JP2013164773A - Information service system, communication device, information service method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it easy to acquire desired commodities and items.SOLUTION: A server 200 stores associated information and acquisition place information of an item in association with each other. A communication device 100 acquires and send an image to the server 200. The server 200 retrieves and sends the associated information and the acquisition place information to the communication device 100 on the basis of the sent image. The communication device 100 displays the associated information sent from the server 200, acquires position information of the communication device 100, and re-displays the associated information when it is determined that a distance between a first position showing the acquired position information and a second position showing the acquisition place information sent from the server 200 is within a given range.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system, a communication device, an information providing method, and a program for providing information.

  When a product or service (hereinafter referred to as an item) that is of interest to magazines or advertisements is posted, in order to acquire the item, obtain detailed information (product name, retailer, price, etc.) about the item. There is a need to. To do this, if detailed information is included in the article, copy the detailed information from the article in a memo, or if the detailed information is not included in the article, examine the detailed information yourself. Without it, detailed information cannot be acquired.

  When the detailed information is checked by yourself, a search keyword for searching is required if a method of searching using a general search engine or the like is used. If only images are posted, it is necessary to determine what the search keyword itself should be set, which makes the search difficult.

  Therefore, using a mobile terminal with a camera, the product is photographed, the photographed image is transmitted to the server, the related information of the image is extracted from the database provided in the server based on the image, and the extracted association A technique for transmitting information from a server to a mobile terminal has been considered (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-215922 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, even if the transmitted detailed information is displayed on the mobile terminal, the purchase opportunity may be missed if it is not near the store where the product can be purchased at that time. There is. Further, even if the transmitted detailed information is stored in the portable terminal for later display, even if the stored detailed information is forgotten, there is a possibility that a purchase opportunity may be missed.

  The objective of this invention is providing the information provision system, communication apparatus, information provision method, and program which solve the subject mentioned above.

The information providing system of the present invention includes:
An information providing system having a communication device and a server capable of communicating with the communication device,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A related information transmitting unit that transmits the related information and the acquisition location information searched by the search unit to the communication device;
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit for displaying the related information transmitted from the server,
The display unit redisplays the related information when the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range.

An information providing system having a communication device and a server capable of communicating with the communication device,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A determination unit that determines whether the distance between the first position indicated by the position information transmitted from the communication device and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information searched by the search unit is within a predetermined range. When,
When the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range at a predetermined timing, the related information searched by the search unit is transmitted to the communication device. And a related information transmission unit
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
And a display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server.

The communication device of the present invention
An image acquisition unit for acquiring images;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server,
The display unit redisplays the related information when the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range.

The communication device of the present invention
An image acquisition unit for acquiring images;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
And a display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server.

The information providing method of the present invention includes:
Processing to acquire images,
Processing for transmitting the acquired image to a server;
Processing to acquire location information;
A process of determining whether a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Processing for displaying related information transmitted from the server;
When it is determined that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range, a process of redisplaying the related information is performed.

The program of the present invention is
A program for causing a computer to execute,
The steps to get the image,
Transmitting the acquired image to a server;
The procedure to get location information;
A procedure for determining whether or not a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Displaying relevant information transmitted from the server;
When it is determined that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range, a procedure for redisplaying the related information is executed.

  As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain a desired product or item.

It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the information provision system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an internal structure of the communication apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the internal structure of the server shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the correlation memorize | stored in the database shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process in a communication apparatus among the information provision methods in the information provision system shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining details of the re-display process described in step S8 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5; It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process in a server among the information provision methods in the information provision system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the information provision system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an internal structure of the communication apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the internal structure of the server shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process in a communication apparatus among the information provision methods in the information provision system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process in a server among the information provision methods in the information provision system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the stop process of delivery of the relevant information from the server in the information provision system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the time of the update in the server shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the acquisition method of the image using a television screen.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the information providing system of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment includes a communication device 100 and a server 200.

  The communication device 100 is an electronic device having a wireless communication function that can be carried by a user, such as a mobile phone, a mobile terminal, a tablet or notebook PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a game. A device such as a machine.

  The server 200 is a device that can communicate with the communication device 100 and can also be accessed from a communication device other than the communication device 100.

  Further, the communication between the communication device 100 and the server 200 may be via a communication network (whether wired or wireless) such as the Internet.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the communication apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the communication apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an image acquisition unit 110, an image transmission unit 120, a position information acquisition unit 130, a determination unit 140, and a display unit 150. . Note that FIG. 2 shows only the components related to the operation in the present embodiment among the components included in the communication apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1.

  The image acquisition unit 110 is a camera, and acquires a captured image by shooting with a predetermined operation of the user. The fact that the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 is stored in the communication device 100 is the same as the function of a general camera-equipped mobile terminal or the like.

  The image transmission unit 120 transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 to the server 200.

  The position information acquisition unit 130 acquires position information indicating the position of the communication device 100. For example, the position information acquisition unit 130 may have a GPS (Global Positioning System) function and acquire position information from a GPS satellite.

  The determination unit 140 determines the distance between the position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 130 (first position) and the position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server 200 (second position). Is determined to be within a preset range. This acquisition location information will be described later.

  The display unit 150 is a display that displays images and information. When related information is transmitted from the server 200, the display unit 150 displays the related information. In addition, when the determination unit 140 determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within a preset range, the display unit 150 redisplays the related information. This related information will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the server 200 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the server 200 shown in FIG. 1 includes a database 210, a search unit 220, and a related information transmission unit 230. FIG. 3 shows only the components related to the operation in this embodiment among the components included in the server 200 shown in FIG.

  The database 210 stores, in advance, related information, which is information related to the image of the item, and acquisition location information indicating a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired. These pieces of information can be edited from the outside of the server 200, and may be acquired from another server or the like via a communication network.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of association stored in the database 210 illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the database 210 shown in FIG. 3 stores images, product names, prices, store names, and store positions in association with each other. “Image” is image data of a product / service. “Product name” is the name of a product / service. The “price” is the selling price of the product / service at the store. The “store name” is the name of a store from which the product / service can be acquired. “Store location” is location information indicating the location of the store. Here, “image”, “product name”, “price”, and “store name” are “related information” of the product. The “store location” is “acquisition location information”. Here, the display of the store position shows a fairly wide range such as “North latitude XX °, east longitude XX °”, but this is shown for convenience of explanation. Actually, position information that can specify the position in more detail is stored. Also, store holiday information and the like may be stored in association with each other.

  When an image is transmitted from the communication apparatus 100, the search unit 220 searches the database 210 for related information and acquisition location information based on the transmitted image. Specifically, the search unit 220 performs a similar image search in the database 210 using the image transmitted from the communication apparatus 100 as a key, and stores the hit “image” in association with the “image”. "Product name", "Price", "Store name" and "Store position" are acquired. This similar image search may be general and is not particularly defined here.

  Hereinafter, a search in the case where the correspondence shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the database 210 will be described as an example. For example, as a result of searching for a similar image in the database 210 by using the image transmitted from the communication apparatus 100 as a key, the search unit 220 finds that the “image” hit is the first of the correspondences shown in FIG. In the case of the image shown above, the search unit 220 displays the related information “image”, “product name: light down coat”, “price: 7800 yen”, and “store name: A department store”, and “store location” : North latitude XX °, east longitude XX °. In addition, as a result of a similar image search performed in the database 210 by using the image transmitted from the communication apparatus 100 as a key, the search unit 220 finds the hit “image” from the correspondence shown in FIG. In the case of the second image, the search unit 220 includes the related information “image”, “product name: multi-faceted fashion umbrella”, “price: 1980 yen”, and “store name: B supermarket”, and “ Store location information is acquired: “Latitude: North latitude xx °, East longitude xx °”. In addition, as a result of a similar image search performed in the database 210 by using the image transmitted from the communication apparatus 100 as a key, the search unit 220 finds the hit “image” from the correspondence shown in FIG. In the case of the third image, the search unit 220 includes the related information “image”, “product name: vertical cleaner”, “price: 9800 yen”, and “store name: C electronics store”, and “ Acquire location information such as “Store location: North latitude ΔΔ °, East longitude ΔΔ °”.

  The related information transmission unit 230 transmits the related information searched by the search unit 220 and the acquisition location information to the communication device 100.

  Below, the information provision method in the information provision system shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing in communication apparatus 100 in the information providing method in the information providing system shown in FIG.

  First, a control unit (not shown) provided in the communication apparatus 100 determines whether or not there is an image storage request by determining whether or not a predetermined operation has been performed on the communication apparatus 100 by a user (step). S1).

  When there is an image storage request, the image acquisition unit 110 is activated and captures (acquires) an image based on a user operation (step S2). The acquired image is stored in the communication device 100. At this time, the display unit 150 displays the stored image based on a user operation. The display timing of the display unit 150 may be every time an image is stored, or may be a preset timing such as once a day.

  In addition, the image transmission unit 120 transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 to the server 200 (step S3). The data format used for this transmission is not specified. In addition, when the image is transmitted, if a check box (product name, price information, store location information, fixed holiday, etc.) or a free word input field for selecting information that the user particularly wants to know is added, the server 200 It is possible to collect information more in line with the user's wishes.

  Thereafter, when the related information and the acquisition location information transmitted from the server 200 are received (step S4), the communication apparatus 100 stores the received related information and the acquisition location information in association with the transmitted and stored image. To do. The display unit 150 displays the stored related information (step S5).

  Further, the position information acquisition unit 130 acquires position information of the communication device 100 at a predetermined timing (for example, at a constant cycle) (step S6). As the acquisition time interval is shorter, the related information can be acquired with more accurate timing.

  Then, the determination unit 140 has a first position that is the position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 130, and a second position that is the position indicated by the acquisition location information received from the server 200 in step S4. It is determined whether or not the distance between is within a preset range (step S7). For example, when a range of “100 m” is set in advance, the determination unit 140 determines whether the distance between the first position and the second position is 100 m or less.

  When the determination unit 140 determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within a preset range, the display unit 150 redisplays the related information (step S8).

  Details of the redisplay process in step S8 will be described below.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining details of the redisplay process described in step S8 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit determines whether or not related information to be redisplayed is stored (step S11). When the related information to be redisplayed is not stored, the image transmission unit 120 transmits the stored image to the server 200 (step S12). The communication device 100 receives the related information transmitted from the server 200 for the image (step S13), and the display unit 150 displays the received related information (step S14).

  When related information to be redisplayed is stored, the display unit 150 displays the stored related information.

  In the above description, in order to prevent occurrence of duplicate data, it is determined whether the relevant information remains in the communication apparatus 100. However, this processing is not performed, and the first position and the second position are determined. When the distance to the position is within the preset range, the related information is always redistributed from the server 200, the communication device 100 checks for duplication, and if there is duplication, it is discarded and saved. It is also possible to make the related information displayed again. Further, the communication device 100 may perform a general overwrite save on the related information redistributed from the server 200 and redisplay the stored related information without performing the duplication check in the communication device 100. .

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing in server 200 in the information providing method in the information providing system shown in FIG.

  The search unit 220 of the server 200 determines whether or not an image is received from the communication device 100 (step S21). When the image is received, the search unit 220 determines that the related information and the acquisition location information are based on the received image. Is retrieved from the database 210 (step S22). This search acquisition method is as described above. In addition, the server 200 stores search results.

  Thereafter, the related information transmission unit 230 transmits the related information and the acquisition location information searched / acquired by the search unit 220 to the communication device 100 (step S23).

  In the first embodiment described above, the processing for determining whether the distance between the first position and the second position is within a predetermined range is performed by the communication device 100. good. This case will be described below as a second embodiment.

  Next, a second embodiment of the information providing system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the information providing system of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 8, this embodiment includes a communication device 101 and a server 201.

  The communication device 101 is an electronic device having a wireless communication function that can be carried by a user, and is a device such as a mobile phone, a portable terminal, a tablet-type or notebook-type PC, a smartphone, a PDA, or a game machine.

  The server 201 is a device that can communicate with the communication device 101 and can be accessed from a communication device other than the communication device 101.

  The communication between the communication apparatus 101 and the server 201 may be via a communication network such as the Internet (whether wired or wireless).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the communication apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the communication apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 8 includes an image acquisition unit 110, an image transmission unit 120, a position information acquisition unit 130, a display unit 150, and a position information transmission unit 160. ing. Note that FIG. 9 illustrates only the components related to the operation in this embodiment among the components included in the communication apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG. 8.

  The image acquisition unit 110, the image transmission unit 120, the position information acquisition unit 130, and the display unit 150 are the same as those illustrated in FIG.

  The position information transmission unit 160 transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 130 to the server 200.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the server 201 illustrated in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the server 201 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a database 210, a search unit 220, a related information transmission unit 231, and a determination unit 240. Note that FIG. 10 illustrates only the components related to the operation in the present embodiment among the components included in the server 201 illustrated in FIG. 8.

  The database 210 and the search unit 220 are the same as those shown in FIG.

  The determination unit 240 has a predetermined distance between the first position indicated by the position information transmitted from the communication apparatus 101 and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information searched from the database 210 by the search unit 220. Determine if it is within.

  When the related information transmission unit 231 determines that the predetermined timing and the determination unit 240 determine that the distance between the first position and the second position is within a preset range, the search unit 220 may Related information retrieved and acquired from 210 is transmitted to the communication apparatus 101. At this time, the related information transmission unit 231 may also transmit the acquisition location information searched / acquired by the search unit 220 together with the related information to the communication apparatus 101.

  Below, the information provision method in the information provision system shown in FIG. 8 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the communication apparatus 101 in the information providing method in the information providing system shown in FIG.

  First, a control unit (not shown) provided in the communication apparatus 101 determines whether or not there is an image storage request by determining whether a predetermined operation has been performed on the communication apparatus 101 by a user (step). S31).

  When there is an image storage request, the image acquisition unit 110 is activated and captures (acquires) an image based on a user operation (step S32). The acquired image is stored in the communication device 101. At this time, the display unit 150 displays the stored image based on a user operation. The display timing of the display unit 150 may be every time an image is stored, or may be a preset timing such as once a day.

  In addition, the image transmission unit 120 transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 to the server 201 (step S33). The data format used for this transmission is not specified. In addition, when an image is transmitted, if a check box (product name, price information, store location information, fixed holiday, etc.) or a free word input field for selecting information that the user particularly wants to know is added, the server 201 It is possible to collect information more in line with the user's wishes.

  Further, the position information acquisition unit 130 acquires the position information of the communication apparatus 101 at a predetermined timing (for example, at a constant cycle) (step S34). As the acquisition time interval is shorter, the related information can be acquired with more accurate timing. Then, the position information transmission unit 160 transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 130 to the server 201 (step S35). The transmission of the position information may be performed every time the position information acquisition unit 130 acquires the position information.

  Thereafter, the communication apparatus 101 determines whether or not the related information transmitted from the server 201 has been received (step S36). When the related information is received, the display unit 150 displays the received related information (step S37). . At this time, the communication apparatus 101 stores the received related information in association with the transmitted and stored image.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the server 201 in the information providing method in the information providing system shown in FIG.

  The search unit 220 of the server 201 determines whether or not the image transmitted from the communication device 100 has been received (step S41). When the image is received, the search unit 220 determines that the related information and the information are based on the received image. Obtaining location information is retrieved from the database 210 and acquired (step S42). This search acquisition method is as described above. In addition, the server 201 stores search results.

  Thereafter, the related information transmission unit 231 transmits the related information searched and acquired by the search unit 220 to the communication device 101 (step S43). At this time, the related information transmission unit 231 may transmit the acquisition location information searched and acquired by the search unit 220 together with the related information to the communication apparatus 101.

  Further, the server 201 determines whether or not the position information transmitted from the communication device 101 has been received (step S44). If it is determined that the position information has been received, the determination unit 240 is the first position, which is the position indicated by the received position information, and the position indicated by the acquisition location information searched and acquired by the search unit 220 in step S42. It is determined whether or not the distance to the second position is within a preset range (step S45). For example, when the range of “100 m” is set in advance, the determination unit 240 determines whether the distance between the first position and the second position is 100 m or less. That is, when receiving the position information, the determination unit 240 performs the determination in step S45 based on the search result stored for the communication apparatus 101 that transmitted the position information and the received position information.

  When the determination unit 240 determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within a preset range, the related information transmission unit 231 transmits the related information ( (Acquired location information) is retransmitted to the communication apparatus 101 (step S46).

  The acquisition of the position information of the communication apparatus 101 may be performed by the communication apparatus 101 as described above, or may be performed by the server 201.

  The related information distribution stop process will be described below. Here, an explanation will be given by taking as an example the process of stopping the distribution of related information from the server 201 in the form shown in FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining stop processing for distributing related information from the server 201 in the information providing system shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit of the server 201 determines whether or not the communication device 101 has requested stop of the distribution of related information (step S51). This is, for example, a stop request signal indicating that the communication device 101 requests the related device to stop when the communication device 101 detects that a predetermined operation has been performed on the communication device 101 by the user. May be realized by the control unit determining whether or not the transmitted stop request signal is received by the server 201.

  When it is determined that the stop of the distribution of the related information is requested, the control unit of the server 201 deletes information corresponding to the communication device 101 (step S52). That is, the information stored as the search result is deleted.

  Using this process, the distribution stop operation is completed. The distribution stop request is transmitted with the “distribution stop button” when the related information is transmitted, and it is communicated that the user has selected the “distribution stop button” displayed on the display unit 150 of the communication apparatus 101. When the device 101 detects, a distribution stop request may be transmitted to the server 201. Alternatively, the user may directly access the server 201 using the communication apparatus 101 and delete the detailed information.

  Thus, since the information stored in the database 210 can be deleted by an external operation, unnecessary information is not continuously distributed.

  Further, when the data stored in the database 210 is updated, the updated information may be distributed. Below, the process at the time of the update of the information to distribute is demonstrated. Here, the processing at the time of update in the server 200 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of update in the server 200 shown in FIG.

  First, the database 210 includes version information indicating the version (version number) of the information or update date / time information indicating the update date / time (may be date / time / minute / second) together with related information and acquisition location information. It is stored in association with each other. Further, the information stored in the database 210 is updated (overwritten) as necessary when an available store, a price, or the like is changed. Further, this version information or update date / time information can be set (rewritten) from the outside when the related information or the acquisition location information is updated.

  An update determination unit (not shown) is provided in the server 200, and the update determination unit refers to version information or update date information stored in the database 210 to determine whether related information or the like has been updated ( Step S61).

  When the update determining unit determines that the related information or the like has been updated, that is, the version information or the update date / time information stored in the database 210 is the version information or update of the related information or the like recently transmitted to the communication device 100. If the date / time information indicates newer information, the related information transmission unit 230 transmits the updated related information (currently stored in the database 210) to the communication device 100 (step S62). Here, the related information transmitting unit 230 may simply transmit the latest related information or the like to the communication device 100.

  In the communication apparatus 100, related information transmitted from the server 200 is stored and displayed.

  In addition, when updating information, past distribution information is saved until a distribution stop request is received from the user (communication device 100) without overwriting so that the information before the update can be browsed. May be.

  By doing so, the user can obtain the latest information without any operation, and can reliably obtain information such as limited-time products.

  Further, the user's preference may be estimated from the data stored in the database 210, and the recommended information may be distributed.

  Further, as an image acquisition method, when the communication apparatus 100 has a one-segment television function for receiving a broadcast, the broadcast image is captured by the one-segment television, and the captured image is transmitted to the server 200. There may be. When capturing and acquiring an image displayed on the TV screen, there are cases where the item cannot be reliably captured, or even when the item is captured, the image is rough and cannot be determined on the server 200 side. It is effective.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining an image acquisition method using a television screen.

  The control unit of the communication apparatus 100 determines whether the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by capturing a television screen (step S71). This determination is based on the acquired image, such as the image quality of the acquired image, whether or not an object set in advance around the central image (item), and the television screen. A button for photographing may be prepared and determined based on whether or not the button is used, and is not particularly defined here.

  In the case of shooting other than the television screen, the communication apparatus 100 performs the process of step S2 described in the flowchart of FIG.

  On the other hand, if the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by capturing a television screen, if there is a technique for synchronizing the television and the 1Seg included in the communication device 100 using inter-device communication or the like, Channels are matched using the technology, and the communication apparatus 100 records a one-segment image (broadcast image) from the image acquisition unit 110 for a certain period of time (step S72). If there is no such synchronization technique, the user may record a one-segment image (broadcast image) from the image acquisition unit 110 by matching the communication device 100 with the channel. Thereafter, when the recording data recorded in the communication apparatus 100 is stopped on a desired screen by the user's operation, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the stopped screen (step S73). Then, the communication device 100 performs the process of step S3 described in the flowchart of FIG.

  As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

  If you find an item you are interested in in a magazine or an advertisement, the user operation is just to take a picture, and the subsequent image transmission to the server is done automatically. The search of detailed information and the distribution of the search results are all on the server side. Therefore, the user can obtain the detailed information of the favorite product with few operations.

  Further, since detailed information can be retrieved on the server side as long as a photograph can be taken, detailed information on the product can be obtained even if the product name is unknown.

  Also, when sending image data to the server, if you add a check box (product name, price information, store location information, fixed holiday, etc.) or a free word entry field that allows users to select information they want to know, It is possible to collect information according to the user's wishes.

  In addition, although the distribution information service for favorite brands and magazines already exists, this information provision system distributes only the detailed data of items specified by the user, so that the user can reliably obtain the information he wants. .

  Furthermore, in this information provision system, since the information is redistributed when the user is in the vicinity of the point registered in the stored information, even if the user forgets the item, the information is recalled. Can be prevented and buying out can be prevented.

  The processing performed by each component provided in each of the communication devices 100 and 101 and the servers 200 and 201 described above may be performed by a logic circuit that is produced according to the purpose. Further, a computer program (hereinafter referred to as a program) in which processing contents are described as a procedure is recorded on a recording medium readable by each of the communication devices 100 and 101 and the servers 200 and 201, and the program recorded on the recording medium is recorded. The communication apparatuses 100 and 101 and the servers 200 and 201 may be read and executed. The recording media that can be read by the communication devices 100 and 101 and the servers 200 and 201 include transferable recording media such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magneto-optical disk, a DVD, and a CD, as well as the communication devices 100 and 101. In addition, it indicates a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, an HDD, and the like built in each of the servers 200 and 201. The program recorded on the recording medium is read by a CPU (not shown) provided in each of the communication devices 100 and 101 and the servers 200 and 201, and the same processing as described above is performed under the control of the CPU. . Here, the CPU operates as a computer that executes a program read from a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  A part or all of the above embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Additional remark 1) In the information provision system which has a communication apparatus and the server which can communicate with this communication apparatus,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A related information transmitting unit that transmits the related information and the acquisition location information searched by the search unit to the communication device;
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit that displays the related information when transmitted from the server;
The display unit redisplays the related information when the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range. Offer system.

(Additional remark 2) In the information provision system which has a communication apparatus and the server which can communicate with this communication apparatus,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A determination unit that determines whether the distance between the first position indicated by the position information transmitted from the communication device and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information searched by the search unit is within a predetermined range. When,
When the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range at a predetermined timing, the related information searched by the search unit is transmitted to the communication device. And a related information transmission unit
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
And a display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server.

  (Supplementary note 3) The information provision according to supplementary note 1, wherein the image transmission unit transmits the image to the server when related information redisplayed by the display unit is not stored in the communication device. system.

(Appendix 4) The server
An update determination unit for determining whether the related information stored in the database has been updated;
The database stores version information or update date / time information of the related information in association with the related information,
The update determination unit determines whether the related information has been updated based on the version information or the update date / time information,
The said related information transmission part transmits this relevant information to the said communication apparatus, when the said update discrimination | determination part discriminate | determines that the said relevant information was updated, The additional statement 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Information provision system.

  (Additional remark 5) The said image acquisition part image | photographs and acquires the said image, The information provision system of any one of Additional remark 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  (Supplementary note 6) The information provision according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 4, wherein the image acquisition unit receives a broadcast image being broadcast and acquires the image from the received broadcast image. system.

  (Supplementary note 7) The information providing system according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein the positional information acquisition unit acquires the positional information from a GPS satellite.

(Appendix 8) An image acquisition unit that acquires an image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server,
The said display part is a communication apparatus which redisplays the said relevant information, when the said discrimination | determination part discriminate | determines that the distance between the said 1st position and the said 2nd position is in the said range.

(Appendix 9) an image acquisition unit that acquires an image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
A communication device comprising: a display unit that displays related information transmitted from the server.

(Additional remark 10) The process which acquires an image,
Processing for transmitting the acquired image to a server;
Processing to acquire location information;
A process of determining whether a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Processing for displaying related information transmitted from the server;
An information providing method for performing a process of redisplaying the related information when it is determined that a distance between the first position and the second position is within the range.

(Supplementary note 11)
The steps to get the image,
Transmitting the acquired image to a server;
The procedure to get location information;
A procedure for determining whether or not a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Displaying relevant information transmitted from the server;
A program for executing a procedure for redisplaying the related information when it is determined that a distance between the first position and the second position is within the range.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,101 Communication apparatus 110 Image acquisition part 120 Image transmission part 130 Position information acquisition part 140,240 Discrimination part 150 Display part 160 Position information transmission part 200,201 Server 210 Database 220 Search part 230,231 Related information transmission part

Claims (10)

In an information providing system having a communication device and a server capable of communicating with the communication device,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A related information transmitting unit that transmits the related information and the acquisition location information searched by the search unit to the communication device;
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit that displays the related information when transmitted from the server;
The display unit redisplays the related information when the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range. Offer system. In an information providing system having a communication device and a server capable of communicating with the communication device,
The server
A database that associates and stores related information that is information related to an image and acquisition location information that indicates a place where the product or service indicated by the related information can be acquired;
When the image is transmitted from the communication device, a search unit that searches the database for the related information and the acquisition location information based on the image;
A determination unit that determines whether the distance between the first position indicated by the position information transmitted from the communication device and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information searched by the search unit is within a predetermined range. When,
When the determination unit determines that the distance between the first position and the second position is within the range at a predetermined timing, the related information searched by the search unit is transmitted to the communication device. And a related information transmission unit
The communication device
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the image;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the communication device;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
And a display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server. In the information provision system of Claim 1,
The information transmission system, wherein the image transmission unit transmits the image to the server when related information redisplayed by the display unit is not stored in the communication device. In the information provision system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The server
An update determination unit for determining whether the related information stored in the database has been updated;
The database stores version information or update date / time information of the related information in association with the related information,
The update determination unit determines whether the related information has been updated based on the version information or the update date / time information,
The related information transmitting unit, when the update determining unit determines that the related information has been updated, transmits the related information to the communication device. In the information provision system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The information acquisition system, wherein the image acquisition unit captures and acquires the image. In the information provision system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The information acquisition system, wherein the image acquisition unit receives a broadcast image being broadcast and acquires the image from the received broadcast image. An image acquisition unit for acquiring images;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
Discrimination to determine whether or not the distance between the first position indicated by the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range. And
A display unit for displaying related information transmitted from the server,
The said display part is a communication apparatus which redisplays the said relevant information, when the said discrimination | determination part discriminate | determines that the distance between the said 1st position and the said 2nd position is in the said range. An image acquisition unit for acquiring images;
An image transmission unit that transmits the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to a server;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information;
A position information transmitting unit that transmits the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit to the server;
A communication device comprising: a display unit that displays related information transmitted from the server. Processing to acquire images,
Processing for transmitting the acquired image to a server;
Processing to acquire location information;
A process of determining whether a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Processing for displaying related information transmitted from the server;
An information providing method for performing a process of redisplaying the related information when it is determined that a distance between the first position and the second position is within the range. On the computer,
The steps to get the image,
Transmitting the acquired image to a server;
The procedure to get location information;
A procedure for determining whether or not a distance between the first position indicated by the acquired position information and the second position indicated by the acquisition location information transmitted from the server is within a predetermined range;
Displaying relevant information transmitted from the server;
A program for executing a procedure for redisplaying the related information when it is determined that a distance between the first position and the second position is within the range.

Images