JP4492165B2 - Information providing system, information providing method, information providing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system, an information providing method, and an information providing program for transmitting distribution information to a user's terminal and printing it by a printing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system for advertising by sending advertisements or flyer information to a user terminal such as a computer or a mobile phone via a network such as the Internet has been constructed. In this system, various information can be distributed by updating information such as advertisements stored in the server. The user can receive advertisements by the terminal, obtain information on special sale products, information on new products, and the like, and can effectively use them.

By the way, when distributing such advertisements, it is possible not only to browse advertisement information only on the terminal screen, but also to distribute coupons etc. to users, print them with a printer and use them at the corresponding store. is there. By printing with the printer in this way, the utility value for distributing information can be enhanced. A system that focuses on printing such advertisements with a printer has also been proposed (Patent Document 1). That is, a system that distributes or sells printing apparatuses for free or discounted on condition that information on advertisements and leaflets is printed periodically has been proposed.
JP 2001-92743 A

  However, in Patent Document 1 described above, advertisements can be printed at the user's home or the like, but for the user, when printing various types of information, it is more important than printing information that the user is not interested in. It would be desirable to be able to print information that interests you and advertisements that are worth using. In addition, since information changes from moment to moment, it is more valuable to use information that matches the situation and environment at that time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing system and an information providing method capable of distributing information according to the current situation while reflecting the user's hobbies and preferences. It is to provide an information providing program.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention is an information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal, and stores distribution information to be transmitted to the terminal A storage unit; a user information storage unit that stores user profile information that is information about a user of the terminal; a distribution rule storage unit that stores a distribution rule that distributes the distribution information; An immediate information receiving unit that receives the immediate information after, and a distribution condition search unit that searches the distribution rule storage unit for a distribution rule corresponding to information included in the immediate information received by the immediate information receiving unit, The user information of the user profile information corresponding to the distribution rule searched by the distribution condition search unit with reference to the user information storage unit , Characterized by having a and delivering the said delivery information.

  According to the present invention, the distribution rule corresponding to the information included in the immediate information that has received the immediate information is searched, and the distribution information is transmitted to the user terminal set with the user profile information corresponding to the distribution rule. Since it can do so, it is possible to distribute information according to the situation at that time, so the user can obtain information suitable for himself at that time in real time, and can effectively use the printed matter, It is possible to increase the value of distribution information being distributed and printed.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the information providing system described above, the distribution condition search unit searches the distribution rule based on a combination of items included in the immediate information and the information.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of pieces of information included in immediate information can be used in combination, detailed information can be provided with higher accuracy in accordance with changes in the situation.

  The present invention is also an information providing method in an information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal, and the information immediately after being updated is updated according to the information update. User profile information, which is information relating to the user of the terminal, that is retrieved from a distribution rule storage unit that stores a distribution rule for distributing distribution information for a distribution rule corresponding to the information included in the received immediate information. The distribution information is distributed to a user terminal corresponding to the user profile information corresponding to the retrieved distribution rule with reference to a user information storage unit that stores the distribution information.

  In addition, the present invention is an information providing program in an information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal, and the immediate information after the update is performed according to the update of the information. A step of receiving, a step of searching a distribution rule corresponding to the information included in the received immediate information from a distribution rule storage unit storing a distribution rule for distributing the distribution information, and information relating to a user of the terminal A user information storage unit storing certain user profile information, and causing the computer to execute the step of distributing the distribution information to a user terminal corresponding to the user profile information corresponding to the searched distribution rule It is characterized by that.

  Hereinafter, an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, an information providing system 100 includes an information providing apparatus 1, an immediate information server 2, an issuer terminal 3, a user terminal 4, a printing apparatus 5, and a record information registration apparatus 6.

  The immediate information server 2 is connected to the information providing apparatus 1 via a network such as the Internet, and transmits to the information providing apparatus 1 immediate information that is updated in real time according to changes in time, environment, and situation. Immediate information may be information that is updated immediately in response to a change in the situation, or information that is updated at regular intervals (for example, every few minutes or every several hours). Examples of immediate information include meteorological information that is information about weather such as weather, temperature, wind power, wind direction, and humidity, and environmental information that is information about the environment such as pollen scattering and ultraviolet rays.

  The issuer terminal 3 is a terminal operated by an advertiser who provides an advertisement to the user, and registers the distribution information to be transmitted to the user terminal 4 and the distribution rule for distributing the distribution information in the information providing apparatus 1. The distribution information includes advertisement information and information of notification. Further, on the premise that the advertiser receives and prints the distribution information registered by the advertiser, the advertiser distributes the printing device 5 described later to the user free of charge or sells it at a discount from a normal price. The advertiser also provides the user with the consumables of the provided printing apparatus 5. Regarding the provision of consumables, the consumables may be mailed to the user according to the printed results of the distribution information registered by the user, and the amount corresponding to the consumables is transferred to the user's account. You may do it.

  Based on the immediate information transmitted from the immediate information server 2, the information providing apparatus 1 distributes the distribution information to the user terminal 4 according to the distribution rule registered from the issuer terminal 3.

The user terminal 4 is communicably connected to the information providing apparatus 1 via a network such as the Internet or a public line network. As this user terminal 4, for example, a personal computer, a mobile phone having an electronic mail receiving function, a PDA (personal digital assistance) mobile information terminal, or the like is applicable.
The printing device 5 is, for example, a printer, and prints distribution information (for example, coupons, advertisements, and notifications) received by the user terminal 4 on a print medium and outputs a printed matter.
The performance information registration device 6 reads information printed on the output printed matter from the printing device 5 and transmits the information as performance information to the information providing device 1 for registration. Here, a barcode indicating an ID for identifying the user and an ID for identifying the distribution information is printed on the printed matter, and the barcode is read by the barcode reader 6a and transmitted to the information providing apparatus 1. For example, POS (point-of-sale) is applied to the information providing apparatus 1.

Next, the information providing apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 will be further described.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the information providing apparatus 1. In this figure, an immediate information receiving unit 10 receives immediate information transmitted from the immediate information server 2. The immediate information receiving unit 10 may receive the immediate information every time it is updated according to the update of the immediate information, and accesses the immediate information server 2 at an arbitrary timing and stores the immediate information at that time. May be read out. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of immediate information. In this figure, the immediate information is illustrated for the case where the environmental information is composed of weather information. Immediate information can be further classified into a plurality of items. In this case, environmental information (item 1) is further classified into items of “pollen” and “ultraviolet” (item 2). It is classified. The item 2 includes contents corresponding to the time, and when the contents are updated, for example, when the amount of pollen is updated from “normal” to “large”, immediate information is received.

  The distribution rule storage unit 11 stores distribution rules for distributing distribution information. This distribution information is registered based on a registration request from the issuer terminal 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution rule stored in the distribution rule storage unit 11. As shown in this figure, the distribution rule is classified and stored according to the configuration of the items of immediate information, and the conditions to be distributed for each combination of the items and further information contents (Condition for specifying user profile information and ID for specifying distribution information) are stored as distribution rules. Here, it is stored in addition to the distribution rules 1 and 2.

  The distribution condition search unit 12 searches the distribution rule stored in the distribution rule storage unit 11 for a distribution rule corresponding to the information included in the immediate information received by the immediate information receiving unit 10. The distribution condition search unit 12 searches for a distribution rule based on the combination of items included in the immediate information and the content of the information.

  The user information storage unit 13 stores user profile information, which is information related to a user who is to distribute distribution information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of user profile information. As shown in this figure, the user profile information is stored in association with the user ID and the mail address, and the information about the user includes items such as address, age, gender, hobby, preference, occupation, and constitution. Remembered. The distribution information storage unit 14 stores distribution information to be transmitted to the user terminal 4. In the distribution information, an ID is set for each piece of information, and it is possible to identify which one should be distributed. The distribution unit 15 searches the user information storage unit 13 for user information in which user profile information corresponding to the distribution rule searched by the distribution condition search unit 12 is set, and searches the user terminal 4 of the searched user. The distribution information is distributed.

  The distribution log storage unit 16 stores the distribution information distributed by the distribution unit 15 and the distribution target user as a log. The record information receiving unit 17 receives record information transmitted from the record information registration device 6 via a network such as the Internet or a LAN (local area network). The record information receiving unit 17 stores the record information received by the record information receiving unit 17.

  Based on the log stored in the distribution log storage unit 16 and the record information stored in the record information receiving unit 17, the trend analysis unit 19 actually sets the distribution information by the user to whom the user profile information is set. Analyze trends as to whether they were used. The report transmission unit 20 transmits the result analyzed by the trend analysis unit 19 to the issuer terminal 3. The point management unit 21 refers to the distribution log stored in the distribution log storage unit 16, calculates points according to the consumption amount of consumables generated when the distribution information is printed, and stores the points in the point storage unit 22. .

  The distribution rule storage unit 11, the user information storage unit 13, the distribution information storage unit 14, the distribution log storage unit 16, the performance information reception unit 17, and the point storage unit 22 are a hard disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, a flash memory, or the like. It is assumed that it is configured by a non-volatile memory, a storage medium such as a CR-ROM that can only be read, a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a combination thereof. Further, the distribution log storage unit 16, the record information storage unit 18, and the point storage unit 22 may be incorporated in the user information storage unit 13 to construct one database.

  Further, the immediate information receiving unit 10, the distribution condition searching unit 12, the distributing unit 15, the performance information receiving unit 17, the trend analyzing unit 19, and the report transmitting unit 20 may be realized by dedicated hardware. The immediate information receiving unit 10, the distribution condition searching unit 12, the distributing unit 15, the performance information receiving unit 17, the trend analyzing unit 19, and the report transmitting unit 20 are configured by a memory and a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The function may be realized by loading a program for realizing the function into a memory and executing the program.

Next, the operation of the information providing system to which the information providing apparatus 1 in the configuration of FIG. 2 is applied will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
First, the distribution information input from the advertiser and the distribution rule are received from the issuer terminal 3 and registered in the distribution information storage unit 14 and the distribution rule storage unit 11, respectively, and the user to whom the printing device 5 is distributed Is received from the user terminal 4 and registered in the user information storage unit 13 (step S11). Next, the immediate information receiving unit 10 receives immediate information from the immediate information server 2 (step S12). When the immediate information is received, the distribution condition search unit 12 searches the distribution rule storage unit 11 for and reads out the distribution rule corresponding to the immediate information based on the combination of items included in the immediate information and the content of the information. (Step S13).

  When the distribution rule is read, the distribution unit 15 sends distribution information (advertisement information, notification information) that matches the ID of the distribution information set in the distribution rule searched by the distribution condition search unit 12 from the distribution information storage unit 14. The user information 4 is extracted (steps S14 and S15), the user information in which the user profile information corresponding to the distribution rule is set is searched from the user information storage unit 13, and the user address of the searched user is the user terminal 4 The distribution information is distributed to (step S16). Here, coupon information, advertisement information, notification information and the like including a barcode indicating information for identifying the distribution information and a user ID are transmitted as the distribution information. And the delivery part 15 memorize | stores in the delivery log memory | storage part 16 as a delivery log about the delivered delivery information and the user who delivered.

  When the distribution log is stored in the distribution log storage unit 16, the point management unit 21 calculates and stores the amount of consumables when the distributed distribution information is printed, and stores it in the point storage unit 22 ( Step S17).

  When receiving the distribution information, the user terminal 4 prints the distribution information by the printing device 5. The user browses the printed matter on which the distribution information is printed by the printing device 5 or uses the printed coupon information at the store as needed. And if the barcode of a coupon is read by use of this shop front, the track record information registration apparatus 6 will transmit the information of the read barcode to the information provision apparatus 1 as track record information.

  The track record information receiving unit 17 detects whether track record information has been received from the track record information registration device 6 (step S18), and stores in the track record information receiving unit 17 whether or not it is received, that is, whether or not a coupon is used (step S18). S19). Whether or not it has been received is detected within a certain time (for example, within 5 days) from the time when the distribution information is distributed.

  When the record information is accumulated in the record information receiving unit 17, the trend analyzing unit 19 refers to the record information storing unit 18 and the distribution log storing unit 16 to perform trend analysis (step S20), and the analysis result is sent to the advertiser. The report transmission unit 20 transmits the report to the issuer terminal 3 as a report (step S21). Then, the point information stored in the point storage unit 22 is transmitted to the issuer terminal 3 in response to an instruction from the issuer terminal 3 every fixed period, and the issuer terminal 3 provides consumables according to the points. This is done (step S22). The consumables provided here are those that are consumed when printing is performed by the printing apparatus 5, and examples thereof include ink, toner, and a printing medium (printing paper).

  Next, an example in which distribution information is distributed according to a distribution rule will be described. Here, when the environmental information item “pollen” is input as “many” as immediate information and the weather is input as “clear”, the distribution rule 1 corresponding to this combination of immediate information (FIG. 4A) Is read as an applicable distribution rule, and distribution information with ID 00002 is distributed to a user who has a hobby “outdoor sports” and whose user profile information is “hay fever”. As an example of distribution information, notice information such as “Today there is a lot of pollen. Go out modestly .... Wear a mask when you go out.” And related information The advertisement of “pollen removal mask” is distributed as the product to be sold, and the coupon ticket information of “pollen removal mask” of this product is distributed. By printing this distribution information, the user can consider whether to go out in consideration of the amount of pollen scattered or whether to play outdoor sports such as soccer or tennis. Moreover, since the coupon of the goods which are likely to be needed by the user on that day is printed, the possibility of having the coupon used by the user can be increased. When distributing the distribution information, in addition to the item of immediate information, user attributes such as the target area and target age are used as search keywords, and the distribution target person can be limited.

  On the other hand, when the environmental information item “pollen” is input as “large” and the weather is input as “sunny” as immediate information, this distribution is provided to users who do not have hay fever or who do not play outdoor sports. Although information is not transmitted, there is no problem even if it is not transmitted because it is less useful for the user.

  On the other hand, when the environmental information item “pollen” is input as “high” as immediate information and the weather is input as “fine”, only the “pollen” item in the environmental information may be referred to and distributed to the user. Is possible. In this case, in addition to the distribution according to the distribution rule 1, the distribution rule corresponding to the distribution rule 2 (FIG. 4B) is also distributed. Here, for users whose job types are “sales”, “driver”, “engineering business”, and “housewife” and for whom the user profile information corresponding to the target area and target age is set, Distribution information with ID 00001 is distributed. As an example of distribution information, notice information such as “Today, there is a lot of pollen. Would you like to wear a mask when you go out?” And information related to this information is “Pollen removal mask. ", And the coupon information of the" pollen removal mask "for this product is distributed. By printing this distribution information, the user can decide on belongings, clothes, etc. in consideration of the amount of pollen scattered when going out.

  In this way, by distributing and printing information according to the situation at that time, it is possible for the user to obtain information suitable for the user at that time in real time, so that the printed matter can be used effectively. As a result, it is possible to increase the value of distribution information being distributed and printed. In addition, for an advertiser who sells “pollen removal masks”, the user registers the distribution information in the information providing apparatus 1 as a distribution rule with the target condition for which his / her product is desired to be purchased. It can be distributed at a timing when there is a high possibility of showing interest, and the advertising effect can be enhanced.

  Note that other immediate information can be used when distributing the distribution information described above. For example, when the weather information that the temperature after 5 pm on that day is “3 degrees” or less is input as immediate information, in addition to the notification information “Tonight is likely to get cold”, “Dinner In addition to distributing advertisement information such as “How is Oden?” In the daytime, it also sends coupon information about foods used in oden. In this case, the job type is transmitted to “housewife”. Here, a supermarket as an advertiser can improve sales by setting these distribution information and distribution rules in advance.

  Note that when the advertiser provides consumables to the user according to the points stored in the point management unit 21, the consumables are all borne by the advertiser for the printing of advertisements, etc., and the consumables May be transferred to the user account, or consumables may be mailed.

  In addition, the trend analysis result transmitted from the report transmission unit 20 is accumulated in the issuer terminal 3, and the advertiser changes the distribution rule in consideration of the use of coupons and the conditions of the distributed user. You may make it register. As a result, it is possible to perform optimal advertisement distribution for the advertiser.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the printing apparatus 5 is connected to the user terminal 4 has been described. However, the printing apparatus 5 that is a multifunction machine having a communication function mounted on the printing apparatus 5 may be applied. . As a result, the distribution information can be directly distributed to the printing apparatus 5 and directly printed, and a service can be provided even to a user who does not own the user terminal 4. In this case, by registering the IP address of the printing apparatus 5 in the user profile information as a distribution destination, it is possible to distribute to the printing apparatus 5 in which this IP address is set.

  In addition, a computer-readable recording of a program for realizing the functions of the immediate information receiving unit 10, the distribution condition searching unit 12, the distributing unit 15, the performance information receiving unit 17, the trend analyzing unit 19, and the report transmitting unit 20 in FIG. Distribution information may be distributed by recording on a medium, reading the program recorded on the recording medium into a computer system, and executing the program. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the information provision system by one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information providing device 1. FIG. It is drawing which shows an example of immediate information. It is drawing which shows an example of a delivery rule. It is drawing which shows an example of user profile information. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the information provision system to which the information provision apparatus 1 is applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information provision apparatus 2 Immediate information server 3 Issuer terminal 4 User terminal 5 Printing apparatus 6 Performance information registration apparatus 10 Immediate information reception part 11 Distribution rule storage part 12 Distribution condition search part 13 User information storage part 14 Distribution information storage part 15 Distribution Unit 16 Distribution log storage unit 17 Result information reception unit 18 Result information storage unit 19 Trend analysis unit 20 Report transmission unit 21 Point management unit 22 Point storage unit 100 Information providing system

Claims (4)

An information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal that includes a printing apparatus that prints information to be distributed.
A distribution information storage unit for storing distribution information to be transmitted to the terminal;
A user information storage unit for storing user profile information which is information relating to a user of the terminal;
A distribution rule storage unit for storing a distribution rule for distributing the distribution information;
Providing the user with the consumables according to the points corresponding to the consumption of the consumables generated when the distribution information distributed to the terminal is printed by the printing apparatus. A point storage unit for storing the points transmitted to the issuer terminal of the advertiser who is the issuer of the distribution information to be performed;
A distribution log storage unit that stores the distribution information distributed and a user corresponding to the terminal to which the distribution information is distributed, as a log;
An immediate information receiving unit that receives the updated immediate information according to the update of the information;
A distribution condition search unit that searches the distribution rule storage unit for a distribution rule corresponding to information included in the immediate information received by the immediate information receiving unit;
The distribution information is distributed to the user terminal of the user profile information corresponding to the distribution rule searched by the distribution condition search unit with reference to the user information storage unit, and the log is stored in the distribution log storage unit A distribution department to
A point management unit that refers to the distribution log stored in the distribution log storage unit, calculates the points, and stores the points in the point storage unit;
A log stored in the distribution log storage unit and the distribution information printed by the printing apparatus;
When the information is used, the distribution information is read, and based on the result information transmitted from the result information registration device, the user profile information is set and the user set the tendency to use the distribution information A trend analysis unit that analyzes
An information providing system comprising: The immediate information receiving unit receives the immediate information including information indicating the amount of pollen scattering and the weather,
The distribution condition search unit searches the distribution rule based on a combination of items included in the immediate information and the information,
The distribution unit reads the information on the coupon ticket of the pollen removal mask from the distribution information storage unit when the pollen scattering amount is input as the immediate information as “large” and the weather is input as “clear”. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing system is distributed. An information providing method in an information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal that includes a printing apparatus that prints distributed information.
Receive immediate information after the update according to the information update,
Search the distribution rule corresponding to the information included in the received immediate information from the distribution rule storage unit that stores the distribution rule for distributing the distribution information,
Refer to a user information storage unit that stores user profile information that is information related to the user of the terminal, and distribute the distribution information to a user terminal corresponding to the user profile information corresponding to the searched distribution rule, Storing the distribution information distributed and the user corresponding to the terminal to which the distribution information is distributed as a log in a distribution log storage unit;
Referencing the distribution log stored in the distribution log storage unit, the point according to the consumption amount of consumables generated when the distribution information distributed to the terminal is printed by the printing device, Calculate points to be sent to the issuer terminal of the advertiser who is the issuer of the distribution information that provides the consumables according to the points for the user, and stores the points in the point storage unit,
Based on the log stored in the distribution log storage unit and the record information read from the record information registration device when the distribution information printed by the printing device is used. A method of providing information, characterized by analyzing a tendency as to what user profile information is set and the user has used distribution information. An information providing program in an information providing system that is connected to an information distribution apparatus via a network and provides information to a terminal,
Receiving immediate information after the update in response to the update of the information;
Searching for a distribution rule corresponding to information included in the received immediate information from a distribution rule storage unit storing a distribution rule for distributing distribution information;
Refer to a user information storage unit that stores user profile information that is information related to the user of the terminal, and distribute the distribution information to a user terminal corresponding to the user profile information corresponding to the searched distribution rule, Storing the delivered distribution information and a user corresponding to the terminal to which the delivery information is delivered as a log in a delivery log storage unit;
Referencing the distribution log stored in the distribution log storage unit, the point according to the consumption amount of consumables generated when the distribution information distributed to the terminal is printed by the printing device, Calculating a point to be transmitted to an issuer terminal of an advertiser who is an issuer of the distribution information for providing the consumable according to the point to the user, and storing the calculated point in a point storage unit;
Based on the log stored in the distribution log storage unit and the record information read from the record information registration device when the distribution information printed by the printing device is used. Analyzing the trend as to what user profile information the user set has used the distribution information;
An information providing program for causing a computer to execute.

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