JPH11259493A - Method for sharing information, system therefor and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain load balancing at the time of retrieval, and to stably ensure high response even in a situation that a communication capacity is limited by retrieving public information related with a preliminarily controlled area only in response to a retrieval request for designating an area including the controlled area. SOLUTION: A communicating part 6 is connected with some other information shared system to constitute a distributed information sharing system through a prescribed communication line. A destination of transfer selecting part 7 selects the other information shared system identification information (for example, address) of the designation of information transfer by referring to transfer information stored in a transfer information storing part 8. An area relation selecting part 9 refers to area attribute information stored in an area attribute storing part 10, and when public information and retrieval information is related with a controlled area, the area relation selecting part 9 transfers it to one of its own public information retrieving part 3, public information registering part 2, or public information presenting part 4 according to the content, and transfers it to the destination of transfer selecting part 7 as necessary (at the time of transferring it to the other information shared system).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information sharing system which enables public information to be shared via a network. To share information as public information via a network.

[0002] The present invention also relates to an information sharing system that allows public information to be shared via a network. In particular, the present invention discloses the safety information of victims distributed and managed in each area in the event of a disaster or the like. The present invention relates to an information sharing system for sharing information as information via a network.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the spread of computer networks, particularly the use of the Internet, has become popular, and has attracted attention as a powerful means of transmitting information, especially in the event of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. As a method of sharing information at the time of such a disaster, a method of publishing safety information and the like by a WWW server through the Internet has been proposed.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional proposal method, all information is centrally managed, and even if the information is publicly shared by one server or a plurality of servers are used, the same data called mirroring is held. It uses multiple servers. In these cases, a situation in which the response deteriorates and an excessive load is applied to a network connected to the server easily occurs due to concentration of search and registration processing. In the mirroring method, when a large amount of information is held by multiple servers in the same way, a load such as communication occurs, and it is required to minimize the communication load on the network, especially in the event of a disaster. There was a problem that it was inappropriate for the operation of.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, according to the present invention, the load at the time of search can be distributed, excessive traffic on a specific communication path can be prevented, and a high response can be stabilized even in a situation where the communication capacity is limited. It is an object of the present invention to provide a decentralized information sharing method that can be secured in a reasonable manner and that is compatible with regional characteristics of information.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to distribute the load at the time of searching, to prevent the occurrence of excessive traffic on a specific communication path, and to stably secure a high response even in a situation where the communication capacity is limited. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a rational distributed information sharing system corresponding to regional characteristics.

[0007]

(1) An information sharing method according to the present invention includes storage means for storing public information related to a predetermined jurisdiction area, and stores the information in response to a search request. In the information sharing method of searching and presenting the stored public information, in the information sharing method, the search request is transferred to a region selected based on the information specifying the region included in the search request and the relationship between the regions including the jurisdiction region, The search result transferred from the transfer destination is transferred to the search request source, and only the search request specifying the area including the jurisdiction area is searched for the public information from the storage means.

According to the present invention, the load at the time of searching for public information can be distributed. That is, among a plurality of information sharing systems constituting a distributed information sharing system (server),
Starting from an information sharing system (server) that controls the entire system, shared information is shared with multiple other information sharing systems (servers)
In this way, it is possible to prevent the concentration of load on specific servers and the occurrence of excessive traffic on specific communication routes. By linking servers that use the source as the root and the disaster prevention bases and evacuation centers of each scale as branches and leaves,
It is possible to provide a distributed information sharing system that can reasonably manage information in a distributed manner and can stably secure a high response even under a network condition in which available communication capacity is severely limited. (2) Further, according to the present invention, the public information is transferred to a region selected based on the region designation information included in the public information and the relationship between the regions including the jurisdiction region, and is transferred from outside the jurisdiction region. Public information specifying an area including the jurisdiction area is stored or presented in the storage means.

[0009] The area designation information included in the public information may be positional information of a portable terminal used by the user, which is captured by using the GPS, and in this case, the user may use the public information such as safety information. When inputting the search information or inputting the search information, it is not necessary to be conscious of where the user is and which information sharing system must be accessed.

According to the present invention, public information can be transferred to an information sharing system (server) in an appropriate jurisdiction based on area designation information included in the public information, and distributed management of public information can be easily performed. Further, for example, even in a situation of urgent confusion, such as at the time of a disaster, only public information relating to the area can be quickly and easily distributed to each area. (3) Further, according to the present invention, the use of public information such as safety information is facilitated by searching for voice information associated with a telephone number for the search request. (4) The information sharing system of the present invention includes storage means for storing public information related to a predetermined jurisdiction area, and searches and presents the public information stored in the storage means in response to a search request. In the information sharing system, the search request is transferred to the area selected based on the information specifying the area included in the search request and the relationship between the areas including the jurisdiction area, and the search result transferred from the transfer destination is transferred. And a search unit for searching for public information from the storage unit only for a search request that specifies an area including the jurisdiction area.

According to the present invention, the load at the time of searching for public information can be distributed. That is, among a plurality of information sharing systems constituting a distributed information sharing system (server),
Starting from an information sharing system (server) that controls the entire system, shared information is shared with multiple other information sharing systems (servers)
Distributed management prevents the concentration of load on specific servers and the generation of excessive traffic on specific communication paths. Especially in the event of a disaster, information transmission by administrative organizations such as the disaster response headquarters in cities and wards. By linking servers that use the source as the root and the disaster prevention bases and evacuation centers of each scale as branches and leaves,
It is possible to provide a distributed information sharing system that can reasonably manage information in a distributed manner and can stably secure a high response even under a network condition in which available communication capacity is severely limited. (5) The present invention further includes a second transfer unit that transfers the public information to an area selected based on the area designation information included in the public information and the relationship between the areas including the jurisdiction area, The public information specifying the area including the jurisdiction area transferred from outside the jurisdiction area is stored or presented in the storage means.

[0012] Further, the area designation information included in the public information may be position information of a portable terminal used by the user captured by using the GPS, and in this case, the user may use the public information such as safety information. When inputting the search information or inputting the search information, it is not necessary to be conscious of where the user is and which information sharing system must be accessed.

According to the present invention, public information can be transferred to an information sharing system (server) in an appropriate jurisdiction based on area designation information included in the public information, and distributed management of public information can be easily performed. Further, for example, even in a situation of urgent confusion, such as at the time of a disaster, only public information relating to the area can be quickly and easily distributed to each area. (6) Further, according to the present invention, the use of public information such as safety information is facilitated by searching for voice information associated with a telephone number for the search request.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an information sharing system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, a plurality of information sharing systems shown in FIG. 1 are communicably connected to a public network and a dedicated line (or the Internet using these physical communication lines). It manages (stores) public information related to the jurisdiction assigned to each of them in advance. Here, each information sharing system is installed at, for example, the Disaster Response Headquarters, a regional disaster prevention base, a regional medical rescue base, or an evacuation site in the event of a regional earthquake, and information exchange is performed based on the geographical inclusion relationship of the jurisdiction of each information base. Public information and search information are transferred according to the route. The whole network including such a plurality of information sharing systems is called a distributed information sharing system.

In FIG. 1, an information sharing system includes a public information storage unit 1, a public information registration unit 2, a public information search unit 3,
It comprises a public information presentation unit 4, a user interface 5, a communication unit 6, a transfer destination selection unit 7, a transfer information storage unit 8, a region-related selection unit 9, and a region attribute storage unit 10.

The public information storage unit 1 has a public information registration unit 2
, New registration or update of public information is performed. The public information search unit 3 is for searching public information stored in the open information storage unit 1.

The public information presenting section 4 presents search results of public information to the user, and presents announcement (notification) information such as so-called "notices" which are presented without the user's direct request operation. If the retrieved public information or notification information is audio data, it has a function of reproducing the audio data.

The user interface 5 receives and transmits information between the public information registration unit 2, the public information search unit 3, the public information presenting unit 4, and the user, and stores search results of public information, announcement (notification) information, and the like. When the display device to be displayed, the searched public information or notification information is audio data, a speaker for presenting the audio data, safety information or the like serving as public information, and a search condition or the like when a search request is input. And input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse.
Note that the information to be input is not necessarily text data, may be voice data, and may be input from communication means such as a mobile terminal or a telephone. In that case, it is necessary to provide various communication interfaces.

The communication unit 6 is connected to another information sharing system constituting the distributed information sharing system via a predetermined communication line, and enables transmission and reception of various information. The transfer information storage unit 8
The transfer information referred to when transferring the public information and the search information to another information sharing system is stored.

The transfer destination selecting section 7 refers to the transfer information stored in the transfer information storage section 8 and selects identification information (for example, an address) of another information sharing system of the information transfer destination. I have.

The local attribute storage unit 10 stores public information registered from its own public information registration unit 2, search information input from its own public information search unit 3, and public information transferred from another information sharing system. And area attribute information referred to to determine whether or not the search information is related to its own jurisdiction.

The region-related selection unit 9 includes a region attribute storage unit 10
It determines whether the public information and the search information are related to the jurisdiction area by referring to the regional attribute information stored in the public information search section. 3 and any of the public information registration unit 2 and the public information presenting unit 4 and, if necessary (when transferring to another information sharing system), the transfer destination selecting unit 7
To be passed to.

As shown in FIG. 2, the public information includes at least area designation information 51, and further includes a personal name 52 and personal information 53 relating to the individual. Area designation information 5
2 may be, for example, address information of the individual. If the individual is a disaster victim, the personal information may be safety information such as "evacuate to the park and all family members are safe."

The search information is generated by the public information search unit 3 based on information input via the user interface 5 (when input as voice data, it may be converted to text data). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, at least area designation information 55 as a search condition
In addition, additional information 57 such as a search target person name 56, some designation (the type of public information to be searched, the purpose of the search, etc.) and a comment may be included as search conditions.

The area-related selection section 9 refers to area designation information of public information and search information. The area designation information may be a telephone number in addition to the address information, and is not limited to detailed address information designated up to an address, but is also effective for a rough area designation (for example, a city or a ward).

The transfer information stored in the transfer information storage unit 8 is geographically included in each prefecture based on, for example, an information sharing system installed in the disaster response headquarters in each prefecture as shown in FIG. When an information sharing system installed in each area such as a city, town, village, etc. is set as a tree-structured information exchange route according to the level of its inclusion relationship, a tree-structured information exchange route is set according to this information exchange route. This information is referred to by an information sharing system installed in each region for transferring public information and search information to an information sharing system suitable for processing (storage, search execution). By using the transfer information, the registration and search processing of the public information can be distributed by transferring the information between the plurality of information sharing systems in a bucket brigade manner to an information sharing system suitable for processing the public information and the search information. it can.

For example, in the case of a system targeting the city, search information initially input to the information sharing system provided at the disaster response headquarters of the city that covers the entire city is based on the disaster response headquarters. , Transfer the information sharing system that has jurisdiction over each ward in the city, such as the ward's disaster response headquarters, as the first destination. The information sharing system that has jurisdiction over each ward will set the next transfer destination to a wide-area evacuation site or a wide-area disaster response base in the ward. However, there are cases where information is transferred in the reverse direction, such as reporting from the end branch to the central headquarters, so the above transfer destination is the downstream transfer destination, the downstream transfer source is the upstream transfer destination, It should be possible to select as appropriate according to the information content to be transferred.

Similarly, from an information sharing system that divides and manages a wide area within a ward, a smaller unit area such as a regional disaster prevention base, a regional medical rescue base, or a regional evacuation site in the territory is controlled. By configuring the transfer information so that the information sharing system that performs
It is possible to form a decentralized system having a tree-structured information exchange route with the city as the root and the regional information bases at each level as branches and leaves.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the transfer information stored in the transfer information storage section 8. The substance of the transfer information is information for identifying another information sharing system to which the search information and the public information are transferred, and is, for example, WWW (World Wide W).
eb), the Internet IP address, port number, and the like. The transfer information is classified and managed so that the transfer destination selecting unit 7 can appropriately select the transfer information according to the purpose.

In FIG. 5, an address description in a URL format is used as an identifier of the information sharing system of the transfer destination. When configuring a tree-structured information exchange path as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of addresses in the down direction and a single address in the up direction are registered. When configuring an information exchange path other than a general tree structure (for example, an information exchange path having a hierarchical structure according to a role, an organization, or the like, or a loop-shaped information exchange path based on a certain relationship), a further classification is performed. It is also possible to describe conditions for increasing the number, making the hierarchy deeper, or selecting each address and the like for each pair.

The source information in FIG. 5 is information for returning a search result to the source of a search request when performing a search process described later, and is not always given.
Further, in order to determine whether the transfer destination of the public information and the search information is in the upward direction or in the downward direction of the tree structure, information describing the configuration of the information exchange path as shown in FIG. The transfer destination may be stored in the storage unit 8, and the transfer destination selection unit 7 may select the transfer destination by referring to this.

The regional attribute information stored in the regional attribute storage unit 10 is information used by an information sharing system of an information base that controls a certain area to specify the area under the control.
Since such area attribute information is stored in the area attribute storage unit 10, the area attribute can be compared with public information or area specification information included in search information transferred from another information sharing system. Accordingly, the area-related selection unit 9 can select only information related to the jurisdiction as a processing target.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the area attribute information stored in the area attribute storage unit 10. From the prefecture level which is the identifier of the widest area in FIG. 6 to the identifier designating a narrower area, it is collated with the area designation information included in the public information and the search information to determine the relevance. In this case, "XYZ prefecture" is designated and "XYZ prefecture MN city AB ward ab town, bc
Towns and cd towns are candidates for successful verification.

However, it is not always necessary to collate in order from the level of the wide area. For example, only the area designation information at the town level is used so that the collation succeeds.
It is assumed that information of a wider level is complemented and collated.

When only the level of the widest area is specified, for example, in a system starting from an administrative organization under a prefecture, by specifying only the prefecture as the area specification information, the system can be used as the area specification information of the whole area. .

The example shown in FIG. 6 is an example of the area attribute information mainly for the purpose of collation with address information or the like. Such area attribute information is attribute information for specifying a jurisdiction area. In addition to address data such as direct city and city addresses, it also supports more ambiguous area designations such as the central part of the prefecture and the northern part of the city. In addition to having a clear inclusion relationship, a geographical distance determination and stabilization mechanism allows information on a neighborhood to be selected as related / reference information.

Further, as the regional attribute information, it is possible to use regional information such as "liquefied area", "burned area", "power outage area", "water cutoff area", etc., which changes according to the disaster situation or the restoration situation. Good.

The local attribute information eliminates the need to determine the proper transmission destination for the information transmission starting point for each piece of information, and simply distributes the information to the destination in a form that includes the area designation information. Sorting is performed by the information sharing system group, and a distributed system in which the information is transferred to an appropriate information sharing system is formed.

In this case, even if the transfer information does not necessarily have a tree-structured information exchange path corresponding to the geographical inclusion relationship of the region under its jurisdiction as in the previous example, it is only necessary to perform appropriate loop detection. It is also possible to form a network-like information exchange path. However, a more efficient system can be realized when a tree-structured information exchange path is formed as in the previous example.

The present system is particularly suitable as an information system at the time of a disaster. For example, when the safety information is public information, for example, an information sharing system of a narrow area for each town and village, and an area including these areas, For example, it is assumed that the information can be retrieved from any of the information sharing systems of the public relations section of the city. The search for evacuees information from the public relations section mainly functions as a contact point for inquiries from outside the affected area, and if the area where the affected person resides can be specified, the address information is added to the search information as area designation information, If the area cannot be specified, the search information without the area specification (all area specification)
For example, the information is transferred to an information sharing system in a downstream direction on an information exchange path having a tree structure.

Even if the area can be specified in detail, when a notification that the search has failed is transmitted to the search request source,
The information may be forwarded in the downstream direction as search information without area designation. This makes it possible to search for victims who have been evacuated and temporarily evacuated outside their residential areas.

Next, the operation of a distributed information sharing system in the event of a disaster, for example, in which a plurality of information sharing systems configured as shown in FIG. 1 are connected will be described. First, a search process for searching for public information related to a desired area will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 7, taking as an example a case where the safety information is public information.

It is expected that an administrative agency having jurisdiction over the affected area will be the contact point for inquiries about the safety of the affected area from outside the affected area. Therefore, for example, the above-mentioned tree-structured information exchange route (which is described in the transfer information) is composed of an information sharing system group in which public information of evacuees at evacuation centers controlled by the public information storage unit 1 is stored starting from the city. Yes)
Is assumed to be configured. However, only the information sharing system that controls the evacuation shelters holds the information of evacuees in the public information storage unit 1, and the information sharing system of the city that controls the whole and the information that controls the wider area An information sharing system that does not control a specific evacuation site, such as an information sharing system at a base, does not hold public information held in an information sharing system located downstream on an information exchange route.

For example, in response to a safety search request received through the user interface 5 (step S1), the public information search system 3 searches the evacuee information as shown in FIG. (Step S2), the transfer destination selection unit 7 selects the transfer destination of the search information, and transfers the search information to the transfer destination information sharing system through the communication unit 6 (Step S3).

It is assumed that the area designation information of the search information includes the address information of the search target person. Upon receiving the search information transferred by the communication unit 6 of the information sharing system of the transfer destination, the search information is transferred to the transfer destination selection unit 7 (Step S).
4), the address of the transmission source of the search information attached to the search information (that is, the return destination of the search result for the search information) is stored in the transfer information storage unit 8 (step S).
5). The search information is further passed to the area-related selection section 9 (step S6), and the area designation information of the search information is included in the jurisdiction area by referring to the area attribute information stored in the area attribute storage section 10. Is determined (step S
7) If the information is within the jurisdiction, the search information is passed to the public information search unit 3, and the public information of the refugee stored in the public information storage unit 1 of the own information sharing system is searched. The processing is performed (steps S8 to S9).

When the public information search unit 3 retrieves the public information of the search target person corresponding to the search information, the public information is passed to the transfer destination selection unit 7, and the transfer destination selection unit 7 stores the public information in the transfer information storage unit. The transfer destination address of the search result of the search information stored in the search information 8 is attached to the public information and transferred via the communication unit 6. When the search result is returned to the information sharing system at the starting point (in this case, the information sharing system installed at the disaster response headquarters in the city), the searched public information is
The information is displayed on the user interface 5 via the communication unit 6, the transfer destination selection unit 7, the region-related selection unit 9, and the public information presentation unit 4 (steps S13 to S14).

On the other hand, in step S10, the public information search unit 3
When no search target person's public information corresponding to the search information is detected, the search information is passed to the transfer destination selection unit 7, and the transfer destination selection unit 7 refers to the transfer information stored in the transfer information storage unit 8. Then, an information sharing system further downstream is selected, and the address of the selected information sharing system is attached to the search information and transferred via the communication unit 6 (step S).
11). When the search result for the search information is returned from the information sharing system on the downstream side, the search result is compared with the search result stored in the transfer information storage unit 8 (step S5). The search result is transferred to the upstream information sharing system via the communication unit 6 with the transfer destination address attached (step S12).

If it is determined in step S8 that the area designation information of the search information is out of the jurisdiction area, the fact is notified to the transfer destination selection section 7, and the transfer destination storage section 8 transfers the information. Then, the transfer destination address of the search result of the search information stored in the search information is deleted, and the search information is also deleted (step S8, steps S15 to S16).

However, discarding is performed when a tree-structured information exchange path corresponding to the regional inclusion relationship is formed as in this example. It is necessary to select and transfer another information sharing system.

When searching for public information (safety information), the address of the person to be searched is completely known, and it is ideal that detailed address information can be used for the determination in the area-related selection section 9 in step S7. There is, however, a case where the details of the address are actually unknown in practice. The region-related selection unit 9 is designated by the region designation information according to, for example, a flowchart (to be described later) as shown in FIG. 8 so as to be able to respond to the inquiry about the safety of the search target whose address is unknown. The search processing can be performed by all information sharing systems that control an area that overlaps with an area that can be specified by an address up to the level.

However, the search process and the search information transfer process in such a case may be performed without any particular restrictions. That is, in step S9, the region-related selection unit 9 passes the search information to the public information search unit 3 and performs a search process on the public information held in the public information storage unit 1 of its own information sharing system. Without waiting for the search result (skipping step S10), in parallel with this, the search information is transferred to the information sharing system that controls the area further downstream through the transfer destination selection unit 7, and the search information may be stored there. Search processing may be performed in parallel.

However, in this case, when the search processing of the public information held in the own public information storage unit 1 is successful and the public information of the search target person is searched, the processing of transferring the search information is performed. Initially, all the processing performed on the search information at the transfer destination is a wasteful processing, and when such waste occurs in the information sharing system located upstream of the tree structure, for example, In the case of a safety inquiry with a high degree of ambiguity such that the address information can be understood only at the ward level, waste processing as a whole may become a load that cannot be ignored.

Therefore, the transfer process in such a case is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 7, the search information is passed to the public information search unit 3 and a search process is first performed on the public information held in its own public information storage unit 1, and as a result, the evacuation corresponding to the search target person is performed. It is determined that the person has not been registered as an evacuee at an evacuation center under his jurisdiction (without skipping step S10). As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessary transfer of search information, and as a result, only processing for confirming the safety of victims who may have been evacuated to the evacuation area under their jurisdiction or to an evacuation area downstream thereof is processed. By reducing the load caused by processing a simple search request, the resources of the information sharing system can be concentrated on effective processing.

Further, there may be a case where the address of the person to be searched is completely unknown. In such a case, the above-mentioned method simply designates the area specifying information that covers the entire area under the jurisdiction, for example, in the above example. It can also be handled by adding only the regional designation information at the prefecture level. Alternatively, when a telephone number (or only the telephone number of the telephone number may be specified) is specified as the area specifying information, the area-related selection unit 9 searches the telephone directory data to find the address from the telephone number of the search target person. Or search for resident information to determine the gender,
The range of the transfer destination of the search information may be expanded by adding a function such as determining an address based on the age, the family structure, or the like.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the area-related selection section 9 for collating the area designation information of the search information with the area attribute information. If the area designation information of the search information is, for example, only the area designation (for example, the level of the prefecture or city) corresponding to the largest area of the jurisdiction of the entire system because the address of the search target is completely unknown (step S21) ), And interprets the search information as specifying the entire area (step S25), and passes the search information to its own public information search unit 3 and transfer destination selection unit 7 (step S26, step S2).
8). Then, when the public information search unit 3 of the own device does not detect the public information corresponding to the search information, the search information is transferred to another information sharing system downstream from the self information (step S29), and the public information of the self is disclosed. The search result transferred from the information search unit 3 or the information sharing system located downstream is transferred to the information sharing system located upstream via the communication unit 6 as described above (step S27).

If the area designation information of the search information designates an area located downstream of the area under its own jurisdiction (steps S22 and S23), the information is transmitted to another information sharing system located downstream of the area. The search information is transferred (Step S28, Step S29).

If the area designation information of the search information cannot be compared with the area attribute information, the processing may be stopped as it is (step S24). By configuring the distributed information sharing system as described above, when the evacuation status of all the victims is centrally managed by one server, the overload of the server itself due to the concentration of search processing requests, Decreasing operation efficiency due to concentration of communication to the server is avoided by dispersing the processing.

In the unified management system, in addition to such search processing, update processing relating to the registration status data of the inhabitants in the entire jurisdiction area is also concentrated. However, in the distributed information sharing system of the present invention, registration and updating of evacuee information
Since the update is performed on the public information storage unit 1 of the device that controls the evacuation site where the evacuee information has been changed, these update processes are also distributed. As a result, the possibility of a decrease in operation efficiency is reduced, and more stable operation is possible.

According to the present invention, even in the information sharing system that controls each evacuation center, the user interface 5
Inquiry of safety can be performed. The inquiry in this case is basically whether the evacuation site is in an evacuation area in the area under the jurisdiction, that is, the public information held in the public information storage unit 1 of the own information sharing system or the information sharing system located downstream. On the other hand, it may be assumed that only search processing is performed, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, when the search information input through the user interface 5 is the search information input from the area, the area-related selection unit 9 can determine whether or not the search information is in the upstream area (upward transfer destination of the transfer information) even outside the area where the address of the search target person is in charge. In the case of the search information transferred from the information sharing system, the search information is not discarded, but the search information is transferred to the upstream information sharing system. The upstream information sharing system further transfers the search information to the upstream information sharing system. that time,
It is assumed that a search request from the information sharing system on the downstream side (downstream transfer destination of the transfer destination information) is stored in the transfer information storage unit 8. When the search information is transferred to the information sharing system that is the root of the tree structure, the information sharing system executes the process of step S3 in FIG. 7, and transfers the search information to the lower-level information sharing system again. . However, according to the address stored in the transfer information storage unit 8, the search result is transferred downstream toward the information sharing system in which the search information is first input.

As described above, in the distributed information sharing system of the present invention, the registration and update of the evacuee's public information is performed in the public information storage unit 1 of the information sharing system that controls the evacuation site where the evacuee is located. It is done for. However, in general, the external information control department of the administrative agency that controls the evacuation center,
It is necessary to be able to collectively provide the safety information of the victims to the media at any time. Therefore, the information management departments such as cities and wards need to keep track of the contents of registrations and updates made to the information sharing system that governs each region.

Therefore, in each information sharing system, the public information and the updated contents newly registered in the public information storage unit 1 by the user interface 5 and the public information registration unit 2 are transmitted to the information corresponding to the root of the tree structure by the transfer destination selection unit 7. It is transferred to a sharing system, that is, an information sharing system of the information management department such as prefectures, cities, and wards, and is automatically collected. The public information of all the downstream areas can always be grasped, and the information can be used as needed. It is desirable to be able to refer to

However, the public information stored in the public information storage unit 1 of the most upstream information sharing system, that is, the public information collected from all the downstream areas, is not subjected to the search processing (for example, general It will not be used to respond to search requests from citizens.) The reference to the public information stored in the public information storage unit 1 of the information sharing system at the most upstream is separated from the search request from the general public, and is provided only for the purpose of providing information to the media. It is desirable from the point of the present invention aiming at decentralization.

Further, the victim may be damaged in an area different from the area where the address is located, and public information as safety information may be registered in the information sharing system in the damaged area. In this case, it is desirable that the registered public information be stored in the public information storage unit 1 of the information sharing system that has jurisdiction over the area of the victim's address. The public information registration processing including such a case will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In response to the safety information registration request received through the user interface 5 (step S31), the information sharing system uses the public information registration unit 2 to open the public information including the address information as the area designation information as shown in FIG. (Step S32), and handover to the region-related selection unit 9. The region-related selection unit 9 compares the region designation information included in the public information with the region attribute information, and determines whether the region designation information of the public information is included in the jurisdiction (Step S3).
3) If the information is within the jurisdiction, the public information is passed to the public information registration unit 2 (step S34) and stored in the public information storage unit 1 of the own information sharing system (step S35).

When it is determined that the area designation information of the public information is out of the jurisdiction (step S34), the public information is transferred to the transfer destination selecting section 7 and the transfer information stored in the transfer information storage section 8 is transferred. With reference to (for example, transfer information as shown in FIG. 4), another information sharing system (in this case, an information sharing system located upstream) adapted to the area designation information is selected, and The address of the selected information sharing system is added to the public information and transferred (step S3).
7, step S38).

As described above, in the information sharing system at the uppermost stream of the tree structure, a search request for public information is immediately transferred to the downstream side, and conversely, a new registration or update sent from the downstream information sharing system is transmitted. It is possible to concentrate on the processing, and it is possible to grasp and manage the information of the entire area without the search processing becoming a bottleneck of the entire system.

The information transmitted from the information sharing system at the uppermost stream of the tree structure has mainly been described as search information and public information which is safety information. There is public information such as information and announcements, or announcements to evacuees in specific areas.

If such information is uniformly distributed to all information sharing systems located downstream, the user at each information base searches for information related to the area under its control from among all the information. Such work in an urgent and confusing situation such as a disaster places a heavy burden on the user. On the other hand, it is similar to manually classifying such information by the source at the source, sorting out the information content according to each area, and then distributing it individually. It is impossible in an urgent situation such as a disaster.

According to the present invention, information distribution in a limited area can be easily realized by using the area attribute information and the area designation information included in the public information. That is, since the information sharing system of the disaster prevention base in each area has the attribute information of the area, if it finds information related to the area in the public information transmitted from the public relations section etc., it automatically acquires it, The information is passed to the information presenting unit 4 and is notified to the user through the user interface 5 or is automatically displayed.

In recent years, portable terminals having a communication function have been widely used. This is expected to be used as a means for emergency communication in the event of a disaster or for collecting information from the disaster site. In addition, a portable terminal having such a communication function is called a GPS.
(Global Positioning System
m) By combining with a device, a system for automatically transmitting position information using a mobile terminal can be realized by a combination of current technologies. Actually small GPS device and PHS (Personal Handyphone)
A system that manages vehicle operation by combining the two systems (System) has already been put to practical use.

In the distributed information sharing system according to the present invention, a user operates one of a plurality of information sharing systems from a portable terminal.
When the user tries to register public information such as safety information via the public information registration unit 2 by accessing the public information, the user has means for capturing the position information of the portable terminal used by the user. Then, the public information registration unit 2 registers the acquired position information as the area designation information of the public information in accordance with the processing shown in FIG. 9 in the information sharing system that controls the position using the portable terminal. Automatically transfer the public information you have made. With this, when the user enters public information such as safety information, or enters search information, the user does not have to be aware of where the user himself is, which information sharing system must be accessed, etc. Good. Wherever the user moves, announcement information and the like related to the place where the user is currently staying can be automatically distributed.

In the event of a disaster, it is desirable that information provided from various media can be cross-referenced. For example, it has been pointed out that a function of enabling mutual information reference between the Internet and personal computer communication, or a function of enabling reference of a scheduled announcement time of related information by a broadcast medium, and the like will be useful.

As described above, since information can be exchanged between different types of communication networks such as the telephone network, the Internet, and personal computer communication, registration and use of public information such as safety information can be facilitated. That is, the public information registration unit 2, the public information search unit 3, the public information presentation unit 4,
Various input / output interfaces (user interface 5) of the communication unit 6 include various media (audio, image,
Data) and various communication interfaces (TCP / IP,
It is desirable to have PPP or the like.

As a service at the time of a disaster, a service for providing safety information by message dial or the like is scheduled to be implemented, but the service corresponding to a telephone number stored in a server on a network separate from such a distributed information sharing system is provided. The stored audio data may be accessed and referred to. Further, the public information storage unit 1 has an audio data storage area for storing audio data in correspondence with a telephone number. For example, the public information registration unit 2 is provided on a network separate from the above-mentioned distributed information sharing system. Can communicate with each other, and can refer to each other for audio data corresponding to the telephone number. Further, the server and the public information registration unit 1 can use the same audio data for the telephone number. May be held.

Thus, when a telephone number is designated as the area designation information of the search information, if the voice data (message dial) is registered in association with the telephone number, it is automatically referred to. Conversely, if voice data is registered as public information, it can be transferred to a server on a network separate from the above-mentioned distributed information sharing system.

The public information search section 3 further includes a search information storage section for registering the input search information (including at least search conditions such as area designation information and transfer destination information of search results). If any of the registered public information (including voice data) matches the search condition included in the search information, each time the transfer destination specified by the transfer destination information included in the search information, Automatically. At that time, from text data to audio data,
A conversion process from voice data to text data may be performed.

Communication between such a distributed information sharing system and another network, that is, a server on the telephone network, is performed, for example, by CTI (Computer Telep).
This can be realized by using a honey integration technique.

When the public information is used for the public information registration unit 2 and the public information search unit 3 by using a voice recognition function and a reading function,
For example, the public information input from the public information registration unit 2 as audio data is converted into text data, or the audio data is registered as it is, and similarly, search for area designation information and the like input to the public information search unit 3 is performed. The search information including the condition may be converted from voice data to text data, and the same registration processing and search processing as described above may be performed. That is, even a user unfamiliar with keyboard operation can easily register and search.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the area designation information included in the public information and the search information, and the information sharing information stored in each of the plurality of information sharing systems constituting the distributed information sharing system. An information sharing system suitable for processing (registration / retrieval of public information) is selected based on the regional attribute information of the jurisdiction of the system, so that a rational distributed information sharing system corresponding to the regionality of information can be configured. In particular, distributed information that can prevent the concentration of load on a specific server when searching for public information and the occurrence of excessive traffic on a specific communication path, and stably ensure a high response even in situations where communication capacity is limited It is possible to provide a shared system.

When searching for and registering public information, it is sufficient to access any one of a plurality of information sharing systems constituting the distributed information sharing system, and when the user inputs public information such as safety information. To find out where they are, what servers they need to access,
You do not need to be aware of such things.

The method described in the above embodiment can be executed by a computer as a program such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.),
It can also be stored in a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory and distributed. That is, a plurality of personal computers are connected by a predetermined communication line, and the public information storage unit 1, the region attribute storage unit 10, and the transfer information storage unit 8 of FIG. 1 are provided in the memory area of the personal computer, and are shown in FIG. The distributed information sharing system can be configured by executing a program describing the operation of each unit (FIGS. 7 to 9).

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Provided is an information sharing system capable of distributing a load at the time of searching for public information, preventing the occurrence of excessive traffic on a specific communication path, and stably ensuring a high response even in a situation where communication capacity is limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information sharing system that constitutes a distributed information sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of public information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of search information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a tree-structured information exchange path as an example of an information exchange path for search information and public information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of transfer information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of area attribute information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a search process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a process of collating region designation information included in public information and search information with region attribute information of a jurisdiction held in the nuclear information sharing system.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating registration processing of public information.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Public information storage part 2 ... Public information registration part 3 ... Public information search part 4 ... Public information presentation part 5 ... User interface 6 ... Communication part 7 ... Transfer destination selection part 8 ... Transfer information storage part 9 ... Region related selection part 10. Regional attribute storage unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information sharing method comprising: a storage unit for storing public information related to a predetermined jurisdiction area; and searching and presenting the public information stored in the storage unit in response to a search request. The search request is transferred to a region selected based on the information specifying the region included in the search request and the relationship between the regions including the jurisdiction region, and the search result transferred from the transfer destination is transmitted to the search request source. An information sharing method comprising: transferring public information from the storage unit only for a search request specifying an area including the jurisdiction area. 2. The public information is transferred to an area selected based on the area designation information included in the public information and the relationship between the areas including the jurisdiction area, and the jurisdiction area transferred from outside the jurisdiction area 2. The information sharing system according to claim 1, wherein public information designating an area including the information is stored or presented in said storage means. 3. The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein voice information associated with a telephone number is searched for the search request. 4. An information sharing system comprising storage means for storing public information related to a predetermined jurisdiction area, and searching and presenting the public information stored in said storage means in response to a search request. The search request is transferred to a region selected based on the information specifying the region included in the search request and the relationship between the regions including the jurisdiction region, and the search result transferred from the transfer destination is transmitted to the search request source. An information sharing system, comprising: first transfer means for transferring; and search means for searching public information from the storage means only for a search request designating an area including the jurisdiction area. And a second transfer unit for transferring the public information to a region selected based on the region designation information included in the public information and a relationship between the regions including the jurisdiction region, 5. The information sharing system according to claim 4, wherein said public information specifying the area including said jurisdiction area transferred from said storage means is stored or presented in said storage means. 6. The information sharing system according to claim 4, wherein voice information associated with a telephone number is searched for the search request. 7. A storage means for storing public information related to a predetermined jurisdiction area, and a program for searching and presenting the public information stored in the storage means in response to a search request is recorded. And transmitting the search request to an area selected based on information specifying an area included in the search request and a relationship between the areas including the jurisdiction area. A first transfer unit that transfers the transferred search result to the search request source; and a search unit that searches the storage unit for public information only for a search request specifying an area including the jurisdiction area. Recording medium on which is recorded.