presents information to the information providing requester in response to the request.

  FIG. 13 shows a process when the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 constituting the information provision request system in the present embodiment receives information provision from the portable terminal apparatuses 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a procedure.

  The control unit 110 determines whether information has been provided by the user based on whether the information providing mail has been received via the mail server device 13 or the information input via the Web server device 14 has been received. (Step S61). When determining that there is no information provided by the user (S61: NO), the controller 110 returns the process to step S61.

  When the control unit 110 determines that there is information provided by the user (S61: YES), the control unit 110 associates the event with the event ID transmitted from the user's portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f. The provided data transmitted together is stored as a record (step S62). At this time, the control unit 110 allocates and stores a provision information ID to identify the provided data. In addition, the control unit 110 reads and associates the mail address with reference to the user ID of the providing source user, and further associates and stores the time when the information was provided.

  The control unit 110 contains an overview of the provided data and sighting information, and sends an email including a provided information ID for identifying the provided information to the information providing requester 3 of the information providing requester corresponding to the event ID. This is transmitted (step S63), and the process when information is provided is terminated.

  The mail transmitted in step S63 may be configured to include only a link to the web page. The control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 may generate a Web page including the provided information ID and provided data, for example, a thumbnail with reduced resolution of still image data, and transmit the generated Web page to the Web server apparatus 14. . In this case, the information provision requester browses the web page associated with the event ID by using the web browser function of the information provision requesting apparatus 3, and confirms the content of the provided information with a list of thumbnails of still images. It is possible to judge whether or not to pay the consideration by examining whether or not the information is valid.

  The control unit 110 repeatedly executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 until the time limit set for each event elapses.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the record information stored by the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 that constitutes the information provision request system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 14, when information is provided, the provided information ID is assigned to the performance information by the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11, and which event information is provided. Event IDs are associated with each other. The event ID is included in information providing mail transmitted using the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f or information input via the Web server device 14. In addition, the performance information includes a user ID corresponding to the source portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f for indicating which user has been provided, and a moving image as actually provided information. It includes file names of data such as image data, still image data, audio data, and document data, and a provision date and time indicating the date and time of provision. By storing the actually provided data and the provision date and time, it is possible to compare with the data used by the information provision requester afterwards, and the payment of the compensation for the information provision from the user is guaranteed.

  The content example shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 14 indicates that a moving image was provided from the user with the user ID “01000001” regarding the fire with the event ID “20012” at 8:30 on September 11, 2007. It is shown that “0001” is allocated as the provision information ID.

  Next, the information provision requester examines the outline of the data provided by receiving the mail or browsing the web page. When it is determined that there is valid information among a plurality of provided data, the information provision requester pays the consideration because the data is valid and adopted together with the provision information ID corresponding to the data. The effective notification shown is transmitted using the information provision requesting device 3. At this time, the transmission of the validity notification is performed by transmitting an email indicating the provided information ID determined to be valid by the user via the operation unit 33 or by having an interface for accepting selection on the Web page displayed on the display unit 34. The configuration is made by the user selecting with the operation unit 33. Below, the process in the event information management apparatus 11 when a valid notice is transmitted from the information provision requesting apparatus 3 by the information provision requester will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure when the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 configuring the information provision request system according to the present embodiment receives a validity notification.

  The control unit 110 determines whether or not a valid notification has been received from the information provision requesting device 3 (step S71). When it is determined that the notification of validity has not been received (S71: NO), control unit 110 returns the process to step S71.

  When the control unit 110 determines that the validity notification has been received (S71: YES), the control unit 110 stores the consideration in association with the provided information ID included in the validity notification (step S72), and ends the process.

  The consideration stored in step S72 may be configured to be automatically calculated by the control unit 110 from the relationship between the reference amount and time limit included in the event information table and the actual date and time provided. Moreover, it is good also as a structure in which the consideration actually paid is contained in the notice of validity.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the record information in which the consideration is stored by the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 configuring the information provision request system according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 16, when the validity notification is received, the control unit 110 adds the consideration to the performance information including the provision information ID, the event ID, the user ID, and the provision date and time. The consideration included in the content example shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 16 may be added to the table of performance information shown in the content example shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. By further associating the event ID and the provision date and time with the provision information ID, it becomes possible to clearly indicate to the user which data the consideration has been paid for.

  Thus, the consideration paid for the provided information can be managed, and not only the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that transmit the information provision request mail are searched. The service center 1 can comprehensively manage the provided results and the paid results.

  After that, in order for the information providing requester to actually obtain the data relating to the event, the data is sent from the service center 1 to the information providing requesting party after the consideration is paid, or the data is sent via the web page. It is good also as a structure which is automatically transmitted by the method of whether download becomes possible. In addition, when the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 receives the validity notification, the user ID corresponding to the provided information ID included in the validity notification is specified, and the portable terminal device 2a of the user identified by the user ID , 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, and the like, it is also possible to notify the user to directly negotiate with the information provider.

  As shown in the above-described embodiment, the event information management device 11, the location information management device 12, the mail server device 13, and the web server device 14 that constitute the service center 1 have one for each function. It is assumed that it is constituted by a server computer device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured by a single server computer device that implements all the functions of each device. In addition, the user information management apparatus 11, the located area information managing apparatus 12, and the search apparatus 13 are configured to store the event information DB 114 and the located area information DB 121 that are highly related to their functions, respectively, in the storage unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the event information DB 114 and the location information DB 121 may be stored, and a DB server device that reads and writes each database may be included. The system configuration shown in this embodiment is merely an example, and the main body of each function of the information provision request service is not limited to each device.

  Note that the event information management apparatus 11 constituting the information provision request system shown in the present embodiment exists in the vicinity of the place where the event occurred and in the vicinity thereof at the time when the event occurred and in the vicinity based on the location information DB 121. After extracting the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, data is actually stored from the extracted portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f. It was set as the structure which searches portable terminal device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a search request is made to the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f in which the user information is registered without performing the extraction process based on the location information DB 121. It is good also as a structure which transmits.

  Furthermore, an information provision request system can be realized even in a configuration in which either the service center 1 or the information provision requesting device 3 is not provided. When each user can provide information to an information request provider, for example, the information provision request device 3 receives mail or registers user information directly in the information provision request device 3 via a Web service. The information provision requesting device 3 executes processing similar to that of the event information management device 11, thereby corresponding to the event information for each of the registered user portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. A search request for searching whether data to be stored is stored may be transmitted. Also, in the case of a configuration without the information provision requesting device 3, the service center 1 acquires event information from, for example, news and automatically handles the event information without accepting an event information provision request from the information provision requester. The mobile terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f to be extracted may be extracted and an information provision request mail may be transmitted.

  If there is no problem with personal information, the information requester can directly search the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f using the event information management device 11. Also good. Further, when the information provision requesting device 3 can acquire the location information of each of the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f, the time when the event has occurred in advance in the information provision requesting device 3 The portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f existing around the site may be extracted and searched.

  Further, the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 performs the following processing corresponding to the information provision requester before the information provision request mail is automatically transmitted from the service center 1 by the processing illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. It is good also as a structure which performs the process which shows a search result as shown in.

  A portable type that is likely to store data such as a still image, a moving image, and sound for an event for which an information provision request has been made by the processing of the control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 shown in the flowchart of FIG. Terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f are extracted. Then, user IDs corresponding to the extracted portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f are stored in association with the event ID.

  The control unit 110 of the event information management apparatus 11 transmits the search result to the information provision requesting apparatus 3 by mail, or enables the browsing of the search result via the information provision requesting apparatus 3 by a Web page. The search result indicates the number of portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that are highly likely to provide information for each event ID. For example, the information provision requester logs in to the information provision request service by using the information provision requesting device 3, browses information about the event ID, and has a high possibility of storing powerful information. , 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f can be checked. At this time, it may be configured such that the information providing requester can directly send mail to the portable terminal devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f that are highly likely.

  Further, the following supplementary notes are disclosed regarding the above embodiment.

(Appendix 1)
A communication means for performing data communication with a plurality of external devices;
An event acquisition means for accepting that an event has occurred;
Retrieval means for retrieving an external device that stores event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred when the event acquisition means accepts the occurrence of the event A search apparatus comprising: and.

(Appendix 2)
The search device according to appendix 1, wherein the search means further has a function of searching for only an external device existing at a place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred.

(Appendix 3)
Means for transmitting a search request together with the event information to an external device;
Means for receiving a search result for the search request,
The search device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the search means searches for an external device that stores information related to the event based on the search result.

(Appendix 4)
The search request is a search request for searching information generated at a time indicated by time information included in the event information at a location indicated by position information included in the event information. The search device according to attachment 3.

(Appendix 5)
In an information provision request system including a portable terminal device and a search device connected so as to be capable of data communication,
The portable terminal device includes a storage medium that stores information about an event,
The search device includes:
Means for acquiring event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred;
Based on the event information, search means for searching for a portable terminal device storing information related to the event;
An information provision request system comprising: notification means for notifying the portable terminal device searched by the retrieval means of an information provision request.

(Appendix 6)
The search device comprises means for transmitting a search request together with the event information to the plurality of portable terminal devices,
The portable terminal device is:
Means for acquiring the event information by receiving a search request from the search device;
Means for retrieving information corresponding to the acquired event information from its own storage medium;
A means for sending search results, and
The search device further includes:
Means for receiving a search result from the portable terminal device;
6. The information provision request system according to appendix 5, wherein the search means searches for a portable terminal device that stores information related to the event based on the received search result.

(Appendix 7)
In the information provision request method for notifying the information provision request to the portable terminal device searched by the retrieval device,
The search device includes:
Obtain event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred,
Based on the event information, search for a portable terminal device storing information about the event,
An information provision request method comprising: notifying an information provision request to a portable terminal device searched by the retrieval device.

(Appendix 8)
A computer capable of data communication with multiple external devices
Event acquisition means for accepting that an event has occurred;
Means for acquiring event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred, when the event acquisition means accepts the occurrence of the event;
A computer program that functions as search means for searching for an external device that stores information related to the event based on the event information.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the service center which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the portable terminal device which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the information provision request apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in which the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment receives user information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the content of the user information memorize | stored by the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence which the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment receives event information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the content of the event information memorize | stored by the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content example of the location information memorize | stored in the service center which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in which the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment searches the portable terminal device which has memorize | stored the information regarding an event. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence in which the control part of the portable terminal device which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment searches the data regarding an event according to a search request. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence which the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment notifies an information provision request to the searched portable terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence when the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment receives information provision from a portable terminal device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the content of the performance information memorize | stored by the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence when the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment receives an effective notification. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the content of the performance information by which consideration is memorize | stored by the control part of the event information management apparatus which comprises the information provision request system in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Service Center 11 Event Information Management Device (Search Device)
110 Control unit 114 Event information DB
11P Control program 121 Location information DB
2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f Portable terminal device 20 Control unit 25 Imaging unit 26 Sound collection unit 28 GPS reception unit 3 Information provision requesting device 30 Control unit

Claims (5)

A communication means for performing data communication with a plurality of external devices;
An event acquisition means for accepting that an event has occurred;
Retrieval means for retrieving an external device that stores event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred when the event acquisition means accepts the occurrence of the event A search apparatus comprising: and. The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search unit further includes a function of searching only an external device existing at a place where the event occurred at the time when the event occurred. In an information provision request system including a portable terminal device and a search device connected so as to be capable of data communication,
The portable terminal device includes a storage medium that stores information about an event,
The search device includes:
Means for acquiring event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred;
Based on the event information, search means for searching for a portable terminal device storing information related to the event;
An information provision request system comprising: notification means for notifying the portable terminal device searched by the retrieval means of an information provision request. The search device comprises means for transmitting a search request together with the event information to the plurality of portable terminal devices,
The portable terminal device is:
Means for acquiring the event information by receiving a search request from the search device;
Means for retrieving information corresponding to the acquired event information from its own storage medium;
A means for sending search results, and
The search device further includes:
Means for receiving a search result from the portable terminal device;
The information providing request system according to claim 3, wherein the search unit searches for a portable terminal device that stores information related to the event based on a received search result. In the information provision request method for notifying the information provision request to the portable terminal device searched by the retrieval device,
The search device includes:
Obtain event information including location information of the place where the event occurred and time information of the time when the event occurred,
Based on the event information, search for a portable terminal device storing information about the event,
An information provision request method comprising: notifying an information provision request to a portable terminal device searched by the retrieval device.

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